Alone.

Calling In

Another Ste/ddie snz fic! 😅

Summary: Steve is sick and hopes that he won’t have to call off of work tomorrow. Eddie thinks he’s delusional. 1k.

Warnings: Some coughing. Not too much mess (nothing like what I sometimes write, anyway).

Notes: I wrote a rough draft of this for myself a month or two ago. I came across it today and decided to clean it up and post it. At this point, I’m a one-trick pony, but the “heart” wants what it wants. 💖

~*~

Steve had been forced to stay home today, having been taken down by a terrible head cold. Eddie came home from work to find him bundled up on the couch, looking like he’d just woken up from a nap. It pulled at something in his chest, seeing Steve so vulnerable like this.

After having dinner and catching each other up on their day (not that Steve has much to report), they’re snuggled back on the couch, watching TV.

“Baybe I’ll be well enough to go to work toborrow…” Steve muses hopefully.

Eddie shoots him an incredulous look. “You think you’re going to be better enough to work tomorrow?” His eyes flick to the pile of tissues currently surrounding Steve. The man can barely make it through a sentence without sniffling, sneezing, or coughing. He’s constantly holding a bundle of tissues up to his face because his nose is totally out of control and lord knows what might come out.

“Idt could happedn!” Steve says indignantly, into the aforementioned wad of kleenex. He gives a productive blow while glaring at Eddie, eyes tired and red-rimmed.

“Okay, we’ll see how you feel tomorrow morning,” Eddie relents. It isn’t worth it, and he doesn’t want to start an argument that would stress Steve out when he should be taking it easy. Steve nods like the matter is settled. Then he tilts his head back, eyes closing, inhaling a shaky breath before – “haaah…hah’ESSSHH’oo!” With the soaked mass of tissues still pressed to his face, he sheepishly looks at Eddie and asks, “Cand you bmake be some tea?”

Eddie chuckles, giving him a soft look. “Sure, sweetheart.” He pushes back the hair that had fallen into Steve’s face before heading into the kitchen.

[…]

The next morning, Steve wakes up feeling just as bad as yesterday – if not worse.  Blearily, he comes to, his nose somehow both crusted over and still running. It’s even on his pillow and he feels disgusting. He draws in a breath, throat dry from a night of mouth-breathing and no water, and immediately breaks into a crackling, chesty cough that makes him curl into himself. He tries his best to cover with his hand, which is now a mess, having just used it to wipe his nose.

As he’s catching his breath, the fit mostly over with, Eddie steps into the room, still in his pajamas and holding two cups of coffee.

“You okay, sweetheart?” Concern shines in his big eyes. “You sound awful.” He sits on the edge of the bed next to Steve, setting both mugs on the nightstand and grabbing several tissues from the box there, handing them over. “Here.”

Steve takes them gratefully and presses them to his poor nose. “Tha-ahhh- hih’KISSSHHH’uu! Ugh. Thaggs.” He blows his nose, which tickles his throat and causes him to cough up more gunk from his lungs. When it’s over, he turns to lay on his back again, groaning. “Oh god…”

Eddie pats his hip through the covers. “Still feel like going to work today?” he asks, trying and failing to keep a hint of smugness from his voice.

Steve groans again, this time in frustration, as he rolls over and buries his face into the pillow, hiding from Eddie. “You’re so bmean.” His words are muffled into the plush fabric.

Eddie laughs. “Hey, I’m not mean!  I brought you coffee.”

Steve peeks an eye open, reminded of the mug on the nightstand next to him. He can barely smell, but what he can, smells good.

“And I have the day off, so I can stay with you all day.” Eddie gives him a little poke through the thick comforter.

“Are you gonna be nice?”

“Baby, I’ll be so nice it’ll blow your socks off. I’ll get you anything you want.” Eddie pauses, carding a hand through Steve’s messy hair. “Should I get the phone so you can call in?”

“Ha-knxxgt! SNF. Yeah.” Steve pouts a little in defeat. Eddie’s vindication over being right is dulled a bit by how pathetic Steve looks.

“Okay, I’ll be right back. Sit tight.”

Steve sits up and tries to clear the grittiness from his voice so he’ll sound somewhat human. It only makes him cough more. Grabbing his coffee off the nightstand, he takes a few sips, the warm liquid helping to soothe his throat.

Eddie comes back and hands him the cordless phone, picking up his own mug and settling into the other side of the bed. Steve dials the number.

“SNF. Hey, Robidn.” His voice is a rough croak. “I thigk I’b godda have to stay hombe agaidn. I’b still-hah…. still- ihhh-hih’ERSSSH’IUE! Ugh. Really sick.” He moans and rubs his nose. Eddie presses a tissue into his hand, which he gratefully accepts. “Yeah. I’b – hih….heh’AESSSHOO!  I’b sorry.” He buries his face into the tissue and gives a couple of soft blows. Robin’s voice filters through the line, tinny.

“I dod’t wand to get adyone else sigk,” Steve responds. “And besides, Eddie would probably kill me if I tried to combe idn today.” He glances at Eddie with a tired smile. Eddie nods his head in silent agreement and sips his coffee.

“Okay. Hih’ISSHHH’ah! I will. Thaggs.” He ends the call and sets the phone down on the side table. “Well, that’s done.” He has just enough time to snap the ruined bundle of tissues back up to his face before – “ih’KISSH! Hah’TISSHSH!” He gives an exhausted blow before clearing his throat. “I thigk I bmight go back to sleeb.”

“Can you stay awake long enough for some breakfast? You should probably eat.”

“Just – hih’AEESSH’UE! Just wake be up agaidn whedn it’s ready.” He lays down again, curling onto his side.

“Alright, baby, I can do that.” Eddie rubs his back. “You have any requests?”

“Hmm… pancakes.”

“Pancakes?” Eddie says dramatically. “It’s a high ask, but your wish is my command.” He presses a kiss to Steve’s shoulder before getting up to make breakfast.

together, we can make it out alive - 2

parts: 1

-- mentions of alcohol 

your issues with leon flare up at the worst of times, and you have a trip down memory lane -f!reader

(gif not mine) tags: @ayamenimthiriel​

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"Lieutenant!" you cried out and hobbled to your superior's aid as he backed into a wall. His hand was pressed against his wound and he threw his head back in pain but shooed you away when you tried to support him as he slid down to the floor. "I'll be fine! I'll be fine!" he huffed out in his typical annoyed manner, despite nearing death. "Y-You two need to get out of here... alive," Branagh added. "What about you?" Leon asked. The injured man raised a bloody hand and pointed his index finger toward the male rookie, "You save yourself," he coughed several times, "That's an order!" He dropped his finger and dug into his shirt pocked, then fished out a small notebook with a brown cover. Branagh leaned forward to hand the notebook to Leon, "E-Elliot, an officer here believed that there was a secret way out of here."

Leon flipped through the blood soaked pages and he examined the drawings that this presumably deceased officer drafted as Branagh explained. "I'd come with you two, but I would just slow you down." the RPD Lieutenant had accepted his fate that he wouldn't be going anywhere. "[Y/N]", he called your name and looked into your eyes when they met. "You take care of yourself, officer. You're a good kid. It was a pleasure being your Lieutenant." his pale lips turned upward into a weak smile.

His attention then turned to Leon, "Kennedy. Despite this being my last moments as your superior, I have one request of you." his eyes stared into Leon's, "If you see one of those things -- uniform or not. You do not hesitate. Do not make my mistake, you hear me?" The male rookie accepted this request and promised to do everything he could to keep himself and you safe. Branagh gave each of you one last handshake before he barked at you to go.

You hesitated because you felt that there might be more that could be done, but Leon pulled you along with him. Getting to safety was now the priority.

Your cheeks grew warm and your cheeks felt sore from the smile that grew wider as Leon explained. "You're too nice to me, Leon. Even after I picked on you all the time during school."  Earlier in the day the two of you had graduated from the police academy which was in a city far from both of your hometowns. Everyone in the graduating class decided to go to a local bar to celebrate the accomplishment you all achieved. Each of you had a story to tell and a lot of them were similar to yours. 

"Kennedy! You sly son of a bitch," you curse as Leon handed you a white, rectangular cardboard box. Leon smiled with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Open it," he whispered in your ear under the roar of the busy bar the two of you were seated in. When the lid was removed, the contents caused your eyes to sparkle in awe. Inside of the package was a silver bracelet with blue gemstones nestled in the center of each link. "I told you no gifts!" you yell at him and delivered a swift punch to his shoulder. Leon shrugged again, "I saw it at the mall, and it kinda just --- jumped out at me." he leaned over and his finger touched the jewelry, "I had to get it."

You were a girl from a midwestern city with big dreams of living it up in a city that was far-far away from Raccoon City's limits. The first few weeks of the police academy were rough, and you were skeptical if you wanted to continue on with it. You did not get along well with most of the other female recruits and struggled fitting in. That is until you met a swoopy haired male named Leon, who was paired with you one day and bonded.

 Leon was still leaned in close and you could feel your heartbeat in your throat. Unsure if it was your emotions, the alcohol, or a mixture of both but you felt like your entire body was a bright shade of red. "Say cheese!" a female voice yelled out which drew both of your attention front and center. A classmate pointed a Polaroid in your direction and was ready to snap a picture. You set your gift down on the bar counter and threw your arms around Leon's neck, then pulled him in close. Leon slinked his arm around your waist and held his pint of beer in the air. After the bright flash of the camera, the classmate handed you the photo and went off to snap more pictures. You took the square paper and shook it several times in the air. As the photo started to develop, you noticed how happy the two of you looked. "Aw! Look how cute you are!" you point out Leon's cheeky smile and giggled several times. Your giggles grew louder and louder, then turned into several snorts.

 Leon took you to his car and struggled with the lack of support for your weight. "You sure do handle your liquor better than me!" you giggled and poked his cheek several times. "Well, you also managed to get six shots of tequila into you before I drank my first beer." Leon leaned against the hood of his car and supported you with his knees. Your eyes first focused on his handsome face as you admired the way that he looked, and he did the same. You could feel your face grow red again, so you decided to change your attention to the darkened sky above. Leon's fingers grazed the skin of your arms which drew your attention back to him. His eyelids were half mast and he had a smile on his lips. "Leon, you're drunk, aren't you?" you ask, despite being heavily intoxicated yourself. "Maybe," he answers. He pulled you close to his body and you could feel his breath against your face. He kissed you and you kissed back. But when you pulled away from each other, you could see his moonstone eyes glow with the moonlight from above.

"I think you've had enough," Leon chuckled as he rested his hand on your shoulder but watched you guzzle down another shot of tequila. "Wait! Wait! I need the lime," you hurried a sucked on the sour citrus fruit and felt your face contort at the taste of the bitterness. "C'mon, missy," Leon took your arm and threw it around his shoulder to support your weight. But didn't expect it to be dead weight, because when you both stood, your body dropped like a stone to the floor with a thud. "Oh shit!" Leon cursed as he reached for your hand that flailed around in the air. "Are you okay?" he asked as he pulled you up, but you laughed uncontrollably. "I'll take that as a yes," he smiled and led you out of the building.

Leon's fingers continued to tickle your skin as they danced up your biceps to your collarbone, and his teeth pricked at your body simultaneously. His digits glided across your bone before they dropped to your exposed cleavage, you pulled away from him for a moment to get a breath of fresh air.

Leon was surprised when you did it. Your hand cupped his cheek and your eyebrows furrowed, "They're sending me back to Raccoon City," your happiness faded to a more somber mood. Leon took your hand in his and placed small kisses on each knuckle, "I'll come with you." Your instincts made you smile but your gut gave you a feeling that it was the alcohol talking and not the genuine Leon, which made you frown. "You always said you'd never want to live there," you finally spoke. "Yeah, but I didn't realize how I felt about you then." he continued to kiss your hand between words. You were almost certain now that it was the alcohol. "W-what?" your words stuttered.

You dribbled some hydrogen peroxide onto a cotton swap and attempted to get at Leon's wound from his open collar, but couldn't. "You're gonna have to take off your shirt." He nodded and slipped off his vest before he unbuttoned his shirt to slide it off. You could feel your hands tremble as you recalled the last time you saw him shirtless, but you snapped yourself out of it. This was no place to walk down memory lane. "This is going to suck, I'm sorry." you said as you placed the soaked cotton onto what looked like a bite wound. He jumped and cursed which caused a chuckle to bellow from your throat, "Okay Mr. Tough Cop Man, can't take a little peroxide. huh?" you joked. He didn't say anything beside a gruff under his breath. As you continued to clean his wound, you could feel your eyes take peeks at his chiseled torso, but mentally cursed yourself anytime you did. This seriously was not the place.

Leon stopped his kissing and now stared you in the eye, "I promise you that if I ever come to Raccoon City, I will tell you and we'll continue where we left off." He held out his pinky finger which linked with yours, "It's a pinky promise."

Leon pushed you behind him and took the lead down the hall. His gun and flashlight at the ready as the stillness of the night lingered in the abandoned station. As you followed him with your own weapon and light in hand, you noticed a wound on his trapezius and the fabric of his uniform still wet. "You should take care of that," you point it out. Leon hummed in confusion before he acknowledged the wound that you spoke of. He shook his head, "Don't worry about it." You ignored his words and pulled back on his shoulder, "Don't try to act like such a tough guy. We should do it before we carry on, there's some supplies in the locker room up ahead." You hobbled past him and lead him through the door. Leon closed the door behind you as you approached a locker and scrolled through the numbers to enter a code. "I always keep some supplies with my stuff, never know when you're going to need it." you ruffled through your bag and pulled out a first aid spray with some other supplies. "Should patch myself up too while we're at it." your finger pointed to a bench in front of you and told Leon to sit. "Shouldn't it be ladies first?" he asked as he sat and you responded with a, "Shut up."

 "[Y/N], about the last few months... I- I meant to reach out, but...-" he attempted to explain himself but you stopped him mid sentence. "Now is not the time, Leon." you turned to leave but he pulled back again. "What if this is the last time we are able to talk? We could die as soon as we walk out that door!" he yelled. Your eyes narrowed as you gave him a moment to express himself, "I-I met this girl back at home. I just got wrapped up in all of it and cut off a lot of important people," he ran a hand down the front of his face. "That's why I didn't show up on time! We-we broke up, I drank too much, then slept in... God, if only I came here..." he trailed off in his guilt. You felt some sympathy for your former partner, "It's probably a good thing you didn't come on time." you explained to him the weird things that had been going on lately. The weird cannibalistic killings, how shifty the police chief was acting, and how everything spiraled out of control. "This isn't how I expected my first day..." Leon sighed into a closed fist.

"One last thing," you picked up a can of first aid spray and sprayed the entire area with the green mist. "All done." you patted him on the shoulder and allowed him to re-dress himself. You lifted your injured leg onto the bench to assess the damage that shard of glass did, as you looked closer at it you could see the raw flesh that resided under your skin. Ouch. When you grabbed the peroxide, your hand met with Leon's, "Here, let me help you," he offered but you smacked his hand away. "I got it." your voice was harsh and you continued to treat your wound. Once you were patched up, you shoved the remaining supplies into your hip pack, "I'll still be pretty slow but we should be fine." you took a few steps toward the door but Leon pulled you back.

 You couldn't help but scoff, "How do you think I feel?! From what it seems like, my entire crew is dead! Then, "Mr. Rookie of the Year" strolls in from the shadows to save the day! I haven't seen you in years, Leon, years! You completely disappeared and then when I do finally see you, the fucking town is on fire!" you run a hand through your deranged hair, "I don't think I can do this." you lifted your pistol and pulled the hammer back to make sure it is loaded. "I should've just called in. Then, I could be miles away from this fucking place!" your anger came to a boil, "Then, you! How can you act so-so laid back! Ever since I met you! Always Mr. Cool Guy! This city is fucked!" Leon tried to hush your yelling before you attracted any unwanted visitors.

Your raised voice dropped to a louder whisper, "You promised me, Leon! You promised me that you would come back and when you did, you would tell me! You said we would continue what we started but no, I find out you're coming here by a fucking banner on the ceiling!" your finger pointed in the air. You closed your eyes as you decided on your next move, "I think you'll be better on your own." your hand turned the knob and you took a step out in the hall, "You think you can just come back here and act like everything is the same. Touch me like you did before -- I-," you don't turn around to face him, "I'll see you on the outside of this place." and left him with those words with a door slammed in his face.

I haven’t gotten to do a Sunday Six in awhile, so here is 2100 words and essentially part one of the noctnyx fic! Very rough draft.

============

After a long, harsh winter, Spring had finally sprung. Birds were chirping, the sun was rising, the air was fresh, and in the sprawling metropolis of the Crown City, Nyx Ulric started his day by running face first into a door.

It was glass, and sturdy. His head colliding with it made a sound that would carry. He stumbled back a step with a grunt from the impact, ears ringing. When his vision cleared it was to Luche, Tredd and Crowe all staring at him with an expression on each of their faces like so many jokes had sprung to their minds they couldn't decide on which one to voice. Eventually, Luche cleared his throat around a smirk and said, "All right there, hero?"

"I thought it would open," Nyx said stupidly, blinking. Crowe and Tredd broke into unapologetic snickering and Nyx lifted a hand to rub at the ache in his forehead, his face hot. Every once in awhile, when Nyx was probably getting a little too cocky for his own good, the universe saw fit to take him down a notch. This, he thought, was one of those times. There wasn't much more humbling than pushing a door with perfect confidence that it will open and being wrong.

"You've gotta pull, dumbass," Crowe said, gesturing to the door handle. She shifted the weight of her bag slung over her shoulder and put a hand on her hip. "How long have you worked here again?"

"It's early," was the only excuse that Nyx could come up with. He may have been many things, but a morning person wasn't one of them, and sunrise drills were a cruel and unusual punishment, especially on his last day on duty before a two week leave. He'd been half-asleep up until now.

Crowe snorted and pushed past him, pulling the door open with an unnecessary flourish before striding through to the locker room beyond. Luche followed her, still grinning, and Tredd clapped a hand on Nyx's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, man. That was awesome."

"Shut up," said Nyx. Tredd wiggled his eyebrows and laughed when Nyx shoved him through the open door and followed him inside, where Crowe was regaling the rest of the glaives with the tale, and put up with the good-natured digs while he changed.

Sunrise drills on the obstacle course were a favorite of Drautos, who would usually come and shivvy them out of the locker room to the outdoor training grounds. By ten after five he still hadn't arrived, but a tardy Libertus slipped in as Nyx was tying his running shoes, glancing nervously around and heaving a sigh of relief when he didn't find the Captain. It immediately turned into a sharp squeak of pain when Crowe hurled one of her combat boots at his crotch with incredible precision from her place on the bench next to Nyx. He doubled over, clutching himself in pain. The others took little notice. Libertus earning a shot to the nads from Crowe was a regular occurrence. Nyx only grinned and shook his head.

"Oi!" Libertus complained, hobbling over to their bench. "What gives?"

Crowe snatched her boot out of his hands. "You were supposed to give me a ride in this morning, jerkoff, remember?"

Nyx snorted. Libertus had recently bought some piece of shit on wheels from a twitchy guy who had put some sketch on online. It was of indeterminate make and model, bright orange and boxy with only one working seatbelt and no heat or A/C, and the engine made a loud and chilling sound that Nyx could only describe as a cry for merciful death for several minutes every time it started up. Nyx gave Crowe a disapproving look. "You were gonna ride in that thing?"

"Shut up, it's a ride isn't it? Even if it is a piece of shit."

"It's not shit," Libertus said by rote. He rubbed the back of his neck ruefully and told Crowe, "I tried, but you was already gone when I got to your place!"

"Yeah, 'cause you never showed!" Crowe argued. She stood up threateningly, but only turned to tuck her boot neatly next to the other one in her open locker. If she ever had been actually angry, she was over it now. Her voice was sharp, trying to hide the concern when she said, "You said you'd be by at oh-four-hundred. I would've been late if I waited any longer."

Apparently satisfied that Crowe wasn't going to attack him again, Libertus went about opening his locker and getting changed, moving rather faster than he usually did with liberal worried glances at the door, as though Drautos was going to stalk in and call him out for being late. "Yeah, I think something must've happened - roadblocks up all over so the back roads were jammed, even out by us." More quietly, he said, "And getting through the Citadel gates to park took an act of the gods. Crownsguard assholes made me flash my ID and do one of those portable retina scanners before they let me through."

Nyx frowned. "Just you?"

"Nah," Libertus said to the floor, bent over to tug his running shorts up his legs. "Everyone, it looked like. I asked but they wouldn't tell me what was going on. You guys didn't get stopped?"

"Nope," Crowe said. She looked thoughtful for a moment and then shrugged.

Nyx followed suit, letting his curiosity go as he got up to put his stuff away. It was no use wondering about it, they wouldn't be told unless someone saw fit to tell them, and it was probably nothing anyway. The gate guard was laughably quick on the draw. They were just as likely to call a lockdown because of a stubbed royal toe as for an actual security breach. Nyx didn't have to care until he was told to. To Libertus, he added, "But we weren't driving. Came in through the staff entrance, didn't pass another soul."

"Yeah," said Crowe, leveling an innocent look at Nyx. "The only weird thing that happened to us on the way in was Nyx losing a fight with a door."

"Nyx what?" said Libertus.

Nyx sighed. It was going to be a long day.

*

Drautos never showed. They all headed out to the course at oh-five-thirty, and after another twenty minutes without an appearance from their Captain, Luche stepped up and ran them through the usual warm-ups and then split them up into groups for the training drills, which for a Sunrise run meant more aerobics than you could shake a stick at. Weapons weren't allowed on the obstacle course, which was sprawling and extravagant and would have been tough to run even if they could have warped and was nearly impossible to finish without. Only four could run the course at the same time, and they weren't allowed to leave the training yard until they'd each completed it twice, so the sun was high in the sky by the time they stumbled sweat-drenched and exhausted back to the locker room.

Nyx had been in the last group to go, along with Luche and two newer recruits who stayed collapsed and recovering on the grass and panting for breath while Nyx and Luche headed inside. Luche smirked and said commiseratingly, "Kids."

"Right?" Nyx agreed. When he looked over his shoulder to check on them, he saw one sitting up and discreetly pulling his phone out of his pocket, beckoning his friend over. It was technically against regulations to have a personal phone on you while on duty, but enforcing it would have meant putting half the glaive on gate duty most of the time, so rumors of whatever had happened to cause the upswing in security Libertus had run into this morning had already spread among their ranks by anyone who had a friend on the palace staff. Nyx didn't generally put much stock in what people were saying around the water cooler, but Luche had an even more constipated expression on his face than he usually did, and obviously something had happened, if Drautos was MIA on training drills that he set up himself, and just before they'd taken their second lap of the course, Luche had put some distance between himself and the rest of the unit to answer a call on his headset.

Lightly, Nyx prodded. "Any word from Drautos?"

Luche gave him a stern look. "Yes."

"Huh," Nyx said. When Luche didn't say anything else, he gave up all pretenses."C'mon, man. So is it true? There was an assassination attempt?"

Luche made a face. "All I know is that someone in the Crownsguard has been badly injured. The Captain didn't offer further detail, and until we're told otherwise it's none of our business, Ulric."

Luche could be kind of a prick. Nyx fought the urge to roll his eyes, but didn't push it. He had an hour before he needed to report in at the armory to oversee weapons training for the new recruits, so while Luche hit the showers Nyx made a beeline for the mess hall. Libertus, Crowe, Sonitas and Pelna were sitting together at their usual table, talking in low voices over their trays of...whatever the hell that was. Pelna's girlfriend Cecily worked in the palace and wasn't prone to gossip, so if there was any real news to be had, he would know it. He nodded a greeting as Nyx sat down across from him, and Crowe made a sound like an angry cat when Nyx stole a roll from her plate and bit into it before she could take it back. Mouth full, he said, "So fill me in."

Pelna said, "Sounds like there really was an assassination attempt."

"On the king? At the Citadel?" Nyx asked, disbelieving. Surely no one was that stupid.

Libertus shook his head. "On the prince, either at his apartment or somewhere between there and the university."

"No shit," Nyx said. "Luche said someone from the Crownsguard was injured. Must be the prince's personal guard, right?"

Pelna nodded, looking grim. "Yeah, the Prime Minister's son. Cecily didn't have details but she said it's apparently pretty bad. They're not sure if he'll make it."

Nyx sat back in his chair, mood sobering and feeling a little guilty about digging for juicy details. He didn't know Gladiolus Amicitia well, but he'd sparred with him a few times a couple years back, when he'd needed to learn how to train someone who could use Lucis magic. Nyx had liked him. He'd been huge and loud, full of life. He'd also been real damn talented, and would have only become stronger since the last time Nyx'd seen him. It was hard to imagine anyone getting the best of him.

"Was the prince hurt?" Crowe asked Pelna.

"I don't think so," Pelna answered. "Drautos had to escort him to the Citadel from his place personally, that's why he was a no show this morning. Cecily overheard someone saying that the king wants the prince to move back into the Citadel, but the prince threw a fit about it until His Majesty agreed to let him keep his apartment."

"Figures," Sonitas said, frowning with distaste. "He should never have moved outside the Citadel in the first place. His Highness doesn't realize the burden his childish bid for freedom puts on everyone around him. Or perhaps he does and just doesn't care."

Libertus snorted. "Would you expect anything different? Them <i>royals</i> do whatever they want, and fuck the rest of us."

Pelna shrugged, and Sonitas said, "I heard they're trying to decide who to assign as his bodyguard while the Amicitia kid is out of commission, and the king is personally involved. Everyone in the Crownsguard is probably pissing themselves for the chance to lick the king's boots."

"Yeah, stupid bastards," Libertus said. "Wonder who it'll be."

Nyx crossed his arms over his chest, making a face. He didn't know much about the prince but the baby-sitting gig was always a pain in the ass. He wouldn’t have wanted to be in the shoes of whatever poor sod was getting that detail. "Well, as long as it's not me," he said dismissively. Curiosity satisfied, pushed his chair back from the table. "If you'll excuse me, I'm five hours from two shiny, glorious weeks of leave - "

He was cut off by the others grumbling and lobbing their balled up napkins at him, and he ducked away, laughing, and turned to leave just as Titus Drautos opened the door to the mess and zeroed in on Nyx. Nyx felt his heart sink, knowing from the slightly apologetic look on the Captain's face what Drautos was going to say before he even opened his mouth, because Nyx's luck really was just that piss poor.

"Nyx, glad I caught you. I'm sorry to say that your leave has been cancelled. Hit the showers and gear up, then report to my office. You have a new assignment."

Nyx thought he might cry. Just sit down on the floor right there and sob while his friends snickered like assholes behind him. Instead he straightened his shoulders and said the only thing he could in response. "Yes, Sir."

Excerpts

Decided to give you guys a few little excerpts from books that are current WIPs. Everything in here is still in the rough draft stage and subject to change This is just a fun little thing to show my friends what I have been working on. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Working Title: Dreamverse Setting: Tippy describing the Station Master 'Pretty was a good word for her, not beautiful, but pretty. Her skin was pale, almost silver like moonlight and she faintly glowed with this silver aura that she seemed able to dim and brighten as she pleased. Her frame looked strong, she was filled out well, but not muscular. Firm shoulders connected to long arms that ended in small, delicate hands. While wide hips meet up with legs that were thick and firm, she held herself well. Her face was very pretty, Tippy thought so. But her expression was hard to place, she looked tired. Her eyes were something else though. They looked like big blue moons that were partly covered by shadow. Mama called them an eclipse.' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Working Title: The Fantastic Beasts Setting: Freeing the Beasts '“What’s she doing here?” A harsher voice spoke, full of anger. “Shut it, she is a native woman, one of the first people.” Another voice spoke, tired but firm. The woman knew why they were afraid, why they were angry. They had been imprisoned by the pale men, forced to fight for their lives, for the pale men’s entertainment in the Arena. They were tired and humiliated. They had been abused and taunted for the last four days, deprived of food and water. Their spirits were weak. But they wouldn’t be for long. These creatures, the true beings of this land, did not deserve to live as she had. The woman spoke “I have come to help you.” A voice spoke up above the darkness, it appeared to belong to a goat “Why should we believe you, human.” Before the woman could speak, the boar answered in a thick voice “Do not speak to her like that.” She turned to meet his eyes, green and bright like fresh spring leaves “Your people have suffered long and hard as we have, or as we have witness, worse.” The woman nodded, his words were true. While the beasts kept their freedom in the enchanted forest lands, her people had been all but driven to extinction. Those still living, lived as slaves. The bear spoke again, drawing the woman’s attention to him “The first people, have always been friends to us.” He looked deep into her eyes; the power in those golden eyes filled her own soul with the bravery she needed to keep on. She undid his chains, helping him to his feet.' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Working Title: Night Shift at Sunny Palace Setting: First time the robots are mentioned 'It was not the food that attracted them, though it was decent and at a good price. It was not the games, although they were really easy and you never walked away without a prize. It wasn’t the rides, although they were seriously fun. It wasn’t even the prizes, and they had some pretty awesome stuff here. No, what made Sunny Palace the pride of Bridge Water Bay was the entertainment. As the music slowed down, the children quickly began to quickly rush to their seats. Each child sat down and began one quickly hushing the other. Julian was fondly reminded of why the entertainment was as famous as it was and just how many a day back in his own childhood was spent. This was gonna be very good. Julian leaned forward a bit to stare intently at the stage. Finally the music stopped and suddenly a voice over the loudspeaker began to say in an excited voice as spotlights moved across the stage “Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, little ones of all ages, this is it, the moment you have been so patiently waiting for! Welcome to the final show of the night before it’s time to head home. So now, the star of Sunny Palace, please clap your hands, for Miss Betsy Anne!” The yellow curtains suddenly flew back revealing three very big, apparently female figures. Whose features were like that of humans, only..larger. Almost like..doll-like humans that had been enlarged greatly. It was a human that had been photocopied into a picture that was much smaller than they were.' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Working Title: The Marvelous Mr. Beau-Dakorey Setting: Short description of Uncle Wallace and Wilma 'Uncle Wallace, due to his injury could do little to help. The crippled man worked out on the streets, shoveling snow for pennies at a time. The once proud soldier felt useless. The war had left him wounded and poverty has left him wretched. There were days the poor man would feel so useless he’d simply stop eating. Uncle Wallace was prone to episodes of self-starvation, where he would go for a several days without touching a meal. Mrs. Zipple would gently plead with him and Mr. Zipple would even coarsely plead with him to eat. The old folk would ask him to eat. But Uncle Wallace would just sit and stare at the floor, or close his eyes and simply stop listening. But one thing always worked. Little Wilma would slowly make her way over to him and climb into his lap and snuggle close to his thin frame and she’d say in her small voice “Please Uncle Wallace, if you’re gone I would be lonely. What would I do without you?” The veteran would be silent for a moment, then sigh heavily and nod at her. Then he would resume eating without an issue.'