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kbstories · 4 years

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impression//expression

"It’s not like Kirishima had come all this way to U.A. to immediately break the promise he made to himself upon arrival.

It’s just that Bakugou is as feral as they come, and the moment Kirishima recognizes it’s fear he felt crawling up his spine that day, he makes it his personal mission to face it head-on until it’s gone."

(Or: Being friends with Bakugou Katsuki is anything but a linear experience. Kirishima Eijirou would have it no other way.)

Tags: Kirishima POV, Developing Friendships, Post-Kamino Arc, Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Kiri Has A Dog Because I Said So

Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Content warning for anxiety attacks and discussions thereof. Chapter 6. Chapter 7. Chapter 8. Chapter 9.

***

Kirishima comes to sunlight shining on his face and an armful of Bakugou.

It’s not a sudden jolt of consciousness that alerts him of this. His brain comes online one synapse at a time with how all-around cozy he is, bundled up in comfortably warm covers with Bakugou’s head nestled in the crook of his neck, his arm wrapped loosely around Kirishima’s waist. In actuality, Kirishima slept so well it’s legitimately hard to get himself to wake up beyond lazily squinting an eye against that bright glare.

Which is why his first move is to pull the blanket up higher and snuggle closer to his Bakugou-shaped pillow. Bakugou, for his part, breathes something between a mumble and a sigh and slumbers on.

Out like a light. He’s onto something there, Kirishima muses. For a while, he lets himself drift to the calm two-step beat of Bakugou’s heart keeping time against his chest, the gentle tickle of Bakugou’s hair under his chin. Blissful oblivion nips at the edges of his mind; his body can’t quite get there, though, that pesky bit of awareness clinging to existence despite his best efforts.

Urgh, fine.

Kirishima blinks with a little more purpose behind it. His vision is blurred from overall drowsiness and the murky half-dark the blanket provides. Bakugou is easy to make out regardless, face slack and close enough Kirishima can see the minute shift of blonde lashes as he snoozes. It’s the residue redness around his eyes that nudges Kirishima’s brain to wonder and think and remember–

Blue fire. Unread texts. The hospital, Kamino Ward, All Might. Bakugou.

All at once, the sight of Bakugou passed out in his arms is anything but a peaceful one. It’s intimate in a way Kirishima suddenly feels uncomfortable with, not because he doesn’t like it – in his educated opinion, any day starting with cuddling is good by default – but because Bakugou is the least touch-y person he knows and this is crossing so many lines. All the lines.

Lines drawn by unspoken rules and implicit understandings Kirishima learned by sheer trial and error. All those other times Bakugou let his guard down around him seem like peanuts compared to this.

But… Bakugou is resting. Catching up on untold amounts of missed sleep, looking far more relaxed than Kirishima could’ve hoped for. Perhaps it would’ve been better to ensure he makes it to his own bed instead of sharing the pull-out couch; perhaps Kirishima shouldn’t have pushed when things are so fresh. Kirishima’s hands ache to move from between Bakugou’s shoulders yet letting him go feels wrong, too.

It was far too easy, last time. To sit there and bicker in class while Bakugou faded from view, mere miles away.

The dread roiling within him is familiar, as are the maybes and what-ifs that accompany it. It returns like an old friend, the thought of losing him to people who mistake his violence for villainy, who disregard the good shining at Bakugou’s very core in favor of the hurt his hands can cause. The brightest star in the sky, burning, desperate to be seen, to be acknowledged.

It makes Kirishima restless, this feeling – like the air is growing thin and the ground is about to collapse beneath their feet, and it’s up to Kirishima to get them out of there. His blood thrums with the need to fight tooth and nail to keep whatever is causing it away, to shield Bakugou until the shaking stops and the debris settles.

Kirishima has failed Bakugou once already. Not again, never again–

“Think any harder an’ your brain’s gonna melt.”

Kirishima’s heart nearly stops, then jumps into overdrive. A hesitant glance proves that, yup, that’s Bakugou stirring, right there. Bleary-eyed and still far too soft around the edges but awake. Kirishima isn’t ready for this.

He’s also dead. Super dead. Buried-so-deep-nobody-will-ever-find-his-body dead.

He swallows, any sort of greeting escaping his mind except a quiet, “Oh.”

Bakugou yawns and rubs at his eye, a gesture made clumsy with sleepiness. “Mm?” He props himself up, a hand laid flat on Kirishima’s chest. “Calm down, will ya? Your heart’s goin’ like crazy.”

There are no words to describe how impossible that is right now. “Um”, Kirishima says intelligently, and: “Sorry.” A little sheepish, since he can’t exactly help what his heart does (or his brain, for that matter).

He is on the verge of panicking, Kirishima notes dimly. That realization alone does little to chase away the half-formulated doubts threatening to choke him, that inkling of fear that’s on the brink of spiraling out of control. A moment later, he has to consciously unclench his hardened hands from the back of Bakugou’s shirt, which–

Ah. That’s what woke him up.

“Shit. S-sorry, I–”

There’s a frown on Bakugou’s face as he sits up. “Nothing’s goin’ on”, he tells him, calm where Kirishima can’t be. “’s just my room.” Just as deliberate, the covers are pushed aside to allow cool air to flow into their private niche of the world. Everything’s so bright, so–

“Kiri? Hey. Give me your hands.”

It takes considerable effort to focus on Bakugou’s voice. “Whuh?”

“Your hands. Like this.”

Bakugou holds out his own, palm-up. Kirishima does the same, staring blankly at his trembling, rock-hewn fingers. When Bakugou holds his palm, it’s with a touch Kirishima can barely feel. “Focus on this”, a low murmur followed by pressure to the meat of Kirishima’s thumb, faint despite the bones in Bakugou’s wrist showing from the effort. Bakugou slides it upwards and to the webbing connecting to his index, marginally more giving.

“You’re okay. Just breathe. Focus, right here.”

The touch shifts again, down to his wrist. Kirishima lets him do whatever, watching with a detached sort of fascination as his quirk relents. Bakugou’s thumb brushes over the spot where Kirishima’s veins are becoming visible again, the skin there thin and delicate. He digs in, an inch or two from his hand.

It’s a little rougher than before. Not unpleasant, just unexpected, and Kirishima’s fingers twitch. Bakugou’s lips press together. He does it again, notably gentler. “You with me?”

Kirishima hums. The question registers a moment later and he nods for good measure. “Yeah, I– It helps. This.”

“Mh.” Bakugou gestures for his other arm; he starts from his wrist and goes up to his hand this time, eyes on what he’s doing. “Pressure points are useful shit. You got one here”, a pinch to that spot between thumb and index, “and here”, a tap to his wrist. “Works best if it’s someone else doing it but you can, too.”

That sounds vaguely familiar. Perhaps something that came up the last time he googled it? Panic attacks used to be much more of an thing for Kirishima – before he hair-dyed and bench-pressed Red Riot into something more real, more than a distant daydream. More than a scared kid with shitty self-esteem.

(Life’s been manageable, since. Chaotic and distressing in a host of other ways as it swings back and forth between joy and disaster like fate’s cruelest pendulum and actually, it might be a bit of a miracle it took this long for his anxiety to make a comeback.)

Memorizing any new info is beyond Kirishima right now; he strong-arms his braincells to hold onto the term ‘pressure point’, at least. And if Bakugou is sharing, Kirishima figures it’s only fair to share back.

“The one I know is like, deep breathing? And, um. Talking through it. Counting things you can sense. What you see, hear, smell, and so on. It’s just…”

“Hard to do that by yourself, yeah.”

By this point, Bakugou is just brushing his thumb along the lines on Kirishima’s palm and that feels really nice, too. The image of his hands clawing up worn fabric is hard to shake off, though, making Kirishima’s stomach churn with guilt.

“Sorry, man. For waking you up, I mean. And freaking out on you. I didn’t hurt you, right? You’d tell me if I hurt you.”

It’s meant to come out with confidence, because Kirishima trusts Bakugou. It’s trusting himself that's the problem, sometimes.

A groan, long-suffering. “How many times…” Bakugou gives him a look caught between annoyance and fondness. “Kiri. First off, after yesterday, I have no fucking room to complain when it comes to– That. It happens, it sucks, it’s fine. It’s not your fault or whatever. Secondly–”

Kirishima almost chuckles at how pointed that one word is. He shelves the comment on his tongue for after the Bakugou Lecture he’s being treated to.

“I fell asleep on you. Which, my bad but also fuck you, I was tired and some fucking sap wanted to talk feelings at screw-this-AM. There’re no… scratches or anything, and you make an okay pillow for being a literal rock. So, we’re even.”

Kirishima does laugh at that. “I’m not a rock! Get your facts straight, bro.”

“And thirdly”, Bakugou continues with a smirk, “I just turned your hands into bombs, you dumb fucking rock. Either you let me spark it off you or I’m kicking you out to wash it off before that shit goes boom.”

“Spark off?” Head tilting, Kirishima looks at his hands. He doesn’t see anything but if Bakugou says there’s nitro, there’s definitely nitro. “Wait, is that what you do when you…?”

The gesture Bakugou does to let rapid-fire explosions flicker in his palms is easily copied, Kirishima has seen him do it countless times. The other rolls his eyes.

“Yeah. I got tired of getting it all over the place and wearing gloves twenty-four-seven is uncomfortable as fuck, I tried. Plus, burning shit is fun.”

Huh. Kirishima holds out his hands once more, a swift grin on his lips. “Sounds cool. One sparking off, please!”

Bakugou slaps them away immediately. “Use your quirk, dipshit. Or d’you actually wanna get ‘em blown to pieces?”

“Oh. Right.”

Everything under Kirishima’s elbow hardens in an instant. This time, Bakugou huffs under his breath and takes them between his palms. “Here goes.”

A flash, the familiar crackle of firecracker explosions – Kirishima braced himself for it to hurt a little despite Bakugou’s insane control over his quirk, and he does feel it. It tickles, mostly, the sensation of tiny bursts of heat rolling from his fingertips to his wrist a strangely soothing one.

Bakugou looks over his hands when he’s done, the tightness between his brows easing. Then he glances up to Kirishima’s face and sees the smile that’s broad enough to make his cheeks ache. The frown comes back tenfold.

“No.”

“Dude, yes. Do that again.”

“Nope. Fuck you, Shitty Hair, no.”

“You said it’s fun two seconds ago! Checkmate, I win.”

“Kirishima.”

Kirishima snickers until Bakugou’s palm presses against his cheek. It’s basically second nature to harden in time for the explosion to go by harmlessly and oh, this is so going to become a thing.

“It’s a thing now”, he informs Bakugou. “Can it be like our handshake? We totally need a handshake. What kind of besties are we withou–” A gasp. “Oh, oh, we can do the thing after training, too! I won’t even need to wash my hands. It’s fun and useful.”

Bakugou’s face twists. “What the hell? That’s fucking disgusting.” In one fluid movement, he’s out of their blanket nest and stomping off the couch. It would be intimidating… if not for his wrinkled shirt and sleep-mussed hair making it kind of adorable, instead.

“I’m done talking to you.”

“Aww, bro!”

Kirishima crawls half-way over the armrest only to catch a throw pillow – hah! – to the face. Another thud follows, turning out to be Kirishima’s phone tossed from across the room.

“Even mooched off my charger, ugh. You got a million missed messages. Take care of ‘em before your moms call the cops, bro.”

Bakugou's tone is practically drenched in sarcasm but Kirishima doesn’t care, he beams. Bakugou called him his bro and there’re simply no take-backs allowed on a declaration like that.

💪🏻 Kirishima Power 💪🏻

Mama K: Honey, are you awake yet? (received 10:10)

Mama K: Your mom and I are ready to come pick you up whenever. (received 11:20)

Mom: also let us know when we can start hunting your teachers for sport (received 11:22)

Mama K: No murder until our son is back, dear. (received 11:22)

Mom: mhmm sure (received 11:23)

aaaa morning!! (sent 11:38)

oh shit it’s almost noon hhhh (sent 11:38)

Mom: language kiddo (received 11:38)

oh crap** sry (sent 11:38)

Mama K: Welcome back! ❤️ (received 11:39)

hey mama ❤️ (sent 11:39)

ok so picking up is good!! we’re eating breakfast rn (sent 11:42)

well more like lunch 🙈 (sent 11:42)

Mama K: Okay! Now or later? (received 11:43)

ah, mitsuki is saying you two should swing by for tea so maybe in an hour? (sent 11:47)

and that the teachers are actually coming here?? later?? idk why tho (sent 11:48)

aside from, y’know (sent 11:48)

Mama K: Yeah 🙁 (received 11:50)

Mom: how’s katsuki holding up? (received 11:50)

umm ok. kinda. he looks tired as heck tbh and i’m not sure how happy he is about the teacher thing (sent 11:55)

it’s all a bit oof (sent 11:56)

Mom: hmm. anything we can do to help? (received 12:01)

def give him his space (sent 12:03)

and maybe don’t kill aizawa @Mom looking at u haha (sent 12:03)

Mom: bummer (received 12:06)

actually… one more thing? 👀 (sent 12:10)

Mama K: You want us to bring the big guns, huh? (received 12:12)

After the hellos and introductions and obligatory fussing over Kirishima – Mama gives him her usual forehead kiss, expertly avoiding his freshly-spiked hair, while Mom wraps him in her patented rib-pulverizing hug – the parents go inside, leaving Bakugou and Kirishima in the yard with…

“Riot.”

Kirishima grins and nods. He heaves the hundred pounds of tail-wagging excitement into a more comfortable position against his chest, big paws coming to rest on his shoulders. “Yeah! Isn’t he the cutest?”

“Your dog is called Riot.”

“Yup!”

Bakugou openly stares at Riot’s drooling smile. After a painfully long pause, he goes: “Okay.”

If all it took to make Bakugou speechless was an Akita with an unexpected (?) name, Kirishima would’ve introduced him to Riot ages ago. As it is, it’s taking all his willpower not to crack up at Bakugou’s expression. It’s like watching one of those ancient Windows computers suffer a system crash so severe even the task manager stops functioning.

Arms full of dog, Kirishima nudges him with his elbow. Reboot initialized. “But?”

Bakugou shakes himself a little. He gestures to Riot, or perhaps to Kirishima, or both? It’s hard to tell. “But… just, like… Why?”

Priceless. Kirishima silently vows to cherish this rarest of blessings in his memories for eternity. It won’t do to rescue Bakugou only to give him an aneurism the very next day. Setting Riot down, Kirishima pats orange-white hair off his borrowed clothes. The Akita immediately trots over to Bakugou to say hi.

“I got Riot when I was really small, like six-ish? Seven? Something like that.”

Bakugou crouches and holds out his hand for a curious black nose to sniff. Kirishima sits down next to them, watching Riot take a deep whiff and promptly sneeze. Bakugou mutters something about explosives and dumb dog, be careful. Despite the forced casualness on Bakugou’s part, it’s clear he’s not used to being around dogs.

Still, he’s trying. Kirishima’s grin tempers to a soft, close-lipped smile at the sight.

“Back then, I only had a vague idea of who I’d wanna be. As a hero, y’know?” He reaches over to scratch Riot’s favorite spot at the base of his curled tail. It starts wagging immediately. “I was tossing around a few names and somehow Riot stuck. So, I tried it out on him and by the time I realized ‘Yup, that’s the one!’, he didn’t wanna listen to anything else.”

Riot pants at him, mouth wide. Kirishima boops his wet nose. “Yeah, I’m talkin’ about you. Stubborn dog.”

“You’re telling me your hero name got stolen”, Bakugou summarizes drily. “By a dog. When you were six.”

Figures that’s what Bakugou would get out of this. Kirishima snorts and shrugs.

“I guess? Riot – the hero, not the dog – existed way before the whole ‘Red’ stuff came along, ‘cause like… Crimson was out there, I knew he existed, but his philosophy was a bit beyond me. He wasn’t my hero yet, you feel me?”

Bakugou hums. “You weren’t a hero nerd yet. Just a space nerd.”

That startles a laugh out of Kirishima. He knocks his shoulder against Bakugou’s. “Exactly! See, you get me.”

“Shut up, nerd”, comes the predictable reply with a rougher knock back.

Eventually, Bakugou joins him in the grass, his knees propped up and elbows resting on them. Riot makes himself comfortable as well, sprawling on his side with his head resting on Bakugou’s thigh. The full might of pleading canine eyes look upwards. Bakugou squints. “The fuck.”

“He wants scritches”, Kirishima translates readily.

A beat, then Bakugou carefully rubs the knuckles of his index and middle finger in-between the white spots on Riot’s face. Riot huffs a content sigh and melts into the gentle touch.

“Hm. He’s soft.”

“Right? As a puppy, he was the softest and tiniest thing you can imagine. Wait, I might have pics on my phone. Gimme a sec.”

A bit of searching, and Kirishima taps on an old photo of him as a kid, pointy teeth flashed in an impossibly big smile as he hugs a chubby ball of brown fluff close to his face. Mama had dug it up from some dusty family album in a bout of nostalgia after Kirishima broke the news he’d been accepted to U.A.

“Behold: Baby Riot.”

Kirishima shows it to Bakugou. Only after Bakugou’s brows rise does he remember he’s probably never seen him with his natural hair color. Whoops.

Studying the photo for a moment, Bakugou continues to pet the adult version of Riot absent-mindedly. “He looks like a potato.”

“Wha–” Kirishima checks the photo to make sure it’s the same one. “Bakugou. It’s a puppy. It’s like, scientifically proven puppies are the one and only road to world peace. Hello? Nobody hates on a puppy, especially this one.”

Whatever face he’s making has Bakugou smirking, eyes sharp under a brow raised in challenge. “It’s got a weird shape and is brown. Potato.”

Kirishima whines. “Why are you like this? Riot, don’t listen to him, man. You’re the best.”

Riot has fallen asleep, oblivious to the outrageous claims being made in his presence. It’s better that way – the good, old boy deserves better than this slander.

Bakugou is looking down to the snoring dog, too, and something about it must soften even a prickly hedgehog heart like his because he sighs and grumbles: “He’s kinda cool. Maybe.”

Gotcha.

Kirishima pumps his fist in sweet, sweet victory. Nobody, not even the eternally grumpy, can resist the Kirishimas’ secret weapon.

On the way back home, Kirishima messes around with his camera until he’s managed a half-decent selfie of himself and Riot sharing the backseat of his parents’ car. A brief moment is spent hovering over his chat with Bakugou.

It’s the first time he’s opened it since– Since.

Baku 💣💥

[riot(s).jpg] (sent 16:58)

thanks for hosting me man 🐶 (sent 16:58)

dorm life, here we come!! (sent 16:59)

The tension in Kirishima’s chest is knocked loose as the ticks turn blue without delay, closing the gap to the ones from the lodge like it never existed. It unwinds entirely when, a handful of minutes later, Bakugou replies.

Baku 💣💥

idiot (received 17:05)

see you soon (received 17:05)

>>Chapter 6

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #mha #bnha #bakugou katsuki #kirishima eijirou #kiribaku #bnha fanfiction #i wanted some fluff so i gave kiri a dog #this fic is also on AO3!!#reblogs appreciated c:#my stuff

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the-zodiacs-written-in-the-stars · 5 years

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Chapter 17: Short Interludes

Tanya was very busy readjusting her Zodiac board. All the new information that Joss Parker had provided them with, that actually talking to Team Lionheart had given them, it was very good. She liked more information, liked when she could remove question marks.

“You are so—o adorable when you organize stuff, nerd.”

Tanya glowered and turned to look at her ex, who had gotten comfortable on her bed and was eating Tanya's ice-cream. The mint chocolate chip she had bought for herself as a treat. How dare she.

“Aw. You're pouting”, cooed Babs teasingly, slowly licking the spoon.

“Why are you even here?”, asked Tanya irritated. “Don't you have anywhere else to be? I swear, you have been over more this month than in the entire time since our break-up.”

“Mh... true”, mused Babs, taking another full spoon of Tanya's ice-cream – out of the container, directly eating out of the container, why was she like this?! “But then again, our break-up was a year ago now. Guess... I'm over it? I missed you, you know.”

“Missed me?”, echoed Tanya confused.

“Yeah”, replied Babs and tilted her head. “We may not have worked out as a couple, but we were still good together in a way. We were friends too. For eighteen months, you were one of the closest people in my life, for half a year, I lived here, called this place home. We broke up because we clash on things like me eating out of containers and not out of the... specific ice-cream bowls you bought, because I just like to eat and you have... you have special dishes for whatever you eat. I'm chaos, you're discipline. We clashed. When we spent all our time together, living together, sharing a bed. But... I want you back in my life, like... for good. As my friend.”

“Oh”, whispered Tanya and nodded awkwardly.

It was true, they had clashed on Babs' absolute chaos – she just threw her used clothes into a corner if they were 'still good' and she didn't even fold her laundry because she was going to wear it anyway and she ate out of containers and didn't put the remote control back to the particular cloth on the table specifically for it. ...And perhaps, Tanya was just a little too peculiar about those things. She knew that. But order made her comfortable, order eased her mind. Everything had its place.

“Come on, you can't be that surprised”, nudged Babs with a frown.

“I don't really... have friends”, replied Tanya. “I have Mattie and my work and even Mattie, I met through my work since he's my boss. I... have relationships that... end and that's the only distraction I have. I don't... I'm not really good at making friends.”

“Because you don't see the people around you”, smiled Babs gently. “Remember when we went to the Pink Lady together, with Jessie, Lizzy, Angel and Melanie? You had fun, right? They had fun too. You got along. I'm not forcing you to befriend them, I'm just saying there's people you met and got along with and if you'd like to, all you had to do is make an effort.”

“The effort is the problem”, sighed Tanya and sat down next to Babs. “It's not that easy...”

“Baby steps, babe”, shrugged Babs and nudged her with her shoulder. “Try me first. I'm persistent. I'll stick around even when the making an effort thing is too hard all the time.”

“You're... something else, Varya”, whispered Tanya gently, smiling at Babs.

~*~

“You look deep in thought. Are the papers this hard?”

Melanie shook her head and looked up at her best friend. Sebastian had one eyebrow raised at her as he stood in her doorway. Frowning, Melanie leaned back in her chair and put the paper down. She had been reading Debra Jackson's paper for the past... oh. Hour.

“I bring ice chocolate and doughnuts”, offered Sebastian with a soft smile. “And the book you were looking for in the library the other day that was checked out. It was brought back today.”

“Oh! Oh, wonderful!”, exclaimed Melanie excitedly.

“When did you get interested in mythology? Or astrology?”, inquired Sebastian curiously.

It was a book constellations and the myths behind them. After learning what their enemy really was, she had figured those may help in some kind of way. With sparkling eyes did she take the book and put it in her bag. The bag was new. Looking at it made Melanie smile softly.

“Just... a new hobby”, assured Melanie, closing her bag and running her hand over it.

“...What's with the bag fondling?”, asked Sebastian pointedly. “Oh. Oh.”

“What oh? No ohs. There are no ohs here. Don't oh”, grunted Melanie with a frown.

“No, no, Melanie Hermiluna Maguire, you don't get out of this one!”, interrupted Sebastian.

“That's... Stop using my AO3 penname as a middle name”, grunted Melanie embarrassed.

“You don't have a middle name! It's the best I can do to be serious”, huffed Sebastian. “That aside, all the evidence is right there. You've been incredibly busy for the past few months, you keep spacing out, you have a new hobby I'm only hearing about now and a new bag you look at with weird eyes like it's super special. It was a present from your new girlfriend.”

Melanie's eyes widened and her cheeks heated up. “I do not have a girlfriend. I... no.”

“So, what's with the bag then?”, hummed Sebastian pointedly, raising his eyebrows.

“I... I bought it while shopping with Tatiana”, admitted Melanie embarrassed.

“That's who exactly?”, questioned Sebastian with one eyebrow raised. “Pictures. I'm asking for a picture of her. And you. Show me the new girlfriend.”

Sighing, Melanie took her phone out and admittedly, she did not have to search long for a picture of her and Tanya together. They had gone shopping together the other day, after a mission where it had cost Melanie's bag thanks to the Hydra's fire. She had pouted about it until Tanya had suggested they could buy a new one. They had gone shopping together and Melanie had taken cute pictures of them trying on sunglasses and hats. They had bought a hat for Tanya, a pale eggshell one with a turquoise band and some jade-colored stones on it.

“That's... Babsie's ex”, grunted Sebastian stunned. “Do you lesbians really all know each other and hang out in the same circles? I thought she was joking.”

Melanie blinked before laughing. “No, not all lesbians know each other, there is no secret underground organization. But since Babara and I do... hang out in the same circles – the pub, the Pink Lady, the the same kind of people thanks to you and Angel, we're bound to meet the same people. But Tatiana isn't my girlfriend. We're... friends.”

“Friends, huh?”, echoed Sebastian with an amused, slightly judgmental look.

“Just friends”, confirmed Melanie pointedly, ignoring her own blush.

~*~

If there was one thing Jessie was not used to waking up to it was a nearly naked man next to her. Blinking slowly, she turned around on the couch enough to stretch out and yawn widely.

“Ni—ice. What a view to wake up to”, gasped Jessie and fanned herself.

Rick squeaked high-pitched and jumped two feet into the hair. “Dios mío, Jessica, I forgot you're there. Don't... do that to me. It's too early to be surprised by you.”

Rick was only wearing rather snug black undies and nothing else, his hair messy and a glare on his face as he looked at her. She grinned impishly and winked at her.

“I don't mind the show”, smirked Jessie.

“You're literally asexual stop leering at me just to make me uncomfortable”, grumbled Rick. “I feel so vulnerable and naked right now. You're an awful person.”

He grabbed the blanket from the other couch and cocooned himself in, glowering at her while she cackled. Making fun of Rick was never going to get old. She sat up and stretched again, arms above her head. Rick was followed by a nearly naked Lizzy, who was only wearing her bra and panties in light orange and with pretty star patterns. Jessie whistled at her.

“Ah, gorgeous, blinding, beautiful”, gasped Jessie, pressing a hand onto her chest.

“Thanks, babe”, chimed Lizzy, giving it a twirl once, swaying her hips some.

“How are you this comfortable?”, mumbled Rick, pulling the blanket closer around himself.

“It's Jess. She's seen me naked before”, shrugged Lizzy with a frown. “We squeeze into changing rooms together when we go shopping. We been to the beach together and you know this is not less clothes than my bikini. Sometimes, you are a strange, strange man, Ricky.”

She tilted his chin up and kissed him softly. Jessie grinned at the doe-eyed way Rick looked at her. Wasn't he just adorably in love with her best friend? Of course that meant she had to throw a pillow at them. Rick yelped and grabbed the pillow, letting go of the blanket. He then used the pillow to cover his chest in embarrassment. Jessie snorted amused.

“Come on, if you're being gross in my bedroom, I have to separate you”, huffed Jessie.

“This... This is not your bedroom, it is my living room!”, exclaimed Rick.

He huffed frustrated, threw the pillow back and returned to the bedroom, mumbling about being disrespected in his own house. Lizzy looked at Jessie and started laughing before she sat down.

“You know he doesn't mean it, right?”, asked Lizzy amused.

“Yeah, sure. And you know that I'm incredibly grateful that I can crash on your couch until the apartment and pub are renovated, right?”, asked Jessie carefully.

“Of course”, huffed Lizzy and wrapped an arm around Jessie, pulling her best friend close.

The two sat together in silence until they could hear the water in the bathroom running. Rick was under the shower. Lizzy heaved a sigh and tilted her head back to stare up at the ceiling.

“Dinosaurs, huh”, whispered Lizzy lowly.

“Yeah, I'm not over that one”, snorted Jessie. “There's like an alternate reality somewhere where the dinosaurs survived and evolved and talk and are like out there in space-ships, part of the Zodiac Alliance. It's insane, isn't it? I mean... seriously? That sounds like a shitty 80s cartoon.”

“Oh god yes like Disney's Dinosaurs meets the Jeffersons!”, laughed Lizzy. “That's wild.”

“Urgh, don't remind me of the creepy dinosaur show”, muttered Jessie and shuddered.

“I did not expect that we'd get to battle... colonizers”, grunted Lizzy. “Aliens, who want to colonize our planet. This stuff didn't go well for my ancestors when it was other humans doing the colonizing. I am not here for aliens taking over our planet, girl.”

Jessie hummed and nodded in agreement. “It's insane. Everything about it is insane.”

“I don't know how long I can lie to Ricky about it”, whispered Lizzy softly. “It's killing me to lie to him. I love him. I don't want to lie to him. We got each other's backs about everything.”

“I know, sweetheart”, sighed Jessie, rubbing Lizzy's upper arm. “But at least we got each other? I mean, I... don't think it's safe for Rick to be pulled into it?”

“Why though?”, questioned Lizzy. “I mean, it's not like that's safer for him. That's always that stupid argument in TV shows. 'I have to keep my secret identity a secret from my loved ones so they don't get dragged into it' – but newsflash! They are already dragged into it by being close to you! It'd be way safer for them to just know the truth, know what they have to watch out for.”

“So... why haven't you told him then?”, asked Jessie softly. “Because that sounds like you made your mind up about it already.”

“He's him and I'm me and he'll want to be there for me and help me”, sighed Lizzy. “He'll put himself in danger trying to protect me when all he has are his gun and badge and the aliens have proven to not be impressed by that. I don't... want him in danger...”

Jessie smiled fondly at her, which only made Lizzy roll her eyes. She knew how conflicted it sounded. On the one hand it was stupid, on the other it was the only thing she could think of. Telling him was dangerous, not telling him meant more secrets.

“Why is life so complicated”, sighed Lizzy frustrated. “Why can't I just... find Pisces or Capricorn and just... give one of them to Rick and make him part of the team?”

“He ain't a Pisces or a Capricorn though”, pointed Jessie out.

Lizzy shrugged and wiggled her nose. “Whatever.”

~*~

“Oh my gosh, you went on a date!”

Joss stiffened at the incredibly high frequency of his best friend's voice. It was only barely audible for humans, Joss guessed. More likely fit for dogs. Angel had her hands folded over her mouth, eyebrows drawn up and together, eyes large and shining. She jumped up and down, the pearls around her neck making little sounds as they shook. Joss sighed and shook his head.

“You weren't supposed to know that”, muttered Joss.

“What?”, squeaked Angel with a crestfallen look. “I am your bestest friend in the world. How dare you. You can't keep secrets like those! I can't just hear from Tony about this, who heard from his best friend about it, because Kit was on shift when it happened!”

Taking a deep breath, Joss rolled his eyes at her. “Yes, I had a date. I... agreed to Laureen setting me up on a date with who turned out to be her surgeon best friend Doctor Savitri Korrapati.”

“O—Oh. Sunny”, whispered Angel in awe. “Oh, she's so pretty. Her smi—ile.”

“You're very bad at being heterosexual”, noted Joss casually, returning his attention to his computer.

“I'm French”, shrugged Angel with a pout. “And you. Tell me. How did the date go?”

“It... was... good”, nodded Joss.

“Wow. So much detail. I feel like I was right there with you”, huffed Angel. “Oh-”

“No”, grunted Joss immediately. “We are not having double-dates.”

Angel immediately deflated. “How did you know...”

“Because I know you”, chuckled Joss with a slightly fond smile. “And Savitri and I went out once, I can't expose her to... all of this...”

He motioned at Angel, who made an offended noise. “You just pointed at all of me.”

“And I love all of you, you know that. But there is a lot of you... considering you're tiny short”, commented Joss. “I don't want to overwhelm her, we're still getting to know each other.”

“Okay, okay”, sighed Angel. “But there will be double-dates once you know her.”

“Not getting out of that anyway, I know”, chuckled Joss.

“What are we gossiping about, people?”

Angel and Joss looked up to see Sonia Gold saunter into Joss' office. She threw her hair over her shoulder and perched herself on Joss' desk. Why did no one respect boundaries in this place? Probably because Joss made the mistake of becoming friends with all those people.

“Big boss. Hello”, greeted Angel with a smile. “Your hair looks lovely today.”

“It does. Thank you for the recommendation. The conditioner really does bring out the gold”, noted Sonia and ran her fingers through her golden hair. “And the scent is very pleasant.”

“You're welcome”, grinned Angel. “Works wonders.”

“Now, what were we talking about?”, asked Sonia interested.

“Oh, Joss was on a date”, informed Angel with a grin.

“Oh. How nice. I started to think you lived in this office”, chuckled Sonia. “You sometimes stay longer than me. And it's my firm. Tell me about this mystery person.”

“Doctor Savitri Korrapati”, supplied Angel with an eyebrow wiggle. “She is very pretty and very talented, which means she's also very brilliant, because surgeon, you know?”

“Now that's what I call a catch”, hummed Sonia. “And did you leave a good first impression or did you just talk about work? I know you, Joss. You're a workaholic if I ever met one.”

Joss huffed offended at that, even though he knew she was right. He barely ever took time off from work, he only really had his jogging and kickboxing classes and rarely took the time to socialize with anyone but Angel. Lizzy, Noxia and Alina had to really push to make him go out with them.

“I think I did good. We hit it off, please stop torturing me about this”, sighed Joss.

This was why he hadn't told anyone yet, because that brought expectations along. People knowing about dates wanted it to go well and wanted for them to make it work and if it didn't work out, Joss would not just disappoint himself but also the people who knew about the dates. He got up.

“Hey. Hey, where are you going?”, called Angel after him.

“Unlike you people, I have actual work to do. Here. At my workplace”, stated Joss dryly.

“So much sarcasm. I don't know why I put up with it”, sighed Sonia dramatically.

“You will literally find someone to replace me”, called Joss back.

“I mean, he's right, but does he have to say it so bluntly?”, chuckled Sonia.

As soon as he was out of his own office, he walked toward the elevator. Once inside, he started fidgeting with his phone. Savitri's face smiled at him in his contacts and, without even actually intending to, he dialed her number. Mortified, he stared at his phone. Why had he just done this?

“Doctor Korrapati speaking.”

“Gotta rub it in with any caller that you're a doctor, mh?”, asked Joss softly.

“Well, I spent years earning that title, I earned those bragging rights”, declared Savitri. “Hi, Joss. Didn't... expect to hear from you today, to be honest. Calling is so... old-fashioned.”

“Yeah, I... didn't... mean to”, sighed Joss embarrassed.

“Ah. Butt-dial”, guessed Savitri.

“Not really, no. I intentionally dialed, I just didn't mean to. I was just... thinking... about you”, admitted Joss slowly. “My friends just interrogated me about our date.”

“Ah, at least I'm not the only one who has to suffer”, sighed Savitri. “Don't forget, my best friend is the one who set us up. I came home in the evening, turned on the lights and nearly had a heart-attack because Laureen was seriously sitting in the dark in my living room, waiting for me. I should have never given her a key to my apartment! But then, with my shifts, I need someone to take care of June, because she can't be alone all day and Laureen is great with her.”

“June...? You... have a... child?”, asked Joss slowly and horrified.

There was silence for a moment before Savitri started laughing loudly, the sound so beautiful and bright. “June is my dog. A cute little terrier. A Yorkshire terrier. Not a baby. You think after all the oversharing on our first date I would have neglected to mention a child?”

“Oh”, sighed Joss a little relieved. “Okay. Not that I'm against children. I'd like to have a child one day. But not right now. Sorry. Wow. We're just... going to continue like this, huh?”

“Blurting everything out? Yes, it seems so”, confirmed Savitri delighted. “I... really like it. You're very charming, Joss. And yes, I'd like to have a kid too one day. Not right now though.”

“Good. Good”, nodded Joss with a sigh. “And... I like it too. It's different. But nice.”

“Ye—eah. So... while I have you on the phone... second date?”, asked Savitri slowly. “I figured, so we don't move too fast and all and with our schedules, maybe... Saturday, you could visit me at the hospital? We grab lunch at the cafeteria? More time than we had on our first date because I lose the back and forth time and it's still... casual and lunch and I'll be wearing scrubs so I won't kill you with just how good I look in evening wear. We're slowly building up to that. What do you say?”

“That sounds lovely”, agreed Joss. “I have Saturdays off. And no plans yet.”

“That's perfect. I'm looking forward to Saturday then. And now I have to go because there are three residents looking at me like lost, kicked little puppies”, laughed Savitri. “See you, Joss.”

Joss had a soft, small smile on his lips as he put his phone down. The elevator dinged and he got off, nearly running into someone. When he looked up, it was into the charming smile of Sander Hancock. The older man offered an apologetic look as he steadied them both.

“I'm sorry. I was in a rush. Sonia is probably right, I need to slow down. Take a breath every once in a while”, chuckled Sander. “But it's good I caught you. Here.”

Joss frowned confused as Sander handed him a bag. “What's... that?”

“Saw you didn't leave for lunch today, so I got you your favorite from Liddell's”, replied Sander.

Joss' cheeks heated up and his heart fluttered at that. Oh no. No, no, no. This wasn't good. He was growing attached to Savitri and he had hoped that'd mean he would stop being attached to Sander. But Sander with that stupid, perfect smile, bringing him lunch, his favorite at that.

“Thank you”, whispered Joss and swallowed hard. “That's... nice of you.”

~*~

Jamie woke up with two bodies cuddled up to him. That was his new normal. Smiling softly, he leaned down to kiss one head left and one head right, both slowly stirring.

“Morning, kids”, greeted Jamie amused. “Slept well?”

“Uhu”, nodded Andy, hugging his slightly singed Simba toy close.

The attack on their home had been hard. Really hard on them. They had been so afraid and when they got separated from Jamie, when Jamie got the others out first and stayed behind, they had been terrified to lose him, thinking they may lose another parent. Both of them were already orphans. Jamie was their first non-biological family where they felt at home. They had their own rooms up in the attic right now, but every evening, they'd sneak into his bed, because they were afraid.

“How... are you guys liking it here?”, asked Jamie softly.

“It's a villa with a pool in the basement and a sitting room – I don't even know what that is, it's just a room with couches to... sit in. And a winter garden”, pointed Ally out. “This house is insane.”

“They have a cat”, tagged Andy on. “I like cats. Ace is awesome.”

Jamie chuckled softly. “I know. I just... I mean living here, in a strange house with strangers.”

“They're not strangers. Matt and Mike are regulars at the pub”, argued Andy.

“Yeah. We see them all the time. Talk to them sometimes”, shrugged Ally. “And like I said, the house is awesome. I totally do not mind living here. They have their own library.”

“Ye—eah... this house is pretty crazy”, admitted Jamie, nodding slowly. “Wanna sleep a little longer or get up with me now? Because I am starving and ready for a little training.”

“Breakfast sounds good. Training not so much”, mused Ally.

“Can we go watch cartoons in the living room?”, asked Andy hopefully.

“Sure”, nodded Jamie and watched them run off together.

Normally, Ally liked to act tough. She was fourteen, practically an adult, she liked to say. Apparently, she was not too old to sneak into his bed because she had nightmares and right now, she was also not too old for Andy's 'childish' cartoons. Something like this made them retreat. Made them feel more vulnerable. All of them, really. Jamie sighed and got out of bed. There was a private bathroom connected to the bedroom. The guest bedroom, where both Tanya and Melanie had stored clothes – which they had taken back to their own places for now when they had come to help build the children's bedrooms. Something Jamie still couldn't believe.

He paused in front of the mirror, staring at himself and gripping the sink tightly. He had a crush on Mike and Matt and now he was living in their house, together with his kids. Mike was Cancer. Matt was Sagittarius. Jamie's head was swimming. He tried to take a deep breath.

They hadn't just taken him in. They had taken his kids in. And they had made space for them. They had organized others to help remodel the empty attic, pull up some walls and put together two bedrooms for Ally and Andy. Bigger than the rooms they had at the pub. Most of their stuff had gone untouched, because the attack had come from the kitchen and living room side of the apartment, not the bedrooms. Jessie's room, sharing a wall with the kitchen, had taken the biggest hit. But the most important thing was that none of them had gotten hurt. The thought of his sister, his children or his best friend getting hurt by this... He took another deep breath.

He loved Ally and Andy. He loved them like they were his own. But right now, it was not good for him that they snuck into his bed every night, because he laid awake, so he wouldn't have a nightmare, so he wouldn't have a flashback, so he wouldn't scare them. Because he was terrified and the fire, the attack, the danger of losing those he loved, it... it reminded him of his mother's death. His breathing quickened as tears prickled in his eyes.

He couldn't have a flashback while his kids were there. They shouldn't see him like this. He just hoped they'd go back to sleeping in their own beds again soon so he didn't have to schedule his crying to bathroom time. He hiccuped a little as he laughed at that. Damn it.

“Are you alright, Jamie?”, asked Leo softly, brushing against his leg.

The marble around Jamie's neck was still glowing warm as Leo had just summoned himself. The little lion cub looked concerned. Trying to regulate his breathing, Jamie nodded.

“Yeah. I'm fine. Totally fine”, nodded Jamie and scooped the lion up.

“You don't look fine”, noted Leo, licking Jamie's cheek. “You can tell me.”

Jamie shook his head stiffly. He had never been good at admitting weakness. Babs was the only one who'd ever wormed her way under his shell and cracked it open. Admitting weakness was... He had been raised not to. It sat too deeply ingrained in him.

“You should return to your gem. The kids can't see you”, whispered Jamie.

Leo side-eyed him, but then obeyed. Jamie returned to the bedroom and got changed into dark-blue skinny jeans and his favorite wine-red hoodie. In front of the door, he took another deep breath before he left his room and walked downstairs. This place really was unreal. First floor with three bedrooms and three baths (two of them private and only reached through the respective bedroom), a library and an office. And down here? Ally was right, Jamie had never heard of a sitting room before either. Then the living room, the dining room, the kitchen, a storage room, a damn entry hall – who needed an entry hall for shoes and jackets, Jamie just dumped that stuff next to the door – and another bathroom and a winter garden connected to the backyard. Absolutely insane.

“You know, I knew you were rich. Like. You are literally repeatedly on fancy magazines, wearing a suit and looking fancy, and you give hundred dollar bill tips, but... all of this? Is insane.”

Both Mike and Matt immediately bolted apart and turned to look at him. Mike was blushing, which wasn't a surprise – Mike was a blusher. Matt cleared his throat. After a moment, he leaned in to kiss Mike's cheek and whisper into his ear. Mike nodded and returned his attention to the stove.

“Mike's making breakfast. The kids are already awake – they came hollering down the stairs”, chuckled Matt as he approached Jamie. “...Come with me so we can talk for a moment?”

“Uhm... sure”, nodded Jamie slowly before following Matt out of the kitchen.

Matt led the way to the winter garden, which was so breathtaking. The flowers were incredible and they grew so wild all around the place, it was like a private little jungle. Jamie smiled as he spotted red roses, gently cupping one to smell it. It smelt intense, beautiful.

“What do you want to talk about?”, asked Jamie curiously.

“The way... things were. Between you and me. Between Leo and Sagittarius”, clarified Matt. “I just... wanted to say that I'm sorry. My competitiveness only made it... worse.”

“Oh”, whispered Jamie with an awkward nod. “No. It... I... It's my trust-issues. I just... don't... I can't. And if I hadn't been as thick-headed, I... we could have worked together... We...”

“I've never seen you like that”, admitted Matt softly. “I never saw you like that. I think that's a part of why I didn't... really put one and one together. You've never been... angry and cold. You're so incredibly warm and kind... I don't want to pry, but I... Why?”

He was reluctant to ask this, he knew it was asking too much. They barely knew each other. Yes, him and Mike had this obsession with Jamie, but if Matt was really, very honest, they knew little about him. They had invited Jamie to stay, but that was not out of ulterior motives, it was because Jamie had two kids and no place to go and they would have invited Babs and Jessie just as easily, if they hadn't had places to crash first. And yes, maybe Matt and Mike hoped that this could be a chance to get to know Jamie, the real Jamie, not just the cute cook they crushed on.

“Why I have trust-issues?”, asked Jamie with a huffed-out laugh. “That's a load to unpack.”

“And we're here to listen, if you want to talk”, offered Matt gently.

“I don't talk about this kind of stuff”, stated Jamie, voice dropping.

There was just that hint, that hint of Leo. Of cold and distant. It startled Matt. He wanted to know what that was, what had happened to make him this way, to harden someone so soft and warm.

“That's not healthy”, offered Matt half-jokingly.

“I'm doing perfectly fine with that”, grunted Jamie. “If you'll excuse me now. I wanted to get some training done before breakfast. See you... later.”

Sighing, Matt nodded and let Jamie go. This was going to be some work. But... he wanted to put that work in. He wanted to get to know Jamie, to be there for him, to help him. With another sigh, Matt returned to the kitchen where Mike was playing chef. It was adorable, he was pulling out all stops here. After all, they were harboring a trained chef and Mike wanted to impress him. Normally, Mike and Matt just had a small breakfast together, mostly just getting something on the way.

“Did he say anything?”, asked Mike hopefully.

“No”, sighed Matt. “He shut me down. And... I get it. I mean, we don't really know each other. We're practically strangers to him. Sure, we are regulars at his pub and we end up talking most the time we're over, but we've never... met outside the pub, like going somewhere together, sharing personal details. I feel like I've learned more about him in this past week of him living here than in the past year of going to the pub, you know?”

Mike hummed in agreement, nodding slowly. He knew what his fiance was talking about. Jamie had been like – perfect. Just, perfect. There, in the pub, with the perfect smiles and always kind and polite. Now? Seeing him cranky in the morning, all soft with his hair open in the evenings, hearing him read bedtime stories to Andy upstairs, seeing just how peculiarly he folded himself on an armchair to read a book, just... every little detail. Little details were good. Little details were what Mike had fallen in love with with Matt. Little details broke Jamie out of that perfect mold he had been in and it made him more human and real and even cuter. But it also, and that was what broke the perfect mold, it showed them that not everything was rosy and sunshine. They had heard him cry out in his sleep, seen the raw anger and anguish on his face while he beat a boxing bag down in the basement. There was a lot of baggage there that they had been unaware of.

“Think we'll be able to soften him up?”, whispered Mike softly.

“Definitely grinned Matt, pecking his fiance's cheek again and stealing a strip of bacon. “I'll set the table and... get the kids. Huh. That is definitely a sentence I did not expect to say before the wedding. They gotta wash up and get changed before breakfast.”

Mike smiled as he watched his now a little flustered fiance walk off. Yeah. Kids. Weird. Another thing that made Jamie feel more real now, because while superficially aware that Ally and Andy were his kids, it was definitely a whole different ball-game living with Jamie and the kids, seeing him pack them lunches for school, help with homework, cook dinner for them (for them all, which was really nice), read bedtime stories and play video games with (though Mike had started join them with that one). It was... an actual family. Not just seeing Jamie with two kids sitting at a table at the pub, this drove home that if they were serious about Jamie, they had to consider that Jamie was a package deal with his two kids. Was it very weird that that didn't scare Mike though? Because he liked kids. These kids. But he was probably getting ahead of himself there.

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#Story: Written in the Stars #Own Story #Project: Written in the Stars #Superheroes

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fustuarium · 7 years

Text

Decrowning the XIIIth - Briefing RP Logs

Here are the (unedited - I’m lazy) RP logs leading up to Part 3 of Decrowing the XIIIth.

X'tehra Algus grips at the spine of the book carefully for a moment, a somewhat strange gesture. Though one Mako passes, she merely turns the page and goes back to her reading. The words are printed in Garlean - clearly the book is from a proper country with printing presses.

Rafailleur Sangmarche closed the door behind after entering the room. He didn't bring a file with him, presumably, because the information they'd be acting upon would be fairly recent to be documented.

Rafailleur Sangmarche: "I see we've a few gathered already. Good. A few more moments for others to arrive."

X'tehra Algus: "Centurio."

X'tehra Algus moves swiftly to her 'post' next to Raf.

Khallendra Khaine stood against the walk, simply here to listen and observe.

Reion Seitsurugi had taken his "usual" spot on the wall. The Au Ra remained stone-still, his gaze flickering between arrivals the only sign of life while he remained at attention.

Aegir Hlerson: "Am I late!?" Aegir came running in, out of breath.

Hali Naras || Mako sets down the very sparsely-populated folder with which she walked in, flipping through no more than just three pages within. She shakes her head with a frown, then turns, saluting Zheng in silence.

Rafailleur Sangmarche: "You're not late, Iulius. Sit down, seems like you need it."

Zheng Diremite: "We were just getting started." Zheng announced, drawing his hands together. "Good evening."

X'tehra Algus: "...hm."

Aegir Hlerson could use a good sit. He wet his lips then nodded, stumbling towards a chair.

Aegir Hlerson smirked up at Ame. He removed his headgear and slipped his goggles on.

Rafailleur Sangmarche: "Hagane. The floor is yours."

Zheng Diremite: "We've recieved new information about the target, Cassius rem Batiatius. My Shadow, Miss Mako," he indicated the woman beside him, "will brief us on the intelligence she has collected."

Bragi Odinson listened with his usual glower. He had a few things to report himself, when there was time.

Reion Seitsurugi quirks an eyebrow, he had made a deal after all. "Anything on the whereabouts of.... her name was Hanako, I believe. The information from Nishikaze came at the exchange of an offer to assist in finding his family members."

Hali Naras speaks in an apathetic, frying voice, standing at attention as she does. "The continued investigations into the Batiatus case have revealed a facility belonging to one of his men, a Severus mal Agrippa. Agrippa is a former chief of reseach

Batiatus case have revealed a facility belonging to one of his men, a Severus mal Agrippa. Agrippa is a former chief of reseach in the VIth, discharged for his illicit work in the Slave Crown Project. Following the termination of both this project and his position in the VIth, he appears to have taken up residence in a facility just over the Ilsabardian border. >>

Hali Naras: This facility, previously thought abandoned, has seen a considerable amount of activity, with unidentified civilians being shipped in and beyond a thus-far insurmountable security wall. The environment, combined with the level of alert on which the facility is kept at all times makes it nigh impenetrable by all but a direct assault under the proper circumstances so that they may be hit when at their weakest."

Aegir Hlerson: "Direct assault?" Aegir blinked a few times.

Rafailleur Sangmarche frowned at the mention of civillians being treated as test subjects. He shook his head and turned to look at Aegir. "If an exfiltration was possible, Hagane and the other Shadows would've succeeded already. It stands to reason that the longer we take, the more likely the target is to relocate."

Amethyst Dracht: "We'd have to plan very accordingly..."

Rafailleur Sangmarche: "If the facility is indeed abandoned, then they wouldn't be expecting a strike force."

Rafailleur Sangmarche || thought abandoned*

X'tehra Algus: "...mh. Even abandoned, a stronghold in the homeland is not a simple target."

Hali Naras || Mako nods once. "Unfortunately," she confirms, "No army will be needed, of course. This is not a fully-staffed station. Security is enough to make infiltration impractical, though a team of Shadows will be able to assist in disabling security measures through the facility while a main strike team occupies their attention."

Hali Naras: "From there, the way will open to said strike team, should they occupy enough attention."

Bragi Odinson: "What are their numbers?" Bragi demanded.

Reion Seitsurugi clenches his fist as Mako speaks, his entire demeanor one of tension.

Aegir Hlerson nodded slowly. He always got a little nervous when they were attacking one of these creepy bastards secret base.

X'tehra Algus seems more thoughtfull than anything else, drumming her fingers upon the edge of the table with one ear half turned.

Khallendra Khaine grins.

Rafailleur Sangmarche: "On the bright side, an isolated place like this means that if they were to ask for reinforcements, they could not feasibly arrive in time to deter us."

X'tehra Algus: "A facility which is under the label of abandon cannot call for reinforcement at all - lest they give wares to the ruse."

Hali Naras || Mako turns her soulless stare to Bragi for a moment, "Exact numbers are difficult due to the nature of security. Most defences are mechanised, with staff numbering less than thirty. Not all are soldiers, and many will have stations to man instead of meeting a force head-on, and will be easily-dispatchable by a supporting infiltration team." She nods to Tehra, "Indeed. They are also operating outside of proper jurisdiction. Many are wanted."

Aegir Hlerson: "Yeah, but these guys always have some sort of evil trap stuffed in their loading dock. Like a giant spider or 12 mutants with wheel arms."

Bragi Odinson nodded.

X'tehra Algus: "...mh. Iulius is not without merit - if previous encounters are to judge, they are willing to unleash their experiments when pressed."

Hali Naras: "They may. Should such be the case, the supporting infiltration team will have a priority to find aught which will complicate matters for the strike team."

Amethyst Dracht mouthed 'Wheel arms?', looking confused.

X'tehra Algus: "Hm. If you can mere disable - not destroy - many of the security measures in the facility we may be able to utilize them against such opposition."

Hali Naras || Mako nods once. "That is the intent."

X'tehra Algus: "...what of the man himself? Is it him or mere his head that you seek, Lord Zheng?"

Hali Naras || Mako passes her gaze to Zheng, as well, awaiting that answer.

Rafailleur Sangmarche: "..It would stand to reason for us to capture him alive. His testimony could be the evidence we need against Batiatus."

Zheng Diremite: "I need Doctor Agrippa to be brought in alive." He confirmed. "Please keep in mind that our main target is Batiatus."

X'tehra Algus: "Sic." She nods firmly.

Reion Seitsurugi raps his fingerstops against his arm, his stoicism starting to falter. "A research fascility, even if abandoned, may likely still have an adequate amount of fuel. In the event some level of "demolition" is needed in the aftermath. A stray explosion at an abandoned facility would be easy enough to cover up, and could prevent any research records from surviving for these projects to continued."

Aegir Hlerson: "You think this guy is the source of all those... uh...." he tapped the table, trying to think of a way to describe the Hypercharged, "...super humans?"

X'tehra Algus: "Mh...do we require aught to cove

X'tehra Algus: "Mh...do we require aught to cover out exit, such may be considered."

Rafailleur Sangmarche nodded. "If the information Mako has is to be believed, then this man is responsible for Batiatus' modification of his men."

Zheng Diremite turned to Reion. "I understand your sentiment, Mister Minekage, but we cannot destroy potential evidence to be used against Doctor Agrippa nor Tribunus Batiatus. Nor would I have equipment destroyed that can be repurposed for imperial use." Or stolen for his own collection.

Rafailleur Sangmarche: "By apprehending him we would not only be gaining leverage against the man, but weakening his forces."

Aegir Hlerson: "So this place could be birth chamber central for those freaks."

Bragi Odinson frowned. More mutant soldiers. It took nearly the entirity of their force to take down just one.

Rafailleur Sangmarche: "..Unfortunately, yes, we should likely expect to be fighting products of imperial science."

X'tehra Algus: "That seems a possibility, Iulius. I should expect that at least a few will attend the Medicorum."

Aegir Hlerson frowned, thinking about what happened last time with Araceli.

X'tehra Algus: "Have you a map of the facility?" She glances back at Mako.

Khallendra Khaine: "If that is the case I will be coming along."

X'tehra Algus: "...I would plan angles of assault and rally points."

Zheng Diremite: "Your arm will be appreciated, Praefectus."

Reion Seitsurugi stared back at Zheng, "when civilians are fodder, be they imperial citizens or aan, then whatever merits this equipment may bring does not outweigh the sickness that conceived it in the first place. Whatever that soldier was, whatever else is in there, I doubt it should ever see the light of day."

Hali Naras || Mako shakes her head at Tehra. "Not a complete one," she says, pulling a single sheet of graphing paper from the folder behind her and handing it over. The outside of the facility has been mapped out, but it's clear from the rather detailed drawing that they found no way inside.

X'tehra Algus: "Mh." She looks at the paper for a long moment, nodding briefly. "I will create a copy."

Zheng Diremite: "Tools cannot be blamed for the evil of man. A knife can be used to save a life just as easily as it is used to end it. Follow your orders, Mister Minekage."

Hali Naras: "Do with it as you will."

Reion Seitsurugi narrows his gaze, but falls silent for now.

X'tehra Algus: "Hm."

X'tehra Algus places the map upon the edge of the table, her brow faintly furrowed as she traces a hand over it - thinking.

Zheng Diremite: "Fustarium's concern is securing the target, Doctor Agrippa," Zheng turned to address Khallendra, "Praefectus, would you be able to provide cohorts (npcs) to tackle the main force we expect to encounter at the entrance of the facility?"

Hali Naras || Mako turns to look at Khallendra.

Khallendra Khaine: "I shall and I shall also be joining."

X'tehra Algus lifts an ear at Khalle with a somewhat curious motion; but she says nothing.

Zheng Diremite: "We appreciate your contribution." He bowed.

Zheng Diremite: "We shall deploy tomorrow at 0600 hours." Zheng informed them. "I shall expect you to be armed and ready at the transport pad in Cape Westwind."

X'tehra Algus: "Sic."

Khallendra Khaine: "Very well, I will see that they are briefed an well equip for this, perhaps a manipulus with two reapers would suffice for such an operation."

Amethyst Dracht: "Time for my healing gun again..." She muttered.

Bragi Odinson: "Looks like we're relying on the Shadows for this one." Bragi was never 100% on putting his faith in the Doman spooks. But they would be making this mission a lot easier for them as the main force.

Rafailleur Sangmarche: "If I may, I would like to assist your forces, Praefectus."

Rafailleur Sangmarche: "Algus can instruct the men within in my stead."

Aegir Hlerson: "Please don't shoot me with your heal gun."

Rafailleur Sangmarche is totally not dodging being inside so he can DM properly.

X'tehra Algus: "...as you say, Centurio."

Amethyst Dracht: "Don't get hurt."

Rafailleur Sangmarche: "I am sure you'd appreciate a veteran Reaper pilot on your side."

Hali Naras: "This is a group effort, Vaatis. Each team will require the others in order for success."

Bragi Odinson: "Hn." He narrowed his eyes on the Shadow a bit.

Khallendra Khaine: "That is fine, a way to further see your abilities as a leader."

Hali Naras || Mako simply stares, unshaken by the Ala Mhigan brute.

Zheng Diremite: "I have confidence in the Optio's ability to lead this mission. And I have confidence in my Shadows." He added, looking over at Bragi.

Bragi Odinson: "Sir."

Aegir Hlerson smiled nervously at Ame. "I never get hurt on purpose."

Zheng Diremite: "Are there any more questions?"

X'tehra Algus: "Hm." She nods once, attention returning to the map, tracing a hand over it thoughtfully again.

Rafailleur Sangmarche: "Then you shall have me. A three-pronged attack on the facility should be more than enough to keep the enemy occupied and seize our target."

Hali Naras || The lesser Frumentarius slowly peers across those in attendance, searchingly, though her expression remains blank.

#garlean rp #ffxiv rp logs

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