#(said as if the rest of the game was particularly smooth sailing)

[kirkwallfightclub]

I can’t stop thinking about the dynamic in act 3 between non-mage Hawke (newly family-less), Anders (an open-secret apostate only still free because of his relationship with one of the most untouchable people in Kirkwall) and Meredith (aware of all of this), because. Bethany is in the circle. In the Kirkwall Circle. In the fucking Gallows.

Like no wonder Anders didn’t tell Hawke — no matter how much love was there or how much their politics aligned. His biggest enemy has the ultimate trump card. Even without taking his self-esteem issues into account, there’s no world in which Anders thinks he’s coming out on top over the last remnant of Hawke’s family (and he could very well be right), but even then. If he cost Hawke the last family they had left, that’s hardly better is it? So no, he has to go it alone or he risks forcing a standoff that can only end in tragedy.

[early2000smovieimagines]

Meeting and Dating Draco Malfoy

(Not my gif)(Requested by anonymous)

(Since it came up in the meeting situation: if you request crush headcanons, they’ll include the boys reactions to falling for all the different houses<3)

- You and Draco first meet when you both begin attending Hogwarts.

- When it comes down to it, the platinum blond has a rivalry with just about everyone his age; besides his somewhat mindless goons, so there’s going to be a rivalry involved in your “relationship” regardless of who you are. The question is: how does said rivalry play out? Which is where your house comes into play. 

- If you’re in any other house besides Slytherin then you’re in for a bumpy ride, though don’t get your hopes up Slytherin, it isn’t smooth sailing for you either. 

- Either way, Draco is very much a “pull your pigtails” type of boy. He’s constantly teasing you, being rude, making insults, etc. If you’re a Slytherin then he’s recruiting you as one of his “followers”, acting childishly possessive over you, demanding that you come with him or scolding you when you hang out with people outside of your house. The older you get and the stronger his feelings, the worse it’ll get. 

- Even though he acts cruel to you, he’s always eager to hear what you think about him; what you’d said to your friends about him and so on. Of course, deep down it bothers him when you express your contempt but he pretends it doesn’t, being particularly rude to you the next day to try and make himself feel better. 

- On the same note as Draco’s eagerness to bully people: while I don’t think it’s impossible for Draco to fall in love with a half blood/other type of witch, I do think that he wouldn’t allow himself to be with one purely because of what he’s been taught and the fear of his fathers wrath. 

- So, when does the snake boy stop seriously screwing with you? Around second year; if we’re referencing the other houses relationship with him. The two of you were paired up for a class around that time and slowly but slowly found yourselves on alright terms with each other. 

- Because of this, it became far less shocking for people to see the two of you together and during that time, he was able to realize that he may or may not have liked you, and that he could be around you if he wished to. 

- Finally, it all comes to a head around third year when he first see’s you stepping out of your carriage looking more radiant than ever and positively glowing as you laughed with your friends. 

- Maybe it was the fact that he went the whole summer with the realization that he liked you and with no chance of seeing you. Maybe it was because you’d matured a bit and lost more of your babyface. Either way, he was in trouble. 

- He approaches you with his usual last name greeting and you roll your eyes as per usual but as your relationship last year would suggest, he’s not nearly as rude to you as he once was.

- In fact, he’s uncharacteristically kind to you, well, as uncharacteristically kind as Draco can be while trying to remain unsuspicious. He starts making up any excuse to talk to you, goes to you for details when something happens within the school; even though you’re probably far more clueless than he is, sits/stands next to you in class, and most surprisingly, he actually acts sort of sweet to you when you’re all alone. 

- If you’re a Slytherin then forget it, he’s constantly around you no matter where you are. He even openly flirts with and acts like he’s interested in you; though he tones it down so that he can keep up his reputation. 

- It’s for all these reasons that you actually find yourself agreeing to go to Hogsmeade with him when he approaches and borderline tells you that that's what you’re doing. The two of you narrow your eyes at each other for a moment before you decide that you just can’t decline, as much as you want to because of his tone of voice and way of asking. 

- So he takes you to Hogsmeade and you find yourself genuinely having a fun time, especially after the two of you end up in a snowball fight with each other. The two of you got progressively more elaborate with your snowy attacks until you’d wound up on the ground together with you just about ready to dump a big pile of snow on his head.

- In that moment, he’d linked his arm around the back of your neck and pulled you down to kiss him as you kneeled in front of him. The snow dropped from your hands, mostly missing his head but he didn’t stop. His playful, somewhat rough kiss softened and before you knew it, you were melting into him. 

- You’re his girl now whether you like it or not. He wanted you and he always gets what he wants, doesn’t he? 

- Draco has a reputation to keep up so he isn’t gonna be all cutesy and lovey dovey with you in public, though he does show you quite a bit of pda. He gives you that “I’m tough and she’s mine. Look I can touch her, see.” type of affection. 

- Having his arm around you constantly; especially when he’s glaring down and trying to intimidate someone who’s looking at you too much for his liking. 

- Temple kisses. 

- Hand kisses. It’s a habit he picked up from his father. 

- Sweet, soft kisses. You certainly didn’t anticipate him being so loving with you when you first started dating; due to his usual behavior, but you were, at times, pleasantly surprised. 

- Dominating, somewhat rough kisses; especially when he’s in a bad mood for whatever reason. 

- Him lounging dramatically in or across your lap. 

- He’s quite a big fan of cuddling but he’d die before he let you or anyone else know that. The two of you usually cuddle hugging each other, your legs tangled together and his lips pressed to your forehead.

- If you’re not constantly by your boyfriends side, are you even dating? Why would you need to be anywhere else? You’re his girlfriend, you should be jumping to be seen with and spend time with him; especially since he’s a Malfoy!

- Him forcing people out of his and/or your way, and making Crabbe or Goyle do things for the two of you. The two boys really don’t mind helping you since you’re usually so much nicer about it than your boyfriend is.

- Sneaking around after curfew together. 

- Wandering the grounds together. He’s got a few particular places that he likes bringing you to.

- Him pretending not to enjoy the things you do with him or the places that you take him to, even though you know damn well that’s he’s lying and just won’t admit that he’s having fun. 

- Getting tickled or at least prodded in the side when you’ve said something teasing towards him, or just when you’re distracted. He finds it funny when you jolt and swat his hand away. 

- Being lovingly referred to as your last name. When the two of you are alone together, he’ll let a “darling” slip here and there, usually without even meaning to. It’s another habit he picked up from high society life. 

- Affectionate bullying. He makes fun of you in a much fonder tone now that you’re together. 

- Sending notes to each other in class.

- Always being escorted to class.

- Stopping him from doing something stupid, even if it may or may not cause a fight between the two of you.

- Being forced to cheer him on at Quidditch games, even if you’re in a different house. He takes great offense if you don’t.

- He’s constantly trying to impress you and get your validation. He’s always bragging to you about his accomplishments, usually sprinkling in little white lies to make them sound even better.

- Him exaggerating how hurt or sick he is for more attention, especially when you’re completely focused on him; he wants to keep it that way for as long as he can.

- Either gaining favoritism from certain people; people like Snape, or being relatively disliked by association. Although, once people see that you’re sort of like a buffer between them and his wrath, they usually warm up to you more.

- Getting him to be nicer to people.

- You’re practically the only one he really listens to, even if it’s usually done so begrudgingly. He’ll later say that it’s just because he didn’t actually feel like doing it or tell you that you’re lucky “you’re cute” in a grumble to save face.

- Gossiping and peoplewatching together. He likes seeing you be a little mean, he finds it entertaining and gives you praise whenever you make some snide remark.

- Snowball fights. 

- Going to Hogsmeade together. He treats you to a butterbeer or candy from Honeydukes whenever you go. 

- Being spoiled. His father can afford the best and Draco wants to ensure that you’ll put up with his insecure ass even though he’s sometimes sorta mean to you. He also just likes the feeling he gets when he knows that he’s the one who’s made you happy. 

- He probably gets you a silver necklace/bracelet either in the shape of his name or with it engraved on it, or with green jewels on it; especially if you’re not in Slytherin.

- Getting your stuff stolen. He’s a bit of a kleptomaniac so expect to find your some of your stuff in his room.

- Try not to mention it when he clings onto you at a sudden movement/sound or when something otherwise scares him. He’s sort of a coward; especially before the whole deatheater thing, and he’ll get angrily embarrassed if you do say something, denying it adamantly before avoiding you for the rest of the day out of spite. 

- Occasionally dealing with his mood swings. One moment he’ll be all over you, the next he’ll be a foot away and acting cold. It’s nothing that you did, he just suddenly becomes very aware of how vulnerable or soft he’s being and get’s kind of insecure, not wanting to look too weak. 

- His father will hear about you!

- Watching how his personality changes when he’s around other people, particularly his father. He isn’t a total git when the man isn’t around but he certainly acts like more of a gentleman and less like himself when he’s being observed; mainly because his father will audibly warn him to play nice.

- His parents probably have fancy parties that he may or may not be allowed to bring you to. If you’re from a well respected, pureblood family then his parents will accept you with open arms and happily welcome your appearances at said events.

- Listening to him complain about how boring or stupid things are, whether during or after they happen.

- He’ll try to keep his pride and insist that nothing is wrong; or that he isn’t as upset as he actually is, but you’ll be able to tell that somethings bothering him; usually his father. When he’s upset, you’ll merely be extra sweet to him and stick by his side for the rest of the day. It’s in those moments that he realizes just how much he loves you.

- Though you’ll have to find out about them soon enough, he definitely keeps some big secrets from you. You’ll be able to tell that there’s something wrong, that something is weighing him down, but he refuses to let you know until he’s finally forced to.

- Possessive boy. You’re his girlfriend and no one else should even look at you unless it’s to feel envious of him. 

- He has nasty little habit of getting jealous over just about anyone who’s capable of taking you away from him; regardless of how irrational it may seem, or is otherwise making you happier than he can. He gets incredibly annoyed when he sees you with other guys and tends to either scare them off or glare at the two of you until you join his side.

- After that, he’ll make a few passive aggressive comments until you kiss his cheek and fluster/reassure him enough that he forgets about it.

- He’s incredibly protective of you; especially in the later years of your relationship/school life. In the beginning, he’ll pretend like he doesn’t care as much as he does but will always act in your favor and/or stick up for you on his own cruel way. When you’re older, he’s more willing to blatantly show that he cares and keep you away from danger.

- He’s a bit sensitive so the two of you have quite a few fights. He might insult you or cause problems for one reason or another but you just ignore him and give him the silent treatment when he’s acting like an ass.

- He watches you intently when you’re ignoring him, usually with a glare and especially if you’re around other guys. He keeps waiting for you to approach him but when he realizes you won’t, he’s forced to do it himself.

- At some point, he’ll force you to come with him so that the two of you can talk, trying to just “forget about” the issue before finally admitting that he was wrong. Depending on the issue, he might not give a full apology, telling you not to push your luck when you mention it.

- He doesn’t give you a ton of “I love you’s” but he does force himself out of his comfort zone to say a few. He’ll only ever say it when you’re alone and won’t look at you as he does so, usually trying to breeze past it like it didn’t happen as he blushes. The longer you’re together, the more willing he is to say it.

-He’s going to marry you is what he’s going to do! Why wouldn’t you want to marry him? He’s a pureblood, a Malfoy, and alright, he might just so happen to be really in love with you.

[princessofprocrastination]

Not Even Real (Sapnap)

MASTERLIST 

pairing : sapnap x reader

summary : everyone shipped them even from the start, but what they don’t know is that it’s all just a one sided love, and none of the relationship was ever real. (ANGST)

they think we live in a movie, that our love was created from the start, that it was written down on a piece of paper, that this was meant to be, that we’re lucky. 

but they’re wrong. they don’t know how hurt you are. they don’t see how unhappy you are behind the four walls of your room, when you’re away from them. 

they don’t know how hard you try to stop yourself from spewing out the truth. the truth he doesn’t want to let out. the truth that it was all for show. 

it started friendly, meeting each other from the love of playing minecraft. you met clay or more known as dream, first. you two became close on social media as you watched one of his first videos on youtube. 

the friendship was smooth sailing, and you thought your life couldn’t get any better. you then met george, but never made it to meet since you lived all away at texas. 

not long after that, you three became super close friends with nick, sapnap, it seemed so perfect, he was your age and he lived in texas, too. 

then you met the rest, like darryl, who’s known as badboyhalo. the five of you were inseparable, constantly playing minecraft, trying out new codes for your respective channels. 

none of you had met officially, in real life but nick and you agreed to meet since you lived really close to each other, anyways. 

it started as a friendly little diner “date.” when you two met, it wasn’t awkward, not even a little. you two would not shut up about minecraft or any other new games for you to play. 

and since you two also already had respective face reveals, you sent the groupchat a selfie of you two, showing them that you two had met each other, even before everyone else did. 

the rest of you did eventually meet, specifically in brighton. you all flew to england to meet them, you and nick getting plane tickets together and meeting at the airport on the day of departure. 

of course, as of many public figures, you get shipped with many people. 

it started of with dream, then george, thne wilbur, at some point because people saw how close you all were. of course soon enough, you and nick were bound to be shipped too. 

it was all an opinion, none of the ships died down, yet the ships just kept coming. you never thought it was annoying until you realize you fell for the one and only texan. 

you didn’t fall easily. in fact, you had only been in one other relationship, which had ended really badly that once you left highschool, you didn’t want to be tied down anymore. 

nick and you just seemed to be grower closer and closer together, so close that people started speculating something. 

of course, as a normal person, you had imagined what it would be like to date him, what it would be like to not be friends with him, but more.

and as a normal girl, before you sleep, you’d hope that he was deep in love with you just as much. 

but that wasn’t the case. 

nick saw the rumours, the ship comments. he wasn’t particularly bothered by them. and as of any big group, containing a girl, the girl was bound to be shipped with everyone. 

the boys had a separate group chat on discord. some things, they just didn’t want you to know. 

in there, nick was teased a lot, being the only one that was your age. 

he didn’t know why he thought about it, but he did. he questioned himself what would it be like to date you. 

no, not for real. he just thought about what it was like to fake date you and act like you two were a couple in front of your friends and your supporters. 

when he had told you the idea, you were shocked. thank god he called you normally, not on facetime, or else you would’ve made it so obvious that you loved him. 

your heart was beating out out your chest when he proposed the idea of dating.

but your heart sunk down to your stomach the moment he said that he wanted to prank people by fake dating. 

you never thought he would be that person. the person to break your heart. he probably doesn’t know it was hurting you anyway. but still, it hurt like shit. 

you two agreed that none of the other boys should know about it, and to only tell that that you two realized you liked each other and decided to date. 

since then, it was never the same. 

there were some pros and cons. well, more cons than pros, in your opinion.

sure, you’d get to act like you actually a couple in front of the camera and your friends, but that just made you feel worst. 

everyday, you heart just gets heavier at the weight of the truth on your shoulders. 

nick and yourself booked tickets to fly to england the second time, meeting an extended version of the dream team. 

you were excited to meet tommy and tubbo, along with the rest, of course. 

since all of you decide that it would be better to rent out an airbnb, everyone was staying in one house. lucky for you, niki was also there, which meant that you weren’t going to be the only girl. 

that also meant that you didn’t need to bunk in with nick, instead, you had to room with niki, which you happily agreed to. 

walking out the arrival hall with nick was hard, you had to suck it up and act happy for the sack of pranking your friends. 

nick had no clue that his proposal had been eating you up. he noticed that you were off but he just though you were having a bad day. 

when you all met at the airbnb, everyone was so welcoming and they left you and nick for a while to rest after the flight. 

during dinner was when it all went down. the questions spewed out like water. it never stopped. you would answer them but you’d leave nick to answer most, seeing that he made this up anyway. 

the night was terrible for you. to show the rest that you two were actually dating, you had to sit close to each other throughout the entire trip. you’d have to cuddle during movie night, sit by each other whenever you ate meals, hold each others hands.

you’d have to act happy in front of them, for the sake of nick. never in a million years, you thought that you had to sacrifice your happiness for someone you love. 

when you two flew back to texas, you tried your best not to say anything. you didn’t want to snap at him for no reason. you weren’t angry at him, how could you. you were just upset at how he’s doing so well acting it out. 

you were upset seeing this because this meant he didn’t even like you, yet love you. 

everyday, your mental health became worst. you couldn’t believe you’re even getting up to stream anymore. 

multiple times, you’ve asked yourself “why am i doing this? what was the point? what would be the consequence of just saying you didn’t want to do this anymore?” 

you knew once you said you wanted to leave this fake relationship that it would mean you’ll lose your friends, your only friends. 

as days go by, you didn’t even feel like picking up your phone anymore. you didn’t want to see the cute photos your friends took of you and nick. to which nick had told you to put as your wallpaper in order to make it more believable.

 the fans that saw your wallpaper on tommy’s vlog went crazy. they had see nick’s, too. a photo of you smiling. everyone thought it was adorable. and so did you, but you were more hurt than happy. 

you didn’t want to this anymore. you hated lying. to your fans, your friends. you hated how the truth weigh you down. you needed to tell someone.

since you and clay had been friends for so long, you knew that if you were to tell someone, that it would be him. 

so you called him that day. more specifically, you facetimed him. 

“hello?” he greeted me, but was confused on why i was calling him. 

“i just need to tell you something, and you can’t tell anyone else for my sake.” you told him, starting to cry.

“oh my god, you’re crying.” he looked concern. 

you poured everything out that day. every single detail you could spew out, you did. 

the weight on your shoulder lessened, but not enough. you needed to get away from all the chaos. 

clay was surprised. he never thought that the relationship would be fake. he thought you two are fated together. 

maybe it was just the acting. clay was surprised when you cried on facetime. 

this meant that it was very serious. he told you that he would be there for you throughout this thing, and that you’ll figure it out soon. 

during minecraft manhunt, while george was afk and you all weren’t recording anymore, clay asked nick about you. 

“she’s amazing man, i see her everyday.” he says. clay can sense the smile as he says that. 

damn, he was a good actor. you and nick hadn’t met since coming home from brighton, and clay knew that. 

you called clay everyday since then, always updating him about things that are going on. 

to clay’s surprise, nick hadn’t even checked in on her since they arrived back in texas. 

sure, nick is clay’s bestfriend but this was unacceptable. clay cared about you so much. he hated to see you this broken. not when the texan boy had no clue that this was his doing. 

you didn’t get any better. worse, actually. 

clay was nervous. he was so worried. worried that you’d do something you regret. something you can’t take back. clay wished he could time travel and make it better from the start. 

you hadn’t streamed in so long. your excuse was that you had been sick. acceptable excuse. but not to clay, no. 

he needed to act fast before you do something drastic. 

the fans who were worried about you constantly asked nick about you. 

“she’s fine, just feeling under the weather.” he’d say. 

the more you stayed in texas, the more pain it brought you. you needed to leave. 

you were in too deep in the nest of feelings you made in your brain. you made it so you could forget nick. but every time you open your social media, there would always be questions about nick and you. 

you were sick of it, the constant pain in your chest that never rests. the tweets that you would see about your disappearance. 

you knew people were worried about you. but to you, the only one you cared to be worried about you was nick. and so far, he didn’t give two fucks about your whereabouts. 

that sucked. but you needed to let go. 

when you told clay this, he welcomed you to stay with him with open arms. so you got right into work and packed all your stuff to permanently live with him. 

nick. he didn’t know what he has doing. he didn’t understand why he didn’t just pick u his phone and send you a text, to make sure you were okay. he didn’t know all this was his fault. 

it sounded selfish, but he enjoyed the attention when he announced that you and him are dating. 

he never really sat down to think about you. to him, it was like a contract. 

platonic contract for content. for views. like a script. 

the day you were leaving for florida, he sat down on his bed just thinking about you. he couldn’t understand why he was, but he did. 

he thought about how weird this was. script or not, this seemed wrong. very wrong. he never thought about your feelings. he never prioritized your feelings or you in general. 

he felt bad. now that he thought about it, he hadn’t spoken to you since you came back from england. 

he picked up his phone to call you, to ask if you were okay. it didn’t go through. 

weird. 

then he thought about the time chat kept on asking him about you, asking him to go to her house and check on you. he always told his fans that you were okay and that he had already gone to check on you. 

but that was far from the truth. but no one knew that. 

he didn’t know that the reason why his call didn’t go through was because you were on a plane, leaving texas, leaving him. 

he sent you a text so that you could get back to you later. 

he didn’t know that you were writing a paragraph on your notes app. a paragraph to apologize to your fans. to nick’s fans. for lying to them all this while. 

you held in your tears as you sat in the plane to florida for 2 and a half hours. although you were sad to leave one of the people you love the most,  but you knew that to keep your mental health stable, you needed to leave him behind. 

you bought wifi on the plane so that you could text clay and the rest of the boys, plus niki. you couldn’t leave them hanging, there were the people who stayed with you through everything, the good and the bad. 

you texted them on discord and posted the note paragraph you saved and screenshotted. 

you let out a breath of relief once you posted and texted your friends. finally, the heavy weight is off your shoulders. 

you saw a text from nick. you knew you had to restrain yourself. you couldn’t go back to him. it would hurt you even more, even if he didn’t know it hurt you. 

you texted clay once you landed, making sure he knew which part of the arrival hall you’d be at. 

you walked out as the automatic glass doors open, seeing clay sitting on one of the benches. you smiled at him as he notices your arrival, pushing your trolley full of multiple bags you brought. 

clay ran up to you to give you a hug as you got closer. he hugged you tightly, to show you that he is here for you, always. 

“i am so proud of you. for being brave enough to leave your comfort zone, for willing to start fresh.” he whispers in your ear, still hugging you. 

you almost teared up. “come on, let’s go home.” he pushes your trolley, leading you to his car.

you were drained when you came back to clay’s house, now yours too. emotionally, and physically drained. 

although that wasn’t a long plane ride, the sleepless nights are finally catching up to you. 

you opened instagram, remembering the screenshot you posted a while ago on the plane. your phone almost glitched at the amount of people tagging you or commenting on your photos. some even dming you. 

you were overwhelmed with the amount of support your fans brought to you. they told you to take a break, to slowly settle in florida with clay, away from the public eye. 

you also read all your friends’ texts. they were fully supportive of your decision. although it sounded easy, they said they were proud of you for even thinking about leaving your hometown, let alone actually doing it. 

you even opened the texts from nick. it went from “hey, are you getting better?” to “what’s with your post on instagram”

you thought about texting him, to get a full closure. some people needed that. and him being one of your bestfriends, you cared about him immensely. 

the most recent text he sent, said “i understand why you did it, i’m sorry i acted like i didn’t care. i hope you know that i’ll be here for you, whenever you’re ready to talk to me again. please take care of yourself. i love you so much.” 

your heart skipped a beat when you read his text, especially when he said “i love you”. you had to tell yourself that he didn’t mean it that way, that he meant to say he loved you as a friend, not a lover. 

you looked back at the screenshot you posted, rereading it. 

it read. “hi guys. it’s been a while, and i’ve been aware. i’m not one to lie, and i feel immensely guilty for keeping you guys in the dark for this long. first of all, i haven’t been sick lately, not a normal flu, that’s for sure. my mental health has been on the all time low. this had been the lowest i have ever been in years since i became a public figure. secondly, i haven’t been fully truthful to you guys about my relationship. i would just like to say that nick is an amazing person. he has never hurt me, not intentionally. him and i decided that it would be a great idea to fake a relationship between the two of us. this was no one’s fault but my own, for agreeing to it. i have loved nick even from the start, till now. and although i knew that i had feelings for him, i still agreed. and that is no one’s fault but my own.” 

you scrolled down more to read the next half. “i had to live with a heavy weight on my shoulder for a couple months, thus me making this. you guys have been super supportive through thick and thin, so i felt guilty for lying to you for this long. and to clear things up, this does not mean i am leaving the dream team. in fact, i am moving in with dream! i hope you guys understand to what extent this has gone to and why i disappeared fr so long without explanation. i love you guys, forever and always. thank you for staying with me this long, i hope you stay. see you soon!” it finishes. 

you teared reading it all over again. you knew this was a bad idea, to read it again. 

been only a day but you really miss sapnap. it’s not easy to drop every thing in texas to move away from somewhere that you’ve called home. but this is your new home now. 

-

SAPNAP’S POV

i knew i should’ve texted her earlier, to check on her, to make sure she’s okay. 

i knew there was something wrong, i called it. but because of my stupidity, i wasted her love for me. 

and for what? content? it wasn’t worth it. 

now i’ve lost her. potentially forever. i don’t know how to get her back. not after what i did to her. not after what my ignorance did to her. 

i needed to get her back but i knew that this break waws good for her, this move was good for her. she deserved the break she has now. and i won’t talk to her until she’s ready to talk to me. 

i’ll be waiting, till she comes. 

[casuallyimagining]

A Normal Wednesday

Jeon Jungkook x Reader

Summary: Drunk Jungkook confesses something that Sober Jungkook has to reckon with.

Part of the Long Term Couples series.  Read more here.

Jungkook was drunk.

Not too drunk. He wasn’t swaying or slurring his words or anything like that. But when he spoke, he was just a little too loud, a little too honest, and a lot too talkative. Somehow, he had convinced you to take him back to your apartment rather than the shared dorm where the rest of the guys could take care of him. Normally, this wouldn’t have been a problem. Jungkook stayed over often enough that he had a change of clothes in a backpack stuffed away in your closet, and you never minded having him around.

The problem was more that it was three in the morning, and you had a meeting with upper management--his upper management--at ten. And as much as Bang PD and Manager Sejin loved Jungkook and the boys, you weren’t sure you wanted to test how deeply that love ran.

“Please, Jungkook,” you begged, a soft fourth attempt to get him to quiet down. “I know you have off tomorrow, but I don’t.”

Reasoning with a drunk. The first sign of your apparent insanity.

Jungkook giggled at you, his bunny teeth peeking out from between his slightly parted lips. His head was resting heavily against your shoulder as the two of you lounged on your couch. You had given up on trying to coax him to bed an hour ago, choosing instead to attempt to placate him with a movie. If I can sleep through his snoring, I can sleep through a movie, you had told yourself.

Had it just been the movie drawing your attention, you may have succeeded.

Shortly after Jungkook legally was able to drink, you learned that he was a needy drunk. He didn’t just want your attention, he craved it, and he was willing to go to increasingly annoying lengths to get what he needed. Which is partially how you found yourself with an arm slung around his shoulders as he absent-mindedly played with your hand and told you about his day. It was all horribly domestic, and if it wasn’t 3:05 on a Wednesday morning, you would probably even think it was cute.

“Jin-hyung is surprisingly good at table hockey,” Jungkook said earnestly, tracing the heart line on your palm. “Even after I accidentally hit him with the puck.”

“I’m glad you had fun.” You stifled a yawn and rested your head against his own. “Jin takes those games far too seriously.”

You felt him nod against you. “It was fun. I wish you could have seen how bad Yoongi-hyung is at the games. He’s like… really bad.”

You hummed, attempting to close your eyes. It seemed that, now that he was done telling you about filming that afternoon, Jungkook was starting to calm down. You could feel your eyes start to droop closed, and you prayed that whatever higher power would take pity on you that sleep would come quickly.

A few moments of silence passed between you, the tv still playing the movie Jungkook had started and promptly forgot about. For a moment, you thought maybe he had turned his attention back to it--it was his favorite, after all--but when you ventured a peek at him, his gaze was in his lap. He had stopped playing with your fingers, his own tattooed hand now solidly engulfing yours. You closed your eyes again, snuggling in. If he was going to trap you on the couch, the least you could do was get comfortable.

Hopefully, he would sleep.

Unfortunately, that was wishful thinking, as not even a second later, Jungkook was whispering your name. You hummed in response, not even bothering to open your eyes.

“I’m really drunk,” he confessed.

“I know. Go to sleep.”

He started to play with your fingers again, but now, you could feel the nervous energy practically rolling off him. “I shouldn’t tell you this, but you’re my best friend-”

If you could bring yourself to open your eyes, you would have rolled them. “I know, Koo-”

“But you’re more than that, too.”

“What?”

“I just mean that...” You felt him shift, and he mumbled a soft ‘I’m way too drunk for this,’ before continuing. “I just mean that… I dunno. I feel like there’s something more here. Best friends don’t do this.”

You opened your eyes just enough to see that he was gesturing to the space--or rather, the lack of space--between you. “Sure they do.”

“Then why do I get butterflies every time you walk into a room?”

Oh.

Shit.

“You’re drunk.”

He giggled at that, and he adjusted himself so that he could look at you while still laying against your side. You could feel your heart racing, and you hoped that Jungkook couldn’t feel it, too. Drunk or not, he would almost certainly tease you mercilessly about it.

“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. I don’t mind. We can still be friends.” Jungkook nodded, and you couldn’t tell if he was trying harder to convince you or himself that his words were true. He pulled himself closer to you, then, nuzzling his nose into your neck. “Promise me we can still be friends?”

You were speechless, but you held out your pinky to him. His longer one wrapped around it, and you could feel him smile against your skin as he shook your hands up and down. When he was satisfied with your pinky promise, he let you go, choosing instead to wrap his arm around your middle.

“You should get some sleep.” Finally, you could hear a hint of exhaustion in his voice. “You have a meeting in the morning.”

You had to admit: sleeping on the couch wasn’t your brightest idea. Your neck was sore, and you were pretty sure that the pain in your lower back would be there until you died. It didn’t help that extricating yourself from Jungkook’s grasp was almost more difficult than getting him to fall asleep.

He had woken up briefly when you tried to slide out of his iron-tight grasp, but thankfully, you were able to lull him back to sleep by playing with his hair. After that, it had been smooth sailing, and you were actually able to stop for coffee before your meeting.

Truthfully, you weren’t sure what you would be returning to. You had left a Post-It on his phone offering to let him ride out his hangover in your apartment since it would be quiet. But when you hadn’t heard from him into the afternoon, you wondered if he had just gone back to the dorm.

You hoped he wasn’t too embarrassed. Publicly, he oozed confidence. But privately, when Jungkook got overwhelmed, he tended to shut down, especially if he was feeling particularly unsure of himself.

As you drove home, you thought about what he had said the previous night. He was right, of course. The two of you never acted in a way that said anything more than ‘best friends,’ but it was the feelings behind the actions that mattered. And at some point, though you weren’t exactly sure when, the Jungkook-sized place in your heart had shifted ever so slightly.

You weren’t stupid. The man would make a great partner. He was handsome, sure, but more than that, he was kind, and he was loving, and he put the people he loved ahead of anything else. He cared purely,and unceasingly with every fibre of his being. When he hung around other people, you tried to pass off the pit in your stomach as jealousy that he was making new friends, but maybe there was something more to it.

When you opened your door, his boots were still where you had placed them neatly the night before. You weren’t sure if that made you more relieved or stressed. You kicked your shoes off and hung your keys and your bag on the hook in the hallway, trying to be as quiet as possible just in case Jungkook was trying to sleep.

He wasn’t--or, if he was, he was failing. You found him in your living room curled up into the corner of your couch, a blanket draped over him. He was watching the movie from last night--Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind--and he was clutching one of the pillows from your bed. He must’ve grabbed it sometime after you left. Your heart fluttered at the sight.

You decided you were glad he was still there.

“How’s Clementine?” you questioned, leaning against the back of the couch directly behind Jungkook.

He hummed. “She’s in love. For now.”

On a normal day, he would have tugged you down beside him to finish watching the movie, or he would have paused it and followed you into the kitchen to grab a snack. But today, he sat still, his fingers twisting and untwisting the blanket, his eyes trained on the television. You sighed softly and ruffled his hair before making your way into the kitchen.

It wasn’t that you were disappointed. Really, you weren’t sure what you were expecting. But seeing him treat you differently stung a bit. You liked to think that your friendship with Jungkook was unshakeable--god knows you’d been through so much in six years. You were there to cheer him on at his high school graduation, for the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in his career, to help him make sense of the group almost disbanding. He hadn’t changed then, so it was hard to see him change now.

But he was still there, in your apartment. That wasn’t nothing.

So you grabbed a bottle of water and trudged back into the living room, just in time to see Joel and Clementine sitting on the steps on the beach in Montauk.

“Never liked this part,” you admitted, sitting down on the opposite end of the couch from him.

Jungkook hummed, and you could see him looking at you out of the corner of his eye. “It’s sad. If only he could have shared his true feelings with her.”

“I think he does, though.” This topic of conversation was not new. You and Jungkook had discussed Joel and Clementine’s relationship before. “Maybe his life really isn’t that interesting.”

“But if he weren’t that interesting, don’t you think she’d notice?”

“Maybe not. He’s interesting because of her.” He turned his head to stare at you, but you just shrugged. “He’s a book nerd. He goes to work and goes home. His life only has meaning because she’s in it. That’s all.”

His brows furrowed. “Have you been watching this without me?”

“You wish.” You snorted out a laugh and rolled your eyes. “I don’t even like it that much.”

“Then why don’t you complain when we watch it?”

You could feel the tension in the room dissipate slightly. Whatever funk he had been in earlier seemed to have left the moment you started talking about Clem and Joel. You sighed, still trying to determine if you wanted to broach this subject.

You liked your friendship with Jungkook. He knew almost everything about you. It was nice. It was home. Maybe it would be better to just leave well enough alone. Then again...

“Because it’s what best friends do,” you said softly, crossing your legs on the sofa so that you were facing him. “Just like they stay up ‘till three-thirty in the morning listening to their drunk friend ramble about arcade games.”

He ducked his head and laughed sheepishly. “I’m glad you made it to your meeting on time.”

“Let’s not sleep on the couch again for a while. I woke up and I felt like I aged 50 years.”

“Sober Jungkook does not make promises for Drunk Jungkook.” He laughed, pulling his legs up so he was hugging his knees facing you. He fell silent, and you watched as, after a moment, his smile fell and the gears started turning in his head.

You gave him time to process his thoughts, your focus shifting to the final scene of the movie--Joel and Clementine in Joel’s car, listening to the tape of Clem’s memories.

“You know,” you began tentatively. “I’m a book nerd. I go to work and come home. My life really isn’t that interesting.”

Jungkook’s eyes met yours briefly, and after a moment, you could see the lightbulb turn on. “Are you saying that I’m your Clementine?”

“Not in as many words. And not exactly. But…” You shrugged.

“No.” His face scrunched up in disagreement. “No way. I’m not your Clementine. We’re nowhere near as-”

“Jungkook,” you cut him off with a sigh. “In the six years I’ve known you, I have been in your orbit. I’ve traveled the world because I have the happy misfortune of assisting Sejin-oppa and managing your social media presence. I go out because you ask me to. I stay in because you want to. I hang out with your friends, eat your favorite foods, watch your favorite movies.” You couldn’t help the small smile threatening to show itself. “My life would not be this interesting without you in it.”

You watched him chew on his bottom lip in thought. “So what are you saying? Because if I’m Clementine and you’re Joel… I’ve seen this movie, and I’m not sure I like how it ends.”

“Maybe. Or maybe it won’t end the same way.” You moved closer so that your knees were barely a foot from Jungkook’s shins. “We could try, and we could fail spectacularly. We could do nothing and fall apart anyway. It happens. Friends drift.” Gingerly, you took his hand from where it clutched his knee. You were quiet as you traced over the micro-tattoos that covered his skin. Finally, you took a breath and continued. “Or, we could try, and we could succeed.”

“I don’t want us to fall apart like Clem and Joel do.” His voice was soft, timid. You hadn’t heard him this scared since the band meetings in 2018 that almost separated the group.

“I have more faith in us than I do in Clem and Joel.”

“But what if we end up hating each other?”

“I can’t think of anything I don’t like about you right now.”

Jungkook smiled at that, and honestly, you were a little impressed with yourself. You didn’t think you had seen the movie enough to pull quotes like that out of your ass.

“But you could, though.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You could end up hating me because I’m-”

“You’re obnoxious. You don’t take no for an answer. You’re the loudest eater on this side of the universe. You get drunk and keep me up to three-thirty in the morning.” You laughed, surprised at how happy you sounded. “Koo, I’m already over the moon with you. You’re my best friend. If I couldn’t handle that, do you really think we would be here right now?”

“But what if it makes things weird?”

“Things are already going to be weird. We passed weird a long fucking time ago, bub. This shit here,” you poked his knee for emphasis. “Is uncharted territory. And there’s no going back.”

His brow furrowed, and you watched him chew on his lip again. “Doesn’t that scare you?”

“I’m fucking terrified,” you admitted. His eyes went wide as he looked at you. “But… god, I knew from the moment I met you that I would always be in your corner. I trust you, Koo. You haven’t let me down yet.”

Jungkook sighed, his bottom lip back between his teeth. He shifted, then, so that his legs were crossed, your knees pressed together. You wished you knew what he was thinking.

You weren’t lying when you said there was no going back. And if you were honest with yourself, you knew that if he declined, you would be crushed.

His dark eyes met yours, the little crease between his eyebrows appearing and disappearing as his focus shifted around your face. It was as if he was studying you, trying to commit things to memory.

“Okay,” he said softly, his eyes darting away from you.

“Okay?”

Jungkook nodded, leaning forward to grab your hand. It was quiet, the only sound being Beck singing “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime” as the credits to the movie rolled. He shifted then, tugging you closer so you ended up leaning into his side. At first, you were a little surprised at how absolutely normal it felt to be cuddled up in his side. He slung his arm around your shoulders while casually searching for another movie to watch, and you tangled your legs together.

Perhaps things had technically changed, but it felt like just a normal Wednesday.

Read more of the series here

[mugiwara-rosewolf]

Alphabet Headcanons

One Piece Edition

Portgas D. Ace

SFW

A= Affection (How affectionate are they with an s/o?)

Ace is a charismatic, kind-hearted man, and with an s/o he’s the consummate gentleman. Especially in the beginning, Ace will check in to see/find out what’s okay with you and what’s not.

For example, let’s say the two of you are walking down the street at a village market. If you feel his pinky twine with yours, the motion will be quickly followed by his warm breath murmuring in your ear; “Is this okay?”

Needless to say, if you reply by intertwining your hand entirely with his, Ace will be over-the-moon and beaming for the rest of the trip. If twining pinkies is all you can handle in public, that’s okay too. Ace will still be happy knowing that you trust him with your boundaries.

Once he knows you’re okay with physical affection, little gestures like these will slowly become the norm. He’ll hold your hand everywhere if you let him. He loves kissing every inch of your face when you’re looking especially cute.

The closer the two of you become, the more he’ll want to show how much he loves you. Whether it’s wrapping an arm around your waist/shoulders, or a fleeting kiss on the cheek--if you allow it, PDA will quickly become one of his favourite things.

As for when he wants affection from you--it’s a bit of a coin toss as to whether he’ll let on how he’s feeling. He usually hides his bad moods pretty well. But what you’ll learn over time is that he often looks for affection when he’s feeling down.

Sometimes he’ll ask to hold your hand or go in for a hug (often silently, he does tend to get quiet on these kinds of days) and has a hard time letting go once you do. In public, he’ll often opt for the former, because in private he won’t have to let go of you unless you ask him to. 

Other times it’s him just giving you a look. In public, he plays it off as a ‘suave’ eyebrow lift, like an open invite from Casanova. (Though the smile typically gives him away--he’s not always as smooth as he wants to be). In private, it’s the infamous sad, silent, yearning puppy-dog eyes following you around (you know it’s a real bad day when he’s just staring off into space with that look on his face).

All in all, Ace is a very tactile, and affectionate partner. But he will always be sure to confirm what kinds of gestures you’re comfortable with so as not to overwhelm you. He wants you to be comfortable and enjoy his loving gestures whenever possible.

B=Breath (What could their s/o do to take their breath away?)

Okay, there are two sure-fire ways to really impress this boi. 

First is with your kickass skills. If you can match him or beat him at something, this man will definitely take notice. It could be a physical skill, maybe matching him in a fighting or eating contest. It could be verbal skill--like when you’re roasting his arse for his damned-reckless behaviour. Either way is damn sure to capture Fire Fist’s attention. 

Second would be the smaller, more intimate things. Take his narcolepsy for example. When accommodating for Ace’s narcoleptic episodes, it tugs at his heartstrings when you lay his sleeping head on your shoulder, or bring him down to your lap. When he wakes up to your gorgeous smile and your fingers combing through his hair, he falls in love all over again.

C=Cuddling (Do they cuddle? If they do, how and when do they cuddle?)

Honestly, all types of cuddles are Ace’s favorite, he’s just not the type to say so out loud. 

That’s not to say he’s ashamed of his tactile nature. On the contrary,  Ace is especially partial to cuddling you and giving you surprise hugs.

Hugging you from behind when you’re in the middle of a conversation and stuff like that are completely fair game unless you request otherwise. Sometimes he’ll place the faintest of kisses on your forehead as you cuddle into his embrace.

No matter what though, Ace radiates heat. So even just sitting together side by side you can feel how warm his thigh is against your own. He doesn’t really bother to regulate his body temperature either unless someone else points it out. 

But even then, it’s harder for Ace to relax if he has to concentrate on managing his body temperatures. So, cuddles with Ace are always hot. Which…usually means you both end up cuddling or falling asleep with the duvet shoved under you or to the side of you because the heat is too much.

Once he becomes comfortable enough (and ensures that you’re okay with it) there’ll be some nights where he’s just clingy. Sometimes draping himself over your back, sometimes clinging to your torso like a koala cub. He feels comfortable and safe when he can take a nap resting against you. It’s actually kinda cute. 

The only issue is when he falls asleep on top of you and you can’t get him off. He’s basically a human furnace so you just suffer there until he either wakes up or someone comes around to help you.

When he’s having a particularly bad day he gives you The Look (as mentioned in A for Affection) and you know what it means in an instant.

D=Dream (What do they dream of doing with their s/o?)

“I’ll become a great pirate and show them what I can do!” That’s what Ace declared to his brothers as a child. And in some ways, it could be said he fulfilled that childhood dream. He became the infamous ‘Fire Fist’ Ace--known all across the world in one way or another, even before Blackbeard blabbed about his parentage. He made a name for himself, by himself just as he always dreamed he would.

Yes, his purpose did change upon meeting Whitebeard; wanting his new captain and father figure to become the next Pirate King in order to prove how great a man he was. 

That being said, I can imagine Ace’s dreams evolving yet again when he meets his s/o. Both of the aforementioned goals/dreams are ambitious, but one key commonality between them is that they both seek to Prove something. Therefore it would make sense to presume that the next evolution of his ‘dream’ would share the same foundation.

At the beginning of your relationship, for example, it’s quite possible that Ace’s goal would be to prove that he is worthy of being your partner or to prove how much he loves you in some tangible way.

He dreams of all the ways he can make you smile and laugh and ensure that you’re happy with him. 

He dreams of all the moments you’ve ever said ‘I love you’ and how he could find a way to hear those words again.

He dreams of all the times he’s told you that he loves you and all the possible occasions where he can hold you close and tell you over and over again.

He dreams of returning to Dawn Island, to Fuchsia Village and the mountains where he was raised so he can show you all his childhood memories. 

He dreams of sailing with you and the Whitebeards for the rest of his days. He dreams of proving he can make you happy, in any way that manifests.

In other words—what it all boils down to, truly, is—Ace dreams of being alive  Happy with you.

E=Effort (How much effort do they put into a relationship?)

One thing we all know about Ace is that he doesn’t do things half-assed. EVER. 

This boy is dedicated. Once he sets his mind to something, Fire Fist will always follows through (a trait which can turn deadly when combined with his short temper and impulsivity). 

Point being, if Ace wants your relationship to work, he will make it work. Whatever it takes. 

Don’t let his playful charm fool you. Ace is a gentleman who takes your relationship seriously, always treating you with the utmost politeness and respect. 

He’ll open doors for you, he’ll *try* not to swear in front of you (good luck, pirate)--and knowing him the gestures just get more ridiculous from there.

He just wants to show you that he values you and your relationship. The only other people who are of equal value to him are his little brother Luffy and his father Whitebeard. 

All the same, Ace has committed himself to love you, protect you and to make you happy no matter what it takes. 

F=Fear (What do they do if their s/o is scared? How do they handle it?)

Ace is impulsive and protective. Whatever it is that scares you, Ace’s first instinct is to tackle it head-on. Nothing’s gonna hurt you, not while he’s around.

At his core, Ace is worried about you. When he sees your fear, he acts without thinking, immediately responding to anything that makes his blood boil. And nothing lights him up faster than his loved ones being insulted and/or threatened.

Fire Fist (with serious effort) can learn to take a step back when he thinks you’re strong enough to handle a particular threat/fear. 

But the moment he thinks you might actually get hurt, all bets are off. He can’t stand the thought of you getting hurt if he can do something to prevent it. This man will die to protect his loved ones. End of story.

G=Gifts (What type of gifts do they give their s/o? Do they want a gift in return?)

Ace is not a terribly materialistic person, especially not by pirate standards. (He doesn’t even own a shirt, for God’s sake!)

But the things he does own, mean a hell of a lot to him. (Striker, anyone? Stetson, maybe?) 

So, in that way, finding gifts to give him is kinda challenging. You can’t really get away with the first little trinket that makes you think of him. It needs to be something of hefty significance. 

He doesn’t expect any gifts from you, not even on his birthday. He’ll always be surprised when people get him things. He’s surprised that people value him. 

Due to personal trauma, he doesn’t think very highly of himself. He desperately wants to prove himself a worthwhile part of other’s lives. He wants to be helpful--he needs to be needed. 

So when he’s searching for a gift to give you--he ends up having the same struggle you do with him. He wants to give you something really meaningful. Which is why a lot of his gifts to you will be handmade instead of bought. In each one you’ll be able to see the time and effort he committed to making it for you. 

If one thing can be said about Ace, whatever he goes for, he does so to the fullest.

H=Hugs (Do they hug their s/o? How often?)

He may not always initiate them, but the boi loves hugs. If you’re comfortable with PDA, he’s definitely adding ‘Hugs’ to his repertoire of affectionate gestures. 

But even more than giving hugs, Ace finds love and gratification in receiving hugs from his s/o--especially when he’s having a tough time (See A for Affection).

Ace knows that he is a tactile person. It’s a truth of his personality that he knows and accepts, but doesn’t often flaunt without reason to do so. Finding his s/o, for example, gives him the perfect opportunity to express this part of himself. 

The second division commander is especially partial to cuddling you and giving you surprise hugs. Tossing an arm over your shoulder, tucking an arm around your waist, Hugging you from behind when you’re in the middle of a conversation--all this stuff is fair game unless you request otherwise (See C for Cuddles).

He especially loves those full-frontal Bear-hugs. You know the kind--the ones where both of you are swathed in each other’s embrace. Arms wrapped around each other, heartbeats pressed together, chins tucked into each other’s shoulders/chests/chins--(trying to accommodate for all heights here, bear with me). 

The point being, Ace loves the moments when the two of you are completely intertwined. That’s when he feels the most grounded. Certain in the fact that he is here, and he is loved. 

Oh! And one more thing. Ace gets surprisingly flustered if you hug him first--sometimes to the point where part of him accidentally catches fire--he’s super careful not to burn you, though. 

But when he hears your contented sigh--god forbid you nuzzle into him--the man just melts. All of his protests fall away, and he’s left standing there, tenderly wrapping his arms around you with the softest love-struck smile in the world.

I=Intimacy (How romantic are they? Do they have problems with intimacy?)

Ace is a romantic at heart, of that you can be sure. 

But, he also has deeply internalized abandonment issues and fear of rejection. His father chose to die before he was born. His mother died not long after he was born. Almost everyone who’s ever become attached to him has either died or not stuck around long enough to meet that same fate. 

Not only that but all throughout his life, Ace has been subject to degradation. Strangers saying that his father was a demon and that ‘the child of the Pirate King’ was nothing more than worthless spawn destined to be just as bad--if not worse--than Roger himself. 

As a result, Ace thinks that he is cursed, a worthless son of a demon who will be rejected and abandoned as soon as others learn of his parentage.

So, prior to him sharing his family history with you, Ace will definitely struggle with intimacy. He’s frightened of being vulnerable in case his expectations/fears come true...that you will think just as little of him as he does of himself.  

As his feelings towards you grow, the more those deep-seated fears will swirl in his mind; 

‘If I tell them who I am, they’ll leave me.’

‘They’ll hate me.’ 

‘It’s no use, the moment I fall, they’ll either leave me or die trying.’ 

‘I don’t know which is worse.’  

It’s going to take a lot in order to get through to him. You’ll need to be patient--you can start small and maybe ask about what he wants for the future, or sprinkle in little tidbits about the present, instead of wallowing in the past. You can pave a path forward together just by talking plainly about what you want from your growing relationship.  

As your mutual trust builds, Ace will slowly start to unwind. The more time you spend together, you’ll start to feel each other ‘sync up’ with teamwork and such. He’ll start to grow more comfortable sharing his ideas and opinions, even if the two of you disagree on something. Over time it may get to the point where you and Ace are both acting or speaking at the same time. (Ace finds it endearing, don’t worry). 

Once Ace knows that he can be his true self around you--that you won’t reject or abandon him because of his ‘monstrous’ parentage/lack of worth--he’ll grow more comfortable trusting you, sharing his thoughts and feelings with you. And in return, he will wordlessly swear to consistently support you and keep your secrets just as you’ve kept his. 

All throughout the growth of intimacy in your relationship, if you pay close attention, you’ll see slow growth in the number of romantic/intimate moments between the two of you. As the intimacy between you grows stronger, you’ll be able to feel its presence--something that brings peace and rejuvenation to both your souls. A bond that is unique to your relationship and allows you both to relax and be at ease. 

At first, moments like this are rare, probably in part because of Ace’s genuine responsibilities to the Whitebeards as a division commander. But as your relationship grows, you’ll notice Ace begin to commit himself more and more to making time for the two of you. Eating meals with you, a lingering hug and kiss at the end of each day and--if he can swing it--arranging a genuinely romantic ‘date’ between the two of you. 

Ace will definitely dance with you out of nowhere. He’ll take your hand and twirl you around just to hear your surprised laughter. As mentioned many times before, Ace will take any excuse to touch his s/o affectionately throughout the day, not just when either of you wants to be romantic. He wants to give you all of his attention whenever he can. Whenever you want to talk to him, expect direct eye contact, perked ears and an affectionate smile.

Though he greatly enjoys PDA with you, Ace also likes the intimacy that comes from privacy. Those moments when he knows you are both in a safe space and can share your feelings with one another, even uncomfortable ones. Privacy also gives him the space to be truly intimate with you, so that he can learn the way you like to be held and touched. He wants to learn about you just as you took the time to learn about him.

J=Jealous (Do they get jealous? How do they act when jealous?)

Oof. Okay. Yes, Ace does get jealous. And he’s exactly the kinda jealous you’d think of when the word pops up. There are two, maybe three big traits working against Ace in this regard. 

One would be his reckless and fiery temper. This is the trait that sent him on a deadly goose chase to capture Teach. His mercurial emotions lead him to make hasty, impulsive decisions, sometimes to the point of blatantly forgoing reason. This trait leads to your typical abrupt Alpha-Male confrontation with whatever stranger is trying to flirt with you. 

Second would be his wolf-like protectiveness. This is the trait Akainu used to goad him to his death, first by mocking Whitebeard then by targeting Luffy. Ace can be very protective, though he struggles trying not to be overbearing. If you’re capable of handling a situation yourself, he’ll try his best to stand back and leave it to you.

But, if he feels a situation is getting out of control, he’ll come to your aid in the blink of an eye—literally guns blazing. If Ace hears someone saying lewd comments about you or notices anyone targeting you--ya’ll better believe this man is gonna say/do something about it. 

Third, and perhaps the most powerful motivator in this scenario, is his deep-rooted insecurity. This is a man who has been questioning his worth, his very existence, for as long as he can remember. 

Then you come along, someone who makes this life worthwhile, and he sees you ‘getting comfy’ with someone else. It makes him angry, sure. But more than that it hurts--makes him a question and doubt all over again.

Thus, we have jealousy. Needless to say, Ace will not be thinking clearly when he confronts whoever is getting too close to you. He will be angry and protective and irrational. 

So, unfortunately, it will be up to you to de-escalate things and keep some sort of fight from breaking out. You’ll be the one to pull him away and get him to calm down. You’ll be the one to explain the situation, to talk him through what he’s feeling and why he feels that way. He’ll tell you the truth, you two will make amends (and hopefully plan in case of future incidents). 

Fair warning, in order to fully console your fiery partner, be prepared to give a whole lot of affection and reassurances. And patience, always patience--goodness knows this man is trying his best to be good. Please, grant him grace.

K=Kiss (Are they a good kisser? Do they like to kiss? How often do they try to kiss you?)

Fair warning, it’s likely Ace would have had at least a few flings before you. He’s a handsome, charming guy—guys like him are like flypaper, attracting all the honey’s in a given radius. And with the company he keeps (PIRATES) he’s bound to have spent a night (or ten) in a brothel-esque setting.

All that to say, this man has experience. Not as much as Marco or the other Whitebeards, but still, a little experience counts for something, right?

At the very least, Ace will be a fantastic partner when it comes to kissing, 9 times out of 10, his kisses are either passionate & enthusiastic or affectionate & goofy, especially with an s/o. 

Yes, Ace likes to kiss you, the frequency is irrelevant. Yes, casual PDA is pretty commonplace with him, he fucking loves it. But anything heavier than a peck? He typically prefers to keep that between you and him. 

He is WAY too embarrassed to make out in public. Makino’s manners-lessons are ingrained too deeply by now, even if his s/o is purposefully driving him crazy. --He’s not opposed to a quickie in a broom closet or anything of the sort; just as long the two of you are out of plain view when snogging and such. If you two have at least some modicum of privacy in those more heated moments, Ace considers it fair game. 

The only two exceptions are when he’s feeling playful ‘bet you a hundred berries I can take your breath away’ or jealous ‘you are my treasure, those damned bastards better back off’ —those are his two very different kinds of showing off. 

L=Love (When do they say they love you? How often do they say it? Do they prefer to say or show it?)

Honestly? He’s a little bit of both. 

Whenever Ace says “I love you,” those words are meant for your ears and your ears only. He doesn’t say them all that often, either. 

The more frequent sign of his affection, you’ll realize, is his peculiarly ‘discrete’ flirtations. Murmuring little comments/compliments whenever you cross paths;

 “Great job! You were wonderful back there, darlin’.” 

“That a new hat? Sexy.”

 “You look handsome/beautiful, my love.” 

and of course the obligatory “Last night was *spectacular*”

And it only gets more endearingly ridiculous from there. 

With the help of a bit of alcohol, Ace is plenty more affectionate towards you. He’ll shower you with compliments, make flirtatious jokes, and basically smother you with love. For example, say some of the crew are fawning over someone beautiful like Dracule Mihawk or Boa Hancock. Ace might joke with them, but the moment no one’s looking he’ll murmur in your ear;

 “The Greatest Swordsman ain’t half as sharp as you, babe.” 

or “The Pirate Empress ain’t got nothin’ on you, darlin’,” 

any reaction you might have will be met with a wink and a smirk.

At the start of every day--if he doesn’t say how he looks forward to seeing you again before he leaves, he’ll always acknowledge how much you mean to him-- “I love you.”

M=Marriage (Do they want to get married? If so, what kind of ceremony?)

When he first set out to sea? Ace had no intention of getting married. Falling in love, getting married--the only thing he associated all that with was settling down. ‘Settling down’ in his mind meant the opposite of freedom. So of course none of that ever occurred to him. Having been raised in the wild with only his little brother to love, Ace always assumed that ‘Falling in Love’ was something that happened to other people, not to him. 

As the years went on, Ace’s insecurities also played a role in this misconception--after all, who would want to fall in love with a demon-child like him? The son of the monstrous pirate king could never be loved by a stranger. Even if he did learn to care for someone that way, the moment they learned who he was, they’d betray him in some way. Maybe they’d leave him, turn him in, try to kill him; somehow the world would try to punish him for trusting someone, just like it did with Sabo.

So, even after he builds his own crew, joins the White-beards, even after he gains some experience pub-crawling with the WB Commanders, emotionally he keeps his distance from romance.  That is...until he meets his s/o. Everything about his relationship with you is completely unexpected. He knows that you like him, he knows that you trust him. You took the time to support and get to know him--something not many people in his life had done to such an extent. 

Suddenly, his entire perspective on love is turned on its head. He still doesn’t really give two shits about the institution of marriage. The whole ceremonial pomp and circumstance bit doesn’t really vibe with him. But the idea of you two staying together for the rest of your lives? That he can get behind.

N=Night out (What type of dates do they like to go on? How often do they like to go on them?)

Honestly, unless someone else brought it up, Ace probably wouldn’t think to do anything fancy for a date. If you were with him and the Whitebeards as they landed on a carnival island or something he could certainly make a date out of it. But unfortunately for your resident hot-head, he doesn’t have much of a propensity of planning ahead. He’s a lot like his little brother in that way--outside of the battlefield, he’s a little bit of a dumbass.

Like, let’s say you land on an island that’s having some sort of cultural festival. The first thing Ace would do is dive head first to plunder all the food-stands, leaving you to trail behind and pay for the mess he made. After he’s had his fill, then you can get properly dressed (if necessary) and enjoy the rest of what the island has to offer. At that point, Ace would remember something besides his hollow leg and try to make up for his embarrassment. 

Good thing he has *the best* wingmen a pirate could ask for; Marco and Thatch. Marco has those empathetic sensibilities, if he’s met you before, then he has a pretty good intuition for the kinds of things you’d like. And Thatch, with that classic pompadour, knows how to put a romantic spin on just about anything. Hell, even Izo would put in his two cents more often than not.  He’d be more than willing to be a co-conspirator, guiding you to through the dates they plan for you and Ace without spoiling the surprise.

Thanks to friends like that, you and Ace get the crow’s next to yourself at least once a month, enjoying a picnic Thatch made for the two of you and basking in each other’s company under the stars. After a while, you might just be able to mark the dates on a calendar. But you don’t mind, Ace enjoys intimacy that comes from privacy. Those moments when he knows you are both in a safe space and can share your feelings with one another, even uncomfortable ones. And besides, the night sky seems to give Ace a certain peace of mind, so it’s all worth it.

O=Out of the Ordinary (What’s something they don’t normally do with/for their s/o?)

As mentioned before, Ace doesn’t often plan romantic happenings ahead of time. Mostly because he’s kinds clueless in that department. The most he knows how to do is those little tender gestures; Eating meals with you, a lingering hug and kiss at the end of each day, things like that. He wants to give you all of his attention whenever he can, but he’s not always the best at those big romantic dates. That kind of stuff either occurs by happenstance, or thanks to the orchestrations of friends. 

So whenever Ace does take romantic initiative--unprompted--you bet your bottom dollar it’s gonna be extraordinary. After all, this is Ace we’re talking about. When talking about elaborate activities spent away from the daily routine, the first thing his mind will jump to is Adventure. Nature hikes, scavenger hunts, stargazing on a mountaintop, all the roller coasters at a given carnival--the list goes on.

A lot of these ‘adventures’ will result in him giving you little ‘gifts’ as well; a bouquet of wildflowers he collected on your hike, a scavenger hunt ending in all your favorite things, a plush he spend God knows how many berries on to win for you. The gestures would only get more endearingly ridiculous from there. Granted, a lot of his gifts to you will be handmade instead of bought. But now matter how they were earned, in each one you’ll be able to see the time and effort he committed to making it for you (See G for Gifts).

Ooh! Ace will definitely dance with you out of nowhere. He’ll take your hand and twirl you around just to hear your surprised laughter. Ace will take any excuse to touch his s/o affectionately throughout the day, not just when either of you wants to be romantic (See I for Intimacy).

P=Playful (Are they playful in a relationship? If so, how do they play around/mess with their s/o?)

There is no doubt about it. Ace is a complete and utter goofball. Therefore, he is also the goofy-type of lover.  If you ever blush at his teasing, Ace will absolutely relish in it. He’ll find it so adorable that he’s rolling around on the floor. The mental image of your flustered face would be absolutely priceless to him. In all honesty, he’d probably try to experiment from there--see what kinds of teases or compliments get the greatest reaction out of you. 

He does have some empathy for you, though. When Ace was younger he’d act the exact same way. Makino would lovingly tease him and he’d get all flustered too--definitely a shy boy. He loves to joke around and playfully tease his s/o, but at the end of the day, he’s always a sweetheart.

The funny thing about Ace is, the boy loves to not only tease you but to show off. The damned pirate is always trying new tricks with his powers at the most inopportune times. Literally the first thing he thought of when he got his Fire-power was ‘Oh my god, Luffy’s gonna love this!’ Now, the same applies to his s/o. He can’t wait to show you just what he can do. Whenever you are fighting Marines, if he beats one of them up, he always looks up at you and grins. 

Another thing to keep in mind is--regardless of what stage your relationship is in--Ace likes to drag you into his shenanigans. As mentioned earlier, Ace is an gung-ho adventurer. Plundering food stands, conquering roller coasters, this boy has a lot of energy. And if there’s not adventures to be had on a given day, what better way to release it than make himself and his friends laugh?

You need to be prepared for some risk, though. It’s no mystery that Ace is an adrenaline junkie and can have reckless/stupid ideas. Sometimes you both might end up hurt because of his bad decisions. 

Sometimes he’s a sweetheart, sometimes he’s an asshole. But whatever ruckus you got involved in, somehow you always end up happy and smiling.

Q=Questions (Do they ask their s/o their opinion on things? Do they share theirs?)

This is an aspect of your relationship with Ace that develops slowly over time. At first, there’s that goofy, overly-polite layer of him that doesn’t think ahead enough to bother asking questions. At this stage of your connection he behaves in a way similar to the adage that says; ‘Better to ask for forgiveness than permission’. He won’t ask your opinion before he does something, but he may come to you afterwards, either to apologize or reflect on whatever he did. 

After peeling back that layer, you’ll find the lingering remains of his tsundere childhood roots. That lost, self-hating child so desperate to prove his worth and strength that he doesn’t want to be vulnerable to anyone. The boy with whose expression was a stony brick wall deflecting the rest of the world. This is how you’ll know, there’s a part of him believes that showing uncertainty is a sign of vulnerability, something others can mock and degrade, just as the bandits and so many others did. 

At that stage of your connection, it’s a bit of a coin toss as to whether he’ll let on how he’s feeling. He usually hides his bad moods pretty well. By the time the two of you come together, he’s mature enough to realize that scathing retorts are not the answer to everything. He’s no longer the kind to immediately lash out when someone asks him too many questions--but he certainly will if pushed too far.

But what you’ll learn over time is that he often looks for affection when he’s feeling down. Sometimes he’ll ask to hold your hand or go in for a hug and has a hard time letting go once you do. Other times it’s him just giving you a look. A lot of these gestures are often silent; he does tend to get quiet on these kinds of days. But it’s the first sign of him opening up to you. 

In public, he plays it off as a ‘suave’ eyebrow lift, like an open invite from Casanova. The smile typically gives him away--he’s not always as smooth as he wants to be. In private, it’s the infamous sad, silent, yearning puppy-dog eyes following you around. You know it’s a real bad day when he’s just staring off into space with that look on his face (See A for Affection). 

Once Ace knows that he can be his true self around you--that you won’t reject or abandon him because of his ‘monstrous’ parentage/lack of worth--he’ll grow more comfortable trusting you, sharing his thoughts and feelings with you. And in return, he will wordlessly swear to consistently support you and keep your secrets just as you’ve kept his (See I for Intimacy). 

In short, yes, Ace will eventually come to rely on you, quite closely, in fact. He will learn that he can ask your opinion on things, that he can share his own thoughts and feelings freely with you at anytime. But it’s a long, arduous journey for him to reach that level of trust. Showing that you love and trust him; asking his opinion on things, standing by him through thick and thin--those are a sure-fire way to build that faithful trust in your relationship.

R=Random (How spontaneous is their relationship? Do they do things on the spot or plan ahead?)

Spontaneity is Ace’s middle name (lol). It comes with the territory of being an impulsive, hot-headed dumbass with a penchant for adrenaline and adventure. There are seeds of it scattered throughout his personality and his relationship with you.

Ace will dance with you out of nowhere. He’ll take your hand and twirl you around just to hear your surprised laughter (See I for Intimacy). 

He’ll take any excuse to give you surprise hugs. Tossing an arm over your shoulder, tucking an arm around your waist, Hugging you from behind when you’re in the middle of a conversation--all this stuff is fair game unless you request otherwise (See C for Cuddles).

That combined with his peculiarly ‘discrete’ flirtations--never fail to take you by surprise (See L for Love). 

It’s no mystery that Ace is an adrenaline junkie and can have reckless/stupid ideas. Our resident hot-head doesn’t have much of a propensity for planning ahead. Regardless of what stage your relationship is in--Ace is going to drag you into his shenanigans (See P for Playful).  

And whenever Ace does take romantic initiative--unprompted--you never know what you’re gonna get. Could be nature hikes, could be scavenger hunts, could be stargazing on a mountaintop, or it could be just all the roller coasters at a given carnival (See O for Out of the Ordinary). Honestly, the possibilities are endless.

S=Sleep (How do they sleep with their s/o?)

Oh, this one varies. A lot. 

First, there’s Ace’s narcolepsy, which very much affects the way he sleeps with his s/o. Hell, it affects the way he lives his life. But, one inadvertent positive of Ace’s narcolepsy, was how you could surprise him with those small, intimate moments of affection. If he falls asleep hugging you from behind, then he’d just stand there snoring with his chin propped on top of you head (depending on your height). 

If he fell asleep sitting next to you, you could let him rest his head on your shoulder, or pull him down into your lap. That’s one thing he loves, waking up to you. It tugs at his heartstrings when you lay his sleeping head on your shoulder, or bring him down to your lap. When he wakes up to your gorgeous smile and your fingers combing through his hair, he falls in love all over again (See B for Breath).

Second, Portgas D. Ace is a human fucking furnace so honestly, he’s always gonna be warm. The way you sleep together is gonna depend on how much you need that heat. 

If you and Ace are parked on a winter island, you bet your bottom dollar the two of you are gonna be clinging to each other for dear life. Not that Ace necessarily needs any more body heat in order to keep warm. He’s just taking advantage of this prime opportunity for cuddles. He can cling to you like a koala and you’ll actually welcome the gesture. It’s a dream come true!

If you and Ace are parked on a summer/desert island? That’s a whole other debacle. Summer islands are always hot. It’s just a matter of whether it’s dry heat or humid heat. With dry heat--you could *probably* get away with spooning? Or at least with one person lying on the other’s chest. With humid heat--everything is damp, warm, sticky and being near human skin is almost miserable. Your best bet is holding hands while facing each other in your cot/cabin/tent wherever you are. Desert islands are an exception to this because deserts often get pretty chilly once the sun goes down. This is where spooning becomes *most* likely. 

Beyond those two extremes, almost any position is fair game. Ace loves it when he’s in your lap and you’re playing with his hair. There are happy days, where he loves to be the ‘big spoon’ and nuzzle himself in the crook of your neck. And there are hard days, where his mind is a minefield and he just needs someone to hold him close. He loves lying face to face, weaving his fingers between yours. Could be any kind of day, doesn’t matter to him. What matters is that he can just relax and admire you, and just how lucky he is to have you. 

But maybe, just maybe, he does have a favorite way to hold you. Of all the ways in the world to hold someone, Ace loves when you lie on top of him. With your head on his chest, you can feel his heartbeat under your ear. And just like his heartbeat is to you, your weight is an anchor. I can feel you, know that you’re there, present and loving--always loving. So yea, that’s probably his favorite way to be.

T=Trust (How much do they trust their s/o?)

Given time, Ace will come to trust you with everything he has. But, as mentioned before, it is a very long, slow and arduous journey to reach that point. Luffy had to endure weeks, if not months, of Ace trying to lose his tail, if not actively trying to kill him, before they reached a point of mutual trust. From then on, Ace was willing to protect his brother with everything he had--including his own life. 

But before you can get to that point, you must assuage his deeply internalized abandonment issues and fear of rejection. All throughout his life, Ace has been subject to degradation. He grew up internalizing the hate directed his way, and no one knew to contradict it. Almost everyone who’s ever become attached to him has either died or not stuck around long enough to meet that same fate (See I for Intimacy). 

As a result, Ace has a lot of self-hatred accumulated in his heart. He also has a lot of problems being open about it. He’s so used to shouldering mistakes that are not his own. His blood carries all the crimes of Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King. He’s frightened of being vulnerable in case his expectations/fears come true...that you will think just as little of him as he does of himself.

Ace will definitely struggle with trusting you. This is an aspect of your relationship with Ace that develops slowly over time. At first, there’s that goofy, overly-polite layer of him; he’s cordial, charming, and fun to be around. But it’s hard to get a clear read on him at that point; who he is, how he thinks, and how his thoughts influence his actions (See Q for Questions). 

After peeling back that layer, you’ll find the lingering remains of his tsundere childhood roots. That lost, self-hating child so desperate for a reason to live. He tells the world that he wants to be remembered. He wants to prove that he, as an individual, is worth more than the legacy of his father. But that dream, that grand ambition, also translates itself in smaller ways. He wants to be wanted, needs to be needed. 

At that stage of your connection, it’s a bit of a coin toss as to whether he’ll confide in you. He’s no longer the kind to immediately lash out when someone asks him too many questions--but he certainly will if pushed too far. Even then, he’s not likely to explicitly tell you this deep-rooted need in the core of him. So it’s likely something you’ll have to learn by observing his words, his actions, his being (See Q for Questions). 

However, with you around--especially when your relationship becomes more stable and long-standing--he slowly breaks.  As your mutual trust builds, Ace will slowly start to unwind. The more time you spend together, you’ll start to feel each other ‘sync up’ with teamwork and such. He’ll start to grow more comfortable sharing his ideas and opinions, even if the two of you disagree on something (See I for Intimacy).   

That being said, once Ace knows that he can be his true self around you--that you won’t reject or abandon him because of his ‘monstrous’ parentage/lack of worth--he’ll grow more comfortable trusting you, sharing his thoughts and feelings with you. And in return, he will wordlessly swear to consistently support you and keep your secrets just as you’ve kept his (See I for Intimacy). 

In short, yes, Ace will eventually come to rely on you, quite closely, in fact. He will learn that he can ask your opinion on things, that he can share his own thoughts and feelings freely with you at anytime. But it’s a long, arduous journey for him to reach that level of trust. Showing that you love and trust him; asking his opinion on things, standing by him through thick and thin--those are a sure-fire way to build that faithful trust in your relationship. With your constant support, he becomes more confident and calm--and he’s definitely sure he is loved.

U=Unique (What makes them unique as an s/o?)

Oh, so many things. Ace is such a unique combination of character traits, sometimes it’s difficult to articulate just how they call fit together in one human being. 

As an s/o, Ace is cordial, charming, and ever-the respectful gentleman. Then you get to know him, and he becomes this goofy dumbass who will take any excuse to touch you, hold you and take you on these crazy adventures exploring the world together. Dive even deeper, and you discover the utter depth of him. He is a vulnerable soul who has internalized the worst of the world he was born into--yet he stills finds reason to smile. 

What makes Ace unique as an s/o? His resilience. If you two come to a disagreement, he may lose his temper in the moment. But give him time, give him patience, give him grace, and he will come back to you. No matter his fears, no matter his doubts, he will find a reason to push through. If one thing can be said about Ace, whatever he goes for, he does so to the fullest (See E for Effort).

That’s not to say resilience can’t be a double-edged sword. There are a few coping mechanisms Ace developed in order to persevere through life that actually inhibited his ability to connect with people the way he longed to. After all, how many times did Whitebeard have to deflect Ace before the boy understood that he didn’t have to fight his way through life? And how many times did Luffy have to almost-die chasing the lonely boy through the jungle before he finally accepted the company? 

All the same, if you remain just as stubborn as he is, you will give him yet another reason to get back up; another reason to live. Take this hypothetical argument as an example. It may take a few tries to get through his thick skull, but he you will eventually talk things out and come to a resolution. He’ll grow from the experience and the two of you will be all the stronger for it. That’s what perseverance and resilience is all about.

V=Vulnerable (How long until they can be vulnerable around their s/o? What are they like in this state?)

If you were ever vulnerable around Ace, he would support you wholeheartedly. If you were to get stuck in your own negative thoughts/feelings about yourself, he’d hold you as close as possible and refuse to let go until you admit you’re a good person. No matter what you say about your past/insecurities, Ace won’t judge you or let you feel as though you deserve any of the trauma you went through (big or small). He knows that you are better than you think you are and he won’t let you feel the same kind of self-loathing he has. 

Ace is a very outgoing man. He’s surrounded by countless friends and keeps making new ones every day. There’s something in his exceptional charisma that makes people cling to him. However, Ace does not open up easily to others. It would take a while for Ace to really open up to his s/o, just because he’s internalized all of his negative thoughts and feelings about himself from a young age. 

Over time, however, he’d slowly grow to trust you and one night, when it’s just the two of you together somewhere, Ace would just tell you what’s on his mind. “Sometimes I don’t think I deserve you--your love--or anyone’s really.” 

The conversation would turn into the two of you opening up to each other (equivalent exchange for the win!) Ace would tell you about all the things weighing him down; his father being Gol D. Roger, his mother dying to keep him safe from the World Government, being called a ‘Demon-child’ all his life, his time in the mountains with Luffy and Sabo, meeting Whitebeard and joining the family--all of it. 

By the end of his story, tears soak his cheeks, his lips are red and raw, his voice hoarse and his words thick with emotion. He looks like a mess and you won’t know how to fix it. The best you can do is hold him, guide him through it. 

The conversation would likely end with both of you promising to support each other from then on. Whenever one of you starts to feel insecure or lingers too much on the past, you’ll have a keyword to communicate how you’re feeling. 

He might not acknowledge ever being in this state later on, but he will thank you quietly that night--and every night after if you’ll let him. “Thank you...thank you for loving me.”

W=Wild Card (Get a random domestic headcanon of the character of your choice)

Ace does not share food. EVER.

His narcolepsy makes him fall asleep in the weirdest situations--and in the weirdest positions. You can’t possibly count the number of times you fell to the ground because he dozed off while carrying you on his shoulders.

Or because he does it mid-kiss or hug and just leans on you. Or because he trips and accidentally knocks you down. He’s not even ashamed of it--unless you get hurt somehow during these incidents--otherwise he’ll just laugh it off, if a little sheepishly.

X=X-Ray (What would they do if their s/o got injured?)

Ace is our resident self-deprecation machine. Whatever happened, however you got hurt, the man would find some way to blame himself. Always thinking; it should have been me. 

He would be terrified out of his mind. He knows you’re strong, but sometimes he forgets that you can still get knocked down. He’ll camp outside the infirmary door until he’s allowed to come in. The moment he’s given the go-ahead, he’ll charge into the room and wrap you up in his arms as close as he can. He needs to feel you and reassure himself that you’re alright. 

Even after he’s been assured that you’re okay and that you’ll recover, Ace will hardly leave your side unless there’s some unavoidable responsibility he has to take care of. There will be moments when his mind will try to twist things and make him feel like a bad partner; as if he’s the reason for your injury, whether because he was the target of the attack or because he couldn’t protect you. 

You’ll have to be the one who keeps those thoughts at bay. Ace will make sure you never want for anything, for as long as you’re recovering. He won’t ask for anything in return. But between him supporting your physical health and you supporting his mental health, the whole ordeal will only serve to make your relationship stronger.

HOWEVER-- once he finds out who hurt you--he’s going to be just as relentless as he was chasing Teach. The guilty party won’t even be able to hold a pencil again once Ace is done with them (if they’re even still alive afterwards). 

Y=Yuck (Do they have any pet peeves about their s/o? Are there any habits that might bother their s/o?)

If you try and steal his food, he will bite you. There’s still a Little bit of that feral child energy that rears up whenever something annoys him. He does not appreciate jump scares for that exact reason. His adrenaline and danger radar will immediately be turned up to 11 and he is no longer responsible for how he responds to the perceived danger. (Though he’ll probably apologize profusely anyways, cause he’d feel horrible if you got hurt by his knee-jerk reactions). 

On the other hand, there are a few scenarios when perhaps his narcolepsy can become a bit trying. If he starts snoring when you’re in the middle of telling him something important. If he falls asleep on top of you and you can���t get him Off. There could also be situations where his formality gets in the way of what you’re really trying to talk about. Once he starts apologizing for something, things can go on for a while. But the level to which these quirks annoy people, depends on the individual.

Z=Zeal (Are they passionate as an s/o? Do they want or like passion?)

Ace is, as always, full of passion and impatience. He’ll certainly appreciate a similar amount of fervor from his partner, but it’s not a criteria, by any stretch. Whether you’re extroverted, introverted, bouncy or chill AF, he’ll gladly accept you exactly the way you are.

On his end, however, there are instances where Ace’s intensely passionate personality can come back to bit him in the ass. One would be his reckless and fiery temper. This is the trait that sent him on a deadly goose chase to capture Teach. It also leads to your typical abrupt Alpha-Male confrontation with whatever stranger is trying to flirt with you (See J for Jealousy). 

His mercurial emotions and stubborn determination lead him to make hasty, impulsive decisions; sometimes to the point of blatantly forgoing reason. Once he sets his mind to something, Fire Fist will always follows through--a trait which can turn deadly when combined with his short temper and impulsivity (See E for Effort) .

At the very least, Ace will be a fantastic partner when it comes to kissing, 9 times out of 10, his kisses are either passionate & enthusiastic or affectionate & goofy, especially with an s/o (See K for Kisses).

In the end, if there’s one thing we all know about Ace--it’s that he doesn’t do things half-assed. EVER. This boy is dedicated.  Point being, if Ace wants your relationship to work, he will make it work. Whatever it takes.

[lit-in-thy-heart]

hehe im glad you joined us for the hug prompts! I'll ask you for 14 - leaping hug with... mergwaine! hopefully that works for you otherwise second option for a ship would be mercelot!

thank you for the prompt!!! you will notice a theme with the other prompts (and each one that came in made me grin even more, you'll see why throughout this week) and i'll stick this under the cut because it is quite long for a prompt, i'm sorry.

hope that you enjoy it! 💖

feel free to send any other prompts

It was when Merlin’s eyes started to lose the mirth that Gwaine had suggested lightening their load with a game. Merlin had been reluctant, at first, to stray from the task at hand, but Gwaine had pointed out that they were halfway through the army’s boots and that they needed to take some sort of break before their arms cramped up.

Quite how hurling boots across the throne room alleviated the tension in their arms, Merlin wasn’t entirely sure. ‘Only with the ones we haven’t cleaned yet, right?’ he uncertainly asked Gwaine, picking up one particularly muddy boot.

Gwaine, having swung two boots over his shoulders, flicked back his hair. ‘Your choice, Merlin. We can either scuff the clean boots, or have to clean mud off the throne afterwards. Which I see as a rather appropriate metaphor.’

Frowning, Merlin turned over the boot in his hands. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, it’s always the common people cleaning the king’s image, isn’t it? Sanitising it. He’s always idolised by them, when he never deserves it.’

Mouth set in a grim line, Gwaine retreated to the back of the throne room and gripped the shaft of the boot, swinging it around his head and sending mud flying in all directions. As Merlin sheltered his head with one arm, Gwaine let go of the boot and watched with a satisfied smirk as it sailed across the room and landed firmly on the throne. The dim sunlight scattered across his face painted him in a mosaic of stained glass and Merlin’s hand faltered slightly, boot beginning to slip through his grasp.

Sparing Merlin a brief glance, Gwaine removed the second boot from his shoulder and squinted up at the balcony behind him. Merlin, catching his meaning, really did drop the boot as he held out a hand. ‘No. No way. Arthur will string both of us up, now that I’ve put that idea in his head, if you do that.’

With a shrug, Gwaine dutifully turned away. ‘I believe it’s your turn.’

Picking up the boot again, the servant adjusted his grip and moved to stand beside Gwaine and flung it towards the throne. His arms, already weary from cleaning at least fifteen boots, didn’t provide enough power and the boot crashed into the polite queue stretching across the floor, scattering them like birds after a stone had been hurled at them. Gwaine suppressed a snort.

‘In my defence, I’m usually the one getting things thrown at me,’ Merlin muttered, approaching the chaos with a small sigh.

Gwaine’s eyebrows drew together. ‘Who throws things at you?’

‘The townspeople when I’m in the stocks. Arthur. The knights, sometimes. Arthur again—’

‘Why does Arthur throw things at you?’

Merlin, his back still to Gwaine as he rummaged through the footwear to find the boot, shrugged. ‘Because he feels like it, I suppose. It’s fine. I’m used to it.’

‘And I thought you said he was different.’

‘He is different,’ Merlin replied, finding the boot and turning around. ‘It’s just that—Gwaine!’

Gwaine was clinging to the central statue,shaft of the boot between his teeth, his legs wrapped seductively around its waist as he tried to hoist himself up. There was a muffled: ‘What?’ and he twisted his head with an attempt at a grin.

‘You’re going to fall off.’

‘M’not.’

Shimmying up the statue, Gwaine reached up for the wrists of the two angels, hauling up his feet from the shoulders of the statue to the sculpted towers above, lurching unsteadily. Merlin desperately wanted to look away, but couldn’t bring himself to alter the direction of his gaze. He felt his eyes slide down Gwaine’s body and rest on his very prominent arse as he squatted momentarily and, catching himself, Merlin pushed his stare to what seemed to be the safe region of Gwaine’s shoulders.

Then Gwaine moved and the muscles in his shoulders bulged beneath his shirt. Merlin could feel the heat rising in his neck. As Gwaine’s foot slipped, Merlin darted towards the statue, hand outstretched to intervene if necessary. Regaining his footing, Gwaine’s hands caught the railings of the balcony and he tumbled over the top, landing with a muffled thump.

‘Arthur is actually going to kill me.’

Leaning over the balcony, Gwaine removed the boot and spat out flakes of mud with a look of disgust. ‘I’ll protect you, Merlin, don’t worry,’ he said, taking a knife from his boot and throwing it in the air with a grin.

It catapulted through the air and embedded itself in the floorboards only inches from Merlin, who had watched its progress with an ever-increasing sense of doom. ‘You saying that fills me with feelings of safety, Gwaine,’ Merlin drily said, folding his arms. ‘There’s no way that you’re going to be able to get that boot to hit the mark.’

‘Not without you up here for moral support.’

Merlin took one look at him, bathed in sunlight, and sighed heavily. Wordlessly, he pushed through one of the doors leading to a narrow staircase – why Gwaine hadn’t elected that route, Merlin was none the wiser – and ascended them two steps at a time, emerging onto the balcony. When Gwaine turned, his head was haloed by the rich woven threads of his hair, face illuminated by his smile. With a wink, he backed up as much as he could, took three decisive strides, and launched the boot over the railings. It curled in on itself as it sliced through the air in a graceful arc, mud spraying the floor like droplets of water from a salmon leaping upstream. It landed in the centre of the throne with a shudder from the sudden breeze it had created.

When Merlin looked towards Gwaine, his eyes travelled down to the exposed skin of his chest as he leaned over the railings and hastily drew his gaze to Gwaine’s smile. ‘See? Having you near me makes all the difference. Now, your turn.’

Merlin raised his eyebrows. ‘If I couldn’t do it down there, what on earth makes you think I could achieve what you just did?’

Levering himself from the railings, Gwaine stood in front of him, hands firmly on his shoulders. ‘Believe in yourself a little, Merlin. Anyway, being higher up actually makes it easier.’

Still unconvinced, Merlin gripped the shaft of the boot a little tighter. He cast one more look at Gwaine to give him the strength to aim as his friend moved away to give him space. Drawing his arm back, Merlin focused his gaze on the stern throne, pictured Arthur’s face when he’d said about there being no downside to Merlin being strung up, and hurled the shoe with all his remaining energy.

It shot through the air, collided with the top of the throne and dropped down on top of Gwaine’s.

In one smooth motion, Gwaine had launched himself at Merlin, hugging him in the same manner he’d embraced the statue. Merlin, thankful that he was steady on his feet for once, laughed into Gwaine’s neck and put one arm beneath his thighs to support him. There was the faintest scent of pickled eggs buried in the depths of Gwaine’s hair but Merlin didn’t mind it as much as he would have thought. There was a murmured phrase of congratulations breathed into the echoing crevice between his neck and neckerchief and both parties were vaguely aware that the appropriate time had elapsed for physical contact, but neither moved to detach themselves.

As Merlin marvelled at how much lighter Gwaine was than he’d expected, Gwaine was busy wondering if it would be possible to push down Merlin’s trousers with his legs and believably claim it was an accident. He wasn’t quite sure what had possessed him to launch himself at Merlin, though perhaps it had been prompted by the smile of disbelief that had spread across his mouth like the dawn when the boot had hit its target. And if this was the first victory that Merlin had secured in a short while, then Gwaine had thought that it deserved to be honoured properly.

Adjusting his grip so his hands fell to Merlin’s shoulders, Gwaine inhaled the delicate aroma of cinnamon that had folded itself in Merlin’s clothes. Perhaps he could be happy here, in Merlin’s arms. If Merlin didn’t get tired of him, that was. Beneath his body, Merlin shifted, other arm skimming Gwaine’s thighs. His head was still turned towards Gwaine’s neck, their cheeks grazing gently against each other, and Gwaine resisted the urge to nip at the skin covering the top of Merlin’s spine. One collision at a time. He was just about to try and push down Merlin’s trousers – because that wasn’t a collision, that was simply testing the waters – when the door below them crashed open and Merlin dropped his arms, startled.

Gwaine’s legs dropped with them and he slipped down, dangling from Merlin’s neck with his feet several inches above the ground. Tentatively, Merlin leaned forward to peer over the balcony and Gwaine swung with him, eyes moving with a growing sense of dread to the disrupted line of boots. Arthur was stood in the centre of the room, arms folded, with a stony expression sketched across his face.

‘One of you had better have a very good explanation for why exactly you are up there.’

Merlin and Gwaine turned to look at each other, and Gwaine’s witty reply was lost along with his breath as he caught sight of subtle flecks of gilt in Merlin’s eyes. As he grasped for words that he no longer had, Merlin twisted his head to look back at Arthur. ‘I was giving Gwaine a tour.’

‘I’ll be giving you both a tour of the stocks if you don’t get down here instantly,’ Arthur threatened.

As Gwaine detached himself from the servant, he let his hand run discreetly across the back of Merlin’s shirt, smirking at the subtle shiver Merlin emitted. Perhaps if he stuck around, then perhaps he could see just where else Merlin could successfully aim.

[ericsonclan]

Pirate Island

Summary: The Ericson pirates travel uncharted seas, unsure when they will find land, when suddenly Willy spots an island.

Word Count: 7292

Read on A03:

Louis tilted his head back and let the warm sun pierce his skin as he took a deep breath. The smell of the sea, there was really nothing like it. It symbolized the endless potential of adventure. Today, Louis was sure, would be an adventure. It always was with the Ericson pirates whether that be through the many shenanigans on Ol’ Kickass or when they arrived at a port town.

Louis glanced out towards the sea; he hoped they’d find some sort of port town soon - their produce wouldn’t last much longer. Not only would that lose them precious ducats that they could spend on important things like sea shanties but it would also make the lower deck reek. The smell would linger for days and soon they would forget about all the dirt and grime they had on themselves and be overwhelmed by how it smelled like fruity death down there.

With a deep sigh Louis walked back towards the ship’s wheel where Marlon stood. His best friend’s eyes were focused ahead, his stance solid and his shoulders set. He was sure to ensure it was smooth sailing as long as he was in charge. He was so focused in fact that it wasn’t until Louis strolled up the stairs along with Rosie that Marlon even glanced over. Once he did, a warm smile appeared on his lips. “Hey there, Lou,” Marlon’s smile faltered when he saw the look deep within Louis’ eyes that he was trying to hide beneath a smile. “What’s wrong?”

“Hmm? Nothing, just thought I’d check on my first mate! I even brought the ever so lovely Rosie!” Louis gestured to the pitbull who barked happily. Trotting over, Rosie began to claw at Marlon’s leg for some attention. With a small chuckle Marlon obliged and gave some pats to the pitbull along with some scratches behind the ear. But soon the blond pirate’s focus returned to the sea.

“I’ve known you long enough, Lou. You don’t have to hide anything from me,” Marlon gently turned the wheel left to guide the ship away from a pile of rocks a fair distance away.

Louis looked surprised by his friend’s words for a second but his smile soon returned. “Damn, I thought I could pull a fast one on you,” He leaned on the rail in front of the ship’s wheel.

“Have you ever been able to pull a fast one on me?” Marlon gave a grin that made Louis chuckle.

“I don’t know, maybe when we were ten,” Louis turned his body around and glanced up at the upper deck of the ship. Brody was working on fixing the riggings along with Mitch. Every so often the two would hold hands for a moment before slipping them away from each other. It was obvious based on their giddy expressions and being overwhelmed by the smallest thing that this was the first serious relationship either of them had had.

The captain’s eyes continued to wander and paused when he saw Clementine happily sparring with AJ. Both of them were absolutely exhilarated by the chance to spar together. It was clear from the soft thwack that appeared every few seconds from their wooden swords colliding and the confident auras that both of them radiated. Both of them were trying to use smack talk to get the upperhand in the fight by throwing the other off their game. Neither of them were any good at it but they didn’t seem to mind and the rest of the crew seemed to enjoy the unique insults they were hurling each other’s way.

While the two of them were caught up in the joy of sparring together, Prisha and Aasim were busy gushing over things only the two of them seemed to care for out of the whole crew: cartography. Both of them spoke animatedly as Aasim held out a map, showing his friend the vast seas they had yet to explore. The pair were especially thrilled to head out towards the northwestern seas next. Soon the two of them passed Ruby and Tenn who were busy making sure medical supplies were set. The redheaded pirate spoke clearly and concisely as a wide smile pulled on her lips, happy to have an apprentice of sorts in terms of healing. Tenn mirrored Ruby’s smile although his smile was quieter as he nodded along to her lessons.

Louis took a deep breath and glanced back at Marlon. “Our produce is about to go bad and while the crew seems happy, I bet all of them want a break from Ol’ Kickass,”

Marlon nodded along to those words. “Yeah, it would probably be best if we found a port town to aim for and spend a few days there,”

“Yeah. I just remembered, last time I talked with Aasim he said we were heading into uncharted seas. I told him that that's where the adventure was waiting and didn’t think twice,” Louis lightly laughed at his own choice as he spun his pirate hat in his hands before placing it back on his head.

“Don’t go kicking yourself, Lou. I’m sure we’ll find land soon enough,” Marlon smiled reassuringly. Louis returned it, although his smile seemed less genuine.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Louis sighed and turned his focus on Rosie as his friend continued to steer the ship.

As luck would have it Marlon did turn out to be right. After half a day more of sailing Willy called out from the crow’s nest that Violet was squished in as well, clearly there because of Willy’s incessant begging.

“Marlon, we got a weird-looking island far out on the starboard side of the ship!” Willy cupped his hands, creating such volume that both Violet and Garbage seemed to be hissing at its force.

“Knowing Willy it's probably another island filled with squirrels,” Marlon sighed as he looked over at Louis.

“I don’t know, Squirrel Island was kind of fun,” Louis offered and noticed Marlon’s frown.

“Those squirrels were little terrors,” Marlon took a deep breath then called back to Willy.

“Alright, I’ll steer the ship towards there! Keep an eye out if it looks dangerous!”

“Aye, aye!’ Willy gave a toothy grin then went back to his story he was sharing with Violet while he held Garbage in his arms. Marlon and Louis shared a look then chuckled before Marlon set course for the island.

Soon with Louis’ instructions, Willy and Violet’s mixed directions and the teamwork of the crew they arrived at an island. From one glance it was clear this was no ordinary island. Palm trees grew everywhere around the entrance surrounded by white sands and rocky shores where dark blue waters crashed against a shipwreck that stood out proudly. On the shipwreck were nearly a dozen skeletons, all dressed as privateers with their deep blue coats and special hats. It was made in the sort of mocking way that made it obvious that those kinds weren’t welcome here.

Erupting from above the palm trees was a large cream-colored building where a black flag with crossbones and a skull flew proudly. This was pirate land. That became even more abundantly clear when the rowdy sounds of pirates filled the air as Ol’ Kickass anchored right by the docks. After making sure the anchor was placed and the sails were safely secured the crew gathered around Louis.

“Alright, crew! Here’s what we’re going to do. Prisha, Aasim, and Omar will go sell our wares along with me. The rest of you get a gist of the rules of this place but as of now, no fighting and no adventuring. Today is just a chore day,”

Those words made Willy and AJ groan loudly.

“I know, I know, boring,” Louis shook his head sadly.

“I think chore day is actually fun,” Aasim mumbled and readjusted his cravat in annoyance.

“But we gotta make sure this place is safe enough for us to rest for a few days and our fruit is this close to stinking up the place,” Louis held his fingers barely a hair’s breadth together. Everyone seemed to agree with their captain’s words and soon they were off doing their respective tasks. Louis led the way after he stole at least a dozen kisses from Clementine. Prisha, Omar and Aasim followed behind him. Ruby, Tenn and Brody headed out to search for medical supplies and as for the rest of them, save for Violet and Mitch who stayed behind to guard the ship while having spitting contests, they went searching around for any information they could get on this piratey island.

It was a fairly straightforward day. With Louis’ charm, Omar’s calmness and Prisha and Aasim’s ferocious need to barter they got great deals on their wares. Ruby, Brody and Tenn were able to find thread and needles as well as other medical supplies and alcohol that was sure to clean any kind of wound. Violet won the spitting contest which turned Mitch into the grumpiest pirate amongst the crew that day and as for the rest of them, they learned a few things about this island. It was an island where only pirates were allowed and there were no rules besides those that pirates abided by.

When the crew all returned to Ol’ Kickass they discussed whether to stay or not and after some long debate they decided to go for it. The news seemed to make Willy and AJ particularly happy. The two young pirates were beyond excited to go adventuring tomorrow, while listening to the words and rules of the older pirates of course.

Soon the night melted into a new day and the crew was ready to go exploring. Willy gave a mighty pirate call, swinging from one of the ropes and landing harshly onto the docks.

“Willy, don’t break anything!” Violet called out to the rambunctious pirate.

“Yeah! Not without me!” Mitch grinned at Willy and the glint in their eyes made it clear they wanted to find something explosively fun to do.

“Just don’t blow up part of the ship again,” Brody walked forward and stood beside Mitch.

“I won’t,” Mitch grumbled then added in a quieter voice, “I promise,” His fingers reached out for Brody’s and they soon intertwined.

“Good,” Brody smiled up at her love before pressing a kiss to his cheek which made it turn bright red.

“Damn, I didn’t know we had lobsters on our ship,” Louis teased Mitch, his arms wrapped around Clementine.

“Whatever,” Mitch flipped off the captain as he walked off the ship with his love but soon received some scolding from Brody for his action. It didn’t take long for the two of them to move past it though and soon they were lost in the excitement of exploring the island and their new relationship.

Louis hugged Clementine a bit tighter then planted a kiss on her cheek with a loud ‘mwuah’ sound. “Shall we go, m’lady? I think adventure and fun awaits!” He smiled at Clementine who immediately returned it.

“An adventure with you? Sounds perfect,” Clementine pressed a kiss to one of Louis’ hands which made him grow flustered. He couldn’t focus on it long though as Clementine held his hand and led the way off the ship.

“Ready, my treasure?” Aasim asked Ruby as his thumb brushed against the top of hers.

“I sure am! I heard from Marlon yesterday that he’d heard some pirates talk about a tavern that has the most divine dinners,” Ruby swung their joined hands as they casually strolled down the dock.

“Well then I will make sure you get the best food on all of this island,” Aasim stole a soft kiss from Ruby and the two were quickly in the middle of the pack. Behind them was Marlon who gave Rosie a special treat in thanks for her staying behind as watch before jogging forward to talk with Omar. AJ was behind them, talking animatedly with Tenn about how many cool pirate things they could draw here when suddenly Louis scooped up AJ.

“Wanna have a better view, little dude?” Louis placed AJ on his shoulders then handed up his pirate hat for the youngest pirate to wear.

“Yeah! This is awesome!” AJ shot out his hands and almost lost his balance but soon regained it by grabbing Louis’ dreads. “Oops, did I do a bad?”

Louis shook his head, only in part to shake off the pain of his dreads being yanked on. “Nope, little man. It’s all good,” He gave a thumbs up then returned his hand into Clementine’s.

Prisha and Violet led the back of the pack, casually talking about what they looked forward to doing on this island knowing that there was no risk of guards or privateers getting them. Both of them seemed absolutely lost in each other’s eyes when suddenly Garbage’s frantic hissing made them look back to see the pirate possum scampering forward. After a minute Garbage had successfully found Willy again and crawled up on his shoulder, leaving a few scratch marks along the way. Willy didn’t seem to mind though and eagerly chatted about his potential adventures with his favorite pirate pet.

The crew all walked happily together, quickly getting hit with the sounds of sea shanties which made the captain’s eyes sparkle with joy and he excitedly spoke to Clementine and AJ. The sea shanties that they were hearing along this particular stretch of the island all seemed to center around alcohol. A set of three pirates were singing All for Me Grog while a group of five across the way were belting out Whisky Johnny O’ .

“We definitely gotta pick up some sea shanties here!” Louis beamed over at Clementine who smiled and gave his hand a small squeeze.

“Sounds good to me,”

As the group continued forward they reached the inner workings of the island where life and chaos were happily coinciding. Pirates of all genders were flirting amongst each other, trying to impress others with their feats of strength while other pirates seemed to be itching for a fight and decided to pick it with the closest pirate they could find. The Ericson pirates steered clear of those types of pirates but were still enjoying their time there.

All of them were happy to finally be back on land, especially a piece of land that didn’t have people out for their heads. Their footsteps were lost amongst the lively sounds of life around them when suddenly Louis’ ears perked up when he heard the wonderful harmony of a hurdy gurdy, flute and some sort of percussion instruments. As he led the way he saw that the three pirate musicians were happily playing a tune so that any pirate could dance in the square to their heart’s content.

“Oh! We have to do this!” Louis ran forward with Clementine along with AJ on his shoulders. The captain soon took the center of the square while the majority of his crew watched. Placing AJ down, Louis did a quick bow with his hat. “M’lady, would you do this captain the honor of a dance?” Louis’ eyes looked up into Clementine’s eyes with a playful love within them. Before Clementine had a chance to say yes, AJ had grabbed her hands and pulled her towards him.

“I wanna dance with Clem first!” AJ smiled over at Louis who returned it. Within seconds AJ was spinning around with Clementine happily.

“Oh no! Whoever will I dance with now?” Louis placed the captain’s hat dramatically over his heart and waited until the music began to swell. With a mischievous grin he dashed over and grabbed Aasim’s hands. “I pick you!”

“Wait a minute!” Aasim protested but it was too late; he was thrown into the dance circle where Louis danced and spun him around.

“It’s time to let loose and dance, captain’s orders!” Louis teasingly told his crew who all waited to see who would make the next move. Prisha smiled over softly at Violet and was about to ask for a dance when Willy suddenly snagged her one good arm.

“Come on, Prisha! Let's dance!” Willy gave a toothy grin and Prisha couldn’t help but agree. Soon Willy was leading the way, dancing in his unique style as Prisha’s light laughter filled the air. Garbage bounced around on top of his head, fearfully hissing before the young pirate stopped abruptly. “You too, Mitch! Dance!”

“No fucking way!” Mitch waved a hand and tried to act cool when suddenly Brody pushed him into the circle. He gave a frown but soon was swept up in the dance circle.

“Let’s boogie!” Ruby grabbed Omar’s hands with a laugh and pulled him into the circle. The two danced around, kicking their feet together and laughing as the lively, heartwarming song ensued. The music continued for some time when all of a sudden Marlon began to clap to the beat and quickly got Brody to join the dance circle.

“Wanna dance, Vi?” Tenn looked up at Violet who gave a soft smile and a shrug.

“Sure,” Violet held Tenn’s hand and the two quietly joined.

Different members of the Ericson pirates began to clap to the beat as they danced in a circle, kicking feet with their partners before hooking arms and switching. Ruby and Brody laughed as they danced together, both on a mission to steal back their loves while Prisha kept trying to reach Violet but every time she got close Willy surprised her with another dance.

As the song reached its last section the different couples were determined and moved at a faster pace, working with their dance partners to reunite with their loves. Twirling around and using light footwork the couples got back together one by one and spun around again and again until the song stopped and the Ericson pirates all stood in the center. The crew caught their breaths, their chest heaving as their smiles grew. Moments like this together were absolutely priceless and they couldn’t wait to make more memories on this island.

After the dance, Willy quickly got distracted by having a palm tree climbing contest with AJ. Both of them threw large declarations that they were the best climbers before trying their best to prove it. Meanwhile Ruby and Aasim were happily sharing a quiet moment together off to the side as Aasim spoke words of affection and poetry to his fiery love. Prisha and Violet were sitting side by side sharing a few soft kisses. Violet then proceeded to place her head on Prisha’s shoulder. The taller pirate pressed a kiss to the top of her love’s head then rested her head on top of hers. Prisha looked out and watched in amusement as Mitch and Clementine were getting competitive.

“I can kick way more pirate ass than you!” Clementine stood up and got close to Mitch who looked shocked for a moment but a competitive grin soon pulled on his lips.

“Ha! Maybe when I’m eighty you’ll finally kick more ass than me!” Mitch smirked when he saw how annoyed Clementine was getting.

“Oh yeah? Let’s make a bet. Whoever can get the most ducats from pirate duels wins!” Clementine quickly spit in her hand and held it out. Mitch laughed and spat in his hand, slamming it into Clementine’s and giving it a firm shake.

“Deal. Winner gets all the ducats won,”

“Deal,”

“You got this, Clem!” Louis appeared from behind Clementine and surprised her with a kiss. That seemed to melt away the intimidating exterior of the pirate who soon returned the affection.

“Good luck, Mitch,” Brody gave her love a quick kiss on the cheek. Mitch grew incredibly flustered at that and Clementine saw her chance.

“Ready, set, go!” Clementine was off like a shot, already on her way to her first duel.

“Hey, wait! Fuck! That was cheap!” Mitch yelled and sprinted off with an angry cry as he tried to find his first opponent.

The competition lasted for quite some time and after a while Clementine and Mitch both collapsed onto the ground.

“I won, you little-” Clementine wheezed. “Shit,”

“”Fu-” Mitch gasped for air “Ck!”

The rest of the crew gathered around giving congratulations to both of them while Clementine flaunted her ducats and immediately bragged about how she'd spend them: half on dates and half on a new badass blade. A few minutes passed and the crew all decided to go grab some food at the local tavern. Clementine tried to get up but immediately felt her legs turned to jelly.

“Don’t worry, my darling!” Louis swept her up and carried her bridal style. “I’ll carry you!”

“Louis! Wait!” Clementine grew flustered but it was too late. Soon the others followed them with Mitch and Brody leading the back.

“I think you were pretty badass,” Brody gave Mitch’s hand a small squeeze. Those words made him smile and he immediately wrapped her up in a hug before pulling away quickly.

“It was no big deal,” The taller pirate tried to play it cool but Brody could see how much the words meant to him.

It didn’t take long for them to find the tavern where they supposedly had amazing food. Louis went about ordering the drinks and meals while the rest of them secured a few tables. Once they sat down Marlon noticed the wanted posters on the walls, placed there as a sign of pride for all the chaos the pirate captains and their crews had caused. Amongst them were pictures of all the Ericson pirates drawn in the usual inaccurate fashion.

“Wow, that Louis one is super accurate,” Violet commented, drawing the crews’ eyes to the wanted post which displayed Louis with a large evil smile and what looked to be a giant spider as his hair.

“Hey! I don’t look like that!” Louis huffed. “My hair looks even more spider-like in person,” Louis rolled with the joke and soon the others found the other wanted posters and pointed each out. Marlon’s looked like he had giant spikes on his head while Omar’s looked like he didn’t have any eyes. Willy’s wanted poster had him looking like a small gremlin pirate which the whole crew including him agreed was accurate.

Before they could spot all of the posters and talk about them though the food had arrived. Steaming plates of the finest seafood were brought before them along with fresh rolls. As AJ grabbed a roll he tore it open, revealing the soft, white, fluffy bread. Grabbing some butter he slathered it on the roll. The butter melted in an instant, soaking into the bread and enhancing its flavor.

While Willy and AJ chowed down on the rolls the rest dug into their seafood. The freshness of it was apparent in every bit as the flaky fish melted in their mouths. The crab was a particularly delicious choice as its subtle flavor tempted the palate to eat more and more. Garbage was just as happy with her food of choice: a simple apple that Willy had sliced for her. The possum licked the apple with happy hisses. Their time in the tavern was a simple joy. The crew talked, ate and drank happily without a care in the world when suddenly the tavern doors burst open.

In walked a man of alarming height. His outfit and demeanor made it clear he was the captain of his crew who all entered with wicked laughs, telling tales that left bad tastes in the Ericson pirates’ mouths. Behind them all was a curvy girl of average height. Her brown eyes peered from below her short black hair and seemed to hold a world of kindness in them. Kindness that was clearly not given to her as she struggled to carry around the crew’s treasure for seemingly no other reason than as a show of their wealth. The girl placed down the treasure and nearly fell over, a large bead of sweat trickling down her face.

“Wench! Get us drinks! Or else you may wish you sank with that ship that we saved your sorry hide from!” the captain shouted and his men laughed. The girl nodded and soon left to get the rum. The Ericson pirates watched on, all of them feeling their emotions roil due to the injustice they were seeing. The girl soon appeared back with drinks and the pirates heartily drank.

“Perhaps she can dance for us!” one of the pirates suggested and the others cheered in agreement.

The girl stood frozen in her spot, her hands by her side slowly curling into fists. “No,”

Her soft voice made the pirates glance her way.

“What do you mean no, girlie?” The captain spoke in a low tone. In an instant he grabbed her wrist and yanked her forward. “I spared your life! Out of the entire ship only you lived, so show some fucking gratitiude or else,” His voice was filled with warning.

Violet felt her stomach twist. While she couldn’t see clearly she was sure what the implications of those words meant. The other members of the crew soon noticed some bruises on the girl’s arms; the anger in their hearts grew.

The captain chuckled and pulled her chin towards his. The pirate’s breath reek of old fish and alcohol. “I hate being disagreed with.”

All of the Ericson pirates wanted to stop this, to make a move and get that girl away from this awful crew. Violet’s fists curled tightly but she wasn’t the first to make a move. Instead that honor went to Ruby who slammed her tankard down onto the table hard, causing a thin hairline crack to appear along the side of it.

“Get your filthy hands off of her,” Ruby warned and the captain as well as his men looked over her way.

“Hmm? Something to say, wench? Care to join her as one of my servants?” The captain held a twisted smile on his lips. “You two match well,”

“How dare-”

Aasim was cut short as Ruby slammed her fist on the table, her eyes burning with anger. “I’d rather make you eat your teeth!”

Ruby’s words made the captain frown before he burst out in laughter. “What a fiery wench you are! Alright, I’ll humor you with an arm wrestling competition. If I win, you apologize to me and if you win-”

“I’m fine with the satisfaction of kicking your ass,” Ruby strode forward, looking small in comparison to the captain of this crew. His crew laughed in amusement and before any of the Ericson pirates could say otherwise Ruby was seated at a table across from the captain. Rolling up her sleeve, she positioned her arm and soon the captain did the same. Once they were all set one of the captain’s crew counted down.

As soon as the countdown was done Ruby’s eyes took on a threatening glint and with all her strength she slammed down the man’s hand. That action alone would be impressive but the fiery short redheaded pirate had gone a step further. Her strength had set the man off his center, causing him to tumble over with the force of the move and crash into a chair, smashing it to pieces. Both crews stood there in shock until Mitch spoke up.

“Fuck yeah! Fuck ‘em up, Ruby!” Mitch pumped his fist in the air.

“You little bitch!” The pirate captain coughed as he rose. With a mighty swing he tried to hit Ruby but she dodged it.

The fiery pirate curled her fist and sent it crashing into the captain’s stomach. “Better be ready, I’m about to whoop your ass!” Ruby slammed her fist into her open palm. Aasim felt himself at a loss for words as he stared at his love in all her glory. She was amazing.

This wasn’t a funny joke or game anymore. The opposing crew soon charged to take down the pirate that had made their captain look bad.

“You won’t touch her!” Aasim charged forward and swung his fist, breaking teeth and sending a pirate flying back.

All bets were off now and soon the tavern erupted into chaos. Pirates charged at the table with mighty cries. Mitch and Marlon shared a smile and lifted up their tankards. Clinking them together, they downed their drinks then used the empty tankards to smash in their enemies’ faces.

“This is what you get for being shit!” Marlon slammed his tankard once more into a pirate’s face.

Prisha backstepped, dancing around a pirate’s attack before she unsheathed her blade. Using the hilt of the sword, she jabbed it into the man’s gut repeatedly before proceeding to knock him out as he keeled over, her sword’s hilt colliding with his face and smashing his nose.

Violet stood on the table to get away from all the chaos of the tavern and have a decent chance at fighting. It wasn’t longer until an opponent arrived. Cautiously Violet dodged attack after attack until she grabbed a chair and with a heavy hit shattered it into pieces on top of the pirate’s body. Prisha was in absolute awe of her love’s strength and Violet looked over with a proud smile when suddenly she noticed a pirate sneaking up on Prisha.

“Prisha!” Violet called out and gave a signal to Prisha. Prisha immediately held out her arm and wrapped it around Violet as she landed. With a secure hold on Violet, Prisha swung her love to her side where Violet proceeded to knock out the enemy with her foot. After Prisha placed Violet down the two shared a quick smile then continued their fight.

AJ, Willy and Tenn worked together, tag teaming pirates left and right. With harsh punches from AJ to their weak spots in between the legs, brutal foot stompings by Tenn and slingshot attacks from Willy, any pirates who faced them were doomed. That was before accounting for the ferocious Garbage who hissed as she scampered about, crawling up pant legs and biting down on the enemies’ noses. Omar used the plates on the table as makeshift weapons, weakening the enemies with kicks before breaking dinnerware over their heads.

“I’ll pay for all the plates I break!” Omar called out to the tavern owner who was still processing what was happening.

The girl was overwhelmed by the sudden chaos but that didn’t stop her from getting some good punches in, knocking out a few of the pirates that had made her life hell. She was about to lash out again when Louis pulled her out of harm’s way at the last second.

“That was close!’ Louis smiled at the girl. “I’m Louis, and you are?”

“Nurgul,” the girl gave a soft smile. “Thanks,”

“Think nothing of it! Just an ordinary day for the Ericson pirates!” Louis grinned then used his sword to cut a tankard in half that was aimed for Nurgul’s head. “Hey! Don’t be an asshat!” Louis proceeded to beat the pirate who’d thrown the tankard in a swordfight then kick his butt into a nearby barrel. He gave a smile back at Nurgul then looked over to see Clementine weaving through an enemy pirate’s attacks, outmaneuvering him then using her peg leg to crush his toes. When the pirate cried out Clementine grabbed a bottle and harshly cracked it against his head, knocking him out.

“Whoa,” Louis whispered. An instant later he joined his love in fighting off the remaining enemies.

Brody dodged an attack then another before grabbing the man by the collar. With a harsh jab her knee collided with his crotch. The auburn pirate refused to give him a moment to recover and with a heavy slam she crushed his face into a table, cracking it slightly.

Mitch gave an impressed whistle. Brody may have called him a badass earlier but that move right there made it clear that she had him tied in that regard. He swore his love for her grew in that moment but he couldn’t stay in the moment long because all of a sudden another attack came his way. Mitch was about to counter when the booming voice of the tavern owner made everyone stop.

“Alrighty! That's enough, you scurvy dogs!” The tavern owner stood in between the captain and Ruby right before they were about to exchange blows, blocking both of them. “I won’t have you go and ruin my tavern anymore! In fact, one of you sorry lots is gonna have to pay for all the damage that was caused!” The tavern owner looked over at the Ericson pirates then at the other crew. “We’re gonna settle this the way we always do here on this great island. Get ready, ye about to have a pirate duel!”

The captain of the crew gave a hearty laugh. “I’m fine with that! In fact, I challenge your captain!” He pointed at Mitch who gave a scowl his way. “A fight to the death, winner gets to skip out on paying for this fine mess and gets the lass of their choosing from the opposite side,”

“You have a deal!” Louis’ voice rang out across the tavern as he stood on a table, his hands on his hips. “Except it won’t be a fight to the death, not on my end,” His eyes were level with the captain’s and his jaw firm. He was obviously still upset about how they had been treating Nurgul and on a battle high from the tavern fight. “When I win, you’re gonna regret ever treating Nurgul badly!”

“Who?” The captain scrunched his nose. “That don’t matter, what I’m confused about is that you out of all your crew is the captain. Are you pulling me leg?” He glanced back at the Ericson crew and saw that they were all upset by his accusation against Louis. He was their captain after all. The captain paused for a moment, his eyes glancing over at the wall of wanted posters. “Well, sink me! You lot are the Ericson pirates!” He began to laugh, holding his sides. “I suppose you have a bit more fire in ya than me and the other crews thought you did. Still, you’re a bunch of lily-livered wannabes who claim to be pirates when you all haven’t even done half the things a pirate should do,”

“We do the right thing. We follow our own pirate law,” Louis stared down at the man.

“Is that so? Well then I hope that my blade doesn’t rust from cowardly blood when I gut ya tomorrow,” The captain laughed then harshly pulled Nurgul forward, urging her to lead the way. “Till tomorrow, ‘captain’!” The captain gave a mocking, obscene gesture then left.

“Louis!” Clementine hurried forward and looked up at her love. “What are you doing?”

“The right thing,” Louis met his love’s gaze and Clementine could see he wouldn’t budge on this decision. There was only one thing to be done.

Clementine and the rest of the crew worked to make sure Louis was the best equipped and well-trained he could be for tomorrow’s duel. The sunlight bled through the sky at a rapid pace and before they knew it night was upon them that soon shed away when the sun rose once more. Hopefully all their work had been enough.

As they made their way to the dueling pit they heard the overwhelming cheers of pirates heartily drinking grog as they waited to see the bloodshed of the fight. The crew was soon guided over to an area for viewing. As they passed they noticed Nurgul standing at the sidelines of the fighting pit. Louis was left alone at the entrance of the arena with Clementine. His eyes focused on the tiny crabs that scattered about the soiled sands of the pit, mindless to all the noise around them.

“Louis, be careful,” Clementine held her love’s hand and tried to get him to look at her.

Louis remained silent for a moment. “Everyone is continuing on me so I gotta be. Can’t be the normal screw up that I am. One wrong step...” His voice faltered out as he continued to look off into the distance.

“Louis, you’re not a screw up. You’re a great captain and fighter. You’ll win,”

Those words made Louis glance over his love’s way. “I don’t know about that,” He took a deep breath and turned to face Clementine. “Alright, I need you to slap me. One good slap to make sure I can focus,” He tried to stand strong in front of her, his eyes pressed shut but every few seconds he’d peek out at Clementine, his head unconsciously flinching backwards. Clementine stood there, knowing that she wouldn’t hit him but she wasn’t sure what the right choice was. After a moment she decided to go with her heart. Getting up on her tiptoes and wrapping her hand behind his head she captured his lips in a soft kiss. Louis seemed surprised by this before his shoulders relaxed and he melted into the kiss, if only for a moment.

The dreadlocked captain pulled back from the kiss, his eyes filled with shock. “I... can’t tell if I feel more focused or less,” His lips pulled into a smile that Clementine immediately mirrored. The pair stood there, becoming lost in each other’s eyes when suddenly the announcer called for the two pirates to get in the pit. Louis was about to step forward when he felt Clementine’s hand grab his.

“I believe in you. So does AJ and so do the rest of the crew. There’s a reason you’re our captain and it's for choices like this,” Clementine gave a smile, hoping that it would find its way to Louis.

Louis returned the smile then kissed the top of her hand softly. “I gotta prove you and the others right then,” He slowly slipped his hand free of Clementine’s and stepped forward into the sunny arena where his ears were pierced with the cries and cheering of the pirate crowd.

Louis tried to show his charisma and held up his blade with a big smile. He rotated in a circle, catching the eyes of all the different sections of the crowd until he saw his crew. He could tell they were nervous but he also noticed the trust and belief in their eyes. He would win today.

After a moment or two the duel was set to begin. The signal was given and the captain of the other crew unsheathed his double shell guard cutlass. Not waiting a moment he slashed it down towards Louis’ face. Louis immediately lifted up his rapier, blocking the attack and causing the sound of metal colliding to ring throughout the arena.

“Let’s see how long you’re gonna last before you end up as shark bait,” The captain kicked up dirt, aiming it directly at Louis’ face. The young pirate coughed sharply and tried to regain his sight when suddenly he felt something slashing against his back. The cold feeling of metal slid across his back once more and Louis dodged a third strike before proceeding to block a fourth. His hand held up his blade as the captain smirked down at him. “Not long at all I’d wager,”

Louis felt his nerves rising but he knew that if he let them consume him he’d wind up dead. Studying the man’s legs he noticed that he was heavily favoring his right one. So Louis decided to take a page from his love’s book and with a mighty kick he forced his opponent off balance. Using the moment of uncertainty Louis hooked his blade with his opponent’s and with a well-timed twist forced the man to disarm. His cutlass flew through the air and landed in the sand beside Louis.

“Don’t count me out just yet,” Louis pointed the sword at his throat but the captain soon slapped it away and elbowed Louis deep in his gut. The young pirate gasped loudly, a thread of saliva falling from his lips and onto the dirt. He tumbled to the ground, dirt flying up the air and clouding the pit.

The captain laughed loudly and leaned over to pick up his blade when suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his left foot. Looking down, he saw Louis’ rapier embedded there.

“You’re not keeping that girl and you’re not gonna get any of my crew!” Louis grabbed the sides of the man’s head and headbutted it sharply. The action stunned the man but it also made Louis’ head ring. He couldn’t let that stop him from focusing on this fight though. With a wild cry Louis took his blade out of the man’s foot and used the hilt of his sword to pummel the man’s chest. Each hit brought him one step closer to winning and each made his opponent weaker. His hilt soon found its way to the bridge of the captain’s nose and with a mighty slam Louis shattered the man’s nose. The captain’s head swayed with the movement, his eyes stinging with tears due to the hit as blood slipped down his face.

“You little brat! I’ll be sure to send you to Davy Jones’ Locker myself!” he yelled, dodging an attack and sweeping up his sword. He immediately sliced his cutlass through the air, his blade colliding with Louis’ rapier. The two pressed their entire body weight into their blades, their feet digging into the dirt and sliding with the force. Neither of them were willing to lose an inch in this attack.

The captain once again tried to kick dirt into Louis’ face but the younger pirate danced around the attack. The sudden movement caused the man to slip forward and Louis decided to use some of the techniques he had tried to pick up from his crew. Aiming for the spot that Violet usually did with her iron knuckle studded gloves, he dug his fist into his opponent’s chest, cracking a rib. Soon he backstepped, changing towards Marlon’s stance of being well balanced with defense and offense, but leaned into a sturdy defense like Brody held. He carefully studied the captain’s movements, wanting to spot his weaknesses and exploit them the way that Aasim always did during his fights.

It took some time, precious time in which Louis worried his energy would flag and fail him, but at last he spotted the pattern the captain fought in. Louis cautiously backstepped, taking a page from Omar’s patient fighting style. He slowly dodged and parried each strike until he saw the shift in the man’s right leg. Not wanting to miss the moment, Louis feigned an attack, forcing the man to put all of his strength into a counterattack that would miss before he kicked out the man’s right leg once more and sent the hilt of his rapier crashing against the side of his head. With a loud thud the captain collapsed onto the ground. The pirate crowd grew silent as Louis’ chest heaved until suddenly a proud voice started to cheer.

“WOOO! That’s our captain!” AJ cheered, doing his signature happy dance. His sudden outburst made the other members of the crew cheer and holler, filling the entire arena with the overwhelming volume of their voices.

Louis took a shaky breath then grinned at his crew, thrusting his arm that held the rapier into the air. The action gained more cheers as the pirate audience applauded a fight well won. Louis’ eyes were entirely focused on his crew though, noticing how happy and proud they were of him. He returned their kindness with a bright smile then looked over towards Nurgul. “You’re free,”

[lifeofkaze]

An Art of Balance #13

A/N: Nothing like a (not so) little Christmas chapter at the beginning of spring. As always, KC belongs to my beautiful friend @kc-needs-coffee

Word Count: ~ 4.000

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Chapter 13: Topaz & Jasmine

Lizzie wasn’t sure if she had ever been as happy to pack up her bags and board the Hogwarts Express as this year around. Running from her problems wasn’t going to solve them, but taking a break from them for the holidays was a welcome change.

Slumped into one of the plush seats of the Hogwarts Express Lizzie leaned her head against the cold window frame, idly drawing tiny swirls on the fogged glass. She listened to Tonks and Tulip loudly discussing the possible damage they could wreak with a Christmas cracker while Penny, Skye and Rowan played a game of Exploding Snap. Murphy had ditched them to sit with someone else this time.

The warm air streaming from the fully turned-on heaters made her eyelids grow heavy and she fought the urge to fall asleep. Snoozing around Tonks and Tulip was never a particularly good idea.

When the train finally pulled into Kings Cross Station, the emotional mess Lizzie had left behind at the castle already seemed far, far away.

As she saw her mother waving at the incoming train amongst the mass of other parents picking up their kids, a big smile stole onto her face. It widened as she noticed the tall young men standing next to her. Jacob and Duncan hadn’t been supposed to arrive before the day after tomorrow. Lizzie literally jumped off the train and into her brother’s outstretched arms, her woes all but forgotten. She was looking forward to catching up with them over a cup of her father’s famous hot chocolate in front of the fireplace; she had earned herself a few days of peace.  

 *

Apparently, the snow had followed them all the way from the Scottish Highlands down to England. When Lizzie opened her curtains on the morning of Christmas Day, she squealed in excitement like a little girl upon seeing their garden and everything else in sight covered in a layer of powdery snow.

They were no stranger to snow, of course; they got plenty of it at Hogwarts every winter. But having a white Christmas at home wasn’t something they got to experience every year.

Lizzie opened her window and scooped a handful of snow off the windowsill. She formed a ball from it and aimed carefully. With the deadly precision she had acquired over the years of being a Chaser, she threw her snowball against Duncan’s head, who had just stepped out of their front door to observe the winter wonderland as well. She quickly ducked with a shriek as her brother’s boyfriend shot a snowball of his own back at her. It sailed into her room through the open window, hitting Mouse, who was snoozing on Lizzie’s bed, square in the face.

The huge grey cat startled awake and shook herself, glaring at Lizzie accusingly. She hurried to shut her window and offered the grumpy pet a treat as compensation.

“Sorry, darling,” she cooed and scratched the cat’s chin. “Merry Christmas to you.”

Mouse blinked at her slowly before turning a few times and snuggling back into the warm blanket.

 *

Lizzie returned to her room from the extensive breakfast with her family, arms laden with gifts of all kind, and carefully placed them on the bed around her cat. Mouse lazily raised her head, eyeing up a ribbon still attached to one of the boxes. Lizzie let her chew on it and sat down on her carpet, pulling the huge bag with gifts she had exchanged with her friends on the train towards her.

Ever since Tonks had gifted all of her friends little dancing Christmas trees shouting festive obscenities a few years back, Lizzie resorted to opening her presents in private.

Half an hour and a mountain of wrapping paper later, Lizzie was admiring the wonderful gifts her friends had picked out for her. Like every year, Skye had equipped her with a full set of the newest Wigtown Wanderers merchandise, including a jersey, scarf and sweater. She just wasn’t giving up on converting her to what she deemed the only acceptable choice of Quidditch team.

Penny had given her a beautiful new quill and a notebook bound in an intricately patterned leather to write down her thoughts. Godric knew, that was something that would come in handy.

Tonks’s present – a black-and-yellow mug – had looked perfectly inconspicuous at first, but luckily the little prankster had forgotten to remove the ‘Zonko’s Joke Shop’ label stuck to the bottom of it. Apparently, it was meant to spit its boiling contents into its owner’s face at random intervals. Lizzie placed it gingerly back into its box, shoving it under the bed with her foot.

Rowan’s present was arguably the most thoughtful of them all. She had chosen a beautiful picture of Lizzie and herself goofing around. It had been taken at the end of last year down at the Black Lake. She had put it into a simple silver frame; turning it around, Lizzie could read the small dedication written in Rowan’s neat hand on the back of it.

“For my best friend.”

Lizzie swallowed the lump building inside her throat and placed the picture carefully on her desk, next to the one of her Quidditch team. She hesitated, eyes lingering on Orion’s beaming face as he had one arm around Skye’s shoulder and the other around hers. She resolutely placed her hand on the frame and upended it, front facing down as if she could shut out her thoughts that way.

‘No’, she chided herself inwardly, ‘not now, not ever.’

She joined Mouse on the bed, who was enjoying herself immensely inside the pile of crinkling paper, sipping her tea and watching the small dragon miniature Charlie had gotten for her flap around the room; from what she remembered of his lectures, it seemed to be a Hebridean Black.

A gentle tapping on her window distracted her from the tiny model circling her lamp. A grey owl sat perched on the windowsill and ruffled its feathers to free them from the snow. Lizzie got up and let the grumpy looking bird hop in. It carried a small package, neatly clad in minimalist brown wrapping paper. A note and a twig of small white flowers were secured to it. Lizzie stared at it for a moment in confusion before she remembered. It had to be from her Secret Santa.    

She procured a handful of food for the bird that was staring warily at her cat. Gulping it down, it hopped back to her open window and took to the air on its way back home.

Lizzie turned the present around in her hands and removed the branch. She recognised the distinct fragrance of the flowers immediately; it was jasmine, one of her favourite flowers. It usually bloomed in summer; the bush this was cut off from must have been standing in a greenhouse somewhere. She thought she had seen one back at the castle.

Her curiosity sparked, she removed the wrapping paper, revealing a small box clad in green velvet. Lizzies eyes widened in surprise as she opened it, revealing a beautiful pendant lying on its dark cushion. It was a sheer yellow stone, set in a golden, unregular circle. Her mouth went dry as she carefully removed the necklace from the box, running the delicate gold chain through her fingers.

That was certainly not what was supposed to be a Secret Santa gift.

Perhaps the note that had come with it would give her a clue as to who had decided to be so generous to her. She opened the envelope and took out the card; there was only a few words written on it:

“Unfogging The Future: Page 394. Merry Christmas and Happy belated Birthday, Chaser.”

Lizzie furrowed her brow and turned her head searching the room for her trunk. Thankfully she had taken her copy of the textbook with her instead of leaving it at the castle. She quickly flicked through the pages until she found the one required. Her confusion turned first into wonder and then into the softest smile.

“The Yellow Topaz is a birthstone for those who took birth in the month of November. It was believed by the Egyptians that it contained the rays of the sun. It is meant to provide its bearer with inner peace, bringing calmness to the mind and soul. Eradicating evil, it helps those destined to bear it to overcome regrets of the past and increase the power of focus and concentration.”

She closed the book again and picked up the necklace. She held it against the light, marvelling at the unusual colour before stepping in front of the mirror and putting it on; the pendant rested just below her throat.

Lizzie didn’t have to think twice whom she had to thank for this. Her hand went to her throat, touching the smooth surface of the stone. She was unable to contain the smile on her face. Her cheeks were already hurting and she covered her mouth with her hand.

She thought about what the book had said. This stone was supposed to help her let go of things she regretted. Apparently, this was Orion’s way of cleaning the slate and letting go of the unspoken things that had hung between them.

Lizzie wasn’t sure if she was happy or troubled about this, but she felt giddy, suddenly buzzing with energy and the urgent desire to let it out. She grabbed her clothes and almost skipped out the door with a bounce in her step.

Time to show Duncan how to properly throw a snowball.

 *

New Year’s Eve had come and gone as the Christmas break slowly drew to an end. It was almost time to board the train that would take them back to Hogwarts once again. Shutting out all and everything for a few precious days filled only with the love and warmth of her family had been like a dream, but now Lizzie felt reality silently creeping up on her again, firmly knocking on the door to remind her it was still there.

The sensation hit her every time she walked past a mirror and saw the yellow stone resting against her neck. She had rarely taken the necklace off since Christmas Day; although she didn’t really believe in the concept of birthstones, the feeling of the cool stone against her skin had something weirdly reassuring about it. She had quickly developed a habit of toying with the pendant, moving it back and forth on its chain.

It was the last day at home before they were set for their journey back when Lizzie and Penny finally managed to meet up for a trip into town. Both girls being half-bloods, they knew their ways around the Muggle world. They spent their day roaming around the shops and enjoying their last free moments before classes, homework and the general daily madness that was Hogwarts were to rope them in again.

They were still laughing when they entered a small café off to the side of a busy street, stowing their bags away under the table in front of the French doors leading to a small patio at the back of the room.

The small seating area was full but not crowded; as soon as the door closed behind them, the bustling of the town was shut out, the atmosphere peaceful above the quiet conversations of the other guests.

They were chatting about how they had spent the holidays, sipping on their tea and nibbling some biscuits.

“Seems like you and your sister were spoilt rotten by your parents,” Lizzie laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of somehow being showered with presents like that.”

Penny chuckled. “Look who’s talking. That new necklace you’re wearing is stunning; was it a gift from your parents?”

Her necklace must have slipped out from under her shirt somehow. Blushing lightly, Lizzie started fiddling with the pendant once again; she had done this so often over the past few days, she didn’t even notice.

“Not exactly,” she mumbled sheepishly.

Penny furrowed her brow. “Then who is it from? Charlie?”

Irritated, Lizzie shook her head. Charlie would never give something like jewellery to her.

“We always play Secret Santa with the team before the Christmas break, and whoever got my name,” she explained, “sent me this.”

She held the stone into the light for Penny to better see it, its translucent yellow colouring darkened to amber by the little light washing in from the snowed in windows.

Penny’s eyes widened. “But that is not a gift to give someone over a game. Do you have any idea who it might be from?”

Lizzie tucked the necklace underneath the collar of her shirt, gripping her tea cup with both hands. The warmth stinging her fingers distracted her from the fuzzy feeling creeping up from her stomach.

“I’m pretty sure it’s from Orion,” she sighed. “He is really interested in Divination and Astrology; we had a conversation about birthstones a few weeks ago.”

She was careful to emit what had been written in the note that had come with the package.

Penny inhaled sharply. “Really? That’s so thoughtful! Fits him, I suppose.”

Lizzie concentrated on sipping her tea, only humming vaguely in response.

Sensing her friend being preoccupied with something, Penny tried to catch Lizzie’s gaze that was fixed on the grained wood of the table. “What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?”

Lizzie looked up hastily, subconsciously putting her hand to where her the topaz rested under her shirt. “Of course I do.”

“What’s the matter then?”

Lizzie sighed deeply and shook her head. “I don’t know; can we talk about something else?”

But Penny’s curiosity was stirred. “Is it because of what happened at the Weird Sisters concert?” she asked gently.

Lizzie’s head shot up. “Is there anyone who hasn’t seen us?” she cried in dismay, drawing glances from the other tables. She quickly lowered her voice. “How come you never talked to me about it?”

Penny only shrugged. “You know how it is; I see everything, I know everything.” Her eyes sparkled and she lowered her voice as well. “So, out with the facts: is there something between you and him?”

Lizzie raised her eyebrows and made a point of slowly taking another sip of her tea, looking at her prying friend over the rim of her cup. “I thought you knew everything,” she remarked wryly in the hope of buying herself some time.  

Penny didn’t let herself be distracted though. She was burning to get confirmation on what had crossed her mind more than a few times by now. “Is this why you were acting so anxiously lately?” she asked eagerly. “Something happened?”

“No,” Lizzie mumbled, now avoiding her inquiring eyes.

“But?” Penny prodded further. She could sense there was something her friend wasn’t telling her.

“No ‘but’,” Lizzie hissed angrily. Why couldn’t Penny just leave it at that? She had absolutely no desire to deal with her emotional mess sooner than she had to. “Nothing happened, nothing’s going on, nothing more to talk about.”

Penny was taken aback by Lizzie’s sudden change of mood. She knew her friend to always have an open ear for gossip and had more than once displayed her own relationship problems in front of her.

“Alright, I got the message; no need to snap at me,” she soothed her, still bewildered. “But you would be really cute together,” she couldn’t help but add cheerfully.

“Great how everyone seems to have an opinion on this,” Lizzie rolled her eyes. “Charlie said so as well.”

That took Penny by surprise. “He did? I thought he’d be jealous.”

Lizzie sighed again, but now she sounded more resigned than angry. “Why would he be? I don’t know what else I can do to convince people we are nothing more than friends. Why does no one understand?”

Penny could see how deeply Lizzie felt about this topic. “Maybe because it just doesn’t work very often, you know,” she answered softly. “There is almost always one wanting more than friendship.”

“Not with us,” Lizzie insisted.

“Are you sure? I mean, you actually kissed.”

“That didn’t mean anything.” Lizzie’s anger flared up again. Would they never give it a rest? She wished she hadn’t told them when they had been playing that stupid game in the first place.

Penny chose not to dwell on the subject to not ruin the mood any further.

But now it was Lizzie’s turn to rant on about it. “No one gets why we’re friends; I’m honestly sick of it. If Charlie was a girl, no one would bat an eye about our friendship. But a boy and a girl being friends is something nobody can even imagine working out. They just can’t see the bigger picture of it all.” She was talking herself into a rage and knew it, but she didn’t care.

“Take Skye, for example. I know she hates every moment I spent with Charlie with a passion, but not because he’s on another team; she’s perfectly fine with me and KC being friends. No, she is just dead set on getting the House Cup and afraid someone might distract me, so it would diminish our chances at winning,” Lizzie huffed.

Penny had gone silent at the mention of Skye. Lizzie remembered how Skye had told her she and Penny were still having issues.

“But that’s her, isn’t it?” Penny spoke softly. “It’s what makes Skye; she fastens onto something and doesn’t let go, for better or for worse.” She sounded incredibly sad.

Lizzie recalled what Skye had asked her to do after their last practise. As aggravating as she might be sometimes, she was still one of Lizzie’s closest friends and she wanted her and Penny to finally get over what had happened.

“It’s still strained between you, isn’t it?” she asked sympathetically.

“Yes,” Penny sighed. “It’s not the first time I’ve been in a situation like this, but never with such a close friend. Talking to her is so awkward; I don’t know how to act around her anymore.”

“Just act like you did before. All Skye wants is for things to go back to how they were, so she can concentrate on what matters to her. She gets a lot of pressure from home, you know?”

Penny looked up in surprise. “You think so?”

“I know it,” Lizzie corrected her. Ethan Parkin wasn’t the most pleasant person, but Lizzie knew how much Penny adored the star of the Wigtown Wanderers, so she kept her thoughts on him to herself.

“Skye thinks she has a legacy to uphold, which is why winning the House Cup means so much to her,” she elaborated instead. “And everything distracting her makes it harder for her to focus on her goal. Skye just wants things to go back to normal so she can be her old, over-ambitious self again.”

“And you think acting like nothing happened might work?” Penny still sounded very doubtful.

Lizzie shrugged her concerns off. “What do you have to lose? Many problems tend to solve themselves given some time.”

“So, your advice is, act like nothing happened and be friends with her again?” Penny asked again pointedly.

“Basically, yes.”

“Sounds like an advice you should listen to yourself then,” Penny muttered. “You running from Orion can’t be particularly good for the Hufflepuff team, can it?”

Lizzie groaned at her bringing Orion up again. “This is something very different.”

“Is it though?”

“Yes, it is!” Lizzie insisted stubbornly. “There is nothing wrong with him and me.”

Penny shook her head. “We’ve known each other for too long now, Liz; this doesn’t work with me.”

“But it’s true though; Orion and I aren’t a thing right now and we will certainly never be in the future.” Lizzie clarified with a finality she hoped would discourage Penny to prod into it any further.

But the other girl was an expert at picking up the underlying emotions in her voice. She had made out the hint of frustration that had stolen into Lizzie’s determined statement. It sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than Penny.

“Why?” she simply asked back.

Lizzie blinked in confusion. “What do you mean, why?”

“Why won’t you ever be a thing? Seems a bit harsh to completely rule things out forever.”

Lizzie’s eyes flickered to the side. She had subconsciously pulled her necklace out from her collar again, her nimble fingers toying with the yellow stone absentmindedly.

“No, it’s not,” she muttered. “We just can’t.”

Penny didn’t respond to her. If she knew one thing, it was people that needed to get something off their chests were best left to talk on their own accord.

And really, after a moment Lizzie let go off her necklace and picked up her teaspoon instead, nervously running her thumb over the shining silver over and over again.

“I really shouldn’t tell you,” she tried one last time.

Penny remained silent, giving the other girl time to figure out her next words.

“Alright,” Lizzie finally caved. “You know the tutoring sessions Rowan and I have with Orion?

Penny raised her eyebrows. “Yes, I never understood why you of all people are needing them in the first place.”

“That’s the point,” Lizzie replied. “Neither of us does. It was all Rowan’s idea.”

Now Penny was visibly confused. “Why would Rowan fake bad grades?”

Lizzie looked at her intently before she continued. “You must promise to keep this  to yourself, alright? Not even Rowan must know I told you this.”

Penny nodded in agreement.

“See, Rowan has had a crush on Orion for ages now. I know,” Lizzie added at Penny’s apparent surprise, “I had no idea as well. I offered help in setting them up and we needed a framework to do it.”

“So you’ve been taking lessons with Orion to get him interested in Rowan?”

Lizzie nodded. Coming out of Penny’s mouth it all suddenly sounded utterly ridiculous.

“This is why Orion and I could never be more than friends, you know? I could never betray Rowan like that. She is my best friend after all.” Lizzie raked her hand through her hair erratically, leaving her ponytail looking worse for wear.

“It all such a mess. I’m just glad she seems to be the one person who didn’t saw us dancing.”

“Yes, I believe she was at the bathroom when it happened,” Penny hummed in confirmation. “My goodness, I had no idea.” She seemed perturbed at the idea her friends had been able to hide such a major piece of information from her.

“What do you want to do now?”

Lizzie shrugged. “I don’t know. Follow my own advice maybe? Try to act as if nothing happened and hope things go back to normal. Or do you think I should come clean with him about what has been going on?”

Penny contemplated it for a moment. “I’m not sure this would be a good idea. You would have to rat Rowan out and Orion would probably be mad at both of you. That would actually help no one.”

“What then?”

“Have you thought about talking to Rowan about all of this?”

She saw Lizzie wince at the thought of confronting her friend. “Think about it, you could come up with something different together. And I would also advise on cancelling the tutoring,” she added.

Lizzie looked uncomfortable at the thought. “But what if I don’t want to?” she asked sheepishly. “Orion is a really good teacher. My grades shot through the roof since I started studying with him.” Lizzie chuckled wryly. “Who knows, I might come to actually enjoy Herbology in the end.”

Penny remained firm though. “I still think it would be for the best. At least until you have sorted yourself out.”

Lizzie didn’t reply; she seemed to be deeply lost in thought at her words.

“Believe me,” Penny told her gently, “it is never worth to risk a friendship over something like that.”

[halloweennut]

A quick one-off for Clara and her crew when they found out the news about their studio (cw: Good ol 1930s sexism)

-

193X

It seemed like the entire cast and crew of humans and toons were grouped up in the directors office. Clara knew them all by name - they were a small studio after all, with only a few shows to their lineup. Most of them had been there since the studio was founded, sketched and inked there too, herself and her cast mates included. She huddled near Franklin and Tim, Dawson a few paces away as usual. Standoffish, purely villainous in energy, with a lit cigarette in his maw, clenched between sharp teeth. Clara could see that he was biting down more than usual - he was nervous.

"Hey, uh, boss?" One of the editors said, breaking the quiet. "What's going on?"

The producer finally looked at them all, tired and worn. Clara had never seen him like that, more used to his near smarmy charm and grin. He sighed.

"Everyone, I have...unfortunate news," he said. "I have received word that the studio is bankrupt and closing down. We will finish wrapping up the toons we're shooting now, but after that it's wraps."

That brought up a clamor. Closing? Them? But they had been doing so well! Clara gripped Franklin's hand, unable to believe what she had heard.

"Why? How?" Another toon argued.

"Cartoons are changing. They want more action, more slapstick and slice of life antics, more than what we're equipped to do," the producer continued. "We've been losing money for months. We can't survive."

"We can cut down what toons we do! Some of them want to move on or retire early," a cameraman said. "Save on film and all that."

"Why can't we do more of that?" Franklin asked. "We can do more action! We can put in some slapstick! I just have to learn it is all."

"We don't have time," the director said. "Or the funds."

"Clara knows. She has her banjo - reinforce it in sketch and ink, let her hit me with it, and then send in Frank for a daring rescue. Hell, better yet, make her the lead," Dawson suddenly said. Clara was surprised not just to hear him speak, but to bring her up. The director shook his head no. "Why not?! She's plenty capable!"

"She's a bunny, and too many people expect her to be the cute bunny they know her as," the producer said. "No one would want to watch a female lead anyway."

“Betty Boop exists! She just became the lead in her show,” Tim argued. 

“Two words,” an artist said, anger and sadness tinging their voice. “Sex appeal.”

“I may not be comfortable being sexualized,” Clara finally found her voice, “but I can be funny. I can hold my own. Hell, some other toons said I was-”

“It doesn’t matter!” the producer snapped. He slammed his hands on the desk, startling everyone. Franklin instinctively stood in front of Clara and Tim, and Dawson let out a deep growl. Behave, it said. The director smoothed out his hair. “We only have enough money for the cartoons being shot now. Whatever we make will only be enough to pay off some of the studio’s debt. I suggest you all start making plans unless we get acquired by another studio. Now get back to set...” 

Clara looked at her cast mates, but they looked as dejected as she felt save Dawson, but he never showed any emotion. He just looked distantly out the window behind the producer’s desk, scanning their small little lot. The rest of the cast and crew filtered out, not willing to go to set and try to be joyful and creative, and neither did she. Instead of having the wind taken from your sails, you sails were just stripped from the masts and the anchor stolen to have insult to injury. Franklin squeezed her paw sympathetically, knowing how much the producer’s words stung, how gut-wrenching it was to have the one of the only things you knew taken. 

Dawson was particularly gentle with her on set that day, more so than usual. He may have been a villain, but he never actually was too rough. Franklin didn’t seem to have his regular spark when he swooped it to rescue her and send Dawson running for the hills, and Tim didn’t have the usual clever twist he always added to the goofy side character bit that was written for him. 

It was going through the motions. 

The next week, they wrapped up the shorts, the reels sent to editing, and the four walked off set for the last time. They had heard that the studio had been acquired by Warner Brothers, but they weren’t being brought back, dropped from the line up for now. Their lot was being added into the WB, as were their animators, writers and all else. The toons were either dropped or recycled into background characters.

“Well...,” Clara said slowly, clutching her banjo closer. “What do we do now?”

“I don’t know...,” Franklin said. 

“I think I’m going to apply to that new university in Toon Town,” Tim said. “They have a great literature program!”

Dawson hummed. “I have a few friends back East I might go to. They run a bar and need someone whose not afraid to be a little underhanded.”

“Dawson, that’s awful!” Clara chided. “You’re perfect for it.”

He smiled down at her - a rare sight, one of the genuine ones. “Thank you.”

“Maybe...ah, I don’t know,” Franklin said. “Maybe I’ll go sailing?”

“Certainly enough daring-do and adventure to sate you,” Tim replied. “But you have to write to us.”

“Of course,” the fox nodded. “What about you Clara?”

Clara scrunched up her nose. “Maybe I’ll see if any studios need additional musicians. Not going to let all the musical talent drawn into me go to waste, and I like doing that. If not, maybe I’ll go on a trip.”

“Sounds good,” Tim nodded. “You’ll have to come visit me at University!”

“Little Bun gonna visit me in the East?” Dawson smirked. She scoffed. 

“In your dreams, if I’m not hitting you with a banjo.”

“You can write me a few sea shanties! That way you can travel with me,” Franklin added, draping a lazy arm over her shoulders. Clara hugged him from the side. 

“Bet on it,” she grinned. Dawson looked at his pocketwatch.

“I don’t know about you all,” he said. “But I need a drink. Anyone game for a round at On the 1′s?”

“Only if you get the first round, Dastardly,” Franklin said, with a friendly punch to the arm. Dawson didn’t respond in the negative, only moving to hail a taxi. He only opened the door for Clara. No one noticed when she gently squeezed his paw with hers, they never had, but the touch was brief and hesitant. 

“Driver, onward to the future,” Franklin said. “Oh, and to On the 1′s.”

It was one of the last times they were all in a group. That is, until, one fateful meeting 90 years later in the office of the new CEO of Warner Brothers. 

[anubislover]

Welcome to the Heart Pirates, Nami-ya chapter 16: Salvage

As much as Nami would have loved to set out right away to get the antivenom, she knew there was no choice but to wait at least two hours until the tide was low enough to safely explore the shipwreck. From what she could observe through the binoculars, it was securely lodged into the rocks and reef that surrounded the island, but much of it was only really accessible when the tide was out.

So, with no other choice but to play the waiting game, she found herself perusing a zoology book to pass the time.

“Huh. Apparently, snow leopards can’t roar—however, their tails are super mobile and are often used to send ‘messages’ during social encounters. They’re ambush attackers who generally pounce down on their prey from above, which is easy since they’re excellent climbers and can jump up to seven times their body length. They’re also known as the ‘Ghosts of the Mountains’ in some places because they’re so shy and solitary,” she prattled, skimming over the description before looking up at Law, who huffed in annoyance as his tail irritably flicked back and forth.

Clearly, the transformed captain was antsy. He’d been told in no uncertain terms that he was not allowed to join his companions on their salvaging mission. Naturally, he’d thrown a fit, hissing and growling and making all sorts of angry sounds—including what she now assumed was his failed attempt to roar—but the pair of navigators stood firm. It was only when Nami pointed out that, Devil Fruit powers or not, he didn’t know how to swim in his current form which made him a potential liability, that he reluctantly acquiesced.

Of course, since he couldn’t help and would be forced to stay on the ship alone, he needed something to keep him occupied so he wouldn’t pace around the infirmary, speeding up the poison’s journey through his bloodstream. Unfortunately, he was having a harder time distracting himself than Nami, as his furry paws made it impossible enjoy a book past a couple pages. Reading aloud to him was the only real option and keeping him informed of his current form’s capabilities at least seemed useful. However, it appeared that there wasn’t a lot of information on snow leopards due to their reclusive nature.

As if human Law isn’t mysterious enough, she thought, skipping to another section. “Ok, what do you want to hear about next; pandas or binturongs? Or should we switch to birds?” she asked, indicating another book by Dr. Monroe. Bepo had been nice enough to lug over the man’s entire encyclopedia series, which ranged from reptiles to mammals to birds from all four Blues.

Yellow eyes rolled heavenwards as Law grumbled under his breath. Bepo wasn’t around at the moment to translate, but Nami could pretty easily deduce that he was displeased with both options.

“Well, sorry Law, but I already told you that I’m not reading any of your creepy-ass medical texts! If you don’t want me to read to you, we’ll find you a ball of yarn or something,” she snapped, slamming the book closed.

Spotted ears flattened back as he gave a brief flash of his fangs before calming down, looking away with a huff. Yet despite his haughty expression, she could see the tension in his shoulders and the way his claws flexed in and out.

He was trying to hide it, but Nami could tell Law was quietly freaking out.

She sighed as she reached out to stroke his brow soothingly. “Sorry. Guess we’re both a bit tense, huh?”

He grunted in affirmation but didn’t pull away, instead leaning into her touch.

Deciding that petting him would be a much better distraction than reading for both of them, she began scratching behind his ears with gusto as she said, “Look, I get that this must suck for you, especially considering how used to being in control you are. I’m sure I wouldn’t be much happier if I were turned into a cat. But I promise Bepo and I will be fine. It’s just a quick salvage mission; we get the antivenom, plus the supplies that guy needs, and then head straight back to the Tang. Easy-peasy. You’ll be back on your feet by dawn, and human again by breakfast.”

He gave her a disbelieving side-eye before arching his neck back, silently indicating that she should direct her attentions there.

Nami rolled her eyes but followed his instruction, fingers firmly scratching under his chin. After all, when else would she get the chance to cuddle a snow leopard like a friendly housecat? That, and he seemed less inclined to argue with her when he was getting so much physical attention. “You must know you’ve got a capable crew, right? Otherwise you wouldn’t have sailed this far with them. Sure, there are plenty of things that only you can do, but delegation of duties is an essential leadership skill. When this is all over, I want to you to start trusting your nakama more, got it?” she scolded, even as she carded her fingers along his broad chest, her hands practically disappearing into the luxuriously thick fur.

She had to admit, she did kind of like him like this. He was gloriously fluffy, she could ignore his snide comments and innuendos, and petting him was oddly enjoyable. Not that she wanted Law to stay like this forever, as she would miss their verbal sparring and occasional intelligent conversations, but she found herself wondering if, just maybe, when he turned back, he could…keep the ears and tail? He’d be so cute with them!

As she scratched his chin, a smug smirk curled her lips. “You know, maybe we should keep you like this for a little while longer. It’ll teach you to rely on your crew a bit more, and I gotta say, I wouldn’t mind having my own pet snow leopard,” she teased.

Law’s eyes narrowed at the statement before a wide smirk of his own spread across his muzzle, a hungry glint shining in the gold irises. It was an expression Nami could only describe as “deviously seductive” and she was certain that if he were in his human form, she’d be pinned to the nearest flat surface.

He gave a low, almost purring growl, and she immediately inferred it to mean “enjoy it while you can, because the second I’m me again, you are in so much trouble.” The message was further punctuated by the way he leaned in and inhaled against her neck, his whiskers tickling her chin.

Do not be aroused by a cat. Do not be aroused by a cat, Nami chanted in her head, blushing as her imagination was filled with Law in his human form, yet sporting those ears and tail she’d found so cute. Only, it wasn’t quite so adorable when paired with a feral smile and graceful, prowling movements as he caged her against a wall.

Realizing exactly where her thoughts were straying, she immediately sought to distract both Law and herself by reaching up to scratch behind his ears, earning her a series of very happy sounds from the big cat. It was hard to be seductive when you were getting petted like a big, fluffy kitty, after all.

Leaning hard into her touch, he let out a few deep meows, eyes shutting tightly in pleasure as she hit a particularly good spot.

“Umm, he just said ‘If the trade fails, your job for the rest of the year is doing this. Constantly’,” Bepo explained as he poked his head into the room. He carefully made his way to the bed, his hands occupied by a large bowl of water and a massive tray of raw meat while Kikoku was tucked awkwardly under his arm.

It hadn’t dawned on any of them until Law’s stomach had started growling that he hadn’t eaten anything since the pocky game, so the bear had offered to get him some food from the galley. Despite his captain’s current form, Nami had expected his order to be along the lines of onigiri, though she could now see that had been a bit optimistic.

“Are you sure this is what you’re hungry for, Law?” Bepo asked, looking down at the meat dubiously. “It’d really be no trouble to cook it up for you.”

Law’s eyes lit up at the sight of the bloody steaks and gave a few yowls in reply, pulling away from Nami’s hands to eagerly sit up.

The Mink blanched at his response. “Ew, Law! That’d technically be cannibalism!”

“What would?” Nami asked, horrified.

“Eating the boar that attacked us, since it used to be a human like him.” Bepo shuddered before handing him the food. “Here. They’re a little cold, but they were the only non-frozen meat I could find.”

The leopard didn’t seem to mind, literally tearing into one of the raw steaks with a barely-contained hunger. His table manners weren’t exactly great as a human, but Nami found watching him devour his dinner like this was far worse.

Any half-hearted plans of keeping him as a leopard were immediately scrapped. If this is what feeding time would look like, it was not worth it.

Averting her eyes for the sake of not emptying her own stomach, she turned her focus to Bepo, who had leaned Kikoku against the cot. “Why’d you get that? It’s not like he can use it,” she asked, wiggling her fingers meaningfully.

“He knows that, but I think it makes him feel better having it around,” he whispered in her ear.

“Like a security blanket?”

“Yeah.”

She stifled a giggle with her hand. “Got it. How’s the tide looking?”

“Almost fully out. I think it’s about time to go.”

“Sounds good. Think Law will be ok without us for a few hours?”

They turned to find Law on his back, batting at Kikoku’s dangling tassels. Feeling their amused gazes on him, he glared and let out a growl.

“Law says, ‘If you tell anyone about this, I’ll kill you’.”

This time, Nami didn’t bother to hide her laughter.

XXX

The trip over to the wreck had been fairly smooth—the weather was calm, the nearly-full moon provided plenty of light to see by, and their small motorboat managed to navigate the sharp rocks that poked out of the water. They’d grabbed a few empty backpacks to carry their loot, along with her lock picks and a lantern to light the way inside. Nami hoped they wouldn’t need much more than that; their boat was designed for speed and maneuverability, not weight, so they couldn’t afford to bring more than necessary.

As they pulled up alongside the ship, she was amazed at how well-preserved it was. Sure, it was definitely never going to sail again, but it was still in one piece; far better off than the ship that had fallen from Skypia that she’d made the boys salvage back what felt like a lifetime ago. Barnacles encased nearly every inch of the hull, and there were noticeable holes in the side that looked like damage from canon fire. If she had to guess, the pirates had been escaping a battle and gotten caught up in a storm, leading them to be shipwrecked on the cove. Her theory of a storm was confirmed when she got a good look at the mast—it was charred and splintered, clearly damaged by a lightning strike, and the sails were burned to black tatters.

From what she could tell, there were three levels, much like the Thousand Sunny. Given her experience infiltrating and robbing pirate ships in the past, she figured they’d find the galley, sick bay, and crew’s living quarters on the main deck level. The captain’s quarters and treasure room would take up most of the top level. Below deck would be additional living quarters, storage space, and brig.

She didn’t have high hopes for the lower level—it spent the most time underwater compared to the others, so it’d likely have little to offer. Still, her time as a thief had taught her not to completely rule out a secret treasure room or safe hidden deep in the bowls of the ship, as some of the smarter crews had learned not to keep the best stuff in the obvious places.

“Ok, here’s the plan,” she said to Bepo as they climbed up onto the deck. The wood was slippery with kelp and algae, and she could already see several large holes where the wood had rotted through. “We need to locate the antivenom first—the sick bay’s our best bet. Next, we’ll get the stuff we need for the trade. Depending on the shape the ship is in, though, you might need to hang back if the floors are too rotted.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

She carefully stepped over a broken railing—the whole ship listed slightly to the left, so keeping their balance was tricky. “We need to be careful; Law’s already all pissy because he couldn’t come with us. If we come back with so much as a scratch, he’s going to bitch about how he should have been there. This is your chance to prove to him that he can trust other people and that he doesn’t need to be such a control freak.”

“I’m sorry. We don’t want to rely on him so much,” Bepo said sadly as he reached out a paw for her to take, helping her climb over some debris, “but if we don’t let him get his way, he does it behind our backs, and sometimes he gets hurt because of it. At least when we let him be in charge, he’ll let us go along as backup.”

“Well, not this time,” she reaffirmed, eyes narrowed seriously. “You need to stand up for yourself more, just like you did back in the infirmary. Doing that probably saved his life!”

“I know,” he replied as they reached the entrance to the main deck. “It’s just…Shachi, Penguin and I have followed him since we were kids. The three of us were lost in a big world and desperate for a leader. And sure, we’re all grown up now, but he’s still the one with the plans and ambitions and power…”

“Yeah, he’s powerful,” she agreed, gingerly testing out the floor. When it proved solid enough, she motioned for Bepo to follow her inside. She knew they had to step lightly, though—even if the rooms only got halfway submerged at high tide, it was still enough to cause significant structural damage. “That doesn’t mean he’s all-powerful. You guys have your strengths, too. He can’t navigate, right?”

“Well, no…”

“Can he shoot a rifle like Shachi?”

“He can fire a gun, but he’s no sharpshooter.”

“Can he fix the engine like Ikkaku?”

“Absolutely not! Law specifically hired her because none of us could figure out the engine!”

“See? Everyone’s got their strengths and weaknesses. Yes, there are certain things only Law can do, but he can’t do it all. He’s already pulling double-duty as the captain and doctor; you guys need to step in when he starts making too much work for himself.”

“We stepped in on the beach,” he defended as he pointed out a room at the end of the hall with a little red cross over it.

Taking the hint, Nami carefully made her way towards it, indicting to him the spots that obviously couldn’t take the polar bear’s weight. “It shouldn’t have taken that long, though! He spent a week not sleeping, running himself into the ground—”

“Law only listens to us when things are really bad!” Bepo shouted, stamping his foot in frustration. Unfortunately, the force combined with the unstable wood sent his leg crashing through the floor.

“Whoa!” Nami cried, grabbing his arm to stabilize him while he pulled the limb out. Though that particular spot wasn’t rotted, it had been flanked by splintered sections that hadn’t offered much support. “Ok, you know what? Maybe this isn’t the best time to talk about this,” she said as nervous sweat dripped down her neck. She was so used to Bepo being meek and apologetic, she’d forgotten that he was a super-strong Mink. Him losing his temper was dangerous, especially here.

He nodded quickly, paws trembling the slightest bit. “Agreed,” he whimpered, his round ears drooping with shame. “I’m sorry.”

She immediately felt guilty. It was one thing to give a guy a much-needed lecture, but she’d been so far up on her high horse she hadn’t considered that they had significantly more important things to focus on. “It’s fine. I did say you needed more backbone, didn’t I?” Steadying herself, she helped him to his feet. “Let’s just hold off on the subject until we’re back on the Tang.”

“Ok,” he whimpered, head still hanging in contrition.

Nami made a mental note to keep an eye on the poor guy. He’d clearly been taking this whole fiasco harder than she’d thought. His captain was powerless and poisoned, his crew was missing, they had to trudge around a dangerous, rotting ship to appease a crazy old man, and Nami was basically telling him that it was his fault for not better controlling his stubborn captain.

Once this was over, she’d make it up to him. Maybe get him another giant salmon or something on the next island. Or more ear scratches. He’d seemed to like those, and it didn’t cost her money.

That in mind, she cautiously opened the door to the sick bay, wincing at the moaning creak the rusty hinges gave out. The room itself was fairly standard for a pirate ship—an examination table, sick bed, desk, skeleton display (which Nami hoped was fake and for reference purposes, and not some poor soul who’d been picked clean by the fishes), small cages for lab animals, and what were probably the sodden remains of the physician’s texts and notes. However, the state of the place would give Chopper a conniption fit; seaweed and algae clung to nearly every surface, the padding on the chair and cot had been ripped apart, glass from broken bottles was all over the floor, and the place reeked of decomposing wood and salt.

Of course, none of that mattered to Nami as her attention was quickly drawn to the large safe in the back of the room. It was made of stainless steel, so while barnacles and rockweed had attached themselves to the surface, there was blessedly minimal rust.

“Think that’s where we’ll find our antivenom?” she asked rhetorically, already examining the lock to see if it needed to be picked. It was a fairly simple one—it needed a key as opposed to a combination—and Nami immediately pulled out her lockpicks, carefully jimmying the tumblers into place.

The tiny click was easily heard by both navigators, who’d unconsciously held the breaths. They both exhaled a soft “whoa” as the door swung open, revealing stacks of trays filled with carefully labeled vials. Many of them were the antivenom they sought, but there were also shelves full of the venom itself; mostly coral snake, though there were notably a few others like king cobra, black mamba, and pit viper.

“That’s a lot of snake venom,” Nami said with a shudder, imagining the number of snakes it must have taken to get that much stock. And they’d kept them on the ship? That sounded like a recipe for disaster.

“The old man did say those pirates dealt in it.” Bepo peered at the assortment of antivenom before selecting a vial. “Here’s the coral snake. Should we take any of the others?”

“Hell, take it all. It’s not doing any good here, and I’m sure after this fiasco Law would want to have extra antivenom on hand just in case. Anything he doesn’t want, we can sell.”

“Law will like that. Antivenom goes for big money at hospitals, since it’s not always easy to get access to. But the venom itself we should dump—I don’t like the idea of anyone getting a hold of this much poison.”

Nami couldn’t agree more. There was only one reason she could think of for why anyone would want snake venom in large quantities—murder. And whether the Navy, pirates, or Revolutionaries were the buyers made no difference.

As Bepo carefully loaded up the backpack with the antivenom, she fished out the deadly vials and began flinging them out the broken window. She could hear some crash against the rocks while others plopped into the sea, hopefully lost forever. So long, and good riddance, she thought, taking a bit of pleasure in imagining she was flinging away the snake that had bitten Law. She wondered if coral snakes could swim, or if the snake had drowned when she’d blasted it away into the water. She hoped it was the latter.

When she was done, Nami assessed the rest of the room. “Should we take anything else?” There were syringes, a microscope, stethoscopes, scalpels, and several other assorted medical apparatuses, though none of it was in particularly great shape.

Glancing at the waterlogged infirmary, Bepo wrinkled his nose in disdain. “No way. This equipment’s nothing compared to the Tang’s, and I doubt the sanitation of most of it after months exposed to the elements. It’s not even worth selling.”

Mouth twisting in disgust as she found herself agreeing with his assessment, Nami eyed the knapsack on his back. He’d loaded the trays that kept the vials upright, but they didn’t completely protect them when he moved. “Are those going to be safe like that?”

“I’ve stacked them as best I could, but we should try to find cloth to wrap them in for extra protection so they’re not just banging against each other,” he replied, shifting nervously. Even with that small motion, Nami could swear she heard a gentle clink of glass hitting glass.

It was tempting to suggest they put the bag in the motorboat for safekeeping, but it was too risky; an errant wave could capsize the boat and dump their precious cargo into the ocean, and it all would have been for nothing. They’d just have to be careful.

“Maybe we can find some rags or something to use as padding,” Nami suggested, leading them back into the hallway. Until then, they’d absolutely have to watch their step; another crash through the floor like earlier, and they risked a backpack full of unusable liquid and broken test tubes.

Their next stop was the galley, and immediately they knew they’d find little of use there. The cooking utensils were rusted through, as were the pots and pans, and there was nothing that could convince them that opening the refrigerator would result in anything less than a biohazard. Nami braved a trip to the pantry; there was some tinned food that looked to still be in decent condition, though she decided to pass on the can opener—it was guaranteed to give someone tetanus.

I sure hope we have better luck with the rest of the ship, she thought gloomily as they decided to take a chance on the upper deck, otherwise we won’t have much to trade for the crew.

“Should we go upstairs to the captain’s quarters, or the other side of the ship for the crew’s?” Bepo asked, pointing at the ceiling.

After dropping the canned goods into her own sack, Nami considered the question. Given its position high above the ocean and rocks, it likely had sustained the least amount of damage, making it the safest to check out. It also likely had the most usable goods, meaning that if they could find what they needed there, they wouldn’t have to bother with the other rooms.

“Captain’s room. If anyone on this ship owned a pair of good, hearty boots, it’d be them.”

The stairs to the top deck creaked and groaned with every step, but thankfully they held together well enough, even under Bepo’s weight.

The top deck held only one door, which was probably ornate before the wreck—now, the red and gold paint was chipped and faded while the etched handle was rusted over. Nami carefully tested the knob, only to find it jammed. “Bepo, would you be a dear and get the door?” she asked sweetly, moving to the side.

The bear stepped forward, taking a minute to futilely try to turn the knob himself. Nami sighed and stopped him before miming what she meant for him to do.

“Oh. Sorry,” he replied before kicking in the door, the force of the blow sending it clear across the room.

“Guess you’re not used to breaking and entering, huh?” she joked. A thought came to her. “By the way, how’d you get into Law’s room earlier? You know, to get Kikoku? It was locked when I checked.”

Bepo’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Why were you trying to get into his room?”

She froze. Shit. She needed a good explanation, or else he’d surely say something to Law, and any hope she’d have of getting in there would be ruined. “Oh! Uh, I wanted to see if he’d returned to the sub!” she lied, putting on an innocent smile. “You know, it would have been silly for us to search the island for him when he’d been in his room the whole time!”

He scratched his head guiltily. “Oh. That makes sense. Sorry I didn’t think of that.” Gingerly stepping into the room to ensure the floor was stable, he explained, “I have a key to his room for emergencies. I mean, he rarely has to worry about locking himself out, what with his powers and all, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

It felt wrong to take advantage of Bepo’s trust and innocence, but Nami knew this was her chance to get into Law’s room. “Do you carry it on you most of the time, or do you keep it in your room for safekeeping?”

“Oh, I usually leave it in my top desk drawer so it doesn’t get lost.”

“See? You’re responsible! Further proof that Law’s stupid for not trusting you more,” she chirped, lightly hopping over a hole in the floor. Standing in the center of the captain’s quarters, she took in what had probably been fairly luxurious accommodations before the wreck.

While the elements hadn’t too severely affected the room since it managed to stay above water, two months of rain, wind, and waves coming through the broken windows had clearly taken its toll. The velvet curtains were tattered and coated with a layer of salt and seaweed. There was a leather chair that had seen better days, a fancy wardrobe sporting clear water damage, and the decorative cutlass displayed over the bed looked like it could dissolve if touched, it was so rusted and tarnished. The cherrywood desk had become home to crabs and starfish, and there was a massive bird’s nest in the center of the king-sized bed. Oddly, though, there wasn’t much by way of bird crap over the floor. Yet something clearly lived there, as it looked like some kind of massive bird had decided to rip apart the mounted snow leopard head with its beak and talons.

It was the polar opposite of any room Luffy would ever want, even looking past the obvious deterioration. Her captain had always preferred sleeping with his crew, roughing it in a hammock or bunk bed. He’d never even mentioned a desire for his own cabin, despite a captain having every right to one. Heck, even back in the days of the Going Merry, the second room had been given to Nami and treated as the women’s quarters, despite them at the time not knowing if there would even be any other girls.

I wonder why? Nami thought to herself. Did he just not see any reason for having a room to himself, or did he genuinely dislike sleeping alone? Maybe he and Ace always shared a room, so he slept better with company?

It drove home just how little she really knew about Luffy’s past. When they were reunited, she’d have to sit him down and get his whole life story; why Shanks had given him his hat, whether Garp and the Revolutionary Dragon were his only living relatives, tales about growing up with Ace…

Shaking herself out of questions about the past and plans for the future, she focused on the present. “Check the wardrobe for the boots and blankets—I’ll see if the desk drawers are watertight enough to keep any books from getting destroyed.”

Bepo nodded, shuffling over to the far side of the room while Nami set to work picking the locks of the desk drawers. Most contained sodden papers, leaking pens, a few animal claws on a string, and a waterlogged pocket watch, but nothing of real value or use.

However, inside the top left drawer was a metal box. Nami’s eyes lit up with belli signs as she imagined this could be where the captain had stashed his spare cash or prized pieces of treasure. Nimbly picking the padlock, she was disappointed to find just a few belli notes and a leather-bound journal. She stuffed the money in her bra for safekeeping and cracked open the log, hoping that it would at least tell her where the crew might have kept their treasure.

Captain’s Log: February 22nd Just made lucrative a deal with a stinking-rick noblewoman who wants a whole coat made of snow leopard fur, plus a pet baby snow leopard she can show off, but it’s not exactly easy to find those damn cats, especially outside the North Blue. Luckily, there’s a winter island not far from here with some conservationists studying them; maybe if we make nice, they’ll lead us to a few.

Captain’s Log: April 4th We may have found our ultimate meal ticket. Why search the Grand Line for exotic animals when you have a Devil Fruit user who can MAKE them? One of the conservationists can actually turn people into animals—he’s been using it to transform his fellow scientists so they can get close to the animals they’re studying. He’s an older man. Weak. Idealistic. Shouldn’t be hard to break him in.

Captain’s Log: April 10th Doc says he can’t really choose what to turn people into, but I think it’s bullshit. Yesterday, he turned the cabin boy into a calf, probably so he’ll think he’s useless. Joke’s on him, though—that veal was damn tasty. Good to know we’ll always have a supply of meat on a long voyage. Hell, maybe we could open a butcher shop on the side.

Captain’s Log: April 18th You know, I used to just put a bullet in an animal’s brain to kill it before skinning, but that always was such a bitch to clean up, plus it risked damaging the rest of the coat. But then Akio came up with a great idea—kill them with snake venom! It’s a lot less messy, depending on what you use, and I can save my bullets.

On top of that, Doc’s still trying to rebel by turning prisoners into useless animals like mice and hamsters. Except now we’ve got ourselves some excellent lab rats for making antivenom. Lemons and lemonade, right?

Captain’s Log: June 12th Doc’s “training” is coming along nicely. Sure, he still begs and pleads for us not to make him use his powers, but it doesn’t take much for him to give up anymore, and he’s finally giving us the animals we want. It helps that Haru was able to rig up one of the pullies to his cage so if he doesn’t comply, he gets a nice long dunk in the ocean to cool his head. Devil Fruit, am I right? I used to want one myself, but I’m starting to think it’s not worth the price.

Captain’s Log: June 18th Had to retrain Doc today. Thought he could get one over on me by turning a prisoner into a cobra. Too bad for him I was quick enough to shield my arm with Armament Haki. I think a long seawater bath will set him straight. Maybe break his leg, too, as a long-term reminder.

Doc really should be more grateful; it’s a win-win situation. We’re not killing or selling wild animals anymore, so his conservation work continues. And with all the fur, meat, and product we get out of it, we’re quickly getting filthy rich!

Captain’s Log: August 3rd Today was a huge score! We came across a lifeboat full of refugees. They were just floating there, helpless, packed in like sardines. Apparently, they’d been out there for days after their ship was attacked by a Sea King. We brought them aboard and promised we’d take them to the next island and provide food and shelter. They were so fucking grateful to be rescued they didn’t even care that we were pirates. Of course, their tunes changed once we started shoving them in cages!

We set Doc to work right away. The weakling whimpered a bit, especially when it came to the kids, but hey, it’s not like we’re breaking our promise; they’ll get to the next island. Maybe not in one piece, and definitely not human, but hey, them’s the breaks, right? It’s not like anyone will miss them, anyway.

Stomach churning with disgust, Nami couldn’t bring herself to do more than skim the later entries. Going by the dates, the captain had been making a massive profit off of selling exotic animal pelts, meat, venom, and pets for nearly two years. And he’d been forcing a man who’d devoted himself to protecting animals to do it.

No wonder the old man hated pirates. Had instinctively turned the Hearts into animals; he’d probably been scared out of his mind that they’d be just like the rest, ready to abuse and exploit him again. She could certainly relate.

“Nami?” Bepo’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “Are you ok? You’re whiter than I am!”

Shaking her head, she tried to give a reassuring smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. Any luck on the boots?”

He held up a pair of what were once very fancy snakeskin boots, except they were clearly falling apart in his paws. “Sorry; even if they were wearable, they’re a size eight. But that book’s in good shape! Think it’s something we can give the old man?” he asked excitedly.

Swallowing hard, Nami stared at the leather journal. “No. I don’t think he’d want to read this.” If Arlong had ever kept a journal detailing all the awful things he’d done to exploit her, she’d much rather see it burn.

The Mink’s ears drooped at her answer. “Nami, what are we going to do if we can’t get the supplies we need for the trade?”

That was the question, wasn’t it? They needed those things to free the crew and get them turned back into humans. But everything on board was garbage at best. They needed some kind of solution, otherwise Law and the rest of the Hearts could give up any dreams of sailing the Grand Line, much less finding the One Piece.

What would Luffy do in this kind of situation?

The answer was so obvious, she nearly laughed.

“We’ll give him supplies from the Tang.”

Bepo’s black, button-like eyes widened as his jaw dropped in disbelief. “What?!”

“He’s not asking much; just basic amenities. We can get some pots and pans from the galley. Law wears a size ten—we’ll give him a pair of his boots. There’s gotta be spare blankets, and the library has tons of books we can give him. Hell, according to this,” she said, holding up the journal, “he was a conservationist; maybe he’d like that encyclopedia set by Dr. Monroe.”

Twiddling his claws nervously, Bepo cautioned, “Law’s not going to like giving the guy who turned him into a leopard any of our stuff.”

“Well, if Law wants to be human again, he’ll have to deal with it. We’ve got plenty of cash to replace them. Hell, if antivenom goes for as much as you say, we’ll be making a profit from this trip, so it evens out. We’re not giving him anything we can’t easily replace on Atifakuto.”

He blinked, surprised at her determination. “You know, I always heard you were greedy and didn’t like spending even a single belli on anyone but yourself. But you’re being surprisingly generous.”

A deep, melancholy frown marred her beautiful face as she stared down at the journal. “That old man…he was a prisoner. His powers—his passion—was exploited by pirates for years. He was abused, tortured, forced to turn innocent people into animals to be sold or slaughtered…” A knot formed in her throat, but she stubbornly swallowed it down. “If all he wants is a few pots and pans and to live out his life alone, I’m willing to spend a few belli on that.”

A large paw gently patted her shoulder. “Ok. I understand,” Bepo replied sympathetically. “Should we go back to the ship?”

That would be a good idea, wouldn’t it? They didn’t need to linger. They could head right back to the Tang and start administering the antivenom.

Still, she didn’t want to risk anything happening to the glass vials if the ride back got bumpy. She didn’t want to use the blanket on the captain’s bed, though; it would disturb the bird’s nest, and enough animals had suffered aboard this ship. “We’ll check the crew’s quarters for those rags, then head back. But I think we can leave the lower level alone.”

“Ok, Nami,” Bepo said, giving a reassuring smile. “Should we leave the journal?”

She hadn’t realized she’d been holding the leather-bound book in a white-knuckled grip. She took a deep, steadying breath as she pried her fingers off the diary’s spine, tucking it into her knapsack. “No. We’ll give it to the old man—it’ll make good kindling.”

Knowing what kind of bastard lived in that room, Nami was more than happy to march out of the captain’s quarters onto the main deck. That man was a monster. She hoped he drowned in the storm, or got turned into something truly horrible, like a centipede, or dung beetle, or—

The sound of heavy flapping caught her attention, and Nami only just managed to duck out of the way as a pair of sharp talons attempted to rake across her face.

“Eeeek!” she cried, crossing her arms across her face defensively. She could feel heavy gusts of wind beat against her as the bird missed, swooping past to land on the deck with a heavy thump.

“Nami!” Bepo cried as he ran out, growling at the enormous black vulture that glared at them both. Its head was dark and bald, and the hazel eyes were so hatefully human there was no question that it was another transformed pirate.

“Stay out of our way,” Bepo said to it, taking a fighting stance. He wobbled slightly, the wood beneath him creaking and the slant not helping his balance, but his expression remained firm.

The vulture gave a drawn-out, hateful hissing sound as it spread its massive wings, indicating the ship.

“So you’re the captain, huh?” Bepo replied. “Well, your ship’s gross!”

Nami wanted to sigh at her friend’s terrible attempt at trash-talk, but she decided it was better to lead by example. “So, the old man turned you into a vulture, huh?” she asked, getting up and assembling her Clima-Tact. “Guess it’s fitting for a scavenger like you!”

The captain let out another hiss before taking off into the air, catching the wind and soaring above them, circling the ship as it formulated a plan.

Nami, however, wasn’t going to let that happen. “Cyclone Tempo!” she shouted, swinging her staff and launching a gust of wind at the bird. It did the trick of knocking it off-course, sending it further into the sky, but it also blasted Nami backwards with enough force to send her crashing through a rotten part of the deck floor.

She screamed as the wood splintered around her and she tumbled through the air. Luckily it wasn’t a long drop, and instead of landing on the floor she splashed into water, which was just deep enough to keep her from sustaining any major harm.

Sputtering, she stood up. The seawater reached her waist, and there were enough holes in the ceiling to let the moonlight in so she could see.

She wished she couldn’t.

Nami’s stomach turned as she took in the large room. There were cages everywhere. Many of them were broken and covered in barnacles after two months being submerged in salt water, but a few were still in decent enough shape that there was no doubt that the ship’s lower level had basically been a prison. To her left was a huge workbench covered in bone saws, knives for skinning, whips, chains, collars, and all sorts of other contraptions she didn’t care to identify.

Pirates like these reminded her why she didn’t believe people like Luffy existed for so long. They beat and tortured an old man, who just wanted to protect wildlife, for the sake of exploiting his powers. Then, they forced him to turn innocent people into animals so they could be sold as pets, skinned, or otherwise extorted.

This wasn’t right. Nami had no problem with animals being used for food or domesticated, but this was completely different, even if they hadn’t been humans first. Those pirates had gone out of their way to be cruel if the whips and chains on the wall were anything to go by.

“I’m beginning to think the old man’s inability to swim wasn’t the only reason he didn’t want to come back here,” she whispered to herself.

“Nami! Are you ok?!” Bepo called down, poking his head into the hole she’d fallen through. His eyes widened as he took in the cages, rusted saws, and chains. She could imagine that, even after two months being washed away by the brine, he could still smell lingering traces of blood and animal flesh.

When he bared his teeth in anger, Nami knew he’d managed to connect the dots of what exactly had occurred on the ship.

“I’m ok!” she assured, looking for the exit. “I’ll be right with you.”

“I’ll come down and get you!”

“Don’t risk it!” she cried, already wading towards the stairs. She could feel the rotten wood giving way beneath her with every step. “The floor can barely hold my weight, much less yours. Keep a lookout for that vulture, though!”

“Ok—” his response was cut off by a roar of pain, and through the gap between Bepo’s head and the edge of the hole Nami could see sharp talons grasping at his neck.

“Bepo!” she screamed, wading as fast as she could towards the stairs, stumbling over debris and holes and possibly even bones. She forced herself not to think about that—what mattered was getting upstairs and helping her friend!

Finally, she was able to pull herself out of the water, and the stairs cracked and broke beneath her feet as she ran up, but she didn’t care. When she got to the door at the top, she slammed her thin shoulder against it, fighting the rusty lock and hinges as they tried to keep her from the outside world. Not to be deterred, she braced herself against the corner of the stairway and unleashed another Cyclone Tempo to break them open.

The doors went flying, and Nami dashed outside in time to see the vulture take off, Bepo’s knapsack in its talons.

“No!” she screamed, futilely diving for the bird, but it was out of her reach. She was tempted to blast it down with a lightning bolt, but that would most certainly destroy the vials kept inside the bag. Another blast of wind would just push it further away, and her other attacks were useless.

As it flew towards the island, the vulture turned its bald head and gave a menacing hiss.

“What did it say?” Nami asked as she rushed to Bepo’s side. His neck and shoulders were scratched up, but his thick fur and skin had prevented them from going too deep.

“He said…he said ‘if you want the antivenom, bring us the doctor’,” he whimpered, looking confused. “But why would they want Law?”

“They don’t,” Nami replied sadly, staring at the island. “They want the old man.”

[nemossubmarine]

Warhammer 40k: Wrath & Glory RP #26

We pick up right where we left off; Alice and Larry are laying on the ground, bloodied and slowly coming to. Michael gets up from the floor and people can see Hekathisis’ sword stuck through his thigh. Speaking of Hekathisis, his body lays on the floor, bruised, with a terrified look frozen on his face. Ferrus, his face profusely bleeding, has collapsed against Coco. Coco helps him against the wall, and attempts to clean up his face. La’awali and Tirak start wordlessly dragging stuff into their ship. After Izarak has stemmed the bleeding of Alice and Larry, he goes to check out how Ferrus is doing. Most of the blood is coming from shallow cuts on his head where Izarak had to cut into him, and some is coming from his nose. Coco carries Ferrus to the ship.

Larry asks for someone to help him up and Michael pulls him from the floor. He comments on the sword struck into Michael and Michael says it’s better to keep it in for the moment, and than he can manage. Michael then helps Alice up as well before joining the xenos in dragging stuff and people to the ship. Alice and Larry go check out Hekathisis body and Larry asks Alice to take him inside, in case he could be of use in their escape attempt. They dump his body in the cockpit. Larry strips his armor and puts it on. While he does it, his fingers graze against the object that Hekathsis was holding, which is some kind of a skull. As soon as his fingers touch upon him, there is intense feeling of someone else’s pain and anguish. Larry doesn’t touch the skull anymore after that.

Once everything is packed up, the people file into the ship. Michael and Izarak stay with the unconscious people and the Imperial family, while the rest pile into the cockpit with the aliens. Looking over how La’awali is on the pilot’s seat, it is fairly obvious that she is not a very confident flyer. Larry motions to her that he can take over once they’ve gotten off the ground. La’awali does manage to get them to fly. There are some eldar ships around, but they appear not to be able to notice their ship.

Larry takes over flying duty and he notices that even if the ship is alien, he can fly it pretty well and it is smooth sailing. Coco uses the map that the Countess provided to locate for them a portal going out. The only problem is that it doesn’t appear to be open and the party doesn’t have any idea how to open one. They decide to tail a huge ship and when they see it heading for an opening portal, they gun it and pass through. 

They come into a field of meteors. They’re not sure where they are, but it certainly looks like real-space. They cruise away from the emerging eldar ship and then leave the motor on idle. La’awali hugs Larry, clearly super happy to be out. She then motions for them to follow her.

Meanwhile Tirak joins Michael and Izarak and motions for them to follow, taking them to the second floor of the ship and into the medbay. Izarak busies himself in unlodging the sword from Michael’s thigh. Tirak starts carrying unconscious people into the medbay. 

The others join them and La’awali starts patching up Alice and Larry. Larry asks if Izarak has any problem with this, since the priesthood is traditionally against all this. Izarak says he thinks this is probably not the place for him to complain. 

After everyone has been patched up, La’awali and Tirak start carrying stuff in for them, such as water, food, towels and fresh clothes. The party decides the best thing for them to do is figure out where they are currently. For that they’ll need Ferrus. Coco tried to look for any places she could recognize, but she couldn’t recognize a single star or planet. Near Dimmamar they are not.

Ferrus luckily gets up pretty quickly, a bit confused about where they are and a bit confused about the eldar armor Izarak and Larry are wearing (they are in the process of changing out of them). Larry asks what he needs to locate them, and Ferrus said maps would help, but if not, then a window and a sextant (Larry makes an innuendo of it, to which Ferrus replies that sextant is not particularly exciting in the bedroom). He flags down Tirak and surprisingly knows how to talk with her, not in the language that Tirak and La’awali use together, but Tirak’s own language she used with the eldar. Tirak locates him a sextant and Ferrus goes to see what he can see.

While they’re waiting for that, Coco asks Larry to return her her dataslate, which Larry does, saying that if Coco needs any help with that, she only needs to ask. Coco says she just might. La’awali comes by with some kind of a machine in hand, that turns out to be some kind of a dictionary, as she haltingly thanks the party for their assistance to the Tau empire and the Greater Good. The party thanks her right back. Larry asks if she might be a doctor, but she informs him that their medical person is not available, but she has some experience as a field medic. Alice asks if anyone wants any chips before she finishes them all. La’awali lets them know that their rations are not infinite, but they should feel free to eat what they brought them.

Ferrus returns. He lets them know that they’re on the galactic south side of the Gothic Sector, which is the sector south of the sector containing Dimmamar, so they’ve not too far from their starting point, at least on a galactic scale. The closest Imperial planets to them are Coronis Agathon, a hive world and a garrison for the Imperial Guard and a Forge World by the name of Mpandex (potentially inventors of spandex?). They also find out that Esko, where the Imperial family is from, is literally on the other side of the galaxy. La’awali’s and Tirak’s home are quite far away as well, near the realm of Ultramar. Turns out Ferrus has heard of Tau, a small empire near Ultramar the Imperium has been intermittedly warring with for some hundred years. 

Larry lets everyone know that they really need to get him to a surgeon within a week, before the mushrooms inside him start bursting. Mpandex seems like the better option, and it is in the same direction as Dimmamar, so that’s where they’re going to head. Ferrus says he’ll go set up the autopilot with the coordinates, and Larry joins him.

Larry asks if Ferrus is doing alright, and Ferrus says he hasn’t been good for a while, but he’s not particularly worse, as long as he can renew his recipe at a Mpandex pharmacy, he should be fine for the moment (it’s not like he could afford to get his lung replaced atm). Ferrus says that since Larry did what they agreed on (getting Ferrus out of the eldar place), he can take him to Obsidia and back. Preferrably sooner than later, he wouldn’t want to die in the middle of the trip, but he’ll let him know if he starts keeling over. Larry asks if he knows much about Mpandex. Ferrus said he’s never been, and Larry says he has neither. Ferrus asks what they were doing while he was hanging from the wall. Larry says that they were doing some gladiator battling and mentions meeting Hekathsis there and how he ended up dying. Ferrus points at Hekathsis’ corpse and asks if that’s him and if that’s the person he killed. Larry, who wasn’t quite sure who did the killing of Hekathisis presumes that is so. He says that Hekathsis said they couldn’t truly kill him, so better keep an eye out on the corpse. Ferrus comments he doesn’t look like he’s getting up. They set up the autopilot.

Meanwhile Izarak takes care of the psykers. He checks them over, and is not quite sure if they’re abhumans or just mutated because of their psychic capabilities. One of the women seems to have acid blood, better keep an eye out on that.

Everyone gets a room in the ship! Well most everyone. Alice, Izarak and Michael have their own rooms on the same corridor. Alice manages to find some romance comics in hers. Izarak may or may not have a karaoke machine in his. Coco is neighboring with the psykers, when they eventually wake up. Coco’s room has some kind of a game board that she doesn’t recognize. For the bigger rooms La’awali and Tirak share one room (being a couple that’s fairly obvious), the Imperial family gets one (seemingly determined to stay in theirs) and Ferrus and Larry share one. Larry’s room has a flight simulator and some tau equivalent of tobacco.

Next time, people get to talk with NPCs and each other and figure what to do next!

[goindownshipping]

Please do #3 for Stony

Take me into your loving arms

Pairing: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark (Stony)

Rating: Teen (T)

Notes: “A breathy demand: “Kiss me” - and what the other person does to respond.” In this universe, people have multiple soulmate matches, and people often meet more than one soulmate in a lifetime. Thanks for another great one, @ohwereusingourmadeupnames!

Word count: 3.2k

Summary:

Tony didn’t live with much regret in life. He was proud of his work, he had great friends, he was involved in the community. The darkness only crept in on particularly bad days when he returned to an empty condo, reminded of the fact that he couldn’t find a partner in life. In all reality, it shouldn’t have been that hard for him to find someone. 

Or, Tony has given up on finding a soulmate when he matches with an unlikely colleague.

Feel free to send me prompts!

Tony didn’t live with much regret in life. He was proud of his work, he had great friends, he was involved in the community. The darkness only crept in on particularly bad days when he returned to an empty condo, reminded of the fact that he couldn’t find a partner in life. In all reality, it shouldn’t have been that hard for him to find someone. 

Ever since he was a child he’d been taught about soulmates. He read fairytales and watched movies about when people finally met one of their matches. As a child, he dreamed of the day that he would finally brush hands with someone and everything around them would disappear except whatever his soulmate was thinking at that moment. The movies made it look beautiful; the prince asking the princess to dance, taking her hand, and in that instant, the world would shift on its axis. Immediately the prince and princess knew they were meant to be and they lived happily ever after.

But of course, that’s not how it worked in the real world. Tony met his first match when he was 16 and he was elated. He couldn’t believe he’d found a match already! He couldn’t understand why that first boyfriend dumped him a few months later, claiming they’d met a match with a stronger connection. That was when Tony learned that he didn’t live in a fairytale; meeting a soulmate didn’t mean guaranteed happiness. It seemed like some kind of sick joke that the universe would identify your most compatible partners only to remind you that you’re still not good enough for them.

Years passed and Tony lost faith in soulmates. He avoided people that seemed like they could be matches, resorting to casual hookups, and flings through college. It seemed like the safest way to avoid perpetual heartbreak. Years after college he met Pepper Potts and he thought he’d finally found it. They fit together perfectly and Tony let his battered heart and self-confidence rebuild itself.

That went out the window when his best friend Rhodey got out of the Air Force and came home so Tony could finally introduce him to Pepper. It seemed like a cruel joke when he watched them shake hands and saw the faraway look in both their eyes. As much as they tried to laugh it off and ignore it for a while, it was only a matter of time before things broke down between Pepper and Tony.

Tony couldn’t be too mad about that one. Pepper and Rhodey were the two best people he knew and who was he to get in the way of that. Besides, he had too much fun taking credit for their disgustingly happy marriage.

So all in all, Tony was happy with how his life had played out. He’d long ago given up on finding another soulmate and was perfectly content with that decision. He was grateful that he’d had early success in his career, and now sat in an executive position at a swanky marketing firm. 

Said executive position had him in charge of the annual summer picnic for his division and he was doling out responsibilities to his team. As he went down the list he focused on Steve Rogers. Steve was his second in command in the office and the guy drove him up the wall. They’d started around the same time at the firm, but had always rubbed each other the wrong way. They worked together well, but that was where it stopped. However, just because they weren’t friends, that didn’t mean they didn’t engage in some good office competition.

To: Rogers, Steve

From: Stark, Tony

Subject: Stark vs. Rogers 2020, Stark’s Revenge

Message: Get ready for the annual softball game, I’m not letting you steal this one! - TS

--

Tony knew he had a competitive streak, and he was certainly not going to let his team lose to Rogers in the company softball game once again. Year in and year out, Steve Rogers and his team managed to win the game, but it was always close, Tony’s team just barely losing, never by more than two runs. This year, Tony wasn’t going to let that happen. Team Stark was barely holding on to a tie game, and all Tony had to do was make it from second base to home plate. 

As Clint prepared for his wind-up, Tony took a lead off the base, hands on his knees, and ready to run. He glared at Steve, who was crouched behind home plate, daring him to throw him out if he stole third. Before he could think about it too long, the ball was out of Clint’s grip and sailing toward Natasha. Her swing made contact with the ball with a loud crack, spurring Tony into a full sprint toward third. He rounded third without hesitation, closing in on sweet victory over Team Rogers.

As he sprinted down the third base line, Tony could see Steve poised on home plate, waving frantically toward one of his outfielders. He could nearly taste the victory when he saw the highlighter yellow softball come in to view out of his periphery. Before he could think about it, Tony tucked his left leg under, extended his right leg toward the plate, and used his speed to propel him into a slide. As soon as his foot hit plastic, Tony felt the thump of Steve’s glove against his shoulder. Before he could look to Bruce for his call, everything shifted around him.

Suddenly, he felt as if his head was underwater. The loud voices and cheers were reduced to soft echoes, nothing quite reaching his brain. Through the fog, he heard one voice loud and clear, ringing brightly in his head.

“What the hell?” 

Tony knew that voice. That deep, buttery smooth timbre belonged to none other than Steve Rogers. Tony turned his head slowly, unable to move any faster, and was surprised to see Steve on a knee, his hands pressed to his temples.

“Oh fuck, come on!”

Steve pressed his fingers hard into his temples, willing his body to regain some semblance of balance. When he heard Tony’s gravelly voice break through the haze, he paused. He forced his eyes open and they immediately locked with Tony’s.

In a moment, the world seemed to snap back into motion; noise and commotion rushing around them. Natasha knelt at Steve’s side as Bruce checked on Tony. Before anyone could ask any questions, Tony looked up at Bruce.

“Please tell me I was safe."

Both teams erupted into laughter, the tension leaving the air for the moment.

“Yeah man, you were safe. Looks like Team Stark finally got a win under their belt."

With that, a few team members helped Tony and Steve to their feet, watching both men cautiously. It wasn’t unheard of for people to discover a soulmate in front of a group of people, but it wasn’t exactly commonplace either. Most of the crew disappeared, leaving Tony and Rhodey standing with Steve and Bucky. Steve nodded toward Bucky and whispered something about a quick word with Tony. 

Rhodey looked between the two of them and shook his head with a smile on his face. “I’ll be with Pepper, Tony,” he said as he walked away.

As much as Tony wanted to whine in protest, he knew he needed to get this conversation over with. He turned to Steve, with his stupid blue eyes, unfair beard, and drool-worthy chest. Those were new thoughts for Tony, but damn if Steve looked good with a light layer of sweat and breathing heavily from exertion. He couldn’t help but look Steve up and down, drinking in the man in front of him, evidently, a soulmate. He tried to think through all the years he’d known Steve, unable to believe they’d never made physical contact until that moment.

“Before you say anything,” Tony started, “I don’t really do soulmates."

Steve took a deep breath, trying to keep his own emotions in check. “What do you mean by that, Tony?”

“Exactly what I said, Rogers. You know how I am, I’m not built for relationships, and I’m certainly not built for soulmates."

“Well, clearly you are, given what just happened out here."

“I never said that I’ve never matched with anyone, I just said I don’t do soulmates. Ask Pepper if you want. We tried, I wasn’t good enough,” Tony rambled.

“Do I get a say in this?” Steve interjected.

“What could you possibly have to say, Steve? You know as well as I do that we’re like oil and water, why should we try something we know won’t work?”

“I know that you’re stubborn, and you’re driven. You’re the smartest guy in this division by a mile and you’re dedicated to anyone and anything that matters to you. I think we’d be stupid to ignore what lies under the surface for us."

Tony shook his head hard. “No, Steve, I can’t." Tony took a deep breath and opened his mouth as if he was going to continue, but he snapped it shut.

Before Steve could say anything else, Tony spun on his heel and headed toward the rest of their colleagues and friends. “I’ll see you behind the barbecue in an hour or so!” he called back toward Steve.

When Tony dropped onto the bench next to Pepper and Rhodey he immediately closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the backrest. He hoped for a moment of peace before the interrogation he knew was coming, and managed to count to 30 before Pepper cleared her throat.

“Yes, Pep?” he asked without opening his eyes.

“You wanna tell us what the hell just happened, Tony?”

“I think you know what just happened,” Tony sassed back.

“Alright, alright,” Rhodey soothed. “What did you and Steve talk about?”

“Nothing important. I told him that I don’t do soulmates, he got stubborn about it, that’s it."

Pepper and Rhodey shared a glance.

“I can hear you silently judging me. At least do it out loud so I can join the fun,” Tony quipped.

“We’re not judging you,” Pepper started.

“Don’t you want to at least give it a shot? I mean, it’s Steve. He’s a great guy, I’ve never understood your beef with him,” Rhodey said.

Tony snorted. “Yeah, no way. I don’t want to give it a shot especially because it’s Steve. Now, I have an hour until I have to cook all your lunches with the guy, so be nice to me."

The three of them rejoined everyone else on the grass where several games of corn hole, volleyball, and other lawn games were in full swing. Tony grabbed a badminton racket, happily joining in on the fun. He was surprised to see Steve sitting off to the side; he was usually one to engage in team bonding.

Steve was watching Tony with an unreadable look on his face. At first glance, Tony thought he looked angry. Upon further inspection, Tony could see the slight furrow in his brow and pout on his lips. Tony wasn’t sure what to do with the thought that Steve was upset with him, so he turned his attention back to the match at hand, laughing and distracting himself for the time being.

Steve sat quietly, deep in thought as he watched Tony let loose and have fun with their friends and teammates. He wasn’t sure why Tony never revealed that side of himself to Steve, and he tried not to take it personally. He was just as shocked as Tony was at home plate that afternoon, but Steve couldn’t ignore the inkling in his gut telling him to go for it. He wasn’t one to follow soulmate matches blindly; he’d done it once before and everything was perfect until it wasn’t.

Steve truly believed he didn’t have another match out there after Peggy and he couldn’t bear the thought of losing the opportunity to explore a relationship with Tony. He knew Tony was terrified, he was too. He wouldn’t pressure Tony into anything, but he only hoped that maybe over time, Tony would give him a shot. 

Before either of them knew it, Steve and Tony were situated behind one of the many old grills stationed around the park. Luckily the rest of the team had provided the supplies and all they had to do was grill everything up. They worked quietly for a while, easily moving around each other and alternating between watching the grill and getting the rest of the food set out. Tony may have been somewhat helpless in the kitchen, but he knew his way around a barbecue. 

Steve stood back and watched, happy that Tony seemed at ease around him for once. His fingers itched to initiate more contact with the other man, but he fought against the urge. He was brought out of his thoughts by Tony clearing his throat.

“Steve, can you get all the sides set out? I’ll finish up here,” Tony said, gesturing to the grill.

Steve nodded, “Sure thing, Tony." In his haste to get everything ready to go, Steve turned around too quickly and missed the smallest of smiles across Tony’s face.

Once all the food was set out across the picnic tables, Steve called out to everyone and waved them over. Steve and Tony stood back, letting everyone get their plates of food. They easily refilled plates and platters, passing utensils and empty dishes back and forth. When everyone had their food and had settled at the further set of tables, Steve and Tony quietly made their own plates.

“Hey, Tony?” Steve asked quietly.

“Yeah Rogers?”

“Any chance you’d like to join me here for lunch? I’m not sure I can handle all the energy over there."

Tony hesitated. “I, uh-”

“I won’t pester you about earlier, I promise,” Steve interrupted.

Tony watched Steve’s face. The slight droop in his shoulders and genuinely hopeful look in his eye had Tony agreeing. “Sure, Steve."

They situated themselves next to each other at the picnic table, eating in silence. The sounds of laughter and vibrant camaraderie filled the air, making them both smile. After a while, Steve looked up at Tony, a pensive look on his face.

“What is it, Steve? I can see you watching me,” Tony said with a smile.

“I know that I promised not to bring up the thing from earlier, but can I just say one more thing? Then I’ll drop it, I promise."

To Steve’s surprise, Tony just smiled and nodded, gesturing for Steve to continue.

“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for pressuring you so quickly. It was unfair of me to ask something of you that I wouldn’t want to be asked of me, and I hate that I handled it that way. To be honest, I don’t do relationships or soulmate matches either, at least not anymore. I was so shocked when it happened, I really didn’t think I had another match out there, and I just forgot myself. I hope you can understand how sorry I am."

Tony stared at Steve, not fully understanding. “What do you mean you don’t do soulmate matches anymore?”

Steve paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. “It’s been a very long time since I found a match. The last time I did, I thought I’d found my forever person, you know? But I didn’t and things fell apart. It’s not important, it was for the best, that’s for sure. But in the years since then, I haven’t met anyone else that could’ve even had the chance of being a match. I figured I was one of those people that really did have only one. And then you happened today and I got hopeful for a minute, but that wasn’t fair to put on you."

“Steve, as cliche as this is going to sound, my reaction today really had nothing to do with you. Yeah, you drive me nuts at work with all your protocols and doing everything by the books, but my panic today was all me. I’m- I’m broken, Steve. I’m not built for relationships."

“You said that earlier today, Tony. How do you know you just haven’t found the right relationship. What if it’s really not you at all?”

Tony just stared at Steve. The small part of his brain that had been screaming at him all day was blaring loudly in his head, urging him to just try for once. His entire being begged him to just give this a shot. He couldn’t ignore the magnetic pull he felt toward Steve now that he knew the thread tied between them. 

“Steve, I can’t get hurt again. I just can’t do it,” Tony whispered. 

Without thinking, Steve slid across the picnic bench until there was barely any space between him and Tony. He turned to straddle the bench so he could face the man next to him. 

“Tony,” Steve murmured. “Give it a shot. Give me a shot, please."

Tony couldn’t take it anymore. The bodily need to touch Steve began clouding his judgment the closer the man got and it was all he could do to not climb right into Steve’s lap and burrow into his chest. Tony had never had such a strong reaction to a match before. He’d heard stories from friends about when they found their match that there was nothing they could do to fight that urge when they first matched. Sure, people had multiple soulmates out there, but some connections were stronger than others. That very fact led Tony to swear off soulmates, too scared of hurting his partner or being hurt in return.

But there, in that moment on a bench with Steve Rogers, Tony finally, finally, gave in.

“Steve,” Tony nearly sobbed. “Kiss me,” he breathed.

Instantaneously, Steve pressed his lips firmly to Tony’s as he wrapped his arms around Tony’s waist. He helped Tony turn to face him without breaking their kiss. The new position allowed Tony to tangle his hands in Steve’s hair and slide even closer to him. When Tony felt Steve’s tongue trail along his bottom lip, he gasped into the kiss. Steve took the opportunity to softly press into Tony’s mouth, exploring the warmth and softness there.

Tony was letting out little whimpers that he was completely unaware of, lost entirely in Steve. Those noises spurred Steve on, doing anything if it meant Tony would keep making those noises.

Eventually, Tony pulled back, sucking in a deep breath and resting his forehead against Steve’s. Steve unwrapped one arm from Tony’s waist and ran his fingers up and down Tony’s spine when he felt the man let out a shuddering breath against him.

“Was that okay, Tony?” Steve asked quietly.

Tony pulled back enough to look into Steve’s eyes and nodded. “More than. I didn’t know it could feel like that,” Tony admitted.

Steve smiled and in that instant, Tony felt his heart crack open and fill with warmth. He didn’t know anything could feel like this.

“You aren’t broken Tony, I can guarantee you that. Will you give me a shot to prove it to you? Please?” Steve asked hopefully.

Tony leaned his head against Steve’s shoulder, reveling in the feeling of being in the arms of a soulmate. For once, it made him feel safe and loved, rather than terrified and waiting for the other shoe to drop. He nodded, smiling against Steve’s shoulder.

“You’re already proving it to me, Steve,” Tony said with a smile.

[eternityunicorn]

Road Trip Therapy +18

Author: eternityunicorn 

Genre: Romance/Friendship/AU

Pairing: Elijah Mikaelson x Camille O’Connell 

Warnings: Smut

Summary: AU - Elijah Mikaelson is invited to a road trip by Camille O’ Connell, after she sees how stressed out he is due to the many trials he and his family have faced, including her transformation into a vampire. He goes with her on a small adventure out of the city, but finds himself drawn to her, due to that night together at the safe house. Just what is an Original to do?

AUTHOR’S COMMENTARY: This fic is a companion piece to my other Camlijah fic ‘Game Night at the Safe House’. The idea for it came from the lovely @elejah-wonderland​! I hope you enjoy it! Thanks in advanced for reading!

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Elijah Mikaelson sat alone at his desk in his study, rubbing his temples with one hand and nursing a drink with the other. It had been hectic as of late in the Mikaelson household with threats to his family only growing in number and in strength. He feared that one day he and his siblings would fall at the hand of a foe that was simply too strong to overcome. 

He sat back with an exhausted sigh and downed the rest of the bourbon in his glass. What he really needed was a distraction from all this nonsense. Better yet, a vacation from it. 

As of on cue, the lovely Camille O’Connell came into the study. Spotting him, she came over with a small, friendly smile. 

“Are you okay, Elijah?” The recently turned vampire asked him. “You’re looking a bit stressed. Though with all that’s been going on lately, I suppose that’s no surprise.”

“I’ll be fine. Is there something that I can help you with?” The Original asked her. 

Camille sighed, “Well, I came to see Klaus, but he doesn’t seem to be around.”

Elijah nodded, glancing at her briefly, before refilling his glass with more bourbon, “Yes, Niklaus and Hayley have been spending a lot of time together as of late, ever since Jackson died and you turned. It seems their little family might become a more...stable thing.”

He glanced at her again, realizing what he had said and saw the way her face fell. She had feelings for his brother and hearing that he was growing closer to another most certainly didn’t settle well. He understood that, seeing as he had his own affections for Hayley, but it seemed that ship might have sailed. 

“Forgive me, Camille,” the elegant vampire looked down. “I know you have feelings for Niklaus.”

The blonde chose to play it off as not a big deal, when it so clearly was. “It’s fine,” she said. “If Hayley makes him happy, then that makes me happy. After all, they do have a child together. It only makes sense that they would come together for their daughter’s sake.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right,” he replied softly, as he sipped from his glass.

A heavy silence fell between them. It was awkward and rather uncomfortable.

“Hey, you know what? We should get out of here,” Camille said suddenly. 

Elijah looked up at her, “Excuse me?”

She was brightly enthusiastic as she told him, “Yeah, we should! It would take both our minds our troubles. We could get out of the city for the next twenty-four hours and simply forget everything except for the open road adventure. Come on. It’d be fun!”

When the therapist talked of taking their minds of their troubled, the Original was reminded of that night at the safe house that was burned into his mind when they had played Trivial Pursuit and drank the night away, only to end up tangled together in bed. He still remembered the feel of soft skin beneath his hands, the sweet taste of her lips, and the echoes of her passionate cries. He could even feel his body react to those memories, feeling his cock harden in his pants. 

He wondered if she remembered it still as well. 

“I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea,” the elegant vampire said reluctantly.

“Why not?” The lovely woman asked and then whispered, “Is it because of that night at the safe house?”

He didn’t say anything either way, but the way he gazed at her sheepishly certainly gave him away.

“Elijah, it was a lovely night,” Camille told him quietly, “but I’m not asking you to go on this road trip with me because I want a repeat. Although, even if that was the case, there’s nothing really stopping either of us from pursuing such, now that our love interests seem to be choosing each other instead of us. Come on! Let’s go! It’ll be a therapeutic road trip, if nothing else, and we can both certainly use the bit of peace after all that’s happened recently.”

He didn’t need further convincing, finding it interesting how easy it was to give into this brave, compassionate woman. “Alright, you win. I’ll go with you,” he said with a sigh, as he got up from his chair, downing the rest of his drink as he did.

Camille stopped him, before he got far. “If we are going to go away together, then you need to dress more casually. A long road trip in a suit is not the most comfortable. Which is why, I have brought this with me.”

She went into her large bag and pulled out that pink monstrosity with the words ‘I’m huge in the south’ printed on it, from when they were heading back to New Orleans after their stint at the safe house had ended. She grinned playfully at him, as she held it out to him. 

Elijah gave her a meaningful look, “I think not. I have plenty of casual clothing already to choose from, and quite frankly, I simply refuse to wear that unseemly thing.”

The blonde pouted, “Oh, come on, Elijah. Don’t be a snob. Indulge me.”

Giving into her again with a disgruntled sigh, he took the shirt from her, giving her another pointed look as he did.  The Original truly wished to know how she had that power to bend others to her will so easily with a few words, as he exited the room to go change as she requested.

Before long, he was dressed in a pair of dark jeans, a light gray jacket, dress boots, as well as that pink monstrosity called a shirt, and was now sitting in the passenger seat of his own Porsche Panamera. Camille had insisted on driving them and he had allowed it. After all, this whole road trip business was her idea. It only stood to reason that she be in charge of where they headed.

Because of their many weeks at the safe house together, conversing was easy, making the afternoon go by quickly. They spoke about anything and everything. Camille told him stories of her childhood, growing up in New Orleans before discovering the supernatural community. Elijah told her about all the different famous people he had met over his thousand years existence, at her insistence.

They avoided talking about his brother Niklaus and anything that pertained to the chaos that was associated with the Mikaelson family. This was supposed to be a therapeutic trip. It wouldn’t do either of them any good to bring up the hybrid or any aspect of Mikaelson history, including the trials Camille had been a part of, especially the events that had lead to her transition into a vampire.

At one point, the blonde vampire’s laugh echoed around the cab of the car, when Elijah had told a humorous story about his time in the company of Franklin Roosevelt, the American president, the Original found it to be lovely and he was glad to see her smiling and furthermore, enjoying his company as much as he was enjoying hers. 

Soon, they fell into a companionable silence that neither minded. They simply took simple pleasure in each other’s presence. 

Then, after a time, Camille sighed lightly and said, “Elijah, this has been wonderful. Just what I needed.”

“Agreed. I needed it too,” he replied softly, reaching to give her arm a gentle squeeze. 

At his touch, the Original noticed her heartbeat skip and then pick up speed a bit, noticing the way she licked her lower lip and recalled the way she tasted. He watched as she gave him a small smile, before turning back to the road. He realized that they hadn’t touched each other since that night at the safe house, not even in a friendly way, having either avoided doing so intentionally or simply because there hadn’t been any reason to. 

Once more, Elijah was brought back to those memories of that night. They flashed before his mind and he found himself entranced. Then he recalled her telling him before they had left on this journey about how it didn’t matter of they did pursue more of their togetherness now that their love interests have chosen others. 

Did that mean that she wouldn’t mind, if he decided to pursue her? Even if only for a night or two? 

He wasn’t sure if he was ready for a relationship, having only just seemingly lost Hayley’s affection to his own brother, and he wasn’t sure if she was ready for that either, go on her attachment to Niklaus. However, he had to admit that Camille was an extraordinary woman and he did value their companionship. Perhaps one day, eventually, they could be more, but for now, he was drawn to her beauty and the joy she brought him in the here and now.

The elegant vampire grew boldly impulsive then, as the mood took him. He moved the hand that had squeezed her arm up to cup the side of her neck, stroking his thumb over the smooth skin of her cheek affectionately. 

“Elijah, what are -,” Camille started to ask, as her heart began to race in her chest at his touch.

“Pull over,” he commanded quietly, his voicing rumbling as he did. 

She did as she was told and pulled over onto the side of the empty dusky road of evening. Once the car was parked, the blonde turned to gaze at him with a mix of uncertainty and lust. Again, she licked her lower lip as she looked at him, no doubt seeing his own lust and affection for her swirling in his chocolate depths. 

“I don’t know what there could be between us, given that, for now, our hearts still belong to others,” Elijah told her gently, “but you are a treasure that I’ve come to appreciate over them course of our time together. You’ve looked out for my family, particularly my brother, and myself too. You are invaluable to us and though I don’t know what will happen down the road, I’m glad that we’re here together once more.”

By the time he was finished speaking, Camille looked like she was ready to cry, but he already knew that they were happy tears. 

From there, she took him by surprise by reaching for him, cupping his face in her hands and drawing his mouth to hers in a passionate kiss. Her tongue swept into his mouth hungrily, tasting him greedily and he let her do so readily. 

After a short time, they parted, gazing at each other heatedly. A pause, a beat, and then they were kissing again. This time, it was more intense than before. 

As they did, Camille maneuvered herself over to his side of the car, climbing into his lap, while he simultaneously pulled the lever on the side of the seat to make the back of the chair lean backward, giving them more room to work with. All the while, they carried on kissing. Though, once she was straddling his lap, her hips began a needy rhythm to mimic the dance of their tongues. 

It reminded him of their night together at the safe house, having been in a very similar position then, after the lovely blonde had surprised him with a kiss. In fact, the appeal to keep them in such a position was so enticing that he decided this was how he wanted her, riding him to completion. 

Suddenly, Camille drew back to grin down at him, as her chest heaved from exertion. Her gaze was drawn downward to the shirt that she had insisted he wear on this trip. She giggled lightly, as her fingertips traced the lettering. 

“I suppose I know for a fact that this phrase is without a doubt the truth about you, Elijah,” she said teasingly. “You are huge in the south.”

The elegant vampire burst into a light laughter at her silliness. He didn’t reply. Instead, he simply drew her mouth back to his own, kissing her throughly, as things only continued to intensify. 

Before long, they were frantic in their need for each other. The Original didn’t waste time in taking her. His hands reached under the short dress she wore and grabbed onto the sides of her panties, tearing them from her and tossing them aside carelessly. Then together, they hurriedly undid his jeans and he pushed them down out of the way as much as he could, exposing his hardened length. 

They didn’t bother with foreplay, the need to be joined was simply far too great. 

Camille moved him into position at her damp entrance and dropped herself down on him harshly, being able to take such roughness now that she was a vampire. She threw her head back and moaned at the sensation, while his pleasurable groan accompanied it. They didn’t move for a moment, taking a second to enjoy the feeling of their union. 

However, the need to move became essential and the lovely woman began to move steadily, lifting herself up and dropping herself down upon him over and over again with abandon. Their mouths came together once more, to mimic the movements of her hips as she rose him, heightening the pleasure they brought each other. 

Elijah’s hands caressed the expanse of her back, moving downward to cup the soft globes of her backside, gripping the flesh firmly, if only to have something to hold onto. Meanwhile, his lips moved away from her mouth and trailed over her jawline and down her neck, causing her to sigh and moan softly at the tender feeling of his mouth’s caress. 

“Elijah... oh god,” Camille groaned before long. 

“You feel so good, darling,” the Original murmured against her throat. “Ugh! Don’t stop.”

Encouraged, the therapist rode him harder and faster until they were both panting and moaning loudly into the cab of the car. They held onto each other as she did, holding on tightly as the pleasure began to rock through their bodies. 

It didn’t take long for them to reach their respective ends. They came together with sharp cries that filled the car, just as instinct took over for Camille and she sank her fangs into Elijah’s neck, unable to help herself. She was new and couldn’t hold back her urges very well. Even so, he allowed it to happen, allowing her to drink from him, but only a little bit. 

After a few moments, once the tremors had faded and his mind cleared, the ancient vampire pulled her away from his throat. When she looked apologetically at him, knowing that blood sharing was a very personal thing to a vampire, he gave her a gently smile to show he hadn’t minded she had done that. 

In the aftermath, they simply held onto each other, much like they had that night at the safe house. He stroked her hair as she buried her face in his neck, simply enjoying each other’s closeness. 

Elijah couldn’t say without a doubt that he was in love with Camille, but he was certain that he felt something for her. An affection that was indescribable. Why else would he allow her to be so close to him, to give himself to her as he had - twice? Perhaps one day, he would understand it better, but for now, he simply enjoyed their companionship. 

After a while, the blonde moved back into the driver’s seat without panties since he had ruined them in their frenzied passion. Smirking with that knowledge, he put himself back together quickly, as she pulled back onto the road and continued their road trip. 

The silence between them was contented and the elegant vampire noticed the way they each had little smiles on their faces as they drove on. As a result, he reached for her hand and held onto it gently as they went. They were both at peace together and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Yes, it seemed road trip therapy had been exactly what they had needed. Maybe in the future, when they were feeling the stress of being in the Mikaelson fold, they could go away like this and find peace again in each other, as friends, as lovers, as whatever they felt like being.

Who knew? Perhaps on this path they had carved for themselves, they would one day find themselves in love and desiring more. 

Until then, this companionship was enough. Together.

The End

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[himluv]

I’m not really sure how to feel about it. At first, euphoria. Holy shit, I did it! I told any and everyone about my accomplishment. I glowed with the joy of having finished a major project. But now it’s been a couple weeks and the novelty of the finished thing has worn off. It still feels awesome when I stop and think about it, but I’m not thinking about it as often.

Which is a good thing, actually. I need to give the book some space to breathe and let my mind get some distance from the characters and places that lived inside my head for over six months.

Let’s talk stats:

Total Word Count: 87,903 Total Time: 27 weeks (just over 6 months) Average Weekly Word Count: 3,255 # of False Starts: NONE! This book knew where it was going even when I didn’t. It wrote straight through, with only a couple of awkward scenes. Otherwise, it was smooth sailing.

Those numbers look and feel good, but they don’t capture how it felt. Keep in mind that, until April, I was working two jobs, averaging anywhere from 45-52 hours each week. I was tired. Like, mind-numbingly tired. I wrote in the evenings, after my shifts, usually before and after dinner. There wasn’t time for much else, though I didn’t notice it at the time.

Only once I finished the book did I realize just how much it absorbed me. These last few weeks without it have been very… free. There’s time to do just about anything. Clean the entire house? Sure! I’ve got time. The house is much tidier now that there’s time to tend to it. Read all the things? Absolutely! What else would I do with my evening? Play video games? Oh, man! I missed those! (Don’t worry, I’ve made up for lost time with Assassin’s Creed.)

It also made me realize how wonderful my spouse is, because once I stopped working on the book, I understood how little he actually saw me. It was so nice to spend evenings with him again, not just inhaling dinner and vanishing to my office. We can watch movies and television together, or play games together. Or, and this is wild and crazy, maybe even go out for dinner.

What I’m getting at here is that writing this book was a huge time-suck and sacrifice for my marriage and household. There are costs to writing a book, and I didn’t even realize I was paying them until it was done.

That being said, I wouldn’t change any of it. This went by relatively quickly, the book wrote itself and I mean that. When I started I only had a character and a vague concept of the premise of this book. Everything else appeared as needed. Side characters, villains, subplots, all of them born out of necessity, not planning.

The book provided, so long as I was willing and able to write it all down.

So, what now?

Honestly, I don’t really know. I don’t feel very concrete about much of anything at the moment. I think I’m still recuperating from the marathon of writing the novel, because nothing feels particularly exciting or compelling. Nothing is calling to me, begging me to spend time on it. I know I need to take a break from Tavi, ideally the whole summer. I was only going to revise it sooner than that if I received a scholarship for a workshop in July. Since I didn’t, I’ve got time to let the manuscript dribble out of my brain. I’m tentatively planning to begin revisions in September. In a perfect world I’d have the manuscript ready to query by the New Year.

I don’t know about you, but my world is far from perfect. So, I’ll be happy if the book is “finished” by May 2020.

That means I have three months to work on other stuff. The question is, what other stuff?

In Great Need of Ghosts (working title)

This is the new short story I’m working on. I’d originally hoped to work on a couple stories before moving on to the next big project, but this one is coming together pretty slowly right now. If that changes, great! If not, no big deal. I’m more than willing to take the time it takes.

Exodus: Descent revision

It’s been about nine months since I finished rewriting my very first novel into a totally brand new novella. While I did revise it after completing the rewrite, I knew it wasn’t quite what I wanted it to be. There was something needling at me that I knew was wrong, and halfway through Tavi I figured it out. And since a couple of the potential markets I wanted to send it to are open for submission through the summer, July will be the perfect month to dedicate to fixing the glaring issue and perfecting the rest.

The Bahn Hexe (working title)

Another short story idea that’s been eating at me since we came home from Munich. I don’t think it’s quite ready to be written yet, but it’s close.

That’s it. That’s all I’ve got on my radar right now. And for now, it feels like enough. I’ll have more to say about upcoming projects and goals this weekend when I share my Monthly Recap post for May.

Until then, Bloggarts.

  BZ

So, I Wrote a Book… I'm not really sure how to feel about it. At first, euphoria. Holy shit, I did it!

[asweethistory]

Castles of the Loire Valley

Devil’s Food Chocolate Cider Ice Cream with a Strawberry Syrup Swirl 

I Ate a Baguette at Bluebeard’s Castle (written for my Food Memoir Class)

I

We set up outside the crumbling battlement, on the banks of the La Crûme river. It was overcast, but not raining, although the tall and thick dark green grass was damp from some morning drizzle. The students spread out, and my best friend, Rachael, and I got comfortable, resting on a slight hill. Opening up the bags our host mom had handed us earlier that morning, we found one long baguette, some cheese, a tomato accompanied by two tiny salt packets, a small orange, and a full-size lavender-wrapped Milka chocolate bar. Even though neither of us actually ate the tomato, since being American we weren’t prepared to even conceptualize eating one as if it was an apple, I can taste the salt and acid as if I did. We knew our lunch made everyone else with their simple sandwiches jealous.

We crunched on baguette ends, watching white swans swim slowly past us. Trees hung towards the water, their branches doing what I wished I could do with my limbs. It couldn’t have been much more than 60 degrees, but the cool grass, low breeze, and gentle water made me feel like it was a carefree summer day. I wanted to roll down hill into the swatches of green and blue.

Our backdrop was Bluebeard’s castle, Château de Tiffauges; partly in ruins, it was situated less than an hour drive from our home base, Nantes, France. It didn’t seem anymore formidable than any other medieval castle in the countryside, but in 15th century France, Gilles De Rais, who is more commonly referred to as Barbe-Bleue, bluebeard, did many horrible things within its walls. Before lunch, we took a tour of the castle that focused on the preservation of medieval war machines, archery games in which we didn’t take part, and a short silhouette animation, which briefly explained, in terms appropriate for a younger age range, Bluebeard’s barbarism.  So we were able to lunch with no real sickly feelings.

Years later, I learned Bluebeard had been a knight who had fought in the same battles against the English as did Joan of Arc, had been awarded Marshal of France, and became incredibly reckless with his fortune. He built his own chapel and produced a 20,000-line play that required 500 extras, the costs of which necessitated the sale of some of his properties. Bluebeard sought to learn about alchemy and evocation, the art of rousing spirits, in order to save the state of his finances. After many failed attempts to summon a demon named Barron at the 12th century Château de Tiffauges, Bluebeard offered a child as sacrifice. A trial in 1440 revealed that Bluebeard had begun assaulting and murdering children during the spring of 1432. For eight years, Bluebeard, with the help of his cousin and body servants, abused, wounded, decapitated, disemboweled, and burnt the remains of over 100 children. Only under the threat of torture did Bluebeard confess. Charged with murder, heresy, and sodomy, Bluebeard was executed by hanging and burning.

As an eighth grader, I was bused up to the gates of the castle centuries later. This was the first excursion we took in the ten days we had in the country. By selling pizza and bags of chips, we students had raised half the money we needed to go on the trip. This journey to France was the first of three similar trips I’d take with my school between eighth grade and high school graduation. Each one brimmed with memories, but this first one, spent mainly in and around Nantes, included many independent firsts: First mushroom galette eaten outside on a cobblestone street, first Moroccan meal at a restaurant that included lemon sorbet served in the shell of the largest lemon I had ever seen, and first time experiencing a five-course meal.

II

This extraordinary meal, a couple days after the visit to Bluebeard’s castle, concluded our trip to Clisson, a picturesque town with a lovely river, parks, and Gothic architecture. We were told to meet at 5 p.m. at the fancy restaurant, and in the time before that a group of us left to explore. Rachael and I, a couple other friends, and French teacher-turned-chaperone stopped for lunch at a place with a balcony overlooking the water. We all ate spaghetti alla carbonara and drank cider purchased by the chaperone, who explained that it hardly had alcohol in it. Then we went off on our own — walking under bridges, crossing lime green trimmed lawns, and brushing up against climbing lilac wisteria. My modest point-and-shoot camera failed at capturing the light, sunshine, and subtle warmth of the day.

We passed by the 13th century Château de Clisson. Old looking but prettier than Bluebeard’s, we knew nothing of it, but its presence seemed to follow us wherever we walked. Perhaps its palpable aura was due to Jeanne de Clisson, whose third husband, Oliver de Clisson IV, was the wealthy owner of the Château bearing his name. Jeanne is rumored to haunt its grounds. After Oliver was executed without publicly demonstrated evidence, Jeanne decided to come after the French King. She not only raided castles, massacring those who resided there, but she also employed three warships, whose flagship, black with red sails, was named My Revenge. As a pirate, Jeanne, known as “The Lioness of Brittany,” hunted French ships, burned French villages, and aided British forces. All I knew though, lying beneath her castle’s gates as the waters of La Sèvre Nantaise passed languidly below, was peace.

Just as the sun was setting, we joined the rest of the students outside of a two-story stone home. As we waited the boys plucked snails off a low wall and taunted us. “This is going to be our dinner,” they said. “They harvest them right here. Why don’t you try one now?” Dinner did include escargot, my first, but it also included shrimp in puff pastry, a vegetable pasta dish, salad, a cheese course, and dessert, which for me was a large individual serving of crème brulee. Rachael had a whole apple tart to herself, although the crust was very, very thin. It was difficult to walk back to the bus.

III

The next day was lighter. Traveling west towards the coast, we reached Pornic, a seaside village. Clear water lapped at the stone walls beneath us, as I licked a cone of the freshest strawberry sorbet from a roadside stand. The smooth pink was refreshing and cooling, although the day wasn’t particularly hot. There was a sense of excitement being so close to water for us land-locked teenagers from New Mexico. The town itself was refreshing in a way, then, and our experience was continuously sweet. At a small restaurant nearby, my friends studied a menu that had no English translations. I could only pick out one ingredient on the crêpe list: pomme de terre, which means potato but literally translates to apple of the earth. The language barrier held firm and instead of the expected potato-filled pancake, Rachael and I received crêpes filled with hot cinnamon-scented apples. As eighth-graders, though, we of course welcomed dessert for lunch.

Continuing our exploration of the town, we walked the opposite direction from Château de Pornic, a symbol of the town closed off to visitors. We were more interested in the twisting and turnings of the old city’s streets anyhow. Originally built to defend the port, for a time, the castle was also known as Château de Barbe Bleue, one of Bluebeard’s many properties. It was in his procession until the time of his trial when it was confiscated. Its next owner, a lord, also lost the castle, this time due to the French Revolution. It lay in disrepair until the 19th century, when the architect François Bougoüin restored the building in the more Italianate style of Jeanne’s Château de Clisson. Having wandered a while, we stopped for something to drink. Outside of a bar with the castle high up in the distance, I tried, much to the horror of those around me, diabolo menthe, a bright emerald peppermint soda. It tasted exactly like toothpaste in the most enjoyable way. Another first, in another town with an enigmatic antique castle.

[yoongiandchiminie]

Distance [Jungkook x Reader] Part 1

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Word Count: 3,468

Genre: Romance, Angst

Warnings: Cursing,

Summary: After being friends with Jungkook for years, you’re finally coming to terms with your on and off feelings about him or so you think. He was a complex man and had been since you were younger. Everyone knew it, but did you know him the way everyone else did? 

Dear Google Docs,

I think I've loved Jungkook since I was fifteen. Over the last five years, I've fallen in and out if love with him, but I've always loved him nonetheless. Maybe I don't really know what being in love is. Maybe it was because of his admiration of me and feeling appreciated made me care for him more than I truly did. I guess I'll never really know.

I'm here because I didn't really know what else to do. I've always enjoyed writing and that's even how I met him. Through a writing outlet on Facebook back then. He was beautiful. One of the most gorgeous men I've ever seen and maybe that's where the initial lust came into play, but was that all it was? I hope not. He made me happy then. He made me confident in a way I'd never admit. Never to him. He had to have known about one of my crushes on him to a point. I wasn't exactly subtle at my young age.

Jungkook had this terrible habit of disappearing and playing it off as if nothing had ever happened. Acting as if he wasn't gone for three months as we were getting older. I've always had this terrible and irrational fear that everything would be over sooner than expected. Wasting days wasn't something I enjoy and it rather irritated me.

He told me he was lonely today and wanted to feel love. So I told him I loved him. I really did, but he didn't know how I meant it I guess. It went like this; “I think I'm lonely.” “I love you.” “I know you do, but it's not the love I need.” “What?” “You love me in a friend way, I need something more.” I was silent.

When he was telling me about his feelings today, it was the first time in years. Jungkook was a private guy and he always liked to keep it that way. After we spoke about the love thing, he told my friend Maeve and I why his ex-girlfriend broke up with him. They’d always been on and off because I’d heard she was a little bit crazy. Kook said that she approached him about a week ago and said that she knew nothing about him. So he told her to come over one night and they could sit up and talk about his life. His feelings. Then after he told her everything, she broke up with him on that spot. She said he was depressed and she didn’t need to be around that.

He claimed that he wasn’t depressed and she was spitting shit, but who was I to know? As much as I knew about him, it was really not too much. He was a private person. I only knew what he wanted me to know. When I was younger my mouth ran a lot and thus he knew- everything. I was open when it came to him and just couldn’t hide shit. He was always there for my whether it be through skype, xbox, or a phone call.

I've been thinking about that moment all day and that's why I'm here. I cracked and needed somewhere to vent to. As much as I enjoy a paper and pen, Google docs was more accessible to my venting needs. How do I explain to a pen and paper that I love a boy I've only met once in person? I guess the same way I do it here, but a little less pathetic. Nobody could ever find this unless I sent it to them, so I'm safe.

After writing down how I felt, I felt even stupider than I had without doing it. I sighed as I closed my laptop, pushing it off to the side of my bed. I grabbed my Xbox controller and it looked like Jungkook was still online playing Sea of Thieves. We’d been playing earlier all together, but I’d gotten off because I hit a point where I couldn’t contain myself around him. I had this constant fear that I’d say something stupid that would scare him off and the thing that sucked was that he had the same fear. Any form of feelings he could spit out, he kept bottled up.

I grabbed my controller and then my headset, plugging the wire into the prior. I hovered his gamertag for a moment. “JEONKOOKIE”  and hit X, inviting him. It took a moment but he joined into the silence. He never said anything when he joined  party, always waiting for the other to say it.

“Hey.” I lead, coughing after I spoke.

“You hoppin’ on? I’ll invite you.” He had this slight excitement in his voice that made saying no so hard, but I didn’t want to sit here sitting in my own feelings with his voice telling me to raise the sails.

“No, no. I just-” I cleared my throat and he made a small eh noise. I was starting to get flustered just by speaking to him. “I just wanted to tell you that you deserve the world. Even if you have to give it to yourself, you know? Unless you-”

“I know.” he was monotone, but I knew he wasn’t annoyed with me. “Thank you, Y/N.”

“Unless yo-”

“I love you, you know that? You’re important to me.” he let out a small chuckled after he spoke and my face burned hot. “What were you saying? Sorry to cut you off.”

“Nothing.” I responded. All I wanted to say was unless you wanted me to give it to you, but that was it. My momentary confidence was gone. Ah fuck. “I’m gonna go.” Without listening for his response, I left the party and threw my controller across the room. All I did was fuck up when it came to him, but it didn’t really matter. Soon we’d go back to not talking constantly and I’d be sad for a week or so, then the feelings would fade away. I knew this for a fact, so why did I constantly fall in love with him? Fuck if I knew.

--

“We should meet up again sometime soon.” He’d said a few days later. The party was silent as it was just the two of us and sometimes it got like that. I didn't particularly like it, but I sat through it in hopes that I could say something to spark a conversation. “I had fun with you guys last time.”

I was on a road trip with Maeve and our other friend Jin, going to see our friend Yoongi for the weekend. We stopped at a rest stop and as we pulled in, I recognized it as the town Jungkook lived in. Naturally, we went to his job to surprise him. Imagine your internet friends showing up during your shitty work day? We thought it would be nice too. Jin had called out his name and we couldn't find him, so we left and decided to call his phone this time.

He didn't pick up, so Jin wrote in the group chat and it turned out he called out of work. Jungkook always had this habit of pushing people off if they came near him, but not this time. He came and met up with us. We waited in Maeve car and I was anxious. I really was. What if he wasn't as excited as me? What if our awkward silences transitioned to real life? My heart stopped as I looked around the parking lot and spotted him. As my obnoxious self would, I honked the moment he stepped into his car and I never thought a smile could make my heart drop.

Jin ran out of the car and the two hugged for a good while, as you do. Other than Maeve, our whole friend group lived around the country from each other. We only got to see each other if we traveled and it was nice to say the least. After Jin had picked him up and spun him with a laugh, Jungkook pulled away and turned his attention towards me. He had this big goofy smile on as his arms snaked around my frame and held me tight. I’d had dreams about this moment and for it to be coming true was eye opening.

I'd always figured Jungkook was someone that took good selfies and was kind of cute in person. He was the most attractive guy that I’d ever had the pleasure of meeting. As we sat around eating lunch, Maeve couldn't stop herself from texting me about how fucking hot he was and I just nodded.

“Yeah, that'd be fun. It's just a little far.” I played it off as if him wanting to see me wasn't music to my ears.

“We can meet halfway if you wanna. Six Flags is between us.” I could hear hear him smiling as he dropped anchor in our game. “We could have a fun day there.”

“Are you going on the vacation this Summer? Everyone is going to Namjoon’s to meet his daughter.”

“It's a bit of a stretch, but we could drive down together.”

“It's a twelve hour drive.”

“I like driving.”

“I like- driving. I like driving.” Real smooth. “So you're going to drive here and then we can drive there?”

“Looks like that's the plan, lovely.”

--

Dear Google Docs,

I really think I love him this time. We're driving together to the dumb squad vacation I didn't really want to go on. Being the only girl with them gets to be a little much. Yes, Emma was gonna be there and Claire as well, but ones a baby and the other doesn't like me too much. Emma was always uneasy with me, even if I haven't even met Namjoon in person. She seems sweet, I'll never hold her to the jealousy she felt for me.

So far out of the seven of them, I’d met Jin, Yoongi, Jungkook, and Jimin in person. I'd taken vacations with Jin and Yoongi. I had lunch with Jungkook and I’d spent five minutes with Jimin. It turned out the two of us were at the same anime convention and neither of us knew all weekend until the last day. He’d found the hall I was in and came to give me a big hug and took a selfie with me. It was a little awkward, but it was cute.

Back to the problem at hand. I think I'm going to need to get a second job up until we go away in two months. I need new everything to wear there, especially since we were going to be at a beach. I had to work out and shop, which means  more money than I’m making for a little bit. I guess I'll to job hunting tomorrow before I go to my job now. I hope it's worth it.

--

“Where have you been, Y/N?” Jungkook asked about two weeks later when we finally caught each other on Xbox. He worked the hours of my normal job, so we used to be able to play together right when we got home. Now, after that job I went straight to the night job and didn't get home until his Overwatch team started their nightly skrims. It meant absolutely no time to play with him, but that was alright. It was bound to happen anyways.

“Working a lot, you know me.” I laughed it off and opened up my game. “You ready?”

“Oh, I’ve been ready, baby.”

--

Dear Google Docs,

Today when I opened my group chat I saw a message from Jimin that said I was all talk. I wasn't too sure what I meant, but I knew the group chat with seven tight knit guys and myself wasn't the place to ask. So, when I got on Xbox with Jungkook I did and he said it was because I was a flirt. He went on to say that I've always been like this and mentioned I'd been flirting with him lately. Was I obvious?

We started the conversation as we both set Sea of Thieves to update, but it’s a big patch. He came back for a moment after getting a phone call and said he was going to take a shower. On one hand I hope he forgets about this conversation, but on the other I want to know where this talk could go. So, I’m writing this while waiting to come back.

I also realized I have another fear. What if when we get bored of this game, we go back to not talking as much? I guess I’d really have to wait to find out.

I closed google docs and instead of my laptop, I ended up scrolling through all of my social media as I waited. My anxiety wasn’t as bad as I expected, but I was still a little bit nervous. Also angry. And cold. Fuck. I heard his headset unmute and a quick breath. Luckily, he forgot.

“You know,” he cleared his throat a few minutes later as we sat on the ship, waiting out a storm that would definitely destroy our small ship. “I kinda like the attention you've been giving to me.” I knew he'd been lonely, especially since his ex. “It feels nice.”

“I wish I spoke to you more.” I admitted. “I just always feel like I'm annoying you.”

“You don't annoy me- Just your choices sometimes do.” he muttered, “You never annoy me.”

“The last really annoying thing I did was two years ago.” I responded, dwelling on my poor boy choices. The boys had introduced me to this boy named Kihyun who definitely admired them. In the Facebook writing community they were basically idolized and I just kind of faded along. I'd fallen quickly for Kihyun. He liked me a lot too, I thought. He lived fairly close to me and we even met up twice. He was my first kiss.

It turned out he'd been using me to get to my friends, or so we figured. He had this big thing where he didn't want to date me and played it off. The guys constantly asked if he was talking to other girls and he denied it, but we later found out he was. I see his name pop up sometimes and this little part of me wants to message him and apologize even though I probably didn't do anything wrong. It was a filler arc that went on for too long. Sometimes I still got upset about it and confided in Jin for some reason. Everytime he kind of made me feel bad about it and I got over it quick enough. “He was in my dream last night.” I finished.

“Ew, ugh, don't mention him.” Jungkook scoffed, a disgusted tone to his voice.

“Don't you talk to him? He fucking sucks your d-”

“Just drop it.”

--

Dear Google Docs,

Today I realized how different Jungkook had become after her. He gets angry easier. She texted him while we were talking yesterday and I could hear his attitude sinking. She wanted him to look for a makeup brush she thought she left there and he asked to know what it looked like. She got mad that he “never can do anything she asks” and he just got angry. He swore every minute and just bitched and bitched.  I felt bad, but what could I do? He got off right after that.

I'm worried.

--

I woke up at a good morning text today from Jungkook. It had a heart next to it and I couldn’t help but to find myself blushing at the thought that he thought of me. I’d gotten messages like this from him before, but it almost felt different. Whenever we went through our periods of talking he as like this. Maybe it was because he knew I thought that I annoyed him all of the time and he did this to ease me.

--

Dear Google Docs,

I think this document is so important to me because it's mine. Normally I'll vent on my private social medias, but my friends still can see my posts along with people I've never spoken to that may follow me. I was always fine with that, but I've felt kind of embarrassed about this Jungkook issue. Was it just in my head? Any friend I've spoken about this with thinks he has feelings to me but they don't- well, know him.

Kookie likes to fuck around. He was one of the sweetest guys I knew but he loved attention and loved being able to say he had someone wrapped around his fingertips. Kinda fucked up. It seems he was a little different now after her. To my knowledge, he wasn't truly about that anymore, but what did I know?

--

We haven't truly spoke in days at this point. Between us both working and whatever was going on with him it was rare that we even exchanged messages. It wasn't exactly hurting me, but more so leaving me in a state of confusion. Did he care the way I did or were they pity messages? All I knew was that I needed my anxiety to stop fucking around with me and let me continue normally. I didn't need this cloud surrounding me and bringing me down. I just had to work and focus.

--

I’d woken up to a message from him this morning that read, “Summer is only a month away.” It was sent at 4:33 in the morning. Why was he thinking about that so early? I went to work and the message didn't leave my head. I’d forgotten to respond to him in my rush and got another message an hour later that read, “I’ll plan everything, don’t worry. I’ll pick you up and it’ll be smooth sailing, baby.” Yeah. Real smooth.

--

Dear Google Docs,

He messaged me “You know what man. You haven't asked me to be a pirate in a while. I'm starting to feel some type of way.”  What the fuck is that supposed to mean? I asked 2 days ago and his replies have been scarce so I decided I shouldn't ask anymore. I didn't want to be annoying and I told him that. His response was “Never. I always want you to annoy me about being a pirate.” My heart fluttered, but I couldn't bring myself to respond with something cute so instead I said “Are you sure?” What a fucking idiot.

--

“I'm glad we have this game.” Jungkook sounded like he was smiling a week before we went away at 1 am. “I always wanna play with you but-”

“But?” I could feel my voice slipping as my eye drooped. I was exhausted, but I couldn't turn down an invite from him.

“You just play shitty games, Y/N.” he laughed hearing my breath stop for a second. I was so tired I couldn't even think of a retort in the moment. “Turn a little more west.”

I listened as I steered the ship while he basically did everything else. “I can't believe I have to drive for 12 hours in a week.” I sighed, dreading the journey. The longest car ride I'd been on was 9 hours and I hadn't even been the one driving.

“But you'll have me.” he basically sang. I was caught off guard by the cuteness of it and cleared my throat. “Back and forth, you'll have me.”

“Are you gonna talk to me though?” I joked with him. “You can't leave me on read or unopened if we're both in the car.”

“Well, we won't be texting, first off.” he almost sounded offended but, I think it was fake. “Maybe I'll be breathless if I stare at you for too long, gorgeous, but that's it. The only thing keeping us from talking.”

“Shut up.”

--

I'm leaving tomorrow for this vacation. I quit my second job, I bought clothes, and I'm excited. Being with all of my close friends for a week sounds like the break I deserve. So, I decided the best way to spend my night was to play some good ole Xbox. Jungkook happened to be on, but his attitude was different. He was normal Kook, but he just kinda kept yelling and was getting frustrated easier than normal. Nothing too serious, but he was being an ass.

“Why are you so mean today?”

“She came over yesterday and slept over and had sex with me so I'm kinda heartbroken.”

“Ah.”

“You know, even though I'm not enjoying my day, I'm enjoying my time with you.”

“Heart heart.”

“Heart heart.”

--

Dear Google Docs,

I don't think I can love him the way I want to.

A/N - hello and welcome to my sadness!! I hope you enjoyed & please let me know what you think in replies or messages! I’m super nervous about this story bc it’s very personal and i highkey need to know what everyone thinks before i continue writing. it’s gonna get a lot worse from here, boys. i can tell you that. heart heart xx