#Zoe is never having it with Douxie I swear

[rikalovesrice]

Douxie x Reader #5 - Favorite

Douxie was wiping down some freshly washed coffee mugs when you walked in. He raised a hand, about to call your name in greeting, when he noticed a boy follow you in. Some stocky lad with a chiseled face and hair slicked back with so much gel one couldn’t tell what color it was. The pair of you found seats in the corner of the café, setting book bags in the chairs and laptops on the table. Douxie watched you say something to the guy before you headed towards the counter. You saw Douxie and immediately smiled.

“Hi you,” you said, leaning on the counter, hands curled around your face.

“(Name),” Douxie replied, preparing your usual. “Who’s that over there?”

You glanced back at the chap, who had just taken a selfie and was now busying himself with posting it to social media. You turned back to Douxie with a sigh.

“Trevor Braxton,” you say. “He’s my partner for my final English project.” You groaned and put your face in your hands before sliding them down your cheeks. “Jeez, I really hope we work well together because this is the biggest project of the year and I kinda need to pass this class to graduate.” You peeked at Douxie and hushed your voice. “...I probably won’t be able to go hunting with you guys for a while.”

Douxie shrugged, smiling softly. “No worries.” They’d miss your company, but at least you’d be completely out of harm’s way for once. “And I’m sure you’ll do fine.” He slid your freshly made drink over to you in your favorite mug, the dark blue one depicting the silhouettes of rooftops and chimneys beneath stars and a crescent moon. “One hazelnut latte with almond milk. On me as always.”

You took the warm mug in your hands, wafting the steam with a content sigh. You smiled sweetly. “Thank you, Douxie.”

“Of course.”

“Well, we better get started. I’ll uh...Be over here!” You made your way back over to Trevor Braxton, who welcomed you back with a fist bump. Once you settled in, the two of you got to discussing your chosen topics. Towards the end of the night, when Benoit’s was shutting things down and Trevor had gone, you only exchanged a few words with Douxie before retiring home to do more homework.

And for the next three days, you and Douxie barely had a chance to talk. You were up to your eyeballs in schoolwork and studying for your finals and researching for your stupid project, hoping Trevor would pull his weight. Meanwhile Douxie was feeling your absence, bummed that all your time was consumed at the local library instead of Arcane Books. Archie and Zoe missed you, too. Douxie knew it would be like this at least for the next two weeks, until finals were over. His heart sunk at the thought.

So tonight, Douxie was overjoyed to see you stumble into Benoit’s with an armful of books. Trevor was right behind you, wearing a fitted t-shirt, gym shorts, and white socks with his black slides. You unloaded more books and your laptops onto the coffee table in the middle of the café. Douxie returned your soft, relieved smile when you hurried over to him.

“Douxieeee,” you whined, going to lean your forehead against his chest.

“There you are,” Douxie said. He brought you into a hug and didn’t overlook how exhausted you were.

“Ugh, I’m so sorry.” You pulled away, sighing heavily. “I’m so swamped. But thankfully my sister’s just as busy so she’s leaving me alone. And Trevor...” You glanced back at him. “He hasn’t been so bad. He’s pretty chill actually. Smart, too.”

“No worries. And...that’s good to hear. About your sister and about...Trevor.” 

Strange, though, that the smallest hint of it somehow didn’t feel good at all.

Throughout the shift Douxie would glance over at your table. You and Trevor would exchange a few words before burying yourselves back into your notes. Trevor had a book open in his lap and was studying it carefully. Wanting to check on you, and perhaps suggest taking a break, Douxie turned to make his way over to your table.

Only to see you laughing. Trevor Braxton was chuckling with you.

Normally Douxie loved it when you laughed. But right now, as endearing as it was, for some reason something felt...wrong. So wrong that it froze Douxie in place, leaving him staring, perplexed. Trevor said something else and you laughed again, this time a little harder. Trevor’s grin grew wider. The itching wrongness grew stronger. The whole thing wasn’t sitting right and urge to correct it, whatever that meant, churned throughout Douxie’s body. There was a passing thought, a fleeting feeling, that something was going to happen to you. Just as Douxie was about to move towards you, a customer called out.

“Uh Douglas, can I get another milkshake?”

Douxie whirled his head to the side, seeing a bunch of teenagers raising their empty glasses at him. He looked back at your table, where you and Trevor were now in casual conversation, before taking a deep breath, clearing his mind.

“Of course, right away.” Another quick glance back. Then he went back behind the counter, pouring milk and scooping ice cream into blenders. Douxie watched the ingredients spin rapidly, mixing and mushing together.

 A whirring vortex. 

Douxie heard you giggling.

Uneasy.

~

“I swear something’s not right,” Douxie said. “I just have a bad feeling about him.” 

“Ok so...You think he could be something?” Zoe said.

Douxie held his hand over his mouth, speaking low into his phone.

“If he is, (Name) might be in danger. He’s always around her.”

“Caaause of her project or whatever?”

“Yes!”

“So...Let me get this straight. You have a bad feeling about this guy who’s always around (Name).”

“Yes.” Exasperated, Douxie walked about aimlessly, wandering towards the cafe’s restrooms. 

There was a pause. Douxie frowned when Zoe chuckled.

“Um, Doux, are you sure you’re not just -”

“Zoe, I’m serious!” Douxie whispered harshly, holding his phone away from his face to glare at Zoe’s contact photo. “I don’t want to take any chances, especially if our friend might be in trouble.” Stopping near the men’s restroom, Douxie held his chin in thought. “He’s one of those obnoxiously handsome types. A vampire...? No, I’ve seen him in sunlight. So he can’t be an incubus either, thank God...” Now that was a thought that really made Douxie’s skin crawl and boil. “Oh! Or maybe he’s a -”

A bout of laughter came muffled through the restroom door. 

“Alright Star Trev, you got this!” a very dude-ish voice exclaimed. “Any moment now and you’ll have her right where you want her.”

Douxie near dropped his phone, his blood going cold. 

“Uh, Douxie?” Zoe said. “What -”

“Shhh!” Douxie clamped a hand over his phone and creeped closer to the restroom, carefully putting his ear just over the door. Trevor continued to chuckle to himself, an annoying, snot-nosed sound.

“Just a little longer,” Trevor said, voice getting lower. “And that heart’s gonna be yours. And it’ll be...delicious.” There’s was smack like the clapping of hands and another string of laughter. Douxie slowly backed away from the door, disgust and dread seizing him.

“A charmling,” he said, voice quivering. Charmlings. Simple creatures that resembled attractive humans, luring their victims in with their, well, charm, before literally ripping their hearts out to devour. All things considered, this was the most probable conclusion. So Douxie steeled himself, clenching a fist and glowering at the restroom door concealing an apparent monster that was targeting you.

“A charmling? Are you for real?” He forgot Zoe was still on the line. “I mean seriously, Douxie, are you sure you’re not just a little bit jea-”

“I’ll call you back.” Douxie hung up, shoving his phone into the pocket of his sweatshirt and turning tail to where you were. He had to let you know. One of his co-workers cocked an eyebrow at his rushing back into the dining room.

“Uh, Doux? You still have, like, fifteen minutes left of your break- “

“It’s fine!” Douxie quickly located you at your table, where you were studiously typing away on your laptop. Douxie walked briskly over. “(Name)!”

You looked up from your work and blushed, giving Douxie a smile for the pleasant interruption. Then you noticed how antsy he was.

“Douxie? What’s the matter?”

“It’s Trevor, (Name),” Douxie said quickly. “He’s- “

“What about me?”

Douxie whipped around. Speak of the devil, standing with his bulky arms crossed over the all-capitalized word ‘SPICY’ on his red t-shirt. Trevor’s narrowed eyes didn’t leave Douxie as he sat back down at the table, slipping what looked to be his phone into his pocket. The corner of Douxie’s mouth twitched when you looked at him with that kind, welcoming, precious look of yours but, oh, if only you knew...

“You were gone for a while,” you said. “Everything okay?”

“Wha?” Trevor noticed you and grinned. “Yeah, it’s all good. Just had to take care of something, you know?”

It only made Douxie’s eyes harden. Charmlings had to preen themselves periodically to maintain their striking human guise. Make sure claws and fangs and patches of non-human skin were well put away until it was time. That time wasn’t going to come, not if Douxie had an atom of anything to say about it.

“Uh, you got a problem, dude?” Trevor said, likely feeling the intensity of Douxie’s stare. You hadn’t noticed and just frowned at Trevor’s rude tone.

Douxie opened his mouth, stinging accusation on the tip of his tongue, but then he remembered where he was. It probably wasn’t the best idea to expose some good-looking guy as a flesh-ripping, heart-eating monster in front of the peacefully oblivious civilians of Arcadia chilling in the café. 

Taking a deep breath through his nose, Douxie forced a smile.

“Of course not,” he said. “I uh...Just wanted to tell you you’re our one-hundredth customer tonight! So you get, uh...a free beverage of your choice.” Douxie’s thoughts bitterly added, Free because I’m paying for it...

Trevor silently glowered at Douxie for a few seconds before breaking out into excited chortling, rubbing his hands together.

“Hoho, sweet! Gimme a large Jungle Juice smoothie. Extra spinach.”

Douxie’s gnashed his teeth behind his lips in an attempt to keep from scowling. “Right away.”

His eyes flickered over to you. You had one brow raised in question, clearly sensing something was amiss. Unable to say much else, Douxie sighed and left the table. Text. He was going to text you, he was going to text you... 

“Yeaaahh, ya boy’s gonna get us an A plus, (Name)!” Trevor’s voice was a distinct bark above the conversations buzzing around the dining room, grating on Douxie’s nerves. That fact that he’d said your name somehow made it worse.

 A lot worse.

Co-workers were a bit perturbed to see an unusually grouchy Douxie glaring dark daggers across the room while dumping an entire bag of spinach into a blender.

~

They were being pelted by globs of acidic monster saliva but that didn’t stop Douxie from answering his phone as soon as it rang.

“(Name)!” Douxie exclaimed, yelling above monstrous gurgling and loud blasts of magic.

“D-Douxie?” you voice came through. “Okay, I...I don’t get it. Trevor is dangerous and trying to eat my heart?” An explosion, courtesy of Archie. “Um, what was that? Are you fighting something right now?”

“Well, uh, yes, but that’s not important - GAAHH!” Douxie whirled out of the way of a mouthful of teeth, the creature instead taking a chunk out of the pavement. The new hole in the ground was steaming, melting away. The creature, a poisonous and slimy mubok, twisted its serpentine body of sludge back towards him, its white drooping eyes glaring.

“Hey! Why are you on the phone right now?!” Zoe barked, throwing handfuls of lightning at the mubok. 

“Just a second!” Douxie said. “Real quick, I have to tell (Name) about Trevor!”

The next blast of electric magic sent the mubok splatting against the alley wall. An exasperated Zoe faced Douxie with clenched fists.

“Are. You. Joking?!” 

“No, I’m not! This is important-”

Yeah, now realizing the time, you shouldn’t have called. Not wanting to jeopardize the hunt tonight, you hurried to put the call on hold. “Doux, I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay? I think you need to concentrate.”

“What? No, wait, (Name)-”

“I know, I’ll be careful, alright?” You couldn’t help but laugh softly over Douxie being so worried about you. Sometimes it was overbearing, but even then the giddiness bubbling inside you was there. “Tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay, okay, just whatever you do, don’t go anywhere alone with hi- OH FUZZBUCKETS!!!” Another explosion and what sounded like Archie yowling, and the call ended anyway.

You brought your phone away from your face and just stared at it, trying to process. To be honest, nothing surprised you much these days, what with finding out and knowing for a while now that wizards and trolls and whatever else existed. Heck, aliens were real at this point.

Now the guy who’s your partner for a project worth eighty percent of your grade might be trying to eat you.

~

As soon as Trevor excused himself from the table, Douxie made his way over to you, giving Trevor the side eye as they passed each other. The git was going towards the restroom.

Douxie pulled up a chair and sat next to you. After so long of being away from him, the warmth and comfort of Douxie’s closeness was almost overwhelming. Even panicked and suspicious, Douxie was so cute and amazing. But remembering the disturbing news, you shook away your reverie and set your books to the side.

“Okay so...about Trevor,” you began, leaning close and your tone hushed.

“Right,” Douxie said. He went on to explain what a charmling was. “Terrible things. I knew someone years ago who’d fallen victim to one. The poor guy was found with a gaping wound in his chest. His eyes were stolen, too, which was odd- “

“Umm, okay, thanks,” you muttered, shuddering. Douxie quickly backpedalled.

“Sorry!” He leaned his elbow on the table, bringing himself closer to you and darn it, you couldn’t help but blush. “We can take care of this tonight. Convince him to stay until closing and I’ll do him in.” Douxie cocked his head in confusion when you suddenly looked...sad. “What is it?”

“It’s just...Geez, it kinda sucks,” you said, shrugging. “I thought Trevor was a pretty cool guy. Surprisingly hilarious, too, and a solid partner. Are you sure he’s a charmling or whatever?” 

Normally you wouldn’t doubt Douxie on secret monster matters but the thought of your ditzy but harmless enough classmate being sent to limbo was quite the bummer. But on the other hand, yeah, you kind of needed your heart to stay alive so...

Hearing you vouch for Trevor even in the slightest was making Douxie’s stomach coil. Something in him was urging him to consider your words, that maybe he was jumping the gun here, but Douxie couldn’t bring himself to stop and think this time. Too....bothered.

Trevor’s smug face crossed Douxie’s mind.

No, make that too annoyed.

“Believe me, I heard him clearly in the bathroom that day,” Douxie said. He nudged your arm. “Come on, I know a monster when I see one. Been doing this for centuries after all.”

Your shoulders slouched with a sighing chuckle. “True. I’ll figure something out. He may be book smart but otherwise Trevor’s a bit on the...dense side.” 

“Works in our favor then.”

You noticed Trevor returning from the restroom and watched him closely. Trevor winked at you but his face soured at the sight of Douxie.

“What’re you doing here Mr. Emo Dude?”

“Hey, Trevor!” Okay, granted, you didn’t like the way Trevor talked to Douxie. Granted again, it made more sense now. Trevor could probably sense somehow that Douxie wasn’t normal himself.

Douxie met Trevor’s gaze evenly, drumming his fingers on the table and feigning pleasantries. You scolding the guy somehow made it easier. “I’m just talking with my friend. Haven’t been able to see her much these days, what with your project.”

Trevor snorted, plopping down into his chair. “Uh, alright man. We’re almost finished, though. I mean once we get our A plus I’ll be done with her, right (Name)?” Trevor lightly smacked your shoulder in what appeared to be jest, snickering at his own perceived hilarity. But you’d gone stiff and your heart began to race because with Trevor in a whole new context, that just didn’t sound good at all.

Then you felt Douxie’s familiar hand on your shoulder. He had his other hand behind his back balled into a fist.

“Good,” Douxie said shortly, still working a tight smile. “I’ll leave you two be then.” He gave your shoulder a squeeze before getting up, putting his chair back where he got it, and returning to work.

“Pfft, what a weirdo,” Trevor murmured. 

“Uh, hey so...” You racked your brain, trying to come up with something, anything. Trevor was holding his phone and an idea came involving his latest obsession. “Did you know that Benoit’s has a special deal with the Granny’s Baking House app?” 

~

Even though you’d been absent after hours for a while now, everyone still knew you as the girl who always stayed behind and waited for Douxie. Kind of odd that some dude was with you this time but whatever. As long as you didn’t make a mess.

You and Trevor had packed all your things away. Trevor was so engrossed in his phone that he didn’t notice you slip away, wringing your hands, and join Douxie near the counter. 

“Okay, I want you to go outside, but don’t go far,” Douxie said, securing his charm bracelet around his forearm. He didn’t want you in here once they got started. “He’ll try to follow you...” Magic flashed over the surface of his bracelet, symbols flickering. “But that’ll be the end of it.”

“Got it.” You went back over to the table and gathered your things. “Well, I’m going to head home. Thanks again, Trevor.”

He glanced up from his phone. “Want me to walk you?”

“Eh, no it’s okay! I’ll be fine. And I wouldn’t want you to miss your big boost.”

“Pfft, bro, it’s cool,” he said, shrugging. “It’s, like, super late and dark outside. I don’t anything to happen to you, you know?”

Trevor flashed his pearly whites in a smile and you swallowed, chills rippling down your spine. 

“...Right. Thanks.” 

Getting his stuff, Trevor followed you to the door. You made sure to go first, and as soon as you were completely outside, the door slammed shut behind you. You spun around, gaping as the door and windows were outlined with Douxie’s blue magic. The door locked on its own and the lights inside died, plunging the café in partial darkness.

“What the heck?” Trevor pushed and pulled on the door but to no avail. You took a step back when Trevor looked at you, gritting his teeth, and tried ramming the glass. Still nothing.

“You’re not going anywhere, Star Trev.” Douxie emerged from the shadows, magic pulsing in his hands. “And you’re not laying a finger on (Name).”

“Dude what are you talking abou- AAIIIEEEEE!!!” A high-pitch scream, and Trevor was throwing himself out of the way of a blast of blue. He scrambled away and back onto his feet. “Yo, dude, what’s going on?!”

“Oh, don’t play dumb!” Douxie said. “You can’t fool me, charmling!” Douxie crossed his arms over his face then released, ropes of magic flinging out and wrapping around Trevor. He fell back onto the floor, writhing and whimpering. Strange that he wasn’t putting up much a fight...

“Go on, then!” Douxie said, his magic poised for another attack. “Reveal your true self!”

“Uh..uh..M-my name’s Trevor, I-I’m eighteen and I like puppies and I a-actually cheated on my math exam and I think emo guys are r-really cool and- Dude please don’t hurt me!!!” Trevor kept squirming, now shaking with melodramatic sobbing.

Alright, so things were starting to not add up but Douxie didn’t relent. “Me hurt you? You’re the one who wants to eat (Name)’s heart!”

“Huh?! Y-yo, I ain’t a cannibal man!” Trevor wailed. “I-I mean I bit my brother once b-but that was a long time ago but I wasn’t tryin’ to eat him!!”

Okay this...wasn’t supposed to happen. Douxie lowered his bracelet arm just a little bit, his hostility wavering.

“Then what was all that talk about a delicious heart?” He couldn’t relax just yet. “Didn’t you stay behind today to get (Name) alone?”

“What? Bro, (Name) told me if I stayed here until midnight I would get extra brownie points for Granny’s Baking House!” His terror suspended for a moment, Trevor struggled and somehow managed to fish his phone out of his pocket, showing to the screen to Douxie. Sure enough, a cartoonish grandma in a fluffy apron and a pair of pink oven mitts was smiling warmly back at him, a window full of pastries on display behind her. The screen then flickered to a picture of the same grandma clad in armor, brandishing a pie at a three-headed dragon.

“Brownie...points?” 

Trevor rolled his eyes at the apparent amateur Douxie was. “Uh, yeah. If you get five hundred brownie points, Granny gives you a heart-shaped cake! It’s the strongest cake in the game, man! And it even comes with a real life recipe. All I need is, like, fifty more points!”

“Heart...shaped...cake...”

Oh, fuzzbuckets.

“Dude, why do you keep, like, repeating my words?” Trevor sighed, leaning his head back against the floor. “Yeah, but then (Name) was gonna walk home alone and like I wouldn’t be a gentleman if I didn’t go with her, ya know?” Then he reverted into a mocking tone. “Whatever, I bet this place wasn’t even going to give me that many brownies. Hardy-har-haaar!” And then he seemed to remember that he was still tied up. “U-uh, but for real, Emo Dude, I ain’t trying to steal your girl! L-like she’s cool but n-not really my type...”

Douxie felt his face go warm. “She’s not my girl, she’s my...” His smacked his hand against his forehead. “Ugh, blast it all...” How had it come to this?

With a wave of his hand, Douxie released Trevor from the binds. Trevor rose nervously to his feet. Douxie sagged his shoulders, feeling bad. 

And really, really stupid.

“Well...This was clearly a misunderstanding. My apologies, Trevor.” Douxie willed the lights to turn back on and the doors to unlock. You hurried inside, having watched the whole thing.

“What’s going on?” you asked, looking back and forth between the two. “Is...everything good?”

“Yo, are you, like, a magician?” Trevor asked, awestruck as Douxie punched in a spell on his bracelet. “How’d you do all of that-”

“Interminus nocti slumberso.” A blue mist blew out of Douxie’s hands and onto Trevor’s face, instantly knocking him out cold onto the couch. You were about to protest, but then it didn’t take you long to figure out what must’ve happened. So you stayed silent, somewhere between relief, wanting to laugh, and wanting to give Douxie a hug (though, you were always down for the latter).

He and you listened to Trevor’s snoring for several seconds before looking at each other. 

Looking at you standing beside him after so long, having nothing to do with schoolwork or Trevor, the void the last two weeks without you left was even more apparent.

 Douxie was so glad to see you. To just be with you.

“I...messed up,” was all he could say, his eyes downcast.

You breathed a chuckle through your nose. “It’s okay. I’m quite glad my heart is safe and not at risk of being eaten by a monster.” You gestured to Trevor. “And that this guy will probably think it was all a dream.”

Douxie groaned, sinking down into the nearest chair and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“I don’t know what came over me,” he murmured. “Ah, fuzzbuckets....”

“What do you mean?” 

“I just...I don’t know. I had such a bad feeling about him.” Douxie flicked a hand towards Trevor, who was now curled in a fetal position and murmuring something about pancakes. “And he was always around you so I figured you were in trouble somehow but...”

Your eyes widened and your heartbeat started to pick up. “Were you...upset? That he was always around me?”

Upset? Douxie stared back at you. He hadn’t known for the longest now what to call what he’d been feeling every time Trevor made you laugh. Every time you mentioned how smart and funny he was. Every time Douxie knew you were at the library with him. Every time he was right behind you coming into Benoit’s. All of a sudden for two weeks you’d been sparse in Douxie’s life, instead occupied with...someone else. Some other...

Douxie looked away, hiding his face. “I guess I was a little upset.” He sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair. “I mean, I’ve missed you, (Name), and seeing you with Trevor all the time and hardly being able to talk you was just...I suppose I felt...”

“...Jealous?” The word slipped before you realized it. Now that you had, your face went scarlet and your body felt fuzzy because could Douxie really feel jealous over you? Did he long for your attention like you longed for his? But then the surprised and contemplating look on Douxie’s face had you scrambling to recover because that just couldn’t be the case and so not that sort of jealousy.

“Uh, I-I mean...maybe not jealous. Some people just give off a vibe, you know? You don’t always click with everyone. Trevor didn’t seem to really like you either and -”

“(Name).” Douxie was smiling at you. Then he got up and threw an arm around your shoulders, leaning his cheek on top of your head. “No...I think you’re right. I guess...I didn’t want him to steal you away from m...from us.” He looked down at you. “You didn’t find him too charming, did you?”

How could Douxie ask you that when he was holding you and grinning at you like that? If only you could tell Douxie that no one compared to him in your eyes. That no one shined brighter than your beloved wizard.

“Not in the slightest,” you said, your cheeks pink. “I missed you...you guys like crazy, too.” You leaned your head against Douxie’s shoulder. “No one’s stealing me. You guys are my...” What were you saying? Think, think, think. “My favorites!” You looked up and smiled awkwardly. “You guys are my absolute favorites. And you’re my favorite b- er...guy...friend! My favorite, best guy friend ever.”

Douxie stared down at you for several seconds before bursting into a fit of laughter muffled into his fist. It put you in a trance because you rarely saw Douxie laugh but it was one of the greatest things in the world. It was so lovely you forgot to feel embarrassed.

“Well that’s good to hear,” Douxie said. His eyes went all gentle, so your insides turned to goo. “You’re also my favorite, (Name).” Douxie took in your soft, kind eyes gazing up at him. Your slightly parted lips. Your rosy cheeks. Every time without fail, it sent warmth like a candle blooming in his chest. 

Precious.

~

“I passed everything!” you exclaimed as you burst through the doors of Arcane Books. You gave Douxie a walloping high-five and flopped across the counter, thoroughly done with school. “One more week and I’m graduating, can you believe it?”

“Congratulations,” Douxie said, ruffling you hair. He finished organizing a stack of books onto a shelf before joining you at a table. “How was Trevor today?”

You shrugged with a grin. “Himself. Going on about how eating too much spinach gives you ‘wicked dreams.’”

“We’ll let him have that one.” Douxie smiled. “It’s good to have you back, (Name).”

Douxie sitting across from you with a backdrop of bookshelves and gothic decorations. It filled your heart. 

“Glad I can be back.” You stretched out across the table before folding your arms under you and closing your eyes. Unable to see Douxie’s face. How truly happy he was. 

You were here with him. 

You were with each other.

Favorites.

[taags-old-account]

Tales Of Arcadia + Memes & Foolishness + Funny Headcanons

I saw a Voltron one and now I will torture you. This could kinda fit in with the Big Bro Douxie AU so tagging @honeyxmonkey

Eli is the cryptid of the group. After finding the trolls, aliens, and wizards. He just goes ballistic and tried to find Nessie, Mothman, and the Billycraggle

But Nimue is Nessie so...

Steve and Toby become some weird meme duo. Quoting vines and memes all the time.

Steve and Toby: *shoving Douxie towards Merin* "YOU ARE MY DAD BOOGIE WOOGIE WOOGIE!!!"

But Jim and Douxie come up with the darkest jokes ever. It's kinda terrifying.

Eli: Wow it's really dark outside!

Douxie: Like my soul and my coffee at 3am

Jim: Like the bathtub

Krel and Claire are the sarcastic ones.

Somebody: *says something*

Claire & Krel automatically: *something sarcastic*

Aja also liking memes but not understanding them would be adorable.

Steve and Toby just keep trying to teach her but she doesn't get it at all

Y'all say Krel wouldn't like Douxie's music, but I think Krel loves all music and would think it was badass if Douxie used his spellcaster guitar in a battle

One time when things get messy, Douxie throws his staff and it turns into a motorcycle, he just jumps on and runs over the bad guys.

Jim in the background: "Vespas are better."

Jim and Douxie proceed to get in a competition about it. Jim wins but only because Douxie lets him.

Toby and Darci, Jim and Claire, and Steve and Aja go on a triple date.

Eli and Krel hide at a different table and watch because they have nothing better to do.

Douxie is their waiter and WON'T LEAVE THEM ALONE

Whenever they have a larger scale battle, everybody counts their kills like Gimili and Legolas in LOTR. Jim, Douxie, and Aja always win except for one time when Eli wins and boasts about it for a week.

One night they have a sleepover and watch shitty action movies till the crack of dawn but it's basically only Douxie is awake and he can't move because all the kids are asleep on top of him.

He loves it though.

Remember we headcanoned that Douxie would break the kids out of jail?

Yeah, they get into jail one time. Call Douxie their brother and they get out. Douxie doesn't condone the children getting into jail, but adores the brother thing.

You know the little forehead bonk that Archie and Merlin did to Douxie in Wizards? Yes, Douxie does it to the kids.

He also calls them moppets.

Jim just cooks a giant family dinner one night and everybody is there. EVERYBODY. The others help with making the dinner, but Jim is not just a master swordsman and they all listen to him.

Gnome Chompsky has another peanut child.

One time Douxie is being angsty (or thinking about Zoe) and Zoe (of course) walk into the room. Douxie panics says some waiter pun then runs away.

Krel finds it and never lets Douxie live it down.

They all go to the mall one time and Steve gets dared to Nurato run throughout the entire place. Steve is banned from Arcadia mall from now on but he says it was worth it.

One time Krel is very bored so he builds a robot that Steve and Toby told him to make it quote memes. (this is an idea from a Voltron post where Pidge makes a robot that quotes vines. And Lotor keeps getting harassed.)

Nobody forgives those three for making that thing.

ARRRGHHH and Toby create a Go-Go Sushi tournament. ARRRGHHH wins.

One time the entire gang goes to Akaridion-5 for a tour. Aja leads it and Varvatos adds GLORIOUS violent commentary.

Aja and Jim enjoy sparring together because SWORDS.

Douxie at one point gets a bow because those fingers of his could absolutely work that. AND MAGIC ARROWS

Everybody calls him Katniss now.

One time everybody is going over to Toby's place and every time somebody comes, Toby opens the door and does the "hi welcome to chilis" vine.

One time Claire and Aja spar and Jim and Steve simp in the background. Krel is facepalming. Douxie won't let them live it down.

Eli swears he saw Mothman one time. Nobody believes him.

Did he see Mothman? You guys can guess.

Either way, this was fun to make. If anybody has any more crazy ideas. REBLOG AND PUT THEM THERE BECAUSE I WOULD LOVE THAT!!

Goodbye.

[archies-litterbox]

Whumptober No. 2: Talking is Overrated

Garotte | choking | gagged

Summary: Zoe wakes up in rather inhospitable custody, as well as in magic-nullifying shackles. She wants nothing more than to make her escape as soon as possible without relying on anyone to find her, but the fatigue and headaches brought on by a certain nullifier cast in the metal of her chains makes that rather difficult. And to make matters worse (or better?), she’s not alone.

Words: 7k

A/N: Welcome to Day 2! This one is a much longer piece than Day 1, but I was actually working on this for like a week before I realized it fit one of the Day 2 prompts, so I figured it worked! (“Garotte” is italicized because although this is written for the theme “gagged”, garottes are mentioned coincidentally). The next piece is gonna be for another fandom, and I won’t get back to ToA until likely Day 4, but for now, I hope you enjoy! Also this may be from Zoe's POV, but be fooled not - Douxie's the one getting whumped the most here. I mean... you know me.

[CW: Kidnapping/Capture, Muzzle, Chains, Swearing, Creepy Whumper (Antagonist acts creepy to Zoe but never lays a hand on her)]

--

It had been, by most conventional standards, not a particularly pleasant afternoon.

It started out fine for Zoe, going about her typical herb-collecting in the woods, but getting a sharp pain in her neck and waking up with cuffs on her wrists pretty much threw a wrench in things. The shackles were generously - as generous as shackles could get, anyway - tethered by a long chain to a stake in the ground, giving her enough length to lay back against a tree. Such was an opportunity she took without hesitation, for something - whether the sedative or some magic nullifier in her shackles - left her feeling drained. 

Drained, but not alone.

No, she woke up with another person in her predicament - another magic user, most likely, judging by the way that shackles were clamped on his wrists the same as hers, linked by a long chain to that same blasted stake in the ground.

But unlike her, he was unconscious. Whatever sedative they used must have been doing more of a number on the boy than it did to her. At least, that’s what she figured while the gangly kid laid knocked out on his side.

She decided not to wake him, instead resolving to try to think of a way out of this. Sure, hedge-witches were well-networked, and one of them was bound to track her down to this literal neck of the woods, if there was one thing Zoe Ashildr loathed, it was being at anyone’s mercy. The sooner she got herself out of here without waiting on anyone, the better.

As they sat around a campfire some meters away, the gang that must have been her and this guy’s captors didn’t even notice she was awake, and she hoped to keep it that way. The longer she wasn’t noticed, the longer she’d be left alone to think.

Well… to try to think, anyway, but it was hard to get any clever escape schemes going with the horrendous pounding behind her eyes.

Besides, her attempts to think through what almost might have been the start of a plan were interrupted by a groan beside her.

“Ooooh, Fuzzbuckets.”

...What was a fuzzbucket?

She’d been looking right at the ground at her feet before, but she shifted her gaze to the stirring boy next to her. Zoe couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Great, now she’d have to keep this kid calm, as if fighting through her brain fog wasn’t difficult enough on it’s own.

He lifted his head and sat up, still too dazed to realize his circumstances yet. But when he did, his big hazel eyes widened at the sight of the shackles on his wrists.

His eyebrows upturned, and he opened his mouth like he was going to scream, but Zoe reached out, almost lunging over to do so, and put a hand over his mouth before he could.

“Mh!” he squeaked behind her palm. His eyes were still widened for another second, but then they glanced down to her hands that were shackled just like his, and when he seemed to realize she was a fellow captive and not his captor, his eyebrows furrowed as if he were confused, if not a little affronted.

“The longer they go,” she whispered, nodding to the still-unawares gang that sat grumbling around their fire, “Without knowing you’re awake, the better. Don’t be loud.”

The boy nodded apprehensively and moved his head back to get away from her hand.

“What are we doing here?” he asked, fortunately lowering his voice.

“Right now…” she crossed her heels over each other, sitting back against the tree, “...sitting. And messing with these stupid shackles.”

He rubbed the side of his head, “How long have I…”

Zoe shrugged, “Beats me. Half an hour, at least - that’s how long it’s been since I woke up, anyway… what were you doing before?”

She wasn’t sure why she asked. His squeaking, even when he spoke quietly, was already worsening her headache.

Well, whatever - the question was out there.

The boy looked down to recollect what happened.

“Well… I was picking herbs. My master sent me out to do it. He’s probably in his study going,” he changed his voice to mimic what sounded like a surly old man, “Hisirdoux, what’s taking so long? They’re easy to spot, even for you!”

Zoe tilted her head, “Hisirdoux, huh?”

He nodded, as if remembering he hadn’t thought to introduce himself yet, “Hisirdoux Casperan! Apprentice to Merlin. But I like going by Douxie. It’s shorter, and people usually don’t sound like they’re scolding me.”

Ugh, great. 

Not only was she chained here, but she was stuck with an apprentice for a wizard synonymous with snuck-up snobbery.

“I was doing the same thing. Looks like that’s how they got the drop on both of us.”

Douxie - it was better, she admitted, and much less pretentious-sounding than Hisirdoux - tilted his head, “Don’t you have a name?”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t matter.” she said.

“Come on, I told you my name.”

“Not like I asked for it.”

Douxie scrunched up his face in an adora-

NO.

Douxie scrunched up his face in a definitely-not-adorable pout.

“Fine, be all secret-y.” He curled his legs up and hugged them close to his chest with his shackled arms.

And that’s what she wanted to do. She didn’t want to say anything beyond what she had to say to Douxie. Not only was she apprehensive - for all she knew, he was some sniveling kid that knew just as much of the struggle of surviving as a magic user outside the sheltered walls of the castle as that privileged Arthurian toolbag did, which couldn’t have been much - but names were risky. If someone knew your name, they knew how to ask around for you. And she tried avoiding that as much as she could. If Douxie wanted to introduce himself, that was him, not her.

There was more she had to worry about besides introductions. Thinking of a plan… getting these cuffs off… not freezing…

She tried to tuck her hands under her underarms as best she could. These shackles drained her energy, and in addition to her magic’s obsoletion and the awful headache, it made her get cold easily in these woods, under the shade.

“...Are you cold?”

She turned her head to Douxie, who looked genuinely concerned. As skeptical as she was, she nodded.

“Not like I can whip up a fire… neither can you, so don’t try it.” she quickly added, holding up a pointer finger, “Draining Dust in the shackles. It’d just hurt.”

His eyebrows upturned, and he took a shaky breath. Merlin must have told him how poisonous it could be if it gets in the system.

“It’s toxic…” he mumbled, “It… it’s poison.”

“It’s not too bad just in the cuffs.” she said, almost to reassure him, “It shouldn’t actually poison you unless it gets in your system. Maybe if they rub against a cut, or something. Don’t worry about it - there’s enough to be scared of right now.”

Douxie nodded, swallowing, looking at her arms before glancing down at his hands.

“If your hands are cold… I could…”

He blushed, hesitation choking him up as he shook his head, leaning back against a tree of his own, next to the one Zoe was using for support.

“Agh, never mind.”

He tapped the back of his head against the bark, squishing his… manbun when he did.

“What do they even want?”

Zoe shrugged.

“Your guess is as good as mine.” she said, “For all I know, we could be going off to the highest-paying witchfinder… I just hope they don’t want our magic.”

“Well, they obviously don’t want it right now.” Douxie grumbled, shaking his cuffs. Assuming him to be truly clueless, rather than purposefully obtuse, she shook her head.

“I mean to do their dirty work. Keep the cuffs on until they need a spell or something, make us do it. We end up like vessels.”

Douxie looked down.

“Oh…”

Zoe stared down at her cuffed hands in her lap.

“I don’t think there’d be anything worse.” she huffed, “That’s the thing about everyone who hates magic. They say they want it eradicated, pushed out of their sight, crushed underfoot… until it helps them get what they want. Then they rip it from whoever they want, autonomy be forsaken.”

“And what if that’s…” Douxie asked, obviously worried now that he considered the prospect of being forced to use his magic against his will.

“...I'd rather they just get rid of me.” Zoe said, “Maybe taunt them until they do. No way they're getting my magic… especially not with these on.”

She lifted her shackled hands.

Douxie lolled his head back against his tree again.

“Urgh, it feels like they’re making me sick…” he whined, “I’ve got an awful headache.”

“Me too.” Zoe groaned, “Thought it was just from hearing you all along.”

Something panged her heart when she saw the way the boy’s eyebrows upturned. It wasn’t from the shackles, but something else… remorse.

“Ugh... sorry.” She lolled her head back against the tree for what felt like the fiftieth time this afternoon. “Uncalled for.” The apology felt foreign coming from her throat.

But Douxie only shrugged, “‘Salright. I’m notorious for causing headaches. And spills. And spikes in blood pressure. Merlin says so…”

His eyes widened with hope - faith, even, an odd thing - shining in his eyes.

“Merlin! He’ll find us! He’ll know I’m missing.”

Zoe rolled her eyes. Did he really have that much faith in that Arthurian toolbag?

“Sure.” She huffed. Douxie's eyebrows upturned.

“Come on… don’t you have anyone who'll miss you?”

Zoe lifted her head.

“A lot of people, actually. Hedge witches are pretty well-networked.” she said, immediately wanting to bite her tongue for mentioning what she was.

Douxie looked like he had stars in his eyes, which was… not the reaction she expected. She thought Merlin would have led him to think hedge witches were lesser in comparison to pristine magicians who managed to slither their way into King Arthur’s begrudging tolerance, but Douxie seemed… impressed? In awe?

“A hedge witch?” he asked in admiration, careful to keep his voice down. It caused a flutter in her heart that she wanted to beat down with a stick, but she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction that could’ve come with her being flustered, so she nodded.

“One goes missing, the rest pick up on it. Just a matter of tracking down from there…”

Douxie’s mouth formed an “O” and his eyes widened, like he had an idea (which must have been something of a rarity, if this afternoon was anything to go off of).

“Oooh, like a game!” he said, “It’s just like waiting to see who gets here first! Guess we’d both win though, ‘cause we’d… y’know…” he lifted his hands, “Not have these on anymore…”

...Wow, he was an idiot.

“Yeah, sure. A game.” she said, sardonic, “Whoever’s people show up to save our sorry butts first wins.”

It was quiet for a little while after that. Zoe still kept trying to think up an escape plan, despite the headache that messed with her head, and Douxie had either gotten the hint that she wasn’t too giddy for conversation, or he’d grown too worried of his predicament for words.

Judging by the way he sat curled up, hugging his knees against his chest as he stared down at the grass, it might have been the latter.

Douxie’s head snapped up at a noise - one that made Zoe’s heart spike as she whipped her head forward; the sound of one of their captors heading over to them.

He was one of four of them, the other four still sitting around their fire and blathering on with cantines abound in their hands, and he was quite the nasty specimen. Big, burly, greasy-looking, but pretty typical, as far as most people who would kidnap two teenagers out on errands tended to look. He glowered down at Zoe, not paying the curled up moppet next to her much attention.

“You’re awake.” he said to her.

She leaned back against the tree, unimpressed.

“Took you and your drinking buddies long enough to notice.” she said, “It’s bad enough you chained us here, but seriously, you’re going to keep us waiting?”

Douxie, still curled up and now shaking, glanced between her and the… bandit, she wanted to presume? These kinds of guys were always bandits, or something.

The man scoffed, “Rather confident for a hedge witch.”

Zoe tilted her head, “Mm… nah, we’re all pretty much this cocky. What do you want? I was in the middle of something back there.”

“And I was too! Something very important!” Douxie squawked. Zoe grit her teeth.

This isn’t the time to try to be included!

“What you’re in the middle of now,” the supposed bandit said, “is a trip to a rather high-paying witchfinder.”

Wow, she thought, I hit the nail on the head. Great. Can I hit this guy on the head too, while I’m at it?

(But she couldn’t.)

Zoe huffed, “If he’s sending you around, then he’s not much of a witchfinder, is he? I mean, he didn’t even find me, a witch - you did.”

“So, er…” Douxie started, “He’s more of a… send-weird-bad-guys-to-find-witches...er.”

Zoe looked at him for a beat, confused by how much of an idiot he was. Really, he kept surprising her in this respect.

The bandit turned his head to Douxie, too.

“Actually, me and my boys-”

“My boys and I.” Zoe corrected, earning a growl.

“-weren’t sent out to find a witch.”

Zoe didn’t understand, and by the looks of it, neither did Douxie.

“Nah, the guy said he’d pay a rather high price for the apprentice to, say, Merlin Ambrosius…”

Douxie’s eyebrows upturned as he shrunk into himself. Wait, he’d been demanded? Then… what about Zoe?

The man turned to her, as if to answer her question.

“But when we saw a pretty little hedge witch going about nearby…”

Zoe’s stomach turned. Her magic, however suppressed, instinctively thrummed at her fingertips in an attempt at defense. She didn’t let it show how much it burned.

“...Why not get more out of the deal?”

So… she was the one that was just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Zoe almost felt a little insulted, but it was drowned out by anger and, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, fear.

“If the “more” that you want is a bunch of hedge-witches after the sorry, ugly mugs of you and your “boys”, then go for it.” she said, keeping her voice cool despite clasping her hands to suppress the magic that would only hurt her, as long as those cuffs were on.

The hunter huffed, “I’d take the chance, I think. Worth the money.”

He knelt down. If Zoe could’ve backed against the tree any further, she would have. She gripped the chains on her shackles, wondering how good of a garotte the chain between them would make.

“I mean, I don’t see why anyone would turn that down…” his voice was lower now, and Zoe hated that. She really, really hated that.

“Maybe because they don’t have deathwishes.” she said, much more shaky than her liking as the man leered at her. “Do you?”

He brought up a hand.

“...Maybe I d-”

“DON’T TOUCH HER!”

It all happened so fast.

The screech next to her that sounded so unlike the quivering moppet from the past hour.

The slinking of chains moving fast against the ground.

The thumping of feet getting up on the grass.

The blur of brown, blue, and black that moved to her right.

The yowl from the hunter.

The last thing to finally catch up to her senses was a shocking sight, even more so than her own electric magic.

It was the fury in those hazel eyes as Douxie’s jaws clamped down hard on the hunter’s hand.

Zoe dove away from the scene, but mostly the hunter, as much as the chains allowed. Getting out of the space between those two and the tree, she got right to her feet. She wanted to shout something, do something, but she was too shocked by the scene for words. Here he was, some boy who she thought was a pretentious whiny little moppet who couldn’t do anything without Merlin’s approval, huffing and almost growling with his teeth locked onto the man’s hand like a dog’s on a piece of meat.

But as daring (and stupid, and possibly a tad feral) Douxie had been, he was light and gangly, and the hunter swinging his arm hard was enough to slam Douxie’s head against the tree, stunning him so his jaw opened so the hunter could pull his hand away.

Zoe hated that sound of skull meeting wood, and it made her wince, but it wasn’t as bad as the cry from Douxie. It seemed that ferocity was dormant now, smacked out of him as he lay slumped against the tree, somehow still conscious.

“What the hell…” she panted, still standing still as the weight of her shackles pulled her arms down, “What did you do?”

But, for once, Douxie didn’t say anything back.

“So, the little stray Merlin took in has a bite, now does he?” He said, kicking Douxie in the side on the emphasized word. The boy whimpered, grimacing with blood on his teeth, and with every ounce of the self-preservation that had been ingrained in her, Zoe fought tooth and nail against the urge to protect him. He was a stranger, just a kid caught up in the same messed-up predicament she was. It didn’t matter if he got himself in more danger than he was already in for her sake; she had no loyalty to him, and even if she did, her loyalty to herself was greater.

“...Well, I have something for that.”

But her stomach still dropped when she heard that.

The other three of the captors had already been running over, and when they got to their leader, he held out his hand. Without a word, one of the lackeys rummaged around in a bag for something that, whatever it was, Zoe desperately - no, why desperately? Why was she desperate for Douxie’s sake? - hoped he wouldn’t find.

“What are you talking about?” she asked, panting, her feet still planted to the ground.

The leader of the hunters, who still towered over Douxie, grabbed a fistfull of hair on the back of his head and yanked his bun loose.

“What you always use for dogs who can’t help but bite.”

The realization hit Zoe like a smack to the face. She started shaking her head, however minute the action was.

A second later, the realization apparently hit Douxie too, judging by the way his eyes widened and his breath quickened.

Both of them darted their eyes to the lackey with the bag, both knowing what he was looking for and hoping to anything they could that he wouldn’t find it.

But a damning “Aha!” from him all-but-confirmed their fear only a second before he pulled it out.

Zoe saw the straps. She saw the metal clasps. She saw -

Oh, no no no-

She saw the piece of metal that all the straps connected to; that was big enough and shaped just right that it could - no, it would cover the lower half of Douxie’s face and curve just under the chin to keep his jaw clamped shut.

A muzzle.

“NO!”

The scream/plea from Zoe sounded foreign to her, but she didn’t care. Laying eyes on that thing made her own, and she tried lunging forward, just like Douxie did for her, but two of the lackeys stopped her before she could take as much as three steps. They held onto her arms, both stopping her from moving forward and making her cuffed hands dig into her abdomen the more she thrashed against their hold, but she didn’t care. Not as her heels dug against the ground, not as the fabric of her dress sleeves chaffed against her sleeves with how tight the hold on her was, and not as magic thrummed under her skin despite the cuffs.

Douxie curled up and shook his head, clamping his hands over his mouth as if to block the muzzle from being put on. But once the leader had the muzzle in one hand, he used the other to yank on the chain for Douxie’s shackles to pull both the boy closer and to and pull his hands away from his face, stomping on the chain to keep it pinned. Douxie’s hands were forced down now, a mere inch or two off the ground, but even though he was practically stuck on his knees, he kept trying, trying, trying to tug himself away.

“No, no, no! Don’t! Please don’t!” Douxie pleaded.

“LEAVE HIM ALONE!” Zoe screamed, louder than him. It probably wasn’t a good idea to scream at the man holding a muzzle, but she didn’t care. Not while she thrashed and tried pushing forward and yanking her way out of the grip of the men on either side of her.

Until a blade to Douxie’s throat made both him and Zoe go still.

Douxie froze, save for the sharp rise and fall of his chest, and Zoe stopped her thrashing in an instant. The one who’d rummaged around and found the muzzle in the first place was the one holding it, and the angered look in the leader’s eyes made the demand clear:

“Stay still and shut up, both of you, or he gets his throat slit.”

Zoe shook with anger, but stayed still on her feet, glowering at the man so she didn’t have to look right at Douxie.

But she could still see him.

Douxie was just as frozen as her, shaking more with fear than Zoe’s fury, until he tried to shy away from the blade on his neck (and inadvertently pressed his head closer to the man with that damn contraption in his hands), minutely shaking his head.

But when the one holding the blade put it closer to his throat, pressing it against the skin with enough force that so much as a mere twitch would cut him, he went limp (as much as his trembling allowed), squeezed his eyes shut, and nodded minutely - a silent resignation, a nonverbal “I won’t move, just don’t hurt me.”

Zoe closed her eyes, too. The sting of tears was overpowering, and she couldn’t… she couldn’t bear to watch.

“He’ll kill you.” she heard Douxie hiss, “Merlin will kill you, he’ll kill-”

A sharp intake of breath and a muffled whimper made Zoe’s stomach twist, especially when no more sound followed but those of tightening straps and the “chk” of a lock.

Zoe never thought a sound could hurt so much to hear.

Fortunately, oh so fortunately, the leader went back to his fire, and the others followed suit.

When the men on either side of her let her go, the first thing she did was fall to the ground. The way she unconsciously tried using her magic despite the nullifier winded her, so she ended up kneeling on the grass, further staining the skirt of her dress as she stared at the unfocused green mess underneath her.

She wanted to think that was the reason, anyway. Definitely not because of what she knew she’d see once she lifted her head.

But when she heard Douxie’s shaky breathing through his nose - the only way he could breathe, she knew - she straightened up and looked at him. How could she not?

For the first time today, Zoe realized that all she wanted to do was cry.

His mouth and some of his cheeks were covered by dark, dark grey metal that spread ear to ear, reaching just up to his nose. It was likely cast with Draining Dust, just like the cuffs on both their wrists that shared it’s hue. Two little straps on either side of his nose met at it’s bridge, with a ring that had another strap coming from it, too - one that stretched all the way down the middle of the top of his head (hence why the leader tugged his bun loose). Two straps, one on either side of Douxie’s jaw, met the end of that strap at the back of Douxie’s head, Zoe reasonably guessed. Just as well, she assumed that locking noise she heard was the lock being put on back there.

But guessing was all she could do about that, because she wasn’t looking there. No, all she could look at was his face - at the eyes of the muzzled boy that stared at her like he didn’t know what to say, even if he could speak.

In those heavy-lidded hazel pockets of quiet desperation, nearly hidden by messy strands of black hair, Zoe saw what she could only describe as the poor man’s despondence - so close to being checked out of all this, but not quite there, not quite lucky enough to lose awareness of the situation.

She got closer, so she sat on her knees right in front of him while he stared at the ground. She felt more at a loss for what to say than Douxie, even though she was the only one out of the two of them that could say anything.

“He… you…” she started, but none of the words felt right.

Douxie’s eyes drew up to hers, as if he just realized she was in front of her.

And his breathing picked up, and his eyes widened, as if, although he knew there was a muzzle on his face, the realization sunk in, like fangs into skin, that there was a fucking muzzle on his face.

Desperately, he brought his hands to his head, yanking at the straps in desperation only made quiet by the very thing making him desperate. After a second or two, he forwent pulling at the leather bindings in favor of pulling at the metal on his face, almost digging his fingers underneath it and starting to scratch his face in the process as he clawed near-hysterically at it, making high-pitched whining noises behind the muzzle. His eyes weren’t heavy-lidded anymore. No, they were like a wild animal’s (a resemblance only furthered by the muzzle), wide with the fact that he needed, needed, needed to get it off.

But he couldn’t. Not like this.

“Wait! Stop!” she grabbed his hands, and pulled them down. “You might cut your face! You’d only make it worse!”

The image popped into her mind of somehow, some-bloody-how, traces of that nullifying powder ending up in his blood, and if he got poisoned on top of all of this…

No, she couldn’t bear to think of it.

Douxie tried pulling his hands back, but however gentle Zoe was, she was firm in keeping them away from his face.

It took a few moments, but eventually, his attempts in vain subsided and his arms relaxed… only to start trembling with the rest of his body.

The whimpers and whines from before were nothing compared to the keening wail he let out as the futility of his struggling let in, made all the more awful by how muffled it was; as his torso lurched forward and his head hung low.

(Now, Zoe got a good look at the lock binding all the straps together, but she didn’t pay it much mind.)

Douxie let go of her hands in favor of balling his own into fists, but she still felt his tears fall on her arms as he started to sniffle.

No, no, not good. If started crying any harder, and his nose stuffed up, he wouldn’t be able to breathe through his nose due to the congestion and… well, obviously he wouldn’t be able to breathe any other way. And the last thing she wanted to count on - even less so than that armored, bearded, weird-metal-head-plated embodiment of pretentiousness caring enough to send help for his errand boy - was these guys being merciful and trading the muzzle for something more breathable, let alone just leaving him ungagged.

No, it was too much of a risk.

“No, no, no, no. Don’t cry. Please.” It only made Douxie sob behind the metal again, the thought of something else being taken, but she explained, “If you cry, you might plug up your nose. You’ll suffocate.”

But that only scared him more, she realized as his eyes widened, his eyebrows upturning as he shook his head again, whining behind the metal that made the sound near-inaudible. She put her hands to either side of Douxie’s face, despite herself, despite the coldness she carried with her like a switchblade.

Douxie put his hands over hers. She tried to ignore the flutter in her heart - anything to help him get grounded.

“I need you to breathe. I need you to take deep breaths for me, and I need you not to cry. Just - just keep that nose of yours cleared up, okay?” She rubbed her thumbs over the little bit of his cheeks still uncovered by cruel, horrendous metal. “Can you do that for me, Douxie?”

Douxie’s eyebrows raised, and he seemed to relax a little with a certain realization - one that made Zoe fight back heat in her cheeks…

That was the first time today she’d called him Douxie.

And it was enough to help calm him down; to help his breathing slow, and to help the tension leave his body, even if it was just a little bit.

His eyes became heavy-lidded again, and however strange it sounds, Zoe thought it was a relief. It meant that he’d calmed down; that he was less of that frenzied, near-wild person from moments before and more of that moppety boy he’d been all this time.

Really, it was hard to believe they were even the same person, and if Zoe hadn’t seen it for herself, she wouldn’t have.

And even now, she still couldn’t wrap her head around the way he clamped down on that man’s hand, biting like a wild animal. It wasn’t his being daringly stupid - or stupidly daring? - that unnerved her, but the way he’d been as such…

How was she supposed to expect that from anyone? Especially Merlin Ambrosius’ sniveling errand boy?

“Why…” she huffed, “Why did you do that?”

Douxie couldn’t rightly answer, but he gestured to their captors again, bringing up a shaky hand to do it. Looks like Zoe would have to fill in the blanks.

“You…”

She sighed.

“You just didn’t want him to hurt me, did you?”

Douxie nodded, his head lolling with each motion because of the weight from the metal across half his face.

“...You know,” she started, “If he got close enough, I would’ve just tried using these chains as a garrote.”

Douxie tilted his head, mumbling something unintelligible in confusion.

“Something you wrap around someone’s neck to choke them out.” she explained and shrugged, “...Probably wouldn’t have worked, anyway.”

Douxie shrugged, noncommittal.

“I didn’t expect that from you, but I guess that goes without saying, huh?”

The look Douxie gave her was almost deadpan - enough to let her know that was the wrong choice of words. Oops.

“Heh, sorry…”

When she realized her hands were still on his face, a realization that made a pink tint come to her own cheeks (the same hue she’d eventually dye her hair, which was still brown now), she started taking them off…

...But Douxie put his hands on hers with a muffled whine.

“M’kay…” she gently rubbed under his eyes again, “Alright…”

She humored him, kept her hands on his cheeks. Not because she pitied him, or felt like she owed him for that stupid way he leaped and bit for her sake, but… he was scared, and if she let it show - if she brought forth even a sliver of the fear she felt today, he wouldn’t hesitate to comfort her, just like he didn’t hesitate when that bandit brought his hand up...

And she couldn’t turn down that sad look of helplessly quiet desperation in his eyes, no matter how much she wanted to.

Zoe sighed.

She wasn’t much for reassurance, but for his sake…

“...We’ll be okay.”

Douxie cast his gaze down, clearly not believing the statement as much as she did (even though earlier, the inverse was true). No, no no no - he couldn’t get discouraged; Zoe couldn’t let him.

“I mean it.” she insisted,  “You’re Merlin’s errand boy, right?”

Douxie mumbled something - a correction, a muffled “apprentice” - behind the metal clamped cruelly over his mouth.

“Then he’ll know you’re missing, and he’ll come for you. And the hedge-witches will come for me. Like a game, remember? Like you said?”

Douxie nodded, a little of the light returning to his eyes, as if he were happy that Zoe remembered what he said so naively earlier.

But despite that light… Zoe could tell that Douxie was exhausted.

“...It makes you more tired, doesn’t it?” she said, and it was obvious what “it” was. Douxie nodded, moving her hands with the motion. Of course it did - again, it didn’t take much to reasonably assume that it was cast with Draining Dust, just like the shackles, and now that more of it was on him, it just made him more miserable… 

Douxie moved his head out of her hands and started to lay down on the ground, but he still looked miserable, curling his arms around himself and curling his legs. And Zoe couldn’t take it. If she had any way of making him more comfortable…

...Well, at the very least, she had an idea.

“Sit up, Douxie,” she said to the boy that lay curled up next to her. Obviously a little confused, he sat up so he sat up and put his heels underneath him.

Zoe stretched her legs out and gauged, just by looking, how well her arms could fit around him. Even with his vest, he was rather skinny, and her arms were long, so she figured it would work. 

“I have an idea. I can try to make it a bit more comfortable.” she held her hands up, “Can I…”

Douxie didn’t look like he knew what she’d try to do, but he nodded all the same.

Her back had been laying up against the tree before, but she sat up a bit to get closer to Douxie - close enough to raise her shackled arms and put them over his head and down so they lay somewhat loose around his torso, like she was hugging him from behind. 

He looked a little confused, but didn’t recoil, so she laid back against the tree and gently pulled Douxie with her, so the back of his head laid against her shoulder, and he could rest it there, against the softness of the cloth that made up her dress.

And that’s what she did. As much as he still didn’t seem to get this (and to be fair, Zoe didn’t get why she was doing this, whatever this was, either) and his arms were somewhat pinned to his sides by the embrace, he still seemed relaxed.

“How’s this?” she asked, “If you don’t like it, I can-”

Douxie brought up his own shackled hands, his arms still sort of pinned to his sides by Zoe's embrace, to hold hers, only nestling further against her.

It was a clear enough answer - one that made Zoe feel relieved that she wouldn’t have to let go of him. She hated that relief, as good as it felt. It meant that if she did have to let him go, if something took him from her arms, it would hurt. And that knowledge - the looming threat of that pain - was dangerous.

But she found that right now, for once today, there was little she could bring herself to hate.

“Oh… ‘kay.” she rubbed one of his fingers with her thumb, “Okay…”

Despite the way one of the straps of Douxie’s muzzle - which she wanted nothing more than to blast right off - dug against her collarbone, the slow, steady breathing against her helped calm her as much as her hold calmed Douxie.

Zoe laid her head back against the tree, feeling fatigue weigh on her own eyelids once again.

“...It’s Zoe, y’know.”

Douxie lifted his head a little and looked up at her, “Mmh?”

Zoe brought her gaze, which lay aimlessly at the sky above the forest, down to the boy in her arms.

“You asked my name before.” she said, “It’s Zoe.”

When he seemed to finally understand what she was referring to, he hummed in contentment and squinted his eyes a little - the closest thing he could convey to a smile.

Zoe tried to ignore the way her heart fluttered, trying to at least keep any traces of it off her face.

Douxie closed his eyes and nestled his head against her again.

...She was just tired. That’s all this was. It was the cuffs, the stress, the circumstances. They were the only reasons she felt her heart warm when he saw that he looked content, despite the shackles on his wrists and godawful contraption clamped on his face; the only causes for her relief that his tears were drying under his closed eyes, his pretty lashes. Certainly, it wasn’t because he’d managed to make himself someone who meant something to her, to bumble his way through her barriers. And most definitely, it was not because she loved-

DAMN IT.

Zoe sighed, as if in defeat, and rested her head atop Douxie’s.

“Let’s just… sleep.”

“Mhm…”

And that’s what they did.

--

Zoe woke up some twenty minutes later, she guessed. It got chillier, and apparently, she’d been asleep long enough for thick clouds to form overhead. She hoped it wouldn’t rain - it was the last thing she needed.

She looked down at Douxie, and of course, he was still asleep. Her arms ached a little - something that would have driven her up a wall before - but she didn’t mind much now. Not while she listened to his slow, quiet breaths as his chest rose and fell in her hold.

Zoe huffed, grateful that the boy's breathing was still clear; she didn't calm him down earlier just for his nose to stuff up now.

She could hear footsteps - hulking, stomping steps - come her way. As her stomach dropped, her gaze picked up. She steeled it when she saw the leader of those damn hunters standing over her, glowering. He was pissed, and over what? Over the fact that she tried to comfort Douxie when he made the child miserable?

Gritting her teeth, she held Douxie a little tighter. Not enough to make him stir. Instinctively, she could feel her hands burn as her magic tried to surge to her fingertips, an unconscious attempt brought forth not of desperation, but of resolve.

Just like Douxie protected her, Zoe would protect him, even if she had to shatter these shackles and set this whole forest alight with a lightning strike to do it.

And when that bastard reached down to Douxie, she feared it would come to that.

...but it didn’t.

With a blast of a green magic poofing out around him like an aura, the man froze. That same green hue of magic surged down both her and Douxie’s chains, and when it reached their cuffs, they snapped right open.

With a sigh she felt like she’d been holding in since she first woke up here, Zoe’s hands relaxed and fell to her side, free of that godawful metal.

Naturally, they also dropped Douxie, who, without that little support, flopped on her lap. Thankfully, his head landed on his side, rather than directly on that lock on the muzzle, which hadn’t been affected by that blast of magic and still remained clamped on his face. The last thing anyone needed was the lock getting damaged to where unlocking it would be impossible.

“Mh!” His eyes snapped open, and his eyes darted around in confusion. Zoe couldn’t blame him. Once he seemed to realize his cuffs were off, he rubbed at his aggravated wrists. Zoe couldn’t blame him for that either.

She looked up at the still… still man in front of her.

“He’s frozen.” she said and leaned to the side to see that the same quick work of immobilization had been done to the rest of the hunters, “They all are.”

Douxie lifted his head, as trying a task it was, and he squinted when he saw the green aura around the hunter and the bright green cracks surging through their old chains like glowing veins, as if inspecting - trying to figure out if this was real. If he could really hope.

But Zoe knew he could.

“Looks like he found you first, didn’t he?” she asked.

And seconds later, she heard new footsteps getting closer this time - armored, urgent footsteps - and she knew that she was right.

“Hisirdoux!” Zoe heard a grouchy old man’s voice call out. Of course, he sounded just like that silly impersonation Douxie did of him earlier.

Speaking of Douxie (which he still couldn’t do at all yet), the boy sat up as fast as he could. Swaying with the extra weight on his head, he got up so he was sitting on his knees, and he whined in an odd mix of desperation and relief behind the metal over his mouth, as if - after the horrible, awful afternoon this had been - Merlin Ambrosius could not get over to him fast enough.

“Heh…” Zoe huffed to herself, rubbing her own wrists. Really, she thought her fellow hedge-witches would track her down in these woods way faster than anyone from that ever-pristine castle, but that didn’t matter. A rescue was a rescue.

“Looks like you won.”

[nyxicnymph]

Guardians of Arcadia: Operation: Secret Santa

Christmas is quickly approaching in Arcadia. While the town may not get such luxuries like snow or ice-skating, the Guardians still want to participate in some form of Christmas tradition all together. Some might not know exactly what is happening, but they're giving it their best shot! (TOA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL WHEN?!)

Rating: ages 13 and up!

Warnings: Canon and character typical levels of teenage violence. Staja. Jlaire. No Zoe, sorry guys. Oh, and swearing.

Part One: Set the Rules, Draw the Names

Jim stood on Blinky's table and shook the chandelier in an attempt to get everyone else's attention. Krel and Aja were poking around all the books, marveling at the dusty, distinctively non-technical tomes. Douxie was talking with Blinky and Aaarghhh about what was apparently a highly volatile piece of magical equipment. Steve was fawning over Aja in a ridiculously sweet way, while Claire and Toby were giving Eli a very, very, very indepth talk about the stuff that went on in Arcadia.

"HEY!" Jim yelled. As the room fell silent, he crossed his arms and frowned. "Are we doing this thing or not?"

"Oh, oh oh!" Aja bounced on her toes. "A pop quiz! Yes?"

"Don't worry, Jim, we're all listening now." Claire looked up at him, brows furrowed. "But, uh, you haven't told us what exactly we're doing."

Jim facepalmed. "I thought I missed something on the text. Damn it. Never mind." He breathed in through his nose to calm down. "Okay, so what we're doing is a Secret Santa. Before anyone asks, a Secret Santa is a gift exchange, but you don't know who gave it to you. Or, well, you're not supposed to know. Sometimes, people give really obvious gifts. Anyway, you give a gift to the person you're assigned to, but you don't sign it. Wrap it, if you can, in non-descript wrapping paper. Or go bananas. Actually," He looked at the Akiridion twins. "Everyone go bananas."

Toby grinned. "And how are we picking names?"

"We already have names, why do we need to pick new ones?" Krel grumbled in moderate confusion.

"No, you're not choosing new names," Claire told him. "You'll be given the name of someone else in the room, and that's who you're getting a gift for."

"Oh, I see! Like a covert mission, but with presents!" Aja giggled in glee.

"Yes. Before we draw names, I'm going to put down three ground rules."

"Three rules, always a good base. Well done, Master Jim." Blinky grinned.

"Blinky, I'm just organizing a gift exchange, it's not that hard. Anyway. Rule number one: Nothing over a hundred bucks. Some of us might be royalty, or related to people in power, but most of us are, shall we say... Broke. So there's a price cap."

Everyone nodded in understanding, Claire looking up at him with a displeased pout. He mouthed a "sorry" at her, then continued. "Rule two: Handmade gifts are more than acceptable. But food does not count. No food gifts."

"What about socks?" Aaarghhh asked.

Jim debated. "Try to refrain from socks, unless your name is not a troll."

Blinky and Aaarghhh grumbled, while Aja nodded exuberantly. "No socks for the Blinky and the Aaarghhh! Understood!"

Jim nodded. "Finally, rule three. Do not tell anyone who you got. Not between friends, siblings, partners, anyone."

The Tarrons pouted, as did Blinky, but everyone else nodded. Douxie stepped up. "And now for the name drawing!"

Douxie enchanted the slips of paper that went in so that someone wouldn't get their own name, and then shuffled them up. Jim held out a bowl, and the papers slid inside.

One by one, the participants came up and drew names. Jim fell in last, and he was okay with that. It made it easier to just grab his piece of paper.

He admitted that he was hoping to get Claire or Toby, maybe even Blinky or Aaarghhh. So the feeling he felt when he stared on the hastily scribbled name on the paper before him was nothing short of confusing and overwhelming.

He didn't know Krel that well at all. What do you get for a mega genius from outer space?

[daydream-believin]

What About the Smaller Picture (2)

Summary: Merlin knows best. And what he feels is best for you and Douxie right now is to sit around and wait for him to come back from New Jersey, Merlin-knows-when. (2) Your first day in Arcadia, it sure is something. (1) - (3)

Warnings: swearing, proofing is for nerds

Word Count: 2211

a/n: i hope to be able to make you feel the awkwardness radiating off of every part of this series

Hisirdoux’s special welcome tour didn’t exactly do its job of making you feel welcome. You supposed that was more of a problem with you than the town. It definitely wasn’t of any fault of Hisirdoux’s. If anything, he was being a little too warm. It almost felt fake.

People appeared to like Hisirdoux. All across town, he would greet friends, introduce you to them. Kinda like he was showing you off. You did not know what for. He barely knew you, yet he talked about you like you were an old friend returned to him. Like he was proud of you or something. You supposed he was establishing a cover story. And you weren’t sure why. Why not just say you were new in town? What tracks was he trying to cover here.

You stopped paying too much attention to what Hisirdoux was telling others about you. He was telling them that he cared for you. That he missed you. It was a lie, sure. But just hearing those words come out of someone else’s mouth were making you melt. It had been so long that it was hard for you to recall the last time a person said such nice things about you. That was sad. You supposed the blush on your face did good to add to the story he was telling. Made it more believable. You felt really pathetic that this guy you barely knew lying through his teeth about you was actually making you blush as if it was real. As if anyone really thought those nice things he said about you in real life. Man that’s really sad. Moving on.

The town itself looked a little rough. Like it had seen better days. It was apparently a hub of magic, so it probably had. A lot of the damage you saw looked very recent though. That made sense. The whole reason you wound up here was because you befriended a girl traveling with a pack of trolls migrating from this very town. When asked why they were migrating, Claire, the girl, had told you that their home had been destroyed in a recent battle. “The Eternal Night” they called the battle. You, of course, knew about such eternal night. You had heard of the prophecy, you just didn’t expect it to happen in your lifetime. And you may had freaked out just a tad when it came along earlier that month, the unexpected solar eclipse confusing you and your studies before you figured out what was happening. However, you had assumed the battle took place underground, you know, cause trolls. The town you explored with Hisirdoux told a different story. At one point you saw a troll walking by, under an umbrella, following a red-headed human woman with a baby in her arms. And the locals didn’t seem to care. No one batted an eye. Strange town.

What really baffled you though was what happened later in the day, back at the bookstore, when you cast a simple spell. Nothing too flashy, just a little levitation on a book Hisirdoux had sent you to find up on a high shelf you couldn’t reach. When he saw you, Doux made a really panicked gasping sound. He threw himself in front of you, shielding you from the people who were not even there, startling you, and throwing off your focus. The book landed on both of you with a thunk.

“You can’t do that,” his voice was hushed despite you two being the only ones in the shop at the moment, “It’s business hours. The mortals don’t know about wizards and they shouldn’t see magic,” he stressed.

“But- uh,, They look just fine with the trolls?” Confusion was written across your face.

“That’s different. It’s different. Look, the situation is weird, okay,” He made a little X with his hands. “But I can’t have you casting spells around the shop. Or in public, period. The mortals can’t see anything, okay?”

“Okay, okay. My bad. I won’t do it again- Promise.” Your face was hot with embarrassment. This was your fault for assuming. Fuck, he probably thinks you’re a wild card now or something. Not a good start to your professional life here. Or your relationship with this Adonis who’s reprimanding you.

“While there are some other wizards around town that I’ll introduce you to tonight, to stay safe, generally just keep the magic for when we’re alone and out of sight.”

“Oh, yeah, uh- Okay”

He grinned. Suddenly, he leaned in, catching you off guard. “It can be a special thing,” His voice was even softer as he was so close to you, “just between the two of us.”

Oh. So he meant when just You and Him were alone and out of sight. Ooookaaaayyyy. He winked to you as he separated himself from your side, and went off to the back of the store to continue unpacking a shipment he had just got in. He left you there, clutching that damn book to your chest, face now hotter than before, if that was even possible at all. Oh no.

Fuck, it was fucking day one. Day one! Day fucking one and you were developing a crush. NOPE. This was not something you were going to do. Uh-uh. Nein. There was no fucking time for this. Well, you didn’t really know how much time you had with Merlin and his addiction to being perceived as mysterious or whatever the hell was wrong with that asshole you worked for now, but the point is you did not have time for this! Hisirdoux was too much. Merlin really should have had the decency to warn you that he was hot. This wasn’t fair. Not only was Doux beautiful, but he was a touchy person. You weren’t going to stand a chance.

The thing is you had been sooo worried about how you and Hisirdoux were going to get along, you even brought up the concern to Merlin. To be honest, you had thought the old wizard to just be annoyed at your worrying, and that’s why he reassured you it’d all be fine. That you and Hisirdoux would get along swimmingly or whatever just get out of my hair kid. You were so afraid Hisirdoux would have to warm up to you like a cat being introduced to a new kitten. Afraid that he’d resent you since you were technically Merlin’s apprentice too now in a sense. And he was used to being number one, no one else to compete with for Merlin’s sparse pride since Morgana went astray. Merlin assured you Hisirdoux was very friendly. But like, would it kill the geezer to give you a warning that he’d be too friendly.

While you were having your little crisis, Douxie was humming along to the song in his head, stacking up the new books onto a display, trying his absolute dilly darndest not to think about what just happened. What he did. That wasn’t weird, right? Oh fuzzbuckets, he did something weird. He was just so used to playing up the flirty persona he’d developed he hadn’t even stopped to think about if he’d be making you uncomfortable. And he really wanted you to be comfortable. Plus, he felt pretty guilty he had to stop your tour around town to go accept a shipment he forgot. Strangely, he was really concerned about the impression he was giving you. Caring about what another person thought of him was not very in character for him. Not counting Merlin, of course. He was going to have to make this up to you. He really needed you to think he was cool. For professional reasons, of course. Definitely.

~ ~ ~

“SO! I recommend the steak because it’s the least disgusting thing on the menu.”

You gaped at the wizard sitting across from you in this sticky booth, peeping your head over the kitschy French-themed menu you held. He had no menu. In fact he refused to even touch it. Great. What did he know.

“I- What do mean ‘least disgusting’, Casperan.” You were almost afraid to ask.

“I mean that kitchen is filthy and the steak is your best bet for something edible.”

“Why. Why would you bring me here if the food is terrible.”

You were always weary of greasy chain restaurants, but you had expected this one to be at least a little decent, since it was a smaller Cali chain and Hisirdoux had fucking brought you to it your first day in the town. Surely he was kidding.

“I just wanted to show you where I worked nights. So you’d be able to find me easier if there’s any trouble. Besides, you can’t say you’ve been to California if you haven’t had Mr. Benoit’s. It’s like In-N-Out burger. Remind me to take you to an In-N-Out burger later this week.”

You blinked. “Oh – uh, okay.”

Hisirdoux continued, “I can’t have my phone turned on during my shifts so you’ll have to come get me directly if it’s a big enough problem. Make up an emergency. Are you good at improve?”

You looked around the restaurant, getting a feel for its layout, taking notice of where the kitchen and back doors were located, making mental notes of all exits. “Ah, well, I’m good at lying, if that’s what you’re asking…”

“Good enough.”

The waiter came to take your orders. Hisirdoux shared an inside joke with him. It should have been awkward, them laughing away at something you didn’t understand why you sat there quietly, but you were a little too fixated on how pretty Hisirdoux looked when he laughed. It was mesmerizing. The waiter took your order. You got the steak.

~ ~ ~

It was very important for you to establish connections in Arcadia’s wizard underground. Or at least that’s what Hisirdoux thought. You weren’t particularly a social butterfly. It’s not that you didn’t like having a large group of friends or anything, you just never really had a reason to have one. And Doux was hell bent on introducing you to every person in this town in one day apparently. You had met twenty-three wizards in counting over the last hour being shepherded through this off-brand apple store. You had so far learned no names. How did he expect you to remember these peoples names.  Scratch that. You knew one name. Zoe. Just because she was very annoyed at your and Hisirdoux’s presence in her workplace, and was very vocal about it. That being said, she didn’t make any real effort to get you to leave. You wished she would though. You were getting overwhelmed. Today had been incredibly stressful, with a lot of information to take in, and with only a brief rest when Doux was handling things at the bookstore. You wanted to go home. Geez, home. You realized that Hisirdoux had yet to show you home. Where was home.

You tugged on his hand to grab his attention. “Hey, I’m- uh – tired? Really tired. Can - can we go home?”

“OH. Yes! Home. Right away. Yes.”

Douxie possibly maybe had been avoiding home all day. It just, it wasn’t much. He had no idea how you were going to react. His space was small already without adding another person to it. Of course, it wasn’t any smaller than any of the one-room cottages that entire families used to share, but it was tiny for modern standards. Okay to be frank it was a back room. Not technically even an actual apartment. But it was his home. And now it was your home too.

Okay, so Hisirdoux lived in his bookstore. What was probably supposed to be a break room was his entire living space. It was… cozy. You set the backpack that carried everything you owned down on the floor and headed for the lumpy plaid sofa. It was nice and old, like a sofa should be. The plaid pattern covered any stains that might have been there. Hisirdoux sat down next to you, starting to fiddle with his hands. You looked around, took it all in. The was a kitchenette off to one side, a bed to the other side. The sofa was in the sort of middle ground. Notably, there was no table, barely any counter space, and various teacups on the coffee table, so it was a safe bet that he just ordered take out every night and ate it on the sofa. The twin bed was on the ground, and the quilts that covered it had visible holes. It struck you that this bed was the only one in the room. The one room.

“So I’ll take the sofa, until we get you a bed. I’ll, uh, figure something out with the space. We can put up curtains or something.” It was if he had read your mind.

You nodded, unsure of anything to add. This was,,,, going to be fun. A challenge. A test to see how long you can act normal while living in extremely close quarters with a funny medieval supermodel. Merlin help you. Something moved in the corner of your eye. You gasped.

“Kitty!”

“Oh, that’s Archie.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Talking kitty. How bout that.

[thecasperanfamily]

Question

I don’t know if this had been answered or not (I’ve only just started reading your blog) but Is this technically set before or after the events of wizards?

And say it is before, how do you think Merlin would react to showing up on Douxie’s door step after his centuries long nap, only to find his apprentice is now a father to a magical child? Especially when the last time he saw his apprentice he kept getting attacked by brooms.

The Casperan Family AU is set after the events of Wizards, yes. I think Lin was born about two years after final defeat of the Arcane Order (which I'll be expanding upon in an upcoming fic). So as far as "hard canon" goes, Merlin and Lin have never met.

Buuuuut...I'm always one to entertain What-Ifs, sooooo...

It would definitely be a major shock to the old man, that's for sure. I imagine it would probably be Really Uncomfortable for everyone involved. Poor Douxie would likely still be very eager to show his old mentor how far he's come, both in terms of magic and personal growth, meanwhile Merlin can hardly spare any time for the poor boy because he's so distracted by everything else.

Douxie: I've been practicing my spells and incantations for--

Merlin: YOU HAVE A CHILD?!

Douxie: Er....yes.

Merlin, gripping him by the shoulders: WHEN?! WHERE?! WHO IS THE MOTHER?! GODS DAMMIT BOY, YOU DON'T HAVE TIME FOR CAJOLING ABOUT WITH FEMALES AND BABYSITTING--

Zoe, coming in the front door: Hey, babe, I'm home early today. Mabel needs me to cover her shift tomorrow so--

Merlin: ...Oh of course it's her.

Douxie: M-Master, you've got it all wrong, she's not--ZOE NO!

(Zoe took one look at Merlin and immediately started trying to hit him with a chair)

Nari, rushing into the room: Douxie, I sensed great distress! What is--

Merlin, fending off the chair with his magic: WHY IS ONE OF THE ARCANE ORDER HERE?!

Douxie: MASTER, I SWEAR I CAN EXPLAIN!

Lin: *sipping a CapriSun as he records all of this on his phone--Archie's hiding behind him*

I do think once the shock wears off, Merlin would be proud of his apprentice. But he'd have a hard time showing it, since he'd also be busy wrestling with some unexpected feelings of....regret? Certainly not something Master Wizard Merlin can say he knows much about, but he can't get rid of this irritating little notion that deep down, he wishes he could have watched Douxie grow into the person he is now.

Thanks so much for the fun ask, @fluffubunny23! By the way, I've been reading My Burden to Bear on Ao3--you're a very talented author! I can't wait to see where the story goes next. ✨

[furblrwurblr]

Patience, love!

Hey hey hey! Guess who made another Douxie x reader soulmate fic? m e

Douxie x Reader Soulmate AU, fluff, angst. crack if you squint.

Warnings: Swearing, I was far more casual this time, more misunderstandings aha, angst if you squint but it's not that hidden

The song in question: here, viewer discretion advised. It's emo boy by Ayesha Erotica, and this fic doesn't make a whole lot of sense without it? It can but you'll have to wait for a vague clarification.

Please enjoy our boy feat. Zoe!

Part 2

For as long as you’ve lived, your soulmate’s thoughts about you wrote themselves on your body, just as they had for nearly a millennium. You could tell you’d missed yours a few times. Back in Italy, you’d often stumble out of an alley after a riveting fight with a litter of canal criblets and their mother (why did the only aggressive species of hippocampi have their kids in the canals?) with quiet compliments and passing thoughts along your limbs.

“Another wizard? I wonder where they studied,” or “That was quite a spell, great technique! Wait! Watch out for the-” (that time you’d been a teeny bit distracted by the compliment and whirled around just in time to meet a screaming criblet doing its damndest to bite your face off with its nasty little teeth and bruise you with its impish little hooves. The fuckers were sharp.) The critter left you in a blinding blast of blue. Someone dressed in near all-black ran past you, but by the time your eyes cleared, the blue light was blasting away across the canal and a couple of violent hippocampi babies prevented you from following. Since, you always kept an eye out for that telltale blue light.

༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓

Over time, soulmate laws abated, seen as inhumane towards those unfortunate enough to not have one and those who simply didn’t want one. The law changes allowed you to date around a bit, but, with each partner, you felt more and more guilty as you learned about your true soulmate. By now, you’d discovered he’s a he, he’s a wizard, and he’s a hopeless romantic. Often he’d daydream about all kinds of cheesy dates and tropes he hoped to do with you. Most painfully, he thought about how excited he was to experience everything with you for the first time. Of course, you two had already had mental conversations about it and though he always accepted it, you could tell he was a bit disappointed. You didn’t have many firsts left and said you’d save those at least, but he, sweetheart he was, said he’d just give you more firsts. First scuba dive. First romantic boat date, but in the clouds. First couple’s bake at 3 AM in your shared flat. 

You stopped dating after that.

༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓

Now, it was the start of the 21st century and you were impatient. You’d traveled everywhere, sign of that beautiful blue, and no help from your cheeky soulmate. Every time you asked if he was in a new country, he’d tell you: “That’s for me to know, and you to find out.” It made you tear your hair out, never settling down anywhere. After a while, he seemed to notice you were moving slower, motivation no longer able to breeze you through three large villages in a month. He started being super obnoxious about how much he “looooved America, Merlin’s beard, Land of the Free! Free! Dobby is free! What a wondrous place!” After a sharp word and a warm, giddy feeling from him, you were on a plane to The ‘States. What a way to start your 2000’s, huh?

Sixteen years. It had taken you sixteen years to comb the country, starting from New York and finally reaching California. You could feel your hope dwindle, but you had one last straw to go on: Benoit’s. He’d wanted to take you there a couple times within the past couple years so it must be in his area. Problem is, the entire west coast was covered in them, every city, small and large, having at least one. You’d ruled out the other states after years of searching, only California was left. With a bittersweet, determined huff, you boarded the plane.

༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓

You gave up. Where the fuck was this guy? For the first time in your life, you decided to settle. You’d looked in every nook and cranny California had to offer and didn’t find him. No magic, no man, no nothing. Seeing as you couldn’t seem to find shit, you turned to your magic. You could cast a few defensive and offensive spells, but your speciality was tracking. Ironic, isn’t it? You’d tried searching for him that way, but his aura was too warded and its memory too faded from your memory to work. However, now you were doing it for yourself. You bought a map and worked your magic, seeking stone swinging in perfect circles and settling around a small town called Arcadia. Funny, you hadn’t been there yet. What if- no. “He’s gone”, you reminded yourself. You found a flat in the area and set off. 

༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓

Douxie felt it the moment you gave up. He didn’t know exactly what you’d given up on, but he did know he hadn’t seen any more locations pop up in a couple weeks. For some ungodly known reason, he didn’t realize that all your questions of his whereabouts weren't just a passing curiosity. He was waiting for fate to bring you two together, not considering his soulmate might be so impatient and eager to meet him that they’d travel the ends of the earth. 

He’d been washing dishes at Benoit’s when his coworker pointed out the little black letters on the back of his shoulder. “He’s gone.” He went back to work with a heavy heart. “So much for waiting for fate,” he thought.

You’d just moved the last box into your new flat when you saw it. So much for fate? You spent the rest of the day in bed, tears christening your rented mattress. “I guess he gave up too.”

You couldn’t live off your savings forever, you only had so much gold left from the Golden Age of Piracy to sell to museums. Within a week, you’d secured jobs at the local Speedway and HexTech. You convinced yourself you were okay, that this was better for you. You bonded with your coworkers at HexTech, but there was one you were having difficulties with. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, but you really admired her. Her name was Zoe, and you couldn’t get enough of her. 

One day, you worked up the nerve to strike up a conversation during your shared counter shift. She liked you when you got to talking, and said she’d help you finish unpacking your flat as soon as you told her why you didn’t generally act so free as you did in the past hour of conversation. You agreed to tell her while she helped you.

The two of you made a day of it. She brought snacks and a housewarming movie for you both to watch when you finished, and you made a smorgasbord for lunch paired with a good wine you’d been saving since the 1800’s. No time like the present, eh?

You plopped onto the stained couch that came with the place. Heaving a great, satisfied sigh, you looked over your flat with a smile. Settling felt good, like you had a place you belonged.

“It looks fantastic, Zoe, thank you for the help.”

“I’m good, aren’t I,” she said with a confident smile, sitting next to you on the couch. A few moments pass in silence. Her tone shifted. “Spill,” she demanded.

You sigh and recounted all that’s happened with your soulmate. Your passing in Italy. Your shame. His enthusiasm. The shift that seemed to occur all at once, both of you switching gears at the same time.

She looked at you sympathetically, knowing full well how it felt when things went wrong with a soulmate. Sucking in a breath, she hesitated. You could tell she was trying to find the right words. You almost told her it was alright that she didn’t have to-

“He sounds like a dumbass,” she blurted. 

You shared a laugh, agreeing.

“I really do like him,” you sighed. “Some part of me still has something there, you know? This is one of the few places I haven’t looked, there’s a Benoit’s here, but I’m… I’m petrified.”

Zoe looked you over. “Give me your phone.” She held out her hand and cut off any protests. After some fiddling, she handed it back and you found 5 alarms and 2 calendar events, all with very obnoxious titles. “You. Me. Benoit’s. You’re not getting out of it, I’ll bring a grit-shaka if I have to.

You groaned and moaned about it as she put in the movie, the self-satisfied smirk never leaving her face. You quieted down as the movie started, realizing there was no way around it. You were secretly thankful for such aggressive support, but opted to shake all thoughts of soulmates from your mind as you shared this moment with your new friend.

༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓

Today was the day. You’d gotten into something comfortable to try and calm your nerves, but it wasn’t doing much. After fixing your hair for the third time, you jumped at a knock on the door. Zoe came in, grabbed your purse, and pulled you out of the building by the wrist. You started walking, the cafe only two blocks away. By the first block your hands were shaking. Zoe pulled you behind Stuart’s electronics and held up a grit-shaka.

“Mother Midril, you were serious?”

“Deadly,” she said, looping it around your neck.

Your shaking calmed instantly, your magic preventing it from getting too out-of-hand. Troll magics were tricky.

You two walked in and sat at a booth, ordering your respective coffees and breakfast items from a nice young man, he couldn’t have been older than sixteen. After a bit of a wait, the voice of Adonis himself asked you both how you were doing, handing you your coffees. He spoke with Zoe a bit and introduced himself to you as Douxie. You confidently responded in kind, but your mind could only think of one thing.

You struggled to keep your composure, even with the grit-shaka. Yes, the thing calmed your nerves, but damn did it bring back some old habits. You saw Zoe’s eyes widen at Douxie’s arm but paid it little mind. He was hot. Long hair, tight jeans… you barely responded coherently as Emo Boy by Ayesha Erotica blasted through your brain. Yes, it was embarrassing, yes, you wanted your soulmate more than anything, but gods above he was your type and you’d be damned to not appreciate it.

As soon as he left, you brought your hand behind your neck and removed the blasted thing, looking at Zoe in shock. Her expression mirrored yours but for a very different reason. Douxie was the dumbass. And you’d just technically praised his dick, insulted him, and asked him to fuck you over 10 times, and it was all written up his arms and probably around his torso. She broke out into a cackle, tears mildly smudging her mascara. You were utterly confused and looked at his retreating figure over your shoulder, noticing a thought coming up the arm you’d slung over the booth chair. 

“I’m flattered, I think? You must be the little minx at table three. I knew you weren’t one for waiting, but at least buy me dinner first! I’ll be right out, just let me grab my sweater to cover this a little bit. Think of the children!”

You stopped breathing altogether. Tightening your lips, you let out a muffled scream and pulled Zoe from her seat across you. Your elbow knocked over your coffee and you nearly did the right thing of helping, but you didn’t have time. All these 800 years, all your hope and searching, and you make the worst possible first impression. Sure, it wasn’t good already, but now he had a face to put to the shame. You stumble out the door, Zoe’s laughter still following you out of the now-silent diner.

Douxies pale cheeks were blazing with color as he pulled on his sweater in the break room. Going over, ahem, such blunt words, no matter the context, wasn't good for his health. His shirt raised and he saw the hurried words appear near his hip, chuckling as he started to read. He’d seen the grit-shaka; they must have taken it off.

“Shit, it’s you? I knew going was a bad idea, I’m so sorry, I’ve probably made you so uncomfortable, I’ll be going now.”

Wait… going? Douxie slammed the door open, hearing the wall plaster crunch inside. Table three was empty and covered in coffee, your purse was still there, and the diner was completely silent. Your coat swished out the door and he tripped over himself, stumbling between tables to get to the door. He ran out into the empty street, looking for something, anything. His boss called him back in to help, and he sulked into the diner. Bending down to pick up the cup so he could mop up the mess, he lit up. Your purse. It sat on the seat, the various charms and keychains glistening with the glow of one of Mordrax’s miracles.

༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓

You and Zoe made it back to your flat, out of breath. Zoe was still giggling as she reactivated the wards on the door. You plopped on the couch again, this time in shock. Zoe shook you out of it, eyes sincere. 

“You have to go back.”

“I one hundred percent do not, there’s absolutely nothing holding me to that.”

“There’s me, dipshit, and there's something else. You’re too empathetic to put him through any more.”

You looked at her, surprised. “What do you mean?” you asked, voice small.

She explained how much it hurt him that you’d dated others even though he knew it was entirely your decision. How much of a hole it made in his heart when you gave up. How he dropped his regular temperament for a sullen, depressed shell of the man he was, going through the motions and not much more.

“I understand if you want to wait a while, but-”

“But I have to go back,” you said, drawing your knees to your chest. She scooted closer to you, wiped your gathering tears, and planted a light kiss on your forehead. She snorted when you brought your hand to the spot she’d just kissed, checking for residue from her jet black lipstick.

She gently swiped a thumb across her lip and bopped your nose. “No-transfer. I buy the good shit,” she said with a smile.

She put on a calm movie and wrapped you in a blanket, telling you how proud she was at your bravery and discussing plans for returning to Benoit’s.

༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓・༓

Three weeks later, Douxie had called you a few times. You'd left your phone at home in Zoe’s insistence and left your purse at the scene of the crime. Now, you were ready to sort out more than your missing belongings. You walked out of your flat prepared to have another go. Sort of. You had a decorative facemask on, a large dark sweatshirt (to deter being perceived in any way), and no intention to actually speak to him. You just wanted him to know you were there and not completely rejecting him. Zoe had spoken to him, so he knew you’d be there during his shift and how nervous you were. You were grateful for her, she’d told him the gist of what you couldn’t say yourself, but some things she’d said were best heard from you. 

You sat down, fingers twitching. God, did you want to pick at something. You settled for scratching at the table, not feeling like making a mess of lint in the same booth you’d drenched in coffee not three weeks prior.

Douxie came with your drink, already having memorized what you ordered last time. Your purse was strapped across his body, laying at his hip. He gently placed it on the table and pushed your coffee towards you after carefully slipping something under it out of your field of view. You went to check and he covered it with a chuckle.

“You really aren’t very patient, are you?”

You covered your face and laughed. Taking a deep breath, you pulled the mask under your chin and placed your hands in his. “No, I’m not. Which is why I won’t wait any longer. I’m sorry. I was so caught up in myself I never thought to properly communicate with you. I hurt us both unnecessarily, can you forgive me?”

His eyes softened, lips lifting into a gentle smile. “Of course, love. I’ve waited for you for so long, and I had my part in this misunderstanding, so of course I can. I’m still on shift, but- ah, just check under the cup, would you?” He lifted one of your hands to his lips, gently brushing over your knuckles. “I’ll see you soon, darling,” he said, getting up and back behind the counter.

You took a slow sip of your now-cooled coffee and nearly spit it out at what he’d placed under it. Two tickets to Warped Tour laughed at you from the tabletop. You eyed them warily as you picked up the accompanying note. 

“Hey, love! I hope you haven’t been to Warped Tour, it can be our first first! Apologies for the strange wording. I’ll see you at 7:00 on XX/XX/20XX outside your flat, I’m taking you to dinner before we go. Plus, we can get that romantic boat ride in the clouds I promised so long ago out of the way too! I can’t wait. You must be rubbing off on me. I’ll be seeing you, love. -Hisirdoux”

Next to it was a paw print. Did he have a cat? Either way, he was an absolute cheek. You drank your coffee in silence, a new calendar event to look forward to. 

[unexpected-possibilities]

Zouxie Headcanons

Here’s some timely headcanons because I can’t help myself!

-Douxie is a massive sap, cheesy pickup lines, corny things, brings home flowers, makes sure she has everything she wants/likes, his apartment is always stocked with things she likes, etc etc.

-Zoe, however, is not a huge sap but hey, she loves Douxie and is perfectly happy to put up with him because it’s adorable. She’ll bring him things quite often and not mention it.

-Douxie rambles on a lot when he’s anxious and Zoe’s favorite way to shut him up is with a kiss.

-Douxie plays with his necklace when he’s anxious. Zoe (and Archie) have picked up on all his physical cues and know when to step in and help.

-Both of them love singing duets and Archie thinks they’re a nuisance when they’re both singing at the top of their lungs in their tiny apartment.

-Zoe secretly loves musicals and Douxie quite openly loves them. Douxie and Zoe have done a sort of rock cover duet at a show of “Elephant Love Melody” from Moulin Rogue! per Zoe’s request (she made him swear on his life that he wouldn’t tell anyone she suggested it) (seriously go listen to this song and imagine them singing it)

-Zoe has about 50% of Douxie’s shirts and jackets in her possession and downright refuses to acknowledge it when he brings it up. Douxie borrows back his clothes if he’s at her apartment. 

-Both like headphones best, but they own a pair of earbuds to listen to music together on public transport.

-Zoe and Douxie have nearly the same shoe sizes, so she’s been known to steal his boots. Douxie has worn her heels before and absolutely rocked them.

-Zoe is constantly fixing everything of Douxie’s, whether it’s things like his guitar, patching his clothes, he accidentally fried some electronics, he always turns to her for it because she’s probably the only one who will put up with him constantly destroying things.

-Douxie is terrible at painting his own nails and always asks Zoe to do it. He applies her makeup for her in turn because he’s better at it. 

-Zoe has put some high-quality subwoofers and a powerful sound system into her 20y/o beater sedan because she and Douxie will absolutely rock out on car trips. Archie just so happens to be sick on those days and has to stay home. 

-Douxie takes days off whenever she’s sick to take care of her and mostly to keep her in her apartment and resting. If he’s not there to stop her she will just up and leave and do things no matter how sick she is.

-Zoe likes reading old poetry and philosophical stuff but Douxie can’t keep himself focused on it to save his life, so she reads it aloud for him. He reads all kinds of books other than that and will sum up interesting ones to Zoe.

-Douxie is all about physical touch being his love language, whereas Zoe’s is definitely words of affirmation. Because of this, Douxie is constantly saying sappy and sweet things to her and it never fails to make her flustered(though she’s good at disguising it). Douxie gets at least five hugs a day and probably more.

[purplerose244]

Irrational - Chapter 5: I love you too much

HELLOOOOOOO!!! 🤩🤩

Here comes the fifth day of @spacecampweek with what is probably my favorite fic of the bunch! Little song-fic but not really situation in a normal world AU, where Krel is about to confess his feelings in a special way! 💕💕💕

Enjoy!! 😙

Summary: Prom is here at last, a night of entertainment, of happiness, to celebrate changes and the future. What better moment for Krel to finally express feelings that have been hidden for so long? Time to put those guitar lessons to some use...

Read it on the AO3

It was happening. No more holding back, no more thinking rationally about his chances without concluding a thing. Tonight, everything was going to change.

Prom had turned out to be an absolute oxymoron to walk into, between his deep appreciation for parties and his unsettledness at dealing with other people of different temperatures – or ‘cool’, as they liked to call themselves. Everyone was dancing like crazy, that was very good, and everyone was talking loud about nonsense, that was very not good. Adding to the unpleasantries was the music playing onto the stage, something pulsing yet in a hardly dynamic way. If this was another night, he would have liked to teach these people what real music sounded like and propose himself as a DJ, to properly say goodbye to Arcadia Oaks High. Then again, in another delson he would have not worn these kind of flashy clothes – he had lost the chance to call this a normal night the moment he had exited his house wearing a bow.

There was a lot of movement in the middle of the room, and in the middle some familiar faces. He could spot Jim’s questionable moves while Claire was laughing loudly with red cheeks, he could see Toby doing some robot moves while Darci danced along him, he managed to notice Aja spinning all over, between a super smiling Steve and an extremely radiant Eli.

It looked like they were all having fun, so much fun. Krel wasn’t… not yet.

“Hey Clint.”

He almost snorted at the sudden voice.

“Mary, I know you know my name at this point.”

“Whatever Kurt, whatcha up to?” The queen of the bees appeared in front of him, all sparkly in her pink shock dress. “Hank got all handsy, Dean is being shy, and that cute guy from Arcadia Oaks Academy that snuck in is being difficult. I’m up for some juice and it looks like you’re up to something.” And the queen of gossip too as well. She grinned at him, clearly playful. “Could it be you’ll stop being a wuss, at last? That would be nice!” He didn’t deny it. for a second. Big mistake, her eyes immediately widened, like she got struck by absolute knowledge. “Don’t tell me-”

He covered her mouth, realizing midway there that there was no point, the music was so loud it silenced everything. Despite that, he couldn’t bring her to say it. Not yet.

“Perhaps… maybe.”

Mary’s eyes turned into stars. She quickly wiped his hands off her.

“O-M-G, finally, I’ve been waiting for this for so long! Ha, I knew you were going to be the one to do it, Darci owes me five dollars! So does Logan! Pff, why was everyone betting on the space dork anyway… hey, what’s wrong?” She was perceptive. It happened after knowing each other for a couple of years. “Cheer up Kai.”

He laughed again. His chest felt like it was exploding, but in a good way. Seklos and Gaylen, for how long he had postponed what he was about to do, blaming time, work and consequences? It was terrifying in a way that was almost pleasant. Maybe. Perhaps.

“I am fine.” He swallowed, because of course the moment he had scanned the entire party, he had noticed it right away. Or rather, he had noticed a lack of him. “He… he is not here though.”

“He’s probably still bummed that he got into that accounting college his grumpy dad wants him to go but still doesn’t know about the engineering one.” Krel was holding his breath about that one too. Seamus had promised to be roommates in that case. Was it going to be weird if tonight wasn’t going to turn out the way he wanted? Was he going to be awkward around him? “Alright, I can smell burning thoughts, hashtag stopbeinganerd! You’re telling me you’re going to do it and I wanna know how, where and when, and if you try to chicken out now, I swear I’m gonna smash your precious guitar!” She sure knew how to get him riled up.

For the first time since he had come to this decision, Krel smiled, thinking of the backstage, the phases he had prepared into his head. He looked up, shaking his head.

“I believe that would be counterproductive for my plan.”

Mary’s mouth popped open, and if that wasn’t satisfying.

“No.”

“Kleb yes, I am not holding back.”

“That’s gonna be the bomb but you better don’t swoon anyone else, you dang charmer! I have all boy dates tonight and I wanna keep them focused on me only!” She giggled, patting his shoulder. “Just go for it, okay? You’re cool, even when you’re being a nerd.” It was as good of an encouragement as he could get right now. “Just wait until your dorky prince charming arri- Oh this is too perfect.” She was smirking, so much her makeup was scrunching up a little.

Krel didn’t have to turn around to know. He did it anyway.

What a view. This prince really wasn’t above physical appearance as he had first thought when he had arrived in Arcadia, powered by his absolute intellect, rationality, and general annoyance towards social interactions with amoebas. It had taken him a while, a whole while, to accept that even someone like him could get this soft inside.

Give then right time, and the right person.

Seamus was radiant, with the black jacket and the blue tie, with the polished shoes and the pulled back hair. From the relaxed eyes the discussion with his dad must had ended without a punishment, and he was actually smiling. Everything, he was so absolutely everything it made Krel choke up.

Mary was arching an eyebrow, although she most likely know what was going on. The prince swallowed, almost choking again, trying to keep his composure as usual.

Failing.

“… and… and you are absolutely sure…?”

“What in the world, Ken, yes! Yes he is completely head over heels for you, yes if you confess you bet your perfect grades he’s gonna reciprocate, yes the moment he will hear what you’ve prepared for him he might as well take a ring out of his pocket and propose in the middle of the dance room!” He grabbed his shoulders, shaking him a little. “You two are the absolute worst! C-bomb has actual guts to ask Jimmy Jam out, Darci and her Tobypie went for it naturally, even Steve is an idiot sometimes but not at dating and Aj and Eli practically gravitate around him! But you!!” She grabbed his collar, her stellar eyes turning into black holes. “You two are pining messes that I’m absolutely done with! So, I swear, Krel Tarron, if you don’t get on that stage and finally confess, you won’t have to make plans for college because this will be your last dance. Ever.” She could had stopped the threat at his actual name. That alone would have done it. Mary gave him the ‘I’m watching you gesture’, before backing down into the crowd without getting her eyes off.

Krel swallowed, nodded, watching her disappear into the party. Despite the dread of being murdered in cold blood being quite intense and even impressive, it was quickly washed away, as soon as Seamus looked at his direction with those blue eyes of him. There it was, that urge, that need to impress him somehow. It was their thing, the fulcrum of their rivalry that hadn’t stopped, even after years. The need to make the other break their mask of pride and turn it into amazement.

Bold enough, the prince grinned, winking at him. The way the blonde gaped warmed his heart. Was that pink on his cheeks? The lights were too strong and colorful, it was hard to tell.

Was it important? Not really. It was now or never.

Making his way towards the stage was a challenge itself, luckily his dancing skills were not to be ignored and swirling around these random kids was pretty easy and entertaining. The band was playing a pretty energetic movement, there was a keyboard player going absolutely nuts and a drummer doing their best. There was definitely something that could had been done to improve the whole performance – perhaps a few remixes on a DJ board, just saying –, but they were really into it. It almost felt bad going up there and show his own abilities.

Then again, Krel didn’t care.

He had a mission. With that determination in mind he immediately went behind the curtains of the stage, finding familiar locks of blue hair monitoring the situation. Having Douxie as the responsible one was still unusual, even though the ripped off pants and the numerous studs all over his suit were more likely. It probably wasn’t enough for him, he was tapping his foot over and over.

Krel cleared his voice, the older one turned, turning the frown into a smile.

“Krel, how’re you liking the show?” He snorted.

“Fine…” He really couldn’t help himself, it was too easy. “Would be better with some metal rock in it.” The smile was gone. Krel snorted again.

“Really, you’re going to put salt on it like that? Zoe already gives me a hard time because I didn’t get the Ash Dispersal Pattern to play here, don’t you get in the way too!” He turned to the band with a frown, shaking it. “‘Your music might not be a good example for the students’, fuzzbuckets, how old do you think these kids are?? Besides, how is techno a better alternative? Those moppets, I swear…” He muttered something under his breath, a curse most likely, then he sighed. “Alright, I’m fine. Extremely salty, but nothing a drink can solve later. I’m guessing you’re here to ask me something?” Perceptive. All of his friends had to be with him.

“Something like that, yeah…” He breathed in and breathed out, he was absolutely going for it but it didn’t make any of this easier for him. “Alright, I need a favor?”

Douxie smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Oh yeah? You need a favor from this random guy who got nominated supervisor as cold comfort for not having his band play tonight? Little old me?” He snickered, shaking his head. “Should have thought before you came here to mock, shouldn’t ya?”

“Hisirdoux…”

“Nope, can’t let this one go, I’m out of patience tonight and I need to get at least one gratification. How about you apologize to me? I’ll even help, start with ‘You are the best guitarist I’ve ever known’ and… whoa, wait, what are you doing?” Was it a bluff? Krel was bowing already, but perhaps his brain was messed up tonight. “Dude, how are you actually doing it? What is this favor all about?” Oh. Right. He was the most prideful person on the planet. He had almost forgot.

Krel straightened up, shrugging a little. From the tone of the current song, it seemed that this band was almost done. He peaked from behind the curtain. Seamus was talking with Steve, giggling a little. The prince couldn’t help clenching his hand around the shirt over his chest. Ah, he wanted this, he wanted all of this.

He felt a familiar wave of warm. He turned back to the guitarist, and Douxie was gaping, blinking several times. It was probably clear.

“I want to make an exhibition.” His honey eyes widened.

“… yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“… alright then.” Douxie smiled, pointing at the backstage with his head. “Prepare yourself Lover Boy, I’m announcing you right after this.” If it wasn’t to preserve what was left of his pride, Krel would have hugged him. “Is it DJ Kleb time?”

Krel moved a few steps towards the back. He stopped.

“No,” He turned to the guitarist, smirking. “It is Krel time.”

 ***

 “Alright, give it up for ‘The Raise of the Titans’! Amazing performance you guys, can’t wait to properly see you on Wednesday!” Douxie always looked confident on stage, he was born to have the attention of a public. It was something he and Krel had in common. Right now though, there was only one look the prince wanted all for himself. “Hope you’re having a blast tonight! How’s prom going?” A cheer followed. “That’s great, because we have a special exhibition right now. A special song, for a special someone! Give it up for Krel Tarron!”

The wood under his feet made a sound after every step, it was drowned by the voiced in the crowd. It made him smile thinking how many people were going to be surprised by his presence, his appearance, and especially him appearing with a guitar instead of his beloved keyboard. There was a single stool in the middle of the place, with a microphone already adjusted for his high. He thought that really needed to thank Douxie after this, for everything, as he sat down with the instrument on his lap. He had accorded it while he was in the backstage, but out of habit he did it again, the sound reverberating into his mind. It was like a reality check, a call to the place, as he finally looked up to the public.

Aja looked close to crying, absolutely overjoyed. Mary was smirking so much her cheek looked like it was being pulled. Steve looked absolutely astonished. Toby was grinning impossibly wide. Eli had his glasses shining and a bit smile. Jim had amazed eyes over him. Claire looked ecstatic. Darci was giving him a thumbs up. Everyone was there, everyone.

And then there was him. Him, adorably confused and starstruck.

Krel grinned. I hope you are ready for this, you math blonde.

“This song is for a dear person to me. I have never been able to express my feelings properly before. I have never been particularly good at.” He let another note fill his silence, it made him smile again. “But I will not shy away from it, not anymore. I went through everything with you, high school, my problems, your problems, math and space and everything between,” There was no doubt, not anymore. “I want to go beyond now.”

His mind was peaceful, his body was burning. It felt like he had never been more alive before. His fingers knew what to do, that song was a part of him. He just took a deep breath, and let the music take over.

 I love you too much

To leave without you loving me back

I love you too much

Heaven’s my witness and this is a fact

I know I belong, when I sing this song

There’s love above love and it’s ours

‘cause I love you too much

 It used to be just him, his mind, and his sister. Them against the world, with a mother that wanted her to be proper, with a father that wanted him not to be him. Everything had turned out so badly at first without them, and so not badly after, to the point he had managed to make an actual life away from Cantaloupia. Then, the escape had become home. Then, it he had become the place where he had met the only guy that was ever going to make him feel.

It used to be just him, his mind, and his sister. Now it was him and his sister, friends and family, a home and the world, and so many feelings in between. This was the right place, this was the right time, this was the right guy.

It used to be just him, his mind, and his sister. Now he could hardly imagine himself without the blonde in the picture, the one that could cloud his mind and fill his heart.

 I live for your touch

I whisper your name night after night

I love you too much

There’s only one feeling and I know it’s right

I know I belong, when I sing this song

There’s love above love and it’s ours

‘cause I love you too much

 The two of them weren’t the easiest people to deal with, their lives weren’t the easiest lives to deal with. It had been because of a cruel game of destiny or a lucky shot from faith that they had found each other, Krel at Seamus’ door whenever he felt like he didn’t matter, and Seamus at Krel’s whenever he felt like exploding? Was it bad that in their worst some of their sweetest moments together were born? Was it bad that overwise they might had not become this much of friends?

They were living in a world that was cruel and unforgiving, with people even less likely to welcome them. Krel liked to think that by knowing each other, they had managed to overcome that obstacle, and meet also the people that were fine. That were okay.

They were okay. He was okay.

He had never forgotten that one moment of them, not once.

 Heaven knows your name I’ve been praying

To have you come here by my side

Without you a part of me is missing

Just to make you my own, I will fight

 The song was a tragically familiar one. During the worst of his pining, when he thought he was never going to be good enough for him, when he thought that he didn’t deserve to feel something this pure and breathtaking, this had always been the song. Shannon had taught him the first notes after she had gifted him the guitar after a curious sequence of events, and then Douxie had taken over teaching him all he had needed to know. It was all so familiar now he hardly had to think about how to move, where to put his fingers, if it was too strong or just okay. It was cheesy in a way he never thought he could possibly be, with feelings he never thought he could have.

Aja had always listened from her room, he knew she had even though she had never said it, because before going to sleep the same delson she had always come to hug him. Mary had always told him that playing a love song to cure his – stupid – pained heart seemed a little counterproductive. Maybe she was right. But even if everything was to end tonight, he didn’t care.

He liked love. He loved love. He loved Seamus.

 I know I belong

When I sing this song

There’s love above love and it’s ours

‘cause I love you too much

 Caught by the sudden burst into his chest Krel stood up, almost making his stool fall down. He didn’t care. Right there the crowd’s cheering came to his ears, and despite how much he wanted to scan the place and look for that familiar strawberry blonde mane in between, he forced himself not to. Not yet, not until he said everything, not until he was sure he had delivered everything he had inside. He shushed his mind and let the rest of his body sing.

 I love you too much!

I love you too much

Heaven’s my witness and this is a fact

You live in my soul, your heart is my goal

There’s love above love and it’s mine, ‘cause I love you

There’s love above love and it’s yours, ‘cause I love you

There’s love above love and it’s ours, if you love me…

… as much

 When the last note left his instrument, an urge to cry mixed to an absolute pride took over. He did it, he actually did it. In his mind the song was still echoing, beautifully in the open as it was always supposed to be played. He was drained and so, so happy.

Then, as his head finally allowed in something other than exhaustion, it finally hit him the amount of people that was watching, and how crazy there were going with that applause. It was reverberating all over, he was surprised he noticed it only now. Steve was holding onto Eli and Aja, every single one of them looked close to tears. Mary was shouting something to one of her current dates, pointing at the stage then back at her, probably something like “I know him, he’s my friend, he’s cool because I’m cool, good old Kevin”. Toby was jumping up and down, with Darci laughing and applauding. Jim and Claire were holding onto each other, clapping with fervor. It was good, everything was so good right now.

Finally, Krel allowed himself to look.

Right then, his hear broke.

He wasn’t there. Seamus wasn’t there anymore. No blue tie around, no lock of blonde hair, no red freckles in sight. There was no way this prince couldn’t find him, so…

He left. He didn’t stay for him. He didn’t.

“How about that, huh?? Krel Tarron, everyone!!” Suddenly Douxie was by his side, Krel didn’t look at him. It hurt. He thought it wasn’t going to matter, but it hurt. “He will be all over you for autographs and junk later, let him rest for a moment, and welcome the next exhibition of the night!” His arm was onto his shoulders. Krel didn’t move. He didn’t want to. Then he got a squeeze, and he looked up out of pure instinct. Douxie was still smirking, like his heart hadn’t just gotten smashed against the solid ground of the ballroom. He pointed to the exist and Krel, sighing, obeyed.

He crossed the next couple of performers, who patted his back telling him how good he had been. It didn’t feel like a proud moment anymore. It felt like a waste. The guitar was hanging onto him by the lace, luckily, he would have forgotten it on the stage overwise. Krel sighed, putting the instrument down as soon as he was behind the curtains. He could deal with this.

He didn’t want to, but he could. He just needed some time to-

His hold was callous and warm. The prince knew it so well he almost didn’t have to turn. He did. Seamus had his entire face flushed. He looked outstanding.

“Come with me.” His voice was low, almost fearful, and Krel could do nothing other than follow his lead. He was dragged along as they were staying as far away from the crowd as possible, going for the exit. If anyone had noticed them, Krel was sure Steve or Mary would have taken care of them. As soon as they were out of the room, it was silence. The school looked almost dormant like this, without lights around, the abandoned lockers circling the corridors.

It was going to be one of the last times, in this special place.

There was little time for that kind of nostalgia, as they didn’t walk for long anyway. Seamus seemed in a hurry, he was moving forward without a single word. It almost made the prince fear that he had gone too far and had made him mad. Some more uncharacteristic apologies brushed his lips, at least as a precaution, no matter how weird it was going to be.

They died into his throat as soon as he was pressed against the wall. The echo of the music was gone. There were only those impossible blue eyes getting closer and closer and-

Krel would have laughed. He would have laughed in any other occasion, because this guy was rough and prideful and used to be really bad at dealing with his anger issues. Yet he kissed with the outmost gentleness, like he was genuinely afraid of breaking him, like he was terrified that at any point something was going to wake them up from this dream. Krel wanted to hold onto this dream. He held onto him, hands reaching for his shoulders, then up into his hair. They were not fluffy at all. Again, he would have laughed if he wasn’t this overwhelmed by the fact that this was happening, that Seamus was kissing him and it was happening. The hold onto his mane must had woken up the blonde, as he moved forward with urge, breathing in and taking more.

It was marvelous. It was uncertain and clumsy and they were both really inexperienced at this, and it was marvelous. Slowly the timing was getting clearer for the both of them, because despite pride and their social skills they were instead really good at learning and understanding. The rhythm drowned them both, and it almost made Krel forget he had lungs. It got him there, the urge for air, and he let out almost a strangled noise when he got out of one last kiss.

Seamus was panting just as hard, if not harder, his pupils blown. Krel had never seen him like this, it was a whole new side. He wanted to know it. He really wanted this.

“Sea-”

“Shut it.” Another kiss that made him hum, it was sweeter than before. He almost forgot the words. When he tried to talk again Seamus promptly kissed him again. He completely forgot the words. “You said more than enough, now it’s my turn.” The blonde was smiling of that beautiful smile again. “I’m gonna make every single word count.” His hand went over his hair, caressing his brown locks like they were precious treasures to keep. The urge to cry came back.

Along with another desire, that made Krel come back to his senses and smirk.

Once again, rivalry.

“Aren’t you an overachiever?” Seamus hummed questioning, brushing their noses together. It was too good, the prince giggled. “There are exactly 212 words into my song.” It was too perfect. This wasn’t an out of the world experience, this was the natural consequence of their relationship. Seamus was holding him, and he really didn’t want to be anywhere else.

The blonde seemed taken back by his words, for almost a full second, only to laugh. He brought him even closer, breathing against his lips.

The world disappeared. Prom could wait.

“Better start counting then.” He lunged forward, a quick press closer to a caress. “One,” Another one, deeper but still quick, that made Krel naturally lean back. “Two…” This time it was proper, making him decide that he didn’t really need his mind right now. There was no issue, no invention in standby, no math problem to solve. He could allow himself this. “Three.” He could take every single part of him, as a reward in a way, as a present even more. Without a single remorse Krel laced his arms around his neck, deepening every following kiss.

They stopped counting after nine.

[nikibogwater]

Long-Distance: a Tales of Arcadia fic

Nari comes to an upsetting realization when Douxie makes a very important phone call.

Somehow this ask got me to write an entire oneshot after months of really struggling with writer’s block, so I can only conclude that the Non was a literal enchantress whose ask was packed with the magic of the muses. At any rate, thank you for the unexpected inspiration! 

Unfortunately I was not able to include a scene of Douxie stopping by Zoe’s place before he left Arcadia. The show heavily implied that he just grabbed Nari and booked it to New York City as fast as possible, which is a bit upsetting to the Zouxie shipper in all of us, but I did try to provide a bit of an explanation for it in this fic. This fic ended up being a two-for-one special, prominently featuring both Zouxie and the Magical Siblings (because I’m pretty sure I have a stipulation in my fandom contract somewhere that every ToA fic I produce must have Magical Siblings content in it). Also Archie being a marvelous little menace. 

Read on Ao3

Or under the cut:

Douxie had been on the phone for almost two hours.

From what Nari had observed of him, this was highly unusual behavior. He was typically very averse to making phone calls, and even when it came to checking in on his friends in Arcadia, the conversations never lasted more than thirty minutes or so. But he had seemed downright excited when he told her and Archie that he needed to make a call that evening. Archie must have known something Nari didn’t, because he swished his tail smugly and said “I see the lovesickness has settled in again.” Douxie threw a pillow at him, which he dodged gracefully, and began dialing before Nari could ask what any of this meant. 

“CASPERAN!” Douxie did not have the speaker on, but the others could hear Zoe’s voice screeching on the other end just fine without it. The wizard hissed and jerked the phone away from his ear, though his aura seemed strangely unperturbed by the less-than-friendly greeting. “YOU TRASH MY WORK AND THEN TRY TO DIP OUT OF TOWN WITHOUT TELLING ME--AND WHAT THE HELL IS ALL THIS I’M HEARING ABOUT YOUR DEATH?!” 

“S-sorry, darling,” Douxie sputtered. “I--yes, I know that wasn’t...I texted you as soon as I could! There wasn’t time to stop, the Order was practically breathing down our necks, and I couldn’t risk bringing them to you...Of course I’ve been meaning to call, but getting my phone replaced was a nightmare and there’s just been so much...No, I’m fine it was just...” The conversation continued at an ordinary volume from there--clearly Zoe had just needed to get the yelling out of the way first. But there was something odd about Douxie’s aura that puzzled Nari. Granted, she had not known him for very long, but she’d never sensed his spirit giving off this particular energy before. It was a sort of warm fondness, but somehow different from what his aura projected when he was near Archie or any of his other friends (she was only just beginning to dare to hope that perhaps some of that fondness might be directed at her). It was almost a happy ache of some kind, something that felt as gentle as a budding flower, but also as ancient and deep as a canyon. It took her a moment to recognize it, but when she did, it gave her an unpleasant start. 

“Archie,” she inquired softly, giving the Familiar a gentle nudge. The two of them had settled on the broken-down sofa near the front of the studio, while Douxie was flopped on his mattress near the back. Archie’s ear twitched and he looked up at her expectantly. “Is...Are Douxie and Zoe...” She dug through her mind in search of the correct human term. “...mated?” 

“The human word for it is married,” Archie informed her gently. “And no, they are not. Though they certainly give off that air.” He looked back at the wizard sprawled on his mattress, face aglow as he listened with rapt attention to whatever Zoe was saying on the other end of the line. 

“But they love each other as mates?” Nari persisted. 

“I would say that is an accurate assessment of their relationship, yes,” Archie chuckled. “They met back in Camelot, when Douxie was still an apprentice. Boy took one look at her and was instantly smitten. It was hell on earth trying to deal with him moping and sighing around the castle, sounding out ridiculous love songs on his lute at all hours of the night. Zoe took a bit longer to come around, but she did after a while, and they have been devoted to each other ever since.” 

Nari’s heart twisted. That was what she had feared. The guilt that had been nibbling away at her now began to gnaw like a ravenous beast. Douxie had not only left his home because of her. He had left loved ones. It had barely been a week since they fled Arcadia together, and yet his heart was aching for Zoe like they had been apart for years. And it was all because of her. Nari pulled her knees up to her chest and curled into herself, feeling sick. Douxie’s voice continued to fill the tiny space.

“...Mm-hmm...Yes...Yeah, I’ll be fine, Zo. Really. And I promise I’ll call again soon, alright?” There was a long pause. “...I love you,” he said softly. His aura gave a warm, fluttering pulse, a sure sign that Zoe must have returned the sentiment. Nari’s stomach turned uncomfortably. “...Yeah. ...Yeah, okay. ...I will. ...Goodnight.” The phone beeped softly as he ended the call with a deep sigh. He lay on his back for a while longer, staring up at the ceiling, a sad, dreamy look on his face. 

“Are you ever going to eat dinner, or do you intend to sustain yourself on yearning alone?” Archie called across the room. Douxie huffed and pushed himself upright to glare at his Familiar. 

“One day, Arch, I swear, you’re going to--” He stopped suddenly as his gaze landed on Nari, still huddled against the back of the sofa. “Nari? Are you alright?”  

“I....yes,” she fumbled, surprised he had even noticed anything. “S-sorry.” Archie was looking at her now as well, and she felt herself shrinking under both his and Douxie’s scrutiny. 

“Hey,” Douxie murmured, getting up and crossing the room to kneel in front of her. “What is it?” 

“...Why did you leave Arcadia?” Nari asked in a tentative whisper. Douxie tilted his head in confusion. 

“What do you mean, why did I leave? We had to. You wouldn’t have been safe there, the Arcane Order was too close.” 

“I had to leave, Douxie,” she insisted. “But you could have stayed. I have been hiding alone for hundreds of years, there was no reason you had to be part of that.” 

Whatever she had been expecting, it was certainly not the look of hurt that flashed across Douxie’s face, accompanied by the feeling of his aura flinching away from her as though she had struck him. 

“Do you not want me here?” he asked, voice tight with whatever pain Nari could feel turning in his spirit--it was an old pain, that much she could tell. 

“I...I want you to be happy, Douxie,” she replied, willing her voice to keep steady. “But the only thing my presence has brought you is suffering.” 

“Who told you that?” Douxie barked, voice suddenly sharp. He didn’t seem to want an answer, because he continued before she could say anything. “They’re wrong. I don’t care what they told you, they’re wrong.” Images of Bellroc and Skreal flashed through her mind briefly, but Douxie wasn’t giving her any time to dwell on it. One of his hands landed on her shoulder. “Nari, leaving Arcadia to protect you was my choice. Merlin entrusted me with your safety because he knew you are worth protecting, and I--” He stopped for a moment, searching for words. “...I agree with him. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, even if that means I lose something along the way. You are a part of what makes this world good, and I decided a long time ago that I wanted to protect all the good I can. But that’s on me, and me alone. You’re not responsible for anything the Order has done since you left them. Understand?” 

There were several things Nari could have said to refute his argument. She still had doubts as to whether Merlin would have ever found her individual safety at all important if it hadn’t been for the fact that the Order needed her to open the Genesis Seals. Douxie’s desire to protect what was good in the world was admirable, but also entirely foolish. It could only end in his demise (it already had once before), and someone with a heart as pure as his deserved better than to make such a thankless sacrifice. 

“...What about Zoe?” was all she said. 

“...I do miss her,” Douxie confessed, voice soft once again. “But this isn’t the first time my wizarding responsibilities have forced us to part for a while. I know she’ll be there when all of this is over, and that’s all I need. And besides--” He gave her a lopsided grin. “This is nothing compared to what it was like before the invention of the telephone. At least I can talk to her whenever I want now. It’s really not so bad.” 

“I can attest to that,” Archie put in. “This Lovesick Period isn’t nearly as horrendous as some of the others I’ve seen.” 

“Yes, thank you for that, Arch,” Douxie replied dryly. “Point is....I wanted to look after you, Nari. I made some sacrifices to do it, but I know it’s worth it. And Zoe feels the same. Honestly if I hadn’t been the one to take you, I’m half convinced she would have. She acts tough but she’s soft on the inside.” 

“...I do remember sensing that much when we met,” Nari admitted. She uncurled and folded her legs beneath her, reaching out and cupping Douxie’s face in her palms. His aura twitched in surprise, but he did not pull away from her, even when she tentatively pressed her forehead to his for a moment. It was a very ancient gesture of trust and affection--so ancient that Nari wasn’t even sure if most humans still practiced it. But it was the only way she knew how to convey her feelings just then. “You are what makes this world good as well, Douxie,” she murmured. “I will do my best to protect you in return.” Archie cleared his throat loudly as she pulled away from the wizard. “You and Archie both,” she amended, giving the Familiar a fond pat. 

“...Right,” Douxie breathed, his aura glowing with fondness once more--the familiar kind she had felt before. And this time, Nari let herself believe that perhaps it was for her.

[dreamsarelikedragonflies]

Okay, so I warned you this was coming: I intentionally didn't mention Zoe in my post about Lin (age 17) because I wanted you to be the one to decide what their relationship looks like. I'm thinking Zoe ended up becoming a permanent member of the Casperan household shortly after Lin's adoption was made official, because Douxie wanted him to have a proper Mum (and he and Zoe were practically already married anyways by then). But apart from that, I don't know what Zoe's dynamic with Lin looks like.

The serotonin I am feeling tonight is REAL. Like I think my brain can’t handle the asks and now this, soooo lol. Stuff is under the cut bc it will probably get long.

Zoe has always been a bit more on the rebellious/hardcore punk side of things than Douxie has, and so when Lin starts displaying that very same headstrong behavior she has, she buckles down and tells Douxie to back off. She handles it supremely well.

Zoe is not exactly physically affectionate with him at first(as a baby) because she just,,, doesn’t ‘get’ kiddos yet? But as soon as she starts reading up on it and everything and how kids need it, you can bet she’s always dancing and playing with him (yknow how like throwing/spinning/physical play for kids around is good for motor development? Que Douxie on two hours of sleep walking in to find her tossing him up into the air- mind you Lin is cackling and all, thrilled -and just screeches)

“ZOE WHAT ARE YOU DOING PUT HIM DOWN YOU ARE GOING TO HURT HIM.”

“Douxie, hun, it’s called helping with mental development.”

Zoe wearing the baby in a baby pouch thing whenever Douxie isn’t(cuz lets face it, he wears the baby like 90% of the time)

Zoe is like,,, a soccer mom but in the best of ways. You don’t mess with her kid and she is hella supportive of him, no matter what.

The only reason Zoe is ever disappointed in him is that he never picked up on everything she taught him about fashion stuff and she tried so hard.

Every swear that Lin ever learned was from Zoe and it was not on purpose at all. (Zoe: you had better not tell your father I said that)

Zoe’s magic, being a hedgewitch and all, is also a bit more volatile and emotionally charged much like Lin’s, so she helps teach him how to control it and regulate his emotions in general.

She is all for letting him dye his hair, get piercings, wear whatever he wants, she really pushed the whole “he needs to develop his own personality thing” and she helped him dye his hair for the first time.

She taught him how to play the drums. Douxie took a short vacation(presumably with Archie) to save his eardrums.

She also taught Lin how to cook(and he loves it) because Douxie is a disaster cook and no adopted son of hers was going to get that trait.

Zoe has made all sorts of little magical toys for him in her free time and they’re his favorite things and he keeps them in a keepsafe box once he’s “grown out of them”

Lin gets his music taste from Zoe, he’s really into Indie/Folk and alt stuff, he doesn’t mind rock but it’s not quite his cup of tea.

Zoe convinces Douxie to join her in telling bedtime stories to Lin, but really, they’re just their adventures over the years with the bad parts taken out.

She sings old lullabies to baby Lin and Douxie is just floored by her voice(”Zoe I literally thought you could only scream song lyrics why didn’t tell me you could SING”)

Lin gets his sense of sarcasm from Zoe and at first Douxie goes up a wall because TWO Zoes sassing him is almost too much. Archie thinks it’s hilarious.

Bonus that mostly pertains to this particular topic: Lin’s first word was “kitty” and Archie was the first to hear it and he is so, so proud (he spent a whole afternoon trying to get Lin to say a bunch of words and settled on trying for “kitty”). Lin’s second word, much to Zoe and Douxie’s frustration and amusement, was a swear, courtesy of Zoe letting it slip when she burned herself cooking.)

ANYWAYS this was soooo much funnnnnnn ahhhhhhh I love this too muchhhh.

[rikalovesrice]

Douxie x Reader #4 - Comfort (Part 1)

Reader Recap : Lives in older sister’s shadow, rarely ever acknowledged by her parents or people at school. Has a host of insecurities because of it. Part-time pizza delivery girl on a scooter. A partner in crime when hunting for monsters in the late hours of night with Douxie, Archie, and Zoe. You and Douxie have become close friends. 

You didn’t know where you going and you didn’t care. All you knew is that you had to get as far away from your house and the people inside of it as you could without leaving Arcadia. 

You floored it on your scooter, fueled by the frustration and hurt pumping through your veins. Eventually you rolled into town and parked the scooter in the park, dismounting and leaning back against the seat, holding yourself. There was a dull sort of ache in your head and you could feel the pressure of tears forming but refusing to fall. It brought you to the ground and you curled in on yourself, rocking forward onto the balls of your feet. It was times like this, when being swept aside became too much, that you questioned your very existence. Why you even bothered sometimes. If your parents even knew they had another child. If you really were just a speck of dirt on your older sister’s pristine image.

You weren’t sure how long you stayed there all balled up beside your scooter, taking deep breathes and crying softly into your arms. You had just noticed a bizarre, prickling rasp in your ear when -

“(Name)!!”

There as a flash of blue and you instinctively ducked, rolling forward and roughly onto your side as some kind of misty, shadowy form took the brunt of a blast of blue. The creature screeched and quickly recovered from the attack. It was about the size of a squirrel and it twitched and jerked about like a glitch. White, ghastly, hollow eyes pulsed against a shape of black and gray smoke, like distorted full moons. You backed away on your elbows, terrified when not one, not two, but what looked like a hundred more of the things manifested from the night, rising like a wave from behind your scooter.

You braced yourself as the creatures descended upon you, squeezing your eyes shut, when a hand clamped around your shoulder and pulled you snug against a familiar bundle of black. 

“Douxie...!” you gasped, looked up at his face creased with concentration. You flinched at the force of the shadowy creatures slamming into the shield of magic Douxie had conjured, his left arm extended, charm bracelet alight with symbols. When they’d dispersed, Douxie lowered the shield and helped you to your feet, checking you over.

“Are you alright?” he asked, patting your shoulders and arms. “What are you doing here? I thought you had something with your family tonight.”

“What...What are those things?” you huffed, wondering how you’d manage to forget what Arcadia’s like after midnight. The flurry of writhing shadows regrouped in the air, a frightening show against the street lights, and were circling back. Douxie moved in front of you, watching them closely with charm bracelet at the ready.

“Hollowsprites,” Douxie said lowly. “Nasty things. Haven’t seen this many since Morgana returned. Drawn to darkness. They feed upon strong negative emotions and feelings. Fear. Anger. Sadness.” His voice lost some edge and his head turned slightly back towards you. “Pain and suffering...”

Sensing a lapse in attention, the hollowsprites spiraled downward, only to be intercepted by a bright flash of pink and a burst of fire. Archie and Zoe were hurrying onto the scene, Archie perching himself around Douxie’s shoulders.

“(Name)! Change your mind about tonight?” Archie asked, glancing back at you.

“So this is where they all went,” Zoe said, pink electricity sparking between her fingers. “Thought you were gonna have all the fun, did you, Doux?”

“Ugh, you’re welcome for finding them,” Douxie retorted. Then he grinned, his charm bracelet flickering as he clenched his fist. “Go on, Zoe. I’ve worn them down for you!”

“Yeah cause more hollowsprites showing up is wearing them down.” 

“Provoking is more like it,” Archie added. “Dramatically emoting?”

“Whose side are you on?” Douxie whined.

“Uh, sorry, Arch,” you say. “I think I was one...er, emoting.”

Archie turned in the air to face you, his white eyebrows creased. “That so? Are you alright, (Name)?” 

Douxie let his guard down even more, slightly lowering his charm bracelet and equally concerned as he looked back at you. 

“Okay not to be insensitive but can we do this later cause we’ve kinda got a situation here!” Zoe lashed the angry hollowsprites with sparks of magic. “Sit tight, (Name). Come on you two!”

“Thought you wanted all the fun, Zoe!”

“Douxie, I swear -”

Continuing their banter, Douxie, Zoe, and Archie got to work blasting and zapping and burning the hollowsprites into submission. The pain in your heart was suspended for the moment as you were fixated on the action in front of you. Several hollowsprites lunged at you, but they ended up barreling into another one of Douxie’s shields. 

“(Name), whatever negative emotions are inside of you, they want to consume them,” he said, looking back at you. “They want to use your emotions to make them stronger and corrupt you. But you can resist them. Don’t let them win!” Douxie shoved the magical shield forward with a loud grunt, the magic bursting and causing the hollowsprites to scatter furiously. 

Corruption. That was a concept that hadn’t occurred to you. But now that you thought about it, it made sense. There were plenty of times the hurt threatened to melt into bitter hatred, to the point where you considered being a nasty person yourself in retaliation. Everything was constantly being taken away from you. Everything. But...There were things within you that your family could never touch. Things no one could touch or take, not if you had any say in it. And right now...It seems you did. 

No one would steal the peace of a bookstore. The warmth of a cafe. Jamming out in a record store. The thrill of cruising on a scooter under a starlit sky. The wonder of literal magic, the kind you thought only existed in movies. A talking cat with glasses and a pair of wings. Headphones over a head of pink hair. Black clothes and golden eyes and that breathtaking smile of his.

The place where you belonged.

The friends you now cherished.

The love you had found.

The pain of understanding now what life could be. What it should have been.

You were constantly aware of the exhaustion of choosing love. Choosing to have grace. Choosing to be strong and steadfast. Choosing to be different. But as tiring as it was, you never once regretted it. And that belonged to you, too. 

The decision, your resolve, to try and be better.

You planted your feet, grounding yourself as the hollowsprites once again took aim at you. As they dove down, Douxie almost conjured another shield but you stepped firmly in front of him.

“Stay away from my emotions you freaks!” you yelled at the mass of writhing shadows. “They’re mine! My feelings are mine!” Almost immediately, the hollowsprites recoiled as if stung, screeching and squealing in confusion.

“That’s it!” Douxie said with a broad smile, summoning rings of magic to attack the creatures further. Archie flew between the rings, setting Douxie’s magic ablaze to amplify his spells. Soon blue flames were raining down like falling leaves from hollowsprites being burned alive.

“Big mistake messing with my friend!” Zoe said, engulfing herself in pink electricity. With two taps of her toes on the ground, she bolted forward, powerful streams of lightning trailing behind her and frying any hollowsprite in her path. The ravenous behavior of the creatures dissolved into frustrated disorientation, members of the shadowy cluster zipping around aimlessly.

You noticed that the hollowsprites weren’t actually dying. Rather the number of hollowsprites began to dwindle as members of the swarm shot off into the night like dark firecrackers. 

Eventually all the hollowsprites fled, an eerie silence filling the town in their wake. All three of your magical friends loosened in exhaustion, Douxie actually dropping to the ground to sit.

“None of them were destroyed,” you commented, looking up into the night where the creatures had vanished.

“Yea, well...As long as negative emotions exist, hollowsprites can’t be destroyed,” Zoe said. “Just shooed away, really.”

You frowned. “I’m sorry...”

“Don’t be,” Douxie said. “We’ve been seeing more and more of them lately anyway.”

“You see, hollowsprites are also drawn to...‘disturbances’ in the realms, so to speak,” Archie said. “We suspect something must be amiss...”

“There’s that, too, yes. But I suppose they targeted you because your emotions were so strong...” 

You locked eyes with Douxie, a moment passing between you both. His eyes were soft with concern. For some reason, looking to those eyes, you felt really vulnerable.

Zoe cleared her throat. “Erm, Archie? Why don’t we make sure the rest of the town is clear of those things?”

“Pardon...?” Archie said. “But- Oh. Oh...Y-yes! Good idea, Zoe!”

Zoe gave you a quick hug. “I’ll text you later. You better answer me! Make sure she gets home safe, Doux.” 

You felt a blush on your cheeks. They were leaving you alone with him? 

“Uh, hold on-” But Zoe and Archie were already hurrying away. You leaned back against the seat of your scooter, fumbling with your fingers and saying nothing. And suddenly extremely aware of Douxie’s presence. You actually jumped a little when he said your name.

“(Name)...Um...” Douxie scratched the back of his neck. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to...But if you don’t mind me asking what happened...?”

Of course you didn’t mind. Douxie was a safe space where the monsters couldn’t reach you. Your place of respite. But even though the tears came easily then, it didn’t mean you weren’t embarrassed.

“They all forgot,” you said, your voice already thick with tears. “They forgot about the dinner I had planned to um...celebrate my dad’s promotion.” With an empty laugh, you wiped your face with your palm. “I mean, I don’t know what I was expecting. I just...”

Douxie got up off the ground, stepping closer to you. “(Name)...”

“I just wanted to do something nice for my dad. For my family. But I’m dumb and I actually thought they’d care. Mom and dad just went out to eat and my sister just stayed in her room and the food was getting cold and -”

As soon as his arms wrapped around you, you sobbed into his sweatshirt. You were vaguely aware that you were probably getting tears and snot and dribble all over your crush but you couldn’t stop crying for a solid three minutes. Douxie just held you the whole time, hand squeezing your shoulder and thumb stroking your back. 

"I’m emoting all over you...,” you whimpered, having settled down into soft sniffling and hiccups.

“Oh stop it,” Douxie said. Then he hugged you tighter. “I’m so sorry they treat you like this. You know you can always come to me...Zoe, and Archie, right? I... We’ll never sweep you aside.”

You almost came undone again. Not wanting to soak Douxie’s sweatshirt further, you moved back and pressed your forehead against his collarbone, still staying as close as you could to his warmth. To his eyes like the sun and moon, glowing with compassion, soft with understanding. To his smile that always made you smile. To his gentle hands. Those streaks of blue hair. The comforting shadow of his presence. His magic, bright and beautiful like he was. 

It terrified you.

“Yeah...” You pulled away to look up at him, still holding his arms. “Yeah, I know you won’t. I...I believe you. I’ll try....”

Douxie gazed at you for a moment before smiling softy, wiping a tear away with his finger. 

“Good,” he said. Then he smooshed your face between his hands, forcing your cheeks and lips to pucker.

“H-hey!!”

He released you, laughing. “Shall I walk you home?”

Blushing wildly and rubbing your face, you managed a smile.

“That’d be nice.”

~

~

There wasn’t any hurry. It was probably two in the morning now but would your family notice your absence? Negative.

You guided your scooter along as Douxie strolled beside you, the two of you chatting about any and everything. Douxie went off a bit talking about how he didn’t understand people who ate fondant and how much of a jerk Shakespeare was. It was the cutest thing. Then you started going on and on about how pretty the moon was tonight and how crescent moons were your favorite. For a second, Douxie might’ve been staring at you, but, no, duh, you definitely imagined it.

“Well uh...This is me.” You took one look at your front door and sighed. “Sadly.”

“Hey.” Douxie placed a hand on your arm. “Remember what I said. Anytime. A phone call, a text-”

“A raven?”

He snickered. “Especially a raven. But seriously...Just say the word.”

Under the moonlight, Douxie was otherworldly. So gorgeous your heart threatened to swell to bursting. How was it that your paths could possibly have crossed? It escaped you, and you had no hope of catching it.

“Okay,” you said softly.

“Okay,” Douxie repeated. “Goodnight, (Name).”

“Goodnight, Douxie.”

Neither of you moved.

“Ah, go on, then,” Douxie said kindly, putting his hands in his pockets. “I’ll stay until you’re inside.”

“O-oh. Okay, thanks.” You parked your scooter next to your sister’s car. Just as your hand touched the doorknob, you were overwhelmed with the urge to just tell him. Heart racing, you tried to say his name, starting to turn back around.

“Uh..Uh D-Doux-”

“(Name).”

You paused. “Y-yeah?”

Douxie smiled warmly. “I’m glad that I met you. I’m glad we’re friends.”

It was sweetness followed by a stab. 

“Me, too,” you said, meaning it with your whole aching heart. “You...” A shaky breath. “You guys mean the world to me.”

Before he could say anything else, you hurried inside, up the stairs in the dark, and into your room, not caring if you woke anyone up. You curled up on your bed, face in your forearms. 

You were happy. So, so happy. 

And so utterly crushed.

Just outside, still in front of your house, Douxie’s eyes fixated on your bedroom window. Then he turned and started back towards the town, wondering how he could ease the pain in your life and thinking about the look on your face, the glow in your eyes, as you enthused over the moonlight.

[zoe-b-raiden]

May I politely inquire as to what your intentions are regarding my godson--I mean, Hisirdoux? Just...out of totally innocent curiosity, of course. ...Also would you please tell him that it's been fifty three years and eight months since his last letter, and that if he doesn't check in with me soon I swear I will leave my swamp and come find him myself. ✨

She opens and closes her mouth a couple times before she’s able to find the words. “I- I had no idea that Douxie has a godmother- I mean, not that it’s a bad thing, no, I’m just...surprised.” She shakes her head, blinking in disbelief. Dumbfounded might begin to describe the look on her face. “He never told me about you.”

“That’s an awful long time. He’s a...very close friend, yeah. I swear, I’m just doing my best to keep him going through, yknow, life in general and all. And saving his ass- excuse my language -him from getting himself killed.” She makes yet another confused and shocked face, a number of thoughts crossing her mind. “I can definitely tell him, yeah. No problem. But I ah, really have to be...getting back to work. Thanks for stopping in?”

Zoe points a thumb over her shoulder towards the counter, where it’s clearly well-manned already by a couple of her coworkers. She gives an awkward wave and turns on her heel, a hand on the back of her neck. She’s not quite sure if she should feel embarrassed or not.

[daydream-believin]

What About the Smaller Picture (3)

Summary: Merlin knows best. And what he feels is best for you and Douxie right now is to sit around and wait for him to come back from New Jersey, Merlin-knows-when. (3) You’ve adjusted to Arcadian life pretty well. (1) or (4)

Warnings: Swearing, sleep problems?

Word count: 2474

A/n:  sorry this wasnt out sooner I’ve had a week

The curtains were blue. They had a little pattern of navy and white flowers and curvy lines like pottery painted with indigo. You had moved one of Doux’s bookshelves to be the second wall to allow the curtain rod to even be in place. This layout effectively created a nook of sorts around your little bed. To be frank the curtains weren’t absolutely necessary. The space kinda gave you university dorm vibes with the two twin beds across from each other. But there was no way you were letting this guy you barely knew watch you sleep. Even if you were good friends, you wouldn’t let him watch you sleep. That kind of vulnerability was special, reserved for only those closest to you.

Speaking of closeness, Douxie had been very adamant about you not calling him by his full name anymore. Made him feel like you were reprimanding him, he said. You could relate to the feeling, and so you were now being careful to replace all ‘Hisirdoux’s with ‘Douxie’s in your head. Or at least a ‘Doux’. Not ‘Babe’. Who told you that. You definitely never referred to him as Babe in your mind. Nope. That Is Not Something Friends Do.

“And,” Douxie rubbed the back of his neck, “Normally when people call me Hisirdoux nowadays it’s because they want to kill me. Only strangers and enemies call me that. Or Zoe when she’s pissed. So yeah, just Douxie is fine.”

“Just Douxie?”

He chuckled, “Yeah.” You looked up at him with a smile.

“Douxie.” He flushed, nodding. “Well, Douxie, what do you want for dinner tonight.”

That little nook you’d built hadn’t stopped Douxie from trying to talk to you all night, however. You’d think the curtains would be a clear message of don’t talk to me I want to be left alone but Doux hadn’t really taken that hint. You tried your best to brush him off the first few nights, even pretending to fall asleep. It didn’t stop him. By the fourth night you spent in Arcadia, you gave in. You had trouble sleeping anyways, as it was apparent so did your roommate, so might as well indulge him. It’s not like ignoring him did any good. Instead of staring at a blue-light screen that messed with your circadian rhythm, you talked about nonsense with Doux. And it was good nonsense. He was way too funny. Or maybe it’s that thing where if you’re into someone then everything they say is hilarious. You’ll never know. But it was nice, either way.

The funny thing was that not only did you actually start to like this, but now it was becoming hard to sleep without it. He helped. Your whole life you stayed up late, and then tossed and turned all night anyways. Now your bedtime routine was talk to Douxie for a few hours, slowly falling asleep, and then you’d sleep the whole night through like a baby. No more restlessness. No more waking up over and over again. Even if you did, you could just listen to him snore for a bit and fall right back to sleep. You guessed it was the feeling of safety he provided. Like someone was watching over you, even when you were at your most vulnerable. You’d never really had that luxury before.

 You had started noticing the trouble coming back when he would stay out late sometimes. And Douxie was gone one night and you suddenly couldn’t sleep at all. This was bad. A problem, if you will. But no matter. There were more pressing things to worry about.

Like the fact that all week, Douxie had been hinting that he had something you two were going to do soon. He would not tell you what it was. In fact he was taking quite a bit of joy in dangling this “surprise” in front of your face but not telling you anything about it. It was driving you a little crazy. You hoped what he had planned was nothing too wild, though. It’s not that you weren’t down, you were just tired. But you could use a little shaking up. This bookshop existence was boring. You weren’t boring. You had enough crazy stories to last an immortal lifetime from growing up in New Jersey. Not just modern-day Urban New Jersey. Early colonial Quaker-dominated New Jersey was wild too. Especially as one of those infamous New England witches. Maybe Douxie was taking you on some magic errand. That would be great, you were dying to do something actually in your job description ever since you got here. Not that working in the bookshop wasn’t nice, it just wasn’t magic. You were craving magic.

But alas, as the sun was setting and the last patrons left the store, life moved on as mundanely usual. You flipped over the sign, scratched a sunbeam bathing Archie behind the ears, and started the process of re-shelving all the damn books that customers left strown about. The sunset turned the bookshop pink. There were fewer cars rushing by. Now that there were no customers, it was very peaceful. Just you, Archie’s snoring, and the soft lute music playing. The music was lute covers of popular songs, and at this point you were pretty sure it was Douxie himself who recorded this shit.

Speaking of Douxie, you hadn’t seen him all day. It had made working the bookshop extra extra boring. Like if he wanted you to be free labor, he could at least give you the decency of his lovely presence. But no, it was just you, all day long. All by your lonesome, with nary a cute theater-kid adjacent wizard to keep you entertained with his company. It was a travesty really. But anyways, where was he. Better not be having fun without you.

You like to think your thoughts summoned him. He came in through the back door, panting, disheveled. Singed? He frantically looked out the door’s window into the alleyway from which he had just came from, looking for something. Whatever it was, he must have seen it, since he looked panic-stricken. In a painfully obvious attempt to swallow the fear, he turned to you, trying his best to sound nonchalant.

“SO. You know that thing? The surprise? Well. It is here a little sooner than I expected it to bE—” A loud crashing noise came from the alleyway. “Oh, fuzzbuckets.”

You dropped the book in your hand. “WHAT DID YOU DO.”

There was another very loud crash, this time closer. Douxie glanced back for less than a moment before rushing over to you, taking you hand.

“I’ll just have to tell you on the way love, come on!”

You two fled out the front door of the shop like your tails were on fire. Speaking of tails on fire, once you rounded the shop to the alleyway, you found out just what Douxie had been running from that was making such loud noises. Hellheetis. Five large hellheetis. Blazing bright in the Arcadian dusk. How the neighbors haven’t already called the cops or the fire department was a mystery. The large lion-like creatures growled, stalking down the alley. It was only a matter of seconds before they smelled and or spotted you and went back into the chase. You had to make a plan and fast. Distracting you from your thoughts, Douxie nervously laughed beside you.

“hehe, uh, could you believe there was only one of these at the start?”

You slowly turned to the wizard, “Did you,, hit them, Hisirdoux?” You could call him that now because you were in fact pissed off at the moment.

“Only twice.”

“Only twice… Okay”

“I may not be the best at monster identification. Or remembering which tactic to use for which.”

“I can see that.” You tried to keep your voice as calm as you could, which got a little easier to do as the hellheetis turned down a different alleyway, putting some more distance between them and you. They were still searching though, that was apparent. Thankfully the stench of the alley trash was keeping you covered.

“Believe me, Archie gets onto me about this all the time.”

“It’s okay… just. I think I have a plan. But one of us has to be bait. And it’s going to be you.”

“That’s fair.”

You sprinted up the stairs of the bookstore and up through the ceiling hatch onto the rooftop. You first instinct was to get them to the center of the square, where you could use the fountain as a water source. The alley they had started going down opened up to the square anyhow. It would have been a straight shot. But dear Mr. Casperan made a fuss about that being too out in the open or whatever.

Next solution. The bookstore’s rooftop had a facet, Douxie told you. You’d like to imagine it was put there so some nice old lady could have had a sweet rooftop garden without too much hassle. Maybe you should start a sweet rooftop garden. You and Douxie could have a little oasis in the city up here. You could grow veggies and flowers for your table. Maybe make a cute little picnic area. Stargaze at night. The facet. You quickly found it and made work of turning it on. Or at least you tried your best. You could hear roaring, getting louder, getting closer. The scary growls and roars were punctuated by Douxie’s frantic footsteps, grunts, and gasps. Please don’t get eaten, Douxie.

The facet was so rusty, it took all of your strength to get it to budge. And then nothing came out really, the hose attached to it lifeless without so much as a trickle. You tried to unscrew it from the facet to see if there was a problem and the metal part of the hose disintegrated in your hand. Okay. No water was in fact coming out of that facet.

Imaginary sirens rang in your ears. You had to get water, fast, or your partner was gonna be kit & kadouxle. Hellheeti chow. Growl mix. Douxies. Fiery feast. The big cats were gonna eat him okay. After managing to get the facet turned as fast as you could, fueled on pure adrenaline, and still getting little to no water, you made a judgement call of fuck that. Magic time. To be completely frank here that should have been what you had done in the fucking first place, but hey, fear dulls the mind.

Gathering up as much water as you could, like, metaphorically feel in the pipe, you pulled that shit out with all your might. Aaaannddd because of this you may have not actually remembered that you would need to catch said water in order to, you know, use it. Instead of a nice bubble to be used at your discretion, a magic roof-water tidal wave washed over you and over the side of the building into the alley below. Thank your lucky fucking stars that Douxie just so happened to have gotten the fire felines to the right spot in time. The uncontrollable rain rushed down, dissipating the hellheetis, soaking Douxie darling, and flooding not only your alley but all the alleys connected to it. Holy shit, stop it! STOP IT! It took a second, but you did finally get the river to stop pouring out of your rooftop. Fingers crossed there were no basement windows open and all your neighbors had flood insurance. And that no one saw. Can’t be connected to you if no one saw right. Shhhhhh.

You peered over the ledge to see if Douxie was alright down below. He looked like a cat caught in the rain himself. You probably did too. Douxie’s soaked bangs covered his eyes. Nevertheless, he was able to see you up on the ledge and gave you a thumbs up. You awkwardly returned it.

Toweling off your hair, and now in nice dry pajamas, you walked out of the bathroom to join Douxie on the couch. His own hair towel hung around his shoulders. You took a moment to enjoy how cute he looked all ready for bed, cozy in the blankets on the couch. And that semi-wet hair was looking pretty nice too. You only allowed yourself to linger on this for that moment however, as you remembered you were supposed to be mad at him right now. You crossed your arms as you approached the wizard.

“SO, dearest Hisirdoux, may I have the decency of getting to ask the question, WHY.”

“Funny story really.”

“Really?” You raised a brow

“Really.”

Douxie fidgeted with his hands. You watched this little nervous gesture intently as you sat down next to him. He took a deep breath before beginning,

“First thing. You’ve been here for some time now, and I thought it was enough time for me to start sharing my little, er, excursions with you,” Douxie’s face flushed a little, “I like monster hunting, and now that I know that I like you, I thought I’d like it more if I brought you along with me?”

Your face was flushed a little too now. “Hey, stop it, I need to be mad at you.” Yeah well the smile you wore gave up any pretense of that. Sorry.

“I didn’t know how familiar you were with monsters or how skilled at fighting you were, so I decided to go get some test monsters from Mervin the Monster Dealer, just to make sure our first time would be safe. FIRST TIME MONSTER HUNTING TOGETHER.”

You stifled a chuckle. “And you didn’t just ask me?”

“It was supposed to be a cool surprise okay.” He buried his face in his hands.

“… Hellheetis?” Safe monster your ass.

“Yes, I mean no, I- Mervin sold me the wrong thing alright. I thought I was buying those cute little fire sprite things you can easily just put out with your boot.”

This time you did not hold back that laughter. And you laughed, and Douxie laughed, and soon both of you were uncontrollably cackling until you were out of breath. Archie came in to see what the commotion was about and then promptly turned back around to go back to his spot in the window. You clutched your chest, still cracking up despite the lack of oxygen. Douxie wiped some tears from his eyes you were sure hoping were just from laughing too hard. You rubbed a hand on his back.

“So, I think I’ve had enough excitement for one day. How bout movie night?”

Douxie’s tired eyes smiled at you, “Yeah, I think that would be lovely.”

“Hey, I had a good first monster hunt, Douxie. Thank you,” You pulled your cold feet up under your legs, “But could you stop hogging the blankets!”

[nyxicnymph]

Guardians of Arcadia: Operation: Secret Santa

Christmas is quickly approaching in Arcadia. While the town may not get such luxuries like snow or ice-skating, the Guardians still want to participate in some form of Christmas tradition all together. Some might not know exactly what is happening, but they're giving it their best shot! (TOA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL WHEN?!)

Rating: ages 13 and up!

Warnings: Canon and character typical levels of teenage violence. Staja. Jlaire. No Zoe, sorry guys. Oh, and swearing.

Part Eight: What would the most popular girl in Arcadia want?

Eli spun in his desk chair as he thought. Of course he, the weird nerd, would get the most popular person out of the whole group. Everyone loved Claire. She had everything. Good looks, smarts, charisma, the ability to adapt, magic!

"Anything I get her is gonna be so useless to her," Eli cried. "She's already got everything a girl could ever want!"

Eli kicked his desk in frustration, then left his room, throwing on his shoes. He needed some fresh air. He decided that walking through Arcadia's main street would at least let him get some window shopping done, so he could have an idea or two.

As Eli walked through the main street, he heard hushed, upset voices. He rounded the corner and saw the tall wizard from the name drawing, Douxie, arguing with... a cat.

"That was the stupidest decision you've made in several decades, Hisirdoux!"

"Well it worked, Arch! I now have the knowledge I need-"

Eli sprinted away before he could hear anymore of the strange conversation. He didn't need to accidentally catch wind of Douxie's giftee.

He found himself in front of the record shop. He looked in the windows, wondering if this was an accident, or more of Arcadia's weirdness. Right in front of him was a Papa Skull record, a brand new one that had only been released a few weeks ago.

"Never would have taken you for a heavy metal freak, little guy," a voice came from the door. Eli spun around and saw a pink-haired young woman leaning against the doorframe.

"Oh, I'm not. But a friend of mine is. She really likes this band, I think." Eli tapped his chin. "Is it expensive?"

"Slow down, kid. Let's take this inside. My name's Zoe. What's yours, kiddo?"

Eli gulped nervously. "Eli."

"Well, Eli, if your friend likes Papa Skull, we have a lot of merch. It's my best friend's favorite band, too. He played their opening act once, you know."

Eli nodded, not actually knowing at all. "That's cool. How much is it?"

Zoe shrugged. "Depends on the person."

"That's not a good way to run a business," Eli frowned.

"I know, but its how I choose to run it. I have plenty of money, this is more of a hobby then anything." She shrugged again. "How much merch are you getting, Eli?"

Eli fidgeted. "Can I look around? I'll need to see it before I can make a calculated decision."

Zoe gestured to the store. "Yeah, go ahead, take as much time as you need. I'm not going anywhere."

Eli nodded and started looking around. He found some stickers and a bracelet right off the bat, and he set those on the counter. He went a little farther into the store, and found a Papa Skull cropped sweater. He put that on the counter as well, and went to grab the record from the window.

He hesitated. This was going to be really expensive, possibly above Jim's price cap. He returned to the counter and pulled out his wallet.

"I think this is everything," he said, giving her his card.

Zoe looked at him with searching blue eyes. She then looked between him, the pile on the counter, and the window.

"All right. If you say so." She rang up his items, bagged them, and returned his card. "Have a good day, Eli."

Eli nodded and waved as he left the store.

"Wait."

Eli turned around. Zoe smiled at him. "Thanks for stopping by. I hope you come around more often."

Eli smiled back. "Whenever I'm not out of town, Miss."

Zoe laughed as Eli left the store. "You're a good kid, Eli."

Eli finally made it back home, and started unpacking the shopping bag. His fingers brushed against a thin cardboard, and he gasped. He pulled out the record he'd been eyeing the whole time he was at the store.

"How did she get that in there without me noticing?" Eli asked no one in particular. He didn't really want an answer, even if he didn't know.

This was Arcadia. Weird stuff happened all the time in this town.

--

Claire was super excited for her gift. After all, this had to be the easiest person to get a gift for!

[thecasperanfamily]

do the casperans and/or their friends do anything special for the day lin is officially adopted?

It was probably a small affair--just a nice lunch at the Lake house with Toby, Claire, and the Tarrons, after the case was finalized. Douxie was originally planning to just take everyone out to a restaurant, but Jim wouldn't hear of it. ("Listen, I don't know what else to give Lin as an adoption-day gift. Food is my love language anyways.") To this day, Douxie swears he's never seen such another casserole that was as enormous (and appetizing!) as that one was.

Zoe took a bunch of photos of Smol Lin looking really confused/bored and captioned them with stuff like "Yep, nothing but good times ahead!" and "So excited to be part of this family! Help me" Don't worry, she got some legitimately sweet photos in there as well. There's one of the whole family together in front of the courthouse--Lin in Zoe's arms, Douxie, with one arm around Nari, eagerly showing off the adoption certificate to the camera, and Archie on his shoulder trying his best to look nonplussed by it all (in spite of the fact that he's feeling all kinds of emotions, thinking about how far his boy has come ever since they first met). Zoe later had the photo printed and framed, and it sits on the dresser in their room. During difficult times, Douxie likes to look at that photo and remember how he felt in that moment--uncertain about what may come, yet overwhelmed with joy all the same. No matter how much of a little punk Lin can be, Douxie's never regretted that day. Not even once. And neither have any of the other Casperans.

Thanks so much for the ask, Non! ✨