#(although yesterday someone said that stars reflected off of the water reminds them of me and that was… good lawd. my heart😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨)

[thisisarcanereverie]

When in Love (Sam Wilson x Reader)

A/N: I love Sam Wilson period. 

ULTIMATE MASTERLIST 

REQUEST SOME PROMPTS

Summary: Bucky did indeed flirt with Sam’s sister again........and now they’re getting married. Sam brought you as his date to their big day. 

“It’s not too late to get Carlos,” Sam said as you straightened his tie, Sam could do it by himself but then he wouldn’t have an excuse to have you near him. 

“I’m pretty sure people would notice if the groom weren’t to make an appearance.” You said as you finished straightening his tie, letting your hands linger there for a while as you looked up into his dark eyes. 

“Don’t know unless we try.” Sam half heartedly said. He was only half joking, for the past few years he saw Sarah happier than she had been in years. He knew Bucky treated her well and that he loved the kids as well. Sam knew Bucky would never hurt them. 

Didn’t mean that Sam didn’t have Carlos on speed dial and an alibi set up just in case. 

(Y/n) lightly smacked her hand against Sam’s chest as he laughed. His warm dark eyes lit up as he looked at her. 

(Y/n) smiled and rolled her eyes. She had gotten ready before driving over and Sam couldn’t help but think of how beautiful she was in sky blue. 

Sam had been nervous when he asked (Y/n) to be his date to Sarah and Bucky’s wedding. He knew she wasn’t one for parties where she didn’t know anyone but she had surprised him by accepting. 

“We have a wedding to get to.” You drew him from his thoughts while grabbing your clutch on the bed and walking out the door to wait for him. You had no idea the effect on Sam, even the way your hips sway when you walked away drove him insane. 

Sam took a deep breath in to calm his nerves as he readied himself mentally. Sam was not only going to be one of Bucky’s groomsmen but also the one giving Sarah away. 

Their father was the one to give her away the first time she got married, and now since their father had passed Sam was the only one left for the job. 

Sam gathered his thoughts and headed out of the bedroom and down the stairs to see your figure waiting for him patiently at the bottom. 

You hear the stairs creak under his feet and look up. You had always thought he looked attractive, but put that man in a suit and your knees began growing weak. 

You barely managed to tear your eyes away from him for a second as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Ready?” you asked, trying to keep your voice even. 

“Ready.” 

---

The wedding had been beautiful, it was held at the church. The aisle and booths were decorated with white flowers and ribbons. 

On Bucky’s side there was Dora Milaje and T’Challa. Along with Thor, Brunheilda, and the Guardians. Rocket was mostly looking at Bucky’s metal arm though. 

The Ceremony had been just as beautiful, Sarah walked down the aisle in a beautiful white gown which made Bucky tear up with Sam. AJ and Cass were already by Bucky’s side, after all Bucky had named them his Best Men. 

While Sarah and Bucky said their vows Sam’s gaze couldn’t help but wonder to you. You were seated by Sarah’s side of the church along with almost everyone in town. You smiled and wiped a few tears as the vows got increasingly emotional. You had been seated near a glass stained window and all of its colors bathed you in it’s light. You just got more beautiful the longer he looked at you. 

Suddenly your eyes had met with his, and he felt his heart stop and breathing suddenly became difficult. It wasn’t unwelcomed though, in fact it was quite the opposite. Sam didn’t look away and neither did you. You both had stared at each other until Sam decided to be bold and wink and flash his intoxicating smile. You smiled bashfully before winking back and tearing your eyes from his to focus back to the stars of the day as Sam did the same thing. 

The reception was back at the house, Sam and a few other people from town helped set up the yard yesterday. Making an area for dancing, dining, food, socializing. Decorating it with magnolias and fairy lights and it looked stunning. 

The sun had almost begun to set by the time everyone got back to the house to enjoy the party. 

Bucky and Sarah did their first dance as husband and wife to an old 1940′s song and was later joined by AJ and Cass. Bucky had gone above and beyond to make sure the boys had been included in everything. 

After their dance ended, something faster paced began to play and almost everyone began to make their way to the dance floor. You and Sam being among them. Sam had twirled you around and danced with you until it was time for the toasts to begin. 

“I just want to thank everyone who came here today,” Bucky began to speak on the microphone, a beer in his hand. “I especially want to thank AJ and Cass for letting me into their lives, and my beautiful wife Sarah.” Bucky paused and gave her a wink, Sarah winked back and smiled. “I promise to uphold my vows and protect and love you and the boys with everything I have.” He raised his beer bottle in cheers before taking a quick swig out of it. 

AJ and Cass had performed their toast next, welcoming him into their family and just an overall sweet speech which ended with Bucky in tears for the second time that day. It made your heart swell to see Bucky so happy after all these years he had to endure alone and tortured. He deserved this, they all did. Sarah, Bucky, Cass, and Aj deserved to be happy together. 

A few other people gave speeches before Sam gave his. Even Rocket gave an impromptu speech. 

“Can I have that arm now?”

“No.”

“I’m getting that arm.” 

You saw a quick look of fear cross Bucky’s face as Rocket was approached by Dora Milaje and struggled to hold in a small laugh. 

Sam made his way up the stage to give his speech. He straightened his jacket before grabbing the microphone. 

“Sarah as your brother I am so proud of you and I know if Dad and Mom were here they would say the exact same thing. They would be proud of the woman and of the mother you have become.” Sam said with tears at the corners of his eyes at the mention of their parents, Sarah wiped her tears away as well. “Bucky as your friend I know Steve would be as proud and as happy for you as I am. Happy that you have finally found your peace and I welcome you to the family with open arms.” He raised his glass to Bucky who returned the favor. “Although I do recall telling you not to flirt with my sister,” laughter then ensued as Bucky chuckled and shook his head. “As Sarah’s brother,” Sam then motioned to Carlos sitting at one of the tables, “I want you to know that it’s not too late for me to get Carlos to feed you to the fish if necessary.” Carlos then waved and laughed at the groom who returned the favor. “treat her and the boys well and I guess we’re no longer co workers.” Laughter erupted as Sam took a drink in congratulations as did everyone else. 

---

As the party began to die down you had snuck out the pier to get some fresh air away from everyone. 

It wasn’t like you didn’t enjoy their company and didn’t get to meet some pretty interesting people. It was just you needed a moment to yourself to relax. You were an introvert at heart and so many people at once tended to overwhelm you sometimes. 

You watched as the water moved gracefully, breathing in time with it. The lights from the party reflected in the water and the music could still be heard although softer now. 

You didn’t even seem to notice a certain man making his way to you before you heard a silent ‘oh shit’. 

If Sam thought you had looked beautiful before, now you were angelic. The sun had long before set and now your figure was illuminated by the faint lights of the party and the moon. It gave you an almost ethereal glow as he noticed your hands fidgeting. A habit he noticed a long time ago, you always have to do something with your hands. He honestly found it cute. 

Sam had been so caught up in you that he hadn’t noticed a little loose board and nearly tripped over himself. 

Your hands stopped moving as you saw Sam holding onto the wooden railing of the pier for dear life. You laughed a little at Sam’s embarrassed expression as he tried to walk it off as though it didn’t happen. 

You looked back out to the water as Sam finally made his way to your side. Out of the side of your eye you caught a glimpse at the man beside you. The light of the party and the moon made him look romantic, and you noticed that at some point in the night Sam discarded his tie and jacket, rolled the sleeves up his forearms and unbuttoned a button or two on his shirt. He started fidgeting with the watch on his wrist as you both look at the water dancing. 

You could hear the upbeat music from the party change to another slow dance. 

“You wanna dance?” 

You turned and saw Sam with his hand out, ready to take your hand if you accepted. Which you did. 

Slowly you and Sam moved with the beat, the music was quiet and the lights had made the moment all the more romantic. 

Sam held your hand in one and his other hand went to your waist, pulling you flush against him making your heart beat out your chest. 

Neither of you said a word, Sam hummed in tune with the song as you smiled at him. 

Sam’s heart was beating out of his chest, usually he was smooth. Usually Sam had no trouble speaking to ladies, but it seemed as though you were the exception. 

A couple of seconds passed before Sam finally broke the silence. 

“Usually I can speak just fine in front of someone,” He started his deep voice quiet, “but now I can’t seem to speak without getting all tongue tied.”

You laughed a little at that, Sam loved your laugh. He couldn’t understand why but your laugh always seemed to put him in a better mood. 

“What’s so funny?” Sam asked with a smile on his face, you wondered if his smile would ever stop making your heart beat faster. 

“It’s just something my Mum used to tell me,” you explained, “what you just said reminded me of it.”

“Tell me.” He said his eyes focused on you, eyes reflecting the light from the reception. You looked down bashfully before meeting his eyes again. 

“When in love speech becomes meaningless.” 

Sam’s dark eyes stared into yours intensely as if you had become the only thing left in the world. 

For a moment you wonder if you had misread the signs, maybe you had scared him. Panic starts to fill you as you begin to apologize before his hands move from their places at your waist and hand to either side of your face and kiss you. 

The first thing you noticed was that Sam tasted of beer and spice. The next thing you noticed was how soft his lips were on yours and how gently he moved against you. 

You had been so lost in the kiss that you hadn’t noticed the music dying down and the lights going out, all there was, was you and him. 

You both pulled away reluctantly and watched as the moonlight reflected off the water. Content with not speaking another word and just holding each other in peace.

[hongism]

mists of celeste ➻ four

➻ pairing: ??? x fem reader ➻ genre: space au, pirate au, space pirate!ateez, angst, eventual smut ➻ Word Count: 4.1k ➻ Rating: M ➻ Warnings: language, violence, guns and weaponry, blood, future warnings tba ➻ summary: Sneaking aboard the ship of a renowned space pirate may not have been the best idea, but you’ll have to make do with what fate has handed to you

⇐ previous | next ⇒

mists of celeste act one ➻ part four

​

The air around you is stiff and unmoving, cold as ice yet you don't feel goosebumps rising across your skin. A dark night sky looms above you with its scattering of bright stars. Near the center of the indigo sea lies a brilliant red moon; bright in it's blinding color. Something about the scene is familiar, the clearness of the sky reminds you of something from your past. No clouds, no breeze, no sounds of nightlife.

It's a sense of complete and utter peace. Something damp seeps through your clothing, touching your skin and leaving you cold. You sit up and press your palms to the ground below you. Instead of meeting solid ground, however, you're met by water. It splashes against your bare legs, and you withdraw your hands from the surface in an instant.

Water?

You bring your chin up, glancing across your surroundings. It's a lake, a shallow one yes, considering that your legs aren't fully submerged and you seem to be placed in the middle of it. A chill runs down your spine. You know exactly where you are. The water beneath you runs black, and the enormous moon hanging in the sky is only present on one planet. It's only then, when you discern where you are, that you realize you're in a dream and not reality. You push yourself to your feet, nearly slipping on the slick mud beneath the layer of black water. With a quick glance down at your body, you see that a thin white garb clings to your skin. It's something you would never wear willingly, and seeing as there's an old man perched at the opposite side of the lake, you know that he must be in control of this realm.

You wade through the water in the direction of the man. As you get closer, his features become more clear under the vibrant red moonlight. A familiar face to go along with the familiar scenery. He prods at the pebbles along the shore of the lake with a crooked stick, paying you no attention even as you splash water across the rocks with your steps.

"It's been a while since I've seen you, old man," you greet, soft tone carrying through the air with ease in the absence of a breeze. The rugged form before you doesn't move. He continues to prod at the stones near your feet and pushes black water against your ankles. You wait a moment in the hopes that he'll look up at you and respond, but he still acts as though you don't exist.

"Daichi," you try again in attempts to garner his attention. It works this time.

His chin snaps up, a wrinkled face becoming clear before you, and blue eyes stare into yours. Piercing and cold, just as you remember from your last encounter with the aged man.

"Ah, Umiko." His wrinkled lips stretch into a smile, unveiling yellowed teeth that are only accentuated by the moonlight above your heads.

"That's not my name," you refute. Daichi continues speaking as though you didn’t say a word, eyes falling together as he smiles without cease.

“It’s been quite a whi–”

“I said that’s not my name,” you repeat with a bit more venom creeping into your tone. “It hasn’t been for a very long time.”

“Hmm.” He hums, looking up at you with those perceptive eyes. You can almost see your reflection in them, between the clear blueness and the gleam of the moonlight coming down on them. “Do you remember what it means?”

“Child of the sea,” you answer without hesitation, the words ingrained in your brain after hearing the phrase repeated over and over.

“Child of the sea. I wonder if your new name is as fitting for you? Y/N, is it?”

“It’s far more fitting than Umiko ever was,” you mutter in response, turning your head away from the old man.

“Have you done well, child?”

“As well as I could, and things are as good as they can be given the… situation,” you respond with a flatness to your tone that Daichi mimics with his next words.

“You’re not safe where you are now.”

“Here I thought you didn’t give two shits about my well being.”

“Umiko, listen to me. This is ser–”

“Stop calling me that and maybe I’ll listen!” Your voice booms throughout the clearing. The black water under your feet seems to quiver as you speak. Daichi’s eyes flit down to the ripples across the lake, then back up to you.

“Someone near you is a dangerous threat, one that you’ve never encountered before. You must be careful. Guard yourself wisely.”

“Worry about yourself, old man,” you reply, tone falling back quiet once again. “Besides, it’s pointless for the dead to worry about the living.

“You’re always so sure of yourself, aren’t you? So confident that everything will work out your way? Tell me, Umiko, did things work out your way on Eros the first time you were there? The second? The third?” Daichi pushes himself to his feet. He towers over you as his back straightens, the age seems to ebb away from his body as he moves closer to you. You tilt your head back to get a better look at the man. In his eyes lies disdain. It’s not the first time you’ve seen the emotion from the man. “I said tell me, Umiko?”

“And I said to stop calling me that.” You take a shaky step back, foot nearly catching on the slide of the mud again, but you manage to steady yourself before falling.

“A Siren is nearby, Y/N. You must be careful. He could invade your dream space at any minute. Don’t you realize that? This haven, this paradise, this dream so close to your heart is vulnerable. Guard yourself against him.”

“I don’t need your advice anymore, old man. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m an adult now and old enough to make my own decisions and give myself advice.” You spin on your heel, toes digging into the mud as you move, and face the opposite direction. Blinking down at the swirling waters under you, you take a deep breath before sharing your final words with Daichi. “There are no Sirens left. All they are is a myth, one that needs to die like every other myth in existence.” Your reflection in the water looks back at you, ripples across its face before you kick it away in anger.

Your words earn you no response from the old man behind you, although you weren’t expecting much in the first place. The dream is beginning to fade, darkness swirling into one large mass, but before the serenity around you can disappear entirely, you catch sight of something new. Amongst everything that is familiar and known, this is completely foreign. A new figure, shorter than Daichi for certain, but also bearing dark hair. He stands off at the other side of the lake, near the shore like Daichi had been, but his back is facing you. He bears garbs like yours, white and flowing despite the lack of a breeze.

In all the dreams you’ve had similar to this one, no one other than Daichi has paid you any visits. You know it’s too late for you to investigate now, the dream is dissipating too quickly, but that doesn’t keep you from breaking into a sprint in his direction. Feet splash against the water, bringing it up against your legs. Your running serves no purpose in the long run; before you even near the figure in the distance, your dream fades away and bleeds into white.

You jolt as though shocked, body lurches forward, and you find yourself surrounded by white all the sudden.

“Holy fuck!” The words, surprisingly, don’t fall from your lips. Instead, it’s the kind and gentle doctor from before, standing at your side as you come to again. “You scared the hell out of me!”

You don’t manage to respond, chest heaving as though you’ve just sprinted a mile in your sleep, and all you can do is lay back on the bed slowly.

“Are you alright?” Yunho inquires, one hand coming to rest on your shoulder as you fall back against the bed.

“Y-Yea, yea. I think I was just having a nightmare.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re finally awake now. I was worried I had accidentally put you in a coma or something like that. Your heart rate seems to be awfully low still – well it was before you woke up at least – but it’s not causing any issues. How are you feeling?”

“I feel fine, yea. No issues here.” You glance around the room with wide eyes. Things are still a bit hazy seeing as you just woke up, but it’s all clearing up rather quickly. “How long was I out this time?”

“What?” Yunho turns away from you, fiddling a bit with the tablet in his hands. “What do you mean by “this time”? This is the first time you’ve woken up since I conducted the operation.”

“No? That’s not right,” you refute. “I woke up some time ago and tried getting up but… something happened. I think someone stopped me? Someone with dark hair? He used a sedative shot on me.”

“Well over half the crew has dark hair, so you might need to be a bit more specific on that one.” Yunho chuckles at his own comment. When he notices that you aren’t even smiling, he clears his throat and redirects the conversation. “Your vitals were all stable throughout the day. I never noticed anything out of the ordinary, and neither did my assistant. It must have been a dream due to your fever since it didn’t completely break until yesterday.”

“Yesterday being?”

“Yesterday was day 3 of you being unconscious and day 7 aboard the ship.”

“Ah… so why – why did the captain withdraw his time limit?”

“Oh, he was never serious about that!” Yunho laughs again, then sets his tablet down. “I finished operating on you in 17 hours so I guess he was a bit impressed, but he was never going to actually stop me from helping you. He always says things like that but is never serious. Just wary of strangers on his ship, you know?” Yunho glances over at you as he speaks, and you nod in return. He moves closer to the bed, long fingers dancing over your forearm and toying with the catheter sticking out of your skin. “Your vitals are all stable and steady, so that means you’re pretty much good to go. I just need to make sure you’re all functional and such. Routine checks, yea? Same routine I use for every crew member.”

“What do you mean by crew member?” You ask with a slight tilt to your chin.

“Hm? I didn’t say that?”

“I-I – no, I’m pretty sure you di–”

“Let’s get you to your feet.” Yunho disconnects the IV from your catheter, tugging it out gently, then holds you by the forearms as he pulls you up from the bed. “I need you to walk to the end of the room and back, okay?”

“Why exactly?” Your legs feel a bit like jelly when you get up, but staying in the same bed for three days straight probably doesn’t help one bit. “It was my arm that was shot not my leg.” Yunho laughs as though you just made the best joke in the universe.

“That doesn’t matter. This isn’t about seeing if your arm works. I’m quite confident in my abilities as a healer, thank you very much. This is just to test your strength and see if your body matches your mind, not a test of the recovery of your injury. That will come later with Hongjoong and the Lieutenant.”

You relent with a sigh, twisting your arm so that you can grip Yunho's elbow in case you begin to fall, and move forward with hesitant steps. Yunho stays close to you as you walk, thanks in part to the death grip you have on him.

"How are you feeling so far?" He asks after you've taken a few steps.

"Just fine." The steps are coming easy so far but that relief doesn't last long. By the time you reach the midpoint of the room, the muscles in your legs are beginning to feel weak and shaky. Yunho moves with you as you stumble on your next step, his free hand darting out to latch onto your arm and support you further.

A ding and whoosh resound behind you two, and Yunho snaps his head towards the door. You follow suit a moment later. It’s San – the little Cheshire with the streak of white hair – who stands in the doorway, eyes narrowed and piercing as he scans the room before his gaze lands on you.

“Captain wants to see you, Healer,” he announces while keeping his gaze fixated on you. “If Y/N is up, that’s even better because he wanted to speak about her.” San nods in your direction but his words are unmistakably meant for Yunho.

“Couldn’t Captain come to the med bay instead? Y/N still isn’t strong enough to walk around much since she’s been bedridden for so long. Besides she only just woke up today.”

“Listen, I was just sent to fetch you and check up on her,” San says. He lifts his arms as though to defend himself, finally dragging his gaze off you.

“It’s not your job to check up on patients, San,” Yunho argues as he releases your arm and takes a step in the other man’s direction. “Here’s your checkup though: she’s not well enough to walk all the way to the bridge of Captain’s quarters.”

San’s expression remains stony as he blinks back at Yunho without moving. The silence is deafening until San decides to respond, matching the vehemence in Yunho’s tone. “I’ll inform Captain then.”

Yunho huffs when San spins around with an added flair of drama. Once the door slides shut again, you opt to speak up on the ordeal that just transpired.

“Are things always so tense between the two of you? This isn’t the first time I’ve witnessed you argue and I’ve only been awake for a grand total of 3 hours at best in your presence.”

“Just… a difference of personalities.” Yunho drags his tongue over his teeth, turning back to you. He rests a hand on your back and guides you back to the bed. “I save people. San kills people. That’s how things work. Our jobs. It’s what we’re supposed to do, what we’re here for, why Hongjoong recruited us in the first place. We’re polar opposites.”

“San and I aren’t much different then,” you say, tone quiet and eyes watching Yunho’s face for any change in expression. He shakes his head a few times.

“Quite different actually. San has killed people I could’ve saved in the past. Taken my patients from me and killed them without reason. You haven’t done that.”

“Is it the other way around as well?”

A laugh breaks through the tension of the room, and Yunho throws his head back. “Yes. If I’m going to save someone, then I will do just that. I’ve stopped San in the past.” He eases you onto the bed, moving to pick up the IV. You blink at him, only now noticing that there’s a certain brightness to him that wasn’t present when you first met him.

“Wait…” His hands hesitate near your catheter, eyes darting up to meet yours. “Has – has your hair always been blue? I thought – I could’ve sworn it was different when – was it just my fever?”

Yunho laughs again and continues his motions. “At least your senses are still intact even if your muscles aren’t. It was different a few days ago, yes. I just changed it because another crew member asked me to dye his hair, so I went ahead and joined in on the fun with him.”

“Wow, a healer and a hairstylist? Hongjoong got quite the catch, didn’t he? What can’t you do?” You joke as Yunho reattaches the wires.

“Not much, honestly!” Yunho responds with equal humor to his tone. “I’m good at everything really.” He sends a wink your way, and you nearly choke on your saliva. He has no shame. None whatsoever.

“Pardon?”

“You heard me. Don’t act shy on me now.” Yunho pulls back, a smirk playing at his lips and you don’t know how to react other than to swing your foot out. You hit him in the shin, his body bends in half, a choked laugh escaping from his parted lips. “Damn, okay then. Noted. Y/N and dirty jokes don’t play well. Could you try stretching your arms a bit? I wanna see how the right one is doing.”

You do as asked, moving and stretching your arms out to the side.

“If the stitches bother you or start coming apart at all, let me know. I can go in with laser stitching now that it’s been a few days. I wasn’t able to close it all the way initially so I couldn’t do laser stitching.”

“It feels normal,” you admit as you rotate your arm. “A bit sore, if nothing else.” Frankly, if not for the bandage around your bicep, you wouldn’t even know that there’s a hole in your arm; it just feels like you had an awkward fall on it.

“Good, good. I put you back on the IV just to maintain fluid levels. We can probably try to get you some real food and water today after Captain visits.”

“That’d be nice,” you murmur more to yourself than to Yunho. The minimal snacking you did over the first few days aboard the ship was nice and all, but a proper meal sounds much more desirable.

“Is your side feeling alright as well? I almost forgot to ask.”

“What? Oh, uh, I forgot all about that.”

“That’s a good sign! Not forgetting, but it must mean that you aren’t in any pain. I figured out what happened with that by the way. The pneumothorax was caused by a severe force to your left side. You likely got it after you were shot or while adrenaline was still pumping through you since you didn’t seem to be showing any signs of pain there. Do you remember getting hit in the side or anything like that?”

You stare down at the bed, rummaging through your brain for any memory of a close-quartered fight. The only thing you remember is getting in a small scuffle with the dark-haired man guarding the docking station.

He kicked me after I pinned him down, didn’t he? Must have. How else would I have gotten the injury?

“Yea vaguely.”

“Well, the details aren’t important. I fixed it all up regardless.” Yunho hums and moves around the bed to sit atop a small stool. He peers at you in silence for a moment. You stare back, matching his silence.

“Well this is awkward,” Yunho announces after basking in the quiet for a few minutes. “Maybe I should go back to the dirty jokes and innuendos.”

“No, no, no!” You protest in an instant. “Please don’t.”

“Ha! Here I thought they were gonna grow on you. What else is there to talk about? Captain is taking his sweet time walking over here.” Yunho taps his chin, eyes leaving yours to stare up at the ceiling instead. “Oh, where are you from? I’ve… well, there’s no nice way to put this really, so I’ll just spit it out. I’ve seen you on bounty papers before. Frankly, I know next to nothing about you aside from the information on the bounties. Which is limited to a list of your crimes and missing data.”

“That’s because I normally make a point to keep it that way. The less people know about me, the less likely it is for them to find me. Makes sense, yeah?”

“Makes sense but… it sounds like a lonely life. Always living in fear of who might see you or find you. Never telling anyone anything about yourself. Not being able to trust anyone because you worry that they might sell you out.”

“Go out and get a bounty the size of mine on your head. Talk to me about trust after that.” Your words come out with a bit more scathing fervor than you intended, but the point still stands. The difference between you and Yunho is the bounty. Yours is what? Three? Four? Five times the size of his? Not to mention you are wanted dead whereas Yunho is wanted alive.

“It wasn’t meant as an attack, Y/N. Honestly, it wasn’t. I feel for you, that’s all. I wouldn’t wish that kind of loneliness on anyone.”

You pause, eyes trailing over Yunho’s form as he brings his gaze back to you. Sadness lingers in his gaze, a sadness you wish not to confront, and thus you divert the subject again.

“What have you seen on the bounty papers?”

“This and that. They’re all the same, aren’t they?”

“I make a point of avoiding my own bounty papers.”

“Ha, that’s a fair goal.” Yunho chuckles and leans back, gaze moving for the ceiling again. “I’m from Kebos, if you’ve ever been there.”

“Of course I have,” you answer with a slight smile.

“Of course, of course. You’ve probably been to every planet in Aurum’s system.”

“I have, yes, but not to every city on each planet. I’m still too young for that.”

“Hmm, I was about to be even more impressed but I guess I’ll have to rescind that now. I’m from the biggest city on Kebos, Reinig. Have you been?”

“Only shortly,” you sigh as you push your head back against the pillow. “On military business.” None of your memories from the military are pleasant ones, memories you don’t want to revisit, and thankfully Yunho must get the hint that you don’t want to talk about it.

“Growing up there, I used to think it was the ugliest city but in the winter they put up all these lights. At night the lights make the snow change colors and look absolutely magical.”

“I went in the winter but there wasn’t much time to glance around at the scenery.”

“That’s fair, yeah. I think it loses its appeal as you grow older, but I wouldn’t know that for certain. I haven’t been back to see then in well over ten years I think. My mother… she used to take me to the winter festivals when I was little.” There is a tinge of sadness to Yunho’s tone at the mention of his mother. You know that feeling all too well, having been in Yunho’s shoes before.

Yunho’s ego seems to deflate before your very eyes as he frowns at the ceiling.

“Ah but you didn’t come to hear my tragic backstory.”

You open your mouth to respond and reassure the man in some way (even though you don’t know what to say in these sorts of situations), but the chance is stolen from you as another whoosh resounds. Yunho pushes his seat back at the sound and stands up immediately. You move as well, although only with your head.

There in the doorway stands the captain, his platinum hair parted down the middle and fanned over his forehead. He’s not alone either, a much taller man bearing black hair and paled skin at his side. You know that one, and based upon the glare of his eyes as he stares you down, he remembers what you did to him at the docking station. Seonghwa, was it?

You pass a cynical grin his way. “How’s the head, pretty boy?” You ask, drawing a lilt to your tone that’s meant to be snide. The man merely passes a genuine smile back at you.

“Feeling great, princess.” His smile grows as he steps into the room, the shorter captain following suit albeit absent of the pretty smile.

“Lieutenant. Nice of you to join us,” Yunho greets as he steps around the foot of the bed. You instinctively pull yourself up and sit up straighter. “Captain. You as well.”

“Let’s just get to business, Yunho.” Hongjoong steps out from behind the lieutenant’s back, dark eyes boring into you. “I want to get this over with.”

✧  ✧  ✧

a/n: hello hello it’s tuesday yaknow what that means :D i hope you all enjoy this chapter! i pROMISE things will be picking up in terms of speed from now on aofijeoijfdio let me know what you all think of this chappie!

tag list: @faeriewoobin​

consider sending me a ko-fi!!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

[beforetheflowers]

Poinsettia

SPNAdventCalendar2020 prompt: day 13, poinsettia

Read complete on AO3!

Ok, I’m a little late with this, but here we go. Read the first half below the cut!

Hunters might not get paid for doing their jobs, but it was not uncommon to receive gifts of appreciation. These gifts ranged from invitations to sit down for a home-cooked meal, boxes of snacks and drinks, a good bottle of scotch, gift cards to restaurants… actually, the gifts took the form of food quite often. 

It was curious, this human impulse to show their love by feeding each other. Taking care of each other’s most basic need, giving the blessing of not needing to worry about where the next meal was coming from. 

Though angels did not, as a rule, feel hunger, Castiel understood it intimately. He’d been human quite a few times in the last decade, and he knew the dull ache that could only be filled by sinking his teeth into something delicious.   

Of course, Castiel made a point of breaking heaven’s rules. He never told Dean this, but occasionally he would fly out into a field or forest and let his grace drain into the Earth, depleting his own power so that he could become something close to human. It wasn’t easy to do in winter; someone would probably get suspicious if a grove of trees suddenly sprouted greenery under their blankets of snow, but he made it work. 

Let’s just say that a particular river in Kansas was full of incredibly vigorous fish, and leave it at that.

Draining his power in that way allowed Castiel to experience mortality with Dean. His vessel aged, so subtly that Dean hadn’t even noticed yet, but Cas was determined to grow old with him. They had their eternal youth to look forward to in the afterlife. 

It also allowed him to feel human drives; hunger, thirst, desire, pain. All the risks and rewards of freedom.  

Castiel also felt that taking care of the Earth was a proper angelic duty. He wasn’t interested in being an agent of fate, or a tool in Chuck’s arsenal. But blessing the Earth with life gave him great joy and contentment in his role as an angel. His grace was a gift he could give to wild things. 

So, although Castiel understood humanity’s gift-giving impulse on a personal level, he found it quaint and charming nevertheless. In times of hardship, humans reached out for each other instead of turning away, they gave more generously instead of less. Despite the flaws of their species, Castiel believed they were good at their core. He wasn’t sure he could say the same about angels.

The winter holidays seemed to motivate humans to give more than any other season. Perhaps it was simply the darkness and lack of plant growth in winter that pushed them to share resources, but… they took care of each other.

Cas was, however, sometimes baffled at their choice of gifts. 

One day in late November, he had gone grocery shopping while Dean was at work and had seen rows and rows of tiny replicas of popular fictional characters, stuffed animals in unnatural colors, pink models of kitchens, and even boxes of toys that weren’t assembled yet. How any of these objects helped humans survive winter, Cas didn’t know. 

Musing about the nature of humanity along the ends of the toy aisles, he had walked past a little red creature that started singing at him. He finished his shopping quickly after that. 

Also in November, Cas had received another bewildering gift from a family he had saved from a poltergeist. Dean had been at work again when Cas heard a strange report on the police scanner; officers had responded to a call about a strange man smashing up the neighbor’s house while everyone was out. 

When they had arrived, they found all the doors and windows closed and locked. Inside was indeed smashed up; the dining table was broken down the middle, stuffing was ripped from the couches, glass littered the floor from shattered picture frames and ceramic decorations. There was nobody in the house.

The mom left work right away after the cops notified her, and - Cas perused the subsequent report - she had mentioned instances of paintings falling off the walls, doors slamming, furniture being moved, but nothing close to the destruction of that day. The police had chalked it up to a very clever home invader and told the family to invest in a better security system. 

A security system wouldn’t work against a poltergeist, if indeed that was what the family was dealing with. 

Cas packed a duffle bag with ghost-hunting paraphernalia and teleported to the end of the family’s driveway. The family had been unwilling to trust him at first - apparently, they didn’t appreciate blunt honesty - but when the sun went down and the poltergeist started hurling knives around the kitchen, they welcomed Cas back inside, where he made quick work of the poltergeist. 

As it turned out, they had recently purchased a painting of a sunset from a charity auction. All seemed normal until Cas tore off the paper backing, revealing the signature of the painter; it was not created by some local artist as the family had assumed, but by someone who went down in history as a serial killer. The alizarin crimson was fortified with actual human blood, and the victim had become a restless spirit, tethered to the painting and unable to rest. 

Cas burned the painting and the spirit finally moved on. In their gratitude, the family had insisted he take home the apple pie that had been cooling on the counter and shoved a plant into his hands. Arms full of ghost-hunting equipment and the family’s generous gifts, Cas left, waiting until he reached the cover of shadows before teleporting home. 

The pie was a good gift because it made sense. Food. And a dessert at that, a delectable treat. Dean especially would like it. But the plant?

It had broad red leaves with tiny yellow blooms in the center. The lower leaves were dark green. A poinsettia. 

The Aztecs had cultivated this plant for its usefulness as medication and dye, but surely the family didn’t expect him to use it for those purposes. Of course, Cas knew about its association with Christ. Legend held that an angel encouraged a girl in Mexico to give a gift, no matter how plain, for Christ’s birthday. She gathered a bouquet of roadside weeds, but when she placed them on the altar, they became the blazing red, star-shaped leaves of the poinsettia. 

Cas had no idea which angel had performed that particular miracle, but it sounded on-brand for the heavenly host. Most angels only helped humanity when it served the glory of the Lord. Or maybe Cas was just a cynic. 

Either way, it didn’t explain why the family had given him one. They didn’t know he was an angel, right? The plant symbolized sacrifice, success, happiness, or purity; was it perhaps a wish that he would experience one of these? He’d take success or happiness, but he’d sacrificed far too much already, and he was so far beyond purity that it was almost a joke. 

Dean was already home when Cas, bypassing the struggle of opening the door with his hands full, teleported into the kitchen. 

“Hello, Dean.”

Flinching mightily, Dean nearly flipped the contents of the pan straight onto the floor. He chuckled weakly when he saw who it was. “Jesus Christ, man. Could you try knocking first, or something?”

“My hands were full,” Cas explained, finally setting everything down. He put the pie and the plant on the table and returned the duffle bag back to its place in the basement before returning to Dean. 

The smell that pervaded the house was wonderful; garlic and rosemary under the scent of sizzling steak. Cas’s stomach growled, and he realized he hadn’t eaten since yesterday. It was easy for an angel to lose track of such things, but Dean always took care of him. 

“Have a glass of wine,” Dean said, handing him a cab sauv. He leaned his back against the counter, watching Cas and his cooking at the same time. “Tell me about your day, baby.” 

Cas told him about the poltergeist and the gratitude of the family. “I don’t understand why they gave me this plant,” he ended the story, brushing one soft, red leaf between his fingertips.  

“What do you mean? It’s a poinsettia.” 

“Yes. It’s a holy symbol that often represents the crucifixion in the Western, Christian tradition. Why would they want to remind me of that? It was a horrible event, really. A man died.”    

Dean gave him that look, half exasperation, half amusement, that usually meant Cas had failed to understand some social norm. “People always give each other poinsettias around Christmas. It doesn’t really have any deep symbolic meaning these days, it’s just pretty to look at.”

Well, that was certainly true. It was a vibrant little thing, with plush crimson leaves and yellow center, like it was both reaching out for the sun and reflecting it deep within. Cas could feel the life buzzing inside it, drawing water and nutrients from the soil and exhaling oxygen through its broad leaves. 

It was a good gift, he decided with a little smile. 

But that wasn’t the end of it... 

[threadofdestiny]

The opportunities we may take

(The Picture was a comission I odered from a friend. Check her out -> Fantasiamind_art on instagram)

Part 3

Sinbad x OC

Soulmate AU

The image of her

---7 Years later, in the young Kingdom of Sindria---

The atmosphere at the breakfast table was exuberant and cheerful, as the young king sat down in front of his generals, looking a little tired. When his adviser noticed this, he raised his pale eyebrows and looked at his friend with a disparaging look.

"Long night?" Ja'far asked, knowing what Sinbad's answer would be. In response, he only received a hinted smile from the purple haired king, while Sharrkan began to laugh loudly a little further away. "Of course he had a long night, after all we are talking about Sinbad, the ladykiller of the seven seas", the heliohaptian replied, while he wobbled suggestively with his white eyebrows. Generic laughter lit up the hall, while Sinbad just smiled, as he let his gaze wander over the food that was prepared on the table in front of him. Absent, he grabbed some bread and smeared it with honey, before slowly biting in it. As he chewed, his gaze wandered across the balcony to the sea, not listening to the teasing words his generals has to offer him.

 "Are you alright, Sin?", Ja'far asked after a while, now a little worried. Nodding, Sinbad stretched out before looking at the younger man inquiringly. "Honestly, I would like to go to sail this morning. Please delete my plans until noon, Ja'far", Sinbad replied as he rubbed the last breadcrumbs from his fingertips. Ja'far began to protest, when his king raised abruptly, ignoring his younger friend. "Well, then," Sinbad said, as he nodded his farewell, before leaving behind a bunch of confused generals. 

"Whats wrong with him?", Pisti asked, looking curiously at Sinbad's departing figure. Sharrkan shrugged his shoulders before starting to guess, while Masrur silently drank from his water filled goblet as if he didn't care about Sinbad's strange behavior. "No idea, maybe he didn't get laid yesterday after all" "Let him, guys. Maybe he just needs some rest. The last few days had been exhausting", Hinahoho added, receiving a general concordance.

There was something that draws him to the sea today

Not far from the shore of the island, a small sailboat drifted on the quiet southern waters. Leaning against the mast, Sinbad looked over the reflecting surface of the sea, watching as the sun slowly climbed up the sky. 

The calm atmosphere was like balm for his overworked soul. The last few days felt heavy in his bones, but he was satisfied nontheless. Sindria was still young, but so far the country has prospered, proving that the hard work has paid off. His people were happy and motivated to contribute their part to their society. He couldn't have been prouder. However, for some time he felt more and more that something was missing. His days became quieter now that he was driving less to sea. As king, he now resided most of his time in his palace. He had achieved one of his greatest goals. But here he was, as he had been so many times before, focusing on the waves that revealed themselves in front of his inner eye, asking himself where to go.

Carefully, he followed every single strand, looking at the faces he would encounter along the way, just to discover again with a dull pain that lingers in his heart, that certain paths, that had been lost to him in the past, were no longer available. Although he questioned some of his past decisions, he had successfully talked himself over the years that those losses had been necessary to archive his goals. He had got his hands dirty many times before, while already knowing, that he wouldn't have done it for the last time. With each passing day, he became a little more cunning, a little more sophisticated, a little more manipulative... trades he had loathed in others as a teenager. But politics and life experiences changed a human being over the time. He had started to accept this a long time ago.

He was no longer the man he once was

Sighing, Sinbad blinked as he became more aware of his surroundings. With cracking bones, he rose before stretching himself extensively. "I should return to the castle", he muttered to himself as he tried to reach for one of the ropes to get the sails up, when something shiny caught his attention. 

Curiously, he approached the edge of the boat and looked into the clear light blue water. There! Beneath him floated a small round object. Not thinking about it for long, Sinbad pulled his tunic over his head and jumped headfirst into the cool water. With a few skillful movements, he dived to the bottom of the sea, reaching for the round crystal, catching it. Gasping for air, after he broke through the surface of the water, he climbed back into the boat with the mysterious ball in one of his hands. As he slowly settled on the ground and shoved some wet strands out of his face, his gaze wandered to his newly discovered treasure. Surprised, he noticed some Rukh gathering around the object, as they circled it joyfully. Strangely reverently, Sinbad lifted the turquoise crystal in the direction of the sun, while he watched as the sunlight broke on the reflecting surface staining its surroundings with rainbow-colored flecks of light. "Is this a magical object?, he asks himself as he slowly scrubbed over the crystal with his thumb. He then decided to ask Yamraiha, if she could investigate the subject.

Why did his heart start to flutter while looking at the shiny crystal?

The day slowly turned towards the evening, when Sinbad was finally able to sit back into his throne in a relaxed manner. Ja'far was just escorting the last guest registered for today out of the hall, when Yamraiha stormed in. 

Overly excited, she ran towards her king and held the magical object right under his nose, which he had discovered while he had been sailing in the morning. "Looks like you've found something out, Yam", Sinbad said, amused as he watched how she struggled with her words out of excitement. "Sin... This is- This!", she tried to say, blushing furiously. "Cat got your tongue, Yam? Maybe you shouldn't always stick your nose into old dusty books, so you can learn to talk properly to other people", Sharrkan's voice rang out behind them as he entered the hall, followed by the rest of the generals. Yamraiha threw a nasty glance at to the master of swords, but did not pay any further attention to him, as she turned back to Sinbad. "Sin, you were right, This thing is a magical object. I- I've never seen anything like this before", she explained, while she blushed out of excitment again. "Well, is it dangerous?" Sinbad asked curious as his gaze fixated on the object in her trembling hands. "No! No, not at all. It's just. Well... eh", the blue haired magician rambled, before she held it up to him. "You need to let your Magoi flow into the object to activate it", she mumbled, averting her eyes unusually nervous."You are acting weird, Yam. Are you all right?, her king asked with raised eyebrows, as he received the shining, glassy artifact. "Y-Yes just do it, please" Confused, his gaze wandered from her to the cool object in his hands. Trusting his general, he began to summon his magoi and let it flow into the crystal. 

Shortly thereafter, the ball began to glow, while thousands of small specks of light exited from beneath the glass. Slowly they slipped through his fingers and spread throughout the room. The surrounding air began to flicker quietly when suddenly part of the room in front of the king blurred, while the hall was replaced by another scenery. Before his eyes appeared the image of a market street. The typically busy sounds of people trying to do their shopping, echoed in the room while images of unknown people moving through the space. "What the hell?", Sharrkan called out and dodged a woman whose boneless body simply passed through Masrur, as if he was the one that did not exist.

"It's like someone had captured a moment or a memory and stored it into that crystal," Yamraiha explained as she demonstratively drove her hand through the scaffolding of a market stall. Interested, Sinbad leaned forward and looked at his new surroundings, when suddenly a figure appeared next to him, strolling in front of him with a grin. The young man looked in his mid-20s, with blond curly hair that fell wildly into his forehead. His wide orange and sand colored robes reminiscent of a scholar, shifted as he casually leaned against the metal rod in his hands. But what really attracted Sinbads attention was the amulet that the man wore openly around his neck. It had the shape of an eight-pointed star enclosed in a circle of gold. "Well? Does it work, Isaac?", the blonde man asked, as he looked in Sinbad's direction. Surprised, the king leaned back into his throne unaware of how to react, when a bodyless voice rang out around him. "Seems like it. We'll have to look at the results later", said the other males voice. "You're really awesome, man," the blonde praised as he curiously bent closer to Sinbad and looked at the object in his hands. Then the purple haired king realized that the other person had to hold the turquoise ball, just as he was doing. Suddenly, an arm shot into the picture and pushed the scholar out of the way. "Get out of the picture, Kunar! No one wants to see your stupid face," the voice roared, before the environment began to move slowly forward, signaling that the bearer of the magical artifact seemed to walk. Slowly, they strolled past the individual richly filled stalls. Colorful fabrics, Mediterranean fruits, spices and other goods were laid out on the counters, while interested buyers flocked to the shops. Sinbad had never seen this place before, but the architecture reminded him slightly of Balbadd. "You're an ass, you know that? Hey, don't you listen to me? Don't ignore me, you moron!" sounded Kunar's voice from the side. His companion, however, simply remained silent and continued his way until a large square opened up in front of them.

 Here, where the houses were no longer close to the roadside, it was recognizable that the city seemed to be located in a valley. Far away, one could see the schemes of a high mountain in which a building seemed to have been incorporated. "Wow, amazing", Pisti squealed, while she looked enthusiastically at her surroundings. The large spacious market square was surrounded by more stalls. In the middle was an ornate well, which pumped clear water into the air. Some children laughed, running around the fountain, playing catch, while the adults went about their business. The blonde men, Kunar, ran back into the view and pointed grinning at something outside the shot. "Oi, look who we have there, if that's not our favorite pair of siblings!" he said, raising his hand in greeting. The image panned slightly to the side and fixed on a group of children who had gathered around two youths. A brown-haired boy, whose hair was tied together into a ponytail, noticed Kunar and Isaac and also raised his hand to salute. The other person, a girl, who was mostly covered by the boy, crouched in front of one of the children and gently stroked through it's hair. As the two men approached the newcomers, the young brunette stepped aside and revealed the girl's profile. Sinbad's breath stopped as he watched her brown braided hair fall over her slim shoulder. Realizing that he knows those features, he watched with a wildly beating heart as the girl stood up, slowly turning to him. Turquoise eyes seemed to be looking at him as a gentle smile spread on her lips.

There she stood. Seven years later.

"Good afternoon," she greeted the two men as she folded her hands in front of her body. Mesmerized, Sinbad looked at the girl in front of him, while losing his sense of reality. Thousands of thoughts shot through the young king's head. How could this be possible? This could not be true. It's been years since he saw her image for the last time. Years since she disappeared and here she stood and smiled in his direction as if she were actually standing in front of him. It was her, right? Yes, he had no doubts about it. She was the girl whose paths had always faded behind her. The girl he wanted to met in person, but had never dared to do so for fear of what she would've triggered in him.

His mouth dried, as he recorded every detail that this scene had to offer him. A basket filled with various flowers hung in the bend of her arm. The hem of her rose-colored dress swayed playfully around her ankles as she took a few steps towards him. Some strands had detached from her braid and framed her face in windswept curls. Her eyes captured the light of the midday sun and reminded him strongly of the magical object, which he clasped in his hands. She was the most beautiful young woman he had ever seen. 

As her glowing gaze turned away from him to greet Kunar as well, Sinbad realized again that it was not him she had approached. "What are you doing?", she asked curiously, while his brother stepped next to her with interest shining in his eyes. Sinbad barely listening as the blonde man explained how his companion wanted to try out his new toy, before Isaac took the opportunity to explain how the object worked. The king was too enchanted by the presence of the girl. Her melodic laugh ripped him out of his trance while she bent in amazement to take a closer look at the crystal. Carefully, she stretched her fingers in Sinbad's direction, letting them pass over his fingers, or rather over the object in his hands. With his breath stagnant, he had to painfully realize that he had expected the feeling of a touch, which naturally didn't happen. She wasn't really there. This was just a recording of her. 

"A mixture of light and sound magic? This is truly amazing!", she breathed as she stood upright again. For a moment, her gaze became absent as she lifted her face to the side and appeared to listen to something only she could hear. None of those present seemed to find this gesture strange as they continued to talk until she turned to Isaac again and pointed at the object with slightly blushing cheeks. "Uh... may I....may I borrow the crystal for a while, Isaac?" the brunette asked nervously while her two visible companions looked at her curiously. For a moment, all parties remained silent as the girl insecurely pressed her fingertips together. "Of course, Salome. You can have it", Isaac replied in a calm voice, before the image began to flicker and the scenery disappeared.

Her name was Salome.

Silence spread in the room for a few moments, before Yamraiha's tentative voice broke through it. "T-There's more to come," she breathed, embarrassed, as she stealthily squinted at her king, who still looked forward in a captivated way. 

Once again, the surroundings flickered before a new scenery was built up in front of them. The outlines of a bedroom began to materialize. In one corner was a large four-poster bed adorned with colorful silky fabrics. On the shelves of the tables and cupboards stood several vases filled with various flowers, while in the background a balcony door stood open and let in a light breeze that made the curtains swing. The vision of the brunette girl appeared, squatting in front of Sinbad. Her fingers hovered over the turquoise ball as she made sure it was doing its purpose. 

The young king swallowed heavily, as he watched her retreat and slowly sinking to the ground on a pillow in front of him. As she angled her legs to her side, she took her time to place her skirts in a neatly order. Nervous she bit down on her lower lip as she slowly lifted her gaze and stared straight up to Sinbad. Silence reigned for a few seconds, which was so overwhelming that it could've been cut through with a knife. His heartbeat drummed so loudly in his ears that he thought that everyone in this room could've heard it. "W-Well... Hello, uh", the girl began to speak, as she put her hands flat on her lap. "When you see this, y-you... well, then you're probably already king, aren't you?", she breathed as she closed her eyes for a moment, as she pulled her eyebrows together, over-thinking her question. 

A surprised uproar came from the generals, while Sinbad bent over in a spell. "Yes... Well, congratulations on making it, I think. Your own kingdom. What do they call it again?", Salome asked, with a thin smile on her lips, while she seemed to focus on something in front of her. "Sindria?" "What the actual f-", Sharrkan gasped as Sinbad raised a hand to indicate him to be quiet. 

"Uh, wait, maybe I should explain that? I know about it, because the Rukh told me about you. I can hear them, you know?", the brown-haired girl began to explain as she thoughtfully placed a hand under her chin. Some thin gold bangles she wore on her wrist limped against a wider one as she moved. "I don't know exactly how it works. I am not a magician, but the priests as well as the rukh's themselves said that it is King Solomon's will that I was blessed with this ability", Salome spoke, as she shrugged her shoulders. "Since I was a child, they told me that at some point of my life, I will meet the new singularity. The rukh said that Solomon wishes for me to aid him at some point... The reader of the waves... I don't know why, but deep inside I knew that they were right. Well... at least that King Solomon wished for this link to happen", she breathed as she gazed to the side. For a moment she remained silent, thinking about how to proceed. 

The next words, which came from her lips, stabbed him deeply in his heart. "While time elapsed I realized...You didn't want to meet me. You... Uh..You saw it, didn't you? Those lines? But you decided not to follow them. I w-... well...", she hesitated a moment, before she proceeded again: "It's fine. I think I can understand it...", she continued to speak as she sadly lowered her gaze. Trembling, she clawed her fingers into the fabric of her rose-colored dress. Her thin voice echoed through the room. With each word, it felt as if a sharp knife was being pushed into his chest. But why? Why did he feel so lost when he listened to the words that this girl spoke?

"I mean, why should the man who held fate in his hands, let himself be influenced by it? The rukh said that the reader of the waves can choose his own path, that he is able to bend fate to his will. But even if he can see the path as well as the people he is going to meet on its route, he cannot predict what will happen along the way", Salome said admiringly but with a sad undertone as she looked up as if to gaze at Sinbad again. "For someone who experienced such freedom, this strange  connection we share must be feeling like chains, am I right?", she asked the space above the crystal, while she waited in vain for an answer. With a glassy look, she abruptly whispered, "I wish I could have seen you at least once" His lips trembled as he registered her words. "It's kind of ironic, isn't it? I've been told so much about you. Who you are. Who you are going to be. What... you are going to accomplish. But I don't know what you look like. And you... who can see the people in front of his inner eye, those who might cross his path, certainly saw me standing there and yet... you just don't know anything about me."

Like two sides of a coin

Someone could've heard a pin dropping on the floor, as the people paused their breaths, not daring to make a noise, while they listened to the young girl's speech. Shocked, the king's generals looked back and forth between Sinbad and the person sitting in front of him, when a sobbing breath broke the silence. Desolate, Salome hided her face behind loose brown strands. Her body began to tremble as she tried to suppress her tears. Torn inside, Sinbad reached out to her, just to grasp into the void.

"I-I am sorry", she sobbed, annoyed by her own tears. "You've experienced so many bad things. You've lost so many people, haven't you? I-I just wish I could have been with you, at least to tell you that everything will be fine. I wish I had the chance to-," she pressed, unable to control her breath. Desperately, she rubbed her eyes with her palms as she tried to keep talking: "But I can't leave Dalmasca. I can't just come to you. We both should have wanted it. The priests wouldn't just let me go. Not if Solomon's writings say that you have to come for me! To prove that your feelings are honest", She cried bitterly as she rubbed her wrist wildly across her cheeks. Sinbad, who could no longer bear the sight of the crying girl, turned his gaze away. Her words shook him to the marrow of his bones. Regret spread in him like acid as he frantically tried to keep a cool head. The words she spoke put the generals in shame, knowing full well that these lines were intended only for their king to hear, but Sinbad did not even seem to register this, as captivated as he listened to the girl. Deep breathing, Salome tried to calm down again.

"B-But please, you don't have do regret anything. You've made your decisions and that's fine. You're going to take it very far. I know that!" she breathed, now a little more calmly. Slowly, she raised her gaze again. Her eyes still shone from the tears she had cried, but there were none that formed in the corners of her eyes any further. Carefully, she raised her hands in front of her chest, folding her fingers, a gesture he strangely knew was typical of her. "You know, just recently the rukh whispered to me that you are on your way to the dark continent. I wonder what you're going to experience there. Did you already find a way to shape your kingdom?", she said, a smile on her lips. "You will go your path and no matter what comes, the rukh will accompany you," she tried to assure him. Hesitantly, she straightened up a little, as her fingers reached out to the crystal in his trembling hands. "I wish I 've had the chance to look into your eyes, just once. Just to tell you that you should remain true to yourself. Please... Please stay on the bright side, okay? You are powerful. There will be people out there who want to take advantage of this. You can shape fate according to your will. But watch out, never let yourself be misted by it. Arrogance comes before the fall, so... please take care of yourself!", Salome whispered emphatically. Her fingers that rested on the object looked as if she had placed them in his hands. 

As if she knew instinctively where she had to look, her turquoise eyes looked imploringly into his golden ones, begging him to listen. Sinbad swallowed heavily and nodded as if she could actually see his answer. They remained in this position for a brief moment, when the noise of a knock against a door ripped Salome out of her stupor. 

"Salome, are you in there?" a muted voice pierced through the wood, as the girl hurriedly fumbled around the crystal. "Yes, one moment, please," she shouted, before her image suddenly disappeared. The tiny lights flickered, as they slowly flowed back into the magical object. 

Depressed silence spread through the room, as everyone tried to comprehend what they had all seen. None of the generals dared to say anything when Sinbad slowly let himself sink into his throne, intensely looking at the treasure that rested in his hands. Breathing loudly, the king opened his lips: "Where is Dalmasca located?", he asked. When none of the generals answered, he looked up to them. Spartos, who hadn't said anything until then, moved slowly. "The island of Dalmasca is somewhere in the southern sea between Kou and Balbadd, but..." replied the red-haired knight haltingly. Sinbad's eyebrows raised inquiringly:"But?" Spartos seemed to be searching for the right words when suddenly his visor proceeded:"Sinbad, Dalmasca was the island on which the Vulcan erupted inexplicable a few years ago. There is nothing but ruins to find," Ja'far said, with a sympathetic gaze on his facial features. An awkward silence spread in the hall as Sinbad turned his pained gaze away, looking out of the windows. His fingers dug into the armrests of his throne as he squeezed his jaw together. Suddenly, the king's facial expression changed, rousing resolutely.

"I want to see it with my own eyes!"

[iputmyselfintothenarrative]

When you can’t be tough (Part 3)

I worked on this ALL DAY. I was supposed to study, but what do ya know! I just wanted to get this out to you. Again, thank you SO MUCH for your support on the previous parts! Every comment, every like and every reblog really makes my day! I love you! Here you go, the last part!

If you have any constructive criticism, then PLEASE tell me! English is not my native language, so I might have made some mistakes. Please tell me if so. <3

Part 1, Part 2

Pairing: Lin x Reader

Summary: As you make your way home from a party in New York in the middle of the night, you stubble upon two really scary men. It is a good thing you aren’t alone in the city!

Warnings: Mentions of sexual harassment, foul language

Word count: 3016 (omg…)

The light of day tore through the darkness when you slowly opened your eyes. You immediately regretted that decision, as the violent sunlight harshly reminded you of the many drinks you had the night before. But not only that.

The memories of last night started to return, explaining the knot you felt in your stomach. It took all of the strength you had to be able to roll over and grab your phone that was supposed to be on your bed table, but when you flung your hand over to get a hold of it you noticed that it wasn’t there. With a groan, you rolled on your back and covered your eyes with your hand. That phone was the only way to tell what time it was. It could be noon for all you knew.

You looked back at the table and noticed a glass of water standing on it. While staring at it in confusion for a few seconds, you slowly remembered that someone had helped you in here. You looked down and saw your shoes, still neatly placed beside the bed. He had even taken them off for you. That sort of kindness was rare, and it actually made you feel a bit better than before.

But who was he? The mysterious man who saved you last night? You tried to remember exactly what he looked like, but you could only think of his strongest features which were the big, dark eyes and the ponytail on the back of his head. He had said his name at least on one occasion, and it had been something double. Like Kling-something. His face had been familiar to you, but you hadn’t been able to place it. You still weren’t able to.

After a while, you decided to get out of bed to find your phone and then grab something to eat. Sure, you felt a bit nauseated, but you knew that eating something would help with that. Kling would be gone by now either way, so you decided to just drop it.

It took all effort you had to drag yourself out of bed. You quickly changed from last night’s outfit into a pair of sport’s pants and a sweater. Before heading out of the room, you glanced at the mirror by the door. You looked like a mess, with mascara under your eyes and hair that seemed to want to fly away. Not bothering to care, you just put your hair up in a messy bun and left the room. No one was there to see you, so who should care about your face, really?

You entered the hallway from your bedroom and proceeded to walk towards the kitchen. But when you passed the doorway to the living room, you immediately froze. Lying on your couch with a blanket covering the lower half of his body, was a man fidgeting with his phone. The same man from yesterday, judging by the dark ponytail.

“…Hi?” You said, a part of you wondering why the hell he hadn’t left yet.   

He hadn’t seemed to notice you when you first got out of the bedroom, which made him jump a bit when you called out to him. He quickly turned to look at you, immediately sitting up and placing his feet on the floor. The blanket slid off him.

“Hey, good morning! So, I am sorry about the blanket, it was cold and I-” He interrupted himself when he saw the face you had made, watching you with a confused look.

The moment he had turned around and looked at you, everything dawned on you. You knew exactly who this man was, and why you hadn’t been able to figure it out earlier was a huge mystery to you. You could feel your heart sinking in your chest and how your joints seemed to freeze as the embarrassment grew stronger.

Right there, on the couch, sat none other than the Broadway-mega-superstar, creator and star of the hottest musical of this decade, Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Lin-Manuel Miranda. Right there. He was right there on your couch.

You immediately regretted letting him help you as much as he had. All of the trouble he must have gone through just to help you, a common girl with no special credits.

No no no, anyone but him. Your heart pounded hard against your ribcage, causing you to sweat a little.

“Oh my God, I am SO sorry! Holy crap, Oh my god, I am so, so, so, sorry!” Words couldn’t even begin to describe how embarrassed you were. All that time yesterday, when you had stubbornly proclaimed that you two knew each other, because you recognized him from somewhere. You now knew why.

“I feel so embarrassed right now, again I’m sorry! It’s you, hah, It’s-It’s you!” a few sounds that kind off sounded like laughter escaped you.

If he had noticed your whole ‘zero chill situation’, he did a great job not showing that he had.  

“Yeah, It’s me! Who else would it be? Me and my eyeslashes and everything.” He said with a smile on his face.

You literally wanted to sink through the ground and never ever show up ever again. The things you had said to him, and the stuff you had done last night made you cringe at yourself so hard that you could barely even handle it. You could feel your face redden which caused you to hide it in the palm of your hands.

“Sooo, are you ok?” His words forced you to look up and meet his gaze. He had leaned forward a bit, the smile on his face had faded a little.

“Yes! Yeah, I am, I mean… I am okay! Sorry, can I get you anything? I was just gonna put on some tea and maybe make a sandwich or… or two, but I don’t know if I have any ham or so, but-”

“Hey, maybe you want to go and wash your face and I can put on the tea water? Not that you have to, like I don’t mind, but yeah. Yeah. I can make tea.” He stood up and headed for the kitchen, looking at you when he passed you with an awkward smile on his face.

Although you weren’t very keen on letting a guest (not to mention that that guest was kind off an idol of yours) make the tea, his comment about “washing your face” reminded you of the left over-mascara underneath your eyes and made you feel ashamed of it. So you just watched him pass you and nodded at him with an equally awkward smile and ran into the bathroom.

You turned on the water and managed to get the worst off of your face. When you met your own reflection to make sure that you didn’t look like a raccoon anymore, you noticed how red you were.

You couldn’t help but starting to freak out, and did a few jumps to channel your adrenaline that was building up. The sound of someone messing around in your kitchen made everything very clear that this was actually happening, and you tried to calm down as to not make this even more awkward than you had already made it. With a last look in the mirror, you made sure that you looked somewhat presentable. Then you took one last deep breath to calm yourself, and left the bathroom.

He had obviously managed to make the tea without any bigger issues, as he was now standing crouching down over the coffee table, putting down the two cups of tea. You couldn’t help but to give him a smile as you walked towards the couch. “Thank you so much, it is extremely nice of you to do this!” you said and sat down, reaching for the cup closest to you.

You could feel your face redden up again when he sat down next to you, facing you with his body.

“So did you sleep well?” he asked and reached for his own cup.

You found it quite hard to look at him, but managed to do it anyway.

“Yes, I did! I guess I must have been really tired last night.” you answered him and tried to take a sip of the tea, but when you felt the hotness of the water you just made a face and put it down onto your lap.

“To hot…” you mumbled quietly.

“Um, yeah you were. Tired, that is! I literally had to, drag you into your bedroom.” He said with a laugh, which caused you to lower your head in embarrassment. “Look, I am really sorry for everything that happened yesterday. I feel extremely bad for taking your valuable time.” You raised your head to look at him again, finding yourself to stare into his big, dark eyes.

“You don’t have to stay. I get that you are a very busy person, performing and all that.”

He leaned back a bit, taking a sip of his own tea, obviously not bothered by the hot water.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to apologize. But I can leave if you want me to? But I have nowhere else to be until my show tonight, so I can stay as well. It is up to you.”

Of course you didn’t want him to go. You were delighted (and nervous and scared out of your mind) that he as there keeping you company. Again, you looked down at the tea, finding it very hard to look him in the eye. A small smile spread across you face.

“Listen… Thank you. Thank you for saving me last night, and thank you for helping me get home. I don’t know how I will ever be able to repay you for this. It was really nice of you!”

You put down the tea on the coffee table as you decided to let it cool of for a little while.

“I just… Forgive me for asking this, but why did you stay? Not that I have anything against it, I’m thankful you did. But still. Why?”

He scanned you for a moment, watching your every move. “Because you asked me to.”

His answer made you lose all of your remaining chill on the inside. But somehow, you managed to hold it in, except for your face which was now almost as red as a tomato. You couldn’t really remember when you asked him to. But since you were half unconscious when you got home yesterday, you guessed that you didn’t have the ability to register everything that was said or done the night before.

“I don’t remember that, but I believe you. And thank you! I hope you didn’t find it too boring, just waiting for me to get up.”

“Nah, I was just scrolling through twitter.” He lifted his phone to show you the display where the twitter app was still open, and smiled. “But hey. Are you sure you’re okay? You went through a lot last night.”

He didn’t really make an effort to hide the worried undertone in his voice. What you didn’t understand was how such a nice person could be real, ever. You took the time to think about your answer before you gave it to him. The memories would forever be there and make you feel bad, but at the same time, you knew that it could have gone way worse than it did. You also knew that this kind of harassment happened to women everyday all over the world, and that this unfortunately wouldn’t be the last time this happened to you.

“Under the circumstances, yes. I will be okay soon. I just wish I were tougher and able to defend myself better.”

“Hey, you can’t always be tough. No one can. As I said yesterday, It wasn’t your fault.” He answered, looking at you with the same empathic kind expression as before.

You were so touched by his caring words that you almost started to cry, causing you to hide your face in you hands again.

“You are so nice!” you said with a choked up voice as you lifted your head to face him.

“I mean, here you are, all famous and stuff, and still being so humble and caring towards other people. And not only to other famous people, but to other people in general!” Your eyes were watery as you were on the brink of having a break down.

He sure noticed this, as he hopped a little closer to you and placed a hand on your knee.

“Heey, hey. Just because you’re famous doesn’t mean that you don’t have a responsibility towards your fellow people out there.” He said with a laugh humble laugh, suggesting that he was touched by your words.

It was almost electric, the feeling of his warm hand on your knee. You could feel your heart race, but tried to pretend that it wasn’t making you all jolly and bubbly inside. Fighting the urge to place your own hand on his, you just reached for your tea again and took a sip of it. This time it wasn’t too hot to drink. Trying to get a hold of yourself, you stubbornly blinked away the tears and closed your eyes, taking a deep breath as you did it. When you opened your eyes to look at him again, you smiled and nodded your head.

“Yes, that’s true.” you said and gestured with your index finger towards him, feeling a bit comforted. He nodded to show that he agreed with you and then leaned back, removing his hand from your knee.

“So I guess that you noticed how little chill I have right now. I am kind off a fan of yours. I haven’t seen any of your musicals because they played too far away, but I sure have listened to the soundtracks!” You just had to let him know how much you loved all of his works, now that you had the chance to actually tell him this in person. When you use social media for this kind of stuff, it is often lost in the flow of posts.

“I even learned how to rap Guns and Ships!” You said jokingly, not expecting him to give you that squinty-eyed-big-smile as he delivered his “Thank you so much!”, followed by

“Oh really? Let’s hear it!”. He leaned forward, resting his chin on his knuckles, looking at you with excitement.

You almost choked on your tea when you heard his request, and immediately regretted telling him that. There was no way in the world you could ever perform a rap for Lin-Manuel Miranda, let alone one that he himself wrote.

“Hah, no! Maybe next time.” Hearing yourself say those words made you freeze faster than you could finish the sentence.

Next time? Why in the world would there be a “next time”? You weren’t his friend. He didn’t even know you. He leaned back as you started to feel the panic returning, urging you to want to blurt out a “sorry!” but you didn’t have time before he answered you.

“Yeah. Next time!” He raised his eyebrows as to say ‘right?’ and gestured towards you with his tea cup. And the blushing started again as you couldn’t really comprehend what he had just said.

You couldn’t really do more than nod at him with a ‘I can’t believe he just said that’ look on your face. This couldn’t possibly be for real. Could it?

Your train of thought was abruptly interrupted by the sound of his phone going off, and watched him check it. His excitement as he read the text slowly deteriorated into a kind off pained expression. He let out a groan when he had finished reading it and looked up at you.

“So… That was our choreographer calling me in early.” He said and looked disappointed.

Of course you knew that this little hang out session wouldn’t last forever, but even so you were a bit disappointed to see him go. “Yes, of course! Go and have fun!” You said and stood up.

When you both got to the door and he had slipped on his shoes and jacket, he turned to face you. “So, are you gonna be okay now?” He asked with a sincere voice. You answered with a smile and a nod, resulting in him grabbing your wrist and pulling you in for a hug.

For a moment you lost your breath, but managed to calm down enough to hug him back. “Again, thank you for all that you’ve done for me!” You said as you let go of each other.

“Yes, it was nice meeting you. See you soon?” He asked and reached for the door handle. “It was nice meeting you too! And yes!” You answered him with a smile, knowing that you probably wouldn’t see him again. But you didn’t mind, just the memories of today had been enough.

“Alright, Goodbye Y/N!” He said and gave you one last smile before leaving. “Bye!” you said as you closed the door behind him.

You turned around and leaned against the door, letting out a loud sigh. It took all you had to not squeal, scream and throw yourself on the floor. To distract yourself you walked into the living room, fetched the tea cups and carried them into the kitchen to clean them.

But just when you put them down on the sink, you noticed something lying on the table. It looked like a small sheet of paper with something written on it. Your heart stopped for a second as you went to see what the paper said. It said “For more eyeslash action, call me! /Lin” followed by a phone number. It was his phone number.

-The end-