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rohad93 · 3 years

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Sea Legs

My last fic before i go on hiatus for the duration of season 2.

Have a good one yall!

~ ~ ~

Luz stared listlessly out at the sea as the ship bobbed along; bored. The same rolling blue-green ocean stretched out for miles in every direction just as it had every day for the past month and a half, endless and unchanging. She loved the sea, really, she did; it was why she had left home the first minute she was able to and had joined the first ship that would take her.

The Tawny Owl was a 'merchant' ship. At least that was what it’s captain, Edalyn Clawthorne, or The Owl Lady or Cap'n Eda, as she preferred to be known, called it.

Even though Cap'n Eda used actual finger quotes around the word 'merchant', they definitely did sell things

Just, things that weren't theirs.

Luz didn't mind it really.

They didn't kill anyone… Well, she didn't. If people got unruly while Tawny Owl crew was trying to take their things then Eda was sometimes known to fire off a few rounds or toss someone overboard and 'let the ocean do as it would'.

King also had a bit of a mean streak when the moment struck him. The first mate was a small man with an ego and temper that was much larger than he was and was prone to exploding at a moment’s notice.

He cared though, in his own way.

Hooty, though, was… something else.

Despite their, sometimes, shady nature, Luz loved the Cap’n and the rest of the crew just as much as she loved the sea. She’d grown up on stories of sea monsters and daring adventures across the water in large, gallant ships. People going to far-off places to see new things.

That was what she wanted and she did get a lot of it. She’d met all kinds of people and characters in her five years sailing with Eda and the rest of the crew.

All that being said, sometimes, the long weeks and months at sea could be very, very boring.

Not all the time. Somedays, when they weren’t doing the usual tasks of tightening ropes, repairing sales or swabbing the deck they would fish over the side of the boat.

Most of them fished with a net or string, but Barrelman Hooty, would climb down from the crow's nest and dive straight into the water, knife clenched between his teeth.

Luz would never understand the large, muscular man, but he was nice and took care of her a lot. More than once he’d hauled her out of the way of danger but, even so, he was more than a little strange. Like how he liked to wear two eye-patches… even though both his eyes were fine.

She’s asked Eda once and the answer had been a shrug. There were some things that just defied explanation.

They had been out at sea for a month now, chasing after an actual merchant ship that had been rumored to have some incredibly rare and precious cargo on board that wasn’t exactly well guarded. That had been enough for Eda to have them heave to.

So now, here they were, weeks into a chase, well, sort of. They were sneaking up on the merchant ship a little more each day, waiting for the perfect time to hit it when they pulled into dock near Port Royal.

They should be coming up on it tonight and, in Eda’s words, were going to ‘Rob it blind and then blast it to kingdom come if we have to!’

Luz was content to wonder just what kind of priceless goods the ship could be carrying to not have much in the way of protection. Most of the time they did that so as not to draw attention to themselves. Of course, they’d hit their share of bum ships that they thought would have goods but hadn’t had much of anything, much to Eda’s chagrin. That was just the sort of risk they took.

She leaned her arms on the side of the ship, watching the waves lap at the worn wooden hull. The sun was starting to set and they would be moving in soon.

The plan was simple, in theory. They would pull into the dock and she would slip onto the ship while the rest of the crew made distractions of themselves. Hooty was really good at that too.

She stood there for a long while, getting lost in her thoughts and listening to the distant sounds of seagulls as they flew overhead; the heat from the sun was tempered by the cool breeze that was pushing them steadily through the water at a good clip. The sun had just started to set when she heard Hooty call down from the crows nest.

“Land, hoot!”

Luz shook her head at the strange man’s queer turn of phrase but looked up anyway and turned her eyes towards the horizon. Sure enough, she could see a dark smudge on the horizons, slowly growing

“Ya ready to go, kid?” A sudden voice called and Luz looked up as Eda walked up to her, grinning brightly, arms crossed over her chest and her maroon and gold captain's jacket hanging off her shoulders.

“As ready as ever, I guess,” she shrugged as Eda came to stand next to her looking out at the sea.

“That’s the spirit!” she laughed, slapping the young woman on the back as she snorted. Luz grinned at her. This would hardly be the first time they had pulled this trick. Luz was by far the quietest and most inconspicuous member of the crew and thus, the best suited for the job when stealth was required.

Quiet in the grand scheme of things? No but definitely the quietest and least destructive member of the crew.

They didn’t wanna fight if they didn’t have to.

They definitely would though if the occasion called for it.

“What am I looking for exactly?” Luz asked, brows furrowing as she looked at Eda, who shrugged.

“Anything that looks like it might be worth money.” She held up her fingers and rubbed them together with a grin.

“Right…” Luz nodded and Eda clapped her on the back one more time.

“No worries, kid. This will be an easy job,” Eda assured her and, with that, turned and walked back toward the helm where King was glaring at a map that looked suspiciously like it was upside down.

Eda said that about most jobs, but it wasn’t exactly as easy as she made it out to be.

Within the hour, they pulled into port and, just down the dock from them, was the large ship they had been following for the better part of a month.

They waited, watching it as the most of the crew filed off once night fell and made their way to the nearby tavern.

“You ready, kid?” Eda asked her and Luz nodded. “You know what to do.” She grinned as the rest of the crew moved off the ship, to throw their plan into action

Luz nodded and, with a canvas bag thrown over one shoulder, she took a breath before heaving herself overboard into the waiting, dark waters below. She hit the cold water in a sudden rush, becoming all but weightless for a moment as she plunged through the water.

No matter how many times they pulled this stunt, she never got tired of that part.

Except when it was really cold.

She surfaced with minimum noise and shook her head, wiping some water off her face as she swam toward the other ship. The closer she got, the more she could hear the yelling and fighting of metal clanging as cutlasses clashed and musket shots rang out in the night. Eda and the rest of the crew, already creating a distraction.

She swam up to the ship's hull and grabbed hold of one of the ropes dangling down into the water and tensed as she started to haul herself out of the water, carefully and slowly climbing up the side. The sounds of fighting was growing slightly more distant at this point. Her crew were leading whatever people had remained on the ship away. With a grunt, she hauled herself up, peeking over the side to the deck. It was empty and she flung herself over the side, pushing her sopping wet hair back out of her eyes. She moved quickly to the captain’s quarters and didn’t need to look long before she found the captain’s log and took it with her, flipping through to the back and finding the cargo log. She scanned the list quickly and found all the usual suspects. Spices, wood, soap. Nothing that really jumped out at her except one thing.

A very large crate, marked as exotic meat, heading to a well known and expensive eatery in the capital. There was nothing special about that though so she shoved the book into her bag and hurried back out onto the deck and scurried to the entrance that led below deck, where whatever they were carrying would be kept. Her time was ticking by quickly and she didn’t want to be left on board when the rest of her crew pulled back and this ship’s crew came back.

It was dim down in the hull of the ship; a few oil lamps hung from the wall, their flames flickering and casting long shadows across everything. She walked as quickly and quietly as possible across the creaky floorboards, eyes skittering across all the crates scattered around the room but nothing immediately stuck out to her as being important. She’d been with Eda long enough to have developed an eye for things that might be worth something, most of the time anyway. Most of the crates were marked with stamps for things she knew and had been marked in the log book. Tea, spices and the like but nothing like what Eda had expected to be here. There were a few sacks on the floor that she ruffled through and found some tiny bags or uncut gemstones, which she stored in her bag. It was better to come back with something than nothing at all.

She moved quickly, searching through everything she could but there was nothing here that Luz would call a ‘great treasure’ she grunted to herself, frowning. Eda wasn’t going to be happy but there wasn’t much to be done about it. As she moved, she caught sight of the large crate sitting against the wall and with nothing to lose, moved over to it. It was longer than she was tall and came up to her waist. She gave it an experimental kick and jumped when something thumped back.

“Wha-!” She reeled back, blinking at the crate but nothing else happened. She leaned forward, hand raised and gently taped on the box but this time, there was no answer. She blinked at the box for a long second.

Maybe she’d imagined it?

Just as she was about to turn and go, the box thumped again, making her jerk.

Something was in there!

She looked around and quickly found a prybar, not even pausing to consider just what might be inside before she wedged the bar under the lip of the crate and with a grunt and a mighty crack, pried the lid loose, sending her stumbling back

It crashed over the side, falling to the floor and the sharp, salty smell of sea water immediately hit her. She took a cautious step forward and peered into the crate. It was full of dark, murky water and… something else. Something glimmered dimly just under the surface but it was too dark to see.

She ran over and grabbed one of the oil lamps hanging from a nail on the wall and moved back to the crate, holding the light over the lips of the box.

Something, green, glimmered below the surface and she leaned closer toward the water, squinting into the depths.

Suddenly the water sloshed and she jerked back with a shriek, landing flat on her butt on the floor and jarring her tailbone painfully as something broke the surface of the water. She scrambled to sit back up, fumbling for the lamp and holding it up in front of her.

Luz felt her jaw all but come unhinged as she stared back at… a woman?

A woman was staring back at her from the confines of the crate but she didn;t look like any woman Luz had ever seen before.

The first thing she noticed was her hair. It lay wet and flat against her shoulders in a bright shade of pale green that Luz had never seen on someone before with long strands of ruddy brown at the crown, pulled away from her angular face.

The next thing was her ears.

Long and pointed.

“Wha-” Luz continued to gape as a pair of bright, golden-colored eyes stared back at her in a glare.

Just when she thought she couldn’t be any more surprised, something else flipped up out of the water.

Long, blue-green fins attached to an expanse of scaly flesh. The scales seemed to shimmer and shine even in the low light of the lamps.

A tail.

A handful of stories from her childhood suddenly popped into the forefront of Luz’s mind. Tales of sea creatures, half-human and half-fish, that swam faster than any man could ever hope and had no need to breathe.

Old wives’ tales of pulling sailors under the depths to drown. Creatures that would steal and hoard the treasure from sunken ships.

“A mermaid…,” Luz heard herself mumble, almost unbidden. Her shocked stupor was broken only as the tail splashed back down into the water and droplets of warm, seawater splashed her in the face, making her blink. “Wow, you’re…” she scrambled back to her feet and took a step forward but then the creature… woman? The woman in front of her jerked back, spine pressed against the side of the crate, shoulders bunched up around her neck, and Luz stopped, holding up her hands. “It’s okay… I’m not gonna hurt you or anything,” she tried to calm her but those sharp eyes only continued to glare at her silently. Luz frowned, humming. “You probably don’t understand me,... do you?” she asked and, again, silence was her answer.

She moved slowly around the crate, careful not to actually get any closer but those golden iris’s never left her. Not that Luz could blame her. She wouldn't be happy about being shoved into a crate either. She had a swathe of bright magenta fabric wrapped around her chest, studded with what looked to Luz like sea glass and pearls. Their shiny surfaces catching in the light.

A real-life mermaid, just like in her stories! Luz could hardly believe her eyes.

“You must be the thing…,” she breathed quietly but then frowned. The thing they had come looking for…

She jerked, suddenly and again the sea creature jerked back, sloshing water out the sides of the crate but Luz didn’t notice as she dug the log book out of her bag and quickly scanned it and found absolutely no mention of any mythical sea creatures or even anything alive on their manifest.

In fact, the only thing that even came close to matching the description of the crate in front of her was the one line of text she had noticed.

Exotic meat…

“Ay dios mio, they're gonna eat you!” she yelped, dropping the book to the floor. She didn’t notice the way the woman’s eyes widened. “I gotta do something…,’ Luz mumbled to herself, pacing the room quickly and chewing on her bottom lip as her thoughts raced a mile a minute.

The ocean was only just outside… she only had to get her upstairs. Luz whipped back around to lock eyes with the mermaid, staring back at her.

She couldn’t just let some stupidly rich aristocrats eat a mermaid and call it exotic meat!

She took a step forward and, predictably, she pressed herself back against the far wall of the crate.

“It’s okay,” She held up her hands as she slowly approached but she could see it in the woman’s eyes, as clear as day.

Fear.

“I’m not gonna hurt you but if I don’t get you outta here soon, someone else will,” she spoke in low, quiet tones as she approached. Time was slipping through her fingers like sand as she spoke. They were both going to get it if she couldn’t get out of here quickly. She took another step forward and the creature’s lips pulled back over a pair of fang-like eyeteeth, trying to ward her away, her tail splashing angrily in the water and Luz paused.

There was no way she was going to let Luz get her out without a fight.

There was no way she was going to let people eat a rare and mythical creature.

“Okay then!” She bowed up and the woman seemed to draw back some but the snarl never left her face and then Luz quickly covered the last few paces to the crate and grabbed her.

To predictably disastrous results.

Apparently, mermaids have claws; who knew?

Luz let out a pained sound as she dragged the struggling creature out of the crate, hauling it over her shoulder and sloshing sea water everywhere as she felt the sharp lashes of claws digging painfully into her back, searching for an escape.

She turned and ran, doing her best to keep her balance as a long, muscular tail whipped around frantically and the woman growled and snarled in her grip as she clawed at her.

“I’m just trying to help you!” she yelled as she sprinted up the stairs, panting. She was solid and the thrashing around while mauling her didn’t help Luz in the least.

She managed to make it up onto the deck, still flailing as she stumbled around, trying to maintain her balance as the woman thrashed in her arms.

“Please be still!” Luz hissed, voice pitching as she felt another talon dig through her thin tunic, shirt, and skin. Why did she have to be so dang nice!?

Just as she was crossing the deck the woman reared back in another attempt to break free and then blinding pain shot across Luz’s face in a trail of fire from above her eye down her cheek.

“Argh!” She stumbled but managed to keep her footing and made a beeline straight for the side of the ship, despite the warm blood she could feel dripping down her face. She didn’t hesitate to throw the woman over the side, watching as she hit the water with a splash. She didn't resurface but Luz figured she’d swam off the moment she’d hit and then she realized the sounds of fighting had stopped.

“You, stop!”

She looked over her shoulder to find the crew had returned and were darting across the deck toward her.

“Bye!” she grinned, wiggling her fingers.

She threw herself over the side of the boat and fell to the water with a splash. Limbs akimbo as she hit the water like a cannonball and didn’t even pause before she started swimming back to the Tawny Owl, beneath the dark water. The salt water burned her myriad of cuts but that was much preferred to a musket shot through the back so she never slowed, holding her breath as she moved through the water back toward the ship.

When she finally resurfaced with a gasp, it was on the other side of the ship, out of sight. She panted as she swam off to the dock and hauled herself up onto the planks. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off she felt every gash in her skin with striking clarity and she didn’t like it at all.

It. Hurt.

She walked down the dock toward the Tawny Owl , consoling herself with the thought that she had done the right thing. Even if the recipient hadn’t exactly been grateful about it…

She wiped a sopping wet arm across her face and pulled her sleeve back to see the blood quickly seeping into the fabric of her sleeve. She’d gotten her good too.

Eda was waiting for her when she finally climbed up the plank.

“Hey, Kid, how was - What the hell happened to you?!” Eda’s shout got the attention of all the rest of the crew as she jogged forward, eyes darting over Luz’s bloody face.

Luz paused. She couldn’t very well tell Eda she had rescued a mermaid from being someone's dinner. She probably wouldn't have even believed her to start with and, even if she did, knowing the opportunistic captain, Eda would’ve wanted to sell her for sure.

“They had… dogs,” she said after a moment.

“Dogs?” Eda repeated and Luz nodded.

“Guard dogs, they attacked me down in the hold,” She quickly lied as Eda looked at her back and chased a breath at whatever she saw.

“They tore you up, Kid…, You best go down and see Viney,” she said and Luz nodded; it felt like it.

“So what, we got nothing from all that time?!” King’s sudden squeal made her stop and Eda looked at her questioningly.

“I did manage to grab these, that was really all there was except some crates of tea and stuff.” She dug through her bag and handed over the little bags of gemstones, which Eda appraised for a moment before nodding and slipping them into the inner pocket of her captain’s coat.

“We can make some decent money off these, not a total loss, good job, Kid. Now, go see Viney, you’re bleeding all over my freshly swabbed deck!” She ordered and Luz didn’t need to be told twice before hurrying down to see the ship’s doctor.

Viney whistled loudly as she examined the litany of long cuts in Luz’s skin as she wiped away the blood.

“Them things got you good, didn’t they?” she commented as Luz sat on a stool in front of her, bandages in hand.

“Yeah,” Luz mumbled with a nod. Her whole back was a mass of throbbing but Viney assured her she would be fine, so the deckhand contented herself with playing with the doctors large, black parrot, Puddles.

“Strange though….” she hummed and Luz glanced at her over her shoulder.

“What?”

“You don’t have any bites… just all these long gashes… are you sure it was dogs?” she asked and Luz paused in her petting of the bird.

“Oh yea… big ones,” Luz nodded and Viney just hummed but said nothing else about it. Once she was all patched up, Viney sent her on her way with orders of no heavy lifting till her gashes closed up some.

She caught sight of herself in the dirty mirror as she stood to go and saw the bloody gash that trailed from just over her left eyebrow and down her cheek, thankfully, missing her eye. That was going to leave a mark for sure.

“Hey, I finally got my first cool scar!” She grinned and from behind her, Viney just laughed.

~ ~ ~

The day was bright and a gentle breeze was blowing across the sea as Luz sat on a plank lowered down the side of the ship as she used a knife to scrape the barnacles off the hull.

It was ‘chore day’ on the Tawny Owl and that meant all of the general maintenance required to keep them afloat like mending the sails and replacing old, frayed ropes. They sat out in the middle of the ocean so they wouldn't be bothered while they worked.

Since she was off any kind of heavy lifting duty’s, per Viney’s specific orders, Eda had given her the easiest job on the ship. Luz was pretty sure she felt bad for sending Luz down into a ‘dog infested’ hull to grab loot too.

The truth was a secret Luz would take to her grave.

She and Eda were pretty close but she didn’t want to test that by telling her that she’d been mauled by a honest to goodness mermaid; a mermaid that someone would probably pay through the nose for. Luz had literally thrown a fortune overboard. That wouldn’t be a fun conversation to have.

She hummed along to the sound of the song the rest of the crew was singing up on deck as it wafted down to her by the water.

“To bring us sugar and tea and rum!” she sang quietly to herself, head bobbing along to the jaunty tune as she wedged the blade under another barnacle.

She let her mind drift back to that fateful night. She could still clearly see the glint of those scales in her mind, could still see the pointed ears and eyes as bright and shiny as the doubloons Eda was always running through her fingers in her quarters.

A real, living mermaid. She could still hardly believe it and might have thought it all a dream had her throbbing back and newly scarred up face not confirmed the reality of the situation.

Luz was still struck by how otherworldly and pretty she had been… despite the whole mauling thing...

Who in their right mind would think to eat one?!

She was lost in her thoughts when the sound of splashing water made her look up and turn. The gentle waves lapping at the boat seemed undisturbed and she didn't see anything. More than once she’d been down here and something had jumped out of the water and smacked her before, so she kept a careful eye out. You only needed to be smacked in the face by a tuna once to learn that lesson.

Seeing nothing, she turned back to the task at hand but as she turned she did spot something, sitting on the plank beside her.

An oyster shell sat on the wood beside her and sitting there, inside it, was a pearl.

“Huh?” Luz looked around but was greeted by nothing but ocean waves. She set down her knife and picked up the oyster, it was still wet and dripped as she carefully rolled it out onto her palm. It was perfectly round and smooth between her fingers.

“Where… where did it come from?” she mumbled, scratching her head with her other hand as she gazed down at the small jewel. With a shrug she slipped the pearl into the front pocket of her shirt and turned back to the task at hand but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched.

She nearly forgot about it entirely until a few days later.

They had come to a stop in the middle of the ocean to fix a tear in the mainsail at about sundown and while they did, Luz lowered herself down to the water in one of the rowboats, determined to do some fishing while she had the time and Hooty was too busy helping with the sails to go diving into the water, scaring them all away.

The boat bobbed along in the, for once, placid water. There was hardly a breath of wind, as was often the case at this time of day. When the sun began to sink over that distant horizon it caught the sea ablaze in sparkling hues of red, orange, and pink. The ocean sat quiet, or, as quiet as it ever got.

The tear in the sail came from a little... incident between Hooty and King rather than any storm or winds. Luz hummed to herself as she cast out her line and set her little driftwood pole against the side of the boat. Now all she had to do was wait.

Admittedly, that was not her strongest suit.

So, she picked up the old worn book at her side and flipped it open, the pages filled with a great number of charcoal sketches. Some were messy, a jumble of lines and shapes with no rhyme or reason while others were smooth, refined, and accurate to life in their detail. Fish and other sea life spread across the parchment.

She was pretty happy with some of them.

She flipped to the last sketch she had been working on and frowned to herself. Sketchy lines and rough shading of a long, scaly tail and a face with pointed ears. She wasn’t happy with it. She needed more than a few moments of seeing her but that wasn’t going to happen now, so she did the best she could.

The warm, waning sunlight glared into her eyes as she sat hunched over her sketchbook, looking up occasionally to check her line. In an hour she’d caught one measly little fish about the length of her palm and not much else.

She sketched out another line and frowned to herself when she pulled back to look at it. It was all wrong! She grunted and set the charcoal between the crease of the pages and closed it with a snap, setting it off to the side.

She leaned back in the boat, looking up at the clear blue sky, and sighed. Her mind inevitably went back to thinking about the mermaid whenever she had a spare moment. All those stories she had heard and read as a kid, all the tales of grand adventures and mystery that had led her to this life to start with and she had finally come face to face with something truly incredible…

...and it had tried to maul her.

To be fair, she probably would have been scared and less than welcoming if she’d been stuffed in a crate and was being shipped out to be some governor's exotic dinner. They had been trailing that ship for a month. She had to have been in there for at least that long, probably longer. Did they feed her or just leave her in a dark, water-filled crate?

Luz frowned to herself and closed her eyes. The thought made her angry.

At least she was free now.

Probably somewhere far away.

There was a sudden splash and, before Luz could even open her eyes, something large, wet and wriggling slapped her in the face.

“Argh!” She sat up, eyes snapping open as a large tuna fell into her lap, flopping and flinging seawater everywhere. “Mierda!” She tossed it off her onto the floor of the boat where it flopped around. “What the hell?!” She blinked at it for a long moment before the sound of sloshing water made her turn and her jaw hung open.

A pair of golden eyes were peering up at her from just above the water a scant few feet away.

Luz sucked in a sharp breath as she stared back at the eyes looking back at her.

“You…,” she mumbled. She could hardly believe her eyes. “You’re here!” she jerked forward and the eyes reared back before disappearing beneath the water. “No, don’t go!” Luz called, scrambling for the other side of the boat and half throwing herself into the water.

She didn’t even register the saltwater stinging her eyes as she looked around frantically. The water was bright and clear and she blinked, coming face to face with those eyes again, blinking back at her in clear surprise. Luz opened her mouth to speak and bubbles poured out as saltwater rushed into her mouth.

She reared back, flinging water as she flopped back into the boat and choking on the water she’d swallowed.

Luz hacked and coughed, spitting up water, not noticing the eyes now peeking up over the side of the boat, watching her.

“Ugh!” she spat out the water and pushed the wet hair out of her face, blinking to clear her eyes. “Right… air,’ she grumbled to herself and wiped the water off her face.

She looked up and saw the creature looking at her over the rim of the boat.

“You’re here…” She honestly didn’t know what else to say in the face of a mythical creature staring back at her from the water with bright, curious eyes.

Till she did.

“Why are you here…?” she seemed to mumble more to herself than anything and she moved forward. Once more, the skittish creature dove under the water but Luz didn’t follow this time.

Not as far anyway. She leaned over the side of the boat and glanced into the water.

Just below the surface, the woman was staring back at her.

The large fish flopping around hit her leg and she glanced at it before turning her attention back to the water with sudden realization.

“You threw that up here… why?” she cocked her head.

The woman’s eyes seemed to linger on Luz’s face. It took Luz a moment to realize she was staring at the long, scabbed-over gash running down her left cheek.

She flicked her tail in a slow, almost sorrowful movement and Luz found herself mesmerized by its floating path through the water behind her, smooth and languid.

She dragged her eyes back to the mermaid's face. The creature brushed back floating tendrils of green hair and blinked slowly at her. Golden eyes lowered demurely as the face twisted in an expression that Luz recognized immediately: regret.

"You… wish that hadn't happened?" she asked.

The mermaid looked at her for a long moment and nodded. Then she darted forward, emerging from the water with a splash that made Luz lunge backward in fright.

The mermaid looked at the human, huddled in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the boat and sighed.

"I'm sorry... for what happened," she said finally, her voice low and her eyes quickly darting away from Luz’s.

Luz blinked up at her for a long moment as she held herself up on the side of the boat, making it tip dangerously under her weight.

“You do talk!” Luz jerked forward and the woman tensed but didn’t dive back into the water, though she did flinch away slightly.

“Yes…,” she mumbled and glanced back at the human only to find her staring up at her in wide-eyed wonder. Eyes, all but sparkling in the glinting light of the setting sun.

“This is amazing…” Luz mumbled to herself, absolutely flabbergasted, eyes darting everywhere. She was back, right here in front of her!

Suddenly, her brows furrowed as a thought occurred to her and she looked up at, brown meeting gold.

“Why are you here?” she asked, cocking her head and the mermaid turned away from her, pushing a few strands of wet, green hair behind her ear.

“I wanted to say thank you… for saving me… and I’m sorry… for the… clawing,” she mumbled, waving a hand over her own face. Luz reached up to touch the rough scabs over her cheek.

“It’s okay,” Luz said simply and then those gold eyes swiveled back to her. Shock and confusion clear in their metallic depths.

“It’s… how can you just say that… I…” She glanced down at the long, sharp claws that tipped each finger.

Luz arranged herself more comfortably on the floor of the boat, tipped precariously under Amity’s weight leaning on it.

“I probably woulda lashed out too if someone shoved me in a crate for who knows how long…,” she said with a little shrug. “I’ll heal” She waved a hand dismissively.

The creature still didn’t look content with that but nodded.

“Thank you…” she trailed off and Luz perked.

“I’m Luz.” She grinned, holding out a hand.

The woman blinked down at it for a second.

“Humans shake it when you meet new people,” Luz explained. Mermaids probably didn’t do that. Why did humans? Something to ask Eda later.

Hesitantly, she reached out and wrapped her hand around Luz’s, who gave a gentle shake. Her skin was damp but soft and smooth under Luz’s calloused grip.

“Amity,” she said and Luz grinned even wider.

She pulled back and happened to catch sight of the sea glass attached to the fabric wrapped around her chest and had a sudden realization.

“You left the pearl!” she suddenly yelped, making Amity jerk back at the sudden yell. “A couple days ago, when I was down by the water…”

“Oh… yes, that was me…,” she nodded.

“Have you… been following us this whole time?” she asked and Amity nodded her head. “Why? Just to tell me thanks?” Luz cocked her head and Amity’s eyes darted away, her tail flicked lazily out of the water, slapping the surface and disappearing again. She seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding.

“Yes, I… I didn’t know where I was being taken or what was going to happen until you showed up and said…” she seemed to trail off.

“That they were going to eat you?” Luz asked and she nodded.

“Yes… so, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Luz smiled and before she could think to say anything else, a voice from up above called out to her; Morton.

“Hey, Luz! The sail's fixed, so we’re gonna get going, you ready to be hauled up?”

The boat suddenly rocked violently, sloshing water and Amity vanished beneath the rippling surface just as Morton stuck his head over the edge up above her.

Luz blinked at the water where she had vanished before turning up to the deckhand and nodding.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” she called, frowning and Morton nodded.

“Hey Hooty, come help me haul up Luz!” She heard him call, followed by an excited yell of agreement. A second later she was being hauled quickly up the side of the ship but her eyes were glued to the water below. A shadow moved through its depths before disappearing.

The second she hit the deck she grabbed her book and her fish and hurried off down to the kitchens.

~ ~ ~

A week later, Luz was still thinking about her meeting with Amity and wondering if the mermaid had left now that she had finally said what she wanted to Luz. They had been sailing along at a quick clip, heading towards Eda’s favorite place in all the seven seas; The Boiling Isles.

A collection of islands in one of the more dangerous areas of the sea. It housed a number of ramshackle little towns and bases, the majority of its residents being of the… non-law-abiding variety.

They managed to knock over a couple of merchant's vessels along the way and finally got a hoard that Eda was happy with, so she declared that they could take a couple week's rest and they returned to their own little reinforced hamlet in one of the Isles' many coves.

It was dark when Luz threw her things down in the meager shack nestled between Eda’s and Viney’s before heading back out to the beach. The moon was full and cast enough light in the clear sky that she could see just fine. It was late but the rest of the crew was in full swing of a drunken stupor and the yelling and screaming of their revelry echoed out into the bright, starlit night; there wasn’t going to be any sleep even if she wanted to.

Instead, she picked her way over the large black rocks that lined the shore and led out into the water. Her steps were careful, the lapping waves making the rocks slick in places but this was hardly her first time.

It wouldn't be her first time falling in either, and probably wouldn't be the last either.

Still, with her sketchbook firmly in one hand and a small bundle of goodies in the other, she made sure not to step anywhere the moonlight bounced off the wet stones before settling herself onto a large, flat rock that jutted out over the water. She flipped it open and grabbed the charcoal laying between it’s pages.

After the other day, she had a much clearer picture in her head and set to sketching. It was kinda rough at first. It had been a few days but she’d had a dream about glinting, blue-green scales and sharp ears.

She really wished she had some way to color it. Black just didn’t seem to do the lines justice; it would have to do though.

The distant sounds of her crew drinking and singing were nothing more than a whisper over the sound of the gentle waves lapping against the rock. She was zoning out, tongue poking out of her mouth as she worked carefully to get a line just right when a splash, not loud but distinctly louder than the rest, made her look up.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she caught the pair of dimly glowing, gold eyes staring back at her from the other side of the rock.

“Amity!” She jerked, scrambling to the edge of the rock as the mermaid lifted further out of the water as she approached.

“Hi, Luz.” She smiled up at her and Luz couldn’t help but think how pretty she was when she wasn't snarling and growling at her anyway.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, setting her book to the side, careful to keep it away from the water dripping off Amity as she leaned her arms on the rock.

“I… uh…,” she mumbled, claws clicking on the rock as she tried to think of something to say and Luz couldn’t help the smile working its way onto her face.

“Did you follow us here?” she asked and grinned wider at the pale pink that seemed to break across Amity’s face. “Not that I’m complaining about seeing you again but don’t you have anything better to do than follow around a bunch of grumpy pirates?” she laughed.

Amity grew quiet at that and Luz frowned at the sudden tight look in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” she asked quietly. Amity seemed to hesitate before looking up at her.

“I don’t know how to get back home,” she quietly admitted. “I don’t know how long I was in that box or even what direction it went,” she mumbled, voice tight and Luz’s eyes widened. She hadn’t thought about that.

They had been chasing that ship non-stop for the better part of a month and there was no telling how long Amity had been on board beforehand. She could be hundreds of thousands of miles from where she started.

“You don’t have any idea where you came from?” Luz asked and Amity shook her head, eyes trained on the rock beneath her. Her claws creating little gouges in the stone as she clenched her hands. Luz didn’t know what to say. ‘Sorry’ seemed sorely lacking but what else could she say?

“Do you want some candy?” was the next thing to pop out of her mouth and Amity looked up at her, questioningly.

“Can..dy?” she repeated the unfamiliar word and Luz nodded and scrambled back over to where she had left the little cloth-wrapped bundle. She snatched it up and hurried back over to Amity, sitting cross-legged in front of her as she untied the knot. A small pile of crystalline-coated fruits rolled around in her lap as she looked through them before selecting one and holding it out to Amity.

“It’s a type of human food. It’s sweet and they're really tasty. This one is my favorite,” she offered it out and the mermaid hesitated a moment before plucking the rock-like food from Luz’s palm. She hesitated, eyes darting up to look at Luz, searching and the human just smiled.

She popped it into her mouth and paused.

Luz watched her, silently, feeling herself grin as Amity’s eyes widened, sparkling with awe and delight. Her amazement doubled as she watched the two pointed ears twitch and it was maybe the cutest thing Luz had ever seen.

“It’s… really good,” she mumbled around the treat, face breaking out in a smile. Her tail flipped out of the water, to flick lazily this way and that, sending droplets of water into the air.

“Right?” Luz asked with a chuckle as she popped one into her own mouth and set them on the rock in front of her, within Amity’s reach. Gold eyes flicked up at her, a silent question and Luz smiled. That seemed to be all the encouragement she needed to grab another.

“So, what are you going to do?” she asked and Amity frowned around her treat.

“I don’t know yet…” she admitted and Luz pursed her lips.

“Well, you’re welcome to hang out here with me till you do,” she offered and Amity looked up at her.

“Okay…,” she nodded.

They sat there for the next few hours as the moon made its way across the sky, talking. Luz told Amity about all the different places she had been and things she’d done since joining Eda’s crew. It amused Luz how fascinated she was by the simplest of human things. Some things, like ships she was familiar with but anything on land was new and wondrous to her and Luz happily explained everything to her; as best she understood it anyway.

“What’s that?” amity pointed a finger to the book in her hand.

“Oh! It’s my sketchbook.” She flipped the pages open to show Amity some sketches of the crew and a few animals.

“Oh…”

She flipped through a few more pages, Amity asking questions about the things like the horses, and dogs sprawled across it’s pages. Luz was hardly paying attention to the pages, more content to watch Amity’s face light up at each new drawing.

Till she flipped the page and Amity blinked.

“Is that… me?” she asked.

“Huh?” Luz leaned the book back and felt her face heat up as she stared down at her first, rough sketch of the mermaid. “Oh…. uh… yeah,” she finally said and reached up to rub the back of her neck nervously. She hadn’t meant to show her those.

“It doesn’t look finished…,” was all she said.

“No, I started this right after…”

You mauled me.

She wasn’t gonna say that!

“...after we met. I couldn’t remember everything well enough, so I gave up on it.” she shrugged as they lapsed into, what felt to Luz, tense silence. The gentle sound of the surf breaking against the rocks and shore was the only sound for a long few moments.

“What about now?” she asked and Luz blinked at her. Her confusion must have been apparent because she carried on. “Do you think you could finish it now?” she asked, looking up at Luz, eyes filled with such bright curiosity and wonder that it made her breath stutter in her chest.

“Yeah… I think so,” she nodded. “I’ll work on it,” she promised and Amity nodded, seemingly indifferent but Luz could see the subtle rise at the corners of her mouth.

Eventually, the hour grew quite late, or early, and Luz noticed that the sounds of her crew had petered out into silence, no doubt they had all passed out by now. She herself was growing tired now.

Amity noticed too as her head started to bob down to her chest more and more often, eyes drifting closed.

“You should sleep…,” she said as Luz let out a jaw-splitting yawn and nodded drowsily. She stood and stretched, back giving a satisfying pop.

“Yeah… will you be here tomorrow?” she asked, turning her gaze back to Amity as she picked up her things.

Amity stared up at her, face a mask of surprise and wonder before she schooled it into something more neutral and nodded.

“See ya tomorrow then!” Luz called before picking her careful way back down the rocks toward the shore.

Amity watched her go.

~ ~ ~

When they were docked, everyone kind of did their own thing if there wasn’t any repair work that needed to be done to the ship, as was sometimes the case after a raid. So no one really questioned it when Luz went darting down to the sea around noon the next day after throwing a canvas bag with some things in it into one of the rowboats sitting on the shore.

No one except Eda, who was down by the water, looking at the ship.

“Where’s the fire, kid?” she asked as Luz started shoving the boat out of the sand and into the water. “Don’t you get enough sailing already?” she laughed as Luz hopped in the boat.

“Just… enjoying the peace and quiet on the water, ya know how it is!” she laughed nervously but Eda nodded.

“Be careful,” she called before walking up the plank onto the ship.

Luz picked up the oars and rowed out into the ocean. Once she’d muscled her way through the swells moving inland the open water was smooth and placid, as gentle as it ever was anyway. The peaceful, constant movement bobbed her boat gently as she threw down the anchor.

She’d never exactly discussed with Amity where they would meet but the mermaid didn’t seem to have any trouble finding her either.

She waited, listening to the sounds of the surf for a little while before a gentle splashing made her grin as a familiar head of green hair broke the surface of the water.

“Amity!” Luz grinned down at her.

“Hi, Luz,” the mermaid smiled up at her shyly, brushing a few strands of wet hair out of her face.

“Where did you stay last night… Do mermaids even sleep? She asked, tapping a finger to her chin, suddenly curious and Amity snorted.

“Yes, I sleep. I stayed in the coral reef below us,” she said.

“There's a coral reef below us?” Luz asked wide-eyed and Amity nodded. This was the first time she had heard of it but then again, she wasn’t surprised her crewmates didn't appear to know about it. One of the most surprising things she'd learned as a pirate was that a great majority of sailors couldn’t swim or were even afraid of the ocean. That was just crazy to Luz, she loved to swim.

That little fact was one of the reasons Eda often put her on duties that took her very near or in the water. As far as she knew, herself, Hooty, and Viney were the only members of the crew that would get within ten feet of water deeper than their waist.

“As in, directly below us?” she asked, and again, Amity nodded. “Can you show me?” she asked and Amity’s eyes widened.

“You can swim?” she asked, seeming to peer over the edge of the boat at Luz’s legs, looking in disbelief. That only made the pirate laugh.

“Of course I can swim. I am an excellent swimmer!” she jerked a thumb toward herself but faltered. “I mean, not even half as good as you probably, but for a human, I'm great!” She asserted and Amity giggled under her breath.

“Okay, I’ll show you,” she nodded and Luz dumped her canvas bag out, pushing everything under one of the slatted benches to keep out of the sun and slung it over her shoulder.

“Why do you need that?” Amity questioned as she moved around.

“Coral makes great medicine, the ship's doctor, Viney, crushes it up to use in ointments and stuff. She mentioned we were running low and would need to stock back up before we left the Isles. I can kill two birds with one stone!” she explained.

“Why would you kill birds?” The mermaid cocked her head.

“It's just an expression, nevermind that. Let’s go!” She grinned before taking a deep breath and diving over the side of the boat, into the water with a loud splash.

Luz opened her eyes and the water briefly stung but she was pretty used to it and glanced around before finding Amity, looking at her curiously and she grinned, careful not to let out any air or let water in.

She definitely wasn’t as good a swimmer as Amity, whose every movement propelled her quickly through the water with ease, down toward the ocean floor.

They weren’t too far out, so the water wasn’t terribly deep here and she got down there quick enough. She could see all the brightly colored plants and fish moving about the coral. She dug the knife out of her bag and quickly set about cutting off some of the long branches before the burning in her lungs made her shove both back inside and move quickly back toward the light.

She broke the surface with a gasp, panting as she sucked in large lungfuls of air.

“Are you okay?”

She glanced over at Amity, who had surfaced next to her and she nodded.

“Yeah, it's just deep enough that I can get there for just a minute before I need air,” she huffed, finally getting her breath back.

Amity hummed before grabbing her hand, making Luz blink.

“Hold your breath,” she instructed and Luz did so just before she was pulled under and they were moving quickly through the water toward the ocean floor.

The water rushed past her face as Amity pulled her down.

Yeah, definitely not even half as good a swimmer as her.

She was able to cut off a good bit and stuff it in her bag before she had to resurface again.

“That was way faster!” she turned to Amity and grinned. “You are a good swimmer!” Luz laughed.

Amity’s face seemed to color some at that and she shrugged.

Luz tossed her bag into the boat before taking a breath and diving back under. Moving back toward the bottom before a hand wrapped around hers and pulled her down to the bottom. The water rushing past her was exhilarating.

As was the hand wrapped firmly around hers and the blurry grin she could see on Amity’s face through the bubbles.

When she finally came to a stop, she grabbed hold of the coral to stay anchored and couldn't help but smile at all the colorful little fish and bright plants that moved about. She reached out to touch a cobalt bluefish but it quickly darted out of her reach.

They spent a long while exploring the depths around the shore before Luz finally had to climb, exhausted, back into the boat, flopping onto the floor. She was exhausted but didn’t wanna head back in yet.

Amity laid her arms on the sides of the boat and it dipped a little, making Luz slide toward her and she laughed, sitting back up.

“Oh, I brought you something” Luz pulled her things out from under the bench and unwrapped it. Amity peered at her curiously as she held out… something.

“It’s sweet bread,” Luz explained as Amity took it. “They were selling them over by the docks. I thought you might like to try it.”

She watched Amity take a tentative bite… quickly followed by several more.

“Good, right?” she asked, still holding her own in her hand. Amity nodded as she polished off the rest of hers quickly. Her eyes darted to Luz’s and she couldn’t help but grin and hold it out.

“That’s yours…” Amity frowned.

“I can get more later,” Luz assured her, still holding her hand out. Amity still hesitated but Luz just patiently held out the treat and after a moment she finally took it and devoured it like the first.

“Thanks,” she mumbled and Luz just grinned, pushing back the wet hair that had fallen in her face. Amity watched her intently.

“What?” Luz cocked her head and watched the mermaid's face flush.

“Nothing!”

“Uh, okay?” Luz blinked.

They spent the rest of the afternoon sitting there, talking and enjoying each other’s company before Luz finally had to go back in.

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” she called with a wide smile as she rowed back toward the shore.

“Bye, Luz,” Amity waved, then vanished under the waves, tail flipping out of the water for a moment before she was gone.

Luz felt her heart stutter in her chest.

~ ~ ~

The two weeks they spent docked on the Isles seemed to fly by for Luz. She woke early and got all the things she needed to do for the day out of the way and then made a beeline for the water.

She spent hours at a time bobbing along in the rowboat with Amity and always made sure to bring her treats from the little market in the Isles ‘capital’ Bonesburough.

The mermaid had proven to have quite a sweet tooth.

She often brought Luz things too, from the ocean floor. She’d amassed a small trove of gemstones, pearls, and shells that Amity had picked up out of the sands deep below them.

Luz laid, floating on her back on the water. Amity had her head laid across her stomach, her eyes closed. Where she was so heavy on land, she was nearly weightless in the water.

Her head on Luz’s abdomen did funny things to her stomach and she briefly wondered in the back of her mind if it was weird… to have a crush on a mermaid.

It took her a week to figure it out. Once she got past the awe of a real living mermaid hanging around with her, a sense of giddy excitement had remained and it was only after talking to Viney, very vaguely, that she came to realize just why being around Amity made it feel like she didn’t know what to say or do with herself.

She still wasn’t really sure what to do. Could you have feelings for a mermaid? She didn’t have any reference for a regular crush, much less one on a mythical creature.

Not to mention the fact that Amity was… amazing and wonderful. Why would she ever want a regular old human like her? She pushed all those thoughts away for now.

“So, we’re setting sail first thing in the morning,” she said and glanced up to see Amity’s eyes open, looking back at her.

“You’re leaving the Isles?” she asked and Luz nodded.

“Eda got news of another ship that's going to be sailing near here soon and… well, she wants what’s on it.” She waved a hand.

Amity hummed, tail flicking out of the water quickly. Luz had started to pick up on her bodily mannerisms and the quicker than normal flicking of her back fins, though not so fast as to indicate annoyance, told Luz that she was, maybe, a little upset.

“How long would you be gone?” she asked quietly and Luz gave a little half-shrug.

“Could be a couple of weeks or a couple of months. It depends.”

“I could follow the ship…?” she offered and Luz had thought of that but she had thought of a few other things also. To what end was Amity sticking with her?

True, she didn’t know how to get back home but she couldn’t follow her forever… even if Luz kind of wanted her to.

“Is it safe for you to do that?” she asked, finally moving to float upright, next to Amity. “It can’t be safe for you to be out in open water all the time, can it?” she asked and Amity frowned, gaze skittering anywhere but on Luz. She’d told her a story or two about having to hide from sharks and things, which made Luz worry.

That wasn't the only thing that bothered Luz though. It would be much harder to get down to the water to see Amity, which only elevated the chances of someone seeing them and Luz still lived very much in fear that if Eda or the rest of the crew found out about her they would try to sell her.

“It’s… not the safest option,” Amity admitted.

“Then… maybe you should stay here while I’m gone…?” Luz offered and Amity’s frown deepened, as well as the quick back and forth of her tail.

“If you don't want me to come along then just tell me so, Luz,” she rumbled and Luz frowned.

“No, no. It’s not that I don't want you around, I do…!” she quickly hurried to say. She did. She very much wanted Amity around. Amity was the only thing that seemed to occupy her mind these last two weeks. Not to mention how badly Luz wanted to kiss her every time she smiled.

She quickly shoved that thought away and rested her hand on Amity’s shoulder.

“I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you, Amity.”

Reluctantly, Amity nodded and Luz smiled sadly at her.

“I��ll be back before you know it.. Oh! I have something to show you!” she smiled and crawled back into the boat, shaking off as much water as she could before she went digging through her bag. “Look at this!” She pulled out her sketchbook and turned the pages, careful not to drip on it before she turned it around to show her.

Amity’s eyes widened as she stared at the clean, smooth sketch staring back at her from familiar eyes.

Her own.

Luz’s sketch covered two pages and was done in the most excruciating detail. Every line and curve was sharp and clean. Each scale was accounted for on the length of her tail and every gem and accouterment on her wrap in its place.

“What do you think?” Luz asked, grinning proudly to herself. It had its flaws of course. She was still learning but it was a pretty good likeness of the mermaid if she did say so herself.

“It’s beautiful, Luz.” Amity said, quietly, eyes still darting across every dark line.

“Ah, thanks. It kinda pales in comparison to the real thing but,” Luz shrugged, grinning sheepishly at her as she leaned over the side of the boat with the book.

Gold eyes turned upward to her and seemed to stare back at her for a long moment, something behind them seemed to flicker and the next thing Luz knew, she tasted saltwater and all she could see was Amity.

It took her far too long to realize what was happening and when she did, Amity had already pulled back and was staring back at her, face pink and looking unsure.

Luz just stared back, mouth hanging open.

Amity had just kissed her.

Luz’s jaw moved soundlessly, unsure what to say. She’d been thinking about it but she hadn’t even entertained the idea of just… doing it.

“I…” she managed to get out but not much else before the pink across Amity’s face turned red.

“I’m sorry!” she suddenly squeaked and then turned and disappeared under the water.

“Wait, Amity!” Luz tossed her book aside and dove overboard, into the water but already, Amity’s form was becoming a blurry spot in the distance. She would never catch her.

Luz resurfaced, hands tightening into fists.

“Mierda!” She slapped her hands across the surface of the water.

~ ~ ~

Luz sighed to herself, not for the first time that day as the ship moved through the seemingly endless expanse of sea. The sky was dark and gray, promising storms; much like her mood.

They had been at sea for four days now and she hadn’t seen Amity since she had swam off. She hadn’t been waiting in the usual spot the next morning when she’d run down to the shore before they had set sail.

Why? Why hadn’t she said something… anything! Now, Amity probably thought she had rebuffed her when nothing could be further from the truth.

She could still feel the fleeting press of Amity’s lips on hers and she really wanted a do over there! She’d been taken by surprise!

Who knew if Amity would even still be there when she got back, or even want to see her. A cool, gust of wind whipped through the air and she sighed again, staring down at the water.

“You okay, Kid?”

Luz looked up to see Eda walking up to her, frowning and Luz frowned.

“Not really,” she admitted.

“Is it your lady friend?” Eda asked and Luz’s head shot up, jaw hanging open.

“How did you…?” she started and Eda grinned.

“Come on, Luz, I was young once. I used to sneak off at all hours of the day and night once too to meet some… ‘friends’.” She said with a smirk and Luz flushed. “Also, Viney told me you came to her asking for advice,” she laughed and Luz grunted.

‘Of course she did.’ Luz thought bitterly.

“So… what happened, she turn ya down?” she asked and Luz frowned.

“No... the opposite actually… she kissed me,” Luz said.

“So why do you look like someone spit in your rum?” Eda frowned.

“She surprised me and I just… stood there!” She threw up her arms. “Then Amity sw- ran off and I couldn't find her…,” she grumbled, slouching on the railing.

“Ah, that’s tough, kid. Maybe you can talk to this ‘Amity’ girl when we get back?” she suggested.

“I dunno if she’ll even still be there when we get back,” she grumbled to herself.

“Chin up, Luz. You’ll just have to wait and see.” Eda patted her shoulder. “We should be coming up on that ship within the hour so put your game face on!” Eda said before walking away and Luz nodded.

They had a job to do.

She stood up and gave herself a shake. There was nothing she could do about Amity right now and if she didn’t get her head in the right place she might end up on the wrong end of a saber.

~ ~ ~

The rain was pouring down in sheets and thunder rumbled across the sky; the occasional streak of lightning flashing in the dark was nearly indistinguishable from the flash of the canons as they.

“Keep firing!” Eda was yelling somewhere over the din as they constantly fired shots at the galleon bobbing along only about one hundred yards away.

Luz grunted as she loaded another canon, sharp needles of icy rain stinging her face as she did and the second the shot was in place, King was firing with a strangled cry of rage.

“We’re gaining on them!” she heard Jerbo yell from somewhere behind her and Luz squinted into the rain. The ship definitely seemed to be getting closer… but not because they were gaining on it.

“Eda!” she whipped around to scream. “They’re heading straight for us!”

Sure enough, the ship had turned and was making a line straight for them through the storm.

“Prepare for a fight!”

They fired at the ship still till it all but rammed right into them, the force of the impact nearly sending everyone aboard stumbling to their feet.

“We’re being boarded!” someone yelled and thick boards clattered down across the expanse of sea between the two ships and the next thing Luz knew, fighting had broken out on the deck.

Shots rang out, almost muffled by the thunder.

Hooty had swung down from the crow's nest and went sailing right into a naval officer trying to board them, sending him into the dark waters below before he dropped onto the deck to grab the nearest barrel and chuck it into more trying to cross.

“Ha ha!” the man laughed crazily as Luz ducked under his next projectile. He still had both eyepatches pulled down over his eyes as he flung cargo around like it was made of paper.

Luz drew her knife; she hated this part of pirating.

A grappling hook flung over the railing, hooking in it and Luz rushed over and sliced the rope, sending the man on the other end plunging into the water with a scream.

She looked around, water running into her eyes and blinding her.

She could very easily see the man on the boarding planks, leveling his pistol at Eda, standing in the middle of the deck and firing shots.

“Eda, look out!”

She was much closer to him and jumped onto the planks and rammed herself into him, he tattered back over the edge, but not before his hand fisted into Luz’s soaked shirt and then she was plummeting into the dark water below with him.

She barely had time to scream before she hit the water and water rushed into her mouth.

She kicked up to the surface and sucked in a gulp of air before a wave broke over her head, forcing her back under.

It was dark and everything was moving too fast. She barely had a second where she was able to surface before more water rushed back over her, pulling her deeper into the water.

Then, she was pulled too far under and she could feel her lungs burning as she tried to swim back to the surface, only to be dragged down by the undertow.

She couldn’t hold her breath any longer and her mouth opened of its own volition. She sucked in a lungful of water and choked. Everything was going black as her eyes drifted closed.

A flash of green from the corner of her eye was the last thing she saw before the darkness overcame her.

~ ~ ~

Luz was vaguely aware of someone calling her name.

It was distant at first but steadily growing louder.

“Luz!”

Her eyes slowly slid open, everything was blurry at first but quickly coming back into focus as she stared up at Eda’s concerned face.

“Eda…?” she gurgled and the captain sighed in relief.

“I thought you were a goner, Kid,” she said, sliding a hand under Luz’s back and helping her sit up. Luz coughed, spitting up some water.

It was still dark and the thunder rumbled overhead but the rain had stopped.

“Did we win?” she asked, groggily looking around. The crew was moving about, cleaning up the mess that often accompanied the end of a battle.

“Sure did! Sunk them suckers to the bottom of the ocean! Got an extra prize out of it too, thanks to you!” Eda grinned and Luz blinked at her.

“Whaddaya mean?” she asked and Eda only continued to grin as she stood and helped Luz to her feet.

“I’ll show ya,” she jerked her head and Luz followed her across the deck and down into the hold. “We couldn’t find you and I was… the crew was afraid you’d drowned… till something pulled you up…”

“Something…? Luz asked as they rounded the corner of some crates down below and came face to face with the last person she expected to see.

Amity.

She was strung up in the rafters in a net and looked absolutely miserable till her eyes fell and Luz. Gold eyes lit up and she sat up best she could in the tangled net.

“Ay dios mio!” Luz darted forward.

Eda blinked as Luz ran across the room to the net hanging off the floor.

Luz’s fingers tangled in the nets' holes. “Are you okay!?” Luz cried.

“I’m okay…” Amity’s fingers wrapped around hers through the netting.

“What are you doing here?” Luz hissed and Amity frowned.

“I… followed when you left. I wanted to tell you I was sorry for what happened…”

“No!” she all but yelled, making the mermaid jerk. “Don’t be sorry! It was my fault… you surprised me is all…,” she mumbled.

“Okay, what’s going on.” Eda walked up behind her. “That thing can talk and you know it.” Eda frowned.

“It’s not an it! This is Amity…,” Luz admitted.

“Wait… Amity like, your lady friend, Amity?” Eda blinked owlishly at her and Luz pinked but nodded. “The mermaid?” she gestured and again Luz nodded.

Eda stared at her for a long hard moment.

“You have some strange and exotic tastes, Kid…,” she finally said and Luz flushed darker. “Explains why she hauled you out of the ocean… we got both of you in the net cause she wouldn’t let go… I figured we’d sell her at the next port city…”

“No!” Luz jumped in and Eda reared back at that. “Please, Eda, no!” Luz begged. “She’s… important to me.”

Eda looked at her for a long time, amber gaze flickering back up at the mermaid hanging in the net, fingers still wrapped around Luz’s and sighed heavily.

“Fine. If you hadn’t shoved that boot licker off the plank I’d have a new air hole and The Owl Lady doesn’t leave her debts unpaid. I’ll get Hooty and we’ll toss her back into the sea.” Eda grumbled before turning on heel and walking out of the hold.

Luz breathed a sigh of relief before turning back to Amity.

“Why did you let yourself get captured?” Luz asked with a frown.

“I couldn’t let you drown!” Amity shot back and Luz sighed.

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” she finally said, fingers tightening around Amity’s.

“You… you’re not upset about the other day?” she mumbled, looking at Luz from beneath her lashes.

“No, I’m not upset, you just surprised me… I…,” Luz pursed her lips, trying to think of the words to say. “I like you too… a lot,” she admitted. “But… I don't think it’s safe for you to just be following the ship day and night,” she said and Amity frowned but didn’t argue, Luz was right. She ran the risk of being captured like she was today.

“I don’t wanna wait at the Isles for you to come back for so long at a time,” she mumbled and Luz frowned, thinking.

There had to be something they could do.

A sudden thought struck her.

“I think I have an idea!” she grinned and Amity blinked.

When Eda came strolling back down the stairs with Hooty in tow Luz turned to her.

“Eda! I have a proposition for you!” she said, a toothy grin stretched across her face. Eda cocked a brow at the young woman; intrigued. She was a businesswoman afterall.

“Oh yeah? I’m listening…”

~ ~ ~

Luz bounced with barely contained energy as she stood next to Eda on the deck, the crew standing before them.

“Alright, all y'all listen up. We have a new crew member joining us, so if you’ll turn your attention to the starboard side…,” she trailed off and the confused looking crew did just that, only to find the mermaid they had captured, down in the water, looking up at them nervously and giving a tentative wave.

“Wait.. what?” Viney looked over at the captain, who grinned.

“Yup, you’re looking at our newest ‘deck’ hand.” she fingers quoted. “In charge of collecting all your medicinal water plants and all manner of things from the ocean floor,” Eda said, rolling around a handful of pearls Amity had brought up as proof of her usefulness.

“Welcome aboard!” Hooty grinned and waved enthusiastically down at her.

“Do… do you think he even realizes she’s a mermaid….?” Viney leaned over and whispered to Luz, who shrugged.

“Alright, now get back to work, we’re setting sail!” Eda called and once their surprised stupors had passed the crew jumped to attention, still murmuring amongst themselves about their newest crewmate.

Once they had dispersed, Luz threw down a rope and slid down to the water where Amity was waiting for her.

“So, ready to start life as a pirate?” she asked with a grin.

“I guess we’ll find out,” she smiled.

“You’ll be great! At night we’ll haul you up top, Hooty got a big barrel for you for now. Just till we figure something else out so you can be safe at night,” she said and Amity nodded.

“Luz, we're going!” King called down gruffly.

“I’m coming!” she called back before turning back to Amity. “I’ll see you later, okay?” she asked and Amity nodded. “Oh! One more thing,” Luz said.

“Wha-” Before she could even finish that sentence Luz darted forward and pressed a kiss to her lips. When she pulled back she was grinning, but the dark tint to her cheeks betrayed her, though she was pleased to see a similar splash of red coloring Amity’s cheeks. “Now I'll see you later.” She grinned.

“Luz!” Eda’s voice called from up top.

“Coming, I’m coming!” she called, shooting another look at Amity before climbing back up the rope.

#Lumity #the owl house #mythical creature #mermaid #pirate #fanfiction #TOH #Amity blight #Luz Noceda #Eda Clawthorne #Hooty #King #Viney #Jerbo #Morton #AU

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slipping-through-my-fingertips · 3 years

Text

Guess I Misunderstood

Part 2 of Not the One series.

Summary: Kurt's trying a find a way to end things with Adam and Blaine Anderson is one of the reasons why.

Notes: Open for more prompts in this 'verse but I only intended it to be 2 parts of a two-sided story. I hope you enjoy.

Read Part 1 here

AO3

The first time Kurt saw Blaine Anderson, he was spying on the bulletin boards. He, like every other Apple, was worried about how many freshmen they could pull this semester. With a majority of the current Adam’s Apples being seniors, they needed to fill those spots with freshmen. Better to round them up this year so they’ll already have a year of acapella under their belts.

He's just standing there reading all the flyers. Kurt’s trying to look busy with his phone to not draw attention. But he can’t help but access this man.

Firstly, Kurt doesn't recognize him so he assumes this is a freshman, exactly the demographic their flyers are trying to bring in. The second thing that makes this man stand out among the others Kurt’s observed thus far is how nicely dressed he is. It is the first day of school so one would think a little effort would be put in but some boys their age won’t even put on a stain-free shirt to come to school. Luckily, most NYADA students care about their appearances, this freshman is no exception.

He’s wearing tightly fitted, dark green, capri pants and a crisp, white, collared polo.

Then his hand is reaching up to the green flyer Kurt designed.

He takes it.

YES!

Kurt tries to collect himself when he walks over to the boards. Don’t scare him away is his new mantra.

“The Apples?” He asks.

The freshman was shy at first probably because he didn’t expect to be approached. Before he answers Kurt, he does manage to meet his eyes.

Well, Kurt thought, if he sings as well as he looks the Apples could make Nationals.

In the past, Kurt would’ve berated himself for checking out guys while being in a relationship but he’s becoming less sure about Adam lately. His boyfriend is becoming a bit pushy about things like this. But Kurt isn’t about to stop doing it. If Adam really trusted him, he could see all of this was harmless.

The guy was gorgeous, no one should really blame Kurt for staring. His bowtie added a dash of adorableness, which would only draw Kurt in closer if he was single. Which he is decidedly not.

“I love to sing.”

Kurt could certainly relate. That’s how he got involved with glee clubs in the first place. Hell, that’s what got him to New York.

“Me too,” he said, “I’ll see you at auditions, break a leg.”

Only while he was walking away did Kurt curse himself for not catching the man’s name.

Before he knew it, they reached the point in the school year—day two—where Rachel was would start harassing him about “getting his name out there” and listing off all the auditions she had lined up. The only way Kurt could hear another word of this was over coffee so he dragged Rachel there before his class. This meant she had exactly 35 minutes to talk at him about it until he inevitably came home for the night and had to share the loft with her. Halfway through the conversation, he notices a finely dressed young man in line.

He’s not ashamed to admit the man’s best asset drew his attention. Though it wasn’t a difficult feat considering Power-Hungry Rachel was his other option.

Thankfully, her time was running out, “Rach, I’ll see you at home, I have Tibideaux.”

With one last look at the man, Kurt rushes off to class.

When Adam’s Apples auditions are up and running, Kurt is fuming. His boyfriend thought the perfect time to discuss their future as a couple was directly before they had to sit on their asses for 3 hours listening to a bunch of freshmen sing their hearts out.

Of course, they fought over it. Kurt was pissed about the timing, Adam thought he was being careless about their future plans because he refused to talk about it.

“I’m refusing to do it publicly when we have obligations!” Kurt had told him.

He had stormed into the empty auditorium at that point, casting aside Adam’s idea to move away after graduation for the moment, and sat in the third row. Unable to take a hint, Adam sat beside him.

Kurt was barely able to pay attention to the singers until Blaine. Once again, the man was pleasantly dressed. This time in bright yellow capris and a lovely yellow and blue bowtie. Kurt wondered if he had an affinity for them.

Adam coughed next to him, Kurt reverted his eyes. For the rest of the song, he was trying not to stare because Adam didn’t need another reason to blame Kurt for their relationship problems. When Blaine was finished, they clapped, Adam leaned in, “I’m sorry, you’re right.” In reply, Kurt kissed his cheek.

Knowing a simple kiss could smooth things over for now. They obviously had a lot to discuss.

As school picked up, Kurt mostly forgot about his little soft spot for Blaine until he was pulling a tipsy Adam off of the Lion’s Den dance floor Saturday night.

They knew their potential new recruits would be at Callbacks, Kurt wanted none of that. If they were going to celebrate the first week of classes as a couple, he wasn’t about to be interrupted by a drunk NYADA student begging to know how their glee audition went. So he was here and apparently so was Blaine.

He almost turned right around wanting to ignore the man. This is the exact situation he was trying to avoid. But Adam pulled him forward, slurring “bar’s this way.”

Kurt tried to catch his eye from across the bar but instead watched as Blaine slung his drink back and paid his tab. By the time Adam was finished ordering, Blaine was gone.

The fourth time Kurt thought he’d see Blaine never came.

Kurt had posted the Adam’s Apples list of new recruits himself. Blaine Anderson was at the top. Alphabetically speaking. Yet, he never showed up to their first rehearsal. Everyone else had come. It was difficult to listen to Adam’s introductory speech when he kept waiting for Blaine to walk through the auditorium doors.

He never did. Did Tuesdays at 7 not work for his schedule?

They sat in a circle on stage playing ice breakers, learning each other’s names and special interests in regards to their studies at NYADA.

When rehearsal ends, Adam tapped his shoulder, “you seem distracted, what’s up?”

Kurt remembers what Drunk Adam told him on Saturday and lies, “nothing, I’m fine. Just something Rachel said.”

“Well,” Adam helped him up, “don’t worry too much about her. Before you know it, you and I will be taking on the West End.”

He smiles until Adam turns away.

When Adam had first said they should move, Kurt thought he meant out of the heart of the city. Which was something he could understand. If Kurt’s dreams of starting a family someday were to be met, he saw the appeal of a move. It never crossed his mind that Adam meant to move across the ocean.

When they first started talking, Kurt loved the allure of an older man. Being a freshman at the time, Kurt had been desperate to fit in in ways he never could at McKinley. So when Adam took him under his wing, showed him the ropes of NYADA and New York, it was only a matter of time before Kurt had a crush on him. Initially, Adam was too busy for a relationship, he had told Kurt as much so Kurt keep the crush to himself...and Rachel.

When NYADA’s spring formal rolled around, Kurt was already planning on going with his roommate. Rachel had been trying him to match in a terrible shade of pink. It didn’t go well with either of their complexions. The text came in mid-argument about their outfits.

Adam: wanna go to formal?

Kurt dropped his phone. Luckily, he was sitting on the couch and it fell onto the cushion. Rachel, of course, knew something was wrong because Kurt paused in the middle of yelling at her about the tackiness of matching when they could complement each other instead.

“What’s up?” she asked, leaning in to glance at his phone, “it’s not your dad, right?”

“No, no, no,” Kurt assured her, tilting his screen so she could read the message.

“OH!” she squealed, jumping up. “Tell him yes!”

“He probably isn’t asking me, just wants to know if I’ll be there.”

Rachel rolled her eyes, “don’t stupid, Kurt.”

Ignoring her, Kurt texted back and slumped down.

Kurt: Rachel and I are going to go together, yes

Instantly, another text came in.

Adam: Would Rachel be upset if I took you instead?

Rachel was biting her lip excitedly. Practically dancing as she sat on the couch next to him.

Kurt: I think she’d be delighted. As would I.

The two of them did some jumping up and down together before Kurt settled back onto the couch, holding his phone to his chest.

“Guess that means I can wear pink if I want to,” Rachel said before disappearing into her bedroom.

But that was then. It had been a long time since Kurt felt butterflies in his stomach when he thought about Adam. He never thought they’d completely disappear but these last few months he felt stagnant. When he expressed these concerns to his boyfriend, Adam’s solution was, once again, to move across the pond.

Like that would solve their issues.

That wasn’t what Kurt had meant by stagnant but Adam kept going on and on about how New York may be the city that never sleeps but he couldn’t wait to get back to the excitement of London.

Kurt could never see himself moving so far away from his dad or his friends. New York had become his home these last three years. Maybe Adam always dreamed of going back to the UK but he had never told Kurt that explicitly until the start of this semester. Dating for 2 years and it never came up.

By the time they were having their fifth fight about this, Kurt knew they were going to have to break up. It was just a matter of when.

The actual fourth time Kurt saw Blaine Anderson was two weeks before Thanksgiving break.

He was sitting in a corner of the library. Sheets of music spread across his lap. Titling his head so a single black curl dangled in his face. Blaine keeps blowing the curl away to no avail. It took everything in Kurt to not laugh.

Adorable.

Kurt wasn’t really here to study. He finished up his assignments for the weekend. There was a major test next week for one of Rachel’s classes. She was in a study group and forgot her yellow notebook so Kurt offered to bring it to her.

Wasn’t it just his luck that Blaine Anderson was here? Right in his line of sight. The universe must be having fun with him tonight. He was about to go home to an empty apartment and write a breakup speech for Adam.

Kurt had plans to talk with his day over Thanksgiving break—Burt insisted on planning for his flight. He just needed someone, not Rachel, to tell him it was the right choice. For so long, Adam, being his first boyfriend, made Kurt feel like he owed it to Adam to continue this. Kurt had just reached the end of his rope.

He did end up talking to his dad about everything other than the impending breakup. In fact, Kurt couldn’t seem to get Blaine’s name out of his mouth.

“We had this really talented singer come in for auditions, dad,” Kurt said. “Blaine Anderson, he’s a freshman.”

“Oh yeah?”

This was the second time Kurt had brought this up.

“He’s going to do big things someday.”

By the fourth time, Blaine’s name was mentioned, which was a lot of times for a man Kurt had only spoken to once, Burt had something to say about it.

“You gonna ask him out, bud, or just keep talking to me?”

Kurt paused, blushed, and stumbled out a “no.”

“No what? You won’t ask him or he won’t go out with you.”

“Dad,” Kurt said, “both of those imply, I do ask him out.”

“Well, you should.” Burt shrugged. “You clearly like him.”

His dad did always know how to read him. This wasn’t the time to remind Burt of his boyfriend. Of whom, Burt was indifferent. Dating for years and Adam couldn’t seem to break down Burt’s overprotective walls.

Now that Kurt was alone in their apartment thinking of those conversations. All of them. Every single time he had asked Burt about Adam or called his dad after a ridiculous fight. How many of those conversations contain happy stories?

Kurt and Adam had loads of good times but none that he ever shared with his dad, no memories that become inside jokes, nothing like that.

It was the Monday after Thanksgiving, Rachel was in class, Adam’s professor had let them out earlier, and Kurt had an empty apartment.

Kurt: let’s get coffee

Adam: Be there in ten

When Kurt came back, he was a single man in New York once again.

The fifth time, Kurt saw Blaine Anderson was on purpose. He meant to run into him in the NYADA auditorium. Kurt had asked around and found out Blaine had joined a different glee club. Amy said they rehearsed on Wednesdays and Blaine was always there a half-hour earlier to warm-up alone.

Sure enough, Blaine was center stage pacing in a circle doing one of Rachel’s favorite scales. Kurt is creeping in from one of the back entrances. Slowly, he makes his way up to the stage unsure if he wants Blaine to notice him or not.

Eventually, he reaches a moment when he has to say something. About fifteen feet from the stage, Kurt speaks up, “you’re very talented, you know?”

Blaine looks down at him, a quick smile, and blushes, “thanks.”

“We were sad to not see you at rehearsals but The Singsations benefit greatly.”

“Yeah, I felt bad about it…” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “but it just wasn’t going to work.”

“Well,” Kurt replied, “acapella isn’t for everyone.”

“Funny enough, it wasn’t the acapella part.”

At that, Kurt’s not sure what to say. He wants to ask what the problem was then.

“Sorry, did you just come here to ask why I didn’t join the Apples?” Blaine asked.

“Um no, Amy said you warm up here before rehearsals.” Which was Kurt’s way of stalling. “I…”

This is exactly why Kurt hadn’t had a boyfriend before Adam: he was too nervous to make the first move.

Blaine is sitting on the edge of the stage now so they’re almost level. Kurt could just push his legs apart, stand between them, and kiss him. That’s all he wants to do.

“I’ve seen you around campus a lot.” Four times.

“Me too,” Blaine said, which has Kurt smirking slightly. So he did notice him too. Then Blaine continues and knocks that smirk right off his face, “how’s your boyfriend?”

Well, Kurt should’ve expected that blow. His and Adam’s relationship was pretty well-known. In just two weeks since the breakup, Kurt’s surprised more people aren’t gossiping about it.

Honesty is the best policy, right?

“We broke up.”

“Oh,” Blaine replied, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Are you?” Kurt asked, “because I’m not sorry at all. I should’ve done it sooner. We weren’t meant to be together as long as we were.”

“You broke up with him?” Blaine asked, confused. “But you seemed so in love.”

“A year ago, I would’ve agreed with you but one too many problems later it was never going to work,” Kurt told him, “but that’s not why I’m here either.”

“So, why are you here? I was pretty sure you didn’t know I existed.”

“I definitely do,” Kurt said, “and now it’s my turn to ask if you’re single.”

Blaine blushed again, “Not sure that’s what I meant earlier.”

“It’s what I meant.”

“I’m not seeing anyone right now, I’ve been pining after this upperclassman who was with someone.”

“Oh yeah?” Kurt asked.

“Yeah.”

Kurt took a step closer and placed his palms on Blaine’s knees.

“Well, I think he likes you too.”

Then, he pushes his legs open with no resistance from Blaine. It isn’t Kurt who leans in first though.

#klaine fanfiction #klaine fanfic #klaine #my fics #not the one

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ivy-alexandria-lovebot · 4 years

Text

Guess It’s Just You and Me

Daisy, Jon, Melanie and Basira walked away from hilltop road in silence. Not a particularly awkward silence, but a contemplative one, as each of them processed the night’s events. Finding Annabelle’s statement had rattled them all.

Basira walked behind the rest of the group, trying to get her thoughts straight. She hoped when Jon got back to the institute and read the statement things would start to make more sense.

“I could really use some coffee,” Melanie mumbles, falling into step beside her.

“Really Melanie, it’s almost five,” Jon says looking up from examining the letterhead of Annabelle’s statement as if by looking alone he could tell whether she’d really been in the institute.

“Says the man who eats other people’s trauma,” Melanie shoots back. Daisy laughs.

“It's good to hear her laugh,” Basira thinks.

“I know a pretty decent coffee shop a few blocks from here, we could all go grab something to drink,” Basira says, hoping that if she can draw Daisy out she might finally get her to relax a little.

Jon sighs.

“Sorry I’ve got to get back to the institute and-”

“Eat other people's trauma?” Melanie interrupts him.

“I was going to say get some sleep before I go back to reading statements. It’s been a long day..”

“Fine,” Melanie says and turns to Daisy. “You coming?”

“Sorry Mel, I mean Melanie, I-I’ve got to do something at the institute too.” Daisy says, struggling to come up with an excuse.

Baira sighs, she knows Daisy doesn’t feel that safe out and about, but she’d been hoping Daisy would be okay with going to a coffee shop.

“Guess it’s just you and me,” she says to Melanie.

The two women wave goodbye to Jon and Daisy and head to the coffee shop. It’s a small place, sandwiched in between the two buildings on either side of it, but it’s cozy. They order their drinks and sit down at a table to wait. They sit in silence. This time, it’s a little awkward. Melanie pulls out her phone and sends a text. Basira looks around at the other patrons in the coffee shop.

“So, how are you doing,” Basira askes, finally breaking the silence.

“Fine,” Melanie says, putting her phone away.

“Sorry about the whole bullet thing,”

“It’s fine. I mean it’s not, it really, really isn’t fine. But I think I can forgive you, someday.”

“You don’t have to.” Basira says, looking down at her lap.

“I know, but I’ve been talking to my therapist and she said it might help me if I do.” At that moment, the basista calls out their names and Basira goes and gets their drinks.

“How are you doing?” Melanie askes when Basira gets back to their table.

Basira sighs. “Mostly just worried about Daisy. She’s so weak now that she’s not with the hunt, and I’m glad she’s no longer under its control but I don’t want her to feel so helpless.”

“Do you wanna talk more about it? My therapist says that can be important when processing trauma.”

“No, thank you though.” Basira takes a sip of her drink to avoid all the feelings bubbling up inside her as she thinks about Daisy’s current state, and casts around desperately for a change of topic.

“Speaking of therapy, what’s going on with you and Gerogie?”

“What?!” Melanie sputters.

Basira laughs. “I knew there was something between you two.”

“Nothing’s going on,” Melanie says quickly. Basira gives her a skeptical look over the rim of her coffee cup.”

“Honest. I do really like her though.” Melanie smiles. “I just don’t feel like now’s a good time for me to start a relationship. I want to focus on myself, and getting away from this hellhole.”

“You know you can’t leave the institute, right?”

“Yeah, but I’ve got to try. Who knows, maybe I’ll find some secret guide to escaping your eldritch employer tucked away in the statements. It’s worth a shot. I just can’t deal with all the fears, and Jon, and everything Elias has been doing, without any hope of a way out.”

“I hate that man,” Basira says.

“Me too.”

“I know you hate him, you’ve tried to kill him multiple times!”

Melanie laughs and Basira joins in, though she can tell it’s tinged with bitterness for both of them. She looks at her watch.

“We should be getting back to work, why don’t you tell me all about how much you like Gerogie so I can embarrass you once you guys finally get together.”

“Oh shut up,” Melanie chuckles, but she gets up to follow Basira out of the coffee shop, and the two women walk back towards the hustle and bustle of the archives, taking the time to ignore the overwhelming fear of what might come next.

also on ao3

#tma #the magnus archives #tma fanfic #tmagirlsweek #basira hussain #melanie king #my writing

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gxymlky · 4 years

Text

Amiya in Bedivere’s interlude

I recently played his interlude again and again because it’s so sweet, this boy deserves the world. Also, in his interlude, he self-depreciate himself so I wanna insert myself that he isn’t like this.

(yeah, i tried but you get the idea) and the B-team is mentioned but not really the spotlight

Interlude began when Amiya was in her room busy with some paper works and was watching videos on her laptop when Bedivere entered greeting her, “Good morning, Amiya. What do you have planned today?” Amiya looked at him, kinda perplexed, “I was busy, but I might need a break” she replied, “then I shall accompany you, no matter your destination”

“Hmm. Maybe some place where I can breath a fresh air”

“Rayshifting? Perhaps training in the simulator?”

“I have done that with Rhion and Chiyo the other day, thank you Bedivere” Amiya acknowledged, her eyes still on the computer, listening to a video commentary of some memes, which she does while doing her paperwork whilst knowing she will add words from the video if she wasn’t paying extreme attention.

“Well, I am here on behalf of Miss Mash today---”

“Oh, it’s fine, I appreciate her looking after not only me but also everyone else.” she understood as she shifted a bit and faced him, “so..”

“I will try my very best to aid you then” Amiya smiled and muttered a thank you before shifting her position to stand up and stretch herself after hours of sitting down and crouching, facing the screen and the notes.

“Now that you mention it---” she forgot her medical check, Amiya remembered how her welfare is tied with her thaumaturgy, the more she draws from it, the more she feels sluggish or even collapse from a single blast from her staff she delivered, even Rhion mentioned she has to be careful or equip herself with a Mystic Code to not fall back.

Bedivere explains she was having her medical check and has to remain in the exam room all day.

“Medical checks are important, Amiya, you’re aware that Chaldea is isolated from the rest of the world,” he continued, “and is located in an extreme environment”

“I know, I know...” her words trailed as she let out a long sigh, arching her neck up.

“Our bodies and minds are under incredible pressure, we must always be aware of this, understand, Amiya”

“Yeah... you sound like my mother” she chuckled but he continued on despite her comment.

“and because you have exceptional talent, I don’t want you to crack under pressure especially if you have a frail body”.

“So please take care of yourself as the flames we are facing and the cold, uncaring environment surrounding Chaldea are quite different in nature and said to be exceptionally difficult.”

“That’s the challenge we are facing right now, Me, you, the staff here” she shrugged, “as someone who intended to be an intern now is tangled with these threads, I have slight mixed feelings” Amiya stated.

“And as such, frequent checkups are of critical importance here Amiya”

“I-is this the reason why you’re here to pick me up? I am going later. But okay, thanks”

She was thankful it was Bedivere who came to check up on her, she doesn’t have anything against when Mashu or Chiyo does, as long as it wasn’t Wilhelmina since she drags her out of her room when she doesn’t respond the third time, that happens so bad, even Bedivere saw it.

“Permit me to remind you once more: I am a substitute for Miss Mash today, as such, please ask me for anything, I am your attendant, your butler, I am your servant in every possible sense of the word”

“Ah, um, okay, by the way, where’s Chiyo?” Amiya interrupted as he shortly finishes.

“I believe she was with Lady Marie and D’Eon, they must be having a tea, would you like to join them?”

“Hmmm, maybe some other time, she might be replenishing herself today and deserves to take a breather.”

“I see, since you trained in the simulator the day before, maybe observing and monitoring the remnants from the Singularities would be appropriate as well.”

“Maybe, but I am off duty with that, besides, Wilhelmina and Rene are doing that as of right now”

“Hmm...”

“Battling to gain something is what will lead to further growth for you, Master”

“Huh...I don’t know much about that”

“Battles for the sake of the Grand Order”

“...”

“Or rather...” he continued on, eventually these battles will wear her, or anyone in the team down. Psyche, Soul, in modern times, Nerves.

“Heh, modern, it’s medical but whatever” she retorted

Bedivere paused for a bit

“There is something that crossed my mind, Amiya”

“What is it?”

“Normally, I wouldn’t dare mention something like this to other, but in your particular case...”

“I’m sure HE would be happy about it, without a doubt since he is that kind of knight.”

“Hmmm. He...”

“I think you must be referring to Bird boy.. Tristan?”

“Yes, my comrade, the man who is the epitome of freedom. And also the comment, Bird boy...?”

“What of it?”

“When you say he is the epitome of freedom, the first thing that comes to my mind is birds, they fly freely...”

“You have good analogy, I’m impressed by that. Anyways, I occasionally would accompany him and believe it is a wonderful place to relax. But please, keep that to yourself.”

Relax huh, never heard that word in a million years but I am overreacting Amiya thought as she spaces a bit.

“The Rec room is what you’re referring to”

He laughs and asked her if it is where she think it is, Amiya nodded and shrugged, “Chiyo, Rhion and I hang out there, usually we pick meadow alps like the swiss alps where we sing and copy scenes from the Sound of Music”

“Ah I see, so you seem to know it as well, let’s head over there right away, I will leave a note for Sir Tristan and perhaps, Sir Rhion?”

“Rhion is likely asleep right now, so it’s just us”

“Alright, let’s go”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two arrived in the simulator, instead of a the Swiss alps she was so familiar with. It was completely different.

“The sea...”

“You’re less enthused than I expected, my apologies. I must reflect on my presentation”

Amiya shook her head, “n-no, no it’s fine. It’s alright. It’s good to take a breather somewhere else” her tone has a small bit of upset as if she was expecting something the long time only it didn’t leave up to her expectations.

“Ah, I’m glad you like it, but still it doesn’t make it any less better on my part. I will further reflect on my actions regardless.”

A simulator, a virtual creation of an environment of the outside world. They aren’t outside Chaldea and it would be a bit troubling if they went out since the endless winter is absolutely unforgiving Heroic Spirits or humans alike.

“The sea gives me a sense of peace. I hope it goes the same way for you, Master”

“Mm”

“Actually, I was initially skeptical about whether or not this would work. I accompanied Sir Tristan to watch him go fishing and listening to him ranting that was nothing but difficult to understand..”

“Haha, I see you take yourself as Tristan’s punching bag with his rants huh” Amiya mused.

“There was sincerely nothing to do except spending time just watching the sky and the sea. But surprisingly, doing so felt peaceful, or rather, calming to me”

“Ah, I see. So we are complete opposites but not really”

“Complete opposites?”

“Mhm, when you say the watching the sky and the sea is calming for you. I’d felt the same way except, I would watch the sky while lying down in the flowery meadow. Both is relaxing to us”

Bedivere chuckled and Amiya leaned closer to him, “maybe sometime, I’d bring you there someday where we’ll experience it together”.

The two looked to the sea until he breaks the silence.

“Amiya”

“Hm?”

“...Have I..overstepped my boundaries?” his tone. It was as if someone was confessing their crimes but at the same time, there was a tone of remorse and genuine solemnity. “No, it’s fine. It’s nice to relax sometime and take a break away from all these..thank you, Bedivere”

“I should be the one thanking you, Master.”

“Please call me Amiya, I think I find the term Master a bit... uncomfortable”

“Alright, Amiya”

Amiya smiled and just stretched herself once again, trying to feel herself and the environment and slightly sides to his shoulder.

“Would you like to try night fishing?”

“Night fishing?”

“Yes, did you know Amiya, Sir Tristan uses his Failnaught so skillfully to catch a many great fish..”

“Oh, but how do we get fishing gear then? Shouldn’t we entered the data before entering? I didn’t expect this to happen, I’m so sorry..”

“Ah, don’t apologize, Amiya. I requested Miss Da Vinci’s help on that front.” He then entered a few buttons on the multipurpose window whilst she waited.

“...Now I equip the extra item and we’re all set” he said. “Well, I’m sure there are other ways to do so but I don’t have much experience with the simulator”

“I think it’s enough, there are two of them and just teach me how to fish, if it’s alright with you, it’s been a while since I’ve fished and I completely forgot the basics”

After a few exchange with eachother, Bedivere guided the milk-haired girl, “the bait is already on the hook, so please cast it to the sea with all your strength, Amiya.”

“Eeyyy!” Amiya stood up, arching her back to further cast it away and hearing a small sound on the water surface. “Ah, I think it landed”

“Such bold and brazen movement, amazing!”

“Ahaha, it’s not that special Bedi” she appealed and looked at the sea again to detect any movement from the bait.

“But it’s really wonderful, did you any by chance tried fishing before?”

“As a child yeah, but it ended up so badly that I accidentally threw my teddy bear instead of the fishing line.” Recalling that said memory really takes her back where she was in a small lake with a family gathering, at such a young age of seven, she accidentally threw her bear and her having a total meltdown, thankfully it was recovered but the dress the bear was wearing was ruined. Looking back at it, it was so embarrassing.

“Ah, is that why you take all your energy in casting the fishing line since you’re not holding anything besides that right?”

“You read me like a book, Bedivere” she then looked back at the sea, smelling the salty, calming atmosphere whilst holding the fishing pole. Bedivere said he will look out at the front so there’ll be nothing to worry about.

Amiya laid back again and let out a sigh before putting her hand on her nape, rubbing it to release the tension.

“...This is something that I’ve never said before...”

“..?”

“Nor did Tristan say this...but at times, I find myself thinking this:

Tristan was torn between the two Iseults. And his fate led him to lose his life by the water. Or rather, his soul”

“Ah..” she remembered, she knew the story, it was how Tristan was poisoned and his last request was to see the Iseult he loved, but the other Iseult who was his wife lied to him about the sails being black instead of white.

Poor thing..

“Perhaps that is why he cannot be apart from the water. Even now, he could be waiting for that ship with the shining, pale white sail...” Amiya didn’t say anything but was about to open her mouth to say something when she suddenly jolted

“ha!”

“Something’s biting! It’s splashing. It must be a very big one..! It;s like Sir Kay swimming amongst the fishes!” the last part almost made Amiya chuckle but she is reeling back with her might, almost panicking.

“Almost there! The tug tho!”

“It could be a red snapper, mackerel, or even a tuna!”

“It could be all three!”

“Alright, let’s reel it in, Amiya! And just like humans take pictures of the fish to record their greatest catches, we both can capture its data and show it to Miss Mash and Sir Tristan!”

“Add Chiyo and Rhion to the list!” she beamed

“It;s sure to make them smile!”

“Now reeeeeeel!” Amiya reeled with all her might with the help of Bedivere, her back was against his chest, close too close! She isn’t into those, yet and it’s making her cheeks burn

“Haa, it’s so big! The fish just leaped out of the sea” never in her life had she seen a fish so heavy and big.

Amiya walked closer to examine it until Bedivere held her back

“Wait..” the creature landed with a heavy crash, apparently it is a weird looking....fish?

“The fish we caught is...actually, not a fish.....”

The creature roared an eerily screech as it further lunged into the two. “Ahhh! T-that’s an enemy!”

“Oh, I’m so embarrassed...I must have made some kind of mistake when I am setting the system up, Doing something one is accustomed to can cause such trouble.. I pulled an all-nighter studying the manual...but I am no good at learning new things...”

“Stop the lamentation first Bedivere, for now, we need to get rid of this thing!” Amiya wasn’t able to bring her staff with her but she could put up small barriers to keep the enemy in place.

“Yes, Amiya, your commands! I am prepared to make amends for my misconduct, Or, I am prepared to accept whatever punishment you deemed fitting, but first we have an enemy to fight!”

His demeanor changed as he prepares to fight the enemy lunging forward

“I swear by my Airgetlam that I will dispose of this monster immediately!”

“Let’s go, Bedivere!”

SWITCH ON - AIRGETLAM

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DEAD END - AIRGETLAM

Bedivere slashed off the enemy to two before dying. Returning to normal, Amiya let out a deep breath, that was hell of a fight but it’s done.

“...Please allow me to apologize once more. Even though it was only in the simulator, my most important job is to keep you safe, you being in danger clearly meant I failed my duty as a Knight. My efforts were fruitless once again, I apologize Amiya”

“It is alright, Bedivere, as long as you’re fine, it doesn’t matter. I am not mad to begin with” she earnestly acknowledge and patted his head.

He blushed as she patted his head, “Ah, Thank you so much, I am undeserving of such kindness.

Amiya and Bedivere looked at the now dead creature before them.

“Now...it would be a waste to leave this, so let’s eat it”

“?!” did she process this correctly? Eldritch things are not her cup of tea so she was clearly caught off guard but then she lacks self-awareness, any point he would coerce her to eat this and it scared her.

“I have memories from my previous life. For instance, from Round Table analects, King Arthur, number eight: Food is all the same. Nutrition is nutrition, even monster meat!”

“Haa.....”

“Now, Amiya...repeat!”

“Ahhh” Amiya walked back, clearly freaked out. If anything, she’d rather starve than eat those kinds of things, she had seen people on videos eating live octopus, geoducks, raw meat, hell even a roasted alligator. Roasted. Alligator, one girl from China even had her face scarred by an octopus in her attempt to eat it alive. But luckily, this one is dead so the chance of it scarring their faces is zero.

Amiya backed away even more

“T-those videos, haaa” flashbacks of people grossly eating really stood out as she backs out further.

“What are you talking about, Amiya? Why are you backing away? Amiya? Amiya?”

(just imagine her face during the whole event after the battle)

youtube

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After running for quite sometime (not even long, just 10 minutes) and him after her.

“...Once again, my apologies. But now I’ve learned more about your food preferences”

“..sea grapes are something I actually like” she revealed. They aren’t as bad, but at least she could live with it than those Eldritch-type things, he is into.

“Ah, I’ll keep that in mind, in order for you to enjoy my dishes more in the future, I will continue to hone my skills” Amiya just nodded, tears and sweat are so visible and her expression seems like she’s simultaneously crying and laughing

“By the way...” she looked back as she wiped out her sweat with her handkerchief, “where are we?”

“The seaside we visited is Sir Tristan’s place of relaxation. Now we are at mine..” His expression softened as he walked past her. “It’s quite similar to a certain place in Britain”

“....A place of peace...well, admittedly this tranquil place is where I allow my mind to race. It is a place that helps me renew my resolve and reinvigorate my soul. So it may be a stretch to call this place a place of peace.”

“Oh. So like mine but in a different environment huh”

“Yes, as you mentioned, your place of relaxation along with miss Chiyo and Sir Rhion is the swiss alps.”

Huh, so he remembered, the smallest detail, something that you genuinely appreciated so much, everytime someone knew the teeny bit, their heart leaps with joy.

“Bedivere?”

“...” Amiya looked at him with concern, perhaps, her actions upset him earlier, “I’ll make it up to you what happened earlier. I’m sorry, I wasn’t educated in those types. I’ll promise to learn about them for sure.”

“No. It’s not about that, I was thinking of the past.”

“Huh?”

“Our Britain was a nation under constant threat of attack, never peaceful or stable...” He then explained that many fell victim to the chaos and he wasn’t able to save them. Then he told her about the Giant of Mont Saint-Michel. “A fearsome giant was wreaking havoc on the Mont Saint-Michel of Brittany”

Amiya carefully listened to him, her expression filled with soft curiosity like a child who wanted to see what her grandmother was knitting. “...and kidnapped Princess Helena, the niece of the King of Brittany”. Helena. First thing that popped in her head when she heard the name was Caster Helena Blavatsky, though she didn’t want to sound disrespectful and just swallowed the thought. The atmosphere isn’t even a time for cracking jokes or a quip.

“Our King Arthur took Sir Kay and myself to hunt the giant down and rescue her..” His eyes lowered a bit but soon looked at her, “and on that quest...to be frank...I was of no help to the two of them. King Arthur and Sir Kay defeated the giant in a gruesome battle and brought some peace to Brittany.” Amiya’s expression slightly lit up, “and bam! It’s a finally happy ending right! At least you and your comrades brought peace” she chattered. But even her cheer isn’t helping.

“On the other hand, I...I could not save the princess.”

“Ah, so she...”

“Yes, by the time we arrived she has already been gone. I was too late, powerless as I am. All too little, too late. Princess Helena, known for her grace had her young and promising life plucked away, and we found only her pitiful corpse”

“Oh,” Amiya couldn’t believe what happened, she couldn’t imagine what guilt and pain he must’ve felt when he saw the once and beautiful, lovely princess, once filled with life and possibly cheeriness now snuffed out of her. It is something that reopened a painful memory in her past.

“I couldn’t save the people dear to me. First, Princess Helena. Then, the Battle of Camlann, my king...Arthur. I failed not once, but twice”

“...Bedivere”

“...This place..it reminds me of where Princess Helena drew her last breath. Every time I stand here, it reminds me...that I am a powerless knight...I am but a man who lost the two people he swore to protect”. Amiya grabbed both of his cheeks slapping it together causing him to snap out.

“That’s wrong Bedivere!” she asserted.

“Amiya?”

“Just because you can’t save people dear to you doesn’t make you a complete failure! Do you think Helena would be happy if you continue to depreciate yourself further? Do you think your King or your comrades would like it if you degrade yourself further?! Not only I find it absolutely repetitive and annoying but I couldn’t stand seeing you this way as your Master.” Amiya then lets go, “I’m sorry, I kinda went off”

She looked away, “you see when you mentioned Princess Helena and about her, there’s also a memory that I repressed for so long, I don’t even share it with close people like Mashu and Chiyo”.

Amiya then placed her index finger on her lips. “Please keep this a secret between us, Sir Bedivere”

“You have my word, Master..”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It started back in Junior year of high school, when a girl her age was introduced in her class, her name is Rika, but she was bound to a wheelchair and the desk beside her was empty, since she was beside it, the teacher assigned Amiya to aid the new student to the assigned desk. She didn’t think anything of it until she saw her one day on the garden alone, drawing. Without a doubt, Amiya approached Rika and asked what she was doing, drawing flowers, Rika stated that the flower’s beauty lasts temporarily and if she were to pluck it, then it will hasten its beauty and dies much faster, the least she can do is draw and keep an original image even if it is not as accurate. Amiya was interested and seeing how talented Rika was, she was curious what technique she used and even taught her how to mix colors, soon their friendship blossomed, Amiya who was a recluse became more open and willing to help, she never had any real friends even if she has, she does not consider them close. The two shared same interest with one another when it comes to history and their love for retro things. Their bond grew stronger as time passes, it came to a point where Rika needed to be hospitalized due to an illness slowly eating her life away, she was due in operation and wanted to spend her time with Amiya before her operation. In reality, Rika had no friends and her grandparents homeschooled her before going out to a real one, Rika’s first and only friend. Touched by this, Amiya encourages her that she will make it regardless and gave her a charm to remember her by once she enters the operating room. Amiya went home in hopes the surgery would be a success. Only for her to learn from her mother days later that Rika had died during the operation, but prior to that, she left a small gift and a letter to Amiya indicating how much she appreciated her and the fact she was very patient whenever Rika would ask her questions and never get mad or irritated nor does she feel pity just because she was bound and with that, she is also able to make friends through her while Amiya opens up to people at the same time.

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If it wasn’t for Rika, I would’ve not made friends along the way...

“I just had to share that, after your telling about Princess Helena, I learned that we both share the same parallels,” Amiya said as she clasped both her hands on her chest. “It’s because I don’t want you to feel the burden alone...her last wish to me was I hope I’ll be able to live my without fear, and every time I recoil or hesitate, I think of her resiliency and how she is able to withstand any obstacles in her way...”

I was scared, I didn’t know where I was going nor what I am going to do until I met her... and when she was cruelly taken away from her grandparents, from me, from my newly-made friends.

I know she will not always be around to help me...

The least I can learn from her was to move forward despite everything...

“Bedivere, you are not powerless, you stayed loyal to your King until the very end. Even undergoing those trials just to return Excalibur to your King and you call yourself powerless? Those were the most daring and valiant task you did!”

He blushed, but she still continue

“In the end, we will face adversaries together, that is a way to keep moving forward. So please, for your King’s sake...don’t belittle yourself anymore..”

This warmth, her hands touched his cheeks, cupping them together. “Thank you Bedi...”

“Master, no, Amiya...those words...” So assuring, so gentle yet firm, it was as if she was sharing her pain with him which was the case. He wonders why she would give those words to someone like him, someone who doesn’t even deserved to be numbered among the Knights of the Round Table but now...

Bedivere knelt down in front of Amiya, “w-wait----”

“Master, even if I am a powerless man who does not deserve to be included among the Knights of the Round Table and the words you have expressed to me, and yet, because of that----nay, I shall offer you this vow, knowing that my manifestation here with you was truly a miracle...

I shall protect you, Amiya, who fights these brutal battles to defend humanity’s future.

No matter how powerful the enemies coming to our way, no, no matter how cruel the fate we face may be....

Your life...your soul...your heart...every single part of you.

I shall protect you till the very end..”

Amiya dove down in his kneeling height and wrapped her arms around him, her eyes are swelling now, tears are falling, tears of warmth, assurance, happiness or whatever it is, someone willing to protect her and, the feeling is mutual too, she also wanted to protect her brother, Chiyo, Mashu or anyone dear to her

“Thank you, sir Bedivere” she sobbed through gross crying. She had never cried this far aside from her friend’s death who turned her to be a caring, open individual she is today.

“....Yes, Amiya

I swear I will live up to your expectations..”

and with that, Amiya kissed him on the cheek causing him to blush deeply.

#gudasona #mastersona #bedivere fgo #self insert #havent written a fanfic this long aaahh!#i forgot how to fancy word #amiya plume

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claraswritings · 5 years

Text

I See Nothing But You

Pairing: Jake Gyllenhaal x reader

Warnings: None

Requested by: anonymous

A/N: Title is from “Came in Close” by Pale Waves. Flashbacks are in italics. Still getting back into writing celebrity fiction

You listened attentively as your brother gushed about his new co-star. He’d recently started shooting for Far From Home and all you’d heard was “Jake did this” and “Jake said that,” for the entirety of your coffee run.

“Do you have a man-crush or something ” you teased your younger sibling gently

“What! No, just He’s a great guy...You’d get on really well with him actually, he’s such a good bloke and you both have the same weird sense of humour,” Tom added.

You elbowed your brother in the sides making his coffee slosh out of the top of his cup. “Less of the weird. I don’t care if you’re Spider-Man, I’m your big sister and I’ll still kick your arse,”

You shot him a over the top wide smile and downed the rest of your drink before he could elbow you back.

Even though your younger brother was considerably taller than you, you still liked to play the older sibling card.

Your little brother rolled his eyes “Fine, you share the same unconventional sense of humour.” He went on before you could say anything else. “I know you’ve got a week or so off at the end of the month, just come visit me, it’ll take your mind off work and your ex, plus Zendaya has been asking after you, the two of you got along so well last time,”

You nodded. You’d enjoyed visiting him on set before and his co-star had become one of your good friends. It’d be nice to just relax and enjoy all the perks of a movie set.

“Okay sure, It’ll do me good to get out of the office,”

**time jump**

The cast had just finished talking about the movie when the interviewer turned to Jake.

“So I have to ask...Jake, you’re dating...Toms sister, is that right,”

The two co-stars eyed each other before Jake proceeded somewhat carefully. You and Jake hadn’t hidden the relationship, you’d posted countless photos on your private Instagram but that was only for your friends and you’d been seen together multiple times...however since your brother had accidentally outed it, everyone seemed to know.

“Yeah, she came to visit Tom on set and that’s where we met,”

“And was it love at first sight,”

Jake sighed “Well I thought she was pretty as soon as I saw her, I thought maybe she was an extra or something. I spoke to her and she was so funny and sweet. I pointed her out to Tom like hey there’s a cute girl over there, and he then happened to mention it was his sister...”

The interviewer pulled a cringing face as Jake shrugged.

“In my defence he never told me he had an older sister,” he jokingly winced. “I thought he was the oldest,”

“Jake then kept asking me all these questions about her,” Tom cut in “Like what food does she like and is she single, and I was like yeah and Jake was like how old is she. I was all like she’s 28 and Jake was like ‘what’s that half your age plus seven,’ thing, I think she’s in my range,’ and I thought he was messing around so I was like dude knock it off, that’s my sister but Jake was like ‘yeah but seriously she’s great, I wanna ask her out, is that okay,’” Tom explained “And I said yeah sure because if Y/N found out Jake Gyllenhaal thought she was pretty and I didn’t let him ask her out, she’d probably kill me,” Tom stopped his ramble as the audience laughter took over, the sound filling the studio.

You nodded hello to the crew members as you wandered over to the large buffet table and helped yourself to a handful of grapes.

“Hey, Y/N, right? We met earlier,” at the sound of a voice interrupting your thoughts, you turned and found Jake Gyllenhaal in front of you. “I’m Jake,”

You gave him a smirk “I know who you are, my brother won’t shut up about you.”

“Only good things I hope,” Jake quirked an eyebrow.

“No, actually he says you refuse to come out of the trailer unless your Evian water has been triple filtered,” you quipped.

Jake pretended to frown for a moment “They gave me Evian? I asked for Fiji water double filtered,” he pretended to look about for someone. “Who has my Fiji water,” he raised his voice dramatically just enough to have a few of the crew look over.

You started to laugh “Oh my god, don’t mess with them, you’ll have some poor kid runner crying in a cupboard,”

The two of you fell into an easy back and forth for a few moments before Jake cleared his throat. He was watching you closely, those big blue eyes just studying you.

“Look, I meant to ask you earlier but I thought I should speak to Tom first because I might be way out of line here but...do you want to get food?”

Instantly you felt somewhat embarrassed and stepped to one side allowing Jake to access the food table you’d been standing in front of.

“Oh shit. Of course. Sorry, I’m blocking you,” you slid out of the way and gestured at the table. “Go ahead. The cheese is pretty good,”

Jake bit his tongue, cocking his head at you for a second before he let out chuckle “No I mean food later. With me, like proper dinner or a coffee or whatever you like,”

You were somewhat startled. “Uhh”. All of a sudden you couldn’t form the words you wanted to.

“Shit. Tom told me you were single and that you’d be...has he set me up? Do you have a boyfriend...I’m sorry I should have...”

“Jake.” You interrupted him “Jake it’s fine, I just didn’t expect you to...yknow ask me out...I’d love to have dinner with you.”

“So asking her out must have went smoothly then?” The interviewer asked.

Jake shrugged “I mean yeah, she said yes and we’re still together so I’d hope so, if not that makes the flowers I keep sending to her office...really awkward,”

The host continued, imploring your boyfriend to go on “And did Tom give you the ‘brother talk’?”

Jake took a long sip of his water, drawing it out to tease the waiting crowd.

“Yeah, have to admit it was a little surreal given that he was in his Spider-Man costume...,”

Tom shrugged “I’ve never had to give that talk before...let alone to someone who yknow is that ripped...” he gestured at Jake “but I just wanted to let him know not to mess with her, her last ex was a total -,”

Jake clapped his hand over the younger mans mouth “Hey hey hey, pre-watershed Tom,”

The interviewer beamed a warm genuine smile, both at the thought and Jake saving him from having to beep a swear, “And how did you respond,”

“Contrary to what the rumours in whatever trash magazine, I’m not a total asshole,” Jake paused “I love her, she’s great,” he couldn’t stop the smile spreading over his handsome face and he caught the eye of the interviewer

“Don’t worry I’m not about to go full Tom Cruise and start jumping on your couch shouting about it but yeah,” he grinned awkwardly. “She’s really really awesome,”

“Please feel free to, it would be ratings gold,” the interviewer winked in an over dramatic way. Jake made a move to get up in a playful manner only to sit back down.

“Has she met the family? Do they approve?”

“Well, my sister loves her, they went for dinner and spent the whole evening, telling what she called ‘big sister’ stories...which means they basically just shared at the dumb stuff Tom and I used to do,” Jake playfully rolled his eyes and patted Toms shoulder. “Bit embarrassing for us,”

You walked back into the shared hotel room, a huge grin on your face. Whether it was from the cocktails or the ammunition you had to tease your boyfriend, you weren’t sure.

“Someone’s happy,” Jakes arms twisted around your waist and lifted you up from behind, spinning you around. “My two favourite ladies got on well?”

It was cute. How nervous he was. It was clearly important to him.

You nodded “Yeah, I think I like her more than you, she’s great, gave me this actually, which is adorable. I’m going to have it framed...or put on a canvas,”

A panicked look took over your boyfriends face when you reached into your bag and took out a picture of him playing Romeo in a school play. He looked like such a dorky kid, a far cry from the gorgeous man he was now. Still you thought he looked like such a cute little kid you couldn’t resist teasing him.

“Shame I wasn’t there...I’d have just loved to play Juliet,”

You held up the picture of him above your head which didn’t exactly do any good given how tall Jake was. He began to chase you around the room, eventually picking you up and throwing you on the bed, wrestling it out of your hands and making you squeal.

“I’m going to kill my sister,” he joked as he got up and put the newly acquired photo in a drawer. “I fell off the stage in that performance,”

You smirked “I know, just wish it was on video,”

He shot you a look that made you laugh

“Ah it’s big sister rules to embarrass your little brother,” you walked over to him, “I tell Toms friends embarrassing shit all the time,” reached up and traced a pattern on his cheek. “Now you going to kiss me now Romeo or do I have to ask twice,”

You didn’t have to ask again.

“And this whole relationship was confirmed by Tom is that right,”

Tom pulled an exaggerated “whoops” face as the host gestured at the screen.

The picture they showed was one that Tom had posted. Essentially it had been the photo that confirmed your relationship with his co-star .

It was a photo of you and Jake looking adoringly at each other in the background with Tom pulling a over the top disgusted face with the caption.

“I think I’m going to throw up,”

“The way you look at her is so sweet,” the host cooed.

“Well, can you blame me?”

Off stage, you covered your face with your hands as the audience let out a collective aww.

“Have you seen the way he looks at her, ladies and gentlemen,” the host prompted. “That’s true love,”

You thought you looked a mess in the photo but Jake’s eyes on you made you feel like the only girl in the room.

“So you’ve mentioned in the past you’d love to have kids someday, do you think that’s happening anytime soon?” The host pressed looking to Jake for an answer.

Before he had a chance to reply, a gargled protest came from your brother.

“I can answer that one for him...absolutely not,” Tom leant across and put on a serious voice. “Not with my sister, nope no way, not until they’re married,”

The audience began to laugh and you smiled to yourself backstage as your hand found its way to your stomach.

Something told you you’d have to tell your brother and your boyfriend separately.

#jake gyllenhaal x reader #jake gyllenhaal #celebrity imagines #celebrity rpf

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365daysofsasuhina · 5 years

Text

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Two Hundred Seventy-Eight: The Hunt for ___ ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Naruto, Uzumaki Kushina ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Catch ‘Em All ] [ AO3 Link ]

“All right, young trainer...you’ve bested me. And for that, you’ve earned...the Thunder Badge!”

Standing beside his Flareon, Sasuke slowly brightens as it sinks in. He did it...he beat Vermillion’s gym! Smiling widely, he accepts the badge, looking at the yellow and orange metal in awe. “...thank you, sir…!”

“You’ve earned it,” the leader replies, smiling warmly. “You battled well! It’s clear you’re growing into a splendid young trainer, Sasuke. I’ll have to write to your father and tell him how your battle went!”

“You...you’d do that?”

“Of course! Your father and I are old friends, after all,” the blond replies with a grin. “Hasn’t he ever mentioned me? I’m Namikaze Minato! I guess I’ve just been so busy here in Vermillion, I’ve never had the chance to head south to Fuchsia and give you a proper visit. So I’m glad to finally meet you!”

Sasuke’s face slackens in surprise. He was aware that his father knows most of the other gym leaders as one himself, but he’s never really talked about many very personally. “...yeah, likewise, sir!?”

“You know, I have a son about your age...his name is Naruto. If you’re planning on staying in Vermillion a little longer, I’d love for you to meet him! He wants to be a trainer too - in fact, he even has a -”

“Oi!”

Pausing, the group - Hinata included - look to the doorway where a boy stands proudly, a glint in his blue eyes. He looks...just like Minato! “I’m here to challenge you!”

Blinking, Minato then laughs. “Naruto...how many times have I told you, you aren’t ready yet! You and your Vulpix need to train a little more before we can have an official battle! Besides...don’t you think you should expand your team a little, first…?”

“No way! I’m ready now, believe me! We’ve been training super hard!”

The leader heaves an exasperated sigh, smiling wearily. “...I’m sorry, Naruto, but...I actually just finished a battle, so my team needs to rest. Maybe next time.”

“Whaaat?!”

Chuckling, Minato gestures to Sasuke. “You remember me talking about my old friend, Fugaku? He runs the gym in Fuchsia? This is his younger son, Sasuke! He’s on a pokémon journey of his own, and just bested me! And this is Hinata - her mother used to run the gym in Cerulean. I believe your aunt runs it now, is that right…?”

“Y...yes sir!” Hinata chirps in reply, not expecting to be addressed. “M-my aunt Hotaru! She was married to my uncle Hizashi before he...passed away.”

“I see...and do you ever plan to try and be gym leader?”

Her cheeks flush pink. “I...well, I’d like to...Sasuke-kun is helping me form a t-team!”

“That’s wonderful! You know, there’s plenty of water type pokémon in the sea around Vermillion. It would be a cinch to catch some!”

“I’ve got my rod with me, so we can try to find a few if you want, Hinata,” Sasuke offers.

“O...okay!”

“That’s perfect! Why don’t you take Naruto with you? It’d be great for all of you to make friends, given you’re all - in a way - gym leaders’ kids!” Minato suggests with a smile.

Before Sasuke can object - this Naruto seems loud, he’ll scare all the water types! - Hinata nods. “Sure!”

“All right then. Once you’re done, I’d love for you both to join us for supper! You can stay at our place tonight, and then head out for your next gym in the morning, if you’re in a rush!”

“Thank you!”

“I guess we can,” Sasuke murmurs, looking ever so slightly dejected.

Minato gives a warm smile. “All right, then - Naruto, behave yourself with your guests! Show them around Vermillion and help them catch some water types, all right? Maybe you can even catch one, yourself!”

Still looking a bit annoyed at being brushed off for a battle, Naruto folds his arms. “Yeah, yeah…”

“See you lot later - I better get my team to the pokémon center to get patched up.”

As Minato closes the gym, the trio of new trainers stand a bit awkwardly outside.

“...so your dad’s a gym leader too, huh?” Naruto asks, lips a bit pursed in a pout.

“Yeah...poison types. My brother wants to take over when he gets older.”

“What’re you gonna do?”

“I wanna get all the badges, and challenge the League.”

“Hey, me too! But my dad keeps saying I’m not ready…”

“You only have one pokémon, right?”

“Yeah, Vulpix! I nicknamed him Kurama!” Grinning widely, Naruto takes out a pokéball, and releases the little fox. “Taadaa!”

Hinata looks curiously, Sasuke not very impressed. “That’s a f-fire type, right?”

“Mhm! And when he evolves, he’ll be a Ninetails! He’s gonna lead my team all the way to the Champion!”

At that, Sasuke smirks. “Not if I get there first. And I already have four pokémon on my team.”

Naruto’s eyes go round. “Whoa...really?”

“My brother caught me some early - I’ve had pokémon for a long time. I’ve got Ivysaur, Pidgeotto, Flareon, and Ekans.”

For a moment, the blond almost seems to deflate. “Well...I’ll…! I’ll get a team too, someday! And then I’ll beat ya!”

“Bring it on.”

Glancing between the boys, Hinata then softly interjects, “Should we, um...s-should we start fishing, if we want to catch some pokémon before Minato-san wants us to eat with them…?”

“Yeah, we should. So, know a good place to fish?” Sasuke asks, looking to Naruto expectantly.

“Yeah, yeah! Over here!” Taking off, he leads them to the western shore of the town. “I’ve seen people catch stuff here.”

“Like what?”

“I dunno! Just...pokémon!”

Sighing, Sasuke pulls out his brother’s pokédex. “Hm...I guess he didn’t catch anything here, there’s no data. Most people don’t catch stuff in town…”

“I know you can, I’ve seen it! Just give it a try!”

Deciding to take the blond’s word for it, Sasuke brings out his fishing rod, fiddling it before casting out into the water.

And so begins the hunt for some water types.

For a good long while...nothing happens. Hinata watches keenly for a time, but eventually takes to sitting in the sand, drawing shapes while Naruto builds sand castles. Once, he gets a hook! But it turns out to be a Magikarp…

Nose wrinkling, Sasuke makes to send it back...but Naruto jumps up.

“Hey, can I have it?”

“...you want a Magikarp…? Do you have any idea how useless they are?”

“But they grow into Gyarados, right? Right?”

“Well, yeah...but it’s super hard to get one to evolve. They’re so weak, getting enough experience is tough.”

“So? I can do it! Then that’ll prove that I’m a better trainer than you!”

Sasuke’s expression flattens. “...all right, try it. I doubt you even need to battle it, just...throw a pokéball.”

“Yeah!” Digging one out of his pack, Naruto lobs it, bonking the fish right on the head. The ball wriggles...wiggles...and then goes still.

“Yahooo!” Fetching the ball and holding it overhead, Naruto dances all over the beach. “I got it, I got it!”

“...I’m the one who fished it up,” Sasuke mutters, earning a giggle from Hinata.

Casting his line, he gives it another go...and to his surprise, it’s only a few minutes before another bite! “Whoa!”

Attention caught, the other two move to stand beside him, watching eagerly as he reels in...a Horsea!

Hinata immediately goes wide-eyed. “Ohhh...it’s so c-cute!”

Glancing at her praise, Sasuke nods. “All right...I’ll catch it!” Once it’s on the beach, he calls out his Ivysaur. “All right, let’s do it! Razor leaf!”

“Saur!” Striking a battle pose, the pokémon launches into action, and the battle begins!

Hands curled under her chin, Hinata watches with anticipation, cheering on her friend. “Y-you can do it, Sasuke-kun!”

Beside her, Naruto just pouts.

After a few exchanged blows, the water type is already looking tired. Sasuke grins. “All right, time for a pokéball!” Throwing it, he lands his mark, the Horsea vanishing into the ball.

Everyone goes still, watching as it rolls around in the sand...and then stops.

“You did it!” Hands in the air, Hinata runs across the beach as Sasuke picks up the ball.

“Here.”

“But -?”

“You wanna be a gym leader, right? This one’s for you! I’ll catch something else...I should have a water type on my team, too.”

Accepting the ball, Hinata wilts ever so slightly. “...that’s t-two pokémon you’ve caught for me…”

“Well, I kinda had to on the first one. But hey...you can get the next one, okay? We’ll do some training on the way, and then you can battle!”

After a pause, she brightens. “O-okay!”

With two pokémon caught, the pair let their new friends swim in the water near shore as Sasuke gives it one more go. Five minutes pass, then ten...twenty...and then a bite!

“Wha-!” Staggering forward, he nearly loses his grip on the pole, digging heels into the sand. “I-it’s strong!”

After a struggle, he finally manages to pull the pokémon up to reveal a Shellder!

“Ooh…!”

“Shellder, huh? They evolve into Cloyster...sounds good to me!” Calling on his Pidgeotto, Sasuke battles his catch, this one a bit more of a match for his teammate. The pair fight to a standstill, and Sasuke finally lobs a pokéball...only for it to break open!

“Whoa!”

Teeth grit. He’s not letting this one get away…! For good measure, he instead pulls out a great ball, throwing it with a grunt of determination. “I’m gonna catch you…!”

With a flare, the Shellder disappears...the ball rolls...and then goes still.

“You did it!” Naruto whoops, leaping up with a grin.

“G-good job, Sasuke-kun!” Hinata praises. “Now we’ve a-all got a water type!”

Picking up his ball with a smirk, Sasuke nods. “...mm!”

By now, the sun is nearly setting, and Naruto leads the way to his house. “My mom’s cooking is the best! Bet you can’t eat just one plate, believe me!”

The trio are welcomed inside, and the guests introduced to Kushina, Naruto’s mother.

“What a lovely little pair of trainers!” she praises with a grin. Immediately, they can tell where Naruto’s personality comes from. “Well don’t be shy, come eat!”

For the first time since leaving Fuchsia, the pair have a home cooked meal, and Naruto is right - they both eat to bursting, and are then shooed into a guest room by Kushina for the night.

“You two get some rest! We’ll have a hearty breakfast in the morning before you go, all right?”

“Okay,” Sasuke replies weakly, still nearly sick from all the food he’s already eaten. The thought of breakfast now is enough to make him woozy.

“What a g-great day…!” Hinata murmurs, tucked into a bedroll and looking bright-eyed. “We all got new pokémon, and you got a badge!”

“Yeah...pretty cool, huh?”

Sighing happily, she flops down, arms under her head. “Naruto-kun is really nice! I wonder if we’ll meet him again when he’s on his o-own journey…”

Laying down himself, Sasuke can’t help a small scowl. “Tch...he’s got a long way to go…”

“Well...so do I. I haven’t even gotten to battle, yet…”

“You’ll get there. I’ll teach you how.”

“...thank you, Sasuke-kun. For...everything.”

A pit of warmth forms in his belly at the praise. “...you’re welcome. Get some sleep, okay? Long day tomorrow.”

“Yeah...goodnight.”

“Night.”

.oOo.

More pokes! I'd almost forgotten how fun it is to write this crossover - it's just so stinkin' cute xD And this time we've got the Nami-Uzu family along! Poor Naruto, always lagging behind...but if he's anything like his canon self, he'll soon be a worthy rival for Sasuke! And given the looks Sasuke keeps giving him, and Hinata's compliments...that might be in more than one respect x3 Anywho, it's VERY late, and I'm wiped, so that's all from me for tonight! Thanks for reading~

#sasuhina #uchiha sasuke #hyūga hinata #namikaze minato #uzumaki naruto #uzumaki kushina #catch 'em all [ au ]#365daysofsasuhina

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skeletonscribbles · 6 years

Text

Wishes - Finale

it is....finished. thank you all for the love you’ve shown this little story. I love these Losers so much and I will miss the hell out of this AU, but...this is where I leave them, so, without further ado:

Title: “The Second Star To The Right” (Richie)

Warnings: I personally am sad because it’s over but otherwise I don’t think anything except Bad Star Wars Jokes

Rating: G

Read on Ao3

Tag List: @roobarrtrashmouth @jem-carstairs-is-perfection@tozier-club @aizeninlefox @stanheartsbill@imrichie @softeds@pretzelstoday @melancholypurple@wheezygreens@ayyyymichele @loser-marsh Special Shoutout to Michele ( @ayyyymichele) for all the wonderful art she’s produced for this AU. she’s incredible and I am so fucking grateful <3

RICHIE TOZIER ATTRACTIONS CAST - JUNGLE CRUISE soon to be NOT EMPLOYED BY THE MOUSE but for the meantime, he’s in ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - DISNEYLAND PARK JULY 20th 8 P.M.

“I have something to say.”

If any one of the five people trudging towards Tomorrowland that weren’t Eddie had spoken up, Richie would have kept on walking. Total cold shoulder, doneski. He was tired of hashing shit out with his friends in public places, and they’d all promised to be cool at Disneyland. They’d kept that promise so far. There was no reason to ruin everything with only two park hours left in the whole fucking trip.

But. It was Eddie, so he did what needed to be done.

He stopped in the dead center of the walkway, and let Stan, Bev, and Bill crash into him like demented human dominoes.

“Richard,” Stan said into his back. Richie hadn’t turned around to assess the damage - he couldn’t, given the fact that Stan’s face was firmly planted between his shoulder blades - but the violent whispered curses and smack of hands against pavement coming from behind him suggested that Bev and Bill had truly been knocked down and were getting back up again, Chumbawumba style.

“In my defense--” Richie began, but he knew before he even started the sentence that it was fruitless. There was a 100% chance that Stan was going to shove him towards the nearest trashcan (and there was always a nearest trashcan - good ol’ Walt with his ‘trashcans every 10 feet’ rule).

His only real mistake was trying to catch his fall with his hands rather than just crashing into the aluminum menace forthright. Putting his arms out in front of him meant that he pushed open the swinging trash cover just enough to be elbow-deep in someone’s discarded Dole Whip.

“Well,” Richie said, extracting his hands and assessing the damage. “At least we weren’t in Toontown. Dunno what I would have all over my hands if we were.”

“Yeah, at least coming out of Adventureland you know that if it’s yellow-orange, it’s Dole Whip,” Ben agreed. Bev, who was still glowering at Richie, smacked Ben on the arm as if to chastise him for even speaking to Richie, and Ben was forced to shrug apologetically.

“Oh, you idiot. You deserved that.” Richie heard Eddie’s disgruntled mumbling before he saw him, but even without the visual, Richie knew exactly what his boyfriend was doing: rushing towards Richie with Kleenex and maybe a wet wipe in his outstretched hands. Richie turned a little bit to look at Eddie’s frenzied fumbling, smiled softly at the sight, and decided that it probably wasn’t the right moment to tell him that he hadn’t zipped his fanny pack back up all the way. There’d be a funnier time to break that news - like right before they were strapped in at Space Mountain, for example.

Richie took the Kleenex and looked back at the rest of their friends. Bill was examining his hands - it looked like he’d taken the brunt of the fall, as further evidenced by the expression on Mike’s face as he looked conflictedly between Bill’s stinging red palms and Richie’s face. Stan was over leaning on the nearest lamppost, a satisfied smirk on his face, and Ben and Bev were right behind Eddie, trying and failing not to giggle to themselves over Eddie’s nursing tendencies.

Even with everything that had just gone down, the energy in the air felt really chill. The seven of them were zen with one another in a way that they hadn’t been since the previous fall, and Richie was totally into it.

He turned his eyes back down towards Eddie, who was muttering to himself as he meticulously sanitized and wiped down every inch of Richie’s hands, and allowed himself to feel a little bit surprised.

It was kind of a fucking miracle that their little orientation group of sorts had made it through the year.

More than that - it was definitely a fucking miracle that Mike was crossing over to Stan the way that he was, that their mock-exasperated nudges were still precursors to enclasped hands. It was a gigantic fucking miracle that Eddie was getting rid of the Kleenex, now, and attaching himself to Richie’s side like a sloth - a gigantic fucking miracle that Richie had to re-wrap his mind around every damn day.

Ben and Bev were...less of a miracle, but that was heterosexuals for you. Richie didn’t begrudge them their stability - in fact, he was pretty frigging impressed by it, especially given the shit Bev had gone through. (As the only two occasional smokers in the group and often the only two who had any taste in anything at all, they’d decided to suck it up and go all in on their individual friendship...and fuck, had that been a good decision. It was enough to make him almost regret heckling her at costuming before they’d really known each other, now. Almost.)

And then the biggest miracle of all was Bill fucking Denbrough, who had now crossed to lean against the offending trash can. Richie was no expert on maturity, but even he could tell that Bill was a different kind of dude now than he was six months ago (never mind the kid he’d been when he and Richie had first met). 25 years old, and Bill was finally getting somewhere.

And Richie...Richie was too. It was different, but also kind of the same, so he and Bill had a neat little solidarity that neither of them really understood going on. It was pretty fucking great.

“Eddie, did you want to say something?” Bill asked, steadfastly ignoring his phone buzzing in his pocket in favor of paying attention to his friends. Richie made eye contact with Stan upon noticing Bill’s lack of attachment to his device, because he knew Stan would notice too, and they shared an impressed eyebrow waggle before turning towards Eddie.

“Yes.” Richie couldn’t see Eddie’s face in the position that they were in, just the top of his head, but he could feel Eddie nodding against his arm. “And it’s important.”

“You’re leaving Richie for me,” Mike guessed, sliding his hand out from where it had been intertwined with Stan’s and planting it on his hip jauntily. Richie mirrored him with his own hand, bopping his hip a little to distract everyone from the fact that he really, really hated this joke.

Not that they didn’t know, anyway. Not that he hadn’t made it obvious every damn time that he was sensitive or insecure or whatever the fuck about this particular thing. But - what kind of funnyman was he if he couldn’t take a joke, right? Even if it was the same damn joke about one of Richie’s deepest fears made for a month straight .

But - there was still something different in the air tonight, and Richie could tell that Stan was in touch with it. He was less drawn back than usual; more comfortable in his own skin - if Richie was going to do an impression of the Stan in front of him in that very instant, he’d slump his shoulders a little bit instead of drawing them up to his ears like he usually did.

It was probably for that reason that Stan said “Say it, Eddie,” instead of his usual “No, you’re leaving Richie for ME,” and Richie let out a relieved guffaw.

“Hit it, Fer-gie,” he drawled, keeping Stan’s ‘say it, Eddie’ cadence, and Stan flipped him off with a sweet, sappy grin.

Eddie noticed absolutely none of the weirdness in the previous exchange, which Richie found to be equal parts adorable and concerning. He just plowed on ahead.

“I want to remind everyone that Bev and I have little legs,” Eddie said, taking a moment to glare at every single one of them individually, “and that we have been walking for four days, and when you have to jog to keep up--”

“Good point!” Bev chimed in. “You’re giants and monsters, all of you.”

“So,” Bill said, looking between Eddie and Bev in an attempt to figure out what was being asked of him. “You’re...tired?”

“And also I would like some ice cream,” Eddie finished, and immediately turned on Richie to give puppy-dog eyes.

God, the fucking puppy-dog eyes. He really needed to get better at resisting those, or he’d be at Eddie’s beck and call for the rest of his miserable--

...well, no. It wouldn’t be miserable if it were with Eddie - not by a long shot.

“I’ll buy you one,” Richie said resolutely, and then absolutely couldn’t help but lean down and kiss his smiling mouth.

(He still couldn’t really believe he got to do that whenever he wanted, when all was said and done. He wasn’t about to waste an opportunity.)

“We can afford to slow down, definitely.” Ben was smiling that soft, easy, reassuring Ben smile, and Richie kind of loved him for it. He was shutting down the ‘pack as much as you can into the last two hours’ counterargument before it had even begun. “Maybe we just do Star Tours and then head to the hub for the fireworks? If we get there early we’ll probably be closer to the castle.”

“Good deal,” Richie agreed, grinning at the thought of riding Star Tours again. He’d been making up new little incorrect facts about Star Wars throughout the trip and feeding them to Eddie, and he was hoping that by the time they finished their vacation, Eddie would have total confidence in a version of Star Wars that absolutely did not exist. He was sure that particular prank would pay off solidly someday. “Wanna walk?”

“Ice cream cart first,” Eddie insisted, grabbing Richie’s hand and leading him out towards Main Street. “I wanna bite Mickey’s ice cream ears off.”

“Bizarre and vaguely sexual of you, Eddie,” Stan commented, mirroring Eddie by taking Mike’s hand and pulling. “We’re in.”

“Same,” chorused Bev, sneaking up to push her way in the middle of Richie and Eddie. They allowed her into their sphere with matching smiles, slinging their arms over and around her. “Boys? You ready?”

Ben and Bill looked quickly at one another, and then back at Bev, and Richie inhaled sharply. There was a secret inherent in their interaction - Richie was kind of generally a dumbass, but he was good at reading a room, and what Ben and Bill had going seemed like kind of a big deal.

Was tonight going to be the night…?

Bev, for her part, didn’t suspect a thing. She waved an idle hand at them and carried on. “Hurry up, then.”

Richie bit his lip and allowed himself to be dragged along. His thoughts were racing, which meant he was uncharacteristically silent amidst his friends’ chatter.

If Ben was going to say his piece, Richie should probably follow suit, right? Not that Ben’s thing and Richie’s thing were even remotely similar, but...Richie was starting to learn that it was better to have everything out in the open.

It was funny, he thought, that wishes came with responsibilities - that he’d gotten exactly what he wanted with his friends and his relationships, and things were still sometimes hard. There was no way around having to fix his garbage communication skills anymore. Self-improvement had become a weird sort of necessity.

But. Maybe he had kind of wished for that, too.

“Eddie,” he said, willing himself to not chicken out.

They had arrived at the ice cream cart. Eddie disentangled himself from Bev, slid past Stan and Mike, and planted himself in front of Richie, eyes dark with concern.

“My whole name, huh?” Eddie asked softly, biting at his bottom lip. Behind him, Bill and Ben were finally approaching the group. They were talking in low voices, and Richie clenched his fists, wishing vaguely to have some of their strength; to be less terrified of telling the truth.

“Eds,” Richie corrected himself, pushing a hand back through his hair nervously. “I’ve been meaning...I was going to tell you something. Or ask. Maybe.”

Eddie’s eyes widened. “Richie, if this is a proposal, why did you pick the least romantic spot in all of Disneyland--”

“No, no,” Richie said quickly, putting his hands in front of him to drive home the point. “No. Uh. I got a call right before we left from the theatre I’ve been performing at, and they have an opening for a full-time member of their production team…”

“You told me you applied,” Eddie reminded him, putting a reassuring hand on his forearm. “Are you trying to tell me you got the job?”

Richie stared at Eddie’s face, willing him to express some kind of emotion for Richie to gauge, but it wasn’t taking - Eddie’s features remained annoyingly blank.

“Yes,” Richie said, closing his eyes and hoping for the best. “And. I think...I think I really want it.”

Eddie didn’t respond out loud for a moment. Instead, he slid a hand up to Richie’s face, and traced his thumb over Richie’s cheekbone.

“I’m so proud of you,” Eddie whispered, and Richie felt all of the tension leave his body in one fell swoop. He fell down into Eddie’s arms bonelessly, and Eddie stumbled backwards a little bit.

“It means that I’d be leaving the company,” Richie reminded him, lips tight against Eddie’s ear.

“But it’s a permanent position,” Eddie replied, and Richie could all but see the smile on his cute little face. “You’re going to be in Orlando, still. We’re going to be together.”

“We are,” Richie confirmed, straightening up and smiling back down at Eddie. “I was just...I didn’t know if--”

Eddie laughed sweetly and took both of Richie’s hands in his own. “Idiot. Aren’t we past this? I love you.” He tilted his face up expectantly. “I’m glad you told me.”

Richie couldn’t help but oblige him with a kiss. “Sorry I’m stupid.”

“Don’t get in the habit of saying that or it’s all you’ll ever say from here on out.” Stan was walking towards them, holding out two Mickey ice cream bars. “You’re welcome for these, by the way. If you try to pay me back by sneaking money into my wallet when you think I’m not paying attention, Richie, I’ll release incriminating screenshots into the group chat.”

“If it’s the conversation where the two of you talk at length about High School Musical, I’ve already seen it,” Eddie said, taking an ice cream bar and tearing open the wrapper.

Stan sighed. “I’ll think of something else, then.”

“If we’re set with ice cream, then we should get moving,” Bill announced, checking his watch. “We don’t have as much time as we think. We should get in line for Star Tours as soon as possible.”

“We’re really gunning for good seats at the fireworks, huh?” Mike asked teasingly, clapping Bill on the shoulder. Bill smiled a little bit, but it was clear that his agreeing nod was serious - and his little glance at Ben after he finished nodding was, too.

God. It was really going to happen tonight.

“Let’s go, then,” Richie said, not wanting to begrudge Ben any last little detail. He unwrapped his ice cream bar and tried to insert as much of it into his mouth as he possibly could. “Strrrr Trrrrr awhrrrh!”

“He means Star Tours away,” Eddie translated, biting one of Mickey’s ears off neatly. “And let’s please not run. My legs are so little.”

“Walking fast?” Bill offered, smiling cheekily.

“Walking at a pace that is comfortable for everyone,” Mike said, moving to demonstrate said pace, and together they fell into an easy step.

The wait time for Star Tours was short - only 10 minutes - and they gathered at the mouth of the line for a quick moment before plunging ahead.

“We’re okay with this being our last ride?” Bev asked, leaning against the metal frame of the attraction with her hands in her pockets. “Ben, you didn’t want it to be Indiana Jones?”

Ben shook his head wistfully. “As great as that ride is, I’m good.”

She met Richie’s eyes, then, and he knew immediately what she was about to ask. “And Richie--”

“Mr. Toad and I are good for now,” Richie assured her with a wink. “No need to revisit that one. Let’s go into space, huh?”

No one agreed out loud, but Bill started moving into the queue and the rest of them were following suit, so Richie allowed himself a moment of feeling like his leadership skills had improved before wandering after them.

“Do you think that if we see the Ewoks again, Luke Skywalker will be with them? He’s their leader, right?” Eddie asked, turning towards Richie with wide eyes.

Richie slid his arm over Eddie’s shoulders in a practiced motion and made to respond, but Stan beat him to it.

“Luke Skywalker can’t be the leader of the Ewoks because his lightsaber is red and theirs are all green, Eddie,” Stan said matter-of-factly. “If you knew anything about Star Wars, you’d know that. Luke Skywalker’s only allowed to lead those guys in planes. Red Luke Leader and all that.”

Richie quickly pulled out his phone to set a reminder to thank Stan somehow for his genius addition to Richie’s newly invented Star Wars lore, and also to ask Stan how much of that he genuinely believed was true.

“Planes?” Eddie wrinkled his nose. “I thought the stereotype was that gays couldn’t drive.”

“I am very proud of the work that I’m doing on Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge,” Ben interjected loudly, “and I cannot wait to never show any of you what I’m doing, or go to that park with you when it opens, or talk to any of you about Star Wars ever again.”

Richie laughed out loud. “Ben, buddy, you’ve got to settle down. Your emotions are betraying you. Have you ever heard the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise--”

Bill turned around from the front of the queue, forehead cinched up in either stress or amusement. “Wait, no, that can’t be a real thing.”

“That’s the only thing that’s been said this entire time that’s a real thing, actually,” Mike said through gritted teeth.

“Should we watch Star Wars on our next movie night?” Bev asked, smiling thinly. “Would that resolve a few things?”

The responses to that were chaotic and entirely mixed, and Richie reveled in the fact that the anarchy he’d caused lasted all the way up until they got on to the ride.

Their simulator went through the pod-racing section, and then Naboo with the Gungans, which meant that Stan was going to be speaking in incomprehensible memes for days. Richie would have complained loudly and obnoxiously about that, but it was almost time for the fireworks, which meant that it was almost time for Ben’s big moment.

Richie didn’t want to insert himself in the middle of whatever Ben and Bill were planning, but he couldn’t help feeling a little bit nervous about the whole thing….which was weird, because he usually didn’t feel nervous about things that weren’t his.

This thing was different, though. This thing had some gravity to it, and there were a bunch of different ways it could go wrong.

First of all, Bill didn’t have an amazing track record with plans like these. Granted, Ben and Bev weren’t Stan and Mike, but having Bill involved meant that everything was probably going to be a lot riskier than it would be otherwise, and Richie was tired of risk-taking where his friends were involved. They’d agreed on no drama for this trip. This could knock that whole agreement out of whack.

Second, if Ben pulled this off...well, everything would change, wouldn’t it? They’d just finally gotten their shit together well enough to be friends again. Would they be able to survive a change at this point?

Third...well, third was Eddie, and all of the things that he was going to have to start thinking about if Ben was successful.

Third could wait.

But. First and second were legitimate issues, and it was for that reason that Richie found himself slipping away from Eddie and Stan and sidling over to Bill.

“What’s the plan?” he asked, speaking quickly and quietly so as not to be overheard.

Bill raised his eyebrows, but otherwise didn’t seem surprised that Richie was asking. “Just getting as close as we can so that Ben can do his thing when it starts. Nothing elaborate.”

“Nothing risky?” Richie asked, doing his best Stan impression. “No personal pyrotechnics, no Goofy go-go dancers--”

“Just you,” Bill joked, eyes shiny with mischief. “You’re the only risk. Don’t fuck anything up, Richie.”

“Yeah, nah, I won’t,” Richie agreed. “But. It’s gonna be okay, right?”

Bill took a moment to look thoughtful, and Richie almost rolled his eyes. It was a yes or no question, and the correct answer was obvious, but when Bill responded, Richie found himself kind of grateful that Bill hadn’t taken the easy way out.

“You know how Bev thinks our friendship is destiny?” he asked, smiling a secret smile.

“Don’t fucking beat around the bush, Denbrough,” Richie complained, tugging at the hairband around his wrist irritably.

“I have a point,” Bill said, “which is that I agree with her, except that I think that the destiny part is more us destined to want to be around each other, which is different than just being destined to be friends. We have to work on it, but we will, because we want to.”

Richie sighed. “So what you’re saying is that it doesn’t matter what we do because we’re gonna work it out in the end no matter what?”

Bill shrugged. “Sure.”

Richie thought about pressing the issue, but ultimately decided against it. What Bill said had been comforting, in a way, and that was enough.

“Why are you helping with this, anyway?” he asked instead, adjusting his glasses idly. “Aren’t you sick of being around relationships at this point?”

Bill tapped at his phone in his pocket with another secret smile. “Don’t count me out yet, Rich. I’ve got someone to introduce you to when we get back. And so...no. I’m good.” He paused, looking over at Ben and Bev, who were talking excitedly to one another as they pushed through the crowd, looking for an optimal spot. “And they’re going to be so happy.”

“I guess that’s all we can ask for,” Richie said, smiling a little bit as he watched them laugh together.

“What is?” Eddie, Stan, and Mike had caught up to them - or maybe had come back to them, Richie had lost track of them completely for a moment.

“Being happy,” Bill replied, stopping just off to the side of the Disneyland Partners statue. “Is this a good spot?”

“Yes!” everyone chorused in unison. They’d have a perfect view of both the castle and the fireworks from where they were.

Richie turned to Eddie and proffered a hand, and Eddie took it, beaming widely up at him. Seized with a sweet impulse, Richie raised Eddie’s hand to his mouth, and Eddie laughed, rolling his eyes with a quiet sort of affection that made Richie’s heart stutter a little bit. He opened his mouth to speak, but Eddie shushed him before he could start.

“Don’t say a single thing about dreams coming true or whatever tacky Disney shit,” Eddie warned amidst giggles, trying and failing to narrow his eyes.

“No…” Richie started, willing the right words to come out of his mouth, “no, I was thinking, actually…”

Eddie tugged sharply at his arm, huffing out a shaky breath. “Is THIS a proposal?”

“No.” Richie turned his head to make solid eye contact with Eddie. “No, we’ve still...not yet, sweetheart, we’ve still got some shit to work out before that goes down, I think. But I was wondering...I was wondering if you were happy. That’s all.”

The music around them swelled, and the first firework lit from over Sleeping Beauty’s castle. Eddie gasped, eyes alight, and out of the corner of his eye, Richie saw Ben go down on one knee.

Richie knew Bev had said yes by the whoops and cheers that exploded around him, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of Eddie’s face.

“Eddie,” Richie said again, willing Eddie to smile.

Eddie’s responding grin was absolutely enormous.

“I’m happy, Richie,” he replied, “I am so fucking happy.”

When Richie closed his eyes, he could see reflections in front of his eyelids - of Ben kneeling down, of the fireworks going off over the castle, of Eddie’s blinding, beautiful smile.

He opened his eyes again.

“Me too, Eds,” he said, taking Eddie’s hand and soaking in the moment. “Me too.”

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genocider-syo-is-still-my-queen · 5 years

Text

Mukuro Ikusaba week day 2 - friends!

It was over, they’d escaped the school… now Mukuro had to decide what to do next. Well, there was the obvious answer - continue as a member of Fenrir. But was that really the right choice? She thought over her interactions with the other students, and made her decision…

Mukuro: That was an amazing performance!

Sayaka: Thank you dear! I’m glad you liked it, it means a lot to get an exclamation mark out of you.

Mukuro: Exclamation mark?

Sayaka: Ah, don’t worry about it.

Mukuro: If you don’t mind me asking, why did you become an idol?

Sayaka: I’ve always admired the girls I saw on TV. I saw them, and how happy they were, and I really wanted to be like them. So, I did! There wasn’t anything special, I just enjoy it.

Mukuro: Ah, that’s understandable. I do envy you a little, you do always seem so happy…

Mukuro: You don’t like baseball?

Leon: It’s not that I don’t like it, I just wanna do something different! I’m definitely gonna be the best punk rock star you’ve ever seen!

Mukuro: I look forward to it… honestly, I can’t imagine giving up my talent.

Leon: Well, I guess it’s different for everyone. I know I could continue with baseball, and I’d be great at it, but I just don’t have the passion for it anymore, ya know?

Mukuro: Yes. It’s terrible when you lose your passion for something you once loved, isn’t it?

Leon: Yeah, it really sucks… dammit, we shouldn’t be getting bogged down like this! Let’s keep it positive, all right!

Mukuro: Y-yeah… that would be good.

Mukuro: Do you ever wonder what happened to your siblings?

Byakuya: No. After being cast out from the Togami family, they’re of no use to me.

Mukuro: Harsh words…

Byakuya: Well I have to be harsh, don’t I? I had to do so much to become heir, and I won’t let any weaknesses take it away from me.

Mukuro: Do you miss them?

Byakuya: I don’t have to answer any of your questions. But if you insist, there are moments when I feel their presence might be nice. They were good people, in personality if not in usefulness.

Mukuro: That’s the nicest thing I’ve heard you say since you got here…

Mukuro: That’s really cute…

Chihiro: You think so? I don’t know, I just wanted a new avatar. I don’t know if a bunny is the right choice though…

Mukuro: Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but they’re my favourite animal. And I guess, you should do what makes you happy?

Chihiro: I guess that’s one way of looking at it. But I didn’t expect you to be a fan of cute things.

Mukuro: I guess, but my entire life doesn’t revolve around the military. And bunnies are so nice, how could anyone not like them?

Chihiro: Yeah! I agree completely! I’ve been told that I’m sort of like one myself.

Mukuro: I can see that. If I was an animal… maybe I’d be a cat.

Mukuro: No matter how hard you try, you’re never going to be able to get those iron plates off.

Mondo: Like hell I’m gonna be trapped in here for another 25 days! I want out! And now!

Mukuro: Hey, you should calm down. It won’t last forever, even if it feels like it.

Mondo: Nothing can… like my gang. I really love them, and I have so much fun with them… but one day we’ll have to split up. I know it’s coming, but it’ll still hurt like hell.

Mukuro: And one day I’ll leave Fenrir for good… I’d never even thought about it.

Mondo: And everyday I spend in here is another day I’m not spending with them! Which is why I need to get out!

Mukuro: Hey hey, you’re going to break something… maybe yourself at this rate…

Mukuro: Oh, hello Toko. I was just reading your book, it’s really good!

Toko: Ugh, don’t say that. It’s obvious you don’t mean it.

Mukuro: Why would I lie about something like this? I’m serious. You’re really talented. I’d love to have a romance like this.

Toko: Like you’d ever understand…

Mukuro: Maybe not, I don’t think I’ve ever truly been in love before… but it really speaks to me, uh, I don’t know how to explain it. I just really see all the couples as so natural.

Toko: You think so? Most people complain the scenarios are too outlandish…

Mukuro: Whether or not that’s true, it’s clear you understand people, and what connects them. Whether it’s love or friendship, I see a lot of myself in them…

Syo: Heya freckles! How’s it going?

Mukuro: Wait, aren’t I meant to be the first to talk in all of these?

Syo: So what? I like to break the mold a little, shake things up a bit! You should try it sometime.

Mukuro: Umm… I really like bunnies? Does that shake things up?

Syo: Hmm, good start. But that’s still falling into the ‘gap moe’ thing… but it’s totally adorable!

Mukuro: Umm… thank you?

Syo: Oh dontcha worry about it! I ain’t gonna kill you, I only kill the people that hurt Toko. Not that stupid ‘I kill people I love’ bs that people seem to claim.

Mukuro: You were the one who claimed it in the first place though…

Mukuro: Aren’t you going to spend your free time with other people?

Ishimaru: Nonsense! I must keep up my studies, even if we’re trapped in this place!

Mukuro: I was hoping I could hang out with you, but you’re obviously busy so-

Ishimaru: Don’t worry, I will let you study with me! I will even tutor you in areas you struggle at!

Mukuro: Thanks. I guess my Japanese could use some work, I have spent a lot of time out of the country.

Ishimaru: Japan is a lovely country. My dream is to be the prime minister one day, I hope you’ll be in the country for that.

Mukuro: I probably will… I’d forgotten how nice it was. When I lived with my father, we weren’t allowed many freedoms, and after that I only ever saw the streets… but I don’t really want to leave now.

Mukuro: Hello. What are you drawing now?

Hifumi: Well, I was requested to draw a doujin of a pair of sisters, separated at a young age. And their heartwarming reunion after one of them becomes famous, and the other recognises them from a poster.

Mukuro: That sort of sounds familiar… who requested this?

Hifumi: A fan who wishes to remain anonymous. And of course I would never wish to break someone’s trust in such a fashion.

Mukuro: Well, it’s either a huge coincidence, or it was Junko.

Hifumi: I can neither confirm nor deny that statement.

Mukuro: Well, either way, it’s nice that she’d think of me like that… I miss the old days…

Mukuro: Here’s your tea my lady, I hope I made it properly this time.

Celeste: Much better dear! Keep it up and you’ll make B rank in no time!

Mukuro: I’m not sure I’ll be able to do that… I’ve never really taken on a role like this before.

Celeste: Well it doesn’t seem that way to me. It seems like you’re good at adapting to new situations. I really admire that in a person.

Mukuro: Uh… thank you. As a soldier I sort of had to adapt to new environments and adversaries, so maybe it’s the same concept.

Celeste: My my, I never thought I’d ever hear tea and combat being compared. I have to say, I’m curious. Would you care to delight me with some tales of battles gone by?

Mukuro: I can… as soon as I think of a good one…

Mukuro: Alright. And how about, uh, bunnies? Surely they can’t be a conspiracy, they’re too cute.

Hagakure: Ah yes, that’s what they want you to think. That’s how they lure you in! They’re all robots, fluffy robots planted by the government. They have hidden microphones and cameras. And when you speak to them, they hear everything…

Mukuro: I don’t know what you say when petting bunnies, but there’s nothing I wouldn’t want the government to hear.

Hagakure: It seems you can resist their brain scan abilities then! I dunno, I always want to pour out my heart to them. Do you not rant about global warming to rabbits?

Mukuro: No? Does anyone?

Hagakure: I do! But enough about that, what other subjects do you want subjected to the cold truth of the illuminati?

Mukuro: Well, how about…

Mukuro: You really are the strongest person in the world. Even after all this time I can’t lay a hand on you.

Sakura: You’ve gotten much closer since the first time we sparred.

Mukuro: Thanks. It must be boring for you, being able to defeat everyone.

Sakura: Not at all. It’s good to keep myself in shape. Besides, I need to keep training, as there’s someone I’ve never been able to defeat.

Mukuro: Really? I hope you manage someday, I’m sure you can do it.

Sakura: I hope so too. It’s my goal in life to truly be the strongest person in the world. Do you have a goal like that?

Mukuro: Not really. Usually I’m just fighting to stay alive. It’s fun I guess, but maybe I could do more...

Mukuro: Are you sure you want me to help you? I’m not the best at cooking anything other than rations.

Aoi: Don’t worry about it! I have no clue what I’m doing either, so it’s gonna be perfect! Anyway, I wanna surprise the others, and you can keep a secret right?

Mukuro: I can. What made you want to make this for the others anyway?

Aoi: Oh, you know, everyone’s always working so hard, and who doesn’t love a hot pot after a long day’s work? And I can sorta remember how mum made it.

Mukuro: I was never able to do something like that… I never even met my mum, I don’t think.

Aoi: Oh… well sorry for bringing it up. Maybe when we’re out of here you can go look for her?

Mukuro: I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try… and maybe it’d be good for Junko as well…

Mukuro: Uh… do you want to take a bath together?

Kyoko: Oh, maybe later. But I mainly brought you here because there are no cameras in here.

Mukuro: Oh. Right, sorry. So what did you want to talk about? Did you find something?

Kyoko: Hmm… not really. I just wanted to have a conversation with you, without being monitored. I don’t mind what we talk about, anything really.

Mukuro: Ah, I’m not good at conversations… uh… what’s your? Do you? Are you?

Kyoko: I still can’t remember my talent, I do use L’oreal, and yes, I’m bi.

Mukuro: You figured out what I was going to say from just that? That’s really impressive…

Mukuro: Hey, what are you going to do after all this is over?

Makoto: I’m not sure. Honestly, compared to the rest of you, I don’t have that much a future, do I?

Mukuro: Don’t say that. You definitely have a future, I can see you making millions as an inspirational speaker.

Makoto: Haha, maybe… so are you gonna go back to Fenrir?

Mukuro: Well, is there anything else I can do? I am the ultimate soldier after all. It would make sense.

Makoto: I guess… but hey, you don’t have to decide your future now if you don’t want to. Do what you want! And make sure you’re happy!

Mukuro: Mmm… you really are hopeful, aren’t you? Thank you.

Mukuro: Hello.

Junko: Ah, Muki! It’s so good to see you! Are you ready for the makeover of your life, cause you’re gonna love it! I’m tellin’ ya, the guys will be flocking around!

Mukuro: Thanks but that’s not-

Junko: The gals too, if that’s what you’re into!

Mukuro: Thanks… oh, I was talking to Hifumi and-

Junko: Oh he told you about that? Bummer, I was hoping it would be a surprise… but yeah, here it is, our manga. I was kinda hoping it would be… uh… a way to try and make a better new impression? I mean, when we first met at this school it was in chaos, and we didn’t really get the reunion I wanted, so this was sort of my ideal way?

Mukuro: Thank you, it really means a lot. You were a little intimidating when I saw you here, but you’re the best sister that I could ever ask for.

Mukuro looked at the others, at her sister, and realised that she couldn’t leave this behind. She could find something other than Fenrir. And she’d be able to spend more time with her friends. Makoto, Kyoko, Sayaka, it’d be fine, wouldn’t it? And maybe she could even find a goal. That would be nice… it was funny, if she hadn’t been kidnapped she wouldn’t have come to this conclusion… but now she’d found it, she wouldn’t go back.

#mukuro ikusaba #mukuroikusabaappreciationweek #mukuroikusabaweek #danganronpa

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theoreticallyawriter · 5 years

Text

Chapter 10: Round One

In which everything goes very badly, very quickly.

read on ao3

Monday comes far too quickly and from the moment we step into the training room things are different. The mat that used to be folded up near the wall is now laid out in the center of the floor where there used to only be concrete.

Though the morning and lunch both pass without incident, I know that once we step back into the training room things are going to become significantly less void of incident. Eric has been hanging around training more and more, which is enough to make me uneasy; but he seems especially giddy as we all stream back in from lunch.

“Maybe someone’ll vomit on the mat,” I hear him stage whisper to Four, anticipation dripping from his words.

“Yeah, that sounds like fun to clean up.” Four rolls his eyes.

“Your problem, not mine.” Eric pats his shoulder pseudo-affectionately and Four looks like he wants to break his hand.

A whiteboard has been rolled in on off to the side of the mat and that’s where all the matches are displayed. Before I can even find my name, Tris and Christina distract me.

“Ow!” Tris exclaims as Christina elbows her.

“Sorry,” she says. “But look, I’m up against the tank.”

“The Tank?” Tris asks.

My interest piqued, I find Christina’s name on the board; she’s matched up against Molly, the Candor girl who looks like she could crush my skull with her bare hands. Thus the nickname I guess.

“Yeah. Peter’s slightly more feminine looking minion.” She nods her head over to where Peter, Molly, and the other Candor boy – whom I have dubbed carrot hair until I learn his name – stand talking.

“Those three,” Christina moves her finger back and forth between them, “have been inseparable since they crawled out of the womb, practically. I hate them.”

“Al,” Will punches him gently in the shoulder, “I wish you luck, buddy.” The two of them have been matched against each other.

Al rubs his shoulder. “Thanks. Ow.”

My name is at the bottom of the board, I’ve been put up against Edward. So that’s great, you know because he’s been studying hand to hand forever. That will go well for me.

I’m brought back to thinking about Minerva again, how easily it came to her. When she tried to show me some things I was young and all but hopeless, but she was amazing. It never really occurred to me that I might be like her someday, like with Mark, we don’t exactly have a lot of similarities.

Dammit. I was really looking forward to winning my first fight. Guess I’ll just have to look forward to winning my second fight, because I’m sure as hell not going to win this one.

“Al and Will!” Four calls. “Let’s go.”

“Wish me luck?” Will says as he starts to walk away from us.

“Hope you lose,” I say.

“Kick him in the dick, Al! For me!” Christina yells and Al buries his face in his hands.

“Why do I even bother?” Will shakes his head.

“Good luck, both of you,” Tris amends for both of us.

The two of them stand across from each other on the mat and put their hands up to protect themselves just like how Four taught us. They shuffle in circles along each other and take jabs that barely glance off. Al is at least half a foot taller than Will and broad. He seems to have gotten the hang of Four’s teaching just like the rest of us, as much of dick as Four is I can’t argue with the fact that he’s a good teacher, but Al lacks the finesse that Will has.

“So what’s wrong with them?” Tris says, still looking at Peter and his friends.

“Peter is pure evil. When we were kids, he would pick fights with kids in other factions and then cry and say that they started it what an adult came to break it up; and because he was Candor, of course everyone believed him.” She wrinkles her nose. “Drew is essentially his sidekick. I seriously doubt that he has a single independent thought in his head.” So that’s Carrot Hair’s name. I don’t care all that much, but I suppose that it saves me a moment of embarrassment should I ever have to address him. “And Molly…she’s the kind of person who fries ants with a magnifying glass just to watch them flail around.”

Back on the mat, Al punches Will hard in the jaw so hard that it turns his head and I wince as do Tris and, weirdly enough, Al. Eric smirks at Al as he plays with one of the rings in his eyebrows.

Will stumbles back, one hand pressed to the side of his face and blocks Al’s next blow with his arm, though from the look that he gives it’s just as painful. Al is strong, but slow and Will takes advantage of that. He weaves around Al, until he’s just inside his guard and then jabs his fingers into Al’s solar plexus, before backing out of Al’s reach again. Al wheezes, but presses forward.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Peter and his friends putting their heads close together and whispering, casting furtive glances in our direction every so often.

“I think that they know we’re talking about them,” Tris says.

Christina shrugs. “So? They already know I hate them.”

“They do? How?”

“Because I’ve told them.” Christina flashes a saccharine smile at them and waves.

Will hooks his foot around one of Al’s legs and yanks him to the ground with a loud thud. Al scrambles to his feet as Will once again bounces back far away from his reach.

“We try to be pretty honest about our feelings in Candor,” Christina says, drawing my attention back to her. “Plenty of people have told me that like me and plenty have told me that they do. It’s no big deal.”

“We just…weren’t supposed to hurt people,” Tris says, “back in Abnegation.

“I like to think that I’m helping them by hating them,” she says. “I’m reminding them that they aren’t god’s gift to humanity.”

“I had a few Erudite classmates who could have used that particular kind of help,” I say with a chuckle as Dahlia surfaces in mind for the first time in a while. I know that it may seem like I pick on her specifically a little too often, but she’s a bitch to everyone and anyone she comes across that is not an adult or someone that she thinks she can use to get ahead. I very specifically remember her being nice as pie to me right up until the moment that I befriended Casey and Eliza, two people whom she deemed unworthy of even the most basic kindness.

As the fight drags on, Will and Al become more hesitant than they were before. They’re becoming worn down, not to mention that they’re friends and not at all interested in hurting each other too badly. Will flips his brown hair away from his eyes. They both glance at Four but he gives no response to their stares. Beside him, Eric checks his watch and fake yawns.

After a few more seconds of circling, Eric seems to grow sick of the lack of action and shouts, “Do you think this is a leisure activity?! Should we break for naptime?! Fight each other!”

“But,” Al straightens and drops his hands, “is the fight scored or something? How do we know when to stop?”

“You’ll stop when one of you can’t continue,” Eric says.

“Or until one of you concedes,” Four says.

“According to the old rules,” Eric corrects him. “In the new rules, no one concedes.”

“You really wanna break them on their first fight?”

“A brave man never surrenders.”

“A brave man acknowledges the strength of others.”

“No concessions,” Eric repeats.

“Lucky for you,” Four turns his head away from him. “those weren’t the rules when we fought.”

Eric’s eyes darken and his jaw clenches. He doesn’t have to say anything for us to know which one of them to listen to. Eric is a Dauntless leader, he has the authority. Therefore, concession is not an option.

Will and Al take up their fighting stances again; Al keeps his feet firmly planted as if he is made of stone while Will bounces back from foot to foot. Though it’s true that Al could knock Will out with one good shot to the head, his victory is entirely dependent on whether or not he can actually hit Will, who seems to have taken up the strategy of hitting once and then moving back out of range as fast as possible.

Will dodges yet another one of Al’s punches and quickly moves around behind him and kicks him hard in the back. Al grunts and stumbles forward, but manages to stay on his feet. Al whips around and charges at Will, latching onto his arm so that he can’t move away this time and then punches Will hard in the jaw while his hands are occupied trying to free himself.

Will’s pale green eyes roll back into his head and he crumples to the ground. It nauseates me and I lean back against the cement pillar, unable to tear my gaze from him.

“God,” Christina whispers.

Al’s eyes widen and he falls to his knees next to Will. He taps his cheek with one finger and the room falls dead silent as we wait for him to respond. For a few seconds, he just continues to lie on the ground with one arm bent beneath him at an odd angle. Then he sucks in a large breath of air and groans, bringing his arm out from beneath him and putting it over his eyes. He mumbles incoherently at Al and Al mutters back, clearing the hair from Will’s face.

“Get him up,” Eric says. He stares at Will as though he’s a meal and Eric’s half-starved.

Four circles Al’s name on the whiteboard to show that he won.

Al wraps his arm behind Will beneath his arms and helps Will get to his feet.

“I’ll help.” I begin to walk forward to them.

“You’ll stay right here, Blondie,” Eric says. “You’re up next.”

Four instead walks over to Will and wraps his arm around his waist. “I’ve got him,” he says to Al.

Al lingers in his place for a moment as Four helps Will toward the door, watching them go.

“Off the mat, initiate!” Eric yells at Al as I step up.

“Good luck, Mimi.” Al squeezes my shoulder as he walks back to Tris and Christina.

“I’m gonna need it,” I whisper.

Edward and I are still for a small infinity before the fight begins and then he rushes me. I back up three steps and then twist, trying to get behind him. But he’s as quick on his feet as I am on mine and there’s hardly a moment where he isn’t facing me. I punch, aiming for his sternum but he catches my wrist and bends my arm back. I try to twist my arm out of his grip, but then he tries to do to me what I just watched Al do to Will. When his punch comes at my head I turn away and bring my other hand up and at the angle I am I know that I won’t be able to land an effective punch. Instead, I elbow him as hard as I can in the mouth.

We exchange blows and though I would like to say that mine were perfect and always landed on the weak points that Four made us memorize, I would say that I could only manage to do that a fifth of the time. Edward hits as hard as I expected to and his technique is nearly perfect.

He brings his leg up and kicks the back of my knees, but as I fall my fingers manage to snag the collar of his shirt. Caught unaware, I feel him bend and his nose smash into the top of my head. I shove him back away from me as my knees hit the ground to buy me a few seconds to get back to my feet.

“Will you two get on with it already!” Eric shouts.

“Would love to, unfortunately-” the rest of my sentence is lost because Edward punches me in the stomach.

His nose is dripping blood and he looks annoyed. I’m sure that this fight has already dragged on much longer than he would have expected or liked it to. He tries to punch me in the face but I duck under his arm and go for his side. As his guard drops down to protect himself there, I straighten quickly and punch him in the throat. He makes a gagging noise but neither stumbles nor falters. He punches me in the face and I can’t shake off blows like he can so I stumble back. Using this to his advantage, he knocks my feet out from under me and my back slams into the ground. He drops down but I roll to the side before he can pin me and sit up to kick him in his exposed ribs. I kick him hard enough that it knocks him down onto his side. I scramble over, not bothering with getting to my feet and try to pin him, placing one knee on his chest and trying to get his arms under control like we were taught. He flails and one of his hands catches in my hair. He drags my face toward his and then head-buts me. When I snap back, he has the opportunity to shove me back. Despite how strong he is, I don’t go very far; I wind up still on his legs, but he can sit up now and he manages to free himself relatively quickly. We both jump to our feet and I punch him in the face. My nose has started bleeding too and fatigue is starting to get to me. I try to put some distance between us with an array of different punches, but he scarcely lets me out of an arm’s reach. He punches me in the jaw and then grabs my shoulders to hold me still while he knees me in the stomach. When I double over, his knee comes up again and this time it hits my face. I fall a second time and don’t quite make it away when he drops down to pin me. One of his hands locks my upper right arm in a vice grip and holds it to the ground while the other tries to land a hit on my face despite the fact that I keep moving my head. I can’t hit very hard at this angle and my left arm isn’t as strong as my right anyways, which Edward must have figured out, so it’s like my attempts to fight back are doing nothing.

Seemingly annoyed with my struggling, Edward stops trying to punch me in the face and uses that hand to pin my left wrist. He head-buts me and it’s not something that I can dodge.

The next thing that I’m aware of is someone’s hand on my face. I grab the wrist that it’s attached to and open my eyes.

“Hey, she lives.” Edward looms above me looking very, very smug. “Take it easy. Fight’s over.”

I huff and very quietly say, “Fuck.”

“Here.” Edward stands and offers me his hand. “Let’s get you to the infirmary.”

I take his hand and he pulls me to my feet. “I don’t need to go to the infirmary. I’m good.”

“Uh.” Edward gives me a quizzical look. “I…knocked you out.” There’s a slight upturn at the end of his sentence that makes it sound like a question. “You weren’t fine just a minute ago and, from one person who’s been knocked out before to another, you’re not fine now.”

“Fine,” I concede. “If only to make sure that you didn’t knock something loose.” I take a step and then immediately realize what Edward meant about not being fine because the world feels like I’m spinning and going to be sick. I grab his shoulder to try to stop myself from collapsing again.

“See.” Edward wraps an arm around my waist to keep me upright. “Not fine.”

“Not fine,” I mumble. “Got it.”

“Tris and Myra!” Eric yells as Edward helps me off the mat. “You’re up!”

Tris and I exchange smiles and we pass each other.

“Kiss for good luck?” Myra says and Edward nearly drops me to give her that kiss.

We walk through the winding hallways together in silence for all of about a minute.

“So why does Four call you Ice Queen?” Edward asks.

“’Cause he’s a dick-bag.” I shrug. “I don’t know.”

Edward snickers. “Never mind. I think I’ve figured it out.”

I roll my eyes. “Oh really? And why, pray tell, would that be?”

He hums, tapping his finger against his chin as though he’s deep in thought. “Well, and I might be totally off base here, but just as a guess; it might have something to do with positively subzero personality.”

“Don’t also be a dick-bag, Edward. I have taken one too many hits to the head to deal with that. Or maybe not enough.”

He chuckles. “Go with one too many. Can’t have you passing out on me again, Ice Queen.”

“Oh not you too,” I groan.

His chuckle turns to a laugh. “Guess I’ll just have to think of an obnoxious nickname of my own for you.”

“If you try then I swear that the next time we’re up against each other, I’ll turn you into a fine powder.”

“Oh please, I’m already fine. And I think that you might have a bit of trouble doing that considering how fast you went down this time.”

“Yeah, and your bloody nose was just spontaneous and not at all because you hit it on the top of my head of all things. I didn’t even have to punch you.”

He snorts. “There’s blood in your hair by the way. Like, a lot of blood in your hair.”

“I figured. That’s gonna be a bitch and a half to wash out later.”

He hums in agreement and we arrive at the infirmary. He opens the door and we have to go through sideways because I’m still having a bit of trouble standing up on my own.

“Oh great, more of them,” says the aqua haired nurse who’s checking over Will. She turns to Four. “I hope that this isn’t going to become a regular thing.”

“Initiation, Phyllis. Can’t be helped.”

“Can’t be helped my ass,” Phyllis mutters. “Just stop making them punch each other into unconsciousness and you’re golden.” She smiles at me. “Come here, Darling. Let’s see how bad you’ve been damaged.” She hands Edward and I both tissues to clean up the blood flowing from our noses.

“You’re good to go back, Edward,” Four says.

Edward leaves and I take a seat on the bed next to Will’s, who is now awake.

“Mmm, I thought you were supposed to win your fight,” he mumbles.

“Yeah, that was before I got matched up against Edward. You weren’t kidding about his skills.”

“Oh not at all. Looks like you fucked him up a little, going off of his face and your hair. Wish I could have seen it.”

“Deep breath.” Phyllis presses her stethoscope to my chest. She does that five more times and then sets the stethoscope off to the side and pulls the curtain out between Will and I. “Take off your shirt, I’m sure you’re already bruising.” I do as she says.

“Hey,” I say to Will, “you know that I didn’t actually mean what I said about hoping that you lost, right? I really didn’t think that you would.”

“Yeah, I know that, Mimi. It’s Christina that I’m concerned about.”

We share a laugh that turns into me groaning in pain.

“Yeah, don’t do that,” Phyllis says. “It’s gonna hurt a lot more tomorrow morning, by the way. But nothing’s broken, you and the other one are good to go.”

“Thank you, Nurse Phyllis,” I say and then pull my shirt back on.

“Thanks,” Will calls from the other side of the curtain.

“It’s what I’m here for. I’m sure as young Dauntless you two will find yourselves in here quite a bit. I wish you both the best of luck in initiation and that you’re not in here often.”

“I’ll wait here for the others,” Four says.

The last thing that I hear before I walk out the door is Phyllis saying to Four, “You’d better be making sure that they’re eating right. They’re growing kids and that boy is built like a string bean.”

“If it’s any consolation,” I say to Will as we walk down the hallway, “you looked really good. I wouldn’t be surprised if Four gave you points based entirely on how great your technique was.”

“Wow,” Will says, “that sounded like a compliment. I will take it.”

Our conversation is cut short when we pass Tris in the hallway being supported by Edward.

Will chuckles. “You would think with all that pent up aggression from years of Abnegation repression, she would have been able to win that fight.”

“Shut up, Will,” Tris mutters, barely heard over our laughter.

Back in the training room, Peter and Drew are fighting and not at all evenly matched. Peter is beating Drew into the ground, but he hasn’t passed out yet.

We walk over to Christina and Al and I sit down, leaning back against the pillar to feel the cold of the concrete against my skin. I still feel nauseous, but I flatly refuse to throw up because that would just be embarrassing.

“How’d Tris look?” Will asks.

“Good,” Al says. “Really good.”

“Guess she’s not quite as helpless as we thought,” Christina adds.

“Yeah, neither is Myra. I mean the girl’s the size of a leaf, but I guess Edward’s been showing her some things,” Al says. “It was…wow.”

I curl into a ball trying to stay awake and keep my lunch down. My head is killing me

Tris comes back right as Peter knocks out Drew and sits down beside me. In the passing hours while the others complete their fights, I start to feel marginally better. I’m sure I look like hot garbage but it doesn’t hurt to have my eyes open anymore.

The last person before Christina goes town like a sack of potatoes and she tilts her head back against the pillar. “Oh shit.”

“You’ll do great,” Will says.

“We’ll cheer if you want us to,” I say.

Christina rolls her eyes. “Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

She tucks her short black hair behind her ears as she steps up onto the mat and then cracks her knuckles. Her nerves show clearly on her face, though I can understand why. Will, Tris, and I just got done getting knocked the fuck out by our respective opponents.

I miss the beginning of the fight because another wave of nausea forces me to rest my head back on my knees and close my eyes because those fluorescent lights are definitely not helping.

My head snaps up when I hear Molly wheeze as Christina kicks her in the side. Molly grits her teeth and I half expect her to growl. Her hair falls into her face and she doesn’t brush it away; instead, she smirks and then dives at Christina’s middle with her hands outstretched. They both go crashing to the ground and Christina thrashes underneath her, but Molly is much heavier than she can manage to escape from.

She punches and Christina jerks her head to the side, but Molly just keeps trying until she finally manages to land a blow to her jaw, then her nose, then her mouth. I cover my mouth with both hands and watch in sheer horror.

“Jesus Christ,” Will slides down next to me.

“Don’t, uh,” I cringe when Molly lands another punch, “she’s not done yet.”

Blood runs down Christina’s face and drips onto the mat; she’s still conscious so Eric won’t call the fight. She screams into her teeth and I wish that she would just pass out so that we can get her to the infirmary already. Molly doesn’t even show a hint of remorse as she continues to beat Christina.

After a few more agonizing moments, Christina screams and drags one arm free and punches Molly in the ear to knock her off balance. When Molly teeters, she manages to wriggle free and crawl away. She puts one hand over her face and the blood covers her fingers in seconds. She sobs into her bloodied hands and then screams again when Molly kicks her and sends her sprawling onto her back. I can’t bring myself to tear my eyes away; all I can do is watch in horror and at some point during the horror, Will and I wind up clinging to each other while Tris and Al do the same.

“Stop!” Christina wails, holding out her hands as if they will protect her as Molly pulls her foot back again. “Stop. I’m…” her cough is mixed with a sob. “I’m done.”

Molly smiles and backs up. My friends and I breathe a collective sigh of relief and, ignoring my dizziness, I stand to go help her and Will moves with me. I take a step forward but stop dead when Eric stalks toward the mat. He looms over Christina with his arms folded.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” he says quietly. “You’re done?”

Christina moves into a more stable sitting position and then nods, the tears that run down her face mix with the blood and then drip from her bruising jaw onto the mat.

“Get up,” he says with icy calm. I would not expect such an intensely Dauntless man to be so chillingly quiet. Dauntless are loud, explosive; like the Candor. Angry Dauntless scream and fight, I’ve seen the occasional fight break out over practically nothing. I know what Kira tells me. I also know exactly what Eric’s doing, that quiet rage and unerring calm that can sometimes be the most fear inducing thing it is. It’s the tone that my mother uses when she’s upset with people, it’s a very Erudite mannerism.

He grabs Christina’s arm as she is wobbling to her feet and then yanks her to her feet himself.

“Follow me,” he says to the rest of us and nods his head toward the door.

We do so in dead silence down the stone corridors. I would actually like Four to appear right about now, round the corner and cut us off. Maybe, just maybe, he might be able to talk Eric down from whatever he is about to do.

Once again, I hear the Chasm before I see it. I feel it as a vibration in my chest and the roar fills me ears.

Most of us all stop by the railing, before the bridge, but Eric grabs Christina and pulls her up the stairs and out to the middle of the bridge. There’s no one around but the eleven of us; the sun filters down through the skylight and casts the whole space in a washed out white light that’s too bright for my recently punched head to deal with very well.

Eric shoves Christina against the railing and she groans, almost crumpling again but managing to support herself against one of the metal bars.

“Climb over it,” he says.

“What?” she gasps and gapes at him with wide eyes.

“He wouldn’t,” I hear Myra whisper.

“No,” Edward gasps.

“No fuckin’ way,” someone else whispers.

“What?” another initiate claps their hand over their mouth in shock.

“He can’t,” Al whimpers.

“He can’t actually do that,” Will mutters.

“I think he can,” I whisper back.

“Shut up!” Eric snaps at us. He whirls back on Christina; enunciating each word he says, “Climb over the railing. You have three options; hang over the Chasm for five minutes and I will forget your cowardice, fall and die, or give up and leave.” As he finishes her sentence, more water splashes up from the raging river below and coats the thin metal rails in what has to be absolutely frigid water. Even if she does choose to do it, there’s no way to know if she’ll be able to hold on. Even without just having been beaten to hell and back it would be highly debatable whether she’d be able to do it. She’s looking at a choice between factionlesness and death.

The image of her slipping is enough to almost make me burst into tears.

“Fine,” she says with a tremble to her voice. She places her feet on the bar closest to the ground, gripping the top bar as hard as she can. She shakes as she climbs over and then lets her feet hang in open air. She looks over at us and I can see the fear in her eyes.

Al sets his watch and then it becomes a waiting game.

For the first minute and a half, everything is fine. Christina keeps a firm grip on the railing and her arms don’t tremble. She doesn’t so much as spare Eric a glance; she looks only at the nine of us, or probably just at me and her other three friends.

But then the river crashes up again, splashing the bridge and soaking Christina’s back. She cries out as her face strikes the barrier and her hands slip until she’s hanging only by her fingertips, she tries to get a better grip but now her hands are wet.

None of us can move a muscle to help her. As brave as we’re supposed to be, none of us are willing to cross Eric. I don’t think that anyone is willing to cross Eric. I would not think that Dauntless would be the ones to just let a person risk death because they’re – we’re – too afraid to anger a single person; but here we are.

Christina lets out a sob louder than the river that snaps my heart in two. Another spray of water coats her body and she shakes violently. One of her hands slips from the railing and she can’t get it back up again no matter how she tries.

“Come on, Christina,” Al says with surprising volume. “You can do it! Grab the railing again!”

Christina swings her arm up and fumbles for the railing again, straining for it and everyone is dead silent but Al cups his hands around his mouth and hoots.

“You’ve got this!” Will exclaims.

“We know you can do it!” The words break from my throat with more power than I knew that I had.

“Hang on!” Myra yells.

Drew makes a noise that dies when Peter elbows him in the ribs.

“Come on,” Tris says barely above a whisper. She clears her throat and says much louder, “One minute left.”

She manages to grab the railing again just barely and a cheer ripples through the crowd that makes Eric glare daggers at us. Christina’s arms shake so hard that I wonder if the bridge itself is shaking, but even so she twists her head and stares at us again.

“Come on, Christina,” Tris and Al’s voices join together, then mine and Will’s, Edward’s and Myra’s. It becomes a chant.

“Shut the fuck up!” Eric roars and stomps on the bridge just as another wave of water splashes her. She shrieks as she slips of the railing and half of us scream with her.

But she doesn’t fall. She manages to grip the bottom of the bridge at the very last second, hard enough to keep her from falling to her death. She’s much closer to the splashing water now; the next big wave could drag her down with it.

“Time!” Al almost spits the word at Eric. “That’s five minutes, let her up.”

Eric looks down at his own watch, taking his sweet time examining it from different angles as though it’s the most fascinating thing he’s seen all day.

“Fine,” he says after too long. “You can come up now, Christina.”

Al walks toward the railing.

“No,” Eric says. “She has to pick herself up.”

“No she doesn’t,” Al growls.

“Fuck you,” I sort of mutter under my breath. Sort of because everyone around me hears me and Eric may have also heard me.

“She did what you said,” Al continues, “she proved that she’s not a coward. You never said anything about her having to get up on her own.”

Eric doesn’t say anything as Al storms toward the railing with the three of us right on his heels. Will and Al reach over and are able to pull Christina up from the bottom and once she’s high enough, Tris and I assist them. We haul her over the safely onto the bridge and she immediately drops to the ground, knees clanging against the metal. She breathes heavily, her face is still smeared with blood from the fight and now her entire body is soaked and she’s shivering. We go down with her and catch our breath together, saying nothing and only forming a protective little circle around her as she begins to sob.

#divergent #The Anthem Series #guess who's back #it's been a while

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waveypedia · 6 years

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Another Duck Hamilton AU but with Della

whoa look at that another project I won’t be able to work on until after school’s out

I just wanna get my thoughts down though

it’s messy and it needs work which I will get to... LATER!!! :D

Della is hamilton obviously

When Hortense and Quackmore died she and Don worked hard to make ends meet and to contact their Aunt Matilda in Scotland. They lived with Elvira and Gladstone, but Elvira couldn’t support them all.

While Donald and Gladstone were just focused on surviving, Della’s biggest ambition was to get off the island. She performed stunts that got more and more dangerous, trying to get enough money to move to America or Scotland

one of these stunts got the attention of her Uncle Scrooge in America, who sent for Della

She wouldn’t leave Donald, so he came too

Launchpad is Eliza (because DELPAD!!!)

Scrooge is Washington, but the ‘stop doing reckless things you’re gonna die’ comes from Donald

Magica is a combination of Angelica, Burr, and Maria. Angelica because she’s also in love with Della (DelSpell!!) and she’s so much smarter and more like Della than Launchpad, and so their letters and rapidfire wit come from that. I’m not sure yet why she’d back off Launchpad, though. She’s Burr because she’s also one of Della’s greatest enemies (through Scrooge, kinda, but here they’re more each other’s nemesises) and they keep jostling each other out of the same political spots and stuff. And she’s Maria because they’re the ones that have an affair (although it was always Magica’s idea, James Reynolds is either Poe or someone she conjured up out of magic because she wants revenge on Della and Scrooge, and she’s in love with Della, so win-win for her. Also, I really want Say No to This with Della and Magica.

Donald is a mix of roles, and it kinda makes his own role. Like I said earlier, he’s the outwardly protective part of Washington, and he’s the one urging Della to come back from the war when she’s pregnant. He’s also kind of Burr, because he’s Della’s opposite. Until we know what happened to Della in canon, I don’t want to assign her killer yet (for this AU I’m just gonna rest that on Magica for now, but it’s not set in stone), but Your Obedient Servant and Wait for It are both Donald. He’s fed up with all the attention Della gets from Scrooge and he’s really worried about her, but it’s Donald and he expresses it via madness.

The Spear of Selene incident in this AU, for now, is Donald’s Your Obedient Servant rant driving her to accept a challenge from Magica to duel with magic. Della uses a dangerous artifact she and Scrooge found on a recent adventure called the Spear of Selene (yeah, I know it’s not an artifact according to Webby, but this is just a placeholder until we know what happened to Della), but Magica did something to it and her magic backfired, killing her. Also maybe Magica put a spell on Donald to make him say things to Della that would hurt her enough to duel Magica

The ending of The World is Wide Enough is Magica being like fuck I killed my one true love and then she realizes the world will never forgive her, so she casts a spell to make herself go shadow, haunts her baby niece Lena, and plans her revenge on Della’s family

‘Best of Husbands and Best of Men’ (*sobs*)

Here’s where it gets kind of confusing: Your Obedient Servant/The World Was Wide Enough take place before Stay Alive Reprise/Blow Us All Away/It’s Quiet Uptown. That’s because Della still dies when HDL are kids, and then the rest is Donald and Scrooge trying to cope.

we get Della’s death and the rest of the world is wide enough and then timeskip cut to teen Dewey Duck walking down the street and whistling

Dear Theodosia is Della with HDL, but when she sings “You’ll blow us all away, someday, someday” she’s only holding Dewey because evil plot foreshadowing Louie’s sucking on something shiny and Huey is examining a book or something, they’re busy ;)

Burr’s part of Dear Theodosia is Magica singing to Lena

ooh I just thought of this :P but maybe The Election of 1800 is Donald who’s fed up with Scrooge comparing him to Della who wants to run for president (but is currently incapacitated by Magica taunting her ;) ) finally runs for president, not expecting to win, surprisingly ties with whoever Jefferson is. People go to Della for their vote (and somehow don’t expect her to back her brother, idk, maybe they’re not on the best of terms anymore). She backs whoever Jefferson is and Donald has had it.

As for whoever Jefferson, Madison, Mulligan, Laurens, and Lafayette are, we don’t know enough about Della’s younger social life to give them a role. I was thinking maybe if Gladstone came along later he could be Mulligan, since he and Della were friends and he’d be lucky enough to get a job where he can spy on the British and never get caught (and give luck to the revolution), but idk. I want to put Fethry in there but I don’t know him well enough

also maybe Gladstone is Theodosia sr. because of Magicstone (I have so many ships sorry :P)

that wouldn’t make sense because of the Reynolds stuff? idk. I’ll work it out somehow.

Maybe one of them is Drake? I like the headcanon of Drake and Della being friends

and then maybe it’s Drake who moves to London (St. Canard) with Morgana since Magica won’t be doing that :P and he takes on the protective older sister role of Launchpad when the news about Say No to This leaks out

even though I ship Drake and Launchpad so hard it’s painful

okay that settles it Drake is also Angelica I came up with that on the spot :P

Loopy is Peggy because she’s Launchpad’s sister

The Reynolds Pamphlet comes either right before or right after Della’s death. It’s her Spear of Selene note, which Scrooge can’t keep under wraps here

especially if it’s after her death, Angelica lecturing Hamilton in The Reynolds Pamphlet is Donald lecturing Scrooge

It’s Quiet Uptown is Donald and Scrooge reuniting and coming to terms with Della’s death

Stay Alive (reprise) is Donald and Scrooge again, but I’m not sure whether it would be with Dewey or Della

In Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story, Eliza’s orphanage bit is Donald explaining how he took in HDL as well as Webby (I really badly want to give Webby and Beakley roles in this AU, but idk where they’d be) and Lena, and then maybe he starts an orphanage when they’re grown?

ya know what that’s a new headcanon for DT17 overall - Donald starting an orphanage @meiloorun-notthefruit it’s like your Dadnald AU but bigger ;) (which makes sense because I LOVE that AU go check it out)

Phillip is Dewey (I really want him to live just barely actually because it feels so wrong to kill off a single triplet and the death stuff in Stay Alive Reprise and It’s Quiet Uptown could very well be for Della, but idk)

in Blow Us All Away he goes to Donald and Scrooge for his duelling tips

also maybe Huey and Louie, but with them he might not be as vocal about what he’s doing because I’m drawing parallels to the Spear of Selene research

maybe I can also slide in something about him having researched Della with Webby? I feel like she’d be pretty famous here though

Eacker is maybe Lena, or one of the Beagle Boys

also, Beakley is president. That’s the note I’m ending on. I don’t know where or when, but she’s definitely president. That’s her role in this AU. #PresidentBeakley2k18

yeahhhhh like I said it’s pretty messy. If you have any questions or ideas feel free to talk to me! I’d love to know what y’all think!

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spectrumscribe · 6 years

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Three times Leo was there for his brothers (and the time when they were there for him.)

commissioned by a lovely fan, a TMNT 2012 AU where Leo actually acts like a good older brother and is there for his siblings when they need him. (and in turn, his brothers are there for him when he needs them.)

AO3 version.

Leo finds Mikey, some days after their misadventure in Dimension-X, staring upwards at the night sky with an oddly contemplative expression.

Usually, Mikey would be the first to have gone inside Murakami’s. He’d even broken off from patrol earlier and said he’d meet them here. Leo’s brother never misses a chance to snag the bulk of their order, or at least be the one to make his order first. Sitting outside on a clear night, perched on the edge of the roof and absolutely quiet, is out of the ordinary for Mikey’s behavior. He doesn’t even have his headphones on at the moment.

Of course… Mikey has been a little off in general the last while, in small moments here and there. But none of them have been too big- just Mikey being quiet for a while, or staring at everyone during training for a few more seconds than he normally would. Leo hasn’t worried, not until now.

Food is important to Mikey, since it can sometimes be hard to get good sorts on the table and their ingredients often end up limited to non-perishables. Mikey holding off getting food that’s fresh and hot and made by someone who accepts them for who they are is definitively weird.

So Leo, changing course from beating Raph and Donnie down to Murakami’s, hops up to the roof in silent bounds. Mikey still hears him, somehow, and twitches all over; turning his head and casting a guarded look over his shoulder at Leo’s feet hitting the rooftop.

When Mikey sees its just Leo, he relaxes subtly and returns to looking up at the sky. Leo frowns, because that’s new, too. Out of all of them, Mikey used to have the hardest time keeping track of his surroundings when he zoned out. Leo dislikes that he can’t remember when that stopped being a thing.

“Hey,” Leo says, walking over towards his brother. “How come you’re not inside already? You ditched us like, a full hour ago.”

Mikey shrugs, keeping his eyes on the dim stars of the NYC skyline. “Dunno, just thought I’d wait for you guys or something. It’s not so bad just hanging out, you know?”

Maybe so, but coming from his brother, who some nights can’t sit still even if and when his life depended on it, it sounds out of character. Leo sits down on the ledge with Mikey, hanging his legs over free air and knowing they’re both hidden by the glare of the sign below them.

Leo looks up at the sky Mikey is so intent on studying, picking out what faint constellations will show. He used to dream about going up there someday, meeting aliens and having his own space cruiser- until he figured out that turtles aren’t really allowed to do that, and lightspeed travel hasn’t been invented yet. The thought is still nice, though. The idea of populated worlds out there and the potential of contacting them.

“The stars are nice tonight,” Leo offers casually, finding the big dipper. Mikey hums in agreement.

“Yeah, they’re pretty,” He replies. Then he adds, “Dimension-X didn’t have a night sky. Or a real sky at all, actually.”

Leo glances over at Mikey. His little brother isn’t looking anywhere but upwards, still with that weird contemplativeness.

“…yeah, I noticed something like that,” Leo says slowly, watching Mikey. “Though I guess I wasn’t there long enough to know if it had a nighttime.”

“It doesn’t,” Mikey says. “It’s bright as hell all day every day. And pretty much everything is the sky? I- I wandered pretty far, a few times. Hopped downwards on those island thingies as far as I could. I don’t think they have solid land there. Just… sky.”

Leo notices that the more Mikey talks, the farther off his gaze gets. He touches Mikey’s shoulder and his brother blinks, coming back to himself. Mikey turns his head towards Leo, questioning.

“Are you okay?” Leo asks, feeling a squirm of worry in his gut. Mikey, as far as he knows, hasn’t actually… talked to any of them about Dimension-X, or anything he experienced there. There wasn’t time when they were rescuing him, and Mikey didn’t seem like he had anything to say other than how cool it’d been, knowing what was what when no one else did.

“Who, me? Yeah, I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be?” Mikey asks, eyes leaving Leo’s and looking away again. Avoiding eye contact is a classic trick Mikey pulls when he’s hiding something, so Leo pushes.

“Mikey, is there something that happened in Dimension-X you didn’t tell us about? You’ve been acting weird lately, and…” Leo puts a hand on Mikey’s, curling his fingers under his brother’s. “you’re kind of worrying me right now, honestly. Is there something you wanna talk about?”

Mikey looks down at their hands, and then back up at the sky. “It’s just…” His mouth goes tight around the edges. “D-X kinda felt endless sometimes, and there wasn’t ever really somewhere I could stay more than a few hours? I mean, half of the time it was really fucking cool- way more interesting than runnin’ the same patrol route the millionth time, right? But it… never stopped?” Mikey turns his hand over in Leo’s, not holding on, but not pulling away, either. “I got energy to burn, man, but… sometimes felt like you guys weren’t ever gonna get there. It got tiring, some days.”

Mikey’s eyes don’t stray from the sky the whole time he speaks, and stay there even after he stops. Leo’s squirm of worry becomes a weight of concern in his chest, and his eyes skitter across Mikey’s hand and arm.

There are scars there that hadn’t been, prior to Dimension-X. Some still partly pink, others healed over completely and silver-green, now. That’s at least two months of healing right there, if not more. There’s one right along Mikey’s jaw, straying a little too close to his throat for comfort, and that. That makes Leo feel unsettled all the way through.

Leo looks at Mikey, and finally, it slots into place why Mikey seems off in moments and a little more than different in others. Because he is. Mikey is different. There’s time between them now; time that felt like mere minutes to Leo, but were months for Mikey.

Without anyone to see and share it, Mikey grew up a little more without Leo or any of their brothers. And he spent that whole time wondering if anyone was ever going to come find him.

Leo grips his little brother’s hand- and Mikey is his little brother, whether he’s a few months older than Leo or not- and it draws Mikey’s attention back to him.

“We were coming to find you the second you went through the portal, Mikey,” Leo says, trying to be firm and feeling a little off-kilter as he does. “It’s the time dilation’s fault. We were always going to get you out of there, okay?”

Leo will die before he ever leaves one of his brothers behind; he knows that as clearly and intrinsically as he knows any one of them could die each night they go out. A few seconds or a few years- it doesn’t matter. Leo would have gone to find Mikey, no matter how long it took. He would have found his brother and brought him home.

He wishes all the jargon of physics and alter-dimensions hadn’t made it take so long, this time around. For Mikey’s sake.

Mikey squeezes Leo’s hand, tight and reassuring.

“I know,” Mikey says, and smiles like he wasn’t alone for all that time; bright as before Dimension-X, scars or no. “Loneliness just makes you think dumb things sometimes. I knew you guys would show up eventually, whenever you got your lazy butts in gear.”

The humor doesn’t completely cover the vulnerability there, and that hurts Leo, somewhere deep inside. That even for a second, Mikey might of have doubted his own family would rescue him.

So Leo draws Mikey close, and hugs him; tucking Mikey up against himself and trying to undo those months of loneliness with a single gesture.

“We wouldn’t have left you there, I swear,” Leo whispers, repeating his first word’s meanings. Mikey has to know that, he has to.

Mikey’s arms come up around Leo’s shell, clutching him back with a sudden grip.

“I know,” Mikey whispers back, small and young. “I know. Thanks.”

Leo keeps hugging Mikey until his brother draws away, covering the emotional moment with a joke about all their food being nicked by Raph and Donnie before they even get a crack at it. Leo lets Mikey go only because he knows his brother isn’t going anywhere far.

He makes a silent promise to hug his brother more often, and to spend time with Mikey that’s not just patrol and training.

Leo grabs Mikey’s shoulders as they head into the restaurant; giving his brother an affectionate noogie as Raph and Donnie tease them about missing the chance to weigh in on the order. Mikey fends Leo off as their brothers welcome them, and Leo makes sure Mikey gets sat right between Donnie and Raph; safe and happy and back where he belongs.

--/--

Months later, Leo wakes up and finds again he’s missed Mikey growing up a little more. He’s missed all of his brothers growing up a little more, and their friends as well.

The world kept moving along while he was in his coma, and for the first while Leo just doesn’t know what to do with that. New York is sealed off from the rest of the world, their father is missing, possibly dead, and Leo-

Leo can’t walk at the moment. Not on his own.

He can’t lead while his legs give out under him without warning, and his voice sometimes cracks and won’t come back for hours. Leo is healing, but as he is… he can’t be the leader of his team. Who can follow a leader that can’t even walk with his own strength?

Donnie, who is gaunt and exhausted in little ways, tells him it’ll take time. That Leo needs to be patient and let them take care of him. Leo wants to fight that, protest and keep trying to force himself back to wellness, but he reluctantly agrees in the end to take it easy. If only because he can see in Donnie’s eyes, every time they sit down for daily physical therapy, that Leo’s brother blames himself, for whatever reason, that Leo isn’t at full health already.

Leo lets Donnie fuss about treatments, trying to ease that guilt, and swallows his wounded pride that he’s so useless like this.

He’s always been the leader, always been someone to depend on. He’d always tried his best to be that, and because of a failure and trauma that’s left him crippled, he can’t be anymore. Not for a long while yet.

It hurts, having to admit he’s not fit to lead at the moment. It hurts worse that he feels like he’s let down his team, his family, and will keep letting them down so long as he’s stuck with crutches and a gravelly voice.

Nothing he can do about that, though. Not as he is.

So Leo rises in the mornings, and helps Mikey prepare at least a little of the breakfast for Casey and April before they go to their part-time jobs. He washes dishes as long as his leg will hold out, and then he goes to find wherever Donnie’s collapsed this time. Leo sets a mug of hot coffee beside Donnie’s slumped form at his desk, wakes him gently, and obediently follows Donnie through therapy exercises once he’s fully conscious again. Lunch is just the four of them, Leo and his brothers, and he attempts to help coach them all through training when April gets home. He can’t join in more than gentle stretches on the sidelines, unfortunately.

It’s not much, but he tries to keep positive. Leo can’t be a leader right now, but he can at least be a brother.

Though he wonders. While he was in his coma, who’d been leading in his place? Who’s still leading in his place, while he finishes healing? He doesn’t doubt that they can all handle themselves on their own, his family, but this many people can’t be coordinated effectively without at least one person guiding. Someone has to have been doing that for things to be running this smoothly.

It takes an embarrassingly long time to notice who has been and still is leading in his place. Leo blames the fact that he’s still only a week and a half out of his coma.

Its little things that, in the end, tip him off. Maybe his brother doesn’t even notice he’s doing it, since unlike a year prior, Raph isn’t advertising his spot at the helm of their team.

Leo knew it’d been Raph who’d sat beside his bedside every day and nearly every night, monitoring his condition in case it took a turn for the worse, or for the better. But he hadn’t known until he really looked that Raph has been doing much more than just playing sentry.

It’s in how Raph is just present, even just in the periphery. Sometimes closer in, talking low and steady to whomever he’s with at the moment. Grounding, solidly there. Finishing the dishes Leo can’t and not saying a word about it, putting away leftover food before Mikey can even reach for the saranwrap and playing any videogame their brother wants; leaving a blanket on Donnie’s shoulders when he finally collapses from lack of sleep and putting a plate of food within reach during the day, encouraging April with curt words as she builds strength and stamina in training and watching her so she doesn’t get hurt; catching Casey’s attention before he can think too hard about his missing family and never leaving him or any of them truly alone.

Being there for them all.

Leo’s missed a lot, including Raph maturing enough to be capable of holding the fort down like this. In a way he still feels ashamed he was gone so long, that he’s still unable to be a dependable support, but more so he’s proud.

Maybe a year ago, he would have felt jealous that Raph is holding a position Leo always has. Now though… maybe he’s matured some, too.

Not more than a day after he arrives to that conclusion, Leo finds Raph sitting by himself on the back porch steps. It’s late at night, and as much as Leo would rather be asleep, the taint of nightmares is already too much for him to handle. So he chose to come outside; see the clear night sky and remind himself he’s not alone in that construction site anymore.

The unexpected company isn’t unwelcome. Seeing his family, talking and interacting with them, it makes it all the easier to wash away the residual terror of a bad dream. As his crutches’ thuds against the wood draw Raph’s attention, Leo sees in his brother’s expression that company to him might not be so unwelcome either.

Raph’s mask is hanging around his neck, and even with just the dim porchlight to see by, Leo notes there are dark circles under his brother’s eyes. None of them sleep too well anymore, but the dark shade of Raph’s bags is a little worse than normal. Leo wonders if Raph has also been suffering nightmares. He wouldn’t blame his brother for it.

“Evening,” Leo croaks, then wincing at his voice’s struggle. He clears it discreetly as he can. “You mind if I join you?”

Raph nods mutely. Leo sits down as his brother moves over on the step; easing his bad leg out and sighing under his breath at being off his feet.

“Is it bothering you?” Raph asks, eyeing the leg as Leo rubs his knee. “You want me to get your pain meds?”

Leo waves him off. “No, no it’s fine. I already had my dose at dinner.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure. I’m okay.”

“…hrm,” is all Raph replies with. Leo ignores his brother’s disbelief and looks out at the wide lawn of the farmhouse. The trees in the distance are a formless bulk of black, full of far off animal noises. The sky above them is not full of stars, but certainly peppered with a gracious amount.

It’s beautiful, and nothing like they’ve ever gotten to see in the city or sewers. Even with the circumstances, Leo feels lucky to be here. He’s never seen so much green in his life, or stars.

Towards the edge of the wide lawn, the lights of the barn are still on, spilling through the cracks that riddle it. Leo doesn’t even have to guess why, though he does wonder why Raph is out here so late.

“Are you waiting on Donnie for something?” Leo asks Raph. He shrugs.

“No,” Raph replies, and then pauses. “Well, sort of. He’s been at it since early morning. He’s gonna fall asleep sooner or later.”

Leo then sees the blanket on Raph’s lap, mostly concealed by his arms as he leans on it. Leo smiles fondly.

“You’re tucking him in?” Leo says, keeping a laugh out of his hoarse voice. “Why not just get him into an actual bed, jeez.”

Raph rolls his eyes. “’cause then he’d wake up and go “oh no my science experiments shit” and find caffeine to inject himself with. Which would put us at square one again. Trust me, this is the only way he’ll get sleep these days. I had Mikey hide the coffeemaker halfway through the afternoon today; he can’t last much longer.”

Leo does laugh at that, because it’s true. The only way to get Donnie to rest up is to let him wind down, and then keep him asleep as long as possible. Leo’s noticed though that that habit of Donnie’s is much worse now. Usually, he’d only do it during really stressful periods of time.

Leo supposes this still counts as that, their situation being stuck on the farm and Leo stuck with his bum leg. They can’t leave until he’s fully healed.

The fact that he’s causing Donnie this stress, even just indirectly, is an unpleasant one that sits sickly in Leo’s stomach. He moves away from it by focusing on what Raph is doing right now, which is a considerably nicer thing to think on.

“Do you do this every night?” Leo asks softly, though he has his own suspicions already.

“…no,” Raph says, a beat too late to be believable. Leo gives his brother a look, and points at his eyes.

“The bags say otherwise.”

Raph frowns/grimaces, which is his default expression whenever he doesn’t know how to respond. Or how to admit he’s having feelings.

“Sometimes.” Raph allows, and Leo rolls his eyes. “Just when I got time.”

“Well, we definitely have plenty of that,” Leo says wryly, rubbing his sore leg again. “That’s good, though. Good that you’re keeping an eye on him. Donnie always runs himself into the ground when he’s left to his own devices,” Leo shakes his head. “Don’t know what we’d do without you right now, bro.”

“Hn, you’d get by, somehow,” Raph says curtly. “You’re all not that stupid.”

“You sure? ‘cause last I looked, you’ve been doing a lot around here lately,” Leo smiles, feeling that gentle touch of pride in his chest again. “I actually wanted to say thanks for that, properly. The way things are… I can’t do much for anyone. So, thanks for filling for me. Makes it easier for me to rest up knowing you’ve got things under control.”

He expects Raph to preen, or at least puff up a little under the praise, but his brother just hunches his shoulders and won’t look at him.

“I’m not… actually doing anything, though,” Raph says, eyes on the treeline instead of Leo. “I mean- come on. Anyone can do this stuff. The others… they got something to contribute. Donnie- Donnie saved your life, and Mike’s the only one who can actually cook anything decent, and April and Casey are the ones doing the real work bringing money in and keepin’ the lights on. I can’t do any of that, all I’ve been doing is-”

“Holding down the fort,” Leo interrupts, not letting Raph keep on. He lowers his voice, making it gentler. “I’ve only been awake a little over a week, Raph, but I can already see how much you do. You’re their rock. You’re always there when they need you, no matter what time of day. Being that for them… that’s more than enough, especially considering I can’t even try to be that right now.”

Raph sits silent, still not looking at him. Leo reaches out, putting a hand on Raph’s shoulder, drawing his brother’s attention onto him. Raph finally meets his eyes, and Leo smiles warmly.

“You kept them together, Raph,” Leo says sincerely. “and you’re still keeping them together. I can’t even imagine how hard that’s been- I know it would have been so, so difficult for me to watch one of you go through what- what I did.” Phantom pain laces through him, and then fades. Leo doesn’t dwell on that nightmare longer than a second. “You might not think so, but you’ve done amazing. And I’m really proud of you for that.”

Raph stares at him for a long moment, and then lets out a small chuckle. He scrubs roughly at his nose, covering a soft sniffle, and turns away again. “Shut up, you sound like Sensei. It’s weird for my brother to say that.”

“I am basically your older brother though, so. Not so weird,” Leo points out, teasing just a little.

“None of us knows who’s actually older,” Raph says in a mumble, a fight they’ve all had multiple times over the years. Tonight though, it doesn’t become that. It’s just a welcome familiarity.

Leo gently moves himself closer to Raph, getting close enough he can sling an arm around his brother’s wide shoulders and give him a sideways hug. It only takes a second for Raph’s to wind around the back of Leo’s shell, hugging back.

“Dunno how you do this stuff all the time,” Raph says with a tired huff. “It’s exhausting being the responsible one.”

“After years of practice dealing with you assholes, I got the hang of it,” Leo replies, only fondness in his words.

“Yeah, well. Good to have you back, then,” Raph says, clearing his throat. It hardly hides the emotion there. “I was getting bored of being the stick in the mud anyway.”

Leo laughs quietly, feeling touched. “Good to be back.”

Raph hugs Leo to his side a moment longer, and then lets go. He doesn’t make any move to put space back between them after that. So they sit in relative silence on the steps, waiting for Donnie to finally be ready to sleep, and remain shoulder to shoulder the whole while.

After everything they’ve both been through the last months, it’s a welcome lull of peace.

--/--

Peace never seems to last long for them, not with how many enemies they’ve made and how often they get themselves into trouble. Leo regrets that this case happens to be caused by both at the same time; an enemy… coming from inside of them.

He’s failed a number of times over the years. Failed to have the strength to stop Shredder in that construction site that still haunts his nightmares, failed to stop him again from murdering Splinter at the worst possible time, and failed to save an entire world from oblivion. Thankfully, that was all undone for the most part, even if he still carries thick scarring up and down his leg and around his throat.

Donnie’s death was undone, too, but not really. Something like that can’t be taken back, not completely. An experience that traumatic doesn’t go away; Leo knows that too well.

Leo failed to see one of his team members, one of his family members, falling under the influence of something horrible, and both Donnie and April paid for it. Leo’s been on the receiving end of near death more than once, but never at the hands of one of their own. He can’t imagine being hurt like that, or hurting like that.

April says she’s fine, that she just needs time to recover, but the hollowness to her is clear as she leaves. Like a shell of herself, emptied out of what makes her shine so bright. A part of Leo wants to reach out and pull her back into his home- which hers too, after all this time- but he knows she won’t be open to comfort. Not yet. Maybe not for a while.

And besides. There’s a larger part of him that’s instinctively defensive. Defensive of his family, as much as April is a part of that. She’s still his friend, and he knows this wasn’t her fault, that they were the ones who hadn’t seen she wasn’t herself the past weeks-

But she hurt his brother. And that’s not something he can forgive easily.

They all need time apart, he thinks. Their whole team. When the wounds are less fresh, they’ll talk about it. Try to mend things between them all; give apologies for mistakes and figure out where they go from there. For now though, they go their separate ways.

In the end, Leo and his brothers do the same. Drifting to their individual rooms for restless sleep now that the immediate drama is over. Casey limped off into the early dawn not long after April did, and Splinter has already turned off his light by the time Leo and his siblings are closing their doors. Donnie shuts his first; making his point again that he’s not in the headspace to interact with anyone, much as they’ve all tried to.

Leo respects that sometimes, especially when bad things happen, you need time to collect yourself. He has moments like that still, more often now days when Karai wears the Kuro Kabuto around her base, less often than the months after his coma. He’ll give Donnie space until he’s ready to talk.

Though he should have expected, Donnie will never be ready to talk. The four of them are all repeat offenders for internalizing things and avoiding actual confrontation; Leo should have known that Donnie would lock himself inside his lab and skirt the subject of temporarily dying like it’s the plague.

Leo is familiar with bad coping mechanisms, and his family has rarely let him get away with them for long. Donnie was there for him after the fall of New York. Leo in turn is going to be there for him now.

And maybe Donnie wants that, however much he’s been shutting them out, because the lab doors aren’t locked when Leo tries to open them a week after the Za’naron Incident.

Donnie is bent over a lab table in the middle of the room, hunched around some fiddly bit of technology connected to… something. It’s in too many pieces for Leo to even try to figure out its purpose or use.

He crosses the room with a calm stride, approaching the table with as little intention to startle as possible. Not that its needed; his brother doesn’t even notice him directly on the other side of the table. Donnie only looks up when Leo clears his throat; eyes hidden by his black goggles and a distinct bleariness to his, “-whuh?”

Leo holds out one of the two cups of tea he’s brought. Donnie doesn’t need any more caffeine than he’s already doped himself on.

“Hi,” Leo says, smiling comfortingly. “feel like talking?”

Even with the goggles in place, Leo can see Donnie blink in confusion.

“’bout what?” He asks with a slight slur, scrutinizing Leo. The amount of sleep deprivation he must have hit by now is really starting to show. Leo sighs.

“You’re the genius here, Donnie. You know what about.”

A grimace tugs at Donnie’s mouth.

“And if I don’t want to?”

“Then I give a sternly disapproving glare and ask again later.”

“…and if I say I don’t want to, again?”

“Rinse and repeat.” Leo won’t stop coming back until they do this, just like his brothers didn’t stop until he actually talked about what happened in that construction site with the Shredder.

Talking about things like that hurts, but sometimes you need to hurt a little more before it gets better. Leo knows that. Donnie knows that, too.

Which is likely why Donnie sighs, putting down the soldering iron in his hands and pushing up his goggles to rub his eyes. They’ve got dark bags under them, and Leo ventures Donnie has scarcely gotten a full day’s sleep all week.

“Okay, let’s talk,” Donnie says quietly and holds out his hand for the tea. Leo gently presses it into his grasp, pulling up a seat to the table.

It’s probably only because Donnie’s been worn down over a whole week by all of them, trying at different times to get him to talk about his recent trauma, that Leo gets him to talk at all. It’s slow going, words coming in soft fits as Donnie fidgets with his tea and tools both. Leo is patient though, listening all the way through about Donnie’s early suspicions about April’s mental sanctity. Like he should have, right back at the beginning when Donnie first starting voicing concerns.

This could have been prevented. That is a stark and painful regret in Leo’s mind. But it wasn’t, so now they just have to pick up the pieces and put them back together best they can.

Leo doesn’t want this to have lasting damage on Donnie, or April, or their friendship. It probably will anyways. That may be the saddest fallout of this whole mess.

Leo listens to Donnie talk about how he started noticing irregularities in April’s behavior, little ticks that appeared or disappeared, and how he’d seen the obsessiveness she started about the crystal. Leo listens to his brother talk about the few times he tried to confront her about it, to try mitigating a possible disaster he suspected was budding, and how April had shut him out time and again. Leo has to hold his cup a little tighter when Donnie gets to the part that no one listened to him, and how that led to the Incident happening.

His voice gets very, very quiet as he talks about the moment he’d been suspended in the air. Leo hadn’t been able to hear anything of the exchange between April and his brother from below, but the conversation has clearly left its mark on Donnie.

It’s hard to listen to. There’s a long pause of silence when Donnie trails off, full of regrets and still sharply fresh memories.

“…I know it wasn’t her,” Donnie says eventually, voice nearly whisper quiet, “but I just… can’t get my head around the fact she. She knew me, still. At the last second, she talked to me. And then…” He swallows. “still did it anyway.”

Donnie’s eyes lift from his hands around his tea, giving Leo a look of guilt and deep pain. “Does it… does it make me a bad person?” He asks, voice wavering. “To feel mad at her for that, even though it’s not her fault?”

Leo tries to find something wise to say, something to heal that hurt with a single sentence, but he comes up empty. All he can say is, “No. No I don’t think it does. I think that’s… normal to feel.”

Donnie closes his eyes, takes a slow, shuddering breath, and opens his eyes again. They’re glossy under the lab lights, but Leo doesn’t say anything about that.

“It’s not her fault,” Donnie says again, like he’s been saying since the night happened. His voice is hoarse as he does. “I should have done something sooner. It’s not her fault this happened.”

“It’s not yours either,” Leo says gently, even as Donnie looks away from him. “We should have listened- all of us should have listened. You knew something was wrong and we ignored it. It’s not her fault, and it’s not yours. Okay? You did your best, Donnie.” His brother still won’t look at him, and the way Donnie’s jaw clenches is painful to watch.

“It wasn’t enough,” Donnie whispers tightly, eyes hard and bright. “It wasn’t enough and she. She.”

Killed me, hangs in the air. Bitter and heavy as it’d been the first night after.

“…she wouldn’t hurt you on purpose, Donnie. Not in her right mind,” Leo says, and it makes Donnie take a harsh breath in. “April wouldn’t do that to any of us. I’ve… talked with her, a few times. She feels awful about this. But it’s neither of your faults. It’s Za’naron’s, okay? Don’t take blame for something you shouldn’t.”

Donnie shakes his head mutely, and they lapse into silence again. The longer it stretches, the worse Leo feels about having nothing to really fix this. He understands now how Donnie must have felt, the months it took for Leo to recover from his coma. The wanting to say a few words and make his brother feel better, to understand it’s not his fault, that April wouldn’t hurt him on purpose, that he shouldn’t feel so badly for resenting her just a little for doing so…

That brings a thought to Leo’s mind. Accidental hurts.

“…Karai’s rebuilding the Foot clan,” Leo says, which is enough a topic change that Donnie finally looks at him again.

“…so?” Donnie asks. “She’s been doing that for months.”

Leo nods once. “She wears the Kuro Kabuto most nights, too.”

Donnie keeps giving him a look of blank confusion, obviously wondering why Leo’s brought this up right now. Leo keeps talking. “She uses his throne, too, you know. You’ve seen her in it. And they kept the same uniform dress code for the Foot soldiers. Even the same insignia.”

Donnie clearly doesn’t see Leo’s point yet. “And?”

“She’s taking his place, Donnie,” Leo says plainly. The shadowy form of Shredder looming over him plays in his memory, like it often does on bad nights. “He’s still out there, and she’s already decided she wants to put things back to how they’d been before. Except she’s the master of the clan this time around.” He laughs without humor. “It’s a little hard to see her walking around with that helmet on, you know?”

Donnie keeps staring in confusion until finally, it clicks.

“Oh. Oh, Leo,” Donnie’s expression morphs into sympathy. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I didn’t even- I never even thought of that. God.”

Leo nods, giving a wry smile. “I haven’t said anything, and I don’t plan to, but it’s… difficult to swallow. Spending years trying to dismantle the Foot and its control of New York, and having our own sister start building it right back up.” He gives himself a small shake, brushing off the old and new nightmares that follow him. “Look. Point is, Karai doesn’t even know she’s doing it and I doubt she’d mean to give me flashbacks on bad nights. And I know it’s not the same thing- not anywhere near the same thing, but… I just want you to know. I kind of get it. What it feels like to get hurt unintentionally by someone you care about.”

Donnie looks at him for a long moment, and then smiles wetly.

“It sucks a lot, doesn’t it?” He says, and then covers his mouth; hunching on himself. Leo is already coming around the table when Donnie let out the first muffled cry.

Leo is taller than his brother like this, him standing and Donnie sitting. He takes advantage of it to tuck his brother’s head under his chin while he hugs Donnie; holding onto his brother until he can pull himself back together. Donnie clutches Leo tightly, and barely lets out any sound as his breathing falters, then unsteadily continues. Growing stronger with each intake.

It won’t fix anything immediately, but it’s a good step towards fixing things eventually.

It’s as much a comfort to Donnie as it is to Leo; holding onto each other like this. Donnie had been outside anyone’s reach for help that night, but he’s here now. Tangible and alive.

A long time ago, Leo told himself he’d die before he let one of his brothers do so. He failed that promise. He makes a new one that he will never, ever, fail like this again. He couldn’t take the experience twice, he just couldn’t.

When Leo and Donnie finally emerge from the lab, cups empty and hearts at least a fraction lighter, they’re welcomed back by Raph and Mikey, who are none too subtly waiting on the couches for them. They take Donnie and set him in the middle of everything, surrounded on all sides by sympathy, comfort, and listening ears.

Donnie’s voice doesn’t waver so badly, now. Encircled and protected. It’s a small victory, but Leo will take it.

It’s not fixed with a single evening of sharing empathy, the broken and battered state of Donnie and April, of their relationship and minds, but it’s a start. And they- the two of them, Leo, their whole family- are all willing to work towards the better future lying ahead.

It’s Leo’s job, officially and unofficially, to make sure his brothers are okay. They’re not little kids anymore, but that doesn’t mean the gut reaction to keep them safe, to make them happy, has gone away. And so long as Leo has them by his side, it never will.

--/--

He fails his promise a second time.

Splinter dies, and Leo.

He.

Becomes lost.

The night it happens, everything burns. He cuts away the drowning grief and turns his blades on the source. He marches them into battle and refuses to let himself stop moving, one foot in front of the other, his bad leg be damned- until it’s over.

And then it is, and he.

He doesn’t know what to do.

Leo washes off the spray of mutant green blood on his hands, cleans his swords and gear, and then just. Sits. Stops thinking.

He sinks. Silently. Into himself, his mind, the black ocean that’d claimed him on and off, after the Shredder broke him the first time. He sinks, and he can’t even wonder if he’s drowning. He just knows he is.

Leo has always guided his brothers, but he has always been guided in turn. By their father, by the only source of parental love they’ve ever had. The first person to ever love them. Shells and all, unconditionally.

And now Splinter is gone, and Leo. Leo needs to.

Lead them. Protect them. His brothers, he has to keep them safe in place of their father. That’s his job. But.

He can’t. Not like this.

There’s no do-over this time. No time travel, no psychic power. Just. Finality.

Leo feels like he’s dying as he kneels in front of the dojo tree. He almost wishes he was. It would be escape from a grief that’s swallowing him up and leaving nothing behind. Only emptiness.

He doesn’t know which way to go, how to move forwards. Leo’s eyes burn, like he’s been trying to do to everything poisoning him through. It hurts, but not nearly as much as his heart does. Splinter is dead. He’s dead and never coming back. There’s no one left to lead him, no one left to tell Leo that it will be alright, even in the worst moments when he’s too weak to say it himself. How could he move forwards from this, how could he ever move past it-

How is he supposed to-

-live like this, missing such a huge chunk of himself and- and-

-he’s all alone, in charge and bearing a mantle that’s still decades too big for him to hope to handle. He’s not ready, he can’t be the Sensei, he doesn’t want to be a Sensei, he just wants to be a son and be held, be quieted and told it’s okay, it’ll all be okay, eventually, don’t worry, you’re not-

“-alone, Leo,” Mikey whispers, arms tight around Leo’s back. His voice is hoarse, but firm. “You got us. It’s gonna be okay, you got us. We got you.”

Leo comes back from the suffocating depths, where his worst fears and memories hold him in night terrors and flashbacks, and takes in a shuddering breath. His face is wet, and everything hurts, but Mikey is here. He’s not alone.

A second set, stronger and broader, wrap around them both from the side. Raph’s forehead is laid on Leo’s shoulder, hiding the struggle Raph hates to show, but comforting. Saying he’s here, too, for Leo. On the opposite side, the way only lanky arms can, Donnie encircles all three of them in his grasp. Adding his tireless support, the way he always gives it whenever one of them is in need. Leo is wrapped up in a group hug and he’s no longer alone.

He was never alone. He’ll never be alone.

Not so long as he has his brothers.

Leo sobs hoarsely, but he doesn’t fall any further. He’s drawn up and away, kept from the ocean of despair by three pairs of arms that would never leave him there. Supporting and grounding, keeping him present and together. Holding onto him until he can hold himself up again.

And they need him, too. They’re broken, but they’re together. Their father is gone but they’re all still here, the four of them. Like it’s always been.

Leo raises his hands, gripping Donnie and Raph and Mikey’s arms, and holds onto them just as tightly.

Leo can’t be their Sensei, no matter what their father wanted, but he. He can be this. He can be their brother.

And maybe that’s enough.

--/--

They move forwards. They move on. They mend the hole that Splinter left, but they don’t close it over. It’s there, and always will be, but it fades to an old scar like the many others covering their bodies. It becomes bearable.

Leo leans on his brothers until he can stand again, and then they walk forwards together. Supporting and being supported.

Their father is gone, but like they always have, right from the start.

They have each other. They have their brothers.

For Leo, that will always be enough.

Commission info & Kofi link.

#spec commissions #tmnt #tmnt 2012 #leonardo #My writing #team as family #this leo? this is a good leo #he works hard and does his best #he makes me proud #what a good bean #Good Older Brother Leo AU #shame this has to be an AU #bc canon is and always will be shit

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