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myundeadgayson · 3 years

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Ahoy, We are Castaways AU, but not really because Gunk and Ishmael find Pirates:

@bluwards So.... I mayhaps wrote an entire thing for your idea?

For anyone wondering, here’s the link to the OG au idea post: https://bluwards.tumblr.com/post/661885099380506624/au-where-tommy-and-wilbur-were-part-of-a-pirate

This might not be exactly what you were hoping for of this, but I had an image in my mind and just went HAM on it. Like, I mean that as in I started this at like... 1am last night and I finished at like 4pm today??? I’m not saying I wrote that entire time, but I am saying that I literally just NEEDED to finish this because it’s SUCH A FUN IDEA. (I’m sorry for writing so much by the way! I got excited.)

Notes: None of this is historically accurate to literally anything, especially history and pirates. Instead, we’re gonna image this is some fun fantasy world where like. Pirates are out chilling in the world stealing shit and royalty exists somewhere enough you can be like “yeah, i’m royal. try to prove i’m not bitch.” (Also, I’ll post this on Ao3 later and edit with the link after I sleep. For now, please enjoy!) Words: 5160 Characters: Wilbur Soot, TommyInnit, Philza Minecraft, and Technoblade

The heat must be getting to him. It must be because there’s no way that’s a ship he’s seeing out on the horizon. It seems to be drawing closer, but it’s not near enough to tell, not that it would matter anyway. It’s not real. It’s not real, he tells himself. It has to be a mirage. As if their luck would ever be that good.

Wilbur rests his head back down into Tommy’s mess of curls. The two of them are curled together underneath the shade of the treeline. His back is pressed against the rough, uneven bark of a palm tree with his bare feet digging into the sand. Tommy’s eyes are closed. His little brother is tucked tight against his side, dozing softly as the slight breeze ruffles his dirty hair.

If Wilbur tried, he could pretend Tommy was just resting. He could pretend this was the two of them relaxing on some beach that they’ve gotten all to themselves. He could imagine that Tommy tuckered himself out, now the two of them were peacefully dozing off in the shade on a lovely Summer day as the gentle sea wind blew.

In that fantasy, they would have chosen to be here on this beach. A beach would make for a good day trip, he thinks. He imagines that it would be a beach off the coast of a small town. He’d take Tommy early in the morning down past the docks and watch Tommy hop along stones down a path leading towards the sand. Wilbur would make him carry a basket of bread and other treats that they might have gotten from a kind baker that didn’t mind that their pockets were a little low. Wilbur would smile and promise to repay them, and it’d be a real promise instead of a sharp-toothed lie.

He’d bring a threadbare sheet because they’d have one to spare for it. He’d spread it along the sand and bask in the sun’s rays. He’d open his eyes occasionally to Tommy’s excited shouts as his brother pulled odd shells and tiny hermit crabs from the ocean, then laugh as Tommy shouted obscenities when they inevitably fell from his hands because Tommy was anything but careful. A few shells would be saved though, and Tommy would make a small pile of them on the corner of the sheet for them to keep.

Tommy would eventually tug Wilbur up to join him. Wilbur would laugh and pretend to be reluctant as his brother guided him down towards the water until the warm waves lapped at their feet. Tommy would grin at him, bright as the sun overhead and his hair sparkling like strands of gold. He’d look so proud of himself as he showed Wilbur more shells and other interesting things he found.

Along the way, one of them would splash the other whether it be accidentally or not, and it’d start a war. Wilbur would laugh until his ribs were sore as he smacked water Tommy’s way and listened to the younger shout insults back at him. It’d all be in good fun and it’d show in Tommy’s toothy grin as the blond would get some harebrained idea of how to “win” their little game and it’d end with them both falling into the water. They’d be soaked to the bone and Wilbur would playfully smack water at Tommy’s face for getting them both wet, but it’d be fine in the end because they would sit out in the sun until their clothes dried. In this fantasy, Wilbur could imagine it wouldn’t matter anyway because once they went home, they’d have more clothes to change into and one pair wouldn’t be missed for a day.

When the sun started to set over the horizon, Wilbur would gather them up to leave. He’d gather up their food and make Tommy carefully fold up the sheet. It’d end up balled up instead and Wilbur would tease Tommy for his shit folding skills. They’d stay an extra few minutes to stare off at the sunset as it glistened over the calm waters. All would feel peaceful until Tommy ruined the moment with some joke that’d make Wilbur smack him upside the head, even though he’d laugh all the same.

They��d walk home with Tommy’s shells tucked safely into their pockets under the soft pink skies. A perfect background to a perfect day.

It would be nice, lovely even, because in that world they’d go home to some nice place Wilbur managed to keep for them in some nice town. It’d be real and theirs, and they’d each have a warm bed to sleep in and food in their stomachs. It might be small, but small was okay because they’d both be happy and they’d have nothing to fear.

If only life were ever so kind.

It was a nice daydream, but if Wilbur were to look down, it’d shatter. It’d shatter if he listened at all to the way Tommy’s breathing sounded off. With every low breath, his brother’s chest would shutter. Wilbur could feel it every time.

Tommy’s nose was red and peeling, as were his cheeks and shoulders. His freckles were hidden beneath the furious scarlet and white flecks. His skin had gotten tanner, but the dark rings under his eyes made him look ghastly. Wilbur was sure that he looked about the same himself, but seeing it on Tommy was different.

The boy was thin enough before they’d gotten stranded, but now his limbs looked just too small. Wilbur could practically see the bones poking through. If it weren’t for the blaring sun overhead tanning their skin, Wilbur was sure that Tommy would look more like a walking skeleton than a teenager.

They’d got thrown overboard days ago. Wilbur lost track of how many. He stopped really caring when he realized there were other things to care about, like keeping them alive.

Luck had never been on their side. Wilbur had known that since they were little and a twelve-year-old found himself in charge of a five-year-old.

The world’s always been against them. It started early with a mother too young to be on her own with a child. She was struggling enough as it was to keep them fed that when that one child turned to two, the odds for any of them getting by turned minimal. Even with Wilbur doing his best to help, swindling and snatching up food and loose change off of oblivious folk in the city, hope was running thin.

It was amazing she’d ever gotten so far. Wilbur hated to see it that way now, but it was the truth. The fact she’d ever made it to Tommy’s fifth birthday was incredible. When the sickness set in though, no amount of Wilbur’s efforts could seem to help her. Eventually, she’d stopped waking up entirely and Wilbur was left on his own to care for his little brother.

Luck ran out, but they made their own with time.

After losing their mother, Wilbur packed them up and they were off. He taught Tommy every trick he knew. They traveled endlessly, hopping from place to place just to keep moving whenever it seemed like any townsfolk around started catching onto their games. Wilbur tried a few odd jobs every time for money in places, and Tommy was tiny enough that he could sneak bread and other foods off vendors to bring back to whatever tiny hole they’d called home at that moment.

As they both got older, the tricks got better. Their stories were perfected and their act was flawless if ever they needed to talk someone into lending them a place out of pity, or a new job.

When Wilbur caught sight of a ship though, he’d thought they were golden. Sure, he only knew vaguely about working them. He’d taken on a few jobs on some docks before, but he’d never been on a ship himself. The thought was meant to be that if he could get on that ship for a job, he could bring Tommy along with him. They’d stay there and hop off at the first chance they could once they’d landed in a new country, then they’d start over for real. They’d start over fresh in a new place entirely and everything might be okay! They could make life whatever they wanted because no one would be able to know otherwise!

And everything did feel okay for a while. Turns out the ship Wilbur found was a crew of pirates, but like always, Wilbur managed to talk his way through. Tommy played along perfectly, and before they knew it, they became crew. Perhaps they were there for nothing more than playing clean-up, but they would take what they could get.

Their luck was turning up. As Wilbur started working his way through making connections with the crew, he was starting to think maybe he’d found a place for them. They wouldn’t stay, of course, but it made sense, didn’t it?

The constant traveling and plundering— that kind of life was meant for them. However, there were also rules to follow and heavy risks in not doing so. Neither of them were good at following rules, but they were good actors all the same that could fake it until their last breath. But for a short time, it felt like a good fit and Wilbur remembered telling Tommy as such.

Tommy was much more reluctant. He was getting by, but he didn’t like it there. Maybe Wilbur was succeeding, but Tommy was younger. His limbs were all thin and gangly, and it made him look weaker than he was. The crew would shove him around and they’d always be too loud in his ears. Tommy was rather loud himself, but when you’re trying to hold your tongue to survive, it wasn’t like he could exactly defend himself.

So maybe they didn’t see eye to eye about it, but that was fine. Wilbur agreed they’d only be there a little longer because the moment they docked somewhere new, they’d be off and onto wherever life would take them next.

Unfortunately, their luck ran out.

It all happened in a blur. Wilbur remembered when the storm hit. It was rougher than normal. He remembered fighting with the rest of the crew to take care of the ship. They were fighting hard to stay afloat as the waves rocked the ship from side to side so hard that Wilbur feared they would tip.

The ship didn’t tip, but Tommy did.

He could still vividly remember Tommy slipping. He’d watched in horror the way his brother scrambled for purchase on something, anything. He’s just barely caught the side of the ship.

Wilbur went after him, not caring in the slightest for whatever task he’d abandoned. He’d tried to help yank Tommy back aboard. Tommy, who held on with white knuckles and fingernails digging into the wood with fear in his eyes. Wilbur tried to reassure him, but he was sure his words got lost in the raging winds. He’d tried to pull Tommy back onto the deck, and for a moment, he was succeeding. He almost managed to pull Tommy back on board.

Right as he thought he’d gotten Tommy back though, the ship hit another furious set of waves. The brothers got thrown hard, and suddenly they were both going down.

It was a miracle they didn’t drown.

Wilbur sighed, closing his eyes once again. He tried to block out the memories of rushing water and Tommy’s screams of his name. He could still taste the seawater on his tongue as it tried to flood his lungs.

They’d gotten tossed endlessly in the waves. The ship was forgotten in the battle to just hold on to each other.

He combed his fingers through Tommy’s hair. The boy didn’t even respond. He must have finally fallen asleep, Wilbur thought to himself. Sleep hadn’t been easy to find since they’d woken up ashore. Though the island seemed abandoned, neither of them could be sure there wasn’t some hidden danger lurking somewhere. Their sunburns didn’t make it easy either with the way their skin would ache. Even in the shade or the dark of the night, they’d struggle to find enough comfort to rest at all.

He was glad Tommy was getting some sleep now. He was getting rather tired himself. As much as he’d like to give in, one of them needed to stay awake just in case.

Wilbur groaned as he forced his eyes to peel open once more. As his vision started to clear, he noticed the mirage was getting closer. The blurry shape of the ship was getting bigger. It was looking like it was getting ready to dock at the edge of the island at any minute. Or at least it would if it were actually real.

Wilbur huffed, resting his cheek on Tommy’s head. He watched idly as the ship grew closer and closer to the edge of the shore. It wasn’t coming straight towards them. It was heading more towards the left edge of the island where the trees were a bit more scattered, but the shoreline was still mostly clear of rocks.

It wasn’t until it was starting to look suspiciously more and more lifelike that Wilbur started to get more intrigued.

Furrowing his brows, he lifted his head. He pulled away from Tommy some to sit up further. Tommy groaned in protest. The motion caused the boy to slide down, his head resting more on Wilbur’s chest than shoulder. Wilbur wanted to hush him and whisper soft apologies for disturbing him at all. Unfortunately, the ship’s drawing nearer by the second and Wilbur could feel something akin to hope bubbling up in his throat.

He frantically nudged at Tommy’s side, “Tommy. Tommy, wake up.”

“Augh…” Tommy rolled his head, burying his face further into Wilbur’s shirt with an annoyed whine. He weakly smacked at Wilbur’s arm, “Fuck off, Wilbur… M’tryin’ to sleep, asshole…”

As much as Wilbur wished he could agree, he needed Tommy’s eyes. “Get up! I think I see something,” Wilbur urged. He shoved Tommy off him until the boy got the hint to sit up on his own.

The blond looked absolutely pitiful. Tommy rubbed at his tired eyes with his fists. Wilbur’s chest ached with remorse for having bothered him, but he told himself that again, it could be for good reason.

“What the fuck’re you on about?” Tommy mumbled irritably.

“Look! Look there,” Wilbur hissed, pointing out at the ship. It seemed to be getting ready to dock. Tiny figures could be seen moving along the deck, grabbing at ropes and such. “Do you see that?”

It took a moment for Tommy to follow where he was pointing. The boy was still getting his bearings on being awake again. Wilbur almost turned Tommy’s head himself to see though. Patience was growing thin as their potential hope of being able to escape was growing stronger, but he needed to be sure. It could be his mind playing cruel tricks on him. The exhaustion could finally be taking its toll, and maybe Tommy would be of no help because he could be seeing nothing as well, but the chances of them imagining the same ship with the same little people had to be high.

“See wha’?” Tommy’s voice was still groggy from sleep. The boy’s eyes slowly followed Wilbur’s finger towards the ship. Wilbur watched as the recognition clicked into place and all at once their hope seemed more plausible. Tommy’s eyes widened, “T-That’s— Wilbur, that’s a ship!” His head whipped around to look up at Wilbur. “That’s a real ship, innit?! Please tell me that’s real!”

The brunette was already grinning and nodding along with that same spark in his eye. “Oh, thank fuck! You see it too then! I thought maybe I was just imagining it.”

For the first time in days, Tommy looked excited. “Holy shit, Wilbur, we might be saved!”

He tried to stagger to his feet. Wilbur had to rush to catch him before he stumbled to the ground, “Tommy, careful!”

He caught the boy before he could fall. Tommy winced, teeth gritting to bite back a cry. Wilbur noticed it instantly. He dropped Tommy’s arms at once, moving to take the other’s wrists where the burns were less present. The younger steadied himself on his feet with Wilbur’s cautious guidance. Once he was stable, he passed Wilbur a sheepish grin, “Heh, oops?”

Wilbur heaved out a sigh. There was no way he could be mad at that, not that he ever planned to. He shook his head, letting go of Tommy completely now that it seemed his brother could stand on his own. He straightened up, looking out towards where the head of the ship was disappearing behind the treeline. Taking a deep breath, Wilbur ruffled a hand through his hair before looking back to Tommy, “I think they’re planning to dock on that side. If we go now, we might be able to get on.”

“Then what are we waiting for?! Let’s go!” Tommy shouted excitedly. With that, he turned to march ahead.

He barely got a step before Wilbur was catching him by the wrist to stop him, “Wait a second! I wasn’t done yet!”

Tommy practically whined as he was stopped for the second time. He turned back on his heel with a loud groan, “What? The ship’s right there, Wilbur! We need to go!”

Wilbur could understand his enthusiasm. He wanted off this island as much as Tommy did, but if they were going to get onto that ship, they needed a plan.

“Listen to me. I’m not sure we’ll be able to sneak on without getting found out and I don’t know about you, but I really don’t feel like getting tossed off another ship,” Wilbur told him honestly.

Tommy’s nose wrinkled at the reminder. Sniffing, the boy turned to face him better, “Then what? You want us to go and just ask them? Like ‘hi, Mister Captain, sir! Could we please jump on this here ship you got? I know you don’t know us and it’d be really to leave us for dead, but I think if you’d really just considered it for a second deep in your heart’— honestly, that’s sounds really stupid, Wilbur. No one’s going to fall for that!”

Wilbur sputtered, trying not to choke on a laugh. “No, no! As if that’d ever work.” He cleared his throat, pulling himself back together quickly. “We don’t know what kind of ship we’re dealing with yet. I say we go stake out the ship first and plan from there. But if we get caught, I think I already have a few ideas in mind. But whatever we do, we just have to stick to it well enough to get to their next stop.”

Tommy rolled his eyes, “Sounds easy enough. Now can we just go already? I’m so tired of all this stupid sand.” ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ******

“So…” Phil dragged out the word. Techno remained tense behind him, leaning against the side of the ship. Phil didn’t need to look behind him to know the man was glaring at the pair of boys in front of them, searching for some sign to not trust the two. Phil held up a hand as if to silently gesture his first mate to settle down. He could handle this. “How about we start with your names, alright, boys?”

The two young men before him traded a look. Whatever mental conversation the two had ended in the span of seconds before the older of the pair was clearing his throat. The brunette was suddenly holding out a hand, “Captain Ishmael. Honor to meet another Captain”

“Ishmael?…” Phil slowly repeated, taking the man’s hand. He’d give it to the kid. For someone that was clearly on the verge of exhaustion, he had a good grip. “Really?”

“Uh huh!” Ishmael took his hand back with a rather proud grin, “It’s a family name. Passed down from generation to generation! I’m Ishmael the 3rd actually, in case you wanted to know.”

Phil did not. He couldn’t care less about this man’s history, but he did care about the fact that he could have sworn the man didn’t have as much of an accent before. And it seemed to be growing thicker with every word (as if “Ishmael” was getting his bearings on his new voice).

“As you can probably guess, we’re a very long way from home, you know?” Ishmael went on without missing a beat. “We had a ship of our own, but huge storm took it out with the rest of our crew and, well, you can see how things turned out.”

Phil only arched a brow further. He was sure the disbelief was heavy on his expression, “Right…” He turned his attention to the young boy beside the self-proclaimed captain. He’d been mostly quiet since boarding. “And what about you, mate?”

“Gunk,” the boy croaked up after a moment. His voice was incredibly hoarse. He had the same accent as Ishmael, lending slight credit to their tale, not that Phil believed either of them in the slightest.

“Gunk.”

The boy hummed, leaning heavily on the young Captain’s shoulder. “Yep. And that’s Gunk Gorbachev to you,” the kid added, weakly lifting his head enough to shoot Phil a glare, pointing a finger as well in a way the older blond assumed was meant to look threatening. “Heir to the Gorbachev throne, I’ll have you know.”

Phil only stared blankly at the kid. Blinking slowly, he settled on a simple, “Okay… So, we have Captain Ishmael and Gunk…”

“Gorbachev,” the kid corrected.

Phil nodded, “Gorbachev. So tell me why exactly should I let you on my ship?”

Ishmael cleared his throat first, “Well, as I mentioned before, our ship got destroyed in the storm. I know you’ve got no reason to believe us, but I assure you when we get back to the nearest mainland, I can find you all the proof I can to prove Gunk’s father is a highly influential man. He would waste no time to give you as much money as you wish for his son’s safe return.”

Before Phil could answer, Techno was doing so for him. “If he’d only send an amount for the kid, then why should we bother to keep you?”

To Ishmael's credit, he held his own well. Phil knew exactly how intimidating Techno could be, especially when he was trying. The man could make most men cower with a single look. Ishmael, however, held Techno’s look head-on, lips stretched into a firm line, “Well I’ll have you know, I’m one of King Gorbachev’s most trusted Captains. I’m now Gunk’s primary caretaker as well, seeing as the rest of our people were taken down in the waves. The bounty for my safe return will be high. Not as high as Gunk’s, but it’s still more bounty for you, isn’t it?”

“But you still crashed his ship,” Techno bluntly pointed out, much to Ishmael’s disliking. “Someone who can’t take care of their own ship and out of their crew, only manages to keep themselves and some kid alive doesn’t sound very worthy to me. At least, that’s not someone I’d wanna take back.”

Ishmael narrowed his eyes sharply, “I think as someone who lives their life on the water, you would know how unpredictable the sea can be, Sir…”

“Technoblade,” the said man gruffly answered.

“Technoblade,” the name almost sounded cruel on Ishmael’s tongue, “I’m sure you know exactly how unfair the tides are. You can’t always predict the storms when they come, neither can you always get away from them in time. I’ll have you know, Technoblade, I did my damned hardest to save my crew, but the waves separated us and took my ship down with it. You don’t think I haven’t spent days searching the shores for signs of my crew? Because I have.” Ishmael’s voice was getting louder and more emotional with every word. “The best I could do was to do my sworn task, which was keep Gunk here safe…”

Phil could see the sheen of tears behind the young captain's eyes as he choked on those last few words, and if he was lying, Phil had to admit the kid was a pretty damn good actor.

Ishmael’s arm was wrapped protectively around the Gunk’s shoulders, keeping the boy close to his chest as if it really were his sworn duty and he couldn’t handle the thought of failing another task, especially one so crucial.

Gunk was in on it as well. The boy played a pretty convincing part of the sad child that’s lost his people. Phil might feel bad if it turned out to be true because he did look awfully pitiful. He had his head tucked against Ishmael’s chest. His eyes weren’t closed, but they stared ahead, unblinking yet filled with sadness as if he were reliving the painful memories.

“Now I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t talk about my loss,” Ishmael finished, squaring his shoulders once more. The man’s dark eyes were hardened over in a way that almost made Phil believe his story. That was a soldier’s look if he knew one. “It isn’t as if I haven’t been thinking about them enough for the past few days… How would you like it if the seas turned on you and took your crew?”

Techno seemed to have nothing more to say to that. This talk seemed to have turned much more emotional than he planned. He crossed his arms with a grunt, breaking Ishmael's gaze to glower at the deck instead.

Ishmael broke the gaze as well, huffing loudly before turning his attention back on Philza. “Now as I was saying, you can offer me up as well. If the king offers you nothing, you can kill me, that’s fine. But I think you’d be wasting your effort if you did so now and lost even more bounty. You seem like two very smart men, so I don’t think you’d want to pass up on a good deal for nothing, would you?”

“I suppose not…” Phil hummed, leaning back in his seat. “But how do you know we won’t kill you after the payment?”

Ishmael shrugged, “Then that’s the risk we’ll have to take, isn’t it? It’s sure better than dying alone on an island, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Fair enough,” Phil decided. He pushed himself to stand and motioned to a nearby crew member towards the boys, “They can stay. We’re keeping the same route as we were without them.”

“You can’t be serious,” Techno spoke up, standing up to follow after him. A few crewmen were already passing them by to start prepping the ship for departure once more. Techno dodged between them, growling as he hurried to catch up to Phil’s side, “Please, Phil, you can’t really believe any of that, can you? That was the fakest story I’ve ever heard! C’mon! I mean, did you even hear that sob story?! The kid’s claiming to be a prince?!”

Phil only hummed noncommittally, “Now, Techno, I don’t think I ever said I believed them. I said I’d let them stay.”

“Phil, that’s two extra mouths to feed,” Techno sneered back. Phil didn’t need to spare him a glance to know how disgruntled his companion looked. “That’s two extra people wasting space that we don’t need! We could have just left them there! No one would notice! We probably won’t even get any bounty from this! It’ll just be a waste of time!”

“Then I guess we’ll have to wait and see,” Phil answered, patience holding strong as ever. He’d already prepared himself for Techno’s barrage of questions. He had a feeling his first mate wouldn’t be thrilled about keeping a new pair of strays, especially ones that tried to lie their way into staying. “They’re only a couple of kids, mate. They’ll only be here a few weeks at most, then we’ll be rid of them for good. It won’t hurt us to babysit for a while.”

“I didn’t sign up to be a babysitter, Phil! I don’t even like kids!” Technoblade was starting to sound more exasperated by the second. It took everything for Phil not to smile. His normally composed partner was throwing a fit over a couple of stowaways, as if their crew wasn’t built off similar strays. Though Phil supposed the difference was those strays were a little more honest. Phil couldn’t tell if that was the problem, or if Techno was taking difficulty sharing space with more newcomers. Apparently he wasn’t done, so Phil would soon find out.

“I mean, really, Phil. We could take in so many other things. But you choose a couple kids lying that one of them’s some fake king’s heir and the other’s a— a fake captain? Who fakes being a captain! You’ve gotta agree with me here, Phil. ‘Cause I’m sure lying about being a captain is normal,” Techno snarked, “totally normal kid things.”

Phil sighed, and paused in his step. Techno paused with him, just a step behind. Phil turned to face his partner. Techno only stares back at him, expression stoic as ever, but Phil could see the heavy annoyance in his eyes. If Phil hadn’t known him for all the years he had, he would never guess the man was only about as old as the self-proclaimed captain. He’d be a liar if he said it wasn’t starting to show currently, which Phil deemed for better or worse. For as old as he tried to seem, Techno was still quite young.

Phil placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulder, “You worry too much, mate. Yes, it is probably a lie. Honestly, I can’t say I ever believed even a second of any of it, but you saw how they looked. They were sunburnt and thirsty, and likely going to be stranded for the gods only know how long. Do you really think if you were stuck in their situation, you wouldn’t try to say anything you could to make sure you stay alive? Even if it sounded absolutely ridiculous?”

Techno went silent for a moment. Phil watched him mull over his answer. Finally, his partner averted his gaze towards the horizon. “Well I wouldn’t be as obvious about it…”

Phil cracked a laugh, “Oh, I wouldn’t either. It was really obvious, wasn’t it?” He chuckled, and gave Techno’s shoulder a soft squeeze before pulling away to continue walking, “We’ll keep a close eye on them. You can watch them as closely as you want, if that makes you feel any better. If anything seems too suspicious, then we’ll handle it. For now, let them recover. Let them rehydrate and eat, and we’ll just listen to see how their story changes. Maybe if we’re lucky, they’ll be worth their weight after all. It’s just a few weeks.” (Spoiler: it was more than a few weeks and Dadza Phil did the Dadza attachment thing as always.)

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flowerpowell · 4 years

Text

Unexpected (Drake x MC)

PART TWENTY - FINAL PART

A/N: Here it is! The last part! It took me a while to finish it; I was super busy in June but I hope it’s okay! There might be an epilogue after that, if you’re interested ;) As always, characters (except for Dani) belong to PB!

Rating: PG-18 (??? suggestiveness maybe? and madeleine is here too)

Word count: a bit over 3000, but who’s counting, right? it’s the finale, lol

Tagging: @gardeningourmet @delightfullypinkglitter @hopefulmoonobject @desireepow-1986 @dcbbw @kingliam2019 @the-soot-sprite @thequeenofcronuts @badchoicesposts @burnsoslow @annekebbphotography @alesana45 @ao719 @axwalker @walkerduchess @texaskitten30 @lodberg @cordonianroyalty @emichelle @siriusxxvideos @i-bloody-love-drake-walker @samihatuli @choices-lurker @i-miss-trr @nikkis1983 @innerpostmentality @msjr0119 @bascmve01 @mind-reader1 @edgiestwinter @drakesensworld @queenjilian @princessleac1 @saivilo @yukinagato2012 ♥

Riley opened her eyes, woken up by a nightmare. She was in the middle of her burning restaurant again but this time no one was coming. The heat was consuming her.

Except that in reality, the heat was really consuming her. Drake was spooning her and the combination of September’s warm weather and Drake being a living furnace left Riley feeling as if she was still in the middle of fire.

But she didn’t mind it.

It felt so good to be in Drake’s arms, safe at home, home with him that she didn’t mind.

Riley gently turned around to face her husband, a very unexpected husband but she grew to like, no, love him and she couldn’t imagine not having this grumpy, whiskey-loving man in her life. She closed her eyes, inhaling the smell of Drake; it smelled like a forest early in the morning, it smelled like man she loved, it smelled like home. Drake was her home.

She smiled as she stroked Drake’s cheek with her finger. She heard a quiet groan before her blue eyes met with his brown ones.

“Good morning,” she said as he blinked a few times, trying to wake himself up.

“Mornin’,” he leaned down to kiss her and it immediately made her even warmer. Still, she didn’t mind.

She deepened the kiss and they were making out for a moment before Drake yawned in the middle of their kiss.

“I’m sorry,” he said, pulling away, “I’m still not fully awake. I need a gallon of coffee.”

“Or,” Riley raised her eyebrows, “we can wake you up in a different way.”

“Riley.” Drake looked at her chidingly. “You were in an accident like yesterday.”

“I was dismissed from hospital yesterday, the accident was two days ago,” she corrected and Drake shook his head in disbelief.

“A day and a half ago, then.”

“Oh come on, Drake, the doctors said I was fine! Besides, they said I should what I felt was okay to do and this is exactly what I think is okay to do.”

“Riley…”

“I’m just trying to be nice and help you wake up, that’s all,” she pouted. Would that make her feel even hotter than she already felt? Yes. Would that make her feel like she was on fire? Yes. Did she mind? Nope.

“Riley…” he groaned before leaning down again and kissing her passionately and in that moment she knew she just won their first married fight.

~~~~

“Where are you taking me?” Danielle asked as Liam led her out of the palace. After the revelation about Madeleine, Liam canceled all his meetings and waited for the news from Karlington. Besides, there was still one thing he desperately wanted to do before the confrontation with Danielle’s parents, which was scheduled for later.

“I want to show you something. Something special,” just like you, he thought to himself. They entered the maze and Liam turned into an alley which eventually led them to a small rose garden.

Liam stopped by the little bush of roses, in the most beautiful color Danielle ever saw. It was something between pastel pink and lilac, a color she never saw.

“They’re so beautiful,” she whispered, admiring the view.

“These are Eleanor roses,” he explained. “This was the color of the flowers my mother had in her wedding bouquet. My father had these planted for her as a birthday present. It took a few years to make these roses look like that but my mom loved it. I’ve been coming here whenever I miss her. The smell reminds me of her.”

“Oh Liam. This is such a sweet story. These are gorgeous, I’ve never seen anything like it!” Danielle exclaimed. “Roses are my favorite flowers! And the color is just unreal! Although I’ve always been a fan of coral ones.”

“I know,” Liam admitted. “I figured after you picked up coral roses for the date we set up for Drake and Riley.”

Danielle chuckled, “they brought them luck!”

Liam smiled but it faded and his face was serious again. “I… I asked the royal gardener to plant them here. Next to my mom’s roses,” he admitted. “I thought… if you wanted to stay here… even if it’s just because of our baby, I thought it’d be nice to have your favorite flowers here.”

Danielle looked at him, her eyes wide open and full of tears, threatening to fall and water the roses.

“I’m sorry if it was a stupid idea, I—” Liam started but Dani threw herself at him, not letting him finish.

“I love you, I love you, I love you,” she said in between kissing him and crying. Liam stood still at first, not even registering what was happening but he quickly recomposed himself and kissed her back.

They were both breathless when they parted.

Liam took Danielle’s hands and pulled her closer, their foreheads touching.

“Please tell me I didn’t misheard something and you really said you loved me.”

Danielle chucked as she felt Liam’s tears on her cheek. “I love you, Liam. I don’t know what I did to deserve you but I don’t want to question it.”

“I love you so much, Danielle Brooks.”

“Danielle Eleanor Brooks,” she said with a smile and Liam took a step back to look her in the eyes.

“Your middle name is Eleanor?” he asked.

“Yes,” she nodded and chuckled at his disbelief.

“Now I am sure it was my mom who sent you to me,” Liam said before pulling her into another kiss.

“Now that I know how you feel about me,” Liam started when he pulled away a few minutes later, “I think I finally have the guts to do this.”

“To do what?” Dani asked confused but she understood as Liam got down on one knee. “Liam…”

“Danielle Eleanor Brooks,” he took out a velvet box out of his pocket. If she only knew how heavy that box was, holding their whole possible future inside. “My whole life I knew I was supposed to marry for the crown, I knew love wasn’t in my cards. I mourned this almost every day but I was reconciled with it. I thought my chance at real love was lost… and then I met you. I tried not to get my hopes up but the truth is, you bewitched me completely. You made me believe in love again. You made me love again. You’re making me a father.” Liam took a deep breath and noticed Danielle was already crying. If he hadn’t been taught how to keep all his emotions inside as a monarch, he’d probably be a sobbing mess himself. “I love you, Danielle. I love you and I love our baby and I want us to have a future. Will you marry me?”

Liam didn’t even have a chance to open the box before Danielle threw herself at him, knocking him down and covering his face with kisses.

“Yes, yes, yes,” she sobbed into his face, his hair, his neck. Liam managed to slip the ring onto her finger before she attacked him with even more kisses.

They were kissing under the Eleanor rose bush, next to Danielle rose bush, starting their new life together.

~~~~

“Sir, Mr and Mrs Brooks are here,” Bastien announced as Liam entered the throne room.

“Great, bring them here,” he said and Bastien nodded.

After the proposal, Liam admitted he invited Danielle’s parents to discuss a few things and she said it was okay. What he didn’t say was that he was actually accusing them of treason rather than wanting to only discuss. Luckily, Danielle didn’t want to come with him, and she stayed in the room, trying to call Riley to tell her good news.

“Mr and Mrs Brooks,” Bastien said as two people entered the room behind him.

“Thank you Bastien,” he nodded and looked at Danielle’s parents.

“Your Highness, it’s an honor!” Dani’s father exclaimed while his wife was admiring the room.

“Your Majesty,” Liam corrected, trying to keep calm.

“Of course, your Majesty! Why did you wish to see us? Have you heard of me and my little business in America?” Mr Brooks asked with a smile on his face; his wife was now looking at a portrait of his mother.

“No, actually. You’re here because you’re accused of treason,” Liam explained as the smile from Mr Brooks’ face disappeared.

“We… what?! I can promise you we never hurt anyone! Who… Against who did we…?”

“You are accused of treason against the royal heir, against my child.”

Mr Brooks’ eyes widened, and Mrs Brooks finally looked at Liam.

“We… would never! Children are… such a blessing, we would never! I didn’t even know you had a child, I never even met you! This must be a mistake!”

“I assure you, it is not. Wasn’t it you demanding that my fiancée aborts the baby?”

“Umm… I don’t think so, I mean, I never met your fiancée, your High—Majesty.”

Danielle’s father looked so confused that Liam had to control himself to not start laughing; his wife on the other hand seemed to have a confused face naturally.

“Trent,” she whispered, “when did you try to abort a royal baby?”

“Never!” he hissed.

“Oh?” Liam asked. “My fiancée, Duchess Danielle Eleanor Brooks claimed otherwise.”

“The… what?” Mr Brooks stared at Liam in disbelief. “Duchess… what?”

“What a coincidence! Our daughter’s name is Danielle too!” Mrs Brooks exclaimed happily.

“Yes, I am aware, madam, as I am speaking of your very own daughter,” Liam explained calmly. “I can’t even imagine how a father can ask his daughter to so such a thing and have no shame, whatsoever.”

“Your Majesty, we had no idea it was your baby. If we knew we wouldn’t—”

“So it is okay to do unless it is a royal baby?” Liam couldn’t believe it.

“Of course! If Dani’s pregnant with the royal heir that means… that means… we are a future King’s or Queen’s grandparents!”

“Oh my gosh, we are nobility!” Mrs Brooks gasped.

“And if Dani’s a duchess now… we should get a title as well!”

“You what?” Now it was Liam who was confused.

“Our daughter is a duchess. Our grandkid will be a monarch. It’s only natural that we get a title too.” Mr Brooks explained.

“Imagine Karen’s face when we tell her we are Cordonian nobility!” Mrs Brooks laughed loudly and Liam wondered how Danielle could bear with them for so long.

“ENOUGH!” Liam yelled and both of them stopped talking. “You are getting no titles! You mistreated my fiancée, you mistreated Riley. Instead of supporting your daughter, you wanted her to abort the baby, against her will. And you think you deserve a title?” Liam was mad. Very mad. But he also thought of Danielle. What would she say about this?

“You’re marrying our daughter, I would say we do deserve at least the title of the Lord.”

“You deserve nothing,” Liam hissed.

“Well then, I don’t agree for you to marry her. Where is she? I’m taking her back to States. No title, no Dani.”

“Bastien, have them arrested immediately. For offending the King, the Duchess and the treason.”

“What?” Mr Brooks asked, losing his confidence.

“In the meantime, get someone to pack their belongings. They will be in jail until their flight back to the U.S., after that feel exiled from this country forever. You are not allowed to set your foot here, ever. If you break that rule, you’ll be arrested. Is that clear?”

“But…”

“Is that clear?!” Liam repeated.

“Yes, your Majesty!” Mr Brooks replied and his wife nodded. For the first time since they walked here, both of them looked genuinely scared.

Bastien led them out of the throne room and Liam sat down for a moment, taking everything in. He could only hope, Danielle and Riley’s parents wouldn’t bother them anymore.

~~~~

It was already ten in the evening when Liam got a message from his detective.

“Found them”

Danielle was sleeping, snuggled to his chest after a day full of all kinds of emotions and feels. He quickly sent a message to Bastien and asked him to bring Madeleine to him, then he called Drake.

“Drake? Take Riley and come here as soon as possible. My guards found Savannah and Bertrand.”

“Hmm?” Danielle woke up and looked up and Liam. “What’s happening?”

“Savannah and Bertrand. Would you like to come with us or would you rather sleep some more?” He asked her softly.

“Mmm, I’ll come!”

“Are you sure? I know you’re tired.”

“I am. I want to see it for myself.”

They quickly got dressed and went to the throne room where they waited for Bastien with Madeleine and Riley and Drake.

Liam raised an eyebrow when Drake finally arrived… carrying Riley in his arms.

“Sorry,” Riley said, “Drake was practically running here and since I can’t run yet, according to him, he decided to carry me here.”

“You were in an accident!”

“That was three days ago!”

“Two and a half!” Drake argued and Riley rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, congratulations you two! I’m so happy for you!” Riley went to hug her sister while Drake high-fived Liam.

“I’ll be more happy for you when I finally learn what happened to Savannah. Are they okay?” Drake asked.

“They were found in a secret room, in a secret passage that Madeleine talked about in a recording from the restaurant. Godfrey had no choice but to tell the truth since they were found.”

“And? What’s the truth?” Riley asked.

“That it was Madeleine’s idea,” Liam shrugged. “He didn’t want to say anything else so we’re bringing him back here.”

“And Savannah and Bertrand?” Drake asked.

“Alive,” Liam said and could see Drake relaxing. “A little shaken up, Bertrand more than Savannah though.”

“And—”

“Why am I here? What is this circus all about?” Madeleine asked as she entered the room. Barthelemy was following her, and a few royal guards were making sure they wouldn’t run away.

“You’re busted, that happened.” Drake said and Liam put a hand on his shoulder.

“Let me handle it,” he said and Drake nodded. “We have just found Bertrand and Savannah. In Karlington.”

Madeleine listened, not even blinking. Her face showed no emotions, Barthelemy’s though showed a lot.

“What? But… they’re dead? What do you mean? In Karlington? Sweetheart?” He asked and Madeleine rolled her eyes.

“And? Karlington belongs to my father, should he be questioned?”

“He said it was your idea. Plus we have evidence on a camera from Riley’s restaurant, which you set on fire.”

“You’re lying. I didn’t do anything. You just want to take Bartie from us.”

“We don’t need to,” Dani interjected. “Bartie’s not the heir anymore. Liam and I’s baby is.”

“The WHAT?” Finally, Madeleine’s face started showing emotions. She was shocked, to say the least.

“Our baby,” Liam repeated.

“That’s not possible! That’s not—” she stopped.

“Oh I think you know it is possible. You just wanted me to believe it wasn’t.”

“My love?” Barthelemy asked. “I don’t understand anything.”

“Shut up,” Madeleine hissed. She looked so different now, far from composed and… a little crazy. “I can’t believe that little bitch ruined everything.”

“Watch your mouth, Madeleine,” Liam warned.

“And you should’ve watched your dick!” Madeleine snapped back and Barthelemy’s eyes widened at her outburst.

“Sweetheart…”

“SHUT UP! I didn’t put up with your old ass just to have my chance taken away from me!”

“Why did you even need Savannah and Bertrand? What was your point?” Drake asked.

“You’re so dumb, I can’t even believe you graduated college,” Madeleine rolled her eyes. “I needed them to disappear so I could be the only legal guardian for Bartie, the future heir.”

“But what for?” Riley asked.

“Your wife is dumb too I see. Because we wouldn’t have any kids with Liam. And it was easier for Liam to believe that he can’t have kids. I knew Liam would appoint Bartie, that’s the only kid he knows.”

“But… if you stayed with Liam… you’d be a Queen. Why would you complicate everything so much?” Dani asked.

“Why is everyone in this room so dumb?” Madeleine groaned. “Because I would be only a wife of a King. And after Liam dies, the royal heir would become the King, not me! And if something happened to him, his family would become monarchs, not me! Now with my plan, I would become the heir’s guardian so after Liam dies, Bartie would be the King and then Bartie would die and I would become the Queen.”

“Umm… and what about your husband?” Riley asked motioning to very pale Barthelemy.

“Oh, he would die to! I had everything planned so perfectly. Savannah and Bertrand in Karlington with my father. You not able to have kids,” Madeleine looked at Liam. “Riley and Drake divorced so they wouldn’t get the custody. But of course they didn’t want to get divorced so I had to kill Riley. Too bad it didn’t work out.” Madeleine sighed.

“I still don’t understand…” Dani admitted.

“I’ll explain so you can admire my genius. Savannah and Bertrand bye bye. I am the legal guardian for Bartie. Drake and Riley divorced, if not, bye bye. Then Liam goes bye bye and Bartie takes the crown. Of course, he’s not eighteen yet, the crown belongs to me and Barthelemy. Then one day, Barthelemy dies suddenly! He’s old so everyone would believe it. I am the only guardian now. I have the crown. Bartie never turns eighteen, bye bye. I am the only monarch, I am the Queen and the King. I have the power!”

“How… would you kill that many people without being caught?” Liam asked, risking a look at Barthelemy. He looked like he was about to get a heart attack.

“I would send them all to Karlington. Just like I did with Bertrand and Savannah. And then one day, Karlington would catch on fire! And everything, with everyone inside, would burn. No one would even find anything.”

“You’d kill your own father?”

“He’s useless as you can see. Killed Liam’s mother but wasn’t able stop your father from getting another wife. Lame,” Madeleine shrugged and Dani had to squeeze Liam’s hand before he’s pass out.

“But why?” Riley asked.

“Why? WHY?! WHY?? Because I DESERVE it. I DESERVE to be a Queen! I deserve to be admired and obeyed! I DESERVE to be powerful! I was born to be a Queen, not just someone’s sidekick. I was born to rule people. I am the power. I have the power! I don’t care about anyone, I don’t care how many I’d have to eliminate, I DESERVE to be a Queen. And a King. And I can’t believe this bitch ruined everything.” Madeleine nodded towards Dani. “Pathetic. You’re nobody. A nobody got pregnant and ruined my plan. And I’m going to ruin yours.”

And before anyone could react, Madeline took out a gun from her dress and pointed at Dani.

“Madeline!” Liam yelled.

“If anyone moves, and I mean anyone, even the guards, I’ll shoot her. I have nothing to lose but you have everything to lose. Let’s see how valuable she is to you. Send your guards away to that room. Now.”

“Madeleine!” Liam started but seeing she wasn’t joking, he obeyed. The guards slowly stepped back from the throne room and went into the small maintenance room. Still pointing her gun at Dani, Madeleine closed the door, locking the guards.

“Now, I still have a chance to be a Queen. If none of you survives, there will be no evidence against me. The palace could burn too, right?”

“She’s crazy,” Riley whispered and Drake nodded slightly.

“Madeleine the Queen of Cordonia… And one day… the Queen of Europe. Or the whole world!”

“Stop it!” Barthelemy threw himself at Madeleine, completely throwing her off-balance. She managed to shoot one, not even seeing where exactly, before she was knocked down by her old husband. Drake and Liam followed suit, making it impossible for Madeleine to get up and Riley ran to open the door and let the guards out.

They quickly seized her and led her out the room, straight into jail, where Godfrey was sent a few hours later, accused of killing Queen Eleanor. Since the throne room had many cameras, it was easy to prove that Madeleine was guilty.

Barthelemy admitted that he had no idea about Madeleine’s plan; he only knew about her wanting to be Bartie’s guardian. However, he did admit he knew about Godfrey and Liam had him arrested too.

Savannah and Bertrand were reunited with their son and Drake never felt happier having his whole family back.

But the happiest part for him was the fact that Bartie was no longer the royal heir. Everyone sighed with relief when Liam announced Bartie wasn’t the heir anymore.

~~~~

“This is so crazy,” Riley commented when she and Drake was going back home from Dani and Liam’s rehearsal dinner. Their wedding was just in a few days and Riley still couldn’t believe her sister was going to be an actual Queen.

“I know, right? Everything feels so… unexpected. Madeleine’s plan, Dani and Liam… you and I…”

Drake kissed her gently and smiled at her. “Sometimes love can be unexpected.”

“Love, huh?” Riley smirked. “You love me!”

“I didn’t say that,” Drake chuckled. They said those three little words a while ago but Riley still made a big deal out of it.

“You loooove me! Looooove me!”

“I’m going away!”

“You loooove! La-la-la loooove me!”

“If you don’t stop, I’m getting a divorce,” Drake threatened, still laughing.

“You wouldn’t. Because you loooooooooooooooove me!”

And he did.

THE END.

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