#also your nine rose jack request will be in the works in a few days once i do some other requests!

[tea-earl-grey]

Doctor Who (2005): The Doctor Dances Everybody lives, Rose. Just this once – everybody lives!

requested by @thatrandomfandom

[sunflowerspecter]

flowers (a.h.)

summary: you don’t expect his request, but it immediately draws you to him. unfortunately, you’ll probably never meet him again. 

warnings: kinda gross fluff ngl 

pairing: aaron hotchner x reader

words: 1248

note: okay this is loosely based off of this post. might do a follow-up to this one, but idk. 

It was a normal day at the shop. You were putting together an arrangement of sunflowers and humming along to the classical song that played when he walked in, a stern look on his face, in full business attire. He stepped up to you, and you could tell he was on the verge of snapping, but you could also tell he didn’t want to snap at you. You tilted your head at him. 

“How can I help you, sir?” you asked, and he bit his lip. 

“This sounds awful, but how do I give flowers to someone who I don’t like but have to give flowers to out of politeness?” 

You almost giggled at his rambled words. “Um,” you said, then you glanced around at the flowers around you, “okay. Geraniums symbolized foolishness and stupidity in Victorian times, if that’s what you’re going for,” you said, beginning a slow pace around the shop. The stranger followed you. “Oh, and there’s basil, which symbolizes hatred. Meadowsweet symbolizes uselessness, and yellow carnations can symbolize disappointment. Black roses symbolize death, which is a little bit more aggressive, but honestly, they’re my favorite.” 

He nodded, then shook his head. “If you were trying to tell your boss that she’s an idiot and needs to leave your team alone, what would you do?” 

You moved around and picked a few flowers, then moved over to the counter, and began arranging them. “May I ask what happened?” 

“I work for the BAU,” he said, then shook his head. “That’s FBI.” He paused, looking down at his hands, then sighed. “My boss has my team under watch because we make the hard choices.” 

You nodded, biting your lip. FBI explained the suit. “What does BAU stand for?” 

“Behavioral analysis unit.” 

“What’s your name?” 

He glanced up at you, seemingly surprised at the question, which made you smile. “Aaron Hotchner. What’s yours?” 

“Y/n. Y/n Y/ln.” 

“Do you own this place?” he asked, and you nodded. 

“Yes. It was my father’s, before he passed.” 

“I’m sorry,” he said instantly. 

“It was years ago,” you said. “My mother always says that he lives in these flowers, and this shop, now. I think that’s special.” 

He smiled at you, and his smile was absolutely the cutest thing you’d ever seen. “That’s beautiful, I think,” he said, and you could tell he wanted to say more, but he didn’t. 

You looked down at the arrangement in your hands, then sighed. “Well, here’s your flowers for your boss.” 

He stepped back (just a little bit), then said, “Oh, right.” He pulled out his wallet but you shook your head. 

“These are on me.” 

He almost refused, but you insisted, and you waved at him as he walked (into) out the door and out of your life. 

It was a few days later and you couldn’t stop thinking about him, when a very pretty group of women walked into the shop. 

“Are you Y/n?” one of them asked, blonde hair and purple lipstick. You nodded, and the other two (one with short dark hair and the other with longer, blonde hair) shared a look. 

“I’m JJ,” the other blonde said. “This is Emily and Penelope.” 

“We’re sorry to barge in on you,” Emily said, and you suddenly felt very exposed, “but Hotch got flowers from you the other day, right?”

“Hotch,” you muttered under your breath. “That Aaron fellow? From the BAU?” 

The girls all nodded. “He hasn’t been able to shut up about you, and he’s been so much happier than he normally is,” Penelope said. 

“He’s a grouch most of the time,” Emily said, and JJ elbowed her. 

“He’s too shy to actually come back and talk to you, but we figured we could come scope out the situation,” JJ said. 

You smiled, trying to fight the blush crawling up your neck and across your cheeks. You opened your mouth to say something, but all that came out was a nervous laugh. 

“I told you Emily would scare her,” JJ said to Penelope, who just shrugged, and Emily looked offended before throwing an arm over JJ. 

“No, no,” you said, then laughed again. “No, I really liked him.” 

The three of them all broke out into grins. 

“Okay,” Penelope said, “I have a plan.” 

~~~oOo~~~

You were a giggling mess the entire time. You had flower baskets scattered all over the BAU, which you decided you were going to keep doing, even after this whole scheme—they all saw enough darkness on their desks, they should be surrounded by pretty things, too. Your favorite part was the part that was the most suspicious. One of the other members of the team had a ‘spare’ key to Aaron’s office and let you in. 

You stared at his desk for a while, then put your vase of flowers and your note on top of it. And, all was going well, and you turned to leave, but there was someone standing in the doorway. 

“Aaron!” you gasped. “I, I was just.” You pointed to the flowers on his desk, but he was grinning, his cheeks pink. 

“Did Penelope put you up to this?” he said, his voice light as he moved into the office and picked up your note. 

“And Emily and JJ. And another man let me into your office. Emily called him Rossi.” You bit your lip, hoping that he wouldn’t read the note while you were in the room. And then, he did. 

White irises, for hope 

Sunflowers, for warmth and happiness

Pink asters, for charm 

Ranunculus, aka buttercups, for  attraction 

Peonies, for bashfulness 

In other words, I haven’t stopped thinking about you, and I’d love to see you sometime, if you like. 

He looked up and smiled at you. He opened his mouth, and then closed it, and then said, “I’d love to take you out. I’d say a specific time, but with my schedule, I don’t know when I’m going to be free.” 

You nodded. “That’s okay. Mine is very flexible.” He smiled at you. 

“I’m free right now.” 

“You just got to work,” you laughed. 

With a shrug, he said, “I’m not technically supposed to be here for another hour.” You looked down at your watch, which read 7:30 am. 

“Then why are you here now?” you laughed. 

He hesitated, then said, “My son’s school starts at nine, so I dropped him off at his aunt’s so that he doesn’t have to go too early.” 

You could practically feel the anticipation radiating off of him, so you smiled at him. “What’s his name?” 

“Jack,” he said. “He’s nine.” There were questions you wanted to ask, questions that didn’t seem appropriate, questions that made your stomach turn, a slight unease at the thought, but you decided not to, not then, at least. Aaron sighed, however. “I was married. She died.” 

A beat. 

“Oh,” you said at last. You shook your head, taking a breath, before saying, “I’m so, so sorry.” 

“If you don’t want—” 

“No,” you interrupted. “I know what you’re going to say,” you said, stepping forward, “but I want to get to know you. I want to see where this takes us.” 

At first, you weren’t sure what his face was telling you, but then, you recognized surprise. And then he smiled at you. “Do you want to go get coffee before we have to be anywhere?” 

You nodded. “I know a great place a few blocks from here.” 

“Then let’s go.”

tag list: (lemme know if you wanna be added or removed)

@quillvine​ @winterscaptain​ @agenthotchner​

last thing— 

hi y’all! i recently saw the episode with maeve for the first time and HELLO MY HEART? so am i writing  a fix-it for that? yes. that’s in the works and also i’m currently working on a really fun au and also i defintely wanna do some folklore fics so there that. however i wanted to write something in the meantime so i have a few one shots lined up for the next few days so yeah! much love, baby 

[blackcloverdatabase]

English Translation of Novel 2: Chapter 4 - Captains' Dinner Party (Part 1 of 2)

Here is my first translation of the Black Clover novels. These chapters are huge, so I’m splitting this chapter into two parts, making this section about 6500 words long. This first half features Marx and Julius at the beginning, then transitions into the dinner party itself. Asta and Yuno also get mentioned in a hilarious kind of way. It’s a lot of fun to see the captains interact with each other! I think I nearly died a few times while I was translating this…

--- Captains' Dinner Party ----

As a close associate of the Wizard King, Marx uses his memory and communication magic with absolute precision. He is a capable man. His incredible ability is made evident by the fact he alone is the Wizard King’s close associate, who has been entrusted to his duties. As we all know, the Wizard King is the one who stands at the top of the Magic Knights.

Of course, Marx does not take on half of the Wizard King’s duties by himself. There are several people who support him. However, right now, Marx is the only one who reports directly to the Wizard King. There are those who act as imperial guards or advisers in times of emergency, but Marx generally acts as the Wizard King’s sole support.  

In short, he is doing work that should be done by several people all on his own. Moreover, the current Wizard King, Julius Novachrono, disappears at every opportunity. It’s never related to his work, either. Rather, he’ll say “I’ve heard a rumor about some interesting magic in one of the neighboring towns”, and, like a mischievous boy, casually disappear for that reason. While protecting this (42-year-old) mischievous boy, Marx busily performs his daily duties. His position is one that a person without ability can never handle.

 But now……

“……Everyone, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to meet with me here today.”

Marx muttered through his teeth as a drop of cold sweat lined his noble face. His manner of behavior was clumsy, unbefitting of the capable man he is. He felt that he could throw up at any moment.

‘Why did things have to come to this…?’ he thought.

“…Hey, bowl-cut. Quit it with the formalities and get started already.”

The meeting place was the conference room of the Magic Knights’ main headquarters. Strewn across the table were many delicious-looking meat and vegetable dishes, as well as iced alcoholic beverages. There were also pots of food evenly spaced apart on the table, as well as…

“……Be quiet, Yami. A hideous man like you may not know this, but everything has a code of etiquette,” rebuked the Captain of the Blue Roses, Charlotte Roselei.

With her dispassionate reply, the others around the table began to speak up one-by-one.

“Huuuh? But, at this rate, the beer’s gonna get warm! Tepid beer offends my mana.”

“Kah kah. You two should stop getting to know each other so well! Marx can’t move on with you guys chatting so much!”

“Wh-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-Who’s getting along with each other!? Jack, don’t say such nonsense!!”

“Huh? Charlotte-san, why do you look a little happy……Eeek!?”

“……Young deer. The next time you speak, don’t be surprised if you find my thorns shoved down your throat.”

With Fuegoleon and Poizot absent, only seven of the nine captains were present. They were summoned by the Wizard King. A stormy aura emanated from them as they sat surrounded by pots.

“W-well then, at the very least, let’s toast…..”

Faced with such an explosive atmosphere, Marx forced a smile on his face and stood up.

“E-everyone! Today, let’s celebrate and get this party in full-swing……Cheers!”

And so, the dinner party from Hell began.

 --- A few hours before the hellish party began ---

 “……A dinner party for the captains?”

“That’s right. I’m thinking we should make today’s Magic Knight Conference like that.”

Marx and Julius had such an exchange earlier that day in the underground storehouse at the Magic Knight’s headquarters. They had heard that two members of the Black Bulls, Luck and Magna, captured an extremely difficult dungeon and brought the relics stored there into the kingdom. Of course, the two did not carry all those relics by themselves. At their request, Magic Knights from headquarters came to help them, but the dungeon was so full of relics that it took half-a-day to carry it all back. The relics were sent to the Magic Appraisal Division for appraisal, and, knowing that all of them have high research value, the Wizard King came to watch.

“Ooooh! Hey, hey Marx-kun! Look! This is amazing! This black skull is falling apart, but if you inject it with magical power, it becomes as good as new!”

…...Well, the other reason Julius came was to satisfy his curiosity.

“I must say, Magna-kun and Luck-kun are impressive, triumphing over ten opponents like that~! I want to ask them about it, but I wonder if they returned to their hideout already?”

“No, I’ve heard that they said they have some errands to take care of in Seitan, a village in the Forsaken Realm, so they left right away…They might have already left Seitan, but would you like me to try contacting them?”

“Hmmm…… no. They must be tired after a mission like that. Let’s let them rest…… More importantly, look! They say this skeleton has a magic room inside its body! This right here is supposed to be the switch to activate it!”

“Oh? As one would expect, all the relics from this dungeon are highly advanced…… wait, hold on!”

He was almost caught up in Julius’s pace. If you respond to him thoughtlessly, this magic maniac will babble on and on endlessly about magic.

“About the dinner party… well, that is, why do you think we need to do such a thing?”

“Why, you ask? ……Because we’re all comrades in the very same Order of the Magic Knights.  I don’t think we need any other reason than that to eat and drink together.”

“That’s true, but……”

That’s not what Marx was trying to say.

“Certainly, they have known each other for a long time now, and they all have their own personal connections with each other, but… this is hard for me to say, but, from what I’ve seen, their relationship with each other is indisputably bad. With everyone being like that, I’m not sure if they’ll be able to enjoy it……”

To put it plainly, this dinner party is going to be an incredibly unpleasant experience for everyone involved… is what he tried to imply, but Julius responded with an affable tone as he fumbled around with the skull.

“Yeah, the dinner party is probably going to be so unpleasant that you’ll want to die. Ha ha, I’ll remember you fondly, Marx-kun.”

‘I should kick this old bastard’s skull in!’ Such dangerous thoughts, which would most certainly be considered national treason if he did it, sometimes crossed Marx’s mind.

“But, you know, that is precisely why I’m throwing this party.”

With those words, Julius looked away from the skull in his hands and toward Marx.

“We’ve received a declaration of war from the Eye of the Midnight Sun, and we’ve been betrayed by Gueldre. Moreover, the Diamond and Spade Kingdoms are becoming increasingly aggressive. Now that we have more perils and unease, the Magic Knights must become more monolithic…… We’ve talked about this several times now, haven’t we?”

“……Yes.”

After Marx meekly nodded his head in agreement, Julius took a breath and continued,

“And, you know that I’ve been working these past few weeks in order to give form to that idea, right?”

“……Yes. Revealing the traitor in the Magic Knights, encouraging joint missions like what happened in Kiten, as well as the trial introduction of the new system called Experience Enrollment*…… and more, right?”

“Yup, that’s about it as far as mission-related tasks go.”

Strictly speaking, that’s all he’s done so far as the Wizard King. However, the truth is, there is one more thing he did behind the scenes. It’s true that Magna and Luck have just traversed a dungeon that has never been explored before, and they brought back a number of treasures. However, it was Julius who induced them into doing so. Julius knew that the Black Bulls were looking for a way to fix Asta’s arms, so he chose an extremely difficult dungeon that most likely held rare treasures.  He then used his transformation magic to transform into an old woman, told Magna about the dungeon at the black market, and gave him some hints about how to capture it. Whether or not they could capture it successfully was a bit of a gamble, and they did not find any clues about how to cure Asta’s arms (Well, it turned out that Asta had already healed his arms at the Witches Forest, anyway). Nonetheless, as a result, they became much stronger and successfully brought back the dungeon’s treasures.

Because of this achievement, the number of stars the Black Bulls have acquired now stands at 101, making them second only to the Golden Dawn. What was once the worst Magic Knight squad has clawed its way to the top in a flash. This will agitate the other knights and spur them on to work even harder. In other words, they must learn to cooperate with each other now more than ever. Though indirect, their efforts will serve as a great steppingstone for the Magic Knights to come together.

Of course, not everything will go smoothly. Still, just a little movement behind the scenes produced such magnificent results. For him, these results are more than enough.

“……What is it, sir? You suddenly started smiling,” Marx asked quizzically.

This made Julius realize that what he was thinking was showing on his face.

“Huh? Ah, no, ha ha, nothing really! I haven’t been doing anything behind your back, I swear!”

“……I haven’t said anything, yet…”

“…………”

Marx stared at him for some time before sighing in defeat.

“Well, it’s fine……I can more or less imagine what you did,” Marx said as he surveyed the piles of treasure in the room. He is truly a capable man.

“……So, what you’re saying is… this ‘Captain's dinner party’ is also an essential part of your plan to unite the Magic Knights?”

“Y-yup. That’s right.”

Julius cleared his throat as if to recollect his thoughts.

“I, too, am aware of the current state of their relationship. Though they aren’t exactly on bad terms with each other, it’s certainly not a relationship where they can laugh and eat together…… However, don’t you think it’s a problem if the Captains, who are supposed to set a good example for their squads, stay like this forever?”

“I completely agree with you, but I don’t think their relationship is going to improve after one or two dinners……”

“And it’s almost time for the Star Festival, you know? And I think I’ll probably be asked again, probably by either the King himself or one of the Royals “Are the captains working together properly?” …or something like that.”

Julius intercepted Marx’s words with a bored look on his face. Marx knew that Julius always makes that face whenever he talks about political matters.

“Well, I can be evasive if I need to be… but don’t blame me if something happens. The mere act of having a dinner party should have a little bit of appeal, I would think, which should improve their relationship a bit.”

It was only a few weeks ago since the attack on the royal capital, when royalty tried to place the blame on the Magic Knights. At the time, they were able to gain the people’s support, but that may not be the case next time. If such a thing were to happen again and the blame were put on discord amongst the captains, he wouldn’t know how to respond. Of course, Julius genuinely wants them to deepen their friendships with each other, and he also finds political diplomacy to be genuinely boring. However, one must pay attention to those trying to drag you down and prepare countermeasures accordingly.

“Sir……”

While Julius was thinking, for some reason, Marx had a look of admiration on his face as he said,

“You’ve been thinking about such delicate topics this much……!?”

“Sometimes I think about these things, just like how you sometimes don’t think of me as the Wizard King, right?”

‘Sometimes, you think of me as just a mischievous old man, right?’ he thought to himself.

“I was joking earlier…… However, I understand. If you’ve thought it through to this degree, then I will do all I can to help you,” Marx said with his hand in a three-leaf salute, his face finally breaking into a smile.

“Thank you.”

Julius expressed his gratitude with a small smile.

“……Well, I also have some personal reasons for doing this,” he said to himself quietly.

“Huh? I’m sorry, did you say something?” Marx asked Julius, but, by then, Julius’s usual smile had already returned to his face.

“No, it’s nothing. Well then, I hate to ask this of you, but can I leave preparations for the party to you?”

“……I understand. Are there any dishes in particular you think we should serve?”

He was a little worried, but he focused on asking pragmatic questions. The dinner was going to be in a few hours, so if he did not start preparing right away, he would never finish in time.

“Anything’s fine, but…… how about hot pot dishes? I heard from Yami that the people from his homeland all gather around a pot, strengthening their bonds with each other.”

“Understood. I’ll arrange for that, then.”

Hot pot dishes… it’s not a dish typically seen at parties in the Clover Kingdom. It’s a tall order, but that won’t stop him from preparing it.

“You have my thanks. Well then, I’m going to investigate these magic tools a little more.”

“That’s fine, but……”

Marx looked around the width of the room again with a bitter smile.

“Don’t get so engrossed in them that you arrive late to the party. I won’t be able to handle their questions by myself.”

“Ha ha! Don’t worry, I’ll be fine!” he said with a grin as he returned his attention to the skull. Marx made one more bitter smile from behind Julius before leaving the room.

“A hot pot party for the captains…… the atmosphere is probably going to be strained, but there’s going to be alcohol, and, above all, Julius is going to be there. Certainly, everyone will behave themselves to some extent if they are before the Wizard King.”

“Right, as long as the Wizard King is there.”  

 With that, we return to the present, while the starting toast is occurring…

 ‘……. That old bastard isn’t here!!!!!!!’

Marx screamed internally as the amount of sweat drops on his face increased twenty-fold. To make matters worse, not a single one of the captains raised their glasses for the toast. He went to retrieve Julius ten minutes before the party was to begin, and yet, for whatever reason, he wasn’t there. Instead, there was a note which read “I’m testing the skeleton’s functionality in a separate room. Please start the party without me.”

After being hit with that bombshell, Marx frantically began to search for him, but he wasn’t in any of the adjacent rooms, and he couldn’t even feel his mana. His communication was also cut off, as usual. As he hustled and bustled about, the time came for the party, so he reported Julius missing and started the party. However……. just as he expected, the atmosphere was terrible.

“Please calm down, Charlotte-san! Why are you so mad!?”

The party has barely even started and yet Charlotte, whose face was red for some reason, was shooting her thorns at the Captain of the Aqua Deer, Rill Boismortier.

“……S-shut your mouth, Rill. I’m merely teaching you how you should speak to your seniors!”  

“Uh, no! I mean! It really feels like you’re trying to kill me…… ow, ouch! One of your thorns cut me!”

Sitting beside them were the Captains of the Green Mantis and the Black Bulls, Jack the Ripper and Yami Sukehiro. A turbulent aura surrounded them as they began to quarrel.  

“Hey, Rose lady. Stop scarin’ the deer kid. Look, he’s shiverin’ like a newborn baby.”

“Kah kah! Yami, you’re the one who started this mess!”

“No way, isn’t this happenin’ because a certain skin-and-bone-head decided to say somethin’ that would push her buttons? I bet your brain is as emaciated as your face. You poor thing.”

“HUUH!?”

Sitting across from them was the Captain of the Golden Dawn, William Vangeance. Rather than do anything to stop the quarrel, he simply sat there and smiled as he usually does.

“Fu fu. Everyone is getting along as well as ever, I see…… Even so, the Wizard King certainly is late.”

Sitting beside him was the Captain of the Silver Eagles, Nozel Silva. He hasn’t uttered a single word since the beginning of the party. A sullen aura of displeasure radiated out from him.  

“………zzz”

And finally, beside Nozel sat the Captain of the Coral Peacocks, Dorothy Unsworth.

“……zzz……zzz……..zzz……..nom, chew chew……zzz”

Whenever she is asleep, there is often a snot bubble coming from her nose. This must mean she’s asleep right now, yet somehow, she’s eating. There are many things about her that are simply incomprehensible. In any case, aside from Marx, there was not a single other person interested in calming the place down. There was no sign that Julius was ever going to come, either. He has been trying to use his communication magic, but he still hasn’t been able to connect with Julius.

‘……As I expected, I’ll have to try to do something by myself.’

“W-wow! I prepared all this food myself, but I must say, this is a delicious-looking assortment of ingredients!!”

In an attempt to change the atmosphere of the party, Marx began throwing ingredients into the pot. While he was doing that, he turned toward Yami, who was still arguing with Jack.

“I heard this hot pot cooking is a dish from Yami’s homeland. But what’s the most delicious way to eat it? Ha ha, please teach me, Captain Yami!”

“Dunno!”

“…………”

With that single word, Yami went straight back to arguing with Jack. His eyes had met Marx’s for a single instant, revealing a killer’s glare.

“……. Ah, I see. Ha ha, that’s right! What’s most delicious is going to be different depending on the person, right? I’m sorry.”

Marx felt as if his heart was about to break. He needed to find someone to talk to so that he could recover. Just now, his conversation partner and his timing were both terrible. This time, he’ll find someone who looks more open to conversation……

“Ah, C-captain Nozel! Do you like poultry!?”

At that moment, Nozel, who was reaching for some roast duck, shifted his gaze toward Marx. He may be hard to talk to, but if it’s a conversation about his favorite foods, he’ll open up a little. At least, that’s what he thought……

“Kah kah, come to think of it, I’ve never seen ya eat or drink before, Nozel!”

“Oh, he’s eating! Somehow, I feel kinda moved by seeing this. It’s like watchin’ a feral cat who doesn’t let you pet it finally eat the food you put out for it for the first time… I feel like I’m gonna tear up.”

……This is the worst. Jack and Yami paused their fight to poke fun at Nozel. They both must have decided that teasing him is more interesting than fighting with each other. However, their target ignored them and continued to eat his meal with refinement. Marx isn’t sure whether he should be surprised by this development of if he should have expected it. After all, Nozel knows very well how those two are. However, even though he looked calm…

“Kah kah, a cat!? But, now that ya mention it, he’s totally like a cat! A very prideful cat!”

“Yeah. When you think of him like that, he starts lookin’ kinda cute.”

This made Nozel’s forehead muscles twitch, but then the two pushed even further.

“Cute? With that sour look on his face? Kah kah! What the hell are you lookin’ at?”

“Nah, he’s cute. It’s the braid, y’know? He does that every mornin’ cuz’ he wants to look cute.”

“……Hey, that’s enough you two!”  

Rill exploded. He puffed out his cheeks and pointed at Nozel’s braid.

“Nozel-san thinks his braid is cool! Seeing him get made fun of for that is just too pitiful…… Eeek!”

In the blink of an eye, Nozel thrust a spear of mercury into Rill’s throat.

“Huh, wait, what!? Why!? I was just trying to back you up! Besides, didn’t Yami-san and Jack-san say way worse things about you!?”

“……Silence. You’re hopeless.”

“Why are you being so unreasonable? ……Hey, o-ouch! Wait, the cut I got from those thorns earlier is even larger now!?”

Marx quietly looked away from the chaos that was ensuing between them. Nozel is certainly being unreasonable, but, no matter how you look at it, Rill is suffering the consequences for what he said. Let them handle their own problems, he thought.

“……H-hey, Yami”

After Marx made his cruel decision, Charlotte, who was sitting beside him, quietly divided the contents of the pot into small plates as a faint blush colored her cheeks.

“……Since I was already taking my portion, I decided I might as well make a plate for you, too…… I-it’s in the way, so hurry up and eat it,” she said as she placed a small plate in front of Yami.

……Come to think of it, ever since he told her that today’s meeting will be a dinner party, she has been acting a little strange. It seemed like she had to muster up her courage when she sat next to Yami, and she looked rushed when she did it. Even after the party started, she has been acting as if she was trying to get the timing right on something.  

Could it be that she wants to look after Yami? He wasn’t sure what her intentions were, but if that was what she was trying to do, then he’s very grateful. If she can hold Yami in check, then Jack should calm down a little, too. That would rein in the two biggest troublemakers here.

Just as Marx was getting his hopes up, Yami and Jack turned toward each other,

“……Hey, Yami, because you started saying weird shit, now even Charlotte has started acting out of character…. What the hell!? What the hell is up with this enigmatic woman!? Talk about terrifying!”

“I don’t know! H-hey Charlotte……Wha-what is your aim here? I-is it my life you’re after?”

“Y-you cretins!! I was trying to do you a favor!!”

“Wooooooooooooow, what a delicious-looking dish!! Y-Yami, if you won’t eat it, then I wiiiiiiiiiiilllllll!!”

Just as Charlotte was about to summon her thorns again, Marx speedily forced his way into the conversation.

“……Y-yes! Please eat it, Marx! I want nothing to do with this foolishness anymore!”

For just a moment, Charlotte’s face was like a demon’s, but then she replied with a pout as she pushed the plate onto Marx.

‘……I don’t really get what just happened, but, for now, the danger has been averted,’ he thought.

“Ah, I-I know! Captain Yami! You had Yuno-kun in your squad a few days ago for the Experience Enrollment! How was that!?”

Though he just averted one crisis, it was only a matter of time before they would provoke each other again, so he decided to change the topic of conversation.

“Ah, that’s right! I just remembered! Hey Goldy, I wanted to talk to you about that!”

Marx wasn’t sure if he chose the perfect conversation topic or if it was just his timing that was good, but Yami stopped arguing with Jack and turned toward Vangeance.

“Hand Yuno over, ya hear? Not as a trade. Give him to me free of charge.”

‘……Well, I successfully managed to start a conversation, but it sounds an awful lot like blackmail,’ Marx thought.

“Ha ha…… I’ve heard a little bit about what happened while he was with you, but does Yuno interest you that much?”

Vangeance replied with a smile as he gently swirled the contents of his cup. As far as Marx was aware, Vangeance is the only one who can behave so elegantly while being pressured by Yami.

“Yeah, I could make real good use outta him. He’s great at cookin’ and cleanin’, and he could buy my alcohol and cigs for me.”

“I heard about that from Yuno himself. When Sandler heard, he became very angry and said, ‘You may be a mere peasant, but to think he’d make members of our squad do things like that……’. I had never seen him make a face like that before.”

“Well, of course, I also think that Yuno’s magic is really somethin’ else. It’s really crazy, that spirit magic he has. Yuno’s magic by itself is strong enough, but with that spirit supportin’ him, all his other spells have gotten multiple times stronger.”

It is said that a spirit dwells in each of the four major attributes: earth, fire, wind, and water. Extraordinarily powerful magic that can only be wielded by those who have received the spirit’s blessing, that is spirit magic. Yuno has been blessed by the wind spirit, Sylph. She has already made significant contributions in many of his missions.

“He’s really somethin’. He dried the laundry so damn fast!”

That ability is not for housework.

“You get what I’m sayin’, right? So, hand him over.”

And it’s not something one can get so easily.

“Ha ha. No. You’re not even offering me anyone in return, you know?”

“Huh? What, you mean you’ll think about it if I trade ya for him? There’s someone on my team you want?”

“……Hmm, let me see.”

From behind his mask, a mischievous glint shone in his eyes.

“How about…… Asta-kun?”

“…………”

Everyone at the table paused in shock. This has to be a joke, the kind you usually make at a drinking party, they thought. Surely, neither of them was being serious. Still, even if they were joking, he brought up Asta’s name in a conversation about trading the Golden Dawn’s ace ……he’s essentially saying that Asta’s value is equivalent to Yuno’s. That peasant who doesn’t even have any magic? Everyone knows that Asta has been an excellent Magic Knight. His name has shown up frequently in recent reports, and some of the captains here have even fought together with him. However, not having any magical power whatsoever is too dire a handicap to have in the Magic Knights. Thus, everyone was shocked to hear Vangeance bring up his name. Marx wondered if he could sense some kind of potential in Asta.

“Huh, you kidding? You’d be fine with him? You can have him. His arms were broken until just a while ago, but he seemed fine yesterday, so feel free to use him however you want.”

However, Yami didn’t seem fazed, continuing to speak in his usual way.

“……Well, but,”

In the next instant, his mouth upturned into a provocative smirk as he said,

“I don’t think you’d be able to handle him.”

“……I wonder about that.”

For a brief moment, the two stood still, studying each other without a word.  

The atmosphere around them wasn’t unpleasant, but it was a peculiar air, as if the two were trying to measure something specific in the other. Just as Marx was getting ready to chip into the conversation,

“Fu fu, let’s leave the joke at that…. I won’t hand Yuno over to you. Everyone is expecting great things from him this year.”

“Huh~ What the hell? You stingy golden weird mask guy.”

“Ah ha ha…… huh? Was that always meant to be an insult? Not my nickname?”

With that, they started drinking again, smiling as they continued to converse with each other. Unlike before, when they seemed to be throwing riddles at each other, there was no unpleasantness at all between them, just genuine enjoyment of the moment.

If this keeps up, the other captains will probably get involved, and then they’ll all enjoy being part of a normal conversation. Marx felt a wave of relief wash over him, but then…

“Tch. Fine, fine. My brat has more guts than Yuno, anyway~”

Oh no. With that single sentence Yami casually blurted out, Vangeance’s smile stiffened by just a little bit.

“……I guess. Well, I think that Yuno has a considerable amount of guts, too. I haven’t tried to compare them before, so I can’t say this with certainty, but I don’t think that Yuno necessarily loses to Asta in that regard.”

“…………”

With those words, this time, it was Yami whose expression tightened a bit.

“……Naah. I don’t know about that. That Asta hates losing so much that he’d rather die, so I bet he’d come out on top. I can’t say that with certainty, though.”

“……Yuno also hates to lose. He told me himself that, during the raid on the Capital, the reason he was able to capture a member of the Eye of the Midnight Sun is because of how strongly he felt those very emotions.”

“Nah nah, if you’re gonna bring that up, Asta killed a ton of zombies during that very same attack.”

“He did, but Yuno defeated a member of their upper echelons. Because of him, we were able to obtain vital intel on the Eye of the Midnight Sun, wouldn’t you agree?”

“The only reason we were able to get that intel is because Asta used his sword to break the protection spell on them!”

“Huh, wait, what? Ha ha… what’s wrong, you two?”

Marx attempted to stop them, but his voice didn’t reach them, and the two continued their dispute. It’s probable that neither of them intended for this to happen. However, no matter what they might say, it’s clear that they both dote on their squad members. The two got more fired up with each exchange until their souls were practically screaming “My child is better than yours!”. Neither of them has had much alcohol yet, but perhaps the power of alcohol had at least something to do with it.  

……And then, finally,

“……Then, we’ll just have to do it.”

Yami spoke with a sharp gaze and a voice so low it could kill.

“You mean, we should summon them right here, right now, and have them fight until one of them collapses… right?”

“Hmmm…… I guess that will be fine.”

“THAT’S NOT FINE AT AAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!”

Marx finally decided it was time to intervene, but he was no longer in their field of vision. He was used to Yami being like this, but it was rare to see Vangeance’s eyes like that. It might even be the first time he has ever seen Vangeance like this.

‘So, this is how strongly he feels about his squad members……,’ Marx thought.

“P-please wait! Having them fight now is…… it’s definitely too sudden, don’t you think!? Plus, the two of them hail from the same village, right!? Suddenly making them fight each other would be too cruel!!”

“Actually, I’ve been told that fighting each other is how they’ve honed their practical combat skills since they were kids. We just want them to do that one more time, so I don’t think they would find our request particularly unreasonable.”

Vangeance was surprisingly calm as he said this, which suggests that he was never carried away by his emotions to begin with. He’s just that wicked. People who are calm and logical when they’re angry are the most frightening of them all.

“Well, that may be so, but…… they don’t need to fight right now, do they!? What about the dinner party!?”

“Would ya shut up already!? We can eat and drink while the two fight it out!”

“What!? That sounds just like what rich people with bad taste do for fun! You’ll traumatize them!”

To watch two people who grew up together like siblings fight to the death against their will! Only a demon would do such a thing and smile about it!  No, this man is called the God of Destruction for a reason. Come to think of it, if these two are saying things like this, then, most likely……

“Kah kah! Hey, Yami! Are you two planning to enjoy such an interesting spectacle without me?”

Just as Marx predicted, Jack joined the conversation.

“Let me in on this, too. And then I’ll cut up whoever wins.”

“Eeeh!? Jack-san is going to fight, too!?

It was as if a chain-reaction had begun. This time, it was Rill who responded, making sideways glances at Charlotte and Nozel as he spoke.

“A fu fu……Then, maybe I’ll go, too. I-it’s not like I feel really uncomfortable around certain people and am trying to get myself as far away from them as possible or anything!”

“……I don’t know what you are so fearful of, nor do I care, but I plan on coming as well.”

“Huuuuuuh!?”

Charlotte quietly declared her intent to participate, unconcerned with Rill, who’s eyes were wide with shock. Marx’s expression mirrored Rill’s as he sputtered,

“B-but…… Why you, too, Captain Charlotte!?”

“……Usually, I care not for whatever these men might do. However, the Star Festival will soon be upon us, an event of great importance. These foolish men need someone to keep an eye on them so that they don’t do anything stupid.”

For some reason, she kept stealing glances at Yami’s face as she spoke.

“……It’s dangerous to leave him unsupervised.”

For the second time that night, Yami and Jack exchanged looks after watching her behavior.

“……Hey, Jack. What’s up with her today? Dangerous to leave me unsupervised, she says……? Is she planning to follow me and… attack me from behind with her thorns!?”

“C-calm down, Yami! Try to remember! You probably did something to make her mad! You know, like… you defiled her honor or something!”

“…...I-I’m going to kill you!!”

“Please don’t!”

“C-captain Dorothy, Captain Nozel! You think it’s messed up to make Asta and Yuno fight, too, right!?”

Marx desperately called out as he shielded Yami with his body, arms outstretched. He didn’t have any faith that either of those two would join forces with him, but they were the only two who hadn’t yet entered the conversation. They were the last two he could possibly depend on, so he had no choice but to stake the last of his fleeting hopes on them.

‘……But, when you think about it, neither of them has been enjoying the party at all, but they haven’t done anything to spoil the party, either. No matter what they might say, that in itself could be evidence that they feel quite at home at this party, which means they might be willing to help me dissuade the other captains.’

Holding such hopes in his heart, Marx waited for either of them to make a response. However…

“……………………..”

“zzz………zzz…….zz zz, zzz-zz-zz…….zzz……zzz”

It was no good. Nozel’s eyes conveyed the message, “I don’t care. Bother me and I’ll break your spine in half”. Dorothy’s only response was her snores.

‘……As I thought, I’ll have to do something about this myself,’ Marx thought.

“P-please calm down, everyone! For now, let’s all sit back down! This dinner party is a formal banquet organized by the Wizard King, you know!? To disregard that would be unforgivable!”

He didn’t want to do this, but he decided he needed to borrow some of the Wizard King’s authority, so he mentioned him by name. Even so, he wasn’t sure if that would be enough to settle everyone down……

“……Or, how should I put it? Regardless of the fact this party was organized by the Wizard King, please do not abandon this banquet.”

Maybe he’s spilling the beans too soon. Maybe this banquet is all just a political maneuver.

“……The Wizard King established this banquet to deepen your friendships with each other.”

At the very least, he wanted them to know that fact.

“It’s true that I think this is a clumsy way to do it. It’s true that I think it’s hopeless. In fact, I think that it’s really irresponsible of that magic maniac to organize a banquet and not even show up! I’ve been thinking that, just once, I want someone to give him a good thrashing!”

“H-huh? Marx-san, are you trying to back him up? Or, do you just want to insult him?”

Rill’s voice was full of worry, bringing Marx back to his senses. He nearly let the daily frustrations he has built up erupt out of him.  

“A-anyway, it’s an undeniable fact that this banquet was prepared in consideration of your relationship…… So, I don’t want you all to quarrel like this at the banquet he prepared for you.”

“………”

With Marx’s desperate appeal, the entire banquet fell silent.

…This banquet has strayed far from what the Wizard King intended. At this point, even if the Wizard King were here, it would be impossible to fix. However, this was the only way Marx could think of to keep the party from falling to pieces. Just as he feared, getting this group to get along with each other was impossible……

“……What nonsense.”

Nozel retorted as he slowly stood up from his chair. His retort felt like an attack on an already defeated enemy. With that, he made his way toward the exit.

“……Ah, wait! Captain Nozel! Where are you going!?”

Nozel stopped and turned his head over his shoulder, looking back at Marx with frightfully cold eyes.  

“I’m going home. His goal was to deepen our friendships with each other, correct? However, with this banquet now in shambles, that will not come to pass. Therefore, it is pointless to remain here.”

“………”

He was right.

“……Or rather, do you not agree that this was impossible from the beginning? Me? Getting along with a commoner, a foreigner, and a fallen noblewoman?”

His cold gaze moved from person to person before meeting Marx’s gaze once more.

“It’s true that cooperation among the various squads of the Magic Knights will be essential as the war continues to intensify.  However, cooperation and familiarity are not synonymous. Rather, such half-baked acquaintanceships give birth to carelessness, and carelessness disrupts cooperation. Instead of wasting time on such meaningless gatherings, it would be more worthwhile to conduct joint exercises.”

“M-meaningless, you say……!?”

But he couldn’t refute what Nozel said. Though Marx felt that Nozel took things too far, none of what he said was incorrect. Even so, the Wizard King is…..!

“……Isn’t discussin’ that kind of thing one of the reasons that guy set this party up?”

“………!”

The one who said the very remarks Marx wanted to make was Yami. His eyes and tone were as extraordinarily deadpan as usual as he continued,

“Also, you’re right when you say that a half-assed friendship would only lead to careless mistakes, but if we don’t start by half-assing it, then it’ll never develop into real trust. That’s what strengthens collaboration…… not that I don’t understand where you’re comin’ from. I don’t wanna do it, either.”

“……Shut your mouth, foreigner. It was because of your ridiculous proposition that the order of this event was disturbed in the first place.”

“Ah, that whole thing about how we were gonna make Yuno and Asta fight? Yeah, I thought it would liven this place up a bit, but I guess we really shouldn’t. Sorry ‘bout that.”

Yami glanced at Vangeance, who apologized with a wry smile,

“Yeah. Ha ha, I guess that wouldn’t exactly bring us closer together, would it? Just as you said, I thought it would be nice to have them fight it out a little and then treat them to the food here, but…… certainly, it was an impudent proposal. We got carried away, and I apologize for that.”

“……huh?”

Marx’s eyes widened in shock.

‘Did those two come up with that idea in order to revitalize the banquet? By making all those objections and trying to keep everyone here against their will, did I end up ruining their idea and making the situation awkward for everyone……?’  

“Anyway, sit back down, Mr. ball-o’-pride. I’m not sayin’ you need to get along with all of us, but can’t you at least wait for the Wizard King to arrive? You can just tell him what you told us earlier and then leave, so you won’t have to stay much longer, y’know?”

“…….”

Just when Nozel opened his mouth to respond to Yami’s words, they heard the sound of something distorting.

“Oh… I finally got through to you.”

When he looked toward the direction of the sound, Marx saw the Wizard King’s face projected through his communication magic.

--- To be continued in Part 2---

I’ll post the next half of this chapter next week if all goes as planned. 

A note of explanation: “Experience Enrollment” is referenced in previous chapters of this novel. Though I haven’t translated those yet, it appears to be the name of the program for Magic Knights to spend a day working in a different squad. An example of this is when Asta works for the Golden Dawn in chapter 2 of this novel.

[retro-rezz-the-est]

Drabble idea (I already know I sent ya one); Halloween dinner with the Demon King and reader is wearing something quite revealing and Balor can't keep his eyes off of her. 😘

I’m combining this one with @gold–gucciempress and her request​ bc I had a great idea for both of them! :D Here you go, loves!

(this is her’s btw: Okay so for my Halloween drabble… Can I have demon Finn flirting with and seducing a witch? Like he tells her he likes the taste of her magic or some freaky shit? Idk just surprise me lol 😅)

(A/N: I kinda got carried away with this one lmao)

You and the Demon King had a… difficult relationship, to say the least.

You wouldn’t say that you were dating because that would be completely false, as the relationship between the King and a trusted member of his court would cause a hysteria amongst everyone else and would make gossip fly like the swarms of insects that lay in the dungeons.

You weren’t exactly “friends-with-benefits” either, since you didn’t really see him as a friend. More of a colleague, of sorts.

A colleague who would rail the ever loving shit out of you at any given moment of the day whenever neither of you were busy.

The two of you had been seeing each other for a number of months, you originally coming to his kingdom because of his need of a new witch after the last one had tried to kill him by pouring a poison into his wine. He knew of your work from various others as you were a wanderer, never staying within the same area for more than a few weeks.

But, when the Demon King himself calls you in and offers you work, you accept.

Over time, the two of you grew “close”, in a way. He found you attractive, and you vice versa. He needed something (or rather, someone) that would let him get out the stress of being King, and you were looking for any form of intimacy. He offered you a “no-strings-attached” relationship, you accepted, and that was that.

The two of you agreed that whenever one of you was stressed out or angry or whatever else, you would find the other person. You would find them, wait until they were alone, and then fuck them. Plain and simple, right?

Wrong, because Balor kept on coming to you…a lot.

Like, “numerous times in a day for a quickie” a lot.

He would have you ride him on his throne once he finished with meetings with his council for the day, and then call you to his room at the end of the day to tie you up to his headboard and proceed to throw your back out before sending you on your way again.

This continued for months and months on end and as the two of you grew closer together, you knew you could feel something between you two. There was a spark growing and you wanted to see it alight, but you needed him to see it too.

You remember him leaving a note under your door one night telling you to meet him in his chambers. He had wanted to talk. He never wanted to do that before that day, so you figured it was important. You were expecting him to declare his undying love for you and sink down onto one knee to make you his queen, like in one of the erotic novels you’ve been reading in the castle library.

What you weren’t expecting was for him to suddenly end your “relationship”, claiming that it had nothing to do with you but with more personal matters at hand. But, you couldn’t hear him over the sound of your own heart breaking into a million partnerless fragments.

You entered his room that night hopeful and you had left defeated, drained and mostly angry. How dare he end things like that?! Because of personal matters?!

Bullshit!

You couldn’t even question him because he was the King, so you just sulked back to your room broken, reprimanding yourself for even thinking that you even had a chance at claiming the King’s heart. What had you done? Was it truly you that was the deciding factor in your relationship? But nothing more could be done.

The two of you scrapped your arrangement and moved on with your lives, however changed they may be now.

                                                      ~~~~~~

A year had passed since that fateful night and this time, the day had fallen on the night of the King’s annual Halloween dinner. Members of his court and numerous guests from neighboring and allied kingdoms flooded his large dining room and mingled with each other, dressed to the nines and waiting for the King himself to finally make his presence known.

And what’s a good King for if he doesn’t make an entrance everywhere he goes?

Smoke began to pour from the bottom to the main entrance and the twin doors blasted open, bits and pieces from the pumpkins that lay there flying out into the crowd. In Balor stepped, dressed in a deep red suit with a black button down and blood red tie, his crown glinting in the candlelight.

The room immediately went silent and he slowly began to walk through the mass of people and to the large dining table in front of him, glancing around the room at those who were in attendance.

You also happened to be in the room, lingering near the back in your floor length black dress with a decent sized part lingering in the middle of your chest. Going over some spells about a potion you needed to make for a court member to yourself, you stuck to the back for a reason; he had no reason to look at you, to admire your figure when he stood on your heart and broke it all those months ago.

You had a plan, and it sure as hell failed.

He spotted you immediately, swiveling his head around to meet your spaced out gaze and smirking. You jumped and your heart raced. How could he…out of literally everyone here? That prick!

You could feel your face burning with anger as he turned away and continued walking, a trail of people following behind as you lingered back with death in your eyes. Soon enough, everyone was seated at the long table with Finn at the head of it like the bastard King that he was.

The dinner progressed and every few minutes (more like every minute), you would catch Balor giving you bedroom eyes from your seat near the head of the table. He would be talking to a court member one second and then go back to glancing at you from above the rim of his wine glass so quickly that it nearly gave you whiplash a few times.

He loved to tease you at the table, constantly licking his lips seductively as his eyes roamed down your body to your cleavage and then back up. Grinning as those dark eyes of his clouded with a lust that wanted to make him pounce on you then and there…

But all you gave him was a few dirty looks and a sneer, and went back to minding your own goddamn business.

He didn’t deserve my time then, he doesn’t deserve it now.

The dinner proceeded as such for the remainder of the night, this battle of wills until the remainder of the night’s guests had finished their meals and moved on to the ballroom to continue the party. You let out a breath of relief, as you were finally alone and able to vent out your frustrations to the nearest object.

You rose from your seat and moved over to the balcony, walking across its dark marble platform to its railing to see the stars better. A quick mumbling of a spell by you had your fingers glowing bright yellow and you held them out towards the sky as small fireworks shot from your fingertips, small bats and jack-o’-lanterns and spiders forming from the bright lights.

This was it; this is what you needed to finally take your mind off of him again. This is what you needed to do, get a little you-time in before heading back insi-

“Well, well, well? And who do we have here, loiterin’ on my property?”

Speak of the damn devil himself.

You remained silent, determined that that would make him go away and flee to his little hole like the rat he was.

“Oh, so you’re not talkin’ to me now, is that it? Did I do somethin’ to ya, sweetheart? Or rather…someone?”

“The only thing that you did was come out here and waste my time,” you snapped, whipping your head to the side and lowering your hands to grip the balcony’s railing. “Now, please leave me alone.”

“Aww, don’t be such a hardass, darlin’. I was only checkin’ in on ya.”

He moved with the swiftness of the wind, and you didn’t even hear his shoes move until he was right next to your ear. “I could check on ya even more, if ya want…”

You raised a hand and summoned a light blue flame from your palm, holding it up and away from you and towards him. “Move.”

He refused to listen and instead wrapped an arm around your waist, his hand warm against your cool skin. He waved his free hand around in a circle and your flame disappeared, leaving you defenseless.

“I never wanted to start a fight with ya, (Y/n). I just wanted to see you.”

“See me?” you scoffed, pushing away from him. “Last I recall, you were perfectly fine “seeing me” from across the damn dinner table and eye-fucking me senseless.”

He started chuckling and honestly, you were seeing red again at this point. “I don’t fucking want you anywhere near me, Balor. We’re done seeing each other, remember? You ended that shit a year ago and we went our separate ways.”

Rolling his eyes, he unbuttoned his suit jacket as you turned your back to him, looking up at the moonless night sky. You knew he was right behind you; you could feel the power behind his aura and his hands running up the sides of your dress. You froze, not knowing what to do. Do you fight him off and have his advances continue or do you leave his hands where they are, feeling your exposed skin and giving you a touch you starved yourself of for almost a year?

He decided for you and spun you around, pinning you to the balcony railing and looking at you with those dark eyes of his. They were swimming with their usual lust and anger and power, but there was something else this time…something different…

One of his hands moved from your waist and to your cheek and internally, you were deciding whether to be mad at him for coming up to you and just touching you like this or to thank him for finally coming back to you. His thumb ran across your jaw and over your trembling bottom lip, and he leaned in for a kiss that stole the breath from you.

He nibbled on your bottom lip and sucked it into his mouth, slipping his tongue into your own. You moaned, the railing behind you beginning to bend from how hard you were gripping it.

Oh, fuck me.

He pulled away first, leaving you dazed and confused as to what the hell just happened.

“Damn, I missed the taste of your magic on your tongue, darlin’.”

He was panting slightly, his brogue deep and rich and filled with lust and the darkness you were oh so familiar with after spending so many months hearing in your ear as he wrecked you to hell and back…

You just had to go in for another to make sure and you did, gripping the lapels of his jacket and dragging him back in for a rough and dominating kiss, embracing the old feelings that were washing over you on that Halloween, even if it was only for one night.

[perfectlyrose]

candles burning low

Summary: The Doctor, Rose, and Jack are arrested and separated while exploring an alien city. When Rose hasn't broken herself out using her magic by the time the Doctor and Jack escape, the Doctor starts to envision the worst.

(part of the Everyday Magic series )

Pairing: Nine/Rose

Word Count: 1727 // Rating: all ages

Note: Set sometime after Counterspell & the mystery of magic

AO3 // TSP

“Rose! Rose, can you hear me?” The Doctor was well on his way to frantic.

It had been thirty-six hours since they’d been arrested and separated and this was the third city jail he had checked. With every cell that didn’t contain his companion, with every minute that passed without her popping up next to him with a smirk and the wiggle of her fingers that told him she’d freed herself with magic, his panic increased. The fact that she hadn’t broken herself out already made him start contemplating worst case scenarios.

“Rose?” he called again as he strode down the corridor, glancing in each cell as he went. This was the last detention center on his list. Hopefully Jack was having better luck with the places he was searching.

“Doctor?”

He froze at the quiet answer. “Rose? Where are you?”

“Down here, at the end,” she called back, a little louder this time.

The Doctor ran, skidding to a stop in front of the last cell. Rose was sitting on the floor, knees pulled to her chest and leaning against the wall.

“Took you long enough,” she teased, offering him a weak smile. “The accommodations here are less than spectacular.”

“We’ll leave a terrible review,” he promised, hoping to keep that smile on her face as he set to work on the lock.

The sonic made short work of the mechanism. As soon as it popped open, the Doctor rushed into the cell and knelt in front of Rose.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, cupping her cheek. He couldn’t see any obvious injuries but something had to be wrong.

“Got knocked over the head before being tossed in here. Still feeling a bit woozy,” she admitted. “S’why I couldn’t…” she waggled her fingers at him in their shorthand for her magic.

“Trouble concentrating?” He carefully felt around her head, looking for the bump she was sure to have.

“Yeah. Stop that!” she hissed, jerking away as his probing fingers brushed the sensitive spot. “Hurts enough without you poking at it.”

“Sorry.”

“You’re not, but I’ll let it slide as long as you get me out of here” Rose said. “I need tea and blankets and clean clothes.”

“Medbay first, then we’ll make all those things happen.”

“I would argue but my head hurts too much.”

“Can’t even threaten to curse me,” he teased. “Finally on a level playing field.”

“Oi, I could still threaten. Would just have to wait on the follow through until this head thing is sorted.”

The Doctor helped her to her feet, keeping an arm around her waist as she swayed. He wasn’t sure he would have been able to let go of her even if she had been steady on her feet, not with the fear of losing her still pulsing through him. “Can you make it back to the TARDIS?”

“How far is it?”

He did a quick calculation in his head. “Two miles or so. Maybe a little less.”

“I’m not sure I can make it that far like this.”

He nodded and carefully picked her up bridal-style. “This probably won’t help the dizziness but we’ll get back to the TARDIS faster.”

“Didn’t tell you I was dizzy,” she protested, pressing her face against his chest.

“You’ve got a serious head injury, Rose, and are having trouble walking and standing. It follows that you’re probably dizzy.”

“Know-it-all.”

“Good trait for a doctor,” he shot back as he carried her out of the cell and started down the corridor.

“Did Jack get out?”

“Yeah, he was on the opposite side of the same jail I was put in, so I broke him out pretty quickly” He made it a few more steps before swearing quietly.

“What?”

“Can you reach into the inside pocket of my jacket. Your mobile’s in there. Need to let Jack know that I found you. He’s searching some of the other prisons.”

He stood still while Rose maneuvered her hand into the pocket in question and fished out her mobile. As soon as she had it, he set off towards the building exit again.

Rose dialed Jack and was unsurprised when he answered on the second ring. She put him on speaker.

“Hope you’ve got better news than me, Doc. I haven’t seen her yet,” Jack said as soon as he answered.

“I’d be worried if you had. Don’t like the idea of having a doppelganger on this planet, if I’m being honest,” Rose said.

The Doctor snorted.

“Rosie! Are you okay? Are you with the Doctor?”

“I’ve got her, Harkness.” the Doctor cut in. “Meet us back at the TARDIS.”

“And I’m fine,” Rose put in. “Well, I will be once I’ve had a quick visit to the medbay.”

“What happened?” Jack demanded, worry obvious in his voice.

“Bump on the head,” the Doctor said. “Nothing we can’t fix up.”

“Good. We were worried about you, Rose. Glad you’re alright.”

“Thanks Jack. I’ll see you in a bit,” she promised.

She rung off and settled back against the Doctor’s chest, phone clutched in her hands.

“You doing okay?” he asked after a minute or two of silence.

“Yeah.”

“So, is a head injury the only thing that prevents your magic from working?” he asked, wanting to keep her talking and awake.

“Nope. Anything that can prevent concentration. I’m a very sloppy magic user when drunk, I really don’t recommend that. Head injuries like this, obviously. Other major injuries or illnesses that sap your strength. Also just running out of energy. I can overextend myself with too many spells or a really big spell and then I just don’t have the energy to do anything until I’ve slept and eaten,” she explained.

“Like when you had to do the counterspell after I got cursed,” he mused.

“Exactly. Couldn’t even have boiled the kettle right after that one. The magic is like...it’s part of me. If I’m not functioning right, neither does the magic.”

“Makes sense.”

She lapsed into silence again. The Doctor was about to ask another question when Rose spoke again.

“You know I wouldn’t ever actually curse you, right?”

It took him a second to follow her non-sequitur back to his teasing comment about curses back in the cell.

“Of course,” he said.

“I used to think that I wouldn’t ever curse anyone but I don’t think that’s true anymore.” She sounded like she almost talking to herself, like she was a little out of it now.

“Oh?”

“I threatened to curse the wizard who cursed you and I would have done it. If I thought it could save you or Jack or others, I think I would do it.”

The Doctor dipped his head and pressed a kiss into her hair. “I hope you don’t have to.”

“Me too. I hate counterspells and I’d have to uncurse people after I cursed them,” she mused.

He laughed. “That’s my Rose.”

“How much farther? The movement is making it hurt worse,” she said.

“Almost there. I can see her at the end of the street. We’ll have you back to new in no time.”

“I still want tea. And a bath.”

“And blankets and clean clothes. I haven’t forgotten,” he said. “Do you have your key?”

Rose reached for the chain around her neck, confirming it was still there. “Yeah.”

He walked up to the TARDIS doors and was about to ask Rose to unlock the doors when they swung open on their own.

“That’s new,” he muttered. “Dead useful right now, though.”

Rose agreed and he quickly carried her through to the medbay.

Jack joined them halfway through Rose’s stint in the scanner. He cracked jokes to keep her mind off her injury as it slowly knitted together, which the Doctor was grateful for. The tension was slowly draining out of him with every glance at Rose’s smile, with every small reminder that she was back home and mostly safe.

Once he declared her as healed as she could be without rest, he and Jack accompanied her to the galley to check the first thing off her list of requests.

“I’m going to be completely spoiled by bedtime,” Rose said through a yawn.

Jack shot a grin over his shoulder, taking his eyes off the breakfast feast he was cooking up for a second. “You say that like it’s a bad thing, sweetheart.”

The Doctor slid a mug of tea onto the table in front of her and sat down in the adjacent chair. “She’s just glad that one of us is cooking instead of her.”

Rose grinned. “We all know that neither of you will let me near uncooked breakfast food in this kitchen.”

He and Jack nodded in agreement.

By the time all the items on Rose’s list had been checked off, Jack had headed off to find his own bed. The Doctor stopped by Rose’s room to make sure she was still doing alright one last time.

Her door was open and she was curled up in her armchair, a fluffy blanket pulled up to her chin.

“You still awake?” he asked quietly.

“Mmm, barely,” she answered.

“Think it’s time to relocate to the bed.”

“Requires moving,” she protested.

“Would’ve done if I hadn’t happened by,” he said. For the second time that day, he scooped her up into his arms.

“My hero,” she teased. “Saving me from jail cells and head wounds and falling asleep in uncomfortable positions.”

The Doctor just smiled down at her, a soft thing that only she managed to coax into being.

He set her down in her bed and started to pull back. Rose stopped him with a hand on the back of his neck.

She looked up at him, eyes dark in the dim light. “Thank you, Doctor.” She pressed a lingering kiss just off the corner of his mouth and then let go of him.

“Goodnight Rose,” he rasped out.

“Night.”

The Doctor was pretty sure that she was asleep before he closed her door. He let his feet lead him towards the library to continue his research on magic. Rose was more right than she knew when she said the magic was an intrinsic part of her. Even when dead tired and unable to cast the tiniest of spells, she could still send sparks tumbling through him with a single touch.