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houseisekai · 3 years

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House Isekai: Shadowbringers - Act 1 Finale: The Warrior of Darkness

House Isekai Shadowbringers AU Masterlist Here

—

Most of House Isekai have finally reunited, with the help of the Ashen Wolves, The former Blue Lions, and Black Eagles class. Leaving Claude and the Investigation Team unaccounted for.

However, as they are discussing the nature behind Sitri’s resurrection and the plans of Lahabrea, they notice something terribly wrong...

—

Outside the Monastery, Present Day...

Byleth walked towards the Monastery alone, the winds blowing back his white hair.

One hand held Sara’s pistol while the other held the Sword of the Creator.

It had been five long years since he saw any members of House Isekai.

He hadn’t even seen the Investigation Team with Claude, even though he knew they were alive.

So much has happened since that first battle at Garreg Mach. He wasn’t even sure what to say when he saw them again.

As he kept walking, he noted something was off.

The wind had just stopped blowing completely.

He looked up into the air and his eyes went wide.

The skies had just went almost completely white.

(Byleth) “Shit.”

He held his weapons tightly and began running towards the Monastery.

...

(Yuki) “U-Um, excuse me.”

Everyone turned to her.

(Megumi) “Yuki-chan? What is it?”

(Yuki) “What time is it?”

Ryuji pulled out his phone and checked.

(Ryuji) “Hm…According to the phone, time in Fodlan’s about 9 in the morning. You forget something to do, Takeya?”

(Yuki) “Should…it be THAT bright outside?”

Everyone paused for a moment before slowly turning to the door behind them.

The outside shone an eerily bright white on the grass, and the wind appeared to stop blowing against the trees.

And the sound of footsteps seemed to be approaching from the main hall.

Megumi got the School-Living Club and Sitri behind her as everyone slowly stood up and reached for their weapons…

The clothes of the Phantom Thieves suddenly switched from their school uniform into their metaverse forms.

(Bernadetta) “Um...D-Don’t your clothes only do that when-?”

(Akechi) “Oh SHIT.”

KABOOOOOM!

[Holminster Switch - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers OST]

The wall exploded into chunks of concrete, monstrous four legged creatures cloaked in white erupting from the main hall and reducing the entrance of the mess hall to rubble.

Albedo, Sebas, and Sara and Darkness jumped to the front, hitting back the debris that was about to hit them.

The monsters’ mouths separated into four jaws, looking something akin to a horribly mutilated dog.

Soldiers began to flood in behind the monsters, drawing their weapons.

(Edelgard) “Damn it, the Church found us!”

(Yuri) “Tch, brought the war right to us, didn’t ya?!”

(Dimitri) “It was going to reach you regardless, now quit complaining and help us kill the angels!”

Edelgard, Yuri, and Dimitri ran forward to meet the soldiers head on.

(Minato) “What’s the plan here?!”

(Kazuma) “WE GET THE HELL OUT, THAT’S WHAT!”

Kazuma motioned the others to himself before trying to head out the exit, before more soldiers started to flood in.

(Felix) “That’s just great!”

(Sitri) “What about the entrance near the lake?!-”

Right as they spun around, more angels blocked the doorway.

(Balthus) “Well, IF IT’S FIGHT THEY WANT!”

(Junpei) “Not sure fighting them head on is our best idea, man!”

(Millium) “Then we’ll make an exit out of here! LAMMY!”

Her golem materialized behind her and charged the soldiers, and with one swipe sent them into the air.

(Megumin) “Think our best bet is to move our butts to Abyss!”

(Sharon) “Very well! We will take point!”

Sharon jumped above everyone and towards the entrance along with Doomguy.

More soldiers were on their way from the direction of the classrooms, forcing Doomguy to pull out an assault rifle.

As he began to unload the gun’s ammo into the Church soldiers, everyone began to retreat.

Edelgard, Dimitri, and Yuri sheathed their weapons and quickly got behind the group running away.

(Church Captain) “DON’T LET THEM ESCAPE!”

The Captain turned to the angels and nodded.

(Church Captain) “Cut them off at all entrances!"

The angels nodded and charged away, leaving the soldiers to pursue the others.

The Phantom Thieves, Machias, Crow, Towa, Aigis, and Doomguy covered everyone as they ran from area to area with their guns, dropping soldier after soldier.

(Machias) “This is absolutely insane! Just how much people did they send after us?!”

(Aigis) “According to my scans, there are currently over a hundred-”

(Towa) “I-I DON’T THINK I WANT TO KNOW THAT NUMBER, AIGIS!”

(Ann) “JUST GO AWAAAAAAAAY!”

(Megumin) “W-Wait a second!”

It was then everyone realized that the group was shooting to kill.

(Kazuma) “The hell?! I thought you guys didn’t ki-”

The fallen soldier’s bodies began to twitch violently as they exploded into pure white winged bats.

(Kazuma) “OKAY, WHAT IN THE FUCK?!”

(Constance) “Keep moving, Kazuma!”

Sharon and Doomguy turned the corner to the entrance of Abyss before Hapi realized something.

(Hapi) “Wait a second, we never saw their bodies do that when we were leaving. Crap, does that mean?-”

Hapi’s question was answered when several more of the white bats flew out of Abyss’s entrance.

An angel was there waiting for them, charging full speed.

(Albedo) “OUT OF THE WAY!”

(Darkness) “EXCUSE ME!”

Albedo in an instant transformed into her black armor and shoved the others out her way, Darkness standing beside her.

They both blocked the monster and shoved them both back into the ground.

Its jaws unhinged and was about to devour them before the two of them drew their weapons and cleaved the side jaws, making it recoil back in pain.

Mercedes, Annette, Linhardt, and Dorothea raised their hands and all cast a fire spell, flying straight into the creature’s mouth and setting it ablaze.

It made an almost ear piercing screech as it inelegantly flopped over, immediately lying dead.

(Linhardt) “Hm, these angels appear to die from our attacks than the one we encountered at Enbarr.-”

(Annette) “D-Don’t think now’s a good time to conduct research, Linhardt!”

(Linhardt) “I’d beg to differ but eh, you’re probably right. Gotta waste our energy escaping.”

Felix, Sylvain, and Ingrid slashed apart the bats following behind them.

(Sylvain) “LESS TALKING, MORE RUNNING!”

(Ingrid) “I don’t think we can get to the stables in time!”

(Felix) “Not gonna help anyway, there’s too many of us to escape on horseback!”

Petra and Ashe shot two out of the air with a bow as Dedue grabbed one and slammed it into the floot.

(Petra) “Then we are hard of pressed for decisions!”

(Ashe) “All the exits are covered by these things right? Then that means they got us surrounded!”

(Dedue) “And going into Abyss seems like a good way for us to get separated and picked off!”

(Bernadetta) “S-SO WE’RE JUST GOING TO BE TRAPPED HERE THEN?!”

(Caspar) “Calm down, Bernadetta! I’m sure we can punch our way outta here!”

(Ferdinand) “Then they will simply follow us! I am not sure we have the stamina to nor the manpower to stave off an entire army!”

(Miki) “Wait a second, what about Valimar?! He can teleport us out of here with that spirit portal thing!”

(Rean) “We’re going to need a huge area for all of us to get teleported!”

(Sitri) “I-If the Cathedral is still here, we could try that!”

(Aqua) “WHAT?! That’s like, the number one spot they would be in!”

(Hubert) “Then we will need to secure the area inside first.”

(Yuuri) “Besides, the Entrance Hall is too dangerous to push towards there, and if we’re out in the courtyard then we’ll be right in the open!”

(Futaba) “Enemies closing in behind us!”

(Fuuka) “More coming from Abyss’s entrance!”

(Pandora’s Actor) “MMMM, IF WE MAKE OUR CHOICE, WE BEST DO IT NOW!”

(Kazuma) “BRIDGE IT IS, MOVE YOUR ASSES PEOPLE!”

...

Byleth cut down the angel blocking the entrance to the Monastery, and shot down any soldier trying to approach him.

The angel began to fade into nothingness before its energy was absorbed into Byleth.

(Soldier) “I-IT’S THE WARRIOR OF DARKNESS!”

(Soldier 2) “GET THE CAPTAIN, WE’LL TRY TO-”

The soldier was interrupted when his head exploded and fell to the floor.

When the other soldier looked back at Byleth, the sword slashed across his chest, sending him flying back.

Their bodies started twitching as Byleth raised a hand towards them.

His hand shot out a wave of a black and purple aura, completely enveloping them.

The bodies had disintegrated completely, leaving no trace of them on the ground.

Byleth saw the path of destruction from the main hall, to the Mess Hall.

After running to the room, he looked at the debris and bodies left in the group’s wake and followed the trail towards the church.

...

(Narberal) “Lord Ainz, the main hall is secure for now!”

The Pleiades and Sharon killed the soldiers inside and collapsed the other entrances leading inside.

(Ainz) “Understood, DEMIURGE, COCYTUS!”

Demiurge opened his hands and flicked his wrists, summoning a massive flame wall in front of the bridge.

Everyone else made it inside, and Cocytus created a freezing mist cloud in front of their entrance, letting ice shoot up into the air forming another wall.

(Cocytus) “IT IS DONE, LORD AINZ.”

(Shalltear) “Get on with it, Schwarzer!”

(Rean) “Right. Heed my call...

VALIMAR, THE ASHEN KNIGHT!”

Valimar stood up from the forests nearby and flew into the air, towards the Monastery.

Byleth finally cut his way to the bridge when he saw several winged bats pick up a specially dressed Church soldier.

(Byleth) “Damn it!”

He aimed the pistol at it and squeezed the trigger.

More bats flew in to intervene and took the bullet, the bat dropping below the bridge. Byleth fired several more shots only to have the same result.

A massive shadow enveloped Byleth, and he spun around with his sword expecting another angel.

Instead, it was Valimar stopping its flying to float next to Byleth.

(Valimar) Instructor Byleth. Please get on.

Valimar held a hand out for Byleth to hop on, to which Byleth responded with a nod.

(Rean) “Valimar, where are you?!”

(Valimar) Awakener, the Instructor is here.

(Rean) “Instructor- Wait, Instructor Byleth?!”

(Minako) “HEY, INCOMING!”

Minato and Minako put their Evokers to their heads and summoned Thanatos, and it casted a massive sphere around them as the ice wall exploded.

From the mist, a massive angel stepped in, roaring and shaking the entire Cathedral.

It had four legs and jaws like the others, but the tail appeared to be some sort of snake-like creature.

(Yuri) “Tsk, must be that captain!”

(Aqua) “Come on, we’ll kick your ass!”

(Edelgard) “This is bad!”

(Albedo) “What do you mean, with all of us here it stands no chance!”

(Akira) “That’s what we thought at Enbarr too!”

(Rean) “We have no idea what the hell’s empowering them, but an ‘Inquisitor’ or whatever turned into one of these, not even Slayer laid a permanent scratch on it!”

(Megumi) “C-Come again?!”

(Bernadetta) “WHAT CHANCE DO WE HAVE THEN?!”

(Ingrid) “If I die today, I die for Faerghus!”

(Hubert) “And I for the Empire!”

(Kazuma) “REAN, WHERE THE FUCK IS YOUR GIANT ROBOT!?”

A massive figure dropped in from the ceiling and landed in front of the angel who was approaching the group.

(Angel) “WHO DARES-...!!! YOU.”

Valimar’s hand went loose as it flew back behind everyone.

(Valimar) Preparing Spirit Portal. Please secure time for me to allow us a safe transportation.

(Byleth’s Voice) “Sara, catch.”

A pistol flew out from the dust and Sara caught it, and a smile grew on her face.

(Sara) “You took your time, didn’t you?”

[Boss Theme #2 - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers OST]

(Sitri) “Byleth...!”

(Futaba) “Cheesy reunion dialogue later, enemies are starting to come from behind!”

(Angel) “I WILL NOT PERMIT THE WARRIOR OF DARKNESS TO INTERFERE ANY LONGER! YOU DIE NOW!”

(Byleth) “I’ll worry about the finishing blow, who’s helping me?”

(Cocytus) “I WILL ASSIST YOU, BYLETH.”

(Sharon) “I as well!”

Doomguy nodded as he threw a few of his smaller guns at the School-Living Club and unsheathed his sword.

(Sara) “Well, looks like this is a good way for the staff to reunite!”

(Angelica) “We’ll join in the fight another time, we’ll take care of our kids!”

(Towa) “Good luck, Instructors!”

Byleth couldn’t remember the last time he smiled. Hearing their voices again brought him a calmness he hadn’t experienced in five years.

He also noted Sitri’s presence with them, but those questions will come later. For now-

The angel roared again, readying its tail.

(Byleth) “With me!”

(Sharon) “Understood!”

(Sara) “Got your back!”

(Cocytus) “FOR THE GLORY OF NAZARICK!”

(Doomguy) “...”

The angel spun around and had its snake-like tail lunge at the five.

Cocytus was the only one not to jump out the way, grabbing it with three of his arms.

It spat poison on the floor, which quickly began to spread into a wide area.

Cocytus stabbed it through its head with the arm holding the halberd and moved aside before the poison could reach him.

(Cocytus) “THE TAIL IS DOWN.”

Doomguy didn’t bother to look at the area he was jumping to as his shoulder cannon fired a grenade behind him, setting the poison ablaze.

He jumped onto the angel, which begun to flail wildly, trying to get him off.

Doomguy jammed his wristblade into it, but couldn’t do anything else other than hold on.

Sara kept its attention by repeatedly shooting it in the face with her pistol, which didn’t seem to do much other than annoy the angel.

Byleth appeared to be doing something with his sword and made it glow a black and purple aura.

(Sharon) “Arcus, activate!”

Sharon smiled and used her wires to wrap around the angel’s legs, making it slower and almost trip.

She dashed from leg to leg at high speeds, using her knife to slice open the parts behind its legs, then pulled the wires closer to her, making them shift into the open wounds.

The angel screamed loudly, flailing even more violently and finally flinging Doomguy off.

The wires broke off which made Sharon frown. It was still moving far too much for her liking.

And just as she expected, the wounds began to heal.

(Sharon) “Master Byleth, I trust you have a solution to our problem?”

Byleth didn’t respond and instead held his hand out, shooting out a wave of dark energy at the creature, making it howl in pain as the wounds suddenly stopped regenerating and caused miniature explosions.

He activated the whip function of the sword as he jumped onto the angel, and swung at the head, dicing many parts into pieces.

(Sara) “Arcus, activate!”

Purple lightning shot back and forth around the angel, slicing off entire limbs with Sara finally appearing where the lightning ended, right in front of the beast.

Byleth jumped off as Doomguy took his place, putting his sword between its neck and slicing downwards, severing the head.

The head was still alive and was about to lunge at Sara with its jaws before Cocytus used the top part of his halberd and impaled it to the floor.

Byleth’s eyes glowed red for a moment before deactivating the whip and looking at the angel.

He raised his hand into the air and began to absorb the light from the angel.

It then was enveloped by a dark aura which covered the floor they were standing in, making everyone take a step back.

When the dark aura disappeared, the angel was completely gone. Even the head Cocytus had impaled left no trace of any gore.

(Cocytus) “HMPH. I CANNOT HELP BUT FEEL A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED AFTER WHAT WAS SAID ABOUT THE LAST ENCOUNTER WITH ONE OF THESE.”

Doomguy shrugged in response as Sharon dusted off her dress.

(Sara) “Well, this one didn’t seem to be an inquisitor. If it weren’t for Byleth, I’m not sure we could’ve killed it.”

She smiled and turned to face him.

(Sara) “Speaking of which-”

That smile went away when she realized Byleth was heavily panting and on one knee.

(Sara) “Crap, Byleth!”

The four ran over to him and helped him up.

(Sara) “Rean, status?”

Rean sliced apart the last bat with his tachi and took a quick look around.

(Rean) “Now’s a great time to go!”

(Valimar) Opening Spirit Portal. Destination required.

(Dimitri) “Take us to Derdriu!”

(Rean) “Right, what Dimitri said!”

(Valimar) Acknowledged. Beginning transport now.

Everyone in the room was quickly teleported away from Garreg Mach.

Soldiers flooded into the room alongside the lesser angels but saw no trace of anyone left.

(Soldier) “W-What happened? I thought the captain was here?”

(Soldier) “Goddess save us...!”

They saw several burn marks on the ground that wasn’t caused by fire. Some of the energy was still emanating off and that's when they came to the conclusion:

(Soldier) “The Warrior of Darkness is with House Isekai!”

Several Agarthans were watching from a distance as the soldiers began to move out of Garreg Mach. The men and women in black robes looked at each other.

(Agarthan) “This is going to be a problem...”

...

Zanado, the Red Canyon, Present Day...

[Sands of Amber - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers]

Hilda yawned as she exited the tent she was sleeping in.

(Hilda) “Ugh, we gotta wake up so early...”

The skies hadn’t even turned blue yet and was still a crimson red over the horizon. Hilda groaned as Marianne exited the same tent and stretched.

(Marianne) “Well, at least we’ll just be exploring today right?”

Hilda rolled her eyes as she picked up her axe.

(Hilda) “Psh, my butt. Claude always says that and it ALWAYS escalates into a skirmish.”

The two walked beside each other as they moved down the resting area and towards the rest of the group.

Naoto and Rise were already up, staring at the same thing.

(Rise) “My Persona still isn’t picking anything up.”

(Naoto) “That can’t be right. Perhaps we need to-...Oh, good morning.”

(Marianne) “Hello. Still nothing?”

(Rise) “Not a thing. I still can’t believe none of us ever noticed this beforehand during the academy!”

(Hilda) “Well, I don’t think it was there to begin with...”

Hilda put her hands on her hips as she examined it.

The Golden Deer and Investigation Team had set up camp to examine a massive tower that went up into the sky, something that definitely wasn’t there before.

Or, maybe it was. Every time they stared at the tower, their memory got a bit fuzzy.

The tower stood out from the rest of the area, looking half natural formation, and half man-made. It had glowing blue lines throughout the entire structure.

Records seemed to indicate it had been there prior, yet earlier in the year when the Houses were sent to this canyon, it wasn’t present. Nor was it present during the previous five years.

Or, at the very least no one was aware of its existence until just recently.

(Marianne) “Perhaps we should wait for everyone else to wake up?”

(Claude) “Wow, Hilda up early. Didn’t think that was possible.”

Claude tossed everyone a canteen of water as he looked up at the tower.

(Hilda) “Speak for yourself! You used to sleep in all the time back in Garreg Mach!”

(Claude) “Well, I like to think I’m a changed man. Though sometimes I wish I hadn’t. Growing up sucks.”

His smile faded as he continued to examine the tower.

(Claude) “...Ugh, looking at this is just giving me a headache.”

(Naoto) “Perhaps this tower is messing with our memories and causing us to perceive things differently?”

(Claude) “Too early to tell, Naoto. And uh, little too early to start conspiring when we haven’t even gone inside the thing yet.”

When he looked at Naoto and Rise, another thing was starting to give him a headache.

They had been here for at least 3 years, yet not a single one of the Investigation Team showed any signs of having aged.

A velvet door appeared next to them with Yu and that strange girl Marie stepping out.

(Yu) “Mornin’.”

(Marie) “...Hey.”

(Rise) “Any luck, senpai?”

(Yu) “No. Margaret, Theodore, Elizabeth, and Lavenza had no idea what it was either.”

Yu held out the sample from the tower and Naoto put it near the crates.

(Marie) “Most we’re really able to tell is it’s definitely from this world. Other than that, Iunno.”

(Claude) “Then we’re really left with the worst plan we got...”

He sighed as he turned to the others.

(Claude) “Let’s get everyone up and grab some grub. After that, we’re going inside.”

Everyone nodded and turned around back to camp. Claude was about to follow them when-

“I see. Right until the very end, I've read this whole thing terribly wrong... All my hopes have fallen to ash...”

Claude first checked his throat. He was positive that he hadn’t spoken, yet...

He then looked behind him, and there was nothing other than a few crates facing the tower.

That was definitely his voice he heard clear as day, but there was no one around him.

(Claude) “The hell...?”

Shaking his head, sure he hadn’t gotten enough sleep and went back with the others.

Town outside Derdriu territory...

[Return of the Night - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers OST]

The townspeople watched from their windows as the massive ball of light began pulsating and eventually flickered out, revealing a group of people they had never seen before materialize into existence.

(Valimar) Apologies Awakener. This is as close as I am able to get.

(Yuri) “Huh? Why can’t you get us into the city directly?”

(Valimar) I cannot teleport anywhere without the magical currents in the area being high enough.

(Kazuma) “So, you just happened to teleport us in the middle of some backwoods town and had us scare the shit out of everyone here?”

(Megumi) “W-What about Byleth? I think he’s injured!”

(Byleth) “N-No, I’m not...just...so...tired.”

Byleth gently shoved off Sara and Doomguy’s arm and stood on his own.

It was then everyone realized what was different about Byleth.

He looked more jaded than anything, but what stuck out most was his white hair.

It was some form of green the last time they saw him, but...

(Byleth) “It’s good to see all of you again.”

Byleth made a weak smile, and Megumi was the first to hug him.

(Megumi) “Thank goodness you’re safe!”

She began to cry as Byleth hugged her back.

(Byleth) “Words cannot describe how relieved I am to see everyone okay.”

(Sara) “Oh come on, don’t start crying too. You might make me tear up too.”

(Rean) “Welcome back, Instructor!”

(Yuuri) “It must have been a long wait, Byleth-sensei!”

(Minato) “It’s only been half a year and that’s already been too long.”

(Minako) “We almost got the whole gang together!”

(Akira) “Nice to see you again.”

Dimitri and Edelgard wanted to say something, but thought it best to keep quiet for now. The Black Eagles and Blue Lions watched the class all speak to each other again.

House Isekai was as close as one could be, and seeing almost everyone reunited was a sight for sore eyes.

It reminded them of a certain missing House that could really make this feel like a proper reunion...

Sitri wiped away some tears, finally getting to see her son all grown up.

Megumi let go and motioned towards Sitri, and the two finally met face to face.

(Sitri) “Hello, Byleth.”

(Byleth) “Si...Sitri?”

She slowly reached out her hands, and Byleth grabbed hers.

Both of them made the same response, their eyes going wide.

(Sitri) “Look at you, hah...You’re all grown up...!”

Some of the group began sniffing and wiping their eyes but the rest smiled as they watched.

(Hapi) “Kiiinda feels like we’re intruding here.”

(Yuri) “Shut up, you’ll ruin the moment.”

(Balthus) “Nah, she doesn’t mean on Byleth and Sitri, dumbass. I meant the fact we’re doing this in the middle of a town.”

(Ainz) “Wait a second, Valimar said that he can only teleport us to areas with high magical energies. What’s so special about this town?”

(???) “Oh nothing. I just made enough energy to where you’ll teleport here.”

[Bedlam’s Brink - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers]

Everyone turned around to see Lahabrea leaning against a nearby building.

Sitri put Byleth behind her as everyone had a hand over their weapons.

(Lahabrea) “Oh, spare me the dramatics, would you?”

He got off the wall and looked at the group standing.

(Lahabrea) “And take a look at this! At...!....A-At...”

Lahabrea was cut off as he reached for his head.

(Kazuma) “...The hell is he-AGH, FUCK!”

Kazuma and his group were the first to reach for their heads, wincing in pain.

The next was the Phantom Thieves, Class VII, the School-Living Club, S.E.E.S, then the denizens of Nazarick.

Byleth and the Blue Lions and Black Eagles quickly followed, leaving Sitri the only one unaffected.

After a few moments, Byleth collapsed to the ground while Lahabrea fell to one knee.

(Sitri) “BYLETH!”

Lahabrea shook it off and looked back up to see everyone slowly recovering.

(Rean) “What...What was that?!”

(Fie) “Ugh, nearly split my head open...”

(Elliot) “Um...W-Was I the only one who heard voices during that?”

(Mare) “You too?!”

(Albedo) “That voice was my own, it was-Ugh...!”

(Yukari) “I don’t remember saying those things at all, yet...”

(Ken) “C-Clear as day? Yeah, same here.”

(Ryuji) “Hey, asshole! What the ‘eff’s going on with...us?”

Lahabrea slowly got up look back at everyone.

(Morgana) “You better have a good explanation of what you did to us!”

(Lahabrea) “...”

(Kurumi) “Tch, what?! Nothing funny to say now? No sass in ya all of a sudden?!”

(Emma) “Guys, he’s not alone!”

Everyone looked at Emma then back at Lahabrea who was still standing there, staring at them.

(Kazuma) “Sold us out to the Agarthan’s didn’t you?! Made them put shit in our heads!”

(Darkness) “You will pay for that, fiend!”

She was the first to draw her weapon, and the rest followed suit.

(Ainz) “Hang on a moment.”

Ainz finally took the time to scan Lahabrea with a magic detection spell.

As he was doing so, Megumi stepped forth.

(Megumi) “You’re putting a lot of time into people you’re supposed to hate. No more dodging the question, who are you, and why are you so invested in us fighting the Church and the Those who Slither?!”

(Minato) “Give us another stupid answer, and you won’t like what happens!”

...

(Lahabrea) “...They deserve to know.”

(Everyone) ?

(Lahabrea) “...Yes, I know what might happen if we do.”

(Towa) “Why is he just talking to himse-”

It was then Towa noticed the faces on Emma and Aqua. Megumin was quick to notice what she was looking at and caught on.

(Megumin) “Eh? Aqua?”

Kazuma had the same face as well. Akira, Morgana, Minato, Minako, all of Nazarick, Doomguy, and Sitri included.

(Edelgard) “What’s happening to them?”

(Dimitri) “Can someone give an explanation or-”

(Kazuma) “What. The. Fuck.”

[More than Truth - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers]

(Sothis?) “...Hello, everyone.”

She awkwardly rubbed the back of her head.

(Sothis?) “I forgot that not everyone can see me.”

Sothis had appeared next to Lahabrea, though she was wearing slightly more ragged and darker clothes.

Compared to the normal Sothis, she had a dark red dress and looked slightly older and more tired, but it was still undoubtedly Sothis.

(Albedo) “What sort of trickery is this?!”

(Emma) “S-Sothis was infused into Byleth such a long time ago! How are you here?”

(Aqua) “No...No! You’re not Sothis! This is some sort of magic that-”

(Lahabrea) “Would the Agarthans really go through the lengths to make an exact copy of Sothis that only certain offworlders can see, Aqua?”

By the tone of his voice, he had dropped any pretense of disguising his voice.

He took a deep sigh and shook his head.

(Lahabrea) “No...You and all of House Isekai have every right to doubt our motives.”

(Yuki) “T-That voice...”

Everyone started listening closely and realized what Yuki was hearing.

(Lahabrea) “Good, I can end this charade. Felt annoying as hell to keep up.”

Lahabrea reached for his mask and slowly took it off, putting the hood down and revealing his full face.

Everyone lowered their weapons, some gasped while some held their breath.

Sharon’s smile had went away a while ago but this was the first time anyone had seen her shocked.

Doomguy took off his helmet for a brief moment to make sure his visor wasn’t acting up, and saw the look of utter confusion on his face as well.

(Lahabrea?) “Sothis, go ahead and make yourself visible to everyone.”

Sothis nodded and did as he asked, making most of everyone jump.

(Sitri) “You’re...also Byleth? How is that possible?!”

(Kazuma) “Hey, don’t fall for it! The Agarthans did some crazy shit with Monica and Thomas way back! This has got to be the same thing now!”

(Sothis?) “Kazuma, it’s-”

Sothis floated towards Kazuma, but everyone quickly went back on guard.

(Kazuma) “Back off, asshole! You aren’t Sothis! This is some really clever trick so you can stab us in the back!”

Lahabrea looked at the Sword of the Creator and grabbed it.

(Alisa) “S-SITRI! GET AWAY FROM HIM!”

Megumi got in front of Sitri and stretched her arms wide.

Lahabrea motioned a hand upwards, motioning them to wait.

(Crow) “Nice try, that thing only responds to people with a crest of!-”

The sword glowed in response, activating in the exact same way as if Byleth held it.

(Crow) “...Flames...”

(Ainz) “Everyone...That is Byleth and Sothis.”

(Lahabrea?) “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at this reaction...”

He looked among the group, but all he felt were the eyes of complete strangers.

(Sothis?) “I told you this would’ve happened...”

(Lahabrea?) “I promise, I will answer any question you have. For now, let’s get to Derdriu and get your Byleth some rest.”

(Rean) “...Fine.”

Rean was the first to sheathe his Tachi, and Valimar stood up and began to walk with him.

Class VII eventually followed, then the rest of the group.

(Lahabrea?) “...”

(Sothis?) “I told you they wouldn’t remember us. They never do.”

(Lahabrea?) sigh “...I know, Sothis. I know.”

He put on his mask and hood again and followed behind everyone, Sothis floating behind.

(Lahabrea) “Hopefully in due time, they’ll remember us.”

PART 4: END

---

[Escape - Darling in the FranXX OST]

The forecasted rain wets us

What should I say to you, as you tremble? My soaked blazer is cold and heavy

I feel as helpless as a chick who’s left its cage. I felt that my dreams were on the other side of the heavy clouds

I digested only the sweet pain that spread in my chest

I wonder if it’d be better if I’d never met you

Hey, I can’t even see the stars

Hey, my tears won’t fall either

---

EPILOGUE:

The first thing anyone would notice stepping into the Hearing Chamber was that it was a blinding white.

The floors, the wall, and even the guards were dressed head to toe in white, with gold accents highlighting the armor and edges of the room.

Catherine never liked this room much, but whatever made Rhea happy. She guessed.

Catherine knelt down before Rhea, joined in by Alois, Shamir, Seteth, Flayn, and Cyril.

(Cyril) “Lady Seiros, the Warrior of Darkness has made a reappearance at Garreg Mach Monastery.”

(Rhea) “And?”

(Cyril) “...He has rejoined House Isekai. It would seem that this third party is making its move.”

Rhea frowned and looked back at her loyal subjects.

(Rhea) “Then we will make ours as well. Do not fail me, Inquisitors...”

...

Claude took a deep breath, opening the door to the tower.

The Golden Deer and the Investigation Team stood behind him, weapons at the ready.

(Yosuke) “Dude, you REALLY didn’t have any other plan than just walk through the front door?”

(Teddie) “This is a very terrible idea!”

(Leonie) “...No bear pun?”

(Teddie) “NO, CAUSE THIS IS A TERRIBLE PLAN!”

(Chie) “Daaamn, didn’t think I’d ever hear that!”

(Lorenz) “I, for once, agree with Teddie.”

(Lysithea) “And I didn’t think I’d hear THAT.”

(Yu) “Everyone keep quiet and...listen...?”

“You’re not me!” “The dreams of men don't amount to much. Sorry, but... it's up to you now.”

The voices flooding in gradually grew louder and louder, everyone being able to recognize their voice as they stood there.

(Claude) “What in the hell did we just find...?!”

...

Everyone continued walking towards Derdriu silently, unable to make words of any kind after what they just saw.

Lahabrea and Sothis continued to stay behind, unable to approach any of them.

(Sothis?) “So, what do you plan to tell them when they ask?”

(Lahabrea?) “The truth. They deserve to know everything...Even everything that I’ve done.”

He looked at his hand and clenched it into a fist.

(Lahabrea?) “...How many years have come and gone, since that day, Sothis?”

Looking back up, he saw House Isekai, the Black Eagles, and Blue Lions standing side by side.

(Lahabrea?) “How many years have we waited for this moment?”

Sitri was next to Byleth with the Pleiades carrying him.

(Lahabrea?) “For the House that stood alone against the storm?”

(Sothis?) “I suppose you’re not wrong. What about the Sothis of this time?”

(Lahabrea?) “I’m sure she’s watching us as we speak.”

Lahabrea’s attention turned to Sitri.

(Lahabrea?) “Even if they don’t know it.”

ACT 1: ENDED

[Shadowbringers - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers OST]

One brings shadow, one brings light Two-toned echoes tumbling through time

Threescore wasted, ten cast aside Four-fold knowing, no end in sight

One brings shadow, one brings light One dark future no one survives

On their shadows, away we fly

The road that we walk

Is lost in the flood

Here proud angels bathe in

Their wages of blood

At this, the world's end, do we cast off tomorrow

One brings shadow, one brings light To this riddle all souls are tied

Brief our moments, brazen and bright Forged in fury, tempered in ice

Hindmost devils, early to rise Sing come twilight, sleep when they die

Heaven's banquet leavened with lies Sating honor, envy, and pride

One brings shadow, one brings light

Run from the light

Authors of our fates

Orchestrate our fall from grace

Poorest players on the stage

Our defiance drives us straight to the edge

A reflection in the glass

Recollections of our past

Swift as darkness, cold as ash

Far beyond this dream of paradise lost

HOME

RIDING HOME

DYING HOPE HOLD ONTO HOPE

HOME

RIDING HOME

HOME, RIDING HOME HOPE, FINDING HOPE

One brings shadow, one brings light One more chapter we've yet to write

Want for nothing, nothing denied Wand'ring ended, futures aligned

One brings shadow, one brings light One brings shadow, one brings light

You are the light

We fall

We fall unto the end

ONE WORLD’S END (The end)

OUR WORLD’S END (The end)

WE (Our world)

END (We won’t end)

I am shadow, I am the light

#House Isekai #House Isekai Shadowbringers #fanfic #crossover #byleth eisner #fire emblem three houses imagines #sothis #akira kurusu #minato arisato #minako arisato #satou kazuma #aqua #ainz ooal gown #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #Edelgard von Hresvelg #Claude von Riegan #yu narukami #megumi sakura #yuri leclerc

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voltage-vixen · 4 years

Text

"Cuff me, officer.” Gavin (NSFW)

“Finally!” MC triumphantly crowed.

She slammed down the top of her laptop and began to pack up for the evening. MC glanced at the clock and groaned when seeing it was a little after midnight. Gavin was not going thrilled when he found out she had broken her promise of leaving work at a reasonable hour for the third time this week.

“Maybe he won’t find out,” MC gulped, and toyed with the gingko leave bracelet on her wrist.

“That you ended up staying late another night, even after I left you off with a stern warning after the last incident?” a stern voice she recognized called out from the window.

MC spun around to find Gavin standing there with his arms crossed, shooting her a glare that could only be described as intense.

“U-Um,” MC stuttered, while awkwardly avoiding his gaze as he moseyed on over to where she was standing.

Gavin reached out to tilt her head, allowing him to confront MC directly. He saw her guilt-ridden expression and sighed in exasperation. Didn’t she realize that he wasn’t mad at her, but that her well-being was his main priority?

“Hey, you know I’m not trying to be a jerk, right? Upsetting you couldn’t be further from my true intentions,” Gavin comforted.

His face was now directly in front of hers, and MC could feel the warmth of his breath tickle down the front of her neck. Distracted by the golden tint in his eyes, MC’s cheeks began to flush and a bead of sweat dripped from her forehead. Gavin was SO painfully close; she couldn’t help but sneak a peek down the crevice of his white shirt. The slight glimpse of his rippled chest only made MC more aware of how alluring the evolver was.

“I’m aware,” she remarked. MC leaned in closer and fiddled with the drawstrings of the sweatshirt Gavin was wearing. “I know you’re always looking out for my prosperities."

The way MC was looking at him didn’t go unnoticed by the ever-observant police captain. Gavin’s hand tangled in the wavy locks of the producer’s hair, as he pushed her head closer to collide with his parted lips. His tongue danced along MC’s, and the cop’s free hand trailed down the cotton fabric of her dress to fondle the curve of her ass.

Not caring that they were in her company’s office, she pushed Gavin down onto one of the chairs and climbed onto his lap to straddle him. MC grinded her hips down onto Gavin’s newly formed erection, and she sucked hard on the side of his neck until a bright red mark was visible.

“You don’t mind that I left my mark on you, do you?” she purred.

MC’s lips crashed with Gavin’s, and he panted in a wild desperation, as she reached into pockets to pull out the handcuffs that he always had handy. Gavin’s eyes glazed with desire, and his trousers grew even tighter seeing MC dangle his handcuffs in front of his face.

“Is my naughty girl asking for a punishment?”

Gavin’s thumb pressed against her lip and MC obediently sucked on it, evoking a loud groan from her boyfriend. He could feel the dampness of her panties through his pants and Gavin impatiently thrusted his pelvis upwards, grinding through the fabric of their clothing, while pressing up against the sensitive nub of her clit.

“Yes, sir,” MC huffed. “Cuff me, officer.”

Gavin didn’t need to be told twice. He snatched the handcuffs from MC’s grasp, and promptly snapped the links onto each of their wrists. MC held up her wrist and experimentally tugged Gavin towards her while taking in her new restraint.

“Bondage suits you, Mr. Gavin,” she chuckled, before omitting a small shriek when Gavin firmly grasped the sides of her waist.

“Stand up,” he ordered. “Stand up and put one of your legs over my shoulder.”

MC reluctantly executed his command and inclined between his thighs. Trying to balance herself on the chair, the handcuffs joining them together clanked, and MC grabbed the hair on the back of Gavin’s head. Following his instructions, she threw her leg over his shoulder and quivered when Gavin’s teeth tugged away her underwear to the side.

“Just relax,” he murmured. “I’ve got you. I’m not letting you go anywhere.”

His tongue rubbed against MC’s clit before entering her slippery opening. The way he delicately stroked every inch of her sodden heat, and sporadically wringing the sensitive bundle of nerves longing to be touched was nearly enough to push MC over the edge. She tried to prevent herself from bucking like a madwoman, but the feeling of pleasure was overwhelming. And GOOD. There was no way MC could stop herself from humping his face.

“Oh, yes! Don’t you dare stop, Gavin!” MC urged amidst her satisfied mewls.

Ignoring her whines of complaint when he pulled away, Gavin temporarily abandoned his mission, and instead mischievously glinted at his lover.

“This is supposed to be a punishment, remember?”

Gavin and MC precipitously rose into the air and he tightened his grip on her. She anxiously squirmed while Gavin’s connected hand solidly supported her back, and the other shuffled his pants down to his ankles.

“Ever have an orgasm in the air before?”

“Obviously n-AH!”

MC’s voice hitched into keen hisses and her body violently convulsed from the sensation of Gavin’s member stretching her narrow walls. There was something erotic about the fact that they were making love in the air in the middle of her company’s office floor. The immodesty of the situation intensified MC’s arousal, allowing Gavin’s gliding movements to be brisker than normal. Her fingers entwined into his linked hand, and she whispered sweet ramblings of affection, enjoying the sentimental intimacy of becoming one with him.

“I love you,” MC muttered, as her stomach somersaulted signifying she was close to reaching her peak.

“Me too,” Gavin grunted, whilst the walls of the woman he loved fluttered around him.

Gavin soon reached his own climax and moaned in gratification from the explosive release of his load. He floated back down onto the chair, allowing MC to burrow into his warmth by closely snuggling up. She was reveling in the sound of his soothing heartbeat, when the sight of Gavin beginning to unlock the handcuffs distracted her.

“Wait!” she protested with a pout. “Can’t we stay together like this for a little while longer?”

Gavin bopped the tip of her nose with his finger, before leaning his own nose in to nestle against hers.

“With or without the handcuffs, we’re always going to be together anyways,” he affirmed. “I would never let anything stand in the way between us.”

“Promise?” she asked and stuck out her pinky for confirmation.

Gavin twisted his pinky around hers and nodded.

“Always and forever,” he pledged. “Although, we should probably go be together forever somewhere else rather than your office.”

Giggling, MC resignedly allowed Gavin to remove the handcuffs from their wrists. Resting her head on his arm, her fine gentleman escorted her to the elevator, but not before whispering into her ear with a vow of all the torturous ways his punishment would continue later.

#mlqc #mlqc gavin #mlqc gavin smut #mlqc fanfic #mlqc bai qi #mr. love gavin #mr. love queen's choice #love and producer #evol and love #follower appreciation

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nat-20s · 4 years

Note

idk what sort of a prompt you're looking for so starry skies and the sea <3

So in the depths of my heart there lives a highly romanticized, completely historically innaccurate pirate story that is probably also a lesbian romance that will almost certainly never see the light of day, so here’s a bit of what that might look like that hopefully give u what u were lookin for

~*~

Captain Mara Marquette is of the rather strong opinion that anyone who would chose to be something other than a sailor is horribly misguided at best and purposefully acting the fool at worst. Sure, there are other lots in life that provide more comforts; the warmth of a bed over the swinging of a hammock, air that never stings with saltwater, labors that leave your hands uncalloused and your backs unbent, but she simply doesn’t see the point of something as fleeting and unnecessary as comfort over the true majesty of the sea. Even when she betrays you, her fury is wonderfully unmatched, no other force of nature could even hope to match her passion. And when she’s still, deciding to be generous to your ship and your crew? There is no kinder lover in all the galaxy, and who could possibly give that up. Who could possibly not bother to seek it out in the first place?

Captain Mara Marquette is also of the rather strong opinion that should you chose to take flight on the glory of the ocean (which is the only chose she can deign to respect), and you chose to be a privateer rather than a pirate, then you’re simply a bastard through and through. Ironically, much more of her crew is made of those born out of wedlock than any of the government’s fleet, but she has significantly more respect for any born to unmarried mothers (and the unmarried mothers themselves) than any pompous ass that so desperately tries to gain the favor of the queen.

No, she’ll take her crows nest underneath the proudly waving jolly roger over any of that crown’s glory nonsense any day of the week. After all, perched up here, slowly sipping at a whiskey and watching the seemingly endless horizon, is the finest place on the whole of Earth. That is, except when the waves decide to settle their stirrings and the night has decided no cloud shall cover its presence. Then, she’s convinced, that she has been transported to the very heavens, if only for the few hours that can last before her home planet gets impatient with her time spent in the celestial realm.

Right now is one such night, the sea mirroring the sky so perfectly that she’s unsure whether her ship is steadfastly moving through water or stars. It’s not a completely unheard of phenomena, and technically speaking, nothing she hasn’t seen before. Yet, she thinks she could see a night like this one a thousand, a million, a countless number of times, and each time it would take her breath away.

Underneath her she feels the motion of someone climbing up the ladder to join her, and she’s knows that unless she made a jump that could only end badly, she’s been caught favoring sight-seeing over sleeping. Luckily, her status as captain means there’s little than can be done to her for such a transgression, so she feels no particular drive to make her presence unknown.

Turns out her instinct to relax was correct, as it’s simply her beloved first mate Nia. Even better, it’s her beloved first mate Nia, carrying a bottle of wine. One of the finest things about their crows nest, other than the view, is that it is built to be able to accommodate two. Mara is fundamentally opposed to the concept that the sea must be a lonely place, even when someone is serving their duty as lookout, and did her best to ensure that her ship was made in such a manner that, if desired, you can always exist with a partner. It’s not something she herself always seeks, knowing the incredible value of time with one’s self, but the option certainly seems to boost morale.

She thinks there is nothing grander than her current view, except for that current view to be shared with another. When her first mate tosses her a lazy smile, waves the bottle by its neck, and greets, “Captain,” she matches the easy affection with a matching smile. “First mate.”

“I knew that when those clouds cleared out this evening that I would find you here moping far past your bed time.”

“Ah, you have me mistaken, my dear, for I am doing the opposite. I’m revelling. How could I not, on a night such as this?”

Nia settles in beside her and pops the cork. There’s a twinkle in her eye as she takes a swig and offers, “My apologies, cap’n. The two often look the same on you.”

Mara nudges her first mate with her shoulder, and takes the proffered wine though she is already more inebriated than advisable. “No apologies necessary, for you’re not the first to tell me as much. They both often result in me getting lost in thought, it’s just the tint of said thoughts that is so starkly different.”

“Well I think you think to much. Hopefully liquor will make quick work of that particular affliction.”

Mara snorts. “Hardly. I wouldn’t have lasted this long if alcohol had any ability to slow my thoughts. One of the advantages of this life, you’re always quicker than most would think.”

“Yeah, okay, whatever. I’ve been on this ship nearly as long as you, and the wine makes my limbs heavy in exactly the way you’d expect, so I think you’re full of it.”

Mara laughs, loud and unapologetic, even though it certainly disrupts the fragile peace of the midnight hour. “You got me there. Let an old salt dog have her little stories though, won’t you?”

“I don’t think someone who’s 37 can properly count as an ‘old salt dog’, but sure. What’s caught your thoughts so throughly now, anyway?”

“It’s going to sound terribly whimsical.”

“I like whimsy.”

“In that case. I was simply, marveling, I suppose. Of all the places in all of the world, there’s no where I’d rather be than right here, right now, seeing all of this. You could offer me countless riches, a thousand marriage proposals, beauty that would rival Aphrodite’s, and I wouldn’t take any of it over this.”

“I know exactly the feeling. Delightful, isn’t it?”

Mara hums her agreement, then manages to tear her gaze away from the stars and over to her first mate. She’s surprised to find that, while her eyes are as reflective of the universe above them as the sea itself, it’s not the sky that Nia is looking at. Instead, she’s looking directly at her captain.

#theplatinthehat #replies #nat fic #wow im in a REAL sappy mood tonight apparently

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ceealaina · 4 years

Text

Title: It Almost Seems Like Yesterday Collaborator Name: ceealaina Card Number: 3088 Link: AO3 Square Filled: S2 - Happily Ever After Ship: IronHusbands Rating: T Major Tags: Canon Divergence, Memory Loss, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort Summary: When Tony gets hit with an amnesia spell that leaves him unable to remember anything past 1990, Rhodey's right there to help him through it. (Now if only Rhodey could remember how the hell he's managed to hide his feelings for Tony all these years.) Word Count: 11,698

Rhodey walked into the room, already feeling tired. He knew he should have stayed home. He’d had a bad feeling before he’d left on vacation, had almost cancelled the trip, but Tony had insisted. He’d gone on and on about how he’d been an Avenger longer than Rhodey (by a whole three years, and look how well that had gone for him) and how if Rhodey missed this trip, it would be Tony’s ass that his mother would be coming after. Then he’d demanded that he bring back some of her chocolate chip cookies and practically pushed him out the door, promising everything would be fine.

What a fucking liar.

“Okay. What do we know?” Rhodey asked, rubbing at his temples in a futile attempt to ward off the headache he could already feel starting.

Rogers had the grace to look guilty, which he fucking should; Captain America or not, Rhodey was going to kill him if he had let something bad happen to Tony on his watch.

“Okay. Rhodey, first off all we’ve been assured repeatedly that this isn’t permanent.”

Rhodey managed to contain his groan. If that’s what they were starting out with, there was no way that any of this was good news.

“What’s not permanent?” he asked, not even caring that his voice slid into a tone that would have had him being written up for insubordination if he was still serving in the Air Force. He didn’t miss the way Steve swallowed at the sound, felt the vaguest hint of happiness at the sight, although it was quickly overshadowed by his concern for Tony. Beside Steve, Natasha looked like she was going to speak up, but he settled a hand against her arm, apparently willing to take on this particular burden alone. Rhodey resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“Whatever weird spell Tony’s been hit with, it’s given him some… Memory loss.”

Rhodey felt his heart stop. “What kind of memory loss? How bad are we talking here?”

Steve winced, and Rhodey felt his heart sink further. “We don’t know yet, but uh. In the brief moment I saw him, he didn’t recognize me at all, called me a ‘bad Captain America porno rip off,’ and then he tried to hit on me, so…”

Despite the shitty situation, Rhodey smiled; that sounded like Tony, alright. At least there was something of him still in there.

Natasha rolled his eyes. “The doctors said he didn’t make any mention of the Iron Man suit, or seem bothered that he doesn’t have the arc reactor, so I’m guessing his memories predate 2012.”

Rhodey nodded. Clearly these two were absolutely useless to him, and it was time to take things into his own hands. “Right, I’m going to go see him. What did they tell him?”

“Just that he’d been in an accident, and that he may have suffered some side effects.”

Rhodey managed to keep his eye roll to himself. “Well, if you’ll excuse me…” He pushed past them, taking half a beat to steel himself before letting himself into Tony’s room. Tony was frowning at the medical equipment beside him, none of it actually attached to him, but his head popped up at the sound of the door opening and Rhodey held his breath, abruptly terrified that Tony wouldn’t know him either.

He needn’t have worried. A split second later, Tony’s face was breaking into a wide grin. “Rhodey!” he crowed. “Fucking finally! Did you come to spring me free?” Then he tilted his head slightly, eyebrows furrowing. “Did you dye your hair? It’s kind of… grey.”

“Um…” Rhodey hedged a minute, trying to think how best to handle this, but he knew Tony, knew he’d always dealt best with hard facts. Moving closer, he took a seat on the side of Tony’s bed. “Okay. They told you you’d had an accident, right?”

Tony nodded, wincing a little. “Was it in the lab? I know you threatened to kill me after the last one, but you also know how I get, so… Really this is on you, leaving me unsupervised like that.”

Rhodey huffed out a soft laugh. “No, Tones, not a lab accident. The thing is, you’re apparently suffering from some memory loss.”

Tony’s smile faded, eyes going wide. His eyes tracked over Rhodey’s body again, taking in the little differences, the grey hair, the extra few wrinkles around his eyes. He swallowed hard, and Rhodey could already see his brain working overtime, putting it together. He swallowed hard, breathing picking up, and Rhodey closed a hand over his.

“Hey, easy,” he told him, feeling his own flare of panic when Tony frowned down at his hand in confusion, like he wasn’t used to Rhodey touching him like this. “Everything’s going to be okay, Tones. It’s not permanent, and I’m gonna help you get your memories back. I just need you to tell me the last thing you remember, and we can start from there.”

“Um.” Tony scratched the back of his head. “There was that party we went to. When the drunk guy knocked me into the pool, and you punched him?”

For a moment, Rhodey couldn’t even place what he was talking about, racking his brain for anything even remotely like that. And then it clicked.

“At MIT?” he yelped, cursing internally when Tony jumped a little at his voice. “Sorry,” he said quickly. “Sorry, I just. That’s fine. We can work with that.”

“Rhodey?” Tony reached out, tentatively touching his upper arm. “I really need you to tell me what year it is.”

Rhodey took a moment. He really didn’t want to say it, but Tony was a genius, he was already putting it together, and Rhodey really didn’t want him coming to the conclusion that there was something he was hiding. He swallowed.

“Tony, it’s 2015.”

***

Once Tony had gotten over the shock of missing nearly thirty years of his life, and Rhodey had finished convincing Pepper that for now, at least, she and Happy were better staying in California and not overwhelming Tony with people that he only knew he was supposed to know, Rhodey had given him a rundown of what he was missing. He knew he was supposed to get his memories back eventually, but he couldn’t think how they would even begin that process without Tony at least knowing about Iron Man and the Avengers.

Telling him had been well worth it. In Tony’s mind, DUM-E was still a work in progress. So finding out that he’d succeeded -- and that DUM-E was still kicking around thirty years later -- Tony’s entire face had lit up.

“Holy shit,” he breathed, shifting closer to Rhodey on the bed. “You’re telling the truth? DUM-E works? You’re not just fucking with me?”

Rhodey hadn’t been able to help laughing. “Tones, that’s not even half of it. After you cracked the AI code, you built JARVIS.”

Tony frowned. “Jarvis?” he repeated, a flicker of sadness crossing his features, and Rhodey winced as he remembered that, for Tony, Edwin Jarvis had died only the year before. Still, Tony managed a smile, though it was fainter than before. “Tell me you didn’t let me Frankenstein my butler back to life.”

Rhodey snorted, but he laid a hand over his arm anyway, stroking a thumb over his skin. He, more than anyone, knew how much more than a butler Jarvis had been to him. “Not Jarvis,” he told him softly. “JARVIS. Stands for Just A Really Very Intelligent System.”

Tony blinked. “Another robot, like DUM-E?”

“And U,” Rhodey added, even though it was just adding to the confusion; he’d always been partial to U.

“Me?” Tony repeated blankly before he caught on and his eyes went even wider. “I built three robots??”

Rhodey couldn’t help laughing. He had absolutely no idea. “No, Tony. JARVIS isn’t a robot. He doesn’t actually have a physical form. He’s… Fuck man, he’s the most sophisticated machine ever. He’s a fully functional learning AI. He’s smarter than most humans I’ve met, he manages to keep you on your toes. I swear to god, Tones, he has emotions. As soon as we get you out of this SHIELD safehouse, I’ll get you back to the tower, and you can talk to him yourself. It’s gonna blow your damn mind.”

Tony leaned back against cushions, looking overwhelmed in the best kind of way, bright-eyed with wonder. He looked young, despite the laugh lines and the grey in his goatee, and for just a moment Rhodey felt his stomach twist with a funny sort of nostalgia. Rhodey had fallen in love with Tony when he was twenty years old, and he had never stopped being in love with him. He’d long ago accepted that it was unrequited, that he was never going to love anyone the way he loved Tony, and that was fine. It didn’t even hurt anymore, it was just… How it was. He wouldn’t trade their relationship for anything. But seeing Tony like this, smiling all bright and open like he was eighteen, he felt like he was falling in love all over again and it ached.

“Holy shit,” Tony breathed, shaking his head a little. “I can’t believe I did that. I mean, I can, because it’s me, but… Holy shit.” He shook his head again. “Wait, SHIELD? Like… The SHIELD that Aunt Peggy runs?” He looked around the room, like it would give him some sort of clue. “Do I work for SHIELD?”

Rhodey puffed out his cheeks and he blew out a long breath. “Not exactly,” he admitted. “You work with them sometimes, but… You’re an Avenger.”

Tony blinked back at him, expression blank, and Rhodey realized that, right. That meant absolutely nothing to him.

“Uhh. You’re a superhero?”

Tony blinked again and then started laughing, so hard that he couldn’t hold himself upright, bright giggles filling the room. Rhodey couldn’t help laughing too, the sound contagious, and it was several minutes before Tony managed to speak again.

“A superhero,” he repeated, wiping actual tears from his eyes. “Well, at least your stupid sense of humour hasn’t changed in the past thirty years. What, am I the new Captain America?” he asked, snorting again.

“No,” Rhodey told him. “Definitely not Captain America. But you do know him.”

Tony stopped laughing abruptly as he caught the look on his face. “Wait, are you serious? Are you…” He trailed off and flung his arms in the air. “How is any of that possible?”

And so Rhodey had told him about Afghanistan, how he’d been kidnapped but come out of it with a shiny metal suit of armor, how they’d found Thor, and then after that Steve in the ice, and then about the Battle for New York and how that had led into them becoming a team.

“Oh my god,” Tony breathed when he was done. “I’m not going to lie, that sounds completely unbelievable, but also, way too convoluted to be anything but real.” He leaned back, thinking, and Rhodey watched him mouth the words ‘Iron Man’ to himself. Then he shot forward again, grabbing at Rhodey’s arm. Rhodey shivered at the little thrill of pleasure he always felt when Tony was all close and in his space like this. “Can I see it?” he asked, like a little kid trying to sneak a cookie. “The Iron Man suit?”

Rhodey couldn’t help laughing. “Suits,” he told him, snorting as Tony’s eyes got bigger still. “And of course you can see them. They’re yours. Just gotta get the all clear to get you out of here.”

“Wait, so then… Those people that were here before? They’re Avengers too?” His eyes were still wide, but they took on a horrified expression. “Oh my god, was that actually Captain America?” Tony made a ridiculous ‘eep’ noise and actually pulled the blanket over his head. “Rhodeyyyy,” he whined through the fabric, giving Rhodey a flashback to Tony’s first date at MIT. “You’re going to have to resign on my behalf, because I can’t ever go back to being an Avenger.”

Rhodey patted his knee consolingly, taking advantage of the fact that Tony couldn’t see him to drink in his fill of him. “Of course you can, Tony. We’re your team. We all love you. And Steve’s your best friend, after me obviously. He doesn’t care, I promise.”

“You don’t understand! I told Captain America he belonged in a porn.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ve said way worse to him.”

“And I’m pretty sure the words ‘wet dream’ were used. How do I ever look at him again?”

“Jesus,” Rhodey muttered as something that was definitely not jealousy twisted in his stomach. He’d forgotten about Tony’s weird Captain America hero worship phase. “Tony, you’re fine. I know you don’t remember, but Steve knows you. He wouldn’t have expected anything less. Do you want me to call them back in so you can see for yourself?”

The face that Tony made was hilarious. “No!”

“Come on, man. I know you. You don’t rip the bandaid now, it’s just gonna get harder and harder…” He nudged him teasingly. “Tones. They’re your teammates. They’ll want to see that you’re okay.”

“I hate you,” Tony grumbled, but Rhodey could already tell he was relenting. Patting his knee once more, he gave him a wink and got up to the door. Steve and Nat were, unsurprisingly, lingering outside, and he gestured them in.

“Come on,” he said, trying not to sound too grudging. He knew deep down that it wasn’t their fault Tony had gotten hurt, but they’d still been the ones with him when it happened, and he couldn’t help feeling a little resentful.

Natasha, at least, didn’t seem to care in the slightest. She brushed past him to sidle right up on the bed beside Tony, tugging him close and stroking a hand through his hair. “Hey baby,” she purred, a teasing smirk on her lips, and Rhodey resisted the urge to snort. “How’re you feeling?”

Tony stared up at her with wide eyes and Rhodey bit back his fond smile. “Uh.” Tony ducked his head and cleared his throat and then his gaze snapped back up to her like he couldn’t look away (not that anyone would really blame him for that). “You’re one of my teammates, I guess? I’m Tony.” He winced then, and stared up at the ceiling. “But… you… already know that.” He shook his head. “Amnesia is fucking weird.”

“Oh my god,” Natasha crowed. “MIT Tony is fucking adorable.” She wrapped her arms around his neck in a sideways hug and glowered at Rhodey. “You never told us,” she tsked, kissing Tony’s cheek. Nobody missed the blush that crept over Tony’s cheeks.

“Natasha.” Steve rolled his eyes, but he was looking amused. “Stop tormenting Tony when he doesn’t remember you enough to shoot back.”

Tony’s eyes darted in his direction before immediately flickering away again, and Rhodey felt something sour roll in his stomach as Tony’s blush deepened. Nat had noticed it too, hiding her smile to keep from completely embarrassing Tony.

“Um, thanks,” Tony managed, looking up again to give Steve one of those mega-watt smiles that Rhodey had first fallen in love with. It was bright and open, from before he’d even needed to learn his press smile, and the jealousy in Rhodey’s stomach grew. It felt ridiculous to even think it, but those smiles were supposed to be just for him.

“Don’t worry about it,” Steve told him, laughing a little.

“And, uh. Sorry about what I said before,” Tony blurted out all in a rush. “The whole… porno… thing.” He looked like he wanted to sink through the floor, and Rhodey very much wanted to hug him. “I didn’t, I mean… I hate hospitals, so I was kind of not myself, and then, you know, obviously if I’d known you were the real Captain American, I wouldn’t have…” He trailed off, hand rubbing at his sternum in the same nervous tic he’d had since 2008; his body, at least, seemed to remember. “Anyway.”

“Wow.” Steve grinned. “He really is adorable. Can we keep him?”

Tony gave a startled laugh at that. “You can definitely keep me,” he promised, a hint of flirtation in his voice, and when Steve had looked away he caught Rhodey’s eye and mouthed ‘oh my god.’

Rhodey forced himself to give a normal smile in return. He’d forgotten about this mix of shy, and awkward, and weirdly flirtatious that Tony had been, barrelling from one extreme to the other, and while he was loving getting to see this side of him again, he couldn’t help wishing that more of it was directed at him.

“I still can’t believe you’re the actual Captain America,” Tony continued. “I mean, I have all your trading cards at home, and I--,” He cut himself off abruptly, flushing again. “God, Dad must have shit a brick when he finally found you.”

Tense silence filled the room, and Rhodey felt his stomach drop. How had he forgotten to tell Tony about his parents? To be fair, thinking about Howard still made him want to put his fist through a wall -- or the man’s face -- so he did it as little as possible. And it was so far behind them now that it hadn’t even come into his mind.

Tony was looking back and forth between all three of them now, obviously picking up on the fact that something was wrong and Rhodey knew he wouldn’t want to get this news in front of two essential strangers.

“You two out. Now,” he told them, voice booking no argument. To their credit, Steve and Nat didn’t look inclined to argue anyway, Nat giving Tony one last kiss on the cheek, softer this time, before the two of them slipped out the door.

There was silence for a moment after the solid click of the door closing, Tony staring down at his hands. “Dad’s gone, isn’t he?” he asked, though it didn’t sound like a question.

Rhodey sighed, moving closer to the bed again. “Tones…”

Tony looked up at him then, and his eyes were shimmering. “Did he at least get to see me become a superhero?” he asked softly. Rhodey just shook his head, wishing not for the first time that he could bring Howard back to life just to kill him himself. Even after everything he’d done to him, all Tony had ever wanted was to make the man proud.

“No,” he told him. “That came a lot later.”

Tony nodded, looking back down at his hands. “Mom?” he asked, just the one word. There was a crack in his voice, and Rhodey felt his heart break.

“I’m so sorry, Tony.”

Tony made a soft sobbing noise, and without stopping to think about it, Rhodey was up on the bed beside him, tugging him into his lap. Tony moved into it easily, comfortable with Rhodey in a way he hadn’t even been remotely close to with Nat. He shifted until he was half sideways, arms wrapped around Rhodey’s waist and face pressed into his upper abdomen and Rhodey just leaned back against the pillows and rubbed over Tony’s back, letting him mourn his mother’s death for the second time. He knew the circumstances weren’t anywhere near ideal, but Rhodey felt his breath catch and couldn’t help feeling something inside him settle with Tony against him like this, couldn’t help thinking that he could stay like this with him forever.

Eventually, Tony’s sobs evened out, the shivers that had been going through him coming to a stop. He didn’t make any move to get up though, just squirmed a little to get more comfortable against Rhodey’s side as the other man continued to stroke through his hair.

“This is super gay,” he mumbled, still making no move to to pull away. Then he froze, body going tense and tight. “I mean, uh… Not that you’re gay. Or I’m gay. It’s not, like…” He was flustered, stumbling all over his words, and Rhodey couldn’t help laughing.

“It’s okay, Tones,” he told him. “I know you like men, too. It’s totally fine. Completely acceptable now, even.”

“Oh,” Tony said softly, and his arms tightened around just a little around Rhodey’s waist. “Okay.”

They stayed there in comfortable silence until Rhodey knew he couldn’t wait any longer.

“Tony,” he said quietly, still rubbing his head to keep him calm. “There’s more.”

He could feel Tony take a deep breath beneath him, steeling himself. “Okay,” he said again, voice quieter still. “Tell me.”

“Your parents’ death… It was set up to look like an accident, but. It wasn’t.”

Tony pulled back then, staring at Rhodey, and the expression in his eyes was enough to make something catch in Rhodey’s chest. He cleared his throat, and it took him a minute before he could speak. “It… It’s sort of hard to explain, but Hydra -- you know Hydra?”

Tony gave him a look like he was stupid, and Rhodey tried not to roll his eyes.

“Okay, well Hydra didn’t die out in World War II. They’ve been here, all along, working behind the scenes to do their evil Nazi thing. And they took your parents out, made it look like a car accident.” He drew in a deep breath, because he barely believed this shit, and he’d watched Rogers take out the helicarriers live on television. Trying to explain it all now was bonkers. “But they didn’t send just any operative to do it. It was their most feared shadow assassin and all that other fun Nazi propoganda bullshit, except in this case it wasn’t all bullshit. They called the asset the Winter Soldier. Who we found out after the fact was actually one Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes.”

Tony blinked at him, mouth hanging open. “James Buchanan Barnes,” he repeated. “Like Bucky Barnes? The Bucky Barnes who died in 1945?”

Rhodey nodded. “That’s the one. Except, you know. He didn’t die, obviously. There was this whole thing with Russians, and brainwashing, and horrible, life-altering torture. I want to be clear here, Tony, it wasn’t really him. He was brainwashed, he didn’t know what he was doing. It was pretty tense here for awhile, after we found everything out, but we think we can help him break through the brainwashing, so you’ve been helping Steve try to track him down.”

Tony just nodded, still staring at him. “Okay,” he said, voice a little distant. He looked completely overwhelmed, and Rhodey nudged him.

“Hey, you alright? I know it’s a lot to take in.”

“Yeah,” Tony admitted with a faint laugh. “It’s… A whole lot.” He looked down at his hands for a minute. “This is embarrassing, but… CanIhaveanotherhug?” he asked, all in a rush.

Rhodey didn’t laugh, although he was tempted for a moment. “Of course, Tones,” he told him, opening his arms wide. “You don’t ever have to ask for that.”

Tony tucked himself back in under his arms, and Rhodey resisted the urge to kiss the top of his head, not wanting to freak him out anymore than he already was. There was silence for a few moments as Tony processed all the new information.

“I suppose it makes sense,” he said finally. “If Bucky was brainwashed, it wasn’t like he was the one who killed mom and dad, not really.”

Rhodey didn’t bother telling Tony that he was accepting this a lot faster than he had the last time. He had a funny feeling that none of this was quite real for him yet, even if he was understanding the words.

“And if Steve is my teammate, and Bucky was his best friend, of course I’d help him track him down. And well, Bucky always was my favourite Howling Commando.” Then he squirmed a little, flustered. “Uh… Don’t tell Steve I said that. That was when I was a kid, I mean.”

Rhodey did his very best not to tense up as jealousy flared through him, not wanting Tony to notice, or pull away, or think something else was wrong. “Don’t worry, handsome. Your secret’s safe with me.”

***

Rhodey was pretty sure that he had Natasha to thank for the fact that the wealth of additional, likely unnecessary tests the doctors had wanted to run were suddenly forgotten (it was magic, for fuck’s sake. What did the doctors think they were going to find?), and after a final check over to make sure Tony was all healthy (memory loss aside), they were able to take him back to the tower.

Tony had blinked as he spotted it on the drive over, eyes going wide as he took in the giant ‘A’ shining in the waning light of the day. “Is that the Avengers Tower?” he asked, and he was trying to sound casual, like it was just a vaguely interesting conversation point, but Rhodey could hear the burning curiosity in his voice, could tell he was only pretending not to be impressed. “They built their own building?”

“Yep. Well, technically it’s your tower, but you’re nice enough to let us all live there.”

Tony turned to stare at him, mouth hanging open, before he remembered he was pretending to be cool and quickly turned back to face the window. “Stark Tower,” he breathed, even though nobody had referred to it that way since he’d woken up. Then he shook his head. “You mean it’s Stark Industries’ tower,” he corrected. “So technically it’s dad’s tower, since he started the company.”

Rhodey fought back a wince. “No, Tones,” he told him softly. “This is all you. As someone who’s been your best friend for thirty years now, you’ve gotta trust me on this. You’ve accomplished things Howard couldn’t even dream of.”

Tony didn’t answer, still trying to play it cool, but Rhodey could see his pleased little smile reflected in the tinted glass of the window.

His attempts at playing it cool only lasted until they had pulled into the tower garage and stepped into the private elevator that would take them to the avengers’ floors, at which point JARVIS greeted them with a, “Welcome back, Sir. Captain Rogers has already apprised me of your current situation. Let me assure you that I am here to assist you in every and any way possible, and that Dum-E, U and I are all hoping for your speedy recovery.”

Tony’s jaw had dropped and he’d stared at Rhodey with absolutely enormous eyes. “Holy shit,” he’d gasped. “I thought you were exaggerating!” And then he had promptly forgotten Rhodey’s existence entirely as he bombarded JARVIS with question after question, wanting to know about everything from JARVIS’s operating system, to the power set up for the tower, to finding out how they’d managed to miniaturize the arc reactor. For the first time in this whole insane situation, Rhodey hadn’t minded losing Tony’s attention; it left him free to watch him, to take in his excitement and enthusiasm without worrying that Tony would catch him staring with that stupid, besotted smile that he knew was plastered across his face. It was uncanny how young Tony managed to look despite still being in his 45-year-old body, and it was wreaking havoc with Rhodey’s heart. God, he was so fucking in love with him.

Tony was still bantering with JARVIS when the elevator doors opened and he stepped out automatically, not even looking where he was going. Then the lab lights came on and Tony’s cut himself off mid-sentence, staring around the ‘shop with wide eyes.

“Holy. Fucking. Shit,” he managed. “Is this… Am I…”

“It’s yours, baby,” Rhodey told him, unable to keep the grin off his face; it wasn’t often that he got to see Tony’s mind blown like this. “It’s all yours. This is where the magic happens.” He gestured around the room. “Have at it.”

With a final, disbelieving stare at Rhodey, Tony was running deeper into the lab, immediately trying to negotiate about six different things at once. He was poking at the latest iteration of Sam’s wings when DUM-E came rolling up with a curious little chirp. Tony whirled around, pure joy on his face.

“Oh my god,” he breathed, patting DUM-E’s strut. “You really do work.” He positively beamed, and Rhodey swore he saw a glimmer of tears in Tony's eyes. “Look at you, you big, dumb thing. You’re so beautiful.”

Fighting back a laugh, Rhodey moved across the room to give U some love too. “Don’t worry, gorgeous,” he hummed. “He’s gonna love you too. DUM-E’s just his baby.”

Tony did, of course, cooing over the two of them like they were actual babies. Rhodey couldn’t do much more than stand back and watch, absolutely captivated by watching Tony discover twenty-five years worth of technological advancements at once, looking completely overwhelmed in the best possible way. The noise he made when re realized that his entire system was holographic was the greatest thing that Rhodey had ever heard. He immediately had JARVIS record it and send it to him so that he could set it as his ringtone. Every move that Tony made seemed to remind him all over again why he had fallen in love with him.

Tony glanced up then, eyes narrowing suspiciously as he looked Rhodey over. “What are you smiling at?”

“Nothing,” Rhodey answered just a bit too quickly, hoping his expression had been more ‘amused’ and less ‘hopelessly in love with you for all of eternity.’ “Nothing, man,” he repeated. “I just forgot how precious you are when you’re all excited.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Shut up,” he grumbled, but his cheeks flushed a little and he gave Rhodey a bright, sweet smile before turning back to whatever was spread out across the table in front of him. Rhodey whistled to get his attention back.

“Hey Tones!”

Tony whirled back to look at him, holding up one of Clint’s new prototypes. “Are these exploding arrows?” he demanded.

“Yeah, man, probably.” He arched an eyebrow at him. “Thought you wanted to see the Iron Man suits though?”

***

It was hours later that Rhodey got a notification from Steve, letting him know that they’d ordered in food from Tony’s favourite Italian place and that the rest of the team was up in the common area, if they wanted to join them. Rhodey couldn’t help making a face at his phone; he knew they’d have to meet up eventually, but he was kind of enjoying their little bubble, just the two of them and the bots in the workshop. It wasn’t like he was jealous of Tony’s Avengers status, or his friendship with Steve -- really, he was glad that he had someone else in his corner -- but sometimes he missed the days when it had just been the two of them.

“Hey. Why so glum, chum?”

Rhodey nearly jumped; he hadn’t realized that Tony was even looking at him. When he’d glanced over a minute earlier, Tony had been fully absorbed with the HUD in one of the Iron Man helmets.

“No,” he said quickly. “I’m not. Just distracted. Uh… They’ve got Italian for you upstairs, if you’re hungry.”

“Oh, uh…” Tony quickly ducked his head, suddenly fascinated by the HUD display. “I’m okay,” he mumbled, just as his stomach growled loudly. Rhodey folded his arms across his chest, arching an eyebrow, and after a long moment of silence, Tony looked up to give him a sheepish look. “Okay, maybe I’m a little hungry?” he admitted. “Maybe you could bring some food down?”

Rhodey snorted. “Nope. I know what you’re doing.”

“I’m not doing anything,” Tony protested, but he was pouting a little.

“Come on. I know it’s intimidating, but they’re still your team, man. And hey, I’ll be right there with you.”

Tony rolled his eyes, but there was a hint of a smile at the corners of his lips. “Promise?” he asked, the pleading in his voice probably a little more genuine than he’d meant it to be.

Rhodey gave him a wink, couldn’t keep the fond smile off his face. “Promise,” he assured him.

Tony dragged his feet, saying goodbye to all the bots and promising to come back down to hang out with them again after head. Rhodey felt his heart swell, his stomach melting into something warm and gooey, and he turned for the elevator before Tony could see the stupid look that he knew was all over his face.

When the elevator dinged open on the common floor Clint was standing there, waiting for them. Rhodey rolled his eyes at the sight, but before he could warn him off, Clint’s face dropped into a pout. “Aww, Tony, no,” he protested. “He looks the same.” He turned his head, hollering somewhere behind him, “He looks the same!”

“I said his memory deaged, Barton!” Nat hollered. “Not his entire body!” This was followed up by some creative Russian cursing that made Clint’s frown deepen.

“Well that’s just rude,” he protested, getting him a shy smile out of Tony. Clint tilted his head at that. “Oh, wow. I didn’t know your face could look like that.”

Tony blinked back at him. “Thanks?”

Clint beamed in return, then shoved his hand out. “I’m Clint, by the way. I guess you don’t know that anymore. Or… Yet? This is confusing.”

Nat came out of the kitchen, laden down with serving dishes of food and an unusually soft smile for Tony. “It’s really not that complicated, Clint. It’s amnesia, not time travel. I don’t know how many more times I can explain this.”

“Uh, it’s Clint,” Sam offered, following her out with a giant basket of garlic bread. “So at least three more times.”

“Fuck you,” Clint shot back without any real heat. “Man, you don’t even go here. You just followed Cap in, what, three days ago?”

As the rest of the team slowly trickled in to join them, Tony took a half step back, moving a little further into Rhodey’s space. Nobody else even noticed, except probably Natasha, but Rhodey grinned, giving Tony a reassuring pat on the back before he stepped further into the room.

“Come on, Barton,” he said, deflecting the attention further from Tony. “Don’t be jealous just cause you’re not the only birdbrain on the team anymore.”

In slightly different circumstances, it could have been any other team bonding night, everyone bantering, and jokily arguing and fighting over the last serving of spaghetti. But Rhodey was hyperconscious of how quiet Tony was, watching the exchanges with wide eyes, rather than jumping to join in. He had tucked himself on the shorter couch beside Rhodey, on the far side of everyone else, clearly trying to pretend that he wasn’t overwhelmed. Rhodey knew him though, could read that awkward little smile. He may have liked the team, but Rhodey was the one thing he knew right now, and so he was sticking close. And judging by the way he’d grin into his tomato sauce every time Rhodey would run interference, his hand brushing appreciatively against Rhodey’s elbow, that wasn’t going to stop any time soon.

***

By the next week, Tony showed no sign of regaining any of his memories. It was a messy situation; magic meant that there was no medical reason that they could determine for his memory loss. On top of that, Tony had been the only one around when the witch or whatever-they’d-been-fighting had cast the spell on him. And since Tony couldn’t remember anything past 1990, nobody had any clue exactly what the spell was, or how to break it.

It didn’t help that Thor, the only one of them who had any actual experience with magic, was currently off in one of the other nine realms, doing his god thing. (Although, judging by the way Tony had started warming up to Steve, and was now shyly flirting with him every time he walked into a room, Rhodey couldn’t say he was too upset that Thor wasn’t around.)

He’d thought that if anything, the lab would be the thing to jumpstart Tony’s memories. But while he’d been fascinated by everything there, and it had taken him mere hours to get everything up and running (despite having his memories stuck in a time when pagers were the height of technology), it hadn’t helped him remember. Rhodey was ready to try anything, so he’d called Pepper, and made some arrangements with JARVIS, and when everything was ready, enlisted Steve’s help to carry four enormous boxes down into the lab.

Tony looked up from where he was soldering something onto one of the Iron Man suits. Rhodey winced a little because if Tony had fucked something up on the suit he was going to kick both Rhodey and himself later. Tony flushed a little when he spotted Steve, who didn’t even have the grace to be straining under the weight of carrying three of the boxes himself. Rhodey resisted the urge to roll his eyes and mutter something about show offs.

“What’s this?” Tony asked, looking at the boxes curiously and blinking when Steve winked at me.

“Don’t ask me. It was Colonel Rhodes’ idea. I’m just here to be the muscle.”

Tony grinned back at him, waggling his eyebrows. “And what a fine job you do.”

“I hate you both,” Rhodey grumbled. He’d liked it better when Tony had been all shy and nervous and had to look away every time Steve walked into a room. “These,” he added, dropping his one box down on a table with a bit of spare space. “Are your memories.”

Tony arched an eyebrow at him, though he set down the soldering iron and moved around to peer down at the box. “Oh good,” he said dryly. “You found them.”

Rhodey elbowed him, hard, grinning when Tony yelped and then laughed as he tried to shove him in return. “It’s pictures and photo albums and videos and things from when we were at MIT, and then afterward. It’s sort of all mixed together. You keep insisting that you don’t want to put them out because it’s ‘relic technology’ and you’re going to digitize them instead. But you haven’t yet, so it’s just been sitting in a heap in storage. I had Pepper send them out. And then of course JARVIS has a bunch of more recent photos and video clips when you’ve worked your way through these.”

“What?” Steve made a ridiculous noise, staring at Rhodey accusingly. “You didn’t tell me I was carrying around photos of baby Tony!” He grinned wickedly and immediately set down all three boxes, starting to paw the top one open. “I wanna see!”

Tony actually screeched, rushing around the table to try and wrestle Steve away from the boxes. “Nooo,” he wailed, trying to peel Steve’s hands away. He was doing a terrible job, except that Steve was too busy laughing at him to put much effort into fighting back. “I was such a dweeb when I first got to MIT! I don’t need Captain America seeing that.”

“You’re still a dweeb now,” Rhodey pointed out helpfully, getting a beam out of Steve in response. Rhodey told himself to calm down. He liked Steve. It wasn’t his fault that Tony was so obviously crushing on him.

“See!” Steve said. “What’s the harm in letting me see?”

Tony narrowed his eyes at Rhodey. “Traitor,” he grumbled. “Seriously, Steve. Out. Only MIT graduates allowed.”

Steve frowned. “I feel like that’s a roundabout way of calling me stupid.”

Tony rolled his eyes, so much like now-Tony that it was hard to believe that he had no memory of the last few years. “I’ll make you a deal. Let me go through them, and I’ll let you look at some of the least dorky ones after.”

“Fine,” Steve sighed, like he hadn’t just been hassling Tony for the fun of it. “Sam and I were gonna grab coffee anyway. Have fun!” he added, heading for the door and leaving them to it.

Tony waited until he was sure Steve wasn’t coming back before immediately yanking open the tape on the first box and practically falling headfirst into it. “Get over here, Rhodeybear,” he hollered, voice slightly muffled by the cardboard. “We’re in this together.”

Even with Tony’s memory loss, Rhodey had to admit that the afternoon was the most fun he’d had in awhile. Pepper had sent along an old VCR that she found with all the pictures, so they were able to play the VHSs, and for the millionth time this week, Rhodey found himself falling in love with Tony all over again. He thought he had a pretty good memory, but he’d somehow forgotten how adorable Tony had been, that bright, open giggle that he hadn’t bothered to hide back then, the way he’d go all wide-eyed in excitement, not trying to temper himself. Rhodey hadn’t even realized how much he had missed it. And it was even better when he had Tony’s giggle in stereo, the Tony beside him laughing just as hard over terrible jokes and lab accidents and everything else. Several times he had caught Rhodey staring at him with probably a dumbass look on his face, giving Rhodey a moment of panic that he’d figure it out and know exactly what that look meant. But Tony didn’t seem bothered, would just give Rhodey a soft, sweet smile in return before turning back to whatever was in his hand.

They’d gone quiet for a bit, Rhodey searching for a particular photo from the Halloween party they’d gone to in ‘97, when Tony made a soft noise across from him. Rhodey looked up to see him perusing a red, leather-bound album.

“Tones? You okay?” God only knew what else Tony might have had tucked in there.

But when he looked up, Tony didn’t look upset at all. In fact he was smiling, eyes shimmering a little. “Ohhh,” he breathed. “I get it now.” He ducked his head a little, shy but still pleased, and then leaned over to give Rhodey a soft kiss on the cheek, the beard that he’d immediately fallen in love with (of course) ticking Rhodey’s skin.

Rhodey felt warm all over, Tony’s kisses always making him melt, and it took him a minute to realize that this version of Tony hadn’t quite reached that level of casual affection -- the cheek kisses were still another couple years away. Feeling like he’d missed something, Rhodey blinked at him. “Get what?”

Tony’s smile was growing into something completely goofy and he rubbed at the back of his neck. “That’s why you were so cool with me before, right? Because you like me...n too.”

“Yeah?” Rhodey offered, because his sexuality was never something he’d hidden from Tony.

This just made Tony smile wider. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“Tell you what?” Rhodey asked.

Tony held up the album, showing off a page of pictures of the two of them draped all over each other. “That we’re married!” he proclaimed.

Rhodey choked on air. “We’re what?” he asked. His voice was weak, and he could feel the blood draining from his face. Panic twisted in his stomach, sharp and bitter. He fucked up, he’d done something to give Tony the wrong idea entirely.

Tony just gave him a look. “Come on, Rhodes. I know I’m a little behind the times now, but I’m still a genius.” He waggled the photo album in the air. “I have an entire photo album devoted just to you, titled ‘Honeybear.’” He flipped it closed, revealing the nickname titled on the front in gilt cursive letters. “What, have we not told the team or something, is that why you didn’t say anything? Oooh, secret marriage! That’s kind of fun!” He grinned at Rhodey. “Why haven’t we told them? Would they not react well? I know Steve’s from the 1940s, but he was also an artist living in like, the gayest part of Brooklyn. Doesn’t exactly scream homophobic to me. Wait! Is that why you’re so jealous when Steve gets all friendly with me?”

“I’m not jealous,” Rhodey said weakly.

Tony arched an eyebrow at him with a look that was painfully familiar. “Sure you’re not. I can read you like a book, hot stuff. Oh!” His eyes lit up and he gave Rhodey a smirk that was half teasing and half unbearably pleased. “Now you know I mean it when I call you stuff like that.”

Rhodey had long since gotten used to Tony’s rambling when he got excited about something, but right now he was having a hard time focusing on what Tony was saying. “Wh… Where are you getting all this?”

“What? You said gay was okay now. Or… Bi, anyway.” Tony beamed at him. “I've been doing my research.” He got distracted then as a loose picture fell out of the album. It was a later one of Tony and Rhodey in the Iron Man and War Machine armors respectively, faceplates up and arms around each other as they grinned at the camera. “Aww, did I make you that? We match! Cute!”

“Tony.” Rhodey opened and closed his mouth a few times as Tony looked up at him, not knowing how to explain. Tony tilted his head, frowning at him.

“Rhodey? You okay?”

“We’re not married,” Rhodey blurted out. He immediately winced; that wasn’t how he had planned to tell him. And then he winced harder when Tony blinked, looking like Rhodey had just told him that the world was flat after all.

“What?”

“We’re not married, Tones. We’ve…” He swallowed, the admission hard for all he’d thought he’d accepted it. “We’ve never been like that. I’m so sorry, Tones. I fucked up. I didn’t mean to give you that impression.”

Tony went suddenly, perfectly still, all his manic energy just… Stopping. “We’re not?” he asked, voice soft. Rhodey shook his head and Tony looked away, suddenly unable to even meet his eyes. “Right,” he said softly, and for a truly terrible moment Rhodey thought he was going to cry.

“Tones…” He reached out, curling a hand around Tony’s wrist because everything about this was awful but comforting Tony was ingrained in his blood. “Come on, you’ve never felt like that about me, and that hasn’t changed,” he told him, and Tony’s eyes snapped to his again. “We’re friends, nothin’ else. This is just… A crazy situation, and you’re unsettled, and you’re latching on to what’s familiar.” He wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince Tony, or himself. “Right?”

And it was completely crazy, but for a brief moment Rhodey found himself hoping against hope that Tony would tell him he was wrong, that he did feel that way for him, always had.

But after a too long moment, Tony nodded, scratching at the back of his neck and giving Rhodey a tight smile, fake in a way that it hadn’t been all week, that it had never been for Rhodey. “Right,” he agreed. He gave a strained laugh. “Well, don’t I feel stupid?”

“No, Tones, don’t--,”

“Anyway, uh… Thanks for all this.” Tony cut him off as he gathered up an armful of photos and videos, not even bothering to look at what he was collecting. “I appreciate it, but I’m feeling kind of tired now, so I’m gonna…” He nodded his head toward the elevator. “I’ll finish looking at these later.”

Before Rhodey could say another word, he was on his feet, scrambling for the door. It went against every instinct Rhodey had, but he didn’t stop him, didn’t try to follow him. This was his own fault; thirty years of wanting and he’d managed to give it all away in a week. Some space between them probably wasn’t a bad idea.

And as it turned out, t was fairly easy for Rhodey to avoid Tony, when it seemed as though Tony was doing his level best to do the same. Rhodey wasn’t going to pretend that it hadn’t hurt when Tony had walked into the kitchen, spotted Rhodey, stared at him with painfully wide eyes for a too-long minute and then spun on his heel and left again without even grabbing whatever he’d come for.

He knew they’d be alright. They’d had distance and rough patches in their friendship before. He’d always joked it was the mark of a healthy relationship, that they’d been able to come back from whatever life threw at them. And, presumably, Tony would eventually get his memories back, and they’d be able to look back on this whole thing and laugh about it -- if he even remembered it at all. They still didn’t know how this amnesia thing worked.

But in the meantime? It really fucking sucked.

***

Steve had slipped into the rarely used library, in search of the sci-fi novel he’d lost somewhere. He spotted it on a side table and was just planning to head for the deck and enjoy some sunshine when he heard a faint noise, a sniffling sound that sounded suspiciously like crying. He hesitated a minute; he wasn’t known for being the most emotionally intelligent member of the team, preferring to punch his feelings away. But if one of his team members were upset, or hurting, it was his job to check in.

Wincing, he made a point of clearing his throat in case they hadn’t heard him come in. “Hello?” he called. “Somebody there?”

There a sharp inhale, and then a soft, quiet voice came from the armchair facing the window. “‘S just me.”

“Tony?” Steve followed the sound of his voice. “What are you doing in here?”

“Sorry,” he said, voice still soft. “JARVIS said this was the least used room in the tower. I just… I needed a minute.”

Steve came around the front of the chair, and his eyes went wide at the sight of Tony curled up in a tiny, miserable ball in the chair, arms folded across his chest, face red and damp with tears. “Jesus Christ, what happened?” he asked; he’d seen Tony cry before, of course, but never anything like this.

“It’s nothing,” Tony said quickly. “Nothing happened. I was just leaving anyway.”

Not for the first time, Steve felt the stirrings of resentment, thinking about Howard and what he’d done to make Tony think he had to hide something like this. “Tony… Talk to me. Something must have happened.”

But Tony shook his head, still not meeting Steve’s eyes. “It’s nothing,” he insisted, starting to slide off the chair. “Don’t worry about it. It’s fine, everything’s fine. I’m fine.”

Steve had been trying to be good about respecting Tony’s boundaries; teasing him was fun, but he knew Tony didn’t really know him right now, and the last thing he wanted was to make him uncomfortable. But as Tony started to slide past him, Steve couldn’t seem to let himself do that now. Without thinking, he carefully grabbed Tony’s arm and pulled him in against his chest, hugging him close. For a split second Tony went stiff and tense him, and Steve wondered if he’d made entirely the wrong choice. Then, with a deep exhale, Tony crumpled against Steve, pressing his face into his shoulder as his tears started fresh. Steve tightened his arms around Tony’s back, running a hand up and down his spine in a way that he hoped was soothing. The little shudder Tony gave against him suggested that it was helping at least a little.

They stayed like that for a while, Steve taking Tony’s body weight easily, mumbling soothing nonsense phrases like he vaguely remembered his mother doing for him when he’d been sick. Eventually that shifted to actual humming, which got him a sad little giggle out of Tony, his hands squeezing against Steve’s sides.

“Uhh, no offense, Cap,” he said, pulling back a bit. “But you’re truly terrible at singing.”

Steve shrugged, unbothered. “You say terrible, I say I got a laugh out of you, so that’s another win for Captain America.”

Tony snorted and rolled his eyes, but it was a little less sad this time. “Whatever you say, Steve.” He rubbed at the back of his neck, ducking his head a little. “Uh, thanks for that.”

“Steve shrugged. “That’s what I’m here for. Now, you gonna tell me what’s wrong?”

“Oh. You don’t have to… I’ll be okay.” He gave Steve a wry smile. “For real this time.”

“Tony… I know you might not remember this right now, but you really are one of my best friends. I’m not asking because I think I have to, or because I’m Captain America and it’s what I do. I’m asking because I love you, and I care about you, and I’m here for you. I want to help if I can, or just sit here and listen if I can’t.”

“Um. Okay.” Tony fiddled with his hands a moment before flopping back into one of the arm chairs and running a hand through his hair, leaving it even more unruly than usual. “You better be cool about this, Rogers. If you storm out of here in an offended 1940s huff, you’ll break my heart.”

Steve gave him a look as he dragged another armchair over, positioning it he could sit opposite Tony. “Right. Because I’m known for definitely being a stickler for those 1940s sensibilities,” Steve told him with a crooked grin. He reached out, patting Tony on the knee. “Come on. You can tell me.”

“Okay.” Tony bit his lip. “It’s just… I love Rhodey. I mean, obviously I love him, everyone know that. But I’m in love with him. Like the get married, and buy a house, have lots of babies in love… Or adopt them, I guess. I’m just…” He trailed off, shrugging helplessly. “I’m in love with him.”

Steve grinned then, but it was soft and reassuring. “Tony… I know.”

“You do?”

“You’ve been in love with Rhodey for as long as I’ve known you. We’ve talked about it ad nauseum.” He laughed, not unkindly. “I can’t tell you how many times you’ve told me how wonderful he is, all the things you’ve done together, how much you care him… How hot he is in his dress uniform, which personally I don't get. It’s an air force uniform.” He shook his head. “You used to tell me that how so much of what you’ve done was to make yourself the kind of man who would be worthy of a man like Rhodey. I’m pretty sure that being in love with Rhodes is just a part of who you are now. It’s not news.”

“Oh.” Tony smiled faintly, but this didn’t seem to make him feel any better. There was a shimmer in his eyes again. “That’s… great.”

Steve tilted his head, frowning. “Okay, what am I missing?”

Tony gave him a pained look. “I did a stupid thing, Steve. We were looking at the pictures, and I had these albums that were all just Rhodey, and he didn’t even flinch at him, and I don’t even know why now, but I thought…” His voice trailed off to a whisper, so soft that if it wasn’t for the serum, Steve wasn’t sure if he would even have heard him. “I thought we were married.”

Steve felt his heart break at the raw pain on his face. “Oh, Tony.”

“I know, okay? I know. It was so fucking stupid, like why did I jump to married, we don’t even have rings, I don’t know why I said it, I should have just kept my stupid mouth shut. Dad always did tell me I talked too much. But the point is…” He made a choked noise. “The point is, he doesn’t love me back. And future me might be okay with it, but right now it really sucks knowing for a fact that you’re never going to get that happy ending that you don’t admit to daydreaming about. And, and it’s worse. Because for just a minute, I thought I had it. I thought I had everything I could have wanted, and then it was all just yanked away again and…” His voice cracked. “And that really fucking sucks,” he concluded. “Not to mention, I’m pretty sure I just ruined five years -- or thirty years -- of friendship in the process.”

“Hey, hey no.” Steve shook his head rapidly. “Tony, it may not be the way you want, but Rhodey loves you. He’d throw every single one of us under the bus if it meant helping you. I know it feels awkward now, but no way has this ruined your friendship. You’ll get through this.”

Tony huffed out a bitter laugh, face tight as he met Steve’s gaze. “I may be an idiot, but I know Rhodey. I can tell when my best friend is avoiding me.”

And there wasn’t really anything Steve could add to that to that, nothing he could offer except to sit in companionable silence with Tony, until he looked up at him with a sad, tentative smile.

“Don’t suppose you wanna watch a movie with me tonight?”

Steve gave him the most reassuring smile he could manage. “Of course, Tony. Any time.”

***

It had only been a couple days, but it felt like an entire week before Steve came to him. Rhodey hadn’t missed the way Steve and Tony had been spending more and more time together, had been trying to press down the overwhelming jealousy every time he spotted them together. He wasn’t being fair, and he knew it. Tony didn’t trust him now, couldn’t trust him right now, that wasn’t his fault. Rhodey should have been glad that he had someone in his corner, he just… Wished it didn’t have to be Steve.

Not that there were a lot of other options at the moment. The entire team had been pretty scarce lately, probably sensing the tension even if they didn’t know exactly what was going on. Clint had made it a habit to glare at Rhodey every time he passed, because Hawkeye had realized Tony was avoiding him, and apparently Clint was the only one who was allowed to be a shithead to Tony. It was exhausting.

He’d been in the kitchen, making a snack, when Steve had stormed in. Rhodey would never admit it, especially not to Rogers, but for just a moment he’d felt genuine terror. But he hid it well, turning back to the sandwich he was making. “Captain. What can I do for you?”

Steve didn’t answer at first, moving to lean against the counter beside him. “You need to go talk to Tony,” he told him.

Rhodey pinched the bridge of his nose. “Steve…”

“No,” Steve told him firmly. “Rhodes, he’s a mess. I’m trying, but you’re the friend he wants. Talk to him.”

Rhodey felt guilt twist through his stomach, tangled up with the same thrum of fear he’d been fighting off since the whole marriage exchange had happened. “You sure he’ll talk to me?” he asked skeptically, the words slipping out without his consent.

Steve made a pained noise. “You two deserve each other,” he muttered before promptly stealing Rhodey’s sandwich right off the plate in front of him. “Go. Talk to him,” he repeated before taking an enormous bite and walking right out of the kitchen.

Rhodey sighed. “Worst. Team. Ever.”

***

He found Tony, surprise of surprises, in the lab. At least, he reasoned, he hadn’t ruined that for him.

He still had full access, apparently, the doors opening for him automatically, but Tony didn’t look up and so Rhodey hovered inside the doorway, tapping his knuckles against the frame. “Tones?”

“I know it’s you. JARVIS told me.” Tony flicked his eyes at him for a split second, but Rhodey couldn’t help noticing that his expression was less angry and more sad and nervous.

“I, uh…” Rhodey didn’t know where to start or what to say. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I know we haven’t seen much of each other the past few days.”

Tony looked up again, eyes wide. “I’m sorry,” he blurted out. “I know I freaked you out, and of course you wouldn’t want to be married to me. I’m really, really sorry. I promise, I’ll get over these feelings. It’s just a crush, probably… Maybe… Well, Steve said--.” He cut himself suddenly, skin flushing. “Well, anyway. I mean we’re, we’re still friends thirty years later, right? And you don’t know how future me feels, so I must have gotten over it, or at least used to it, or adjusted at some point, right? I promise, I won’t make it weird, just… You’re my best friend. Please don’t go.”

Rhodey blinked, across the room and beside Tony before he was even conscious of the movement. Tony had dropped his eyes back to the table in front of him, but Rhodey caught him by the upper arms, pulling him away so they were facing each other. “Whoa, whoa, hey. First of all, I’m not going anywhere, Tones. Not ever. Second of all. What??”

Tony gave him a pained look. “Come on, Rhodey. I know you’ve been avoiding me.”

“Because… I thought… Tony, you thought we were married. And I… That’s on me. The truth is.” He drew in a long breath, ignoring the pang in his stomach at the thought of confessing. “The truth is, I’ve had feelings for you for a long time. Like three decades worth of a long time. And obviously I was doing a shit-ass job of hiding them, so I just… I just thought you might want some space.”

Tony was staring at him, face unreadable. “What?” Then he shook his head frantically. “No, no, no! Rhodey, are you kidding? I’ve been crushing on you for so long. Since… Well, since we met, really. I walked into the dorm room and you were wearing this old, thin t-shirt and it was so tight around your biceps and I kinda melted a little, and I…” He winced a little, coughing to clear his throat. “Well anyway, that’s kind of too much information, but the point is… The point is, I’m into you too. And then, when I saw the photos, and the videos, and there were all the other little things. You kept touching me, and looking at me, and you said that being gay was accepted now, and I guess I just… I wanted it to be true so I totally misread the situation.”

He ran out of steam then, going quiet as he stared at Rhodey, and for a minute Rhodey just stared back, feeling a little like he might pass out. “Oh,” he said faintly. “Oh, shit.”

Tony smiled at him, soft and tentative. “You… you like me too?” he asked, hopeful and nervous like Rhodey hadn’t just said as much.

Rhodey grinned, feeling like he was buzzing with happiness. “Tony, I am completely and absolutely in love with you,” he told him, watching as the biggest grin bloomed across Tony’s face in response.

“I, um…” He ducked his head a little. “I’m a little in love with you too.”

Rhodey arched an eyebrow at him. “Just a little?”

Tony rolled his eyes at him. “Shut up.”

“Come on, man. Get on my level.”

Tony snorted, the sound turning into a full-on laugh. “Your level?” he replied. “We just confessed our undying love and you haven’t even kissed me yet.”

“Oh, really?” Rhodey focused all his attention on Tony, watching as his tongue darted out to swipe over his lip a little nervously. “That what you’re waiting for?”

Tony shrugged, trying to play cool. “Maybe,” he offered, like it was no big deal, but his fingers were fiddling anxiously. Rhodey shrugged.

“Alright then.” He moved forward, covering Tony's hands with his his to still their nervous twitching. Then he shifted one hand to curl around the back of his neck, stroking his thumb over his skin. Tony stared up at him with those big, beautiful eyes, lips parted slightly in anticipation, and Rhodey grinned at him before closing the distance between them and kissing him gently. Tony almost immediately melted against him, hands shifting to grab at Rhodey’s hips, clutching them tight as his lips parted and Rhodey deepened the kiss. He slid his hand down Tony’s back, pulling him in close, and grinned at the startled, pleased noise Tony made against his mouth.

They were both breathing hard when he pulled back again, curling his other hand around his neck so he could stroke his thumbs over his pulse points. “That good, baby?”

Tony blinked at him a couple times. “Holy shit,” he breathed, eyes round and huge. “That was… Holy shit.”

Rhodey smirked at him. “What? Don’t tell me you don’t remember kissing.”

Tony gave him a mock glare. “Of course I remember kissing! But it was never like... That. Jesus Rhodes, where’d you learn to kiss like that?”

Rhodey couldn’t help laughing, shaking his head and ducking his head to give Tony another quick kiss. “Practice,” he told him, waggling his eyebrow.

“Yeah? Wanna go upstairs and practice some more?”

“Smooth, man.” Rhodey laughed harder, not wanting to admit how much Tony’s terrible line delighted him. He hummed consideringly, and then yelped when Tony pinched his side. “Come on, like I’m going to turn down making out with you.”

Tony beamed at him. “And then, maybe, you could… Stay? Even if we don’t do anything. I Just… I missed you the last couple days.”

Rhodey slid his arms down over Tony’s back, pulling him in and hugging him tight. “I like the sound of that.”

***

They ended up stretched out on Tony’s massive bed, stripped down to boxers and t-shirts. Tony was sprawled out on top of him, making contented little noises against Rhodey’s mouth as they made out lazily for what felt like hours. Rhodey was particularly fond of this angle, as it let him drop his hand down to Tony’s ass and squeeze whenever he felt like it. The little giggle that Tony had made the first time was Rhodey’s new favourite sound.

“Hey,” Tony pulled back, blinking at Rhodey with sleepy eyes. “You know what we should do?”

Rhodey hummed, running his hands over Tony’s back. “What’s that?”

“You should take my virginity.”

Rhodey burst out laughing, tipping them onto their sides. He shook his head, beaming at Tony. “Okay, I know for a fact that you’re not a virgin, even at your memory age, or whatever.”

Tony gave him a scandalized look, but he was laughing now too. “Not for butt stuff!” he insisted. “I’ve never done that!”

Rhodey laughed harder. “Okay. The fact that you just called it butt stuff? Means we’re not fucking doing it tonight. Or at all, until you get your memories back.”

Tony giggled, pushing at Rhodey until he shifted onto his back, letting Tony snuggle up against his side. “Fine,” he sighed, not sounding particularly upset. “What about blow jobs? We’ll split the difference! I’ve gotten them before, but I’ve never given them before… We can 69!”

Rhodey snorted, wrapping his arms around Tony. “You’re hopeless,” he informed him. He traced long fingers up and down his spine. “Also, no. It’s just… I get that you might be fully onboard--,”

“I fully, absolutely am,” Tony informed him, biting at his chest through his t-shirt just to be a shit.

“But that doesn’t mean that you’ll feel the same way when you get your memories back.”

Tony lifted his head to give him a skeptical look. “Well, I don’t think that’s likely to happen.”

“Probably not. At least I hope not. But we won’t know for sure until you get them back. I don’t know, Tones. It’s a weird situation. I’m just not totally comfortable with it.”

Tony hummed. “That’s fair,” he acknowledged. “Although, I do feel obliged to point out that you did just spend the last hour making out with me.”

Rhodey shrugged. “Hey man, I’m only human.”

Tony giggled again, settling in closer. “Hey, you’re gonna stay though, right?” he asked, a little bit of nervous energy sliding into his voice again. “Here, I mean? Tonight?”

Rhodey hummed, pressing his face into the soft curls on the top of Tony’s head. “Nowhere else I’d rather be.”

***

Rhodey woke up the next morning to bright laughter beside him. He rolled over to find Tony sprawled out on his back, laughing up at the ceiling. “What the fuck are you giggling at?”

Tony turned to grin at him, and oh. “Tones?” he asked, because that face was all his Tony. Well, every Tony was his Tony, but it was now Tony.

Tony smirked at him. “Hey handsome. Guess who got their memories back.” Then he was shifting forward, kissing Rhodey with all his extra years of experience. “God, your morning breath is terrible,” he informed him, still grinning.

“Yours isn’t exactly candy floss,” Rhodey replied automatically, setting Tony off laughing again. “Okay, laughing at the man you just kissed isn’t a great start.”

“It’s not that!” Tony said quickly, sliding a hand up under Rhodey’s t-shirt to splay his hand out over his abdomen. “It’s just... “ He snorted. “The spell. It’s so fucking stupid, but the key to getting my memories back? True love’s kiss.” He buried his face in Rhodey’s chest, body shaking with laughter. “We’re such cliches, baby.”

Rhodey grinned, running his fingers through Tony’s hair. “I wouldn’t expect you to be so pleased by that idea.”

Tony lifted his head to give him a dopey grin, shrugging a little. “I don’t know. Nothing in my life has exactly been what you’d call normal. If it means you’re my one true love, absolutely, I kind of like the idea of being a cliche.”

Rhodey felt his face go soft and soppy. “You’re the sweetest damn thing I’ve ever seen,” he said, earning him an eye roll even as a pleased smile crossed Tony’s lips.

“Shut up,” he muttered, before wriggling his way down Rhodey’s body. “Now, about those blow jobs you promised me…”

@tonystarkbingo

#tonystarkbingo2020 #tsb2020 #ironhusbands #tony stark #james rhodes #steve rogers #memory loss #canon divergence #fluff #hurt/comfort #fic #my fic

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twillytoothpick · 5 years

Text

What You Get

Player: Sean Couturier, Travis Konecny.

Warning: cursing, references to sex.

Summary: Jessica was going to make you get over that prick no matter what.

A/N: Just a heads up to my readers, this was never a pro-Travis fic. The focus of this story is more the emotional development of the reader insert and yes, Travis is the bad guy here. Another big thank you to @fridays--child for beta reading! I hope you all enjoy the second part.

Sweat dripped down the side of your face as you skidded into your bathroom. You heard the pounding of footsteps behind you as your pursuer chased you. You closed the door as quick as you could, double checking to make sure you locked it. You gasped and darted towards the bathtub when their body collided with the door.

"It won't hurt as much as you think it will, " they jiggled the door handle as they tried to soothe you, "I promise I'll make it quick."

You watched the door handle as it continued to wiggle around. You could hear the sound of metal scraping against metal as they tried to pick the old fashioned lock.

"M-maybe I don't want to! Maybe I'm not ready to do this!"

You glanced at the item in your hand then around your bathroom.

They'll lose interest if they can't find it.

You scrambled towards the small linen closet and stuffed it between some towels. The door clicked open and you whirled around as they stepped into your space.

"Seriously (Y/N), we need to do this." You grimaced and looked away as they held their hand out to you.

"Oh my God, stop being such a brat and give me the damn phone!" Jessica snapped at you, the dark look on her face reminiscent of principal Trunchbull.

"His face is in damn near every one of your Facebook photos and pretty much all of your Insta posts!" She rolled her eyes at you and waved her hand in front of your face.

You swallowed heavily and continued to stare at the floor. Jessica was right of course, it had been close to a month now and you hadn't even worked up the courage to delete his number.

Who knew it would be so hard to let go of something you never had…

Jessica sighed before she crouched down to your level,

"I know it's hard but you have let it go. I guarantee that your phone number was gone the minute he woke up."

You gasped at her words as you tried to blink back tears.

"It will only take a few minutes and you'll feel so much better, I promise."

Those words won her the battle as you sagged in defeat. You fumbled your way back into the linen closet and pulled your phone out of its hiding place.

"Okay but I choose what gets deleted."

Jessica hovered over your shoulder as you made your way through your Instagram posts.

"God, do you have any pictures without his face in them?" You rolled your eyes and shifted away from her, the corners of your mouth tilting up.

"He's the only reason I even have Snapchat or Instagram, " you grumbled back as you continued to dutifully delete any image that included Travis.

"You know how I was about social media back in the day, back then people only knew about my life if they…" Your words trailed off when you saw the photo that you had dreaded seeing.

It was a selfie that Travis had taken, his arm was wrapped around your shoulders as he planted a kiss on your cheek. It had been your favourite photo for a long time just because it made you two look like a couple.

Now it reminded you of the fact that you were just a mistake to him. You bit your lip in an effort to control yourself but it didn't stop the way your eyes burned or how your throat constricted.

It wasn't until Jessica pulled the phone out of your hand that you broke out of your trance.

"How about I take care of the rest of them?”

You nodded your consent and huddled deeper into the couch, wishing that you had never met Travis in the first place.

You winced as the tequila burned its way down your throat and slammed the shot glass down. You grabbed the paltry lime wedge and sucked on it as if your life depended on it.

"How can you willingly drink something that tastes so awful?" You gasped as Jessica signalled the bartender for another round.

"Don't worry, you won't taste anything after the third round," She yelled over the music that throbbed throughout the club.

You grimaced when the bartender set down what was now your third shot of tequila. You and Jessica followed the ritual of salting the rim, downing the shot, then sucked as much juice out of the lime as you could.

You rolled your eyes at the sound of her tipsy giggle, you knew she pregamed a little while you were getting ready but you didn't think she was that far down the rabbit hole.

"Why are we even here anyway, " you struggled to raise your voice above the music but she seemed to catch on.

"Because the best way to get over a dick is to ride one!"

You glanced around to see if anyone had heard her declaration as a dark flush spread across your face.

"I just need time, Jess-"

"Bullshit, you've had time, " she whipped her head around to glare at you. "You've also removed him from your life, it's time to get over it and get some!"

"Honestly, Jess I just want to-"

"Other than Travis, how many people have you slept with in the past three years?"

"W-what does that have to do-" you cut yourself off when she glared at you again. You gulped and turned to study the dance floor, "I don't know, maybe one other person."

"You and I both know that you pretty much shut down your love life the moment you fell for that over-hyped prick." You could feel her stare boring into you but you continued to sweep your eyes around the club. Even if you had been looking for a hookup there was no one that caught your eye.

Well, there was no one until your eyes landed on the VIP area. Your body locked up and you looked away so quick that a cracking sound emanated from your neck.

Of course, he's here. Jessica said this was the hottest club in Philly. I'm sure there are tons of girls throwing themselves-

"So what?" Your own dismissal surprised you, maybe Jessica was right. Maybe it was time to be with someone who didn't mind you being there when they woke up.

"So what, what?" Jessica tilted her head in your direction, sure that she had missed something important. You licked your lips and looked at her with newfound confidence,

"So what guy should I go for first?"

A wild grin appeared on her face before she grabbed your hands and dragged you onto the dance floor.

"Yes girl, let's get that dick!"

Your face was flushed and your chest was heaving when you two finally stumbled off the dance floor. You thought you would be tired after that but you felt exhilarated. Until now you hadn't realized how little you had gone out, how rare it had become for you to enjoy being out the last few years.

You gave the bartender a weak wave to get his attention and ordered a drink for the two of you. You could feel your phone buzzing as you reached into your clutch but ignored it. You fingers had trouble locating your wallet though and you ended up peering into it in a vain effort to find your money. You became so absorbed in this venture that you didn't notice the large person come up behind you and jumped when a large hand landed on the small of your back.

"This round is on me, beautiful." He grinned down at you while you unashamedly gawked at the handsome, somewhat familiar man who stood within inches of you.

You peeked over your shoulder to gauge Jessica's reaction only to see a similarly awestruck look on her face.

Shit, gotta be smooth, I'm on my own now.

"You're Travis's friend, right?" He leaned down so he could talk directly into your ear and resisted the urge to shiver as his breath tickled your neck. "I haven't seen you around lately, where has he been hiding you?"

You recognized him now, he was the alternate captain of the Flyers.

Crap, what was his name? Sam? Seth?

You pushed back the rush of emotions that came with the mention of Travis and focused on trying to remember his name. He seemed to sense your struggle and extended his hand towards you,

"I'm Sean, I don't think Travis ever actually introduced us." He let out low laugh as his large grasped your smaller one, his fingers almost long enough to completely wrap around your hand.

I wonder what else those fingers can do.

Heat rushed to your cheeks at the thought and for once you were glad for the dim lighting in the club.

"He must not have, I would have remembered someone like you." You smiled back at him while you mentally patted yourself on the back, "I'm (Y/N)."

Guess I can be smooth when the goal is getting laid. Maybe it's the tequila working its magic.

He leaned closer to you and you struggled to control the urge to step closer,

"How about we go somewhere where we don't have to yell at each other?"

"U-um…"

You grunted when Jessica, who had been acting uninterested in the whole interaction, shoved you forward.

"She'd love to!" She crowed while she shot you a look out the corner of her eye. Sean glanced between the two of you as he raised an eyebrow.

"If you don't want to, it's fi-" you cut him off when you grabbed his hand and stepped past him,

"I'm not sure if we'll find a quiet place in here but we can try." You flashed him a look from beneath your eyelashes as tugged on his hand.

He relaxed and shot you an easy grin before pulling ahead of you to lead the way. You risked a glance back at Jessica and flushed when you deciphered what she was mouthing at you,

"If you don't fuck him, I will!"

You let out a breathless giggle as you leaned against Sean,

"Oh my God, that's awful!" You boldly placed a hand on his thigh to steady yourself.

"What can I say? Some women will do anything to get with a hockey player." He glanced toward the empty glasses on the table. He grabbed them and stood, giving you a wink as he did.

"Wait here and I'll tell you about the one that ambushed Giroux and me in an elevator."

You were more than willing to admit that you ogled his ass as he walked away. A satisfied smile settled on your lips and relaxed into the cushions in the booth. You jumped slightly when you felt your phone vibrate the thin fabric of your small clutch. Under the assumption that it was Jessica checking on you, you grabbed your phone and tapped on the message notification without looking at the sender.

Do you know what we call a girl who has slept with more than one player on a team?

There was no name, just a number but it was a number you memorized years ago. Against your better judgement, you brought up the whole conversation and read the messages you ignored earlier. You must have been really out of it to not notice your phone going off that many times. It started off okay and went steadily downhill.

"Hey" Basic, an icebreaker.

"Haven't seen you out in a while." Gee, I wonder why?

"You never did like hard alcohol" He must have been watching you since you first came in.

"That dress looks good on you." You gawked at your phone and wondered if tequila could cause hallucinations.

"What, you don't look at your phone anymore?" You broke out of your stupor and rolled your eyes, he would turn into a massive brat if you didn't answer right away.

"Damn, you're really slutting it up tonight." You let out a strangled gasp at that comment but your fury helped you blink back tears.

"Sean has always had low standards, didn't realize how low until tonight." You clamped a hand over your mouth to silence the whimper that tried to escape your mouth. Your hands had started to shake and it felt like you were choking as you fought to keep yourself under control.

Your phone buzzed in your hand as the answer to his own question came through,

"We call them the team bicycle."

That was the last straw and you shot up, almost bumping into Sean as he set the drinks down.

"Whoa, everything all right?" You mumbled something about needing the bathroom and left him to stare after you.

You leaned against the bathroom sink as another sob escaped you. Your mind, no, everything, spun as you struggled to pull yourself together. You wanted to text him back, to tell him that he was an asshole and that he had judged you wrong.

You let out a pathetic sniffle and glanced up at the large mirror. You jolted when you realized that there was another woman in the bathroom with you. She had been observing you while you dissolved into an absolute wreck. She shook her head while she washed her hands.

"I don't know who hurt you, honey, but he better worth it if you're crying that hard." She turned the faucet off and dried her hands under the blower. She carefully checked her hair and clothes before she turned to leave,

"It better be a damn good man you're sobbing over if you're willing to ruin your makeup." With one final glance back, she left the bathroom.

You stared after her as her comments played on repeat in your head. The crying had stopped when she spoke to you and your breathing had slowed down as you turned your head to look at the mirror.

You made eye contact with your reflection as one thing became crystal clear.

He was never worth your time.

You walked with purpose as you forced yourself through the crowd. You didn't care about the dirty looks you were getting, you only cared about getting back to that booth. Fury powered you now and filled you with confidence that you had never experienced.

You finally reached the booth and met Sean's eyes. He stared up at you, a small frown on his lips while he once again cocked an eyebrow at you. You drew in a deep breath as you pulled your shoulders back and tilted your head at an almost arrogant angle.

"Your place or mine?"

#part 2 #hockey imagine #sean couturier #travis konecny #nhl imagine #philadelphia flyers #angst #hope you guys like it #it probably went in a different firection than you expected #sorry about that

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emeraldwaves · 5 years

Text

Title: The Pirate Queen Pairing: Kacchako Part 1 Rating: T Word Count: 4,017 Summary: Admiral Bakugou Katsuki is tired of the "Pirate Queen", Uraraka Ochako eluding him and his captains. Slowly, she becomes all he can think about. But only because he vows to chase her down and capture her once and for all.

AO3

This is for the @kacchakosecretsanta event for @intheafterall !! I did a pirate AU! With Pirate!Ochako and Admiral!Bakugou I hope you enjoy this!! This is part 1/4 and all of it is written I just split it up to be an easier read. Thanks to @liziscribbles for betaing!

The knife slammed down into the table, tearing through the map. Smacking both of his hands against the table, Bakugou growled in frustration.

"The fuck are you idiots doing!?" he snapped.

Neither of the young officers wished to answer, too scared of the wrath they were certain to incur. Bakugou's red eyes immediately narrowed, his fingers trembling with rage as they dragged along the map and slowly curled into fists.

"Admiral..." Kirishima began softly. "You know how she is... we-"

"Let me fucking guess... you tried," he hissed. "You tried to catch her, even though the spot was marked perfectly on the map. Our informant gave us all the damn information you needed."

"W-We're starting to think they might not be as reliable as we think. Or... she's feeding information purposefully," Kaminari stammered.

"I should've gone my fucking self. I've got fucking Todoroki breathing down my neck. This pirate situation isn't getting any better and the last thing I need is him questioning what the hell we're doing over here!"

Bakugou flipped the back of his jacket up as he took a seat in the chair and rubbed his forehead. "This is the fourth time we've failed," he growled. "What the hell is happening?"

"Her ship is fast," Kaminari explained. "It's like it floats on water!"

"I know what her fucking ship is like," Bakugou hissed. "I still don't know where the hell it came from, but I know it's fast."

"Her crew is strong. Talented. They're the best of the best! I would almost guess you trained them yourself, they're so strong!" Kirishima snorted.

Bakugou's grip on the chair tightened. "Do you want me to pull my pants down so you can kiss my ass harder, Captain?" he hissed and Kirishima's face turned as red as his damn hair.

"N-No..." he stammered.

"I mean... they call her the Pirate Queen for a reason," Kaminari added.

"I don't care what people call her. I will dethrone her and behead her for all to see. No pirates will roam my waters," he hissed.

"Well... technically the waters belong to the Prince," Kaminari hummed softly.

"Does the ocean really belong to anyone?" Kirishima asked, tapping his finger against his chin.

Bakugou grumbled, squeezing his hands against the arms of the chair. "I'll kill you both..."

"S-Sorry, sir..." Kaminari laughed softly, rubbing his hand against his neck.

"Gather your crew, Kirishima," Bakugou muttered, pushing himself out of the chair. He reached towards the map and grabbed his knife. "We're going after her."

"But Bakugou... we don't even know where she is anymore! No one hasn't sent word, and we've been unable to track her ship at all..." Kirishima spoke quickly, rushing his words as Bakugou brushed past him.

"I don't care. I will find her ship and destroy it. If we kill the 'Pirate Queen', we'll set an example for all to see. Pirating will not be tolerated by myself or the Prince..." he growled.

"Since when have you cared so much about what the damn Prince wants," Kirishima folded his arms. "It could be dangerous and costly to take a crew out if you don't know where you're going."

"His coronation is coming up..." Bakugou growled, tucking his knife away. "He's spoken openly about making the waters safer for travel and exports, and I don't feel like listening to him yell at me when we can't handle one puny pirate ship! The guy is annoying as fuck." He spoke the last words quietly. Slandering the Prince's name was something he knew he could get away with in front of these two, but didn't particularly care to get in trouble if anyone overheard.

"Right... but getting rid of her isn't going to get rid of all pirates," Kirishima said. "With... all due respect sir, I think we should consider waiting-"

"WAITING!? I'm tired of waiting for you morons to get shit done when I could've done it myself months ago!" he snapped.

She appeared seemingly out of nowhere... Uraraka Ochako was the name provided to him when Prince Todoroki Shouto's ship was attacked on return from visiting his fiancée, the Lady Yaoyorozu Momo. The Lady was meant to travel across the sea for the coronation ceremony, but the prince was hesitant to have her do so with so many pirates on the loose.

As Admiral of the Todoroki fleet... Bakugou was in charge of taking care of this problem—namely Uraraka Ochako.

Pirates existed before her, but most of them were far too scared of the Admiral's fleet to actually try anything. He was respected amongst his men, and considered one of the best Admirals the fleet had ever seen. He captured pirates and protected the seas. It was his duty to do so, and he did a damn good job.

But Uraraka Ochako was different. She laughed in his face, speeding around his ocean in her ship, which appeared to float atop the water.

And she was immediately dubbed the Pirate Queen, for being able to constantly outrun various ships in the fleet.

According to reports, she never actually killed anyone. She stole money, jewels, and treasure, but she rarely harmed a soul. How she could do that was beyond him. In fact, her whole being was mystery to Admiral Bakugou Katsuki. Though Kaminari and Kirishima were two of his most trusted comrades from his early days in the fleet, they continued to prove if Bakugou wanted something done correctly, he had to do it his damn self.

Indeed, Pirate Queen Uraraka Ochako never had to deal with the Admiral Bakugou Katsuki himself, and he was going to give her a helluva time.

"Get your crew together," he hissed again. Just thinking about her made him want blow some shit up.

"But..."

"Kirishima! Don't make me pull rank with you," Bakugou growled. "I will be getting rid of this... Pirate Queen once and for all!"

"I just really don't know if this is going to solve all the pirate problems we're dealing with..." Kirishima begged. "Let's at least try and get some word-"

"You're an idiot if you don't think I have some sort of plan." Bakugou snapped, cutting Kirishima off. He didn't wish to deal with the idiocy anymore.

Bakugou clenched his fists at his side. "She is the main problem… Uraraka... Ochako."

The ocean breeze was always calm in the morning, her brown locks brushing over her round, pink cheeks. The salty air tickled her nose and she hummed softly, enjoying the relaxing sway of the boat while she lay in the crow's nest.

"Captain!" A frantic voice called out and she shot up, her hair tossed about every which way.

She blinked, realizing the sun was far higher in the sky than she initially realized and she probably shouldn't have been lazing around all day. She gently stroked her finger over the golden locket around her neck. No, she was never one for being lazy.

"Captain!" the voice repeated, "Are you up there!?"

"Ah! Deku!" she called back, leaning over the edge. "I'll be right down!" Leaping forward, she grabbed one of the ropes from the sail and swung down, her body twirling around the large mast as she dropped to the deck.

Deku blinked, watching as she stood up, looking completely unfazed. "You know you can just call me Ochako if you want," she said. "I know I'm technically your Captain, but at this point, it's safe to say we're friends."

"But... you're the Captain," Deku mumbled, biting his lip.

"Oh, you and Iida need to stop doing this," she snorted. "I know you're ex-navy but we don't have to be so formal here!"

"I know, I know, you always say this!" he chuckled.

"And one of these days you two will listen!" she giggled. "Anyway, what's up?"

"A-AH! Right!" Deku gasped. "The Prince's fleet... word is... Admiral Bakugou isn't happy with you."

Uraraka couldn't help but smirk. "The Admiral himself?" she hummed, rocking back and forth on her feet. The sash around her belt swayed against her leg and she hopped to the side, bouncing in her boots. "I guess he's finally tired of sending his crew out to do his dirty work."

"Well... according to my sources," Deku began, flipping through the log book he held, "it seems the Prince's fiancée will be traveling across the sea for his coronation and their wedding very soon."

Uraraka's eyes lit up. "Oh?"

"U-Uraraka..." Deku stammered, already disliking the look in her eyes. Her entire crew was familiar with that particular look...

"Deku! Don't you realize the kind of treasure that would be on those ships?!" she said, rubbing her hands together.

"The second Iida hears about this he's never going to approve," Deku sighed.

"Mmm. I'm the Captain of the Uravity!" she laughed. "Iida's gonna have to do what I say!"

"I know..." Deku said, twisting his lips to the side.

She clasped her hands behind her, walking to the edge of the ship. "I know it's risky," she whispered. "But think... of all the people we could help with that money."

Deku walked to stand next to her, watching the small waves gently lap against the side of their large ship. He pursed his lips, nodding. "Yeah I know."

"Other people deserve that money more," she said. "It's not like I think the Prince or the Lady are bad people. As far as rulers go, they seem very... kind actually. But why can't we distribute it more..."

"And this is why you're the Queen," he smirked, gently tapping his fingers against the book.

"Please, I'm not a Queen," Uraraka replied quickly, her pink cheeks flushing. She waved her hand back and forth. "Deku... I just want to help people, even if it's not the most, uh, legal way to do so!" she laughed. "This is... what I'm good at. Might as well embrace it right?"

Uraraka never expected to be the 'queen of the pirates'. In fact, she never planned on doing much of anything. As the daughter of poor farmers, she expected to inherit the land and work for her parents for her entire life.

However, it all changed when her village was attacked by a band of rogue pirates. They plundered the land, stealing everything from the poor. The only thing left from her village Uraraka owned was the small golden locket she wore around her neck. And, being the young girl she was, Uraraka was taken by the pirates.

Assuming she would be sold off, Uraraka wasn't going down without a fight. She impressed the captain at the time through her diligence and hard work as a kitchen girl and lookout. So instead, he took her under his wing.

Uraraka learned quickly to follow his instructions if she did not wish to die. She watched silently as they stole money and greedily hoarded it for themselves over and over. Poor folk were left even poorer, and Uraraka knew she couldn't let it stand.

She made a pact with herself; if this was to be her life, she would find a way to make it good.

When the captain finally died, Uraraka was one of the first to strike up her sword. After spending years practicing her swordsmanship skills, she struck down his crew, banishing them from what was now her ship.

The Uravity.

It was then she assembled her own crew of like minded people. Her mission was a simple one. They stole from the wealthy and gave it back to the poor. And though what they did was illegal, she knew it was also right.

It was why so many people chose to join her.

She smiled at Deku. "I just... want to do what's best for people like my parents. People who deserve to be... taken care of."

"I know," Deku nodded. "And while you may not consider yourself a Queen... we all know you're one of the kindest, most thoughtful people around."

"Maybe," she giggled. "But I still could go to prison!"

She turned her gaze back out the sea, watching the waves rise and fall gently. The open ocean was a strange entity. One moment it was like this, calm, soft rolling waves, and then next it could eat you alive with it's angry storms and thrashing waves. But, right now, enveloped by the salty sea air and bright sun, Uraraka never felt more alive.

This was her home. Her ship was a beautiful thing, and Uraraka had come to respect the water surrounding them. Even if she didn't technically choose this life, she like to think it chose her.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with what you do-well, okay..." Deku hummed, rubbing the back of his neck. "There are some things wrong but... I do think... helping people... even if you are stealing... is a good thing."

"Well... I don't ever want anyone to live like I did... like my parents did," she whispered.

"At this rate they won't," Deku said gently.

"Right!" Uraraka clapped her hands together. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in my quarters. Got lots of planning to do! And tell Iida, I won't be changing my mind," she called out, waving to Deku as she hopped down towards the entryway to the living quarters. Knowing Deku, he probably wouldn't tell Iida a thing and by the time they approached the ships, well, it would be far too late to turn back.

She stepped into her quarters and placed her long jacket over the chair. She smoothed her hand over the map laying on her desk. "The Admiral, huh," she whispered. Was she really so infamous the Admiral had to come after her himself?

Uraraka had never met the man, but she heard stories. He was young, but he climbed the ranks with his sheer tenacity. He was apparently an unstoppable force, that she indirectly stopped. She couldn't imagine he liked her very much, and she reveled in the fact.

Going after the ships the Lady Momo would be traveling with was a risky move. Surely, she would be guarded by various navy ships. Thinking it over, Uraraka could only assume it would be a trap.

A smirk pulled across her lips. "All the more reason to go."

"I don't like it," Todoroki huffed, folding his arms across his chest. "You'll be putting the Lady in direct danger. She is my fiancée and I wish for her to be protected."

Bakugou clicked his tongue. "We won't be putting anyone in danger. The entirety of the royal naval fleet will be there."

"And why should I have any faith that you can keep her safe when you haven't been able to catch this woman?" Todoroki stated bluntly.

Clenching his fists by his side, Bakugou bit down hard on his lip, not wanting to say anything rude to his Prince. Why the fuck was this asshole in charge?

Todoroki stepped down from his throne, glaring at Bakugou. "I need to get the Lady Momo here. We are to be married soon and I wish for her to be by my side during the coronation," he explained. "However, having her travel in this very public fleet doesn't seem like such a good idea. I don't... like it."

"I can assure you," Bakugou said, his voice slipping through his grit teeth, "nothing will happen to your woman. This is a good fuckin' chance to catch this bitch. Don't let me lose this opportunity Todoroki," he growled.

"Hm..." Todoroki hummed, pressing his finger against his chin. "I don't wish to put the Lady in danger, but I do recognize the problem this... Pirate Queen is causing," he sighed. "I believe the best solution would be to use a decoy ship. The Lady can travel in the smaller ship far behind the main fleet."

"You're not such an idiot after all," Bakugou muttered.

Todoroki was quick to roll his eyes. "I really shouldn't allow you to speak to the Prince like that-"

"Shaddup Half and Half!" Bakugou snapped. "I'm getting shit done for you, you should be fucking grateful!"

"Bakugou..." he muttered.

"We'll do the decoy ship plan. I'll send one ship with my strongest men to escort your woman, and the rest of them will follow the decoy. I'll stay with the decoy and finally take that bitch down."

A smirk pulled across his lips. What he didn’t tell the Prince was that he thought Uraraka would be smart enough to guess this would be their plan. He would stay with the Lady and keep her safe himself. Todoroki didn’t need to know Bakugou expected Uraraka to find Momo’s ship.

"I swear," Todoroki hissed, stepping towards him. "If anything happens to Momo because of your goddamn plan, I will kill you."

"Calm down," Bakugou said, rolling his eyes. "Nothing is going to happen to your damn woman!"

A sigh slipped from Todoroki's lips. "I really wish you wouldn't talk to your Prince like this."

"Oh shove it," he snarled, folding his arms across his chest.

Ignoring Bakugou's obnoxious behavior, Todoroki walked past him. "Everyone knows the Lady will be traveling to me. It isn't exactly hidden information. The 'Queen' will obviously go after the decoy," he lied quietly. "I do believe this is our best option for us both to get what we wish. Lady Momo will arrive on the mainland safely, while Uraraka Ochako is apprehended and taken into your custody.

"I will hang her and make an example of her for all pirates to see. I will not let her make a fucking fool of us any more," he hissed.

Todoroki raised his eyebrow. "A harsh punishment."

"Would you want me to spare her?!" he frowned.

"Not necessarily. Though I guess... I am curious what you think of the rumors."

"The fuck you talkin' about Prince" he asked angrily.

"They say she only takes treasure from wealthy ships, and apparently she redistributes the money among... poorer citizens. That's why they call her a Queen."

"What Queen has ever done shit like that?" Bakugou snorted.

"Touche," Todoroki nodded. "I wonder where her moral compass falls exactly. Apparently she hasn't even killed anyone."

"Does it matter?" Bakugou growled. "She's committing crimes! She's stealing! Shouldn't you be more concerned with this? Shattering your order or whatever the fuck?"

"Hm," Todoroki twisted his lips. "Maybe I should be. However, I am more concerned with violent pirates."

Bakugou resisted every urge to slap him. "I'm going to fucking kill her. She might be 'a good person', but that doesn't mean all pirates who follow after her will be as good," he hissed.

"...Keep Momo safe." Todoroki stated flatly. A tired sigh left his lips. "And if you catch Uraraka, do with her what you will."

"Oh, I fuckin' will," he growled, storming out to leave Todoroki alone in the throne room.

"The Admiral probably thinks I'm not very intelligent," Uraraka began with a laugh. She ran her finger over the edge of her locket, pursing her lips.

Ashido raised her eyebrow leaning against the desk. "What makes you think that?"

"Well there's no way the Prince would simply send his Lady across the ocean so publicly. He's practically asking for her to be attacked!" she said.

Everyone was well aware of how much the Prince seemed to adore the Lady Momo. Though they were betrothed at a young age, the two seemed close and happy, at least to the public.

"I believe this grand fleet they've set up is a decoy."

"Well," Ashido sighed, "you did say the Admiral is out to get you."

"Mhm. I think he's trying to set up a trap. He probably plans to have one ship with guards following behind this main parade of ships," she said, pointing on the map where she believed the ships would be.

"I agree, it is obviously a trap." Iida said, moving his hand up and down rigidly. "I think we should avoid this altogether."

"Boooooring," Ashido snorted. "Ochako, why did you let these losers join our crew again?" she asked, leaning towards Iida to bop him on the forehead.

"Ashido! I would like to ask you to refrain from hitting me on the forehead," Iida scoffed, folding his arms across his chest.

"Because Iida and Deku are good people. They're both very intelligent and I trust their opinions," Ochako smiled.

"Yeah Mina, calm down," Sero teased, nudging her side.

"Do you plan to follow the smaller ship?" Iida asked, ignoring Ashido and Sero playfully arguing in the corner.

"Mmm..." Deku tapped his chin. "It might be a good idea to send another ship towards the main fleet as a decoy."

"But we don't have another ship," Ashido was quick to point out.

"If we had another ship, I would agree with you," Uraraka nodded, adjusting her hat on her head. "But as it stands we only have the Uravity. I don't want to involve another crew and have to potentially split treasure with them! Or have them take it for themselves..."

Admittedly, Uraraka wasn't very trusting of other pirates.

"Right..." Deku muttered sadly. "Then, we should head directly for the Lady Momo's ship. I do think it'll follow behind in case of ambush. It's most likely safer farther back."

"You're right," Uraraka said, and slid their small boat replica across the map, pushing it towards the back of the fleet she drew up.

"Do you think the Admiral will be with the fleet?" Sero asked, "Or will he stay with the Lady?"

Deku twisted his lips, looking deep in thought. Of her entire crew, Deku and Iida were the only two to actually have any sort of contact with the Admiral. Deku always spoke highly of him, though he also explained Bakugou never was very well liked in the fleet. "I don't know..." he admitted. "The thing is... he's very intelligent. It just depends on how smart he thinks you are, Uraraka. Given your history... I have a feeling he'll be with the Lady."

"Then we'll prepare for a battle," she said.

"I still say it might be best if we all... stay away from this. Other ships will be around and the navy will be completely distracted with this task... wouldn't it be a good idea to go after others right now?" Iida suggested.

"That would probably be the safe thing to do." Uraraka nodded sagely, then giggled. "But since when have we ever done the safe thing?"

"That's my girl!" Ashido cheered.

"Prepare the ship," Uraraka said. "We don't have much time and I want to be sure to make it to the ship route by dawn."

Iida rubbed his hands together. "Are you sure this is what you want to do?"

"Positive," Uraraka nodded. "I'm not scared of the Admiral and I'm not going to back down from his very obvious challenge!"

"You are a brave woman, Uraraka," Deku stammered. "The Admiral is strong and a talented tactician. He's young and climbed the ranks due to his ruthless ways and intelligence."

"Yeah? Well... he could be an old fart and I'd still go after him," she giggled. "I'm not scared of him! We're the best pirates on this ocean, and I refuse to be scared off by some Admiral who has been too lazy to come after me himself until now."

Ashido laughed. "I know you're both kinda new here, so maybe you don't fully understand why Uraraka is the Pirate Queen?" she smiled, rocking back and forth on her feet. "But she's gonna kick the Admiral's ass. Just you watch." She winked, tossing her pink hair back over her shoulder, as she followed Uraraka out of the main cabin.

"You really don't have to call me a queen," she said, shaking her head, making her way towards the front of her ship. She wasn't scared; in fact the challenge really did excite her. Things had been getting a little boring as of late. "I will be showing The Admiral I'm a force to be reckoned with!" she smirked, looking out over her crew.

"Hoist the sails!"

And with Uraraka's command, they were off.

#kacchako #kss18 #bakugou katsuki #uraraka ochako #BNHA #boku no hero academia #pirate AU #secret santa event #part 1 of 4 #I'm sorry this is so long auewfijsd

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mugsywrites · 6 years

Text

Trailer Reaction

My detailed thoughts and spec. Includes filming spoilers:

Rick: It’s been awhile since we’ve had one of these talks.

He’s obviously talking to Negan. Snore. I’m already sick of his ass.

Shot of Maggie in a white button up overlooking construction of the Hilltop. Still wears her wedding ring. :(

BABY RHEE!!!!!!! MY SKIN IS CLEAR! CROPS ARE FLOURISHING!

More Rick VO of him rubbing in how much better off they all are without Negan. Shots of Rick smiling at Judith frolicking in a field.

Next shot is of Richonne on horseback and Daryl on his bike riding into Hilltop. Supposedly Maggie is refusing to send food to the Sanctuary and Rick and Michonne have to come talk to her about it. Think it might be this scene.

Judith, Michonne, and Michonne’s AMAZING GUNS in a field growing shit:

Rick VO: Blah blah blah Negan u suck and we rock.

Walker. Rick and Michonne riding through the abandoned capitol, Rick takes out a walker with a mace and Michonne takes out another with her sword and AMAZING GUNS. *sn: this is the day I went to stalk the filming and spotted the AMAZING GUNS in person.

Shot of sexy AF Aaron strolling through a construction site. He’s bearded and sweaty and in a tight shirt. Daryl is there. Later in the trailer they show a bridge that’s been destroyed, I’m guessing this is all the communities grouping together to build a new one.

Shot of Rick at the Sanctuary, telling them he’ll give them what they need to get on their feet. Random Savior says “Bless you Rick Grimes.” I’m guessing this is when Rick finds out about Maggie starving the Sanctuary.

Shot of Zeke, Carol, Daryl, Sydney, Anne, Father G, Maggie, going into what looks like a museum. Walking over a glass walkway over a pit of walkers. According to spoilers Zeke falls through and nearly dies, Carol freaks out, he is rescued by Daryl.

Shot of Michonne using her AMAZING GUNS to lower an old wagon down the museum stairs. She’s aided by Daryl, Sydney, Carzekiel, Siddiq, Anne, Maggie, Father G, Rick, and Enid. I’m guessing this is right before Zeke’s close call. We know they manage to get the wagon out since there were BTS shots of them driving it out.

Rick walks through a tent city. TSDF said that this was a group of Saviors who’d abandoned the Sanctuary but I think it’s the construction site since we see Tara and Anne walk by.

Negan: blah blah blah I’m a waste of carbon

Walkers.

Shot of a windvane. I point this out because it looks like it has “COMMONWEALTH” written on it. Easter egg/foreshadowing?

Old Man Rick in a rocking chair talking to Maggie. She gives a callback to Rick saying he’d be following her, but didn’t. (she’s wearing the same blue plaid shirt as the scenes in the capitol) Walkers. Maggie fighting walkers in a blue button up shirt over a white tanktop, wearing the same one when she’s walking with Daryl down the road.

Rick at tent city/bridge construction site. Carzekiel are in the background snuggling by the fire (Carol’s wearing a light gray shirt)

Michonne tells Maggie she’s out of line (I’m guessing for starving the Saviors)

Who wore it better? Ha, trick question, the answer is Michonne.

Rick moving through tent city. Anne and Gabriel are hanging out in a tent, Arat and Laura the Saviors are being Sapphic, this shot of Rosita’s butt in these leggings made me gay:

JERRY AND NABILA!!! PURE!!! WHOLESOME!!! INVENTED LOVE!!!

Daryl punches Zach McGowan so hard he goes flying back into a tree. Carol emerges from the tent where Ezekiel was going down on her for hours last night (same gray shirt as when she was cuddling him by the fire) and tells him to stop beating up Captain Vane. Daryl does not stop, instead he picks up a frying pan and bashes him over the head with it.

Daryl VO talking about how back when they were a small group they could do anything. Badass guitar music kicks in. King Rick and Queen Michonne riding through Hilltop looking badass AF. Maggie in the same white button up looking Done and grabbing a wicked looking crowbar. Carol in her gray shirt walking through the woods with a knife raised. Daryl on his bike wearing his boyfriend’s bandana and throwing spears at walkers. Construction site lets loose a stack of logs to roll over some walkers. Rick fighting walkers at the site, in the background are Father G and Anne, Sydney, and Laura the Savior.

Rickyll in a dark, candlelit room having a lovers’ spat. Henry gets in on the Captain Vane disrespect, using the sweet moves that Uncle Morgan taught him to beat his ass with a staff. An asshole Savior dares to lay his hands on Aaron. Wider shot of the same scene shows Daryl fighting Captain Vane right beside him.

Michonne looking radiant, saying that she doesn’t know if “they’re” ever going to forgive each other, followed by a shot of Richonne and Carzekiel walking through the Sanctuary. Spy pro-Negan graffiti. Guessing that Banksy prick is responsible. Asshole Savior who dared to harm Aaron is in a Mexican standoff with Carol. Jerry creeps in holding a gun to back her up. Rick looking pensive. Father G sees a drawing that Anne left him of what looks like the same woman implied to be his wife/GF in his introductory episode. Boots that look like Rick’s shown stumbling with blood dripping. Shot of Daryl sharpening his knife, and I wonder if there’s an in-unverse explanation for his BBH logo tattoo.

Negan continues to waste my and Rick’s time talking.

Shot of the collapsed bridge with the group on one side. Looks like it’s on the way to or from the capitol since they’re wearing the same clothes. Desus stand next to Richonne and Carzekiel. Anne looks creepy AF as she takes a helmet off a walker’s head. Enid looks worried. Arat and (maybe?) Captain Vane erect a crucified walker to act as a scarecrow. Eugene’s first appearance in the trailer, I did not miss him. Maggie and Jesus walk through Hilltop. The latter looks, like, distressingly beautiful. He’s been working out, you can tell, and it’s fucking glorious. Group at the museum, walkers, crossbows, etc. Michonne at Casa Grimes looking at her sword. Tara looking through a pair of binoculars and giving a subtle middle-finger while doing so. Flock of crows taking off in a cornfield from Rick(?) and someone else. Daryl and Carol alone on a loading dock, she puts his head on his shoulder. I’m guessing this is when they have the teased convo about their relationship, and I’m hoping it’s based on comics!Rick and Michonne, where the former calls the latter his “best friend” and says he doesn’t want her to be miserable.

Bridge construction. Rick on his knees out of breath, while behind him group including Dianne, Jerry, Daryl (still dual wielding), Eugene, and Carol charges. Shot of Carol unholstering her gun while the Kingdom squad backs her up. Anne on a walkie talkie with that damned helicopter in the background. Rickyl riding a motorcycle together. Shot of Alden, random Hilltopper, and Jesus looking solemn at Maggie under a scaffold. Spoilers say that the blacksmith Earl Sutton’s son is killed on the museum trip, Gregory gets him drunk and convinces him to attack Maggie, and when she finds out has him executed. Looks like Earl and Brett Butler’s character are there as well. Girl fight between Rosita and Laura. Ladies, just kiss it out.

Anne returns to her junk yard. Graffiti that reads “final warning”. Aaron-attacking-asshole-Savior signs his own death warrant and holds Carol hostage at knife point. Rick and Daryl get off the bike. Daryl looks like he’s having a tantrum. Walkers. Sydney struggles with a walker while Daryl uses the sweet moves he learned from Jesus to take out two walkers with his knives. Walkers menace an unconscious Rick. Maggie fights Gregory. Michonne takes out some walkers with the moonlight glinting off her AMAZING GUNS. More bickering Rickyl. Michonne finds what looks like Lucille but could be Rick’s mace.

MAGNA’S AMAZING GROUP OF LESBIANS Y’ALL. I CAN HARDLY CONTAIN MYSELF.

The token dude/honorary lesbian says he was a music teacher. Magna is hot AF and says she waited tables at a truck stop. Connie is a beautiful Deaf woman who communicates via ASL that she was a journalist. Her butch girlfriend interprets for her. Quick shot of Yumiko, she’s gorgeous. MAGNA’S AMAZING GROUP OF LESBIANS fights walkers and creeps into Casa Grimes.

Finally, Eugene and Rosita are running from a herd of walkers. They cover themselves in mud and lay still as they pass overhead. Hear a creepy voice whisper “Where are they?” Eugene looks like he just shat himself.

#long post #spoilers #mugsy liveblogs

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hanalwayssolo · 6 years

Text

My Attendance Is Bad, But My Intentions Are Good

A/N: My last piece is for day 2 of @glaiveweek! Permission to write my Kingsglaive babies having a happy time. Written in Crowe’s POV, because. My girl. Deserved. Better. :) Inspired by the entire team dynamic in Brooklyn Nine Nine (I want to explain this further but gosh I think it merits a different post) and governed by most of my headcanons with these cuties (again, to be explained probablyyyy on a separate post), so please expect lots of crack, shenanigans, a truckload of pop culture references, etc.

Ahhh and tagging some folks again: @eternallydaydreaming2015 @hypaalicious @louisvuittontrashbags @cupnoodle-queen @theyearofdiamonddogs @nifwrites @themissimmortal

Nyx Ulric 3:02 AM Glaives, we have a situation.

Crowe was still awake in the comfort of her bed when she caught Nyx’s message in the Glaive group chat—one that Tredd renamed lil fuckaz for the heck of it earlier—and she followed the trail of messages that popped in her phone screen.

Nyx Ulric 3:02 AM I know you guys won’t believe this but

Nyx Ulric 3:02 AM Check the captain’s calendar

Nyx Ulric 3:02 AM and get this: he’s free tomorrow

Nyx Ulric 3:02 AM AND HE’S NEVER FREE

Nyx Ulric 3:02 AM And then I remembered

Nyx Ulric 3:02 AM WHY OF COURSE

Luche Lazarus 3:03 AM yes nyx we know it’s the captain’s bday tomorrow

Crowe smiled at Nyx’s overeager message thread; knowing Nyx, she immediately assumed her good lad of a friend was somewhere in downtown Insomnia, drinking his stress away. Also, she didn’t expect Luche to be awake at this hour. In any case, something about this conversation confused her. Apart from Nyx’s rowdy chat etiquette—which she was fairly used to—what bugged Crowe was her memory of things: she clearly remembered getting partied out a couple of nights back thanks to Drautos’s birthday party hosted by no less than the Glaive’s personally-dubbed veteran party animal, Clarus Amicitia.

There was a brief minute of pause in the group chat commotion, and then:

Nyx Ulric 3:03 AM Nobody asked you Luche stfu

Nyx Ulric 3:03 AM Anyway. As I was saying.

Nyx Ulric 3:03 AM Yes, it’s the captain’s birthday tomorrow

Luche Lazarus 3:04 AM i’m willing to bet my ass you’re planning an outrageous surprise party

Nyx Ulric 3:04 AM You can bet your pasty ass i will and WE SHALL DO IT

Before Crowe could even chime in, Pelna already butted in the conversation, and started wrecking his own havoc:

Pelna Khara 3:05 AM count me the fuck in

Pelna Khara 3:05 AM i’ll buy the cake

Pelna Khara 3:05 AM clarus didn’t let me buy the book cake last Year :(

Pelna Khara 3:05 AM *boob

Pelna Khara 3:05 AM ***boobs

Pelna Khara 3:06 AM had to correct that so y’all know the cake was shaped as a pair of boobs not just one

Of course, where there was trouble, Crowe already thought that Tredd was close by, raring to add to this steaming pile of shenanigans.

And when Crowe saw his name pop into her screen, she grinned. When it came to her personal assessment of her friends, Crowe was always right.

Tredd Furia 3:06 AM lmao

Tredd Furia 3:06 AM i’ll go buy the booze my fam

Tredd Furia 3:06 AM also is it just me or nyx is using punctuation marks or am i just 2 high

Nyx Ulric 3:07 AM Fuck you Tredd

Nyx Ulric 3:07 AM I was trying to drive a point

Pelna Khara 3:07 AM nah tredd just too high i can secondhand smoke your joint even from here

Tredd Furia 3:07 AM fuck u pelna :) :) :)

Nyx Ulric 3:07 AM Anyway thanks guys, we’ll do this in briefing room A

Luche Lazarus 3:08 AM i didn’t agree to the alcohol losers but whatever

Nyx Ulric 3:09 AM u scared daddy’s gonna dish out some disciplinary action, leader? ;)

Luche Lazarus 3:09 AM fuck u

Axis Arra 3:10 AM i can’t believe tredd woke me up for this shit

Nyx Ulric 3:10 AM And Crowe, I know you’re awake I can see your tiny bubble just lurking in this convo

Pelna Khara 3:11 AM wow axis just responded to a group chat conversation

Pelna Khara 3:11 AM blessed be the stars

Tredd Furia 3:11 AM this surprise party’s gonna be litttttt af

Nyx Ulric 3:12 AM hi there axis you and sonitus take care of the food

Axis Arra 3:13 AM ok

While the conversation rolled along, Crowe still had this nagging feeling that the entire arrangement was too… odd. Luche easily joining this nonsense was already out of the ordinary, but Axis—quiet and soft-spoken Axis Arra—replying to this mess and just agreed to help organize this shitstorm? Crowe had seen her friends do strange things, but this one weirdly made her queasy. Not to mention, they have been acting rather funny around her these past couple of days. She stared at her phone screen, trying to rake her thoughts on that last party. She was definitely sure that party happened. She could still taste the acrid smoke from that sordid bar, and she could still remember hooking up with that heavily tattooed man whose name was the only thing that she lost in her nebulous memory.

Just when Crowe was about to protest for a clarification, another message arrived from Nyx:

Nyx Ulric 3:15 AM btw where tf is Libertus at

Luche Lazarus 3:15 AM Poor Libertus Ostium, he is missing action

Luche Lazarus 3:15 AM So now I’m facing Nyx Ulric with his own faction

Pelna Khara 3:16 AM he’s very attractive in the north, Lucians like his chances

Tredd Furia 3:16 AM he’s not very forthcoming on any particular chances

Nyx Ulric 3:17 AM Gdi you all have been making hamilton references for a MONTH

Nyx Ulric 3:17 AM Can we get back to the task at hand please

Crowe sighed in exasperation as she scrolled away to more chunks of messages. Before the chat group could spiral into a new brand of trouble and out of its original topic, she finally managed to type her response:

Crowe Altius 3:18 AM libertus ran an errand with the crown prince’s advisor glasses boy

Crowe Altius 3:18 AM anyway

Nyx Ulric 3:19 AM THERE’S OUR FAVORITE MAGE

Pelna Khara 3:19 AM hi crowe moon of our lives

Tredd Furia 3:19 AM our khaleesi is here

Crowe Altius 3:18 AM you guys are fucking idiots

Crowe Altius 3:18 AM ANYWAY wasn’t the captain’s birthday three days ago???

Crowe Altius 3:18 AM pelna you even posted photos on your instagram acct

Crowe Altius 3:18 AM With the caption “today the Big D was born let us rejoice”

Crowe sat up on her bed and waited for a reply, but she later realized that she just unleashed a treasure trove of disaster with her last statement:

Pelna Khara 3:19 AM hey u gotta love that caption

Tredd Furia 3:19 AM and u gotta love the Big D

Nyx Ulric 3:20 AM i know luche does ;)

Luche Lazarus 3:20 AM haha very funny nyx

Tredd Furia 3:22 AM hahahahahahaha nyx gdi i choked on my fucking beer

Pelna Khara 3:22 AM that was some mighty fine dish that got served

Luche Lazarus 3:22 AM u sure u didn’t choke on some big d tredd :)

Tredd Furia 3:22 AM nope. but hey luche

Tredd Furia 3:22 AM ur ass is grass

Tredd Furia 3:22 AM and imma mow it

Axis Arra 3:23 AM eyyyy

Nyx Ulric 3:23 AM LMAO OK SEXUAL TENSION ASIDE

Nyx Ulric 3:23 AM Relax you guys

Nyx Ulric 3:23 AM I know we all love our big captain drautos so much

Crowe Altius 3:24 CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE ANSWER MY FUCKING QUESTION YOU BAGS OF HELPLESS DICKS

Pelna Khara 3:24 AM as you wish khaleesi forgive our brethren

Pelna Khara 3:24 AM to answer your question: yes, but that party was from the higher ups

Pelna Khara 3:24 AM his actual birthday is tomorrow

Pelna Khara 3:24 AM crowe my sun and stars trust me on this

Luche Lazarus 3:25 AM i can confirm pelna’s statements

Tredd Furia 3:25 AM same

Axis Arra 3:25 AM ^^^

Sonitus Bellum 3:25 AM hi

Nyx Ulric 3:25 AM i confirm pelna’s statements as well

As well? Nyx hated attaching that in any phrase, Crowe remembered, for reasons beyond her. Despite the group’s typical rascally response, Crowe still felt skeptical about the whole affair. With reservation, she decided to give her overthinking head a rest and get along with their shady plan.

She quickly thumbed another message:

Crowe Altius 3:28 AM fine whatever

Crowe Altius 3:28 AM count me in

Crowe Altius 3:28 AM anything i need to do nyx?

She chewed on her lip, praying to the gods that she won’t be assigned with something out of her comfort zone, so she added:

Crowe Altius 3:28 AM and by anything, i mean anything except talking to the other commanding officers and anyone from the lucian council pls

Crowe particularly had a severe dislike talking with her other superiors, specifically Cor, Clarus, and even King Regis himself, after saying something completely inappropriate at a Kingsglaive gala two years prior. After that embarrassment, she sealed everyone outside of her Glaive circle for self-preservation.

The sudden inactivity in the chat group made Crowe want to throw another message for good measure, until Luche broke the momentary radio silence:

Luche Lazarus 3:33 AM more booze

Crowe Altius 3:34 AM right

Nyx Ulric 3:35 AM You’re the best, thanks

Nyx Ulric 3:35 AM Let’s all meet tomorrow at 2pm sharp

Nyx Ulric 3:36 AM I’ll try to stall the captain to give us time for prep

Crowe sank back to her sheets and turned off her phone so she could finally get some decent shut eye without the distraction from the Glaive chat group. She stared at the ceiling, trying to quell the unusual excitement that bubbled up in her chest, until it was brutally ambushed by a feeling that often creeped up on her whenever she started to enjoy any form of happiness.

On occasions such as these, Crowe wondered how celebrating birthdays would feel like. It was not as if she wanted to keep her birthday from everyone else—she just never knew what her actual birth date was. Having brought up as an orphan, she had figured that birthdays were only afforded to people living with their biological parents. Or people with legitimate paperwork. She had neither the luxury of those things. Sometimes, she would look at herself in the mirror, study her face, and scrutinize her chocolate brown hair, her brown eyes, and the angular structure of her cheekbones. Crowe thought that maybe, this was how her mother would have looked like, or her father...

Crowe groaned in disdain. She didn’t need the pity party at this ungodly time. She pulled the sheets over her head as she promptly derailed the depressing train of thought, pressed her eyes shut, and forced herself to sleep.

Crowe did as she was told and brought additional liquor with her on her way to the Kingsglaive HQ. She was pretty certain that alcoholic drinks were prohibited around the Citadel premises, but no one seemed to have caught her, so she just casually marched on toward the hallway. She rounded into a corner, where she saw Nyx standing by the doorway leading to the briefing room, holding his phone close to his ear.

When he saw Crowe approaching, he tucked his phone in his jacket. Nyx nervously beamed, “Hey there!”

Crowe raised an eyebrow out of suspicion. “What are you doing outside? Where are the others?”

Nyx answered, “Well, actually, they’re on their way but Captain Drautos is already coming in any minute—“

“Weren’t you supposed to be the one to keep him occupied?” Crowe asked, narrowing her eyes at Nyx. She had a bad feeling about this.

Nyx held her by the shoulders. “Yes, but change of plans. Look, can you please help holding off on the Captain for a while—“

Crowe instantly shrugged his hands off. “Nope.”

“Please?”

“Not interested.”

“With a cherry on top?”

“Gods, Nyx—you had one job.”

“Alright, fine,” Nyx ceased making any further effort, raising both his hands in casual surrender.

That was surprisingly easy, Crowe thought. If anything, Nyx was persistent, but this...

She let it slide. Crowe rolled her eyes and sauntered past Nyx. She opened the door and—

“Surprise!”

The confetti exploded from the party poppers in myriad of colors, together with the booming voices of the rest of the Glaives. The entire open space of the briefing room was filled with familiar faces—Libertus, Pelna, and Tredd each had a Li’l Malbuddy balloon in their hands, while Axis, Sonitus, and Luche carried a Li’l Malbuddy plush toy. The walls were decorated with scarlet-colored streamers and rows of gold letter balloons.

It took a while for Crowe to register that the balloons spelled a Happy Birthday Crowe! which totally did not make sense to her at all.

“Wait, what’s going on? I thought—guys, is this a fucking prank?” She bewilderedly trailed off. She was about to lash out until she saw Captain Drautos walking towards her, which even added more confusion to this entire event. “Captain?”

Drautos shook his head and addressed the Glaives. “You fools, I told you she wouldn’t get it if I didn’t give this to her first,” he casually smacked Nyx at the back of the head. They all burst out laughing. “Anyway, it’s because of this—“

The captain handed a brown envelope to Crowe, which she flipped open. Inside was a record, a file with her full name and her… birthdate.

Crowe gasped and croaked out the words in disbelief. “Wait, today’s… my birthday?”

“We found your records with Clarus’s help,” Drautos explained. “I regret ever mentioning it to Nyx as soon as I found out—the word spread like wildfire among your peers. It was a surprise that you didn’t find it out, with Nyx being a loudmouthed idiot. Anyway, the Glaives thought of throwing you a surprise party since you’ve never celebrated your birthday with us before—or uh, I’m sorry, I mean, it’s not that you didn’t want—“

“It’s fine, sir,” Crowe stared at the file she was holding. There it was, written in permanent ink: full details of her birthplace and birthdate. It didn’t disclose any info on her biological parents, but Crowe couldn’t care less. She read and reread, helplessly trying to wrap her head around all of this, until all she could say was: “Thank you. Really, guys, thank you—but wait. That thing in the chat was…”

“That was actually Nyx about to spill the beans with his drunken little mouth,” Pelna admitted, stepping closer with the Li’l Malbuddy balloon hovering above his head. The rest of the Glaives followed, gathering around Crowe. Pelna continued, “I was with him so I had to punch him right in the mouth for being dumb. We had a different chat group specifically for Operation Crowe. We humbly thank the gods that Luche was just smooth enough to save that conversation and we all had to improvise to throw you off the scent.”

“Well, someone had to keep you guys in check so you’re welcome,” Luche smugly added. “And by the way, you gotta thank the crown prince’s advisor for this merch. He tipped us off on where to find these.” Luche, Axis, and Sonitus rewarded Crowe with the Li’l Malbuddy plushies.

“You guys were… all together in this?” Crowe asked, and strangely enough, she was genuinely touched by the idea that everyone joined for this effort. She wanted to squeeze everyone into a hug and beat them all up for giving her feelings.

“Of course—everything for our little sister,” Nyx grinned, slinging an arm around Crowe’s shoulders.

“Don’t make me claw your eyes out,” Crowe said, elbowing him on his side that Nyx winced in pain.

“Whatever. Happy birthday, munchkin,” Nyx hugged Crowe. With the thought finally sinking in, tears of utmost happiness began to threaten her eyes. She wanted to punch herself in the face for wanting to cry.

Crowe looked curiously at Nyx, still controlling herself with her happy tears. “So is this why you guys have been acting weird for the past days?”

“See, I told you guys she’ll notice,” Libertus remarked. “Now, give her the damn cake before she starts crying!”

“I’m not crying! There’s just, I don’t know, a rock in my eye...” Crowe sniffed, and the rest of the crew laughed.

Libertus playfully shoved Nyx away from Crowe and wrapped her into a big bear hug. “Happy birthday, Crowe.”

“Thank you guys so much,” Crowe said with a teary-eyed smile on her face.

Roaring fits of laughter bellowed around the room when Pelna finally brought out a ghastly dick-shaped cake with a candle sitting at its tip.

Tredd announced, “So I know Pelna promised a boob cake, but Luche wanted the D—“

“It was the only cake available, asshat—“ Luche interrupted with a sneer. Everyone was still laughing at the atrocity of the confection in front of them.

“Sorry Luche, the D’s not for you,” Pelna teased. “Give this one a blow, baby girl.”

“Oh my god, I hate all of you!” Crowe laughed and cried. When it came to the business of brewing the finest hilarity and crazy antics, Crowe couldn’t trust anyone else aside from her comrades.

Everyone joined in and sang her an equally cheery and drunken happy birthday. And on occasions like these, Crowe found it difficult to permit herself to relish the happiness. But in the company of the people Crowe now considered as family, she finally did—and there was no place in Eos that she would rather be.

#glaiveweek #kingsglaive #final fantasy xv #ffxv #crowe altius #my writing

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