#cwz fic
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La Douleur Exquise - Ch. 2
AU; Chapter 2 - The Case of Black
Half this fic is just everyone giving Harlock a bad time.
~3200 words
Clients who requested full lineups were always trouble. I gave a list of each boy’s specialty, and most clients were happy to pick based on that. Some requested to see one or two in person before deciding, but then there were these bastards.
All the boys picked spots around the couches, some more relaxed than others, as the client eyed them like a row of produce at the grocery store. I stood by behind him, enough to the side that I could watch his face with my good eye.
Clients who requested full lineups were trouble because they thought they could have whatever they wanted. The list of each boy’s specialty also came with each boy’s boundaries. Almost every time Daiba had been called to throw a client out, he’d been one to ask for a lineup.
I had no evidence against this one. His record was fairly clean, and he could certainly afford any of the boys with the bank account I’d seen, though the way his brows pinched when he glanced at Manabu made it apparent he had some limits.
Manabu must have noticed the look, must have learned to recognize it, because his shoulders slumped. I’d also learned to hide my relief as he was passed over yet again.
Susumu sat leaned against his brother’s side. The two were whispering about something that had Mamoru smiling. They didn’t seem too interested in the client, but at least they didn’t look as bored and unimpressed as Zero. He stared the client down as though daring him to have the gall to pick anyone. Not good for business, but I wasn’t going to get onto him.
With Shep looking sleepy from his early-morning clients, Richard was the only one bothering to smile at the client. But, well, that was Richard.
Naturally, the client picked him, and his expression lit up with the gleam in his eyes. It was for the best, as the boundaries listed for Richard were…near-nonexistent.
My brother would do anything for money.
The rest of the boys dispersed with sighs and yawns, most meandering to the dining room to harass Tadas- Monono for lunch. I did, however, find myself with a tail as I headed upstairs. “Hey, Uncle Phantom?” Manabu called as he rushed to keep up with me. I had a feeling I knew what this was about.
“Yes, Manabu?”
“Do you know if Dad’s coming today? I think he has the day off.”
I sucked in air to keep from sighing. “I believe he is.”
A sideways glance showed Manabu’s expression weighted by weariness, so I reached up and ruffled his already-messy hair. “You won’t have to talk to him,” I said. “I can sick Daiba on him if need-be.”
“I don’t want him dead,” Manabu said, fighting back a smile. “But if you can get him to leave me alone, I’d appreciate it.”
“I’m not a miracle worker, but I’ll make sure he doesn’t bother you today.” Even that much was easier said than done. I could see Manabu breathe easier at the prospect, though. He murmured a quiet thanks before darting back down the stairs toward lunch.
Leaving one trouble behind, I found a new one as I entered my office. Tadashi, who’d stolen the name from Monono and left me eternally mixed up, was climbing my shelves in an effort to dust everything. Thankfully the shelves were nailed to the wall, or everything would have come tumbling down on top of him.
For whatever reason, he was still wearing that maid uniform. I wasn’t sure why I’d bothered to get him new clothes. He’d seemed confused when I’d handed them to him. “Are these my uniform?” he’d asked.
“You don’t have a uniform,” I’d said. “You can wear whatever you like.”
Later I’d seen Daiba wearing the clothes, Tadashi still in his uniform. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected.
“I can get you a step-stool if you need one,” I called as Tadashi managed to reach the top shelf where I kept my old saber.
“I’ve got it,” he said.
“Very well. Do you need any other cleaning supplies ordered?”
“Oh yeah.” He batted at the saber with the feather duster. “Like everything.”
Honestly, that may have been a fair assessment. I could only recall buying a few cleaning tools in all the years, after Zero complained over the state of things. As I sat down to order “everything,” said-complainer popped through the door. Whatever scolding I was about to receive halted as he noticed Tadashi clinging to the shelf.
“Goodness, we’ll get you a step-stool,” Zero said as he rushed over and grabbed the boy under the arms to pry him away from the shelf.
“I’ve got it!” Tadashi insisted with a huff.
“Sure you do,” Zero said. “Now go get lunch. You’re on break.”
Tadashi looked to me for confirmation, and I nodded; then he was off like a flash. “I’ve never seen anyone quite so oblivious to a tactic to get him to leave,” I said.
Zero went over to close the door behind him. “I’ve never met anyone so eager to eat,” he said. “But I guess he is a teenage boy.”
“I know you’re still upset about it, but you’re not-”
“I know he needed the help. I know.” Heaving a sigh, he walked over and took a seat on my desk. He never would have admitted it, but he sat on my bad side or turned his back when he was upset. He never liked to give too much away. “What happens if Wataru finds out?” he asked.
“He may have the kid’s wanted poster already, but I think I can talk him down. That crime has too many inconsistencies.”
“Maybe, but he’s still going to be furious you hired another underaged boy. Might actually kill you this time.”
I smiled, resting my chin in my palm. “You didn’t, and you said you would.”
He turned enough for me to see his glare. “I considered it.”
“Come on, you’ve been begging for a maid for ages.”
“I have not! I’ve been trying to get all of you to clean for ages!”
He was a saint for attempting such a feat, but I’d ruined things with how much I spoiled the boys. “Well, now you don’t have to worry about it,” I said, hoping he’d be willing to drop the subject. “Anyway, I need you to help me make sure Wataru doesn’t bother Manabu when he comes.”
He saw through my ploy. “Don’t change the subject! And good God, Harlock, you’re asking a lot.”
“Just seduce him or something. You can do it.”
The unamused glare he sent piercing through me suggested otherwise. “That man is so oblivious he wouldn’t realize someone was hitting on him if they started stripping in front of him.”
“Do you know that from experience or-”
It wasn’t that I didn’t know what was coming. I just wasn’t fast enough to avoid it. His hand caught be around the back of the head, dragging down to slam my forehead into my keyboard. I couldn’t say it wasn’t fair, really.
“Get back to work,” he snapped. “And no more full lineups. I don’t trust those assholes.”
He left me to my throbbing head, as per usual. Monono came in later with a tray of smoked fish and rice. Since I was already buying a truckload of cleaning supplies, I asked him if he needed anything while I was at it.
“You could get some more plates and glasses. The new guy broke a lot when I let him help me do dishes. I don’t know how he did it. He just kept breaking them.” Bewildered, he shook his head. “I told him I would handle the dishes from now on.”
Tadashi worked hard, so hard that he was covered in dust and dryer lint by the end of each day. When he mopped, he somehow soaked his socks up to the knee. He was certainly one of my more reliable workers.
But he seemed to break everything. He’d shattered the vacuum on his first day, though Richard had managed to fix it into an odd Frankenstein’s monster of plastic, glue, and tape. Tadashi had gone on to knock a hole in a wall, snap off part of the stair banister, and break one of his own fingers. Daiba patched it up for him so quickly he didn’t have time to cry.
I wasn’t sure how he managed any of that, but at least the place got clean. He also had helped me weed out a few bad clients who had asked after him upon seeing him in the foyer. Daiba was quick to dispose of them.
Daiba was also quick to follow Wataru into my office after my brother slammed my door open. “What is that small girl in a dress doing downstairs?” Wataru demanded.
Before I could answer, Daiba jumped between us. “That’s my brother,” he hissed. He’d certainly invested himself in the role. “I’m looking after him.”
Realizing his mistake took some of the fire out of Wataru. “Sorry,” he said, blinking rapidly. “But that boy is clearly underage. You can’t have him-”
“He’s safer here,” Daiba said, his voice laced with venom. “I won’t let you take him.”
Wataru knew better than to fight Daiba on anything. We all knew better. Wataru put his hands up in surrender, though as he looked down at the boy, his eyes narrowed. “You don’t have a brother,” he said.
“I do now,” Daiba returned without hesitation. “Let this go.”
Wataru’s shoulders were tense with the urge to argue, but he relaxed with a slow exhale. Stepping past Daiba, he strode up to me. “The SDF sent me an update on criminals that may be in the area. There were more than usual this round, so keep your head up.”
He pulled a drive from his coat pocket and set it in front of me. This was our usual routine. He gave me confidential information, and I gave him anyone I came across on those wanted posters. “Not all my clients are criminals,” I said as I snapped the drive into my computer.
Wataru crossed his arms. “Oh, I know. You have a few rich bastards sprinkled in the mix.”
“A few bored SDF passersby too,” I murmured.
He stared down his nose at me as I flipped through the latest batch. I could usually tell based on looks alone if someone had a chance of stopping by - the ones with cockiness in their eyes. Standard petty-crime types tried to keep their heads low. Arcadia was flashy for a reason. The cocky ones always seemed lured-in by the shine.
As I neared the end of the list, my gaze caught the wanted poster I’d already seen. I kept myself from lingering on it - the photo of a smiling young boy, clearly pulled from some family album and slapped on the poster.
The name was different and his hair was longer, but it was clearly my new maid. Wataru didn’t seem to have noticed yet. I flicked my eye back up toward him. “Anything else?” I asked.
“I want you to release Manabu from his contract,” he said like a man who’d repeated the same thing dozens of times.
“No,” I returned the same way. “It’s a contract. That’s not how they work.”
Naturally, he switched to his scolding dad voice like that had ever worked with me. “Phantom.”
“Wataru,” I mocked. “If you’re done, go enjoy your day off. You know you’re not supposed to work during those.”
He crossed his arms. “I came to visit my son. Giving you the drive just happened to coincide.”
“Manabu’s busy,” I said, as though my nephew ever had a moment’s work since signing his contract. “You should come on his off-day.”
For a split second, Wataru believed my lie. Horror and rage flashed through his eyes. My death would have been quick had he not come to his senses. “I’m going to see him,” he huffed.
“No you’re not. No one sees my boys without permission.”
“He’s my boy.”
“No one owns him!” Daiba roared, startling both of us.
Daiba would fight us both if I didn’t find a way to ease the situation, not that I would mind fighting my brother myself.
“Not today, Wataru,” I said. “Leave him be for now.”
I waited for his rebuttal, but his shoulders dropped the same way his son’s had. “So he said he didn’t want to see me. Very well.”
“Any of the other boys would be happy for your company.”
He didn’t have the energy to be mad at my usual joke. “Don’t do anything stupid, Phantom,” he said with a sigh as he left. Ever untrusting, Daiba followed him out.
The silence of the room held me for a minute before I stood and left as well. Manabu’s room was empty. Instead, I found him in Zero’s violently yellow one. Sitting on Zero’s bed, Manabu sipped tea out of his usual blue mug.
“Your father left, so you can come out of hiding,” I said.
Rather than looking relieved, his brows pinched, and he stared into his mug. “Was he mad?”
“A bit. He’s always a bit mad.” Usually at me.
Manabu’s hands tightened around the ceramic. “We always argue when he comes over. I just didn’t want to argue again.”
At his desk chair, Zero sipped something probably-alcoholic from his own mug. “He’s just worried about you.”
“I know but-!” He huffed, his shoulders scrunched up by his ears. “It’s really annoying! I can’t get laid!”
Zero and I both tried to block him out as he continued, glancing around the room as though it could protect us.
“Clients are like ‘oh, aren’t you that one guy’s son? I heard he’d kill anyone who went near you.’ Like, how does he make something like that known? Why does everyone know we’re related? We don’t look that much alike.”
They did.
“I started this job to get fucked by guys! And I haven’t been fucked by one guy! This sucks! I’m horny!”
At some point, Zero had put his face in his hands. He clearly hadn’t had enough to drink, and neither had I. The other boys talked about far more explicit things. I could deal with that, but I’d known Manabu since he was a baby.
“Uncle,” he whined. “You can get me a client, right?”
We’d already had this conversation too many times, and I rubbed my fingers across my forehead as I repeated my usual line. “We’ll get you one.”
“Would I be more appealing if I weren’t a virgin?”
Zero whispered a scream as I threw up my hands. “I’m throwing in the towel on this conversation. Your contract says you stay a virgin ‘til- so just- I’m going to go drink.”
“Boo,” Manabu called as I skittered toward the door. “Uncle Phantom, get me a guy to sleep with, or I’ll keep telling you these things!”
“I’ll sleep with him!” I heard Mamoru yell from his room next-door to Zero’s.
“No!” I snapped at both of them, caught between the rooms. “Both of you be quiet! There are minors present!”
“Captain, it’s a brothel,” Mamoru yelled back.
“But it’s my brothel! I make the rules!”
Manabu appeared in the door-frame, leaning against it with the same unamused look in his eyes that his father got. “Do I still count as a virgin if it’s just like handjobs?”
Unable to look at him, I pointed down the hall. “No. Now go to your room. You’re in timeout.”
“Time out? You’re not my dad.”
“I’m your boss!”
“Timeout,” Zero said. Glancing up, I saw him pushing Manabu toward his room. “Off you go.”
“So is it a brothel or a daycare?” Mamoru asked as he peered out of his room. “We’ve got all the usual daycare trappings: brightly colored rooms, timeout, actual children.”
“You’re in timeout too,” I said, pushing against his head to shove him back inside.
I was far, far too sober to deal with them.
Monono found me sitting on the kitchen countertop holding a bottle of wine. He had me move my legs so he could get into the cabinets. “I need some of that for cooking, so don’t drink it all,” he said.
“Why did I hire my nephew?” I whispered.
“I dunno. It was pretty weird,” he said, examining a wok.
“His father is going to kill me.”
“Probably- Dick, put a shirt on!”
I looked up to find my other brother poking around in the fridge. He didn’t have pants on either, just his boxers, though he’d clearly showered judging by the wet hair sticking to his cheeks. “Dick, put a shirt on,” I said.
“Yeah-yeah. I’m hungry.” He pulled out an apple and took a bite. “I don’t know why you’re all stressed about hiring family,” he said between chews. “Hired me.”
“Don’t remind me.” I had actually been drunk at the time, but he’d begged me for the job just like Manabu had.
“That guy was alright,” he said. “Hope he comes back. Easy money. Did you get the new wanted list today?”
“Mm-hm,” I said through another swig of wine.
“Anyone interesting?”
“No.”
“Anyone hot?”
“Absolutely not.”
Why was all of my family like this?
Daiba walked in, looking annoyed as usual. “Hey, Captain- Dick, where the fuck are your clothes?”
“On the floor,” Dick said.
For once, Daiba reined in his urge to scream at Dick, turning back toward me. “A client showed up without warning. Should I kick his ass?”
“Not yet. If he’s new I’ll have to talk to him and do a background check.” Not that I was in the best state to do that, but I’d been worse. “Put some clothes on, Dick,” I said as I hopped down from the counter. “You can’t go around looking like that when we have clients.”
He cocked a brow and gestured at his bare torso. “But isn’t this what they’re here for?”
Clients were usually only interested in what was below the belt, but this was the last conversation I wanted to have with my brother, so I muttered another “Put some clothes on,” and headed for the foyer.
Clients came in a set few breeds I’d come to know over time. This guy was one of the rare exceptions. He sat on the longer lounge couch, wearing an easygoing smile that reached eyes the color of a fresh bruise. Susumu sat nearby, clearly charmed by whatever he was saying, or at least acting the part to earn his favor. He may have been from the same race as Shep or a related one, as his skin was about the same shade of blue, his hair blond like a wheat field. He may have been military judging from the gray uniform.
But even the occasional SDF member or soldier we got never saw fit to sit and talk with the boys. Tolerable clients saw the boys as workers, though viewing them like tools was more common. Only a handful ever treated them like people.
Manabu and Mamoru must have still been in timeout, but Zero and Shep were seated nearby as well. Shep wore his usual smile, while Zero couldn’t hide his curiosity.
“I admit, I didn’t know what to expect coming in,” the man was saying. “I heard good things, and the decor is certainly nice. The company is not bad either, though it’s quieter than I was expecting.”
“We don’t have many clients scheduled on Mondays,” I said.
His piercing eyes shot toward me, bright with interest. “I suppose I came at the right time then. Are you the man in charge?”
“I am. You may call me Harlock.”
“Desslar,” he said with that winning smile.
Shep’s eyes widened. Zero’s jaw dropped. I shook my head. Surely not… “Abelt Desslar?”
“The Galman king?” Susumu asked.
With a soft laugh, he scratched at his cheek with a gloved hand. “Ah, it seems I’ve been found out, though ‘king’ is such a human term. I’d prefer to avoid any formalities while I’m here if that’s alright.”
“Well aren’t we moving up in the world?” Zero muttered. “Entertaining royalty along with our criminals.”
This may have been one of the “stupid” things my older brother warned me not to do, but then again, who paid better than royalty?
#space pirate captain harlock#captain harlock#galaxy railways#harlock fic#zero fic#cwz fic#galaxy railways fic#manabu fic#wataru fic#daiba fic#dick coyne fic#monono fic#mamoru k fic#susumu fic#shep fic#good lord there are too many characters
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Mirror
on time for day five, aw yis. B) today’s prompt is “favorite ship” and I'm sorry, it's the 2013 movie Arcadia. dat aesthetic. dat dark matter. sign me the fuck up. so have a crossover drabble. c:
Mirror
Somehow, in the dead of a void-etched night, intruders had come upon the Arcadia.
you can also read it here on AO3!
Somehow, in the dead of a void etched night, intruders had come upon the Arcadia.
How they had boarded without anyone knowing is a mystery all on it's own. The more concerning part is that the ship itself hasn't reacted; usually, something this wrong would have come to light long before a crew member stumbled on it. Instead a frantic Logan had discovered them, and then come to him for help.
"You just left them there?" Harlock snaps, incredulous that even he could be that stupid.
"It's complicated, okay?" Logan protests, "You have to see for yourself."
There are intruders on the bridge-- intruders on his ship, and not one person is reacting in a reasonable way. The crew can't have collectively lost all their minds, could they? He swears if this is some kind of joke, he's going to kick them out the launch bay himself. Again, the Arcadia is deadly silent, not even the background hum of the engines for company. Something is disturbingly wrong.
Harlock enters the suspiciously empty bridge, which is dimly lit, but nothing seems to be amiss until idle chatter catches his attention. They're over by the dark matter controls, because of course they are, so that's what he stalks towards with sabre drawn. It's a gift to move silently; one that's been honed after a hundred odd years of fighting, and it comes in handy when sneaking up on the man who's pleading with an unseen companion. They think they can still escape. Harlock is going to make it very clear they're not going anywhere.
If on cue, the man turns and catches sight of him. They're sufficiently alarmed at first, befitting someone starting down a weapon pointed at them, but then they let out an exasperated sigh.
"For crying out loud," they mutter, "Of course you're here."
"This is my damn ship." He growls back. And really, he should just run them both through and be done with it. But there's something in the man's expression that gives him pause. Recognition? Tired resignation? As if death has been chasing him too long, and now he welcomes it. It hits a little close to home.
"Harlock," The man starts, but for some reason it's not directed at him, "Would you please get over here?"
"Zero, you have to see this," An excited voice calls back, sounding far too familiar, like an echo of an age past, "This is amazing!"
"I can look later when your double isn't going to kill me."
"What?" The other intruder appears from behind the dark matter relay lines. It's like a mirror-- but a distorted one, because they're too young and wide-eyed and enthusiastic to ever be him. "Oh, jeez. Don't shoot him. I have dibs on that."
"I told you so," Logan pipes in from the entryway, "You wouldn't have believed me."
Harlock really doesn't care where they came from. It's not the strangest thing to have happened to him. Multiverse theory isn't a new concept, and they've already proved there are many things in this universe that they have yet to explain. Who's to say they didn't put some cracks in the shell of reality the last time they used the dark matter engine? Or they could have broken through from their side. In the end, it doesn't matter how they got there. And finally, the Arcadia rumbles to life.
"Get the hell off my ship."
#captain harlock week#captainharlockweek#captain harlock#captain harlock (2013)#cosmo warrior zero#captain harlock fanfiction#cwz fanfiction#crossover fic#ao3fic#holy shit it's not in modern au#AMAZING#(i'll get back to that for tomorrow lmaooo)#anyway#2013 arcadia more like#can i marry the ship#I'll do it#fuckin watch me#giraffles
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WIP Meme (Super long post)
List all the things you’re currently working on in as much or as little detail as you’d like, then tag some friends to see what they’re working on.
This can be writing, art, vids, gifsets, fanwork, or original work!
Okay, so since @the-ghost-of-keith-kogane tagged me for the WIP meme (First of all: how dare u call me out like this D:< ) let me tell you about all my 2 dozen WIPs. (Almst none of which have any real writing *sob*)
VOLTRON
-Initial Exposure: Keith gets exposed to some funky Druid magic and gets turned into a shapeshifter of the body horror kind. Klance, maaaaybe Klunk depending on my mood. Angsty but also a happy ending planned
-Real!Shiro AU. Pretty much another story dealing with the fact that the Shiro we're seeing isn't the real Shiro. Gotta fix it so it’s not just another rehash. Kinda whumpy. Shatt probably. Angsty
-Steven Universe Crossover: What it says on the tin. A wormhole leads the Castle and its crew to the Steven Universe world. They all chat and relax. Silly and without much plot. Just wanted to see the two half-alien boys with a sword and a lion meet.
HARLOCK/ COSMO WARRIOR ZERO/ GUN FRONTIER
-Eyes of the Arcadia: Harlock gets badly injured and Tochiro/The Arcadia takes over his body until Harlock can be healed. Tochiro gets to interact with the crew properly for the first time in years.
-Eldritch Abomination Harlock: CWZ. Short Zero/Harlock story where Harlock wants to date Zero and decides to give Zero a quick peek of what he looks like.
-Too Many Harlocks: Started out as a semi-serious idea, but I like the OOC/cracky direction it's headed in instead. An accident with the nearly-complete Arcadia sends CWZ!Zero and CWZ!Harlock to the Gun Frontier where they meet that universe's Harlock and Tochiro, as well as Shinunora. Then they go to the Endless Odyssey universe slightly post-series. CWZ!Harlock hates everyone and pretty much complains the whole time. (Let the man just shoot his other selves, please.) Having a lot of fun imagining this one. Not really familiar enough with any other Harlock series to include them, and those I am vaguely familiar with aren't distinctive enough to include
BLACK JACK
-Two-toned Demon: Magic AU where Black Jack is thought to be some demon or other monster. Not sure yet if it's more Medieval or Modern fantasy. KuroKei. Started because Pinoko would pretty much be a homunculus of some kind and it kind of spiraled off from there. Still also have to work up a full magic system. Will include some of Black Jack's family.
-Autistic!KuroKei fics: What it says on the tin. I was in need of autistic interpretations of these two so I'm working on some. Pretty self-indulgent and yeah, their being autistic is the main point of the stories but sometimes you just want that. (Message me and I will talk for hours about this topic no joke)
-From One Surgeon to Another: Crossover with Franken Fran. Black Jack and Pinoko run into one of Fran's creatures she made for a client. Pinoko's fine but Black Jack is injured badly enough to require emergency treatment. Fran includes some free "upgrades" and Black Jack must deal with the emotional consequences of them. Maaaaybe KuroKei, dunno yet.
-Story where Yabu, Okamoto, and Kei decide to catch up with Black Jack. Okamoto brings Konomi (because apparently I ship them now???). Yabu got clean, got married, and has two kids. Okamoto and Konomi are engaged. Kei is still single and Okamoto tries to set him up with Black Jack in part because Okamoto knew Kei in school and knows how much he still likes Black Jack. It works. Kind of a 'California Café' type of fic but eh. Can't all be exciting. :P (though in one version Black Jack gets shot because 'Black Jack gets injured' is a favorite trope of Tezuka's and quite frankly mine too)
-Story where Black Jack is unknowingly sent to treat Kei's mother. Kei comes after his father finally sends for him (Kei's parents didn't want to worry him) and finds out Black Jack is treating his mother. Black Jack and Kei reveal their relationship, much to the surprise and delight of Kei’s parents. Kei's mother is cured. Black Jack and Kei get engaged. Possible sequel where Black Jack saves Shoren's newborn, and the two start to reconcile. (This would be a fix-it of sorts of BJ21.)
DOCTOR WHO
-Eldritch Abomination Doctor/Doctor Nyarlathotep stories: I have a bunch of different ideas for this, so I'm not sure which direction it's going currently. Definitely includes one where Jenny is half-meatsuit/lower plane being, half Eldritch Abomination.
-The adventures of Spoonie!Doctor and Spoonie!Clara. Fairly self-indulgent fic where the Doctor has arthritis and Clara has fibromyalgia. Pretty much for getting out my frustrations and feelings about being Chronically Ill.
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
-Dead Sonic!AU. Sonic Forces AU where Sonic dies at Eggmkan's hands and effectively becomes a Phantom Ruby- and Chaos Emerald-powered ghost. One version involves him being aware he's dead but he keeps it a secret until Infinite is defeated and he destoys his Phantom Ruby shard. The second version involves Sonic finding out he's dead much later. Overall angsty and sad.
-Mephiles!Infinite AU. Sonic Forces AU where Mephiles has broken away from one universe where Iblis was destroyed, and into the Forces universe, where he wasn't. Infinite the Jackal is actually Finn, a normal Jackal and head of the Jackal Squad, a band of mercenaries. Finn is friends with Gadget. Mephiles takes on Shadow's form and fights Infinite, later taking on Finn's form and bonding with the Phantom Ruby to become Infinite. Possible Infidget once I figure out their relationship better lol.
-Sonic Unleashed/Sonic X crossover. Sonic attempts a Chaos Control at night using a drained Chaos Emerald. He ends up in the Sonic X universe amd tries to get home. Ultimately silly and light-hearted. Seriously tempted to place this a tad before the Shadow Saga. SU!Sonic takes one look at the TV where footage of Shadow is being shown, and says, "Hey guys, I'm gonna be back in a bit. Gonna save Sonic some jail time and the rest of you like 2 weeks of time and effort." And then he just solves the entire damn thing by talking to Shadow lol.
-Silent Chronos: Started life as a Sonic '06/Silent Hill crossover, hece the working title which hasn't chaged in like...10 years. Pretty much, when Shadow and Silver go to the past and encounter Mephiles and Iblis' birth, Mephiles' power alters and corrupts the Soleannan labratory. Most everyone is turned into monster, with the exclusion of Shadow and Silver. The monsters started out largely symbolic, but all need to be redesigned something awful. Still haven't figured out much of the plot which is why it's been on the backburner for forever.
ORIGINAL WORKS
-Farron Base: If John Campbell's 'The Thing' were nice. A group of scientists go to explore an abandoned military base and research how the flora and fauna have settled in. They find the base in remarkable condition, with a huge variety of mutated, monstrous creatures. Most are fairly friendly and some are even intelligent. The base's protectors are Nigel and Jay-Myalia (names changed later), who are intelligent, benevolent shapeshifters of the body horror kind. Again, see John Campbell's 'The Thing'. Features actual scientists (!), none of whom are cishet, and one of whom is explicitly autistic. Still not much of a plot yet :///
-Shalkrei: This started back in middle school, so at least 14 years ago, as a Sonic AU. It was my SpIn for a while, and it got huge and complex. Currently doing some pruning. It involved 'demons', magic, ancient civilizations, and furries. Also had at least one parallel universe with different species and rules.
Holy shit this got long, sorry
Tagging @Elumish, @chocolatcoffees, @Sonic-the-tumblog, and anybody else who wants to do it since I don’t follow that many writers
#text#super long post#wip meme#voltron legendary defender#sonic the hedgehog#black jack manga#space pirate captain harlock#cosmo warrior zero#gun frontier#actuallyautistic#Monster shapeshifters like the thing are practically a SpIn in and of temselves lol#SpIn#I have worked on this for too long out into the void with you
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Daiba/Yama #7, Bulge/Zero #12, Zero/Wataru(???!?!?!?!?!) #19
Modern AU; Already did the other two, but here’s Bulge/Zero for 12 - Love Bite. Featuring Harlock having a bad time. It’s all very silly.
Mildly inappropriate warning
~1600 words
I must have been cursed. After several unlucky roundsof Rock, Paper, Scissors, I was slapped with the designated driver position forthe night. As if things weren’t bad enough already, everyone got wasted. Unusuallywasted.
I had no proof that anything had been spiked, but Zerocould hold his alcohol better than anyone I knew, and he was laughing with hischeek against our table after just a few drinks. Even when Zero did get drunk,he was always all moody about it. Seeing him giggling like a little kid made mewonder if someone had slipped something in my water too.
Bulge, usually our designated driver, never drankmuch. Said he didn’t like to get drunk, but he was collapsed against Zero’s sidecackling about whatever stupid thing had riled the two of them up.
Everyone was having a good time, sure. I just didn’ttrust the place. After twenty minutes of coaxing, begging, bribing, anddragging, I got them all back to the car. At each apartment stop, I made surethey made it through their door alright after making them promise they’d neverhave me as a designated driver again. Not like they’d remember.
Bulge and Zero’s shared apartment was last, theclosest to mine and Tochiro’s and furthest from the bar I didn’t think I’d begoing back to. Their heads were knocked together in the backseat, lookingasleep except for the occasional murmur from one of them.
“Alright, come on,” I called back as I parked by theircars. “Let’s get you useless drunks inside.”
The car’s overhead light kicked on as I opened mydoor, and I found them squinting as I popped their door open for them. Theyboth wore pouts but complied when I grabbed them by the arm and dragged theminto the parking lot.
“Are you staying the night, Harlock?” Bulge asked in asweet, sleepy slur of a voice as though dripping with honey. He got all sappyand affectionate when drunk.
I expected Zero to object, but he was too busy tryingto find where he put his front door key in his million coat pockets.
“I’m not staying,” I said. “I’m just dropping you off.There’s only so much being around drunk people I can stand without being drunkmyself.”
“Sorry,” Bulge said like a kicked puppy. “Do you wantsome food or something? I’m real sorry. You were so helpful.”
I was starting to see why he didn’t like to get drunkoften. “It’s fine,” I said. “Let’s just get you both inside.”
Zero continued fumbling for his keys even as wereached the door, until I was tapping my foot and sighing. Before I could offerto just kick the door in, Bulge shoved his hand into one of the coat’s lowerpockets with a slurred, “Babe, you always put it in the same pocket.”
Zero looked as startled as I did, though he may havebeen more shocked by the awkward placement of Bulge’s grabby hand. I wasconcerned with Bulge calling him babe. Bulge didn’t call anyone babe, not hisoccasional dates, not any hapless baby animals, and especially not hisroommate.
I hoped neither of them would remember this in themorning because I was already hurting knowing that I would. It was all tooweird.
I snatched the keys from Bulge, knowing how long we’dbe there if I let them try to put the key in the lock. Once I had the dooropen, I turned on the lights for them and made sure there weren’t any strayshoes on the floor they could trip over. There weren’t, of course. Bulge andZero were both too neat for that. They both looked like something was crawling aroundon them when they visited my apartment. Bulge was too polite to comment, butZero always said, “Clean your goddamn house, Harlock.”
I tried to hang on the door and let them stumble pastme into the apartment, but Bulge pushed me farther in. “You should eatsomething,” he said. “Or get a drink. We have lots of things.”
If by “lots of things,” he meant water, then they suredid.
He seemed so anxious about it that I figured I wouldhave to take some crackers and a water bottle to make him happy. With a sigh, Iclosed the door behind me, muttering, “Fine-fine.”
Bulge’s eyes lit up as though it were his birthday,and I turned into their small kitchen area. I swear, I was in there for tenseconds tops. I thought I heard something like one of them stubbing their toeagainst the couch, but I sure as hell was not prepared to come back to themmaking out on the couch.
Something had definitely been slipped into my water.
For a minute, I could only stare, my whole body lockedup against me. It looked like Zero had shoved Bulge over the armrest, boththeir knees resting on it. Bulge had his arms locked around Zero’s back, hisfingers digging into that damn coat. Zero hands were latched on Bulge’ssquirming hips, and damn the two of them were going at it. Even when my bodystill wouldn’t move, my eyes flicked away on their own as my mind whirled.
I felt the need to stop them, but I would have muchpreferred just running out the door and leaving them to their devices. Ifsomething had been slipped into their drinks, this was not good. They wouldn’trealize what they were doing. Unless they did? Maybe they did this all the time.I didn’t know. They could have been fuck buddies. Neither of them were thetypes to go around advertising it.
But if that weren’t true, I had to pry them apartsomehow. And then what if they just climbed back on top of each other as soonas I left? Dammit, I was not staying here all night playing chastity belt.
I opened my mouth to say something. I hadn’t plannedout whatever it was, but when Zero’s hand shoved into Bulge’s pants, my voice justcame out as a yell.
Sure didn’t stop them. Bulge just moaned over me. Heactually moaned. Bulge. Oh my god. He was so loud and unrestrained, they weregoing to wake the damn neighbors.
When they broke away gasping for air, their faces allflushed – goddamn, I needed a drink – I finally kicked my legs into motion. Myhand outstretched, I was ready to put a stop to these useless, drunk,starting-to-get-me-grossly-turned-on idiots.
But Bulge did that for me. Sweet, stupid, Bulge.Something got ahold of him – probably Zero’s hand. He leaned up and bit downhard on the side of Zero’s neck. Zero yelped and rolled off of Bulge, hittingthe floor with a thunk.
“Oh thank god,” I said through a wheeze.
Zero had his hand on his neck, his brows furrowed ashe stared up at the ceiling.
“I’m sorry!” Bulge howled, held up on one arm as helooked to Zero in horror. “Did I bite too hard? I thought you liked biting! I’msorry!”
I blinked. Bulge hadn’t done that intentionally. “Idon’t know what I expected,” I muttered, rubbing a hand across my face.
When Zero pulled his hand back to look, his palm was coveredwith blood like a fresh coat of red paint. Bulge broke into a yell and a dozenscreamed apologies.
If the neighbors weren’talready awake, they sure as hell were up now.
I woke with a splitting headache which drowned out theache in my back. After a few minutes of trying to pull my eyes open, I was ableto squint enough to realize I’d slept on the couch. For some reason, Harlockwas curled up on the recliner across the room. The bottle of water on the floornear him entranced me too much to care, and I rolled off the couch to dragmyself toward it.
A quiet “oof,” reached my ears as my knee landed onsomething that wasn’t the floor. Looking down, I found Zero, his expressionscrewed up with pain and his hand against his head.
“Sorry,” I mumbled in a hoarse voice that must havebeen mine, and I pulled myself off of him.
“S’okay,” he answered, his eyelids heavy. As heyawned, I noticed a huge adhesive bandage slapped against his neck, the kindusually reserved for kids who scraped their knees. Our first aid kit sat openon the floor nearby.
“We must have done something stupid,” I said.
“Yes,” a voice hissed behind me.
I turned to find Harlock glaring from his seat, thoughhe didn’t look all that threatening with how he’d curled up. He reminded me ofa puffed-up cat.
“I am never, nevergoing to be a designated driver for you two again,” he said.
“What happened?” Zero asked as I padded over on allfours to the water bottle.
When I looked up at Harlock’s silence, I found himredder than Zero’s favorite sweater. He couldn’t look at either of us.
Oh.
I looked at Zero, who was trying to hide his smile ashe looked back to me.
“And you didn’t even join in?” Zero asked.
I wished he wouldn’t taunt Harlock like that. The poorguy looked close to a heart attack. “I’m leaving,” he said like the wind hadbeen knocked out of him.
“At least take some food or water before you go,” Icalled as he rushed to the door.
He just gave a shortscream and slammed it behind him.
#Galaxy Railways#Cosmo Warrior Zero#Captain Harlock#Zero fic#Schwanhelt Fic#Harlock fic#AU fic#galaxy railways fic#cwz fic#request fic#Anonymous
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More Things Change
Zero/Wataru 19 – Formal Dancing for anon. I always write this pairing unrequited. Sweats. Welcome to my no one is dead verse.
~900 words
“Now I see where all the money they’re not paying me is going,” Yuuki said, eyeing the chandeliers. Even if the SDF were just renting the place, it must have cost a pretty penny.
“At least you get paid,” I said.
As his eyes wandered the room, I couldn’t keep mine off him. We’d both rented suits for the event, but his broad chest and shoulders made the formal wear fit him as though it were made for him. I was too lanky to look anything but awkward in comparison.
Then again, we fit into our Sirius uniforms in much the same way.
“You could always just join the platoon officially once your internship is up,” he said. As he looked back toward me, I glanced away in the most obvious manner possible. “You won’t be making much more than you are now though.”
I tossed him a smile as he chuckled at his own joke. The violins of the small orchestra rolled out the first chords of a simple number, signaling the event’s start. All the captains and lieutenants stood around or sat with a glass of something in their hands, while we rookies fumbled for something to do. The SDF held this little gala every year, and while not technically mandatory, I’d been told it was in my best interest not to skip.
At least I got to see Yuuki in a suit for my troubles.
“Well, Warrius, guess we’d better dance,” Yuuki sighed. He’d used my first name since the moment I’d introduced myself. As his only junior on the crew, I was the only one he could address so informally without reprimand, and no one else on the crew called me by it. I liked it, though. Only from him. Always felt nice when he said it.
“Who should we dance with?” I asked.
Without the color-coded uniforms, I couldn’t recognize half the people in the room. Spica was always easy to pick out, certainly, most of the girls dancing together as their captain stood watch at a nearby table.
Mizar was notable as well since they’d all picked out matching purple ties and dresses, likely on their captain’s orders. He seemed to be having a good time, even if the rest of them looked uncomfortable.
Our captain sat alone, downing glasses of champagne a little too quickly. He pulled a face after each one, clearly not in it for the taste. Not too far away, our lieutenant stood against a wall. I swore his eyes were fixed on us.
Belatedly, I noticed Yuuki hadn’t responded, and I turned to find him giving me that look – the one I’d gotten when I’d asked how to make the trains go without tracks and when I’d suggested we talk down a criminal.
“Warrius,” he said, “you’re smart as anything, but you’re awfully dense, you know?”
“Yeah.” I still wasn’t sure what the answer was supposed to be.
“We’d better dance,” he stressed and offered his hand. “That way we can say we’ve done it, and we don’t have to worry about anyone turning us down.”
My heart beat up into my throat, and I could feel my ears burning redder than my tie. “Oh,” I croaked. He didn’t mean anything by it. We just needed to keep the lieutenant and everyone else off our backs. But it still meant everything to me.
Surely he could tell that as I placed my trembling hand in his, but he just cracked one of those beautiful grins. “I’ll lead, alright?” he said. “I am your senior officer, after all.”
He still looked damn good in formal wear, all shoulders, even in the fancy kimonos his whole family was wearing. In my eyes, he was still that cocky young SDF officer, but the lines in his face revealed his age when he smiled or frowned. And boy, was he frowning now.
Not a scowl, exactly. No, Mamoru was the one scowling. Wataru looked more stressed than anything since he’d handed Manabu off to his new husband for their dance.
After trying to comfort her husband for a moment, Kanna gave up on him to go bother Harlock for a dance. Harlock had looked too startled to do anything but let her lead him to the dance floor. That look on his face alone had been worth the trip.
The free drinks were a nice bonus, but they muddled my brain a bit too much. Standing, I strode over to Wataru and offered him my hand with a half-bow. “Would you give me one for old time’s sake?” I asked. The world swayed a bit around me, but he was in focus as his pinched lips relaxed into a smile. Still gorgeous.
“You think this round we won’t step on each other’s feet the whole time?”
“Even if we do, there aren’t any officers to make fun of us.”
“Just my family.”
“And Harlock, I suppose,” I said, glancing over my shoulder at him. He twirled a grinning Kanna as though he were afraid she might burn him.
“Harlock is part of my family,” Wataru said.
“Oh, right, I always forget.”
“I wish I could.”
I’d forgotten my hand was still raised toward him until he took it and stood. That old grin eased onto his face. “Care to lead this time, Captain?” he asked.
“I’d love to.”
#Cosmo Warrior Zero#Galaxy Railways#Warrius Zero#Wataru Yuuki#Wataru fic#zero fic#Galaxy Railways fic#CWZ fic#request fic
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Stakeout
CWZ-verse; Zero is on a serious mission, and Harlock couldn’t care less.
Sometimes I forget I have a Fanfiction account, so this is super old, and if you’ve ever looked through Crushing, you’ll probably have read it. It’s the one with the cows. I just realized I’d never posted it here.
~2k words
It was funny how much I could complain about my job when in reality I enjoyed it so much. I always had something to dislike though, some part of a mission that was just a pain in the ass. But most missions at least had something enjoyable about them.
Patrol missions did not.
Patrolling on the ship wasn't so bad. We could all take turns on the bridge and run scans with the press of a button. Land-based patrol missions were the real devils. There was just so much standing. Just standing and waiting. It was rare for something to happen, so we had to work to keep ourselves entertained.
Usually the government gave us patrol missions when they didn't have anything else for us. The idea was that they couldn't allow us to take work from any other groups, because we could take jobs that weren't as acceptable to their standards. It was better to give us a pointless mission than to risk their clean-cut Independents getting dirty. Like we belonged to them or something. Thinking about it made me grumble again.
We were guarding cattle, and I thought that gave me good reason to complain to the air and the dim-witted beasts. They were the only things that could hear me. Now, these were very expensive cows, and there had been numerous reports of them being stolen in the night. We were also getting paid well for this job.
I was still not happy about it.
A couple of the men on guard had caught perpetrators, but my post had come up empty. I'd simply been staring at cows for hours, leaning against a thick, wooden fence post for support. If it was any consolation, this planet had a beautiful night sky. Occasionally I'd look up at the splash of stars and feel the calm breeze of the night as it rustled the grassy field. It was a nice planet. The cows simply slept peacefully.
Nice and boring.
I suppose it was my own fault for complaining. I must have brought it upon myself.
"There you are," a familiar voice chimed. I hoped I was hallucinating. "I've been sneaking all over this place trying to find your post. You know, for a stakeout mission, your men aren't bothering to look very hard. Half of the ones I passed were asleep."
Harlock strode up from behind me and hopped up on the length of fence at my side as a seat. "What are you doing here?" I sighed.
"I was bored and in the area. We noticed your ship's signature and figured we'd check in on you."
He sounded like me, bored. At least I had someone to talk to now, even if it was Harlock. In one hand he held a bottle of wine, and he yanked the cork out to take a deep drink of it before handing it over. If Marina found out, she would tan my hide, but she didn't need to find out.
"What's the deal with these cows?" he asked as I knocked the bottle back.
"They're some special breed," I shrugged, "very expensive."
"For eating?"
"Yeah."
For a while we just passed the bottle back and forth. We hardly exchanged a word, and I wondered if he honestly thought I believed him. "Why are you really here?" I asked once the wine was gone and once I felt loose enough to be interested.
"Not important," he answered.
We fell back to silence, and my eyes drifted from the cows to him. He just stared at the sky. All I could think was that his hair was too long. He really needed a haircut or at least to tie it back. It was going to get in his face when he fought. Reaching up, I brushed the loose strands behind his ear. He glanced my way for a moment but said nothing. Even though I was with him, the silence felt strangely comfortable. Maybe it was the wine.
"Do you ever wonder what's going to happen to us?" I murmured, still staring at him. I memorized his profile and traced his scar with my eyes. He looked nice in the starlight, so young, so naïve.
"What do you mean?"
"I was just thinking that you'll probably end up just getting yourself killed before you're thirty," I frowned. "I don't know what's going to happen to me, but that's what you'll do." Like his father and his father before him. The Harlock line was famous for dying young in a blaze of glory or just by being shot in the back. I'd traced through his family tree and found that to nearly be a constant.
"I think you're just tired and buzzed," he replied, his expression unchanging.
"But don't you ever think about settling down and having a kid or two?"
His eyes flashed to me, his gaze sharp as he seemed to read my mind. "Have you thought about it?"
I opened my mouth, but no words came. Instead, I sighed.
He reached down from his perch atop the short fence and ruffled my hair as though I were a child. "I've thought about it, but it sounds boring, honestly."
I shrugged. He sounded like I had a few years back. I'd grown up a lot since then. "I think maybe you'd feel a bit differently if you found the right person."
His brows shot up, and his eyes brightened with interest. Apparently I'd said what he'd wanted me to, but I was just confused. "Zero, have you found the right person?" he pried curiously.
"I…did," I responded slowly, eyeing him with suspicion. "Once."
"So you've been in love before?" His interest was growing, and his full attention was on me. I didn't like wherever this conversation was going.
"Yes…"
"How did you know?"
I'd braced myself for dozens of different questions, but that hadn't been one of them. For a moment I could only stare at him. "How did I know…what?"
"How did you know that you were in love?" he insisted curiously. "What did it feel like? When did it happen?"
Now he truly did seem like an innocent child, but his questions were so honest that I felt compelled to answer. "Well," I huffed, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks, "This is going to sound really stupid, but I…I knew I was in love from the moment I laid eyes on her."
"How?" he prodded.
"I just…did. I saw her, and everything stopped." I couldn't help but smile dreamily as I remembered it. "She was so beautiful, and the way she punched that guy…"
"Hang on, what?"
I quickly shook the thought away. "Long story. Anyway, what's important is that it's different for everyone. I never really believed in love at first sight, but I felt it at that moment. She didn't love me until we'd been dating for a good couple of years. Everyone experiences it differently. It's different from infatuation. Hard to describe it really. You just sort of know."
"What about her then?" he questioned. "A couple years is a long time."
I nodded. "Her story – the one she told me – is even weirder than mine. I was fixing my car. That was all. Piece of junk had broken down again, so I was fixing it in the parking lot of the apartment while she watched from the curb. She said she was just looking at me while I was cursing at the damn car, and she just realized she loved me. So she started crying."
"I didn't realize it was so upsetting to be in love with you," he said, fighting back a grin. I slugged him in the arm for the fun of it.
"They were tears of happiness, asshole. Though I wouldn't recommend falling in love. You're better off without it. Am I supposed to guess you think you've fallen for some poor, unlucky soul?"
"I'm still not sure," he frowned, staring off in thought. "I haven't been compelled to cry or anything."
"What does it feel like?"
"When I think about them? Like I keep getting punched in the gut."
"Hm…it does sound like love." I wondered if he had anymore wine back on his ship. Maybe I could convince him to go get it. As much fun as it was to tear open old wounds, drowning myself in alcohol sounded preferable.
"How can I know for sure?" he continued, his brow furrowed deeply.
"I don't know. Take them on a date. Get to know them. Kiss them a few times. I'm really not the best person for advice on this sort of thing."
"Alright," he nodded, suddenly sure of himself. "I think I'll try the kissing one."
"That's pretty direct. You might scare them off that way."
"I'm a very direct person," he smiled, grabbing the front of my jacket. He jerked me toward him and leaned down. Suddenly he was kissing me. I just stood there, too stunned to respond. When he pulled away, he was frowning. "I didn't get anything from that one, but I think it's because you weren't kissing back."
Why would I kiss back? Why would I ever kiss Harlock? I stared blankly up at him, trying to find the words to snap at him with. He couldn't just do something like that. That was against the rules or something. That was… "N-not allowed," I spluttered.
"Why's that?" he blinked. His firm grasp remained on my jacket as I pulled uselessly on his hands.
"I-it's against the rules!"
"What rules?"
"The…pirate rules?"
He held back a laugh, his lips worming into a smile. "Zero, pirates don't have rules. That's the point."
I opened my mouth to say something else, but once his lips were against mine, I forgot what it was. This was not allowed. He was in trouble. He was…good at this. He was really good with his tongue. Wait…tongue? Whoa, slow down. That was against so many rules. Stop stop stop. No no no, stop.
For a moment I felt really light. Then I was on my back, the grass blades brushing the sides of my face. "Zero?" Harlock called curiously, lightly patting my cheek as he hung over me.
"What?"
"You blacked out for a second there."
"Wow," I laughed, unsure how else to react. Apparently I'd forgotten to breathe.
"So it really felt like a punch to the gut then?" he smiled. "I'm still not exactly sure what I felt. I think I'll just have to try again."
"What?" I questioned distantly. "Is this whole thing about you wondering if you were in love with me?"
"You're a bit slow, aren't you?"
"You can't love me, and I don't love you."
His smile widened into a grin. "Is that against the pirate rules too?"
I scowled up at him. I needed to get back on my feet, but I was worried he'd try kissing me again. Then I'd have to kill him. "That's against my rules," I growled.
He leaned down, his too-long hair falling around our faces as his lips brushed mine. "Well we're at a bit of an impasse then," he whispered, "because I think we're both breaking your rules."
As he kissed me again, I realized he was right, so warm and so right. And so very wrong. I'd need to kill him immediately.
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Harlock Week Day 4
Day 4 - Favorite series/version
SSX and CWZ have my fav Harlocks and are my favorite series with Harlock (at least a Harlock named Harlock bc there’s Wataru and all) in them, so here’s a drabble with those boys. Keep in mind that I’ve written this before, and it was inappropriate. I can only say that this one isn’t as inappropriate.
“Okay, look, I can explain,” he said with my face and what Tochiro said was my voice, though I felt certain I did not sound that full of myself. When I allowed him to continue, he paused, eyes rolling back and forth through his thoughts. Giving in, he shrugged. “Alright, I can’t. I don’t know what happened. But I’m not like a spy or a clone or anything.”
I hoped not because he was a terrible impersonator. He had both his eyes and an obnoxious bright blue uniform. He was younger than I as well, and he acted it. When he’d appeared on the bridge, he’d been all smiles and charms despite having fallen through some sort of tear in space and time. The man who fell through with him shared our confusion, looking around the room as though in a dream. Though when he noticed me, his daze became abject horror.
“Oh my god,” he’d said over the rambling younger me. “There are two.”
Once the stun wore off, we tied the two up and placed them in separate rooms. The elder one, some captain of a fleet I’d never heard of, muttered his thanks once they were apart before asking if we had anything to drink.
I’d questioned how he planned to drink anything with his hands bound behind him, but he said he could manage. He did manage, actually. It was quite impressive.
Even after enough drinks to send most men to the floor, I had no luck interrogating him. He muttered how he had no idea what had happened and how it was all Harlock’s fault. “The other one,” he clarified, squinting at me. “The one in the jumpsuit.”
In the end, though, talking to “the other one” gave me no new answers. He sat with his legs crossed, seemingly unconcerned with the whole ordeal. “I guess we messed with something weird at that lab,” he offered. “Hopefully someone will be able to figure out how to get us back.”
“And if they don’t?”
“Guess it’s not too big of a deal. Tochiro’s here, and this is the Arcadia, right? Not too much seems different.” He flashed a grin at me. “I’m digging the eyepatch.”
I would have been content to keep them tied up, but Tochiro took a liking to the drunk, muttering captain he called Zero and insisted we let them both go. “I’ve seen stranger things,” Tochiro said. “I think they are who they say they are, and they mean no harm. Who knows? They could be a big help.”
That was all well and good for him, and Zero did seem like a reasonable sort. Tadashi and Rebi took a shine to him as well for all his doting on them.
But Tochiro wasn’t having to deal with an obnoxious double who seemed to think he was also the captain of my ship. And no matter how many times I insisted he had his own room, he always appeared in mine, his feet kicked up on my desk as he lounged in my chair.
“Why are you always in here?” I asked at yet another occurrence.
“Zero kicked me out,” he said.
“What did you do to deserve that?”
“Why do you assume I deserved it?”
I could only be bothered to stare at him, my brows raised. Unoffended, his lips tugged toward a smirk. “I guess you know me too well,” he said.
“We’re not the same person,” I reminded him.
As always, he responded with a noncommittal hum.
“Now go apologize to Zero, or you’ll have nowhere to sleep,” I said.
“Ah, you’re cruel.” Swinging his feet down from the desk, he stood and started toward the door. At least, I had hoped his aim was for the door until he took a step past me, dropped to the ground, and swept his feet under mine.
He was quick enough about it that he caught me before I could catch myself. One arm snagged me around my shoulders just to slow my fall before he dropped me to the ground anyway. His hands appeared at my shoulders like blades pinning me to the ground, and he straddled my waist with the smirk of a man who won.
He had not won.
“Just wanted to see if I could,” he offered in explanation, though I didn’t care to ask. “I figured the only person who could beat me was me.”
“You’re awfully full of yourself,” I said, keeping my expression even.
He leaned in over me, strands of his hair tickling my cheeks. “But am I wrong?”
He wasn’t just wrong. He was stupid. The shift in weight left him wide open. Grabbing his right shoulder, I threw all my weight into flipping him. He didn’t have as much muscle, a thin, wiry kid. For once, I managed to see surprise and frustration on his face as I took my turn on top. I held his wrists down near his head, my knees held tight to his sides to keep him from wiggling free.
Even if only I could beat me, and he were me, I still had the upper hand. I had more experience and strength.
“You are wrong,” I said.
“Alright-alright,” he said with a sigh. “You can top if you want, but go easy on me.”
He made little sense, and my triumph faded to annoyance. “I’m not going to fight you.”
His brow furrowed. “You don’t have to. I can take it.”
“I’m sorry?”
A smile tugged at his lips. “If you’re going to keep us here in this position, someone’s clothes need to start coming off. Otherwise, you’re just being a tease.”
I released him and realized my mistake in the same instant. He played me like a fiddle, throwing himself up to knock me onto my back yet again. This time, he just lay himself on top of me, his chin atop my chest. “You’re too easy to fluster,” he said with that wicked smirk. “It’s kind of cute, really.”
“What is your goal here?” I growled.
His grin widened as he pushed himself up on his forearms and dragged himself closer until I could feel his words on my lips. “Shouldn’t that be obvious? I want you to acknowledge me. I’m you, Captain. You’re me. You refused to believe it based on sight or anything I’ve said, so I was hoping a bit of hands-on experience might do the trick.”
I hoped my glare would deter him, but his eyes remained above mine. “Say you are me. What makes you think something like that would convince me? Or that I’d even allow it? Shouldn’t you know better?”
He breathed a laugh before nuzzling his lips to my ear. “But I do know. I know everything you’d want, and you know it too. Otherwise you would have moved or thrown me off by now.”
As a shudder ran down my spine, I found I couldn’t deny it. He was winning. Damn.
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Nighttime Stroll
CWZ/GR-verse; Bulge/Harlock/Zero shenanigans for @genesisnx and also to me. Happy birthday to us. I’m very sick and kind of out of it right now, so here’s bad jokes and not porn sorry.
Blusey: “Where’s the porn?”
Me: “Wtf, the moment I told you five-year-old Manabu showed up in this fic, you should have known better.”
Blusey: “Yeah, but why can’t they just send him off? I mean, what’s the point?”
~2500 words
“We can’t just waltz onto the Karyū,” I’d said right before we just waltzed onto the Karyū. I had a feeling Harlock didn’t receive the codes that opened the emergency air locks through some trusting gesture by Zero. In fact, judging by the tired glares from Zero’s crew, I doubted Harlock had ever been personally invited on that ship in his life.
Sure, all of this was strange, but that made it all the more strange when none of the irritated crewmen attempted to halt our progress through the halls of the ship. “Why don’t they try to stop us?” I asked as I tried to match pace with Harlock’s quick stride. I always seemed to be staring at his back.
He threw a grin over his shoulder. “They know I’m the only one who can cheer up their captain, and they’re jealous.”
I doubted the accuracy of his claim. My guess was that Harlock did this so often that Zero’s crew had given up on trying to dissuade him from showing up announced and strolling in like he owned the place. After all, the same thing had happened at the Destiny Station barracks. The only reason he didn’t just hop aboard Big 1 was because of the captain. Harlock’s brother was the only person who could almost keep Harlock in line. Almost.
“You know the Captain is going to kill you,” I said for the dozenth time. “I’m sure he’s noticed Manabu is gone by now.”
The tiny kid’s arms draped over Harlock’s shoulders as his uncle cradled him in a carry. His head nestled into the curve of Harlock’s neck as he dozed. For someone who’d just been kidnapped out of his own bed, Manabu was awfully relaxed about the whole thing. Harlock attempted to snatch Mamoru too, but the elder brother whined about how he had a test in the morning and didn’t have time for “Uncle Phantom’s” games.
I’d tailed Harlock since I saw his ship touch down on Tabito, hissed all the reasons why this was a bad idea as he crept through the Yuuki home, but all to no avail. The best I could do was follow him on his strange whims and hope we could return Manabu to his bed before the captain came to claim our lives.
“Wataru won’t mind once he learns why I took his kid,” Harlock said with a shrug.
“Alright, but why did you take his kid?” He’d refused to tell me why beyond it being a surprise, and I was starting to see why young Mamoru was so fed-up with Harlock’s nonsense.
“Can’t you just be happy we’re going to see Zero?” He turned down another corridor without thought. He seemed to know the layout of this ship too well. “I mean, I know we can’t have all that much fun with the kid around, but I’m sure you’ll get a kiss out of the deal at least. Zero’s always happy to see you.”
I knew he looked back just to ensure he had me blushing. I wished I could have denied him the satisfaction, but my cheeks warmed against my will. Honestly, he was cheating – playing that card. Anyone would be flustered at the thought of Zero happy. There was something about that smile, about the way his eyes lit up. Harlock could joke all he wanted, but he turned weak as water when he saw it too.
“I’m fine with going to see Zero,” I sighed. “But I would prefer, you know, a heads-up. I’m sure he would like one too. And why is Manabu here?” I threw up a hand toward the boy, who stirred at the sound of his name. He blinked, squinting in the harsh lights of the ship.
Harlock smiled at him as he rubbed his knuckles against his eyes. “Manabu is here to see Zero too, isn’t that right?”
Manabu made some noise of confirmation or confusion before yawning. He was a cute kid, all pudgy-faced with the same messy brunet hair as his uncle. And Zero did love kids, so that had to be part of whatever strange interworking went on in Harlock’s head. Then again, maybe he was just really drunk. At this point, I just assumed him drunk a majority of the time.
As we came to the door marked with Zero’s name and rank, Harlock adjusted the boneless form in his arms and typed in a code into the side panel. I wondered if Zero bothered to change the passcode, or if he’d just come to accept that Harlock would break in no matter what.
“It’s me!” Harlock yelled as he strolled in. “I’ve brought innocents, so don’t shoot.”
I felt myself hesitating before I hurried in after him. I wasn’t worried about getting shot, really. I’d just never been in Zero’s room before. The inside was about as I’d expected it to be. Zero kept things tidy. The office area held no decorations and simple furniture. Not a piece of trash in sight. Even his bed in the next room appeared made. Strange, considering the man himself was slumped over his desk with a bottle of alcohol clutched in his hand.
Must have been a bad day.
“Hello, birthday boy,” Harlock sang.
That explained it.
Zero growled into the surface of his desk. As valiant of an idea as trying to cheer him up was, I had a feeling Harlock was in over his head. Harlock as well as his brother told me that Zero had a habit of drinking on any special occasion for the sole purpose of getting too drunk to remember that it was a special occasion.
Zero rolled his head to rest against his cheek and glared at the wall. The flush from the alcohol colored his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. “Got a signal to haul my ass all the way out to this sector,” he said around his slurring tongue. “Only to find out that signal was a fake. Nothing here.”
Harlock nodded. “I know. I made that signal. Well, Tochiro did anyway.”
Zero’s head shot up as his fist slammed into the desk’s surface. He looked quite the dragon-type now with the fire and murder in his eyes. “Harlock! You-!” Noticing me, he bit his tongue. His eyes went wide like a startled animal’s. “Swan, oh my God. Oh my god.” His hands found his face as he sank down to bury himself against the desk again. “I’m so sorry. I’m so drunk. I’m so sorry.”
“Swan?” I echoed.
“It’s fine, Zero,” Harlock sighed. “Everyone knows you’re a huge alcoholic. Bulge knows too.”
Zero howled a soft “no,” sounding close to tears. “I don’t want you to see me drunk. I want to be cool and sober.”
“Cool,” Harlock snorted. “I don’t know that you’ve ever been cool. And anyway, you don’t care when I see you drunk.”
“That’s because I don’t care what you think.”
“Okay, rude. And after I went through all the trouble to bring you a present.”
“Swan?” I stressed, hoping for an answer. Surely I’d heard him wrong. Again, though, I went ignored.
“Say hi to uncle Warrius,” Harlock said as he shifted his shoulder to rouse the dozing kid.
Zero managed to peel his hands away from his face long enough to see the sleepy kid. “Hi, uncle Warr’us,” Manabu said.
“Oh my god,” Zero whispered. “Is that Manabu?” His eyes filled with tears, and he reached his hands out like a spoiled child, grabbing for the kid. “Look at him. He’s so small. I love him so much.”
With a grin of triumph, Harlock strolled over and deposited the kid in Zero’s arms.
“My baby,” Zero said as he held the kid close.
Manabu seemed entirely alright with the situation and snuggled right up to Zero. “I’m not a baby, Uncle Warr’us. I’m five.”
“Oh my god, he’s five,” Zero crowed. “He thinks he’s big. He’s too pure.”
Harlock stood with his hands on his hips, grinning from ear-to-ear. “Happy birthday,” he said.
I wanted to smack him. “Harlock, you can’t give other people’s children away as presents.”
“Well if Zero had told me his birthday was coming up sooner, I would have had more time to plan, and I could have gotten him something else. Besides,” He shrugged, “this is fine.”
Sure, it was fine ‘til the captain showed up.
“I will give him back,” Zero sobbed, hugging the kid like a life raft. “I can’t protect him anyway. He’s too small. Just a baby.”
Manabu puffed his cheeks. “Not a baby.”
“Well, anyway,” I sighed. “Happy birthday, Zero. If I’d known sooner, I would have brought you something too.”
This only served to make him more teary-eyed. “I don’t deserve anything from you. You’re too good to me, Swan. You’re also so small. What if I can’t protect you too? Oh my god, you’re just a baby, and I’m so old.”
Manabu reached up to pat Zero’s face as fat tears rolled down his cheeks. “Don’t cry, Uncle Warr’us. Daddy’s old too.”
“Swan?” I asked again, louder this time. Harlock appeared at my side, his arm draped across my shoulders.
“He calls you that when you’re not around,” he said, too low for Zero to hear. “I think he forgot it was supposed to be a secret.”
I tried to find a way to be irritated with him for such an embarrassing pet name, but I didn’t know how to be mad at Zero. Watching him light up with a smile as he dropped his too-big hat over Manabu’s head took it out of me.
“I didn’t know you were friends with Uncle Phantom and Mr. Bulge too,” Manabu said, pushing up the brim.
“Mm-hm, Swan is my boyfriend, and Harlock shows up sometimes.”
“Hey!” Harlock snapped.
Manabu’s eyes shone with joy as he turned to me. “Swan?” he said. “Swan.”
Oh, great.
He looked back to Zero with a grin. “Swan’s my boyfriend too, Uncle Warr’us.”
Harlock snickered as his cheek dropped to my shoulder. “Well, you certainly get around.”
“Shut up,” I grumbled. “I didn’t have a say in it.”
“He’s my boyfriend too,” Harlock announced, tilting his head to nuzzle against my ear. “Swan,” he purred.
I hoped the captain did show up and kill him.
“I wanna hug Swan too!” Manabu decided as he clambered up onto the desk. Zero nodded solemnly in agreement.
I didn’t get much of a say in anything anymore, but it’s not like I could have said no to Manabu and Zero clinging to me along with Harlock. Manabu hung from my neck courtesy of me giving into his grabbing hands reaching up toward me.
Zero held me around the waist, opposite Harlock. “You’re so small,” he cooed. He wasn’t that much taller than me. “What if I can’t protect you? So small.”
Unable to reach much else, I patted his cheek, assuring him I would be alright.
“Hey, Zero,” Harlock called. ���I told Bulge you owe him a kiss.”
Zero blinked. “I do?”
Stars filled Manabu’s eyes once again. “I wanna kiss from Uncle Warr’us too!”
“Same,” Harlock sang.
I didn’t know Zero’s face could turn redder, but I could feel the heat from his cheek against mine, while his ears burned scarlet. “Okay.”
“Not that I mind, but you’re too accepting of all this,” I said.
“Yeah, well-” He rested his chin against my shoulder. “I want to kiss you.”
Good enough for me. I couldn’t hide my smile as I turned and kissed the bridge of his nose. “Fair enough, but I get to kiss you too. It is your birthday after all.”
“Gimme a kiss too!” Manabu howled.
“Yeah, where’s mine?” Harlock echoed. He really was the child here.
“It’s not either of your birthdays,” I grumbled.
“Then I will kiss the birthday boy!” Manabu decided.
With a laugh, Zero scooped Manabu up and kissed the top of his head. “What are you doing up this late anyway, little one? It’s way past your bedtime. Let’s get you to bed.” He must have been sobering up a little.
As Manabu filled the room with disappointed whines, Harlock pulled something from his pocket, his cheek still resting on my shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, Zero,” he said. “His ride’s here.”
Realization set in too quickly. I thought I felt a heart attack coming on. Well, it had been a good life while it lasted.
Manabu could have passed for a pitiful lost puppy with the look he gave us. “I’m leaving? Aww.” Despite his pout, he kissed Zero’s cheek. “Well happy birthday, Uncle Warr’us.”
“Thank you, little one.” Zero’s brows furrowed in confusion as he turned to us. “But didn’t you bring him?”
In the span of a few moments, he went from surprise to realization to irritation as the door slid open to reveal a very exhausted, very angry Wataru. He stood with his arms crossed, still intimidating despite his blue pajamas and bare feet. His hair was so fluffy, it looked a bit like a lion’s mane.
“Hey, big brother,” Harlock said, raising a hand. “It’s Zero’s birthday.”
The captain spoke with a gravely drawl. “I know it is. That’s the only reason you still have all your limbs.” His glare vanished as he looked to his son. Manabu dangled in Zero’s arms like a sloth and offered no resistance or help as his father came over to take him. “Come on, Manabu. Let’s go home.”
“Wait! You have to give Uncle Warr’us a kiss first,” Manabu said as his dad tossed him over his shoulder. “It’s his birthday.”
Wataru was also too accepting of this, and, with a shrug, placed a kiss to Zero’s cheek. “Happy birthday, Walrus,” he said.
“Walrus?” Harlock and I said.
“Did he just make that up?” Harlock hissed. “Why does my brother have a dumb secret animal nickname for Zero and not me? Swan, we can’t let this slide.”
“Please don’t call me that.”
The captain stared at his brother for a moment before shaking his head and walking away. “If you take one of my kids again, I’ll kill you.”
Manabu scolded him for such violence as the door closed behind them.
Harlock didn’t seem to notice the threat to his well-being. “I can’t believe my brother thinks he can come in and kiss my boyfriend before me,” he huffed, storming up to Zero. “I’ll show him.”
Had he been sober, Zero might have been able to avoid the kick Harlock sent to the back of his knees. As things were, Zero went down flailing, only for Harlock to catch him and smash a kiss to his lips. I offered a round of applause as Harlock also lost his balance under Zero’s weight and fell on top of him. Their foreheads smacked together as they hit the floor.
“Bravo.”
“Can it, Swan,” Harlock hissed as he pushed himself up.
Zero clutched his forehead, a laugh bubbling from his chest.
Harlock sat back on his haunches with a sigh. “You too, Walrus.”
Instead, Zero began to cackle. The alcohol likely had something to do with it, but it was just about the cutest thing I’d ever seen.
“Calm down,” I said with a smirk. “Pheasant.”
I didn’t think I’d ever seen so much contempt in Harlock’s eyes as Zero rolled with laughter.
#cwz fic#Galaxy Railways fic#Schwanhelt fic#Manabu fic#zero fic#Harlock fic#Wataru fic#genesisnx#I think I had a point for this somewhere along the way but then I got tired
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Swap Smut
CWZ/Swap!AU; Zero/Swap!Harlock; The soldier Captain Harlock is not exactly persuasive or smooth or… good in bed, but that’s alright. Neither is his new fascination from a parallel universe.
You know, I was going to sleep, but then I thought “What if I finish writing this porn before my 14 straight hours of school and work?” So, here’s some bad, out-of-context smut. Someday I’ll actually write this whole fic so some of the plot references will make sense haha.
~4400 words (so little of that is smut so be prepared).
“Look,” I sighed, rubbing away the growing headache behind my forehead. “I know your version of me is a pirate bastard. Trust me, I met him. I can see why you wouldn’t want to trust me.”
Harlock’s alternate stood with his arms crossed and his eyes darting around the room. His whole form was tense, and I could only guess he despised being around my pirate self. I couldn’t say I hated Harlock quite like this Harlock hated me.
Or perhaps I should have referred to my Harlock as Phantom, as everyone else in this world had begun to do in order to tell them apart. To them, I was Warrius, and the pirate was Zero. I had to hold back a cringe every time they used my first name, especially when it came out of either Harlock’s mouth.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” the soldier muttered as he began tapping a finger against his arm. “I know the two of you are separate people, and you’re nothing like him.” Harlock tried to dip his head, messy brown locks falling into his face, but it wasn’t enough to hide the pink burning in his cheeks.
I’d never seen Harlock blush before. At least, Phantom didn’t blush. But besides sharing a face, the two didn’t have much in common.
“It’s just strange,” he said, “that you two look the same when you’re nothing like him.”
I blinked as I realized he thought the same of Warrius and me. Perhaps that was true on the surface, but after spending some time with my double, I’d come to realize we had more in common than I would have liked.
“He’s certainly a difficult person to get along with,” I said. My attempt at a smile tugged at the corner of my mouth, but I couldn’t quite manage it. I was too exhausted to have this conversation again, even if it was with Harlock instead of Phantom this time. My still-healing wound felt like a knife to the gut with each deep breath, and I could have fallen asleep in the leather chair. I felt comfortable enough in the room that the thought of resting there was tempting, but the place was still alien to me.
Harlock’s cabin felt cold despite the cozy furniture. The walls and floor were all fog gray, and the deep reds and blacks of the furniture didn’t help to add much warmth. He had just enough for it be considered a captain’s quarters – a desk, a dresser, a bed, and the chair I sat in, my feet resting on the small table in front of it.
Sure, I could have taken the room Harlock had offered me for the night and slept away some of my aches, but I needed to get out of this Deathshadow. The longer I stayed here, the longer it would take to find a way home. It didn’t appear that Harlock had any interest in helping me, which must have been why Phantom had run off on his own.
As Harlock stood there with his brow furrowed and fingers tapping away, I rose to my feet with a sigh. We would just run in circles if we kept this up. He could only see the pirate Zero when he looked at me, yet when I looked at him, I didn’t see a pirate. I saw some kid in way over his head, running around with his rag-tag crew in search of a pirate with far more power than him.
I couldn’t see him as Harlock. Sure, they shared a name and a face, but this boy was no proud, smirking pirate. He was something else entirely.
“I need to go meet up with Har- Phantom again,” I said. His chin jerked up in surprise. “As much as I hate to admit it, I think we’re better off searching for a way back together. Besides, I can’t have that bastard getting back without me. He’d cause all sorts of havoc. I appreciate the hospitality, but I need to get going.”
I started toward the door, my hand raised in a half-hearted wave. The hurried sound of boots against metal gave me pause, and I turned to find Harlock slamming his hands into the wall on either side of me. I glanced from one side of my cage to the other, one brow raised as I finally looked to him.
But he couldn’t look at me, his eyes boring a hole in my chest, his lips pressed in a thin line. “You can’t leave yet,” he said. “You’re still injured, and you need to recover. I can’t let an injured man leave my ship unattended.”
Phantom said something similar when he took me in with a busted arm and leg months before, but Phantom spoke those words with a smirk, power and certainty in his eyes. Harlock spoke like a fledgling commander, unsure I would listen.
“It’s not bothering me much,” I offered. “It’s as tended-to as it can be for now, and it could take another week to heal-“
“Then you can stay here that long!” He seemed to rush to throw the words out, and they hung in the empty air. He glanced up just long enough to take in my surprise; then his head ducked once again, but his reddening ears gave him away. I wasn’t sure what to make of him.
I’d forgotten my gloves, still hanging from my shoulder, just as his rested on his desk. When my hand drifted up to settle against his cheek, I found myself touching his skin. That should have been enough to tell me this was wrong, even as another side of me found something soothing in the contact.
His shoulders jolted at my touch, but he didn’t shake me off. I’d hoped I could bring his eyes to me, but they stayed away. “Harlock,��� I called. “Do you not want to look at me because I look like him?”
“N-no!” He forced his gaze back up, locking eyes with mine, though he still seemed to struggle with it. “But you don’t look at me…like he does. That’s why…”
His blush splashed across his nose and scar, but those eyes stared resolutely into my own. It was…cute. I brushed my thumb along the trail of his scar and wondered if this strange reaction of his was because of me or because of Zero. Perhaps I was simply a stand-in for what Harlock wanted from the pirate.
If I was, it was fine. Zero wasn’t the one getting to see him react this way, getting to touch him. It was me. For the moment, the government dog was mine, and that brought satisfaction burning in my gut. I could treat someone right where Zero failed. I could be what Harlock wanted.
But maybe that was wrong. In the end, all of this could only be wrong. I didn’t belong here. I wasn’t supposed to touch this Harlock, and yet I couldn’t push him away when he pushed up on his toes and kissed me.
His hands slipped to my shoulders, then my chest. They shook as they felt what they could through my coat, tracing down over my stomach until I flinched. He pulled back, his eyes wide. “Ah, right, your injury.” He turned, trying to run. “We should have-“
I decided it was my turn to trap him. My arms locked around his middle, pulling his back to my chest. Resting my chin on his shoulder, I nuzzled his warming ear. “What is it you want from me, Harlock?” I whispered.
I heard him swallow as his hands came to rest over mine. If he tried to pull away or asked me to, I would let him go, and that would be the end of it. It would have been so easy, so right, to end things there. We could forget all of this.
“I want you to stay,” he murmured.
“Then I’ll stay.”
He turned enough to allow me another kiss. His lips were as warm as the rest of him, soft with uncertainty. My hands rested on his hips as he relaxed enough to face me completely. He was still so tense that he couldn’t seem to decide where to settle his hands. They shifted from my shoulders to my chest, brushing my cheeks for a moment before darting away. Finally, he snatched my hat away, parting his lips as he pushed himself closer.
Tempted as I was, I pulled away with a smile just to set to work removing his cravat. “You’re sure about this?” I asked.
He seemed a bit annoyed, a pout settling on his lips. “No, but does it matter if I want it?”
At least he knew it was a bad idea too. I breathed a laugh as I pulled the white cloth free of his neck and unfastened his uniform. That collar was in the way. “I suppose not much matters right now,” I said. “Now help me out a little.”
His hands went for my belt instead of his. It wasn’t quite what I’d intended, but I wasn’t going to argue. Our hands became a little tangled in the ordeal, but I finally dropped his belt to the floor and tugged his shirt from his shoulders. While he stood bare-chested, his brow furrowed to find another layer hidden beneath my coat.
I laughed, pulling the sweater off for him. I wasn’t sure what surprised me more, how few scars he had compared to Phantom, or how his eyes widened at the sight of mine. The bandages around my stomach hid some, but his gaze lingered on those visible. There were a few nicks here and there, not much compared to the deeper wounds across my back. His fingers drifted up to a prominent one peering over my shoulder, and he traced as though he could read it like a piece of writing.
“Should we move to the bed?” I asked, breaking his concentration.
“Ah, right.” He nodded, looking flustered once again.
Taking a hold of his chin, I placed another chaste kiss to his lips. “If you ever want to stop, we can stop,” I said, but his eyes were lidded as though waiting for me to kiss him again.
“Hm, no,” he muttered, “the bed.” He drifted backward toward it, his hand on mine to pull me along. When he reached it, the back of his legs were smacked out from under him, and he fell onto it, dragging me down with him. It seemed he hadn’t realized how close it was, and I just barely managed to catch myself to keep our heads from cracking together. Now my hands rested on either side of him, trapping him there. It seemed like such a cliché picture of a moment, me hovering over him as he glanced off in embarrassment.
I couldn’t help but break into a laugh. “Oh, shut up,” he huffed, his hand splayed out over his face to hide his smile. “You’re distracting is all.”
Still trying to fight back laughter, I lowered myself to nuzzle his exposed throat. “I suppose I’ll take that as a compliment,” I said. Tracing my hand down his chest and taut stomach, I found buckle for his pants.
“You have too many belts,” I said before placing a soft kiss to his jaw.
“You have just as many belts and twice as many shirts, so you’re not allowed to complain,” he grumbled. I could feel him shifting beneath me, probably toeing off his boots. He still seemed a little irritated, so I would have to work harder.
I peppered kisses down the line of his jaw before placing a gentle bite to his neck. He gave a sharp intake of breath before exposing more of his neck to me. “Too bad I can’t leave a mark,” I said.
He hummed in agreement. “I would give you one right back.”
“So you’re not opposed?” I bit down a little harder as I pulled his belt free.
His laugh was strained. “My uniform covers enough.”
He tensed in expectation, but I kept my kisses soft, using my tongue just to make him shudder. Any marks I left would fade soon enough, slight imprints of teeth and light pink hickeys. I wasn’t sure if that would disappoint him or not, but it was for the best.
I had to abandon his neck to get his pants completely off, so I trailed down to his hips, pulling them free to the open air just to kiss down along one hip bone. “Are you alright with this?” I asked again as I reached the ridge of his striped boxers.
“Warrius,” he begged in some form of answer. It seemed like a yes. His hand had found his face once again, trying to hide a blush from me. But by now, I shared it. The heaviness to his breath coupled with his swelling cock a few inches from my mouth had the room feeling a bit stifling.
But I wanted to hear him say my name again, that name no one ever called me, not even Phantom. I was Zero in bed with him too. The other people in this world said it with uncertainty, with the inflection of someone unable to separate me from the pirate. Whether Harlock thought of us as two or one, I could accept at as long as he spoke my name like that again.
Perhaps it was just me stalling, but a thought struck me, and I jumped up. “Do you have any lube?” I asked. “Or condoms?”
He pushed himself up on one arm, blinking away a daze. “Hmm? I think so. Probably in the dresser.”
As I got up, he grumbled like the impatient kid that he was and kicked his pants off the rest of the way. “You’re still wearing your boots,” he muttered.
“I’m working on it.” While I shifted through many pairs of striped underwear and socks, I toed my boots off. Balancing on one foot, my socks came off next. Before I could tell him I wasn’t finding anything, he appeared at my side, one arm around my back and one hand toying with my nipple. The hair on the back of my neck bristled.
“Warrius,” he huffed, his cheek against my shoulder. “Other drawer. And take off your pants too. This is pretty unfair.”
What was unfair was the way he let his crotch rub against my thigh and the way he shuddered as I reached down to open the other drawer. “I’m working on it,” I grumbled again as I found a packet of lube and some sort of vaguely-sized condom. “Where did you get these?”
“They were free samples from when I was training at a base back on Earth,” he said with a shrug.
“You’ve had these for that long and never used them?”
“Well I used to have more!” He scratched at his nose. “A few more.”
I placed a kiss to his forehead, which made him wrinkle his nose despite a smile. “Do you have any preference?” I asked.
“About who takes it up the ass? Not particularly.”
“Me either.”
He blinked for a few moments before going back to grab his pants. Digging in the pocket, he produced a cosmo dubloon. “Heads or tails?” he asked.
“What does it mean if I win?”
“You top.”
“Okay, tails.”
He snorted. “Would have been more fitting for the bottom to call tails.” He flicked it into the air in a perfect spin. “I hope you’re ready to work to turn me on again. This whole detour has been pretty unimpressive.” He caught it on one hand before smacking it onto the back of the other. “Tails,” he announced with a grin. “Guess you’re doing all the hard work.”
I smiled in return. “Well, I aim to please. I’m guessing it’s been a while since you’ve done this so we’ll take things easy.”
“Hasn’t been that long,” he grumbled. “I can handle things rough. But I guess since you’re injured, it’s for the best.” He tossed the coin to the floor, where it joined the rest of the mess. Then he plopped back onto the edge of the bed, his arms crossed.
“Alright-alright, we’ll go slow for my sake. I’m sure you’re very capable and can take it hard like a champ.” I walked back to him, tugging my belt from the loops. As I kicked off my pants, once again, I found he couldn’t meet my eyes, his ears burning with a blush. Dropping my hands to the bed on either side of him, I brought our faces even. “I’m sure you’ve had plenty of great, rough sex as a bottom, but that’s not my style.”
I nuzzled into his neck once again, letting my hands drift to his sides. “I’m a bit slower about things,” I breathed. His skin was taut and warm along his stomach. He twisted a bit as I ran my thumbs over it, slipping my grasp up until I could rub gentle circles around his nipples. His feedback was questionable, given the choking sound from the back of his throat. I would need to work harder.
I let one hand fall away to steady myself and switched to my mouth instead, letting my tongue take over. His back arched into me as he gasped. I looked up to find his hand across his eyes once again, but I believed I had a remedy for that.
Dropping down to my knees between his, I used the flat of my tongue to lick him through his boxers. My heart fluttered in my chest as his hips writhed. A startled “Oh my god!” left him, and I couldn’t stop myself from sucking his length through the fabric. I was rewarded with a strangled moan as his fingers threaded into my hair. He didn’t pull or press me down, a kindness Phantom never duplicated. But it was about time I stopped comparing the two of them.
“Warrius,” he panted. “That feels amazing.”
Fuck.
I couldn’t stop myself from moaning as pleasure shot to my dick. Enough of me knew to be embarrassed by getting so excited from a simple compliment, and my face burned, but that didn’t stop me from pulling his boxers down from his hips. I wanted to hear him say more. I wanted to make him feel better than anyone had before.
Holding his hips still, I swirled my tongue around the head of his erection. His chest heaved as he spat a few curses. The last rational part of me had me pull away to open the lube with my teeth. He wouldn’t last long if I kept this up, his legs trembling at my sides. I coated my fingers and pulled one leg onto my shoulder. “You alright?” I asked before I continued.
His eyes were glazed as they rolled to me, a frown settled on his lips. “You stopped,” he muttered, drool running from the corner of his mouth.
I had to look away, even as I slipped my fingers toward his entrance. “Was it good?” I asked, so quickly I hoped he might not understand.
“Good? Warrius, that fucking tongue of yours is a miracle,” he sighed.
A shiver ran down my spine as the throbbing between my legs increased to an ache. I tried to hide it, tried to distract him. But even as I worked lube around his entrance, he noticed. “Oh,” he laughed through heavy breaths. “That’s cute.”
I needed a better distraction. As I eased a finger inside him, I ran my tongue up his cock from base to tip. He cursed again, his legs tensing as he curled his toes. He called my name again with the contentment of a man in ecstasy, but it wasn’t good enough if he could speak coherently.
Admittedly, fighting back my gag reflex was harder than I remembered. It seemed easier when that pirate bastard was forcing me to, when I had to do it out of spite. As much as I enjoyed Harlock’s startled moan, I eased off his cock, a line of spit of precum trailing from my lips. Distracting him with another finger working into his ass didn’t work this time.
“What the fuck?” he said as though in a dream. “What was that? That felt amazing.” He pushed himself up onto his elbow, but fell back with shudder and a groan as I pressed my fingers in just the right spot. With my other hand, I circled my thumb over the head of his cock, using my mouth along the shaft. His whole body began to tremble beneath me. Now I had him.
But it seemed he had me too. “You’re beautiful, Warrius,” he said through ragged breaths. “So amazing. God, I’ve never felt so good.” I peered up to see a smile twitching on his lips. Bastard knew what he was doing to me, and I couldn’t take it.
His words had me falling apart, and I wanted more. I needed to be inside that tight, hot ass, to hear him call my name over and over. I finally stood, practically collapsing on top of him just to kiss him senseless. He practically purred into the kiss, his tongue playing leisurely with mine. I pawed toward his headboard until I managed to grab a pillow.
A growl of surprise and confusion left him as a raised his hips and set them onto the pillow. “Better this way I,” panted as I pulled away to his neck.
“Because you’re so tall?” he asked, laughing.
“No,” I taunted in return as I removed my fingers to pull down my boxers and tear open the condom. “Because you’re so short.”
I kept him quiet by nipping his neck, sucking his skin more than I promised myself I would. But he moaned, exposing more of his neck to me. “Hurry,” he begged. “Fuck me, Warrius. God, I need you.”
“Anything for you,” I felt myself breathe against his skin. His arms wrapped around me, looking for leverage as I pressed into that impossible heat. His skin radiated with warmth, but it was nothing compared to being inside him.
I wanted to wait for him to adjust, but he rolled his hips when I stopped. “Oh, you cheated,” he said. His fingers clawed at my back. “I didn’t even get to see you naked, and you’ve got a damn good cock.”
My entire body burned with a fresh blush as I buried my face in the crook of his neck. “Ahh, oh my God, don’t say that.”
He paused before rocking his hips again, and it felt like heaven, but I didn’t have it in me to do much at the moment. “Holy shit, are you embarrassed?” he asked. When I didn’t answer, he barked a laugh. His hand found my head, patting me. “You don’t have to be embarrassed, Warrius. I appreciate your cock very much.”
“No,” I howled weakly.
He placed a kiss to my temple with another, softer laugh. “Yes, pretty boy. Now fuck me before I flip us over, or I’ll keep telling you how great it is.”
He was right about one thing. Thrusting into him did finally shut him up, at least somewhat. Instead of words, he fell back to moans and purrs, rocking into my slow pace. I had to get back at him somehow.
But revenge was hard work. My gut pooled with warmth as the pleasure of being inside him coursed through me. “Faster,” he panted, and I had to comply.
“Harlock,” I gasped as his ass tightened around me.
“Warrius,” he returned lovingly, even as he tore at the skin of my back hard enough to add more scars. “So good, Warrius.” His voice lilted with each thrust. “More!”
“Anything…” I wrapped my hand around his cock and stroked it in time to my increasing pace. “Anything for you,” I choked as the fizzling pleasure in my gut began to overtake me.
His grip tightened until I was certain my bones would break, and he called my name through a jagged moan as he released across my hand. His ass tightened once again, and I lost my sight as my eyes rolled back. I could feel nothing but the overwhelming pleasure and the tingling of my skin everywhere he touched me. I think I said his name as well, but all I could hear was his breath on my ear, telling me he loved me.
I tried to forget that once we were nothing but exhausted bodies collapsed against each other, panting. After a minute, he nuzzled into my hair with a contented hum. I didn’t want to move. I could have stayed there for hours, even if I felt a bit sticky and reasonably disgusting. But something hurt. My stomach felt a bit too warm and wet.
“Hm,” I managed as I pulled out and rolled away, lying on my back at his side.
“Well, I didn’t think it was that bad,” he huffed.
“I think I’m bleeding.”
He blinked at me, his brows drawn. Then his gaze traveled down my body, maybe a bit lower than necessary before shooting to my stomach. “Oh, fuck,” he spat. I guessed the blood had soaked through the bandages.
Harlock jumped up, grabbing his clothes from the floor. An unending slew of curses left his mouth, either from my condition or the way he tiptoed around.
I guessed I got what was coming to me when I started laughing, my wound stabbing me for it, but I couldn’t help it. “How-how are we going to explain this to the doctor?” I cackled.
Harlock paused, his eyes wide. “I don’t know,” he hissed. “We’ll have to think of something.”
I stared at the ceiling with a grin on my face. “This was your plan, wasn’t it? Needed to make my injury worse so you could keep me around.”
“What!? No!” He appeared over me, so distressed he must have taken me seriously. “I would never want to hurt you, Warrius. I-” Something caught in his throat, and he broke eye contact once again. It was for the best because I feared I knew what he was going to say. As he turned back to me and opened his mouth again, I pushed myself up, stopping him with a kiss. Fire exploded in my stomach for it, and just as he tried to deepen the kiss, I felt myself falling.
My eyes fluttered as I found myself flat against the bed again. Harlock’s wide, worried eyes blurred over me. “I’ll help you get dressed,” he said. It felt like a weight was pulled from my chest when he left my sight, but I still felt terrified.
Because I loved him too.
#i can't bring myself to edit this rn so if it's just super bad i'm sorry#it's really not hot at all okay like it's really embarrassing lays on the floor#cwz fic#harlock fic#zero fic#au fic#zeroha
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Tact
SPCH/CWZ-verses; Daiba meets a stranger in a bar. It’s a very confusing ordeal.
I found this super old drabble, and it’s kind of quaintly terrible, but I’m going to post it anyway. Here you go, kids.
~1400 words
I’d been trying to figure this guy out from the moment we’d walked into the bar, and I still wasn’t sure about him. He talked with the captain so quickly and nonsensically that I couldn’t keep up. They sounded like one of those old black and white films where the people are always going back and forth with hardly a pause between them
Yet, they were so calm about it. They spoke short exchanges around their sips of alcohol – bourbon for the stranger and wine for the captain.
“You’re causing problems again, Harlock,” was the first thing the taller man had said as the captain had taken a seat at the bar beside him. They didn’t look at each other. They just stared ahead as they spoke.
I’d taken the other chair beside my captain, curious and hoping to order myself something to drink. The captain had ordered me milk before I could even open my mouth.
“I thought you’d be used to it by now,” the captain said to the man, a hint of a smile in his eye.
“I am.”
“They still giving you trouble about that old ‘Proof of Good Standing’ you signed?”
“Every day.” The stranger’s hat was placed on the table between him and the captain – an old-fashioned commander’s cap. His jacket was an odd mix of yellow and black. I looked for some sort of insignia to indicate what exactly he was, but I couldn’t see much of him past the captain. His hair was a wavy auburn, his nose slightly long. He looked to be of the same descent of the captain. He also looked exhausted, though he didn’t act it.
“I told you not to,” Harlock responded. The conversation had its own rhythm. Every slight pause between their turns was just the same amount of time, as though they already knew what the other would say beforehand.
“It was the truth though. You’re a good man.”
“I’m surprised you’d admit that.” He didn’t really look surprised, but then again, the captain rarely did.
“It’s the truth too, though. They want to paint you as the villain, and they’re upset that I know you’re not.”
There was a slight break in the rhythm. Harlock paused for an extra beat. “There anything you want to tell me?”
The stranger’s voice lowered, taking on a darker hue. “Just that you’d better keep your allies close. Make sure you know where they are. The government might be lazy pigs, but some of them have hobbies that aren’t all that healthy for anyone they know is connected to you.”
“You don’t need to protect me if that’s what you think you’re doing,” the captain frowned. But their gazes continued forward. I was the only one looking between them.
“I’m not. I’m just upholding what I know is right.”
“Fine. But what are you doing out here? I thought you were grounded.”
This time the stranger did bother to smile. “When you say it like that, it sounds like I’m a rebellious child. I am technically still not allowed away from Earth, but they said they’d lift it if I got information from you.”
“You’re just going to make things up?”
“Oh of course.”
“I think you’re purposely trying to get yourself in more trouble.”
“I’m just amused that they think we’re best friends that share all of our secrets. Like we have a little clubhouse that says ‘No government allowed’ on the outside.”
“Are you drunk?”
“Maybe a little.”
I was still trying to figure out their relationship. They were friends obviously, but there seemed to be much more going on than I was seeing. What was that about the government? There were too many layers over what they were saying for me to really understand.
“Who’s the kid?” the stranger asked suddenly.
“He’s not a kid.”
“He’s not a man.”
“He’s getting there.”
I wasn’t sure how to react to them talking about me. I was a bit offended that he’d call me a kid and refuse to acknowledge me as a man. I considered telling him myself that I was definitely no kid, but I found no point that I could break the flow of their conversation.
“He likes to eavesdrop,” the stranger said, looking more amused than upset.
“He’s not doing any harm. He needs to learn some things. It’s good that he listens every once in a while.”
“So where’d you get him?”
“Earth. His father was one of the scientists that were killed by the Mazone.”
“I see. You always did have a knack for picking up strays.”
“And you’ve always had a knack for getting yourself beaten up.”
I wasn’t sure where that had come from, but it seemed to bother the stranger. He tugged on the sleeves of his jacket as though to hide something the captain had already seen. “And somehow it always seems to be your fault.”
“You don’t have to keep yourself associated with me.”
“I never wanted to be, but I wasn’t given a choice. Whenever I’m brought up, they don’t think of anything I’ve done. They just know me as the man who was an ally of Harlock.”
“It bothers you.” It wasn’t a question.
“I suppose. I don’t hate being associated with you. It’s fine. I’m glad I’m not your enemy in this fight, though they’ve tried their damn hardest to make me. But I do hate being stuck on Earth.”
“I never asked for you to stand up for me. You didn’t have to do that.”
“You always say that, but I know you would have done the same thing in my place.”
“Maybe,” Harlock said.
“Definitely,” the stranger smiled. He looked even more tired now. “You know, we should duel.”
“I don’t want to duel an injured man.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Last time you nearly killed yourself with that ideal.”
“I’m pretty sure you were the one almost doing the killing.”
The captain smiled. “You should have said something.”
“I have my pride. And you were the one that started it.”
“That’s not how I remember it.”
Now I was completely lost. They were friends, but they wanted to kill each other. Well…why not? This was Harlock after all. He never would make sense to me. They kind of sounded like brothers, and maybe that was it. Not that they were actually brothers – they looked too dissimilar for that. But they may as well have been.
“I’ve been meaning to tell you that your outfit is ridiculous. I honestly think the cat suit was better,” the stranger said, a playfulness to his voice.
“My outfit? Have you seen yours?” The captain seemed just as entertained by the odd game.
“You look like a little kid pretending to be a superhero – like you pulled all these random things out of your dad’s closet and threw them on. I just can’t get over the cape.”
“You have so many colors in yours that I’m honestly not sure what’s going on. Black, red, blue, silver, gold, white, yellow. Really? Yellow?”
“You genuinely look like you’re trying to emulate Dracula.”
“And you genuinely look like you’re trying to emulate a bumblebee.”
Yes, siblings. Definitely siblings.
“Phantom of the Opera.”
“Highlighter.”
They both looked ready to start laughing, but they hid their smiles. “And as if your fashion sense wasn’t bad enough, you had to force it on your crew,” the stranger sighed dramatically.
“My crew doesn’t have a dress code, unlike yours. They aren’t any better off than you, though. Your color palette is the worst.”
“Oh, so that kid is wearing Miss Kei’s hand-me-downs of his own free will?”
“What?” I squeaked, stumbling into the conversation.
Finally, they looked at each other, just a quick glance. I couldn’t see Harlock’s expression, but the stranger’s eyes shone with a childish amusement.
“They aren’t really!” I insisted. It was more of a question though.
Harlock didn’t say anything. He just sipped his wine. The stranger finally addressed me though, turning to look at me. “Why don’t I properly introduce myself? I’m Warrius Zero.”
“Tadashi Daiba,” I returned with a huff. “You weren’t serious, were you? About these being Kei’s clothes?”
He shrugged. “It could be worse. It could be your captain’s hand-me-downs.”
The captain snorted. “You say that, but I’m pretty sure you miss being able to stare at my ass.”
What?
“I think you just remember things how you want to remember them.”
Maybe it was best to leave them to it. I needed to go confirm something with Kei.
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As Usual
Another Harlock/Zero drabble, now with more absolute nonsense and pointlessness.
~1k words
“Hey, isn’t that Zero?” Tochiro pointed with his spoon through the restaurant window. There, running along the rooftops of the buildings across the street, was my favorite government dog. He appeared frantic as he dashed along one and hopped up onto the next. I assumed that had something to do with the mob of armed men chasing after him.
Emeraldas took another bite of her sundae as she watched the fray. “It seems he’s even more adept at landing himself in trouble than you, Harlock,” she said.
One of the men on his tail took a shot at him. The blast sliced through the sleeve of his jacket, and my stomach dropped.
“I’ll eat your ice cream for you!” Tochiro called as I rushed out the door.
This planet was notorious for its criminal activity, mobs and smuggling in particular. I could only assume that was why Zero was here trying to get himself killed.
Dodging through the forming crowd of spectators, I ran up alongside Zero’s position just as he dropped into an alley. He slammed into one wall before hitting the ground. It slowed his fall, but he was clearly a bit of a mess. Sweat plastered his hair to his cheeks and forehead, and he was bent over panting. Those men would be bearing down on him at any moment.
He jolted away in shock as I rushed into the alley towards him. “It’s fine. It’s me,” I hissed as I grabbed him by the arm, pulling him farther in.
“Harlock?” he wheezed.
A blast cracked the wall overhead. For the moment, the tight space would protect us. “Ditch the jacket and the hat,” I snapped.
He gave a soft whine, like I’d kicked him. “But my hat-”
“We’ll come back for it.” Or I’d get him a new one if I had to, but he stuck out too much with it on.
The sounds of the men jumping to street level echoed toward us. A few spat curses, and I hoped their fall had broken enough bones to give us more of a lead.
Zero fumbled his way out of that bright yellow beacon of a jacket and flicked his hat off as I continued dragging him along. We dashed out into the next street, where I jerked him into a turn.
If there had been less than a dozen chasing us and the place wasn’t crowded with civilians, I would have attempted a firefight. Considering the colorful language spat our way as we shoved through the swarm of people on the sidewalk, I almost decided to start one anyway.
It was clear Zero couldn’t run much longer. Pulling him along was like trying to walk a cat. His desperate wheezes for breath were becoming so short, I worried he might pass out against my back. We couldn’t outrun these guys. We needed to hide.
I glanced back to make sure they hadn’t rounded the corner behind us before yanking Zero into the next open alley. We froze there, with me pressing us both as flat against the wall as possible. I had to hope every one of them would continue on through the crowd, or we were sunk. As things were, every passerby looked our way. Zero’s gasping was so loud it echoed between the brick walls on each side of us.
“Zero, you’re breathing too loud,” I muttered, slowing my own heaving breaths. “Quiet down a little.”
He tossed me a glare. “We look too conspicuous anyway. Come here.” Grabbing the front of my uniform, he pulled me around to face him. If anything, this made us more conspicuous and visible from the outside. It seemed like the oxygen deprivation was getting to him.
“This isn’t-” I was cut off by his mouth crushed to mine. Harsh breaths through his nose brushed my cheek. He smelled simply of sweat, but I imagined I did too.
Sure, this method did obscure our faces, and it quieted his breathing, but I wouldn’t be able to keep an eye out for those bastards. Then again, as his tongue slipped between my lips, I had trouble caring. My eyes drifted shut, and I placed my hands against his face to pull him closer. He felt feverish against me.
There was nothing gentle about the kiss. It was all heat, quick bites and gasps for air. Something about all of it, with him, was perfect. As he pulled away I tried to trail after him, even when his hand pressed against my chest.
“I think they passed us,” he said, wiping his mouth. “We should go before they come back and check.”
“We’ll be fine,” I hummed as I grabbed the front of his shirt. He continued pushing me back as I tried to pull him to me.
“I need to go get my hat,” he grumbled.
“We can go get it later. It might not be safe to go back there yet.”
He smacked his palm against my face and pushed my head back. “Oh my God, Harlock, at least keep it in your pants until I get a shower.”
I laughed from behind the muffling wall of his hand. “Well I’m all sweaty because of you now, so you’ll have to let me join you. You owe me.”
“I could have gotten away fine without your help,” he huffed, knocking me back with a quick shove.
I trailed after him until I was at his side, my arm locked with his. He wouldn’t get away so easily. “So let’s see, along with the shower, I saved your life, so you owe me there too.”
“You already owed me for when I saved you from those rival pirates,” he huffed.
“I was already on my way out. That doesn’t count.”
“You would have been shot if I hadn’t showed up. And if my hat and jacket were stepped on, you owe me for dry cleaning.”
“That’s the last time I bother saving you,” I said for the dozenth time. “I didn’t realize a thank you was so difficult. Oh, but you owe me an ice cream. I had to run out of a restaurant to save you.”
He snorted. “I guess we’re even then.”
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Have you ever considered that Harlock always attracts all kinds of people for his locks and reputation? And Zero walking in when someone suddenly says that he wants to fuck his pirate boyfriend? Just imagine Harlock's face at that moment... and Zero's too.
I like the way you think. I was going to write a super tiny drabble, but I just sort of half-asleep rambled, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Of course, we weren’t dating, notofficially. If our personal relationship went public, my employersand any other pirate I pursued would never let me hear the end of it. It wasfor the best no one knew, but it did lead to some unfortunate side effects.
This unfortunate side effect inparticular was especially bold. She took the barstool next to Harlock, oppositemy position. We’d just been drinking for the sake of drinking, so conversationwas nothing more than a minimal lull of whispers. To anyone else, it must haveappeared we didn’t care about each other’s presence at all.
That, I assumed, was what always broughtdown the vultures when we met in bars. It wouldn’t have been as much of anissue if Harlock wasn’t so dense.
The young lady next to him appearedconfident in her good looks and silver tongue. Admittedly, she was gorgeous,even dressed in a dusty, frayed uniform that had likely seen several battles. Icouldn’t be mad at her for her interest or her attempt. If anything, I felt badfor her. Harlock was an attractive man, too attractive in fact. It made sensefor people to hit on the seemingly-single, powerful, attractive pirate.
“Top off your drink, pretty boy?” sheasked with a grin.
The quickest way to Harlock’s heart wasthrough a bottle of wine. His eyes shone with all the eagerness of a puppy ashe agreed. Even being called pretty only registered in that thick skull of hisas playful banter.
The womanrested her cheek against her knuckles as the bartender refilled Harlock’sglass. If I got as many free drinks as him, I would never need to pay to getdrunk. “Are you one of the mercenaries here?” he asked her.
She nodded. “Ihave my own ship out in the yard. I’m guessing that new one with the gaudyskull on it was yours?”
The mostuncomfortable part was always waiting for them to get to the whole “I’m justhere to see if you’ll sleep with me” bit. Harlock required it to be statedspecifically before he understood, and I was left to sit there listening totheir come-ons in the interim.
“The Deathshadowis my pride and joy,” Harlock said with an easy smile, his hand over his heart.“You can’t just go insulting her in front of me.”
“Fairenough, I’ll stick to insulting you instead.” She shrugged.
I liked thisone.
“And whatdid I do to draw your ire?” Harlock asked.
Now wasabout the point the proper flirting always started. Hiding a sigh, I knockedback my bourbon.
“Well, I wasinterested in having sex with you,” she said.
I struggledto keep my drink in my mouth around my choking coughs. Even after I managed toswallow it, Harlock was still staring wide-eyed at her. The woman looked asthough she’d just asked him for his name.
“Ah,”Harlock managed. His gaze wandered back my way to gauge my reaction. Heexpected anger. He always did. Usually I kept my expression plain and staredright back, but I couldn’t manage it this time. I had to turn my face away as Ibegan to snicker.
“You’re nothelping,” he hissed. “What should I say?”
I continuedchuckling as I rubbed a tear from my eye. “God, Harlock, how do you still nothave a system down for this?”
The womanappeared to have caught onto my amusement. It was much better than the usualdisappointment I had to face with him. “You can just say no,” she said. “Orpreferably, ‘while you are incredibly amazing and beautiful and I’m sure thereare many who would be interested, alas, I have terrible taste.’”
“I havegreat taste,” Harlock huffed as he reached up to pat my cheek. “You can’tinsult my boyfriend either. He’s my other pride and joy.”
It was amazingthe relationship had managed to remain a secret at this point. Harlock toldjust about everyone.
The womanbarked a laugh, swatting his shoulder. “I understand, pretty boy. You two havefun. I’ll leave you alone.”
“It’s fine,”Harlock sighed.
I orderedanother drink with a wave of the hand, while he moped. “I don’t understand howyou hit on me like you’re starved for sex, but when it comes to other peopledoing the same to you, you act like you’ve never heard of sex in your life,” Isaid.
“I guess Ijust don’t expect people to be interested in that with me. I mean, I’m onlyinterested in you, and you’re only interested in me when I tell you how nice-”
I silencedhim with my hand clamped over his mouth. “Well people are interested in you,” Igrumbled. Not an hour earlier, a young man had also made a valiant attempt. “Keepit up. It keeps our bar tab down.”
#I'm having writer's block so drabbles are good for me right now anyway#CWZ fic#Harlock fic#Zero fic#replies#theweirdonech
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Strip Poker
CWZ-verse; I should hope you can guess from the title.
I had a bad case of writer’s block today, so here is a pointless thing. Moderate Harlock/Zero and Emeraldas/Tochiro.
~1400 words.
Zero was not sticking to the plan. Sure, he didn’t know the plan, but that wasn’t an excuse. Zero didn’t need to know the plan because he was supposed to be bad at poker. He was supposed to lose.
But he still had most of his clothes on, while everyone but Emeraldas was steadily stripping. In the middle of the table sat a pile of what was lost in bad bets – my cravat and boots, Tochiro’s hat and geta, and all of Marina’s clothes. She now sat solely in her captain’s coat, which Zero was polite enough to give up when she lost her dress. Since then, her underwear was also added to the pile, her face tinged the same color as Zero’s shirt.
I felt cheated by how skilled Zero was at poker. He gave away nothing with his eyes or expression but called my bluff without the slightest hesitation. For someone who grew flustered at the mention of the word sex, he could be a tough nut to crack when the situation called for it.
Emeraldas was no different, as impossible to read as ever. Tochiro was no match for her, squirming under scrutinizing eyes whenever he had something to hide. The only thing saving him from being the naked one was just how bad Marina was. She was too honest and straightforward for her own good, with more tells than a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. This round, she glared at her cards. Another bad hand.
Despite the burn in her cheeks, it appeared her stubborn side won out. “I’m all in,” she said, pressing her lips together.
“I bet my cloak,” Tochiro said.
“Is that what you call it?” I muttered, grinning. “I guess I’ll bet my gloves.”
Emeraldas folded her hand back together and placed it down on the table. “You will both be very cold soon. I will bet my suit.” She still had her boots, yet she bet the majority of her outfit each time.
Zero wasn’t as much of a risk-taker. “I bet my boots,” he said before knocking back another glass of bourbon. I was sure his throat had to burn from it, but his expression remained as placid as ever.
I sipped my wine, trying to remain as sober as possible. I had hoped Zero’s skill would slip the more he drank, but the opposite appeared true. I was certain it was the only reason he agreed to this in the first place. When I offered a chance at the game, half joking in case it really ticked him off, he cocked a brow and accepted the invitation without question. He’d called a parlay between us to dig information out of me, rather than the fun round of drinks I’d hoped for. Even when he agreed to the game, he had an ulterior motive.
“If I win,” he said, “you have to give me the location of that pirate nest you’ve been meddling in.”
His first officer seemed to only join in because she was stuck in Zero’s cabin with us. Her wide eyes stared down at her cards with regret as we waited for her to reveal her hand. “You know, I have something I need to attend to,” she said, jumping to her feet. Scooping up her clothes, she rushed into Zero’s bathroom to change.
He poured yet another glass of bourbon, a soft smile playing on his lips. “We’ll call this round a draw then,” he said. “Let’s start again.”
Once the cards were dealt, Marina raced from the room, tossing Zero’s coat on him as she passed.
Without her there to act as a buffer, Tochiro lost everything but his boxers and glasses, but I lost the next two rounds. First, my gloves came off. Then I was forced to unzip my suit. The satisfaction in Zero’s eyes as I stripped was almost enjoyable. I would have preferred it if we were alone.
“Like what you see?” I asked as I eased my shoulders from the suit.
The bastard snorted. “Where did you get it in your head that you’re some prize? I’ve seen better.”
“Your eyes don’t agree,” I hummed. “Can’t keep them off me.”
He took another drink of his bourbon, glaring at me over the rim. It looked like I’d won
“You know, this would be the only time having to wear a bra would be an upside,” I huffed as I pulled the suit free of my legs. “You’ve got an advantage there, Emeraldas.”
She nodded. “Yes, if I were wearing one.”
Zero choked on his bourbon, continuing to wheeze coughs as he set the glass back down. Tochiro appeared to be seeing stars, eyes wide and dazed behind those thick glasses. It was too bad for him we’d never get that suit off her.
The shock was a bit too much for Tochiro’s heart, and he went down hard in the next round. Rather than see him take off his boxers, Zero pushed his clothes across the table toward him. “You’re out of the game,” he said. “We’ll call it quits there.”
Tochiro snickered a laugh as he pulled all his clothes back on.
I went out next, and Zero did the same. “I’m not missing out on anything,” he said to my teasing grin. “Put your goddamn clothes on.”
“I’ll give you a more personal view of things when everyone else is gone,” I taunted. The murder in his eyes suggested otherwise.
Unfortunately for him and that information he wanted, even he was no match for Emeraldas. With two people, the game relied solely on luck, and Emeraldas had all of it. No matter how good Zero’s hand was, hers was better. I could see Tochiro’s heart breaking with every loss Zero took, but I couldn’t mind too much. First went the jacket, then shoes, socks, gloves, shirt – until he was a blushing mess.
He wasn’t lying when he said he’d seen better than me shirtless. After all, he’d seen himself. As he removed his shirt, he pressed his back firmly to the chair’s and sunk down, hiding something. I’d need to get a better look at his back later, but his front was just as good. He had smooth, tanned skin covered in thin white scars. It stretched over muscles hidden by his thick clothes. I would need to find more excuses to get him out of that damn jacket.
He breathed a sigh as he lost yet another hand and reached for his belt. I craned my neck to see as he slipped off his pants. “Zero,” I said. “There are fireballs on your boxers.” Tons of them, little red and orange swirls covering the black fabric.
“Yes,” he grumbled. “I know.”
“They’re cute.”
“Shut up, Harlock.”
As he was dealt the final hand, he cleared his throat. “I fold.” His hands mirrored the decision, pressing the cards into a stack and setting them aside. “Now then, it’s been fun.” He reached over for his clothes. “You should get going.”
Emeraldas’ boot came down on his clothes before his hand could reach them, trapping them against the table. “I want a picture,” she said.
Zero’s ears burned red like the hue of his hair. “Excuse me!?” he spluttered.
“We said we would give you information if you won, but I won, and I want a picture of you. Harlock’s birthday is coming up, and I need a gift for him.”
I twittered a laugh. “Oh, Emeraldas, you shouldn’t have.” No really, she shouldn’t. “But I don’t need any blackmail or anything.”
“I was not assuming its use would be blackmail,” she said.
Zero’s hands slowly found his face, while my brain short circuited. “No,” I managed in a wheeze. “I’m good. You can get me something else. Anything else. Anything at all.”
Her brows furrowed, and she breathed a huff through her nose. “Very well.” Her boot lifted from Zero’s clothes. “You are the most difficult person to shop for, Harlock.”
“I don’t think this counts as shopping,” I muttered.
“Hey,” Tochiro squawked, jumping to his feet as Emeraldas stood. “But don’t let Harlock put you off. It’s a great idea for a present. You know my birthday is coming up too.”
Her brows rose. “You would like a picture of Zero in his boxers?”
“N-no,” he sighed, his shoulders drooping.
I snickered as I turned to Zero. His hair fluffed out as he popped his head through the collar of his shirt. “It is a good gift idea,” I said. “I wouldn’t have any issues with you giving it to me personally, and if you wanted to ditch the boxers too-”
“Get out, Harlock.”
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Sunflower Moonflower Ch. 8
Finishes while half asleep.
Frowns at.
Shrugs.
~3300 words
Usually when Warrius returned home from work, his thoughts were overwhelmed by exhaustion. Sleep was his main interest. But this night, he was so irritated the air around him seemed to twitch just as his brow did. Even Tadashi, who hardly bothered to pay attention to Warrius, could tell something was amiss.
“What’s the matter, Mr. Zero?” he asked, lounged against me while I read.
Warrius dragged a hand across his face, smearing the collected dirt. “I accidentally let it slip at work that I don’t live alone,” he sighed. “And now everyone wants to meet you.”
“Why?” Tadashi frowned. “That’s weird.”
“I’ve worked with them for quite some time now, so they’re good friends of mine. Been trying to set me up on dates for ages, so they’re interested to meet the people I suddenly started living with.”
Tadashi blinked, though his thoughts rang with excitement. “They think we’re dating?”
“I don’t know that they think, but I can’t go dragging you both out into public,” Warrius said. Tadashi began to whine in protest, but Warrius waved the complaints away. “They’re good people, but I can’t guarantee they won’t recognize a pirate and try to turn you in. The same goes for someone from across the bridge. It’s just not a risk I’m willing to take.”
“Fine.” Tadashi didn’t bother to hide his disappointment or his sudden shift to devilish curiosity. “But if you could introduce me, what would you say?”
Exhaustion was getting the better of Warrius, his focus slipping as he headed toward the shower. “I don’t know,” he sighed. “I guess I’d say you were my nephew or something.”
Any interest Tadashi had in Warrius vanished once more as he pressed himself closer to me. As the shower started with a muffled hiss, I rested my cheek against the top of his head. “Warrius likes to think of us like a family, you know.”
“Whatever.” Tadashi wasn’t fond of me sharing my thoughts, but when he was so close, it was impossible not to read his. Amusingly, he was imagining going to the construction site unannounced and introducing himself as Warrius’ beau.
Barely a portion of my mind focused on reading anymore. I had to restart the page, but still my thoughts wandered. “It is unfortunate we can’t meet his friends. I would like to see where he works.”
“Well,” Tadashi said, the word drawn out as he finished concocting his plan. “If they’re all as tired as him at the end of the shift, they probably won’t be coherent enough to pay attention if we just stop by to pick him up. I’d bet he’d love to have us walk him home.” If Tadashi’s mocking tone was any indication, Warrius would not love it. But I couldn’t help wanting to leave the house. I’d been cooped up in it for so long, and one little walk couldn’t hurt if I put on enough of Warrius’ old sweaters.
“Yes,” I decided, smiling. “We should meet him after work. Do you know where his job is?”
Tadashi’s mind was blank at the thought. Strangely, for as much time as we’d both spend with him, neither of us knew where Warrius disappeared to when he left the house. “It’s somewhere within walking distance, right?” Tadashi said. Everything in town was within walking distance. “Well you’re psychic. You can just read his mind to find out.”
“I…can.” I didn’t wish to invade his mind without permission, so I would need him close and already imagining the idea. “We need to make him think of the route first.” It still felt unfair in a way, like I stealing. I needed to tell him, but…just a few days more. Then I would tell him. A few more days of contentment, and then I would give him the truth he deserved.
A few minutes pass before he dragged himself out of the shower and fell into place beside Tadashi. The young man coerced me into sitting by the armrest, so Warrius couldn’t sit at my side, but Warrius was not put off in the slightest. Instead, he draped his arm across the pirate’s shoulders and tugged him close. “I’m tired,” he mumbled. He appeared to have forgotten completely about dinner.
Tadashi was about to remind him, but I put a quick stop to it. “We can fend for ourselves tonight. I’m not sure he’s awake enough to make food. Perhaps we can fix him something instead.”
Tadashi turned a skeptical eye my way. “Do you know how to cook?”
“I’m afraid not, but I have watched Warrius cook many times. Can you cook?”
“I can make cup noodles.”
“What’s that?”
At Tadashi’s amused giggle, Warrius glanced up with a moment’s concern, but he dismissed it with the assumption that Tadashi was simply odd like that. “Mr. Zero really spoils you if you’ve never had cup noodles,” Tadashi thought as he composed himself. “We could maybe make anything that has directions on the package, or a sandwich.”
Warrius’ cheek dropped to rest on Tadashi’s hair, and Tadashi glanced at the arm draped around him, frowning. “I will work on dinner, so he can stay with you,” I decided. “He looks content for now.”
Despite the disapproval in his eyes, “Fine” ran through his head. He leaned against Warrius in return. “Let me know if you need any help.”
I decided to make biscuits, because the strange tube that housed them said “bake 20 minutes.” The buttons on the oven beeped until I believed I had it set to the right temperature. “Tadashi,” I called out to his mind. “What is a baking sheet?”
“It’s like a metal pan. Put stuff on it when you’re baking.”
“The pan is the one with a handle on the side, yes?” I felt certain I knew what a pan looked like, but I didn’t wish to make a mistake.
“Yeah, it has places on the side to grab it with oven mitts,” Tadashi answered. His thoughts sounded distant, as if Warrius’ spell of sleep infected him as well.
I did know the location of the pans from watching Warrius cook. The blue glow of my telekinesis lit up the pots sitting over the pans, just long enough for me to pull one out. I didn’t wish to wake Warrius with any clattering.
The packaging for the biscuits led me to another problem – how to open them. Even when I peeled off the outer paper, they were still sealed. When I asked Tadashi, he said to press on one of the seams, but that did nothing for me. Once again, I used my telekinesis to squeeze it until it popped open.
The little discs of dough didn’t fit on the round pan unless squished against each other, but I guessed it would work. Heat from the oven burned at my face when I opened it and placed the pan inside. In the living room, Tadashi and Warrius both dozed, so I waited for the twenty minute span.
Because I was already practicing using my abilities once more, I pulled the pan out with them as well. It floated with more ease than I’d managed in years. In the past, even the smallest use of my telekinesis brought me strain, but now I lost no breath from the tasks.
My amazement with myself fell away at the sight of the biscuits. Some still appeared as they had in the tube, while others were charred black in spots. Even so, I wondered if they might still be edible. Using a dish towel, I carried the pan out to show Tadashi. “Wake up,” I thought, pressing a hand to his shoulder. “I made biscuits I think.”
He inhaled sharply through his nose as he unevenly blinked himself awake. “What the hell did you do?” he muttered as he noticed the biscuits.
Warrius awoke in a similar fashion, his nose wrinkling against the smell of the burnt patches. “Hm? Why are there biscuits in a skillet? Did you try to cook them on the stove?” Tired eyes turned up to me, eased by the smile that warmed his face. “You cook them on a pan in the oven.”
“I thought this was a pan,” I confessed.
Tadashi snorted. “It does have a handle on the side.”
Warrius stood, taking the skillet from me. “If you two want dinner, let’s just make some sandwiches.” He ruffled my hair. “Good try. We’ll make some together next time, so you can know how.”
Strange, how the only thing to ever really upset him seemed to be mentions of his past. Everything else he forgave with a smile, so I hoped he would do the same in response to my excursion with Tadashi.
After we asked how he went to work, I learned the directions from his half-asleep brain – a twenty minute walk to the bus stop, followed by a twenty minute ride to the current construction site. No wonder he left so early.
Tadashi looked up the bus schedule for us, and we left three hours before Warrius always returned home. “You sure you can walk the whole way?” Tadashi asked, a skeptical eye scanning me. “Don’t need you getting sick again.”
“I will not be using my abilities, so I believe I will be fine,” I said. But my breath appeared in puffs of cold air. Despite three of Warrius’ sweaters and two pairs of sweat pants, the cold still sank through my skin.
Tadashi’s thoughts echoed my feelings, likely because he was even smaller than me. He wore a hood, pulled low over his eyes. “Alright,” he said, “but let me do the talking. You can tell you’re not from here just from your speech pattern, and that’ll make them ask questions.”
Down the hill of dry grass, we returned to the road I came in on. The last time I saw it, I was carrying Warrius to his home. This time, Tadashi led me to the bus stop, where we waited until a vehicle like an overturned tower stopped. The inside buzzed from sickly green lights, seats covered in geometric patterned fabric. I felt little comfort there, though the driver’s thoughts turned to worry at the sight of Tadashi with his face obscured.
Still, we made it to our destination with no issues. When I hopped down from the final step, my eyes widened at the sight of Warrius’ workplace. Metal beams stretched up and criss-crossed, stacked toward the stars. Floodlights provided sight for the dozens of workers in reflecting vests and hard hats. They yelled back and forth over the deafening sounds of rattling jackhammers and oversized yellow vehicles.
Tadashi stood just outside the line of cautionary barriers, stared in, and waited. Within a minute, a young woman strode up, a good foot taller than me and towering over Tadashi. “Not safe to stand there,” she said. “Need something, kid?”
Before Tadashi opened his mouth, I realized letting him do the talking was detrimental for Warrius. His thoughts turned mischievous, a slow grin spreading across his face. “We’re here to pick up our boyfriend when he gets off.”
I did not understand why exactly, but my cheeks burned as the woman’s eyes turned to me. Boyfriend – the word played on repeat through my head. Was I Warrius’ boyfriend? Was he mine? My books taught me its context, but that context was supposed to be reserved for the world of books. I had no place in it, even while I dearly loved Warrius. This word was a public affair with Tadashi proudly showing it off. I didn’t feel comfortable with that, but I was not allowed to speak.
“Never seen you two before,” the woman said, her arms crossed as she looked down on us. “Who’s your guy?”
I’d never seen Tadashi smile so wide. “Warrius Zero,” he purred.
The woman’s eyes lit up, a smile appearing on her face to match Tadashi’s. “You’re Zero’s housemates?” she gasped. “And you really are dating him? You do look a little…young, but if you’re the reason that ‘ol grouch cheered up, I guess I can’t complain.”
My face warmed more at her words, but Tadashi kept on. “We wanted to surprise him by picking him up.”
“Yeah, he’s around back, but first-” She smacked a hard hat down on Tadashi’s head, over his hood. Then one fell to my head, pushing my bangs down into my eyes. “-come meet some more of the crew. We’ve all been dying to see you.”
Tadashi’s thoughts raced with joy as she pulled the barrier back for us, but with a wave of thoughts pressing down on me along with the deafening machinery, I only wanted to get away. All the noise was why I avoided cities.
While the woman called over some men, I dashed away, around the structure to find the back. I hoped to find Warrius there. Once we picked him up, I hoped to leave. Even if we couldn’t, I wanted him close, a familiar, comforting mind to anchor me.
As the woman said, he was working in the back of the structure. Fifty feet up, he used some sort of mechanical gun to drill at the beams. He was too far away for me to properly see. In fact, I only recognized him by his thoughts, trying to decide what to make for dinner.
I swallowed, my throat dry. If we upset him by coming here, it was understandable, but I still hoped we wouldn’t. “Warrius!” I yelled.
His leaned over to look down, though he couldn’t see me while I stood in the shadows of the ground. But he knew immediately, because of my voice. “Blue?” I felt his thought pierce my head just before his mind iced over with the cold dread of fear. At first, I thought he might be afraid because of me, but then I saw his footing drift from the beam below him. Understanding reached his mind as he began to fall. Leaning on the icy beam led him to slip. He tried to turn, to grab onto anything, but he’d fallen too far away. Now there was only terror, consuming his gut and mine. In the time it took me to raise my hand, he fell ten feet, but that was all he fell.
The pale blue aura of my telekinesis surrounded him and locked him in time before his hard hat could fall off. My hand trembled as I lowered him, my heart hammering in my chest. I turned him to place him on his feet as he touched the ground. He looked surprised, only surprised. He simply stood there as he caught his breath and blinked at me.
He recovered as though someone slapped him, his brows pinched as he rushed toward me. I took a step back. My entire body screamed at me to run. “I’m sorry,” I whispered as he grabbed my shoulders in a vice grip.
“Did anyone see that?” he hissed. “Can you read their minds or something? Did anyone see?”
No one’s thoughts changed but his, racing with worry for me. I felt as if someone else moved for me, shaking my head slowly back and forth. “Oh, thank God,” Warrius breathed as he pulled me into a hug as tight as his grip. He shook just as I had, every inch of him trembling. My hands drifted up to hug him in return. He smelled like sweat and dirt, but I couldn’t imagine letting go. “Thank God,” he murmured again as he nuzzled his face into my hair.
When he did step back, he took my hand to lead me to the front. There, we found Tadashi sipping coffee with Warrius’ friends. “Didn’t know you were into such young guys,” one of the men joked as we neared. Warrius understood the situation automatically.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Warrius drawled. “He’s the kid of a friend, and he’s staying with me while his arm heals up.”
Tadashi’s shoulders scrunched up as he pouted, though the young man beside him appeared enthralled to learn the teen was single. “This one,” Warrius said, tilting his head toward me, “is my boyfriend.” Their excitement and attention turned toward me, while my stomach fluttered. Warrius held up a hand. “He gets anxiety around crowds, so I’ll have to introduce you individually another time.”
“You two are so cute,” someone called.
“Thanks for making him less of a hard ass,” another said.
Warrius’ cheeks burned red just as mine did, and his hand squeezed mine tight. He wanted to escape just as I did. “I’m going to punch out for tonight,” he said over the collective disappointment of the crowd. “I’ll see you all tomorrow, you assholes.”
They laughed in a small uproar as Warrius pulled me toward the exit. Tadashi trailed at our heels. “How come he gets to be your boyfriend but not me?” he howled.
“Because you’re a kid, and he is my boyfriend,” Warrius snapped.
Tadashi refused to look at either of us on the way home and opted to sit as far away as possible on the bus. It appeared we’d made an enemy of him yet again.
After his shower and dinner, Warrius pulled me into the bedroom, while Tadashi pouted on the couch. “You look upset,” he said, hands clasping mine between us. “You haven’t really said anything since… Are you alright?”
I looked into his eyes and read his thoughts for some hint of anger or betrayal, but there was none. “I thought you would be upset,” I whispered. “I am a Mu, Warrius.”
“You are.” He chewed his lip and examined me just as I examined him. “But it’s okay, Blue. How could I be upset over that when you saved my life?”
“But I should have told you sooner!” I gasped. “Let me explain now. I know it’s too late, but…”
As always, he smiled. “What was that rule we made? If one of us tells a piece of ourselves, the other has to?” He leaned his face against my hair once again. “You’ve already explained so much, so let me tell my part in return.”
“You don’t have to-” He stopped me with a kiss, one that made my eyes fall shut. My hands curled into the fabric of his shirt front. It was simple, a gentle kiss that lasted forever, but not long enough.
“You’ve done enough for tonight,” he breathed as he pulled away. “I want to show you something, if that’s alright. I’ve heard Mu can look at people’s memories.” He led my hand up to his face. “It’s not much, but let me show you one of mine, just something small before bed.”
I didn’t need to touch him to see it, but I rested my hand against his cheek and closed my eyes as he did. I slipped into his thoughts and saw through his eyes, a child rolling down a snowy hill on Terra. He squealed with laughter as he reached the bottom.
“What are you doing, Warrius?” a woman sighed as she leaned over him. Those same auburn curls kissed her cheeks and jaw. “It’s time for dinner. Your father made potato dumplings.” Her smile warmed her eyes, just like when Warrius smiled at me.
The memory ended there, with both of us too tired to continue. He went to go sleep on the couch, but Tadashi had already stolen the spot. Instead, he slept on the bed once again, and I pressed myself into his chest, my head tucked beneath his chin. “I do love you, Warrius,” I sighed.
His arms slipped around me. “I love you more than the world,” he murmured.
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Dec. Prompt 24 - Visible Breath
moetentacles has been asking when this one would get done daily, so it's finally here. I'll need to write a second one to put up on the other sites, because this is War and Peace babes B) Rad.
~800 words
The tip of Blue’s nose shone, pink from the cold just like his chapped cheeks. He pressed mitten-covered hands to his face to hide it from the icy air. “It’s cold,” he whispered, as if he’d never been cold before. Wide red eyes watched the path of a snowflake as it drifted in front of him. He reached out to catch it on the purple wool of a mitten. “So pretty,” he said.
In his condition, he couldn’t stay out for long. I’d need to take him back inside before his joints could ache too much. He’d never tell me if they were, so I had to guess. The snow that clung to his hair blended in like they were made from the same stuff. As pretty as the flakes looked, sparkling in his hair, I tugged off my knit cap and pulled it down over his head to cover his ears. “Tell me if you get too cold,” I said, even though he wouldn’t. I could tell from the look in his eyes he’d fallen in love with the snow. He wouldn’t give it up so easily.
“I am fine, Warrius,” he said with a smile. My name came out with a wisp of mist, which made him breathe out again, his eyes shining with curiosity. “It’s amazing how breath does that here on Terra. I need to learn how that works.”
“Something about warm air mixing with cold air.” I shrugged. Science was no specialty of mine. “Condensation…?”
“It’s pretty,” he said. “Like a little cloud. I wish it would stay longer.” He sighed another puff of breath into the air. I could remember that feeling of infatuation with it when I was small. Seeing my breath meant winter, coming snow, and holidays. It also meant runny noses, aching fingers, and the other boys at school smacking me in the face with snowballs. Blue had no childhood memories like me, no innocent past of playing in the snow until he dragged himself back home to a warm meal. But that…it was better not to think about that. I didn’t want to upset him with my thoughts, in case he happened to be paying attention.
But it looked like he was too interested in leaving footprints, bouncing back and forth between his feet to hear the muffled crunch of the snow. The end of his scarf jumped with him each time before fluttering back down. “It’s so pretty, Warrius. So bright,” he said, spinning on his heel to face me. “It’s like all the stars are falling to Terra.”
My laugh misted the air in front of me. “You’re just like a little kid sometimes, you know?” I said. But that was perfect. I loved to see that innocent gleam of curiosity fill his eyes, or watch his lips widen into the most brilliant, smile when he was absolutely amazed by something. I wanted to give him those moments that were stolen from him along with his memories. He deserved that much at the very least.
He stepped up to me and placed his mittens to my cheeks. A snowflake clung to those white eyelashes of his. “You should try being a child sometimes too, Warrius,” he said. “You worry too much.”
“Well, one of us has to be the adult here. We should head inside. It’ll get dark soon, and I need to get a fire going before then.”
He didn’t quite pout, instead showing his disapproval through thinned lips and pinched brows. “I think we can stay out a little longer. I’m not cold.”
“Yes you are,” I sighed. “Don’t lie to me. I used to say that when I was little and my teeth were chattering. I know that lie.”
If the little puff of breath hadn’t given him away, I wouldn’t have noticed his huff. He never liked to argue, so he gave in with a nod. Once we were back inside, I could appease him with tea and honey. For now, I leaned down and kissed his forehead to show my appreciation. Mostly, I just kissed his hair, pressed down into his face by the hat.
As I turned to lead him back to the house he grabbed the tail of my scarf and tugged me back. “If I have to go back to being an adult, you have to give me a proper kiss,” he said matter-of-factly.
“I didn’t say you had to go back to being an adult,” I attempted, but he crossed his arms and waited. I knew he wouldn’t budge willingly unless he got what he wanted. I tried not to smile as I realized he was acting more childish than ever. “Alright-alright.” I leaned down again, a triumphant smile on his lips just before I pressed mine to them.
#moetentacles#CWZ fic#terra fic#Zero fic#Soldier Blue fic#request fic#Christmas Fic#I don't know what I'm going to do for the secondary one on this one hrm
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Dec. Prompt 21 - Holiday Dinner
Stares into the Sun.
So sexyshinjiikari asked for young Harlock, Zero, Marina, Kei, and Daiba. Instead of asking how exactly they wanted the whole Young Harlock-Daiba-Kei dynamic, I pulled an "AU where everything is the same except..." There's also a little Harlock/Zero, yeah. Hope this is okay,,,
~1200 words
I told Marina we didn’t need to dress up for a dinner with Harlock, but she insisted. I think she wanted to show him up in some form out of spite for being dragged onto his ship. So while I showed up in nice slacks and a button-up, Harlock wore his usual blue suit. At the sight of me, he snickered.
I shoved the bottle of wine we brought into his hands. “Come on,” I sighed. “Let’s make this as painless as possible.” Marina and I didn’t have a choice. We owed Harlock. He gave us the tip that led us to the capture of our last target, and in return we agreed to Christmas dinner on the Deathshadow. I never would understand his motives.
“We’ll have fun if you just relax,” he said as he led us to the table set up in his cabin. Tochiro was nowhere to be seen, but two children already sat there. The smaller one, a boy no older than ten, shoveled cranberry sauce into his mouth. “Tadashi,” Harlock warned. “I told you not to start eating yet.”
The scrawny blond boy dropped his fork with a pout. Across from him sat a lanky girl who could have been his sister, maybe fourteen. She greeted us with a smile and a wave. Harlock turned to find me glaring at him. “Why are there children on a pirate ship?” I asked.
“Well you know.” He shrugged. “We found them, so we brought them along.”
I blinked, feeling so flustered I forgot how to speak for a moment. Marina spoke for me. “What?”
“Introduce yourselves,” Harlock told the kids.
“I’m Kei Yuki,” the girl said before pointing to the boy. “That’s Tadashi Daiba.”
I reached up to tip my cap at her, only to find empty air. My hand flitted back down as I remembered I wasn’t wearing it. “My name is Warrius Zero,” I said. “And this is Marina Oki. I’m sorry, but how do you two know Harlock?”
“I wanna eat!” Tadashi howled. “I’m starving!”
“You ate a meal like an hour ago,” Harlock said. I remembered that tone. He sounded so much like I had when dealing with a screeching child, worn down from exhaustion.
I still needed an explanation for where these children came from, but Marina and I took our seats to get dinner going before Tadashi started eating the tablecloth. Harlock poured wine for the three of us, while Tadashi used both hands to tip his milk glass toward him. Kei sat silently, the most polite child I’d met sitting across from the grumpiest.
“But really, Harlock,” I said as he sliced up the ham. “Where did these kids come from?”
“Earth.” He passed a slice to Tadashi, who proceeded to eat it with his hands. Admittedly, he was a cute kid, though he desperately needed a haircut for that bird’s nest falling into his eyes.
Harlock appeared to treat them well, and there had to be a reasonable explanation. “You know I’ll have to take them out of your custody if you don’t give me some straight answers,” I said.
Kei said nothing but eyed me with a sharpness that rivaled Marina’s gaze. Tadashi looked ready to go for my throat, but a smirk eased onto Harlock’s face. “Look, I know you’re a sucker for kids, but these ones are mine fair and square. If you want to steal them so bad, you can just stay here with me.”
As I tried to process whatever he was talking about, Tadashi smacked at my arm. “Mister,” he demanded. “Are you a pirate too?”
I threw Marina a curious glance, wondering how safe revealing our title to children could be. She shrugged, brows furrowed in confusion. “No,” I said. “I’m an Independent. I work for the Earth government.”
Something about my second statement made Harlock’s eyes widen and lock on his small charge. A forkful of potatoes froze a few inches from his mouth. At the same time, Tadashi’s face reddened. He appeared to be holding his breath and was about to turn purple when Kei spoke. “Tadashi doesn’t like the government,” she said.
The boy let out his breath just to scream at me. “They’re the worst! You’re horrible! Go away!” Tears welled up in his eyes, and his lips trembled. I couldn’t stand to make children cry, and my stomach twisted at the sight. Harlock appeared to share my feelings.
“He’s not like them, really,” Harlock said in a rush to get an explanation out. “Zero is a great guy. He kind of works for the government, but he’s not one of them. He acts more like a pirate than one of those lazy bastards.”
Marina threw a disapproving glare his way, either because of the swear or comparing us to pirates. I worked on recovering from him calling me great.
Fat tears rolling down his cheeks, Tadashi rubbed at his eyes and sniffled until my heart couldn’t take it. “The government does some bad things,” I said. “I don’t agree with everything they do, but it’s my job to keep space safe for travelers and to help Earth rebuild.” Careful not to scare him off, I reached out to ruffle his hair.
Shimmering eyes peered up at me from behind his hands. “I think he’s okay,” Kei said. Harlock backed her up with an affirming nod, and that was all it took for Tadashi. Once he cleared his plate, he crawled into my lap and let me wipe the food from his face with a napkin. Harlock stared at the two of us, chin in his palm and a warm smile on his face. Marina eyed Harlock with suspicion. Kei didn’t appear interested in any of us.
By the time we finished the wine, Tadashi slept against me with a gentle snore. A flush dusted Harlock’s cheeks, possibly from the second bottle of wine he opened for himself. While Marina instructed Kei on how a ship should be run, Harlock scooted over to take Tadashi’s seat beside me.
“You really are good with kids,” he hummed. A drunken smile warmed his face. “I heard the Earth kids loved you. Nice to know the rumors were true.”
I couldn’t imagine why he would hear such rumors about me. “They hated me for a while after the war,” I murmured. “Glad things have turned around for the most part.” Tadashi sighed in his sleep, so I reached up to run my fingers through his hair. Despite its appearance, I caught no knots.
A gentle weight appeared against my shoulder – Harlock resting his temple against me. “Okay, but you can’t give him more attention than me,” he said. “Gotta brush my hair too.”
I shrugged my shoulder to bump him off. “You get enough attention, and I don’t need to spoil you anymore than you already are.”
Never one to be put off, he leaned his face in closer to my neck. “You should stay here. We can raise the kids together, and I’ll spoil you too.”
Across the table, Marina blinked at the tipsy pirate with one brow raised. I did my best to lean away from him as my neck burned in a blush. “Harlock,” I huffed. “I’m taking the kids back to the Karyū.”
“Nah.” His arms snaked their way around me and Tadashi. “Those are my kids, but you’re welcome to share.”
#sexyshinjiikari#CWZ fic#SPCH fic#Harlock fic#Daiba fic#Marina fic#Kei fic#Christmas Fic#request fic#Also the request said Tadashi so I assumed Daiba I hope that is correct
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