sparkling green eyes, dazzling green lines
word count: 8.8k
summary: "Habibti." The words slip past his tongue naturally as he reads the text on your wrist, and you stare up at him, eyes wide, pupils blown, fascination all over your face— you're in love with him.
حبيبتي.
You trace it on your skin each morning, gentle smile on your face, dumb like a lovesick idiot. It reminds you that you're loved, even if you have never met your soulmate, ever, in your life. Even when you didn't know, you had panicked and asked your friends if they knew what it was, in which the next seven hours after your seventh birthday was spent crowded around a computer on your iPad, trying to imitate the foreign language on your skin.
After seven hours, your mother, bless her, had noted it was in Arabic. Your father returned home shortly after, helping you translate the word.
Habibti. It meant beloved in Arabic.
Your young heart swelled as your friends gushed over it.
Beloved. Your soulmate calls you beloved at first meeting.
You had clung onto it, heart full and spinning. You told yourself that your soulmate must be a romantic just from the fact that he would call you his love first meeting. You had dreams of a fairy tale meeting, falling in front of him in the hallway during school, accidentally bumping into him while out, a stranger offering you an umbrella in the rain, the list goes on. Your friends had gotten tired of you after the second week, all of them off to find their own soulmates. You didn't know anything about him.
But the passion for finding your soulmate wears off just as fast as it had arrived, quickly realizing that you wouldn't be able to find him if you were in a town where you knew everyone. No one would call you that upon first meeting. Even if it was halfway across the world, you stopped dreaming about meeting your soulmate after you started college. If you wanted to meet him, you'd have to travel. You don't know where, but wherever you were allowed, you went. Even if it emptied your pockets and left you desperate in the streets, you had some of the best experiences of your life, all in the name of looking for your soulmate.
Even at graduation, when you're throwing your cap into the sky with your friends, wrist out for the world to see, the characters traced and colored in gold thanks to your friends, the green of the letters shimmering, you're thankful for everything you've poured your soul into. Your soulmate was someone you no longer craved, the world at your fingertips, a job in your pocket, your life set out before you. Fate was strong in your hands, another string in your life. You followed it with fervor, spinning and chasing after it with some childish will in your life.
You push everything related to your soulmate mark back when you step foot into Wayne Enterprises, nodding slowly at the three men as they welcome you to the team. You had expected the older boys, but you didn't complain. Not when Bruce Wayne himself was part of the three men.
"These are my two sons. Tim Drake, he's my third," You shake Tim's hand. "And Damian Wayne. My youngest."
You smile at him too, taking his hand.
"Habibti." The words slip past his tongue naturally as he reads the text on your wrist, and you stare up at him, eyes wide, pupils blown, fascination all over your face. Damian raises a brow at the way you react, breath catching in his throat at how enthralled you are with him, features pulled back, eyes sparkling.
"Woah." You manage, a smile breaking onto your face as the words slip past. Damian does not know you. Hell, he's just met you, yet you were staring at him as if he was your world. You had that lovesick look that he had seen on Dick's face way too many times, and he was getting a little uncomfortable. It must be some sick joke. There's no way his soulmate could look at him like that the first time they meet. Yet, as you stare into his eyes, sun sparkling in your eyes, he finds himself breathless. Shit.
Bruce clears his throat behind the two of you.
"Sorry!" You let go of Damian's hand, the loss of contact knocking the air back into his lungs. "Not many people can read my soulmate mark here in the States. I was just surprised."
"So? Is he your soulmate?" Bruce's lip quirks upward.
Damian lies through his teeth. "No. My words are different."
Tim raises a brow behind Bruce, and Damian gives him a warning look.
"Well, regardless," Bruce hums. "You'll be working closely with my two sons for the next couple of weeks. We're very interested in the medical research you conducted while an undergrad in your major, so we'd like to sponsor your research. Your updates would go to my two sons, and I'll meet with you at the end of the month to see if you need more time."
You nod. "An honor, sir."
"The honor is all ours." Tim smiles, shaking your hand.
"Damian will lead you to the lab."
You follow behind his youngest, eyes still wide, trailing behind him like a lovesick puppy. Even if he wasn't your soulmate, he had called you beloved first meeting. You were enthralled. The two of you step into the elevator, and you wait for the door to close before speaking up.
"Are we really not soulmates?" You blink at him.
He shows you his wrist, your words in brown. "We are."
"Oh." You smile at him again. Damian grimaces at how bright you are. The universe sent him a sun because he was grouchy, didn't it?
"This is the lab you'll be using. It is all yours." He hums. "Requests can be sent through the computer, just type it on the notepad."
You nod, glancing around the room, fidgeting.
"What is it?" He raises a brow.
"You're not big on soulmates, are you?" You smile apologetically.
"Not really."
"Alright. Thank you."
Damian is half expecting you to pester him to the moon and back just based on how you looked at him the first time you met. Instead, you spend most of your time holed up in the lab, desperate to replicate results from your previous study. He can't deny that his heart sours a little at how easily you respect his boundaries, but he asked for it himself, so he finds no reason to complain. Huh, he would have to register the soulmate mark with you.
He knocks on the door to your lab, silence answering him. After a couple of minutes, you open the door.
"Sorry, did I make you wait? I had to put everything back." You blink at him.
"We need to register our soulmate bond."
"Ah. Right." You furrow your brows. "When are you available?"
"Tomorrow after work."
"So like... three?"
"Yes."
"Alright. Should I meet you up at the office?"
"I will come down to find you." He glances at the way none of your hair is visible from the cap.
"Alright." You hum. "See you then."
Damian is grasping at anything he can to try and talk to you. He can't believe he's like this, lovesick like some teenager, desperate to talk to you as if you were the only person that mattered in his life. He feels like Dick. It's awful. He loosens his tie as he stands on the elevator, irritation all over his face.
"You look like shit." Tim clicks his tongue.
"Be quiet, Drake." Damian grumbles.
"Registering your soulmate bond?"
"Yeah." He mumbles. "How did your registration go?"
"Smoothly. I told you."
"If only we had met under better circumstances."
"My soulmate didn't stare at me like I was God." Tim shrugs. "Good afternoon, Mr. Strawn."
The man nods.
The two men shut up as Damian steps off at your floor.
"Hey!" You've taken off all the clothes you wear in the lab, dressed for a date. Damian wonders if he's dressed too formal for this. "I brought all my documents. Do you have yours?"
"The city hall has all of my files on hand."
"Forgot, billionaire and all that." You laugh. "Let's get going."
The two of you hitch the next ride down, Damian taking you to his car, opening your door for you, head racing.
"There is always the possibility of us being platonic soulmates." Damian finds himself speaking up as he fastens his seatbelt.
"Yeah." You purse your lips to think. "Would you be alright with that?"
"We are soulmates. The universe obviously has something planned."
"Then what if we're romantic soulmates?"
"Then I suppose we would have to try." Damian pulls out of the parking garage, handing the guard his ticket, driving off. "Are you against it?"
"Oh, definitely not." You smile. "There is no downside for me."
"Not even the public's eye?"
"I've been scrutinized by my family my whole life." You smile. "I blew all my excess scholarship money on travelling because I wanted to meet my soulmate."
"Where did you go?"
"I went to Palestine, Israel, dropped by at Dubai, Egypt, and then my friends and I drove from Istanbul all the way to Western Europe." You count on your fingers. "I had a lot of people greet us first and then notice the writing on my wrist. The emerald green really stands out. I hadn't expected..." Your voice trails off, eyes staring into his, Damian unable to stare back because of the road. "I hadn't expected your eyes to match so nicely. They're breathtaking."
"Do you speak to everyone like this?"
"No." You hum, looking back outside your window. "But I have been told I have a way with words."
"Yeah?" He stops at the red light, turning to stare at your eyes. "I wonder what your eyes look like under the sun."
"Weren't you staring at them a couple days ago?" You pull out your phone.
"That wasn't directly under the sun." He mumbles, starting the car again.
"Do you speak to everyone like this?"
"No." He breathes. "Just to you."
You try to fight the warmth spreading up your neck to your cheeks, failing miserably as you resort to hiding your face in your hand for the rest of the ride.
"Is there any specific thing we need to do?"
"My brothers mentioned that we need our words scanned, but that was it." He hums. "You have your passport and license, correct?"
"Yeah." You hum. "Is that all I need?"
"Yes." He grabs a ticket and drives down to park, the two of you getting out of his car. "Come on." He leads the way, eyes pining down the paparazzi immediately. You glance in the direction he glared, only for him to move to block you from their view. The two of you make it into the building quicker, the elevator door closing behind the two of you.
"That was?"
"Paparazzi." He fishes out his phone, making a call." Yes. May we head up immediately? We will be there."
You blink as he presses the top floor, and for a second, you understand what it's like to live as a billionaire. A single phone call puts you at priority. You shift uncomfortably when the two of you arrive at the top floor, following Damian as he steps into the mayor's room, letting you sit down first.
"Ah, Mr. Wayne." He smiles, and you detect the lack of sincerity on his face immediately. Rather, the fake smile causes you to sit straighter, a smile lacking equal truth making its way onto your face. Damian shakes the mayor's hand, sitting down as well. "What brings you here?"
"Brought my soulmate to get our mark registered." He hums. "You have all my documents, so this should be quick, correct?"
"Of course. We just need both of your words scanned, and then the soulmate's legal documents — You're quite pretty."
You smile at him, laughing lightly. "Thank you. Here's the passport."
"Not a Gotham born, eh?"
"Nope. Moved here for work."
"Do you plan on staying?"
"Well, since my soulmate is here, I don't think moving is that big of a priority right now." You hum.
"May we have your wrist?"
You hold your wrist out, scanner registering the words, and Damian does the same, your words both popping up on the screen.
"What are the characters?"
"Arabic." Your smile turns sweet, bright, even, and the words come tumbling past your lips, like you had been proud to have those as your words your whole life, holding them dear to your heart. Damian's heart stutters in his chest at how enamored you look.
"Was the "woah" first or second?" The mayor turns to ask Damian.
"After. I had read the characters, and the only reaction I was given was "Woah."" Damian hums. "Are we finished?"
"Yes." The mayor laughs. "It's very much a romantic soulmate. Have the two of you..?"
"Not yet." Damian hums, standing up, holding his hand out for you. "Thank you, Mr. Mayor."
"Pleasure's all mine, Mr. Wayne. I hope to see the both of you at the Wayne gala later this year."
Damian leads you back to the elevator, music filling the air as the two of you stand there in silence.
"When would you like our first date to be?" Damian steps to the side, turning to look at you.
"Oh, um." You frown. "I'm not sure. I'd go, but I already submitted my leave for the weekend. My friend and her soulmate are getting married."
Damian raises a brow. "Not here?"
"They're getting married in the Maldives." You laugh awkwardly. "Her soulmate is loaded."
"More than me?" Damian raises a brow playfully.
"Well, loaded in the millionaire way." You smile. "Not billionaire."
"Do you have a date? Should I go with you?"
"Oh." You pause. "I could bring you, huh?" You press your fingers to your lips, pursing them. "I put down a plus one because I was expecting to bring another friend... I suppose it could be you."
"Did you put down a name?"
"No. They do not have a seating chart."
"Mm." He pauses. "is it too fast?"
"No, no!" You smile. "I'll send you the details... via email?" You grimace at how strange it sounds.
"May I have your phone? I can give you my number."
"Yes." You fish it out for him as he hands you his phone. You type your name in, typing habibti under company. You text yourself as he does with himself. The two of you trade phones back, and you send Damian the packing list and details of the wedding immediately. Damian scrolls through the list, pausing.
"Is there a specific invitation I am required to bring?"
"I have both. I will bring them." You smile. "Any other questions?"
The elevator stops at parking, and Damian leads you out. You make a beeline for the car this time, texting your friend to confirm the guest you would be bringing. She asks you if it's your soulmate, and you tell her to check the Gotham Gazette in the morning. She sends you a flurry of texts.
"Will our soulmate bond get leaked?"
"Perhaps by the paparazzi. Why?"
"I'd like for it to be a good photo of me."
"I will let my publicist know."
You check the news the next morning, beaming at how good you look in the photo. Damian looks protective of you, and as you rush to your lab in the morning, your heart is warm. You're glad he has a good eye for that, at the very least. The groupchat explodes with people looking for you, asking if it was true your soulmate was Damian, your friend private texting you to check if your guest was Damian. You only respond to your friend, confirming his attendance. She tells you she expects an expensive gift out of you, and you snort. You joke about relaying her message to Damian.
You tuck everything away as you get back to your experiment.
The end of the day comes quickly, and as you close the lab for the night, you blink when you stare at Damian at the door. You click on your phone, checking to see if you had missed any messages from him, but nothing appears. You raise a brow as you open the door with all of your stuff. "Something wrong, Mr. Wayne?"
"Damian is fine." He nods. "I was wondering what I should bring for your friend's wedding."
"Mm," You frown. "I was going to bring her a nice bottle of wine from one of my travels, but I'm sure you have something much better than that in the winehouse at your place."
"We do. We have a screaming eagle cabernet from the 90s."
"Woah." You blink. "That sounds like a lot. Isn't that like 500k?"
"We have multiple bottles." He insists. "I can bring one."
You grimace. "If you insist."
"It can be our gift. From the both of us."
"The tabloids have already started calling me a gold digger." You laugh.
"My publicist will take care of that. I will have father get you one."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." He hums. "Where do you live? I can drive you home."
"Um." You give him your address. It takes him a moment to figure out where you live, and then the two of you are off.
"I will send someone for you tomorrow," He hums. "We can take the private jet. I already got your tickets refunded."
"Oh. Wow." You blink at him in awe. "That's really kind. Thank you."
"No worries." He hums. "You should get used to it."
"Do all your brothers spoil their soulmates like that?"
"Grayson, the eldest," Damian grumbles. "worships the ground his soulmate steps on. Todd does the same, though less obvious about it. Drake's known his soulmate forever so the two of them click too well. Duke and his soulmate are platonic soulmates, but the two of them get along far better than we do as a family. Steph and Cass both have not found their soulmates and father..." he pauses. "father and his soulmate are... an interesting two."
"So your family all spoil their soulmates?"
"There is nothing out of reach with the amount of money we have. It is not spoiling if we are simply letting them get whatever they want because it is not a burden on us financially." Damian takes a turn. "We do not consider it spoiling."
"That's sweet." You smile. "How big were their rings?"
"Grayson's soulmate got the biggest diamond in existence. None of us could believe our eyes." Damian hums. "How big of a diamond would you want?"
"I'd like you to hand make a ring for me." You grin. "Of course, if you don't have time, I want something the color of your eyes to match my soulmate mark."
"Why not both?" He stops at the door to your apartment.
"How about you?" You open the door, tilting your head at him.
"Whatever color your eyes are."
You hate how good he is with his words.
Damian drives home, your words in the back of his mind. A handmade ring. Maybe you'd be willing to wear his name on your skin if he makes you a ring with a gem the color of his eye. Though, he'd be rushing. Even if his skin burned to touch you and his heart raced to be held by you, he did not wish to rush it. Messing up with you was far scarier than getting hurt during patrol.
He texts the family chat that he would be using the jet the next day, to which Dick had asked eagerly where he was going. Damian leaves him on read. He finds you at the door in the morning the next day, taking your suitcase from you as you yawn.
"Did you have breakfast yet?"
You blink at him, rubbing your eyes. "No. Do you have food?"
"You can have some of Grayson's cereal."
You blink harder as he hands you a bowl with the cereal and milk, and you stare at the cereal brand.
"Wow. The amount of sugar in this could kill someone."
"Some days I wish it were enough to kill Grayson."
You pour out a little bit of the cereal, pouring the milk in, and then dig in. You read the ingredients as Damian goes upstairs, pulling his own luggage down the stairs, meeting you back in the kitchen when you finish. You clean the dishes, setting them to the side as Damian comes to get you.
"You did not need to wash the dishes."
"I didn't want to leave a mess." You reason.
"It's fine. We're leaving now. You ready?"
"Yeah." You grin. "Is takeoff rough?"
"It's very smooth." He hums. "I gave the pilot the address and everything already. We land in around three hours."
"Alright." You hum.
The jet, plane, was huge. You blink in surprise at the size as Damian leads you up the steps, and you blink quietly. "Woah."
"Surprised?"
"What's the use of having such a large plane? Isn't the carbon footprint huge?"
"We usually fly first class, but I figured since your friends all wanted to see what kind of a person you were dating, I shouldn't be stingy." Damian hums.
"There's really no need." You laugh.
"Also, more privacy." He hums. "I figured you deserve to know what kind of life I live outside of the tabloids."
You tilt your head at him. "Are you going to tell me you're Batman or something?"
The plane door shuts behind him, and he exhales.
"Robin."
Your eyes widen, lips pursing, surprise on your face.
"Is that too much too quick?"
"No." You pause. "No. That's. That's actually kind of hot."
Damian raises a brow.
"Are you still Robin? Because I think—"
"No," Damian shakes his head. "I run around with another name now, already graduated from the title, but I thought I would tell you since."
"Yeah." You exhale. "What about the weekend?"
"Todd and Drake are here. There is no need to fret."
"So your whole family is in on the business?"
"Yes."
"Wow." You mumble. "That's..."
Damian braces himself for the worst. He doesn't know why, your face is far from disgusted or terrified, but he still does. Maybe you would reject him or tell him to stop. That would be a nightmare.
"And you like doing it?"
"Yes." He raises a brow.
"Um, please don't come back to me dead. Ever. Please." You scratch your cheek. "If you like doing it, then I won't stop you. I'd just prefer you don't die on the job."
"Do not worry. If I were to die, my mother would simply drop me into the Lazarus pit." Damian jokes.
"That's some lore drop there." You blink. "That's real?"
"Yes." He raises a brow. "For the same reason my grandfather is immortal, by the same logic, so would I."
"Woah." You mumble. "I heard rumors of it when I was travelling. I didn't know it existed."
"Fountain of youth."
"Is that why you look so good?"
"No." He shakes his head. "I take care of myself."
"I don't doubt that." You smile.
"And you?"
"I told you I travel." You nod. "Oh, it might be good to tell you about the friend getting married."
You tell him details about how the two of you met, telling him about your other friends at the same time, mumbling about how you thought her soulmate was actually an asshole just from the way he treated her friends, and then casually mentioning his name, Damian blinking.
"Do you know him?"
"Drake has done business with his family before."
"His family's a nightmare. The only reason I'm going is because my friend is an angel. I wouldn't go for any other reason."
Damian finds peace in the way your voice floods his senses, gathering intel on your friends, understanding who he had to avoid and who he could make small talk with. He had a feeling he'd know a couple of the people there from the groom's side, and from the way you talked about him, it wouldn't be pleasant if they found out he was your soulmate. Despite that, he finds that there is no need to worry too much. You were close to the bride's side. That's all that seemed to matter to you. You pause at some point, almost as if you were thinking of something.
"Something wrong?"
"We brought the wine, right?"
"Yes. I had the servants bring it."
"Alright." You mumble. "I'm not looking forward to what the groom has to say to me about you."
"I will stay next to you the whole time. My publicist will deal with everything."
"Speaking of which, who is your publicist?"
Damian smiles. "Grayson's soulmate."
"Ahhh." You laugh. That checks out.
There's not much jetlag when the two of you land, and you stare at the afternoon sun through your shades, hand held up. It's nice and warm, a contrast to the spring weather in Gotham. Damian leads you to the car, making a call as he does, handing you the tablet for you to choose which suite to get upgraded to.
"Are we sharing a bed?" You blink at him.
"We can order a room with two beds if you'd like."
"Would that be rude?"
"Not at all."
Damian finds that you've selected a room with a king bed instead, noticing the way your ears were flushed as you stared out the window. He confirms with the hotel on the call, putting the charge on his father's card. He wondered if you would call this spoiling. His brothers had told him that his soulmate deserved the best treatment, and Damian couldn't really tell what they had meant. He never lived a normal life. He wasn't sure if his normal was their best or if there was something better that he could give them. He opts for staring at your face instead, taking in your features.
"The upgrade." He swallows. "It is alright, right?"
"Yes." You smile at him. "It's more than okay. Thank you, a lot."
"The best, for you." He mumbles.
The two of you settle into the hotel room. Damian glances at the clothes you bring, exhaling quietly to himself when he realizes he brought a decent palette of clothes. The wedding's theme was lavender, and he was starting to get worried that he wouldn't be able to match with you at all, but he's happy to find that you've got colors similar to his.
"Do I need to call you anything?"
"It'd be funny if you call me habibti," You grin. "The bride is a friend from when I first got my soulmate mark. She was there when we tried searching up what the word on my wrist meant."
"Ah. You go back a long time."
"A very long time." You smile. "What was it like for you? Seeing your soulmate mark?"
"My family was in my room at midnight, including my mother, and everyone groaned when I got the most generic word ever. They thought I would never find my soulmate. Todd joked that my soulmate must be blown away by my face." He hums in amusement, noticing you avert your gaze. "I still owe him twenty. Dick's soulmate word was "hello" and only Drake had something remotely entertaining."
"What was it? If you don't mind me asking." You blink at him.
"I quote "We should get married." It was quite the sentence." Damian chuckles.
"That sounds funny." Your lips pull up into a smile. "I had a friend get "we should fuck" as their first sentence. Then I found out my best friend at the time had "Yo." as theirs."
"Did you like your first line?"
"I did." You beam at him, unclasping the clip for your suitcase. "I loved it. When my father told me it meant darling or my love in Arabic, I was elated. I thought my soulmate would be the most romantic man in the world, and I was ecstatic."
"Am I?" Damian raises a brow as you pull out a dress.
"Yes." Your smile stretches impossibly wider. "I'm very happy."
"I'm happy to hear that. What's the dress code for tonight?"
"You brought a polo, right? Rich boy, old money vibes. Polo shirt and khakis."
"Got it." He nods. "What color will you be wearing?"
"Everything I brought is some variation of the color palette for the wedding," You hum. "I'll be wearing this."
"I am sure you'll look dashing in it, habibti." He smiles.
You flush at the word, hiding your face in your dress.
"Is it too much?"
"No." You smile at him. "Just enough. I'll get used to it."
Damian wonders what kind of friends you had at seven. Yet, he finds himself blinking in surprise when the two of you arrive at the event.
"Woah, he's an item..." Your friend's jaw drops, patting your shoulders gently. "Damian Wayne? Pleasure to meet you. I'm your soulmate's best friend."
"No, I am." Another friend butts in.
"You're all wrong." The bride scoffs playfully. "I am."
Damian nods at them.
"We'll bring the gift tomorrow at the wedding." You smile at the bride, rushing off with them as Damian heads over to the side, making small talk with who he assumed the groom was. He finds himself with his eyes on you the whole night, only sparing glances at the people he was talking to when you would stare back at him. You look pretty. He understands why his brothers had clicked with their soulmates so quickly now. He excuses himself at some point, pressing his chest to your back, hand resting on your waist.
"Having fun? That's your second margarita, not to mention your cocktails."
You grin at him, cheeks flushed from the alcohol. "It's actually my fourth."
"I think that is enough." He hums. "There's still a dinner."
"I can hold my alcohol." You mumble, and Damian takes the glass from your hand, downing the whole thing in one gulp. You blink at him, wide-eyed. "Woah."
"Let's get you seated, hm? Dinner starts soon. Cocktail hour is for after the dinner."
"Can I bring a drink to our room later?" You mumble.
"Yes." He excuses the two of you from the bride, settling down where your names were put, and he presses a patch into your skin, rubbing your arm as he waits for the neutralizer to course through your system. He probably should have asked if you were okay with it, but he has one on himself, so it's not like he was actively trying to drug you. You turn your head when you notice him rubbing the patch onto your skin, mind clearing a little.
"What is that?"
"Neutralizer. It helps with filtering alcohol."
"Oh, it works." You grin at him. "Thank you."
"Of course. I have one in my arm too."
"That sure explains why you didn't pass out from the sheer glasses of champagne you were having." You mumble.
"Who's at our table?"
"Two other girls and their soulmates. The two girls that were next to the bride and I earlier."
"Alright." He hums, letting his hand fall down to your side, staring at you as you wave your friends over. "Any exes?"
"Nope. I didn't date anyone that didn't greet me with what was on my wrist. It was pretty easy, considering that most people are ignorant. I also kept a bracelet around my wrist for the most part." You smile. "You?"
"Two. Maybe. I do not know if they count. I hooked up with them while..."
"In costume?"
"yeah."
You shrug, starting a conversation with your friend instead, catching up with her. Damian listens briefly, eyes focused on you instead, enamored with you. He's hopeless, he decides. He has no saving grace from you. He doesn't get to make fun of his brothers anymore, not when he was just like them. Your friends take notice of it, smiling when he notices their gaze. You're loved. Just from the way your friends had smiled at him and then at you, you're loved. He understands why. It'd be hard not to love you.
You excuse yourself early, exhaustion from the plane setting in late, Damian helping you up and leading the two of you back. You let the bride know with a hand on her back, and she shoos you away playfully, mumbling about how you should use protection. You sigh dramatically, telling her you'd make her an aunt on purpose. It was a joke from the way you had said it, but Damian wonders if you'd actually want kids of your own — shit, his brain was moving fast. He barely knows you.
"Were you actually tired?"
"Any longer and you would've seen how embarrassing my friends get when drunk." You mumble. "Embarassing bunch."
"How embarrassing?" He raises a brow. "My brothers are a nightmare when drunk as well."
"They won't shut up." You press your keycard on the lock. "About me."
"They love you a lot."
"They do." You turn to smile at Damian. "And I love them too, even if they don't shut up about my embarrassing stories when drunk. They're probably embarrassing the bride instead though."
"That would make more sense."
"They kept trying to get people to read the writing on my wrist last time." You hum. "That was after grad."
"So recently."
"Yeah. No one was able to read it." You laugh. "And the ones who could, they didn't say it to me. They called my friends habibti."
"You do not say it with an accent." Damian notices. "Habibti."
"Huh?" You pause while rummaging for your sleepwear. "Oh, yeah. I... my parents got me an Arabic teacher for a little while because I wanted to learn when I first got my mark. I've also visited... a lot of the countries? In part it's because I'd repeat the word to myself until I feel asleep until like..." You avert your gaze, going back to your suitcase. Damian notices you start flushing. "end of high school?"
"Ten years?" Damian exhales. "You whispered your word to yourself before bed for ten years?"
"Yeah." You finally find your pajamas in the baggage. "A little bit of a hopeless romantic, huh?"
Damian doesn't answer you, staring into your eyes instead, unmoving, barely blinking.
"Is it that bad?"
Damian breaks from his trance. "No. Not at all. It's..." endearing — but he can't say that, so he offers you a nod instead. He curses himself for the lack of game when it came to you, but as you rush to change in the bathroom, he sighs. It's hopeless. He's enamored. He understands why you had stared up at him with your pupils blown wide and lips parted upon first meeting. He does the same now, staring down at you like you were his everything, even if he knew barely anything about you outside of what you had told him. Well, he could always ask Drake to hack and gather intel on you. But it'd be a breach of privacy that he didn't want to cross with you. Ugh.
He pushes his hair back in frustration, opting for clearing his mind with work instead. Even if he had taken the weekend off with you, he should really do something that isn't thinking of all the ways he'd have your skin pressed to his at night — no, fuck. Damian opens his laptop, clicks on his VPN and the wifi, sorting through the emails from the WE teams instead. He barely notices the sound of the bathroom door opening and you step out with your sleepwear on. At some point, Tim texts him to get off his emails and enjoy the time with you, threatening to bench him. Damian grimaces, wondering how he could get benched in a company situation, but he doesn't argue back. He was trying to avoid talking to you, after all.
You're in bed on your phone, scrolling through something.
"What are you looking at?" Damian settles on his side of the bed.
"I'm watching my friend's wedding tiktoks." You smile, rolling over to show him. "The preparation ones. She's going to make more tomorrow."
Damian hums. "Can I put an arm around your waist? My arm..."
"Yeah." You grin. "You can touch me."
Damian's breath catches in his throat at how straightforward you are, arm wrapping around your torso slowly, resting his chin on your head, glancing down at your phone.
"Do you think about weddings?"
You close your phone, plugging it back in on the strand, settling yourself in Damian's arms. "Sometimes."
"What kind do you want?"
"I want your name on my skin at the wedding," You mumble, eyes already closed.
"Like bridal henna?"
"Mhm."
Damian struggles to sleep the whole night because of your words. Though, it's not like he's gone without sleep before. Instead, he spends the night matching his breathing to yours, wrapping his arms tighter around you, taking in the scent of your shampoo. At some point his eyes close, body betraying him and falling to the need. He wakes up to you shifting in his arms, turning around to get a look at his face better, lashes blinking on his skin, eyes staring up at him, sun reflecting in them.
Damian's breath hitches, and in his morning stupor, he rests his forehead on yours, staring into your eyes, nose touching yours, the love of the universe in the way he looks at you. His shoulders relax as he continues looking, sure that his pupils have expanded beyond repair, utterly enamored with how you looked in the morning. His arms squeeze around your waist affectionately, moving to bury his head into the crook of your neck, exhaling as he does.
"Good morning." He feels you smile.
"Good morning to you too, habibti." He mumbles back, smile mirroring yours, he's sure.
The wedding moves without too big of an issue, the two of you bring the wine and leave it at the gift table, Damian sits next to you the whole time, watching as you get the bouquet practically launched at you, catching it with a flinch, chasing after the bride with the bouquet as a weapon, messing up your hair in the meantime but getting a laugh out of it. Damian stands to the side, talking only briefly with the groom's family, introducing himself as your soulmate, not Damian Wayne. He was yours first before he was a businessman now. Yours. It rings nicely in his head. He was yours. He would be fine with that — being yours.
At some point you return to Damian's side, sighing with the bouquet in hand.
"When's our wedding?" You joke, putting the bouquet on the table.
"It'll take a while." Damian hums, smoothing out your hair for you. "We still have to date and get engaged."
"I should've dodged."
"You wouldn't have been able to. Your friend did it on purpose." Damian mumbles, finishing with your hair.
"Is it alright?"
"Yes." He presses his lips to your forehead. "You look great, habibti."
You smile at him, the moon behind you this time.
"When do we fly?"
"I booked the plane for tomorrow." Damian hums. "We can sleep in."
"Oh, bless." You grumble. "The shoes are killing me."
"Would you like mine?" He offers. "Or would you like for me to carry you back?"
You pause, glancing at the emptier hall.
"I wouldn't dare let you take off your shoes for me." You smile at him.
"Sit, please," and you do, settling down as Damian gets on a knee, slipping your heels from your feet, holding onto them with one hand, the other hooking under your knees as he tells you to wrap your arms around his neck. You yelp as he does, and you wave bye to the bride as he settles you in his arms bridal style, your arms around his neck for support as he holds onto your shoes.
"Please don't drop me." You mumble.
"I wouldn't dare." He steps toward the elevator, pressing your floor as you pull the room card out from your pocket. (you had shown him before, with a spin, that your dress had pockets. Damian made a note to remember you liked them.)
He sets you on bed, loosening his tie and placing your heels down by your shoes, taking off his blazer to hang up in the closet. He watches you shimmy out of the dress, naked form to his eyes, breath catching in his throat at the way the moonlight illuminates your skin. He doesn't move, watching as you pull the robe from next to him, body on autopilot as you step into the showers. He'd wash up after you, unbuttoning his shirt and ditching his pants, sorting through his own luggage to find a change of clothes.
You open the door to the bathroom, robe on, blinking at his bare back.
"You're built like a wall." You blurt.
"Am I?" Damian hums.
"Does this come with your family or something? All of you are HUGE." You rub the towel through your hair.
"I suppose it does." Damian stands up, change of clothes in hand. "It's also from the training."
"For night?" You try your best to be vague. Damian appreciates it.
"Yes." He nods. "Would you like to see when we get back?"
"Sure." You grin. "Is it big?"
"It's a cave." Damian closes the door to the bathroom.
"Woah." You mumble. "Wild."
You settle yourself in the bed, back on your phone, yawning as you respond to a couple texts, scrolling through your email, checking the CCTV footage of the experiment you were doing. You had someone checking to see if the experiment was working, and from what they had told you, everything had replicated perfectly. You let out a sigh of relief when you found out. It would be fine. You'd finish with it, and then you'd retire somewhere with the money promised you in the contract. You worked hard for the moment.
You feel the bed dip behind you.
"Looking at the updates?"
"The experiment is moving faster than before." You mumble. "I should be able to report to your father in around a week."
"And then?"
You blink. "Not sure. I was thinking of finding a high rise to live in."
"Not with me?" Damian wraps his arms around you, getting comfortable.
"Don't you still live in the manor?"
"It's comfortable there." He mumbles. "I also have an empty apartment of my own. Would you like to move there?"
"Would you move in with me?" You turn to face him, phone on the nightstand.
"If you'd like."
"Yes, please," You grin. "If you'd like."
"Then I'd love to." He mumbles, reaching over you to close the light.
Damian takes you to the Batcave first, having the servants take your stuff to the apartment without asking you, adjusting the grandfather clock and letting you inside the cave, shutting it behind him. The two of you arrive right before patrol, and you get to meet all of his siblings. All of them. Even Nightwing.
"Who's this?"
"Soulmate." Tim doesn't bother looking at you, pressing his mask on. "Showing her around already? And you call us whipped."
"Shut up, Drake." Damian spits.
"Are you on duty tonight?"
"We take turns." Damian hums.
"Are any of these liquids active?" You stare at the tubes.
"Those two are for Ivy when she attacks. Less these days, but she occasionally strikes us with sex pollen for fun. Those are neutralizers. That one's for Scarecrow's fear toxin, and that one—"
You nod along as Damian explains everything to you, waving at his siblings as they head off for patrol.
"Are you tomorrow?"
"Yes." He hums. "Did you want to come along?"
"That's too dangerous." Batman speaks up, and you pause.
"Mr. Wayne." You smile politely. "Didn't peg you to be the type to run around to try and fix crime."
"Desperate times call for desperate situations." He chuckles. "Damian, take care of her. The computer is off limits."
"Yes, father." Damian nods as he disappears too.
"Who's on patrol tomorrow?"
"Father goes every night, and then tomorrow is Spoiler, Orphan, Signal, and I."
"SOS..." You mumble quietly. "Sors. Ross. Ross."
Damian raises a brow.
"Your names." You smile. "You would be team Ross."
"If that makes you happy." He leads you back up the stairs.
"Do you have an intercom?"
"Oracle. She works every night."
"Is she a sibling?"
"No. She used to be Batgirl."
"mm." You nod slowly. "Oh, it's late, huh? I should probably head home."
"You can stay here for the night. I had the servants send your luggage to my apartment. I can drive the two of us to work tomorrow." Damian shuts the clock behind the two of you.
"You have the same hours as us?"
"Yes."
"Speaking of which, how come you and Tim don't go to work together?"
"Tim does not live in the manor. He lives with his soulmate." He leads you to his room. "This is my room. Make yourself comfortable."
You mumble something under your breath about how big the bed is before you head over to the bathroom to wash up. "Are there pajamas I can borrow?" You peek from the door.
"I'll leave them on the bed." He pulls a shirt and clean boxers from his closet, setting them on the bed, settling at his desk, reading through what he would be meeting about the next day. He had hoped Tim would've taken care of the meetings over the weekend, but he supposes he can't avoid everything. It's painfully boring. The meetings are always boring.
"Whatcha looking at?" You come out with a towel in your hair, maneuvering his shirt onto you, putting on his boxers. It's a size too big, and you have to use a hair tie to keep it in place.
"I have a meeting tomorrow."
You shudder. "I don't miss having meetings."
"Did you intern somewhere else?"
"I interned in England for a bit." You lean over his shoulder, staring at the meeting details. "Oh, on the product."
"Yes, the new birth control we're trying to release. The injection."
"It would be helpful. I can't say blocking hormones is good for the body." You mumble. "Does it work on males?"
"We're releasing both versions."
"That's good." You mumble. "It'd be really helpful."
"Dick's soulmate made us read through the entire list of possible side effects of birth control and scared us half to death." Damian hums. "Even father."
"I read through it once."
"Do you take birth control?"
"Nope. Never slept with anyone, didn't plan on sleeping with people." You shrug. "You?"
Damian pauses. "I haven't either."
"Oh, really?" You mumble. "You've dated before."
"Hooked up." He corrects. "I always felt bad after kissing."
You laugh. "That was the universe telling you no."
"Perhaps." He shrugs. "Let's get to bed."
You barely see Damian after that, the two of you busy with your own affairs in the company, busy with moving your stuff into the apartment outside of work. Damian drives you home and helps you with the boxes, but the two of you don't have substantial conversation. Even when you finish the trials and present everything to the board, Damian doesn't get to have a moment with you, invitations to speak at colleges and other locations flooding into your mail. Damian finally catches you as you finish moving into the apartment.
"Habibti." He breathes, arms wrapping around your shoulders, head resting on your head. "I was looking for you."
"You could've called." You smile at him, voice muffled by his chest.
"You were not answering."
"My bad." You wiggle to loosen his arms, smile on your face. "Bruce transferred the money to my account. I'll be taking a break for a bit before I go speak at all those invitations."
"I am going to retire." He grumbles. "I never get to see you."
"We live together." You grin. "You get to see me every day now."
"Not enough." He mumbles. "I will leave Drake to deal with the family business."
"You're needed, you know? They need you for all the charity you guys do now." You pat his chest gently. "All of the animal shelters you volunteer at too."
"Would you like to visit one with me? There's an event tomorrow at the shelter to bring a friend."
"Oh, so I'm just a friend to you?" You tilt your head at him playfully.
"A friend," He presses a kiss to the corner of your left eye. "Habibti," He presses another kiss to the corner of your right eye. "And my soulmate." He rests his forehead on yours, hands on your face, eyes on your lips. "May I?"
You press your lips to his in response.
You're a work of art. Damian finds himself with an arm around your waist much more than he could have ever thought, his own life mingled with yours to the point of no return. You meant so much to him. You were the world to him. Fingers laced with yours at events, lips pressed to your hair in the rays of the morning sun, there was little to complain about and everything to be grateful for. His own little ray of the sun to make his life a little better.
Which is why he finds himself checking for the quality of the diamond, discussing the price of the gem with the dealer, running it through tests just to make sure it was the best. The emeralds he picks are hand-selected too, calling his mother as she teaches him how to discern between the good ones and bad ones. You were still yet to meet her, but for some reason, she had not asked questions, only wishing him luck on the proposal. It would take a while between everything he had on his hands.
"You've been coming back later these days." You hum, resting your head on his chest.
"My apologies, habibti," He mumbles. "I've been busy."
"Even on the nights you don't patrol?"
"Yes." He mumbles. "I am not cheating, if you are worried."
"I wouldn't think of it." You close your eyes. "I trust you."
"I love you, a lot." He whispers, wrapping his fingers around your ring finger.
"I love you too." You mumble back, curling the finger.
Damian struggles with the first two prototypes, fingers too rough against the metal, groaning as he fails again, the jeweler only laughs affectionately, assuring him he would be fine. He tries again and again until the mold comes out how he wants it to look, the gold chosen so that it wouldn't rust. The chances of you wearing your engagement ring while working were rare, but he still wanted to guarantee that it would not rust quickly. You deserved the world, and he'd make sure of it, even in something as simple as the ring he would give you.
On his seventh try, he gets a mold that leaves him satisfied. He had gotten your ring finger fitted before on top of his nightly routine of wrapping his fingers around it, and he was sure it would fit. The gems arrive cut out perfectly, the green diamond compared to his eyes by Dick and his brothers' soulmates a hundred times, assuring him that the color matched his eyes perfectly. Damian almost got his eyes color matched had it not been Bruce himself stepping in, assuring him that it matched his eyes well. The emeralds would match his eyes in different lighting. He was fine. Only then did Damian let the jeweler settle the diamonds into the ring, making sure that the gems wouldn't just tumble out. Not that he didn't trust the jeweler — he was worried it'd fall out on accident — alright, he doesn't trust the jeweler.
On the day the ring was completed, Damian had checked it under the light, mumbling to himself about how he hoped you like it. He had made it by hand as you told him you wanted him to, and the gems were all hand selected and picked to match his eyes. You'd be happy with it no matter what he gives you as an engagement ring, he's sure, but he had held your words close to his heart. You deserved an engagement ring you had dreamed of as a child. On the inside of the band, habibti is written in Arabic, a reminder of your soulmate bond, his heart full.
"You're home on time for once!" You beam, throwing your arms around his neck.
"I missed you, habibti." He mumbles, arms wrapped around your waist.
"I made dinner for us since you promised you'd be home today." You pull him along.
As he follows you, the ring in his back pocket feels lighter, your fingers curled around his, lips pulled into a dazzling smile.
He's yours.
From the known past to the unpredictable future, he was yours, and he wouldn't have it any other way.
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WIP Challenge
Tagged by: @summertime-children
Tagging: @astrologista, @atsushishelteredinmoonlitjasmine, @benditlikegumby, @cryptoriawebb, @ibmiller, @iceperialprincess, and @otherwise-uncolonized
Challenge: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous.
I'll also do what deta did and post comments + short fragments. (Be warned it'll be very long though, and most of these are actually Pokémon fics since I was a much more prolific writer when I was younger, and that was the fandom I wrote mainly for.) I also won't be including "Heroes and Thieves" on here (or any DC/superhero stuff really since I’ve essentially “done” everything I had planned for now), as *technically* it is all already completed in draft form, and I'd like to keep things a surprise for whenever I do end up posting~
Hero and Seek
“Well, we’re all together now, so let’s have some fun, all right? Don’t worry, it’s really simple. One person is the ‘demon’, and the others have to hide from him.”
“Eh? A ‘demon’? But that’s scary!”
Three pairs of eyes turned up to her in fear. Those eyes, which screamed and streamed the stark color of blood the first time she saw them – not just from tears, but from the ‘monster’ they believed dwelled deep within. She thought for a moment, then removed her scarf.
“How about this then? Whoever’s the ‘hero’ has to find and rescue the others. It’s a very important Blindfold Brigade mission!”
I’ll start with the one Kagepro fic I did attempt at least, which I described previously here, but is basically about Ayano + the Meka Trio playing “Hide and Seek” for the first time. (I actually had it originally titled as that but just came up with this new version on the spot lol I’m so clever~) For some reason I’ve always been hesitant about reading/writing Kagefic, but I actually got a fair bit farther in this than I thought, so perhaps I should try to finish it someday...
Princes and Frogs
“K-Koizumi-senpai… Um… Please go out with me!”
Itsuki stared down at the tiny underclassman, watching a rose mantle spread slowly over her cheeks as she gazed back with shy, but determined hope in her bespectacled eyes. The older boy could make out his own handsome face reflected off the lens, a virtual image embellished by sparkling hearts and stars. With dim satisfaction and relief, Itsuki ensured that his bright, patient smile betrayed no hint of the weary sigh that whispered behind it.
This is an intro excerpt of the first chapter I planned to write for an ItsuHaru fic from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, which I only ever posted the prologue for. ItsuHaru was my first obsessive OTP, and I still think about returning to this story someday (especially since I have now proven to myself I *can* finish a full chapter fic if I put my mind to it), but it’s been so long I feel like I’d need to refresh my memory of the whole series/am still holding out hope for a Season 3 to motivate me again. *shot*
Fall to Pieces
As Itsuki stared at Yuki’s vacant visage, his resentment kept building. His hands clenched, rigidly gripping the edge of the table. Somehow, it just didn’t seem fair. That she could so easily ignore the madness fate had dealt them, never reveal any signs of suffering or bitterness towards her situation, and yet always, always wear the same damn expression on her face.
How could she possibly stand it?
He can’t stand it.
(any more)
An ItsuYuki one-shot, where Itsuki basically blows up at her from pent-up frustration over having to wear a mask all the time and his hidden feelings for Haruhi. The two start to form a connection over their respective “unrequited loves”/understanding of each other’s pain, and one thing leads to another... Like “Heroes and Thieves”, this is in fact technically “complete”, since I actually used the leftover steam from the former towards finishing at least one thing I started a long time ago - although I’m still not sure I’m totally satisfied with it/kinda want to wait to figure out what I’m doing with my other ItsuHaru fics before I publish it by itself. (Incidentally the working title comes from an Avril Lavigne song lol.)
Little White Lies
“Perhaps the best thing for the princess would have been to fall in love. But how a princess who had no gravity could fall into anything is a difficulty--perhaps the difficulty.”
-George MacDonald, The Light Princess
-
Haruhi Suzumiya was walking on air.
Itsuki could tell by the way she glided into the clubroom, sailing like a paper airplane – or a balloon with an inflated ego to match.
...Yeah that’s as far as I got with this. This was meant to be a “White Day” story, which is Japan’s “answer holiday” to Valentine’s Day, where guys reciprocate by giving gifts to the girls who gave them chocolates. I always wondered how the boys actually responded in-universe, and I imagine Itsuki secretly stressing out a lot about taking care to not upstage Kyon, but at the same time wanting to sincerely express his genuine appreciation and feelings towards Haruhi - whatever they may be. In the end, he settles on a copy of “The Light Princess” by George MacDonald, which I highly recommend reading since it reminds me so much of this pair, and in general is such a fun and snappy “tongue-in-cheek” take on the fairytale genre.
Sora in Wonderland
But wait- this one was a bit different from all its brothers and sisters. For one thing, it was wearing a fancy waistcoat with pockets- and sleeves that were far too long for it. As soon as it passed by her head, it stopped and slowly turned its head around to stare directly at her with its huge circular yellow eyes. Sora stared vacantly back for a full five seconds before the information registered in her brain and she suddenly yelled, “Hey!”, and sat bolt upright. The Heartless panicked upon hearing her voice and fled at top speed across the white sands, headed towards an opening in the rocks; Sora jumped down off her perch and immediately chased after it, no longer caring about the heat. The Heartless hastily disappeared inside the cave, and Sora soon followed after, determined to catch the freaky little thing and ask it some questions, like what it was doing on the island at this time, and where on earth did it get a waistcoat.
OKAY SO I TOTALLY FORGOT THIS WAS A THING but apparently I tried to write a Kingdom Hearts parody of “Alice in Wonderland” lmao. I’ve never actually played the games (aside from half of CoM), but it was probably inspired by a crossover art my friend drew? ^^; Also Sora is a girl in this bc that’s my headcanon and I’m sticking to it. XP *shot*
Note: The following fics are all Pokémon-related so I’ll just be listing them in roughly chronological order (from most recent to ancient, although they’re all pretty old at this point).
Stranger
The elder slowly rose to his feet, gazing at the boy, the champion, the stranger. “In all this time, why didn’t you come back? You could have seen for yourself how she was.”
Lance wanted to yell something defiant, like a child. But he wasn’t a child. Children were forgiven for their mistakes. And he didn’t want to be forgiven.
The professor’s ancient hand came to rest on the boy’s shoulder. “It’s the way this town works. We don’t talk about things that happen outside our own world. Maybe it was too long ago – too late for you to understand.”
Lance didn’t say anything.
“At least talk to Delia. She’s been wanting to see you.”
“Sorry. It’s too late.”
“You’re a bastard.”
“I know.”
So this looks to be among the last things I’d written before taking a long break from fanfiction circa... 2007, jeeze. Over 10 years, huh. But, I think it speaks a certain amount of maturity that it’s the piece I liked most upon rediscovering. It’s based on an idea I once had that Lance was (unknowingly) Gary Oak’s father, and he was friends/rivals with Ash’s father, who originally won the title of Champion but relinquished it so he could be with his “wife” and kid (or rather, then-pregnant teenage girlfriend). *Something* happened though (I forget what I had in mind) and he ended up dying, leaving Lance bitter and depressed so he refused to return to Pallet Town because of too many painful memories. (Though he *cough* “comforted” their other female childhood friend for one night of drunken grief before he left. ;() What I like most about it honestly is the parallels bw Lance’s relationship with Ash’s dad and their sons’, and that amidst all the angst I enjoyed portraying the earnest energy and optimism of Ketchum(?) senior (”like father like son” after all). I was definitely inspired by Mitsuki’s father in Full Moon wo Sagashite/Maes Hughes from Fullmetal Alchemist by making him a total “dork dad” who’d brag about his (illegitimate) family on national TV during the championship tournament lol.
Ihavenoidea
Either way, I get the feeling this really wasn’t what I had in mind when I made my decision to quit training. I mean that in an intuitive sort of way. Like, sometimes I feel as if I’m not meant to be here, like my life should have ended up differently someplace else. Perhaps this is just one of those weird inconsistencies I told you about. Perhaps not. Even after all that’s happened to me recently, I still can’t really be sure about it.
...No seriously, I have no idea where I was going with this. As far as I can tell it’s written from the POV of Gary Oak, whom I’ve always had a lot of... “complicated” feelings towards. It probably has something to do with another concept I’ll discuss next, although for some reason it sounds like I was going for some sort of AU? *shrug* By contrast to the above, it reads like a whiny teenager complaining about his life - which makes me cringe but is probably an accurate portrayal of who I was at the time. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ This one was actually dated a little after the previous, so my best guess is it was some kind of vent rant where I would “give up” writing/creating and “childish” ideals for a while, as I was wont to do - but I still always come back to it somehow...
RainbowMolly
Molly stepped out from the car and onto the dusty road, her heart beating wildly. She could hardly believe she was actually here, of all places. The ride had been long and mind-numbing with anticipation, and now that they’d finally arrived at the destination, it all felt somewhat surreal to her.
A small bear clambered out from the vehicle, joining her as she stopped to take in the rustic view that met her bright blue eyes. She smiled and picked up her Teddiursa, cuddling its warm, fuzzy body close to her own. Her gaze traveled down the road which stretched in both directions, houses lining up against its margins. She followed it with her eyes towards a hill in the distance, on top of which sat what looked like a quaint little farmhouse with a windmill, turning in the summer breeze. She breathed in the country air, catching whiff of a faint salt smell from an ocean in the distance.
So this was Pallet Town.
...Why I didn’t actually name the file “Chasing Rainbows” - which was the title I had planned for this - I don’t know. This dates back to an old idea I had where I believed Molly Hale from the third Pokémon movie was secretly the true “God” of the Pokémon world - in the sense that the entire universe was an unknowing fantasy of her own creation, similar to Haruhi Suzumiya (ok fine this was totally a crossover/rip-off of the same concept so sue me OTL). In a place where children never seem to grow up and can go on grand fantastical adventures forever, Gary always struck me as an anomaly who willingly *chose* to forego such a life to pursue more “adult” interests by becoming a researcher. So I saw him as filling the role of “Kyon” - the cynical narrator who was destined to ground “God” and bring her back down to earth, but at the same time be won over by her innocence and charm and learn to appreciate “kids’ stuff” again. However, the Legendaries were actually aware of the power Molly holds, and so saw Gary as a threat to their very being - as by “waking” the dreamer and having her face reality meant erasing their kinds’ entire existence. As the “apocalypse” nearly occurred in the third film, Mew and Celebi took on human disguises (in the form of May and Max respectively) to investigate Ash, who was able to calm Molly and “save” the world by “perpetuating” the delusion (and whom Molly totally has a crush on btw *shot*). So it’s a bit of a love triangle lol, with Mew and Celebi (*cough* an alien and a time traveler, get it? *shot*) acting as mediators/interference. (Although Mew might’ve secretly shipped Gary and Molly herself. ;O)
Betrayal
And these blades, these damned scythes that attached themselves to my arms when I was born, a curse upon me since birth, though it had not been apparent up until now. They were covered with blood, the vital crimson liquid that flows through our bodies, now dripping down the steel surface in a webbed pattern, drops beginning to splatter the pure, emerald grass below. The arm felt heavy and weak as I tried to lift it, as if it did not belong to me, but that was only a wishful thought. I gazed calmly at it, inspecting the intricate designs the flow of the substance had created, as if it were an abstract piece of artwork. Tentatively, a pink tongue rolled out and caught a small droplet of it just before it fell from the sharp edge, just to convince myself that it was real. The semi-sweet, metallic taste confirmed this. I had indeed taken these men’s lives, just as I had taken hers.
So I remember this was written from the POV of a Scyther who seemingly went on a murderous rampage. I only know that I wanted to give him an “Edward Scissorhands”-like story, since the idea of having such sharp objects attached to one’s limbs so that one could never directly “touch” another without being a danger is pretty tragic. I suspect “her” was someone (a human?) he cared about but killed by accident, and after that he was only seen as a symbol of power/treated as a tool to incite fear before eventually rebelling against his “master”...
Roses
“If you love someone, you should give them something that’s yours. That shows how much you care for them.”
In the darkness, I pictured his smiling face, explaining to me as he wrapped a present for his girlfriend. His blue eyes were shining with a sort of spirit unfamiliar to me; I guessed, a feeling of love.
Another “dark” take on a Pokémon’s biology (I really liked writing explorations of those back then lol), this time of Roselia. The idea was that a Roselia was so in love with her trainer that she would do anything for him - including allow him to cut off her arms so he could give them to his girlfriend. I actually ended up turning it into a poem at one point:
Love is like a rose they say,
And affection leads to grief they warned.
For in the end love betrays,
Its Beauty maimed by a poisoned thorn.
You gave me pure water with a smile.
Your cheerful face became my sun.
I offered up my blood to you,
And in return demanded none.
Chop off my wrists, and tie them together.
I’ll gladly bleed myself to death.
In order to give you that which
I hold most dear.
My dear, my dear,
Won’t you accept this bouquet?
You take it, smiling warily.
A blush creeps onto your face.
And in those eyes I can see
A garden of roses stretched out,
Composing a wondrous place.
Then you bound my hands in lace,
And brought them to the girl next door.
You presented them to her with grace.
…
My blood continued to pour.
Fanfic
She smiled at me, although something about her expression indicated something wasn't quite right. I watched as she glanced over towards the west, her gaze lingering momentarily on the setting sun. The glowing, orange sphere was slowly sinking behind the distant mountains, peaks cloaked in a pale, lavender haze illuminated by flickering beams of gold and scarlet cast across the horizon.
More accurately, I found this buried in a “catch-all” file where I had several (mostly finished) fics saved. This was meant to be from the POV of an Eevee who had just evolved - supposedly into an Espeon due to happiness and bond with her trainer, which is what both wanted. However, since it took place at sunset, she didn’t realize she had become an Umbreon instead, and her trainer ended up abandoning her for it. ;(
It was a warm
Children’s shrieks and laughter echoed across the park as they flocked towards each other, and soon were chasing one another round the playground, weaving in and out between the swings as they partook in an innocent game of Tag. One child was It; she was trying desperately to catch one of her friends so that they would take over the job instead. Then it would be her turn to run away, for none of them wished to play the loathsome role of It. Or was it because they feared being tainted by the person’s touch? It must have been one of the two, for while she would struggle to reach them, catch hold of them, they would only flee, thoroughly enjoying the fact that they were vexing her. Twice she nearly caught one. Her fingertips were almost within reach of one of the other girls’ dresses, whose russet tresses were flowing wildly from the rush of movement and shining with golden highlights as the rays of the sun struck individual strands. The target shrieked and shook her head, whisking her skirt free in time to escape capture, laughing with glee at the sight of the girl left behind, miserable and alone.
Yeah I totally just went with the default beginning of the first sentence lol. I guess this comes full circle with the first Kagepro fic I mentioned (although I’m not even sure I was aware back then that the Japanese version of the game literally called “It” a “demon”, which is even more fitting). I believe this was part of a Pokémon series I was writing involving a creepy little girl and Mewtwo who would bring about the end of the world or something like that, but generally I guess I was just going for a “Catcher in the Rye” feel. *shrug*
Golden Lights
The pale, rosy fingers of dawn were filtering in through the Granite Cave entrance, basking a small area near the opening in pinkish illumination. Just out of reach of its expanse sat little Mika, huddled in the gloom of the shadows, watching the light creep steadily towards her as the glowing ball of fire rose slowly towards the East. She knew about the Light that came from Outside. There were plenty other small apertures broken into the cavern walls and ceiling that allowed some thin streams of gold brilliance to trickle through. She had always done well to avoid them. The brightness was like poison to her skin. But they weren’t the Lights she’d had described to her by the old Crobat that always resided now deeper within the underground chambers, dozing now, most likely. He wouldn’t awaken until night came round, and she did not wish to rouse him and perhaps disturb him from a pleasant dream. She was very wise about things like that, being the young child that she was. Still, she would have liked to hear a story to comfort her just then.
Last one I could find, about a Sableye who, like Icarus, literally “flew too close to the sun”. In this interpretation I imagined that Sableye were creatures who could not stand sunlight at all, as it would cause their skin to burn. But Mika (pronounced like “Mica”) always dreamed of going outside to see the “Light” anyway. She was eventually tempted by Mew to leave the cavern under her angelic PROTECTion and step into the Light, who was acting as Ho-Oh’s messenger to “recruit” souls to “live eternal as an element of Ho-Oh’s Guarding Flame“, as the PROTECT faded and a “holy fire” began to spread. I guess I was going for a Biblical/”Rapture”-esque reference. (...Man I sure was obsessed with the endtimes as a kid. *shot*)
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