#and hmm i feel like my fics are steadily growing more and more OCs

[sp4c3-0ddity]

HEY (41) "Damn auto-correct..." With Plance pls?

listen. man, dude, my friend. i know you like fluff and fun fluff is like your specialty but this fic turned into angst and for that i would like to apologize…but i hope you like it anyway??

canon-verse, ~4000 words, not proofread because i shouldn’t be awake now

warning for slight ableism?? 

Pidge couldn’t believe her luck, stranded on a huge,isolated asteroid with almost no gravitational field and no ships in sight.

(Though,of course, space was so empty that she naturally had to suffer the probabilityof getting stuck in it.)

Sheclung to a crevice on the asteroid’s surface with one hand and her feet, herhead still spinning from when the Red Lion expelled her into space. With theother hand, she fiddled with the comm in her armor, seeking a signal strongenough to contact someone - anyone- nearby, or at least within a few light-years of her position.

Stupid Lance, stupid so-called ‘valor’, stupid misguided attempt at being ‘heroic’,I’m going to kill him the next time I see him…

Pidgescowled when all she found with her comm was static, but it faltered the tickshe thought of Lance.

Quiznak, I hope he’s okay…

Herheart sank into her stomach, heavy with dread and worry. She tried to push itout of her mind - she had herself to fear for right now - but every time shereturned her attention to the task at hand, her thoughts drifted back to Lance. 

We both would’vestood a better chance if I’d stayed with you, dammit.

Pidgechecked her biometrics with her armor’s systems, and when she found nothingamiss - her life support still at full capacity thanks to the wonder of tenthousand-year-old Altean technology - she sagged, resting her forehead againstthe asteroid.

Castle on the other side of a wormhole,Galra ship blocking communications, nothing to amplify a signal or detect onethat isn’twithin range…

Empty-handedand alone, Pidge searched again.

Afterwhat felt like vargas - after her stomach growled and her throat turned parchedand her eyes drooped with exhaustion and the air her life support recycled grewstale - she found something.

Staticcrackled, louder than any other instant, and Pidge straightened her backagainst the asteroid with a start.

“Hello?” Pidge said, her voice hoarse. “Isthere anyone there? Come in, this is—”

What if they’rean enemy?

Pidgeswallowed and said, “I’m stranded alone in the middle of an asteroid field without aship. You’re the first vessel I’ve been able to hail. Can you please rescue me?”

Thestatic quieted, and Pidge’s heartbeat echoed in her ears as sweatslid down her face. She pinched her eyes shut, preparing herself to hear thesignal go dead, until:

“Give us your approximate position, lana, and we’ll be there in doboshes.”

“Well…” Pidge scanned as much of hersurroundings as she could with her cuff, letting it view the stars as she sawthem, then sent them through the same signal. “Is that enough information?”

“Oh, it’s perfect, lana!” her savior said. “Hold on.”

Theconnection clicked off - her heart skipped a beat at the sudden silence - andPidge wondered, “Whatthe quiznak does lanamean?”

Pirates.

Theship that picked her up belonged to pirates.

Theycuffed Pidge’swrists behind her back before she could so much as thank them for their rescue,before she could take off her helmet and inhale the breathable air inside.

Atleast she could savor the gravity dragging her down when her knees hit thefloor.

“You didn’t tell us you’re a Paladin ofVoltron, lana,” a humanoid alien with one eye at thecenter of his forehead said. He crossed his arms and clicked his tongue in aneerily human expression of disappointment.

“This is why,” Pidge grumbled. She tried towrench her shoulder from the grip of the part-Galra pirate that held her down,but her only reaction was to squeeze her hard enough she could feel it throughher armor.

“Well, then to the brig you go!” announcedthe cyclops alien with an unfriendly smirk. “At least give us the next varga todecide your fate.” His single eye glinted while the other pirates jeered andhonked and crowed.

Pidgestared at him with wide eyes, fear churning in her stomach and making her heartthreaten to burst its way through her ribcage. “I—”

“Save your threats and promises, GreenPaladin,” the Galra pirate said. She grabbed her arm and tugged her upright,and without waiting for Pidge to find her footing, dragged her away from thecrew.

Theyconfiscated her armor and left her only with the insulated black suit she woreunderneath, though not before Pidge slid her bayard under the thin mattress inher tiny, square cell. She tried to keep a wrist cuff too, but the pirate thatcame to collect was smart enough to count the pieces.

Shewas relieved she had the foresight and the timeto hide the bayard in a different place.

Butmuch good it did her while she was locked in a cell.

Heroptions for escape lay heavily on her mind, but the prospects were thin. She’dseen so little of the ship - not even the bridge - since coming aboard, sounless she could talk a crew member into giving her a tour…

Shecould talk a crew member into giving her a tour!

(Sheavoided thinking that it was exactly the sort of thing Lance would do.)

Pidgecould scarcely believe how straightforward it was to convince the pirate thatbrought her meals to show her around the ship.

Theship’smain engineer was a woman with unseeing blind eyes, but she compensated for thedisability with long, bat-like ears that spun towards the slightest hint ofnoise. Tall and willowy with an easy smile, she was exactlythe type Lance would go for, Pidge observed. 

(Sheignored the flare of jealousy that rose within her; now was not the time.)

Sheintroduced herself as Mara and grinned at Pidge. “You’re lucky it was Heli’s turn to cookyour first meal. If it had been my turn, you would’ve spent the next few vargaskneeling next to the toilet.”

Pidgenarrowed her eyes at the bowl of…some kind of stew, made from a starchypotato-like plant, a vegetable that looked and tastedas pungent as an onion, and a meat that she suspected was the alien equivalentof “mysterymeat”. “That’s a…relief to hear,” Pidge said.

Thistime when she spooned the bite into her mouth, she didn’tgrimace, though Mara wouldn’t have seen it either way.

Sheset aside her bowl after finishing only half of it, the scent emanating from itturning her stomach, and mused that she even preferred Coran’s cooking to this stew.

“Say,” Mara said, still lingering beyondher cell door, “are you really theGreen Paladin?”

“The one and only,” Pidge said withouthumor. “What gave it away?”

“The green armor, of course!” Mararetorted, chuckling.

Pidgeraised an eyebrow, unsure what she found funny…until she recalled that she was blind. Shefidgeted with the hem of her sleeve and muttered, “I guess it would’ve…”

“I did have a question, though,” Mara said.“Are those all the real Paladins in The Voltron Show?”

Pidgeturned her head so fast she almost gave herself whiplash. “What?”

“The Voltron Show.” Mara clasped her hands together,twiddling her thumbs. “I wondered if those were all of you or if they were justactors.”

Pidge’sjaw dropped, but she cleared her throat and wondered, “Why do you want to know?”

Marasmiled. “Iwas curious. I ama fan, by the way, and wanted to know if there would be more shows to lookforward to.”

Pidge,stunned, could only stutter, “Uh, w-well, Voltron has other things toworry about at the moment.” Like finding me…and Lance.

Herface fell, and she said, “Oh, then, maybe you could tell me moreabout everyone?”

“I…”

Pidgedecided to seize her chance.

Shesmirked - working to keep the smugness from her voice - and said, “I’dlove to tell you everything, but why don’t you give me a tour?”

Marashowed Pidge some of the inner workings of the ship - which she learned wasnamed Outlaw Heart. She gestured toevery bit and bob, every nook and cranny, with easy, pinpointing each by sound(or so Pidge assumed).

Sheobserved it all with curiosity, wondering where, exactly, her salvation lay.Sabotaging the mechanisms of the OutlawHeart and holding them hostage?

”You remind me of Hunk,” Pidge said whenMara clasped her hands together while explaining something.

“The Yellow Paladin?” Mara wrinkled hernose.

“He’s not really like he is in the show!”Pidge reassured her. “He’s actually a genius and“—she flinched when Mara hither forehead against a low air duct—”not nearlyas clumsy as you are.”

Abeat later she heard the offense Mara could take from her words, but before shecould stammer an apology, Mara grinned. “Oh, I knewI wouldn’tregret asking you!”

Hijackingthe ship for long enough to find an entity allied with Voltron and theCoalition?

”Tell me about Keith!”

“He’s grumpy and passionate and…” Pidgesighed and admitted, “He’s…not around so much anymore.”

Marafrowned. “Isthat not him in the show?”

Pidgelaughed. “That’sthe thing; Princess Allura actually played him in The Voltron Show.”

Or,perhaps, communicate with the Castle by sending a transmission from the Outlaw Heart’sbridge?

”What about the Blue Paladin? He seemsinteresting!”

“Every other fan has a crush on Shiro, butyou choose Lance?” Pidge rolled her eyes while she inspectedthe ship’s navigation and communication systems as covertly as she couldmanage. Any tick, someone else could walk in and catch taking advantage of theengineer’s blindness…

Maraheld her hands behind her back and said, “I never mentioned anything about a crush.”

“Really?” Pidge raised an eyebrow, barelylifting her attention from the comm station. Could she send a distress signalstrong enough it would reach the Castle? “Too bad, though. He would’ve loved tohear that.”

(Maybefrom anyone but her…)

“I’m sure,” Mara said doubtfully. “Are youready for the next part of the tour?”

“Oh, just a tick,” Pidge said.

Shereached for the comm, mentally running through the steps that would project adistress—

“Mara!” a new voice bellowed.

Pidgejumped backwards - and straight into the waiting arms of the part-Galra crewmember responsible for manhandling her.

“Oh, First Mate Yorik!” Mara said,straightening her posture. “I—”

“Let our prisoner onto the bridge?” The crew member - First Mate Yorik -picked Pidge up as easily as she would a pillow and threw her over hisshoulder.

Shescowled, lashing out with fists and kicks while anger made her clumsy andcareless about where they landed. But her blows proved ineffectual, the firstmate ignoring them as he leveled a furious gaze at Mara. 

“Did you not see that she was trying tosend a signal to her allies?” First Mate Yorik demanded.

“I-I didn’t—”

“Of course you didn’t!” Yorik stormed outof the bridge, Pidge bouncing in his grip. “Why Captain Nubo took on a blind engineer…”

Pidgesmacked his back and glared at the ground, blood rushing to her head. But sheyelled, “Letme go, you bastard! Let me—”

Shegasped when Yorik jerked her around and dropped her unceremoniously onto thebunk in her cell. She pinched her eyes shut and clutched her head, onlydistantly hearing the cell door slamming shut as Yorik locked her in.

“I don’t know what you said to Mara toconvince her to let you out,” he growled, “but rest assured if anything like ithappens again, you’ll regret it.”

Pidgepeeked out from between her fingers in time to see him storm away. Then shesighed and lay down on the bunk to consider her next plan.

Thecyclops alien - who introduced himself as Captain Nubo - visited her within acouple vargas of Yorik “escorting” her back, standing just outsideher cell. “I would like to apologize for my first mate’s behavior,” he said. “I’mafraid he sees you as an enemy more than most aboard the Outlaw’s Heart.”

“I wonder why…” Pidge grumbled.

“Oh, it’s not what you think, lana,” Captain Nubo said, chuckling. “He’s nevermuch liked the legitimate side of the law, Galra or not, but his mother did,and, well…”

Pidgebit her lip and guessed, “She died in the war.”

CaptainNubo hummed, not quite validating her suspicion, then wondered, “Asidefrom that, are you enjoying your stay, lana?”

“It’s better than a five-star hotel,” Pidgereplied icily. “Theywould’vemade me keep the handcuffs.”

CaptainNubo laughed, a sound that burst out from deep within his belly, and said, “Oh,if we weren’t natural enemies I might’ve asked you to join my crew.”

Pidgenarrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. “Why?”

“We know enough about Voltron to have anidea of your skills.” The captain curled his dark green goatee around a finger.“We find our tech in need of update, every…legitimate party far outstripping our capabilities.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Pidge asked.“Aren’t you worried I’ll exploit that?”

“Because you haven’t already tried?” Nuboshrugged and admitted, “Perhaps I’m hoping that you’ll abandon Voltron and joinus before this is done.”

“Not a chance,” Pidge said. She stood andpaced to the cell door and met his eyes with a glare. “Voltron needs me, and I—”Ineed them too.

Butshe wouldn’tconfess to that, not to a man intent on making himself her enemy.

“Very well,” Nubo said. “I’m sorry to hearthat, lana, but I suppose I should tell you what the crew and I have decided about your fate.”

“What?” Pidge snapped when he paused fortoo long. “Spit it out.”

“It’s simple, really. For now you remainhere.”

“What the quiznak do you mean by fornow?” Pidge demanded.

“Lana,you’rea valuable commodity on this side of the universe.” Nubo smiled. “On most sides of the universe, in fact.”

Pidgeignored the sweat dampening her palms and hoped that her shock didn’tshow on her face. “All right,” she said, somehow keeping her voice fromtrembling. “Explain.”

“My crew is divided, you see,” Nubo said. “Halfwish to ransom you to some fragment of the Galra Empire, and the other halfwould prefer to ransom you to Voltron. Each has their reasons for choosing whothey will, but neither option is desirable.” 

Ransom me to Voltron…

“What about me?” Pidge said, wrapping hersweaty hands around the bars to her cell and standing on her toes. “Does myopinion matter?”

“What do you think?”

Herheart plummeted, a rock falling through the air from a great height. “I—”

“What benefits the Empire’s factions oreven what benefits Voltron can scarcely benefit my crew,” Nubo explained, hiscordial tone evaporating. “So you see what I must do? And until we decide, aprisoner you remain.”

Pidgestared at him, unable to formulate a proper response.

I could kill Lance…if he wasn’t someone’s prisoner too.

“What’s the matter, lana?” Nubo inquired, his single eye blinkingslowly. “You look like you wish to ask me something.”

Many somethings, Pidge thought, but aloud she said, “Whatdoes lana mean?”

Nubosmirked. “It’san affectionate name you would call a child.”

Theretort rose automatically to her lips, “I’m nota child, I’m—”

“A Paladin of Voltron,” Nubo conceded, “butdon’t you agree that it’s a childish thing to be stranded in space without aship or much means of communicating with your own allies?”

Pidgeblushed, averting her eyes out of embarrassment. “It wasn’t my fault,” she muttered. She curledher hands into fists as a tear rolled down her cheek.

They’llfind him first, she told herself.They have to.

“I will leave you to mourn your lot,”Captain Nubo said, “and I hope you won’t risk leaving your cell again.”

Ashis footsteps retreated down the hall, Pidge leaned against the wall. She sliddown, hugging her legs to her chest and pressing her forehead to her knees.

She’dattempt another escape soon, she promised, but first she’d cry.

Shewas ready the next time Mara opened her cell door to deliver her a meal. 

Pidgeactivated her bayard.

Itmorphed into the grapple, so silently Mara’s bat-like ears didn’t pick up on it.

Pidgeswallowed her shame, heart pounding in anticipation, and stepped behind Mara,holding the blade to her throat.

“I’m reallysorry about this, Mara,” Pidge admitted, “but I have to get back to my team. They need me.” 

Marastiffened, her ear twitching. “I understand, Green Paladin.”

“Then take me to the bridge again.”

“No.”

Pidge’seyes widened, her breath catching in shock. “What?”

“I admire your loyalty to your team,” Marasaid, “but you think you’re not the only one loyal to a crew?”

“I—”

“I don’t think you’ll kill me to make apoint,” Mara continued. “I have no doubt you’re capable if the situationdemands it, but I’m not Voltron’s enemy.”

“Y-you don’t know what I’d do!” Pidgeretorted, blood boiling with anger and her back rigid. “You don’t know what Idid to rescue my family, and you don’t know what I’d do for my team if theywere in the same danger!”

“I’m not your enemy—”

“You’re not,” Pidge conceded. She swallowedaround a sudden lump in her throat and blinked hot tears from her eyes and quiznak why wasn’t she done crying? “B-but one of myteammates is in danger and I have to go save him! What about that d-don’tyou understand?”

Marasagged. “I’msorry, Pidge,” she whispered, “but I can’t let you.”

Pidgeclosed her eyes. “You haveto, Mara. I need to see my team - all my family. I need—”She sniffed when she tasted salt on her lips. “I-I need to t-tell him I—” Shelowered her bayard and whispered, “It wasn’t his fault.”

Herbayard slipped out of her sweaty hand as she choked on her first sob.

Somethingwarm engulfed her, arms wrapped securely around her and rocking her back andforth while she cried.

Stop, shetold herself. Stop crying in front ofstrangers.

“I’ll talk to Captain Nubo,” Mara promised.“I’ll tell him you need to rescue your friend.”

Pidgebit her lip, struggling to get her sobs under control. She trembled, but Marastill held her.

“Tell me more about him,” she said, voicesoothing. “Which Paladin is he?”

“I-I don’t know anymore,” Pidge admittedwith a shaky laugh. She rubbed her itchy eyes and added, “But h-he’s more thanhe seems…”

“Captain Nubo wants you brought to thebridge.”

Pidgeopened her eyes. She’d been trying to sleep since Mara left, but between the promiseand her fear for Lance, she hadn’t managed more than a restless doze.

Soshe sat up and faced First Mate Yorik.

Heunlocked and opened her cell door with a creak of metal hinges. “Whatare you waiting for, Paladin?” he demanded when she just looked at him. “Thecaptain wishes to speak with you.”

Pidgeblinked, her brain sluggish and exhausted, but as she processed Yorik’swords her breath caught in her throat.

Hopereignited.

Pidgeshot to her feet and skipped to the door. She tried to slip past the firstmate, but he caught her arm and pulled her back.

“What’s your rush?” he asked, narrowing hiseyes.

“The sooner I return to my team, thesooner—”

“Nothing’s decided,” he reminded her. “AndI never said anythingabout your return.”

(Well,it was obvious where he stood…)

Pidgeglared at him but accepted his escort up to the bridge.

“What changed?” she demanded, her gazemeeting Captain Nubo’s. “Was it just what Mara said?”

CaptainNubo grinned, a mischievous glint in his eye. “We are not so different, you and I, yourteam and my crew. And to hear the rumors, even one of yours is part-Galra.” Heblinked - or maybe winked; Pidge couldn’t quite tell when he only had one pairof eyelids - and said, “Or, if you wish to believe I was moved by yours tearsand had a crisis of conscious, I won’t stop you.

“So…how would you like to make a deal withus, lana?”

Herheart sank; of course it couldn’tbe so easy…

“That depends,” Pidge said, though a partof her desperately wanted to accept whatever deal he offered, if only it meantfinding Lance and the rest of her team safe. “What do you want?”

Nubosighed. “Perhapsyou can guess.”

“A…ransom? I’m sure that can be arranged.”

“All right.” To her amazement, he agreedeasily, but… “I will send a transmission telling we have the Green Paladin.”

“Wait, I need to reassure them that I’msafe and that this isn’t a trap, Captain,” Pidge said.

CaptainNubo considered her, frowning slightly. “They must pay your ransom before wedeliver you then.”

“Great!” Pidge grinned, her heart alreadypounding and the words she would say rushing through her head.

“In GAC.”

Pidgeslumped. “Wedon’t…the Coalition doesn’t deal in GAC.”

“Then I’m afraid—”

“Wait!” Pidge said before Nubo could domore than turn his back. She wrenched her arm from First Mate Yorik’s firm gripand stepped towards the captain at the comm station. “I-I can upgrade your ship’ssystems instead, and maybe even convince Princess Allura to give your crewamnesty - or, well, maybe convince her to try to convince the Coalition to giveyou amnesty because frankly I hatepolitics and I have no—”

Yorikcleared his throat, cutting her off.

Pidgesmiled sheepishly at the captain. “I can’t promise more than to talk to her.”

“Well, that is as much as Mara promised you…andif you do fix our systems that would be enough.”

“AfterI contact the Castle of Lions,” Pidge insisted.

“Very well.” Captain Nubo made quick work -quick enough that Pidge suspected he’d already prepared it - setting up atransmission. “I’m afraid it’ll be text-based correspondence in the Galrascript. Can you manage?”

Pidgebit her lip. It was scarcely ideal, but… “Fine,” she said. “They can translate it.”

UnderCaptain Nubo’ssingle watchful eye, Pidge composed her first message:

Allura, it’sPidge. I was captured by pirates and they want to make a trade. Ask me toverify.

Pidgetapped her foot, her hands sweating while she waited for a reply that camefaster than she dared to expect:

Pidge! Verify:  what did you name the Galra droid youreprogrammed?

Pidgesighed, freed of a burden, as she wrote back:

I named him Rover. Allura, is everyonesafe? Do you know what happened to Lance?

Everyone is safe, Pidge. And we recoveredLance. He’snow recovering in a healing pod. The first thing he asked when we found him wasif we’d found you, so I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you once you return to us.

Pidgecovered her face in her hands and muffled a laugh, but not before irritationtook hold again when she remembered how, exactly, she and Lance got separated:

Good, because when he’s awake I’m going to kiss him.

Do you want me to tell him that if he wakesup before you get back?

Bloodrushed to her face when she reread the message she sent. “I—what—no—”She hurriedly corrected:

Wait no don’tI meant that I’m going to kill him! Damn auto-correct…

Herheart pounded wildly - quiznak, it neverbeat this fast even when she was in danger! - while she waited for Allura toreply again:

I asked Hunk what auto-correct is. He’s not convinced your statement was amistake.

Pidgelonged to return to her cell and bury her face in a pillow, where no one couldsee her red cheeks or hear her frustrated scream.

[jwillowwolf]

Magic and Miracles - Chapter 14

Sanders Sides Big Bang fic, Final Chapter!

< Previous Chapter | << Prolouge | Masterlist

Summary: Instead of speaking, Virgil simply pulled Logan in for a hug. Logan froze in shock for a moment before he hugged him back. He felt the tension leave Virgil’s body and just barely heard as he whispered.

“It’s finally over.”

“Yeah. It really is.”

“Thank the gods. It’s over.”

Warning/s: food mention, minor violence.

Characters: Logan, Virgil, OCs, Roman, Remus, Patton, Janus, Remy, Emile.

Tag List: @theimprobabledreamersworld @remy-please-come-back

Read on AO3

14 | Finale

“After the spell is performed, you should be able to make a porthole into the fae realm yourselves without going to the pixie gate. You would still have to make it outside of the fae city to avoid magical interference of course.” Nitya stated as the group followed it through the halls of its home.

Janus frowned. “That sounds like a big spell.”

“It is. In fact, it’s not normally used by anyone, but you should have enough magic to do it afterwards… Just double-checking, you’re all one-hundred percent sure you want to go through with this?” Nitya asked.

Virgil nodded. “We came to the agreement that this is what we need to do.”

“I asked if you wanted to do it.”

The group exchanged some glances and Logan spoke for them. “We want to help people and this is a way we can. We have to go through with it.”

Nitya smiled softly. “Well, whatever happens, I hope you all find success against your foes.”

It led them to a room that looked very much like a library, with the walls from floor to ceiling holding leather-bound books.

“This is my study. All of my notes from over the years are kept here. Since it won’t be of any use to me anymore, I suppose I’ll leave it to you all to do whatever you want.”

Everleigh’s eyes lit up. “I’m in heaven.”

Nitya chuckled. “You can look at them later. First, I need to explain the spell to you all.”

“About that, will we need to participate? Because Everleigh doesn’t know how to use magic,” Logan explained.

“Ah. Well, I’m going to need to teach you all what to do, so going into a little more depth for newbies won’t be too hard,” Nitya shrugged. “You do at least understand the basic concept of what magic is, right?”

Everleigh nodded. “It’s the essence of the world itself. Of the life that flows through all things in existence.”

“Correct,” Nitya grinned. “Ever present, never seen. Feared and admired by all beings. The life that bursts from the earth, the secrets hidden in stone. It dances in the fire’s flames; it gives the wind its mournful tone. Here it is, this is it. Defined yet unexplained. In the depths of the ocean, and of your own mind. In the veins of all creatures, including humankind. For magic is in everything, yet unknown all the same.”

“Woah, is that an old poem or something?” Willow inquired.

“Hmm, simply something I learnt from another strange being,” Nitya stated ominously. “But never mind that. I need you to stand in a circle for this to work.”

The group stood in a circle formation around Nitya, just as they had been directed. Unfortunately, due to the high-risk level of this spell, I can not explain the intricacies of it to you. But I will do my best to give you a description of what happened next.

Nitya looked around to make sure everyone was ready then held a hand over its head and began to chant in an unknown tongue. The light on its fingertips steadily changed colours, fading from one into the other as Nitya drew a myriad of interconnected glyphs. As the colours began to brighten, Nitya’s voice became… strange. It seemed to echo at different pitches. Almost like its voice was not its own, but rather that many different voices were speaking from its mouth at the same time.

The teens took this as their signal to begin drawing their own runes. And as they all finished, in unison they said, “Solhart.”

The runes and glyphs turned stark white before bursting like tiny fireworks and fading from existence. Logan looked around at his companions and thought that perhaps the spell had been unsuccessful. But then at the centre where Nitya had been standing, he saw that there was nothing left of it. No clothes or feathers or anything. Just an empty space at the centre of the room.

“Did it work?” Patton asked.

Willow shrugged. “Well, I suppose there’s only one way to tell. Everyone ready for status checks?”

“You’re going to need to talk me through that,” Everleigh said.

“Oh, right, uh here I’ll show you.”

Logan checked his own status and did a double-take when he saw it.

Logan Picani

Titles: Divine Friend, Legend Wizard, Wind Tamer, +...

MP: 500 - full

HP: 200 - full

Skills: Bond-Link, Wind Tamer, Magic, +...

“Uh, is anyone else seeing a way higher status than they had before?” Roman asked. “Because I swear I only had twenty mp.”

“It worked! We’re all at like master magic level now,” Remus said excitedly.

“This is definitely going to give us an edge for going back into the fae realm,” Willow commented.

Virgil nodded. “But first, let’s discuss a plan…”

---

On his stolen throne, Ynclementia sat with a deep frown gracing his features. “What do you mean she’s still resisting the poison?”

The alchemist gulped fearfully. “S-she’s wearing down, s-sire.”

“She should already be dead.”

“I’m sorry w-we miscalculated a step. But she’ll be gone before sunset.”

“She better be. Or I’ll have your heads.” Ynclementia snapped.

Just then, a guard burst into the room. “Sire! There’s been an attack.”

“Kill them off then. I told you if anyone tries to rebel, show no mercy.”

“It’s not rebels, sire. At least, not normal rebels.”

“What do you mean, ‘not normal rebels’? Are they too much for you idiots?”

“Well, sire-” the guard was cut off by static from his walkie-talkie.

“They’re on the tenth floor! We’ve lost six men! We need backup! The d- holy f-!”

The speaker on the other end was cut off by what sounded like a roar and multiple screams before the transmission cut out.

“What is that?” Ynclementia questioned.

“That’s what I was trying to explain, your majesty. A dragon, a wolf, a human, and two elves have stormed the tower.”

“Prince Virgil’s entourage,” Ynclementia muttered before his eyes widened in realisation. “The Prince, did you see him with them?”

“We’re not sure, sire.”

“Kill them all and bring the prince to me.”

“That won’t be necessary,” a familiar voice said from the doorway.

The alchemist, the guard, and Ynclementia all looked up to see Virgil standing there with a dark look on his face.

“Kill him!”

The guard ran forward first, unsheathing her greatsword to slam down onto Virgil. Vi was quicker than her though and moved out of the way before the blade could even graze his hair. He took advantage of the moment that the guard had her sword down, and threw a potion at her. She gasped and released the sword before falling limp to the ground.

“I’m paralysed!”

The alchemist then snapped out of their frightened state and pulled out a potion to throw at Virgil. He easily dodged it though so that the alchemist instead hit the guard.

“Gah! It burns!”

“I’m sorry!” While the alchemist was apologising, they had left themselves open, giving Vi the perfect opportunity to throw another paralysis potion. “Eep! Going down.”

“You useless wretches,” Ynclementia growled. “You couldn’t even handle a child.”

“How about you face me yourself, coward,” Virgil taunted.

The earl grinned devilishly. “Gladly.”

Ynclementia rose from his seat with his grin seeming to grow wider. Virgil’s eyes widened in horror as he watched the man before him morph into a creature that could barely be considered human, let alone fae. His limbs seemed too long in certain places while too short in others. His eyes had turned completely white -no pupil or anything- and his hair moved as if it was a fire burning him.

“You took a contract with a demon. That’s how you gained so much power.”

“Finally figured me out then, your highness? Well, you weren’t always the fastest to catch onto things. Hopefully, your death will be quicker than your mind.”

Virgil just barely got out of the way as the Earl shot a surge of hellfire at him. He ducked and dodged as Ynclementia sent beam after beam at him like a slew of large fiery arrows. Except the fire was the arrows and his mouth was the bow. Finally, the Earl reached a point where he couldn’t use the hellfire anymore and switched to hurling himself at Virgil.

While he was able to run just out of the fae-demon’s reach, Vi could feel his energy wearing down, and decided instead to turn around mid-run with his dagger raised to slash at him. Unfortunately, Ynclementia had seemed to anticipate this move and caught Virgil’s wrist before he could swipe at him.

Virgil could see the hellfire building in the back of his throat. In an instant, his life flashed before his eyes. His family, his childhood, his schooling, his school, his classmates, his friends, the memories hit him like a truck. He felt like he was about to die in that very second and all he could think was-

“AHHHH!” Ynclementia screamed as water hit his chest.

He released Virgil and fell to his knees in agony. Virgil stared dumbfounded at the fallen enemy then looked to the doorway where the stream of water had come from. Standing there he saw his grandmother and a very concerned Logan who immediately rushed over to him.

“Oh my gods, are you okay? Did he hurt you? Did any of them hurt you?” Logan questioned.

Virgil stayed silent.

“Why won’t you answer me? Did they put you under a spell? Virgil, please, speak up.”

Instead of speaking, Virgil simply pulled Logan in for a hug. Logan froze in shock for a moment before he hugged him back. He felt the tension leave Virgil’s body and just barely heard as he whispered.

“It’s finally over.”

“Yeah. It really is.”

“Thank the gods. It’s over.”

“Ehem,” the boys looked up to see Valeria smiling at them. “Do I get a hug too, or do you two want some space.”

“Nana! I’m so glad you’re alive!” Virgil declared, rushing over to hug her.

“I’m glad we’re both alive,” Valeria replied. “But what on earth possessed you to fight a demon?!”

“I didn’t know he was a demon.”

“Wait until your fathers hear about this.”

Virgil frowned. “Nana, they…”

“I can bring them back, dear.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Yes! … Oh, I am going to be in so much trouble…”

---

“Hurry up, kiddoes. The carriage is waiting for us outside,” Emile called.

“We’ll be down in a minute!” Everleigh yelled. “Does my hair look right?”

Logan rolled his eyes. “For the last time, Ev, yes.”

“Don’t roll your eyes at me. This is my first time in high society, you know.”

“Firstly, I’ve got about as much experience with this as you do. And secondly, we both know that you just want to look nice for your girlfriend,” Logan teased.

Everleigh blushed. “Willow and I aren’t official yet.”

“Yet.”

“Oh, stop. Also, you totally have the upper hand here. You’ve met two queens and a prince!”

“You’re friends with the prince and have met one of those queens. Under better circumstances than I did too.”

“Well, you did that magical license test thing publicly. Gods, I’ll still have to learn all the magic stuff you did. And in a more polished school too.”

Logan nodded. “That’s a good thing. You’ll get to make friends and have more than just Remy to teach you.”

“I don’t need any more friends, I think. Also, it’s totally unfair that you and the others got to learn everything before me.”

“I did offer to teach you.”

“You weren’t even sure you could teach yourself,” Everleigh pointed out. “Huh, you’ve actually come pretty far, haven’t you.”

Logan paused for a moment to think. In just under a year, he had gone from a struggling self-taught mage to an expert wizard with noble-born friends and hero status. Just two weeks ago, he’d snuck away from home with his friends to find a magical miracle and then ended up going to the fae realm and saving the fae queen from the brink of death. Saying he’d come a long way may have actually been understating it.

Just days before that he’d been worried about losing his friends to their high-class lives, and now they were all going to a ball hosted in their honour where they’d be officially receiving their hero titles and full magic licenses.

“Done! You look fabulous, if I do say so myself,” Everleigh declared.

Logan looked at himself in the mirror to double-check the make-up she’s done. It wasn’t too complex, just some eyeliner, blush, and blue lipstick to match his azure suit. Normally make-up gave him dysphoria, but since he’d completed the transition spell, he simply felt like a handsome young man.

“Wow.”

Everleigh grinned. “I know right.”

“Kids, come on- Woah,” Emile said, staring at his son from the doorway.

“Hey, dad. How do we look?”

Emile smiled. “You both look absolutely stunning. Gods, how did you grow up so fast?”

Logan rolled his eyes. “I’m only sixteen.”

“That’s too old already. What happened to my baby boy?”

“I’m still here. I just got taller.”

“Not by much,” Everleigh muttered.

Logan pouted. “Hey!”

Everleigh laughed. “Come on, let’s go! We’ve kept the carriage waiting long enough.”

The ride to the castle was short, smooth, and full of growing anxiety. Especially when Logan noticed how many people were out trying to get a glimpse at them like they were some kind of nobility themselves. The carriage stopped inside of the castle’s inner courtyard, where other carriages of nobility and foreign royalty were already parked. Remy came over to help them out of their carriage.

“There you guys are. Ready for the party?”

“Golly, there are a lot of people here,” Emile stated.

Remy shrugged. “Well, Thomas and Nico did invite everyone. Honestly, though, even I’m surprised at the turnout considering Thomas’s aversion to large crowds.”

“Perhaps it’s because Virgil’s finally making a public appearance,” Logan said, eyeing the people who looked to be around his age.

Many of them would probably be here to make a good impression on the crown prince. Perhaps a few of the bolder ones would even try to befriend him. A few may even attempt to romance him. That idea gave Logan a sick feeling in his stomach. Even worse than the anxiety of being at a high society event.

“Everleigh! Logan!” Willow called out as they ran over to them. “Hi!”

Everleigh giggled. “Hi to you too. Is it normal to run to your friends at these kinds of functions?”

Willow shrugged. “Who cares. This is kind of our party anyway. You look breathtaking by the way.”

“Th-thank you. You look lovely as well,” Everleigh stammered.

“Thanks. Your make-up looks really cool, Lo.”

“Thank you,” Everleigh did it. “Did you run away from Janus or are you here with your family?”

“Oh, my family is here, but I was just with Jan and Roman. I can take you to them then we can all hang out together.”

Willow led Logan and Everleigh away into the castle, to the huge ballroom where the majority of the party-goers were socialising. They found Janus and Roman at a table, looking as if they had just been dancing and were now resting their feet.

“Hey guys, great timing. Would you please tell Janus that I was indeed the first to confess my feelings?”

“Liar. I was the first to confess, and they’ll tell you so.”

“This is why I left them,” Willow whispered to Everleigh and Logan. “I swear, they’re an old married couple reincarnated or something.”

“It’s rude to keep secrets,” Janus commented.

“I said you’re both insufferable.”

“But I was the first to confess though. Right, Willow?” Roman prompted.

“You were not, you forgetful elf.”

“Forgetful, I have never forgotten a thing in my life, oh darling dragon.”

“Double D’s, an interesting nickname, bro,” Remus said as he popped up.

“Gah! Remus! Don’t do that.”

“Aw, but you look so funny when you’re spooked.”

“Weren’t you supposed to be with Patton?”

“I’m right here,” Patton said as he approached with a darker haired boy who looked quite similar to him, beside him. “Everyone, this is my brother Morgan. Morgan, these are my friends Janus, Logan, Everleigh, Willow, Roman and well you already met Remus.”

“Hi! Did you guys really defeat a demon?”

“Technically, Queen Valeria killed the demon. Everleigh, Janus, Willow, Roman, and Remus all fought its subordinates and I only snuck by to get to Queen Valeria,” Logan stated.

“Still, we’re all awesome,” Remus declared.

Roman grinned. “Agreed. We are indeed true heroes.”

“Speaking of, when is this ceremony supposed to start?” Janus asked.

As if to answer their question, there was a sudden sound of trumpets silencing the crowd before an announcer spoke. “Presenting, King Thomas the Just and his dearly beloved husband Prince Consort Nico.”

Everyone looked over as the King and his husband entered the room in their dazzling royal attire. They walked arm in arm to the dias at the end of the room, where three magnificent thrones were standing. As they turned around to look at everyone, the people bowed and curtsied respectfully for them.

“Thank you, all. You may now rise,” Thomas declared. “And another thank you to everyone for attending tonight’s ball. While we had originally planned for this only to be our son’s debut, as you know, things happened and now we have a lot more to celebrate tonight. But first, we’d like to proudly introduce to you our son; Prince Virgil of Srednas.”

The crowd looked back to the top of the stairs from which Thomas and Nico had descended. Now standing there they saw Virgil. Dressed elegantly in a deep purple suit with light purple makeup underneath his eyes and a gentle smile on his face. He walked with confidence and purpose down the stairs and to the dias where he joined his parents.

The people bowed and curtsied for him as well, and he said. “Thank you. You may rise.”

Everyone did, and then stared at the royals, waiting eagerly for what they would say next.

“As I was saying before. We have many things to celebrate. One being, my son, and the other being the valiant rescue that he and his friends did only a fortnight ago-”

Thomas wasn’t interrupted, but I figured you don’t want to sit through a retelling of events that you’ve already heard. Basically, Thomas retold everything that had happened from when he, Nico, and the council disappeared, up until when the teens stormed the tower, healed the queen, and defeated Ynclementia. The crowd was of course, quite captivated, and Logan found himself feeling quite flattered at how heroic the king described them all to be.

“-so, as thanks for their service, the young heroes shall of course be given the appropriate titles. Roman and Remus Leafstone, Patton Lilyhart, Janus Embryn, Willow Redrunner, and Logan Picani. Please come here,” Thomas requested.

The friends exchanged nervous/excited glances then went and stood in front of the royal family.

Thomas turned to Virgil, “You can stand with them if you want.”

Virgil nodded and joined his friends in front of his parents. He stood close to Logan and whispered. “You look enchanting.”

Logan blushed but didn’t have time to even say thanks in reply as Thomas continued talking. “As King of Srednas, I acknowledge your great deeds and grant you all the titles of Knights of the Miracle Order. May you carry your titles with the same honour and valour that you have earned them by, and let all your future escapades be just and victorious. Cheers to the Miracle Knights!”

“Cheers to the Miracle Knights!” The crowd echoed as they applauded the eight young heroes.

Logan and his friends turned around to face the crowd with bright smiles. The cheering and clapping went on for a few minutes still as they stood there. Once the cheers died down, Thomas spoke again prompting the party to continue. The musicians began to play again and everyone returned to socialising.

Before Logan could decide what to do though, Virgil had taken his hand and was motioning for him to follow him somewhere. Curious and still slightly dazed from the earlier compliment, Logan went willingly with him, away from the large crowd, outside the ballroom, to what seemed to be an empty veranda that looked out over the royal gardens.

Virgil released Logan’s hand and turned to face him. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Logan replied in the same soft shy tone. “Thank you. For the, um, compliment. Earlier.”

“Well, it’s the truth. You look absolutely mesmerizing,” Virgil declared.

“I suppose I have Everleigh’s makeup skills to thank for that.”

“No. Your enchanting beauty is your own, Logan. It’s something that you’ve seemed to have ever since I first saw you. Something that could outshine even the stars.”

“Well, you’re much more handsome than me. The first time I saw you, I nearly lost myself in those stormy grey eyes.”

As silence fell over the pair, Logan found himself getting lost in those eyes once again. Tonight, they didn’t reflect any firelight. Instead, they shone purely with Virgil’s emotions. That same bright ‘fondness’ that had been in his eyes the night they had talked about their futures. It seemed to be even stronger now somehow.

“Logan, I… I wanted to ask you something.”

“Yes?”

“Okay, so, I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. A very long time honestly. And I’ve made up my mind on it, so I can only hope you’d at the very least stay friends with me if you don’t like this. Of course, I would totally understand if you never wanted to see me again. I wouldn’t dream of forcing you to stay my friend. I also don’t want you to just say yes because I’m the prince or anything like that. Nothing will happen if you don’t want this. Or, if you really don’t want me to ever come near you again, then I-”

“Virgil, please breathe.”

Virgil shut his eyes. “I’m sorry. I am just really nervous. So nervous I forgot even my anxiety about being introduced to the public earlier.”

“Well, you made a very elegant entrance. You looked quite fearless to me.”

“Glad I learnt to hide my fear early on then,” Virgil laughed as he opened his eyes. “I still need to ask this question though.”

Logan nodded.

“Here it goes then. Logan. Would you please consider, maybe going out with me and, um, being my boyfriend?”

…

“Logan? Oh, geez, you ha-”

“Yes.”

“What?”

“Yes, I’ll go out with you. And be your boyfriend.” Logan stated. “May I kiss you?”

Virgil’s eyes widened. “Please.”

Without a moment of hesitation, Logan closed the distance between himself and Virgil and kissed the prince squarely on the lips. It was a sweet kiss. One that signified the beginning of a beautiful romance and the ending of our tale.

The tale of how Logan Picani went from being a simple baker’s son to a master mage, Miracle Knight, and the boyfriend of Prince Virgil. From being the underdog he rose, learning magic alongside those who outranked him, befriending his classmates and rising with them to become great magic users. From choosing to trust a friend and keep the secret of his heritage to later helping that friend save his grandmother and two entire realms from the greed and tyranny of a fae-demon. From making pseudo stars in the throne room to this moment where he was kissing the crown prince on a veranda. It had been one heck of a journey.

And Logan wouldn’t change anything.

---

A/N: Tada! The story has come to an end, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm done here of course. I have really enjoyed writing this story and getting comments during this past week of posting it, so I might make a sequel or at the very least some spin-off one-shots. If you guys would like that then please let me know. Thank you for reading! Here's hoping you have a magical day 💜

[xxx-cat-xxx]

OC Concussion Fic

So, here’s that old whumpy emeto-ish thing I found somewhere in the depths of my laptop. It’s set in a Star Trek universe (because yes, I’m a nerd), but you don’t need to have seen any Star Trek to understand it.

All you gotta know is that there’s people from different species who live on spaceships and travel through the universe and sometimes they fight Romulans, and they are organised in a slightly military style (hence the ranks like “Captain” and the places like “bridge”), which I personally disapprove of, but whatever.

My main character is Naru, a starship Captain who lost her girlfriend a couple of years ago and blames herself for that. The only one who manages to put up with her personality is Kameer, her First Officer. There’s a whole backstory to these two, but it’s not important here because this fic is 99% plotless whump.

Naru came to with a moan. Her head was throbbing in rhythm with her heartbeat, a stabbing pain pulsating from the back of her skull right to her forehead and resonating through the rest of her body. She took a careful breath and felt her stomach climb up her throat as if it had only been waiting for the opportunity.

She swallowed down the nausea and forced herself to open her eyes. Around her was the sickbay, more crowded and chaotic than she’d ever seen it. Nurses and doctors were running to and fro frantically, crew members with injuries ranking from light to life-threatening sitting and lying on all available surfaces. Naru searched for a suitable memory to explain the disaster, but came up blank.

“What’s going on?” she croaked. When nobody replied, she repeated the question as loud as she could.

“Captain,” a a voice next to her spoke up. “Good to see you awake.”

It took her longer than she liked to admit before the signals from her eyes, ears and memory came together and she recognised Commander Zhing, sitting nonchalantly at the lower end of a cot on the other side of the aisle. He was pressing a bundle of bandages onto a deep cut on his forearm, but was otherwise looking healthy.

Naru groaned in spite of herself and hoped he would blame it on her injury, not his presence. Of all the people she’d want to wake up next to, Zhing was extremely far down on the list. Although an able scientist, he talked far too much for her taste, and, more problematically, mostly to the wrong people.

“What happened, Zing?” she asks brusquely.

“You don’t remember?” he replied, curiosity sparkling in his eyes.

“Would I ask you otherwise?”

“Well, we were attacked by Romulans -”

“I have to get to the bridge!” she exclaimed, sitting up abruptly. She was punished with a dizzy spell and a surge of pain in her head that had her stomach lurch dangerously. She could suddenly taste bile at the back of her mouth and had to grab the edge of the cot as not to topple over.

“That’s not a good idea, Captain. You have a head wound and a severe concussion, if I understood the doctors correctly. You should probably keep lying down.”

Only now Naru realised that there was a thick bandage wrapped around her head. She felt something warm trickle down her ear, and when she prodded at it, her fingers came away bloody.

“Who has the bridge?” she asked, ignoring his advice.

“Commander Akhtar, as far as I know, Captain.”

“Are we out of danger?”

Zhing stared at her disbelievingly for a moment. “You really don’t remember, do you?”

She gave him a glare that would hopefully make him realise the stupidity of his question.

“You got us to safety before you fainted, Captain,” he continued hastily. “Must have been an impressive move, if one can believe the rumours. Pulled off a reckless steering maneuver while covered in blood or something like that.”

He was grinning, visibly enjoying himself in the role of the story-teller, but Naru found the situation far from funny. The pain in her head was steadily increasing, as was the nausea, and sitting in a half-upright position was much more exhausting than it reasonably should have been. She swallowed thickly, certain now that she’d have to be sick sooner or later. But not in front of the crew.

“Why did nobody fix this yet?” she asked weakly, indicating her head.

“Probably because they don’t have enough scanners and staff. They have to treat the serious cases first.”

That made sense. As Captain, she could probably get on top of the waiting list with a simple order, but she wasn’t one to use her privileges for her personal advantage, especially not if other crew members were in danger. She swallowed again, closing her eyes.

When she opened them, the world was swaying like on an actual boat, and lights were dancing at the edge of her field of vision. Saliva was pooling in her mouth, her stomach rebelling at last.

“Captain, are you alright? You are looking quite pale.”

“I think I have to -” she didn’t get any further, clasping a hand to her lips in order to keep the bile down.

Luckily, Zhing understood and called a nurse, who took in the situation at a glance and pushed a bowl into Naru’s lap, just when she couldn’t hold it anymore. A gush of vomit spilled into the receptacle from in between her fingers.

She threw up forcefully, her whole body trembling. Every wave made her head hurt like it was being smashed by a hammer. She realised that someone was patting her arm, but she shook them off, angry at the world and at herself for getting into such a degrading situation. She felt like the whole crew was watching, although in the general chaos it was likely that nobody had even noticed her.

When she was finally done, she set the bowl away and shakily wiped her mouth. It seemed like the sickbay was being zoomed in and out of her vision. Her head felt infinitely heavy and seemed to be floating all the same. She swayed to and fro and would have fallen off the edge of the bed if a nurse hadn’t caught her by the shoulder.

“Stars, Captain, just lie down already,” he ordered while lowering her back onto the mattress. Naru didn’t have the strength to resist anymore.

“Get Kareem here once we’re out of danger,” she mumbled, then everything went black.

*

She woke up to a familiar voice.

“Why didn’t you treat her yet?”

“Commander, we only have four scanners on this ship, all of them are occupied by crew members with much more serious injuries - believe me, we are doing all we can  -”

“It’s okay,” Naru interrupted hoarsely while trying to sit up. The nurse and Kareem turned around on their heels, the angry expression on her First Officer’s face giving way to a softer one.

“Hey, you’re awake,” he assessed. Naru nodded and regretted it immediately. She didn’t feel any better than earlier, and on top of the splitting headache, the queasiness was already returning.

“How are you holding up?” Kareem inquired.

She just shrugged, trying to keep on a neutral expression despite the pain. From the other side of the aisle she could feel Zhing’s prying eyes on her.

“Can you draw the curtain?” she asked quietly.

Kareem pulled it close, leaving only a small gap at the footboard. A bit of tension fell away from her, and she allowed herself a groan when she slumped back into the pillows and closed her eyes. Naru knew that this situation wouldn’t help with the hundreds of rumours that were already circulating on the ship about the two of them, but at the moment she had other thing to worry about.

When she opened her eyes again, Kareem was sitting on a stool next to her bed, watching her patiently. That was what she respected about him - his composure and self-control, the way he could melt into the background of a room while still radiating a sense of calm and making everyone feel safer. He would never push her to talk about something she didn’t want to reveal.

“What happened, Kareem?” she asked. “I can’t remember a damn thing and honestly, it’s a crappy feeling.”

“We were attacked by three Romulan warbirds, Captain,” he explained. “They were heavily armed and vastly superior to us. The ship got severely damaged. The bridge was hit and you were injured by a piece of debris. It was looking like we would have to surrender, but then you took over the navigation and escaped with the Riker-B3-maneuver.”

There was a smile playing around the corner of his mouth when he continued. “Reckless, successful, but batshit crazy, I’d say. You were pretty out of it and refused to go to the sickbay, but after a few minutes you more or less collapsed.”

“Ugh.” She grimaced, aware that this story would be told among the crew for months to come.

“Do you remember anything?” Kareem asked.

Something was stirring in her mind, but it was all fuzzy and coated in pain. “Not really.”

“Any other memory gaps?”

“How would I know, smart-ass?”

“Your serial number?”

She rattled down the number, then answered a couple of standard questions from the concussion protocol, noting gratefully that Kareem skipped anything related to her personal history.

“See, there seems to be no further damage,” he assessed with a bit of relief.

“Hmm.” She was growing tired, the edges of her field of vision flickering. Nausea was sitting heavily in her throat and just waiting for her attention to waver.

“Drink a bit of water, Captain,” Kareem offered her a half-filled glass.

She shook her head, but he kept insisting until she gave in. She sat up arduously, pushing away his supporting arm, but accepted the pillow he put behind her back so that she could lean against the headboard.

Her hand was shaking when she took the glass of water. Two sips into it she realised that it wasn’t settling well, and pushed it back at Kareem.

“How much of my ship did they break?” she asked, mostly to distract herself.

Kareem delivered a brief damage report. She noted with relief that there were no casualties among the crew and saved the rest of it somewhere in her brain for later, unable to concentrate further.

She wondered how long it would take until the medics would be able to deal with her head. Every breath seemed to cause bile to rise higher in her throat. As much as she trusted Kareem, she didn’t want to show any weakness by throwing up in front of him as well.

„Captain.“

Naru looked up at him in confusion, realising that she must have missed a question.

“Hmm? I’m listening.”

He saw through her, of course, but all he remarked was “You’re looking pretty green around the gills.”

She opened her mouth for a sarcastic response, but all that came out was a gag.

Kareem quickly held the basin under her chin that someone had luckily left at the bedside. The few sips of water came up quickly, but she couldn’t stop retching for a long time, and then she was choking on her own saliva, unable to catch her breath.

She panted and coughed, each movement reverberating painfully in her skull, until Kareem grabbed her at the shoulders.

“Captain, that’s enough!“

When she had herself back under control, she could see worry in his eyes through the veil of grey clouding her vision.

“I’m okay,” she rasped, shakily wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

Kareem was still holding her upright, and for the moment she was grateful for it, since the world had again started to sway dangerously in tact with the throbbing in her head. The taste in her mouth was disgusting enough that she was afraid she might be sick again.

“Are you feeling any better?” Kareem asked.

“Not really,” she admitted.

He handed her the water so that she could rinse her mouth and then disappeared to get rid of the now vomit-filled bowl. Naru leaned back against the headboard, her whole body trembling, and wished that someone would come to cut off her head.

And that was the moment when the red alert started to sound.

If you actually read until here, that’s really cool, and I’d love to hear some feedback. I got another half-finished fic lying around somewhere in which Naru and Kareem get kidnapped and tortured - if anyone’s interested, I might finish it some day.

@toomuchtoread33 (because I have a taglist now woohoo)