#and an absolute boat load of short stories | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

uncommoncold · 4 years

Text

Treasure

Summary: After a lengthy chase, Park Seonghwa finds himself face to face with the dread pirate Hongjoong. Will he find a blood thirsty pirate or dashing rogue? Will he lose the one thing that he holds most dear, his heart?

Word Count: 11.2k

Content Warning: Top Park Seonghwa, Bottom Kim Hongjoong, Pirate-teez, Boys Kissing, Oral Sex, Two Sex

The flag whipped violently with the gale winds and blistering rain. “Captain, if we keep going like we are, we’re going to break apart.”

“I know but unless you’re looking for a long drop and a short stop, we have to keep going.” He peered through his cabin window and into the storm, trying to make out the shape of their pursuers. The fact that he couldn’t see them gave him hope.

At first they had kept their distance, following just far enough away to make him think perhaps he was mistaken. But they had followed for two days, getting closer the closer they got to the islands. He knew what that meant, they were being hunted.

Not that he wasn’t sure that someone thought he deserved it. He had done more than enough to put himself a few people’s sights.

“They can’t possibly see us if we can’t see them.” Hongjoong mused.

“Let’s head for the leeward side of this island.” He pointed to the map. “There’s a cove there we can shelter in. Maybe we’ll get lucky and they already took refuge from the storm, or better yet, maybe they sank.”

His first mate, Yunho smirked and nodded.

A short while later, they were pulling into a sheltered cove. It was a risk, if their pursuers were still chasing them, then they were stuck with nowhere and no way to run. However, it was sheltered enough that if you didn’t know it was there, you could sail right by and never see a ship. The island wasn’t populated by more than flora and fauna but it would do to sit out the storm.

Normally, it would have been a good time to pull out the casks and enjoy some downtime but he didn’t dare when they didn’t know who was on their tails. It seemed unlikely that whoever it was was hunting him to give him birthday wishes. He couldn’t count out revenge or the authorities.

***

“We’ve lost them sir.” Seonghwa informed the captain.

“It’s this blasted storm, keep looking. I’m not letting that son of a bitch slip away again.”

“Again sir?”

“I’ve been looking for him for nearly three years since he took my last ship. Brazen, cocky, and slippery as an eel. I’ve been so careful… I’ll have the reward and see him dance on the end of a rope yet.”

Seonghwa wasn’t entirely sure he liked the malicious light that lit up his captain’s eyes as he talked about seeing the pirate they were chasing hang. It wasn’t that he was ignorant of crime and punishment, he just preferred not to watch it and he took no joy in death. The captain was no longer a young man and he was determined to have the pirate Hongjoong in his grasp before he died.

“Since we’ve lost him, I suggest we shelter from the storm at one of the nearby islands, sir.”

For a long moment, the captain was quiet before heaving a weary sigh and nodding, “Alright, take us in. We’ll pick up the search after the storm dies down.”

“Yes, sir.” Seonghwa went out on deck and informed the helmsman of the captain’s decision and they fought their way into the bay of a nearby island. It was just in time as well as the storm was only getting worse. It was just a little spit of land, mountainous and good for nothing unless you liked coconuts and sea birds.

***

“Captain!” Yunho tore into the room.

Hongjoong had been nursing a headache but he bolted upright from his bed, “What is it.”

“A ship pulled into the bay sir. They’re making no moves toward us but if they get any closer, they’ll surely spot us. What do you want to do?”

Hongjoong headed up on deck and looked through his telescope at the ship’s colors. Shit. He knew exactly who that was, he had been chasing him for nigh on three years now, ever since he took his ship. In fact, it was his ship that he was using now. He tapped his fingers thoughtfully on the railing. He could send the men with the cargo inland but there were no promises they wouldn’t go looking for them and they would be vastly outnumbered… “I have an idea.”

Yunho turned slowly, Hongjoong was grinning broadly at him. “I don’t like that smile.”

“It’s a really stupid idea that just might get me killed but will ensure everyone else’s safety.”

“I really don’t like this idea.” Yunho crossed his arms and glared at his captain sternly.

“You haven’t heard it yet.”

“I’ve heard enough to know I don’t like it, not if it might get you killed. The last time we went with a plan that might get you killed, I ended up running naked through town.”

“You won’t end up naked this time. I promise.”

“I still don’t like it.”

“No, you won’t like it.” Yunho tended to think of himself as Hongjoong’s keeper, he chased after him when he needed to be chased. He protected him from his own most dire instincts. He was the best first mate and friend Hongjoong could ask for. This time he wasn’t joking, it really might get him killed. It was a roll of the dice, then again, life was a roll of the dice.

Yunho groaned, “Alright tell me.”

Yunho listened to Hongjoong’s plan and it was absolutely the daftest thing he had ever heard in all of his life but if he could pull it off, it would save the lives of everyone on board but it still would leave his own life in a precarious place. Honestly, he couldn’t think of a better plan. They were a small ship and they had two guns out of commission. He also knew that Hongjoong put the lives of his crew above his own, it was part of why he was so well loved. He was a great captain… and friend. “Why do I get the feeling if I say no, you’ll do it anyway.”

“Because I will.”

“Shit.” Yunho ran his hands through his hair and braced his hands against his hips. “Fine, I can’t stop you.”

They set to work, loading one of the dinghy’s with provisions and a small amount of the treasure they had accumulated. It took a little cajoling but he had Yunho punch him a few times.

Hongjoong then cut his head with his trusty knife and let the blood run down over the side of his face and ear. “How do I look?”

“Like a man who has had a rough time.”

“That’s how I want to look. Let’s go.”

“Be careful.” Yunho grabbed Hongjoong in a tight hug. “If you get yourself killed I’ll never forgive you.”

“How do you think I’d feel about it? I’m not ready to die yet.” Hongjoong grinned brightly and stepped into the dinghy. He waved as it hit the water. Happily, the wind was on his side, he sailed out to where he should be able to be seen by the larger ship and lowered his sail. He then lay down in the boat and waited. It didn’t take long before he saw two boats break away from the larger boat and come his way. “Ahoy!”

Hongjoong put on a show of struggling to lift his head before raising a hand, “Ahoy!”

They towed him back toward the bigger ship, when he was brought on board, he spun a tale of intrigue. There had been a mutiny on his ship and he had just barely managed to escape. The men who had picked him up were enraptured by the tale he told. Seonghwa stood by and listened, he certainly looked the part. He had seen better days. There was something about his story that niggled at the back of his head but their guest was still a man alone with few provisions and just looking for a lift to the closest populated island.

They were a full crew of able bodied men with arms. Seonghwa was just about to show him to a cabin when the captain came out. Immediately he began pointing and sputtering. Hongjoong paled when he saw the captain. The old man immediately lunged at Hongjoong and caught him right on the chin with a forceful left that knocked him to his knees. In all truth, it had taken Hongjoong by surprise. He wouldn’t have thought that someone of his age could have come up with such speed.

“What’s he doing here?” The captain said as he stepped back nursing his sore knuckles.

Seonghwa told him the story that had been relayed to them. The captain’s expression slowly shifted from incredulous to gleeful. “All of these years and I’ve finally got you where I want you. Toss him in the brig.”

“Yes, sir.” Seonghwa grabbed one of Hongjoong’s arms and another sailor grabbed the other.

Hongjoong shot a look of pure venom at the captain.

“What are you going to do? Swim? We’ve got your boat and this island is uninhabited. Maybe the magistrate will be lenient on you but considering you're a wanted man, I doubt it. Oh and one more thing…” The captain hauled off and punched him again and again. “That’s for my ship.”

By the time he was thrown into the brig, his head was swimming and his ears were ringing. Yunho hadn’t pulled his punches, nor had the captain. He was alive… for now. Considering that they didn’t go into battle, nor were the rest of his crew joining him, his ruse had worked. He breathed a sigh of relief and waited.

Eventually, the storm passed. He could hear sounds overhead of the crew making ready to get underway. It was another hour that he strained his ears for every little sound before deciding that they really were underway and heading back out to sea. Only then did he risk laying down and closing his eyes.

Seonghwa lay in his bunk and stared at the ceiling. It seemed almost miraculous that the very man they were looking for just happened to have a mutiny and just happened to end up in their hands. He couldn’t think of a reason why he would just hand himself over to someone who wanted him dead. Surely stranger things had happened in the history of the world. Still, he couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for him, pirate or no. He had had a string of really rotten luck.

Since the captain hadn’t given him any orders to not feed the prisoner, he took it upon himself to bring him down some food. The fact that the captain just so happened to be busy when he did was purely coincidental… mostly.

The prisoner looked a good deal worse for wear, bruises had formed on his cheek, jaw, and left eye into his hairline. The swelling had gone down though. “I brought you some breakfast.”

Hongjoong lifted his head and offered a half smile as their eyes met.

Seonghwa’s heart skipped a beat. He immediately looked away, unable to account for the strange feeling.

“I’m going to guess this wasn’t the captain’s order?” He said as he reached out to take the bowl of porridge. There were bits of some sort of meat in it, salted fish if he were to take a guess.

“How did you know?” Seonghwa looked back surprised.

“Someone who has been chasing me as long as he’s been chasing me, is not likely to be the forgiving sort. I doubt he would be worried at all about my comfort and would probably like to see me suffer as much as possible.” He took a bite, their ship’s cook wasn’t as good as Wooyoung was but it was passable. He was lucky he was getting anything at all.

“I guess you weren’t expecting to end up here.” Seonghwa watched Hongjoong take another bite.

“No, I have to admit, it was a big surprise to me. I’m not sure what I thought would happen when I left my ship.”

Hongjoong paused for a moment before asking, “Are you supposed to be talking to the prisoner?” Despite what might be a harsh question, there was an almost mischievous light in his dark eyes.

“No, probably not.”

“A man who likes to break the rules, I like men like that.”

“Are you trying to charm me?” Seonghwa asked. It was unusual to find someone as charming as he found their prisoner. He found himself wanting to get to know him. His smile was a physical weapon he could wield as surely as a sword or a pistol.

“Only if it’s working. If not, then of course not.” Hongjoong flashed an easy smile.

That forced a surprised laugh from Seonghwa. There was that smile again, the weight of it hit him and he found himself gazing at Hongjoong’s lips. For some reason Seonghwa was suddenly wondering about the details of his mutiny. He seemed like an easy man to like, which meant that wasn’t why his crew had mutinied. Still, he was going to have to face the fact that they were probably taking him to his death. Then again, maybe he was entirely different here than he was with his men, perhaps he was a tyrant but something whispered to him, told him that wasn’t the case.

He didn’t like it.

If the prisoner was a pirate, then he had killed dozens of people. He found himself asking, “How many men have you killed?”

Hongjoong looked surprised at the sudden question, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you?”

“That means it’s either very high or very low.”

“Very low.” There was no hint of teasing when he said it. There were times when killing someone was unavoidable but every single death had repercussions, if not for himself then for someone, somewhere and he took each death as something that should be respected and honored, no matter who his foe was.

“Really?” Seonghwa asked, genuinely curious.

“There are usually many, many ways to get what you want without resorting to murder.”

“Then why are you wanted?”

“Ah, now just because I’m not a wanton murderer doesn’t mean that I haven’t broken any laws. I have broken more than a few laws and I don’t feel bad about that in the least.” The smile was back and this time he turned its full power on Seonghwa who felt more than a little shaken by it. Bruises and all, the pirate Hongjoong was a beautiful man and a fascinating one. He opened his mouth to ask another question when someone bellowed his name from above.

“I’m sorry, I have to go. I’ll bring you something later.” He turned and started to walk away.

“How far are we from shore?”

“We’re about three days out from the nearest port that I know you are wanted at.” He might be a pirate but he wasn’t a big enough name to be wanted everywhere. However, one group of people that wanted to hang you was more than enough.

“Three days… I didn’t catch your name.” Hongjoong said.

“Park Seonghwa, you?”

“Kim Hongjoong. For what it’s worth, I appreciate the food, even if it is going to waste in a dead man’s belly.”

“If it gives you comfort, then there’s no waste.” Seonghwa walked away then, heading up to find out who was calling him.

Hongjoong played with his food while he thought about his guest. He wondered if he might be inclined to help him escape. He drummed his fingers against his knee as he contemplated it. Yet his thoughts kept drifting back to the man himself, he was almost heartstopping in his physical beauty. There was a gentle aura around him that made him seem like someone he would want to protect. He sighed and pushed the thought of his sparkling eyes and sweet smile out of his head.

Despite what he said, he had no intention of dying. There were a thousand ways to get what you wanted, he had managed to save his crew now hopefully, he could find a way to save himself.

Over the next few days, Seonghwa continued to bring Hongjoong his meals and they spoke at length. Seonghwa told him all about his home, his family. His father used to have his own ship but he had decided that with the pirates, it was safer on shore so he had retired from the sea to run his own shop, which proved to be an excellent move on his part. Their family business did far better than expected and he had managed to secure an excellent retirement for himself and his family.

Hongjoong had planned on playing it close to the vest but he found himself opening up to Seonghwa, he told him of his ill-spent youth, why he had turned to piracy. He told him a good deal more about himself than he ever intended, he found himself waiting anxiously for just a glimpse of Seonghwa’s face through his day. It wasn’t just because he was bored either, it was because he genuinely enjoyed his company. He loved listening to his deep smooth voice, he loved listening to his stories. He was going to be sorry to lose him when there was still so much he didn’t know about him. Unless he could swing it so that he didn’t have to.

There was a buzz in the air on the fourth day since Hongjoong had been captured. He wasn’t sure what time it was when two burly men came down to his cell to let him out. When he was brought up on deck, the captain was standing there looking like the cat who caught the canary. Seonghwa was standing nearby but the expression on his face was conflicted. There were three men waiting, they looked like town guards and perhaps a magistrate. They handed the captain a small purse, presumably the reward for catching the dread pirate, before they clapped Hongjoong in irons and began to drag him away.

“Bye bye, I’ll see you at your hanging.” The captain called after Hongjoong.

Now that Hongjoong was taken care of, the captain turned a brilliant smile on Seonghwa, who couldn’t help feeling a little sick. “Now that I’ve seen to it that that miscreant will hang, what say you we have a talk eh?”

Seonghwa took a last look at Hongjoong’s back, he wanted to run after them but he managed to suppress the impulse before following after the captain who headed into his cabin. “You’ve proven to be an excellent first mate, have you ever thought about captaining your own ship?”

“Sir?” Seonghwa looked puzzled at the question.

“Well now that I’ve done what I wanted to do, I’d like to retire, head back home to my wife and family. That means this ship will need a captain, I’d like to hand her over to you. You keep running it in my name and we split the profits, what do you think?”

It sounded like a dream come true, “Are you sure, sir?”

“I think it sounds like a fine plan. Your first task as captain is to let the men have shore leave for the next week.”

“Yes sir!” Seonghwa did as he was bid to the delights of all of the crew

Seonghwa himself headed into town and found an inn. He was looking forward to sleeping in a bed that didn’t sway and a fresh meal. As he sat down to his lunch he couldn’t help but imagine Hongjoong in jail. In the days they had spent together, they had grown to know each other quite well and he just couldn’t stand the idea of him locked up without a friend nearby to hear his woes or maybe help to make him a little more comfortable. If he were completely honest, the man he had gotten to know didn’t deserve the hangman’s noose. He deserved his freedom. He kept telling himself that he wasn’t going to interfere but still he found himself asking the locals as to the location of the local jail.

It was in a small wooden building, the front was where the guards sat and the back was the jail. It was a small town and it didn’t look like their city guard was the largest employer in town. It was a small and run down building. He couldn’t imagine it would be particularly warm or well insulated.

“What am I doing?” Seonghwa paced back and forth. He wanted to go see him, make sure he was alright. But he already didn’t like the idea that he was going to die. He didn’t like the idea of him being hurt or suffering at all. Maybe he was too soft hearted. By the time he finally made up his mind to go, it was getting dark. He marched up to the guardhouse. There was an exceptionally tall man talking to one of the guards animatedly.

He approached the other guard who was sitting behind a desk smoking a pipe and looking bored. “Excuse me, I was wondering if I could see a prisoner.”

“Sure, I’d ask who but there’s only the one?” The man drawled as he pulled his feet from the desk and sat up.

“Kim Hongjoong.” Seonghwa said anyway.

The man who was talking to the other guard looked momentarily surprised and stopped talking but seemed to shrug it off and returned to his conversation. He couldn’t tell since it was at his back but the man was now watching him.

The guard took him back into the back of the jail, there were only two cells and only one of them was occupied. Hongjoong was stretched out on the floor staring blankly up at the ceiling, when he heard the footsteps stop in front of his cell, he said without looking over, “I was wondering if you were going to come see me.”

“I almost didn’t.” Seonghwa said as he grabbed a chair from the corner and dragged it over to sit by the cell.

“What made you change your mind?” Hongjoong sat up and turned to face his visitor.

“I had a question for you.”

“Oh?” Hongjoong perked up and gave a curious tilt of the head.

“Is it true?” Seonghwa leaned forward, lowering his tone and resting his elbows on his knees.

“Is what true?”

“How you came to be on our ship?” It was the one question that he hadn’t asked that he had wanted to.

Hongjoong was quiet for a moment as he contemplated Seonghwa, “Let me ask you a question, how close are you to the captain?”

“He’s my employer. He took me on after my father retired. It’s purely business and if I’m completely honest…” He looked around and added, “I don’t really care for him much.”

Hongjoong pursed his lips thoughtfully, “Hm… Then in that case, I don’t feel bad letting you know the truth. It was a plot.”

“A plot?”

“A plan, a ruse, a machination, you see… my ship was harbored in the bay that your ship sailed into. If I didn’t do something, then we would have been stuck with no way to run. Your ship is a good deal larger than mine, we were outgunned, outmanned and trapped. My crew means everything to me and if I could save them by sacrificing myself then I would… and I did. I was kind of hoping for an opportunity to escape but one never came.” Hongjoong sniffed and brushed the back of his finger against the tip of his nose.

“Is that why you were so friendly with me?” Seonghwa asked.

“Yes and no.” He answered honestly. “If you would have given me the chance, I would have taken it but you didn’t. I don’t hold it against you and I don’t regret having spent time with you. I-”

Hongjoong looked thoughtful, carefully thinking about what he wanted to say. He finally gave up with a sigh and shrugged, “I like you. I like talking to you, spending time with you. Even if we had met under different circumstances, I would have still liked you.”

Seonghwa opened and closed his mouth a couple of times and dropped his head thoughtfully. Conflicted emotions reflected in Seonghwa’s face, “I almost wish I had, you sacrificed yourself for your men. That’s not an act that should be punished but celebrated. I think, believe it or not, you might actually be a good man.”

Hongjoong smiled brightly, “That’s a hell of a thing to say to a man sitting in a cell waiting for escape or the hangman’s noose.”

“I believe it.”

“Then,” Hongjoong scooted closer to the bars, “if I asked, would you help me?”

“Help you how?” Seonghwa was completely cognizant of the fact that he might be being played but he didn’t think that Hongjoong was playing him.

At the skeptical expression on Seonghwa’s face, Hongjoong waved his hands. “No, it’s nothing like that. Could you take a message to one of my crew, I know they are here. There’s no way they would let me swing without trying… something.”

“Only a message?”

“Only a message.”

“What’s the message and who am I taking it to?”

“There’s an inn on the far side of town, away from the harbor, near the blacksmith. There’s a man named Choi Jongho, he’ll be staying there.” He proceeded to describe him down to the fact that he dressed far more nicely than you would expect of a pirate, a bit of a dandy and his jewelry.

“Would you tell him that if the weather’s fair then open the sails and if the skies are threatening, to fold up the sails and ride out the weather.”

Seonghwa frowned at the message, it sounded plain and harmless enough but he wasn’t a total fool. He knew there was meaning to what he was being asked to say. “Alright, I’ll deliver it.”

He took a deep breath and looked at Hongjoong squarely, “If you get the chance…”

Hongjoong turned a brilliant smile on him, “Absolutely. I’m a man who takes every opportunity he gets.”

“After I deliver your message, I’ve got some business to attend to but I’ll come back to see you again.”

“You know,” he paused and then nodded, “I think I’d like that very much. I’ll look forward to it.”

Seonghwa bid Hongjoong farewell feeling both better and worse than he had when he had arrived. He now knew the truth of how he had come to be on the ship but now that he knew the truth, he couldn’t just let him sit in a cell until they hung him.

He followed the directions he had been given to the inn near the blacksmith. When he asked for Choi Jongho the man eyed him coolly until he said he had a message from his captain. He repeated it back to him word for word. “He would say that. Idiot.”

He looked Seonghwa up and down, “Why did he send you with it?”

“I told him I wanted to help him if I could. I don’t think he deserves to be executed, maybe some prison time but not executed.”

Choi Jongho laughed outright, “Hopefully, it won’t come to that. Thank you for the message.”

If the captain trusted him, he felt like he ought to extend him the same but the captain tended to fly by the seat of his pants sometimes and he was more cautious than that. He bid Seonghwa farewell and called together the other members of the crew to tell them about the captain’s message and then they all waited for Yunho and San to return to find out whether or not the guards were bribeable.

It was quite late when Seonghwa got time to go back to the jail. He should probably just wait until the morning but he didn’t want to leave Hongjoong waiting to know that his message had been delivered, assuming it was as important as he thought it might be. Much to his surprise not only was the door unlocked but there were no guards to be seen. Did they go home at night? That would be strange wouldn’t it? It wasn’t as if they had a lot of prisoners to watch but what if something happened? What if someone escaped? Although, in this case, he wished someone would escape. If it was empty and the keys were nearby...Yes, he would let him out.

If his men were here then that meant that his ship was here and they could escape. The captain would be livid if Hongjoong escaped but he didn’t care about the fragile ego of one vindictive old man who spent three years chasing someone because of one lost ship when he owned a whole fleet.

Seonghwa turned back to look at the open guardhouse door when he heard a sound behind him. He turned to see Hongjoong and then just as suddenly, he felt the other man’s lips close on his, his hand reaching up to cup Seonghwa’s cheek. He was too startled to remember to respond or push him away or react at all. He felt the hot wet brush of his tongue against his lips before he pulled away.

All he could manage was to gape at the shorter man who had just kissed him. Finally he managed, “You’re out.”

Hongjoong smiled, “I am and I’m getting out of here. Wanna come with me?”

“With you?”

“Whether you're coming with me or not, let’s get out of here. The guards won’t be gone forever.” Hongjoong grabbed Seonghwa’s hand and tugged him out of the guardhouse and toward the docks. As they walked, Seonghwa looked down at their still joined hands in total bemusement. He didn’t know what to do or say but he did notice when a man intercepted them.

“Captain.”

“San, is the ship ready?”

“Sort of.”

“I can’t really linger around these parts, we need to go - Now.”

“We had more damage from the storm than we realized and by the time we got into port… There’s no way the shipwright can have the repairs finished by the time we needed so…” San gestured for the pair to follow him. He spared a glance at Seonghwa, wondering if that was the man who had delivered the captain’s message to Jongho.

If the captain thought he was good to join the crew then it was alright by him. The more the merrier. However, the way they were holding hands made him think it might be something else. He guided them to the docks and right to Seonghwa’s ship. Seonghwa stopped before following up the gangplank when Hongjoong pulled up to a stop, “Are you serious?”

“It really was the best option,” said San.

“And Yunho was feeling vindictive.” said another man who was a little shorter than San and bore an open smile. “It’s good to have you back captain. If you ever do anything like that again, I’ll keelhaul you myself.”

Hongjoong laughed, “It’s good to see you too Wooyoung.”

Wooyoung grabbed Hongjoong up in a warm hug and squeezed him tight. Hongjoong gave a little squeak at the force with which he was hugged.

“Where’s the crew?” Hongjoong asked as he canted his head toward the ship.

“Shore leave.” commented Seonghwa. All heads turned to look at him questioningly.

“This is Park Seonghwa, he was the first mate on this ship but he’ll be joining us now. Right?” He turned to look at Seonghwa.

Finally Seonghwa snapped out of the haze that he had been pitched into when Hongjoong kissed him. “I-”

Did he want to go with them? It surely meant being hunted, they were wanted men after all. Hongjoong was an escaped prisoner, a thief, a pirate, and who knew what else. Yet he was thinking about it, seriously.

“Go on, I’ll catch up.” Hongjoong said to the assembled men before he turned back to Seonghwa. “Are you scared?”

“Yes.”

“But you want to.”

“Yes.”

“Well then there’s only one thing to do, come with us and you can say you were asleep in your room when we took the ship, so we accidentally kidnapped you. If you change your mind later, then we can let you off at the next port of call.” Not waiting to see if Seonghwa agreed with him or not, Hongjoong grabbed his hand again and dragged him behind him up the gangplank.

“Captain.” Yunho walked out onto the deck and smiled broadly.

“How much did it cost?” Hongjoong asked.

“They really should pay their guards more because it didn’t even take a quarter of our last haul to see to it that they found something else to do for half an hour.”

Hongjoong nodded, “Good, good if everyone’s on board, let’s shove off shall we?”

“Aye, aye captain.” Yunho turned and began to bark out orders. The men all jumped to and began to make way to set sail.

“By the way Yunho…”

Yunho stopped what he was doing and turned to look at his captain.

“Thank you.”

Yunho smiled and nodded, “You’re welcome. It’s good to have you back captain.”

“It’s good to be back. This is Park Seonghwa, he’ll - hopefully, be joining us permanently. He was the first mate of this ship but I think he needs a little time to get to know us first… or maybe just me. Seonghwa, this is my first mate Jeong Yunho. After we get out of here, I’ll take you around and introduce you to everyone. We’ve got some really good people on this ship.”

“Energetic people.” Yunho added with a touch of mirth.

“Maybe we have too much energy.” Hongjoong posited.

Yunho snickered and went back to work. As they cleared the harbor, the town bells sounded, likely announcing that there had been an escape. Hongjoong turned to Seonghwa, “Want to show me around? Show me the captain’s quarters. I know the brig well enough, it’ll be nice to see the rest of the ship.”

Seonghwa still wasn’t quite sure this all felt real. One minute he had been trying to think of the best way to help Hongjoong escape, the next minute he was on a stolen ship making their escape. Then it occurred to him exactly what they had just done. They had stolen yet another ship from the man who had spent three years chasing him down for having stolen his ship.

Would he immediately outfit another ship and give chase again? He knew that his wife held the purse strings and she wanted him back home. Somehow he couldn’t imagine her sanctioning another three year long wild goose chase. He was likewise sure that Hongjoong wouldn’t allow himself to be caught again so easily, unless his men were on the line again. That didn’t seem like the kind of situation that happened more than once. The real question was, now what was he doing here? Was he perhaps infatuated with the dashing pirate? That was the only reason he could think of that he had accepted the offer of joining them as a trial run. His family was going to kill him if he became a pirate. He was supposed to take a few years out to sea and then come home and learn the family business with his brother, not take up piracy because he had a crush on a pirate.

“Sure,” he said after perhaps too long of a pause. “I’ll give you a tour, we can start at the bottom and work our way up.”

Fifteen minutes later they were standing at the door to the captain’s quarters. The door was locked but Seonghwa had the key.

“I guess he trusted you.” Hongjoong commented as he watched Seonghwa unlock the door.

That gave him a pang of guilt as he pushed the door open, “He offered me the captaincy of this ship after they took you away.”

“So I stole your ship?” Hongjoong asked as he followed Seonghwa into the room and closed the door behind them. It was poshly appointed. The furnishings were over the top in the extreme, it was as if the former captain was furnishing a mansion instead of a room on a ship. No wonder he had locked it.

“I hadn’t exactly taken control yet.” He said. It hadn’t actually sunk in yet that this ship was going to be his. Perhaps it was his ship that had been stolen but it didn’t feel that way.

“That’s not right, I don’t steal from friends.”

“Friends?”

“We are friends aren’t we?” Hongjoong took a step toward Seonghwa.

Seonghwa felt his heart pick up pace and he swallowed hard in a suddenly dry throat. “Are we?”

“Unless you want to be more…” Hongjoong reached out and brushed the backs of his fingers over Seonghwa’s cheek.

“What do you mean more?” Seonghwa’s voice cracked and he cleared his throat.

“I want to be your lover. You don’t know that already?” He asked.

Without really realizing he was doing it, Seonghwa took the final step forward, closing the distance between the two of them. There was nothing that separated them now. He leaned down, eyes intense as they met Hongjoong’s before he kissed him. The softness of their lips played together, their tongues met giving an electric thrill.

Seonghwa gave a small sound of pleasure as they sank into one another, their arms stealing around one another, bodies flush together. Their hands began to roam over each other. Seonghwa’s lips traveled down over Hongjoong’s jawline, down to his throat. He tasted his pulse thrumming against his lips, he scraped his teeth over the silken skin of his neck. “Why am I so captivated by you?”

“The same reason that I can’t get you out of my head.” Hongjoong gasped and sighed.

“I know the feeling, every time I close my eyes I see you, hear your voice, I can’t stop thinking about you. God you taste so good…” He leaned back in and reclaimed Hongjoong’s lips.

Running his hands up over Seonghwa’s stomach, he caught the material of his blouse and pulled it up, his fingers grazing against his bare skin as he did so. They traveled further, slipping under the soft linen as they moved over his bare chest, the slightly long tips of his nails raking over Seonghwa’s nipples. They tightened at the delicate scraping. A soft moan slipped between their joined lips, let out with a sigh.

Seonghwa pulled his jacket from his shoulders and let it drop at their feet, Hongjoong caught his shirt and pulled it up over his head, immediately dropping his head to rain kisses over his bare chest, to taste his skin.

Seonghwa moved to pull off Hongjoong’s clothes as Hongjoong worked at his partners’. They moved in concert back toward the bed, Seonghwa moving over the smaller man as they moved. The heat of their bodies grinding together, their cocks sliding together. Hongjoong reached between them, wrapping his fingers around their lengths, trapping them against one another as he stroked.

Seonghwa’s golden skin was beginning to glisten in the low lamp light. A drop of sweat trickled down over his smooth chest, running down to where their naked bodies pressed together. His kisses traversed their way down over Hongjoong’s chin, his throat, suckling and biting his nipples before continuing down. The muscles in his stomach trembled as Seonghwa’s lips brushed down over his ribs to his hip bones. Hongjoong squirmed, his hips rising up as Seonghwa’s beautiful lips wrapped around the head of his cock. His finger’s winding in Seonghwa’s thick dark locks, a heady sigh falling from his parted lips.

He had never wanted anyone so badly as he wanted Seonghwa and his body was on fire and Seonghwa’s touch were the flames that consumed him. He watched the way his lips glided over him, consuming him. He was so beautiful, their eyes met and Hongjoong smiled, “You’re going to make me cum if you keep that up.”

“Maybe I want you to cum… or maybe I just want to make you squirm.” Seonghwa smiled in return as he flicked his tongue against the sensitive underside of Hongjoong’s throbbing prick. Then quite suddenly, Seonghwa dropped his head down, pushing Hongjoong’s cock all the way to the back of his throat before bobbing his head up and down.

A sudden hiss and a sharp inhalation of breath as Hongjoong slammed his hands down against the bed, his hips arching upward without his bidding. His orgasm was ripped from him as he fucked back against Seonghwa’s face.

The first spurt of sticky sweet cum hit the back of Seonghwa’s throat as he sucked milking him for every last drop.

Slowly he let his lover’s cock slip from his lips as he crawled back up over his body. He caught Hongjoong’s lips in a sultry kiss before murmuring against him, “We need-...”

“I came prepared.” Hongjoong interjected before he turned and leaned over the side of the bed to capture his clothes. From a pouch tied to his belt, he produced a small corked bottle. As he wiggled back onto the bed, he held it up and shook it slightly.

“See?” He pulled the stopper and poured a liberal amount of oil into his palm and reached for Seonghwa’s swollen length. Seonghwa’s head fell back, throaty groan slipping past his full lips. He rested back on his hands, presenting himself for Hongjoong’s attentions.

The teasing smile was back on Hongjoong’s lips again as he lifted the bottle and poured some of the oil over Seonghwa’s chest and stomach, leaving him glistening as he ran his hands down, to return to stroking. He bowed his head to suckle Seonghwa’s balls and nibble the insides of his thighs. God he was so beautiful in the lamp light, his eyes filled with a universe of stars as he stared at him with unabashed lust, his golden skin aglow.

His breathing grew short, he could feel himself getting close so he reached out and caught Hongjoong’s hand and brought his fingers up to kiss them. “I want more than that now, I want you.”

Hongjoong licked his lips and nodded as he leaned into Seonghwa’s and kissed him. Seonghwa’s arm slipped around his waist as he leveraged Hongjoong back into the mass of pillows, slipping easily between his thighs. He buried his face against his throat and breathed, “I want to be inside you.”

Hongjoong gasped at the nip of teeth at his neck, he could feel Seonghwa’s cock sliding against him, not as eager as his words made him seem but slowly and methodically grinding against him. He wriggled against his touch as Seonghwa’s reached between their bodies and slid his slick, oiled fingers against him and into him.

“I’ve never done this before…” Hongjoong breathed. “But for you, I want you.”

Seonghwa raised his head and looked down at Hongjoong, instead of teasing or darkly lustful, there was supreme tenderness and affection. “I’ll go slow.”

As he promised, he slowly worked against him not going any further than his virgin’s body was ready for. Incrementally, Hongjoong began to relax beneath him. Only when almost all resistance was gone did he begin to enter him. Jesus, so hot, so tight. As he hilted himself he let out a sigh and for a lingering moment, he just held still, “Are you alright?”

Hongjoong nodded, “Yes.”

While the slow entry had spared him any discomfort, it had driven him slowly insane so that now he would have killed any man who dared to try to separate them. “Now fuck me.”

Seonghwa’s tongue flicked out to lap at Hongjoong’s lips before he languidly and fluidly began to move. “As you command.”

With little rolling lifts of his hips, Hongjoong rose to meet each and every thrust. His lover’s cock stimulated something deep inside of him, driving him nearly wild. They moved together, their pace increasing with a shared urgency.

Hongjoong’s fingers dug into Seonghwa’s back, leaving small crescent indentations. His balls tightened as molten sugar unwound in his stomach, slowly reaching its burning tendrils through him. The first spasm forced him to slam his head back into the pillow, the second brought a cry as his cum shot up between their joined bodies. Seonghwa’s arms sealed around him as he began to fuck him with ferocity. Each thrust brought a deep guttural growl, his cock swelled, balls tightened, and then he came, filling his lover with wave after wave of his seed.

For a lingering moment, they lay still, both lost in their own little world of pleasure. Seonghwa was the first to move, turning his head to pepper Hongjoong’s neck and ear with little kisses. Eventually, he sighed and rolled off to the side, grabbing a pillow and tucking it behind his head as he pulled Hongjoong into his arms. Hongjoong took a deep breath and let it out in a rush as he laid his head on the pillow beside Seonghwa.

“I think,” Hongjoong began as he adjusted himself in the bed. “I’m glad this all happened. Sure I had to spend a few days in a jail cell but I got you.”

Seonghwa chuckled and let his eyes fall shut. He hadn’t realized exactly how stressed he had been, not until he felt the last of that stress flow out of him with his orgasm. “My new captain is making me feel quite welcome indeed.”

“Are you sure you can do it?” Hongjoong lifted his head and looked at Seonghwa seriously.

“Do what?” He reached up and ran his long, slender fingers over Hongjoong’s sweaty hair and face.

“Piracy.” While he had no doubts that Seonghwa would stay with him if he asked him to, he wanted to make sure that it was actually something that he wanted. He was equally sure he had the other man’s affections but was this life really what he wanted or had he allowed himself to be swept away.

Seonghwa bit the corner of his bottom lip thoughtfully, “I don’t know, really. I never thought I would become a pirate. I also never thought I’d help a fugitive escape jail and a hanging and then steal my ship.”

“Take some time and think it over.” Hongjoong sighed and laid back down. “It’s late and being in a comfortable bed reminds me of how little sleep I’ve had the last few days. It’s late, what say you we get some sleep?”

“Alright.” Seonghwa hadn’t really been giving any thought to his predicament. He had, as Hongjoong thought, just allowed himself to be buoyed along. Now that he had time to think about it, would he be able to do it? He wasn’t a fighter, he never had been and had only fought when his life had deemed it necessary and that wasn’t more than a couple of times. What would it do to his family? He was quite close with his family and he didn’t want to hurt them.

There was another matter, he was quite sure he was falling in love with Hongjoong at breakneck speed. If he were to stay with him, he would hurt his family and perhaps shorten his life. If he were to leave then… then he would break his heart? He wanted nothing more than to give into his heart but what should he do? It was the same thoughts chasing each other around his brain until he finally fell asleep in the small hours of the morning.

He awoke early as he felt Hongjoong slipping out of his arms. He opened his tired eyes to see the other man smiling down at him before brushing a kiss across his lips and whispering, “Go back to sleep, you deserve it.”

Seonghwa didn’t argue. His eyes were already closed before Hongjoong’s feet hit the floor and he was already returning to slumber before he reached the door.

Yunho gave him a look as he sat down at the officer’s table, a knowing smile on his lips.

“What?” Hongjoong asked the younger man.

“Me? I didn’t say a word.”

It was obvious from the expressions on the faces of the assembled men that the entire crew probably knew but none of them seemed inclined to ask the questions. Silent smirks and two looks of feigned innocence, one from San and the other from Mingi, were all Hongjoong received as he looked down the table.

“So!” Jongho broke the silence, “What position is our new crewman going to have? Yunho is the first mate, that’s not to say you couldn’t have two first mates… I think I heard Park Seonghwa was supposed to be captain of this ship?”

Hongjoong’s own smile faded a little at that. He wanted Seonghwa to stay but he wasn’t sure he should. Most of the men under his command had come to him from other pirate vessels or had their own situations that made serving with him ideal. Seonghwa’s situation was quite different and as much as he wanted to keep him with him, he wasn’t sure it was best for him. The thought of letting him go twisted his heart into knots. He had never been in love before but he was getting dangerously close to loving Park Seonghwa. Maybe he already did, it was hard to say never having felt this way before. Sure he had slacked his lusts but love? Never.

“What new crewman?” Mingi asked.

All of the heads at the table turned to look at him.

“The new crewman who came aboard with the captain last night.” Wooyoung answered.

“I didn’t see him. Where is he now?” Mingi asked for more information.

Yunho dropped his head into his hand and Wooyoung’s grin grew a little wider as he decided to answer again, “I imagine he’s still in the captain’s quarters.”

Yunho peeked up at Mingi through his fingers as if to beg him with his eyes alone to cease his line of questioning before it got uncomfortable.

Mingi started to open his mouth when he yelped in pain. He was seated at the end of the table between Yeosang and Wooyoung. He shot a look at Yeosang who was an expert at looking like a beautiful serene statue. Whatever he had done, his expression hadn’t changed but Mingi seemed to get the hint. He reached under the table and rubbed at his leg.

Hongjoong shook his head, “We can decide that, if he decides to stay. I’m not sure he will yet.”

“Why wouldn’t he stay?” San asked curiously.

“I’m not sure he’s cut out for the pirate’s life. He’s got a good family, a good job if he wants it.” Hongjoong shrugged and reached for his breakfast.

San straightened his spine as he said, “We’ve got the best family.”

All of the men hurrahed at that and breakfast settled down into something more normal… and boisterous.

The next three weeks were like a dream for Seonghwa. He sailed with the men of the Treasure, spent his days working beside them, spent his nights with the man he had come to love but there was a growing unease. He knew that Hongjoong was avoiding other ships but he was a pirate and he couldn’t avoid other ships forever. The men were looking forward to their next great haul. Hongjoong was not just a pirate but a successful one and the day they rather accidentally ran into some low hanging fruit was the day he knew.

Seonghwa stood outside the door listening as he heard Yunho and Hongjoong arguing about the validity of the target, a poorly defended merchantman carrying fewer than 8 guns. He knew Hongjoong was avoiding getting into any scrapes to protect him, he couldn’t let him keep doing it. A very angry looking Yunho stormed out of the captain’s room and he went in. “You should take it.”

Hongjoong didn’t look up from the map he was looking at, “Why’s that?”

“Because the only reason you haven’t already gone for it is because of me. The men are restless as it is. You can’t keep avoiding it because you think I can’t take it. This is, as much as we might like to have it otherwise, a pirate’s ship and you are a pirate. If I’m to stay with you, I have to learn to live with this part of life. If I can’t do it then…” Seonghwa let his words trail off, a knot forming in his throat.

Hongjoong finally looked up and met Seonghwa’s eyes and sighed. He was determined. Hongjoong was silent for a long moment before he nodded and walked over to Seonghwa and kissed him. “Alright, tell the men.”

Seonghwa clung to Hongjoong for a lingering moment before he turned and briskly walked out of the cabin. The next few minutes were an absolute whirlwind of activity. All of the usual silliness, chaos and levity were gone and they became a force of nature. They were focused and deadly accurate. They carried out the strike perfectly. Seonghwa watched with a semi-detached air. Could he do this? The first thing that hit him was the thrill, the exhilaration but he wasn’t sure.

The two ships collided. The men from the Treasure poured onto the decks of other ship. Blades clashed and the men of the Treasure worked as a well oil machine. Hongjoong found their captain readily, he was old but still defiant as they crossed blades. What he lacked in youth, he made up for in sheer bloody mindedness. He concentrated as he fought the captain, there wasn’t a man alive who wouldn’t tell you his next move if you were attentive.

There! Hongjoong feinted to the left as his opponent made a move to block but he left himself open. He struck, bringing him down. Just as he struck he heard a voice yell, “No!”

The rapport of a pistol shot rang out across the deck and momentarily all fell silent. Directly behind Hongjoong, a man lay supine. He had been just inches away from burying his blade in the pirate captain’s back. Seonghwa stood with perfect form, holding his pistol, smoke wafting up from the tip.

Seonghwa had just saved Hongjoong’s life.

The men were elated with the booty they had looted, it was far more than anyone expected. The casks were opened and the alcohol poured freely as the men rejoiced.

Seonghwa sat silently in the captain’s quarters in the dark. He hadn’t even realized that the sun had set, so deeply lost in thought was he. It wasn’t the first time he had killed a man and he had done it in defense of another. He didn’t feel badly about it and that was what bothered him. The captain had been the only man who had died today but he wouldn’t be the last. Every single man of the Treasure would fight to the last to protect one another and their way of life. They loved it, they thrived on it. He too had felt the touch of exhilaration, the rush of blood in his veins. The only thing that came close was making love with Hongjoong.

He knew he could do it. He knew he would grow to love it if he stayed. That was what scared him.

“I thought I’d find you here.”

A voice yanked him from his quiet reverie. “Oh, yes.”

“We’re headed in, we should make port in about eight days.”

“Eight days? I didn’t think we were that far from shore.”

“We aren’t but I thought it might be nice for you to go home, see your family.” Hongjoong didn’t put on a lamp, but just walked over to stand behind Seonghwa’s chair, putting an arm around his shoulders.

“I see.”

The silence was thick and heavy between them but neither seemed inclined to break it.

“How did you know?” Seonghwa asked at long last.

“One of the things I love best about you is your tender heart. What kind of man would I be if I destroyed the one of the things that I loved best about you?” Hongjoong’s voice was barely above a whisper but it carried in the darkened space.

“Promise me something.” Seonghwa said as he turned to look up at the moonlight kissed visage of the man he loved.

Hongjoong cocked his head slightly to one side, reaching to run his fingers over Seonghwa’s hair, “What’s that?”

“Promise me that if you ever decide to retire from piracy that you’ll come find me.”

Hongjoong smiled and drew a slow breath, “I will come find you.”

“Bring the rest of the crew too, we always need more hands.”

“You’re part of the crew. They’ve grown as fond of you as I have.”

“Have they really?”

“Well, maybe not quite as fond as I have.” Hongjoong turned his head and pressed a kiss to Seonghwa’s cheek.

Seonghwa closed his eyes and concentrated on the warmth of that small kiss. Eight days…

***

Seonghwa stood on the cliff by his family home looking out toward the sea. It had been three years to the day since he had said farewell to the crew of the Treasure and its exceptional captain. He hadn’t really known whether he would see Hongjoong again and he regretted his choice everyday. Now with three years between him and the roguish captain’s smile, he could see clearly. Life only gives you chances at real love maybe once if you’re lucky.

He had his chance and he had surrendered it because he was afraid of change, because he was afraid of the lifestyle. He had been wrong and now there was no way to go back and change it.

Hot tears trickled down his cold cheeks and he sniffed before reaching up to wipe them away. He knew now he would never see Hongjoong again and he had to live with that, as much as it hurt him everyday.

“Can’t you find him?”

Seonghwa turned and saw his mother standing behind him. She was the only one he had ever told the truth about his ‘accidental kidnapping’. The only one he had ever told the truth about the only love he would ever have. Not entirely trusting himself to speak, he shook his head before looking back at the sea.

“You don’t have to go through with this you know. I know your father is pressuring you and Soojin is a nice girl but…” His mother sighed. The wedding was in two days and she had tried to talk Seonghwa’s father out of it but he didn’t see the problem. Seonghwa was a good looking, polite boy from a good family. Soojin was a good looking, polite girl from a good family. They made for a good match and they seemed to like each other as friends at least. It was as good of a start for a marriage as any, so her husband thought. It was better than the beginnings of most marriages these days. She understood his reasoning but he hadn’t been the one to hold Seonghwa as he cried his heart out as he explained what happened.

She knew it wasn’t as if you could just post a letter to a pirate. If she could see his broken heart mended, she would go find this pirate herself and send her son to him but she didn’t know any better how to find a man who was constantly on the move and didn’t want to be found any better than her son did.

“Come on, let’s go inside. You’ll catch a cold and you don’t want to catch a cold right before your wedding.” She caught Seonghwa’s hand and he gave one last lingering look at the horizon before turning to dutifully follow after his mother.

“Why don’t you go down to the market and buy some of those buns you and I both love?” His mother suggested to take his mind off of things.

“Why don’t you come with me, mother.”

“Your father will be home soon, I wanted to talk to him when he gets home.”

“You’re going to try to talk him out of the wedding again aren’t you?” he asked with a sad smile.

“I’ll talk to him about what I’ll talk to him about. If it was for your ears, I would ask you to be there. Now shoo.” She swatted his behind lightly and bodily shoved him off toward the market while she stood watching him go.

The market was bustling, he had to squeeze his way between bodies to make his way to the vendor he was looking for. Someone bumped into him without apologizing or even slowing down. They hit him hard too. He turned and caught a glimpse of a familiar face, Choi Jongho? No, it couldn’t possibly be. He turned and tried to follow after the man, trying to push through the throngs of people who were all trying to go in the opposite direction. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t make any leeway. He finally caught a pocket of space and managed to break through. He raced after the man he thought he had seen and caught up to someone wearing a jacket the same color as who he thought he had seen. The man turned and it wasn’t him.

Of course it wouldn’t be.

It was all he could do to keep from breaking down there in the middle of the market. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He turned around and made his way back to the vendor who was selling the buns he had been sent to buy. He wasn’t hungry anymore but his mother wanted them. The entire way home, he scanned the faces of the crowds of people around him. Surely who he had seen had just had a resemblance to his old friend.

He realized how much he missed them then, not just the love of his life but the entire crew. He had grown close to them all and it felt just as much home to him as the place where he had grown up.

What a fool he had been.

The entire next day, he moved through a haze. It didn’t feel like he was going to get married. He liked Soojin, she was a nice girl but she never could or would be the one he loved. Yet he would do what his father wanted him to. Maybe she could help him find some kind of, if not happiness then contentment.

His wedding day dawned bright and early. The families had planned the wedding for the late morning. He honestly hadn’t been too bothered by it one way or another. Actually, he hadn’t really cared about any of the wedding arrangements and only nominally cared about the choice of the bride. He checked the time and got dressed. He was just checking the mirror before heading out when a sound caught his attention. It sounded like someone saying, “Sorry about this.”

Just as he started to turn, there was a sharp and sudden pain behind his left ear and consciousness faded. The last thing he saw was the ground rushing up to greet him.

When he opened his eyes, it was dark but the room was warmly lit with lamp light and candlelight. At first, he had no idea where he was. There was something familiar though, a scent, old paper, candle wax, the tang of the sea. No. He had to be dreaming there was no way.

“How’s your head?”

Very slowly, he turned to see Hongjoong sitting beside him. His jaw slowly dropped open and he stared open mouthed at the very man he had been dreaming of for the past three years. “Hongjoong?”

“I’m glad you remember me. I would be heartbroken to think we had gone to all of this trouble and you didn’t even remember me.”

“Like I could ever forget you.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Hongjoong smiled and put down the book he had been reading.

“Wait.”

“Hm?”

“You kidnapped me!” Seonghwa accused.

“Well, technically I didn’t do it. San, Jongho, and Yeosang kidnapped you but I did ask them to and I was in on the planning. I was on the distraction team, I didn’t think I could hit you.” He reached out and gingerly brushed his fingers over Seonghwa’s hair.

“Why did you kidnap me?” Seonghwa asked, wholly bemused.

“When I found out you were getting married, I wasn’t sure that you would walk away from it. You know I can be a little impetuous sometimes and I’ll be honest, I was a little hurt.”

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. It’s been three years…”

Hongjoong winced, “I know but I wanted to be sure that I was the man I wanted you to come back to… and I love you.”

“Hongjoong…”

“I’ll be completely honest, I was so hurt I was ready to walk away and let you get married. Wooyoung was the one who decided we needed to kidnap you, for your own good. If you want to go back then we can take you back. If you want to stay-”

“I want to stay. I know I was wrong, there hasn’t been a day I haven’t regretted the choice I made. I missed you, every minute of every day. Every night I would lay in my bed wishing I could turn back the clock to make my choice again. If I could have, I would have never walked off of this boat.”

“Are you sure?” Hongjoong asked leaning forward, elbows on his knees.

“I’ve never been more sure about anything. I want to be here. I want to be with you. I want … I want the ocean, I want to sail the world beside you. I want to be part of this family.”

A slow smile curved Hongjoong’s lips and he blinked his eyes, overbright with unshed emotion. “How dare you try to make me cry.”

“I’m not trying to make you cry.” Seonghwa said innocently.

“I know, that makes it worse.” Hongjoong drew a shaky breath and reached out for Seonghwa’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being on my side, for wanting to be with me.” He leaned in, their noses almost touching.

Seonghwa squeezed Hongjoong’s small hand in his, he leaned further, closing the distance between them, sealing Hongjoong’s lips with his. God how he missed the taste of him, the smell of him, the feel of him. He tasted tears, he wasn’t sure to whom the tears belonged but he didn’t want to stop kissing him, not ever.

“This is only the beginning,” whispered Hongjoong against Seonghwa’s lips.

Seonghwa smiled, his eyes still closed. “Here’s to our beginning.”

Again their lips came together, Seonghwa reaching up, his fingers slipping into Hongjoong’s wild locks, pulling him closer. Hongjoong rose and climbed into the bed beside his lover.

“I missed you so much.” Hongjoong murmured into their kiss.

“I’ll never leave your side again.”

“You better not, I’ll just have to kidnap you back again.” he teased with a nip of Seonghwa’s lips.

“Who knows, I might start to like it.”

Their lips, their bodies, their destiny came together in joy and love.

NOTE: Other words can be found on my master list.

#ateez #ateez imagine #Ateez hongjoong #ateez seonghwa #seongjoong #honghwa #ateez smut #ateez fluff #ateez smut and fluff #kpop smut #kpop imagine

76 notes · View notes

macaronis-telegraph · 3 years

Text

Let's talk about:

Firearms aboard the RMS Titanic.

Oh boy. Why am I doing this topic.

Long story short: NO. To all available knowledge, absolutely no one shot at anyone during the sinking. Although, yes, warning shots were fired. I'll get to that in a moment.

During the RMS Titanic's trial runs, William M. Murdoch was in the position of chief officer, with Charles H. Lightoller as first officer. Charge of the ship's firearms was a duty of the first officer, so thusforth, as the ship was preparing for her maiden voyage, Officer Lightoller was the one to decide what to do with them. He thought it rather silly that they needed firearms at all on the ship, so, essentially, he locked the officers' guns in a cabinet in his room and promptly forgot about their existence.

"It was the First Officer's responsibility to receive firearms, navigation instruments, and so forth. I have also said firearms on merchant ships are looked on as ornamental more than useful, and as First Officer I had simply hove the lot, revolvers and ammunition into a locker, in my original cabin, a locker that was of little use owing to its inaccessibility." ¹

Prior to her actual sailing, the White Star Line decided to implement some switch-arounds of the Titanic's command, moving Chief Officer Henry T. Wilde of the Olympic to the same position on the Titanic. Murdoch was forced to step back to first, and Lightoller to second. ²

During the rush to evacuate passanger and crew was when Chief Officer Wilde came about to Lightoller, wondering where the firearms were at. Murdoch, as he was then the First Officer, had charge of them, but knew not of their location, due to Lightoller stowing them before the switch around happened.

"Murdoch, who was now First Officer, knew nothing about the firearms, and couldn't find them, when they were wanted -- I say wanted, rather than needed, because I still don't believe that they were actually needed."

For a precious moment, no senior officers existed on deck as Lightoller led Wilde, Murdoch, and Captain Smith all together to retrieve the firearms that Wilde so insisted on using and distributing amongst the officers.

"The whole incident had not taken three minutes, though it seemed barely worth that precious time."

Lightoller used his revolver, but there is no account of him firing it. He recounts how he "vigorously flourished" the gun to encourage non-English speaking men to leave emergency boat, to make more space for women and children, but "the revolver was not even loaded!"

Fifth Officer H. G. Lowe did in fact use his revolver, in an act to prevent the already crowded and lowering lifeboat 14 from being rushed. In his response to the American Inquiry, his described how he fired at the side of the boat, although some witnesses state he fired either into the air, or down to the ocean. All accounts reflect how the shots were not meant to, nor did they, harm anyone.

"That is why I yelled out to "look out," and let go, bang! right along the ship's side. There was a space I should say of about three feet between the side of the boat and the ship's side, and as I went down I fired these shots without any intention of hurting anhbkdg and with the positive knowledge that I did not hurt anybody. I fired, I think, three times." ³

Those two events are the only two moments that I know of and have read about in which firearms were used during the sinking of the RMS Titanic. I know some of you out there might have been waiting for me to discuss the conspiracy theories about Murdoch committing suicide and/or shooting at passangers, but you will have to go elsewhere for those fantastical speculations. I'll probably write up in the future though why Officer Murdoch should absolutely NOT be villainized.⁴

¹The first three quotes are all from Lightoller's autobiography, Titanic and Other Ships, as reprinted in The Story of the Titanic, as told by its survivors, edited by Jack Winocour.

²The initial Second Officer, Davy Blair, did not move down to Third. Blair, to his then unknowing luck, stayed ashore in England, with the Titanic's junior officers all staying in their original positions.

³H. G. Lowe, from the American Inquiry.

⁴That and Ismay too. And heck, Lightoller's autobiography certainly tells you who he thinks the villain is -- the way he writes about how much he hated the American Inquiry is tragically hilarious.

#history #rms titanic #titanic #book quotes #lightoller #murdoch #e j smith #debunking #cw guns

38 notes · View notes

obxlife · 4 years

Text

Hotel Madness (JJ x Reader)

A/N: Another JJ fic, yes! Fun fact: JJ is my favorite character (along with Rafe too) and I think Rudy Pankow did an amazing job at portraying him in every single way. Like WOW, talk about acting skills. Anyways, this request is super cute and I tried to make it fluffy and sweet and everything. I loved the idea so much! Some of the fragments of this fic are short and some are long, but they are all part of the same story!!!!

Pairing: JJ x Reader

Word count: 5,930 (oops I got a little carried away with this one)

Request: Hey! I absolutely loved Slipping in and was wondering if I could request an imagine where you're a Pogue and work with JJ at the Hotel and them just having fun during their shifts and after or something?

Summary: Working with JJ at the hotel means a lot of inside jokes, laughs, and flirting. It means getting in trouble together and messing around in the kitchen. It also means some of the best memories ever. Some of the fragments of this fic are short and some are long, but they are all part of the same story!!!!

Warnings: FLUFF but also swearing, teenage recklessness and what not lol

HOTEL MADNESS

“JJ!” Mama L screamed out as your blond best friend stole a fry from the plate she was working on. Her wooden spoon came down to smack his hand, but he was too quick for the old chef. You giggled from where you stood, perched on the table next to Andrew, your other coworker.

JJ moved towards you grabbing your hand and helping you jump off the counter.

“C’mon, Y/N,” he told you, “Gotta head to our posts now.”

You frowned as you headed towards the restaurant area of the hotel. You smiled at the guests that were staying this weekend, your hands behind your back, and your uniform in place.

You had been working at the hotel with JJ for a while now. It was one of the few places in Kildare County that had good job offers for kids your age. The best part was that most of these jobs were easy. So you and JJ had applied together (you guys hated working alone as you thought it was boring) and surprisingly got the job. Ever since you had been having a lot more fun than what was intended from your bosses, and you got into a lot more trouble than intended, too.

You had known JJ your whole life. After all, you were friends before working together. It all began back in the fourth grade when you had first arrived at the Outer Banks. You were nervous about being the new kid, but JJ and John B had approached you out of pity. Soon enough you guys were friends, bonding over your love for surfing and getting in trouble.

As the years went by, nothing seemed to be able to keep you apart (except that one time when you didn’t speak to them for two days because they made a period joke). You would head out in John B’s boat along with his father and fish all day. Or you would go into the forest and try to climb a tree as high as you possibly could. Or, once you hit your teen years, you would throw parties together and have beer chugging contests. Whatever activity you were doing, JJ and John B were always by your side.

As you grew, Pope and Kie also joined the Pogues (that’s what you called your group). They were a bit less reckless than you, JJ, and John B, but they brought a lot to the group. For one, Pope was a lot smarter than you three. Granted, none of you were stupid, but you did tend to make rash decisions all the time (just ask sheriff Peterkin about it and she would pull out your very long transcripts). With Pope, these decisions seemed to become a bit less frequent. Kie was also smart. And she was a girl, which was a relief to you, as you couldn’t bare trying to have girl talk with JJ and John B.

“Gross!” they would exclaim. “We don’t want to know who you have a crush on right now!”

Boys.

The five of you were always together. There were a rare few occasions when one of you was missing (normally Kie or Pope helping their parents), but you guys were a family.

Lately, however, you were spending a lot of alone time with JJ. Not only because you had decided to work at the hotel together but because all of the other Pogues were unusually busy.

John B was normally hanging around a girl he had met which he still hadn’t introduced to the Pogues. Kie was also hanging around someone that wasn’t part of your tight-nit group (and you suspected it might be the girl she told you she had a crush on), while Pope was working hard on his scholarship. This meant that the only person available to follow through with your shenanigans and ideas was JJ. Which was fine, as he was always down for everything, no matter what it was.

The blond in question was standing next to you, cracking out jokes about the hotel guests under his breath. You were trying not to giggle at what he said in hopes of not gaining any unwanted attention. The last time you had laughed loudly at one of JJ’s jokes your boss had called both of you into his office and scolded you.

These times you shared with JJ were something you truly cherished now. Inside jokes had sprouted between you, and you felt as if you had never been closer. He even began to talk to you about his dad (which was a topic he usually avoided) on a regular basis, and you would tell him about your own problems.

Noticing an empty table at the end of the dining hall, you poked JJ and cocked your head towards it. Together you moved to the table and looked down at the plates.

“People are starving at the Cut but here they leave half of their food on the plate,” you mentioned to JJ softly.

Starving was something both of you were used to. Not eating a well-sized meal was something that happened every once in a while, and was the root of your needs for your current jobs.

JJ threw you a look as you both gathered the plates into your hands and moved towards the kitchen again. You dropped the plates at Andrew’s station, where he was going to throw the food away and wash the plates.

You both began to rush back outside into the dining hall but were stopped by Diana, the receptionist, who grabbed your arms and pushed you back into the kitchen.

“Whatever you think we did, it wasn’t us,” you stated, raising your hands in surrender.

Diana scoffed. “So you guys aren’t the ones that sneaked a rat into room 501?”

You gave JJ a wide-eyed look, knowing her suspicions about you were right. The woman that was staying in that room had been exceptionally rude to you the day before, and JJ had convinced you to get revenge.

JJ was an expert at lying and he quickly denied your actions. “No! We would never do that.”

Diana gave you a deadpanned look. You kept your mouth closed and your perfected poker face mask on (it had taken you years to make it as perfect as it was).

Diana sighed and muttered, “God, I hate my job.” Then she sighed and said, “Okay. we have no evidence to prove it wasn’t you, so you’re off the hook.”

You beamed at Diana, but truly you were smiling to yourself. You knew the hotel had no evidence. JJ had Pope hack into the security and deactivate the security cameras of the fifth building’s hallway.

“So we can get back to working now?” JJ inquired pointing towards the kitchen door. You could hear Mama L murmuring about you and JJ being misbehaved behind your back, as she knew all too well that you guys had escaped the consequences of your actions once again. Andrew was also stifling a laugh.

Diana shook her head. “We need you two to deliver the room services that were ordered. Can you do this without getting into any trouble?”

JJ raised an eyebrow at her and laughed, nodding.

“Bold of her to assume we get into trouble. It’s more like trouble chases us,” JJ laughed pulling out one of the kitchen’s carts from a supply closet. You took the tablecloths for the cart, laughing.

“J, you most definitely know that we always are getting in trouble.”

JJ just shrugged. “It’s still bold of her to assume.”

You laughed at this. He simply beamed at you and pressed a hand to your waist, signaling for you to load the cart and head out of the kitchen.

Once you were away from the eyes of your superiors, you hopped onto one end of the cart as JJ began to run around and hop onto his end as well. Laughing out loud and speeding around, you tried to hold onto all of the plates on the cart. Stopping before the doors that had ordered room service, you caught your breath before knocking.

After finishing all of the orders, JJ continued to push you around the halls of the building. Wind rushed by your ears as strands of hair fell from your ponytail. Suddenly, you tumbled off the cart as JJ pulled to a stop after turning around a sharp corner. While groaning in pain, he helped you up while apologizing to the hotel guest in front of you.

When you were standing you looked towards the guest you had almost crashed and apologized as well. The apology, however, got caught in your throat as you looked at the boy standing before you.

“It’s okay,” he assured you. “At least someone around here knows how to have fun.”

The boy was gorgeous, and both you and JJ let out a laugh at his statement. The guest was only looking at you though.

“Again, we’re really sorry. We should have been paying attention to where we were going,” you said once more.

Finally turning away from the boy and returning to the kitchen, JJ said, “That guy was totally trying to flirt with you.”

You froze. “You think so?”

JJ nodded. “Yeah, he couldn’t take his eyes off of you. He was probably imagining you naked or something!”

You laughed. “Piss off, JJ.”

*************************************************

The classic place to find you and JJ after finishing your shifts at the hotel was at the back of the building smoking a joint. It had become a tradition for you two to smoke some pot before heading towards the Chateau or your place.

Normally, the conversation that would flow between you would be a random topic that had sprung into your head that day. Sometimes they were about the plans you and JJ had with the rest of the Pogues. Sometimes they would be about the Kooks and plotting revenge on whatever they had done to your friends this time.

“I know, for sure, that if I was up to Rafe, one on one, I would win,” JJ exclaimed.

You pretended to think. You knew JJ could take Rafe, but you liked to mess around with him. “Hmmm, I don’t think you could. That boy is ripped.”

JJ raised his biceps and kissed them. “Not as ripped as me!”

“Whatever,” you laughed out. “Now Topper is someone you could definitely take on.”

“And Kelce too,” JJ said while nodding along with you. “And you could take on any of those Kook girls.”

“You bet,” you cheered, taking a drag from the hand-rolled joint.

You were seated on top of some crates that were stacked behind the hotel as JJ stood before you. He took the joint from your extended hands.

“You could probably fight them off better than Pope would,” JJ continued.

At this, you belted out a laugh.

JJ loved making you laugh. He had a thing for you and everyone seemed to know except for you. This ‘thing’ had been going on ever since he had met you, and there was no denying, to anyone, that you were his favorite person in the world.

Sometimes, when he would have a fight with his father, he would think of running away from Outer Banks. And for some reason, he would always include you in whatever his plans were. Whether they were going to Yucatán or heading to another state or just to the mainland. He couldn’t bear the thought of not being with you or of leaving you behind.

He would never admit it, but JJ truly thought you were his soulmate. Even before he had developed more than friendly feelings for you, he was sure you were a person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. You just clicked together, and your friendship made sense to everyone. He secretly hoped you thought this of him too and would spend many sleepless nights thinking of scenarios where you realized you were completely and utterly in love with him.

“I would just need to watch out for their acrylic nails,” you continued talking. “Those things could pop one of my eyes out if I’m not careful.”

Giving you the joint JJ nodded before changing the topic. “So what are we doing tonight?”

You shrugged. The Pogues hadn’t planned anything to do together as a group.

“Come over to my place, J. We’ll have a sleepover!”

JJ gave you the joint so you could have the last taste of it. Once you were done you threw it onto the ground and stomped it out.

“I’m down. Only if I get to sleep with you on your bed.”

You laughed before pressing a hand to your chest and opening your mouth in shock. “Are you trying to seduce me, Mr. Maybank?”

“I’ll only say yes if it is working,” he responded, winking at you. Of course you knew he was joking. You had been having sleepovers since you were young, and you had always shared a bed.

You ran through the orderly streets of Figure Eight and then the run-down streets of the Cut. You walked up the pathway to your house, noticing that there still was no car in your driveway. It had been almost a month since the car hadn’t been there.

You stood frozen and JJ took your hand, pulling you into your house. He hadn’t spoken to you much about your father leaving, but he knew that it pained you.

Your father had left your house after he had been fighting with your mother. He had jumped into his car and he hadn’t returned. You had seen his car around the Cut a few times, which meant he was still on the island, but he was yet to return home.

Your mother had been crying herself to sleep for the first two weeks, but soon she had vacated the house as well. She hadn’t been home for a while, and you were sure she was probably on the streets at night waiting for men that had enough money to pay her price.

Your parents were clearly a sensitive topic.

Your good spirit had died down a little when you noticed you were in your room. JJ had let go of your hand and was in the bathroom down the hall. He was shocked to find you in the same spot he had left you.

“Do you want to talk?” he asked you gently. You shook your head. “Okay. Then we’ll just lay down for a while.”

He took your bag off your shoulder and set it down on the floor next to his, right at the foot of your dresser. He grabbed your hands and shoved some clothes into them, which you realized was one of his old shirts he had given you a long time ago and sweatpants. You took the clothes and headed towards the bathroom to change out of your work uniform. You knew JJ was probably changing into something more comfortable in your room.

When you got back you saw JJ laying on your bed with only a pair of basketball shorts on. You lay next to him silently and he wrapped one of his arms around you. You snuggled together as JJ threw the covers over your bodies, encasing you in much-needed heat. JJ kissed the top of your head gently as he rubbed circles into your back.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I will be,” you answered.

Trying to lighten the mood, JJ exclaimed, “Damn right, you will be.”

You giggled softly, grateful that JJ was always there for you through everything.

“Don’t let your parents get you down, Y/N,” JJ whispered after a few moments of silence. “You’re so much more than whatever shit they put you through.”

He felt you smile against the skin of his shoulder, and you were gladly inhaling his scent.

JJ was right. All you needed was your real family. And your parents did not fit into that mold.

*************************************************

“Would you mind getting me a second serving of this?”

The old man before you had been sweet to you throughout his stay at the hotel. He had been giving you large tips and friendly smiles. JJ thought that the man was a pedophile and had just taken a liking towards you.

So, as you took the plate of the man and headed to the kitchen, you ignored the obscene gestures that were being made by the blond behind the old man’s back.

Once you arrived at the kitchen you left the plate at Andrew’s station (“Hey, Andrew.”), before repeating the man’s order to Mama L.

Right at that moment JJ burst through the door.

“What time is it?” JJ asked you. You fished your phone out of your pocket before telling him it was almost three in the afternoon. “Great. Only fifteen minutes left for our break.”

You nodded, going through your phone as you waited for Mama L to assemble the old man’s plate. Meanwhile, JJ wrapped his arms across your body, pressing himself into you and pressing you into the counter in front of you. He put his head in the crook between your neck and your shoulder and stared down at your phone. He read the text messages that had come from the Pogues stating that there was a kegger later that night.

“You wanna go?” JJ asked you softly. He knew how much of a party animal you were, but he also knew you weren’t always up for partying. And if you wouldn’t go, he wouldn’t go either. He needed his party partner there to actually have a good time.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

You felt JJ smile as he pressed his lips to your temple. “Good, because I really have been wanting to get drunk.”

You let out a laugh as Mama L called you over with the finished plate in her hand. Grabbing that, you broke out of JJ’s arms and headed towards the dining hall.

Your coworkers watched as JJ followed you like a small puppy out of the kitchen.

Mama L sighed. “If those kids don’t get married…”

Andrew nodded from his place behind the sink. “Yeah, I know.”

*************************************************

“Y/N, be quiet!” JJ called out from the other side of the room.

You and him were on a mission. You had heard a word from other members of the hotel staff that a celebrity was staying at the hotel. This obviously intrigued you and JJ, which caused both of you to concoct a plan. This consisted of figuring out which room this celebrity was staying at (done), stealing a room key that would get you into the room (done), and sneaking into the room (in process).

JJ had convinced you to steal some of this celebrity’s money with him. Which, looking back, was a terrible idea, but here you two were.

You had deactivated the security cameras of the hotel and had managed to sneak into the room with no problem. However, while being excited when seeing all of the designer clothes strewn across the room you had dropped a lamp from a table. This was causing JJ to promptly tell you to shut up.

JJ was fumbling with the drawers of the bedside table as you continued to snoop through the celebrity’s belongings.

Suddenly, you pulled out a long object and screeched.

JJ turned towards you to reprimand you but stopped once he saw the object in your hand.

“Oh, shit. Is that a vibrator?”

“Ew, ew, ew,” you let it go, watching it fall onto the floor.

A knock at the door made your eyes widen.

“Ms. Jones! Is everything okay?”

Your eyes darted between the door and JJ, before looking at the empty closet behind him. Tugging his arm, you pushed him into the closet and you followed inside, closing it after you.

Straining your ears to listen, you heard as the door of the room opened. In walked Diana with a maid, looking around the room.

“I’m sure I heard someone shriek from here!” Diana said while she looked across the room.

The maid shook her head as she, in the most respectful tone as possible, said, “I’m sure it had to be another room! Ms. Jones hasn’t been here all morning.”

“I know! Which is why I’m sure those Maybank and Y/L/N kids are here. They’re always wreaking havoc through the hotel.”

Diana sounded as if it was her dream to fire you and JJ. This caused you to almost let out a giggle. Luckily, JJ’s hand clasped around your mouth and pulled you into his chest so that your back was against it.

“Oh, they are lovely children, those two!” the maid exclaimed. “They are always bringing smiles to the guests!”

Diana shook her head and gave her a look of disbelief. “I don’t believe that at all.”

The maid kept talking as if she hadn’t heard Diana. “Oh, and everybody thinks they are such a lovely couple! Which they are, don’t you agree?”

Diana shook her head and continued to mutter, “I’m sure they’re here somewhere,” under her breath.

In the meantime, JJ’s heart was racing and trying to look at your reaction to what you had heard. More specifically, the part about being a couple.

You could feel his heart beating but had assumed it was due to the adrenaline of the moment, and not due to the fact that the maid had mentioned you were a couple. This thought made your hands sweat. You had imagined multiple times what it would be like to date JJ, but you didn’t truly think you had any feelings for JJ. Or did you? You knew the real answer to that question.

Diana kept looking around as the maid stood at the door, babbling on about some other members of the hotel staff that were nice. Diana simply ignored her, standing up from looking under the bed and turning towards the closet.

Looking through the small crack between the closet doors, you saw Diana approaching the closet. Your breathing got heavier. This was it, you were going to be fired.

JJ’s hand moved to cover your nose as well. Your breathing was going to be heard by the receptionist if she continued to come closer, which she was. However, and like a miracle, a scream that had sounded similar to the one you had let out some minutes ago came from outside the room. Diana turned towards the room door as the screaming continued.

“I think you should check on that,” the maid motioned with her finger towards the hallway. Diana sighed and nodded, leaving the closet untouched. You let out a sigh of relief as soon as JJ’s hands left your face.

Unmoving you both stood there catching your breaths. Out of nowhere, the door of the closet was pulled open by the maid that had been talking with Diana. You recognized her as Ms. Amy, a woman from the Cut that lived near you.

“You kids better run out of here before she comes back,” she scolded you and your best friend. JJ nodded, as you stayed still and shocked that she had known you were here. JJ grabbed your hand and tugged you to the door of the room. Before he could even touch the doorknob, Ms. Amy called out, stopping him.

“Oh, and do give me the key you stole to put it back in its place. We don’t want you getting in any trouble with Diana.”

JJ sheepishly dropped the key into Ms. Amy’s hand. Ms. Amy only smiled at the both of you as you left the room.

“I am never letting you convince me to do something like that ever again!” you exclaimed once near the kitchen.

JJ pretended to frown at you. “Not even if I ask nicely?” he pouted.

You laughed and shook your head, pushing the double-doors of the kitchen open.

You ran into the back, where your bags were set down in the staff room. You checked the time on your phone and noticed that your shift was over.

You took off your apron and grabbed your’s and JJ’s bags from the floor. Exiting the staff room into the kitchen you turned towards JJ who was talking with Andrew.

“C’mon, blondie,” you called to him by his nickname.

JJ hopped off the counter by Andrew’s station and said bye to him and to Mama L (of course, with a kiss on her cheek). Then he followed you out of the kitchen’s back door and out to the alleyway between two of the hotel buildings. You settled down at your usual smoking spot, waiting for JJ to pull out a joint from his backpack.

He pulled a little tin box from his bag and slipped a white, pre-rolled blunt from it. Then, putting the tin box back, he took his lighter, which was engraved with a double J, and placed the fire near the tip of the joint.

Breathing in, smoke filled his lungs. He passed the weed to you, which you grabbed and inhaled.

The nerves of almost getting caught were almost completely dissipated by now as an easy conversation began to flow between you and JJ. You soon reached the topic of the kegger you had gone to a couple of nights ago.

Passing him the joint, you ruffled his hair, and asked, “Who did you hook up with this time? Was it that Touron you were talking to?”

JJ shook his head trying to get away from your hands. His hair was probably awful now. “No,” he simply stated.

“Really?” you hummed, “I thought you did because you disappeared a while later.”

JJ shook his head, this time to answer you. “I was talking to Kie.”

This peaked your attention and curiosity. For some reason you felt jealous he was confiding with Kie and not with you. Before you could bring this up, however, he asked you, “What about you? Did you hook up with anyone?”

You laughed at the tone of voice he was using. “No, I didn’t.”

JJ frowned. You and him were similar in that way, always hooking up with people at parties.

“Why not?”

“No reason,” you replied. You had actually wanted to say, You.

*************************************************

As summer approached, the hotel had changed your’s and JJ’s position. Now you were working at the hotel bar, which meant khaki-colored shorts and white polos for your uniforms. The heat from outside was unbearable, and all you wanted to do was dip your feet in the pool.

Summer also meant that the hotel got filled with a lot more people your age than during the winter. Families on vacations and groups of young adults wanting to party on the east coast of the country were regulars, which meant that you were getting flirted with. A lot.

This made JJ’s blood boil. All he wanted was for those guys that approached you to leave you alone because you were supposed to be his. But that was the thing. Supposed.

Due to hotel policies, all of the waiters from the bar were allowed to have two drinks throughout the day for free. And JJ was just waiting for your break so that he could grab two drinks and head down to the hotel’s private beach with you.

After what seemed like hours JJ approached you with your drinks. You latched onto his hand, saying goodbye to the group of boys that had been talking to you, and headed towards the beach. JJ turned to witness the look of disappointment on the boys’ faces. He smiled to himself.

“You’re knocking them dead, tiger,” he said to you, which caused you to snort.

“No, I’m not.”

“You really are though. They’re all flirting with you.”

You just laughed as you sipped your drink away. JJ had chosen a strawberry juice for you, a mango juice for himself in his hands. You both took your sandals off your feet and dipped your feet into the ocean water, instantly feeling a lot cooler than before.

You let out a sound that was similar to a moan, grateful that the water was cold and brought you relief.

“Don’t make that sound,” JJ said, laughing. “It sounds like a moan!”

You opened your mouth, offended at what the blond had said. “Hey!”

JJ continued to laugh, dodging the hand you had thrown towards him in an attempt to punch his shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t mind hearing that during sex.”

“JJ!” you shrieked out. You splashed some ocean water onto him by raising your foot. He raised both of his hands in front of him, trying to block the water (which didn’t work). Then, he moved his hands even higher in a sign of defeat.

You secretly wished JJ had actually meant what he said. JJ secretly wished you had taken what he said seriously.

***********************************************

The first kegger of the summer was always filled with people. This year was no different.

You had been dancing with Kie for the most part. A couple of Tourons you recognized as guests from the hotel had tried to ask you to dance, but you had denied all of them.

JJ had been staring at you from his post at the keg. He stood with John B and Pope, who surrounded him.

Everything was seemingly falling into place for the male Pogues. John B had broken up with the last girl he had been with (turns out she was a cheater) and Pope was all ready for his scholarship, which he needed to secure in an upcoming interview. Every one of them was happy, except for JJ. Wait, no - he was happy, but not as much as he could be. His longing eyes staring in your direction were enough proof of that.

“Dude,” John B said in an exasperated tone of voice. “Just tell her.”

Pope nodded along, saying, “I’m pretty sure she likes you back.”

JJ pretended not to know what they were talking about. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

John B groaned and rubbed a hand over his face as Pope just gave JJ a look while the blond turned towards them.

“Y/N,” Pope deadpanned.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Stop being difficult, JJ,” John B snapped. “We all know you like her. And Kie said she’s pretty sure she likes you, too.”

“Really?” JJ inquired in an excited manner.

John B and Pope laughed. “We rest our case.”

JJ turned back to you, a smile dancing across his lips as he noticed you take Kie’s hand and spin her around.

He could do this. He was going to ask you to dance with him. It wasn’t something you hadn’t done before together, but it was the first part of the plan that was forming inside of his head.

He walked towards you, throwing a “See you later” to the other male Pogues over his shoulder. Mid-way through a spin you had spotted him and smiled. He was only about twenty feet away from you when a body covered his path. The large back he stared at blocked his view from you.

“Wanna dance?” a gruff voice said. JJ was about to step back and let you dance with the boy before you, until he was surprised to hear you say, “Sorry, I was just about to dance with someone else.”

Going around the boy, you took JJ’s hand and dragged him to where you were before with Kie. The brown-haired girl had disappeared, which left you alone with JJ.

You placed your hands around his neck as his went around your waist. You had danced before, so why was your heart pounding really hard this time?

You were moving to the rhythm of the music, swaying a bit and fooling around as people around you were grinding. You preferred your style of dancing. It was fun and lighthearted, just like you and JJ were.

After a couple of songs and a lot more physical contact than usual, you had both decided to head back to John B’s house as you were bored. You first stopped by the Pogues to inform them that you were leaving and to gather your bags you had discarded.

When you arrived at the Chateau you collapsed onto the hammock outside. On the chairs around it, there were a few of your discarded sweatshirts from other times you had been over there. Putting one of JJ’s on, you lay on the hammock and waited for JJ. When he was by your side you snuggled into him. He pulled out a joint from his pocket and held it between his ring-clad fingers.

You took it between your lips as JJ’s lighter was raised by its owner to the joint. You breathed in slowly and then let the smoke out.

You sighed in content as you placed your head on his chest.

“JJ, I love you,” you suddenly voiced out to the blond under you. He coughed a bit before saying, “Yeah, love you, too.”

You shook your head softly and finally accepted what you truly meant. It didn’t matter if he didn’t feel it back, but you just suddenly had to speak it out loud.

“No, JJ,” you softly spoke. “I’m in love with you.”

JJ tensed beneath you and you felt dread build up inside of you. Was he going to reject you or…?

You couldn’t complete your thought as the blond boy grabbed onto your face and pressed his lips into yours. You took his face into your hands as well and moved your mouth against his. It felt like heaven on Earth to kiss him this sweetly and softly. Your growing feelings for him exploded in confirmation as you realized that the person in front of you was the person you wanted to kiss for the rest of your life. JJ was it for you.

He tasted of mint and weed, but you were sure you tasted similar to him. He smelled like he always had smelled (freshly cut grass and like the ocean), but this time, as you inhaled a breath, you were intoxicated by it.

One of his hands moved to grip your waist and you moaned as, at the same time he squeezed your side, he slipped his tongue into your mouth.

When you pulled away your foreheads remained connected. Staring into each other’s eyes and smiling like idiots, you said, “I guess that is your way of saying ‘me too’?”

JJ nodded and pulled you into another kiss. It was just as intoxicating and thrilling as the first one.

The second time you pulled away, this time panting because of the more intense kiss, he spoke, “I’m in love with you, too. Ever since we took those goddamn jobs at the hotel.”

You grinned at him before burying your face into the crook of his neck. He felt the grin you were sporting pressed against his skin. JJ shivered at the feeling of having you in his arms, rubbing one hand up and down your back and the other one cradling your head.

The joint you had been sharing lay discarded between your bodies. Unlike the times at the hotel, you wanted to be completely sober now. This was what your hotel madness had been building up to. To you and JJ, together.

Mama L was going to be happy to hear about the new couple.

#outer banks #obx #obx netflix #jj maybank #rudy pankow #jj x reader #jj x y/n

524 notes · View notes

apothecarinomicon · 3 years

Text

Spring week 4 part 3

After my hectic experience with the marshbloom, I decided to take a day for myself. Greenmoor isn’t anywhere near the ocean, but Meltwater Loch is big enough that I figured a day spent there could be considered a beach day. And after the couple of weeks I’d had, boy did I need a beach day.

But anyone who’s read this far ought to be familiar with my luck by now. There’s a lot to record, but I’ll try to get it down in order.

────⊱⁜⊰────

It was a beautiful day—clear blue sky, warm air, and (at least when I first arrived) no one around at Meltwater Loch. I spread out a towel on the beach and laid down for a good session of sunbathing. I’ve never been one for tanning, but simply laying doing nothing while being warmed by the sun and cooled by the breeze felt absolutely decadent.

After a while of simply existing, I became aware of the sound of a bird calling above me. I cracked my eyes open and recognized the large forms of a pair of gull-drakes flying overhead. Gull-drakes are a strange hybrid, both reptilian and avian. Their torsos and wings are feathered, while their heads, tails, and talons are scaled. They do have beaks like gulls, but their tails are prehensile like their alleged draconic ancestors’. I say ‘alleged’ because no one knows how the hybrid gull-drake came into being. The sheer anatomy and scale discrepancy between the average seagull and the average dragon fossil (they were much larger in ancient times than the pocket-sized lizards we have today) seems to rule out any cross-breeding. Additionally, the typical combination of traits displayed by gull-drakes is too awkward and ungainly to be the result of natural selection. And yet, there have been records of the gull-drake’s existence for just about as long as there have been records—the third-oldest surviving written document, in fact, is a bestiary which includes them along dozens of other species, most of which are now extinct.

Nature is a strange thing.

Digressions aside, there was a reason this caught my attention. Gull-drakes are scavengers, and have been known to leave catches uneaten while they go out to hunt for more. It’s just an evolutionary quirk—they prefer to feast only once per day. This means that, as they leave their nests unattended, some other opportunistic creature could come by and steal their catch.

It’s easy to identify a gull-drake nest, too—they tend to be very large, and are often positioned balanced atop large, pointy rocks. If a gull-drake catches you stealing, though, it’ll chase you and squawk at you and try to peck you until you drop the stolen goods and flee. They’re not too smart, though, so hiding in nearby foliage (say, a patch of large ferns) will fool them easily.

All of this to say, I managed to get myself a shock fish without a rod, all while only getting chased a little ways by a jealous, stupid bird.

────⊱⁜⊰────

As I returned to my towel, I heard an unusual sound—the put-put-put of a motor. Machinery of that kind is a fairly new invention, and unless you know how to make it, very expensive.

The woman driving the boat certainly looked like she knew how to make a motor. She was dwarven, with russet hair and a long beard, both held in thick braids. She was (as dwarves are) rather short—I'd estimate maybe one-and-a-fifth meters tall, and nearly as wide—with large hands and feet, and limbs thickly corded with muscle. She wore dark green coveralls and had a fairly heavy-duty fishing rod held in one hand so that it rested on her shoulder.

She shut the motor off as she neared and called out to me, asking if I was the village witch. I said that I was, and she told me that she was friends with my crocodilian patient. She thanked me for helping him, and said he would have been a goner without my potion-making skills. I demurred just a bit, saying I wasn't the only healer who helped him that day. She scoffed and dismissed my humility outright, saying that I might as well have been the only one—that without my care the village doctor wouldn't have been able to do anything.

She introduced herself as Janneth Hillhorn, and I told her my name in turn. She asked what I was doing out by Meltwater Loch and I told her I was taking a day off. She let me know that her cottage was just around the other side of the lake, near Glimmerwood Grove and right on the border of Blastfire Bog, and that I should feel free to stop in any time. I thanked her.

At this point, there was a tremor in the water. It couldn't have been an earthquake because the land wasn't shaking, but the water abruptly became much more active. Ocean-like waves crashed into the shore and Janneth held tight onto the sides of her boat, doing her best not to capsize. I would have been quite alarmed in her situation, but Janneth barely seemed preturbed. I asked something along the lines of "what the blight is going on?!" As the water settled, Janneth told me that this was a common occurence on Meltwater Loch, a quirk that—many said—was due to the emotions of its guardian sea-dragon, Bàs Bàta. I found this explanation rather silly, reminiscent of an old wives' tale. I'd never heard of a sea-dragon before, and given that the name ‘Bàs Bàta’ directly translated to "boat death," I figured it was just a local story told to frighten children and dismissed it out of hand.

Astute readers should be growing worried for me right about now.

Janneth offered to give me one of the fish she'd caught as a thanks for helping her friend. I initially refused, but she insisted. She looked through her basket and pulled out a dentist crab. The gel their claws produce is good for the mouth and plenty else besides, so I accepted and thanked her. She thanked me right back and said (perhaps jokingly?) not to run afoul of Bàs Bàta while I was out by the loch. I forced a laugh as she sped away.

Once she was out of sight, I collected some claw gel from the dentist crab and released it back into the water.

────⊱⁜⊰────

There was another rumbling as I made my way back to the beach, and as it abated I saw something bob up to the surface of the water close to the shore. It presented itself, et cetera et cetera, I waded in to see what it was.

I scooped it out of the water and found myself holding a glass bottle, like the kind that rum or sweet wine would come in, sealed with a cork and containing a rolled-up sheet of paper. Of course, I opened it immediately. I found that the sheet inside wasn’t quite *paper,* but something more slippery—maybe made of seaweed? It did have writing on it, though. As I unfurled it, a few things that looked like pebbles fell out. I barely managed to catch them before they hit the surface of the water. I put them in my pocket for safe keeping.

The writing on the note was as follows, with no spelling changes by me:

Let it be known that I fink this whole exercise is stupid. And pointless. And probly meant as some kind of sick, twisted punishment. No one but little kids believe in terrafolk, so I don’t know why the instructress is making us do this.

Even if anyfing could live above the water, there’s no way its advanced enough to read. How would it get all the minerals it needs wivout processing the water?

But anyway. I guess I ave to fulfill the prompt.

Me name is Genoveva, I live in the I.S.A.C.S. (that's short for 'Isolated Sovereign Aquatic City-State, but we all just pronounce it like 'Isax") and I’m in the fifth year of me education. I hate me name. I wish I could ave somefing exotic like a John or a Steve or a Sarah, but I’m stuck wiv boring old Genoveva. If you’re somehow able to read this, that must mean you ave schools on the surface, too. Wat ar they like? Ar they as boring up there? We all ave to sit in a circle and listen to the instructress drone on and on and on.

I live wiv me merma and me perpa and me two baby brothers. Do you ave family? I've got loads of cousins too.

On the rubric it says I ave to include a small gift, so I'm putting some fossil fish scales in wiv this letter. I found em on me way to school this morning and there not of use to me, but I figure you probly don't ave fish on land so maybe scales ar valuable up there.

If you're inclined to write back (no pressure), you can just pop your note in the bottle and put it back into the water. It'll find its way to me—there's magic all around, don't you know.

Signed,

Genoveva Galbrait, 5th year

[An accessible version of this letter can be found here.]

The letter obviously has some pretty complex implications. An entire society under the surface of Meltwater Loch, entirely unaware of the world above the surface beyond fairy stories? What must life be like down there? What kind of society must they have? How do they supply food? Get rid of waste?

What resources might be available there that can't be found on the surface?

I decided that somehow I was going to find a way to visit ISACS, and learn everything I could about it. I bet that would impress the University of Arcbridge. I wasn't sure how I would breathe under the water for long enough, but I was determined to find a way.

Take your final guesses now what happened next.

That water-quaking started up again, this time stronger than before. Waves crashed against the beach where I stood, and I felt a great vibration in my chest and in my head.

And then, it broke the surface of the water.

Giant and blue-green and serpentine, Bàs Bàta rose up before me. A blighting sea-dragon, it stood straight up in the air at least twice as tall as my cottage—and that was just the part of its body I could see. Its head was shaped like the tip of an arrow, with three great spikes sprouting out of the back (the outer two longer than the middle one). It let loose another deep roar, dousing me in spittle. It thrashed about, causing great waves to crash onto the shore, and through my shock I realized its movements might be less characteristic of anger than of pain.

My suspicions were confirmed when it roared again: one of the fangs right near the front of its mouth was missing a chip, and had a great crack running nearly all the way up to the root. That had to hurt. I'd never treated a non-humanoid before—or, for that matter, a cracked tooth—but I realized even past the moral obligation to help, there was no way I could access the underwater city-state without calming Bàs Bàta down.

I found out later, after I'd scrambled away from the lake and sprinted back to the cottage, after wiping the saliva off of me and getting at least some of it in a bottle for potion use, that the saliva was actually a really useful ingredient in treating shattered teeth. As it turns out, it's a pretty strong painkiller. Unfortunately, I knew I'd need more than just that to make a cure, and with the sheer size of Bàs Bàta, I suspected I'd need to make more than one potion.

That will have to be a longer term project, then, because the events of my relaxation day have worn me out. I've got to get to bed. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

⇦●〇●⇨

4 notes · View notes

jjmaebank · 4 years

Text

Wildflower 🌼 - JJ Maybank

a/n: yes it’s me, Nikki, back with another 5sos song fic and I'm not mad about it. @aron-pipers-whore inspired me to write this so this one’s for u !! (also ik the flowers r rlly big idk why Tumblr has done this)

I loved this because the whole basis behind the lyrics of this song are parts in the chorus are left out so the listener can actually fill them in with whatever they feel fits best. so here I've filled in the missing lyrics with my interpretation !!

Words: 1.5k

[GIF NOT MINE]

❀

I hear you callin’ out my name I love the sound, I love the taste

❀

You were at a typical beach party with the pogues, the beach was littered with tourons and even some kooks that dared to mingle on the other side of the island. The music was loud, deafening even, but the mood was perfect. You were pretty drunk, but just the right amount thanks to JJ’s mixing skills. You were convinced he’d been a bartender in his previous life; he knew how to concoct the perfect drink that tasted like pure ecstasy but that would have you wishing you’d never taken a sip the next morning. But that was what you were feeling right now, pure ecstasy, and you certainly were not complaining about it.

JJ admired you dancing as he sat in the sand, sipping his beer. He swore his heart would stop every time he saw your hair flip from side to side as you moved your head to the music. He felt butterflies erupt throughout his whole body as he watched you sway your hips, your bare skin glistening in the moonlight. But hearing you call his name? There was only one word to describe it, euphoric.

“JJ! Come dance!” You yelled over the music, sticking your index finger out and motioning for him to come to you.

That was all you had to say, his name, and he would obey. You owned him, and you had no idea. The way his name rolled off your tongue made him swear that if the letters ‘J’ weren't coming from your lips, he didn’t want to hear it. JJ was absolutely mesmerised by you.

You’d hooked up a few times over the summer, every time being after another one of these wild parties, the both of you drunk out of your minds. But you would never mention it afterwards, you'd simply go back to being your normal selves, acting as if it had never even happened.

But after every drunk hook up you had, JJ would long for you more. At first, he thought it was simply a sexual attraction he couldn’t control, but soon enough it became so much more than that. His lust for you was insatiable. You were constantly on his mind, from the moment you left his bed to the moment you fell back in drunkenly. Pretty soon JJ realised what he had for you wasn’t just lust, it was love. He was in love with you.

❀

And I can see it in your face You’ve got a side you can’t explain

❀

You were an enigma. JJ couldn’t figure you out no matter how long he spent trying to decipher your body language, your words, your facial expressions. He was completely in the dark as to whether you reciprocated any sort of feelings towards him. But that was part of what excited him so much about you. You were unreachable, despite the countless times he’d had you.

You had this wild side to you that made you completely unpredictable and he loved it. He’d never had to experience chasing after a girl as they’d usually chase after him, he’d never had to work for it. But with you? It was like a game he had no idea if you were even participating in, and it drove him crazy.

He could see you wanted him from the look in your eyes as you called him over. He knew you were trying to entice him by wearing those low rise shorts and by moving your hips like that. But did you want him the same way he wanted you?

❀

You’re tellin’ me, tellin’ me, tellin’ me you wanna come over You wanna be, wanna be, wanna be, wanna be closer I love it when you wear your hair down over your shoulder ‘Cause I wanna hold ya ‘Cause I know where tonight is going

❀

“So, yours or mine tonight?” You asked, slurring your words, continuing to move in unison with the music.

“It’s gonna have to be yours tonight,” JJ smirked, wrapping his arms around your waist.

You slapped his hands away jokingly, “not quite yet you don’t”

The things you did to this boy. All night he’d been gawking over you, longing to touch you, but you were having your fun teasing him. JJ would even go as far to say tormenting, that’s how bad he wanted you.

You started dancing closer to him, close enough so that your skin was almost touching his. JJ bit his lip as he looked you up and down, exhaling shakily as he tried his hardest not to throw you over his shoulder and carry you to his car just to do it in the backseat. You began to trace your fingers over his biceps causing the hairs on his arms to stick up...but they weren't all that were planning on sticking up that night.

You moved your shoulders side to side as you lowered your body closer to the floor, never breaking eye contact with him. You knew exactly what you were doing. JJ looked down at you, trying so hard not to imagine what else he wished you were doing or else he’d have to cross his legs for the remainder of the night.

“Fuck, (Y/N),” he gasped. You had barely touched him and he was out of breath.

You ran your fingers up your body as you rose up to eye level with him and you saw his eyes widen as you played with the strap of your top. But before he could say anything, you flashed a quick grin before turning around and flipping your hair over your shoulder. You walked away, giving him one quick look over the shoulder before going to sit with Kie who seemed to be lecturing some poor touron on leaving beer cans on the beach.

❀

You’re the only one who makes me feel alive Every time we touch I’ll tell you what I like My wildflower

❀

Later that night, you ended up in bed with JJ as expected. JJ laid there speechless and out of breath, his skin on fire from every where you’d touched him. You seemed so innocent but every time you got intimate with one another you exposed more and more of your wild side. You had made JJ, JJ the notorious player and ladies man, feel things he’d never felt before. You had made him feel more alive than he’d ever felt before.

You had fallen asleep next to him for the first time ever. Usually you or him would leave almost immediately after finishing, despite the countless times JJ had wanted to stay and hold you.

JJ admired your beautiful features as you slept. Your previous erratic self was now at peace, and he revelled in the fact you were lying next to him. He hesitated at first, but he began to trace his fingers across your jawline, moving his finger tips gently up the side of your face and then back down the bridge of your nose, the sound of your exhales putting him in a trance.

JJ leant over your body carefully, making sure not to wake you, and placed a kiss on your lips. It was a long, sensual kiss and much calmer than any the two of you had shared before. JJ almost laughed at the fact that you were asleep and wouldn’t ever know about it; but he wanted you to.

He wanted the two of you to be closer, he wanted to tell you how he felt, but his fear of rejection was too powerful for him to ever reveal it. Having whatever it was you had now was better than not having you at all.

❀

You know you are my favourite fantasy A fatal love song Waterfall is overflowin’

❀

The next day you were all hanging out at the Chateau, telling funny stories about the night before.

“And he just threw his beer can on the sand! I had to tell him off, it’s like...it’s not that hard to care about the environment,” Kie ranted, making you all chuckle a bit.

JJ had hardly been paying attention, he’d been staring at you the whole time, not being able to stop thinking about you. He’d told himself last night that he could never tell you how he felt, how he wanted you to be more than a fantasy. He was scared that confessing his love for you might end in disaster, but seeing you again in a sober state just made his longing for you grow more intense.

He wanted to be able to hold you and kiss you in front of his friends, in front of the world. He wanted to be able to call you his. His love for you had reached breaking point; his fear had acted like a dam, stopping the water from overflowing, and he couldn’t contain it anymore.

The lot of you had decided to go for a boat trip and John B, Kie and Pope were packing up the van, leaving you and JJ in John B’s kitchen, alone.

“I’m gonna go help them load the van,” you smiled at JJ before getting up from your chair.

“Wait...” JJ responded immediately, his heart rate going through the roof.

You stood still and looked down at the blonde haired boy who had grabbed your arm instinctively to stop you from leaving.

“What’s up?” You frowned, you could feel the clamminess of his hands on your arm. He was nervous.

“I have to tell you something...” JJ said, looking up at you.

a/n: tagging some lovely people as I haven’t come up w a full taglist yet : @maybe-maybanks , @baby-bearie , @obx-sos , @drewtruly , @spilledtee , @outerpogues , @languorlust , @thebutterflyonhischest , @poguemacking , @drewstarkey , @outrbank , @drew-starkey , @jjtheangel

#jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank imagine #jj obx #jj x reader #obx #outer banks #outerbanks #outer banks imagine #rudy pankow #rudy pankow x reader #obx netflix #outer banks netflix #obx fic #jj Maybank fic

188 notes · View notes

nikibogwater · 3 years

Text

The Norse Trainwreck: Chapter Three–In which Everything Goes Spectacularly Wrong

Tripe and Gustav were a little more open to getting assistance from me, though I was still forbidden from offering advice (which, y’know what? That’s fair). We got everyone kitted up with Leather Armor and Wooden Shields, and then decided it was time to take on the first boss, Eikthyr (I’d fought him once before in my single-player world, so I was fairly confident in our ability to take him out).

Contrary to what one might expect, everything went remarkably smoothly. Nobody was killed, and Tripe and Gustav now had their own pickaxes so they could stop asking me to break rocks for them.

Don’t worry, the rest of the play session was an absolute disaster.

With all three of us ready to fully pursue the Bronze Age, we made preparations to set out for the Black Forest. The one Gustav had discovered earlier turned out to be pitifully tiny and completely devoid of mining deposits, so we (very stupidly) decided to take the raft across the sea to a much bigger forest.

We arrived in one piece (miraculously) and started hunting through some Burial Chambers for Surtling Cores. In case you don’t know, Burial Chambers are absolutely crawling with Skeletons, and those things hit hard and are resistant to Piercing weapons (which, as it turns out, is what all three of us preferred to use).

Fortunately, thanks to my obsessive research and single-player experience, I had enough foresight to carry my Stagbreaker Hammer with me. What I did not have the foresight to do was tell Gustav and Tripe that I had it.

Tripe and Gustav: *desperately trying to fight off a pack of skeletons with nothing but pointy sticks*

Niki: *PULLS A MASSIVE SPIKY HAMMER OUT OF NOWHERE AND CRUSHES ALL OF THEM IN A BLAZE OF PROTECTIVE SISTERLY RAGE*

Tripe and Gustav: 😐😐

Emboldened by the knowledge that I had a means of dealing with Skeletons, Gustav skipped merrily into the next room and immediately had his face bashed in by more Skeletons. As previously stated, we were on the other side of the ocean from home, with our only means of sea transportation parked outside the Burial Chamber. Which meant that if Gustav were to have any hope of getting his items back, Tripe and I would have to carry them for him.

Being the good siblings we are, we each took as much of the load as we could, but we were running short on inventory space all the same and had to leave behind the less valuable items.

Tripe: Okay, we got the important stuff. I don’t think we lost anything that can’t be easily replaced. Gustav: What about me? *Pause* Tripe: ...Easily replaced. Gustav: HEY! Niki: *WHEEZE!*

Tripe and I ferried Gustav’s items back to him and then, because we’re all painfully slow learners, we turned the boat around and went straight back to the Black Forest. But this time we had a plan of setting up a temporary base with beds in it so that future deaths would be less catastrophic.

We landed and fought off some Greydwarves. I immediately began working on a temporary base, being the one who was most familiar with the building mechanics.

A few minutes of peaceful foundation-laying later, Gustav and Tripe alerted me to the fact that they had found a “very cool tower” and that I could “stop building a house, we’re going to live here now.”

I’m not entirely sure why, but something about using the broken-down abandoned tower as a base seemed…unwise to me. I continued to build the house, but after much peer pressure from the other two, I finally gave up and joined them at the tower.

I don’t even think I can fully communicate how many things went wrong at this point, so here’s just a rapid-fire list:

The tower wasn’t counting as a shelter because it had no roof and we were unable to build one

There was a Greydwarf spawner not a stone’s throw away and we kept being bombarded by a pack of them every few minutes--Gustav died again

There was a hecking TROLL stomping around about 12 feet away and what with trying to fend off all of the Greydwarves, none of us were in a good place to fight it

The expedition came to a very inglorious end when Tripe and I turned tail and sprinted back to the raft without even bothering to pick up Gustav’s items (again).

We arrived home, very subdued, and collapsed into our beds. Gustav had to sleep in his underwear because we hadn’t saved his armor.

At this point, yours truly was in desperate need of some supper, so I left the boys to sort themselves out for a while. When I came back, Gustav had retrieved his items yet again and the plan to expand across the ocean had been effectively dropped altogether.

Tripe was muttering about structural integrity under his breath when I came back, and when I asked what was going on, Gustav answered with “We are building a tower and angering God.”

Niki: ...Well alright then.

A moment of silence later and I ventured to say “Listen, I know you guys don’t like it when I give advice, but I think it’d be best if we found a Black Forest that we didn’t have to sail to and set up a base a little ways outside of it.”

Tripe: ...No actually you should give us common sense like that because we’re stupid. Also yeah, that sounds like a better idea.

To bring this long story to a close, we now have a functioning house set up just outside a Black Forest that we do not have to cross an ocean to reach. Only time will tell if we actually learned anything from this whole experience, or are just doomed to more similar failures. (And by the way, Tripe’s tower project failed and God was not angered. Rip).

#niki rambles #gaming #valheim

9 notes · View notes

the-drakeboys · 4 years

Text

Come Back to Me - Pt. 1

Summary: For the first time in years, Sam and Nate Drake will be going on a perilous, high-risk adventure without you by their side - a three-day stint in a Panamanian prison. They’re not just the guys you’ve partnered with and been a medic for on dozens of insane jobs over the last few years - Nate has become one of your closest friends, and Sam… well, Samuel Drake is the love of your life.

Sam just wants to reassure you - everything is going to be perfectly fine.

It’s a simple job, after all.

Pairing: Sam Drake x Reader

Word Count: 3,475

Warnings: Just… all of the fluff. So much fluff.

A/N: My first fic in a long time! I sincerely hope you enjoy. This’ll be a 3- or 4-part series… Just can’t get enough of Sam. He’s such a complex character, and I absolutely love him. Thanks so much for reading!

---

"I just don't see why we can't come up with something." Pacing the floor with your hands on your hips, you had both Drake brothers watching you with uncertain eyes. The crimson shag carpeting beneath your feet squished between your toes, and your eyes caught the cryptic motel art hanging on the far wall. "There must be... I don't know. Something."

"We've been over this three hundred times, y/n. It's not gonna work," Nate sighed, rubbing his hands down over his face. You slowed to a stop behind Sam's chair and set your hand on the back of it. You idly thought about how badly you needed to do a load of laundry - his t-shirt felt utterly grimy against the side of your thumb. "But the boat is an important piece of the puzzle. Immensely important. In fact, I would say it's the most important-"

"Okay, alright, she gets it," Sam waved off his brother's muttering, glancing up at you over his shoulder. "Darlin', we'll be fine. I promise you. It's a simple plan, in and out. That's it." You stared down at him, taken by the earnest look in his eyes. He meant it; he was confident everything would be completely fine.

And that's what scared you.

"Sam..." you started, your mouth opening and closing uselessly. He never left your gaze, managing a small, reassuring smile in the corner of his lips. You sighed, setting your hand softly onto his cheek. He turned his head and kissed your palm, hoping that your jittery nerves would be soothed by it. You felt yourself sink, knowing they were right. "Just... just go over the plan for me one more time. Okay?"

"Jesus, y/n..." Nate's patience was wearing thin. You sat yourself down in the chair between them, trying to settle yourself.

"Please. Just humor me,” you pressed. The younger Drake softened at the sound of your voice and gave, clearing his throat and starting up on the plan for the millionth time.

"Uh... Yeah. Yeah, alright." You sunk back into the chair, feeling the weight of all your worry and stress press down into your shoulders. "So, obviously, we know that Avery and Burnes had a run-in at some point in the late 1690's, and Burnes eventually wound up on his crew, and was definitely present for the Gunsway heist. Then in 1696, he was captured and imprisoned for his crimes as a pirate..." Your eyes carefully followed as he gestured across maps, notes, and letters, recounting all the details for you from start to finish, feeling your heart crumple up as he returned to the part of the plan that had remained a sticking point for you for four solid months.

The jail.

"...so once we get whatever Burnes left behind, and assuming there aren't any hiccups or anything, we just follow Rafe's lead and head to the boat."

"And that's where you come in," Sam murmured. "Rafe's guy will drive the boat, and you'll be there to patch us up. Y'know, if... we need it."

Dazed and quiet, you just nodded, staring at the blueprints of the jail in front of you. Eyeing the lines - all the cells, the maze-like array of boxes and hallways and tunnels. It'd be hell to get out of there on short notice. Sam raised a brow at you, taking in your slumped form and feeling the defeat that came off of you in waves. He reached over and rested a firm hand on your knee, forcing you to lock onto his eyes. "Baby," he started. "It's nothing. We do a job like this in our sleep. You know that. I promise this time next week, it'll be like it never happened. Just me and you, on the beach somewhere, drinkin' mojitos and dancin' in the sunset."

You cleared your throat and sat up, sighing out a slow breath of air. "That's sweet," you spoke, leaning over and pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. "But that's not what's bothering me."

"...oh?" he mumbled as you leaned back from the kiss, sitting back in his chair and getting ready to listen.

Nate took a swig of the luke warm beer that'd been sitting in front of him for over an hour; you hid a smile, pretending you didn't notice the grimace that crossed his face as he sat it back down. "Well... I mean, truthfully, besides the impossible exit strategy - or lack thereof, or the fact that I can’t be there - and yes, I get it, all male prison, yadda, yadda; or even the fact that the person your entire plan is dependent on is Rafe, with whom I wouldn't trust a pet rock, much less my life..." you trailed off, not noticing the look Nathan shot to his brother across the table and the narrowed eyes the elder sent right back, "it's mostly... Burnes. I mean, I hear you, Nate, I really do, a lead is a lead. But just… why Burnes?”

Nate cocked his head at you. “Whatta you mean?”

You cleared your throat and carefully lifted the 300 year old letter from the table. “I mean… why Burnes? Theoretically, the Gunsway heist took place in ‘95, right? Avery dies four years later - and based on this one letter, we’re supposed to believe that Avery left his monumental treasure of gold and jewels, the culmination of his entire fantastic career as a pirate… to some inconsequential member of his crew who’d barely come aboard just before the heist?”

A wave of depressed concern flooded both young men. "Well..." Sam started, sitting forward. "Look, it's..."

You cut him off, “-and not to mention, why would he have wanted his son to ‘find his way in’ to a Panamanian jail? Is there no chance that it was forged by someone trying to lure the son in, maybe one of the captains in charge of capturing and hanging as many of the pirates from Avery’s crew as possible?”

Nate grumbled under his breath and stood, going over to the mini fridge in the corner. He pulled a few cold beers from the tiny shelf and cracked them open.

You glanced over at Sam, immediately feeling guilt flood your veins at the disheartened expression on his face. “I’m… I’m sorry. I just… I don’t want you two risking so much on such a thin lead.” The brothers shared a look.

Nate carefully sat down, sliding the two beers to both you and Sam across the cheap wooden table. He gently took the letter back from you and ran his eyes over it.

“The thing is… you’re not wrong. Okay? It’s thin. It’s definitely thin. But… listen to this. ‘Though my regrets are many, know that I am at peace with my fate.’ He’s… He’s a father, giving peace of mind to his wife and son. Letting them know he’s ready for death. If it was one of the Viceroys, they wouldn’t want to imagine him having any sort of peace, and they certainly wouldn’t want the son to feel peaceful about it, either. They’d want him to feel urgency. To hurry to the jail. They’d give him some sort of date or timeline.” Nate’s passion was evident as he let the words roll off his tongue, and you couldn’t help how it made you smile, how much he reminded you of his brother.

They both got that look in their eye when they talked about history; when they told the stories of people who’d lived and died so long ago.

“And,” Sam chimed in, a glint in his eye as he spoke, “he doesn’t just say ‘treasure’. He describes it as ‘the riches of paradise’... That’s a pretty specific line, and given how religious Avery seems to have been... I mean, there are references to paradise all over Avery’s history, and the Spaniards wouldn’t have known that.”

Okay. you thought. There’s no talking them out of this.

“C’mon… You know it’ll be fine… over before you know it. What’s the worst that could happen?” Sam nudged at your foot with his own, trying his hardest to make you smile.

Your eyes found their way to your overstuffed med pack, sitting fully stocked at the edge of your bed. You’d been there for them through more close calls and near-death experiences than you’d care to admit over the last three years, playing medic to their wild, reckless adventurers since the beginning. And now, without you being able to get into the prison with them, the mere thought of them having to make it in and out of that place without you by their side turned your stomach inside out.

But they were right. This was the only lead you’d had for months… It was this, or back to square one. And with everything they’d been through, with how long they’d been after this treasure… That just wasn’t an option.

Biting the inside of your cheek, you mumbled, “Can I at least stock you guys up with some gear, just in case?”

A wide grin broke out over Sam’s face. “That’s my girl,” he laughed, reaching over and cupping your cheeks in his hands. “We’re gonna be fine,” he pressed a kiss to your lips, “More than fine, actually. We’ll be great.” He turned to his brother then, holding his beer out for a cheers. “We’re gettin’ close to this treasure, I can feel it.”

You let out a soft giggle, rolling your eyes and lifting your own beer to theirs. Just before your bottle touched Sam’s, you pulled it back. “...Although…”

“...oh my god. What?” Nate huffed with a frustrated laugh.

“...What do I get out of bein’ so cool about this?” you grinned, lifting your feet up to rest on Sam’s lap.

“What you get? You mean other than your share of a 400 million dollar treasure?” Nathan was beside himself at this point, finally relaxed but still in disbelief at your stubbornness.

Sam was lost to the conversation, in an awe-filled haze as he watched you start haggling with his younger brother. He softly rested his free hand on your ankle, rubbing the skin there and listening to you throw out ideas - everything from them doing your laundry for a month to a three-day excursion to the Bahamas - and all he could think was just how goddamn lucky he’d gotten; he still couldn’t believe you were his.

“...okay, okay, no, I’ve got it,” you spoke, sure of yourself as a sly grin crossed your face. Nate raised a brow at you, playfully terrified of whatever was to come next.

“Oh god, what is it?”

You sat forward, smirking at them both. “When you get back, you two finally tell me your last name.”

“...y/n, the hell’re you talkin’ about?” the younger Drake seemed confused, but you saw right through both of them.

“Yeah, c’mon. You know, your real last name.” They both immediately began stuttering their way through objections, but you weren’t having any of it. “C’mon, boys, how long did you think I was gonna buy that you just happened to be descendants of Sir Francis Drake? Really? You’re treasure hunters, for Christ’s sakes.”

Your laughter carried through the thin motel walls, but Sam stayed on target, pressing his fingers lovingly into your ankle as he did, “No, no, Drake is a very proud, very meaningful family name. You’ll see, we’ll uhh… shit, I’ll show you my birth certificate if that makes you feel better.”

Nate shot him a look that screamed ‘are you fuckin’ kidding?’, but it went unnoticed. There was a darkness in Sam’s eyes and a pang in your gut that told you to let this one go; there was much more to this story than he was ready to tell.

“...mhmm,” you grinned, playing it off and raising your beer once more. “So, uhh… my laundry for a month, then?”

Nate let out a relieved laugh, glad the discussion was finally over. “Guess I can live with that. I figure it’s worth it for 400 million.”

Over the clinking of bottles and excited murmurs of cheers, an atmosphere of adventure loomed.

Sam was right. Everything would be… great.

“Y’know, I was thinking about the guard that Rafe is paying to get us in, I mean, maybe we can buy him a fruit basket or somethin’ once it’s all done…” Nate began, “Could be a nice way to keep him from asking about what we’re doin’, I mean it could be pretty funny, here’s thirty grand and, y’know, some bananas and pomegranates…” You and Sam listened in amusement, nodding your heads as if any of what he was saying made sense.

As the youngest Drake rambled on and on about fruit baskets and prison guards and how much of an asshole he knows Rafe to be, Sam found your eyes with his and held them there. A weight lived there between you both, a magnet pulling you to him. He took a swig of his beer, occasionally ‘mhm’ing for his little brother’s benefit; but you were all he was thinking about. A soft smile tugged at your lips, the coy look in your eye driving him crazy, making him struggle not to reach out and touch you.

“Ahem,” Nate coughed, a brow raised at both of you. You mumbled a ‘hmm?’ at him, turning to face him. Sam didn’t move, gaze still set on you as if he was etching every curve of your face into his memory.

“I’m uh… I’m gonna go see what’s goin’ on down at Tankhouse. I think it’s ladies night, or… somethin’.” You felt a warm blush come over your cheeks as he stood from the table.

“...you have fun with that, little brother.” Sam’s soft voice and sly, cheeky smile caused a flutter in your stomach, your foot gently kicking his side as you willed him to behave long enough for Nate to get out the door.

“Sounds good, Nate,” you muttered through your smile, “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Night, guys,” he said with a playful roll of his eyes, shutting the door behind him.

Sam set his beer down and reached over, turning the knobs on the old motel radio that sat against the wall. Old 60’s tunes began to play through the speakers, and he set it to a low volume before turning back to you. “C’mere,” he mumbled, his tone both husky and sweet as you obliged him. You moved to sit yourself across his lap, sighing happily as he brought you into his arms and tugged you close. He captured your lips with his in a slow, heated kiss, one that set you on fire and made your fingers curl around the fabric of his t-shirt. You sunk into him, wrapping your arms around his neck and smiling against his lips. “...what?” he chuckled, his eyes slowly peeling open.

“Nothin’. Just… you taste… you taste like beer and..tacos.”

“M’not hearin’ a complaint…”

“Shuddup,” you giggled, still tasting him on your tongue as you leaned back in his hold. There was a long quiet as he stared up at you, eyes lidded and hazy. You dragged your lips in a whisper against his, humming your words into them. “Mmmm, you are gonna miss meeeee…”

He let out a pained laugh and buried his face in the crook of your neck, peppering soft kisses there. “Ooh, babygirl, you have no idea.”

“Can you imagine me in prison, though?” you wondered aloud, lovingly threading your fingers through his long, auburn hair and smiling at the happy, peaceful hum it brought out of him.

“...ooooh, I sure can,” he teased, his fingers coming up to give your side a playful squeeze.

“Oh, stop it,” you laughed, smacking his arm.

“What? I’m serious. You all dressed up in the orange jumpsuit? Runnin’ the joint, callin’ the shots.”

He leaned his head back, glancing up at you as you thought aloud, trying to hide your grin, “Y’know, you’re not wrong, I’d probably be some big shot… Get a bunch of tattoos, maybe start collecting teardrops…”

“Now that, that I would love to see,” he laughed, his hand sweetly resting on your thigh and his thumb swiping back and forth. “What about your right-hand man? Do I get a few teardrops, too?”

You cocked your head to the side in thought, twirling some of his hair around your fingers, “Hmm… No, I don’t think you’d be the teardrops type… Too obvious. You’d uhh… I could see you with some birds. Maybe down the side here…” You traced a finger down the side of his neck, feeling goosebumps rise in the wake of your touch. He closed his eyes then, drinking in the moment, loving every second of how it felt to have you in his arms.

“Mmm… Mhm, I’ll have to do that… Maybe I’ll just get them on this trip. I’ll come back to you all tatted up, lookin’ large and in charge,” he chuckled, still distracted by your fingers running through his hair.

A heavy quiet fell over both of you, the only sound in the room coming from the radio as oldies classics continued to play. You slowly pulled your fingers from his hair, cupping his face in your palms and meeting his eyes as he peeled them open. “You do that, Samuel Drake,” you whispered. “You come back to me.”

The fear and stress that played over your face rocked something in him, and every bone in his body ached, knowing just how worried you’d be until he came back to you.

And in that moment, something in him clicked; staring up at you, his heart racing, his entire body overflowing, he mumbled a single word.

“Morgan.”

Your brows furrowed with questions, your mouth opening to ask them, but stopping as realization overtook your face. He repeated it quietly, a shy, scared smile tugging at his lips. “Our name… it’s Morgan.”

You couldn’t help the joy that poured onto your face, love stretching through you to your fingertips as you closed the small distance between you and met his lips with a full, passionate kiss. He wrapped himself around you, moving his lips with yours, falling harder with each passing moment and knowing in his gut that of all the people in the world to tell about who he really was, the only one that mattered was you.

As you pulled back from the kiss, you could feel his heart thumping heavily away in his chest. He cleared his throat. This was hard for him; but for you, he would do anything. “When we were kids, I uhm…. There was this one night...” He looked shaken, and your chest ached at the sight. You could see him reliving whatever hell he and Nathan had gone through - you saw it right there in his eyes. “See, Nathan was just a little guy, and I... I almost-”

“-I love you,” you whispered, resting your forehead against his. An emotional smile came over him, grateful for the rescue.

“Maybe I’ll uhh… maybe I’ll save that one for another time,” he mumbled, relief washing over him.

“Sounds like a plan, handsome,” you promised. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

There wasn’t an ounce of uncertainty in his eyes, his hand coming up to gently tuck some of your hair behind your ear. “Never doubted it, sweetheart,” he spoke. “In fact-” He cut himself off then, brows raising happily as the radio began to play his favorite - Sinatra. “Ooh… Oh, this is a good one.” He reached over, fingers nimbly turning the radio up as I’ve Got You Under My Skin floated out through the room. “...I have got you,” he started to sing, your heart instantly fluttering at the sound, “Under my skin… I’ve got you, deep in the heart of me…”

Sam’s smile was infectious as he sang, shifting you in his lap so he carried you bridal style against his chest. “...I would sacrifice anything, come what might, for the sake, of holdin’ you near…” He stood then, eyes glued to yours, loving how you listened to him with that adoring gaze, your arms around his neck, swaying from side to side as he held you.

His face was so close to you, his lips hovering above yours, warm breath unfolding over your skin with every word of the song. “But each time I do, just the thought of you, makes me stop, before I begin…. ‘Cuz I’ve got you…” Before he could finish, you took those beautiful few words from his lips with a kiss; one that made you both forget the impending trip to Panama, the jail he’d be stuck in for three days without you, and his partnership with the ever questionable Rafe Adler. It was a kiss full of all the weight of knowing deep down in your gut that you were utterly, hopelessly.. helplessly in love.

---

Next Chapter

Tags: [tagging the lovely folks who responded to my post re: who’d be interested in a Sam fic. :)]

@lucacangettathisass @ammaliatrici @cassieseraphim @slooshen @wings-0806 @talktothemoon2 @nachochitz @supernaturally-avenging-hannibal @aritipoupi @landoverthemountains @qwertybubbler @raeswrittenrecords @coolnerdreader @s4mdrake @go-youngtrash-things

GIF credit to @bizexualvampire, couldn’t get tumblr to link the gif from the post. thank you!

#sam drake x reader #sam drake #samuel drake #sam drake fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #uncharted #uncharted 4 #uncharted fanfiction #nathan drake #x reader fic #come back to me #my writing

111 notes · View notes

phantoms-lair · 4 years

Text

EnergyBending snippets

Takes place late in my Nursery Rhyme/Avatar Zuko Story. Unlike in cannon Zuko’s main focus was bringing back airbenders, so things didn’t go as badly between the group and Wan Shi Tong. Zuko learned Energy Bending rather than about the Day of Black Sun (though that does come in later), but he learned it from a book, so he doesn’t have the confidence Aang had with the Lion Turtle gifting it to them.

“Toph’s asleep.” Aang reported.

Zuko’s breathed out a sigh of relief. He wanted this to be a private conversation and she was the one he was most worried about overhearing. Sure she was brash and forward, but he hadn’t forgotten how sneaky she was capable of being, hiding her second identity from her parents. “Could you wait here too?”

Aang crossed his arms. “Sokka won’t even know I’m there.”

“But I would. And it would feel like I’m ganging up on him, but it has to be his choice and-”

Aang put his hands up. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll stay here.”

“You could always get some lesson plans ready.” Zuko suggested, which had Aang grinning.

Zuko left his tent and went to where Sokka would be standing watch. He was often the last to go to sleep, taking the safety of the group seriously. “Can we talk?”

“I’m not stopping you.” Sokka shrugged.

“I’ve been studying the techniques I learned at Wan Shi Tong’s library. It’s been focusing far more on the Spiritual Side of being an Avatar than I’ve ever done. According to Aang more than any Avatar has done in generations. But I think I’ve got it. I can use energybending to make more airbenders.”

He heard the sharp intake of Sokka’s breath. He understood how important this was. “I just need to put it into action, and the first new airbender...Sokka I want it to be you.”

Sokka crossed his arms, but didn’t respond for a few minutes. "I don't need bending,” He finally said, tersely.

Zuko took a deep breath. "Sokka, you are without a doubt one of the greatest warriors I have ever met. You're clever, adaptive, and pick up new disciplines faster than anyone I've ever seen. If I ever heard anyone suggest you needed to be a bender I'd fight them myself, if everyone one else in our camp didn't beat me to it."

"You don't need to be a bender, it's more...I need a bender to be you."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "And that makes sense how?"

"We don't have much time before the Day of Black Sun. In that time I need to at least create some new airbenders in case I die. But I need to know this is going to work. And for that I need the first new airbender to be someone who can travel with us. But our path in dangerous and they'd need to be able to defend themselves, and not with a bending they're not used to. I need the first airbender to be a warrior who doesn't have to rely on bending, but who's adaptive enough to be able to incorporate it into what they already do. Who else could that be but you?"

"Katara, can we talk?"

Katara looked up from breakfast at the serious expression on her brother's face. He looked like he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. "What about?"

Sokka took a deep breath. "Zuko wants me to become an airbender."

It took her a moment to process what she'd heard. "Wait, you? Why?"

"The long story short of it: I'm adaptable and don't need to rely on bending to fight." Sokka plopped down by the fire. "It's weird, you know? I wasn't the biggest fan of your bending back at the South Pole. Then bending got us mixed up in all kinds of weird stuff after we teamed up with Zuko and Iroh, and I was glad I never had to deal with that. But after a while I got, you know, jealous. You and Iroh, and Toph can doo all these amazing things, and Zuko was the flipping Avatar, and here I was just a guy with a boomerang."

"You know none of us saw you that way, right?" Katara asked, her eyes looking troubled.

"I know, it's just... I'm afraid the part of me that wants to say yes just wants to feel special, while another part of me is how much I'm afraid I won't be me anymore, and I don't know what to do. I know logically Zuko's right. I'm the best candidate we have right now. But I'm scared."

"Okay, let's do this before I change my mind."

"No."

Sokka blinked at Zuko and his instant shut down. "What?"

"We're not doing this unless you're completely sure. There's too much risk otherwise."

Sokka's eyes narrowed. "What risk, you never said anything about risk."

"Because the risk isn't to you." Zuko snapped, then took a few breaths to calm down. "Consensual energy bending like what I have planned has no real risk. But if you panic and change your mind it becomes a battle of will. Your will has never faltered. Mine has. You could shatter me, Sokka, so excuse me for not wanting to risk that until I know my work is done.”

There was a whole lot to unpack there. Zuko's lack of faith in himself, his utter faith in Sokka (who had to admit he was kind of touched the Avatar had no doubts he would be the one to come off better in a test of wills), or Zuko implying that the risk would be okay, as long as he'd made enough Airbenders to know the cycle wouldn't be broken upon his death.

It also helped to know Zuko wasn't so eager that he'd pressure Sokka into it. That took a load off his mind.

"I'm sure." Zuko looked up from his meditation. He didn't have to ask what Sokka meant.

"I thought about it and I had a lot of concerns about a lot of things, but in the end, I think it came down to your concern. You're right. Letting the cycle stay broken any longer than absolutely necessary is beyond risky. Being the Avatar doesn't protect you from death. I swore I'd do anything I could to help end the war. This wasn't what I was expecting, but I can’t turn away from it."

Zuko nodded. Duty and Honor were what he understood best. "Okay. Sit down in front of me. I'm going to need to put my hands on your head and heart to do this. Like I said before, please don't fight me. Also it would help if you focused on Air to give it something to anchor to." Zuko tried to sound wise teacherish, if only to hide how nervous he was about the procedure.

He placed his hands where he said and bent. It was...like nothing he'd ever done before, it wasn't just pulling on an element, it was raising his awareness. He could suddenly see into Sokka's soul, and see the nodes of chakra that governed it. Sokka's elemental nodes were reasonably balanced with a slight weight towards Water. Not unusual for a non bender and oh hey he could raise Sokka's spiritual awareness and give Aang someone else to talk to.

Tempting, but no. He'd stick to what he said and no more.

He strengthened the Air Charkra and pulled energy into it. But almost as quickly it drained out. "Sokka, are you focusing on air?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking of all those dumb temples and everything."

There was a beat of silence. "Sokka YOU ARE NOT A MONK. Those images mean nothing to you. Don't think about the image of what you think an Airbender should be. What does air mean to you?"

To him? Sokka was taken aback. Air was...was...Air was wind. It was blowing snowflakes in a blizzard while Gran Gran told them stories of the North Pole. It was the crisp scent of salt as he stood on the shores waiting for his father's boat to return, which could turn sharp as a knife if it wanted. It was the warmth that filled their balloon and let them travel between poles all the way into the Fire Nation. Wind was Home. Wind was Freedom.

And something in Sokka clicked. He opened his eyes to see an exhausted looking Zuko pulling his hand away, and the others just watching mouths mostly agape, with rocks clinging to Katara’s legs.

"Will someone tell me what's happening?" Toph grumbled, keeping her hold on Katara.

"It was quite the impressive light show, nephew." Iroh observed, stroking his beard. "From both of you."

"Both? Sokka's jaws worked up and down. Sure Zuko glowing was one thing, with his while Avatar dealy, but him too?

"Sweetness here tried to grab you away. I may not know what's going on but, I figured that would be bad." Toph explained.

"It would have." Zuko panted. "But it worked. " He gave Sokka a tried smile. "Congratulations. You're an airbender."

"Hey Zuko, just to be clear. All we're doing is sitting at you families beach house laying low till the Day of Black Sun, right? There's nothing we need to be working on?"

Zuko shot Sokka a look. "Well, you need to be working on your airbending forms, otherwise no." Sokka's face had been pure mischief, Katara had caught it too. As had Toph, though she was grinning in a way that made things worse.

"Well I think this is a perfect time for a little Energy Bending practice. More precisely, I think you should take away Katara's waterbending till we're ready to leave."

Katara let out a squack of indignation and Zuko just sighed. "Sokka, remember when I explained energy bending can be risky if the other person is unwilling? There is no way she's going to willingly give up her bending even temporarily." Zuko pointed out.

"I wasn't suggesting we leave her empty handed." Sokka waved them off. "Something like, say, firebending?"

"Why on Earth do you think I'd willingly become a firebender?" Katara asked heatedly.

"Because when Zuko was having a hard time getting a grasp on waterbending, you made a claim that you could pick up fire much easier than he did water. I just want to see if it's true. Or do you admit you were empty boasting?"

Katara glared at him, then marched up to Zuko. "Fire-ize me."

Zuko sputtered, not expecting that. "Are...are you joking?"

"Do it!" Katara’s tone left no room to argue.

Zuko could feel the headache building, but put one hand on Katara's head and the other over her heart. It was honestly far easier than giving Sokka airbending. The water was well entrenched, but her anger was practically singing for fire. "Done. You might want to ask Uncle for lessons, though. He's a better teacher than me."

She gave a curt nod, then a predatory smile at her brother, then walked off.

"I can't BELIEVE you got away with that!" Toph was rolling on the ground laughing.

"Who says he did?" Zuko smirked. "He got his sister pissed at him, then convinced me to give her the power to shoot fire."

Toph laughed even harder as all the color drained from Sokka's face. "Better throw yourself on the mercy of the Avatar. It's the only chance you got."

"Nope, even the Avatar knows to pick his battles. The entire fire nation army is one thing, I learned my lesson about little sister bending prodigies with fire. Good luck Sokka."

It was good to be free Cheif Hakoda thought as he stepped out of the balloon Sokka and the Avatar had rescued him in. They were in the Western Air Temple, apparently. According to to Sokka the Avatar's Uncle, an earthbender, and more importantly Katara was there as well. He saw her before she saw him. She was doing waterbending forms and he just wanted a moment to stop and look at her, to see how much she'd grown... And then a small gout of fire burst from her hands.

"Sokka, I don't remember your sister being a firebender," Suki commented, staring at the sight.

"We probably should have mentioned that." Zuko admitted.

"Hey Katara, guests!" Toph said with a laugh.

"Guests? Toph who could visit us way up here." Then she turned and saw them. "Dad?" she chocked, before running and squeezing him as hard as she could.

"I'm here too," Suki joked.

"Zuko and I May have staged a prison break. At the most high security Fire Nation prison to get him out." Sokka tried to sound casual, but was obviously pleased with himself.

"Aang wants to point out he was there too." Zuko added.

"Who's Aang, and why is Katara firebending?" Hakoda felt more confused by the second.

"Aang is Zuko's Spirit Guide. As for the firebending, I just thought Katara should put her skill where her mouth was. Or rather her lack of skill." Sokka sounded smug.

"You better be glad I'm so happy Dad's here or you'd be getting a fiery first to the face."

"Like you could manage more than smoke."

"If I may." Iroh interrupted. "When your daughter was teaching my nephew waterbending they came across a common problem among Avatars, a difficult grasping the opposing element. Katara made the claim that if she was in his place, she would be much more adept at firebending then he was at water."

"My nephew learned of energybending, a way to give or take away bending ability, in his quest to bring Air back into the balance. And you son decided to call her months old bluff."

That...sounded like Sokka. "Avatar Zuko, I don't suppose you could set my daughter back to normal?"

"Certainly sir," Zuko couldn't hide the relief in his voice, but Katara grabbed one of his wrists.

"Oh no, you're not winning that easily." She warned.

"Winning? I'm not even in this argument." Zuko protested.

"I'm not giving up on this till I learn Firebending. Even if the day of Black Sun comes, I’ll be firebending into battle." Katara declared.

"Okay no." Zuko put his foot down. "First of all we are not giving up one of the few waterbending masters in this fight for your ego. Second, there is no firebending on the Day of Black Sun. That's the whole point of the Day of Black Sun."

Katara looked pensive for a moment. "Fine. I accept the second reason. But I'm going back to fire right after."

~~~~

I was a little torn on making Sokka a bender becasue, as was said above, he doesn’t need bending by any stretch of the imagination. But thinking with an in universe perspective, there’s no one else Zuko would pick. He doesn’t have the confidence he’d win a battle of wills if someone tried to turn it on him the way Ozai did Aang, so he had to make sure at the very least the first new airbender was someone he’d trust his soul with. And that is a very short list,

#AtLA #Nursery Rhyme #Avatar!Zuko #Ghost Writing

49 notes · View notes

biihoebi · 4 years

Text

@newsiesgiftexchange

for @what-goesaround-comesaround for the Newsies Winter Gift Exchange 2020

aaaah ok so this unbetad because usually I bully you into betaing my stuff so it's quite stream of consciousness but whateverr. also maybe I took some creative liberties on the historical accuracy but who cares

(its kind of a shit show but shhhh Irish Spot)

——————————————————————–

read on ao3 here

——————————————————————–

While it was Jack's father who taught him not to starve it was his mother who taught him the value of his heritage. Which is why when the new kid at the lodging house was sitting at the end of his bed, distressed over a throwaway comment Albert had made, Jack was doing his best to comfort them.

"He said I was losing my accent" Rua had all but wailed. "How can I be Irish without me accent. And Granda said he used to have flaming hair like mine before it went dark with age. Then I won't even look Irish." they continued.

"But yer Irish by blood not by hair or by voice. I mean my hair ain't red but you'd be hard pressed tryna tell me I isn't Irish." Jack sighed. "Look, I've never stepped foot in Ireland, youse is ahead of me there, but my Mam kept it alive in the stories she told. Some were legends and some were just memories of her and her siblings getting into all sorts of trouble in the fields. And I can speak Irish just as good as the next guy, no matter what Spot Conlon says" he finished. Rua let out a short sniffle.

"But my Mam works in a factory. I never see her no more" they said wiping their face with their sleeve.

"We ain't the same, I'm Irish sure but I was born here. Youse is better off asking Spot about this, he was born in Dublin, didn't come here til he was about 8. And seeing as Albert started this whole mess he can be the one to go to Brooklyn to deliver the message after he's done selling. Now it's time for newsies to go to bed, you ain't no use selling if your half asleep." Jack declared.

——————————————————————–

To a bright eyed and bushy tailed Rua morning couldn't come soon enough and neither could the circulation bell nor could the final sell of the day. By the time Albert left for Brooklyn every newsie in Manhattan knew about it and was sick of hearing about it.

"Just because Albert's gone today, don't mean Spots gonna visit today. Heck he mightn't even visit at all. Do youse really think this is a big enough deal for the King of Brooklyn to take time out of his busy sche-

"Stop shit stirring Boots" Jack interrupted sternly. "Just because Spot doesn't like Brits like you doesn't mean he won't help out a fellow Paddy" he joked. At that Boots straightened his back

"I'll have you know Mr Kelly that Spot Conlon said I's is the best 'Brit' he knows" he said, smugly straightening an imaginary tie.

"Best of a rotten bunch" a new voice chimed in. Every newsie in the room suddenly started scrambling to look half presentable. "I got your message Kelly, now where's the young wayne?" the person continued. In response Jack stepped aside revealing Rua, who had been hiding behind his legs.

"I-I'm Rua" they stuttered out. The man crouched down to their eye level.

"I'm Spot Conlon, but I thought youse was supposed to be Irish. Where's me 'dia duit'? It's like you ain't even tryin'. No wonder youse losing yer accent" Spot said. That did nothing to help the already nervous wreck that Rua was.

Spot shot up suddenly, shooing everyone but Jack, Rua, Crutchie and Race out. He sat down on the middle bed and kicked his feet up, gesturing for everyone to follow. Ever the rebel Race decided to lean against the bunk instead while the rest settled into the surrounding beds. "Look, Jack says youse is struggling with moving on with yer life while staying Irish. I went through the same thing when I first came 'nd look at me now, King of New York"

"King of Brooklyn" Race coughed out which Spot shot daggers at him for.

"I'se is the King of New York, don't let no street rat tell you otherwise" he spat "but I wasn't always, I was once a youngin like you, fresh off the boat with only my poor parents and a sack full of stuff between us…"

——————————————————————–

The dock bustled with workers and passengers alike. Some leaving but most stepping off boats and into their new lives. Among those coming off was a young Seán Conlon. With wild hair and big eyes filled with the wonder and excitement of seeing somewhere beyond the slums of Dublin. It was an outbreak of TB amongst the tenements that did it in for his parents.

Seán didn't have long to admire the new world he had just entered before his hand was grabbed and he was dragged off into a long line filled with fellow immigrants. Hours passed before the tired young boy would make it through the front door to his new home. It was a small one room apartment completely unlivable by today's standard but to someone from the worst slums in Europe it might as well have been Buckingham. "Go bhfoire Dia orainn, tá sé linne!! Níl aon theaghlach eile ina gconaionn liomsa?" Seán gawked in awe.

"Tá, ach bí curamach, níl cead agat bí ag caint as gaeilge nuair a tá tú taobh amuigh" his father responded.

"Cén fáth?"

"Mar ní maith a lán daoiní, duine eile ag caint as gaeilge agus sin é sin a bhfuil."

"Ceart go leor"

That night Seán lay awake in his bed wondering why anyone could dislike speaking Irish. Well besides the British but Uncle Seamus always said that their opinion didn't matter and that he and a few of his friends from the Irish Republican Brotherhood would soon rid Ireland of them. Whatever that meant. His father would always laugh alongside and say 'that would be the day' while his mother would give out to him for encouraging Seamus.

It wouldn't be for a few weeks that Seán would find out what his dad was talking about. He was out selling papers to help make ends meet, as small as the room was all three of them had to work hard in order to pay for it. He stood there waiting at the gate for the circulation bell to ring, when it happened. On his first day one of the older kids taught him a few tricks and gave him a few pieces of advice. One of those pieces was 'stay away from Acton Williams'. An unspoken rule he had managed to avoid up until that point.

Acton had walked right into him, dropping a strange wooden item in the process. Seán liked to think that his mother raised him right so he apologized and bent down to pick up the trinket

"Brón orm" he mumbled as he crouched, item in hand.

"The fuck you say to me?" Acton grunted. Seán froze realising his mistake and everyone went silent at the sound of Acton's voice.

"I was just saying sorry" Seán rushed out, trying desperately not to get baited so soon after joining the newsies. Acton let out a laugh.

"That's not what you said though is it?" he said " see I think youse was speaking some stupid language from the stupid country you came from. So I'mma ask again 'the fuck you say to me?"

"I said 'brón orm', you heard me the first time," Seán said, gaining confidence. It was one thing to be intimidated by an older kid who would definitely knock your block off but his Nan taught him better than to let someone talk shite about Ireland. Acton scoffed.

"I pity the Mum who raised such a rude brat " he spat taking a step towards Seán.

"Yeah well I pity the Mam who gave birth to such an ugly ogre"

And they were off! Acton could easily outrun Seán's tiny legs so his only hope was to lose him with twists and turns through the back alleys and busy streets. After what felt like hours of running, Seán finally ran into a deadend. Turning to face a panting Acton, Seán gulped and started reciting any and all prayers he could think of to any saints that popped into his head. In fact it wasn't until Seán went to clasp his hands in prayer that he noticed what he had picked up earlier.

A slingshot!!

Grabbing the nearest rock Seán loaded the sling. 'Dear St Anthony, pleeaassee help me find the ability to aim well' he prayed as he scrunched his eyes shut and released.

The next thing Seán heard was the large thump an unconscious Actons body made as it hit the ground. Opening his eyes to examine the noise he had heard Seán was shocked to see his feeble attempt at fighting back was actually a success. Seán quickly pocketed the slingshot and left before Acton had time to wake up.

——————————————————————–

"...and that's what it means to be Irish" Spot finished proudly

"Beating up British people is what it means to be Irish?" Rua said in awe of Spot's story. Spot grinned.

"See, this kid gets it" he joked, ruffling Ruas hair.

"That was a lovely story yer highness but how is that surppsoed to help 'em keep their accent" Race chipped in.

"Well what about you then Higgins if you have so much to say? D'you have any stories worth listening to?"

"What about being Italian? Well I-"

"Italian? Are ye not Irish?"

"No? What made you think that?"

"Yer surname is Higgins"

"Yeah, Higgins is a classic Italian name"

Jack and Spot made eye contact for a good minute before bursting out laughing. "Yer telling me this entire time youse never knew you was Irish?" Jack choked out between laughs. Even Rua stifled a giggle.

"My own mam was a Higgin, Racetrack" Spot roared. "Yee just can't make this stuff up" he said wiping a tear from his eye. Race's face was a brilliant red as he sputtered out excuses.

"Yer just joking, right guys? Right guys??"

——————————————————————–

BONUS :

At the gates the next morning Seán stood there absolutely shitting bricks. What had happened yesterday had been a stroke of luck but if Acton decided to continue the fight he was dead meat.

"Wait, is that Williams? No way what's with the giant bruise on his forehead?" a voice spoke interrupting Seán's train of thought.

"No way that's a bruise, he doesn't get those" another shot back. Soon a whole symphony of voices were arguing over whether it was a bruise or not.

"Wait a minute, weren't you getting chased by him yesterday, newbie? How come there's not a scratch on ya, and why's there only a big bruise on him?" the first voice said piecing the puzzle together. Soon everyone was crowding around Seán, looking for the story of what happened.

"Look nothing really happened" Seán reassured trying to downplay the situation "he chased me for a bit before I eventually shot him with this sling and he passed out on the spot."

Apparently telling them he knocked out the bully of the newsies was not the right thing to say to defuse the situation. Some started cheering for him others just rolled their eyes at his story.

"He clearly made that up on the spot" one voice chiming in.

"Nah, look at Acton, that's a massive bruise, obviously from being shot with a sling" another rebutted. Eventually the crowd settled a bit and someone had the common sense to ask for his name.

"Oh! I'm Seán." he responded. Everyone groaned.

"Not yer real one, yer newsies one" someone said. After Seán told them he didn't have one, everyone put their thinking caps on.

"Let's call him Spot, 'cause we'll never really know if he knocked him down on the spot or made up that story on the spot."

#boots newsies #jack kelly #livesies #newsies live #crutchie morris #jack newsies #race higgins #racetrack higgins #albert newsies #albert dasilva #spot newsies #spot conlon #newsies holiday exchange

9 notes · View notes

popculturebuffet · 4 years

Text

Hickman’s X-Men Line: One Year in Part 1: Prelude, House and Powers of X, X-Men and New Mutants (Hickman)

Under the cut is an explination of how hickman’s run happened (the mass decay will be covered another time probably), and dives into his x-books: house of x, powers of x,x-men and his breif run on new mutants and what i thought. Pax Krakoa baby.

One year ago, I breathed a sigh of relief as I read the utterly masterful house of x #1. See for the past few months, i’d been waiting on baited breath for this comic with a level of anticipation not matched by any before or since. Even the debut of a spinoff to Chew, one of my faviorite comics of all time that i deftnetly need to do a retrospective on, this week got within the same galaxy and it still wasn’t on the same level. This was big, grandiose and everything I hoped for. And whatever issues I had as House and it’s sister series came out slowly died out as the full story unfolded, my jaw dropped and my faith in Hickman to save the x-men was fully delivered. At last the x-men were back on top. And it was going to be one hell of a ride.

As you probably know the x-men had been treated pretty badly at marvel due to fox having the movie rights, a move that still baffles and frustrates me. Instead of making money to rub in fox’s face by promoting the hell out of them in merchandise, animation, video games and of course comics ALONGSIDE the avengers, they basically ignored the x-men and fantastic four to give fox less to work with to spite them while fox.. entirely ignored this as since both franchises have been around since the 60′s and the x-men had had mountains of spinoffs to give them mountains of characters. So in short: a decision to spite and hurt their compeitors only cost marvel money, pissed off fans and fox’s eventual absortion as far as I can tell had absolutely nothing to do with any of this.

youtube

Thankfully marvel DID stop being stupid eventually and relented: The Fantastic Four came back a year before house of x with a decent run by dan slott, which is thankfully more like earlier spider-man work and ff work, and less like what his spider-man run became from superior onward despite the ocasional misfire but i’ll talk about both runs another day. I mostly bring it up because with this revivial, marvel also slowly reintegrated the four back into the marvel universe and made their return feel like a big deal. The X-Men however took a bit: while they got an earlier shot at returning with ressurxion. Buuut with the idea of having hickman return in their back pocket, marvel apparently refused, at least according to cullen bunn who I fell has no real reason to lie, to let the writers rock the boat too much and the era perdictably was just meh, especially flagship book X-Men Gold which was written bafflingly by Mark Gugenhiem and outside of one or two good ideas basically felt like the comics equivlent of one of those party store albums where every song is a cover done by someone who couldn’t give half a damn. There were bright spots though with Cullen Bunn finishing out his awesome x-men tenure with x-men blue, Sina Grace’s wonderful iceman that took the wonky execution of Bendis’ decision to make bobby drake gay and made it work beautifully, and the decent if somewhat baffling x-men red. But overall it just felt like a missed opportunity and with the fox deal in bloom and a new EiC, marvel NEEDED something bigger, bolder and grander to do with marvel’s strangest heroes of all. After all all eyes would be on them while Marvel’s Movie department took a few years, probably longer now thanks to the pandemic, to let things cool off before bringing the x-men into the mcu. Enter Jonathan Hickman: Writer of another one of my faviorite runs of all time, his Fantastic Four run, along with an enjoyable but heavily flawed avengers run, a secret warriors run i’ve read half of that was a hell of a ride, tons of ultimate comics, and a bunch of indies I haven’t read but are probably great. A wordy weirdo and i’m convinced the second coming of grant morrison, and I hope one day the two work together on something tha’ts equal parts weird and amazing.

The morrison comparison is also apt as both came into the X-Men at a time when the x-men badly needed them: Just like Hickman morrison had to deal with a largely stagnant x-men and changed them to fit the times. And yes unsuprisngly i’ll also be covering morrisons run, warts and all, and it’s also one of my faviorite comics of all time. However Hickman was given a huge advtange his spirtiual predecessor, and really few comics writers EVER have gotten: full control of the x-men line. Unlike morrison who wasn’t even allowed to use certain characters despite writing the main fucking x-book, Hickman got full creative control: full say in the direction of the story, full say in who came on board and to let them pitch whatever they wanted to do. And honestly it’s an apporach that’s not only reovlutionarly but makes the books FEEL like their actually occuring around the same time. Sure their all still seperate entities, but it DOES feel like one coheisive universe. Contrastingly with the avengers Black Panther’s solo has had him on a year long sojurn in space, before returning to earth.. while also running the avengers over in jason aaron’s run and having his own spinoff team, without any fucking clue as to when intergalactic empire of wakanda takes place in relation to everything else. Tony Stark is currently just taking back both his own damn name and the iron man name in his own book, but is also a major player in avengers, and empyre with no mention of his seeming drunken spiral (itw as a ploy) or arno taking up the armor and I feel these issues rather than the neglect the x-men once had are why krakoa’s impact isn’t being felt more in other titles. I’m not saying don’t let books do their own thing, but I am saying let them have fucking consequences and weight instead of just acting like one isn’t happening or at the very least have a character be absent for an arc so you can fit the other stories into continuity easier. As X-Men’s shown it dosen’t stifle inovation and hell even immortal hulk easily fit into no road home with a fucking note saying “this takes place before x issue” it’s not that hard. This advantage was likely part of Hickman’s terms for coming back. See the x-men were the one thing at marvel he never got to do. The Gillieon and Aaron runs and Bendis runs meant the spot simply wasn’t open and by the time he was leaving it was clear marvel wanted to bury the x-men not praise them, so his ideas had no run. But the X-Men were what got Jonathan into comics. A shocking fact I learned at last years comic con, during which most of the dawn of x titles were revealed, was he WASN’T a fantastic four or avengers fan as a kid, not hating them but like me with the avengers for some time, not really caring about them. But with both runs, he did his homework, read as much as possible, and BECAME a fan, and it shows as both runs show a deep love for both marvel and the teams present. With X-Men they were his dream, his golden goose, his windmill, he just never was in the right place at the right time... but with Marvel needing his starpower and creativity and having nothing to loose with the x-men and badly needing a big run to hlep keep intrest in the x-men till the new movies, he finally was. So seeing the company needed him and he could get his dream and the control he needed, while dc had just taken bendis, didn’t need him and until very recently was ran by a moron, his choice to come back to marvel instead of go to dc as he’s admitted, was obvious. And it ended up being the right one. House and Powers of x were massive creative and commerical hits and the following titles have all been mostly praised. The new direction has been a boon for the franchise,k the fans and marvel. So being a fan of this direction, as you can tell by the massive intro, to give my thoughts on each book so far: what I think their doing right, where some went wrong etc, since I’d rather wait another year or so befor ediving into these and let some more of hickman’s plans and future story hints spread throughout his books pay off first. WIth that all out of the way it’’s time for a deep dive of x.So grab some plant based snacks, your x-shaped helmets, and your krakoan coffee, it’s time to finally get into hickman’s era of x-men.

HOUSE OF X AND POWERS OF X The opening salvo and just with two mini series that are one, though why he DIDN’T just have them be one big mini series I genuinely do not know, probably to justify having two diffrent artists to carry the load, is an utter masterpiece. Plain and simple. Let’s get the status quo the series set up out of the way so I can dig into it more: Magento and Xavier were revealed to have been working together for years behind the scenes.. with Moira Mactaggert, one of my favoirite x characters who the series changes utterly and forever. See instead of being the one human who consitantly is on mutants side and one of the x-men’s staunchest allies who sadly hadn’t been resusrected in 20 fucking years, she was a mutant herself, her ablility being reincarnation.. and thus had lived through 9 of her 10 lives seeing mutantkind always loose so told xavier and magneto about this in the hopes of breaking the wheel and letting mutantkind live this time. However hickman , while revealing the alliance does brilliantly still make it work in continuity for me: it’s clear from moira’s notes in one issue, as house and powers and any following titles love having charts or text based sections that I feel give the comics a unique flavor and really help boost most issues, that Charles optimism she was trying to break him of and faith in humanity took years to fully shatter: he plotted and schemed with her to protect his species but it was clear he probably felt it woudln’t be necessary that humanity would prove her wrong.. and by this series it’s clear, no they haven’t changed, the majority of them just want to genocide mutants and have tried again and again and again while the rest who don’t necessarily want it, paticuarlly the superheroes did nothing while Magneto chaffed against her after the whole “alter his infant self after he was deaged by a mutant he made into a baby to be more pacificsitc which naturally pissed him off when that wore off”. Yes that’s a thing that actually happened pre and post retcons it’s why a survivor of the holocaust is , while not a YOUNG man, still healthy and vibrant. It’s a clever way to not undermine those stories while still telling this one and this retcon is a move I like as unlike most retcons it’s both there to tell a good story and excuted in a way that outside of moira dosen’t undermine anything. The Moira retcon I was and to a degree still am mixed on. While the new version of her is brilliant, creative and intresting and I can’t wait to see what happens with her next time she shows up, I do mourn the old as the x-men had few human allies and now their only big one is now a mutant herself, but it IS in service of a really damn good narraitive and the twist that the bad futures presented were in fact other lives of moira was brilliant, and it’s nice to see SOMETHING done with her. I’d rather something that i have a small problem with lead to really great things and be worth the sacrifice of her former character, than just changing things because “fuck it I want to do this and their letting me do this’ as a lot of retcons tend to be. Hickman’s story needs moira and her cycle of defeat to truly soar to the heights it’s reaching, and to make Charles and Xavier’s back alley actions make sense, so i’ll glady sacrifce one version of a character that I really liked for another version of her that’s also really good. The other big swing though I was completley on board for: Hinted at early on by serveral dead mutants being alived, after a sucidie mission against new big bads and mutant hating extermists orchis, who are far better written than other extermists, it’s revealed just why death has seemingly taken a holiday: the big plan that has been decades in the making for xavier and co? That will reshape mutant kind and required working with mr sinsiter of all people? Revivie all dead mutants. See in a brilliant reveal Cerebro isn’t just a mutant tracker; It’s a copier, copying their essecnes reaguarly and storing them for later, updating them every so often and thus meaning any who died can come back. Why it took Chuck so long to do this is also explained as he needed 5 specific mutant power sets to do it and thus had to wait till they had everything they needed: Goldballs, yes goldballs, spits out his giant golden balls, phrasing, which hickman in an insane and awesome turn revealed to be EGGS. Yes EGGS. Proteus, Moira’s son and former villian whose now pacificed since this body cloning process means he has an infnite suply of xavier bodies to burn through and thus isn’t killing people, warps reality to mamke the eggs viable. Elixir, a healer whose been through some shit the poor guy,gives the eggs , once injected with the mutant in questions dna via syringe because of course, life, and Tempus, goldballs former classmate fellow bendis creation and mistress of time, speeds it up a bit so they don’t have to wait a good few decades for some mutants to rerez. The fifth that makes all this possible is hope summers, mutant messiah and adopted daughter of cable returned to promence once more, whose power is revealed to be power maniulation and thus can boost their powers to the degree neded for this. it’s a BRILLIANT turn that not only undoes all the pointless deaths mutants have undergone, but changes the game: Genocide is now near impossible, as humanity has no idea bout any of htis, and instead of mutant lives going down, they can only go once.. as one man once put it...

And as an x-men fan having watched characters I love die again and again for stupid reasons, especially int he placeholder run right before house of x, this was so satsifying. Everyone the x-men had lost, every character I loved who was gone and forgotten.. they were back or would be back. And thanks to Krakoa they were thriving: By giving mutantkind a homeland instead of a headquarters, a nation given to one of their own because he demanded itbasically, or an island fortress designed to give a dying species refuge, they have a goregous sentient island (I’ve always loved krakoa for the record though I wonder what happened to his clone son), with abundant food, teleporting gates across the world to visit wherever they like or live in the various worldwide habitats if they please, and peace and security they’ve neve rknown. No more being woken up to get to a panic room because a sentienl attacked. No more having religious maniacs blow up busses containing your tine. No more having the vast majority of the superhero community do nothing as a fucking plauge cloud wipes out your species. Anything apporaching krakoa now has hundreds of the most powerful beings alive defending all mutants.. and that includes the worst of the worst, all given amntesty.. but they must tow the line or else be given a fate worse than death. After years of pain and suffering and misery mutantkind is free safe and happy. They still have to fight to get the rest of their kind out of racist hands and to saftey, the fight’s not over.. but now the odds are in mutantkinds favor. It’s paradise. And yet this mini, and this whole run dosen’t run from tough issues; The mutants are now isolationists and only mutants are allowed on krakoa itself.. on the one hand this is a bad idelogy and potentially dangerous, instead of fighting for harmony fighting for my land alone.. but it’s also see why Mutantkind has taken to it. The X-Men have tried for at the least a decade in universe and at the most and most likely 15 years to live in harmony, fight for mankind and make peace with them.. and only a small chunk has acutally tried to help them with that. The other large fraction? They either build death machines to try and wipe out all mutants, and in the case of Cassandra NOva who while not a human is still a racist genocidal bitch, SUCCEED in wiping out a large chunk, or do nothing while mutantkind suffers. The series forces you to think about the implications that marvel comics themselves previous ignored: That with all the superheros in this world who arent mutants.. more often than not htey’ve done fuck all when terrible shit happens. When Genosha died, not a one asked the x-men what happened or tried to hunt down those responsible. When Decemation happened, the avengers were more concerned with helping the x-men cover it up than helping them move on and did nothing as the goverment made xavier’s into a reservation, even after regrestration happened and the goverment had more heroes than ever to spare to helping them. When the T-Mist happened years later instead of stopping terrigin or asking the inhumans to stop it for the good of another race, the rest of the heroes just did fuck all. Sure the avengers were on a budget and the ff were asbent, but there were enough heroes in the world still and enough teams to do something about it and only the ones with mutants on them did!. IT’s hard to say “well you shoudln’t exclude them”.. when the rest of superhero kind has been subtly doing it their whole lives. But it dosen’t shy away from the claims of racial superiority the isoaltion or the fact the x-men basically sued for nationhood by making requiring recognizing their nation hood the price for trading for their life saving and extending, world changing drugs, which you would still need to buy. There’s other issues, one that i’ll get to in a moment as it was only revealed in x-men. Various characters, Corsair in issue one of the ongoing, the fincial summit in issue 4 and the ff both in house of x #1 and ff/x-men, all question this and some of the ethics. Hickman brilliantly decides instead of just painting the x-men as absolute moral rights, to show their new nation warts and all: the genuine good their doing and trying to do but also the price they have to pay for it and the mistakes they may be making. And the compromise necessary to build a nation. It’s all chiling, compelling shit that’s even more releveant in a time when bigotry is piling up like crazy. Both house and x-men, which i’ll get to in a second, ask questions with no easy answers and it makes them a compelling read. Also compelling is the two mini series use of flashbacks: The two previous moira timelines, which we learn are just that as we go, are compelling with the apoclaypse timeline having loveable heroes were are heartbroken to see die in the struggle, while the last timeline seemingly sees the mutants turn as bad as the humans.. only to peel back a layer at the end and reveal humans are still very much the real monsters, and them evolving via machine is a threat to mutant kind's natural evolution. It was a good story twist and of course there’s FAR more to dig into in both books, and I defintely will at some point in the future as I said. But there’s tons of great ideas here: Sinsiter not only being a mutant but a reluctant ally, the same of apocalyspe, the heavy questions I got into above, the idea of machines being mutants greatest threat which makes a ton of sense, and the various ones I already went into. I can’t gush about this book enough, but since this is already long enough i’m trying. The point is both mini series are great and how you do a self contianed event perfectlY plenty of consequence, plenty of scope but enough character and brilliant ideas and a FUCK TON of quotable and iconic lines, all blend into one of the very best series i’ve ever read. And lead directly into..

X-Men I talked about a lot of what this book represents above as it’s a direct continuation of the above, but the book on it’s own is still something diffrent. while it continues setting things up, playing with the new toybox hickman set up, and asking the tough questions, x-men does it in a diffrent way. House and Powers bounce around through time while all telling one huge story and one huge bundle of setup for this status quo. X-Men instead is a bunch of single issues. It’s still a ton of setup, though with enough payoff to house and powers that it at least so far hasn’t become tedious, especailly since hickman specifically has plans for all of it and has shown in the past he’s a long game man when it comes to storytelling, but through more action packed stories that, with the exception of mistque’s spotlight issue so far, have one shared element: Cyclops, aka Scott Summers, who as grand captain of krakoa is the nation’s ruling council’s go to guy for missions and who he himself can form any team he once for any mission. Cyclops, like the x-men hadn’t been treated well for years; Various characters lambasted him after the phoenix force drove him mad and lead to him killing charles xavier, and before that his run as leader of utopia, not helped by x-force painting him as a cold heartless dickweed, had him forced to make questionable decisions that made fans turn agains thim despite the hard position he was in. But now with the burden of absolute leadership of mutantkind in other hands, HIckman writes scott beautifully and has restored him to his proper place. WIth Xavier taking over as absolute leader of mutantkind and his race no longer hanging by a thread for the first time in years scott can relax and ENJOY himself. As the first issue shows he has everything he ever could have possibly wanted: A healthy marriage with Jean again, and an open one at that with him free to still see emma and Jean openly seeing Logan. Logan himself no longer trying to murder scott for his mistakes or kill his teenage self due to bad writing, but being his best friend again and also living with him and presumibly having threeways because they have connected bedrooms and of course jean would want both at once. Maybe they also just fuck each other sometimes again the details haven’t exactly been clear but it’d explain the tension disappearing. Maybe the schism would’ve ended quicker if Cyclops and Wolverine just fucked each other after children of the atom. Hey not every question is a deep personal one on krakoa sometimesm it’s just “Are these two fucking and could it have solved things faster in the past if they did?”. Also I almost forgot to mention, and added this near the end of writing this, in additoin to everything else scott now lives ON THE FUCKING MOON, on the blue area with a breathable atompshere, on a moon house with his family and fuckbuddy and Vulcan’s buddys. It’s fucking amazing. But moving back to other things scott’s gotten besides logan’s wang up his butt, as seen in issue one thanks to the gates his dad can now visit anytime, his brothers live with him with Vulcan going from genocidal dickweed to weirdo thanks to his experinces between his “death’ and this series, and he’s just. happy. And as a leader he takes the x-men on thrilling missions: the series combines action with character and worldbuilding and it is great. The worldbuilding part has been tremendous; we’ve seen new foes in the returning children of the vault and horticulture, aka what if the golden girls were tv ma, and also plant based supervillians plotting a better future for mankind that krakoa’s drugs clash with. We’ve seen nimrod creeping close, charles and magneto not playing ball with mystique start to backfire, the return of krakoa’s lost love, and in my faviorite arc, we’ve seen broo, one of my faviorite x-people and intellegent brood, eat an egg and thus become god emperor of the brood, not only giving the vicious race a chance to reform but giving the x-men a huge advatange in space, doubeldby events we’ll get to in a second. And biggest of all we saw the crucible: Since those depwoered by the decimation can get power back by dying again, and to prevent overworking the five with mass sucidies krakoa came up with a nasty solution,: earning resurection via ritual combat. And like the above there aren’t easy answers to this: mass sucidie isn’t better or faster, but having mutatns forced to EARN repowering by dying brutally isn’t a great solution either and is kind of sick. And it also opens up questions about ressurectoin that Nightcrawler feels made need reegion to answer htem. It’s again good heavy instreating stuff. We also got my faviorite issue #4 where the x-men go to a fincial summit, and while security detail cyclops and gorgon fight off hired goons...

youtube

Xavier, Magneto and Apocalypse discuss with world leaders about the implications of krakoa’s policys, with Magneto not hiding his love of flexing his superiority. And Charles ends the confrence, after it’s revealed one hired them in an utterly masterful moment: Taking off his helmet to reveal no this is charles, this is him and that even after they tried assintating him he has and always will love humanity he’s just sick of being treated like crap and suffering for doing it and his people suffering for it and he won’t tolerate this sort of shit again. See it for yourself it’s an absolute triumph:

It’s a great scene. Overall an utterly great title that really keeps the momentum moving and I feel is only setting up for even more things.. the only real issue is that A) the title’s been slower at coming out than the other dawn of x titles, though in the case of the empyre tie in’s it’s not hteir fault but the rest sure as shit are, and B) that it has mostly been just setup but it’s been good enough and enjoyable enough and I feel payoff is coming, so I truly don’t care. At long last we have a main x-men book that’s not only fantastic but uttterly engaging and I read most issues multiple times. An utter slam dunk

Giant Sized X-Men: This one is incomplete, so I can’t fully say what the full picture is.. but for the three released so far it’s a mixed bag, though the art in all three is gorgeous as Hickman brought on the best artists in the buisness but it’s telling that while New Mutants bellow had issues that bugged me but was still kinda fun, and the above havem y utter priase I nearly forgot to include these issues. None of them are bad and all have gorgeous art as I said, these are some of the best in the buisness, they feel padded. These were supposed to be annuals, but when they decided to change this to one shots.. they shoudl’ve just made them regular length instead, as there simply isn’t enough story here to fill them and so far only Davis’ issue has both had huge setup (both revealing doug’s fusion with warlock is a secret for some reason and that he is indeed still fully alive and revealing what happened to the x-mansion), and due to Davis background as a writer/artist the pacing to fill one issue and even then it could’ve been trimmed. Not bad and I don’t fault the artists for not being used to being writer/artists or having to do so while also conforming to a larger narriative which likely didn’t help or in the third one’s case having to take over for someone else entirely, but it’s , while not bad no ton par with the two above books and I expect better from hickman.

New Mutants (HIckman’s Issues) I’ll cover Brisson’s issues next time as they feel like a diffrent run entirely, but New Mutants was.. a disapointment. I was utterly pumped for this title going in being a huge fan of the team thanks to finally reading the claremont and sikenwitz run and before that re-reading abnett and lannings utterly great run and hey jonathan hickman who’d already done gangbusters was writing it! It had a great roster!

And it starreed one of hickman’s faviorite mutants and one he’d taken a shine to on avengers, and one of my faviorite superheros, Roberto DeCosta, aka Sunspot. On Avengers hickman took Roberto , already a decent character and made him amazing. He was still rich, young and a playboy as ever.. but he used said wealth and his love of fun wisely. When undercover at an AIM casino instead fo throw down, he offers the agents a free day of partying and gambling on his huge dime, then puts them on payroll as his undercover agents. So to recap Roberto DeCosta won the avengers two valuable double agents in what at the time was one of their biggest threats.. by buying them tons of beer and gambling and presumibly hookers. And later got the loyatly of the rest of AIM through these guys, and when Steve found out tony betrayed him and went off hte deep end hunting him instead of stopping the end of the goddamn world, TOOK OVER AIM HIMSELF IN COMBAT WITH THE AIM SUPREME, and then formed his own avengers.

Literally. He got his own avengers team, most of which left after the apocalypse but he simply found younger and hungrier replacements, and aim.. with blackjack and hookers. The man is a legend. And knowing Roberto if hookers were actually involved he probably treated them with respect and overpayed them because he’s a class act. Then under Al Ewing’s mighty pen, Roberto not only formed another avengers team since most of the avengers he formed to stop the end of the world were busy elsewhere, of young and great avengers, while dying of the aformentioned death cloud, but became an utterly brilliant chessmaster, only failing ONCE becaue of hydra cap getting into his head while AIM was working for the us goverment towards the end as the USAvengers. And yes that’s a real team. It’s as insane and beautiful as it sounds. And his new avengers once fought american kaiju, a godzilla with a flag painted on it chaning usa. Al Ewing is the best and I love him. But he also became a master stratigest and schemer with schemes within schemes within schemes, his crowning one being faking his own death and using his fake funeral to clear out any remaning enimies in AIm, and only quitting AIM to keep it out of goverment hands and in the hands of a trusted friend. He was and still is one of the best avengers there ever was and ever will be. But here, as the new mutants go on a road trip to get sam? He’s a fucking dumbass who hires the worst space laywer possible, only gets off trial because Sam and his wife save them, glad they weren’t broken up by the way, and is utterly useless most of the time. It’s like HIckman forgot the last part of his run.. granted time runs out isn’t very good but still, that wasn’t a good thing to forget and like Hickman wants to ignore ewing’s work for no damn reason, even though Ewing did great things with Roberto and kept him relevant when marvel was choking the x-men to death. It’s fucking embrassing and disapointing to see. The rest of the New Mutants aren’t much better mostly being happy but also not really acting like themselves, with only mondo really standing out since he gets great moments and hasn’t done anything in a while. And Doug, who I negelcted to mention above is one of my faviorite mutants and thanks to being krakoa’s primary method of commuincation, is now one of krakoa’s most important mutants, has a seat at the council with krakoa, and weirdly has his best friend warlock hiding on his arm for reasons that haven’t been explained yet. In Short doug went from beign forgotten to being used awesomely again. Roberto instead of getting the same is set back as a character and ends the arc deciding to stay in space because he misses sam, and will likely become third in his marriage i’m sure, and wants to bone deathbird, x-men villian and frequent shiar usuper. But while rahne actually being happy is a good sight to behold they , except Dani, really dont’ do much. Though Magik gets a fucking amazing scene where she asks the various assasians sent ot kill them if they want to make out , not only revealing she’s bi, but that she’d prefer that to killing them all but does so when they dumbly refuse .. I mean seriously who, whose not in a relationship that’s open or way older than her, not take her up on that? The plot their thrust into isnt’ great either, mostly just more setup but not present as well as in x-men about Gladiator giving the shiar empire to xavier’s daughter.. yes charles has a daughter that was created from his and his ex wife lilandra, whose still dead’s dna, and letting DEATHBIRD Of all people teach her instead of his damn self. Xandra taking over isn’t a terrible idea it’s just handeld poorly. It just feels disapointing.. like hickman WANTS to do a JLI style book here but the combination of him only doing one arc and not really wanting to write the characters as they should be, an issue that only pops up here and in the new mutants cameo during x-men proper and not for doug ever, that makes it fall falt.. I mean there are utterly great moments like the above, and hte image i used to lead off their just stifled by misusing roberto and everyone else.

But overall hickman’s works on x-men are fucking great, intresting and engaging. I’ve read the issues a ton and will again. One small mistep dosen’t take away from all the large good he’s done and he’s made the franchise feel alive again and hopefully the MCU take on it will take after this run, as it’d be a great way to break from the endless xavier vs magneto battles of the fox universe. So yeah overall 2 great books and a thankfully short misfire, HIckman’s on top. And next time we’ll see who he picked to help him carry the x banner home to us all, and who did well with it and whose stumbled a bit as part two delves into the rest of the dawn of x. For now subscribe for more comics stuff as I plan to get back on that, including I hope a restrospective on the fox era x-men sometime soon, animation reviews, and more fun stuff. And until then, courage.

19 notes · View notes

iwillbeinmynest · 5 years

Text

Seeing Ghosts? - Frank Castle x Reader(f)

Author’s Notes: This is for @sgtbxckybxrnes Fall Writing Challenge! I had fun with this one so I hope you enjoy!!

Word Count: 2.4K

Notes/Warnings: Mentions of cheating, mentions of drinking, kissing, anxiety, aggression, fluff.

Masterlist

For the love of all things. Y/N knew from the moment she started getting ready that tonight was going to be a disaster and now what was supposed to be a girls night was turning into a “Let’s see how many of us can find guys to go home with” night.

Y/N rolled her eyes and sipped on what was left of her one and only drink. No way was she getting tipsy and ending up on a walk of shame tomorrow. No, after things ended with Sean there was no way she was going to rush into anything else for a while. The last thing she wanted to deal with was another guy.

Which was also why the fact that this girl’s night was less about the girls and more about guys ticked her off.

“Oh my gosh.” Raychel stood up at their table. “You know what we should do?”

The table waited for her to answer herself.

“Go ghost hunting!”

There was a mix of responses from the group of eight.

Y/N shook her head. “Absolutely not.”

Raychel tilted her head and smirked. “Why not?”

“Because ghosts aren’t real and it is a colossal waste of money.” She downed the last of her drink. “You guys do what you want but I’m going to call it a night.” She stood from her seat only to be pulled back down.

“Um, no.” Jessa sassed. “You’re coming. Last thing you need is to go home and sulk. You need to find a guy and what’s the most guy-ish thing to do on a night like tonight? Ghost hunting.”

“And that’s exactly why I’m not going.” She replied. This crisp and gloomy fall night was perfect for getting into something spooky and that’s why she refused. No way was she willingly going to get herself into trouble.

Jessa shook her head. “You’re going. I’m buying and you aren’t going to complain.” She gave Y/N a look that didn’t leave room for arguing.

Y/N rolled her eyes and huffed.

At her submission the rest of the girls cheered.

******

An hour later and the group was standing in the lobby of Ghouls and Haunts Tours waiting for their tour to begin.

“Alright,” Began the tour guide. He was a rather round man with a fisherman’s vest on. It was loaded with all kinds of gadgets and blinking lights. He was the kind of man Y/N expected to believe in ghosts. “So, since we usually do large groups we are going to have all of you join together since each of your individual parties isn’t large enough to book a solo tour. So, get comfy people.”

Everyone in the room looked around. Some offered small smiles and some were clearly annoyed. There was a group of four who were on a double date as they were wholly attached to their respective partners, and a group of maybe ten guys who Y/N guessed where a bachelor party and, of course, Y/N’s group of friends.

It came as no surprise that her friends were blatantly eyeing up the boys. Jessa nudged Y/N in the ribs and raised her eyebrows in the direction of a man who seemed to be just as miserable and annoyed as Y/N was.

“He’s perfect for you,” She chuckled. “Maybe you two can be mopey and sulky together.”

Y/N rolled her eyes. “No, thank you.”

******

The tour started just as stupid as Y/N thought it would. The guide, Toby, told everyone the history of the abandoned button factory and of all the “odd goings on” that happened on a nightly basis and how everyone should keep an eye out for any moving objects. Y/N was convinced it was all rigged.

Another few minutes and Toby was bound and determined to cram the whole group of twenty-two people into a small room where, apparently, two orphan kids were kept and chained to a small table as they were forced to work until they died three years later.

“Pack it in people! The more of you who are in here the angrier these kids get and I’d hate to rob you of the opportunity to see them.”

When Y/N stood with crossed arms and pursed lips outside the door, Toby lifted a brow. “Don’t you wanna see this?”

She shook her head, “I’m good, Thanks.”

Toby rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Just don’t wander off, kay?”

“Sure thing.” She huffed a laugh.

Toby closed the door behind him and Y/N could hear through the walls as he started his dramatic story telling.

When a movement caught the corner of her eye, Y/N noticed the man that Jessa had pointed out to her earlier. He was smoking and leaning on his side with his shoulder against a cement pillar.

They made eye contact and he nodded politely before taking one final drag, flicking the bud to the floor and stepping on it to put it out. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his well-worn black hoodie and walked over to her.

“Too scary for you?” He asked, clearly feeling like he had to say something to avoid an awkward silence as they both waited for the tour to continue.

Y/N was slightly offended. “Um, no.”

He chuckled. “Sorry. I was just curious.” His crooked smile was actually gorgeous.

“Are you? Why are you out here? And don’t pretend that it was for a smoke.” She pressed. If he was gonna be nosy, so was she.

He smiled and nodded. “I mean it’s a pretty good excuse. Gives me a break from a lot of stuff I don’t wanna do. But no, I’m out here ‘cause I can’t listen to that guy anymore. Twenty minutes is plenty enough.”

It was Y/N’s turn to smile. “Yeah, he’s a real piece of work.”

“I’m Frank, by the way.” He didn’t extend a hand but turned to face her fully.

“Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you.” He nodded. “So, what brought you out here? I couldn’t help but notice, in the lobby, you looked like you were forced to come.”

“So did you.” She countered.

He sighed. “That’s fair. Yeah, a buddy of mine is getting married and this was what his best man picked as part of the bachelor weekend. So, no choice.”

“Ah, well, I’m in a similar boat. My friends wanted a girl’s night and one too many cosmos later, here we are.” She gestured to the empty factory.

“One of them getting married?”

“Nope. Actually, they are all single and looking to go home with someone. So they picked the most guy-ish thing they could think of. And low and behold we got grouped with a bachelor party.” She laughed and he chuckled too.

“What luck.” He sniffed and ran his hand over his short, dark, beard.

“For them, maybe.” She shrugged.

Frank inhaled to ask another question when the door flew open and a couple of people ran out of the room.

The door had slammed so hard against the wall that, instinctively Frank grabbed Y/N and shielded her from whatever he thought was going to happen next. When he remembered the tour he let go of her shoulders immediately. “I’m sorry.” He said obviously embarrassed.

Y/N nodded, she had been startled by the sudden movement herself but then, when she realized there was no threat, she smirked up at him. “I thought you weren’t scared?”

He backed up from her as the rest of the group poured out. “Ha. Ha.” He rolled his eyes with a grin. “I was just-”

“You were just...Uh-huh, sure.” She grinned.

The group was full of mixed emotions, some were laughing and others looked genuinely frightened. One girl was crying, it was Raychel. Serves her right for picking this stupid place, Y/N thought.

Jessa was rubbing her shoulders and trying to calm her down.

When Y/N looked for Frank he was back with his group but was watching Y/N. She smiled at him and then turned to follow the tour.

*****

Up a questionable staircase and onto the second floor the group was once again escorted into another room to probably be told another embellished story of someone who had died doing something.

And once again, Y/n and Frank held back- much to the protest of their respective friends.

“What did you mean earlier when you said it was lucky for them that my group was here?” Frank asked as he sat on some old boxes.

Y/N shrugged. “I meant that they are looking for some single guys and that’s, generally, what you get with a bachelor party, so…”

He leaned his head back, understanding. “So, they are going to be trying to hook up with my friends.”

“Unfortunately, yeah.”

“Anyone my boys should steer clear of?” He smiled and leaned his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together.

Y/n thought about it. “Not really, but Sarah is one hundred percent on the hunt for husband material and she gets clingy, real fast, so maybe watch out for her. But other than that, there are no crazies to speak of.”

He nodded. “And you? Are you on the husband hunt?”

Y/n snorted and laughed, which made Frank smile even bigger. “No. Definitely not. No, I just got out of a really bad relationship a few months ago so, I’m trying to stay away from guys for a while.”

He hummed and his smile dropped ever so slightly. “What happened?”

Y/N took a deep breath. She didn’t even know this guy and yet, she wanted to tell him everything. Maybe just a brief overview of the traumatic split. “Uh...three years together and I guess he got bored. He proposed and then three weeks later said he wanted to break things off. Turns out he’d “fallen in love” with someone else. Actually, I’m pretty sure, now, that he’d been cheating on me pretty much the whole time.”

Frank frowned. “So why’d you stay? Why’d you say yes?”

“Because at the time I had no idea he was cheating. I only found out when he broke things off. He implied that he’d been seeing other girls so…” Y/N swallowed hard, embarrassed.

“Well, you got no judgement from me so, don’t look so ashamed.”

When Y/N looked up at Frank she could see just how sincere he was being. She nodded. Another tour group headed towards them and the stairs. Y/N glanced their way and her eyes widened as she gasped.

Frank jerked and followed her gaze. “What?”

“That’s him,” Y/N swore. “That’s Sean, my ex!” She whispered and began to fidget. “What do I do?!”

Frank looked from the group to Y/N. He didn’t know which one was Sean but he knew that Y/N was in need of a save.

Frank grabbed her face and pulled her lips to his.

Y/N gasped through her nose but quickly seized the opportunity to not look panicked in front of Sean and she’d be lying if she said this wasn’t a darn good opportunity.

Frank’s hand tangled in the hair at the base of her neck as his other wrapped around her to rest on her back and pull her even closer. He felt Y/N relax into him and he kissed her more. He pulled back a little and peppered her lips with quick soft kisses before he rested his forehead on hers. Both of them sat there, just breathing in the cold fall air.

“Y/N?” A voice called as it came closer.

Frank felt her stiffen and looked up to see her looking at him. “You got this.” He whispered.

She gave the slightest of nods before she looked up as she wiped her mouth from where Frank had claimed it.

“Sean.” She said flatly.

Sean smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. He crossed his arms as he eyed frank quickly. “Hey, who’s your friend?”

Frank stood up quickly and all but grimaced down at Sean, who he was taller than. “Frank Castle. Who are you?” He crossed his arms.

“I- I’m Sean Galloway,” He seemed confused. He looked to Y/N who hadn’t gotten up and was very much not thrilled to be having this conversation. He looked back to Frank. “She hasn’t mentioned me?”

“No, why? You some one I should know about?” Frank turned slightly and held out his hand. Y/N took it and stood up beside him. Frank wrapped an arm around her, sticking his hand in the back pocket of her jeans.

“Well, Y/N and I...We - Uh.”

“We what Sean?” Y/N waited for him to actually say it.

“I guess,” Sean’s head ticked to the side and he sighed as he shoved his hands in his pockets. “I guess it was nothin’.”

Y/N nodded. “That sounds about right.”

Sean shook his head in disbelief. “You’re really gonna pretend we didn’t date, that we weren’t engaged?” He was clearly getting agitated.

“Listen, Pal, you better get goin’ ‘cause you’re makin’ my girl real uncomfortable and I don’t like the tone you’re taking with her.”

“Your girl? What is this the fifty’s?” Sean chuckled. “You two goin’ to the sock-hop later? Gonna share a milkshake, too?”

Frank let go of Y/N and stepped up to Sean. “I’m gonna say this one last time.” His voice was low and all threat. “Get lost.”

Sean swallowed and nodded. “See you ‘round, Y/N.” He spoke softly and defeated.

“No, you won’t.” Y/N and Frank said in unison.

They stood quietly until Sean disappeared. When he was out of sight, Y/N sighed and sank back down to the boxes they’d been sitting on. She leaned over with her head in her hands.

Frank sat beside her and put a hand on her back. “You okay?”

“I believe in ghosts, now.” She muttered to the floor.

Frank huffed a soft laugh. “Do you?”

“I’m pretty sure I just died so, yeah.”

Frank pushed her shoulder back so she’d sit up and look at him. “Seriously, you good?”

She took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah, I think so.” After a moment, she added. “Thank you for that. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t...kissed me like that.” She blushed.

“I didn’t go too far with the whole...pocket thing, did I?” He wondered.

She shook her head. “No, no. It’s fine but I appreciate you asking.”

He nodded. “I swear I was this close to punching the life out of him.” He scoffed.

“You wouldn’t be the first.” She smirked.

He raised his eyebrows and leaned back slightly in surprise. “Have you punched him before?”

Y/N looked at him proudly. “Yes, I have.”

Frank cursed and chuckled. “Good for you.” He looked at her hard. Was he falling for her?

Y/N laughed. “Seriously, thanks for helping me.”

Frank smirked. Yes. Yes he was. “Hey, I’m happy to help, anytime you need me.”

“How’s next weekend sound?” She chuckled as she scooted closer to him. “My parents are trying to set me up with their dentist’s son.” She leaned in closer.

“I’m free next weekend.” He smiled and leaned in and pecked her lips. “And this Monday,” another kiss, “And Tuesday,” Another kiss, a little longer this time.

“How about Wednesday?” Y/N smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He hummed, “Mmhmm,” as he kissed her deeper.

* * * *

Forever Tags:

@heismyhunter @sgtbxckybxrnes @pickledmoon @whimsicalrebirth @marvel-lucy @thisisthelilith @james-bionic-barnes @thedreamingowl @poemwriter98@kimistry27 @annie-lujan @buckyandsebsinbin @lilasiannerd @gypsy-storm-15 @cassiopeiassky @earinafae @the-stuttering-kiwi @obsessedwithatwell @shortiiqt16 @shifutheshihtzu @elaacreditava @nikkitia7 @theonewithallthemilkshakes @gallifreyansass @storytellingwanderer @palaiasaurus64 @iamwarrenspeace @engineeringgirlcve @magnolia-wanders @carameldaemoncakes @canumoveyourseatup-no @melconnor2007 @movingonto-betterthings @spideytrxsh @fantasticmiraclehologram @kapolisradomthoughts @iamwarrenspeace @melconnor2007 @yesiamdeliciouslycaffeinated @mcu-avengerrs @archy3001@mmauricee @barnesvogue @feelmyroarrrr @beyondbarnes @marvelous-avengers @veronicalei @cornflax01 @kudosia @witchymarvelspacecase@beccaanne814 @inumorph @thisismysecrethappyplace @artemis521@darkhologramblaze @palaiasaurus64 @awkwardfangirl2014@diinofayce @youclickedthislink @lille-kattunge @patzammit @amiquette @destiel-artemis @nea90sweetie@miraclesoflove @nickimarie94

Frank Tags: (I don’t actually do character taglists but I figured I’d throw yall on here from the last Frank fic I wrote)

@evilxcupcakexnik @harrysthiccthighss

284 notes · View notes