#stupid normal kid things instead of whatever his other caretakers had him doing | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lisbonsteresa · 4 years

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(@raylaswife, I don’t know if you actually wanted something written off that apartment post, but if you did I hope you like it.)

————

It’s not even that Callum’s luck was bad, not really. It was more...inconvenient. It had been inconvenient that he’d forgotten Soren “borrowing” the last of their milk for his protein shake and that he had to eat dry cornflakes for breakfast. It was inconvenient that he’d run to catch the bus to the art shop and gotten to the stop just as it was pulling away. And it was definitely inconvenient that he had forgotten both his keys and umbrella, which resulted in him dripping onto the doormat, still struggling with his bags, as he called to his brother through the door to their apartment.

He couldn’t blame his inconvenient luck for the silence from the other side of the door though. That was all him. “Ez?” he tried again, pressing his ear to the wood. “I know you’re in there bud; I can hear the tv”. A few quick shuffled steps were followed by the click of the remote, then nothing.

“Listen, Ezran....I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled like that”. He really shouldn’t have, Callum knew. But when he’d found the last piece for his portfolio not drying on his desk like he left it, but instead lying facedown on the kitchen counter, jelly toad - and finger - prints covering the edges of the canvas, he’d snapped. “I’ve just been really stressed out about applying to art school, but I know that’s not a good excuse,” There was no response from the other side of the door, but he knew his brother was there. That was one of the many great things about Ezran - no matter how mad they got at each other, he was always willing to listen when Callum tried to explain himself. “and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you”.

“Or Bait”.

Callum couldn’t help but grin at that. “Or Bait. It’s just with...” his head dropped down to lean his forehead against the door as the full weight of finishing his portfolio while also cramming for community college finals; of suddenly finding himself as the main caretaker for his brother; of all the things with their dad that he was still trying to avoid dealing with - huh. Maybe he should try calling that therapist Claudia kept not-so-subtlety recommending - hit him again. “everything; it’s been....hard lately”.

There was a soft thump as Ezran let himself lean against the door. “Yeah, I know.” he said softly, his voice sounding like he knew exactly which ‘everything’ was weighing on Callum the most. They stood in silence for a moment, the door between them, before Ezran continued. “Okay then. I accept your apology.”

Callum straightened up and reminded himself for perhaps the millionth time how lucky he was to have a brother like Ezran. “Thanks Ez.” he smiled, before shuffling his bags into more manageable positions and reaching for the doorknob, “Now just unlock the door and we can -“

“But Bait does not”.

Callum froze, his hand stopping just before the doorknob, barely catching one of the bags as it threatened to slide off his arm and onto the floor. “Wait, what?”

“Bait has heard your apology,” Ezran was interrupted by a large snort, and Callum pictured his brother holding his pet toad’s big grumpy face up to scowl at him through the apartment’s peephole. “but he is not convinced that you deserve forgiveness”.

Callum resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He thought they had stopped playing along with the idea that his brother could understand Bait back when Ezran was in middle school. Then he heard a faint sniffle through the door and realized that maybe the toad wasn’t the only one who hadn’t fully forgiven him. “I see. And what would you recommend I do if I wanted to get back into Bait’s good graces?”

A beat. Then: “Bait says that if you’re really sorry....you have to do the thing”.

“I - wha- Ez, seriously? Out here?”

“Hey, Bait makes the rules. I am but his humble spokesperson”.

Barely containing a snort of laughter, Callum relented and carefully dropped his bags to the floor. “Alright, I’ll do it. But tell Bait that he might have one less jelly tart on his plate tonight.”

“Bait has decided that is an acceptable price to pay”.

Grinning, Callum rolled his shoulders out, stepped to the middle of the hallway, then spun around and bowed to the peephole he knew his brother was watching him through. “Very well. Let’s begin”. And then he danced.

Honestly, he didn’t ever really mind the dance once he got started. It was all high kicks and flailing arms and whatever weird or funny faces he could think to make; and it was actually kind of fun. It helped to let off some steam and just be goofy for a few minutes, Ezran’s laughter and clapping egging him on to throw in even sillier moves.

“Bait says knees higher! Knees higher!”

“Bait can’t even see my knees!” Callum called through a laugh.

“He can tell by your steps that your knees aren’t high enough!” Ezran shot back. “Come on, up up up!”

Once his arms started to burn, Callum knew it was time to bring out his big finishing move. “Get Bait ready!” he called in the direction of the apartment door, “this is gonna blow his mind!”. He launched himself into the air, spinning around with his arms wide, before coming down to land on one foot and kicking the other up in front of him. “Ta-“

“You planning on keeping this up all night,” an amused voice called from behind him, “or can I use the intermission to actually get into my apartment?”

Callum spun around so fast that the leg he was standing on nearly gave way, only just managing to grab onto the doorknob of Unit 4C before he dropped - very embarrassingly - onto his rear end in front of a total stranger. What a first impression.

To her credit, the stranger looked more entertained than annoyed. She looked about his age, maybe a year older, leaning against the wall with a reusable grocery bag slung over one shoulder and her hair - so blonde it almost looked white - tied up in a bun on top of her head. She was watching Callum with a small smirk lifting the corner of her mouth, and he realized belatedly that the keys dangling from her finger were in fact for Unit 4C. He also realized that he was still hanging off her doorknob. He should probably get up. Why wasn’t he getting up?

To his dismay, the smirk dropped into a frown and she pushed off the wall, crossing her arms over her chest while never taking her eyes off of him. “Is this something you do often?” she asked, a slight accent lifting the end of her sentence - Scottish, maybe? Welsh? - “Staring at strangers?”

Callum sprang up straight, face heating as he tried to find some way to save any part of this interaction. “No! No. No, of course not, no, because that would be a, um, really weird thing to do...” his thoughts trailed off as he finally looked the stranger dead-on. “...You have really pretty eyes.” Why would he say that?!

She did, in his defense. Bright violet eyes that popped open in surprise over his complete inability to keep his stupid foot out of his stupid mouth. “Thank you?” she replied, looking confused; the tips of her slightly pointed ears turning pink. And now he was embarrassing her on top of everything oh god this was a disaster.

“Anyway!” he exclaimed, clapping his hands together as if it might dissolve some of the awkward energy in the air. “Sorry about all the,” he waved his arms around in a bad imitation of his already bad dancing “...that. I don’t normally do that in that hallway. Or anywhere public if I can help it”. The stranger just kept standing there, watching his floundering with an at best bemused (and at worst annoyed) look on her face “It’s kind of this whole thing -“

“It’s Callum’s Famous Jerkface Dance!” Ezran’s voice called out from behind their door. Callum jumped - he had almost forgotten that Ez might still be within earshot - and the stranger whipped her head around looking for the source of the noise, pulling her bag closer to her as if she was preparing to defend it from an unexpected attacker.

“Sorry! Sorry.” Callum winced, rubbing the back of his neck and wondering how this conversation had gone so far off of normal. “That’s Ezran, my brother. He’s over in our apartment” he jerked a thumb behind him towards unit 4D “You can meet him later.” the stranger quirked an eyebrow. “Or not at all!” he continued in a rush. “Because why would you want to meet the brother of the guy who you saw doing the -“ he paused, risking a glance towards her, “um, how much of that did you see, by the way?”

The stranger’s smirk was back, but Callum couldn’t decide if he should take that as a victory or not. “Enough”.

Right. So he was never going to be able to talk to his new neighbor again. “Oh. Okay, cool, uh, yeah....” he stammered. “It’s just this thing that we agreed on when we were kids, that I do to apologize when I’m being -“

“A jerkface?”

“Yeah, see, you get it!” he was relieved to see that her smirk had softened. It seemed like she had decided he was in fact more entertaining than he was annoying. “Anyway, sorry you had to walk in on that. It’s pretty embarrassing”.

“Nah,” she replied, looking like she was barely holding back a laugh, “It was cute”.

Callum couldn’t really say for sure what happened after that. There was a roaring in his ears, and his grasp on the English language suddenly disappeared. He must have sputtered something though, because the next thing he knew the stranger actually was laughing at him. “Hey Ezran,” she called to the door behind him, her sparkling eyes never leaving his, “is your brother always this articulate?”

“Most of the time, yeah.” Ezran’s voice called out (sounding very amused by his brother’s suffering).

“Thank you for that Ez.” Callum hissed, his face burning red and hoping his brother could see the glare he was leveling at the peephole. He turned back to the stranger with an awkward laugh, praying they could both pretend he’d played this whole thing off much better than he had. “Family, right?” he chuckled, hoping to find some kind of ‘can’t live with ‘em’ commonality.

The stranger smiled back at him, but her eyes suddenly looked....almost sad. “Yeah, family...” she trailed off, twisting a braided string bracelet around her wrist for a moment before she blinked and seemed to come back to herself. “Well, anyway,” she lifted her grocery bag and avoiding his gaze “I’d better get this inside before my ice cream completely melts”. She spun around and started to unlock her apartment door, leaving Callum blindsided yet again. Had he said something wrong? Offended her? Should he apologize, or would that make things worse?

But before he could fall completely down that thought spiral, she turned back to him and her eyes were warm again. “But it was really nice to meet you, Callum. And you too, Ezran!” she called across the hall.

A happy “Mhmm!” came from behind the door of 4D; the sound of someone whose mouth was too full to actually speak. Callum couldn’t help but laugh: “He’s probably 6 jelly tarts in at this point, but take it from both of us that it was really nice to meet you too.....” he trailed off as he realized he’d never actually gotten her name.

“Rayla”. she supplied with a grin.

“Rayla.” he repeated, grinning back at her. It was a pretty name (though thankfully this time he kept the thought to himself). “So, I guess we’ll see you around then?”

She stepped into the doorway of her apartment and turned back to face him. “I hope so.” she replied, shooting a wink at him just before the door closed.

Callum stood frozen in the hallway for another moment before he could remember how to make his legs work. He walked as quickly as he could into his apartment and leaned up against the back of the door, trying very hard to ignore the urge to spend the rest of the day sketching his new neighbor’s pretty eyes.

(It was inconvenient to realize, half an hour later, that he had left his bags outside their door, but somehow he couldn’t find it in himself to complain.)

#also: 1. sorry @everyone i have no idea how to add a ‘read more’ to this on mobile #and 2. it’s been so long since i’ve written anything please accept this mess #rayllum #the dragon prince #longpost

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stark-tony · 4 years

Note

What good fics have you read recently?

sure! here’s some fics I’ve read and enjoyed over the past few months

febuwhump/fluff 2020! series by searchingforstars

summary: a collection of the works i completed using most of the prompts for febuwhump/febufluff 2020.

pairings: ned/peter, pepperony

tags: hurt/comfort, angst

warnings: none

Identity Saga series* by KitCat992

summary: An organically developed, platonic slow-burn of Avengers-fam dynamic with a heavy hand of Irondad & Spiderson. Throw in an overdose of whump, a couple of cunning villains and a big-bad hiding in the shadows, and you got yourself this hot mess.

pairings: pepperony

tags: hurt/comfort, angst

warnings: kidnapping

the peter protection program by spideynamu

summary: Tony snickered, “We—we call it the Peter Protection Program.”

(aka 5 times people were recruited to the peter protection program and the 1 time they had their first meeting.)

pairings: none

tags: fluff, humor

warnings: none

love dares you to change* by homebuilding

summary: It isn’t that Tony Stark doesn’t like kids; he simply doesn’t understand them. He certainly never wanted any of his own. Not after his own childhood, witnessing first hand what a Stark father can do to their child.

Which is why, when a kid is thrusted into his life unexpectedly, he has no idea how to take care of it- him. So, naturally, he hires a village of caretakers and let’s the professionals do the job.

It isn’t until he is kidnapped and tortured by a group of terroists and an old doctor shows him what he truly is missing; love.

Or: my take on the biological father!Tony where he doesn’t become a wonderful father right away and struggles to connect with his child due to his past.

pairings: none

tags: hurt/comfort, fluff

warnings: child abuse

on the other side of this door by iron_spider

summary: “Tony,” Peter’s voice says, over the coms.

Tony’s heart jolts. “Speak of the—think of the devil, more like—hey kid, meet up with me, I don’t like you running around here alone during all this.”

“I, uh—I’m on the third floor, in the red lab, uh, the back storage room. Back right corner.”

Tony narrows his eyes, and picks up the pace. “Alright, you okay? You find something?”

“Uh. It’s worse than we think,” he says, and Tony can hear his voice shaking.

Tony starts running. “Why?” he asks, his heart slamming against his chest. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

pairings: none

tags: angst, hurt/comfort

warnings: none

a sticky situation by ciaconnaa

summary: “Hey, Tony, look what I can do!”

Of all the things he expected in the grand adventure that is babysitting Peter’s daughter, Tony did not expect to turn his head to find the kid stuck to the ceiling.

Like father, like daughter, it would seem.

pairings: none

tags: fluff, humor

warnings: none

There to hold your hand by frostysunflowers

summary: He feels terrible. Worse than terrible. The razors in his throat are long and sharp and every short inhale of breath scratches like sandpaper. There’s a deep drumbeat inside his head and as a wracking cough makes itself known, he becomes aware of the jaw-nagging ache in his right ear.

There’s no denying it now.

Tonsillitis.

pairings: none

tags: hurt/comfort, fluff

warnings: none

Peter’s Loss of Wisdom by Bowtiez

summary: Apparently, anesthetics and Peter Parker don’t mix too well. Tony Stark find this out the hard way. Who knew taking his kid to get his wisdom teeth extracted would be quite an adventure? At least you only get your wisdom teeth removed once, right?

or,

Peter’s a clueless little bean who can’t keep a single train of thought and Tony tries not to lose his mind.

pairings: none

tags: fluff, humor

warnings: none

nobody understands us and i don’t understand it by searchingforstars

summary: Five times somebody doesn’t quite understand Tony and Peter’s relationship + the one time it finally makes perfect sense.

pairings: angst, fluff

tags: fluff, angst

warnings: none

You Are My Sunshine* by iamconstantine

summary: Tony Stark had always been a man of science and he always would be. It was his personal and fundamental belief that everything had an explanation. His eventual encounters with Norse gods, alien life, and sorcerers did kind of quake this a little bit, but still.

One thing that had always confounded him as the one thing that had no scientific explanation was fate. Murphy’s law, Finagle’s law, the butterfly effect, the domino effect, the snowball effect, and the wisest of all: “Shit happens.”

So how peculiar was it that one of the greatest things to ever happen to him began with a tray of champagne?

(In which Peter Parker is Tony’s biological son)

Chapters 1-12: Pre-Iron ManChapters 13-???: Iron Man

pairings: pepperony, ben/may

tags: fluff, hurt/comfort

warnings: none

give the cookies a miss by searchingforstars

summary: “Surprise!” Morgan exclaims as soon as they’re both in the room. She gestures excitedly towards a few slightly sad looking lumps of something drenched in icing and severed onto sticks. There are sprinkles as well, which look like they might have been a nice touch to cheer the entire thing up, had the majority of them not ended up scattered around the surrounding bench space.

“Daddy and I made cookie pops! Well, I made them, he just helped me use the big scary whisk-y thingy. They’re for Katie’s birthday party tomorrow because we all have to bring something yummy to eat, and Daddy wanted to do regular cookies but I told him that was boring. So we made these instead!”

–

or, Peter is poisoned by the ones he trusts most.

pairings: none

tags: fluff, hurt/comfort

warnings: none

more peril in thine eye by iron_spider

summary: Tony sits in relative darkness, the TV on mute, Friday running searches like she has been every day for the past month. A month, since Quentin Beck’s grand plan crumpled underneath him on that bridge. A month, since a flash of light was able to distract Peter just as he was about to bring Beck down. A month, since Beck snatched him, since both of them disappeared. An entire. Month.

I’ll keep you updated. I promise.

I love you, kid. Rhodey’s on his way, alright? He’s coming. He’s gonna go as fast as he can.

I love you too. I’ll be okay. I promise. I can do this.

The last thing Tony heard Peter say.

Rhodey, Happy and Fury traversed the London landscape immediately afterwards. They found the glasses, but not Spider-Man. There was footage enough to incriminate Beck for what he was, but somehow, nobody was able to get a shot of when he grabbed Peter. Peter was knocking him around, looked like he was getting the upper hand, and then that flash of light.

Gone. Gone.

pairings: michelle/peter, happy/may, pepperoy

tags: angst

warnings: torture

it’s your love that brings me home by killerqueenwrites (KillainsTales)

summary: “What happened?”

“They took her out of school,” Tony says. “Just – walked in and left with her, and not a single person in that entire stupid place thought – none of them even looked – and we can’t get a license plate, FRIDAY can’t track the car on cameras–“

“Let me help,” Peter says. “I can get out there, cover more ground than the cops – and I’m stealthy, they won’t see me coming, not like you or Rhodey–“

“I said no.”

or Morgan is kidnapped and Peter knows he has to save her, whatever it takes.

pairings: none

tags: angst, hurt/comfort

warnings: kidnapping

that’s amore, squirt by floweryfran

summary: or; five times tony proves he’s capable as a father and one time peter proves he’s a good son, thank you very much

———The place— he always wants the place to look good when the kid is over. The Compound is big and white and echoing and lonely with just him and Pepper living here full time, Natasha visiting when she isn’t babysitting the illegal Captains America and checking in on Frozone, and Rhodey only here when he’s not prepping himself to be the next goddamn president of the United States. He likes it when the kid stays, he looks forward to it, and wants him to see it as a place to be comfortable, at the very least. He sleeps there two nights a week, anyway— more if he’s been stabbed or tased or something else stupid as shit and needs to be observed overnight in the medbay. It ought to be some semblance of a home.

pairings: none

tags: fluff

warnings: none

More Ancient Than Magic by ironfamjam

summary: Life isn’t exactly normal when your Head of House is also kinda your father-figure and his daughter is kinda sorta your little sister.

It’s also not normal when the bad guys your real-life-war-hero-not-actually-dad defeated in The Great War threaten to return and you’re still just trying to finish your Charms essay.

But Professor Stark asked him to protect Morgan. And that’s what he’s going to do.

Even if it breaks him.

The mini Hogwarts AU

pairings: michelle/peter, pepperony

tags: fluff, angst

warnings: torture

Peaches by peterparkr

summary: There’s no response, not even a faint twinge of muscle. Peter tries to listen for a heartbeat, but he can’t seem to focus enough to pinpoint it. Another bubble of thought starts to rise. This could be the reason his spidey-sense is going haywire.

Tony could be—He pushes the bubble down.

Peter and Tony find themselves stranded in the woods after an Avengers mission

pairings: none

tags: hurt/comfort, angst

warnings: none

how can the body die? (you tell me, everything) by madasthesea

summary: Tony felt panic creep up his spine. Something was occurring to him, slowly percolating in the back of his mind.

“You said the stinger got you. Is Scorpion’s stinger venomous?”

“I don’t—” Peter cut off as he groaned, the muscles in his jaw tight. “I don’t know. He upgraded—he was faster. Bigger. I—I thought I could beat him.”

pairings: none

tags: hurt/comfort

warnings: none

Cursed Christmas by sahiya

summary: A series of unfortunate events befalls Tony, Pepper, Peter, and Morgan (and Happy and May) in the week leading up to Christmas.

It’d be kind of funny if it didn’t totally suck. Fortunately, they’ve got good back-up.

pairings: pepperony

tags: hurt/comfort

warnings: none

Midnight Oil by JolinarJackson

summary: After everything that has happened to Peter over the last year - or five, really - he shouldn’t be worried about something as mundane as the ACT. When he fails it, though it sends him into a spiral of self-doubt, which only gets worse when Peter realizes that he doesn’t seem to be able to fix whatever is broken.

pairings: michelle/peter, pepperony

tags: angst, hurt/comfort

warnings: none

Love Will Remind Us Who We Are by blondsak

summary: There had been many times in Tony’s life when he’d known the piercing clarity that separated a Good Day from a Bad Day. Had known the ways in which, upon first waking, one’s soul would strike a balance between agony and relief either in your favor, or not.

But none of his earlier Good and Bad times had prepared him for his reality now.

Nine months after the Avengers defeated Thanos, Tony is still reckoning with the toll the final snap took on his body. Between grueling physical therapy, near-constant pain, and the inability to so much as tie his own shoes, well– things aren’t exactly like Tony had imagined.

Luckily for him, there’s a certain kid from Queens who won’t let Tony give up so easily.

pairings: none

tags: angst, hurt/comfort

warnings: none

Take it easy, take it easy* by sturionic

summary: “Tony,“ Rhodes groans, "I am begging you. Please just explain your thought process to me, man. I want to understand where you’re at.”

“Well, honey bear, it’s simple. Kid needs a home. I have a home. I need another pair of hands to help take care of this baby. The kid has hands.”

“Yeah, okay.” Rhodes rolls his eyes. “You didn’t answer my first question. What makes you think he’ll even want to live with you?”

Tony raises an eyebrow. “I told you,” he says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world, “Morgan likes him, and he likes Morgan. Plus, we bonded. In space.”

“Okay!” Rhodes throws up his hands in resignation. “Okay. I give up. Whatever. Adopt Spider-Man. Jesus Christ.”

Peter survives the Snap only to find he’s alone once again, and Tony Stark steps off the Benatar to find James Rhodes holding his month-old daughter with Pepper nowhere in sight. At first it’s an arrangement of convenience and mutual grief. Someday, God willing, it might become a family.

pairings: none

tags: hurt/comfort

warnings: none

What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood by xxx_cat_xxx

summary: The universe is saved, Thanos is defeated, the Vanished are returned, and Tony has survived (though with severe radiation burns and one less arm). Everything should be good now - except that it isn’t.

While Tony embarks on a painful and frustrating recovery, he wrestles with the fear that he’s no longer capable of caring for his family. Meanwhile, Peter tries to find his place in a world that just doesn’t feel like his own anymore.

pairings: pepperony

tags: angst

warnings: none

#my fic recs #irondad #irondad and spiderson #tony stark #peter parker #now needless to say these aren't all of the bookmarks i made over the past few months #just a random selection of them #Becca answers #anon

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motleymoose · 4 years

Text

Homecoming Pt. 3: Bits & Pieces Ch. 2

Chapter 2 Niceties in Flames

Fandom: The Mandalorian, Star Wars Universe Characters: The Mandalorian (Din Djarin), Gender Neutral Reader, The Child (Baby Yoda) Words: 3k+ Warnings: Panic, Anger, Angst Adjacent, FINALLY THERE’S SOME SIGNIFICANT FLUFF

Summary:

Panicking is not the best thing to do in these circumstances. But you know what? I'm going to do it anyway, any chance I get.

Notes:

Thank you for continuing to read this fear-fueled panic-fest!

Be prepared, all you polyglots out there - some of the Mando'a I made up using a combination of mandoa dot com and lingojam. It isn't perfect, and it probably makes zero sense. But until google translate has a Mando'a option, you're just gonna have to deal with the nonsense (unless, of course, you absolutely know your way around the language. I am all ears for some tips)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Homecoming Masterlist

Big green ears greeted me with a friendly waggle as the tiny, wide-eyed creature clawed its way out of the Mandalorian’s grasp and half-fell half-climbed down the beskar armor to the floor. It peered calmly up at the dumbfounded Mandalorian, meeping softly. At once, all of the resentment I had been holding dissipated. I had never seen anything like it, yet I wanted to safeguard it from everything else in the galaxy.

Perplexed at the sudden emotional assault, I took a careful step back. Maybe it was a creature that could influence my thoughts towards it? I didn’t know what those types of animals looked like, but I had heard stories. Stories that never turned out well for the beings duped into protecting the creature.

“Wh-what is that thing?” I asked, unease edging into my voice.

Looking over to me, the bounty hunter inclined his head in bewilderment. “He is a foundling.” The visor dropped my gaze, focusing on the thing at his feet. “He wants to - meet you.” And then, to the thing, quietly murmured, “You sure about this, kid?”

Huffing in answer, the critter - no, child? - waddled briskly up to me, stopping just short of my boots. He leaned back as far as he could, contemplating me with his immensely warm obsidian eyes. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, I finally broke.

“Uh, what now?”

The child looked back to the bounty hunter one more time. The Mandalorian sighed in defeat. “He wants you to pick him up.”

I nodded nervously. Of course, that made total sense. The kid was short. If he wanted to meet me, he needed to see me face to face. Didn’t mean I was comfortable with the idea, seeing as he might be able to mind-control me. Anxiety began to eat away at my insides. I didn’t want to become some mindless, slobbering zombie to something as cute and puntable as the little green child in front of me. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I haltingly took another step back. The kid followed, gaze intent.

Frag, frag, frag, it would’ve been better if he’d just get the mind controlling over with instead of waiting for me to do something erratic and stupid. It was as if he wasn’t -

Oh for Force’s sake! Barely able to contain my utter disbelief in myself, I facepalmed and groaned quietly. I still had all my normal paranoia. Logically, that proved the kid wasn’t trying to control. If he were anything like the stories, both the bounty hunter and I would’ve been dog food long before now.

“... you okay?” the bounty hunter grunted.

My head shot up at the noise. You’ve got to be doshing kidding me. In the onset of my panic, I’d completely neglected the fact that the Mandalorian was there.

“Yeah, I’m fine. So fine,” I muttered, embarrassed.

Right.

Mind made up, I lowered myself to sit cross-legged in front of the child. Now that I was at the little one’s level, I held out a hand, palm up, and smiled weakly. “Su’cuy, ad’ika,” I greeted him. The child’s eyes widened in wonder, and he grabbed a finger in each of his small fists, cooing animatedly back.

Glimpsing out of my periphery, the Mandalorian had moved closer, standing within arms-reach of the little one. His breastplate visibly moved with each breath, and I got the feeling he was very uncomfortable with the interaction.

The child, giggling at nothing in particular, dropped my fingers in favor of my knee. He clumsily grasped the wrinkles in my borrowed jumpsuit, pulling himself to stand on my thighs. Flat little feet, three-toed to match his three-fingered hands, curled into the fabric. The warmth of his little body was comforting in a way that I couldn’t recognize, and I had the sudden and all-encompassing urge to protect him with my life.

Chubby hands made quick work exploring my mostly-empty jumpsuit, only finding a clean rag and a half-consumed rations packet in one of the chest pockets. Disappointed in his discoveries, the little one tugged at the front of my tunic and with alarming dexterity, shimmied his way up to my right shoulder. He perched there, one foot in my face and the other kicking at my shoulder blade, happier than a mudhorn in the rain and giggling trilly.

“You little scamp,” I laughed, tickling the toes in front of me. The child tittered, wiggling away from me. He managed to swing his leg over my shoulder, clinging tightly to my back.

Chuckling, I reached behind me to find his little feet again. “Think you can hide from me back there?” I was met with a shrieking laugh when my fingers grazed the kid’s stubby legs.

“He likes you.” Startled, I released the child and halfway rose. I had all but forgotten about the bounty hunter, and his modulated voice was jarring after all the happy sounds that came from the little one.

“I bet you say that to all the bounties,” I replied dryly, the bite in my voice softer than what it had been before. Did I have to like the Mandalorian? No, a big ol’ negative no matter how many surprisingly nice things he happened to do.

But the child, well. I could rein in my attitude for a little while, just for his sake.

Shaking his head once more, the baffled Mandalorian stepped around me and the child and slipped silently into the cockpit.

“Is he always so chatty?” I asked the little one, gently scooping him into my arms and returning him to his original spot on my right shoulder as I stood up to follow my taciturn host.

The child burbled incomprehensibly, which I took as an absolute agreement, and held onto my ear as I settled into the co-pilot’s chair. His little green body radiated warmth, providing solace that I didn’t realize I needed up until now.

I snuggled my face into his little cloth-covered belly. The child squealed in delight, slapping the side and top of my head excitedly. Snorting like a dewback, I grabbed the little guy and pulled him to my lap, tickling him until he wriggled out of my grasp. From the floor, he practically rolled to the Mando, patting him animatedly on the knee.

The Mandalorian was at the controls, tapping something into the Navigation. He promptly stopped what he was doing and reached down to pick up the child. Cooing in delight, the little one set his tiny hands on the bounty hunter’s visor for a long few seconds before pointing at me.

“Fine,” the Mandalorian sighed. He got up from the pilot’s chair, setting the child carefully in his place, and disappeared through the door. I could hear the faint clanging and rustling coming from the back. Quirking my eyebrow at the kid got me a slobbery grin, so I made a face. I was still making faces at the child when the hunter snuck back in, a lumpy package in his hand.

“Here.” He dumped the cloth-bound parcel unceremoniously into my lap.

My hands closed on it automatically. It was heavier than its size suggested, and even though it was lumpy, I couldn’t tell what was wrapped inside. I didn’t know what else to do, so I gaped at the bounty hunter. “What-?”

With a sigh that could’ve extinguished a thousand flames, the Mandalorian picked up the child and plopped heavily into the pilot’s seat while nestling the little one gently in his lap. “Open it.”

Fingers curling possessively around the bulging fabric, I dropped my eyes once more before speaking. “Why?” My heart skipped a beat, clutching the bundle to my chest.

“Just, it’s yours, okay? Open it,” he replied gruffly.

For whatever reason, my hands trembled as I undid the neatly tied knot holding the fabric all together. After a few fumbling attempts, the Mandalorian impatiently reached over and nimbly plucked at the knot. It fell apart easily, and he settled back into the pilot’s chair.

Unfolding the fabric, I was greeted with a delightful yet disorienting surprise.

“I thought...?” There, neatly bundled in the rough fabric, were all of my tools and parts I’d had in my jumpsuit. I couldn’t believe it. He’d saved all of my stuff. Heart swelling in anticipation, I sorted through the jumble of wires and wrenches and screws, my eyes sharp for a familiar silvery glint. But the more I dug, the more my heart sunk. It wasn’t there. My pendant, the last remnant I had of my home, was gone.

“Where is it?” I gargled, my tongue suddenly much too big for my mouth. “Where’s my necklace?” Dread blossomed in my chest.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the hunter huffed in annoyance.

The little one cooed softly, catching my attention. He was slumped in the Mandalorian’s lap, snoring gently as he dozed, completely unaware of the tension spiking in the room.

I lowered my voice, frowning. “My necklace. It’s on an old silver chain. A Mythosaur charm.” I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. “It’s from my caretaker.”

The bounty hunter froze, one hand poised over the flight panel. The little one stirred in his lap, and he laid a light hand on the child’s back to shush him. “What do you mean.”

A little flame of ire licked it’s way up my spinal column. I remembered having it when we got back to the ship. I remembered the steady, solid thunk of it swinging against my collar bone. He must have had it. It couldn’t have just gotten up and walked away.

“I want it back. Now.”

Turning his visor to me, he tucked the dozing child into the crook of his injured arm. “I don’t have it,” he warned in a deep-throated growl. “Everything you had on you is either ash floating in space or there.” He nodded his helmet at the bundle in my lap.

“Then where is it?”

“It’s a big ship,” he replied, turning back to the controls. “Things get easily lost.”

In my haste to stand, I barely caught the bundle of tools before they hit the floor. I turned on my heel and stormed out of the cockpit and down the ladder to the cargo hold, clenching my hands so hard that the steel and wire and other debris bit painfully into my hands.

Why was he lying? Could he even lie? I couldn’t recall a time where he wasn’t truthful, but that didn’t mean this time couldn’t be different. I tossed my beloved kit onto the bed and began sorting through it in a more organized and methodical manner. My favorite multitool, tiny spools of wire, the odd screw. My entire kit, from the biggest wrench to the tiniest washer, was spread out before me. Everything I’d had in my pockets had been returned.

But where was my necklace?

The pendant was a relic of Mandalore, and any Mandalorian worth their salt would recognize it for what it was just by the shape of it. I didn’t know the history behind such a symbol, only the little piece of information my caretaker had told me when he’d fastened it behind my neck. ”Ibic cuun aliit. Ibic cuun aliik. Ad’ika, bic gaa’taylir gar o’r buruk.” I didn’t understand what he’d meant at the time, yet I knew that it was important that I got the necklace back. It was a sign of allegiance. And that could have value to an outsider.

As I turned these thoughts over and over in my head, the guilt heavy on my shoulders, I inspected my tools for damage. But no matter what item I picked up, I couldn’t find anything remotely wrong with any of it.

Which was super weird, considering I’d been captured, beaten up, caught in a gunfight and then injured while on the dustiest and most polluted of planets in the sector. Surely my tools would show some sort of blemish or stain - probably my blood, in all seriousness - but they were clean and sharp and repaired.

What the ever lovin’ frag?

I didn’t want to add a whole other question to the pile that was already massive.

That meant I actually had to confront the doshing bastard.

I clambered up the ladder, face hot with anger and humiliation. “Hey, Mando! Copaani mirshmure'cye, vod?” I seethed when I entered the cockpit.

The bounty hunter bristled at the controls. A shiny domed pod floated motionless at his elbow, the opening facing the door. Inside slept the child, covered lovingly with a worn blanket, his soft breaths coming out in steady little puffs.

Swiftly rising from the pilot’s chair, he crossed the cockpit in one stride, reaching me before I could blink. With a rough shove to the chest, he pushed me into the engineering compartment and slid the door shut.

The room was full of wires and blinky lights and tubes of varying sizes snaking their way in orderly chaos to other parts of the ship. I took a short instant to gape and ogle in awe at all the shiny tech. For such an old ship, the hunter had outfitted the Razor Crest with some wickedly stars-quality mech. Enviously drooling over the fairly-new looking alluvial damper valves and definitely new motivator wiring, I almost forgot the reason I was back up here. Facing down a glowering Mandalorian.

Right.

“Why?” The spite on my tongue tasted off but pleasant, and it welcomed the rising ire with relish. “Why did you fix my kit? Frag, save it for that matter, after all the doshing kriff you’ve put me through?” I hissed. The anger was becoming its own being again, a beast uncaged and wanting to inflict hurt.

Standing like a statue in front of the door, the only sign of life was the tapping of his gloved fingers on the cuisses. Not a reaction I’d expected from a bounty hunter. I hoped for equal anger, shouting, maybe a sucker punch. Anything that allowed me to physically unleash the rage and fear and blasted confusion roiling unpleasantly in my guts.

A small sigh escaped through his vocoder, and he began to fidget with the wrist fastenings on his gloves, pulling at the fingers one at a time. The familiarity of the movement, such a little, almost automatic thing for a warrior, made my heart squeeze painfully, briefly tempering my anger, and I couldn’t help but picture my caretaker.

All of the things that reminded me of my warrior, the one who’d kept me from certain starvation and subsequent slavery, were all but nonexistent in this one. His brusque manner and indifferent attitude made me long for the kind words from the man I called buir. But he was gone, long ago abandoning me to the whims of the colony. More than anything, I hoped he was dead. At least that wouldn’t hurt as much.

Clearing his throat, the bounty hunter angled his visor to gaze at the converter panels blinking peacefully above my head. “Most bounties, when I bring them in. They - they plead innocence. Try to buy me off. Run. But you,” he paused, inclining his helmet to look me straight in the eyes. A shiver went up my spine. “You were the first quarry to ever accept your guilt. You didn’t fight back, you didn’t beg to be released. You just… took it so - so sincerely that I -,” The rumbling timbre of his voice, both rich and gravelly, cracked, making the vocoder buzz in protest. He took a shuddering breath, returning his gaze back to the point above me. “I knew the warrant was… off. No private entity pays that amount of bounty out of concern. I’ve done things like that before, awful things I can never take back but,” he stopped again, bare fingers tapping slowly and deliberately on the cuisses, gloves grasped tightly in the other hand. “I - I’m sorry. I about got you killed out of a sense of misplaced duty. You warned me, but I didn’t - couldn’t trust you, not then.”

I gawped at him in astonishment. Of all the things I figured would come out of that masked mouth of his, never in lightyears would I have thought it would be an apology. Closing my jaw with a snap, I swallowed and thought back to all of my tools he’d saved and repaired and cleaned.

My gaze dropped down to my boots. I still didn’t understand why he was being so… so… not a bounty hunter, but now wasn’t the time to question it. Never look a gift Tauntaun in the mouth, or something like that. A rustle of fabric was the only indicator that the bounty hunter was waiting for me to say something. I inhaled deeply.

“Th-thank you,” I whispered. My breathing came easier. My head felt lighter. Frag, even the atmosphere seemed brighter.

The Mandalorian didn’t reply. I mean, why would he? He’d saved my life - albeit being the one who endangered it in the first place, but that was neither here nor there at the moment - and patched me up. He fixed my kit without a word. He was bringing me with him on whatever he was doing on Nevarro, a decision that I barely understood to begin with. If anything, he deserved a little thanks for not killing me or letting me die when it would have been the easiest, and possibly the best, choice to make.

The Mandalorian still hadn’t made a sound by the time I was done with my internal debate. He was probably as surprised as I was at my capacity for gratitude. Maybe there was a way I could pay him back, and I decided to propose my services right then and there.

Steeling my nerves, I peeked up from under my lashes. The engineering room door was wide open, and I was completely alone among the blinking lights.

_____________________________________

Notes:

”Ibic cuun aliit. Ibic cuun aliik. Ad’ika, bic gaa’taylir gar o’r buruk.” - “This is our clan. This is our sigil. Little one, it will help you when you’re in danger.” (please forgive me for mashing a bunch of words together)

Copaani mirshmure'cye, vod? - Are you looking for a smack in the face, mate?

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crowned-ladybug · 4 years

Text

So I said I wanted to see demon AUs that aren’t smut and that I sadly don’t have the energy to make my own rn, and then I went ahead and accidentally made one anyway

So here’s some incomplete notes on it. It’s 2.7k words. I’m so sorry.

Local dumbass heir to the throne (Joseph) doesn’t Wanna be a heir to the throne bc it’s Boring he’s always wanted to be an Adventurer but here he is anyway. Then one night he gets drunk off his ass and manages to?? accidentally summon a demon??? in his friend’s Magic Lab???

(The friend is Avdol and he’s v v tired of Joseph’s shit)

fuckin Joseph made a drunk deal with a demon who Absolutely saw nothing against making a deal with the royal heir currently drunk off his ass bc hey, free deal

luckily the deal wasn’t for Joseph’s soul or firstborn child or half his kingdom or whatever. Instead the deal is a magical bond between Joseph and the demon that allows the demon to share in Joseph’s life energy/general basic human magic and thus be able to exist in the human world in a stable form without having to go home to rest every once in a while or having to maintain like ten spells Just In Case

the demon is doing this whole deal thing bc 1) he Has to, it’s kind of his Job and 2) he’s looking for vengance on a gang of demon hunters who have killed his family but since they’re human, he needs a way into the human world for a longer term to be able to hunt them down

the demon is Caesar in case you haven’t figured that out yet

Joseph is a lot less concerned about having made a deal with a Literal Demon than he should be. He thinks it’s p hilarious actually and Caesar immediately starts having regrets (he’d bond with Avdol over it if he were willing to lower himself to the level of Measly Mortals)

the fun thing is that bc he’s tied to Joseph magically to allow him to freely exist in the human world, Caesar can’t get out of a few mile radius of him, which kinda makes his plans to hunt down the demon hunters (*cough* Pillar Men *cough*) a lot harder and Joseph even more annoying to deal with

the logical solution to that is to pass Caesar off as a servant Joseph befriends, so that he can stay in the castle, and then eventually they can go off on some adventure together to defeat the Pillar Men (or, well, so that Caesar can defeat the Pillar Men while keeping Joseph at arm’s length) which would also mean that Joseph can Finally get his big adventure he’s been dreaming about

then Joseph gets the genius idea to kill even More birds with one stone and decides that Caesar should pretend to be his bf bc all the annoying ass nobles and shit won’t leave him alone about not having a partner and “oh no, you’re of age now, what will happen if you have to take the throne but have no queen by your side?” and everyone keeps trying to woo him and it was fun at first but now it’s just goddamn Tiring

Caesar agrees to it eventually bc Anything as long as Joseph lets him do his research on the Pillar Men in peace. He doesn’t really realise what fake-dating the annoying bastard entails until he’s already too deep into it and he kinda literally can’t go back on his promises to Joseph, being a contract-bound demon

(Caesar looks like a proper demon normally but he Can disguise himself as p much entirely human-looking if he needs to. It takes energy tho, so he reverts back to his demonic looks whenever he’s safe from prying eyes, or if he’s unconscious)

they’re essentially fake-married for magic tax benefits it’s so great

there’s Definitely some Magic Soulbond Shenanigans along the line of “if one gets hurt the other also feels it”

they find out that Caesar reverts to his demonic form when asleep when he pulls two all-nighters in a row looking for information on the Pillar Men and passes out in Avdol’s study, scaring the shit out of poor Avdol. After that they manage to land a room for him in the castle with some lie about him having travelled here from faraway lands (technically true) and having nowhere else to stay (also technically true), but he also spends a lot of his time in Avdol’s study and Joseph’s room without his disguise, solely for convenience’s sake

they ofc have to fool Everyone with the fake dating, including Joseph’s family, bc No One else can know that Caesar is a demon on a quest for vengeance. The worst, most unexpected part for Caesar is that Queen Erina and Lord Speedwagon actually seem to like him?? they’re just genuinely nice to him??? simply bc he’s around Joseph and bc they find him likeable??? he did Not expect Anyone to be nice to him in the human world, what the Fuck, he doesn’t know how to Deal With That

Suzi is Technically a servant but she’s been Joseph’s friend since they were lil kids so she was essentially raised alongside him and they’re best friends and Suzi can only keep Joseph out of dumb shit like half the time bc the other half she’s right there in it with him

she is Entirely unfazed by Caesar, sees through the pretend relationship in like two minutes and knows immeditely that Something Is Up. When she accidentally catches Caesar in his demon form while checking to make sure he’s not stacking all-nighters again, she doesn’t even bat an eye (meanwhile Caesar’s thoughts are entirely “oh fuck do I have to kill her now, Joseph’s gonna kill me if I do, oh fuck, oh fuck”) just tells him to go to sleep on time and then leaves (to call Joseph out on getting himself into even deeper shit than she’d originally thought)

look idk what he does or what relevance he ends up having to the plot but Polnareff is also there, he’s a dumbass knight who’s the reason Joseph knows how to Not fight properly (bc Polnareff has a shitton of dumb tricks and Joseph knows all of them) and has a giant crush on Avdol

god there’s just. A Shitton of dumb shenanigans during their time in the castle, both with the fake-dating (like having to teach Caesar proper royal etiquette and him getting Very confused and flustered when Joseph casually flirts with him) and with hiding Caesar being a demon (they have so many stupid close calls and make so many dumb decisions they Really Shouldn’t, it’s great)

when the time comes to go and find and kill the Pillar Men, it’s only Caesar and Joseph going bc Caesar doesn’t want any more ppl in this mission than absolutely necessary, totally not bc they’re his friends and he worries about them or anything

they get some tips on where to look and how to get there from this weird adventurer dude who passes through the castle on his travels every once in a while. Joseph’s only met him in passing but he thinks he seems fun and has his own dumbass theory that he’s totally some runaway royalty or something. Instead turns out that the dude is half demon and actually related to Caesar and Caesar, being an orphan and all, had thought finding a remaining member of his family would be Way more thrilling but no this dude is just as weird and annoying as Joseph so he’d like a refund pls

(the dude’s Gyro. Ofc it’s fuckin Gyro. Johnny’s there too somewhere I just haven’t figured that out yet. He might actually be the top horse trainer/caretaker/whatever of the castle and the True reason Gyro travels this way every time is bc he’s smitten as hell)

while Gyro gives them some advice he also tells them that hey. Maybe you shouldn’t do this?? esp not just the two of you??? Considering the Pillar Men are known to be ruthless and Very good at killing demons

ofc these idiots Don’t Listen and go after them together anyway

the plan technically is that Joseph stays a safe distance away while Caesar goes and fights the Pillar Men and Totally wins but like. ofc he doesn’t listen and refuses to stay on his ass and let Caesar leave so they go in together anyway

they manage to find Santana alone and Actually Kill Him but it’s a close one, much tougher than anticipated bc as I said before, these dudes are Really Good at killing demons and also just killing in general. It’s also when Caesar realises the full scope of the “if one gets hurt, the other also feels it” part of his bond with Joseph bc Joseph gets hurt worse during the battle and Caesar is so shocked by his own reaction to it that he’s frozen for a moment and it almost costs him his life

that night when they’re camping out after the battle, Joseph reveals that a long while ago he figured out how to break their magic bond without it hurting either of them or sending Caesar right back to his own world. it’s some old spell he found in one of Avdol’s books or something, idk, and at first he’d kept it hidden from Everyone bc he was starting to really like Caesar but knew that Caesar was only around him out of necessity (not true actually but Caesar hid and denied his growing fondness for v v long) and he didn’t want him to leave the moment he realised he Could, even if it was v v selfish of him and he feels like shit about it now. And then later on when it turned out that they’re gonna see this quest through together anyway, he figured it didn’t matter anymore and so he kinda just forgot about it

but he’s remembered it again before they left and packed what he needs for it as a grim Just In Case (and it may or may not be a weird red gem bc yknow, but idk yet) and now he offers to break the bond already bc of how him getting hurt almost got Caesar killed. But Caesar tells him not to, bc it doesn’t matter now and a spell like that would probably take a lot of energy out of both of them when they need everything they’ve got for the upcoming battles

in reality he doesn’t want the bond broken bc it makes him feel like he’s got a right and a reason to stay, without having to fully face just how much he cares about Joseph, and bc it makes sure that Joseph is never far from him and lets him know if he’s hurt and maybe like this he can somehow protect him from getting hurt again

spoiler alert: he can’t

the fight with the other three Pillar Men doesn’t go their way at all. I mean it’s 3 vs 2 and the 3 are Very Good at killing so it should be Expected, but they’re young and dumb and Caesar is stubborn and still thirsting for revenge and if Joseph can’t hold him back then at least he can stay with him

they both get badly hurt and when it looks like it’s just it for both of them, Joseph brings out that spell again and breaks their bond before Caesar could tell him to stop and tells Caesar to run, to get away and don’t even fucking look back, just Go. When Caesar tries to object, Joseph tells him that he’s not dying just so Caesar can get himself killed too and Caesar is too scared to do anything but listen and run as Joseph leaves himself no escape and takes another two of the Pillar Men down with him before Caesar could figure out a way to save him

Joseph survives, Somehow, minus a hand anyway. He wakes up again in his own room in the castle and he has No Idea how he got back or who even found him and his best guess is that Gyro and Johnny have followed them and lbr Avdol’s magic has probably had a part to play in it too

and Caesar is just. Gone. Separated from Joseph and already weak from the fight, he didn’t have enough magic left to remain in the human world for long and thus got pulled back into his own world, and being just a normal demon, he can’t even cross back over without being summoned. But Joseph doesn’t know any of that, he just knows that Caesar is Gone and he strongly doubts he’s coming back bc he hasn’t already and he’s p damn heartbroken about it

meanwhile Caesar isn’t having much better of a time in his own world either. Bc nothing went well, Nothing, but he realises that he doesn’t even care about his revenge plan anymore, he doesn’t care about hunting Kars down and avenging his family. But he’s just lost the only family he’s had Again, the ppl in the castle this time, and he’s stuck here without any way back unless someone accidentally summons him again, and for what he knows Joseph had died to save him and Caesar didn’t even get to say goodbye or bury him

this v shitty state lasts until Joseph’s desperation + a lil nudge from Avdol and Suzi gets him to try summoning Caesar again (bc Joseph decides that if he gets no response at all, if the spell fails, it means Caesar’s really just Gone and he hadn’t made it out alive after all, but having definite knowledge of that will still be better than just Not Knowing and hoping for the rest of his life)

Avdol lets him take his study all to himself and so Joseph settles in during the afternoon and gets to finding the spell which is Not Easy bc he’d been drunk off his ass when he’d first found and performed it. He’s starting to lose hope and think that maybe the spell doesn’t even Exist in Avdol’s books, he’d just butchered a completely different spell and that’s how he got to Caesar, when he Finally finds it, and it’s almost midnight at that point and he’s Exhausted and Scared and Sad and he just Wants This To Work

the spell asks for an offering for the demon’s services, and the first time around Joseph had said something like “idk name your price” which is how Caesar had got the bond he needed (tho Joseph doesn’t actually remember this)

this time he just says “anything” which is a p dumb thing to offer when making a deal with a Literal Demon but he doesn’t care, this is Caesar, he trusts him and he loves him and he’d damn right give anything to just know that he’s okay and maybe get to see him again

and the spell Works it fuckin Works even if it takes a moment and there’s a flash of light and then suddenly there’s Caesar, sitting on the ground in Avdol’s study in all his demonic glory, blinking as his eyes adjust to the dim light and until he sees Joseph sitting on the ground in front of him, crying. And from then on it’s just a big “i thought I lost you” reunion moment that’s so happy it Hurts. They stay sitting on the floor for Hours despite it being late at night, just pressed together and talking about anything and just enjoying each others presence bc they’ve missed each other and thought they’d never see each other again

the next morning Avdol finds them sitting against the wall in a pile and fast asleep and decides to take the day off and goes to find Suzi and Polnareff to tell them the news

idk where the rest of the plot goes yet bc Kars is still out there and Erina and Speedwagon still don’t know about the whole demon thing but have this for now

#jjba #caejose #joseph joestar #caesar zeppeli #mohammad avdol #suzi quatro #polnareff and the pillar men are also there but not enough to ba tagged sorry #also gyro and johnny yeah them too #I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS IS IT JUST HAPPENED #my mind went ''heir of dumbass Joseph accidentally summons a demon but it's mostly just fake-dating'' and then this happened??#ill add a tag for this au once i figure one out bc i guess now i need that too huh #goddamnit #demon au

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chronicallylatetotheparty · 4 years

Text

After the Fall Ch.22 Acceptance

LoganLight, AO3

he legal proceedings were tedious but necessary. Good thing Adrien was just expected to sign a 'few' forms instead of dealing with the state's . . . Prosecutor? Was that the term?

Regardless, the Gorilla was officially recognized as his legal guardian until he came of age. His assets would be held in trust until then. Adrien was surprised at the sheer amount that he would inherit even with the millions of euros in damages that were paid to la Ville de Paris.

Guess it came with being rich. Even after everything, they wouldn't take his money. At least not all of it.

The board was scrambling to separate themselves from Gabriel. Starting by renaming the company something besides Gabriel. That hasn't stopped the massive loss in profit and several boycotts, though. It would be a long time before they could recover. If they ever did.

Perhaps Adrien could bring himself to care in time but at present he was more than happy to let them do what they will. It's not like they could cheat him out of his inheritance. Nathalie had seen to that.

Incarcerated she may be, but Nathalie knew more about their finances than anyone short of the accountants. She'd made sure Adrien's trust was fraud proof years ago. And continued doing so right now.

Certainly their lawyers thought she was being extremely cooperative.

Adrien's emotions twisted and turned at the thought of his 'caretaker'. Nathalie had always done what Gabriel asked. Only taking Adrien's side when she thought Agreste senior wouldn't find out.

She convinced him to let me go to school.

Right. There was that . . . And nothing else of any significance.

Gabriel himself remained a mystery to Adrien. He refused to see that . . . man. But he heard of Gabriel from those that had. Apparently, losing everything had finally cracked that stubborn pride.

The legal proceedings were tedious, but they would end. Adrien would give his testimony at the trial. (Everyone should know what they were dealing with.) And that would be the last time Adrien would have to deal with Gabriel Agreste.

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"I wanted to thank the both of you," Adrien said. Looking Max and Markov in the eye. "Especially you, Markov. You were amazing."

"It was my pleasure, Adrien. I'm glad we were able to provide assistance," Markov replied. His face screen showing various expressions which conveyed his subdued joy.

Max gazed with pride at his creation. "If you need help with anything just ask," he offered Adrien.

Adrien smiled warmly at them. They didn't mention the trial or Gabriel. Max probably having instructed Markov not to beforehand. Adrien was grateful for that. Grateful for a lot of things, really.

"It's important to maintain contact with friends after the loss of a loved one," Markov said.

Adrien blinked in surprise as his cheeks colored. He looked at Max and raised an eyebrow in question.

Max fidgeted nervously. "He thought it'd be a good idea to download information on types of loss . . ."

Markov glanced between them confused. "Is that not appropriate counsel in this instance?"

Adrien thought of his Maman. "No, it- Ahem. That's not it. Thank you, Markov. I will," Adrien promised.

Adrien started as Max suddenly hugged him. He returned the gesture. Markov leaned his head against their shoulders, careful not to let his propeller graze them.

"Everyone from school sent their greetings and well wishes, too!" Markov informed him. "They wanted to come but it is a school day."

"Oh? Then how come you're here?" Adrien asked, pulling his head up to better look at the robot.

"Mme. Kante gave her express permission!" Markov replied.

"Really? Even though I'm . . ."

Max let go of Adrien to adjust his glasses. "Maman does not hold the innocent accountable for the actions of others."

Adrien blinked back the tears that still came far too easily. It was such a simple thing to get so worked up about. "She must trust you."

Max smiled wobbly. "She knows I wouldn't be friends with someone who doesn't deserve it."

Before that could push Adrien's watery eyes into full-blown crying Markov interrupted. "And she knows I will notify Max if he is mistaken!"

Max blushed, turning away. "It was only once . . . But, yeah."

A short laugh slipped past Adrien's lips. How odd that a teenage genius and an intelligent robot would be a part of his definition of 'normal'. Then again, he'd gotten used to Plagg.

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Adrien waved his hand in front of the older boy's face. "Luka?" The musician stared vacantly ahead. Adrien turned to Nooroo and Plagg. "Please tell me I didn't break Marinette's boyfriend."

The kwamis shrugged. "He's buffering, kid. Give him a sec," Plagg suggested.

"You little trolls!" Adrien jumped at Luka's shout. "You knew! You knew and it was so obvious! No one carries that much Camembert around!"

"Actually, trolls are very polite creatures . . . Unless, you try to take their gold," Nooroo corrected.

"We need to catch you up on modern terms," Luka observed before turning back to Adrien. "How long did it take for you to find out?"

"Well . . ." Adrien drew out. "Immediately. I could tell right away."

Luka facepalmed. Adrien tried not to enjoy it too much. Plagg held no such reservations and chuckled openly.

Nooroo floated forward and patted the blue haired boy's head. "There's actually a lot of precedence. Wielders who were given different Miraculous by the Guardians for whatever reason are the best at seeing through their teammates' disguises. Especially, if they're using a Miraculous previously held by said wielder."

Luka gave Nooroo a grateful smile. "Guess there was no way around it, huh?"

"Well, you could've had a mask that actually covered your face or you could've gotten rid of the hair dye," Plagg pointed out.

"I have no control over that!" Luka protested.

"At least, not consciously," Adrien teased, not pointing out that dye needs to be reapplied.

Luka glanced between the two of them. "So, that's how you put up with this bottomless pit for so long."

"Hey!" Plagg protested.

Adrien grinned, amused. "He's a handful isn't he."

"I thought my patience was better than average. Turns out I just never came across anyone who could get my strings so out of tune," Luka lamented.

Nooroo tapped his chin thoughtfully. "It helped when we only saw each other every million years or so."

"Is that the thanks I get for taking your side instead of Tikki's!" Plagg huffed, crossing his arms.

"That was three hundred million years ago!" Nooroo protested.

"Nino's pretty good at helping people Chill, if you're interested," Adrien told the musician over the kwamis' bickering.

Luka gave him an odd look. "You're not . . . going to take him back?"

The kwamis stilled.

Adrien stared at Luka, uncomprehending. ". . . Take him . . . back?"

"Plagg." Luka glanced away. "You had him longer than I did. I thought-"

A black blur shot at Luka's face, pausing just short of colliding. "What do you think you're doing!" Plagg snapped.

"What do you mean? I thought you'd be happy! You get to go back to Chat Noir! Isn't that what you wanted? You were always going after him! You missed him!" Luka practically shouted.

"Of course, I missed him! I miss all my Chosen!" Plagg shot back. "But that doesn't change anything!"

Adrien ran a finger behind Plagg's ears, which drooped low. He held Plagg in a gentle gaze for a moment before turning towards Luka. "There's no going back to how things were."

". . . You said the Ladybug and Black Cat are Chosen in tandem, right?" Luka asked Plagg. "One for the other? So, that means Adrien was Chosen for Ladybug!"

"Yes. Unfortunately, you will have to overcome the inherent inequality in your partnership," Nooroo said softly.

"Or, I could just give him back the ring!" Luka countered.

". . . Luka . . . my . . . relationship, with Ladybug . . . It's broken. We just started putting the pieces back together. They won't go back to how they used to be . . . And I don't want them to," Adrien admitted.

". . . You could try," Luka insisted.

Adrien shook his head. "When Panthera first appeared, I hated you. But you hadn't done anything wrong. I just wanted my Miraculous back. I wanted Plagg back. That thought stayed with me for a while. That you had something, someone, that was mine."

Adrien looked at Plagg, he scratched the kwami's cheek and the Black Cat leaned into it. Plagg knew from day one that they weren't going to be a team anymore. That's why he flew to Adrien every chance he got. And somewhere along the way Adrien started to know it too.

"But the ring doesn't belong to me. Not anymore. I wouldn't be doing right by you," Adrien told him.

"That's . . . That isn't fair!" Luka said.

Adrien smiled sadly at his friend. Luka was so willing to part with a piece of himself for Adrien's sake. "Most things aren't," he admitted. "But I'm not doing this just for you, I'm doing what's best for me."

Luka stared at him for a moment. "You've grown," he said.

Adrien raised an eyebrow. "You sound surprised."

The musician sighed as his shoulders slumped. He'd obviously been preparing himself to lose Plagg. Only to be told that wasn't going to happen. The emotional whiplash must've been almost as bad as what Adrien was going through.

"I . . . I don't know what to say," Luka admitted finally.

"You don't have to say anything to me," Adrien replied pointing at Plagg. "Him on the other hand . . ."

Luka's gaze softened as the kwami turned away from him. "Plagg." He reached for his partner.

"Going backwards doesn't solve anything!" Plagg snapped dodging his holder's grasp. "Trying just makes more problems!"

"I'm sorry," Luka apologized earnestly, he held out his palm.

Plagg accepted the offered hand, sinking into it with a huff. "Stupid human!" Plagg accused with a thick voice as Luka cradled him.

Adrien felt a pang of nostalgia at the sight. He looked away to give them at least the illusion of privacy. His throat constricted as his heart pounded in his chest.

Adrien started at a small touch on his hand. Nooroo looked up at him with big, understanding eyes. The Butterfly didn't say anything, didn't have to. He brought Nooroo up to his face and cradled him.

This is what was best for everyone. What was best for Adrien. That didn't mean it would be easy. Plagg would undoubtedly insist on visiting. Luka would have to be told who he was dating. The web of secrets needed to be untangled.

Good thing Adrien had practice.

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

Kagami and Nino waited patiently while Adrien collected his thoughts. His endurance for these interactions was still quite low after the arrest. They sat across from him as he fidgeted with the brooch. Nooroo and Wayzz held their own conversation on a nearby coffee table.

"I guess . . . you want to know why I didn't tell either of you anything?" Adrien asked even though he already knew the answer.

"Yes," Kagami acknowledged. Her body language displayed concern more than anything else.

"Yeah, bro. Why'd you feel like you couldn't talk to us?" Nino added. He wasn't quite as patient as Kagami. The past week likely leaving him with little Chill to spare.

Adrien took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I needed to do this myself. You two would've tried to talk me out of it."

Nino tried to protest but Kagami cut him off with a simple: "Of course."

Nino gave her an accusing look.

"What? We would have tried to talk him out of it. And after that didn't work we'd have tied him up or something. You're very stubborn." This Kagami directed at Adrien.

"I don't- Okay, fine! We might have. But, dude, we also could've helped you." Nino's tired gaze held many unvoiced questions.

". . . This was a family matter." Kagami offered. "That isn't shared lightly. Even with the people you trust most. Remember what you told me about your first day as Carapace?"

Adrien gave her a grateful look.

Nino frowned. "I remember needing help."

"I had help, bro." Adrien said gently. "And you needed to stay focused on the fight. It was bad enough that Ladybug knew what I was doing."

Nino and Kagami were silent as they thought back to the battle. Adrien had seen the shaky videos taken by bystanders. Ladybug was stunning as always but even through the terrible quality of the image he could tell she was agitated.

Letting your un-powered friend face your archenemy for you would do that to a person.

Nino sighed. "I get it, bro. I don't like it but I understand. That fight was tough! We needed all the help we could get." He smiled at Adrien. "And you pulled it off, dude!"

Adrien gave a small smile in return.

Nino sagged into the couch, leaning his head back. ". . . I think all the craziness is finally catching up with me, dudes."

Kagami furrowed her brow in confusion. "It's been over a week."

"Yeah! A week making sure nobody accused my best bro of conspiring with the enemy! And a bunch of public appearances as Carapace 'cause dumb politics. And that conversation with Ladybug about secret identities. I've barely gotten any sleep, let alone time to get my head on straight!"

Apparently realizing something, Nino sat bolt upright. "How've you been sleeping?"

Oh, right. That.

Nino had avoided asking before. There was only so many times Adrien could answer 'How are you?' honestly. But this was Nino so Adrien would forgive his exploitation of loopholes.

"About as well as I can expect. Considering." At their worried looks Adrien elaborated. "Plagg's volunteered his holder for sleepovers once I'm up for it. I'm not against the idea. Nooroo's been a big help too. And my therapist was really insistent about letting me know that she was still willing to help if I wanted to keep seeing her . . . I'm thinking of telling her everything." Adrien whispered that last part.

Nino's eyes went wide while Kagami straightened. "Are you sure that's the wisest course of action?" she asked. "What about the others' identities?"

"I'll leave those out," Adrien replied, not voicing the 'obviously' on the tip of his tongue. He was pretty sure she heard it anyway.

"And you're willing to trust her with this?" Kagami wore that scrutinizing expression she used to detect weaknesses in his conviction. "It would place you in a terribly exposed position."

"Yeah, bro. You can't take something like that back." Nino's features displayed his apprehension.

"I know . . . I think it's the wisest course of action," Adrien said, repeating Kagami's words.

Kagami and Nino exchanged glances. Coming to a silent agreement they stood up and walked towards him. Apparently, something in Adrien's face projected his need for comfort.

"Alright, bro," Nino accepted as he made his way to Adrien's left.

"It is your decision to make," Kagami agreed as she took his right.

"But Ladybug's gonna want to know, dudes," Nino pointed out.

"I'll tell her . . ." Adrien wasn't sure how something like that would go over. Hopefully it went as well as last time.

". . . And if you're having sleepovers I've got first dibs! It's in the best friend code." Nino stated matter-of-factly as he wrapped an arm around Adrien's shoulders.

Kagami followed his lead. "We're here for you if you need us."

"I know. Thank you . . . Am I that obvious?" Adrien was pretty sure he was. His emotional exhaustion must be written all over him.

They both nodded. Adrien's lips twitched and, wrapping his own arms around their shoulders, pulled them closer. Ignoring Nino's cry of "Glasses!" he held them tight.

Kagami had grown used to Adrien's embraces. She nestled comfortably at his side.

Nino was just as physically affectionate as Adrien. So, after grumbling about how expensive his eyesight was, he stopped struggling.

Adrien's eyes drifted closed as he listened to his friends breathing. His loyal brother and brave sister. If either of them noticed his slight trembling they kept quiet. He would never be able to repay them for everything they'd done for him. But then they didn't ask him to.

All that time he wasted on wishing for a family again. When he had one right here. Waiting for him to come home. Well, he was home. And he was there to stay.

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‘How much do you trust this 'Master'?’

" ‘I trust him to do what he thinks is best.’ " Adrien replied.

‘Best for who?’

" ‘For the kwamis.’ " Adrien gestured to Nooroo. And that was the only thing Adrien would say on the subject, no matter how the Gorilla phrased it.

‘What do you think?’ The Gorilla asked Nooroo.

"I have not interacted with a member of the Order since it's fall," Nooroo explained regretfully. "I cannot say. But I do know that no other Miraculous has been lost in that time."

‘You're saying his methods are effective.’ His bodyguard, er, guardian stated.

That's one way to put it.

Nooroo nodded. "You know you have to speak with him, right Adrien?"

" ‘Yes. We have to decide what to do with the Butterfly,’ " Adrien agreed.

The Gorilla's glower deepened. He could tell that Adrien wasn't looking forward to speaking with the Great Guardian. But this wasn't about personal grievances.

Adrien gazed thoughtfully at Nooroo. ". . . ‘What do you want to do?’ "

Nooroo blinked at him in surprise. "Me?"

" ‘It's your Miraculous. You should get a voice in what's done with it. What do you want to do?’ " Adrien repeated.

Nooroo looked as though he'd never been asked that before. ". . . I've spent almost two centuries in your family's hands."

Adrien looked down in shame, his hands forming the signs slowly. " ‘I'm sorry.’ "

"No, Adrien! It wasn't all bad. Many of them used my power for good . . . Even Gabriel before he fell."

Adrien couldn't look at him.

Warm arms encircled Adrien and he looked up at his guardian's gentle expression in surprise. His guardian. Certainly the only person with an obligation to guard him that had actually fulfilled the duties of his role.

I never made it easy for you, did I?

Nooroo gently caressed Adrien's cheek. "I have a complicated history with your family, yes. But that isn't your fault, Adrien . . . I would be honored if you were the next Butterfly."

". . . Nooroo," Adrien breathed, his eyes watering.

Did he want that? Nooroo didn't blame him for the Agreste family's crimes but he still felt a sense of responsibility. A kinship with the caring kwami from the moment they'd met. Adrien had only ever felt something like that with Plagg.

". . . If Master Fu thinks it's wise . . . I'd gladly be your wielder." Adrien gave a bittersweet smile as he cradled Nooroo. ". . . ‘And what do you think about all this?’ " Adrien asked his true guardian, giving the big man room to sign.

‘If you're using the Butterfly Miraculous it's less likely you'll be in danger. It may even protect you better than I could.’ The big man gave the look he used whenever he expected Adrien to be responsible with a concession.

Adrien wiped at his tears as he nodded. "H-he still has to agree to it. He might say no."

"Then I'm glad I got the chance to meet you properly, Adrien." Nooroo released his hold to look into Adrien's eyes. "From the moment you were born I watched you grow. I could feel all the love you and Emilie had for each other. Even now that you have such deep scars you have so much love left!"

Adrien squeezed his eyes shut as the tears burned down his face. He'd avoided thinking about her even as he visited every day. Avoided thinking about the uncertainty of her future. Avoided thinking about the will he'd read that Gabriel had explicitly ignored! The will where his Maman laid out, in no uncertain terms, what she expected to be done with her body in this situation.

Maman doesn't want to sleep forever.

"C-can you . . . ‘Can you tell me about her? What secrets she kept? How she used the Peacock? Why they didn't tell me about the Miraculous and kwamis?’ " Adrien didn't know his Maman as well as he thought. He should change that.

Nooroo and Adrien's guardian smiled softly. ‘It would be our pleasure, Adrien.’

Taking the first turn Nooroo settled into Adrien's outstretched hands and cleared his throat, preparing himself for a long story. The big man pulled Adrien into a side hug; he was just as curious about what the kwami would reveal.

Adrien breathed deeply to calm himself. After years of hoping he'd finally have answers to the questions that haunted him. Questions no one else could or would answer. Adrien trembled in anticipation and suspense as Nooroo began:

"The first time Emilie used the Peacock . . ."

Ch.1 Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 Ch.10 Ch.11 Ch.12 Ch.13 Ch.14 Ch.15 Ch.16 Ch.17 Ch.18 Ch.19 Ch.20 Ch.21

6 notes · View notes

luvknow · 6 years

Text

royal au | the prince, lee felix

PRINCE - next in line for the crown.

LEE FELIX was the most adored prince in all the land. the townspeople dubbed him prince charming when the king held a party in celebration of his birth and all he did was giggle and smile at all the people. felix grew up to be the most handsome and sought after prince in the entire world. but to you, every person who bore a crown was the same - it meant they had money, and lots of it. as a highly-trained thief, you’ve stolen from people of all social statuses and always succeeded, moving from kingdom to kingdom so you would never be found. the lees were your next target, but you realized this heist wouldn’t be as easy as your previous ones when the prince takes an interest in you.

enemies to lovers ; fluff ; female reader ; 6k

the backstory of how you became a thief was just like any other thief’s - typical and painfully sad.

the homeless life in your home kingdom was dangerous because stealing was a straight-to-execution crime.

the second you were caught in the market stealing from the pockets of nobles or even a few apples, authorities would drag you to the guillotine or to be hung - it depended on how they were feeling that day.

but that mostly applied to adults. kids were a bit different, but it was much easier to steal as a kid because people felt sorry for you.

you didn’t want to take any chances, though, so you stole things carefully.

soon, it became second nature to you and that’s how you survived through the days.

whether it was money or food, you honed the skill quite well with both distraction and stealth and you thought no one had caught you.

then one day, as you were eating your loaf of bread, a woman wearing a mask cornered you in an alley.

you thought she was the wife of the baker and was ready to kill you right then and there, but that was not the case at all.

“you’re pretty good at that, little one,” she said seductively. “can you show me that again? i’ll make it worth your while.”

she dangled a little baggie of coins in front of your face and who were you to refuse that? you nodded eagerly, awaiting her demand.

“good. go get that jar of honey for me, will you, sweetheart?”

the jars of honey were stacked neatly on a crate placed closest to the shop owner. this was probably your most dangerous product yet, but you literally had nothing to lose.

other than your life, of course, but even that didn’t matter so much.

the shop owner was busy flirting with some brothel worker when you approached the shop. since distracting was already covered, you had one less job to do.

the jars were quite big and oddly-shaped, so sticking this in your shirt would not be ideal.

instead, since the sleeves of your dirty shirt were long and oversized, your plan was to slip one inside and carry it that way.

when you stopped in front of the honey, you did your usual look-around, making sure no one was watching you.

then, you snagged a jar and zig zagged your way through the market to lose sight of anyone you missed who could have been watching you.

you appeared in front of the lady minutes later, who was startled by how quiet and quick you were.

you were perfect.

“oh, thank you! here’s your payment, as promised,” she said, handing you the small bag.

as you held the coins curiously, not used to the weight and amount, she continued on. “do you have a home, little one?”

you shook your head.

a mischievous grin grew on your painted lips. “would you like one?”

turns out your new older sister is one of the most wanted people in the entire world with a very heavy bounty on her head.

she refuses to get caught but also refuses to give up this luxuriously dangerous life she worked so hard for.

that’s where you come in. her purpose is to train you to become as skilled and stealthy as her and have you do all the dirty work in exchange for some of the earnings and companionship.

you didn’t hesitate at the opportunity. it’s not like you had anything better to do.

besides, all the training was a lot of fun! you learned to shoot arrows, fight with a sword, and some hand-to-hand combat skills.

you trained from dawn to dusk as you and your master travelled between kingdoms. when the sun set was when you went about your nightly missions.

some nights were easy, some nights you nearly got yourself killed, but in the end, you always came back with your pockets and bags filled with whatever your master wanted.

“here’s that damn love potion you wanted so much,” you pouted at her one night. “i normally don’t believe in that magic mumbo jumbo, but after almost getting set on fire, i think you might be onto something with this magic stuff.”

“but of course i’m right, my dear - when am i ever wrong?” she took the black vial from your hands with care and looked at it with sparkles in her eyes. “isn’t she so powerful? oh, the wonders i could do with this...”

“who do you plan on using it on?”

she shrugged carelessly. “i don’t know. maybe a king, or something.”

the next kingdom you settled into was your master’s most highly-anticipated target.

The Lee Kingdom, known for their rich crops and strong wine, was one of the most flourishing kingdoms you’ve ever seen.

everything was golden and warm and you think to yourself how you wouldn’t mind staying here for a while.

and that’s exactly what your master had set up for you.

“this will be our last heist together,” she told you that evening.

“what? why?”

“because after this, i will have taught you everything i know and we will be rich enough to live the rest of our lives freely. and who knows, i might not even live to see you succeed.”

“don’t say that...”

“_____, my dear, this heist is going to be very dangerous for the both of us, so you have to be careful, ok?”

“who are we stealing from that makes this so dangerous?”

“a king, of course.”

you’ve stolen from honest merchants, sleazy priests, and drunk nobles, but you’ve never stolen from someone as highly-regard as the king himself.

this was going to be the toughest mission you’ve ever executed, but if this would make her happy, then you’d do anything.

“you’ll start off small,” she explained, swirling her first glass of wine tonight. “start with the merchants for food and supplies and you’ll work your way up from there. oh, and get to know the townspeople - we’re going to be here for a while.”

“a while? why’s that?”

“the king’s birthday is about a couple of months away and we need to get on the invite list or else the plan won’t work. only the most highly-regarded people get to attend the king’s birthday.”

“and how do you plan on getting us on the list?”

she pulled out the love potion vial with her signature mischievous smirk on her red lips. “using this, of course.”

well, between the two of you, if there was anyone that was going to seduce the king, she would be the perfect person to do it.

she always said fatal attraction and law of seduction were important aspects of being a good thief, but that wasn’t really your alley, at least not yet, so you’ll leave all that nonsense to her.

your first pick-ups in the new kingdom were getting the basics, like bread, meat, silverware, some medicine, and more wine, of course.

it was easy when the streets were quiet and dark at such an early time - it was barely past dinner when everything closed down for the evening.

the townspeople must have really trusted each other, too, because they didn’t do much to hide or lock up all of their goods for safekeeping.

you dropped off your first round of goods to your master, who happily poured herself yet another glass of wine, before you decided to head out again for round two.

the night was still young, so you might as well keep going until you got bored.

somewhere off in one of the many alleys of the kingdom, you heard a bunch of cats meowing.

normally, you would think of that as a bad sign, like maybe they felt a bad spirit there, or something stupid.

but they sounded so hungry and you were feeling guilty hoarding all this fish in your bag.

it was starting to smell, anyways.

when you arrived to the scene of nearly a dozen cats, someone had already beat you to the punch.

a boy not much older or younger than you bent down to place several bowls of cat food in front of the meowing fur balls.

they kept on snuggling against him and you could tell he was struggling.

“do you need some help with that?” you teased.

startled to death, the boy dropped the bowls with a loud, echoey clang.

you felt guilty, so you went to help him regardless.

“sorry if i scared you,” you apologized.

the boy said nothing as he stared at you in awe.

even in the dark, he thought you were so beautiful.

“hello?” you called out, waving your hand in front of the open-mouthed boy. "you got a little drool there.”

“huh? o-oh!”

quickly, he wiped away the drool you were obviously joking about, but he wouldn’t take any chances - he honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he was drooling.

you decided to ignore the awkward encounter and focus on the now-angry cats awaiting their meals.

“damn, these cats must be starving...” you noted.

“i’d be starving, too, if my caretaker hadn’t fed me all day.”

“wait, you own all of these cats!?”

“and then some. the rest are probably sleeping or looking for their own food. but i don’t own them, i just feed them. my dad’s allergic to cats, so i can’t have any at the castle.”

“ah, that’s unfortunate - wait, did you say castle...?”

“yeah?” he said as if it was so obvious. “don’t you know? i’m the prince.”

“the prince!?” you shrieked.

this was almost too perfect - like it was a trap set just for you. but the mission literally could not get any more perfect.

your plan was set in stone. you’d befriend the prince, get invited to the party, and steal from all the snobby, rich royals who were getting drunk off their ass on some wine.

“are you not from around here?” the boy asked.

“n-no! not really. i travel a lot with my older sister,” you lied. “we just came in this morning.”

“oh! well, welcome to our humble kingdom. my name is felix.”

“i’d hardly call your kingdom humble, dear prince. it’s one of the largest and most flourishing kingdom’s i’ve ever travelled to.”

“ah well, i try to be humble, but as you pointed it out, the kingdom kind of speaks for itself.” the cute boy scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “s-so, will you be staying long...?”

“i think so. can’t imagine why we’d be leaving soon.”

“oh, good! good... well, if you need someone to show you around, i’m always free.”

“wow, a personal tour from the prince himself?” you teased. “how gentlemanly of you.”

“so did you want to...?”

“i’ll think about it.”

you left the boy awestruck and confused, but he liked you because of that. you were definitely interesting.

“wait, what’s your name!?” he asked.

“_____!” you called out to him.

felix felt like he could fly after he met you.

you came home with your fishy bag and a cute smile on your face, hoping big sis would miss it, but of course she didn’t - she never missed any detail about anything.

“what’s with the smirk?” she asked, taking a roll of bread.

“you’ll never guess who i just met - the prince.”

you saw her sit up straight with the widest eyes. “you’re lying.”

“i could not make this up if i tried.”

you saw a dangerous twinkle in her eye.

“perfect.”

you spent the days getting to know the townspeople and the little secrets of the town while at night you would do your nightly pickings and meet up with felix afterwards.

he was an interesting boy - he wasn’t like any other boy or prince you’ve ever met.

he was awkward... but very cute and kind. there were moments when you were with him that you almost felt bad about your purpose here.

but you had to look at the bigger picture - this wasn’t for you, this was for big sis.

while you were feeding the cats with felix on your seventh night in the kingdom, a loud crash that sounded like a broken vase echoed through the empty village, sending the once-peaceful cats running and you on high alert.

it wasn’t like you were stealing or doing anything bad, but being so used to being careful at night, any noise would startle you.

“you’re like a cat, too, aren’t you?” felix teased. “always active at night, fiesty, nervous ~”

“i am not nervous, that noise was really loud...”

“uhuh. maybe the spirits are coming out early this year.”

“... what spirits...?”

“y’know, like dead people’s spirits. the 31st is coming up, after all. that’s the day when they like to roam the streets the most.”

“... you’re lying...”

“i mean, i’m sure that’s all just a myth, but the kingdom loves to celebrate on the 31st.”

“oh? doing what?”

“well, instead of all the shops being open in the daytime, everything opens at night so the spirits can mingle with us, or something like that. the people decorate the kingdom with tons of flowers, pumpkins, and skulls. it’s actually one of my favorite festivals.”

“ah, interesting.”

that meant bad news for you - you couldn’t steal things when there were so many people around and you wouldn’t dare to try in daylight.

you’ll just have to double your stash the night before.

“so,” felix began. “did you... maybe want to go...?”

“hm? to the festival? sure i guess, why not.”

“cool! great...!”

“oh wait, did you mean with you?”

“i... y-yes...?” he stuttered.

“then in that case, i’d love to go with you.”

he groaned loudly before hitting you playfully. “why are you like this?”

“because you’re cute when you blush.”

in between the day he told you about the festival and the festival itself, you both went about your business and meeting up at night as normal.

except he liked spending time with you so much that he even walked you ‘home’.

‘home’ as in some random house down the block of where you were actually staying.

felix would always insist on waiting for you to get inside the house before he left, but you told him you’d go in through the back so you wouldn’t have to pick the lock every time, and he fell for it.

this whole lying to felix thing and the huge heist big sis had planned was really conflicting.

the handsome prince and his kind family didn’t deserve what was coming for them, but then again big sis gave you a life. a whole purpose.

the heist was about a month away, so you still had some time. for now, you’ll just enjoy your time with felix.

big sis decided to join in on the festivities and spent the night by the winery of course.

you ended up wandering around, eyeing all the goods you wanted, but wouldn’t touch. today was your day off, so you were going to enjoy it with felix by your side.

everything about the festival was as beautiful as felix described - the flowers were a mix of bright warm colors to match the pumpkins, the skulls were bejeweled, and the rest of the decorations were pitch black.

just your type of aesthetic.

after an hour of casually looking for him, you finally found felix in the middle of town square, but he wasn’t alone.

he was surrounded by nearly every girl in town, smiling and laughing with them.

no, you weren’t jealous - why would you be?

he was the prince, after all. that meant he was the most eligible bachelor in the entire kingdom - of course he’d be popular with the ladies.

you wouldn’t be so upset if he didn’t ask you to go to the festival with him in the first place if he was just going to socialize.

now you felt a bit foolish.

until he called out your name.

“_____!!” he screamed across the courtyard.

felix politely dismissed himself from the group before slipping past them to run to you.

“hey!” he gasped, slightly out of breath. “just in time!”

“you didn’t have to leave them to run to me,” you muttered embarrassingly. you shrunk a bit in front of felix to hide yourself from the glaring group of girls.

“but i want to be with you.”

you blushed deeply. what a charming prince. “you’re cute."

felix was the shy one now and walked ahead of you in some random direction. “let’s go!”

“but who are they?” you couldn’t help but ask after catching up. “are they your suitors?”

“yes and no... technically, they all are, but i’m free to choose whom i want to marry someday.”

“what makes them a suitor? are they royalty, too?”

“no. minimum requirement is they have to live here.”

“is that so? does that make me a suitor then, too?” you teased.

“w-well, you have to be a permanent resident to be a suitor, not a traveller.”

“ah, that’s a shame. i was going to say i’m winning.”

“you wouldn’t be wrong.”

being friends with the prince definitely had its upside.

you got to know the townspeople even better than you already had and you got free stuff mostly because both felix and the shop owners refused to let you pay.

you learned a lot about felix from the town tonight.

you learned that he was a prince everyone loved dearly, that he was kind to all his people, and it was like he denounced his princely title when he was amongst his people - he wanted to be just like everyone else.

“thank you, mr. choi,” felix bowed respectfully to the baker. “you always know my favorite snacks.”

“it’s really good!” you beamed happily after biting into the pastry.

“you never have to be so formal with me, your highness,” the baker chuckled. “you’re the prince, for god’s sake!”

“but i want to,” he pouted.

“well, i’m just glad i even had any of these left. i’ve been running really low on ingredients and stuff lately, and you know what’s crazy? so has everyone else! the han’s don’t have much metal left for weapons, the park fish market has been low on inventory, and the kwon winery got hit the worst! i’m surprised they’re open right now...”

“what are you saying?” felix asked, concern written all over his freckly face.

“the whole town thinks we have a thief.”

whoops.

now that a thief was being suspected, you’d have to lay off for a little while, but you don’t think it’ll be a problem.

“a thief? in our kingdom?”

“that’s what it looks like, doesn’t it?”

“i’ll alert my father immediately.”

“thank you, your highness. you’re so kind.”

for a moment, felix was frustrated and angry at himself that he didn’t even suspect anything bad was going on in his kingdom in the first place.

but when he looked at you, his anger seemed to melt away.

that night, you learned that felix adored you.

whenever you were talking to the shop owners, browsing through all the products, or bending down to talk to some children, whatever you were doing, his eyes were glued to you.

under the glow of all the string lights, you were even more beautiful the day he met you - now that he could see you clearly, of course.

everyone saw it. the town, his suitors, even you caught him looking at you a couple of times, but he wouldn’t look away from embarrassment.

his smile would widen to a cheesy grin then he’d look away.

who knew in such a short amount of time you’d get the loving prince to fall for you day-by-day, all because you fed cats together.

after the shops closed and people were turning in for the night you tugged on the prince’s sleeve.

“do you know what time it is ~?” you sang.

“our favorite past time together ~”

“our only past time together...”

“we can always change that.”

the cats meowed their song and felix treated them all to real fish and chicken instead of that kibble stuff he’d usually give them.

you couldn’t help but notices how furrowed his brows were which clearly meant he was thinking about the whole thief thing.

guilt was rising in your chest and now you were nervous.

“are you ok?” you asked him.

“yeah... no. no, i’m not. the thief thing is going to be on my mind all the time until they’re caught. god, i’m so angry! who would steal from these good, honest people!?”

“a terrible person...”

“you’re right.”

“do you have any idea who it might be?”

“no idea. what i do know is that they’re smart and highly skilled. there’s no way i’m going to find them...”

you take felix’s balled-up fists in your hands and he immediately relaxes upon your touch.

you can tell he’s unsure and nervous of what you’re doing, but you simply hold onto his hands and you receive a gentle squeeze in return.

“don’t worry too much, ok? it’s not your fault this is happening.”

“i know, it just... sucks...”

“you’ll catch them.”

“you think so?”

“i know so.”

felix released one of his hands to tuck some stray hairs behind your ear and kept his hand to your cheek afterwards, his thumb drawing gentle lines on the apples of your cheeks.

he looked at you like he wanted to kiss you, but he held himself back.

“hey, so there’s party that’s coming up that my father’s going...” he trailed off.

this was it. this was yours and big sis’s ticket into the last heist.

why weren’t you excited?

“it’s for his birthday and it’s an invite only,” he continued. “would you like to go with me?”

“hm, i don’t know ~” you teased. “will your suitors be there, too?”

felix rolled his eyes playfully. “yes, some of them will be, but i want to be by your side the whole night.”

“really...?”

“really.” he pulled out a formal invitation in fancy parchment and handed it to you. “will you go? please?”

“on one condition.”

“anything for you.”

“can i bring my sister? i rarely see her these days, since i spend all my free time with you.”

“of course she can come.”

“then i’ll be there, your highness.”

when you came home to your big sis, you threw the invitation on the table and nearly burst into tears.

“i can’t do it,” you muttered.

“what?” she seethed. “we’re so close! you put in so much work already!”

“the town already suspects a thief is here and taking their stuff, we’ll be caught and execute right away!”

“you knew the dangers coming into this, why are you surprised?”

and then it clicked in her head.

“you love him, don’t you?” she scoffed.

you don’t say anything.

“foolish girl. even if he does love you back, what will happen? you’ll leave me in the dust to marry him and live here happily ever after? what makes you think he’d love some lowlife traveller, hm? when he’s got suitors lined up for miles?”

god, you really wish she didn’t say that.

“listen. this is our last heist together. help me steal from the king, and i’ll leave you be here to live off your fantasy. but if you don’t i’ll tell him everything. your whole life, your purpose here, that you’re the thief - everything. so will you help me, or not?”

you only nod as a response.

“good girl.”

it was the night of the big party and you and big sis were dressed to the nines, thanks to the jewelry shops in town.

felix’s castle was beautiful. you could only ever dream of living in a place like this.

the great hall was decorated with all of the king’s favorite flowers and candles and all of the tables had piles and piles of meat on it, ready to be devoured.

big sis mindlessly made her way towards the king, where she’d wish him a happy birthday and the plan would move on from there.

just when the anxiety of being alone was creeping up on you, a hand swooped in to lace itself with yours.

a handsome felix looked down at you adoringly with sparkles in his eyes, drinking in every centimeter of beauty that was you.

“hi,” he said breathlessly. he bowed down and kissed the back of your hand like a true prince.

“your highness, you’re so charming ~” you gasped.

“only with you. shall we?”

you and felix sat at the far ends of the table where his parents also sat.

big sis sat right next to the king, playing with the vial of love potion under the table, smirking in the process.

she must have slipped it in already.

you still held onto felix’s hand before the dinner commenced and you must have been unconsciously squeezing it tighter and tighter as time passed because he’d steal side glances of concern at you from time to time.

you’d then immediately loosen your grip and give him a reassuring smile in return.

the air inside the castle was suffocating.

“a toast!” the king began, standing up and holding up his poisoned goblet. everyone soon followed his suit. “thank you all for coming to celebrate my special day. let’s eat and drink well tonight! cheers!”

“cheers!”

and so the king drank the potion.

the food was amazing - you expected nothing less from a king himself. but it was hard to enjoy it when you were eyeing the king and big sis talking the whole night.

when dinner was over, the real party started, and you thought maybe in the pool of all these people, you’d be able to slip away from big sis and never come back -

“will you dance with me?” felix asked.

he held out his hand for you to take and who were you to refuse an offer you once dreamed about when you were a little girl?

gladly, you took his hand and he guided you to the middle of the dance floor where he laid one hand on your waist and another held your own and you immersed yourself in this waltz.

“i didn’t take you as someone who knew how to dance,” you noted.

“it’s part of the princely package.”

the music had slowed and so did you and felix. now his hands were on your waist and he held you close, hoping you’d never slip away.

“when do you leave?” he asked the dreaded question.

“soon.”

“don’t.”

“what do you mean...?”

“i mean don’t leave. stay here, with me.”

“i can’t.”

“why not?” he begged. “do you not want to?”

“no! of course i want to, i just... i don’t think this was meant to be.”

“what...?”

from behind felix, you saw big sis whisking away the king to god knows where - probably to his chamber, where she’d tie him up while you and her did the dirty work.

you needed to stop her fast.

“stay here, i’ll be right back,” you said, breaking away from felix’s iron grip.

“where are you going!?”

“somewhere! i’ll be back, i promise.”

like a tragic ending to a fairy tale, felix watched you slip away into the empty mass of the castle. for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to follow you.

what was the point, anyways? when you didn’t want to stay here with him.

but your answer was so vague, what was he supposed to think of it?

before it was too late, felix ran off to find you.

it was easy to navigate around the giant castle when there were clear signs of how to get to the royal chambers. you figured the well-lit and finely-decorated pathways led the way to them.

from outside of what you assumed was the king’s master chamber, you heard the king muffle something you couldn’t understand.

she must have already tied him up.

you kicked the door open, only to reveal the king alone in the room.

“fuck,” you cursed. before anyone could see, you began untying the frightened king.

“_____...?”

your heart dropped when you saw felix standing in the doorway, looking confused.

“what are you doing?” he asked.

you ignored his question. “help me untie your father.”

he did as you told in silence, trying to piece together what or who you were. you weren’t telling him something, but he’ll figure it out soon.

conveniently, the king kept a crossbow near his bed for protection. so you took it and a bunch of arrows, ready to do something you thought you’d never have to do.

“what are you doing with that!?” the prince demanded after he released his coughing father.

“i’ll explain later -”

“no, explain it to me now.” felix was angry now, and you were frightened, but you had to remind yourself you were doing this for him.

“follow me. we don’t have much time.”

you left the chamber with felix following closely behind you, confused and frustrated.

“you have to tell me where you keep your everything - your coins, jewelry, gold - all of it, where do you keep it?” you asked frantically.

“why?”

“because the thief is here and we’re going to catch her.”

“what!?” he shrieked. “everything’s kept in a safe in the dungeon -”

“show me.”

felix led you a long journey to the dungeon to which you assumed you’d be calling home by the end of the night when felix found you out.

but that was the consequence of the heist, and you knew that.

the safe door was huge and opened just a crack where light shone through the opening. from just outside, you could hear big sis fumbling around, stuffing whatever she could in whatever carrier she brought with her.

you opened the safe just a bit more and aimed the crossbow right at her head.

her manic laughter echoed through the safe and beyond the dungeon, sounding like an evil witch or sorceress. even felix was frightened of her.

“has it really come to this?” she asked, looking at you straight in the eyes. “you wouldn’t really do this to me, would you? to me, your big sis?”

“what is she talking about?” felix asked.

“oh, your highness! don’t you know? _____’s the thief! we’re in this together!”

“what? _____, tell me she’s lying...”

you didn’t say anything.

“she did all ~ the stealing herself,” she sang. “of course, i was the mastermind behind all of this, but she did the dirty work! she really fooled you, huh? but like every fairytale, the thief fell in love with the prince, and now she’d do anything for him. even kill the one person who gave here life purpose.”

if big sis loved you as much as you loved her, you would have been more conflicted about your choices. but she didn’t and she only used you to survive off of the things you stole from good people.

you’ve never pulled the trigger on someone so quickly.

the arrow lodged right through her skull and she fell to the ground with a loud thud.

you dropped the crossbow and turned back to look at felix, hoping you could finally explain yourself.

but he wasn’t there.

so now you were alone again, at least for a couple of minutes before the guards got there to take you away and lock you in the dungeon, just as you predicted.

the cell was cold, dark, and lonely, but even this was more than you deserved.

you’re not sure how many days have passed by now, but you’d hope at least one of those days felix would have visited you, wanting an answer.

but he never did, and you didn’t blame him.

on what you assumed was the fifth day, your cell opened, and a few guards picked you up and dragged you out without any explanation.

when you left the dungeon, you’ve never been so happy to see the sun shining.

the guards took you to the great hall where the king, the queen, and felix sat on their thrones patiently waiting for you.

you were too embarrassed to even look at him, but his gaze bore holes into you, as if he was demanding you look at him.

so you did, just for a second, and in that moment you saw how hurt and disappointed he was at you.

you were thrown to your knees in front of the royal family.

“miss _____, is it?” the kind king asked.

“yes, sir.”

“it has come to my attention that you are the one that has been stealing from all the shops in town, is that correct?”

“yes, sir.”

“i see... normally, the sentence for something like this would be execution, but you did save my life and eliminated the woman behind all of is. for that, i owe you, so you are free to stay in this kingdom. if you are caught stealing again, you will be sentenced to death, is that clear?”

“yes, sir.”

“excellent. now get out of my sight.”

you struggled to get up, not used to using your legs just yet as you spent five days sitting on concrete.

the guards unshackled you, revealing bloody wrists and ankles.

you were free - from big sis, from the life you once live, from everything.

it should feel amazing. and it does at first, but now you’re alone again.

you have to leave.

after washing out the scum for nearly an hour, you were good as new, with only the scars left on your skin. you packed up anything that you could in a backpack, along with some of the stuff you stole, since it wasn’t like you were going to give it back.

you locked up the place and made your way towards the kingdom gates, ready to leave and never come back.

“you lied about where you lived, too?” you heard felix say from behind. “is your name even _____?”

you paused, turning around to see felix jogging up to you from down the street, where you told him you lived.

as he approached, your gaze was set on the floor, where it belonged.

“so you’re just going to leave without explaining anything to me? without saying goodbye? nothing?”

tears welled up in your eyes. how could you explain it to him? in what way could you explain this whole thing and have him understand? you didn’t think you even deserved a goodbye from him, so what was the point?

“say something,” he demanded.

“i can’t stay,” you muttered. “it’s not fair to you.”

“if i said i want you to stay, will you stay?”

“what?” you cried out. “i stole from you and i lied to you, why would you want that?”

“because you love me, don’t you?” felix’s voice was desperate, hoping that was the one thing you couldn’t have lied to him about. “i know that’s not a lie, am i right? tell me you love me, too.”

“of course i love you.”

“then if you love me, you’ll stay, right?”

“felix -”

“please,” he begged. he held your face in his hands and gently lifted your face up forcing you to look at him. “just stay for a while longer. we’ll talk about everything, just... please don’t go.”

“ok,” you nodded. “i’ll stay.”

felix let out a huge sigh of relief, pressing a long, loving kiss to your forehead.

“good. will you show me where you actually live now?”

the night was spent inside your humble home telling the story of your entire life before and during your time with big sis.

whether he understood why you are the way you are or not, you’re still unsure, but falling asleep wrapped up in felix’s arms had to have been a good sign, right?

#felix #lee felix #skz #stray kids #skz felix #stray kids felix #skz scenarios #stray kids scenarios #skz imagines #stray kids imagines #royal au #these.... keep getting longer LMAo #i know i already did a thief and a prince trop #but idk i was inspired #blease tell me what you think cuz i tought this was meh i focused a lot on the reader and not so much felix :(

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born-of-dusk · 5 years

Text

Komorebi or: Those Who Love Shadows

Characters: Vanitas, Arika (OC)

Summary: The New Replica Program aims to give some of the former Seekers of Darkness a new lease on life, a chance to atone and be their own selves separate from their fate bound by the late Master Xehanort. Vanitas has a hard time adjusting to life without a purpose, and it’s up to one tough cat lady from another world to show him the way.

Word count: ~2,800

A/N: this is literally my first fanfic ever and this happened because i really wanted this edgy boy to have a mom. you are getting redeemed damnit.

Vanitas was brooding around a shady tree in the outer gardens when a distant commotion caught his attention. Normally, he could tune out idle chatter and background noise easily but the voices he heard were just a little too familiar. He spared a passing glance from behind a flower hedge and recognized the taller guy with blue hair from their time as the Seekers of Darkness. He and the one with red hair were blathering about some nonsense with Xion and three other kids he didn’t recognize. Whatever. They looked like they were just standing around waiting for something or someone. Vanitas turned his attention back to the flickering specks of filtered sunlight that danced along his armored legs in time with the fluttering leaves above, just killing time until he had to go meet a certain strange lady.

Arika had taken it upon herself to try and “help” him and the other former Seekers for some reason when they were given second (third?) chances at life in the form of the New Replica Program. ‘I sympathize with all who feel lost, who have been toyed with by fate, who struggle with themselves,’ she said. Whatever, lady, you can do what you want as long as I still get free food and a room to myself. Since the moment of his “birth” the boy had only known one truth: he was created to clash with his other half, forge the χ-blade, and bring about a second Keyblade War. This was his one and only purpose and failing to accomplish this goal would not be tolerated. The old coot, Xehanort, saw to establishing that quickly as well as frequently. And this whole new existence without a clear goal to chase and being around people who didn’t see him as a means to an end was...he didn’t like to think too hard about it.

After a few minutes he got up to stretch before heading out when he heard the gaggle of friends perk up at their final missing member arriving with his arms full of that blue ice cream everyone seemed to like. It was…Ventus? Ventus was here in Radiant Garden right now? No, that wasn’t right. Same face, same sort of getup, but that wasn’t his brother there apologizing and laughing like a huge loser. It was the other one, that Roxas kid. Just seeing him was enough to sour his mood, but seeing him with his massive group of friends? That was enough to spawn an Unversed or two somewhere in the worlds in an instant. He tried to shrug it off, then he wanted to mock them or slap that stupid ice cream out of Ven-- Roxas’s hands and onto the ground. Anything to dampen that happy atmosphere, but he didn’t. Instead he tried to divert his negative thoughts elsewhere but that stupid smiling face was already burned into his mind. And then those awful thoughts went towards that slippery slope he always seemed to come back to:

Ventus doesn’t need me. Master Xehanort isn’t around anymore so now there’s no use for me, no purpose to exist. Darkness is all I am and all I’ll ever be. A being of pure darkness in a world of light. What am I even doing here?

That caused a dull blooming pain in the back of his head that surely must’ve heralded another Unversed somewhere, and not a scrawny Flood or Scrapper either. He didn’t raise a hand to soothe the ache and instead let it run its course. That would be a sign of weakness, after all. Right about now he was supposed to be training with his…master? Caretaker? Whatever that lady was to him he still wasn’t sure. She’d offered to spar with him once or twice then to train him from the ground up in a more cohesive style. Something about sound bodies yielding sounds minds or some such drivel. This week she was supposed to help him practice parrying attacks with his keyblade after stressing the importance of defensive maneuvers in addition to the devastating offensive ones that he was more inclined towards. He scoffed at the idea at first but relented after seeing her dispel a mob of Heartless with her fancy footwork and fluid parries into slashes into a wave-clearing focused energy surge. She made it look easy so he figured he may as well add it to his repertoire, even if it did look kinda girly. Maybe it’d help him get his mind off of those troublesome thoughts.

But the rotten start had already tainted the rest of his day. First, Arika had scolded him for being late and made him do 20 laps around the training grounds as punishment. Then she had him do the usual warmup routine of muscle stretches, more laps, and a few sets of the 32-step sword form routine she pieced together for him. Of course he couldn’t blitz through it either; no, he had to do it painfully slow over and over until he did it perfectly. Once he got to the actual sparring it was all downhill. His mind was all over the place bouncing back and forth between thinking about what Ventus was up to, trying to time his parries just right, minding his stances, seething about Roxas having to exist in his general area and look just like his “brother.” His footwork was off, his distraction earned him a few well timed parries strong enough to send his training sword flying, his own attempts just slightly mistimed or lacking finesse which resulted in static blocks. All the while Arika tried to bark out advice and corrections but none of it got through that flurry of doubts and self-criticisms that was storming inside him.

“Stance steady! Stay light on your feet until the blade falls. Meet it at an angle, partial flat. Elbows in!”

Every word she uttered only irritated him further and fueled the ire burning inside. Get it together, Vanitas! Just parry a single hit already! How’d you get so weak and useless?! In his frustration he ended up reverting to his original brash and wild style unlike the more focused one he had drilled into him over weeks of grueling practice. Without even realizing it, he’d given up on the lesson entirely and just gave it his all to land a single massive hit and be done with this charade.

Arika’s eyes widened when wisps of darkness started emanating off of him and she switched gears entirely when he charged her at full speed. Lacking enough time between blocking his blows to attempt to talk him down, she threw herself into the fight in hopes he’d soon tire himself out. Despite his raw enraged power being on par with hers, Arika’s years of experience and coolheaded approach let her deflect every sword slash and thrust Vanitas threw at her, either artfully sidestepping a blow or returning the force of it in full. At last in his rage and desperation, Vanitas resorted to his iconic overhead strike after leaving behind an afterimage. He warped into the air behind Arika, empowered his weapon with all of his dark magic, and swung down with all his might.

“Too slow!”

But the blade never met its target. Arika disappeared in a blur of violet just short of the blast and delivered a stunning barehanded strike to Vanitas’s solar plexus that sent him flying. The next thing he knew Vanitas was on the ground with the wind knocked out of him, his teacher dispelling her weapon in his peripheral vision. After catching her breath, she glanced down at her student and offered him a hand. This single gesture flooded the boy with anxiety and fear when he realized what he’d done, what he had tried to do. Wait, no! Damn it, I really messed up this time. It took everything he had not to create any more Unversed right then and make things worse for himself but that nagging voice in the back of his mind kept needling him with barbs of doubt. He knew what she was going to say but he just knew there was something more she was hiding. She only did this if…

“That’s quite enough for today. Come, let’s wind down.” It was calm and even like always but he could’ve sworn he heard some bite in the first half this time.

She’s giving up. She thinks you’re weak. No, she knows.

Ven was off in his nice little homeworld with his nice little group of friends that somehow hadn’t fallen apart in the decade they were scattered to the winds. He had friends, connections…a family. Ven didn’t need him, Xehanort didn’t, and now neither did Arika. After all that garbage about “caring” and “sympathy” she was throwing him away. Of course, he was darkness and nothing more. There’s no way she would forgive what he did. And worst of all he failed miserably, he was utterly useless. The air around him grew colder and his whole body felt numb before he reacted the only way he knew how.

“Just stop it,” he muttered. She raised an eyebrow but stood unmoved.

“Stop what?”

“Just say what you mean and give up already! I know what you’re thinking so just say it,” he shouted, snubbing his master’s aid and slowly rising to his own two feet. The dark wisps had grown to envelop the boy almost entirely in a chilly shroud; he stared down at the inky haze that pooled around his feet and balled his fists at his sides. He let himself get lost in his pounding headache but fought to bite back the prickling tears welling in his eyes. No, anything but that. He was weak enough already.

“Give up on trying to ‘help’ me, it pisses me off! Keep your pity and let me sink back into darkness where I belong! And don’t pretend you still care after I tried to kill you because I won’t believe you! So just quit this whole act and stop trying to save me from-”

Vanitas hadn’t noticed Arika close the distance during his fuming outburst until she had stepped into his view. He shifted his ireful gaze from her feet to her face and was met with something truly bizarre. He was expecting a hateful sneer or cold sharp eyes. But instead he saw a look of concern, maybe even...sorrow? What? Suddenly he found himself wrapped up in a warm hug that caused the smoky dark aura that enveloped him to slowly but surely wane. Not having a clue how to react, Vanitas just stood there still and utterly dumbfounded.

“It’s alright, Vani. I’m not giving up on you, we’re just taking a break for the day. We can try again when you’re feeling better. I should have noticed something was troubling you earlier and for that, I am so sorry,” she said in a soft quivering voice. These strange words spoken in a kind yet sad voice made no sense to the boy. He’d failed, he’d tried to seriously hurt his master. She could’ve died. And she was apologizing to him? And she’d called him some cutesy nickname that didn’t irritate him as much as it should’ve. He balled his fists again, overwhelmed and baffled.

“W-what the hell are you talking about?! How could you have known-,” he snapped his head to face her and happened to notice that the dark aura around him was almost entirely gone. In fact, he felt significantly less frustrated and angry too all of a sudden. Like a massive weight was lifted off his chest and he could breathe again. But Vanitas realized the cost of that relief quickly, that darkness does not simply disappear.

Arika’s smile was pained and her brow furrowed; he shifted his gaze to her false right arm made of her psionic magic. Normally a brilliant shade of violet, it had been dyed black by inky veins that snaked up the forearm and ended at her shoulder where magic met flesh. She winced as tiny errant barbs of the dark substance calcified and broke through the skin of her shoulder, he could practically feel it himself and winced in return. Arika gave Vanitas, now looking concerned himself, a dismissive gesture as the inky lines crawled up her false arm and out of her skin in short bursts only to fall to the ground and shatter or dissipate into vapor outright.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have taken your pain without asking either. Don’t worry about me, I’ve gotten the hang of tempering it through experience. It’s something my people can do,” she trailed off. Her smile fell and her eyes softened as she looked at him with an expression the boy could not describe, but it almost looked like she was feeling the same way he did just moments ago. Was this what she meant by sympathy? “You are very strong for having shouldered this pain in your heart for so long. How it must have ached...if you would let me I would help lighten the load any way I can. No one should have to suffer alone.”

Vanitas was at a loss for words; his head was a little clearer but he still felt awful about everything that had just transpired. And now he was baffled by whatever this magic trick was. Just what are you, lady? Someone who didn’t think he was weak, apparently. She even called him strong and was willing to hurt herself for his sake? But in a helping kind of way. There were plenty of questions to be asked, it’s not like he was super happy all of a sudden. He still wasn’t sure what he was feeling now in his fledgling heart (other than “not bad”), he didn’t know whether more punishment was in store for him after his stunt (probably not), he didn’t know how to feel about having his emotions—though negative—siphoned away even if it made him feel better. And while he started to admit to himself that he did want her help, he wasn’t sure what he wanted her to do. But there was one nagging question he had to know the answer to right now.

“Why do you care so much about me? Even though I’m…”

“Even though you’re darkness?” she chuckled. He looked away, almost afraid to hear her answer. “Because my heart can love darkness, of course. And darkness can learn to love back.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle dryly at that answer. Now you’re just making stuff up. “That’s impossible, lady. Darkness isn’t capable of that kind of mushy junk, it’s all just hate and pain.” But then what am I feeling?

Now it was her turn to rebuke him. “Oh, but it’s true. I’m living proof of it, as is my friend Cora and countless others who came before us. We all descend from the one born from the union between pure Light and pure Dark eons ago on my world. We all have light and darkness in our hearts in varying sizes, it’s what makes us all children of twilight. When the Dark fell in love with the Light...” she trailed off serenely. The last of the barbs painlessly fell away to the winds to return to the world and the hearts of living beings. Arika placed her hand to her shoulder and began to heal her wounds shut while Vanitas scratched his head at these outlandish notions placed before him. Light and darkness joining together? And they made some kid instead of a χ-blade?

“But how? How could darkness fall in love with light at all?”

Arika regarded his question sagely for a moment before pulling the boy into another hug which he received less awkwardly. She placed her good hand on his messy hair and gave it a ruffle, “because the Light ceased fighting with the Dark long enough to listen to him, to understand his pain, and from there a bond was formed.”

Vanitas had neither a sarcastic quip nor follow-up question at the ready, he simply hummed and reluctantly rested his head on his master’s shoulder. He hoped she didn’t notice when he leaned ever so slightly into her hand as she patted his head. Clumsily, he brought his arms up to return the hug but only barely making contact back. This was still weird and new and he didn’t want to make this totally new feeling in his chest disappear just yet. It was something heavy and light, comforting and terrifying, yet entirely warm. Is this…a connection? He tightened his grip to brace himself against the prickling of tears but gave into the urge to let them fall where they may, it was relieving somehow. Arika stroked his hair and started to hum a song from a far-off world, letting her tears shed in kind. Their tears of joy were warm like the embrace they shared in solace, like the feeling in their hearts at this very moment, like the sunshine that greeted the shadows through the trees.

#oc x canon #vanitas #arika #let edge boy be happy 2019 #i slapped that pic together real fast #kingdom hearts #kh #found family inc #fanfic

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the-colony-roleplay · 5 years

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EMRYS “RHYS” DAVIES | THIRTY-SEVEN; ELITE

House: Brink Status: Infected - Increased Hearing Elite Specification: Head of Child Supervision

HISTORY

Emrys (better known as Rhys) grew up as the only child of a small conservative Welsh family. Although he went to a fairly open-minded school, and received excellent care, nobody seemed to notice how Rhys could barely keep up with his classmates. He managed to sit behind the smartest of the other kids, and he was getting better at finding solutions or alternative routes to deal with his lack of attention and overall confusion. His parents were convinced that their special boy could do no wrong, and he desperately wanted to avoid being a disappointment. At every parent/teacher meeting, when teachers brought up the issues with his attention span, his parents explained it away by saying he must have just not been giving it his all. He needed more discipline, simple as that. And Rhys wanted to believe this as much as they did. He acted confident, thinking that if he just pretended to be the same as the kids who made it through with flying colors, he might be able to do the same. Fake it till you make it. But despite his efforts, he barely made it through elementary school.

Middle school wasn’t much better, especially when puberty kicked in. Where at first paying attention in class, prioritizing school assignments and being on time had seemed like the biggest problems, he was now a bundle of pure energy, as well. Organization was even harder because his restlessness made it impossible to so much as sit still for more than five minutes. It was an itching feeling always at the back of his mind, and it was forcing him to run, to jump, to climb, to do anything physical in order to satisfy that crawling sensation. If only his desperate call for activity made him any good at sports as well, he might’ve stayed in his parent’s good graces; but as the years passed, and he was bringing back nothing but terrible report cards, he went from their perfect boy to a complete failure.

It was somewhere around year eight that one of his teachers suggested to his parents that he might suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder and that it would be a good idea to have him tested. However his parents were stubborn, and put their own concerns about not wanting to have a son who was ‘not normal’ before his well being. They didn’t want to admit that a disorder, however common in youth, was even a possibility, and so for his ninth year they enrolled him in a different school where they believed he would get the discipline he needed to excel. They thought he was acting out for attention, or perhaps even doing drugs, and that a change of environment would help.

How wrong they were. The change of school, the new people, the new teachers, the different classes, it all made Rhys even more unsettled than before. He just barely scraped though his finals in his remaining years, denying his parents their hopes for him to go to college or even sixth form. Instead, when he finally graduated, he looked for a job where grade school education would suffice. He went to several interviews before finally landing a position at GreenWood Family Park near Bangor.

He worked at the amusement park almost fifteen years, joking around with the kids, helping them in and out of the carts, distributing balloons, and doing all sorts of active and easy tasks. Some of the older employees took him under their wings, showing him the ropes with a lot more patience than anyone else had ever given him before. Immensely grateful, he got along very well with his coworkers; he would get them coffee, remember a lot of their personal details about their lives and listen very intently to their stories. In return they covered for him with the bosses anytime he struggled with a more difficult task or he showed up late to work. Because unfortunately, as good as he was with guests and as much as he loved working with the kids, in many ways he was sort of a terrible employee—at least from a managerial perspective.

He was happy for a while, struggling to be an adult, to pay bills, to be on time, to not buy as many bags of popcorn, to visit his parents once in a while, to be social, and whatever more adulthood had in store for him. At least he could go the park during the day and everything would go relatively smoothly. Even when things went wrong and he would feel useless for the rest of the day, there were people who had his back. And as the years passed, Rhys became more and more confident about himself and his work. His bosses even stopped paying him much mind.

Then D-day hit.

Despite being terrified, Rhys helped to rescue many children and their parents who were stuck in the rides that had stopped working immediately when debris from the asteroids flew into the power generators. Those without loves ones lost in the park or still in the rides, fled the scene right away, looking for safer cover. But those in more dire situations stayed behind and banded together. In what would eventually turn out to be good fortune, GreenWood Family Park was outside of a tiny town and hidden in the forest. In other words, it was remote enough to go unnoticed for quite some time. Adults in the GreenWood clan could hunt in the forests, scavenge what they could from the barely-populated town nearby, and restock on water from the river, without facing too much trouble from looters or raids.

RHYS TODAY

It was a few months after the sky fell when his headaches started. He had been put in charge of looking out for the kids, and so he worked through the pain as much as he could in order to not to scare them. At night he would find a quiet corner and surrender to a pain that felt like it would split his head in two. But in spite the massive changes hurled at him, Rhys survived. He adapted. Watching the kids soon became all that was important to him. It was his full-time duty, and though he was never left entirely alone, it was something the others in the clan felt most comfortable leaving him to tend to.

A couple of weeks after his headaches finally stopped, the clan was found by Colony crusaders. Upon registration into the colony system, all individuals who’d reported having headaches were recorded as of an ‘Infected’ status, their specific abilities documented in Echo. But at first the results of Rhys’ headaches weren’t apparent. His fellow clan members thought his behaviour was a bit odd, and since he had no medical record to explain his hyperactivity and intense reaction to change, some argued that he was possibly Deluded. But with nothing specific to go by, and Rhys not knowing any better himself, he was listed for the time being as Infected, but Unidentified.

He was sent to Colony 22 with a dozen others from the clan (seven children, and five adults, including himself) and promptly asked to continue working with the kids. But despite his experience, Colony Officials decided it was better to be sure about his Infection status before placing him in charge of anything. It was a long six months, during which he was under constant surveillance and regular testing, before the truth came out. And when it did, he felt a bit stupid for not noticing it earlier, but apparently his case had been something of an anomaly in its onset. He was diagnosed with enhanced hearing—but what was usually reported by survivors with this ability as an incredibly drastic, and almost unbearable sensory overload in the first week of the Infection’s onset, Rhys’ came about very gradually, starting subtle and getting increasingly stronger. Suddenly, it made a lot of sense that he didn’t notice the effects right away, given how often Rhys was distracted by unpredictable or repetitive noises even before D-Day.

Now that they finally knew his Infection, Rhys tried again to convince the leaders to give him a job as caretakers of the kids. This time there was much less concern about his condition, so they granted him Elite status so that he could be given a moderate set of tasks with the youngest of the Colony. Rhys didn’t care much for his diagnosis, but he appreciated that it was finally settled and he could now learn to live with the new situation. And his job was familiar, and with its familiarity came a little more sense of calm.

The rise of the NWRF threw a wrench in things, of course, and although they didn’t demote him right away as he feared they would, they have made it obvious enough that they don’t quite trust him. His over-sensitive reactions don’t help instil their confidence in him, either. Like all the other Infected, Rhys now faces increased pressure and judgement, and he isn’t handling it particularly well. It stresses him out enough that he has started to fuck up on a regular basis, feeling twitchy and anxious. The colony is also growing, and as more people fill the echoey corridors, there are more and more sounds to distract him. Worst of all, he is now expected to hunt every week, and for someone who definitely isn’t the most attentive person, it is not a task that comes easy to him. Though his increased hearing gives him an advantage, in some regards, it doesn’t keep him from making a lot of mistakes, sometimes ruining shots for his fellow hunters, too.

In a much less predictable environment, he is remembering what a bother his condition can be—the one he was born with, which has now been more or less diagnosed as ADD or ADHD with Colony nurses. Before D-Day he’d had a routine, and people who’d known him well and could look out for him. He’d found a way to make things manageable for himself. Now, however, things aren’t as they used to be. He wants to run back to his dorm and sit down on his bed at least four times a day. He doesn’t want to show how badly all the changes frustrate him, he wants to keep a brave face for the kids, act like nothing is wrong in front of those he has gotten to know, but on the inside he is often breaking apart. It is as if each day is its own downward spiral, and he goes to bed knowing the new day will hold a similar routine of anxiety, breakdowns, and trouble.

Despite the new normal he’s still trying to figure out, Rhys still tries to hold on to the past, to past friends and comforts. He tries to find solace in his time spent with the kids, and though he’s perceived as very kind, he feels more than a little lost at times. Though he tries to assert his learned and fake confidence he used so readily in school, but is still liable to react childishly when things don’t go the way he’s used to, he has frequent panic attacks, and he often gets frustrated with himself if he makes too many mistakes, even when others show him patience.

CLOSED

#matt ryan #matt ryan fc #literate roleplay #bio roleplay #para roleplay #emrys davies #rhys davies #brink #elite #infected #male #increased senses #closed

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fallen029 · 5 years

Text

Remember Me: Novice.1

If there was anything Haven Dreyar resented, it was the freedom she saw the other children possessing while she, the eldest daughter of Master Laxus, had hardly any.

This wasn't wholly true, of course, considering the fact that she was able to go out on jobs and did spend a lot of her days, ambling about Magnolia, but still. She'd grown up hearing stories about how her aunts and uncles and family friends, as well as both her parents, were able to travel all about Fiore from young ages and fulfill their magical destines. She felt like she was being held back from that.

But Locke, Navi, and Ravan? Her two friends and one mortal enemy? Oh, they had all the freedom a child could ever want. And they did nothing with it.

That was the most frustrating part. Navi, fine, her mother tried to keep a reign on her, but her father sure did. It was much the same for Locke. They could, in theory push the limits and boundaries and they never did any of that. Any of it. It was so aggravating. And Ravan's sort of caretaker Erza would probably only beam with pride if he took of for the capital on a job above his qualifications.

If Haven had any of their parents, then she would definitely be on her way to being the best mage every by now. She was certain of it. But no, she had stupid Laxus, who never took her out on jobs with him, at least, even, because he was the stupid guild master and her mother, Satan Soul, one of the strongest people ever, she rivaled Erza, would only sigh and tell her that she had no desire to do those sorts of things any longer.

Imagine having all the power in the world (and between Raijin and Satan Soul, Haven was certain her parents did) and deciding to stay in stupid old Magnolia, at the dumb old guildhall. Was that not the lamest thing ever? Haven felt like it was the lamest thing ever.

It was so frustrating, all of it. She felt as if she were being handicapped by things that, under normal circumstances, would bless her. But her mother was scared of her going too far away, it seemed, because of what happened all those years ago to her Aunt Lisanna, and liked her to just take simple jobs. There would be the tougher ones when she was older.

And yeah, okay, fine, but what was Laxus' excuse? Something to do with stupid Ivan, she was sure. He never said it, he never would, but Haven was certain that a lot of his hesitance rode on that. And that was so dumb. Laxus was so dumb. She hated him.

He probably didn't want her to be strong either. She bet on that one as well. He sucked like that. He was probably afraid that if, like, she got super strong, without a lacrima in her, without a cheater magic like him, then it would make him seem weak and like a loser.

Yeah.

It had to be that one.

Haven had had enough of this one day as she sat around the guildhall, listening to her stupid little sister Marin and Kai, Ravan's idiotic brother, tell Evergreen about their adventures the night before. And, by adventures, Haven meant how they'd gone out with Erza into the city late at night, to pick something up last minute at the market.

It was so mind numbing and dumb and it just wasn't fair! She was being held down by everyone around her and forced to stifle her growth. This couldn't keep happening. She had to do something.

"I was real worried about getting lost, it being night and all," Kai was going on as Evergreen seemed, honestly, as disinterested as Haven. "Erza says next time it happens, she's going to ditch me in the middle of the city and make me find my own way home. She says it shouldn't be too hard, since she always sticks a map to her house in my pocket before I leave, but maps are super hard. I think I'm just not good with directions is all."

Evergreen frowned some at the boy and was probably going to make some sort of disparaging comment, but then Haven suddenly shoved up from the table in a loud huff and stomped off.

"What's her problem?" the woman of stone asked though she didn't move to follow or even call after her. She and Haven had an...interesting relationship, to say the least. Raising her drink to her lips, Evergreen took a sip, still only mildly interested in anything.

"I dunno," Marin remarked softly, watching after her sister. "I guess she didn't like Kai's story."

"No," the boy assured his friend with a shake of his head. "It couldn't have been that. It was very interesting."

Evergreen made a nose in the back of her throat before only saying, "Marginally."

Having left her aunt and sister behind, Haven marched across the bar floor to where her father sat with Freed at his side, the latter going over some paperwork while Laxus handled the mail.

"Go away, brat," he said before the girl could even speak. "I'm busy tryin' to pay bills. Don't got time for you."

"I'm here," Haven told him with a growl in her tone that about matched his, "to talk to you about guild business."

"As a member, eh?" He snorted then, still not even glancing at her. "Office hours are posted on my office door. Go check 'em, brat, 'cause they're not right now."

"Laxus-"

"Haven," he retorted in the same tone and she was seething now.

He was derailing her again. Belittling her. The nerve.

"I," she started again as Freed, finally, put his papers down and looked to her, "am gonna take a job."

"So? Seriously, Haven, are you attention deprived? Huh, brat?" He snorted again, her father did. "I'm busy. So-"

"Laxus." Freed gave him a look that time. "You can at least listen to her."

He got a look for that one, the rune mage did, but Mirajane wasn't around to make the dragon behave so someone had to at least attempt to. Still, it got the slayer to toss the bills on his hand down before looking down at his daughter, his face no longer so smug.

"What difference does it make, Haven?" he asked her, honestly, that time. "Go take a job. Why do you need to talk to me about it?"

"So I can go take a job?"

"Are you asking? For permission? Yeah, fine. Whatever."

"Any one? That I want?"

Finally, the man seemed to be catching on. He frowned at her a bit as he said, "No. Is that it? Why you came over here? You take one in the limits-"

"No. I want to take a real one."

"The ones you take are real ones!"

"They are not. They're dumb. I'm gonna go take one that I have to travel and stay over night somewhere and-"

"You are not."

"Yeah, I am, Laxus."

"I'm Master. I say no."

She was going to kick him then, in the leg. Freed could just tell. Though he wasn't as big a staple in Haven's life as Bickslow and Evergreen, given that they were involved with her actual aunt and uncle, he was around a lot. He knew her just as well as them.

"Haven," he said quickly in an attempt to stop what was about to happen. "Is there a job that you have in mind? On the board? Right now?"

He was the one derailing her then, Freed was, but his question did hold her up some as, yeah, she was probably going to kick Laxus with all her might and yell and scream at him.

"No," she said slowly, looking to the rune mage. "I don't."

"Why don't you go and find one then? Hmmm? And then return with it."

She felt as if he were being a bit tricky, Freed was, but she also wasn't too sure what his game would be. He was on Laxus' side, always, no matter what, of course, but at the same time, she could see no avenue in which her going to find a job would help her father more than her. Still, though Freed frequently seemed annoyed with her, he'd never outright attempted to undermine her, so Haven slowly did walk away.

At the very least, the action gave her a chance to calm down.

"She is not," the slayer growled at his most faithful follower, "going out of town on a damn job. Overnight? No. She's-"

"She's the age that we all were," Freed argued simply, "when we did far more."

"I don't care. Things are different now, then they were back then."

"How? Laxus?"

He wasn't sure. And it didn't matter. Instead, he only growled before replying, "We didn't have parents that gave shits when we were running around, doing whatever the fuck we wanted. I give a shit. I can't just drop everything and watch over her. To go get her if this all goes wrong. They're not like us, when we were kids. We were independent. These kids, the ones in this hall, they're not that way. I'm not going to let them go get themselves hurt or killed just to prove points."

"Laxus-"

"No, Freed. No. It's my daughter, my guild, my-"

"You have to let go eventually."

"She can go on serious jobs in a few more years. When-"

"You're being ridiculous."

"Do you have kids? Huh? That's what I thought." He huffed too, the slayer did, before adding, "You don't know, Freed. What it's like."

"You can't just let her play mage forever, Laxus. If you wish for her to be a real wizard, as you say you do, then-"

"Here."

Haven was back then, shoving a job at her father. He didn't take it.

"It's too," he told her simply, hardly even glancing at the request, "far."

"It is not!"

Haven's theatrics had finally attracted Laxus' true tamer and, rushing over, Mirajane frowned at the three of them.

"What's going on?" she asked as her daughter, once more, looked to be raring back to attack her father. "Laxus? Are you teasing Haven?"

"What? No. She's the one-"

"What's this?" And Mira moved to take the job then, from her daughter, glancing over it. "Who's taking this job?"

"No one," Laxus tried, but Haven was having none of it.

"I am," she said.

"No. You're not. You-"

"I have to! I can take jobs too." And this time, Haven stuck her tongue out at the man though, just as quickly, she was looking up at her mother. "Ravan can do whatever he wants. And Locke and Navi too! How's that fair? I'm way stronger than all of them and smarter and more responsible and just better. Why can't I go on jobs? I'll just go there and back!"

There were a lot of fallacies in her statements. A lot. Ones that both Freed and Laxus picked up on. But Mirajane only became stuck on a single thing she tossed out there. One that Mirajane had never considered before.

Erza's practical adopted son was venturing further and further into the path of her footsteps than Mirajane's full flesh and blood actual daughter.

This could not stand.

Haven had never had that before. Her mother in her corner. Or at least she'd never felt it. Mirajane definitely cared about her and she knew that, but she seemed many times to see her as an annoyance or a nuisance. At least that's how Haven felt. Everyone did. They all thought that she was annoying and a brat and they didn't want to deal with her. She was used to that meaning getting her way, when it came to others, but Mirajane seemed to be the only one that laid down the law with her oldest.

Not that day though.

No one in the hall had ever seen the little girl so happy. Ever. She was quite literally smiling and actually hugged her mother at the woman's words of agreement while Laxus had his turn then, of fuming and stomping off. Evergreen was finally coming over then, to Freed, to question what was going on, while Marin and Kai just stayed where they were, watching it all unfold.

"Wow," the boy whispered as Marin stayed silent. "Is your mom gonna be okay? I've never seen Haven hug a person before. Is that some kind of spell?"

But Marin kept quiet, even as her sister rushed back over to them then, knowing she had to hurry. Get out of Magnolia fast. If she didn't, Laxus might have a chance to overrule Mirajane and, while that didn't happen often, her mother siding with her was much more rare. No need to give lightning a chance to strike twice.

"Where," she asked Kai, "is your brother?"

"Why?" The boy was very cautious. "Are you gonna hug him too? Is this a trick?"

Just like that, her joy was snatched right out of her. Glaring, Haven repeated herself, this time in a much harsher tone.

"At Erza's," the little boy was quick to say. "I guess. But-"

"Are you going on a job?" Marin asked her sister slowly and Haven was glaring then, at the two of them, but she did nod.

"Yeah," she said simply. "On a real one. So I won't be home for a few days."

"Well… You should be careful," Marin offered up slowly. "If you're gonna go far."

She was expected a harsh response back from her sister, but Haven only turned, leaving them. She didn't have time to bother with the two of them. The babies. No. She had to go get the others. It was the one requirement Mirajane handed down to her.

She had to take the other kids.

This didn't bother Haven too much. She usually went out with them anyways.

Locke was the easiest person to convince. He'd seen the entire thing, anyways, over there with his father and mother. And Lily too. Haven only came over to glare at him and tell him to come on, or else he'd get left, and Locke looked to his parents, worried that his mother would make some sort of complaint, but they both nodded at him. Though Gajeel did caution him about one thing.

"Don't let that girl run you, huh?" he griped. "And don't get yourself into someone kind of situation? I don't wanna have to come get you."

He only nodded though before rushing off, because Haven seemed to be leaving him behind, and they went to collect Ravan next. He was very busy out in the backyard, training with Erza, and only glared when the pair came through the gate.

"What do you want?" He growled. "I'm bus- Erza!"

She'd caught him then, as he'd turn to stare at the other children, and rather than striking him with her sword, she'd kicked him to the ground where he only took to glaring up at her.

"You never take your eye off your opponent."

"We're only sparring!"

"My statement stands."

"We're going on a job, loser." Haven always found it best to just not mess with Erza. Ever. At all. Avoid her at all costs. She was probably the only person in the hall the little girl truly feared. "Are you coming or not?"

"No," he grumbled as he shoved up. "I'm busy. I-"

"It's in," Locke told him then, after having read over the flier himself, "Haiko."

"Haiko?" Erza was interested, finally, in the pair of them as she sent her dull training sword back to it's reequip space, just so she could cross her arms. "That is a long ways off. Your father knows about this, Haven? The Master?"

"He's the one who agreed to it," the blonde responded honestly. She knew better than to play tricks with the woman. "And my mother."

"Hn." Erza almost seemed pleased at the idea. Maybe. Then she kicked at Ravan. "Get up. You must join your friends on their journey."

"They're not," he growled, though he did get to his feet, "my friends."

Still, he left with them under the direction of the swordswoman and though he was still a bit pissed that she'd kicked him, he did nod his head when she handed down instructions to behave himself.

"You are representing the future of Fairy Tail," she informed the three children. "I expect you to carry yourselves in a a respectful manner. And remember, you either come back successful or not at all."

Even Freed would find that sentiment a bit harsh, but Erza was serious. She expected much out of the children. Ravan above all.

Navi was the last of the brood and she was, to the best the others knew, at home that day. They were a bit relieved, honestly, to find her there, saving them from having to search the town.

Her whole family was home, it seemed, from her mother and father to Happy to her two twin brothers. It was lunch time.

"A job?" Natsu seemed excited at the idea. "Sounds like a great idea."

"They're not asking you," Happy snickered.

The pair were at the table, scarfing down their meal, while Lucy stood in front of the two high chairs in the corner, trying to get the two little boys as interested in their meal as their father. Navi, who'd been eating as well, had jumped up to answer the door before, and now stood in the kitchen, leading her friends back there when they explained why they'd come.

"Can I go?" she asked her mother who frowned a bit at the idea.

"I dunno," she said slowly. "Haiko is kinda far and it's just the four of you..."

Unlike all the others, Lucy didn't have that sense of freedom young. She was alone, in a sprawling property that slowly felt like a prison. While she agreed, to an extent, that the kids needed to spread their wings to become true wizards, she had more practical, average parental parameters. Freedom was earned, sure, and Navi was typically a rather reserved child, but she was still that; a child. And freedom was far different from zero adult supervision.

"Mom." Navi was rare to argue with her, but if Lucy ruined this for her, she'd be mortified. "It's not that far."

"It's past Mt. Hakobe," the celestial mage pointed out. "And besides, what is this job? You guys will probably be gone-"

"Ah, Luce, let 'em go," Natsu insisted then, with a bit of a shrug. Glancing over the children, he said, "They gotta start somewhere. Navi's plenty ready for this."

"You don't even know what the job is," Lucy argued, but he only shrugged.

"I have faith in ya," he assured his daughter.

"I can go." Happy jumped off the table then, taking to the air just so he could go fly over to Navi and fall into her arms. "And watch out for the kids. If you guys want."

"We don't," Haven retorted as Navi only frowned down at the Exceed, though she held him closely still.

You gotta stay here, Hap," Natsu insisted. "Without Navi, you have to help out with chores."

"What?" Suddenly, the Exceed wasn't pleased with this new idea at all. "No way."

"Someone does need to take out the trash," Lucy sighed. "And me and Natsu are super busy with the twins right now-"

"Navi, you can't leave me here with them," Happy complained though, slowly, she was going to set him back down on the table. "This is torture! Unpaid labor."

"You live here for free," Lucy pointed out. To her daughter though, she only said, "You can Navi. Go with the others. But this is your one chance. If this doesn't go well-"

"It will." And she rushed then, first to hug her mother and then her father. "And I'll take out the trash. Before I go."

"Thank you," Happy said as she came to pat him on the head as well. "It's just not a fair chore for me."

"You make," Lucy griped, "most the trash, cat. It's literally all fish bones."

"Not all."

But most.

Still, Navi was happy to take out the trash and Natsu went down there with the kids, out of the apartment and to the street, to see them off.

"You'll do fine, Nav." He hugged her once more. Unlike the other kids, this didn't embarrass her in the slightest. Haven found her parents unnecessary and Ravan found Erza annoying, while Locke just didn't like to be teased, but Navi loved both her parents. Especially her father. No one could make her feel differently. "By this time next year, you'll probably be taking jobs like this all the time! Alone!"

But that thought depressed him a bit, because it meant without him, and Natsu only slid her some extra jewels, just for emergency sake, and then the children were off.

They were hardly to the train station before they had a fight and, for a good portion of the journey, Ravan wasn't even allowed to sit with them. Haven was that angry at him.

Still, eventually, the kids reconciled enough and they sat together as they looked over a map and discussed the job at hand.

The request read as follows:

Assistance requested!

Under the guise of providing aid following a disaster, a dark guild has taken hold of our city. Any help in ridding our town of them will be greatly appreciated.

"What's that even mean?" Locke asked with a frown. "What sorta disaster? And how did a dark guild-"

"You take help from anyone you can," Ravan snapped at him with a heavy frown, "when your town needs it. Idiot."

"I know that, but-"

"Are you guys sure that we can do this?" Navi, seeing the job for the first time, suddenly wasn't having fun anymore. In fact, she kinda wished her father or Happy was there. Or her mother. They'd know what to do when they go to the town. How to proceed. Have, Locke, and Ravan though… And her… What the heck did they know about anything. "I mean-"

"Of course we can." Haven turned her typical anger onto the Dragneel girl then. "If you don't think you can, then just ride the train back home, Navi. We'll do this with out you. I can do this without all of you. I-"

"How'd you even get Master to agree to this?" Locke asked then. "Haven? Why'd he say yes?'

"Why do you care?"

"I was just ask-"

"No more questions then." And she shoved the flier back into her pocket. "Just be quiet. And get ready. It'll be a long walk from the train station."

Ravan only snorted though, at the three of them, and took to staring out the window. He would never admit it, but he was nervous too. Erza told him that he had to go and complete this job. He had to. She hadn't been serious, he knew, about not coming back at all, but he didn't want her to think that he was weak. Or not capable. Because he was.

He'd prove it to her. Just like Haven would to her father.

Five chapters. After this, we start the one-shots that start the more rapid age progression for the children before we get back to the bigger, more important stories to finish out the series. We're nowhere near done, guys, but we're definitely setting the stage soon.

Next Chapter

Full Story on Fanfic

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#Fairy Tail #Fanfiction #1 of 5 #Miraxus #Erza Scarlet #Nalu

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lazuliblur · 7 years

Text

Obirin manifesto

1) A disclaimer:

I have a huge soft spot for Rin and Kakashi, but Obito is my precious baby. I feel like the manga mishandled him at times, but whatever, that does not change the person he revealed himself to be throughout the series. I have spent a lot of time pondering the dynamics between these three and their individual personalities and I will try to be objective, but my views on Obirin are inevitably colored by my personal interpretation of them.

2) The facts:

Obirin was never unquestionably confirmed in canon. One-sided Obirin (or unrequited Obirin on Obito’s part) was unquestionably confirmed in canon. Mind the distinction. These facts are more or less set in stone and the lack of indisputable confirmation does not make the ship incompatible with canon.

3) Rin is an important person in Obito’s life and has been since very early on.

Chapter 599 shows the tail end of their entrance ceremony at the Academy. Kakashi is there too, so they were, at most, five years old. Did Rin know Obito before this point? If you want to speculate, then there is a chance that yes, she did, since she seems to know who he is when he shows up. Whether this was their first meeting or not, however, matters little. Rin took it upon herself to hold on to Obito’s Academy entrance papers, something that she was under no obligation to do (she could have left it up to the teachers) and that no one else seemed to have any interest in doing (the other children walk past Obito when he arrives, without pausing to greet him or tell him anything about what he missed). Rin does worry about filling him in and the joy in Obito’s face makes it clear that he appreciates the attention and the trouble that she has gone to.

4) Obito’s interest in Rin stems from the fact that she sees him.

Here is a lonely kid, a bit of a screw up, who suddenly meets a pretty girl who was kind and helpful when she didn’t need to be. She did not scold him for being late or resent the task of delivering the papers to him. Rather, she acted like there was nothing wrong about his being late and worked with it: “you weren’t here, so here are the things you missed.” Of course he liked her instantly.

Let’s face it, the Leaf is not a shining example of a tolerant society that protects those that are less fortunate. Obito was an orphan who lived alone and apparently had no caretaker or guardian or adult supervision of any kind (do not talk to me about his anime grandmother, that arc directly contradicts the story and is rubbish). He did not have a lot of sources of affection. We are not even sure if he had any real friends besides Rin and his rival Kakashi.

His love evolved from that foundation of friendship in the purest, most natural way: Rin was nice to him and treated him decently when others would not, so she became important to him. She eventually became his favorite person in the world. Call it a self-centered love if you want, but what love isn’t just a little bit selfish? At the end of the day, you can’t help but love people that somehow make you feel good.

5) Is it a healthy kind of interest? Kind of.

I have seen people call Obito’s love abusive and manipulative. I do not see it. I cannot even understand where the idea came from. Whenever they are seen together, he is nothing if not gentle and supportive of Rin and doesn’t press her to do anything. Just consider operation “give Kakashi a present” (chapter 599). When Rin’s invitation to meet alone turned out to be about Kakashi, Obito pushed down his disappointment and did not get mad at her. He might have been upset that Rin only wanted to do something for Kakashi, but deep down he could recognize that her idea was a good one, that it was something a good friend would do and he didn’t make the slightest effort to change her mind or undermine her plan. Proof of that was that he admits to having spent a long time thinking about what would be an appropriate gift for the great Kakashi himself, before deciding that nothing short of a sharingan would do (chapter 243).

Her friendship was freely given and Obito cherished it. He probably often wondered what he had done to deserve it (he even cries when he realizes that Rin actually listens to him and cares about his safety – see chapter 653). He does, however (and unfortunately for the whole Naruto world), have a tendency towards exaggeration and obsessiveness.

Rin was possibly Obito’s only friend, definitely his best friend, one who showed him kindness and who made him feel like there was nothing wrong about who he was. It’s only natural that he’d want to hold on to that connection and, given his obsessive nature, he held on to it hard. He clung to “the one beam of light in his dark world”. That makes him flawed, but it does not make him an offender. He did not manipulate or blackmail Rin into becoming his friend, nor did he force her to do anything that she was unwilling to do.

5) How interested in her is he then?

Before falling into Madara’s hands, I almost hesitate to qualify Obito’s love for Rin as romantic. He was under thirteen years old and they had a war on their hands. I doubt he had even entered puberty, despite the very deep voice he was initially given in the Kakashi Gaiden animation (wtf), so how could he comprehend all the dimensions that exist in the love one adult feels for another? No, I am convinced that his was a young type of love. He was probably just leaving that stage where “love is gross” and discovering that it would be kind of nice if he could have Rin all to himself. He wanted to kiss Rin’s photograph, not masturbate to it. Those feelings would have only developed as he grew older and matured.

What happened afterwards is a different story. His innocent and straightforward nature coupled with his less than stellar intellect made Obito an easy target for Madara, who used his connection to Rin to break him and reshape him as he pleased. If Rin wasn’t already the center of Obito’s universe, Madara would have had everything to gain by making her just that. He wanted Obito’s feelings to run as deep as they could, his obsession with Rin to be as intense as possible, before snatching her away – and Obito, as innocent and dim as he is (bless him), saw no reason why he shouldn’t run with his obsession. Madara exacerbated what was already there. Obito was the pawn in that relationship, not the chess master, even when Obito believed that he was calling the shots.

6) Rin’s interest in Obito is not like Obito’s interest in Rin.

In chapter 653, you can tell that Obito is already head over heels about Rin. He tries to make himself look cool, like he would be a good catch, coming up with the ludicrous idea that saving him is the same thing as saving the world. And what does Rin do? Well, she finds it as ridiculous as any normal person would but, once again, she accepts his actions and works with them: “I believe in you and in your dream, so I’ll stand by your side to make sure you don’t do anything stupid and are well enough to accomplish it,” is what she basically tells him. She is his friend.

Was Rin aware of Obito’s feelings? It’s possible that she was and never acknowledged them so she wouldn’t have to hurt a friend, but most likely not, given the way she reacted when Kakashi told her about it after they believe they have lost Obito (chapter 244). She may have known it subconsciously, but her infatuation with Kakashi blinded her to what other boys thought. Does this “blindness” make her a bad person? Absolutely not. There was a lot about prodigy Kakashi for a young girl like her to be fascinated about.

She does, however, deserve kudos for the extremely mature way in which she handled her crush. She could so easily have neglected Obito to endear herself to Kakashi but did not. Kakashi was constantly criticizing Obito for his failings, but, rather than automatically agree with her crush and put Obito down, Rin played the peacekeeper instead. She tried to convince the boys to get along and cooled their tempers when they started arguing. She continued to watch over Obito and spoke on his behalf (see: “saving you is the same thing as saving the world”), regardless of the impression that this might give Kakashi about her. She was a true friend to Obito and showed real character and self-possession in how unconcerned she was that supporting a male friend might hurt her chances of becoming another boy’s girlfriend (especially one with such an intense dislike of said friend).

7) So... Obirin?

At the time of the Kannabi Bridge mission, Obito was crushing on Rin and Rin was crushing on Kakashi. It is possible that her love for Kakashi took a hit when he admitted that he would have left her in enemy hands if not for Obito’s insistence, but who knows? Who cares? It has nothing to do with her feelings for Obito, which did not go beyond a very solid friendship. At this point, we have a one-sided Obirin.

Did that ever develop into a “two-sided” Obirin? The thing is, we don’t know anything about what happened in the months between Obito’s apparent death and Rin’s suicide. It’s possible that nothing at all changed in how she felt about Obito. She believed him dead, after all, and it would not exactly have been a healthy response to fall in love with someone after they had just died. On the other hand, it’s also possible that she had some sort of epiphany and realized that she had never loved Kakashi at all, but had merely been attracted to him – that she had been star-struck because of his genius and that Obito had been the true, good friend who had been at her side all along. Who is to say that she could not have realized that those strong feelings she had always held for Obito were, in fact, not platonic, but romantic in nature?

We see Rin again only in the afterlife, as she welcomes a redeemed Obito. I do not see here proof of anything either way. She might be the friend who has come to extend Obito a kind hand, knowing that no one else would be there for him and knowing all the hardships that he has endured (she was there for Kakashi too, when he died at the hands of Pain), or she might be there as the girl who is finally ready to return the love that she knows Obito feels for her. Both interpretations work and are consistent with what the manga shows us. The readers can choose which one they prefer to see. It is entirely open-ended. (I lean more towards the first.)

Obito’s love for Rin is not abusive or gross. Before Madara entered the picture, it was actually a very pure and sweet story about two kids trying to hold on to something good in the middle of a bad situation. Obito never spoke against Rin, to her face or otherwise, never took advantage of her and never raised a hand against her. He was manipulative and dishonest about a lot of other things, but not this – never this. Rin was sacred to him. When it came to her, he was the one who was manipulated.

tl;dr: Facts are facts (but they are not the alpha and omega of anything). Rin is awesome (but kind of blind) and Obito is obsessive (but not abusive). No one is perfect.

#i've had this for two years on my desktop #enough #i now set you free little manifesto #fly away and be happy #i have better things to do (like trying to finish that obirin fic that i started posting ages ago)#obito uchiha #rin nohara #obirin #meta #naruto fandom #lazuliblur

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