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captaindodson · 5 years ago

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Starstruck -Timothée Chalamet - 2/06

Authors Note: Hello everyone! Its been nearly two months since I have last updated and I’m so sorry about that. I made the mistake of going into this series blindly without planning out anything. So, I am back and ready to finish this bad boy! I also wanted to say thank you for showing support for the first part! I hope you enjoy!

Synopsis: Ella and this mysterious man accidentally run into each other in an alley and they both want something different.They soon both go their separate ways, but what these two people don’t know, is that they’re not done running into each other just yet.

Read Part One Here!

Word Count: 4.0k+

“I’m not going to hurt you, just please don’t scream my name.”

Ella’s eyes are full of fear as the man couches down in front of her, head swinging quickly from side to side looking at each end of the alley while his face is somewhat concealed with a baseball hat. Ella proceeds to stare wide eyed at the stranger she just ran into as the echo of screams continue to fill the air. She then curls her fingers around the mans pale hand that has been placed securely over her mouth and peels it off quickly to scramble to her feet. Her cheeks now flush with a hint of red as she dusts off her jeans to nervously meets the eyes of the man.

“I’m so so sorry, I-I-I didn’t, I-I mean wasn’t looking where I was going,”

Ella gulps nervously as she backs up slowly. Ella’s chest expands and collapses at an increasing pace as her hands start to curl into fists.

The man looks down at her hands and proceeds to wave his hands up in a defensive manner.

“I should apologize I wasn’t watching where I was going either and I wasn’t thinking,” his eyes are wide, his arms move frantically but he continues.

“Do you want an autograph or a picture to forget this whole thing happened,” the man takes a step towards Ella as he’s met with silence. Ella takes a step back and now her hands have fulled curled into fists.

“You don’t have to give me anything, just please let me leave,”

Ella pleads with the man, but he seems to ignore her request.

“Are you sure? Do you want money? A check? Name any amount and ill give it to you,”

He says with such urgency as he looks down to reach into his sweater to retrieve something, but Ella takes this moment to rush past him before he has the chance to pull out whatever he had in his sweater. Ella quickly dashes around the corner down the street to where the source of the screaming continues to echo from. The man’s emerald eyes follow Ella’s disappearing figure until his eyes can longer see her. His eyes linger for just a moment until they swing back towards the alley. He sighs and shoves his hands aggressively into the pockets of his sweater. Just as he goes to step forward his foot kicks a wallet over on it’s side. He leans down to pick up the wallet and quickly stands tall, spins around and opens his mouth to yell after the girl he just ran into. He closes his mouth just as quickly as he stood up straight. He reluctantly puts the wallet into his pocket and continues on his journey.

Ella’s running turns into a light jog down the sidewalk with a large crowd at the end of the street. The crowd seems to be getting bigger and bigger as she gets closer. Out of the crowd she spots two bodies that look very familiar, one female has a black bob and a small grey purse, the other is a brunette with long hair. Lindsey and Jordan are stuck at the back of this large crowd jumping with their phones in hand, trying to push themselves further to get a closer look. Ella reaches the crowd eventually and taps both girls on the shoulder. The girls look annoyed, but when they turn around and realize its Ella, they give her coy smiles.

“Oh hey Ella, so glad you could catch up with us. We are just about to meet Timothee! Maybe you can get a picture with him!”

“Yeah, ” Lindsey exclaims happily as she elbows Jordan’s side. Ella looks very unimpressed with their proposal. Cheeks still flushed, she looks at the ground and then back up the girls with a big sigh.

“You two, ” Ella pulls out of her phone from her back pocket to show the girls the time. Its been exactly 25 minutes since they let their parents.

“If we don’t walk back now they’re going to get suspicious and then they’re going to come looking for us and realize we are not where we said we’d be,” Jordan and Lindsey look at each other and roll their eyes.

“You’re such a goodie two shoes Ella, why can’t we just have some fun? Also, what happened to your phone.”

Ella tilts her head and gives the girls a look confusion. “My phone is perfectly fine-”

Ella’s voice drops as she turns her iphone around and it has a large spider web crack stretching across the screen.

“Fuck,” Ella whispers out as she stares at the cracked glass.

“What were you doing Ella,” Jordan questions as she leans forward so her face is a little closer to Ella’s. Her eyes squint and lips purse.

“It doesn’t matter, we have to leave now,” Ella shakes her head and shoves her broken phone into her back pocket. Her jaws clenches as her eyes narrow while looking at the two unmoving girls.

“You can have fun chasing a boy when its not me looking after you. We are in a foreign city, miles away from home, you don’t know who you will run into and what their intentions are so lets go,”

Ella waves her finger at the girls as she speaks almost like a parent scolding their child for eating a cookie for breakfast after they’ve been told no. Lindsey and Jordan open their mouths to respond but Ella denies them the chance to get a word in to protest.

“I’m not fucking around, lets go, “ Ella’s drips with a hint of annoyance as she turns her body sideways, pointing in the direction of where she just came from.

A few people from the crowd stop their screaming as they watch the scene unfold behind them. Lindsey and Jordan look back at the people standing in front of them, blocking their view of the back door of the theatre. They meet a couple pairs of eyes watching them and they gulp nervously and turn back towards Ella. They appear to accept defeat as they start making their way to the rental house where the parents are. Shoulders are slouched and heads hang as Ella keeps an eagle eye on the girls, as they walk a step or two ahead of her.

There is enough space between the girls that Ella won’t kick their ankles, but enough room that she can reach her arms out and grab their shirts. They make their way past a large brick building and into the alley that Ella had previously fallen in. A peach coloured sky lays above them now as a cold breeze wraps itself around the three girls. Ella remains unfazed by the cold breeze as the two younger girls warm their arms around their bodies to block out the wind.

When the girls eventually come into view of their rental home they see their parents sitting on wooden chairs, facing towards the street right next to each other. Their father has his large black rimmed, glasses resting on the edge of his nose while the faint light of his phone reflects off his glasses. Their mother sits next to him mimicking his actions except with a book The sound of foot steps approaching alerts their mother to look up and smile towards the girls.

“So how was the fro-yo girls”

Their mother questions as she stands up, putting her book on her seat and clasping her hands in front of her. Lindsey and Jordan turn around and exchange looks with Ella as she stares back at them with a look of annoyance.

“Uh it was good, but I think Lin and I are going to head up stairs and just sleep for a little bit.’

Jordan slowly turns her head back towards her mother as she lets out a large exhale of breath. Her shoulders remain slack as she walks up the stone steps of the house while being trailed by Lindsey. They walk single file as they open the door to the house and make their way inside. Ella follows them up onto the porch but stops right on the edge of the porch.

“Well you girls go on rest, Ell, your farther, and I will pick something for dinner.”

Their mother stands next to the doorway as they hum in response with their heads hung low. As Lindsey and Jordan make their way up the wooden steps to the second floor to get to their shared bedroom a quiet buzz comes from Jordan’s small purse. She pulls it out and is met with a direct message from Instagram and a multitude of photos from another Timothee Chalamet fan account. The message reads: Girllll Timothee was seen leaving the theatre! Did you get a pic with him? Is he as handsome in person as he is in photos??? Jordan’s eyebrow raises as she uses her left thumb to unlock her phone and scroll through the message and photos she was just sent.

“Oh my fucking god, you gotta be kidding me,” Jordan’s jaw drops open as Lindsey peers over Jordan’s shoulder to see what her sister is reacting too.

Timothee is seen walking along a large brick building with the blur of a crowd of people behind him. He wears navy hoodie and a LA dodgers baseball hat with some jeans. He has his head down trying to hide his face from prying eyes. Each of the girls throw their heads back and groan loudly towards the ceiling. They continue their journey down the hall grumbling to themselves until they reach their respective room in which they slam the door when they make it past the doorway. The front door remains slightly agar as their mom cringes at the slam of the door. Ella still stands in front of her parents, just watching her mother look back into the adjacent door.

“I wonder what that was about,”

Ella’s mother scratches her head in confusion but return to face Ella and her husband.

“Since this is the last family trip for awhile and your mother and I always choose, why don’t you choose where we eat dinner?”

Ella’s father looks up at her as he adjusts his glasses that now rest on the bridge of his nose. His phone remains lit as the light reflects off his glasses. He looks at his wife who seems to agree with him.

“Good idea John, Ell why don’t you look up where you want to eat and we all can decide what we want from there.”

Ella’s mom gives a smile as she leads the two of them inside to the large and bright light lit kitchen. Wooden cabinets lay rest on the wall while the sliver sink and fridge reflect light off of their shiny surfaces. Ella, her mother, and father each take their own spot on separate wooden stools that sit next to a white counter, with their backs facing the living room. After murmuring amongst themselves at what restaurant they want to eat at and they go through the menu naming off things they want. Ella types away on a notes app on her phone getting down everything her family picked before she picks up her phone to call. Three rings is all it takes for an employee to answer the phone.

“Hello this is the Royal Thai what can I help you with today?”

A cheery woman’s voice answers the phone.

“Hi Uh, I’m calling to place an order for pick up.”

“Absolutely, what can I get for you this evening?”

“Could I get one Curry Pad Thai with Shrimp, three orders of steamed rice, six spring rolls, one Pad Kee Mao, two orders of Royal Gaeng Phet Khai, and an order of Breaded Shrimp. ”

Ella puts the phone on speaker on the counter as she goes down the list she and her parents put together.

“Absolutely. It will be ready in 25 minutes to be picked up, could I please get a name for the order,” The woman questions.

“Oh, for the name just put down Williams, thank you very much.” Ella ends the call with a sigh of relief.

“The food is going to be ready in 20 minutes to be picked up. Do you want to leave now, or should we wait 10 minutes and then go?”

Ella asks her father who sits two sits away, scrolling aimlessly on his phone. Ella’s mother had excused herself moments after Ella started the call to check up on her youngest daughters.

“We can go now and while we are waiting we can admire the streets of LA,”

He says with a slide as he slides his hands across the white counter top to grab the sliver car keys. He tucks his phone into his shorts and rests his glasses onto the counter.

“Honey! We will be back in a few minutes!”

Ella’s father semi-yells up the staircase of the house as he and Ella make their way to the front door.

“Okay,” Ella’s mother voice can be faintly heard through the walls. Ella opens the front door and makes her way outside to the car with her father right behind her. Ella’s door slams shut and so does her fathers as they back out and start their journey to the best rated Thai place in town with the hum of the car engine filling the silence in the car.

On their journey Ella becomes some captivated by her surroundings. The sky is now on the cusp of turning the peach coloured lights out and turning on the twinkling lights of burning stars a million of miles away. Ella stares out the passenger window as the reflection of street lights, car headlights, and store signs flash past her eyes. She sticks her head closer to the outside world. Her mouth agape while the cool wind pulls her hair back to stick on her seat as the scent cooking oil coming from food trucks from blocks away wharf into the car. Ella seems so at peace watching, feeling, and smelling all of Los Angeles.

This peaceful trance is broken by a loud click of the car turn signal. She blinks and adjusts herself in her seat as they pull over to the right onto an empty side of the road. Ella and her father pull up to the curb and both lean forward to peer inside the restaurant from their position in the car. The restaurant seems to be almost empty except for only two people they can see, which is an employee and a tall, lanky man standing inside.

“ Well look at that, there’s hardly a line inside! We will be in and out in no time.”

Ella’s father excitedly exclaims. He goes to turn off ignition and unbuckle his seat belt but Ella speaks up before he gets the chance.

“Well since there’s barely a line, why don’t you stay in the car so when I get our order we can just turn around and head back in no time”

Ella’s father turns his head and ponders for a moment. Looking up at the black ceiling of the car almost looking for an answer. He makes eye contact with her again and gives her a crinkling smile, the type of smile that allows his dimples to make an appearance through his light, greying scruff.

“Good idea Ell, ill just wait here and admire the streets of the city of angles from the comfort of this heated car.”

Ella smiles at her father and unbuckles herself from her seat. She unlocks the car as her pushes it open to slide out. Once her sandals hit the concrete she makes her way onto the side walk. The door of the car slams shut as Ella makes her way to the front door of the restaurant. A large rectangular pane of glasses rests next to the door as Ella approaches.

The door is glass with a surrounding sliver lining. Ella pulls the door open and is met with a cool gust of air conditioning. The tiny restaurant is has small wooden tables along on the left, and right side of the room. Each line of tables ending just before the edge of the marble counter starts. The ceiling is painted a forest green while the walls are white bricks lined with black paint. The back of the counter has large menu boards, each sectioned off into breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

A tan women with long black hair, accompanied with a couple red streaks stands on the other side of the marble counter, elbow on the counter while her chin rests in her hand. The employee is just doodling away on a napkin looking bored. Name tag hug loosely on her black shirt as she just wears some blue jeans. Ella looks to her side and notices the man her and her father had seen when they pulled up was just siting at one of the far tables, just scrolling away on his phone. Ella doesn’t give him a second look as she makes her way up to the front counter.

“Uh excuse me, hi. I just called in, the order name is Williams.”

The employee looks up at Ella and drops her pen onto the counter and moves to the side to look for Ella’s order. The rustle of paper is faint as the women digs through papers to find what shes look for. The man who was previously just been scrolling through his phone, is draw away at the sound of Ella’s voice. He pushes his phone into his pocket as he stands up.

“Ah ha,”

The women hums when she finally finds the order she was looking for.

“That will be $65.60, how will you be paying?”

The women says in a very uninterested, monotone voice contrary to how she sounded on the phone.

“Uh debit please.” The employee looks back at Ella and then types away at the register as Ella reaches to her pocket to retrieve her wallet. She starts digging through each pocket of her jeans more frantically as time ticked away. Almost hoping her wallet had just gotten smaller and her pockets had gotten bigger. Her eyes start to grow bigger as her movements become more and more frantic.

“Uh yeah, just gotta run outside to my car and get my wallet, sorry”.

Ella’s cheeks flush with a hue of pink in embarrassment as she looks at the employee with a small smile. Ella is about to turn around and head back to to the car when a mans voice speaks halts her in her movements.

“Are you looking for this?”

A male voice breaks through the empty, but bustling Thai restaurant. Ella looks to her left as sees the guy from earlier. He still wears the same baseball hat, but he has changed into a white shirt with a small black and white logo right above his heart. His face illuminated by the dim lights in the restaurant. He stands adjacent to Ella as he presents her with her dropped wallet. She meets his eyes as she reaches for her wallet slowly.

“How did you, ”

Ella tilts her head in confusion. “When you ran off and rightfully so, I noticed you had dropped your wallet in the alley. I thought it was to late to run after you so I thought I’d hang onto just until I could find you again.”

He rubs the back of his neck, twirling his brown curls with his fingers as he continues, “If I’m honest, I didn’t think I would see you again to return the wallet not knowing anything about you, but I guess here we are.”

The man laughs and smiles at Ella and she returns the gesture as she now has her wallet securely in her hands.

“I guess we never properly introduced ourselves did we? My names Timoth- Max, its Max. And you are..?” He reaches his hand to shake and she draws her other hand forward.

“Its Ella, nice to meet you, ” she hesitantly takes his hand and shakes it. The two of them stare at each other as the employee looks so unimpressed with interaction.

“Is someone going to pay or not?” The employee clears her throat and their hands break apart as they return their attention back to the employee.

“Oh yeah, shit sorry.” Ella goes to unzip her wallet, but Max stops her. He pulls out his Iphone form his jean pocket and taps his phone onto the debit machine paying for Ella’s dinner.

“Max ,you didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s the least I could do after I knocked such a pretty girl off her feet.”

The two of them exchange small smiles again as they now stand awkwardly at the front counter while the employees of the Thai place bustle in the kitchen in front of them. Three men all wearing white aprons work hard mixing and boxing up take-out meals as the female employee gets peoples orders together in large brown bags. Ella’s eyes seem to stay at the ground and her shoes and unlike Ella, ‘max’s eyes shyly look at her through his curls every few seconds that pass by.

“So,” Max’s voice breaks Ella’s trance and her eyes to get drawn back to his.

“Are you from uh LA or are you just visiting from out of town?”

“I’m actually just here visiting with family. We are from Canada and this is my last week before I head off to University. How about yourself, ” Ella brushes a loose hair around her ear.

“No, I don’t live here either, I’m actually from the east coast and I do a lot of uh work in LA. I’m doing some work right now and then I get go home for the next couple months,”

“Oh nice,.” Ella nods her head as the conversation falls into comfortable silence. The sound of the air conditioner once again fill the void of conversation.

“Order for Williams is ready!”

The silence is once again broken by the red haired employee sliding a large brown bag in a white plastic bag over the front counter. Ella leans forward and grasps the white handles of the plastic bag. She allows the bag to hang by her side as she now stands next to Max again.

“Hey, you said this is your first time in LA right? Why don’t I show you around? I know all the hot spots, only if you want to of course. No pressure at all.”

Max puts up his hands up, almost like how he did in the alley way hours earlier, but he’s more relaxed. Ella takes a look around the empty restaurant before she meets his eyes again.

“I haven’t really known you for that long, and I don’t really trust you just yet. You seem like a really nice guy don’t get me wrong, but I just don’t know you that well,” Ella says as she rubs her arm.

“Well, that’s okay but,” Max leans over the counter to pull one of the restaurants colourful menu out of its slot and unfolds it. He grabs the pen abandoned on the counter and quickly writes something down, folds the menu back up, stands tall again and hands the menu to her.

“If you ever change your mind, text that number and I’ll be a call away. See ya around,”

Max provides a charming smile as Ella nods, “Yeah, see you around.”

Ella takes the menu and puts it into the plastic bag as she makes her way to the front door and leaves.

“Ugh it smells so good already! Excellent choice Ell,”

her father rubs his hands excitedly and his eyes light up like a kid on Christmas morning as Ella opens the car door. Ella nods in agreement and she proceeds to buckle herself in while the bag of food rests on her lap. The heat from the bag warms her jean covered thighs as the sweet aromas release themselves from the brown bag. Ella reaches into the white bag for the menu Max had given her as her father pulls away from the curb. She unfolds it and what is written in blue is a phone number. A phone number with a short message,

XXX-XXX-XXX

Have this if you ever change your mind.

- Max

A small smile creeps onto Ella’s lips as she shoves the menu back into the bag as she returns her gaze to city of angels.

~~~~~~

taglist: @champagnesugamama

#Timothee chalamet imagine #timothee chalamet x reader #timothee chalamet fanfic #timothee chalamet fanfiction #timothee chalamet x female!reader #timothee chalamet series #dodson writting

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fruitwoops · 5 years ago

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c. sc // right person, wrong time

light angst, ex-boyfriend!seungcheol 1.6k words

You could still recall that day as though it were yesterday.

Rosy hues had replaced the cyan tones of the sky, and the ivory clouds were now splashes of apricot, allowing the fading daylight to paint the beach a faint glow of honey. The whimsical laughter of children filled the air, mixing in melodically with the soothing movement of low-tide waves, which caressed your bare feet each time they reached the shore.

Seungcheol stood facing you, your silhouettes illuminated in marigold. The backdrop was nothing short of romantic as your boyfriend reached for your hands with a soft smile, running his calloused fingers across your knuckles in the way he usually did when he was nervous. You returned his smile with a fond expression of your own, nodding encouragingly as you weaved your fingers with his. His plush velvet lips parted slightly, trembling as the words spilled out like bullets straight to your heart, “We should break-up.”

“I can’t believe you actually cleared your schedule for this,” Johnny laughed, the ice cubes in his whiskey clinking against the crystal glass as he did so. You rolled your eyes as you took a seat at the table which your friends had occupied.

“What? Can’t I want to catch-up with our high school friends?” You defended, glancing through the menu. Your friends shared a knowing look, waiting for the waiter to leave with your order before resuming their inquisition.

“He’s right though,” Nayeon giggled as she pointed her fork at you. “You’re a total workaholic, sajangnim. Plus, like us, you hated most of them. Why would you make time for them?”

“Not to mention, you’re high-key making us attend too,” Hyejin deadpanned. You stared back at your friends before throwing your hands up in mock surrender.

“Okay, fine, maybe a part of me just wants to see their faces now that we’re all mad successful. Especially after all the crap they gave us throughout high school,” you smirked as you raised your shoulders in a “can’t be helped” gesture, the Patek Philippe timepiece wrapped around your wrist emphasising your point.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Johnny reached over to high-five you, a devious glint in his eyes at the notion. Hyejin nodded approvingly, her own countenance morphing into nefarious pleasure as she sunk her teeth into the wagyu. Nayeon merely grinned at you, though that should have been a warning sign for the words that left her mouth as her perceptive brown orbs studied your face.

“I heard that Seungcheol’s going to be there.”

You felt your muscles tense at the name, unsure how you should react outwardly. While the break-up itself was far from a happy memory, it ended up being a beautiful one ; a romantic scene in a movie where a young, selfless boy chose to help the girl he loved to achieve her dreams. Your younger self had been naive and stupid, wanting to throw away everything you had worked hard for, for the boy you loved. But Seungcheol knew better, wanted better for the girl he loved. He broke up with you so that you would take the overseas scholarship at your dream college. And you did.

Truth be told, the real reason you chose to attend the reunion was to see him. You believed it was a case of right person, wrong time. And you longed to find out if you both were to meet again, now full grown and dreams in hand, would it be the right time?

It must have shown on your face, because Nayeon snorted and held her palm out to Johnny, who begrudgingly handed her a 10,000 won note. You groaned at their antics, fighting a smile as Hyejin reached over and squeezed your hand.

“We’ll have your back regardless.”

You could feel the stares as you handed the key of your Aston Martin to the hotel valet, basking in the attention that commenced the moment you exited the car. Not that you could forget that behind each awestruck face you laid eyes on were the lingering sneering faces of the classmates who made high school difficult for you.

Yet nothing would beat the collective shock and whispers of recognition and disbelief that rippled through the crowd when Nayeon called out your name, waving to you from where she, Hyejin and Johnny stood by the entrance. She looped her arms with yours once you reached them, whispering into your ear with a cheeky grin.

“He’s inside with his boys.”

You glanced into the foyer, catching sight of the male in question. Your heart skipped a beat, excitement and trepidation bubbling inside you instantly. Though that emotion immediately manifested into disgust and doubt when a familiar voice came from behind you.

“Heard he’s married already, or at least engaged.”

You turned your head back, scowl already forming at the sound of her voice. Minah stood before you, her high school posse trailing behind her just like they did in their youth. And just like the old days, they were here to ruin your mood. But unlike your younger self, you were no longer afraid of them or unable to hold your ground.

“It’s been 10 years and you still keep tabs on all of us? Grow up, Minah,” You countered with a scoff, raising an eyebrow at her. Though you could not deny the anxiousness that seeped through your mind at the thought that Seungcheol had already found someone else.

“Besides, how would you know that? I doubt Seungcheol invited you or released any sort of engagement news to you,” Hyejin chimes in. “He didn’t like you one bit.”

Minah looked offended for a second before schooling in her expression to point a finger in Seungcheol’s direction.

“We walked by them earlier and Yura saw a ring on his fourth finger. Go figure.”

Yura nodded fervently, speaking up to back her leader, “Plus, the other boys didn’t seem fazed at all, so their relationship must have been pretty serious for a while now.”

Your heart sank, realising the truth to her words. Of course he had moved on, it had been ten years since you last spoke to each other.

Yet here you were, ten years older, but still very much in love with Choi Seungcheol.

Seungcheol’s eyes found your figure the moment you entered his peripheral, breath hitching at the sight of you. You waltzed in with Nayeon and Hyejin, Johnny trailing behind you three with a laugh. The familiar sight took him back to the days where he would stare at you from across the hallways, heart in his throat as he thought of ways to approach you.

The memories seemed to rush back ten-fold now that you were standing in the same space as he was. The playful laughter, ardent touches, languid kisses, and whispered dreams of the future.

Seungcheol had not expected you to show up to the reunion. Ever since he broke-up with you that one summer evening, you had disappeared overseas and had not returned ever since. He could still see your sobbing face in his mind’s eye, and your heartbroken sobs pounded in his ears, all the memories burned into his memories for eternity.

While he had intended for you to leave the country and pursue your dreams, his younger self had not accounted for the heartbreak the both of you had to go through, both alone. That, and the fact that you never spoke to him ever again.

For a time, a part of him had been bitter that you did not understand his intentions, that you did not understand his love for you. But his older self knew better now; the two of you had not been ready for each other.

He shook the thoughts out of his head, fingers subconsciously prodding at the ring on his fourth finger as he focused on what his friends were saying.

Things were different now.

You knew you had to face Seungcheol eventually, yet you remained unprepared when you finally stood before him. The amber tones of the chandeliers overhead cast a warm glow on his features, and the familiarity of the sight almost brought tears to your eyes.

“Hi.” You attempted a smile, though it came out slightly forced and awkward.

Time had done him well, his features sharpening over the years to form a more chiselled version of the face you remembered. Despite the early wrinkle lines that had begun to form around his eyes, Seungcheol still proved dashing as he reached out to pull you into a friendly hug.

“Hi, stranger,” he joked, making your lips curve up into a genuine smile. However, the feeling of metal against your back pulled you out of nostalgic reverie, the smile slipping off your face.

As you pulled back from the hug, you felt Johnny rest a hand on your shoulder, his squeeze of comfort indicating that the trio had seen the ring in question. Your heart ached, but you forced the smile back on at the sight of Seungcheol’s confused gaze. Yet nothing could have prepared your heart for the emotions which ran through your veins when you finally allowed your eyes to fall to the ring on his finger.

The cool metal resting on a chain around your neck almost burned at the sight of its counterpart ; a pair of cheap rings sourced from a capsule machine the autumn you both turned seventeen.

“So, is there a Mrs. Choi?” Minah asked in a faux saccharine tone, casting a snide look your way. You failed to notice, gaze fixated on Seungcheol as he chuckled bashfully.

“No...” his eyes slid to you, the grin you loved so much adorning his face. “...not yet.”

Perhaps, this was the right time for you and me.

#seungcheol imagines #seungcheol scenarios #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #seventeen drabbles #seventeen angst

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mrsparkjimin18 · 4 years ago

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Part 1: Isabella the Prodigy

From a young age her mother taught her the different levels of mathematics, insisting that the most important puzzle in life was keeping the numbers together. That mathematics could solve any problem, and that she must never forget that.

She remembered when her mother was still a professor at the University, she couldn’t remember what state. However, as the years passed, she went to work less, until she eventually didn't go at all. Being as young as she was, she was unable to realize the fact that her mother suffered from a slew of mental health issues. In her eyes, her mother always took her on adventures, which would lead to arguments between her parents.

Sitting in the living room of the mobile home, she could only make out bits and pieces of the argument between her parents. Only a week ago her father left, saying he couldn’t stand what had become of her mother. When he came back to retrieve his belongings, he swore he would take Isabella with him.

“This didn’t just start...you have been becoming...irrational!” The little bits she could hear her father saying made barely any sense to the mind of an 8 year old. “What the hell are you doing? Are you threatening….gun!”

Sitting at the coffee table working on a calculus problem her mother assigned her, she could see her father slowly backing down the hallway. With dark eyes and a wild gaze upon her face, her mother followed closely on his toes, gun pointed at him. “Over your dead body will you take my daughter from me!”

Her father looked at her as he inched for the door, the look of despair in his eyes, he mouthed two words that would forever be etched in her mind, “I’m sorry.” He turned and exited the trailer, her mother quickly closed and locked the door, watching him through the blinds in the window as he drove away.

“I’m sorry you had to see that Bella. He will never take you away from me. Ever.”

After that night, they moved from place to place, Isabella was too young to realize if they switched cities or states. They only stayed long enough for her Mother to gather any food and supplies they needed and to make enough money for gas. To Isabella they weren’t vagrants going from city to city never settling, they were on an adventure that her mother said only they understood.

She never saw her father again, figuring that if he really cared about her he would have been there, he would have tried harder to find her in this game of hide and seek. However, he never did find her and she told herself she would never go looking for him. If she learned anything from the relationship of her parents, it was that men will leave you, no matter how much they claim to love you, they will leave.

About a year after her father left, her mother said they were going for a car ride, the whole time she told her how much she meant to her and how much she loved her, which is why she had to do what was best for them. “I don’t want you to end up like me,” she said, looking at her in the rearview mirror, right before she drove full speed into an approaching semi.

~~~~~

Since Isabella had never really been around other children it was hard for her to make friends at the orphanage. Mainly, she kept to herself, socializing like the other girls when there were prospective adopting couples. Many times she avoided the session, keeping her nose in a book, or solving math equations to pass the time.

On a cool spring day, she came across a dusty chess board in the game room. She took it into the dorm, keeping it under her bed. One day she would learn to play, but first she had to learn everything about chess. She found books in the small library of the orphanage, reading them throughout the night when the other girls were sleeping, in between classes and even during lunch and dinner.

Within a year, she was able to challenge the elders in games of chess, winning effortlessly. Until one morning she awoke to find a note under her bed rather than the chess board, it was from the headmaster.

“Report to my office after breakfast.”

She went to the cafeteria and silently ate her lunch as always, anxious to see why the chess board was taken. Once she finished eating, she turned in her tray and reported directly to the office.

“Come in and close the door,” Sister Gwendolyn said sternly.

Although all of the staff had “Sister” before their names, none of them properly represented a nun by far. Still, Sister Gwendolyn carried herself as a strict nun by Isabella’s imagination. She was a large woman in height, her pale face and bright red hair made her look as if she’d never seen the sun before. Her deep green eyes seemed to pierce through your soul, as if she knew every thought going through your mind. However, her fair, smooth skin added a gentleness to her otherwise overpowering demeanor.

She closed the door and sat at one of the chairs in front of the large mahogany desk. The headmaster still hadn’t looked at her, which caused her anxiety to elevate immensely. Sweat began forming above her brows, her heart felt like it was going to pound out of her chest and her body began trembling.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Sister Gwendolyn looked at her, “Isabella, are you okay? You look as if you are about to faint. Here have some water and calm down.”

She poured her a glass of water as she handed her a flyer, “Do you know what this is?”

Isabella shook her head, but she began to read the flyer.

“It’s for a chess tournament at the local high school. First place wins a trophy and a $250 consolation prize. Do you know what we could do with that money here? I have entered you in the competition this weekend, and I have set-up the chess board in the adult lounge of the orphanage. You will have your breakfast, lunch and dinner there, as well as access as needed to practice for the tournament and any future tournaments. There will be no further discussion about this, just know that you are going to benefit the orphanage that has taken such good care of you thus far.”

Isabella knew better than to disagree, but she wouldn’t anyway. Playing chess had become her escape from reality, when she played the rest of the world disappeared, it was just her and the pieces on the board. She nodded her head in agreement, trying to hold back the excitement trying to escape from her throat.

“Then it’s settled, hurry along to class, you will only have history and reading after breakfast. You have already shown you are well above any level of math we teach here, so you will no longer need that or choir. Well, we are done here, you may be excused.”

She silently rose from her chair, turning quickly, smiling from ear to ear as she exited. Isabella quickly went to her dorm, wanting to read a bit more on a chess book she’d been studying.

She studied late into the night, almost unable to sleep, but deciding it would be best if she at least made an attempt. Laying in her bed, in the large room with more than ten other girls, sleep continued to evade her. Her body felt exhausted, but her brain was on overdrive.

Suddenly, a chess board formed on the ceiling, the pieces began to appear, and the game began to play itself. She spent the majority of the night envisioning all of the possible outcomes of the game, until her eyes could no longer stay open.

The weekend seemed to approach quickly, yet Isabella showed no signs of nervousness. She was ready for this, her mother had prepared her for this moment without her even realizing it. All of the math, problem solving, equations, and the games of chess, at least twice a week.

As Sister Gwendolyn drove her to the local high school for the chess tournament, she repeated how important this tournament was for the orphanage. Isabella sat in the back of the car, watching the trees pass by, looking at the clear blue sky, imagining she was an important person being driven by her personal driver. Sometimes her mind would wander, her imagination would run away with her; what seemed like a few minutes was actually the entire 30 minute drive to the high school.

As she stepped out of the car she was amazed by the massive building, since she had never been to an actual school, this experience was even more motivation. She figured if she could win this tournament, she would become famous and everybody would know her name, see her face.

“Isabella, snap out of it, we need to get you signed in. Now you listen, don’t let these boys intimidate you, use their insults as motivation to beat them. You are the first girl to enter a chess tournament, and today you will show them why you deserve to be here. You understand me?”

She nodded and walked into the front door with her head held high and confidence that anyone could see. As she signed in, the high school students were eyeing her, wondering who she thought she was to enter a high school tournament. The little snickers and sneers she heard as she waited to see who she’d be competing against first, only motivated her to make sure she won.

As the tournament began, she swept through her first 3 competitors in less than an hour. People were amazed, crowding around her table to watch her take out the competition. Less than two hours later and she was up against the reigning local champion, she politely asked for a bathroom break, just to make him wait in considerable agony, wondering if he would still be the champion after today.

Isabella decided to show off her skills and took him out in under 30 minutes, impressing the spectators so much that they began cheering loudly, which wasn’t typical of a chess tournament. She politely stood up and shook his hand, before promptly walking from the table to Sister Gwendolyns side.

Afterwards she was awarded the local championship trophy along with a check for the 1st place prize, a check in the amount of $250. She handed the check to Sister Gwendolyn, holding onto her trophy proudly as she took photos for the local and state newspapers. She basked in the attention she was receiving from the journalists and spectators congratulating her on her first victory, journalists and reporters requesting exclusive interviews, spectators asking for autographs.

Her glory was short-lived as Sister Gwendolyn notified her they needed to get back soon to wait for calls about other tournaments that would most likely want Isabella to play. She said her thanks and goodbyes and followed her out of the school and back to the car.

The ride seemed surreal, she couldn’t stop staring at her first ever trophy, constantly thinking about how she felt with all the attention she was getting. She felt like a movie star, people wanting her autograph and interviews. Women telling her she set a precedent for girls to play in the future, that it wasn’t only for men. Now she knew what it meant to set the standard, she just raised the stakes for the game of chess.

By the age of thirteen Isabella had risen from a local champion to the state champion, feeling as if life couldn’t get any better. Sister Gwendolyn had started giving her half of the winnings after she won her third local championship in a nearby county. She saved all of her winnings, since she had nothing to spend it on, for the day she turned eighteen and would be on her own.

When she woke up in the morning, she started her day as any other, putting on her uniform and going to breakfast with all of the other girls. After breakfast, Isabella headed to her first class, when she was stopped by Sister Gwendolyn.

“You are needed in my office, Isabella.”

Isabella sighed, “Another tournament? Can’t it wait until after my first class? You know I love math.”

“This is not in regards to any tournament, there is a couple in the office that noticed you the last time they visited, and they’d like to meet you.”

“Me? Why me?” There had not been a single couple that wanted to see her since she arrived at the orphanage, panic set in, she wasn’t even sure how to behave for this situation. She figured she would never be adopted, so unlike the other girls she didn’t practice what she would say or how she would act.

“That doesn’t matter now dear, this is your chance at living a normal life as a teenager, going to school, making friends, maybe even one day finding a boyfriend. This is your chance at having a family again. You have done so much for this orphanage, and we truly appreciate it. Now it is your turn to have what you’ve wanted since the first day you arrived - freedom. Now hurry along, we wouldn’t want to keep them waiting, now would we?”

She shook her head no, walking briskly alongside Gwendolyn, stopping to check her hair and appearance in the glass of the announcement case before entering the office.

When they entered, a woman stood up immediately, a warming and bright smile on her face, the man stayed seated without as much as taking a glance at her.

“Hello Isabella, I am Margaret and this is my husband, Franklin.”

As she walked around to the side of the desk, she was for the first time, at a loss for words. Sister Gwendolyn gave her a light nudge.

“H-Hello, Margaret and Franklin, it is very nice to meet you.” She smiled and sat in the seat offset behind the desk.

Franklin grunted without looking at her, and she could only assume this is what men were like. Margaret however seemed overly ecstatic to be there.

Sister Gwendolyn chimed in to break the awkward silence, “Do you have any questions you would like to ask her or myself?”

Margaret speaks without hesitation, “Bella, may I call you Bella? How would you feel about coming home with us today?”

Isabella can’t believe the words she is hearing, somebody actually wants to adopt her? Make her a part of their family? She calms her excitement, responding softly, “For your first question, yes you may, as my Mother called me Bella. For the second question, I would be delighted to come with you today, only if that is okay with Sister Gwendolyn?”

She looks to the headmaster, awaiting her approval or denial. The suspense is driving her mad inside, and then Gwendolyns lips begin to part.

“If Isabella is ready to go, then I have no problem with her going today. I will start on the paperwork to be sent to the state for the adoption while she gathers her belongings and says her goodbyes. Isabella, congratulations and I wish you the best on this new journey.”

Isabella thanks her as well as Margaret and Franklin, before heading back to the room she has lived in for so many years with the other girls; gathering the little bit of clothes and books that she has and putting them in the suitcase she arrived with. She patiently waited outside of the office while the couple filled out the necessary paperwork to legally adopt her. After what seemed like an eternity, Franklin exited the door first, completely ignoring her. Margaret came out with Gwendolyn, thanking her and then looking over at Isabella.

“Bella, dear, are you ready? Don’t mind old Frankie, he just needs to warm up to the fact that we now have a child, well a teenager, and he will be the friendliest man you’ve ever met.”

Isabella stood, hugging Sister Gwendolyn, before leaving with Margaret, to take the ride to her new home, new life, new everything.

Time seems to have flown by since the day she was adopted by Margaret, she doesn’t include Franklin. From day one he wasn’t very interested in getting to know Isabella, or even to acknowledge her presence. After about 6 months, he packed his belongings and said he had to go out of state for work for a couple of weeks, which turned into months, then years, in which he never returned at all.

Isabella didn’t mind, he made her feel uncomfortable in the home. However, he was the only one who had an income, so with him gone, they were struggling to pay the mortgage, utilities and even to purchase food. One day that all changed for the better.

Isabella learned of local chess tournaments with cash prizes, so in the beginning she secretly entered the tournaments and won the prize money. She would discreetly slip the money in Margarets purse or in the envelope for the bills.

One Saturday morning, as she was about to walk out the door, Margaret stopped her.

“Isabella, where do you go at night and early on Saturday mornings? Don’t say the library, because I have gone there looking for you. Do you have a boyfriend? Are you having premarital relations?”

Isabella giggled, “A boyfriend? Margaret if I was seeing a boy you would have met him by now, so no, I don’t have a boyfriend. I am definitely not having ‘premarital relations’. I have been playing in Chess tournaments to win money for the mortgage, bills and food. It was the least I could do, since you gave me a home and showed me once again what it feels like to be loved by somebody.”

Margaret stood there stunned and surprised, unable to find the words, only able to wrap her arms around her.

“I was wondering where the money was coming from. At first I thought maybe Franklin had been sneaking in and leaving the money, but I laughed that thought off. Then I thought you were stealing it, but I didn’t know how to ask you..Chess tournaments? Are you good?”

Isabella smiled, “Why don’t you come with me today and see for yourself?”

Without hesitation, Margaret threw on her coat, grabbed her car keys and they headed out the door.

At the tournament, she didn’t understand a single moment of the chess game, all she knew was that her Bella had advanced through each game so quickly, that she had to wait for over two hours to play the other finalist. She quickly beat him and received congratulations, as well as a trophy and a cash prize.

As they drove home, they sat silently for a little bit. Margaret had so many questions, but it was as if Isabella already knew them and spoke first.

“The trophies, I usually just leave them on the bus, or toss them in a dumpster somewhere. That is why you never see them, but since you know now, I would like to purchase a trophy case for future trophies. There are larger prizes, but those are for regional and state level tournaments. With school and no means to travel that far, I haven’t been able to compete. Also, I know that you have not had to use all of the money I have given you, as Franklin now pays you alimony after he decided to divorce you. I also know that you have saved it all, in a little envelope labeled ‘Money for Bellas college expenses.’ I hope you will not be disappointed, but I do not have plans to go to college. I want to play chess, I am probably the best at it in the United States, and I can go on to be a chess coach once I have achieved the highest title of World Champion. Have I left any answers out?”

By this time, Margaret had pulled over on a side street, listening to her every word. She was amazed at the certainty in her words, how she was such a brave young woman that wanted to stick with her dreams, unlike her.

“As a young woman, I was a fabulous pianist, I played at many events. I could have had a career in music, but Franklin thought that I should stop pretending like I could make anything of myself. I gave up playing and decided to be a housewife and mother, which the mother part never worked out for me until I saw you. I want you to be able to fulfill your dream. My only question is how do you feel about me homeschooling you while we travel the United States and you compete? I’m open to it, if that is what you would like to do.”

“I would be delighted, but we will both need to go shopping, our wardrobes are both tired and we could use a little spark in our looks. So how about a day downtown? Let’s get our hair done, go shopping at the fanciest department store in town, then go home to plan out our chess adventure?”

They did exactly that; buying clothes and shoes that for years both of them could only ever imagine to purchase. They both changed their hairstyles slightly, and even had their makeup done. They walked around with their heads held high for the first time in a long time; being treated like royalty as they spent like crazy.

Over the years, Isabella won enough State competitions to pay off the mortgage and have it transferred into Margarets name, so she could finally be free of Franklin. They had gone on many vacations to exotic resorts with private beaches, enjoying the financial freedom that came from her chess winnings. Most people would think that Margaret was a horrible person for letting her child pay for everything, but Isabella did not see it that way. She wanted to take care of Margaret, she felt she was showing her appreciation for loving her like she did, as if she was her own. She also taught her how to carry herself as a classy and respectable young lady, to save her money, and to live life for herself.

“Margaret, there is something we need to talk about.”

“Bella, what is it?”

“I will be eighteen in a few weeks, so I will finally be able to compete in the US Open Chess Championship. I would like to compete in it, but since I am still only seventeen, I will need your consent to enter and play in the preliminary tournaments. Would you be willing to do that for me, as well as be my manager?”

“Of course, Bella, this is what you have been waiting for. So, where will we be staying for the next few weeks?”

“How do you feel about nice relaxing days, at a beachfront resort, in California? After that we can take a mini vacay in Cabo San Lucas. Sound like a plan?”

“Well, should we go shopping?”

Isabella sings with excitement as Margaret plays her favorite piece on the piano. They go shopping for bathing suits and new dresses, talking about their soon to come California/Mexico trip. Booking their flights as soon as they get back to the house, Margaret cooked them a nice dinner and they ate at the dining room table reminiscing about their lives together over these last almost 5 years.

When Isabella finally went to sleep, she dreamt of chess boards. Not just any chess board. A life size board where she walked from square to square, reciting the location, what piece could move there, and lastly her favorite plays.

When they arrived in California, they were picked up in a sedan, sent by the US Chess Open themselves. They were driven directly to the location of the upcoming preliminaries, where they were greeted by news reporters and journalists. The main buzz involved a female chess prodigy, which was in rare form these days. Although thanks to her, there were many more females playing chess. None of them, of course, were as successful as Isabella. She wanted to bask in the glory of being somewhat famous, but Margaret pushed through the reporters and reminded Isabella to keep her focus.

When they entered the convention center, it seemed as if there were hundreds of other competitors getting their forms turned in and registering for the prelims. For the first time since she began playing chess, Isabella felt that nervous ache in the pit of her stomach. She dreamed of this day for years and now that it was finally here, she wasn’t sure if she had what it took to win.

As Margaret was taking care of the forms and fees, there was a commotion outside, reporters and journalists snapping pictures and recording a vehicle approaching. As the car finally came to a stop, some of the competitors stopped what they were doing and began crowding around the entrance. The back door opened and a man stepped out, waving and smiling at the spectators and reporters.

His hair was slicked back perfectly, with just a few strands purposely hanging loosely on his forehead. His sun-kissed skin seemed to glow as the sun rays touched his face. His jawline was chiseled to perfection, his lips looked full and luscious. Isabella felt her body temperature begin to rise, she couldn’t take her eyes off of him, she felt drawn to him. She had never felt this way before, and she began feeling embarrassed. She felt the heat in her cheeks as the blood rushed to them, her heart was pounding in her chest as she walked him casually stride to the entrance.

She could hear the reporters asking if he would be competing in the games, he laughed politely and said he was only here to spectate.

“I would just like to see my possible competition in action. That is all. Please, let’s not make a spectacle of my being here, there are others that have worked hard to be here. Let them have the spotlight, just treat me as any other spectator. Thank you.”

His accent was thick, the sexiest voice she had ever heard. She froze as he began walking in her direction, stopping to shake the hands of some of the well known competitors, she wanted to close her eyes and disappear as the distance between them began to close.

“Hello, you’re Isabella, right?”

She had to look up at him, he towered over her small frame, holding his hand out to shake hers. She noticed how dainty his hands were for such a tall man, with the cutest little pinky.

She giggled as she responded, “Yes. I’m sorry, I’m Isabella, and you are?”

“Jimin, Park Jimin, South Korean Chess Champion for the last 10 years. I look forward to seeing you at the tables. Good luck.”

He kissed her hand before walking away, continuing to stop and talk with other competitors. She still couldn’t take her eyes off of him, even as he got further away. Just as he was about to enter the main tournament hall, he turned back and gave her one last glance and a smile. Her heart felt like it was going to explode.

“Bella,” Margaret called her, startling her from her trance, “I have been calling your name. Who was that handsome man you were talking to?”

“Well, Margaret, that was Mr. Park Jimin, South Korean Chess Champion. He has come to spectate and watch us play. He is the man I will have to play for the final game when I am invited to play in the South Korean Chess Championship. He is the man I will beat.”

Margaret just smiled and asked Isabella if she would like to look around before they went to cpu heck in at the resort. She agreed, and they met other players, both male and female, that were excited she was there. She once again felt like a celebrity, like somebody important, yet she could only think of Jimin.

As the tournament begins, she finds and greets her opponent, noticing that Jimin is sitting in the front row of the spectator seating. She reminds herself that she must stay focused, but it’s hard for her to concentrate with him watching her every move. She reminds herself that she is the prodigy, that she is the future world champion, and that no man will get in her way.

After a little self pep talk, she begins to take control of the game, winning fairly quickly. After the first win, the rest seem to fly by like small glimpses of memories, because the only thing she could focus on for long periods of time was Him.

She was finally up against her last opponent, this was it, the moment she had been waiting for. She glanced over at Jimin, to make sure he was watching, and of course he was. She flashed a flirty grin at him, he raised an eyebrow and smiled back. She turned back to her opponent and took her time with this game. She didn’t want to rush it, she wanted to toy with her final opponent. Let him relish in the false hope that he may win, when she already knew exactly how the game would play out.

After she had enough of toying with him, she glanced over at Jimin, giving him a wink, 6 plays later, “Checkmate.”

Her opponent studied the board for about a minute, then laid down his King, stood and extended his hand.

“Isabella, you have been one of the greatest opponents I have ever played. However, you could have had me 10 moves back, why did you wait?”

“I wasn’t ready for the game to end and I knew that no matter what move you made, I would be able to win, so I figured I would play a little longer.”

She smiled and shook his hand, they turned towards the judges table, where she could see Jimin looking intrigued by her choice of plays. He just smiled and stood up, quietly walking toward the exit of the auditorium.

She received her trophy and the top prize check, took photos for the journalists and reporters, all the while wondering why he left without so much as speaking a word. She brushed it off as he knew he was in for stiff competition with her and he needed to get back to South Korea to practice, as she was sure she would receive an invite within the next couple of weeks.

“Congratulations, Bella! I knew you could do it! So where are we going? A night on the town, dinner at a fancy restaurant?”

Margaret was filled with excitement and admiration, Isabella could see it all over her face.

“Margaret, I would actually like to go back to the resort, let’s eat in tonight and get our plans for South Korea together. I will need to focus and be ready when I receive my invite.”

She looked slightly disappointed, but knew that Isabella was right. They left and returned to the resort, ordering the most expensive bottle of wine from the front desk, opting to eat in the hotel restaurant once they freshened up.

When Isabella entered the room, she found an envelope on her bed pillow. There was no writing on the outside, which left her confused.

“Margaret, did you leave me a card on my pillow?”

“No, when did I have time to get you a card? We have been together the entire time.”

Isabella opened the envelope to find a note:

“Isabella,

I am formally inviting you to meet me at the following location tonight @ 11pm. I will only wait one hour for you to arrive. I do understand if you do not feel comfortable meeting with me alone, so you may bring your Mother. I hope to see you tonight.

Always,

Park Jimin

Lure Nightclub, I will be in the VIP area, just let the person at the door know, your name will be on my list. I hope to see you tonight.”

#netflixreimaginedbts #bts fanfction #bts fanfic #bts angst #bts smut #romance

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project-rebirth · 4 years ago

Text

Bio: Akatsuki Miyuki

Name: Akatsuki Miyuki

Alias: Kamijou Miyuki

Gender: Female

Age: Around 11

Classification: Saint (Technically)

Bio

Akatsuki Miyuki, or Kamijou Miyuki, is a character who appears in Toaru Majutsu no Index: Rebirth Testament. She is the main female character of the Child of God Arc and becomes a main supporting character for the remainder of the series. She is the descendant of the Child of God and because of this, she has the power to grant wishes. However, because of this power, Miyuki has been hunted by many people who seek to use her power for their own gain.

Background

Miyuki was not originally born on Earth. She originally came from another dimension with a world very similar to earth's called Ryui. Five years before the current year, she lived a peaceful life with her parents and three older brothers in a countryside town. Her mother, Akatsuki Yume was a sage who was once a part of a cabal that worshiped children under the age of 6 as Gods. Sometime after meeting her husband, Akatsuki Kinzo, she gave birth to their daughter and fled the cult in order to live a peaceful life. As time went on, Miyuki accepted Kinzo and his three sons as her family and became very attatched to them, particularly her eldest brother, Akatsuki Shirou. Their father had told them stories about the Multi-Universe, how there were many worlds and many gods who watched over all of them. He told her about Magic and that his wish was that Miyuki would one day be able to leave their small world and explore the Multiverse and everything it has to offer, but to know that even with all of the wonders of the cosmos, she is special and to never forget that. She took those words to heart and said that she will see the stars one day, but hoped that her family would be by her side. However, this wasn't meant to be. When she was 6 years old, the Grand Multi-Universe Empire had invaded Ryui, destroying multiple cities with orbital bombardments and razing the town that she lived in with ground troopers and droid officers.

Kinzo and Yume had decided to evacuate the planet via the ship that Kinzo had hidden. It was a ship that was able to travel to other worlds and he had already set the coordinates in the event something like this would happen. However, as they were on their way, they were found by the Grand General Esdeath and her Inquisitors. Kinzo urged his family to leave, resulting in Yume leading away their four children to the place where the ship was hidden. During the attack, Esdeath was able to mercilessly kill two of Kinzo's sons, resulting in him attacking her in a fit of rage. Yume urged Shirou to take Miyuki to the craft and leave, something that he did as Yume decided to stay behind to support her husband. As the battle went on, Esdeath eventually disarmed Kinzo and fatally wounded Yume, eventually leading to her death. Feeling as though there was nothing left to lose, he decided to use a spell that would have taken out Esdeath along with her inquisitors and himself, but this failed, as Esdeath was able to kill him before he could land a killing blow. But this was nothing more than a mere distraction in the end, as by the time Esdeath had killed Kinzo, his two surviving children had already left Ryui in a ship, which was also cloaked so it could not be detected and traced. Miyuki claims that this was the first day she had witnessed true evil, and it was because of this event that left a deep scar, though she was thankful to have her brother Shirou with her.

Some point after the Grand Empire's raid and destruction of Ryui, Shirou and Miyuki made it to Earth Prime where they spent the next five years living. Because of what happened to her homeworld, she became even more attached to her brother, who in turn swore to protect her from any harm that came to her. The two were taken in by an elderly couple, whose demeanor and mood reminded them of their late parents and peace returned to their lives for the next five years with Shirou training to become a powerful Magician, and using the teachings Kinzo passed onto him, including physical training. However, this peace was not to last. One year ago, the elderly man who acted as their grandfather passed away due to heart failure and in July of the current year (Around the same time as Index Old Testament Volume 1), the elderly woman soon passed as well, leaving the siblings to fend for themselves. Shirou however was able to care for the both of them, though the deaths of the people who adopted them hit them hard. Months later, another event would soon befall them when the Romefeller Foundation caught wind of the existence of the Akatsuki siblings and sent their men to bring them in, under the request of an unknown person. While the two were in the process of escaping, Shirou was struck and fatally wounded leaving Miyuki to panic and fear the worst. In an act of desperation, Shirou used the magic he learned from his father to transport Miyuki to Academy City, a place where he believed she would be safe and smiled before fainting. When Miyuki found herself in Academy City, she broke down, believing that everything she loved was now gone, feeling as though the Gods who watched over the Multiverse had forsaken her. Then, in a random event, she encountered a certain boy, one who was the same age as her brother Shirou.

The person who had contacted the Romefeller Foundation knew where she had been sent however, and had extended the contacts to another organization from a different world. Through the Romefeller, the Ministry of Science was contacted and told them that Akatsuki Miyuki was a person who held power to destroy the fabric of creation itself, referring to her power as the Child of God which seem to have disappeared sometime ago. Believing the Romefeller, the Ministry of Science sent their best operator, Bowen Chuuno, accompanied by the Sorceress Supreme, Rosalia Echidemont and sent them to Earth Prime, Japan, where they would head into Academy City to find her and bring her to them.

Personality & Character

Because of the tragedy she had witnessed in her life, and losing all of the people closest to her, Miyuki possessed a somewhat emotionless and detached demeanor, believing herself to be cursed with a power she did not understand. She believed that because of her nature as the Child of God, the gods themselves had forsaken and forced her to endure misfortune. Despite this, she did not hate the world or the gods and instead, blamed herself for all of the tragic events that happened to her, giving up on things like hope and giving into her own despair. This resulted in her using her power to subconsciously wish it away, believing it to be the source of all her problems. When she meets Kamijou Touma, her somber demeanor starts to change a bit, warming up to him from the kindness he showed her as he let her stay with him and Index. During her time as a member of the Kamijou Residence, she saw traits in him that reminded her a lot of Shirou, leading her to develop a familial attachment to him and saw him as an older brother figure. This was further enhanced when Touma had protected her from Bowen and Rosalia when they initially appeared, and then later when Romefeller Magician, Allan Pestage tried to capture her and kill Touma and the others. After the end of the incident, Miyuki decides to become the little sister of Touma, changing her surname to Kamijou and living with him, Index and Othinus for the foreseeable future. It is noted that when she declared this, her eyes changed from their brown color to a black, matching Touma's eye color and suggesting that her power as the Child of God may not have been completely banished.

Following her stay at the Kamijou Residence, she shows another side of her personality when she is around Touma, where she behaves like the young girl she actually is. These behaviors include wanting to be spoiled, like to wear animal onsies, and throwing a childish temper. On the otherside of this development, as Touma gets into more incidents, she becomes worried for him greatly, fearing that there may come a time where he does not come home. This results in her making reckless actions that put her own life in danger, giving an indicator that she values the life of Touma and others more than she does her own life.

Powers & Abilities

Miyuki is a person known as The Child of God, a person who is closer to being one of the Fewer Than 20 Saints in earth Prime. Because of this, Miyuki has the power to grant wishes and alter fate itself, ranging from the wishes of others to her own wishes. However, because she was not trained on how to utilize her gifts, she cannot control them properly and instead, its usage is mostly done via subconsciously. So far, she has not used her power on a large scale, but it is believed that she is capable of affecting not only Earth Prime and the Phases, but the entire Multi-Universe as well, potentially putting her on the Level of a Magic God and even the Foreign Gods. Miyuki does not seem to be aware of the potential her power has and only knows that she has a gift and nothing more.

She resented her gift to the point where she used it to make her powers disappear, something that was confirmed when Rosalia used her Cosmos Eye to determine if she was truly the Child of God. After Rosalia's analysis, it was determined that Miyuki was just a regular girl, but this may not actually be the case. At the end of the Arc, Miyuki's brown eyes turn into a darker color, signifying that her power was merely suppressed, leading her and others to believe that her powers as the Child of God were truly gone. It appears that after deciding to become the sister of Kamijou Touma, her powers reactivated themselves to grant her wish, altering her genes to be that of the Kamijou Family, thus truly becoming Touma's younger sister.

Othinus warns Touma that w should other magicians including the Anglican Church find out about her origins and status, they may come after her to suppress her. Since everyone, including herself believe that she is no longer bound by that power, this fear of her being hunted has been dispelled. Though one can never be certain if she may become a target for other parties in the future.

@tetsuwan-atom @lawain-dimensional-heroes @whitecrowns-blackthrones @x-ame-x-damnee-x

#Kinoverse Lore #Character Information #Child of Miracles // Akatsuki Miyuki

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drops-of-moonlights · 5 years ago

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WINX REDUX AU SUMMARIZED: INTERLUDE 3 (Season 3.5)

Or, in which I give the basics of what I’ve changed about the story for the AU. It was originally way more descriptive but if I kept it in that style I would have finished in 2039 and I ain’t got time for that. Here we cover the events that occur between Season 3 and Season 4! ...which is also a mix of SOTLK and MA! Because reasons!

WINX REDUX AU INTERLUDE 3 - The Secret of the Curse

The Winx (plus Dia, Nabu, Helia and Daphne)’s magic diminisher punishment is finally over, and they can all cast magic again. a few more months of classes are left, and the students in the group are trying their hardest to catch up magic-wise.

On this month without magic, Daphne has been reading up on Valtor’s notes on breaking the curse, and realizes its reach isn’t just Domino’s heart - it has also affected Havram, a city on Eraklyon close to the borders.

With her own research plus Valtor’s, as well as a clearer resolve, she requests from the Order of Mana to be allowed to go into Havram, to see if she can break its curse.

Since Daphne is technically a member of the Order thanks to her Nymph status she’s granted her wish, but has to go alongside a Paladin so they can still oversee her punishment - it’s still not over, after all.

It’s then that she meets Thoren, who introduces himself as part of Eraklyon’s royal family.

During the trip, they manage to strike an odd friendship, and once in Havram, Daphne gets to work.

Having studied as much as she can from the curse, her own research and Valtor’s, and her Dragon Aura, she manages to lift most of the winter in the area, but faints shortly thereafter and Thoren has to bring her back.

This act is noticed, by a shadow still loyal to the Thanatix Coven.

A few weeks pass, and finally the school year is almost over. Daphne has convinced Bloom and the rest to help her with ending the curse now that she has found a way to do it, once summer breaks starts in full.

A few days before the school year is over the school is suddenly attacked, a rush of monstrous insects starting to tear down the place in search of “the princess”. At least 7 people in the institution are princesses so they all either go confront her or go hide.

Most senior students plus the Winx and the teachers transform and start fighting the monsters, and Daphne, Griselda and Faragonda recognize the attacker: Mandragora, Witch of Insects and devout follower of Myraria. (More info on them here and here!)

During the fight and thanks to a convergence spell done by them, Mandragora recognizes both Daphne and Bloom as the princesses of Domino, and more or less defeated, she retreats with this info.

After the incident and a few weeks of rest, the squad makes the trip to Sparxis, Domino’s capital and where the curse seems to originate.

After a small detour to the Roc of Domino’s Library (a massive, ancient library on the back of a giant roc) to see if it was still there (it was), they finally arrive to the frozen and deserted city.

They arrive to the back of the palace near the mountains, and realize there’s a magic circle carved into the sides. They try to analyze it but are interrupted by Mandragora, ambushing them. A battle starts.

The Specialists keep Mandragora and her bugs at bay while the magis try to activate the magic circle (if Mandragora’s so determined to protect it, it has to do something, right?), which turns into a portal.

The portal seems to work on its own and swallows most of the Winx and Daphne, leaving Flora, Diaspro, Nabu, Helia and the Specialists behind. They keep fighting Mandragora, but she seems… weirdly okay with how everything is going.

The others find themselves in a weird, dark place, full of black crystal and seemingly dead trees, which Daphne then recognizes as Obsidia, one of Myrari’s moons. Everyone is forced to split almost immediately by rising crystal stalagmites.

Stella finds herself in a maze of the black gems, and feels their darkness creep up all around her. Her light does seem to have an effect, but it just gets bounced back to her, and her staff can’t do much, the reflecting light overpowering her. She feels colder and colder.

Tecna is now up in the air, surrounded by dark thundering clouds. Harsh winds are all around her, and lightning strikes closer and closer to her, her powers unable to deviate them from their course. She feels colder and colder.

Aisha is underwater, nothing but inky black surrounding her. She can feel the currents dragging her further down, despite swimming as hard as she can. She feels colder and colder.

Musa is in a crevice full of caves, silence all around her. Her magic does work, but it becomes an endless echo coming from all sides, so much noise feeding into itself. She falls to the ground in pain, the sounds threatening to break her. She feels colder and colder.

Bloom and Daphne remain together, and are seemingly attacked by both fire and water, but they manage to fend off the spells and keep going, eventually finding all 4 Winx together, deep in an illusion spell. Some Essence Dust takes care of that, but the girls are too weak and end up fainting regardless.

At this point, back in Domino, Mandragora has stopped the fight and has dived into the portal, closing it behind her, seemingly going back to her “Queen”, still leaving her bugs to fight. The magis try to open it again while the Specialists keep fighting the monsters.

Back on the other side, Daphne and Bloom are trying to wake up the fainted Winx when a being of energy appears in front of them - Myraria, the Witch of Despair herself.

Her voice is warped and echoing, and demands to be given Bloom back. Her plan of 20 years ago is explained - she’s a being of almost pure magic but still partly living, made by the three witches that formed her aeons ago, but that magic is running out fast, and she’ll disappear without a decent new source.

They’ve been feeding on what little they can get from Domino’s population all these years (showing Bloom and Daphne the petrified statues of their people, their parents at the center), but it’s not enough. They were to kidnap Bloom as a baby and drain her fresh Dragon Aura, which would have given them at least 3 centuries more, but they were stopped by Daphne when she sealed them in Obsidia.

The trip also destroyed what little humanity they had left, and so their time was cut even shorter. While they would have preferred for Bloom to still be a baby, they’ll take what they can get, and immediately start attacking both princesses to drain their Auras.

While the fight is hard, both princesses manage to defeat Myraria, but she retaliates with using Oritel and Marion’s frozen bodies to defend themselves. This makes Daphne falter, and Myraria takes advantage of this knocking them both on the ground.

Mandragora comes in and sees the Witch of Despair on the verge of disappearing due to the excessive use of magic, and lends her body and magic to them to take, until they can get both Princesses. Myraria takes the offer and fuses with Mandragora.

With newfound power they keep attacking, Bloom and Daphne’s magic starting to falter and their transformations on the verge of coming undone. Bloom comes up with a plan, however, and despite Daphne’s protests they carry on with it.

She starts distracting the Witch and attacking her from the front, and in their obsession they forget about Daphne.

This comes back on them as Daphne had manage to wrestle free her mom’s sword (the Blade of the Phoenixslayer, an ancient heirloom used by Daphne I herself), and with the distraction, she stabs Mandragora/Myraria. (More info on the sword coming soon!)

Bloom takes this chance and uses her Essence Dust, which amplified the sword’s innate power and destroyed Myraria’s essence completely, her being almost entirely a curse at that point. Mandragora also dies, both to the spell and to the stabbing.

The Specialists finally manage to kill the last bugs and the magis open the portal once again, reuniting with the rest. Daphne realizes the snow has stopped, which means it was both Myraria and Mandragora who kept the curse active.

After a few calls, several members from the Order of Mana as well as Red Fountain personnel come to Domino, and with the portal kept open they start to take out every single person trapped in Obsidia with a mix of manpower and magic.

After that, and with the help of more magis, Daphne can start the ritual to finally destroy the curse, and after a long chant, the magic does its work and the curse slowly, but surely, starts to disappear. Bloom and Stella keep a bright source of warmth alive for as long as they can together to melt the excess snow on the capital, and while Stella does take breaks, Bloom keeps it going for almost 20 hours straight.

After all this, they can finally undo the last bit of the curse, and restore Domino’s lost population back to normal.

Everyone is obviously confused and start searching for loved ones. Daphne undoes to curse on her parents herself, and after letting them stabilize a bit, she rushes in to hug them, crying her eyes out, happiness overpowering her. Bloom does the same, happy to finally meet her birth parents, and introduces herself as their other daughter, who they once called Nina.

The entire family hugs, fully reunited at last.

A few weeks pass, only a month of summer break left. The capital has more or less been fully restored and government is functioning again, and a rocky path lies in front of the country after being out of commission for so long. But everyone is willing to go that path, and a big ball is thrown to celebrate the rebirth of Domino in full.

Everyone has a good time, and both Bloom and Daphne will remain on the castle with their parents until classes start back again. Domino was back, and this happiness was sure to last...

#Winx Club #Winx Redux AU #Winx Redux AU: Summarized #Winx AU Detailing #yay it's done! now on to the fun parts #aka: SEASON 4 AT LAST WOO!

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derireo · 6 years ago

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jeralt - memory

ive been having a bit of a depressive episode for a while; getting up to write is a bit difficult at the moment, i apologize.

wanted to write something about papa jeralt since the game heavily lacks jeralt n byleth family tings. it's upsetting.

gloomy ruth hours boiz

slight sylvain x f!byleth & claude x f!byleth i love those two men a little too much

it was a quiet night at the monastery as knights, her former students, and professors alike decided to retire to their rooms quickly. even when the moon was illuminating the black sky so beautifully, no one seemed to want to admire it.

save for one person.

byleth was resting on her back at the end of the dock in her casual sleeping attire; a pair of baggy grey shorts and a slightly oversized sweatshirt to keep her warm.

above her, the stars were twinkling prettily, while the sound of water being disturbed by dirt caked feet did nothing to soothe the neverending ache in byleth's heart.

just another lonely night.

it's been years since the passing of jeralt (although it didn't feel like it), but byleth still continues to find herself in the exact same spot every night since she awakened to reminisce the distant memories she had made with her father when she was younger – memories she could only vaguely remember.

memories of running through fields, memories of hunting game, and memories of starry nights like these, where they would just lay on the ground with the rest of their mercenary band and stare in awe. happy, but vague memories that byleth wanted to cherish for the rest of her life.

byleth may be a favourite at the monastery, but the way her students and colleagues treat her – as if she were still someone they could never hold a candle to, completely isolated her from the rest of the garreg mach community.

it was lonely. rhea, who had disappeared, and seteth, who is too busy working in his office to spare any time for sweet, hardworking byleth.

a shame, really. she thought. the transition from having someone know what you're thinking without you needing to utter a word to having nobody understand at you all was gut wrenching. byleth didn't know how to cope with losing something important as that, and she wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to find another.

byleth loves her students. adores them, so much. but she can't bear to share the weight of her burdens amongst them; and even if they asked her to, she'd never be comfortable enough to truly open herself up to anyone.

quietly, she reached out towards the stars with one hand, her free arm cushioning the back of her head as she stared back at the moon that was watching over her. she made a grabbing motion, as if she was grabbing that light that kept the stars company when no one else would.

the gentle chirps of crickets and the occasional rustle of water kept byleth warm as she slowly opened her fist and twisted her hand, palm facing the sky as she splayed her fingers apart to peek through the cracks.

she eventually let her hand fall back against her chest when her arm began to numb, letting a wistful sigh escape her mouth as she swayed her feet in the water.

when byleth was still a young child, she'd look up at the sky as jeralt shared exciting fodlan folklore, his gravelly voice, full of adoration for his daughter, lulling her to sleep every night. and sometimes, byleth would pretend to fall asleep on nights like those, just to feel the comforting warmth her father had to offer as he'd hold her to his chest, bringing her back to the cot they shared.

byleth smiled at the memory.

she gasped.

a memory?

she quickly jolted into an upright position, her now clean feet kicking at the water and undoubtedly causing a slight ruckus for the people who were getting ready for bed.

"why now?" she whispered quietly to herself and held her own face in her hands, eyes staring owlishly at the ripples in the water through the spaces between her fingers, hair falling forward and over her shoulders.

the tears were spilling from her eyes without her even knowing it, and the warm droplets splattered onto chilly knees.

"dad..." her voice came out as a whimper, and the weak sobs that fell from her mouth was lost to the night breeze, carried away to the sky only for it to fall on an absent goddess' deaf ears.

her body shook as the emotions she held in had finally overwhelmed her while she tried to wipe away the stream of her tears in vain, her skin glistening under the moonlight that was so brightly shining.

she was crying so much, that, she didn't notice the two people who came to check up on her.

claude was the first one to notice. he was looking out the window that faced the dock because he loved watching the stars twinkle at night, and it was almost a daily part of his evening routine before going to sleep.

he was there to watch byleth reach for the stars, his smile fond as her feet swayed in the water. when she had suddenly sat upright, it startled claude, and when she held her face in her hands, a twist in his gut immediately alarmed him, and he strode towards the stairs as quickly as he could, catching the attention of a loitering sylvain who had followed him when he saw the alarmed look on claude's face.

for the two young men, it was easy to forget that five years for them, was merely a few weeks for byleth, and their beloved friend's cry for her long deceased father sent an emotionally uncomfortable chill down their spines.

sylvain made the move to reach out to byleth first. his hand, warm from always crossing those arms of his, brushed along byleth's shoulder. his graze was so slight that he didn't think he would be noticed, but claude had tried to hook his fingers into the neck of his shirt to pull him away. not fast enough it seems.

byleth's form had very visibly straightened in claude's eyes once sylvain was close enough, but his reaction to get sylvain out of the way wasn't as quick as he'd like it to be, the former mercenary's body becoming a blur. by the time both claude and sylvain knew it, the redhead was already being pinned to the wooden planks by her knee to his chest, and the handle of her dagger digging into the column of his throat, blade dangerously close to the cut of his jaw.

sylvain gulped, despite the breath that was mercilessly knocked from his lungs, at the sight of byleth's eyes; flooded with large, unshed tears, but with an eerie clarity, as she stared down at him with a piercing gaze, her other hand clenched in his hair to push his head back against the dock.

claude, quick-witted as he is, didn't know what else to do without setting byleth off, and restraining her or moving too fast could be a move that may leave sylvain as collateral damage.

"hey, by.." sylvain whispered quietly, keeping himself from wincing as her blade pressed against his skin when he spoke. the redhead was still wearing his casual outerwear, a teal button up and his everyday pants, and so his body involuntarily shivered as the cold seeped through the thin cotton and to his skin.

he could only sigh in relief when byleth blinked at the call of her name, her warm tears startling sylvain when they fell onto his face.

"sweet byleth.." claude murmured as the clink of her dagger falling to the ground gave indication that everyone was safe now, and he stepped around his two friends to carefully pry byleth off of sylvain's form, his arms warm and gentle around her waist.

the woman could only let herself be pulled away as her body fell limp against claude's chest, and sylvain tucked the dagger away in his back pocket while he got back up on his two feet, wiping away the now cold tears that chilled his face.

claude held her closer. "it's okay, sweetheart."

his reassurance was faint, but the comfort of his whisper nearly sent byleth into tears again, and a hiccup came in one after the other as her body began to tremble once more.

"i'll carry her back to her room." sylvain offered claude as he watched byleth with a twinge of sadness making his heart ache, the young woman seemed to fall into a second pit of tears. she was a blubbering mess, and her babyface did much to remind sylvain and claude of a small child; lost, and looking for their parent.

hesitantly, claude lifted byleth into sylvain's awaiting arms, and both men were (quite pleasantly) surprised to see her reach out for the redhead, her whimpers quiet and sniffles occasional while sylvain tucked her against his body. his arm secured itself around her waist while the other went to cradle the underside of her thighs.

claude's expression showed how curious he was as to how sylvain knew how to carry someone like this, and the man answered him with a reminiscent smile.

"when we were younger, i used to hold dimitri and felix whenever they cried. they were a little too big for me, so i couldn't hold them for very long. and, well– ingrid just refused to be held."

"ah. i always forget you're the oldest childhood friend." claude said, amused. the almyran prince quietly looked around after that, and picked up byleth's shoes when he spotted them, sylvain patiently waiting for him to lead the way to byleth's room once he picked up anything else that belonged to her.

sighing wistfully as byleth curled her arms around his neck and hid her face against his throat, sylvain could only press a quick and comforting kiss to her forehead, her mournful crying quieting down by a fraction. "i tend to forget as well. it gets a little boring now that they don't rely on me anymore, but i suppose having someone new to hold isn't so bad."

byleth whimpered as sylvain and claude walked up the steps that led them to her room. the redhead grimaced as a new trickle of warm tears dripped down his neck, and sylvain and claude decided to quicken their steps and cut the conversation short.

"pa.." byleth cried against his skin, and her salty tears began to flood her mouth as they continued to fall. "papa.." she choked out, whining sadly as she clutched onto sylvain a little tighter, who was rubbing her back to soothe her.

"hey, now.." sylvain hummed into her ear as claude opened the door to byleth's bedroom, that had the floor messy with unorganized books and papers. "we're here, it's okay." he cooed at her affectionately and lifted his arm from her waist to cradle the back of her head, claude clearing the footpath for him before removing more books from byleth's bed.

as sylvain began to lower byleth onto her bed, the girl squirmed uneasily when she felt the warmth of his arms escape her. she gasped in a shaky breath of air and refused to let him go, leaving claude and sylvain unsure of what to do.

sylvain's hands were stuck pressing into the mattress with byleth clinging onto his body while claude was frozen in the motion of pulling the duvet from it's surprisingly neat position.

"don't leave me," she whispered through her tears; and it seemed as if she were talking to someone else. "not again. please."

with steady, strong arms, sylvain immediately reaffirmed his presence to a weeping byleth, his mouth printing gentle kisses to the side of her head. "never. i would never." he reassured her and carefully climbed into her bed, his back against the headboard while byleth rested against his chest.

"go to sleep, sweetheart." claude crooned as he leaned over the edge of the bed to brush away light coloured hair from her heated nape, his smile soft as he brushed his fingertips over her already fluttering eyelids. "you will not be alone in the morning."

the sunlight filtering through the window roused byleth from her comfortable slumber, its warmth caressing her as if the sun decided to continue to give her the comfort the moon had so graciously blessed her with the night before.

eyes bleary and aching, byleth awoke to an uncomfortable stretch in her wrist, and a warm body enveloping her. she glanced around, and was pleasantly surprised to open her eyes to a slumbering sylvain, who still had her cradled to him; and claude, who was snoozing beside the two, the fingers of her left hand intertwined with his as the back of it was against his mouth in a kiss.

she rubbed her eye with the hand that was not occupied, and sighed in contentment, once again leaning into the solace of sylvain's chest as she squeezed claude's hand.

a happy memory had decided to grace byleth then, and it was the memory of jeralt holding her close when she was a child, in the darkness of their tent. he would whisper offerings of comfort to soothe the ache in her heart, and kiss her hair as he told her he loved her.

and that he would never leave her. he'd always be watching.

#fe3h imagines #female byleth #fire emblem imagines #writing #sylvain jose gautier #claude von riegan #fanfic #Fire Emblem Three Houses #byleth

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metatiki · 6 years ago

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Chapters: 1/7 Relationships: Dorian Pavus/Cullen Rutherford Characters: Female Inquisitor (Dragon Age), Dorian Pavus, Cullen Rutherford Additional Tags: Angst, Time Travel Fix-It Summary:

Angsty Cullrian story about what happens if everything goes wrong after it’s fixed?

Note: This work is experimental storytelling for me. I initially wrote if for the Cullrian Discord I participate in (The Herald's Rest, check it out!) but decided to go ahead and publish it. Expect to see a new chapter every few days.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phase 1: Hunger

It started with a fall.

Dorian fell into Cullen's arms when he arrived at Haven, finding in the man's arms the precise description of the town itself. Fleeing towards the Inquisition after the Venatori had descended upon Redcliffe had been an act of sheer faith--not a commonplace occurrence at all.

His faith was rewarded with a hectic run through snow-covered mountains, their survival dependent on the haphazard collection of supplies which had somehow made it out of Haven. Each step was taken with a glance over the shoulder, wondering when the Elder One would pursue them, or if instead the Inquisitor would appear miraculously from the destruction of Haven.

When neither appeared, the despair truly set in.

Over the course of the next few weeks as what remained of the Inquisition struggled through the mountains, it shrank. Doubt caused attrition through desertion, and without the one who had led them to victory at the Breach, even Cassandra and Leliana, the Hands of the Divine, could not keep the momentum of the Inquisition going. When the Chargers left, Dorian knew it was over. If the Qunari wasn't interested enough to keep a spy in their midst, then that meant the Inquisition was truly finished.

Yet Dorian remained one of the stubborn ones, staying with the core of the Inquisition even as the numbers dwindled. When they found an old, rundown ruin on the top of a mountain after weeks of searching, he hunkered down with them as they desperately tried to make sense of a world increasingly going mad.

But then, where else did he have to go? He had no home, no family--his own father had told him that. So this was it, for him. The last chance.

Over time, the struggle to survive made for strange bedfellows. A chess game played to strive for a sense of normalcy turned into a small haven of its own, and soon he noticed the way Cullen's fingers lingered on his as they set up the pieces for the games. Soon the touches and glances moved on to more, until the chess games were moved to Cullen's office, and then became a pretext for them to dawdle in Cullen's bed.

But around them the world continued to fall. The rifts grew larger, the demons were more widespread, and the Venatori grew more and more bold. Ferelden and Orlais, it seemed, could not be called upon to save the world, but only lament its downfall.

So Dorian took up his mentor's obsession. He returned to the rubble of Redcliffe in secret, digging through the debris until he found a glowing white amulet. In secret, he slaved at his task, as the hollows in Cullen's cheeks grew and the smiles faded entirely from Skyhold. Laughter became hard-earned and even more precious than gold, and the moments they found in each other's arms became their only solace as the winter closed in around them.

As time passed, Dorian's fingers ached with magic as the fat in his body melted away and left him with only lean, hard muscle. Cullen's ferocity in his weapons practice hardened him as well, though more worrying still was the faint scent of lyrium Dorian caught every once in a while on his clothes.

Cullen expressed his worry towards Dorian by trying to give Dorian his own meals, and Dorian made sure to hold his store of lyrium all the more tightly to keep it from Cullen's grasp. They fought, but the arguments always ended when they realized tomorrow could always be their last. Yet the heat between them in bed and on the table became intertwined with and tempered by a desperate worry as each man tried to figure out why the other slowly withered as time went on.

As the world grew worse, the population within the ruin they called Skyhold grew, full of refugees who had managed to escape from the madness of the Venatori and the war between the mages and the Templars which still raged in the plains below.

Until, one day, Dorian found the answer.

He kept Cullen in bed for two full days after that, breaking only as their bodies necessitated it, ignoring the man's pleas to tell him what was wrong, until finally he cast a sleep spell upon Cullen so that the man wouldn't see him leave Skyhold in the dead of night and return to the now-blighted plains where Haven had once stood. Dancing through demons and worse, he walked beneath the pale green sky and saw the Fade peeking through. The red lyrium had also spread, marching far beyond the confines of Haven and making his travel that much more treacherous. He felt it wearing on him day after day, and felt the beginning of crystals beginning to settle in when he finally reached the crumbled walls of Haven and the buried remains of a trebuchet.

With no time to lose, he cast his spell.

And...it worked.

He was able to return to that fateful night so long ago when the Inquisitor had not emerged from the destruction of Haven. It took quite a bit of effort to arrange it so neither the Elder One or the Inquisitor saw him, but when he saw her disappear through the wood he'd weakened and drop into the tunnels below Haven, he sighed in relief and followed. Carefully he guided her towards the camp where he knew the rest of them were awaiting her, and sighed with relief when Cullen and Cassandra ran through the snow to retrieve her when she collapsed.

Things were different now. Surely it would be enough. Surely the world would be better.

With hope in his heart for the first time in a long time, he made the hike back to Skyhold ahead of them and cast the spell which would return him to his proper time. As he opened his eyes and looked around the library, he smiled. He saw shelves of books, not the nearly empty travesties of before, and people bustling all around. A glance out the window showed a healthy blue sky and plenty of troops along the parapet, and he smiled.

It had worked. The Inquisitor had returned, and that had made all the difference.

Quickly he rushed to Cullen's office and flung open the door, a smile already on his face, only to be greeted by a scowl from Cullen and a shout from the woman on the desk beneath him.

And, in the time it took to shut the door and lean against it, the realization hit him: the Inquisitor was back. Things were different.

But the skies were clear, the rifts were being closed, and the Elder One was being thwarted at every turn. The world was better, significantly so. Could he really object if the one thing that changed just so happened to affect him, and only him, on such a personal level?

Or should he simply realize that it was but another lesson in the fallacy of believing in unicorns?

It seemed he must.

So he accepted it, watching with gritted teeth when Cullen and the Inquisitor strolled along the ramparts, or played a game of chess, or disappeared to be alone for hours upon hours. He kept hoping the pain of it would lessen, but it never did. Cullen paid no more attention to Dorian than he did to any other soldier in his rank, a fact which sent Dorian to the tavern more often than not. A few nights with Bull did little to assuage the pain, but it did give him an excuse to drink more.

Eventually the night came that Corypheus was defeated. Everyone was celebrating the Inquisitor's great triumph, but all Dorian could do was hold on to his drink and keep it as full as he could manage despite his equally frequent attempts to empty it. When he saw Cullen disappear with the Inquisitor, it abruptly hit him.

He was free.

He left that night, ignoring Bull's knowing look as he walked into the tavern to pay off his full tab for the first time. It didn't matter that it was the dead of winter, or that he only had two coppers to rub together, or that his store of food would not sustain him for long.

At least, eventually, he would forget. And for good, this time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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#cullrian #cullen x dorian #angst #dragon age inquisition #dai #cullen rutherford #dorian pavus #fic: Phases #fix-it gone wrong #my writing

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miraclejune · 6 years ago

Text

HERO’S SOUP: Chapter 1

Antique Shop

Sunlight seeped through the curtain. Painting the white walls with vivid hues of orange and yellow. A figure groaned, rustling underneath the duvet. Sleeping wasn't really an option.

He sat up from the bed. Fluffy brown hair ruffling as he did so. With a wave of his hand, the curtains close, engulfing the room with darkness. He connected his phone to the charger, reminding himself not to spend his 'sleeping' hours playing that stupid farming game.

Lifting himself up from the bed he made his way towards the shower, not bothering looking at his faint reflection on the bathroom mirror. After a quick shower, he threw on a black shirt and wore a black hoodie over it, slipped on some denim jeans and walked out the room.

After tying the knot of his sneakers, he continues downstairs. Taking his time switching the lights on and making sure the heater was at the right temperature. Of course by doing so he had to search the weather and compute the right temperature to balance out the freezing temperature outside.

As he was walking to the counter, he noticed a pool of red liquid on the floor. Panic sets in. He disappeared abruptly and came back with a mop and a bucket full of water, casually cleaning up the mess.

"I need to get me one of those anti-spill tumblers. This is the 3rd time this week this has happened."

Pretty sure you have a gentle grasp on what's going on. No, he didn't murder someone. No, he's not a psychopath. No, he doesn't work at a hospital.

Any guesses? While you try to figure it out, let's get back to the story.

The smell of old stuff and books somehow masked the scent of blood. He was relieved that opening up an antique shop has benefits. Aside from the money of course.

After cleaning up, he disposed of the 'evidence'. Went around the counter towards the door and flipped the sign “We’re Open!”

He sighed, loud enough for the voices in his head to hear how boring his life is. Although he's still surprised by the fact that he has a lot of customers, it never occurred to him that people these days still consider buying old and vintage stuff even for a hefty price.

As soon as he placed his hands on the counter, the bell rang, indicating a customer. The faint smell of cherries tickled his nose. Cherry shampoo. He hummed, pushing himself to the door. Momentarily, he stopped in his tracks. There was no one there.

Usually people would stand there like meerkats peering over tall cabinets to see if the predator is out there to hunt them and take their money in exchange for a vinyl record they won't even have a purpose for but in this rare occasion, no one was there.

He made his way around the sections of antique clocks and saw a tall figure with his or her back facing towards him. “What can I do for you?” the customer yelped and spun around facing him.

“I’m sorry for startling you.” His voice was low and casual. The guy looked at him with widened eyes, shaking his head vigorously.

"It’s okay!” the guy smiled.

“So, what are you trying to find?” again, he asked, eager to finish the transaction and be left alone. The guy's curious eyes scattered around the place. He hummed. “I’m not really trying to find anything.” the owner raised his eyebrows at him.

“Oh.” he was about to turn his back when the guy spoke again, “How long have you been here, sir?'' The sudden curiosity annoyed him. But he had to make a good impression on his customers.

“I’ve been here for quite a while now.” the guy nodded and proceeded to look around. “Huh, that’s weird. I have never seen this place before, and that’s funny because I was born and grew up around this area.”

“Well, it’s not really an eye-catching place so you might have never noticed it.” okay, that was stupid. A shop with big glass windows that sells vintage stuff and has a ton of customers each day is NOT noticeable? A whole ass store doesn't normally pop up that instantly! He has to come up with a much better excuse.

Well, it's too late.

He tried to sound as casual as he could. The guy shrugged and gave him a smile.

“Maybe you’re right!” ok, this dude is dumb as rocks.

"Why don’t you look around? Maybe you’ll find something you’d like.” the guy nodded.

Before he can even escape the scene (temporarily). The guy spoke again.

"Oh! I'm Jeongin by the way."

"Chan." He briefly shook the guy's hand, turning to his heel quietly.

‘This is gonna be a long day…’

It’s been weeks since Jeongin first visited the antique shop. He completely forgot about the fact that the store suddenly popped out of nowhere. Chan was a bit bothered by his daily presence but eventually got used to it. He found himself waiting for the guy.

“Chan! I brought you donuts!” the familiar voice resonated around the shop. Chan was busy tending to a customer, he excused himself and shouted back at Jeongin. “Hang on, Jeongin. I have a customer.” he knew the guy would just walk towards the counter and sit there and wait for him.

The bell rang again, Chan almost groaned, he hadn't rested until this morning except for the lunch break. Customers have been in and out for the past 6 hours. “I’ll get it, don't worry!” Jeongin shouted, racing to the door. Chan was thankful, although he doesn’t express it quite often.

Jeongin has been helping him for almost a month now. The guy was convinced that Chan wasn’t really a people person, that's why he didn’t hire other employees. Partially, he got it right. Jeongin wanted to change that, so he started coming into the shop after his classes and on his free day. He can clearly tell the shop owner was annoyed but he pushed further, until 1 week after his frequent visits, Chan offered him some tea. Feeling accomplished, he started coming into the shop even on weekends.

Jeongin was practically an unofficial employee at Chan’s antique shop.

He made his way to the customer, following them from behind. Answering their questions about the products. After almost a month of working there, he already knows almost all the vintage stuff, where they are located and how to price them. Not unlike the first time he made a beeline around the shop and ended up confusing both himself and the customer.

“Oh that, Sir, is a locket from 1882. It belonged to a farmer who was deeply in love with this rich woman. He sold half of his land just to buy that and gave it to the lady.” the customer was in awe and mentioned something about his wife liking vintage jewelry. Jeongin beamed at him. “Well isn’t that great! She would love this!” that was genuine happiness. Chan gave himself an imaginary pat on the back. ‘I have trained him well’ he thought.

Jeongin handed the customer the paper bag with a small box in it containing the necklace. With a bow and a smile, he thanked the customer. He didn’t even notice Chan creeping up beside him. “Nice work.” he flinched. He could never get used to Chan just popping out of nowhere inside the shop. It’s like he teleports.

“Thanks!”

The customer Chan was tending to, wanted to be left alone so he went back to the counter. When he heard the customer call, he pushed Jeongin back into his chair. “I’ll get it.” earning a soft smile from the guy. Chan made his way to the customer to answer his question about the vase he got in China or Japan? Honestly, he can’t keep track anymore.

Jeongin watched Chan’s figure vanish into the clutter of stuff. He smiled. The guy was clearly lonely here. And he felt good about himself, making Chan befriend him, although the man hasn’t officially said it and he kinda annoyed him into this so-called ‘friendship’.

His eyes rested on the flask that was sprawled onto the counter. He stood up to see if it was open. Glad that it was sealed shut, he arranged the container just to make sure it didn't spill. But curiosity drowned him.

This was the first time he ever saw that container on the counter, or even around the shop. He really didn’t take Chan as someone who drinks. He started turning the lid. Chan, on the other hand, hadn't noticed what Jeongin was doing because he was busy explaining to the customer. Jeongin expected to be welcomed by the strong smell of alcohol, with a final twist he removed the cap of the flask and took a whiff. His eyes went wide, and the flask slipped from his hands, falling onto the floor with a loud clang. Painting the marble floor in a deep shade of red.

Chan’s head snapped towards the counter right after Jeongin opened the lid. Chan prayed to his ancestors, wanting the boy to not try to see the contents of the flask. “Um, excuse me?” the customer piped, waving his hand in front of Chan’s face. Chan faced the guy and apologized; he tried his best to answer the question. If he was capable of sweating, he might already be standing in a pool of it.

A loud sound made him panic. With the blink of an eye, Chan vanished into thin air. Startling the customer.

“What do you think you’re doing?” His voice was low and deadly. Jeongin fell onto his butt with the sudden figure of Chan standing in front of him. He swore to himself that the man just magically appeared. With a surprised face, his gaze went back and forth from Chan and the mess he just made.

The customer screamed and started running towards the door. Chan snapped his hands, the door locked by itself and the blinds were also pulled down. He did that while staring right into the boy’s eyes like he was ordering him not to move a muscle. He slowly made his way to the customer, leaving Jeongin in a trance.

“Forget.” the customer's face was stoned. Again, with a snap, the door flew open. “Leave.” The customer slowly walked out of the room. With the loud thud of the door, he was back to his senses. Clearly forgetting a whole chunk of his day as he walked home.

Chan sighed and popped back in front of the fox.

Chan noticed the guy’s erratic heartbeat, but that didn’t stop him from moving closer to him. His mind was clouded by anger. Jeongin should’ve never visited him here. He shouldn't have entertained him. He should’ve just pushed him away. He even warned the boy multiple times to not touch his stuff. Chan felt betrayed and at the same time, he was mad at himself for letting the boy soften him up.

Jeongin’s breathing was hitched and he could feel every muscle in his body stiffen. He couldn’t move because he was terrified. “Wa--you---” with a small voice he tried to make out the words: What are you?. Chan’s face appeared right in front of him. Jeongin noticed the absence of his usual soft stare. Chan slowly opened his mouth. The boy saw how 2 large fangs grew from Chan’s canine teeth. And at that moment he knew…

He’s gonna be killed by a vampire.

“CHRISTOPHER!!” a loud voice appeared out of nowhere. Jeongin still couldn’t move, he heard the voice, but his attention was focused on the situation right in front of him. There was a flash, out of reflex he covered his face with his arms and braced for impact. When the bright light vanished, he slowly peeled his eyes open. Chan has vanished in front of him. His wide eyes looked around, searching for the vampire.

��Jeez, you can never control your goddamn temper---Yang Jeongin, right?” a tall boy appeared right in front of him, his hand outstretched. Jeongin’s gaze slowly lifted up to the unknown person’s face. His mouth went agape.

“Aren’t you gonna take my hand?” Seungmin’s voice had a hint of annoyance. Not waiting for the boy to respond, he withdrew his hand and started waving it. Jeongin was suddenly lifted up in the air and with a soft thud, his feet were back on the floor. He never thought that one of his seniors in university would be saving his ass. Maybe because he doesn’t know what the fuck is happening.

Chan found himself laying on his bed with a gag on his mouth. With muffled screams, he easily broke free from the shackles on both his feet and hands. His eyes were blood-red as he looked at the door. “That fucking witch.” within a millisecond he appeared right in front of the scene. His frantic eyes found Jeongin facing the witch with a bewildered look. Chan stomped his way towards them.

Jeongin recoiled at the sight of Chan, his eyes were red, fangs were shown, and he also noticed his claws. The sight terrified him. Never in his life did he imagine encountering something like this. Sure, he believed in some fairy tales because they wouldn’t exist if they weren’t true. But he never begged to see them in real life. Oh god, he wished he never even encountered any of those… those monsters. But here he is, standing in front of Seungmin, which seems to be somewhat magical and Chan who is a blood-sucking monster.

Seungmin saw how the guy's face grew pale. He sighed and turned to Chan. Their faces are only centimeters apart. His expression didn’t change. “Who the fuck do you think you are to sto-” Seungmin held up his finger and lifted Chan of his feet. The vampire’s eyebrows furrowed as he struggled in the air. “Put me down, you witch!”

Seungmin looked the devil right in the eyes before sighing. He chuckled a little, making Jeongin more uneasy with the situation. Seungmin clearly knows Chan is beyond mad and now he still has the audacity to chuckle, Jeongin prepared for the worst. “It still doesn’t make sense how useless a powerful vampire like you becomes feeble when being levitated in the air by magic.” Seungmin laughed a bit loudly, making Jeongin shake in fear. He tried stealing a glance from Chan but was stopped by the witch.

“Don’t, he can kill you with his stare.” hearing the seriousness behind Seungmin's voice, he nodded and looked away. The witch was exaggerating of course.

Seungmin turned to Chan. The vampire’s expression was terrifying, even he earned goosebumps just by taking a small glance. He knew Chan could easily control him, so he avoided the vampire’s gaze. “You have to calm down.” the vampire continued to growl in a low tone. Jeongin was still shaking but he felt bad about what happened. It was all his fault if he had not opened that flask, both him and Chan would have been enjoying the fresh donuts he got from the bakery. Jeongin looked down on his bag, thinking to himself that they’re probably soggy by now.

Seungmin waited for the vampire to calm down. Chan, on the other hand, had no plan on doing what the stupid witch said. Seungmin furrowed his eyebrows.

“I’ve never seen you this angry whenever a human finds out you’re a vampire. What’s up with you?” Chan's eyes faltered. Seungmin had a point. He continued to soften up a bit until Seungmin finally let his feet touch the ground.

The witch turned to Jeongin who was still standing and catching his breath. He gave him a casual smile while putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “This will not hurt.”

“What would not hurt? What are you planning on doing to me?” Jeongin looked at both of them with wide eyes. Seungmin gave his shoulder a light squeeze.

“We’re just gonna have to remove all your memories starting from when you entered this shop up to the present.” That made sense.

Jeongin accepted his fate. He knew what was gonna happen, he felt sad and defeated. Chan was the only person who was nice to him. He knew the man was clearly annoyed at first by his frequent visits, but Chan never said anything that would offend the boy. He didn’t push him away. It was a shame that their friendship would end like this.

All of a sudden, the door shot open, alarming all three of them. Chan knew he locked the door but who would be powerful enough to bring down an antique door sealed shut by magic. His query was answered when Woojin came dashing through the store with a strong smell of blood that was visible when he arrived in front of the counter. His eyes were full of worry and anger as he looked into the eyes of the vampire.

Chan's displeasure towards the boy had vanished. “Woojin…” those were the only words that were exchanged between the two. Woojin held back his tears and approached Chan, ignoring the two unknown presences watching the scene unfold. Chan's eyes traveled from the man’s face to his bloody shirt. “It’s Jisung…” Chan's head snapped back to Woojin’s face. His face was stern and serious. He didn’t need an explanation. Both sprinted towards the door, leaving a baffled witch and Jeongin.

Seungmin let out an exasperated sigh and gripped the guy’s wrist before dragging him outside the shop, shouting “REALLY CHAN? WEREWOLVES??!!” as he did so.

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rayshippouuchiha · 7 years ago

Note

Thanos does not realize that the Stones have a will of their own. It was subtle; they truly only wanted to be united, but they played the long game, the game that lasted lifetimes, generations, millennia. And then they found Tony, one by one. First Space. Then Mind. Then Time. And with those the others soon followed. For while Thanos could use them, he could never truly wield them. Not as Tony could, and would. After all, Tony Stark was always, will always, and shall always be theirs.

Ah well it’s an interesting story, the tale of Anthony Stark, the man some say used to be human but became a god or something like it somewhere along the way.

It starts when Tony’s young.

There’s something in Howard’s basement laboratory that calls to him.

It hums, just there on the edge of his senses, slipping into his dreams at night, into his every waking thought even though he’s too young to really understand what’s happening.

It’s only a matter of time really before Tony sneaks down stairs to find out what it is. Even at such a young age curiosity has always been his guiding sin.

There’s something sitting on one of Howard’s lab tables. It’s something Tony has never seen before, a cube of some sort that shines bright and brilliant and oh so blue.

He’s never seen anything so beautiful in all of his short life.

Tony spends hours down there while Jarvis is busy and Howard’s away or passed out drunk in his study.

Spends hours just … staring while the cube hums at him, a soft lovely sort of lullaby that makes him sway slightly where he’s sitting cross legged on the table beside it.

It reminds him, vaguely, of the rapidly fading memory of his Madre humming lightly to him in their secret language, the one she tells him not to let Howard, Sir, hear him speak.

Tony’s five and a half and he … he misses those times with an ache his little chest can barely contain. Misses the days when Madre would smile at him, when she didn’t smell like sherry and didn’t have a row of pill bottles on her vanity.

So the soft, curious sort of whispering that comes from The Cube as Tony calls it in his head, is a comfort of sorts.

So, eventually, lonely and heartsick, Tony starts to whisper back.

He tells it his dreams, his wants, tells it about his circuit board, the one Sir broke and Tony had to rebuild better and better before he’d finally stopped breaking them. Tells it about wanting to build planes and computers and robot dogs instead of guns and missiles and tanks.

He tells it, bloody lip still stinging, the first time Howard raises a hand to him.

He talks to it for a year, whispers to it every chance he gets and goes to sleep at night with its blue glow seeping into his dreams.

Constellations wheel around in Tony’s mind at night, illuminating his sleep with the beauty of a super nova, the terrible gaping hunger of black holes, the whimpering cry of a nebula as it births new stars into creation.

All of Space laid out for him to marvel at.

Howard catches him eventually, because of course he does.

And the beating Tony carries hurts less than the way he never sees the Cube again, than the way Howard whisks it away in the night and never brings it back to the mansion.

But, gone or not, Tony never forgets it, never forgets his first friend or its brilliant blue glow.

~~~

Years later, arc reactor in his chest, Tony can’t help but think that the blue glow of it is close but not exactly right.

~~~

And then, years after that, Tony holds a hologram of the Tesseract in his hand and feels his heart skip a beat.

“Hello, old friend,” Tony whispers to the projection as determination roars through him. “Don’t worry now, I’m gonna find you.”

~~~

Loki’s scepter calls for him too, in that same way the Cube, the Tesseract, had when he was young.

Well, almost the same. The call is similar but the tone, the flavor, is … different.

This, whatever it is, is a bit wilder, a bit more vicious.

And when Rogers insults him, Tony feels it flare in the back of his mind, feels the way it lashes out, driving all of them a bit higher in their anger.

And later, when Loki presses it against Tony’s chest, he feels the way it refuses to take him, the way it presses against the arc reactors energy like a cat, stretching and purring as it rubs against him.

He feels it the moment the scepter and whatever it is the thing houses decides to turn on Loki.

Tony feels it when it abandons him.

‘Hello, mine,’ something seems to whisper in the back of Tony’s mind, ‘hello, ours.’

‘Hello,’ Tony can’t help but whisper back, like he’s five years old again.

And in the back of his mind something almost seems to purr.

~~~

In the end Tony isn’t able to keep a hold of either the Tesseract or the scepter but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel them both.

Even after Thor returns to Asgard Tony could swear he can feel the Tesseract stretching in his direction, humming lightly at him.

The same with whatever the specter houses.

His dreams are filled with portals, with space, with all of the monsters that exist in both of them.

And not all of them are nightmares no matter what he tells Pepper and Rhodey, no matter how they start to drive a wedge down the middle of his and Pepper relationship.

He keeps the truth from both of them because he doesn’t know how to tell them the truth.

Doesn’t know how to tell them that he’s not always haunted by his dreams but that sometimes … sometimes there’s something, multiple somethings, there, just on the edges of his mind, calling out to him.

Something out there in the darkness of space longs for him and Tony … Tony doesn’t know if he’s strong enough to resist whatever they are.

What’s worse is that he doesn’t even know if he wants to.

~~~

Thor stirs up a bunch of trouble in London and then disappears abruptly.

And something red, crimson and almost playful, slides its way into Tony’s dreams, turning them even more vivid than they were were before.

~~~

The scepter comes back into play eventually and with it Ultron.

Stev-Rogers turns on him along with most of the others. They’re so eager and willing to accept Maximoff’s word despite the way she’s HYDRA, despite the way Tony can see scarlet, sick and unnatural, curling around her.

A twisted facsimile of the brilliant yellow glow of the Mind Stone that Tony eventually sacrifices his best and brightest child to.

Vision rises, Mind Stone in place, and it’s all Tony can do to ignore the way it calls to him again, that same cat like smugness reaching out to him.

~~~

In the aftermath, alone in his destroyed Tower, Tony mourns for JARVIS, for his son, for the person he loves the most.

And in the distance, brushing across the back of his mind, a sweet orange glow pulsates in answer.

~~~

There’s a green haze hovering at the edges of Tony’s attention sometimes when he’s hard at work in the workshop of the Tower.

When it’s there Tony finds that he gets a lot more done on whatever project he’s working on, almost as if Time itself comes to a standstill around him.

It helps to take his mind off of what had happened, helps to soothe some of the ache of having the others so ready to turn on him as they’d been during the Ultron fiasco.

Of having Steve turn from him so easily no matter how they’ve been trying to patch things up in the aftermath.

But nothing, not even the lights that find him now when he’s alone, soothes the agony of JARVIS’ loss.

~~~

Civil War comes.

Tony lays on the ground in a bunker, Ste-Rogers above him, shield raised high above his head, eyes fierce and burning as he stares down at him

Stares down at him like he and Tony had never …

Like what Tony had thought they had wasn’t…

Rogers stares down at him, death in his eyes, and Tony feels five whispers, terrible and ancient, infinite in their rage, roar to life inside of him.

‘Ours,’ They hiss, vicious and vengeful. ‘Ours.’

Something great and terrible builds inside of him but Tony bites it down, shoves it away, because he knows if he lets it go, if he lets it have free reign, that he’ll be the only one to leave this bunker alive.

And that’s not a power he wants in this moment.

Steve brings the shield down.

Tony’s the one left behind then, barely clinging to life as the reactor sputters in his chest.

‘Ours,’ They croon then, a sixth voice faint and muffled, distant, joining in with them, ‘ours.’

~~~

The way they rejoice when Extremis hits his blood stream makes Tony more than a bit nervous.

He’s pretty sure that the way he comes out of the transformation even faster, stronger, better than before wasn’t supposed to happen.

His thresholds far surpass what he’d estimated them to be.

He feels sharper in both mind and heart, feels stronger, more grounded, more imaginative, younger even in a way he hadn’t estimated.

The voices just sound smug now.

‘Ours,’ They crow, ‘perfect.’

~~~

Time passes, Tony helps shape the Accords into something more palatable.

The Rogues return, Barnes in tow, and Tony … he’s tired despite the way his body has never been more perfect.

He spends most of his time in his workshop, building, creating, listening to the whispers he’s grown used to having over the years.

Barnes becomes a shadow on the edge of whatever room he’s in, eyes sharp and expression almost hungry as time passes, and Tony just … he does’t want to do this again.

Doesn’t want to be used and thrown away again by yet another super solider.

But Barnes’ eyes are bright, his hands are gentle, and Tony is weak to the way he seems to want him, the way there seems to be a hunger inside of James that only he can sate.

Plus the voices seem to like him, the whispers humming softly when he’s close, not like how they hiss when Rogers gets near him now.

~~~

Almost two years after the bunker Tony wakes, screaming, from a nightmare filled with fire and death, purple hued Power burning half a world to ash.

The sixth voice that’s been just a whisper on the edges of his consciousness grows louder.

“Something’s coming,” Tony whispers to James from where James has him pinned to the mattress, body boxed in protectively as James scans the room, the gun Tony had made him in one hand, the metal arm Tony had replaced raised up to protect Tony’s head.

James, used to the way Tony seems to hear and feel and see things that others can’t, just stares at him silently for a moment.

“When?” His accent, far more Soviet instead of Brooklyn, is thick in a way it never is around the others, a secret kept just between the two of them.

“Soon,” Tony tells him.

“Let it come then,” James tells him, accent curling harsh and heavy around the words as he tucks the gun back beneath the pillow and pulls Tony closer to kiss him, deep and biting and hungry. “It will not take you from me. Nothing will.”

The way James just believes him, no questions asked, the way he accepts Tony and all of his quirks, meets them with that hunger, that ravenous sort of want and protectiveness, makes Tony love him all the more.

And deep in the back of his mind the voices sing.

~~~

Thanos comes, five Stones in hand, and with him comes understanding.

The Stones in the gauntlet scream at Tony, call to him, yearn for him.

And Tony … Tony yearns back.

He’s lived with them whispering to him for years now and now that he finally knows exactly what they are he’s tired of it.

He wants them with him, always, just as they want to be with him.

And so when Thanos steps towards Vision, towards the final Stone he’s yet to collect …

Tony steps between them despite the way almost everyone else protests.

James guarding his left, Rhodey guarding his right, and Vision tucked safely behind the three of them, Tony steps forward to take what is his.

“Stark,” Thanos says his name with a surprising amount of respect.

“You know me?” Tony can’t help but ask.

“Yes,” Thanos nods as he lifts the gauntlet, “they whisper about you, cry for you. Rebel constantly in their attempts to reach you. When you’re dead, they’ll know no master but me.”

“You see,” Tony says softly as he raises a hand palm up in front of him, “that’s where you’re wrong.”

In Tony’s hand the Mind Stone materializes but Tony can still feel the way it stays connected to Vision, keeps him, keeps Tony’s youngest child, the echo of JARVIS, alive. For him. Because Tony wished it so.

Because, Tony now knows, all he really has to do is wish.

“I’m not their master,” Tony tells Thanos as he rolls the Mind Stone over in his hand for a second and then lifts it up to press it against his own forehead, directly against the small hollow in the armor’s helmet that he’d automatically built there years ago without knowing why.

Now he knows.

Now they all know.

“I’m not their master,” Tony repeats as the Mind Stone flares to live victoriously, stretching cat like as it sinks its claws even deeper into him than before.

“Then what are you?” Thanos asks and Tony doesn’t think he’s imagining the hint of unease in the Titan’s voice.

“I’m just theirs.” Tony answers and his voice has an echo, an overlap. “And there’s no way in hell I’m going to let you keep us apart.”

And when Tony closes his eyes and throws his mind out towards the gauntlet in a powerful call?

Five other voices, loud and vicious and triumphant, answer him.

~~~

BUY ME A COFFEE

http://ko-fi.com/rayshippouuchiha

#Infinity Stone Chosen AU #not IW compliant #Anonymous #WinterIron #buckytony #tony stark #bucky barnes #otp: the soldier and his mechanic

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loyalflutist · 6 years ago

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Manmade Killer (Pt. 1)

It was Christmas. Snow fell down within the city of Shinjuku and friends, families, and couples come together to celebrate the occasion. The night sparkled from decorations. Blue, red, green, white... all kinds of colors brighten the city. Tranquility makes it difficult for much negativity to taint anyone during this holiday. However, Oshima Yuko couldn't celebrate it. In one of the many buildings, on the third floor, the squirrel sat in one of the many desks. An ex-detective that originally came from the Metropolitan Police Department years ago, she came to an early retirement due to a past issue. But nevermind that, the young woman in her mid-20s clicked away on her laptop. Each keystroke was notable in the barely lit premise, a desk lamp the only source of light. Exhaustion. Fatigue. And alone. She desires to sleep, yet won't allow her body to feel the relief. Yuko has to keep on working. Work... work... work... work. The saying "sleep is for the weak" is horribly applicable to the ex-inspector. She furrowed her brows and resisted the temptation to rub her weary eyes. A loud exhale as she continued to tap away on the keyboard. "Yuko? You're still awake?" Thanks to Yuko's mental and physical state, hypersensitivity is prominent. She nearly leaped off from her black rolling chair. Thankfully, the person that called out for her is none other than Special Police Officer Yokoyama Yui. The tall raven-haired woman rested an arm against the doorway between the main workroom and the nap room, her sharp gaze aimed at the squirrel. In comparison to the ex-detective, not a hint of fatigue was shown on her face and body language. Donned with a white collared shirt, black pants, and uniformed blue jacket, the medal "SP" clung to her shirt as a sign of her prestigious position. Although her duty is to protect VIP figures such as politicians and CEOs, the Kyoto-originated female personally requested to be Yuko's bodyguard. Yui's reason for doing so? Well, it wasn't a difficult question to answer. A faint exhale escaped from her partially parted lips. "You should be sleeping." Yuko shook her head. "I can't. Shouldn't you be sleeping in the nap room here?" Another sigh came from Yui's lips when she saw the other female reach towards her cup of coffee. It wasn't necessarily the caffeinated product that concerned her so much. Instead, it was more so with how OLD the coffee is. When the SP Officer checked in for the morning, Yuko was sipping from the same container and drinking the God-knows-how-long-it's-been-made black coffee. It wasn't like the squirrel to forget how to operate normally on daily necessities. Then again, it's not surprising considering the month-long predicament that ate at them. Endlessly taunting them... especially Oshima Yuko. No grave sins were committed to sending her to Hell, but she's experiencing one right now. Rest did not bring any alleviation, agitation gnawing at her nerve. "Yuko..." she said. Yuko readjusted her seat as Yui waltzed over to the clear-glassed window from behind the inspector. Hands in her jacket's pockets, the Kyoto woman stared out to the city view. If it weren't for the heavy atmosphere that weighed on their shoulders, they would've not only celebrated the holiday but share wine with each other just like old times. Maybe even played out in the snow with their teammates. "I know you're trying your best to search for your sister, but I can't protect you from diseases." A scoff. Then, Yuko clicked on the laptop a few times to close all of the web browsers. Whether she was closing them to actually take a break or closing them out of obligation to shut Yui up is up for speculations. Thanks to the brightness of the screen, it somewhat reflected on the window's surface. The SP Officer didn't have to look over her shoulders to see what was on the device. Nevertheless, her eyebrows slightly raised at the sight of a group photo. Oshima Yuko. Yokoyama Yui. Yamamoto Sayaka. Kashiwagi Yuki. Watanabe Mayu. Maeda Atsuko. Matsui Rena. Seven members. A mixture of active and retired officers. A melting pot for the roles they each played. A group primarily focused on stopping a terrorist organization outside of police jurisdiction and limitations. They were after Adrestia. A faceless Japanese terrorist organization bent on taking revenge and delivering retribution to those seemingly "evil" to justice. They were meant to be upheld as a holy figure that would topple the police force. Those victims who died were murmured and whispered amongst the civilians to be truly terrible in society. For the government to lack efficiency in handling these small, but severe problems became a devastating blow to their reputation. Fewer people trusted the police and more on Adrestria. It's almost as if a superhero arose from the crowd and stood up for what is right and what is wrong. However, what made them God? What made them decide what's just and unjust for everyone? Not many were able to perceive this fatal flaw as their criminal acts... might not be so criminal at first glance. It has been six months since their existence came to light. Their first appearance was no minor introduction. The death of a man who is labeled as a stalker to an idol from AKB48 was their first case. Gunned down by a security guard protecting Team K when they were out on tour around Japan, the man immediately killed himself before he explained why he chose to murder the fan. Either way, Team K have been protected thanks to him. Adrestia made a big note of who they are when they uploaded a video on the Internet about the fan's crimes. He had stalked them, taken photos of them, and sent them Anonymous videos of the dirty actions he did with those pictures. Idols filed a report many times in the past. The police came to protect them but did a lackluster job. He still came to bother them. Over... and over... and over again. One idol even committed suicide because of it. Adrestia took action and protected the group in the police's stead. We are Adrestia and we strive to take revenge on the evils that outlived their days compared to their victims. The Cleansing Day will come when New Year Eve arrives. All in a distorted voice. Eventually, exactly a month after that, another death came to light. Instead of just one victim, there was a total of a whopping twenty. To make matters worse, they were all young adolescents. Their crimes? Bullying hurts but cyberbullying hurts even more. You have no way to distinguish who they are and if they really meant what they said. These twenty students, all between the age of 12 and 22, committed a grave sin. They bullied others on Facebook. Many victims called for help, but no one came to their aid. Police officers and therapists mocked them for their sensitivity. Adrestia did not take this lightly. We took action and protected the bullied users in the police's stead. We are Adrestia and we strive to take revenge on the evils that outlived their days compared to their victims. The Cleansing Day will come when New Year Eve arrives. A more feminine distorted voice, distinguishing itself from the previous video. And so it went on. Month by month, their crimes became horrific. Murders of rapists, child molesters, corrupted government officials, bribers, murderers, stalkers, corrupted officers... It went on. The crimes committed by them were atrocious. Police forces throughout Japan, especially Shinjuku, went haywire. Everyone in the organization used as much force as possible to search for the culprits. Some overexerted and abused their authoritative powers, making innocent civilians go to jail as a way to pat down one of the monthly cases. Lives were at stakes, reputations were at stakes, and most importantly, answers were desperately needed. The group that Yuko had formed alongside with her stepsister, Mayu, had kicked into gear. Beginning the day after the first month's murder, Yuko and everyone spread out to do their research. They were possibly the only ones able to stop Adrestia given their resources and experiences. But every single time they came close to an answer, it slipped through their fingers. In its place, another murder pops up in the name of the terrorist. It was a frustrating cycle. Loads of responsibilities and trouble began to accumulate as the months ticked by. Clues were gathered, but not enough to catch up on the latest events. By the time the ex-detective found an answer, the worst-case scenario unfolded before her eyes. That day, on November 25th... Yuko's thumb ran across Mayu's face on the screened photo. "I have to find my sister." Missing. Mayu is missing-- Er, well, it wasn't to say that she's missing like those found in the missing person poster. Actually, the Special Regions Crime Prevention Office (SRCPO) member is plastered on the bulletin board of this investigative's room as a wanted individual. Alongside, Kashiwagi Yuki went missing. Whether she was found with Mayu or not currently is not clear. Same goes for Matsui Rena. She disappeared the same day as Yuki. Then there's also the other two members-- "I can't forgive her. She murdered Sayanee." Yuko snapped out of her trance-like state at the sharp proclamation from Yui. She turned to look at the officer, her baggy eyes staring straight at the fierce woman. As if to showcase how serious she is with her statement, Yokoyama took the gun out from her holster and toyed with it. She unloaded all of the bullets into her other hand and immediately stuck them back into the cylinder. One-by-one, the gold metallic ammunition went into its original spot. Silence hung in between the two figures. Figuring that Yuko would object to her perspectives, the Special Police Officer raised her chin slightly. "Did you also forget that she murdered your parents?" They may not have been related to each other, but they were adopted together under the two kind parents. They were raised to be an outstanding citizen of society. Yuko and Mayu wished to serve in the police department as a way to give back to the community. Of course, thanks to a mishap, Yuko took early retirement (more like quit) from her position and became independent. Mayu, on the other hand, remains as a counselor and listens in to people's worries during times of emergencies. Regardless of their roles and what they did with their life, they loved their adopted parents dearly. So the cold-blooded slaughtering of their parents was the last straw for Oshima. She vividly remembers their death. It was exactly one week after the disappearance of Watanabe Mayu, Kashiwagi Yuki, and Matsui Rena. Yuko returned home with her parents to have dinner with them. There wasn't much to discuss, but the least she could do is bring them comfort during this turbulent time. It was likely that the three were kidnapped by Adrestia, but it's also possible that the trio's disappearances didn't correlate with each other. The independent detective does admit that it was too much of a coincidence to have such scenario occur though... Regardless, the doorbell rang during their quiet mealtime. Yuko went to open the door. A loud gasp came from her direction from the sight of who it was. There stood Watanabe Mayu in the doorway. Her eyes dead. A black collar snapped around her neck as if she were an animal. A handgun held within her two hands. The white police uniform she donned disheveled and dirtied. Yuko didn't even have a chance to register a dialogue before Mayu shoved her way into the house. Two fires came from the weapon. Two screams. Then, silence. Complete and eerie silence. It wasn't long till Mayu walked right out the same doorway as she had entered, ignoring the older female. Darkness from the dimly lit streets engulfed the gunner once she was far enough. Yuko was still standing in awe. Oshima Yuko always wondered why she wasn't able to stop her sister at that time. Was it because of her lingering attachment to Mayu? Was it because she hesitated to pull out her own revolver and shoot Mayu? Was it because she was shocked to think that her sister would return after a week of disappearing? Whatever it was, their parents are dead. A single bullet straight to their forehead. It was a direct hit to their brain. Death is certain for their fates. Still... it was all too strange. How could someone like Mayu not only go off to hurt their teammates, but their very own parents? Sure, they weren't related by blood, but it doesn't excuse the abrupt and violent end they were met with. Something must've caused her younger sibling to react this way. Yuko parted her thumb from the screen and bit the bottom of her lip. Besides, Watanabe harmed someone that she too cared for greatly... Someone that Yuko couldn't understand why either. "There's also Acchan too..." she cracked. Yui nodded in the background. That was right. Not only was Sayaka the victim in this betrayal, but Maeda Atsuko was at the brunt end of it. This didn't happen all in one day. The first victim was Yamamoto Sayaka. Yuko remembered the video that Mayu had personally sent to them, stating that another teammate would be next on her hit list. Her lifeless voice... Her bone-chilling message... Was this really the sister she knew since they were children? Atsuko... oh, Atsuko is someone Oshima loved so much. The ex-detective and a profiler from the Crime Lab at the Metropolitan Police Department. The unlikely duo that became tragically separated by a murderer no one expected. Yuko's hands curled into fists as she shakily exhaled. "Yuihan, I want to talk to her before I bring down her judgment. Even if you want to take revenge on behalf of your lover, I... I can't allow that. She's my sister." The Special Police Officer shifted her attention back to the scenery. She narrowed her eyes. "Well, you better be ready for it. I have a feeling we're going to find her before January 1st." "...right." The sooner, the better. Yuko wanted nothing more than to get this nightmare over with. ---------- In another location, Kashiwagi Yuki, a hacker at the Cyber Crimes Division, felt so useless. It wasn't the useless kind of sensation where one stands on the sideline. At least she could be cheering for someone or something. She could become an influence thanks to those encouraging words. This was a literal uselessness. Physically and mentally. She was stuck in a bright metallic room with nothing but herself. Steel wall surrounds her figure as she huddled in the corner of the mostly dried blood-splattered room. She hugged herself. Comfort was nowhere to be seen... She wasn't safe in isolation from her mind. The terrorist organization has her confined to this premise. No matter how much she screams or pounds at the only exit, no one would respond. Well, she tried to scream, that is. Not a single sound came out of her voice box. The tattered and bruised Yuki that was once kind, gentle, and a good listener to everyone around her is reduced to a silent wreck thanks to Adrestia. Whatever poison or surgical techniques they performed on the unconscious woman... She won't be able to vocalize her thoughts, her concerns, her love, her sorrow... anything anymore. Yuki gave up. The woman's ears perked up when the door creaked open. Her brown eyes peeked over her crossed arms. Watanabe Mayu came back. The door immediately clicked close by another individual once Mayu had taken a step into the confinement. Partially bathed in another person's blood on her clothes, Mayu truly painted an image of a psychopath. A black collar around her neck, the woman barely blinked when she saw Yuki extend her arms out. She acted almost like a baby in need of a mother. Ironic considering the fact that Mayu had a hand solidly gripping a loaded revolver. However, everyone knew that the two would never wish harm upon one another. They've loved each other and still do. Watanabe just doesn't know if she's alive or dead in this state. 'Mayuyu... Oh, Mayuyu...' Mayu was the only person who could bring some sense of peace to the hacker. However, the guilt that weighed on Yuki's shoulders were heavy as she littered long kisses on her lover's cheeks. The raven-haired desperately tried to give as much warmth as possible to the present day Mayu. Usually, the officer would be annoyed by the close treatment as it's reserved for privacy, but it hurts that Mayu isn't flinching or reacting to this at all. Tears streamed down Yuki's face as she wrapped her arms around the armed woman. Both of their brown eyes had no life... A lifeless duo that barely clung onto reality. 'Why did it become like this?' Of course, Mayu has no way of knowing. She's not human anymore... A police officer who once specialized in the Special Regions Crime Prevention Office is now a murderer. She not only raised her revolver at innocent civilians, but she assassinated their comrades. Yamamoto Sayaka and Maeda Atsuko... Someone they once called their allies, their friends... it all went away weeks ago with a bullet to their chest. Mayu may have given them a quick death, but the fact that they're not in this world anymore destroyed Yuki. It wasn't Mayu's fault though. "Neh... Yukirin..." That tone. That voice. Unlike Kashiwagi, Mayu didn't lose the ability to speak. This was a chance for her to tell the official what's on her mind. She was given free rein on what to say. Freedom of speech isn't exactly one hundred percent true in the hands of this terrorist organization though. "I killed our captain." Yuki knew Mayu had pride and conviction to remain true to her ways. Yet the collar that Adrestia's leader snapped around her neck served as a torturing device. Poison contaminated the metallic band. Every single time the girl would raise objections to their beliefs, to the orders they shoved down her throat, to their harsh treatment and abuse with Yuki, the leader allowed the collar to release its chemicals into the officer. The excruciating agony that paralyzed the victim ran on till Mayu sobbed for death to relieve her. Of course, they weren't so kind. A quick antidote brought her to good health within an hour. Then, they shoved their idealisms... their moralistic values... and assassination orders upon the woman once again. If she were to object once again, she would be subjected to the same treatment. "I'm okay... I'm fine." The hacker saw it all since day one of their kidnappings. A date out in broad daylight at a park to take a break from their work turned into a living nightmare. Since Yuki holds no value to the terrorist organization, they simply used her as their pawn to keep Mayu in check. With the police officer's strict outlook on what justice means and why revenge can be justified, their eyes have rested on Mayu. Her ability to use the gun is a bonus to them as she can play the role of an "Executioner". Of course, knowing the ponytailed female, she outright rejected their offer only to undergo horrific treatments. Yuki was there to witness it all in her mute cries and sobs. It's as if Adrestia is training a pet... Like a broken pet to order and reward. Yuki tightened her hold around the crimson-stained girlfriend. When the wet cheeks pressed against her lover, Mayu expressed her opinion in a monotone voice. "You're crying? Are you hurt anywhere?" Hurt... Pain. Oh, Yuki felt pain much worse than the abuse she's been submitted to by the hooded terrorist leader. It's the crushing anguish of her heart being squished to oblivion by an invisible force. The sight of her lover succumbing to cruel punishments for staying true to her ideals and not aligning with the enemies'. The horror of losing her ability to speak. The urge to scream in terror as she frantically and desperately provided as much useless care to Mayu as possible. She buried her face into the gunner's shoulder. 'If only I was strong...' Yuki wasn't trained in the art of firearms like Mayu. Thoughts ran through her head about taking up lessons from her girlfriend. However, Mayu urged that it wasn't necessary. If only the hacker held her stance much stronger back then... Then she might've protected Mayu rather than become dependent on her. More tears ran down her face as she leaned forward, lips close to Watanabe's ear. Just like every single day, Yuki tried her best to formalize words that can be audible rather than incoherent airy whispers. "I'm... sorry..." Did Mayu hear that? Or was that just a figment of Yuki's hallucinations she's constantly had in this confined room that she was able to utter words to her lover? Either way, the curtain will soon descend upon the stage as Adrestia makes their final move. After all, it won't be long till New Year Eve comes around the corner.

#loyalflutist #fan fic #fan fiction #one shot #os #akb48 #sayayui #atsuyuu #mayuki

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datheetjoella · 7 years ago

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A Kingdom For You and Me

Author: DatHeetJoella Fandom: Free! Pairing: MakoHaru Rating: T Word Count: 19,023 Summary: It wasn’t like Makoto and he had agreed to meet up today so he wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t show up, but something inside of Haruka had urged him to come here anyway. They hadn’t been able to see each other as often lately as they used to because Makoto had been so incredibly busy these past couple of weeks, and though Haruka understood that completely, it still made a tight knot of disappointment and aching form in his stomach.

After not having seen each other for a little while, Makoto gives Haruka the surprise of a lifetime. Notes: This fic is a gift for @sawamura-daichis-thighs for the MakoHaru Gift Exchange Summer 2018. I’m so incredibly sorry this took me so long, it’s extremely overdue and I know it, but I still want to wish you a happy gift exchange and I really hope that you’ll like this fic.

Read at: AO3 - FFn or here.

The sand was surprisingly warm beneath his toes as Haruka made his way down the beach, like the last rays of the summer sun were clinging to the tiny grains, fighting against the cool yet sharp bite of autumn that was waiting just around the corner. Although Haruka never minded the summer in and of itself, he always welcomed the changing seasons with a relieved smile because it meant that the beach wouldn't be as crowded anymore. And fewer people meant a slimmer chance of someone spotting him or, even worse, a curious child following behind him as he went down the path that he had taken over thousands of times before.

When he reached the stacked rocks that marked the end of the beach, he threw his stuff over them before he started to climb up them with practiced ease, hoisting himself up in a way that would seem dangerous to anyone who wasn't experienced with it; the wall wasn't exactly high, but the rocks looked slippery and jagged, like they could slice open one's palms and soles if attempted to scale them. But this wall could never harm Haruka, because he had been climbing it for years already, knew exactly where to place his hands and feet to get himself to the other side in one piece.

Once he had landed safely on the soft bedding of more rocks, he collected his bag - filled with nothing more than a towel, his keys and a bottle of water - and his shoes and continued to stroll leisurely. His end goal was rapidly coming in sight: a secluded cave at the bottom of a cliff and because there really was no reason to go to a cave right beside the ocean that was only a few meters deep and rather difficult to get to, no one else ever entered it - well, no one except one other person.

Inside the cave he put his stuff down in the usual spot in the far back that was pretty much the only point that was always out of reach of the lapping waves no matter how ferocious the sea got. He pulled off his clothes and took a big gulp of the fresh water that he brought before he sat down at the entrance of the cave with his legs in the ocean. Now there was nothing more he could do but wait.

It wasn't like Makoto and he had agreed to meet up today so he wouldn't be surprised if he didn't show up, but something inside of Haruka had urged him to come here anyway. They hadn't been able to see each other as often lately as they used to because Makoto had been so incredibly busy these past couple of weeks, and though Haruka understood that completely, it still made a tight knot of disappointment and aching form in his stomach.

Makoto's eighteenth birthday was only a few months away and he was being prepared for his crowning, which slurped up the majority of his day. Although he still tried to make as much time free as he could to see his best friend, it honestly wasn't enough for Haruka. It was selfish and he knew it, but after having seen each other almost daily for over a decade, less than an hour per week was nothing and he just missed Makoto so much; he longed for his presence, desired to see that smile that would light up those vibrant green eyes and made his heart flutter without question, wished to swim together and to hold his hand if the current got too strong and let himself be pulled along as they explored the realm together.

Although he tried his best to cheer himself up with the thought that it was only going to be a little while longer until the preparations were over, truth of the matter was that once Makoto officially became the ruler of the seven seas, he would surely have no time left to hang around with a land dweller like himself.

With a deep breath and a shake of his head, he attempted to whisk those melancholic thoughts away. Makoto was his best friend and they cared about each other a lot, and he knew that Makoto wouldn't just forget about him like that. Regardless of Makoto's title or status, they would continue doing what they had always done, perhaps a bit less frequently, but they'd spend time together all the same, like they had been doing since the start.

It was hard to imagine that twelve years had already passed since then, because he remembered their first meeting like it was yesterday.

During a day at the beach right around the official start of the summer, he had sneaked away from his family to discover the seaside area by himself. He had eventually found the stone wall that seemed to be hiding something behind it. Curiosity piqued, he began to climb over it to uncover the secret, a bit clumsily but determined nonetheless. It was then that he found this spot: a little cave tucked away inside a cliff and guarded from the outside world by a natural barrier. Once he set foot onto the rocks, it felt like he entered another dimension; the air seemed fresher, the wind caressed his skin with a gentle spark and the rhythm of his heartbeat spontaneously changed, excited and surprised yet calmer and more serene than ever.

But this magical place was not the only thing he found that day.

Large emeralds beneath a mop of soaked brown hair caught his gaze and they immediately disappeared again. It happened so quickly that Haruka doubted if he had even seen it correctly, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion, and he couldn't help but go over to the entrance of the cave to check out whether there really was a figure there or if his eyes had been playing tricks on him.

When he got closer, he decided to hold his breath and wait. After a few seconds, something popped up from the water; it was a young boy around his age with slightly tanned skin and the biggest, most beautiful eyes Haruka had ever seen, glistening in the sunlight like they were the rarest of gemstones embedded in his head. The moment their eyes locked for the second time, the boy gasped loudly and instantly ducked beneath the water once more.

"Hey," Haruka had scoffed in bewilderment and mild offense, not knowing why this boy was acting so strangely. He didn't think he was even remotely intimidating enough to warrant hiding from like that. Not like he was the grim reaper who had come to collect the boy's soul prematurely. If the boy wanted to be left alone, he should just say so and that would be that, Haruka would leave him be. Acting like he wasn't there was just annoying, and although Haruka usually wasn't one to meddle in other people's business because that was far too troublesome, it was different now since he took the rejection pretty personally.

Upon being called out, the boy emerged again, his gemlike eyes shining in an odd mixture of fear and curiosity. He opened his mouth to talk but no sound left him, looking frantically around himself like he was debating whether he should fight or flee and that only confused Haruka more. He understood that the boy might be shy, but something just seemed off about this whole situation.

Right when Haruka began to wonder if the boy could even speak, he reluctantly mumbled, "I… I'm not supposed to talk with humans."

That was by a landslide the most absurd thing Haruka had ever heard in his six years on this planet.

"What?" he questioned, frowning even harder, but then he suddenly saw something that he hadn't noticed before; on the boy's cheekbones right beneath his eyes, there was a faint hint of green gleaming like illuminated fish scales. For a brief moment Haruka wondered why the boy would have makeup on such a weird part of his face, but when he thoughts about the boy's words again, a realisation dawned upon him and all the annoyance that he felt melted away in a second and was replaced with interest. He peered down into the ocean and although it was too dark to see through, the water was moving around the boy in a weird, unfamiliar swishing pattern, making ripples around him even though his torso seemed to be still. There was only one conclusion Haruka could draw upon witnessing this. "Are you… are you a mermaid?"

"No!" the boy immediately blurted and he nervously tried to put some distance between the shore and himself, like that would somehow protect his body from this stranger's view. When he was forced to recognise the futility of his actions, he sighed reluctantly and whispered under his breath, "I'm a merboy."

The confirmation that the boy before him was a creature that he had been told was mythical, something found only in fairy tales and folklore, should have been a bigger shock than it actually was. But it seemed to fit; this boy had a magical vibe, something mesmerising and special about him that he had never seen or felt from anyone else before, something otherworldly. Besides, who was he to deny the existence of someone who was right in front of him?

"Can I see your tail?" Haruka asked rather bluntly, because he had always had a certain admiration and fascination for merpeople so he wouldn't want to pass up on the opportunity to see one in real life.

The boy seemed hesitant about that question, twiddling with his thumbs in an unsure manner as he mulled over his options. Considering that this human had already spotted him and knew what he was, he figured there would be no additional harm in showing him his tail too. So he hoisted himself up on the rocks and pulled himself onto the land.

When Haruka laid eyes upon the boy's lower half, his jaw dropped. "Wow," he sighed involuntarily at the amazing tail before him because it was far more beautiful than he ever could have imagined.

The tail was green, the same shade as the boy's eyes and the scales glittered in the sunlight, blending seamlessly into his tanned torso. The fins at the end of it were still partially in the ocean, but Haruka could tell they were big and strong, yet flowed through the water with a certain type of elegance and grace that captivated him at first glance. But the most astonishing part of this gorgeous tail was that some odd scales were a rich golden hue and when the rays of sunshine hit them at a specific angle, the gold burst into a rainbow of colour.

Because this boy was the only merperson he had ever seen, there was nothing that he could compare this tail with except for the depictions made by humans. But even then Haruka just knew that it was by far the most beautiful tail out there and that no other tail could come close to matching up with it - and later down the line, these assumptions were confirmed.

"Can I… touch it?" Haruka asked when he finally managed to pull his eyes away from the entrancing scales, only to be captured by the boy's eyes all over again.

The boy's thick eyebrows were raised in shock at this unexpected question and a pink blush lit up his cheeks, right underneath his scales which provided a nice colour-contrast. He averted his eyes again, nervously fiddling his fingers once more in what seemed to be a habit before he muttered, "Okay."

Upon the boy's verbalised consent, Haruka sat down next to him and carefully extended his hand. He gently brushed the tips of his fingers over the scales, starting safely at the green ones but not being able to resist touching a golden-rainbow one too. The scales were as smooth and slippery as he had imagined, but the tail was surprisingly warm, a lot warmer than he expected and he couldn't help but slowly run his fingertips all the way back up to where the boy's tanned skin began.

A soft and sudden giggle abruptly pulled Haruka from his enthrallment and he instantly withdrew his hand.

"Sorry," the boy chuckled lightly as the rosy colour that dusted his chubby face grew a shade darker, "that tickled."

In hindsight, that was probably the moment Haruka first fell in love with him.

"Um… I'm sorry, I just," the boy stuttered, awkwardly scratching at his cheek with his nail, that was equally as green as his glittering scales and gemlike eyes. "I'm really not supposed to talk with humans."

That repeated statement stung, because Haruka was far too interested in this merboy now to just walk away and pretend that they had never met, and he definitely wasn't planning to do that either. "Well, it's already too late now," Haruka said with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders, hoping that would somehow persuade the boy to change his mind.

"I guess you're right," the boy giggled again much to Haruka's relief, and his own shoulders seemed to relax at Haruka's dismissal as well.

Satisfied with that answer, Haruka felt some ease settle into his heart at the knowledge that their time together wasn't over yet. There were a bunch more questions he had about the merboy and merfolk in general, so he decided to start with the most important one. "What's your name?"

"Makoto," the boy revealed, meeting Haruka's gaze and his eyes shone with sincerity, which made Haruka think his name was very fitting. "And yours?" Makoto wondered, showing that his curiosity was entirely mutual.

"Haruka… Haru," Haruka replied, deciding that he'd actually preferred to be called by that nickname. But before Makoto could say another word in response, Haruka asked, "Do you want to swim together?"

At the mention of swimming, an excited smile stretched Makoto's lips - that marked the second time Haruka fell in love with him. "Okay!" Makoto agreed, and the rest was history.

From that day forward, they met up almost every single day, gradually getting to know each other more every time and forming a bond stronger than any other. Two boys belonging to completely separate worlds yet growing up alongside each other as one.

Soon, Haruka learned that the myth of merpeople possessing magic abilities was not as much of a myth as he had thought; when he arrived at the cave with an injured knee, Makoto was concerned that the sharks might smell the wound and mistake him for food, so he quickly stroked his finger over the cut. Haruka was going to make a remark on that Makoto should know that there were no sharks around here, but he was so surprised by the fact that his skin was sewn together again like the cut had never been there in the first place and all the pain it had caused was gone that he couldn't utter another word.

A little while later, Haruka learned that unlike his presumptions, not all merpeople possessed those same magic abilities, but that Makoto was actually as special as Haruka had always known he was. It was because Makoto was a member of the royal family, the rulers and guardians of the seven seas and this family had been blessed with magic to protect their world. But even within his large family, Makoto was different from all others; he was the heir to the throne, which meant that he would eventually grow to be the most powerful merman in the entire realm. That prospect was a large source of insecurity for him, but Haruka knew from the start that Makoto would be a great king when the time came and that he just had to believe in himself more.

And now, with just a few more months to go until Makoto would officially be crowned, Haruka was proven right. The timid merboy he had met that day had evolved into a fine young merman, a powerful and righteous leader who would do everything in his might to protect his kingdom and let peace reign above anything else.

Along with this development, Haruka's love for him grew more and more, until it unfolded into a force too strong to contain within himself and it might as well have granted him magic powers too. And if he had them, then he would have turned himself into a merman as well so he could spend the rest of his life by Makoto's side, differences be damned.

But alas, he did not have those powers and he was stuck here on the shore and although their lives had been intertwined since the start, their worlds were only going to be drifting further and further apart as time progressed.

With a groan of annoyance, Haruka pulled himself from his reminiscence and somber thoughts and he wildly kicked his legs in the water, making big splashes and disturbing the ocean. He hated when his mind wandered off like that, especially when it went to the darkest corners of his brain and that made it difficult to pretend that everything was alright. All this negativity only made him long for Makoto more and the need to see him welled up even higher, from his chest up to his head to the point where he could only see bubbles that shimmered like Makoto's scales and gleamed like his pearly teeth whenever he smiled that perfect smile that was reserved for him alone.

Since he wasn't sure if Makoto was going to come or not, Haruka decided that there would be nothing left for him to do but to go to Makoto himself. It wasn't like he had never been to the palace before, but all those times, Makoto was the one who took him there because he was always here at the cave. And under any other circumstances, Haruka wouldn't have gone without an invitation either since that just seemed so rude, but he figured he had no other choice now. He wanted to see Makoto, he needed to see him and this was the only way. If Makoto was busy, then he would just take his leave again without argument or protest.

So he got up and walked back into the cave. Along the edge where the water met the rocks grew a line of enchanted seaweed and he plucked a bit of it. Eating it would grant him the ability to breathe and talk underwater and to see clearly without the saltiness of the ocean stinging his eyes or the change of air pressure bothering his eardrums. It was very potent and worked for well over twenty hours. Makoto had created it especially for him a few years ago so they wouldn't be stuck hanging out in this cave all the time and instead could explore the world together and have fun without any restraints. He even managed to make it taste like salt-grilled mackerel because he knew that was Haruka's favourite. His magic really was something; it never ceased to impress Haruka.

He took another big gulp of his water to wash the seaweed down a little along with the sappy thoughts and then he tucked his stuff further back into the corner before he made a beeline for the water and jumped in.

Fortunately, the waters were always relatively warm here so he could swim with Makoto regardless of the weather outside. Despite his affinity for water and his willingness to submerge himself in whatever type was available, he'd rather not get hypothermia or potentially freeze to death every time he went over to his best friend's place off-season so he was very glad about the pleasant temperature. It was almost like everything here was tailored to accommodate him, but he wouldn't get so far ahead of himself to believe that was true.

The vast and colourful underwater world that spread out before him had progressively become familiar over the time they spent together and he knew the way to the city and the palace of Makoto's family well enough that he could easily swim there with his eyes closed. Admittedly, it took a bit longer to get there when he wasn't pulled along by Makoto, but that didn't mean he couldn't get there on his own at all and he was proving that it was no issue right then.

He remembered the first time he came down here very well; all the panicked faces of the merfolk who lived around here at the sight of a human swimming through their territory so casually, like it was no big deal, but no one dared to approach him or complain. At the time he thought it was because they were scared of him, but he eventually came to the conclusion that it was most likely because of the prince's presence that would be beside him without exception.

Eventually he became a common appearance and everyone got used to the human hanging around in their realm. Even Makoto's family, who were opposed to their friendship at first out of fear of the existence of their people being uncovered to humans and were cautious when they met him, had come to accept and adore him. And Haruka felt great here too; he felt a sense of belonging down here that he hadn't felt in his own world ever since his grandmother passed away. If only he could stay here forevermore.

Haruka didn't need to swim very far before he found who he was looking for. The city wasn't even in sight yet when he saw flashes of green piercing through the water and something rapidly came in view. Haruka easily identified the form as Makoto's. He would recognise that extraordinarily special merman anywhere.

"Makoto!" Haruka called out to him, hoping to catch his attention since Makoto probably wasn't expecting to see him here.

"Haru!" Makoto exclaimed in astonishment and he came to an abrupt halt in front of him, making an abundance of bubbles appear and engulf the water around them with the sudden loss of speed. His brown locks were dancing around his head graciously, his eyes were as vibrant and beautiful as ever and that gorgeous smile etched itself onto his mouth naturally upon seeing his best friend.

It was like he got even more handsome with every passing minute and his stunning and captivating features never failed to make Haruka's hands itch with a fierce desire to eternalise him on a canvas. He was a treasure the world deserved to behold yet that Haruka would selfishly keep to himself, to cherish and admire for as long as he lived.

The smitten trance that always lurked to capture Haruka whenever he let his guard down was forcefully dissolved when the object of all his affections spoke again. "I was just about to go see if you were at the cave," Makoto said, his eyebrows still raised in perplexity but it was obvious that he was pleasantly surprised.

"We haven't seen each other in a couple of days," Haruka tried to explain his sudden appearance underwater as nonchalantly as possible, already feeling embarrassment creep up on him in the form of a cute blush at the knowledge of what the real motive behind his actions was, "and I wasn't sure if you were going to come today, so I just wanted to go see how you were doing." It wasn't necessarily a lie, but it wasn't the full truth either and they both knew it.

"Oh, that's great! I'm doing great!" Makoto stammered somewhat awkwardly in that same way he did when he was hiding something. The hideous, bright orange bag that was slung around his shoulder and floated beside him probably had something to do with it. "How are you, Haru?"

His eyes narrowed in suspicion, eyeing the bag like he would be able to stare through the fabric and see what it contained if he focused hard enough, but alas it was in vain. Having those magic powers really would have come in handy in this situation. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be blessed with them just for convenience's sake, so Haruka decided to quit his attempts at unravelling Makoto's secret for now. Sooner or later, Makoto would crack and tell him anyway since he was the worst at hiding things from his best friend, and the method of just waiting it out cost him the least amount of effort.

"I'm fine," he replied when he remembered that Makoto had asked him a question, attempting to come off as aloof as he could manage.

"Great! That's great! Uh…" Makoto repeated in a strange and even a somewhat uncomfortable manner. Almost like he was nervous. The way he scratched at his cheek paired with the fact that he didn't continue speaking after trailing off supported this hunch.

The source of Makoto's odd behaviour was still unknown to Haruka because he couldn't recall anything happening that would cause for Makoto to feel and act this way, but he wished to find out soon because this was really nothing like him. Seeing Makoto in discomfort for whatever reason made his heart ache so he hoped that whatever it was that was bothering or concerning him, it would be over before long.

"You said you wanted to come see if I was there…?" Haruka questioned in an attempt to get to the point. Even though it wasn't weird for Makoto to want to come see him just for the sake of spending time with him - because that sentiment was entirely mutual - there was something about the way he had phrased his words that made Haruka feel like there was a deeper, underlying meaning behind Makoto wanting to meet up with him.

"That's right!" Makoto affirmed, seeming a bit more cheerful now and he smiled tenderly at him in a way that was supposed to assure him, but Haruka could tell that it was mainly assuring himself. The nerves that he had been emitting slowly ebbed away, and his gemlike eyes conveyed that same sincerity they had held at the very beginning and had never wavered since. "There's something I want to show you," he continued, and he unconsciously clutched at the strap of the orange bag.

"Alright, lead the way," Haruka said softly, knowing that wherever Makoto was planning to take him, it would explain the strange scene from just now. But even if it wouldn't and Makoto hadn't been acting oddly, he would never turn down Makoto's invitations, especially not when his eyes shone with glee and his lips parted to bless him with the sight of that wonderful smile when he offered those invitations. He trusted Makoto completely and would gladly travel to the ends of the underwater world together, because he felt like he could go anywhere as long as Makoto was with him.

Upon Haruka's agreement, Makoto's smile widened and he let go of the bag's strap to grasp Haruka's hand tightly yet ever so gently in his own, sending sparks down Haruka's arm and making butterflies roam through his stomach like they did every time they touched. Then he turned them around to the direction he had originally come from and began to swim again, pulling Haruka along effortlessly.

With Makoto's strong and powerful tail propelling him forward, there was really no need for Haruka to even swim; in fact, he believed it was easier for Makoto if he kept still so he only held on with both hands and revelled in the feeling of the water gliding over his skin as Makoto carved an opening for him to slide through.

Because they were moving about ten times faster when Makoto was swimming seriously than when Haruka was leisurely swimming by himself, the underwater city came insight within a minute, but Makoto didn't take him into it; instead, they swam over it, indicating that whatever Makoto wanted to show him, it was outside of the palace walls. This only fuelled the small flame of interest and anticipation that was burning in Haruka's chest and he wondered where Makoto would take him.

He could tell that wherever they were going, Makoto was very excited about it because Haruka could feel it buzzing through his every fiber. Almost like how one could skip when walking, there was something different about the way Makoto was swimming this time around, rushing to get them there as quickly as he could not because he was in a particular hurry, but so he could show him what he had been hiding sooner. Therefore, despite not knowing what their destination was yet, Haruka was really looking forward to it too. Knowing Makoto, all the build-up that went into it would be more than justified and Makoto's secret would be worth the wait.

But in the meantime, he simply enjoyed the scenery like he always did. No matter how often he came here, the sights of the colourful coral and schools of fish swimming around never stopped astounding him; in that sense, it was like every time was his first all over again. The underwater world was truly magical and he was sure he still would have felt that way if he hadn't known it for a fact.

They swam around for some time together, heading directly towards their destination without any distractions or detours. Usually Makoto would fill up the water with small talk, especially if they hadn't seen each other in a few days or when he had been particularly busy so he could keep Haruka involved in everything that happened in his life even if he wasn't down here to experience it with him and vice versa. But now, a comfortable silence was settled between them, which Haruka never minded because Makoto's presence was all he really needed, but in this specific situation he felt like Makoto's silence was telling and meaningful in a way. While there were loads of questions playing through his head about how the preparations for the ceremonies were going, Haruka couldn't get them past his lips in fear of disturbing whatever conversation Makoto was probably having with himself in his head. So he would keep those inquiries stored away for later when the cat was out of the bag and Makoto's nerve-wracking secret was out.

After a little while, Makoto brought them to a place Haruka didn't recognise and he doubted if he had ever been here before. He was pretty sure that this was all new territory for him, but that made sense; wanting to show him something he had never seen before in a place he had never been to either sounded reasonable enough. But even if it hadn't, his faith in Makoto was very strong and he trusted him more than anyone, so he'd gladly let himself be pulled along to unfamiliar spots anytime if Makoto wished to bring him there.

This time was no different; Makoto took him into a cave inside a large, rocky mass in the ocean that seemed to resemble the cliff above the surface where they first met. But unlike the cave on land, this cave was a lot longer and they swam through the dark tunnel, lit up faintly by Makoto's golden scales. Fortunately the cave wasn't too deep either and soon the darkness was left behind when light appeared at the end of the tunnel.

Contrary to what Haruka was expecting, the light didn't mean that they had gotten to the other end of the massive rock and that they had simply swum through it as a shortcut. As soon as they reached the light, Haruka realised that this was where Makoto had planned to take him; this was what he wanted to show him and his heart did a backflip inside his ribcage.

The center of this rock was hollow and it was like a glade in the middle of a forest, allowing the sunlight to shine down very clearly, piercing through the water and illuminating the inner walls that were covered in a beautiful arrangement of flowers, corals and plants. Many of his favourite sights from numerous places beneath the surface were gathered here in one spot, spilling out from between the mossy rocks to paint the ocean with colour. It was so stunning, with so many different types of sea life that Haruka just knew it couldn't have grown like this naturally and that it had been decorated to look like this. A picture perfect scenery designed specifically to suit his tastes; Makoto had done this for him and despite the reason behind it still being unclear to Haruka, it made him feel incredibly special and loved, so much so that he was at loss for words.

With a slightly open mouth, Haruka admired the rocky glade and let his eyes feast upon all the marvelling parts that made up this astonishing whole. A private little getaway from the rest of the ocean for just the two of them.

"Do you like it?"

The somewhat shy tone of Makoto's voice called Haruka back to attention, and he turned his head to look at him, eyes still full of wonder. Makoto was sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, waiting to hear Haruka's honest opinion; it was obvious that he put a lot of time and effort into this and he was afraid that he had either overdone it or hadn't done enough to impress him. But Makoto knew Haruka better than anyone else did so if there was someone who knew just how to surprise him, it was Makoto. Every ounce of fear that Haruka wouldn't like something was completely unnecessary because Haruka appreciated everything Makoto did for him, and this was certainly no exception. On the contrary, this was so much better than anything he could ever dream of and he didn't know what he had done to deserve this.

"I love it," Haruka sighed in earnest, frantically searching his brain for words that would be adequate enough to convey how much this meant to him. "How… why…?"

A sweet and bashful smile stretched Makoto's lips at his speechlessness. "I actually wanted to have a talk with you, Haru," he murmured, and those words would have made Haruka anxious and nervous in any other situation. But now, they made the rhythm of his heart spike with anticipation, like it was trying to break out of his chest and thump away so it could cool down somewhere in far waters. It might be too soon to get his hopes up, but he couldn't help the excitement inside him that made the butterflies that had taken permanent residence inside his stomach flutter like crazy. He tried to collect himself to the best of his ability before he nodded at Makoto to show that he was ready whenever he was.

Makoto's smile only softened before he pulled Haruka along to the middle of this glade where the sunlight poured in through a thick beam, stopping right in the center of it and he took ahold of both of Haruka's hands, gentle yet purposeful. Golden flecks glittered in his emerald eyes because of the way the sunshine hit them and they were focused solely on him, making Haruka feel like he could get lost forever in that endless sea of beauty.

Briefly, Makoto bit his bottom lip as he took a deep breath and then that tender smile stretched his cheeks again. "As you know, I've been very busy lately," he started and Haruka unconsciously nodded his head in agreement, a pang of sadness shooting through him at the thought of how much he had missed Makoto during this time. "The preparations for the crowning ceremony and my birthday have been taking up a lot of my time but… that's not the only thing that I've been preoccupied with."

A relatively long pause followed and Makoto averted his eyes in a sudden loss of courage, but Haruka wouldn't have any of it. He lightly squeezed Makoto's hands with his to make him meet his gaze and when he did, Haruka smiled back at him and gave him a small nod of encouragement, telling him to continue. Whatever it was that he wanted to say, Haruka would always be here to support him, especially now when he knew that he needed to hear what was on Makoto's mind.

Makoto breathed out like he was scoffing at himself, shaking his head ever so slightly before he gently squeezed Haruka's hands back and resumed speaking. "For us merpeople, our eighteenth birthday is a special one. It's when we officially become adults and are regarded as such by other folks, and for me that means that my parents will retire and that I will be crowned as king. But that's not all…" Makoto trailed off, swallowing thickly and closing his eyes for a moment to keep his voice under control. "It's also when we are expected to start looking for our mate; someone who we'll spend the rest of our lives with. Nowadays most people take their time before making their decision, but my family is pretty traditional in that aspect and because I'm the crown prince, everyone is looking at me already, wondering when I'll pick my mate and well…"

The implications of Makoto's words made Haruka's lungs collapse with an abrupt loss of air, like the seaweed had suddenly stopped working and he was drowning in the ocean of unspoken feelings. His hands were quivering in Makoto's hold, who probably didn't even notice it because he was trembling a little too. Although Haruka's heart knew exactly where Makoto would go with this, his mind just couldn't believe it, not until he heard Makoto say it out loud.

He was looking up at Makoto with large, hopeful eyes and he bit the inside of his cheek to keep his emotions at bay. It would be bad if he lost control over them before anything had actually happened to even warrant those emotions.

In response Makoto let go of one of Haruka's hands and reached his up to brush it through Haruka's black locks so he could see his face a bit more clearly and he made sure to direct the currents just so that they wouldn't make his hair flow in front of his eyes again. After all, he wanted to be able to see every little reaction that Haruka would have when he asked him the most important question that would ever leave his lips.

"Knowing that this time would come, I've been thinking about it a lot recently," he said with the unadulterated sincerity that he had been emitting since the very first day as he took Haruka's hand in his once more, "but every time I just end up with the same conclusion. There's only one person out there for me, only one person who I want to spend the rest of my life with, and that person is you, Haru. I've missed you so much these past few weeks and that only proves that my feelings for you are stronger than any other. You mean the world to me and I never want to be apart from you again. Because I love you, Haru. I don't know exactly when I fell in love with you; I've probably loved you forever, but I do know that my love for you will never fade away. I love you so much."

He paused once more to let his words sink in a bit and then he smiled that perfect smile again, the one that was filled with unconditional dedication and devotion to him.

"Haruka, will you be my mate?"

The tears had started to spill from Haruka's eyes without his awareness during Makoto's confession, instantly becoming one with Makoto's realm just like how Haruka's soul was one with Makoto's. The lump of overwhelming happiness that had formed in his throat was making it almost impossible for him to speak, but he knew he had to respond to let Makoto know there was nothing he wanted more than to spend the rest of his life with him too.

"Yes! Of course!" Haruka choked out and he immediately let go of Makoto's hands to wrap his arms around his neck in a tight hug instead. He buried his head in Makoto's shoulder as Makoto returned his embrace, squeezing him gently.

This was certainly not the first hug they had ever shared in their twelve years of friendship, but it was by far the most intimate one, charged with all the feelings they had been bottling up for as long as they could remember that could now finally flow freely. It still wasn't enough for Haruka though and he brought up his legs to encircle Makoto's waist with them and he pulled himself even closer against him, locking his ankles behind his back for leverage.

"Makoto," he sighed dreamily as he nuzzled his face against Makoto's skin. Breathtaking amounts of affection for his beautiful merprince coursed through his veins and droplets of liquified love left his eyes out of immense joy, but it wasn't nearly enough to relieve the pressure in his chest. He didn't mind it though, not at all; how could he when he was feeling happier than he ever had before?

After years of pining after Makoto, of wishing to progress their friendship into more but being held back by the fear that the gap between their worlds would be impossible to bridge, Makoto had reached out to him and made those fears dissolve in the water around them. Although he had been pretty sure that his feelings were mutual, there was something about hearing Makoto confirm it aloud that made him feel like he was on top of the world and nothing could ever harm him again.

Haruka pulled back to look Makoto in the eyes again when he realised that he hadn't said it yet; despite the fact that Makoto had probably known about his feelings all along but had simply waited until he became of age, he deserved to hear it too. Every single day for the rest of their intertwined lives.

It was then that he saw that Makoto was crying as well: crystal bubbles left the corners of his eyes and gleamed in the sunlight like visualised magic. This only proved to Haruka that his suspicions had been right and that Makoto shared this pure happiness at finally taking this inevitable and logical next step in their relationship. In their hearts they had always known that this time would come even if it seemed so impossible, but their minds had written it off as wishful thinking because they hadn't dared to hope, just dream. Turned out dreams could actually come true if you longed for them hard enough.

He disentangled one of his arms to cup Makoto's cheek, caressing his smooth skin and pretty scales with his thumb. "Makoto," he repeated as a soft yet incredibly elated smile stretched his cheeks, "I love you too. More than anything."

An adoring smile graced Makoto's features upon hearing the words that he deep down already knew, but absolutely loved to hear aloud in that silky voice of his. He leaned his forehead against Haruka's, staring straight into his eyes and Haruka could see the same flame of adoration twinkling in Makoto's gorgeous emeralds that he felt burning inside his heart, hot and alive with an intensity that he knew would never smolder.

A light yet warm chuckle escaped Makoto's mouth as he playfully nudged Haruka's nose with his and Haruka knew he could never get enough of this amazing merman who he was so lucky to be allowed to call his. In fact, he already yearned for more and he gently nuzzled back as he let his eyes fall shut and then he finally closed the distance between their lips in the kiss he had been craving for an eternity.

Saltwater had never tasted so sweet before.

Their general lack of experience paired with the smiles that were etched on their faces because of uncontainable fervor didn't make kissing as easy as it should have been. But the feeling of Makoto's luscious lips sliding over his oh so tenderly, driven purely by passion and affection, simply couldn't be anything but perfect and their first kiss was even better than Haruka always hoped it would be. It was dripping with irrevocable love and infinite devotion and he just knew that this had been meant to be since the beginning of time.

Slowly he ran his fingers through Makoto's hair to cup the back of his head and he tightened the grip of his limbs around Makoto's body, feeling like no amount of proximity would be enough when his soul just had to be reunited with its other half. His entire body was tingling, like the magic that made up Makoto's every fiber was blending over into his skin at every part they were connected by touch. Like tiny volts of electric love were being shot through his being and it was the greatest feeling Haruka had ever experienced.

It seemed like Makoto could feel it too as he lovingly stroked his hand over Haruka's back, adding just a bit more pressure to the soft kiss and he tried his best to suppress his overjoyed smile in order for their first kiss to be successful. But regardless of smiles, it already was; anything that they did to show one another how much they loved and cared for each other was automatically a success because the meaning behind it always got conveyed without any trouble.

All the years Haruka spent waiting for this kiss were more than worth it and now that he could finally indulge himself, he wanted to seize every opportunity he got to express his love for Makoto and he could spend the rest of his life doing nothing but kissing him and die happily. But alas, there was an end to everything and this kiss was no exception. Haruka pulled back slightly and rested his forehead against Makoto's once more, keeping his eyes closed as he savoured the afterglow, heart full of love.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't remain that way for long when concern began to creep up on him and he withdrew his head to properly look Makoto in the eyes again.

The sudden change in the water made Makoto frown and his beautiful emeralds were filled with worry when he opened them. "What's wrong?" he mumbled in a voice smaller than Haruka had ever heard coming from him.

It was obvious that Makoto was worried that he had changed his mind or began to second guess his answer, but that wasn't the case at all so Haruka pressed a chaste kiss against his lips as a reassurement. "It's just…" Haruka began, sighing deeply as reality came crashing down to blow the cloud of fuzziness he had been on away. "How are we going to do this? I mean, this?" he questioned as he let go of Makoto and pointed downwards, to Makoto's tail and his legs.

No matter how much they loved each other, they belonged to two different worlds. Makoto was merking-to-be and he was a simple land dweller and although fairytales saw no boundaries when it came to true love, in reality it was a very big problem.

The easiest solution would be if Makoto could use his magic to turn him into a merman as well, but Haruka knew Makoto wasn't capable of doing that. He had asked him once before, back when they were twelve, maybe thirteen. His grandmother had just passed away and he was sickened with grief, which marked the point when he started feeling like there was nothing left for him in the human world. Knowing of the magic powers that his best friend possessed, he had selfishly requested if he could make him change species and if he could come to live in the ocean alongside Makoto. But Makoto had regretfully informed him that changing the species of a living being went beyond his abilities and although Haruka understood that, he still felt a little bummed out about it.

That was when Makoto created the seaweed for him, telling him that that was as close as he could get to inviting Haruka into his world but that he was always welcome nonetheless.

If there was no other option than to continue eating the seaweed every day for the rest of his life then he would gladly do it, but truth of the matter was that living in the ocean in his human form was going to be difficult and he'd rather not be dependent on Makoto for things as simple as moving around.

To Haruka's great surprise, Makoto's expression turned from concerned to relieved and the smile naturally appeared on his mouth again like there was nothing wrong in the universe. Seeing this only made Haruka frown harder.

Did Makoto not realise how much of a burden he would be if he were to live in the sea as a human? He may have not regarded it that way now, with a romanticised idea that he would happily take care of his mate, but Haruka knew that that feeling would last only a little while and then it would just get troublesome and annoying to have him around. He might even come to regret asking him to be his mate and the love that he felt for him would eventually ebb away until nothing remained and he would be forced to spend the rest of his life with him even after the last smoldering embers had finally died out for good.

The spiral of negativity that quickly captured Haruka was halted when Makoto grabbed his hand and the reassuring smile that was adorning his face took the panic inside Haruka away before he could even really feel it. Makoto intertwined their fingers and then he lifted their hands to his lips so he could press a loving kiss against Haruka's knuckles.

"You know, Haru," Makoto began and the gentle melody of his voice was soothing to Haruka's ears and heart. "When we ask someone to be our mate, we're supposed to offer them something. Something meaningful and special."

Haruka furrowed his eyebrows once more, not understanding why Makoto was evading the question he asked him when it was incredibly important in their situation. But curiosity got the better of him and when he saw Makoto reaching for his orange bag, he decided to postpone his worries and wait to see what Makoto was going to do next.

"I'm sorry I didn't offer it to you sooner; I was so nervous that I forgot," Makoto chuckled softly at himself and then he turned Haruka's palm upwards, nodding slightly to his other hand in a silent request to put that one up as well and Haruka did what he had been asked. Within a second Makoto placed something in his hands and Haruka could feel it before he could see it. But when he did see it, he had to take a double look because he wasn't quite sure what he was seeing.

It was a necklace, made up of flowers and tiny pearls and all other types of beautiful things that Haruka couldn't immediately identify, strung together with an eye for detail and yet he could tell that Makoto had made it himself. It was obvious that a lot of time and effort had gone into making this for him and warmth flooded his heart with appreciation and adoration. But he couldn't utter a word of gratitude yet because his eyes had been captivated by the pendant.

At first glance it looked like one of Makoto's scales, golden and twinkling with a rainbow in the sunshine. Shock and fear welled up quickly at the thought that Makoto had ripped out one of his scales just to give him something that was meaningful and special, but upon studying the necklace closer, he saw that despite the similar shape and hues, it was actually a shell. During all the years he had spent exploring the seabed with Makoto, he had not once come across a shell as gorgeous and extraordinary as that one and it took his breath away.

"Makoto," he gasped, rendered speechless once more by Makoto's considerateness and the great lengths he went to in order to express how much he meant to him. "It's beautiful! How… Where did you find this? I've never seen a shell like this before."

The reaction that Haruka gave was exactly what Makoto had been hoping for and his eyes softened in satisfaction. "I made it. I wanted to use the perfect shell so I searched around a little, but I couldn't find any I wanted to use. Don't get me wrong! There were lots of beautiful shells; they're all beautiful in their own way, but I just didn't think they were fitting enough to give to you. So I decided to just make one myself. I hope you like it, if not-"

"I love it," Haruka cut him off before he could start undermining his own work. Judging by the choice of words, he knew that Makoto was already down-playing all the effort he put into finding the components for this stunning piece of jewelry and crafting it to perfection and he didn't need to start ridiculing himself over it too. If Haruka had any tears left to cry, then they surely would have leaked from his eyes at this overwhelmingly thoughtful and significant gift. "But… you used one of your scales for it, didn't you?"

"I did," Makoto confirmed, awkwardly scratching his cheek in a spontaneous wave of doubt. "I'm sorry if that's weird or-"

"Makoto, stop it!" Haruka interrupted his self-deprecation once more and he sternly repeated, "I love it. It's beautiful and you really didn't have to do this but you did, and I really appreciate that. I love it so much, but you didn't have to rip out a scale just to make me this."

"It's alright, it'll grow back. It was about to shed anyway," Makoto mumbled with a shrug and Haruka could easily detect his lie. He had seen some of Makoto's scales shedding before and the old scale wouldn't fall out until the new one had fully grown in place, and the green or gold scale would turn white, almost transparent upon shedding and it was obvious that the scale used for this seashell was still fresh. Although he probably used his magic to heal the wound immediately, pulling it out still must have hurt and the thought of Makoto suffering just so he could have something nice made a pang of nausea shoot through his stomach.

But it had already happened now and there was nothing he could do about it except love and treasure this necklace for the rest of his life, which he had already planned to do either way. "Thank you, Makoto," Haruka murmured sincerely, because he was truly so grateful for this mind-blowingly amazing gift that was simultaneously the most beautiful and attentive thing he had ever received. Though he never wanted Makoto to be in pain, truth of the matter was that he loved his scales and it was an honour to be allowed to carry one with him forever. "Can you please put it on me?"

Haruka waited for Makoto to take the necklace from him so he could turn around and Makoto could lock it in place for him, but Makoto hesitated.

"Wait," he said, seeming quite unsure all of a sudden. "It's… the necklace is not just a necklace."

A confused frown furrowed Haruka's eyebrows. It was obvious that it wasn't just a necklace; it was a hand-crafted mating present given to him as a symbol of Makoto's undying love for him. But that didn't mean that he couldn't just put it on and the way Makoto had phrased his words showed that there was more to it than just that. "What do you mean?"

"I enchanted it."

That took Haruka by surprise and his mouth fell open a little as his eyes returned to the jewelry in his hands. It looked very magical, that was an undeniable fact, but Haruka had thought that it simply did because it was crafted with the use of magic and contained a part of the merprince's body. Not because Makoto actually cast a spell on it.

"What does it do?" Haruka almost didn't dare to ask, afraid of getting his hopes up because he thought he could finally see the correlation between his question and Makoto's gift.

Makoto took a deep breath as he stared down at the pendant and when he looked back up to meet Haruka's gaze, his eyes were full of determination as he stated, "If you wear it, you will turn into a merman."

"…What?" Haruka mumbled, completely dumbfounded because those unexpected words had made his brain short-circuit. After years of believing that his dreams could never come true, Makoto was now claiming that he had made a necklace that would transform him into a merman. This couldn't be. "But… you said that…" he stuttered in disbelief, his mind still not being able to comprehend that this was real.

"I know I said I couldn't make you change species, because I couldn't. Five years ago. But seeing you so crestfallen and disappointed that day made me want to be able to do it, so I tried my best to develop my magic. Honestly, it wasn't easy and it took a lot of time to figure things out, but my magic has finally reached a place where I'm confident enough that I think it will work," Makoto explained with a mature smile that showed that not only his magic had evolved over time, but that Makoto had grown as a merperson too. "I've tried to make something like this multiple times over the past few years and despite not having anyone to try it on, it never felt right so I just knew that it wasn't going to work. Eventually I realised that I was missing something; a guideline of some sort of what I wanted the spell to accomplish, and that's why I used one of my scales. Although I still didn't have anyone to try it out, I feel like it's going to work this time; I know it's going to work."

"So if I wear this, then I'll really turn into a merman?" Haruka questioned once more with undiluted hope coating his voice. It wasn't that he didn't have faith in Makoto's magic, but it still just seemed too good to be true.

"I sure hope so," Makoto giggled softly, "It's still a work-in-progress though. I wanted to make it so that you could switch between merman form and human form if you touched the pendant and wished to change, but I don't think I figured out how to make that work just yet."

"Wait… Once I turn into a merman, I can change back to being a human too?" That just seemed to top it all. For a moment Haruka thought that he had fallen asleep in the cave waiting for Makoto to arrive and that this was all nothing more than a dream, but when he remembered the tender kiss he had shared with Makoto, he knew it was real because there was no way his mind would be able to come up with a sensation so pleasurable.

"Yes, if you take off the necklace then you'll go back to your human form," Makoto affirmed with his gentle smile. "But before you try it out, there's actually something else I want to give you first."

"Something else?" Haruka asked in bewilderment. Makoto had just given him the most astonishingly special and precious gift in the history of the universe and he actually had something else to go along with it?

That was it. Haruka was convinced that his best friend turned mate-to-be was not actually a merman, but an angel disguised as one.

Makoto nodded his head in affirmation to his question - and perhaps to his unspoken remark too - before he dug his hand back into that hideous bag of his like a magician about to pull a rabbit out of a top hat. What he had taken out of it wasn't visible to Haruka yet, effectively shielded from his vision by Makoto's large hand as he began his second speech.

"I actually wanted to give this to you first, but like I said earlier, I got so nervous that I mixed up my own plans." He chuckled lightly at himself and Haruka couldn't help but grin at how adorable Makoto was. He just kept on reminding Haruka why he loved him so much and it wasn't even intentional. Once the giggles had passed, Makoto assumed a more serious demeanour and he continued, "We come from two different worlds, with different customs and traditions. So when I was planning all of this, I was stuck between deciding how I should ask you since I know that humans do things quite a bit differently than merpeople do. I know you really like our culture, but when it came to something as important as this, I didn't know if you would prefer the human way instead. So I figured, why not both?"

Makoto held out his arm and turned his hand so Haruka could see what he was holding. A moderately sized yet beautiful clam laid in his palm, fitting perfectly inside his hand and Haruka's heart skipped another beat at how attentive and considerate and kind this lovely man was. He truly was so incredibly lucky and blessed to know this man was now his.

"During the time I spent observing human relations to figure out how I could best go about this, I noticed that a lot of things are different when it comes to courting a mate and dating another human, but there's one thing that our cultures have in common: when asking the person we love if they want to be our mate - or our partner for life - we offer them something special," Makoto alluded as he stroked his fingers over the clam. "For us merpeople it can be anything as long as it's meaningful, but humans have a very specific object. This."

As soon as those words left his mouth, Makoto opened the clam and although Haruka knew exactly what to expect, he was still blown away and left breathless by the ring that was inside. It was a braided silver band with three blue pearls embedded in the center of it, the middle one being slightly larger than the other two. The hue of the pearls matched the colour of his eyes precisely and it was so easy to tell that this was once again a stunning piece of jewelry that Makoto had sewn together himself. It was good that Haruka had already cried to his maximum capacity because otherwise the mainland would be flooded in a heartbeat.

"I think I've already said all there is to say," Makoto stated with an endearing type of amusement in his voice, pure happiness at already having his answer but getting to ask all the same shining through, "so I guess I'll just be repeating myself, but that's alright. I'll repeat it every single day and I'll always mean it; I love you, Haru, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to hug you and kiss you and laugh with you and swim with you and fall asleep next to you and wake up next to you and I'll never get enough. I want to cherish you forever, support you through every hardship and setback and be there for you no matter what. I love you more than anyone or anything in the entire ocean and I want to give all of myself to you; to devote myself to you and adore you and-"

When he realised that he was not actually repeating what he had said earlier, but rather that he was rambling straight from his heart, Makoto cut himself off and abruptly shut his mouth as a cute pink blush dusted his face. Haruka wouldn't have minded if he had gone on forever, because it was like Makoto was reading the promises that were engraved in his soul out loud and the confirmation that Makoto's half of their shared soul contained the same inscriptions made Haruka inexplicably happy.

After taking a short break to collect his thoughts, Makoto knew there was only one thing left for him to say. "Unfortunately, I can't get down on one knee like I'm supposed to," Makoto joked and neither of them were able to suppress a small giggle at that, painting the water around them with ripples of joy. "So I hope that just this suffices; Haruka, will you marry me?"

"Always," Haruka murmured without hesitation, wide grin stretching his cheeks because of all the giddiness inside him, "I'll always say yes to you."

The smile that might as well have been permanently etched onto Makoto's face softened in a sigh of fondness, and he took the ring out of the clam. With the same gentle elegance that he constantly emitted, he took Haruka's hand in his and Haruka spread his digits apart so Makoto could easily slip the gorgeous ring around his finger. Then Makoto lifted the hand in his towards his head and planted a small kiss right beside the metal band to complete the token of affection, looking up at Haruka through his long eyelashes.

Once the ring was safely secured around his finger - fitting because it was made for him - and Makoto had ended his brief yet infinitely loving gesture, Haruka could no longer suppress the desire to show Makoto how grateful he was in a wave of adoration. Haruka wound his arms around Makoto's neck once more, necklace held in one hand and ring adorning the other, and he leaned in to kiss Makoto sweetly. All of the passion and commitment he felt was conveyed effortlessly as Makoto placed his hands on his waist and tilted his head to match Haruka's pace and shower him in love.

It hadn't been too long since they first kissed each other, but they were already growing accustomed to the tender brush of the other's lips against their own. If there was one thing they knew for sure, it was that they would never get tired of this sensual touch that left them breathless time and time again. When the hunger for each other's lips had been fed once, it became insatiable and they knew they would never stop yearning.

After sharing a few shorter yet nonetheless passionate kisses, Haruka pulled back because the weight of the necklace in his hand was a reminder of what was supposed to happen right then and he simply couldn't wait any longer.

"Can I try the necklace now?"

Makoto chuckled softly at the enthusiasm-induced impatience, stomach tingling with happiness at the fact that Haruka's words from the past weren't just a dream he had because he thought it was unachievable, but that wanting to become part of his world was an actual wish that he still wanted to come true even after all those years. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't excited about this moment either; after all, this was what he had been working towards ever since that dreadful day and he was so glad he had finally reached the finish line.

"Of course," Makoto breathed, voice dyed with endearment but then his tone turned a little more reluctant as he said, "But I have to warn you, I don't know what it's going to feel like. If it hurts I'll try to take the pain away as quickly as I can but-"

"It's alright," Haruka interrupted what he knew would become nervous rambling again, offering Makoto a gentle smile that was meant to put him at ease. "I don't care what it feels like; even if it hurts a lot and you wouldn't be able to take the pain away, I'd still do it. But fortunately you can take the pain away so there's really nothing to be worried about; besides, I don't think your magic is even capable of doing harm even if you wanted it to."

"I guess you're right," Makoto chuckled at Haruka's teasing remark and although his voice had changed so much over the years, it was like Haruka could hear the laughter of the little merboy that he first fell in love with back when he was just a little human boy himself. Makoto's voice wasn't the only thing that had changed overtime, but these changes happened so gradually that things evolved alongside them while their love developed and blossomed too.

But now, for the first time since they met, a change was about to happen that was the opposite of gradual and natural; Haruka would transform into a merman right here and now. Even though his mind still couldn't comprehend it, his heart had longed for this from the moment he discovered that merpeople existed and it was about to burst out of his chest with excitement and anticipation. It might have even been as bold to state that he would finally assume his true form, because the underwater world was so much more fitting for someone like him than the surface world had ever been.

Makoto took the necklace out of Haruka's hand so he could put it on for him. But before he did, he just wanted to make sure that Haruka was prepared for the unbeknown that awaited him. "Are you ready?"

The concern that laced Makoto's voice made Haruka smile as love filled his chest. Even though he had been so steadfast and certain about the powers that his magic bestowed upon the precious piece of jewelry, he was still a bit hesitant now that his years of hard work would finally bear its fruit. It wasn't like Haruka didn't understand it, because admittedly, he was feeling a bit nervous too. But the excitement inside of him triumphed all as he determinedly yet jokingly uttered, "I was born ready."

"Alright then," Makoto agreed with a kind smile to match as he brought the necklace closer to Haruka. "I'll put a protective spell over it so you can't lose it and it can't be taken off unless you want to take it off, just to be sure," he muttered under his breath and then he fastened the necklace at Haruka's nape, drawing his fingers over the pearls and flowers that made up the string to do what he had promised.

Once Makoto withdrew his hands, Haruka immediately grasped them in his own. The water around his body was growing hotter by the second and his heartbeat was accelerating like crazy, and he craved Makoto's touch and support now more than ever.

"I'm here," Makoto murmured as he gave Haruka's hands a gentle squeeze, "How does it feel? Does it hurt?"

"No," Haruka assured instantly, holding on to Makoto's hands even tighter and digging his nails into his flesh for leverage as his skin began to glow, light piercing through the water around them like he was the sun illuminating the land. "It doesn't hurt, but it feels really weird."

His skin was now tingling, like every last fiber of his body was being set on fire except without burning him. Bubbles swiftly enveloped him, starting at his toes and going all the way up to his head and it felt like the water around him was boiling, sizzling like he should have turned the stove off over a minute ago, yet it wasn't scalding. The water was apparently not as hot as it felt to Haruka because Makoto did not let go of his hands even once, showing him that even if they couldn't see each other anymore, his unwavering support was always here without question or exception.

Soon it felt like his legs were being sewn together and his bones and muscles were rearranging themselves inside his skin, ripping his swimsuit apart and tearing it off his body. His feet were stretched thin and even his face and parts of his arms and hands were pulsating because of all of the abrupt changes that were beating him up from the inside out.

When he really thought about it, everything that he could feel should have been excruciatingly painful and while it certainly wasn't a pleasant experience, it was more odd than anything else. It was like there was some sort of narcosis woven through Makoto's magic that only made all of his nerves numb to the pain while his mind remained crystal clear - which was a good thing because he definitely needed to process this absurd situation while it was happening. Briefly, he wondered if magical girls and superheroes felt like this too during their transformation sequence, but he supposed that turning into another species was something else entirely than putting on a costume and equipping all the accessories that came along with it. Then he began to doubt how clear his mind actually was.

All together, Haruka didn't know if his own transformation sequence had lasted for over an hour or less ten seconds, but when the heat dissipated and the bubbles melted away, he was left with an enormous smile stretching his lips and remnants of disbelief shining in his widened eyes.

Swishing beneath him was a magnificent tail that had replaced his lower body at the start of his hips, where it seamlessly blended back into his porcelain skin. It was a bit smaller than Makoto's tail - suggesting that Makoto would be taller than him if he were a human - and unlike Makoto's green ones, his scales were a soft baby blue. When he took a closer look, Haruka discovered that he also had some odd scales, but instead of rich golden ones, his were a sparkling silver yet they still possessed the prism-ability that Makoto's counterparts had as well.

Although he knew that the tail couldn't have been dull when it had been gifted to him by Makoto, created using the power that his own ethereal scales held, it was still far more beautiful and dazzling than Haruka ever could have hoped for.

Despite having been through it all himself and seeing the results of his transformation with his very own eyes, Haruka still couldn't believe it and he released one of Makoto's hands so he could stroke it down his torso. The feeling of skin merging into scales was not a foreign one, yet it was difficult to comprehend that he was feeling it on his own body right now and not Makoto's, especially since he could now not only feel it on his fingertips, but on his belly and tail too. On his tail. He could feel it so clearly yet he still couldn't fully comprehend it. Almost like there was a disconnection between his sight, nerves and brain and he was seeing and feeling things that weren't actually there.

But he didn't have much time to get used to these strange new feelings because when he was running his fingers over his newly acquired tail, something else caught his eye; his neatly trimmed nails were now painted with blue, matching the main colour of his scales. And when his eyes followed the line of his arm, he saw that a faint hint of scales resided on some parts of his arms too and upon noticing it, Haruka lifted his hand towards his face to feel his cheeks and the same smooth yet slippery feeling also greeted his fingertips there.

Slowly but surely the reality of the situation began to sink in. He was a merman. He was a merman, just like Makoto said he would be. After all those years of thinking he could never become a part of Makoto's world, Haruka was now not only a creature of Makoto's realm, but also an official merprince-to-be.

He looked up at Makoto's face and he saw that his jaw had dropped to the seabed. Disbelief was swimming in his gorgeous eyes and when their gazes met each other's, he slapped his free hand over his open mouth. "Haru," he gasped as tears welled up in his eyes once again, "I- You… You really are a merman. I… I can't believe it."

"Makoto!" Haruka only exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around Makoto's neck once more, hiding his face in his shoulder as sobs wrecked through his body. Overwhelming amounts of happiness and gratitude washed over his being and Haruka didn't know how to relieve himself of the pressure other than by crying and rambling incohesively. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can't believe it either." The rest of his words were drowned out by the loud noises of him sobbing into his love's skin, but Makoto didn't need to hear the words to understand the sentiment that was being expressed with them.

Makoto hugged him back tightly, tail entwining with Haruka's as he buried his wide, teary-eyed smile in the juncture of Haruka's shoulder. "Haru," he sighed again, and it was all he really needed to say.

They held each other just like that for what felt like an eon before Haruka's sobs finally died out when every last droplet had left his body and the water levels had risen a meter.

When he pulled back Haruka cupped Makoto's face into his hands, gently rubbing his fingers over his cheeks. "Thank you so much, Makoto," he murmured before he leaned in to capture his merprince's lips in what was not the first and would definitely not be the last kiss they shared that day.

As always Makoto returned his kiss with just as much fervor, but this time he broke it off prematurely because the excitement inside of him was far too great to contain. "Well, go try it out! Swim," he urged with adorable enthusiasm in his tone, because he couldn't wait to see his beautiful Haruka swim around with the amazing tail that he had created especially for him.

Truthfully, Haruka couldn't wait to try out his brand new tail either and he put some distance between their bodies, drawing his fingers down over Makoto's arms to hold his hands once more. Careful yet purposeful, he moved his tail experimentally, trying to get used to the odd feeling. It honestly wasn't as weird as he was expecting; it sort of felt like doing a regular dolphin kick except with one giant leg instead of two smaller ones.

Keeping a tight grip on Makoto's hands, Haruka began to move his tail faster and faster in an attempt to gain control over his muscles again now that they were designed to function differently. It took a few tries, but he soon realised that it wasn't as difficult as he had been bracing himself for and it was most likely thanks to his affinity for swimming, because of which his bones and muscles were already used to moving through the water.

Once he felt like he had enough control, he let go of Makoto's hands to swim through their little glade independently. Slowly at first, but he was soon growing more confident and he gradually picked up speed until he was swimming circles faster than he ever had before and Haruka had never felt more alive than he did right at that moment. He was now able to connect with the water in a way he never had before and he simply couldn't wait to explore Makoto's realm all over again, looking at it with different eyes now because this was finally going to be the home it had always felt like to him.

Arrows of fireworks were shot around him and exploded into petals of colourful flowers, whirling around him like he was being showered in the ocean's official welcome. His eyes immediately sought out Makoto, who was staring up at him with awe and adoration gleaming in his exquisite emeralds, mouth hanging open in the wake of a gasp. It was obvious that the flowers and fireworks that were painting the water around him were Makoto's doing, but Haruka knew that Makoto hadn't done it on purpose but that he was just so elated and astonished that he simply couldn't keep his magic in check.

Haruka was having the time of his life spinning around, doing backflips like he would often do but was able to at a much faster rate now, but he was halted when fatigue suddenly worn down his body and his tail was starting to ache lightly from strain. Not wanting to ignore the signals because he knew his lower body wasn't accustomed enough yet to swim for hours on end, Haruka decided to return to Makoto. It would be bad to overdo it the very first time so he knew that now he had tried everything out, he had to take things step by step before he could swim excessively like any other merperson could.

"Hey, this is not fair," Makoto giggled when Haruka was in front of him again, "I've had this tail for almost eighteen years and yet you're already faster than me after five minutes."

Haruka chuckled at his joking remark, knowing full-well that it wasn't true. "Yeah well, I definitely don't have your stamina yet."

"It'll come over time," Makoto assured as he raised his hand to brush the tousled locks out of the way to keep them from obscuring Haruka's face, "Once your body gets used to its new form, you'll be able to swim much longer."

"Yeah," Haruka repeated in agreement. "Guess I'm just going to have to practice a lot."

"Yeah," Makoto echoed with a breath of laughter and he opened his mouth to continue speaking when he saw something black floating in the corner of his eye that caught his attention. "Oh Haru, your swimsuit!" he muttered as he grabbed the torn pieces of cloth, studying them closer and running his fingers over the ripped edges.

"It's alright," Haruka dismissed easily, because who in their right mind would be upset about a torn swimsuit when they had just transformed into an actual merperson?

"It's not alright!" Makoto pressed on, "This one's your favourite, right?" When he had found which edges belonged together, he held them against one another as he ran his finger over the fabric to sew it back in place.

"Makoto, it's fine!" Haruka insisted, not wanting him to waste his magic on something unnecessary like this. "It's not like I'm going to need it anymore anyway."

That comment made Makoto frown, looking up from his reparations to meet Haruka's gaze. "What do you mean?"

"I've got my tail now," Haruka explained, confused at Makoto's failure to understand this when he had given him this tail himself.

"Wait!" Makoto yelped in alarm, "You know you can't just turn into a merman wherever, right? Not at a pool or-"

"Of course not," Haruka cut in with furrowed eyebrows because he was now the one who had no clue what was going on. "Why would I go to a pool?"

"To swim…?"

"Why would I go swim at a pool when I'm swimming here?" he questioned, but then something hit him and he finally understood what Makoto was hinting at. "Makoto, I'm not going anywhere. The ocean is my home now." After years of wishing to live here he was now finally able to, so why in the heavens would he go back to the surface when there was nothing left for him up there?

"But you can't just stay here!"

The words were a lot cruder than Makoto had intended and they didn't do a proper job of conveying what he meant. Regret immediately flooded his senses when he saw the shocked and pained expression on Haruka's face, completely misplaced on those lovely features that should only show joy for every day of his life.

"Why not?" His voice was smaller than ever and his eyes were shining with hurt. Wasn't that the whole point of all of this? For him to be a merman so he could live here as Makoto's mate? Did Makoto actually not want to have him down here with him after all?

"Haru, I'm sorry," Makoto murmured sincerely as he shoved the swimsuit in his bag so he could grab Haruka's arms and he gently stroked his thumbs over Haruka's scale-covered skin. "That's not what I meant. I love you with all my heart and I want you to live here with me; I want this to be your home, but there's still so much left for you to do back at home on the surface."

Haruka scoffed at that and he averted his gaze. "There's nothing left for me to do up there."

"Don't be so impulsive now, Haru," Makoto chided, shaking his head in disapproval. "What about your friends, your family, your education? You can't just drop off the face of the earth and disappear without a trace."

He hated to admit it, but Makoto was right. Although his entire world was down here, that didn't mean that there weren't people left on the land who cared about him, and who he honestly cared about too. He was willing to give everything up for Makoto in a heartbeat because Makoto bid him so much more in return, but it wasn't fair to the other people in his life. They'd be worried sick if he suddenly went missing and probably assumed he had drowned once his clothes were eventually found at the cave. He didn't want to put them through that grief knowing he was down here living his best life with Makoto, so he would have to figure out a way to solve all of it.

"You should really think all of this through carefully instead of making rash decisions you might come to regret later," Makoto continued softly because he didn't mean to make Haruka feel attacked by him saying these things, but he just wanted him to do what was best in the long run. "Sorry, I know it's not my place to tell you these things, but I think you should at least let the people closest to you know something so they won't be worried and won't search for you with endless uncertainty."

"Yeah, you're right," Haruka concurred, nodding his head in agreement as he returned Makoto's touch, lightly gripping his forearms. "And don't apologise, you're allowed to share your thoughts and give me advice."

"If you say so then… I think you should finish school before you come live here too. I mean, you never know what might happen in the future, and it's only a couple more months so it would be a waste to throw away all those years of hard work without getting a diploma," Makoto muttered with a hint of uncertainty. "Of course, it's your own choice so you should do what you think is right."

The nuance at the end made Haruka snort because it was so typically Makoto. Even when he knew for sure that what he was saying was the only reasonable option in a situation, he would never want to impose his thoughts and opinions onto anyone and believed that everyone had the right to make their own decisions.

"I'll think about it," Haruka replied, not wanting to make any rash choices on this matter either. After all, he didn't really see the need to stay in school just for a piece of paper that held absolutely no meaning down here, but like Makoto said, he didn't know what might happen that would change that in the future. "Thanks, Makoto."

A relieved smile appeared on Makoto's face, glad that his words hadn't unintentionally hurt or offended Haruka. But then there was a flash of hesitance in his eyes again as he mumbled, "Ah, I probably should have said this sooner but… I want you to live here as soon as possible, but I think we're not allowed to cohabitate until we're officially mated." His smile turned a bit sheepish as he shrugged, "Sorry, I think it's stupid but it's palace protocol."

Knowing the somewhat strict rules that Makoto had to follow when it came to certain aspects of his life, Haruka honestly wasn't surprised. He was sure that it would be different if it were up to Makoto, but unfortunately he didn't make the rules quite yet. "It's alright, it's not like you can help it either."

"If you do want to come live here right away then I'll arrange something for you, but I'm not sure if that would be something you'd like at this point in time," he offered, but Haruka shook his head.

"Thanks, but on second thought I think it's probably for the best if I keep returning to the surface for now, at least until we're mated," Haruka said. Despite having been so adamant earlier about coming here immediately, now that he had let things sink in a little he was able to think about it a bit more rationally. He generally wasn't someone who could easily deal with changes and although he had been coming here for about five years already, visiting a few hours per week wasn't the same as actually living here. Being the person that he was, he'd probably get overwhelmed if he threw himself into the deep end right away, especially since Makoto wouldn't be at his side constantly because he still had important business to take care of. "It's probably better for my body to try to get used to the tail one step at a time."

"Yeah," Makoto sighed softly as he gently ran his pigmented nails over Haruka's arm in a loving gesture, "Besides that, I'm sure it's not easy to just come live in a completely different world from one day to the other. Even though you say that there's nothing left for you on the surface, I think that you'd eventually come to miss things that haven't even crossed your mind now, because you didn't know it was going to be different here or because it was a habit or a hobby that you hadn't even thought about."

Once again, Makoto was right. It was a bit impulsive and immature of him to just claim that when he didn't even know what it was really going to be like to live here. That was why he knew that it was better for him if he gradually integrated in Makoto's realm so he knew what to expect when the time came for him to move here for real. There would surely be things that he would actually miss, but that was alright. He had already decided a long time ago that he would give it all up for the privilege of standing - or swimming - beside Makoto as an equal.

It was like the thoughts were written on his face because Makoto suddenly let go of his arms in favour of cradling his cheeks in his large hands. Their gazes held each other with such intensity that Haruka couldn't break away from it even if he had wanted to. But he didn't want to, because he could feel the significance being conveyed through Makoto's eyes, ever so beautiful and gentle yet holding a type of urgency that captured Haruka's full attention and interest.

"But Haru, I'm not asking you to choose," Makoto murmured, his tone deep and quiet yet the sound resonated so clearly in Haruka's ears that it made goosebumps erupt on the back of his neck and it made his heart beat faster like the whisper of an important secret. "I want you to come live here with me, to be my mate and to eventually rule beside me over the realm, but that doesn't mean that I want you to cut all ties with everyone and everything you love in the human world. On the contrary…"

In an unconscious need to return his touch, Haruka's hand wandered up to his face to cover Makoto's one with it and he folded his fingers over Makoto's palm, holding onto him with a desperate need for him to continue. The affectionate gesture made Makoto's eyes soften with fondness and adoration coated his voice when he resumed speaking.

"I want you to become part of my world, but in return, I want to become part of your world too," he declared solemnly, but then a giggle of joy destroyed his serious demeanour because the images that were dancing around in his head made him far too giddy to contain it. "I want to experience everything in your life, everything that is important to you; I want to see where you live and meet the people you love, I want to see your school and all the shops and the mall, I want to swim with you in the pool and walk along the beach with you- of course, you're going to have to teach me how to walk first but-"

"Makoto," Haruka interrupted with a gasp of disbelief, "Are you saying that…?"

"I made myself a necklace too," Makoto affirmed, face lit up like a Christmas tree, "It's not done yet, I'm still missing some components that are needed to complete it, but once it's finished… I'll have legs. I'll be able to turn into a human."

"Makoto!" Haruka exclaimed in surprise and he couldn't help but wrap his arms around Makoto's neck once again, making Makoto giggle at his excitement. He leaned his forehead against Haruka's, who in response nuzzled their noses together as he sighed, "You really went above and beyond with all of this, huh?"

"I'm glad you like it; anything for you," Makoto whispered sincerely and he couldn't stop himself from stealing a chaste kiss from his fiancé's lips. "Sorry if it's selfish of me to request all of this, though," Makoto said once he pulled away, "but I can't help but want to get to know every last part of you, especially the parts that remained out of my reach up until now."

"Don't apologise, it's not selfish," Haruka assured as he trailed his hand down over Makoto's spine, "I feel the exact same way. I want to show you my world and let you experience everything I hold dear, just like how I got to submerge myself in your life and your world. Our world."

Hearing that verbal affirmation made Makoto smile and Haruka felt like it was his turn to steal a kiss, so he did. The unadulterated love that was poured into even the briefest of contact warmed Haruka from the inside out, and he could feel the cloud of fuzziness manifesting beneath him again, to carry him forevermore as long as Makoto was by his side. It was strange how it only took one incredible angel to prove that there were no limits to the sheer amount of happiness one person was allowed to feel; Haruka had smiled more in the past hour than he had in his previous eighteen years of life, his being overflowing with emotion. But that wasn't too surprising considering Makoto was carving the smile right on his face with every little gesture of kindness and devotion, seeming so unaware of the immense impact that his mere presence had on Haruka.

Therefore, he couldn't help but want to return every droplet of affection that Makoto sent his way and he let his eyes slip shut as the stolen peck transformed into more, a kiss deeper than any of the others they shared before then. Because of the angle his long eyelashes brushed against Makoto's cheek in a ticklish butterfly kiss that would have coaxed a chuckle out of him in the very least if it weren't for the sensuality of Haruka's lips, that was the only thing that he could focus on.

The heat of the somewhat shy yet incredibly tantalising kiss left both of them breathless and ignited a fire in their stomachs that they shouldn't feed did they not wish for it to become uncontrollable. Although the figurative flames that were licking at their skin weren't unpleasant at all - quite the contrary - there was a time and a place for everything and unfortunately, it was not right here and now. So they regretfully broke apart before the fire could consume their consciousness and they lost themselves completely in the other's warmth and love.

Burning inside Makoto's eyes was the flame of love that Haruka could feel in his every touch, and though the embers of fierce heat and desire were still glowing brightly, it was kept alive mainly by the yearning for Haruka's soul, for his very being rather than his physical form. A sentiment that was once again entirely mutual, because no matter how attractive and desirable Makoto's appearance was to him, their love went far beyond just physical attraction - though it was certainly a nice bonus.

Unable to resist, Haruka pressed a playful yet loving kiss against Makoto's nose. The mere thought of showing Makoto his world filled him with delight and his mind already began to formulate a list of things that they couldn't miss out on; he was sure that in addition to things specifically connected to his life, Makoto would love to go to certain places like an amusement park or a cinema where they could watch a movie together, and they could go by train since Makoto had never experienced transportation like that before, and have candle-lit dinners that would cast a warm glow over his handsome features, and maybe afterwards as the sun began to sink into the horizon, they could take a long walk on the beach with their feet in the water and intertwined fingers.

Already planning their possible dates in his head, Haruka had to shake his head to clear his mind of the sappy thoughts. Makoto's necklace wasn't even done yet so this was no time to get ahead of himself and let his consciousness wander off or allow his fantasies to run wild prematurely. He really hoped that Makoto would be able to find his missing components soon though, because just the idea of everything he could show Makoto and the prospect of the beaming smile that would radiate off his gorgeous face made Haruka feel fuzzy inside.

Perhaps there were certain things about the human world that were a lot more special than he had initially taken them for, because they suddenly seemed so much more enjoyable and beautiful if he imagined Makoto by his side to experience those things together with.

"The components that you're missing," Haruka started, actually already knowing the answer to the question that he was about to ask, "Are they 'something human'?"

"Yes," Makoto replied with a small chuckle. "I didn't want to ruin the surprise by asking you for something, because that's so weird that you'd immediately get suspicious. But since you're the only human I know, I couldn't really make any progress until I asked you so it's been on hold for a little while."

"I see," Haruka mumbled, trying to seem like he was in deep contemplation but he couldn't stop the teasing smirk from breaking through his act. "Want me to cut off one of my toes?"

Emerald eyes widened in shock. "What?! No! Of course not!"

"It's alright, it'll grow back," he dismissed with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders, biting his bottom lip to keep himself from laughing.

"What? No it won't!" Makoto argued with a large frown displayed on his stunning features, "Toes don't grow back!" Although he had seemed so convinced of that fact prior to this, Haruka's lingering silence made him begin to doubt everything he knew about humans and their bodies. "Wait, do they?"

The adorable look of utter confusion was the final straw and Haruka burst out in laughter.

"Haru!" Makoto complained with a pout, "Don't tease me like that!" Despite his disapproval, he really couldn't help the slight snort that left him because his soon-to-be-mate's laughter was far too endearing to keep it in.

"No, they don't actually grow back," Haruka admitted, amused smirk still playing at his lips, "but can't you make them grow back?"

"I really don't know but I'm definitely not trying it out on you!"

"I trust you enough to try it," he simply shrugged again, thinking that one single toe didn't really matter that much, especially not if it would grant Makoto the ability to change too. Besides, he had a tail now so it was not like he would even really miss it most of the time. "Even if you can't make it grow back, that's fine. I've got my tail now so sacrificing one toe for that is more than worth it. Though I wonder if my fins would look different if I missed a toe," Haruka trailed off, looking down at his flowing tail and wiggling his fins like he would with his toes.

"Haru, you may not care that much about one toe but I do," Makoto pressed on as he put his hand on Haruka's cheek once more in an attempt to get his point across, "I don't want you to sever a body part or maim yourself in any way just so I can have legs. I don't want it like that. We'll find something else… maybe some skin from one of your legs? Your skin sheds too right?"

"Yes," Haruka replied as he lifted his hand and entwined Makoto's fingers with his, "but that's so gradually that I can't exactly just give you some just like that because I don't even notice it. I'd have to scrape some off for that to work."

"Oh," he mumbled in disappointment at the only pain-free option he could think of being impossible, and he grasped his chin with his free hand as he hummed in contemplation.

"Makoto," Haruka called to get his attention again, staring up at him with determination twinkling in his eyes. "Whatever it is you need of me, I'll give it to you. I don't care if it hurts or-"

"But I care!" Makoto objected, his voice raised in concern, "I really want legs but I don't want you to suffer just so I can get them."

"But you suffered for me too, right? You gave me this tail and it caused you a lot of pain and effort, not just by ripping out your scale but also by years of hard work just to be able to do this. My pain would only be there for a second at most, so don't try to tell me that that's even remotely the same as what you went through. And it's going to be so worth it; one second of pain for decades of having legs," Haruka reasoned, not understanding why Makoto was being so stubborn about this.

His pain wouldn't even begin to match up to the pain and hardships that Makoto went through and although the thought of Makoto hurting himself to get him this tail was still a nauseating one, Haruka knew that that one moment of pain was worth all the years they got to spend together as mates. Pain was never fun, but in their situation, sacrifices had to be made and compared to selling your voice to a sea witch and potentially dying within three days, this was nothing. Especially not when he knew for sure that Makoto could take the pain away in an instant like he had before; this would surely be no different than tripping and scraping his knee open on the pavement.

Despite the fact that Haruka's words made a lot of sense, Makoto still didn't look fully convinced, so Haruka let go of his hand in favour of gently grabbing Makoto's face so their eye-contact would be maintained as he spoke the truth that they both already knew, but that Makoto needed to hear anyway.

"Makoto, look at me," he said with a soft sense of urgency, "look at everything you've given me; a ring, a necklace, a tail… a whole world and a life with you. And I have nothing for you in return. Let me give you this."

"But Haru," Makoto sighed lovingly as his hand inevitably found Haruka's again and he pressed a kiss against Haruka's palm, "you've already given me everything I've ever wanted: your heart."

"I haven't given you that," Haruka murmured with a small shake of his head. "You stole it the very first day and it has belonged to you ever since."

When he realised how embarrassing his words actually were, blood rapidly rushed to his cheeks and he averted his eyes. His pulse quickened and as the owner of his heart, Makoto must have felt it too because he let out a frustrated groan and drew Haruka in for a tight hug, circling his tail around Haruka's once more.

How in the heavens was Makoto going to survive actually living together with Haruka? His fiancé was already way too cute as it was, how was he going to handle being around him the entire time when all the little things he said and did never ceased to make Makoto's own heart melt? He was surely going to die sooner or later, and he knew that there wouldn't be a better way to go than at the hand of endearment.

"Alright, you win," Makoto gave in like he pretty much always would eventually. There was simply no way he could reject Haruka when it came to things like this, and the victorious grin that adorned Haruka's face told him that he was fully aware of it too. He truly had Makoto wrapped around his finger. "We'll talk more about the whole leg-situation later."

A sweet kiss was planted on Haruka's forehead and if there was anyone who was going to have a hard time staying alive with these constant gestures of adoration, it was Haruka. Even after Makoto had given him everything his heart desired and more, he just continued adding onto that with his gentle touches and tender kisses. There was no way he could ever repay Makoto, but that didn't mean that he would ever stop trying. So in return he kissed Makoto's cheek before he affectionately nuzzled his nose against the skin his lips just left an invisible yet imprinting mark on.

"Not that I don't love and appreciate it, because I do," Haruka said once he pulled back, not wanting to seem ungrateful when that most certainly wasn't the case, "but why did you make me both a necklace and a ring? If it doesn't matter what merpeople give as long as it's special, just the ring would have sufficed for both the human and the merfolk proposal. You really didn't need to go through all the extra trouble."

"I've thought about it, but I wanted the gift to be special by it enabling you to turn into a merman and I didn't think the ring would be able to hold that much magic. Unless I gave you a massive ring it wouldn't have been big enough, and I didn't think you would like that," Makoto explained, and Haruka nodded because he was right; he wasn't much of a jewelry person to begin with - though that had definitely changed now - so he much preferred a smaller, subtle yet still gorgeous ring over a massive flashy one. Not that he wouldn't have cherished that type of ring if Makoto had given him that, but Makoto knew him well enough that he tailored the ring to suit his tastes. "Besides," Makoto continued, "it's no trouble if it's for you."

The sincerity in both his enchanting emeralds and the mesmerising melody of his voice was very clear and it made Haruka's heart sing with everlasting fondness. "Well, thank you. I really do love and appreciate it." To further show Makoto how thankful he was, he pressed a chaste yet tender kiss against his full lips. "Don't you think your family would mind, though?" he questioned then, because no matter how touched he was by this emotional day with all of these special events and gifts, he'd feel bad if it caused problems for Makoto. When Makoto tilted his head in confusion, he elaborated, "That you used so much magic for me."

"I don't think so," Makoto said, shaking his head a little. "As long as I don't neglect my duties and it doesn't affect my work, I don't think it really matters. Besides, I'm likely not the first and definitely not the last member of royalty to ever use my powers for selfish purposes, and as long as I don't abuse them everything should be fine. If you have them, why not use them?"

"That's a good point," Haruka agreed, smiling gently and thinking to himself that it was probably for the best that he didn't actually have any magic powers, because he might abuse them for personal gain. Not that he wouldn't help others if needed, but he would also surely start fires beneath the surface to get the freshest and most delicious salt-grilled mackerel he'd ever tasted. Perhaps he could convince Makoto to do it for him anyway, but that would be asking for a bit too much right now. "By the way, does your family even know about this?" Haruka asked as he let Makoto go in favour of gesturing around him, to himself and the glade surrounding them, "About all of this?"

"I haven't told them," Makoto muttered with a small snort of reminiscence, "but Ran and Ren swam in on me once when I was making the necklace, and news travels fast down here if the twins have the intel, so by now everyone in the entire realm probably knows that I was making a mating present. And my family knows me well enough to know that it couldn't have been anyone but you, so that's not going to be much of a surprise. But that you're also a merman now will be though, so they're probably going to be really shocked when they see you."

"Can't wait to see their reaction," Haruka mumbled, already visualising the astonished expressions that would be on everyone's faces and he could almost hear the excited yelling of the twins already.

"I really can't wait either. I'm sure they're all going to love it. Although they already expected me to choose you as a mate, I don't think they would have thought we were going to make it work like this so I wonder what they're going to say." The ecstatic grin was radiating off his face, lighting up every part of not only himself, but every part of Haruka as well just from witnessing it. He was so incredibly glad and proud that he could finally introduce Haruka to people as his mate-to-be instead of just his best friend, because truthfully, they had always been more than just best friends. "Shall we go back?"

"Not yet. I don't think I can handle swimming all the way back to the palace just yet," Haruka said, and although his words did hold a point of truth, it wasn't the full reason why he didn't want to go back yet either. Once they returned to the palace and announced their engagement, he knew they would be bombarded with questions and attention and they wouldn't have even a minute alone anymore until he had to leave for the day. And after years of pining and now finally being able to let all his affection flow freely, he yearned for just another moment with his fiancé alone.

An understanding smile graced Makoto's features, easily reading the real reason in Haruka's eyes. "Alright, we'll take it slowly on the way back then," he murmured softly, his words holding an underlying meaning that was no enigma to Haruka either. Their desire to be alone with each other was entirely mutual, because letting one another go seemed like an impossible task at this moment. "Would you like to stay over tonight?" Makoto wondered, desperate to prolong the time they had together, "We're not allowed to cohabitate just yet, but I don't think there's anything in the palace's rules about sleepovers."

"I'd love to," Haruka answered as the wide and excited smile beamed off his face at the thought of getting to fall asleep in Makoto's arms.

Naturally their bodies found each other again, gravitating towards each other like the sea and the shore, never truly apart even when they weren't near. Their lips met again and again in an exchange of passion, promises of commitment and eternal devotion being conveyed through the loving touch as their arms tightened around the other's body, their tails rubbing together in a way that Haruka had never imagined would be so wonderful.

But that wasn't the only thing he had never imagined; just a few hours ago, when he decided to go to their cave despite not having agreed to meet up with Makoto, he never would have thought that Makoto would propose to him and that they would be kissing each other breathless at this very moment, not to mention the fact that he would change species and finally transform into the creature he had always been on the inside.

Although there was still some time until then, Haruka already couldn't wait for these waves of affection and undying love to become constant; he couldn't wait to start the first day of the rest of their lives together as mates, as rulers of the seven seas but mainly as rulers of each other's heart.

#i'm sorry i'm stupid #makoharu #mhgiftexchange2018 #sawamura-daichis-thighs #once again i'm so incredibly sorry this took so long #but i hope you enjoy it nonetheless #also i'm sorry it's so long once i started writing it there was no stopping #which is also why it took so long #anyway i hope you and everyone else who reads it will like it

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