#and then a few years later learning that something so normal was also floating around in the same era. please.

[thealogie]

What you have to understand is that I WAS online reading fanfic in 2008 and literally every gay fic was about people having internalized homophobia freak outs; spending 6 chapters realizing they’re gay (but other plot forbidden) or (and this one was so popular I cannot stress this enough) hate crimes. Like actual hate crimes...would just constantly be happening to our protagonists in an escapist form i fiction I was reading to tease out the gay stuff on my screen. And then Pun was writing in 2008: there will be zero of that AND I know how to write dialogue AND I know who bottoms 😏….I mean we stan

[nanamiya3]

toji and a germaphobe!!

toji x gn reader - mentions of killing ppl bc toji is big and mean and scary - pet names (darling, baby) - reader is a germaphobe/has a fear of contamination - fluffffff - wc. 2.6k

nature documentary toji is back i will never stop pushing this agenda. also i love toji sm but i just know he is a slob lolol (i found this in my notes app from like a year ago pls enjoy)

—

Bachelor Toji’s apartment is littered with unwashed dishes, rumpled bedsheets, and old boxes of takeout. He’s never learned how to clean—having grown up in the Zen’in clan meant there was always someone picking up after him, even with how horribly they treated him—and he was always a little too wild to care about looking prim and proper. Now that Toji’s on his own, he’s too busy taking jobs to spend much time at home anyways. The mess and grime don’t bother him since he’s only really home on the rare occasion to sleep and fuck, and the lack of sanitation certainly doesn’t bother his conquests, who are usually too lost in Toji to get lost in the clutter.

But then, he starts dating you.

As a Grade A germaphobe, you nearly faint when you walk into Toji’s apartment for the first time. You’re nothing short of shocked, springing into action immediately: rushing to pull aside the curtains to let light in, opening up the windows to air out the area, picking the clothes off his couch, straightening up the animal figurines on the bookshelf. You’re chewing on your bottom lip, wondering how Toji’s been living like this while the man in question just watches your lip disappear between your teeth, again and again.

Toji thinks he might be going insane, because he keeps feeling weird things when he’s around you. For starters, he feels embarrassed right now, concerned about your reaction to his apartment. He’s never given the mess in his apartment much thought, but right now you’re giving him the weird urge to clean, to make you think highly of him. But Toji thinks this all stems from the weirdest fact of all: the fact that he’s crazy about you.

Toji’s never wanted to actually stay with someone before—his life has always been a string of casual hookups, and that was how he preferred it. With you though, his mind turns to mush, and he thinks he’d do anything you asked. When Toji first saw you at the old dive bar downtown, he knew he wanted you next, beginning his incessant flirting and using the rugged look he always had after a week-long job to his advantage. You’d fallen for his tricks—the good ones always do—but politely declined his invitation to spend the night, looking flustered but staying firm. Normally, Toji would have just cut his losses and went home, waiting for the wire transfer to hit his account while browsing through the Nature channel for any new documentaries. But something inside Toji kept him there, nodding off the rejection, flashing you an unfair smile while murmuring “ ‘s all right darlin’ ” and continuing to charm you. And then, at the end of the night, Toji surprised himself: before walking off, he gave you his phone number. This time, unlike all the other times, Toji pulled out his real phone—not the latest cheap burner phone in his pocket he’d received for his most recent job, but his personal phone—and opened up the contacts app, showing you his full name and phone number. You’d typed his information into your own phone, sending him a small “hi!” to confirm it worked. And when Toji looked down at his messages app and saw your cute little text floating among all the other threads of inquiries into his… services, he felt an odd kick in his heart.

So, now you’re in Toji’s apartment a few weeks later, and this trained killer is feeling… ashamed? Yes, he admits to himself, he is ashamed of his cleanliness (or lack thereof) and would like to clean up his apartment before you start trying to do his laundry.

“Do you have gloves anywhere?” You ask him, surveying his kitchen with your hands on your hips.

“Err….” Toji’s trying to rack his brain for the last time he wore gloves - maybe the time he was sent to Osaka to kill a man and didn’t want blood under his nails; maybe the time he robbed a safe and didn’t want to leave any prints behind; maybe the time he—

Toji coughs, a twinge of embarrassment running through his body. “No, darlin’. Don’t think I’ve got any gloves here.”

“Hmm..” You’re chewing on your lip again, and Toji watches like a lost dog. “I really want to get this apartment clean, but I’m kind of particular about what touches my skin. Do you know where your cleaning supplies are?”

“Uhh…” Toji‘s now trying to think of the last time he cleaned in his apartment - maybe the time he threw away one of the moldy boxes of rice in his fridge; maybe the time he took out the trash and recycling (the recycling bin contained more trash than the actual trash bin); maybe the time he—

No, you asked about cleaning supplies, Toji reminds himself. Toji wasn’t using actual cleaning supplies in any of those examples, he was just throwing shit away. In fact, Toji’s not even sure if he has cleaning supplies.

“Well…” Toji clears his throat. “Think there might be somethin’ under that sink there, remember seein’ some bleach or somethin’ after signin’ my lease.”

The two of you peer underneath the kitchen sink, a single bottle of Ajax greeting your hopeful stares.

Yeah. Toji is feeling real fucking embarrassed right now.

“… Never really learned how t’clean,” Toji mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck. “… We could go out n buy the good stuff… Just need ya t’point it out f’me.”

You nod quickly, clasping your hands in front of your chest. “Great! That would be amazing,” you chirp, bright smile on your face.

So, Toji walks you down to the market on the corner of the street, watching diligently as you point out the different types of cleaners used on different surfaces, the various brushes and sponges he might want for scrubbing dishes and toilets and whatnot. He listens intently as you explain which disinfectant wipes are most reliable, the detergents you prefer, and the technology behind the available vacuums.

“—and I prefer these gloves, since they’re less rough than some other brands. They’re also soft on the skin and don’t tear easily, and the fact that they’re a solid color makes me feel more reassured than a clear model.. Something about clear gloves makes me feel like they don’t actually prevent germs, and then I think my hands are contaminated, even though I know they’re not—” You ramble on, motioning to the packs of gloves on the shelf.

When the two of you finally walk out of the store, Toji’s arms are decorated with three bags of cleaning supplies and you’re both marching back to Toji’s apartment with a renewed vigor.

You and Toji get to work immediately - you list off orders and Toji follows them to the T. The gloves end up being too small for Toji, so you make him swear to wash his hands after touching anything remotely dirty, your fear of contamination causing your mind to spiral at the idea of Toji’s hands tracking bacteria over things you’d then unwittingly touch.

As Toji deep cleans his apartment with your help, he learns cleaning techniques he’s never even heard of before. For example, Toji had never thought to clean his dishwasher, assuming it was just one of those things that would always be clean. When you show Toji how to combine vinegar and baking soda to clean out the pipes in his bathroom, he looks downright fascinated—like every 8th grader after seeing their science teacher perform the vinegar-baking soda experiment. And, when you explain each of the settings on his washer and dryer unit, Toji is completely in awe of the technology at his fingertips—really? His washing machine lets you pick the water temperature? And it has a special setting for blankets and bedsheets?

Toji also makes a few important revelations about garbage disposal. He’s about to toss the bag of trash down the recycling chute when you stop him, small hand gripping his wrist urgently. You tug his arm with the trash away from the recycling, quickly teaching him the difference between trash and recycling by listing off the items that can be recycled: paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, etc… Pointing to the different trash chutes, you single out the ones dedicated to recyclable materials: there’s the compost area, a glass drop-off bin, the plastic bottle chute, a box for bottle caps, the cavernous channel for cardboard…. And during your rushed lecture, Toji listens to every word, a focused look on his face as he reads the labels and signs organizing the garbage disposal room.

A few weeks later, Toji will go out and buy extra garbage bins for his apartment, sticking labels on the collection bins and scribbling down the intended category of waste. You’ll be shocked when you find the organized garbage system in Toji’s kitchen, a warm bloom of pride striking your chest. For now though, he promises to differentiate between his trash and recycling and to divide up his recyclables into even smaller and more differentiated piles.

After a long day of cleaning is finished and three loads of laundry have been thoroughly laundered, Toji’s apartment looks amazing and he considers himself a changed man. His Planet Earth DVDs have been dusted, the kitchen sink is empty, the six-month old burger in the back of his fridge has been disposed of, and his bathroom smells suspiciously…. good? He’s extremely proud of himself for how hard he worked today—seriously, he’s taken jobs easier than this—and to celebrate, the two of you pick up some ice cream and share it over a documentary about lizards.

When you officially move in a few months later, traces of your influence become visible in every room. First, your candles start popping up in all odd places: one on the bookshelf, three sitting in the kitchen, another on the nightstand, a few in the bathroom, and two in the living room. Toji loves it because the sweet fragrance reminds him of you, and it’s certainly much better than the thick, stale air he used to live in. Then, you teach Toji how to cook, so when dinnertime hits, the apartment starts smelling more like stir-fried veggies and fresh cooked rice. The fridge is now routinely stocked and cleaned, and Toji is still amazed every time he opens up the door and finds very fresh, very not moldy fruit. His weapons are also now sorted and organized: the linen closet across your bedroom now houses Toji’s… job equipment. Before, the closet held half unraveled toilet paper rolls, so you consider it a marginal improvement. At least this way, you won’t shock yourself half to death after pulling open the cutlery drawer and finding a dagger next to the knives.

~

life with Toji! little sequences :)

~

The first time Toji coughs into his hands in front of you, you gape at him, looking like you’re about to faint. You usher him into the bathroom quickly, making him wash his hands as you demonstrate how to cough into your elbow. He watches intently, drying off his hands and copying the way you bend your arm and bring it up to your face. You nod excitedly, exclaiming, “Yup! That’s perfect!” as a smile spreads across his face, happy to have learned something new.

~

When Toji first sees you wearing gloves while using the vacuum, he’s a little confused - is the vacuum contaminated as well? He decides it must be important to you, so he doesn’t question it, instead asking if you’d prefer he also wear gloves when he uses the vacuum. You’re chewing on your lip nervously, and Toji tugs on your chin gently to stop you from digging into the skin any harder. While you don’t want your own rules about contamination to impose on Toji’s life, you do think it would put you at ease to know that the apartment’s safe from cross-contamination with the vacuum.

So, you mumble out that you’d prefer if Toji either wore gloves while dealing with the vacuum and discarded the gloves before touching anything else or if he washed his hands immediately after using the vacuum. Toji doesn’t make any of the invalidating comments you’ve learned to expect— “The vacuum is perfectly fine, you’re overreacting” or “I’m not doing all that because you think you’ll get sick or something” —instead he just nods, murmuring “of course baby,” understanding written all over his face.

And that alone makes you heave a small sigh of relief. You’re not sure why or how to describe it, but something about touching the vacuum causes your mind to spiral over the potential contact with the dirt and grime collected inside the machine. Since you’re pretty sure scrubbing the thing with hot water and soap would probably cause some sort of malfunction within the wiring, you suffice with gloves and hand soap. Knowing that Toji will help you in your efforts to reduce contact and contamination with the vacuum puts you at ease, thankful for his easygoing manner.

~

The first time Toji tries to kiss you, you freak out. Something about the idea of someone else’s spit mixing with your own makes you shudder, and not in a good way. He’d leaned in, you’d immediately covered your face with your hands, and the silence in the room became deafening. You started to apologize, stumbling over your words as you tried to explain your aversion to “bodily fluids,” and Toji nodded, reassuring you that it was okay—he would wait as long as you needed. You honestly think you might never get over your fear of kissing, but then you kiss Toji for the first time just to get it over with and you’re absolutely melting into him. Your face is on fire as you pull away, but Toji doesn’t let you reel back too far before tugging you in for seconds. He eases you into kissing slowly, letting you get used to the sensation of small, closed-mouth kisses before gradually adding in tongue. And with someone like Toji as your partner, you soon find yourself worrying less about the exponential transfer of bacteria and more about when the next transfer will occur.

~

Toji’s just finishing up a job, wiping the muzzle of his gun against his shirt as he scans his surroundings. He sighs when he realizes he’s going to need to move the body, muttering under his breath about bacteria and filth as he roughly drags his target away. He checks underneath his fingernails for any traces of dirt or blood once he’s back out on the street, pulling out the travel-size hand sanitizer you gifted him to clean off his hands. Toji plans to head straight home to you, so to prevent any worrying on your part about contamination or germs, he massages the sweet-scented anti-bacterial gel into his skin. When he does get home though, grinning at how much of you he can sense in his apartment, he washes his hands again, changing into clean clothes before helping you with dinner.

~

Toji’s so grateful to you for being so patient and teaching him so much about taking care of himself. He proudly considers himself a changed man, surprising you by wrapping his loving arms around you whenever possible and relishing in the way you squeak in surprise. He! Loves! You! So! Much!!

—

your honor, this is not weaponized incompetence. he’s just incompetent.

[cjir]

CLASS1A HEADCANONS

(spoiler warning for S7/the manga! Hc's are in seating order. Post is long lol)

Aoyama

Didn't even want to be a hero once he got his quirk. it was just something he mentioned like 3 times when he was 5.

Does not like his parents at all

Comfort eater. He is stressed out of his mind

Considers midoriya his best friend

Grew up extremely pampered

Will just make up stories from when he lived in france

"really?? Did that happen??" "No."

Mina

Adopted, parents passed a few years ago after a building collapsed

The day she learns about aroace identities is the day she heals

She didn't know anything about kirishima besides his name by the time they started ua so she hunted down his old friends to learn about him. Unsurprisingly they didn't know all that much

She's the one who kills/removes the bugs from the dorms

Shes relatively popular on social media

Asui

Has firmly decided against kids. She loves her siblings but god no she is NEVER raising a child again

Enjoys baking, she does it with Sato often

Swears the most in 1a

Horrible posture, Iida is constantly trying to fix it

Iida

Fear of failure

Had like. No childhood. Tensei tried but he just wouldn't watch many movies unless he could be tricked into believing it would help his future

Very anxious kid

He genuinely really wants to connect and relate to his classmates but he struggles with it. Part of him wishes he could've just had normal teenage experiences

Terrible at making jokes. He tries so hard but they never land. He got todoroki and no one else to laugh once and he is still reeling from it

Ochako

Post-war she thinks about Toga like. Every day. She never stops grieving that girl

She becomes determined to reach out and save as many people as humanly possible

Later in life she ends up fostering kids with “difficult” and “villainous” quirks and encourages them to pursue their dreams

She adores animals. Her favourite place growing up was the pet store

She feels a bit guilty about having to move to the dorms. She felt obligated to help out her parents around the house

Gym rat. All about proteins and gains. She is determined to get a six pack at some point. Though she does struggle to gain muscle.

Ojiro

Throws the hardest punches. He has broken several of his classmates' noses accidentally

Has to constantly hear about hagakure's ex’s and he hates all of them

Enjoys embroidery and knitting. Eventually learns to make clothes. He gives them as gifts and sells some for extra money

Lots of awards from tournaments

He was raised in a cult but hasn't exactly realised yet, he will talk about the most insane things and act like theyre regular parts of growing up. He lives with his grandparents now

Eventually finds out he is really good with throwing knives

insanely oblivious. Sex jokes fly right over his head (they have to be explained to him) and he can never tell when he's being hit on

Denki

His mum is a pro hero and his dad is in jail. They both love him dearly, despite the fact that he was a complete accident

Was home alone very often. His mum travels a lot for work. He can have friends stay over for weeks at a time without her ever finding out

His dad was the one who taught him how to hotwire cars

Out of everyone in 1a, he has the most dating experience. He dated like half his middle school class and they all ended on good terms. Was a lot of people's gay awakening

The lightning bolt is natural, shockingly enough. No one believes him until he pulls out pictures from when he was a baby

He was born with a full head of hair actually

Sometimes helium balloons will just float at him

Kirishima

Absolutely tank, can take anything

This also applies to food. He can eat inedible things and be completely fine.

Was huge into DND in middle school. Wants to set up a game for 1a but has only convinced tokoyami and midoriya so far

Was really disappointed when his quirk manifested

Koda

Insomnia

He was bullied throughout middle school and sometimes still expects his classmates to be cruel to him

Lived with his mother and grandma. His father died when he was young

He was ecstatic when his quirk manifested. He had several pets as a kid and would try and communicate with them

Once unintentionally managed to get wolves to help him fight in a 1v1 (he was fighting sero who damn near passed out from fear)

Allergic to cat hair but he refuses to let that stop him

Present mic will not look at him the same after the bug incident

Sato

Stress bakes like crazy. Sometimes all of 1a will wake up to a cupcake outside their door that he made at like 4am

He is the only one who likes his hero costume, everyone else thinks it's lame

Has 4 siblings. He's dead in the middle age wise

His family is dramatic as hell. They get into the pettiest arguments ever and then don't talk for a month. He ended up having to play peacekeeper pretty frequently

Moving to the dorms was a well needed break for him

His hair is dyed. He's naturally ginger. He has not told a soul

Shoji

Covered head to toe in scars. Denki made the mistake of asking about it once, and the boys were greeted with the most horrifying story they had ever heard while changing into their hero costumes

Has been in mandatory therapy for years

He really enjoys being the tallest. He will sometimes hold things over his head just to tease tokoyami

When his quirk manifested he was scared shitless

Lived in an orphanage and is currently in custody of UA

His parents go on to have more kids after him and he never learns about them. He did always want siblings

Jirou

Has special little ear muffs for her jack's.

Her hair was done in the bathroom at 3am the day of the entrance exam

The heartbeat in her hair is only visible in the light

While she's great at picking up instruments, she cannot draw to save her life. It's like the only thing kaminari is better than her at

Sero

His hair grows like that naturally. He figures his ends are supposed to look like tape dispenser teeth as some joke from the universe. Got tired of trying to fix it and now just lets it grow out

He has been using his quirk to do parkour since he was 9. He used to terrify his parents with the stunts he would pull

He has an older sister in collage

Tokoyami

Extremely religious parents. They got him an exorcism once, just to be sure.

Him + dark shadow fight like siblings

He'd get really quiet when he was upset while ds would start shrieking

Becoming a hero was dark shadows idea

He speaks like that cuz he read gothic poetry he found around the house as a kid

He is a complete mutation. No one in his family has a quirk even remotely similar to dark shadow or has a bird head

Dark shadow used to be way more abstract but took the bird form more permanently after tokoyami got more of a handle on it.

Tokoyami is on record of having an extremely unstable quirk.

He always felt the need to suppress his emotions to control his quirk but it backfired spectacularly. He's healthier about it now

Also, dark shadow is fully sentient. A bit behind developmentally, and struggles to comprehend things, but shockingly sentient

He has a really hard time putting on weight. Like all his bones are visible

Todoroki

allergic to onions. He eats them anyways

He dispises his father with his whole chest sometimes but he also wants to give him a chance because he's his father, yk?

He bases a lot of his opinions on what he thinks he is supposed to feel. Like he doesn't mind pineapple on pizza but since everyone else online thinks it's the worst thing ever I guess he does too¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

He's not completely blind in his left eye, but his vision is cloudy and really poor

Hagakure

Desperately wants to find “the one”. She used to date whoever she could just to try and find the love of her life. It lead to a lot of dumb drama and bad middle school relationships

She's great at makeup, but doesn't wear it outside of her room because it used to freak people out

While she gets upset about her quirk sometimes, she does love being able to sneak around unseen

Whenever someone's door opens they instinctively tell Hagakure to get out, even if it was just the wind

Comes from a relatively wealthy family

She needs glasses but won't wear them

Bakugo

he thinks his friends are the funniest people on earth but he will DIE before he ever tells them that or actually laughs at their jokes

Legitimately bit Monoma once and he was so confused

Used to model for his parents' businesses. Midoriya has pictures on hand in UA now that he realises people will actually make fun of bakugo instead of worshipping the ground he walks on

Comically long skincare and hair routine

UA has humbled him HARD

Actually has a very good relationship with his parents. They were very encouraging. To a fault, but still.

Midoriya

Had a diary in middle school where he would write about the ways he would violently torture his bullys

He finds it again in like 2nd year and he cringes so hard. Unfortunately Bakugo also reads the diary and gets freaked out

Midoriya will listen to whatevers being said with 100% of his attention so whoever he's talking to doesn't feel ignored. The exception his whenever he's daydreaming about the plot and exposition dumping to the audience

Some time in 2nd year, he starts intentionally pissing bakugou off because he can get away with it now

His school record makes it seem like he's a complete delinquent and Azaiwa was a little surprised when he actually met him

When the war ends he gets clowned on ferociously for that bald spot. Omg the poor guy is so embarrassed

Momo

Everyone loves her but LORD is she out of touch sometimes. Has no understanding of how much things actually cost and how affordable they actually are

She styles her hair to be spikey. She wanted to seem cool and rough around the edges when she joined ua. It didn't work

Crazy anxiety. She spends a lot of time with Koda and his rabbit.

Her parents launder money and haven't been caught yet. She has no idea

Bonus:

Shoji and Todoroki bond over childhood trauma

Everyone is convinced Jirou, Denki and Momo are gonna become a throuple at some point. Bets have been placed about when

Bakugou does genuinely consider denki his friend

Quirkless training usually comes down to ojiro and Bakugou, tho Midoriya has won once or twice

Dark shadow is deemed a complete menace and genuinely has beef with some of 1a (Bakugo, Iida, ect.) but for some reason, dark shadow and Sato in particular have become sworn enemies

Ochako and Kirishima asked Ojiro to teach them martial arts and they have never seen him more excited

Tokoyami, Todoroki and Bakugo are COVERED in burn scars post war

Everyone assumes Hagakure and Ojiro are dating but they surprisingly aren't (yet))

Class1a occasionally binges shows together. They usually get super attached to a character who reminds them of someone in 1a and then get really sad whenever something bad happens to that character

[liquid-luck-00]

Marks of Magic

Day 2 Vampire

Maribat Spooktober 2023

Previous *** Next

I didn’t mean for this to become a song fic but that’s where it ended up (Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo)

Language and cursing is used

1790 words

~~~~~~~~~~

She woke up the next morning, and it was so peaceful. She didn’t have to worry about Hawkmoth, she didn’t have to worry what her classmates thought of her. That just gave her so much freedom in fact she smiled, taking a breath of air for the first time in what seemed like years.

She bounced downstairs, earlier than her normal on a Saturday morning.

"some one is in good spirits today." Her Maman smiled as she came into the kitchen.

"Of course I am!" She tackled her mom in a hug.

"Did something happen at school?" Her Maman hugged her back. A second later her face turned somber, knowingly she asked. "Did Lila do something?... Alya?"

"Yes and no. I'll tell you and Papa at dinner."

"Okay Baio Bai." She flicked her on the nose. "For now help me get your father to eat something." She held a tray of berries, yogurt, granola, and coffee up for her to take down.

"Well isn’t this a surprise." Her papa smiled as she walked in to the bakery kitchen.

"Well it’s too nice to be crammed in my room." She offered.

"So what did your mother send?" He clapped his hands as flour clouded in the kitchen.

"A few staples." She started mixing granola into the yogurt, and tossing in a few of her papa’s favorite berries, before handing him the bowl.

"Any plans princess?"

"Don’t know." She shrugged. "Maybe walk around and sketch. I was also thinking about dropping by the Couffaine’s."

"Does he treat you right?"

"Papa!!" She blushed, covering her face with her hands. "He’s a good friend, nothing else."

She finally muttered when she found her voice again.

"He is a good kid Mari. Besides if he doesn’t he has to go through me."

She could only laugh before excusing herself.

She never thought of it before, never let herself truly think she could be in a relationship, but…

Luka knows who she is, was, damn that punched her in the gut. But he knows, and she made sure he was the only one that actually remembered that particular secret of hers. Sass had even been with him until a week ago, but could she actually let herself say it to him.

Without realizing she was coming up on the dock.

"How are ya lassie, come aboard." She heard Mdm. Couffaine call out to her.

"Thank you. How have you been?" She asked easily to the sweet pirate of a woman.

"All is good. He’s down in his cabin."

"Thank you." She walked down and approached the door, strums of a guitar floated through the hall. She lifted a hand up to knock, but the door swung open. She hadn’t noticed it had stopped.

"Marinette."

"Luka…" The words died in her throat, her eyes began to sting.

"It’s okay, my melody."

Yes she was relieved that everything was over but that couldn’t last. She lost her best friend, Tikki had become such a huge piece of her and now she was gone. She guarded the kwamii, learned what made each one special. Barkk's loyalty and obsession with the knight's order. Wayzz's fondness of the other's antics and his calmness. She finally let her emotions rage through her without fearing repercussions.

"Marinette!" Luka’s usual calm melted into panic as she broke down.

"It's..." She choked on her words, everything from the night before crashed against her closed eyes.

Luka started to hum, pulling her into a hug. His steady heartbeat combined with his peaceful humming calmed some small part of her. "He's gone." He leaned back, a silent question in his gaze, 'who'. "Hawkmoth." She whispered before emotion overtook her once again.

They stayed like that for a while. Luka didn't pry, didn't try to stop her from feeling everything. At some point they ended up sitting on the bed, Luka started playing his guitar.

"You know you don't have to tell me." Luka finally spoke, not missing a note. "But if you want to I'll listen."

"I..." She pursed her lips, she was about to say more when the door swung open.

"Oh!" Juleka stood in the door, surprised to see the two of them. Her emotions then schooled themselves, ignoring Marinette, and turned towards Luka. "Everyone's here." The quiet girl turned and left.

"Come on." Luka extended his hand. "You need a distraction."

She took it and let him pull her through the house boat. There on the deck was almost half the class. Kitty Section (which included Rose, Ivan, and Juleka), Mylene, Adrien, Alix, Alya and Nino who were sitting next to Lila. Everyone turned and once they saw her scowled.

"Why are you here?" Alex voiced what everyone must have been thinking,

"Well... I..." she didn't know why, just that it felt right, even as Luka dragged her on the stage.

"Come on, just try." Luka placed the microphone in her hand as he plugged his guitar into the amp.

"But I don't..." She bit her lip unsure. Luka started strumming the song only he could hear. She just had to put lyrics to it. "Okay."

She let every thing pour int her words. Her sadness, joy, anger, everything she attempted and failed to tell Luka. Her eyes steeled as she became more confident with every note. Her first target was Alya.

'Hate to give the satisfaction, asking how you're doing now

How's the castle built off people you pretend to care about?

Just what you wanted

Look at you, cool guy, you got it'

Her eyes turned and caught Adrien's as the words formed in her mind mere moments before they crossed her lips.

'I see the parties and the diamonds sometimes when I close my eyes

Six months of torture you sold as some forbidden paradise

I loved you truly

Gotta laugh at the stupidity'

Without hesitating she stared at Lila.

'Cause I've made some real big mistakes

But you make the worst one look fine

I should've known it was strange

You only come out at night

I used to think I was smart

But you made me look so naive

The way you sold me for parts

As you sunk your teeth into me, oh

Bloodsucker, famefucker

Bleedin' me dry, like a goddamn vampire'

She took a short breath before continuing.. now catching Nino's attention.

'And every girl I ever talked to told me you were bad, bad news

You called them crazy, God, I hate the way I called them crazy too

You're so convincing

How do you lie without flinching?

(How do you lie, how do you lie, how do you lie?)'

Her eyes swept her 'friends' before landing on Alix.

'Ooh, what a mesmerizing, paralyzing, fucked-up little thrill

Can't figure out just how you do it, and God knows I never will

Went for me, and not her

'Cause girls your age know better'

As she began the chorus again she closed her eyes and stepped back, furthering herself from those on the deck.

'I've made some real big mistakes

But you make the worst one look fine

I should've known it was strange

You only come out at night

I used to think I was smart

But you've made me look so naive

The way you sold me for parts

As you sunk your teeth into me, oh

Bloodsucker, famefucker

Bleedin' me dry, like a goddamn vampire'

She picked up the pace and tried to catch everyone's eyes, but they seemed to be avoiding her gaze.

'You said it was true love, but wouldn't that be hard?

You can't love anyone, 'cause that would mean you had a heart

I tried you help you out, now I know that I can't

'Cause how you think's the kind of thing I'll never understand

I've made some real big mistakes

But you make the worst one look fine

I should've known it was strange

You only come out at night

I used to think I was smart

But you made me look so naive

The way you sold me for parts

As you sunk your teeth into me, oh

Bloodsucker, famefucker

Bleedin' me dry, like a goddamn vampire'

She took a gulp of air, now standing next to Luka. His, and everyone's, attention on her as he continued before cutting abruptly. "Better?"

she never thought it would actually be so releiving, but it was. she giggled at thats, a light smile entwined in the laughter. Such a contrast to what had come out of her heart seconds ago. "Yeah. So much fucking better."

He smiled at her, a small grin, but his eyes were bright, knowing. Her heart skipped as she felt her cheeks heat up.

"Gurl! You can't just show up and diss us like nothing!" Alya shouted nearly jumping up at her.

"Good thing I didn't plan it." she grumbled at the bespekled girl.

"Bull!" Alix jumped in. "We all heard that."

"Then consider it my good bye." She replaced the microphone and started down the steps. Luka catching up to her, he took her hand and their fingers intertwined, almost like second nature.

"Don't." Juleka grabbed Luka's shoulder turning him, and her in turn. "Please." She pleaded.

"I'm dissapointed." He took a step back and

squeezed her hand. "In all of you."

He pulled her and they walked off the boat.

"They're gone." she breathed after they walked a mile or two through the city,

"Hawkmoth?" He asked.

"Yes. But..." she finally stopped. "I released them."

"Who?"

"The kwamii." Her gaze was solely on her shoes and the pavement below.

"Oh." He lifted her chin. "Are you okay with that?"

She spilled. Everything that happend the night before. Everything that led up to her outburst yesterday and earlier. All the things she avoided telling him before. Once she finished she watched his reaction, hoping he wouldn't hate her, hoping that he could forgive her. Because she is why he will never see Sass again, never getting to be a hero again.

"Are they happy?"

The question caught her off guard. "I think so."

"Then you did the right thing."

she rose up on her toes and placed a small kiss on his cheek. "Thank you,"

A flash of teal exploded in front of her, but it lasted only a second when it was gone she was about to ask what happened, but the questioned died on her lips. There on Luka's wrist sat the miraculous of the snake.

"I guess they are still watching out for us."

"They said as much." She smiled, before adding. "They also said if I needed their power they'd lend it."

"Let's not test it so soon." He pressed a kiss to her forehead before they started walking again. "So Gotham."

Next

[levmada]

Thank you for responding!

I just remembered another question, you may have broached this topic as well, but I've seen a couple posts floating around that suggest Levi is (on some levels) illiterate.

Personally I don't think current canon Levi is illiterate, but what about Levi in the Underground? There's manga evidence (I believe) that he was at least somewhat exposed to reading (I think I saw a photo of him with Isabel and Furlan with a bookshelf in the background..??).

I can't imagine Kenny advocating for reading when learning survival tactics would be more important by his standards. I think the ability to read is something else that connects Levi to his mother (I haven't see much of anything that would suggest she was a reader), or it was simply a roundabout way of learning another survival skill? ("Knowledge is power"? I.e. having more power over his fate/current situation).

Some of these posts go on to assume the illiteracy spills over into how he writes reports (and that supposedly Hange has to either help him or redo them entirely)

I was curious about how you believe Levi would've approached literacy in his early years.

ugh i’ve gone back and forth on this a couple times😩😩in most of my fics, levi is illiterate when he reaches the surface.

at least, as captain, we know there’s NO WAY he’s illiterate in the present. (and besides, he's seen reading the newspaper in s3 at the end of the uprising. and the labels/books in the basement later).

for a canon reference, it’s said in a smartpass that levi diligently practices his handwriting so that no one knows he’s from the underground. that he has “newspaper level” handwriting. he gets defensive towards Petra when she compliments it😭

you’re absolutely right about the backgrounds. here’s some examples:

clearly farlan knew what he was doing at least😭😭both in the anime and manga, it’s eluded to that farlan is like the ‘co-leader’ that takes care of the money and logistics side of things.

it’s not clear whether levi touches any of that. he IS good (at least competent?) at math though, again like farlan; he did a bit of complex addition in a few seconds.

(sorry i’m just taking the opportunity to post acwnr panels atp…)

math is definitely more important than reading and writing in the underground right? i think the bare minimum reading ability would’ve rubbed off on levi.

KENNY however most definitely didn’t concern levi with that. i mean…😭

i’ve never heard or seen anything connecting kuchel to reading?? pls lmk where you heard that if you don’t mind!! i’m curious.

anyway, it’s canon that levi “learned many things” from erwin around this time of which i must imagine had to do with desk work, knowing levi’s life up to then.

(the account associated with that info has, frustratingly, been deleted since i posted it. i’ll go looking if anyone wants the source)

i’ve never heard the tidbit about hange helping levi with his reports either.

i severely doubt it's real. there’s so many “”””facts”””” out there in the aot fandom, recently i made a long post debunking many and after days of research it’s RLY begun to grind my gears. why can’t this fandom be normal😭that ‘fact’ also sounds like it has shipping reasons behind it, like many others…

anyway, all that said, i do think he was on some level illiterate before reaching the surface.

it’s a mystery for now… but i don’t think kuchel knew how to read. kenny didn’t teach him because it paled in comparison in importance compared to fighting, his image, and so on. if levi could recognize letters grouped together, for instance the names of bars, that was enough.

he picked up on basic math along the way, until farlan came along and it became very important to understand numbers - especially as far as income goes. if not for the sake of the, uh, business levi/farlan were running, in the anime, they were saving up money to go live on the surface with.

((((personal hc but)))) despite his talents, shadis never so much as promoted levi to squad leader during his time as commander. he was too stubborn and stuck in his ways, unable to get past the fact that levi was a thug, and yet had more skill than even their strongest soldier (mike).

when erwin was promoted from captain to commander, he gave levi his position immediately. (which honestly pissed levi off, since he didn’t like the idea of having the lives of a personal squad on his hands…. besides the reading and writing issue.)

erwin would go on to teach levi how to read and write, which levi would go on to master on his own. levi, it seems to me, is the type of person who masters everything he tries, and so with practice and determination, he learns quickly….

you can definitely say he overcompensates because he hates for people to know he’s from the underground. not because of the insults personally, but because it would hurt the SC’s image if captain levi was found out to be a thug before, yk?

that’s my take :)

[blackrevell]

WIP WHENEVER (and in my case — forever)

Decided to pile up the things I've been working on lately to guilt-trip my brain into working harder, heheh Digital Art | 3D | VP

// Art bear hugs with evil step-mom

Can't wrap my head around the fact that Phantom Liberty got me by the throat so hard that I got over my fear of painting people. Even the character studies done so far were a huge step out of the comfort zone, yet here I am. I thought it is high time to remember the good ol' times and go for a full-rendered illustration (feat. So Mi again, but she is just so nice to paint!). I still feel a bit heavy-handed after my >1 year hiatus, but I'm getting back to my senses. Also cooking some more character studies, currently trying to draw Jago, because holy shit this man serves every angle (also eyelashes, also eye color, also everything). // 3D As I got curious about modding too, I decided to start with clothing since there are more tutorials about this type of mods and they sufficiently cover how to work with Wolvenkit and mod implementation overall. I didn't want to pick up anything too difficult for the first thing; something just enough to recall sculpting, texturing and vertex tinkering. My friend suggested to roughly reference Beyoncé's look from I'm That Girl video, so the plan is dress + shoes + sunglasses. Right now working on weight painting for the dress, then I'm onto higher-detailed mesh for normals and textures, but that's gotta be easy.

Also plan on doing some extra props for photos, but I haven't yet learned how to implement it into the game and AMM, so this one is for later.

// Virtual Photography Still waiting for CDPR to get back from holidays and release a patch, because the performance I got after the last one dropped and photo mode seems to stop render at 80%. There are a few ideas I have floating in my mind, but I have to wait first. At least I got time to get used to working with lighting mods. Just dropping a couple of throwaways not to leave this part empty.

UPD: OKAY BORO MADE ME POST KURT ONE, let's count this one out pfhdjsksnjs

[unpredictable-probabilities]

Azul Ashengrotto of Royal Sword Academy || Chapter 4: What Lurks Beneath a Smile

Summary

Azul visits NRC and meets some of the people close to Jamil, who are understandably curious whether they’re dating or not.

In the middle of their hangout, Jamil learns of Azul’s burdens as an RSA student, as Rielle’s friend, and the dire danger that comes with them.

Word Count: 18, 487

A few days later, Jamil is making a meal for himself in the school kitchen. Normally he’d be doing it at Scarabia, but some of the freshmen are currently using the kitchen there. He doesn’t mind, it’ll be good if more of his residents develop an interest in cooking; he’d have more help in preparing their meals.

Ruggie was already there when Jamil arrived, and they've been chatting for a while like they usually do whenever they run into each other here.

But Ruggie doesn't have his usual energy tonight, and it’s obvious that he doesn’t wanna return to Savanaclaw even though it’s getting late already.

Jamil has a pretty good idea why, but he’s not sure what to say, or if he should even say anything. Maybe Ruggie would prefer not to talk about it at all, especially since Jamil wasn’t even there when it happened. All his knowledge of it came from stories he heard floating around.

"You can go ahead, Jamil," Ruggie says when he sees that Jamil has finished cooking. "You can eat over there at the table, I'll clean up here."

"You sure?" Jamil asks, glancing down at the bandages on Ruggie's arm.

Jamil had an injury too, a few weeks back. Cut his own hand while cooking on a night just like this, only for him to find out that it had been Ruggie's Signature Spell to disable him before their interdorm Spelldrive tournament.

But even then, he healed up. In contrast, Ruggie's injury, whatever it was, continued to persist well past all other scrapes and bruises he got during the day of the tournament proper.

"Yeah, man," Ruggie says. "I got this. You can start eatin'. I'll join you in a bit."

Ruggie speaks with his usual light tone, but Jamil can see that he can't use his injured arm as well as the other one, and his eyes are a little glazed and distracted.

Jamil sighs. "As if I'd be comfortable eating while someone else is still doing the work. If you don't want me to sit and watch you, you might as well let me help. You can pay me back by giving me a portion of your food…" He squints at the ingredients. "What're you trying to make here?"

"A'right, fine," Ruggie says. "And I'm just making potato and leek soup." He glances at Jamil's dish. "What did you make?"

"Found some black sea bass from the freezer unit and cooked it with some radishes," he shrugs like it was no big deal. "Decided to try something new while the freshmen are busying themselves with Scarabia's kitchen. Meanwhile, how're the other Savanaclaws gonna survive without your cooking? Leaving your lil' cubs out to starve for the night?" he then teases.

"Jack volunteered," Ruggie says. "He said he'll ask the others to help, too. He and Yuu insisted that I take a break. That lil' Ramshackle runt can be persuasive, y'know? Hand me that spatula," he points to the utensils hanging on hooks.

Jamil did just that, also bringing in any other utensils he knows Ruggie would need for the soup.

As he does so, he hums. "Never thought I'd see the day when Ruggie of all people decides to take a break. Even when we were freshmen, you were already hopping on whatever gig or scheme you could lay your hands on for money's sake."

That was, until Leona came along and he and Ruggie promptly began a give-and-take dynamic. But he feels that it would be inappropriate to bring him up, if the recent rumors of what happened before the tournament were true.

"How have you been coping so far? As someone who had a whole year to adjust, it takes a while to get used to."

"It's been okay," Ruggie shrugs. "Even with my work at Savanaclaw, I still got time to get extra gigs here and there. Sweepin' the stables, weeding the gardens, stuff like that. Oh, by the way, I was looking for you the other day to ask about a recipe, but your Vice Prefect said you'd gone out to buy an outfit for the Autumn Dance. You were out for like the whole day, didja have trouble finding an affordable suit? I can hook you up to some of the clothing stores I know."

"... No need," Jamil coolly replies. "I already got what I was looking for and I doubt I'd need to buy a new set of clothes anytime soon. If I ever do, though, I'll let you know." Though he knows that such advice often comes with a price when it's from Ruggie. "So? What's the recipe you needed help with?"

"Do ya know how to make vegetable dishes tasty?" Ruggie asks. "We have a greenhouse and some gardens here so it's much cheaper to mix vegetables and meat in dishes, but the cubs at Savanaclaw are extremely picky and we always have leftovers that go bad if I try."

Ruggie puts his soup in a bowl and grabs a spoon. "C'mon," he jerks his head towards the table and walks over to it.

As they make their way over to the table, with the ghost chefs tilting their heads at them in greeting as they pass by, Jamil starts informing Ruggie about taking out the bitter taste in vegetables (that's most likely why many of the meat-loving Savanaclaws are averse to them) using the right seasoning, like salt or oil and avoiding cooking methods like boiling when he could roast or stir-fry them instead.

"And you can try mixing them with meat in a way where it's impossible for the others to completely take them out," Jamil cunningly smiles. "Like meatballs, omelettes, pies, cookies… The possibilities are endless. Plus, I'm sure once they've figured out the hidden veggies, they wouldn't complain on account of how tasty you'd make them."

Ruggie snickers. "I knew I could rely on ya. If you need anythin' just let me know!"

Jamil's phone on the table lights up from a text.

Ruggie's gaze falls on the name on the screen and he raises his eyebrow.

"Piano Man?" Ruggie says, downing a spoonful of soup. "Why's a piano guy texting you at this hour?"

Jamil gives Ruggie a small look of warning as he takes his phone. "Good news: I thought of how you're gonna pay me back for my advice. Forget you ever saw that."

Ruggie narrows his eyes in suspicion, then he snickers. "A'right, you can keep your mystery piano man a secret."

Jamil leans back in his seat and reads Azul's message.

Jamil's eyes widen a little in surprise, then they soften.

And with that, he turns his phone off and goes back to his meal, knowing that more time spent texting meant more time getting stared at by Ruggie.

"Anyway," he clears his throat. "What are your plans for the upcoming dance? Would attending it be considered part of your break, too?"

Ruggie stares at his reaction suspiciously for a few seconds, but luckily he lets it go.

"There's free food, Jamil, of course I'm going to the dance! I ain't got beef with RSA, anyway, like you and the others. Bet they got all types'a fancy food, and I don't have to prepare any of it!" Ruggie snickers. "I'm a lil' surprised you're attending, though. Never figured you for one who's into those fancy events."

"Fair enough," Jamil shrugs. "I don't have much beef with RSA either, save for that quiz bee, but that's water under the bridge. I figured it'd be a waste to skip out on a celebration when I intend to live my days here to the fullest however possible. Besides, I'm used to those parties so I'm not averse to them. It'd be interesting to see what an RSA party is like and how it compares to ours. I heard even Idia Shroud might be coming. If you're going to be surprised about anybody, be surprised about him."

"Whoa, Idia Shroud?" Ruggie's eyes widen. "Now that's a rare sight to see. I've been here two years and I think I've only seen him like three times. And hey, look at you bein' mature about that quiz bee! I still hear some guys being salty about it, grumblin' about how that Azul Whatshisface stole victory from us. As if they did any work," Ruggie scoffs.

"I know," Jamil smirks in amusement. "I pity them for not having better things to do with their time… What would you have done, if you had lost like I did?"

"Woulda eaten like two dozen donuts to make myself feel better," Ruggie says immediately. "What did you do? I was gonna ask you to hang out after the confetti but ya disappeared. Ya didn't sneak off and kill Azul, didja?" he snickers.

"Hm-hm, who knows?" was all Jamil replies with, slyly taking another bite from his meal. "Also, I wouldn't exactly call you mature, either, considering how you… yanno… " he gestures to his hand, where a faint scar can be seen. "... The lengths you were willing to go to keep me off the field 'cause you perceived me as a threat."

Ruggie's smirk melts off his face, and he looks down at his bowl that was almost empty.

"Yeah… Sorry about that…" he mutters. Then he looks up at Jamil again with a humorous smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I was a real asshole, wasn't I? Not gonna happen again."

He takes his bowl in both hands and downs the remaining soup in one gulp.

"I'm gonna clean up," Ruggie stands up and claps Jamil on the shoulder, then makes his way to the sink.

Jamil watches Ruggie rise and walk to the sink, quiet. He knew he had to get to the conversation somehow.

"... Will you be heading back to your dorm after this? Or do you have other places to sleep in for the night?"

Ruggie starts washing the dishes and takes his time answering.

"I dunno yet," he mumbles as the faucet runs. "I'll decide later."

Jamil finishes his food and moves to the sink.

If he and Ruggie are similar in nature, then Jamil knows Ruggie is going to hate this... but maybe not as much as he would believe.

Color him blasphemous but from recent experiences, talking things out haven't been as bad as he thought.

He settles on the space next to the hyena, voice quiet and sincere. "What happened? Back before the tournament began."

Ruggie purses his lips and doesn't look at him.

"What do you already know?" he asks quietly.

"Other than the fact that all the 'accidents' leading up to it had been a dorm-wide scheme, none," Jamil replies. "I've been hearing rumors but I don't like paying them much heed."

He glances at Ruggie and his arm. "... I can try to guess, though."

Ruggie casts a sideways glance at him, quietly waiting for him to continue.

"Out of all the rumors, one stayed too consistent to simply be baseless speculation." Jamil quietly explains. "Leona, he... The delinquent drove himself into an Overblot."

He gestures to Ruggie's injury. "I'm guessing he did something to you in the heat of the moment, something even harsher than a normal spell or attack, otherwise you'd have healed already."

Ruggie's lower lip trembles, but he bites down on it and nods.

"His…" his voice breaks and he clears his throat. "His Signature Spell. He can turn anything to sand. And when he was… Overblotting… the bastard started monologuing about how he didn't need me and shit, and, well… at some point he kinda tried to kill me," Ruggie lifts his injured arm. "So…"

Jamil winces. "Seriously? Bastard... as if he doesn't know who's been making his life easy around here..."

He looks closely at the bandages and frowns at a realization. Ruggie has never let injuries get the best of him before.

"Something tells me that the injury doesn't hurt you as much as what Leona said." He muses. "You wouldn't have avoided talking about him since then if it hadn't. After all, the other Savanaclaws were there when he Overblotted, but they're being as chummy with him as ever after it's all said and done."

Ruggie finishes washing the dishes and dries his hands on a towel. He leans against the sink and crosses his arms.

"I stayed until after I was sure he's recovered enough," Ruggie says quietly. "But after that… Well, an errand boy's always busy doing work around the campus. And Leona had never been good at starting conversations even when people aren't avoiding him…" Ruggie laughs bitterly. "So we're here. Well, I'm here. I don't care where he is…"

"And you don't have to. If he doesn't wanna talk, then he can have it his way." Jamil huffed. "... If you need a place to stay, we've got spare rooms in Scarabia. I know you don't want to seem like you're running away, but sometimes that distance is needed. You can take it from me."

Ruggie nods. "Thanks, Jamil. I… I think I wanna talk, though…" his voice fades so quietly that Jamil had to strain to hear it. Ruggie chuckles mirthlessly again. "Stupid, right? Guy almost disintegrates my arm and I still care so much about him…"

He takes a shaky breath, and continues speaking in a whisper. "He was in so much pain, Jamil… I don't ever wanna see him like that again. But I don't… I don't know how…" his voice breaks and he shuts his eyes tight.

Jamil's face becomes indecipherable as his brows furrow, then slowly and almost hesitantly, his arm reaches out to give Ruggie a side-hug, glancing around to make sure no one else is snooping in on them before looking back at the hyena.

"It's... good that you wanna talk to him after everything, but if he's not ready then it's not up to you to do everything for him. Give him time, and while you do that, go do some stuff for your sake. Sevens know you deserve it… Honestly, I didn't realize you guys had gotten so close. I was there when you first met him and man, you both looked like you were about to tear each other's throats out. I still remember how you freaked out when he first summoned you to his room."

In an attempt to lighten the mood, he makes an effort to mimic Ruggie's voice. "'He's gonna kill me, I just know it, Jamil. When I disappear from class the next day, you have to come looking for my corpse, okay!?'"

A small laugh bursts out of Ruggie, and he sniffles, opening his eyes again. "I can't believe you remember that." He sighs. "It feels like a lifetime ago."

Ruggie stays quiet for a few moments, then playfully elbows Jamil. "And I didn't realize that you were so down for dramatic talks. When did that happen?"

"I could ask the same about you," Jamil shoots back at him. "I was half-expecting you to put up a fight before admitting anything close to what you told me... Guess I found that those talks hadn't been so bad once the icky part of being all vulnerable is said and done."

Ruggie shrugs. "I guess I'd been wanting to talk about it to someone. And you're the one who asked so I figured it'll be your fault if I ever said anything you didn't wanna hear. Besides, if you blab about this to anyone, I can always get you back by telling everyone about your secret piano man text pal."

Jamil narrows his eyes at him. "Be careful. Spreading his presence might bring his wrath down upon you, not mine." He says this without malice, then chuckles as he shakes his head. "Your secret's safe with me. What're you feeling now?"

Ruggie sniffles and rubs his eyes, grinning. "I feel like I can sleep peacefully in Savanaclaw tonight. Thanks, Jamil, really. Enjoy the half day tomorrow."

Ruggie claps him on the back and starts to walk away.

"No prob, Rug. Enjoy the half day tomorrow yourself," Jamil smiles at him, then moves to finish his dishes by the sink.

The miracle of a talk is astounding, frankly.

Jamil adjusts his backpack on his shoulders as he enters the Scarabia lounge. Classes had finished and he's on his way to his room, then a voice he never expected to hear in this place calls his name.

"Jamil!"

He turns around in time to get tackled by a lanky young girl.

Najma lets him go from the embrace and smiles cheekily at him. "Betcha didn't see that coming, huh?"

Jamil blinks wildly down at her before his jaw drops.

"N-Najma!? What the— What are you DOING here!?"

He puts his hands on her cheeks and inspects her from head to toe, wondering if it's a trick or a trap.

"Hey!" Najma playfully swats his hands away. "Our school has a field trip here today, one of the most prestigious colleges, y'know? I didn't tell you because I wanted it to be a surprise. So, surprise!"

Najma grins up at him.

"A fieldtrip?" Jamil asks, finding it almost hard to believe but there was no other explanation for why she could be here out of nowhere. "Then… what are you doing here away from your schoolmates?!"

"Relax!" Najma chides. "I asked our teacher for permission to swing by here! She knows you're my brother so she allowed me. I gotta get back to them now, though. But later we'll be given free reign as long as we won't be wandering alone! Catch you then?"

"I... suppose, though if you're expecting a tour guide around the school, you'll have to ask someone else. I'm heading out later to the town at the base of the mountain."

"Oh, why? Whatcha doing?"

"I'm gonna be meeting up with someone there." Jamil replies vaguely, already dreading having his little sister pry more information out of him.

Najma narrows her eyes at him and slowly nods. "Okay, okay, if you say so…"

Then she gives him a quick hug again. "See you later!" And she runs off.

Jamil, still awkward around physical affection (despite all his years growing up with Kalim), stood stiff as Najma hugged him.

He watches her leave, then checks his watch before texting Azul.

His phone lights up about a minute later as he's making his way to his room.

Nearing the cafeteria, he notices that the students suddenly hush around him.

He looks around curiously and sees that Azul is walking towards the entrance. He's wearing a light blue long-sleeved button up shirt and black slacks, but it seems like the students still recognize him even without his uniform.

People stare and conversations stop as he goes past. Azul doesn't seem to mind, though. He just keeps walking like he normally does, like he doesn't even notice the other students.

"Hey asshole!"

A sandwich flies through the air and hits Azul square in the chest, splattering meat and tomato sauce all over his white uniform.

He stops walking.

"You got the nerve to show your face here after what ya did?" The thrower steps up to Azul, and Jamil notices the Scarabia band around his arm.

He walks closer and recognizes it as his fellow Second Year, Orfeo, the one who's just barely passing his classes.

The other students seem to take a step back, but the crowd is beginning to thicken.

"I have the Headmage's permission for my visit," Azul says calmly with a polite smile.

Orfeo scoffs. "I don't give a damn if you got the Great Seven's permission. Ya don't belong here. The exit is that way," he points to the direction of the school gate.

"I'm afraid that I have some more business here," Azul says, unfazed. "You'll have to tolerate my presence for a little while longer."

Orfeo takes out his Magic Pen and points it threateningly at Azul's face. "Get out."

Faster than Jamil can react, Azul grabs Orfeo's wrist and twists his arm behind his back.

"I will," Azul continues in his calm tone, standing behind Orfeo. "Just give me a few minutes, my friend."

"Ohhhh…!" say a few of the students, some wincing at the smooth takedown while others watch in amazement.

Jamil sighs, walking forward and proceeding to separate the both of them.

He sharply turns to the fellow Scarabia before him. "What the hell do you think you're doing? RSA or not, assaulting a visitor that the Headmage himself acknowledged is grounds for suspension. What if the younger students from the Scalding Sands saw this behavior while they're in the middle of their tour?" He crosses his arms, stern. "Apologize."

His resident looks baffled at his remarks.

"B-But Prefect, this is the guy that stole your win, right? Why are you taking his side?"

"Because I'm not a petulant child who throws a tantrum over what's already happened," he replies, then remembers that he sorta did have a tantrum. But it at least didn't last very long. "Azul here is an honored guest by the Headmage, me, and Jade Leech. If you have a bone to pick with him, then you have a bone to pick with the three of us. Now, are you gonna run along or am I gonna have to report this to Crowley?"

Orfeo stammers for a bit, looking at him and Azul in turn, then runs away.

Jamil loses the scowl and turns to Azul, noticing the stain on his clothes. He clicks his tongue. "How unfortunate... What a waste of perfectly good food."

Azul raises his eyebrows. "Well, I'm glad you know your priorities."

He looks down at his shirt and a frown creases his forehead.

"I didn't bring a change of clothes," he mutters.

Jamil feigns surprise at seeing Azul. "Oh, it's you."

Then he playfully smiles. "Didn't seem like you needed anyone worrying about you. You looked like you could've gotten it all handled but... Couldn't let you get the entire spotlight now."

He takes out his pen and magics most of the mess away, leaving only a faint red stain.

"Here, so you don't have to run around looking like you just recovered from being shot in the chest." He muttered, taking off his grey blazer and passing it over to him.

Since he still had his hoodie on, he was well-dressed enough even without the extra layer so he didn't mind.

Azul looks surprised, but he takes the blazer and wears it, covering up the stain.

"Thank you," he gives Jamil a small smile, and looks around at the crowd of students still staring at them. More than a handful of them are wide-eyed at Jamil's gesture.

Azul hides it well but Jamil could see in the tension in his shoulders that he's uncomfortable with the attention.

Jamil's pretty tense with it as well, but he knows that no one would interfere with them at this point.

"Let's head somewhere else then, yes?" He tries to look relaxed as he puts his hands in his pockets. "Come on, let's get outta here."

Jamil leads Azul to the corridors outside, then his phone rings in his pocket.

He stops walking, giving Azul a signal to pause for a bit, then takes his phone to see who was contacting him.

Ruggie's name is flashing on the screen.

Jamil raises an eyebrow at this. He looks at Azul.

"Hold on, I have to take this."

He politely walks a few steps forward to answer the call and puts the phone to his ear. "Ruggie?"

"Hey," Ruggie's voice says. "I found your sister."

"Hey, Jamil~!" Najma's voice says from a bit further away.

"Apparently it's their free time now from the tour, and she stopped by the kitchens looking for you. Viper junior here says she wants to help me cook. Wanna hang with us?"

Jamil pauses, contemplating before he looks up at Azul. "A friend of mine's asking if I wanna go cook something with them in the school kitchens. We'll have to go back to the cafeteria to get there, though. Do you have anywhere else you need or wish to go first?"

Azul shakes his head. "No, I'm free for the rest of the day. And cooking with your friends does sound lovely. Is it alright if I help as well?" he smiles.

Jamil's glad Azul doesn't seem so miffed about the cafeteria incident anymore.

"Sure. Come on, then," And he begins to make his way back to the crowded dining area. "Do you cook often?"

“Not as often as I’d like,” Azul says. “If I had the time, I’d open some sort of cafe. But as things stand now, I’m always too busy for such things.”

They pass by the cafeteria again, and Jamil isn’t surprised that the students’ eyes are following them.

What does surprise him is the change in energy. The looks thrown in Azul’s way are less wary and suspicious and more like… fascinated? Some of the students actually smile to their friends when they catch sight of Azul, while others are whispering excitedly among themselves.

Jamil glances around the room, slightly unsettled by the attention. Whether it was positive or negative, he decides any attention still makes him uneasy, so he hurries along to the kitchen doors. As soon as they're inside, he lets out an exhale.

"Well..!" He mutters. "That was unexpected..."

"Indeed," Azul glances back with furrowed eyebrows in the direction they came from. "What was that about? Were they actually smiling?"

"That's what it looked like. But what they were smiling about, I'm not sure…“ He squints at Azul. "They seemed to be looking at you, though. Did you do something in the short time you were there somehow?"

"No," Azul looks even more confused. "After my meeting with Jade, I headed straight for the cafeteria. I never even spoke to anyone else. Perhaps it was you they were smiling at?"

"Eugh, I hope not," Jamil shudders at the thought. “This kind attention from his schoolmates could never lead to anything good. "Whatever. They're not bothering us anymore so that's all that matters in the end, I guess. Anyway..." He glances around the kitchen for any sign of Ruggie and Najma. "... This is the first I've heard of you wanting to own a café."

Azul shrugs. “It’s not like I’m actively working towards it. So there isn’t much to talk about.” He gives his usual polite smile, but Jamil detects the resignation in his tone.

Jamil spots them by one of the stoves. Ruggie seems to be cooking while Najma is sitting on the counter and chatting with him.

He falls quiet. As long as Najma and Ruggie haven't noticed them yet…

His voice dropping low into a quiet mutter, he asks Azul, "Why not? It's what you want to do, right?"

“It’s not that simple, I’m afraid,” Azul says, still maintaining the smile. “And why are we being quiet?” He asks and looks around, matching Jamil’s change in volume.

"But why can't it be that simple?" Jamil asks, bothered by this side of Azul.

"Oh! There he is!" Najma greets, noticing them and holding up her hand to wave. Then she pauses. "Huh? Hey, who's that?"

Ruggie looks over to them at Najma's question, and his eyes widen.

"No way," he turns off the stove and walks towards them, then points to Azul. "You're that RSA dude, right? Azul… Something?"

Azul smiles and holds up a hand to Ruggie. "Azul Ashengrotto. Pleased to meet you."

Ruggie looks surprised for a second before shaking Azul's hand. "Uh, yeah. Ruggie Bucchi."

"RSA?" Najma hops off the counter and walks over to them as well, eyeing Azul. Then she turns to Jamil. "Is that your blazer he's wearing?" 

"Someone threw food at him and tomato sauce tends to leave a stain, so…" Jamil answers, crossing his arms. "What have you two been getting up to? And Najma, since when did you know Ruggie of all people?"

“I was looking for you in the kitchen,” Najma replies. “But I found him instead. So I asked him if he knew you, and then he called you and here we are!”

“Wait wait,” Ruggie looks confused. “Since when do you two hang out?”

"Since Floyd forcibly roped me along into a merman reunion," Jamil smoothly replies. "He came here to meet up with Jade over something and now he's free and wanted to cook along. This is the least I could do to make up for one of my members chucking food at him. Any problem with that?"

“Chill out!” Ruggie says, holding his hands up. “I was just asking, dang.”

“Ooh, you’re a merman?” Najma says in fascination. “I’ve never met a merman before! Najma Viper, Mr. Azul, sir!” she sticks out her hand. “That grump over there is my brother,” she nods her head towards Jamil.

Azul chuckles and shakes Najma's hand. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Najma."

"Okay, now that introductions are done, let's go do what we came here to do." Ruggie waves them over to the stove and he continues to stir-fry vegetables.

“What your resident did was out of your control, you know,” Azul tells Jamil pointedly as they walk to join Ruggie. "There is nothing to make up for.”

“Yeah,” Najma looks at Jamil suspiciously. “Who knew you had such a kind soul, brother?”

Jamil seems to cringe at the word. "I wasn't being so kind as much as I was being responsible. I think anyone would do the same in my shoes."

Ruggie shrugs and does a seesaw motion with his hand. "I dunno about that, but sure."

"Speaking of responsible..." Jamil turns to fuss over his sister. "You're lucky it was Ruggie of all people you talked to. What have I told you about approaching random strangers, Najma? If anything bad were to happen to you…"

“It’s fine, Jamil,” Najma punches him playfully on the arm. “I saw Ruggie’s uniform so I knew he was a student and maybe he knew you. Besides, you taught me well on how to defend myself! You don’t need to worry so much.”

“Yeah, man,” Ruggie agrees. “If you’re the one who taught her to fight, then if anyone here chucks food at her, they’ll be no match.” He glances at Azul. "It's a good thing you got time to hang with us, Azul. You're not busy over there at RSA?"

"Not today, no," Azul replies. "We have no classes today since most of us are attending to the Autumn Dance preparations, including the professors. And I've finished my committee duties and piano rehearsals this morning, fortunately.”

Ruggie’s ears perk up and he turns to face Azul. “You play the piano?”

Azul nods. “I was assigned to play a few songs at the dance; the rehearsals are part of my routine.”

“Huh!” Ruggie says exaggeratedly. “Interesting. And uh, has Jamil heard you play?”

“Once, the other day,” Azul smiles at the memory. “He caught me playing a simple song at the department store piano.”

“Huh,” Ruggie says again, subtly smirking at Jamil. No doubt remembering what Jamil said about going out to buy an outfit for the dance. “Cool, cool, good to know.”

Jamil rolls his eyes, aware of where Ruggie had been going with his line of questioning.

"What're you cooking now?" He eyes the vegetables, pretending he hadn't heard all that. "Are these for those cubs of yours?"

"Cubs?" Najma repeats, confused.

“I cook for the residents of my dorm, Savanaclaw,” Ruggie explains. “This dish ain’t for them, though.” he looks at Jamil. “I’m trying out some recipes following your advice the other night, mixing vegetables into meat. Right now I’m making tacos, just a small batch to see if I get the taste right. There’s enough for four people, though, so y’all can have some, too.”

Ruggie mixes in some cooked ground beef with the vegetables and turns to Azul. “You’re helping, right? Line up those taco shells on the tray over there.”

“Oh, of course,” Azul rolls up his sleeves and walks over to the sink a little farther from them to wash his hands.

Najma walks next to Jamil and whispers. “He’s pretty cute. What’s your deal with him?”

Jamil raises an eyebrow at Najma's before quietly gazing at Azul, whispering his own reply. "He's a friend. Why? Also if you're gonna lurk here, you should help out, too."

“I am helping!” Najma whispers. “I was the one who told Ruggie what spices to add in the ground beef. But more importantly, is Azul the friend you said you were meeting in town today?”

"... Well, I thought we'd be going to the town after his errand here but it seems like he's fine with seeing more of this place," Jamil explains. "What of it?"

“He’s wearing your blazer,” Najma says pointedly, as if it should be obvious what she’s talking about. “In all our lives, I have never seen you lend anyone any of your clothes. Ever. And he’s from RSA? As in the rival of your school? You always avoid any source of potential intrigue, and now here you are being besties with an RSA guy. Also you’ve been awfully defensive ever since Ruggie called you out for hanging out with him.”

"Yeah, well…" Jamil started, fumbling over his thoughts to think of something to say and coming up with none. "So?"

A smile appears on Najma's face, and her eyes are practically glowing. "So, he's not just a friend to you, is he? That is so cool!" she excitedly whispers, eyeing Azul who is now currently talking with Ruggie while he arranges the taco shells on a tray lined with wax paper.

"If you want, I can try to find out if he likes you back," Najma adds, leaning towards Jamil conspiratorially.

"What?!" Jamil quietly hisses, feeling warmth rush into his face. "No, you will not! Get back h—"

But Najma has already begun slinking to Azul's other side, pretending to be interested in his work.

“Do you like cooking, Mr. Azul?” Najma asks, standing next to him.

“I do,” Azul smiles. “I grew up watching my mother cook, and I’ve developed a fondness for it.”

“I grew up cooking with my brother! I enjoy it, too!” Najma smiles back. “The dance that you’re preparing for, will you be helping with the catering?”

“I’m part of the committee that decides on the menu, yes, but I won’t be helping with the actual cooking,” Azul says.

“What kinda food would be there?” Ruggie asks with interest. “Is it gonna be a buffet? I gotta prepare my plan of attack.”

“NRC’s invited! That’s great!” Najma says excitedly.

“Indeed,” Azul smiles. “And yes, it will be a buffet. Drinks and desserts included.”

“Aw heck yeah!” Ruggie says and pops a piece of beef into his mouth. “Oh this is almost done. We’ll have tacos in a minute, kids!”

“Looks like Mr. Ruggie’s pretty hyped about the dance. Maybe you should ask him to be your date,” she says jokingly to Azul, watching carefully for his reaction.

Azul chuckles. “Ah, well, your brother has already asked me that. I’m going to the dance with him.”

Najma gasps softly and her eyes widen.

Ruggie dissolves into a coughing fit, almost choking on the food that he had tasted again. He thumps his chest with his fist a few times.

“WHAT!?” He whips around to stare incredulously at Jamil.

Jamil has his hoodie up, finding the kitchen window extremely interesting to watch right now.

"Jamil?" Azul sounds concerned. "Are you all right? I'm sorry, I... I thought it was alright to mention..." his voice fades out uncertainly.

"It's fine," Jamil says, his small voice trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Wow, that windowsill is really clean. Whoever dusted that deserves a reward.

The pan sizzles.

"Oh crap," Ruggie says and turns off the stove. "A'right that's enough about Jamil's love life. Now I need y'all to see if this is good enough for vegetable-hating beastmen."

He quickly finishes preparing the tacos and carries the tray to one of the tables.

"Come along, kids."

Najma tugs Jamil by his shirt and they all follow Ruggie.

Jamil ends up sitting next to Najma and across from Azul. Ruggie is sitting next to Azul and across from Najma.

He hears the crunch of taco shells and looks up to see Ruggie and Najma eating already. He sneaks a glance at Azul.

The merman is doing his best to maintain a posture worthy of an RSA student, but his eyes are cast down on his taco that remains uneaten, his fingers tapping restlessly on the shell.

Jamil, still feeling mighty embarrassed, knew that people were eventually going to find out, anyway.

He was able to break the news to Rielle and Floyd, but that was because they phrased it as a platonic date.

Meanwhile, Najma and Ruggie are both operating under the assumption that he asked Azul out in a romantic way, which isn't the case.

And yet he didn't say so and explain himself. He probably should.

But a part of him doesn't want to because he knew it'd be fruitless to convince Najma and he'd just waste his energy.

... Is that really the reason, though?

After what his little sister said, his brain begins to review the moments and signs around him. Taking a step back and viewing it from an outsider's perspective, he has to admit that he can see where she's coming from.

But does he really like Azul that way?

…

He sighs, then takes off his hood and takes a bite of the taco, chewing slowly to properly taste the flavors.

"Oh I love it," Najma says, halfway through her food. "You have nothing to worry about your cubs now."

She turns to Azul. "What do you think, Mr. Azul?"

"Hm?" Azul looks distractedly at Najma. "Oh." He takes a bite of the taco and chews it carefully.

"You've done a good job incorporating the vegetables in," he says to Ruggie. "The texture and taste complement each other, and the cilantro makes it taste more refreshing and less greasy. Though if I may, if your goal is to persuade your dorm mates to eat anything, then presentation is a significant factor. You can plate this taco with some dipping sauce at the side, perhaps even fruit slices if they aren’t opposed to that. If the dish is visually appealing, it would immediately be appetizing at first look."

Ruggie nods. "Yeah, that makes sense. They teach fine dining classes at RSA or something?"

"They do," Azul replies. "Though I learned most of my food knowledge from my mother. She owns a restaurant and pays extra attention to food presentation."

"Ooh! Can we go there?" Najma asks excitedly.

"Ah, it's underwater, so you will need to take potions beforehand to be able to breathe and survive the pressure," Azul explains. "If you're ever willing to go through that trouble, I'm sure my mother would be happy to welcome you."

"Sounds like a good summer plan," Ruggie snickers.

Najma turns to Jamil and pokes his shoulder. "Hey. Can you speak now? You're okay, right?"

"Mm-hm," Jamil hums, though he finished his taco first before saying anything further. "Tasty as always, Ruggie. I'm not sure if the visuals are too necessary, considering who you're feeding it to. Make it too fancy and your members might find it a bit alienating… and then there are those who won't care either way. They're already familiar with how your food tastes, so it's not like they need visual bait to lure them in."

"Psh, you're just saying that 'cause your meals are always brown and boring," Najma huffs, turning to Ruggie as Jamil opens his mouth in offense. "Don't listen to him. Making food look as good as they taste will get you far, I just know it!"

"Then I declare this a success!" Ruggie says, doing a voice that reminded Jamil of Riddle. "Thanks, guys. Even though it's really just Azul who helped with the actual cooking. You got a good one there, Jamil. Don't let him go."

Najma nods vigorously, chewing on her food.

Azul clears his throat. "I think Jamil is becoming quite uncomfortable with the jokes for now. Perhaps we can pick another topic to discuss, such as Ruggie's exceptional talent in the kitchen. If you have any dish you would like to have at the buffet, let me know and I'll tell the rest of the committee. I'm confident we can trust your judgment."

"I'll hold you to that," Ruggie points at him.

"Does it make you uncomfortable, though, Mr. Azul?" Najma says, undeterred. "When we talk about you and Jamil being each other's date for the Autumn Dance?"

Azul looks caught off-guard by the question. He blinks, then opens his mouth to speak—

"Oh my word!" a familiar voice cuts him off, and Jamil looks up to see Crowley approaching their table. "If it isn't RSA's very own Azul Ashengrotto!"

Azul stands up and graciously holds out a hand, his standard polite smile on his face. "Sir Dire Crowley."

Crowley shakes his hand enthusiastically. "Oh how honored I am to be in the presence of a future member of the Coral Sea's royal court!"

Jamil notices that Azul tenses up at that.

"Huh?" Ruggie says. "Azul?"

"Why, yes!" Crowley turns Azul and holds him by the shoulders as if Crowley's presenting him to them. "You're looking at Prince Rielle Triton's royal advisor!"

Crowley lowers his voice to a conspiratorial mumble. "Because it's too early to say whether you'll be his king, hm?" he chuckles merrily, not waiting for Azul to respond. "But no matter! Whether you'll be king of the oceans or a trusted right-hand man, the important thing is you'll have a seat at the royal court! Isn't that right?" he grins expectantly under his mask.

"Yes, sir," Azul nods with a smile. But Jamil has seen his real smile plenty enough times to notice that this one is strained. His eyes are guarded, his jaw too tense.

Azul's posture is perfect, his back straight and his hands behind him. Jamil could just see from this angle that Azul is gripping his left wrist with his right hand, digging his fingernails in as he smiles in supposed agreement with Crowley.

The royal advisor? Future king?

Jamil recalls the brief conversation he had with Azul about his cafe and how hasty he was to drop it.

All of a sudden, pieces started to click together as he stares at the merman in surprise.

"Royal court?" Najma asks, innocently unaware of the hidden layer of tension. "There's a royal family in the bottom of the ocean?"

"Najma, we've been taught this," Jamil mumbles.

"We have..? Oh, right. I remember now. The Tritons! WAIT! You're associated with royalty, Mister Azul!?"

Ruggie lowly whistles. "Dang, welcome to the club."

Azul nods, his polite smile unwavering. "Yes, Prince Rielle is a childhood friend of mine."

"How wonderful, isn't it?" Crowley says. "Well, I shall leave you all to your meals now. Until next time, Mr. Ashengrotto!" he claps Azul on the back and walks away, his cape fluttering behind him.

"Can you point me to the nearest vending machine?" Azul says to no one in particular, looking around. "The taco was quite flavorful, and I should like a drink to wash it down," he gestures to his plate, and Jamil notices the blood on the tips of his fingernails.

Before Jamil could say anything, Ruggie casually gestures over to the hallway outside. "Oh, take a right as soon as you exit and then as long as you keep on walking, you'll eventually find it in a corner leading to the courtyard."

"Thank you," Azul says. "Oh, do any of you want anything from there? My treat, since you were gracious enough to feed me tacos."

"Ooh, I'd like some milk tea, please!" Najma happily chimed in.

Ruggie wrinkles his nose and waves a languid hand in the air. "Any drink's fine, s'long as I don't have to pay for it."

Jamil did not know what to say as he's still trying to figure out a strategy, so he just shakes his head. "M'good..."

Azul nods. "All right, I shall be right back." he turns and leaves the cafeteria.

"Why did you say 'welcome to the club' earlier to Azul?" Najma asks Ruggie. "Are you associated with royalty?"

Ruggie begins rambling about Leona, and Jamil notices that Ruggie doesn't seem to mind talking about him anymore, but he's too lost in his own thoughts to pay much attention.

At some point, Jamil realizes that their chatter has stopped, and he glances up to see them staring at him.

"Well?" Najma asks, lacing her hands under her chin.

"Well what?"

"Are you gonna go and chase after him?"

Jamil squints at her in suspicion. "And why would I do that?"

"Hello? He's set for marriage with a sea prince when YOU have been harboring feelings for him! Are you just gonna let him run away!? Go!"

Jamil scoffs, willing to spite his sister by staying rooted in his seat when he suddenly notices Ruggie's expression.

"You should talk to him," Ruggie gestures with a jerk of his head, looking serious as he taps his nose. "My nose never lies and I smelled metal on his hands when he left. You know something we don't, so go. I think he needs it."

Jamil stares at the hyena before making a nod and standing up to head over to Azul.

"Huh? Wait, what's going on?" Najma asks after she watches her brother leave the room entirely.

"Drama talk, lil' Viper, the hallmark of a true romance," Ruggie grins, slipping back to his easygoing nature.

"Drama talk? My brother!?" Najma remarks, incredulous, before standing up from her seat. "Have you met him, Mister Ruggie!?"

The hyena shrugs. "I know, I know, but take it from me, Jamil ain't that bad at it."

Najma slowly sits back down, looking genuinely doubtful. "Okay... But if they take too long, we're gonna go look for them, alright?"

Jamil goes to the direction of the vending machine that Ruggie mentioned, hoping that Azul really did go there.

He sees him in front of it, hands in his pockets and staring at the machine with an expression too serious for someone who just wants to wash down a taco.

Jamil silently comes up to him, not bothering to hide his presence.

Azul doesn't notice. He's still staring at the glass of the vending machine but not making any movements to purchase anything.

Jamil takes a deep breath.

Then softly, he announces himself. "Hey, you."

Azul gets startled and looks at him. He blinks, and in an instant his posture is proper. That strained smile is plastered on his face again.

"Jamil. Have you changed your mind about the drink? Which one do you want?" Azul looks at the array of options.

"What do I want?"

Jamil leans against the vending machine, hands in his hoodie's pockets as he gives Azul a concerned look.

"I want to hear how you're doing. I can see when you're faking it, you know."

Azul looks conflicted for a moment, then he purses his lips and averts his eyes.

"I'm…" he sighs. "How are you so sure? This is only the fourth time we've even seen each other."

"I know what it's like to put on airs for other people," Jamil replies, then continues more quietly, "Besides, I've gotten to see for myself what a real smile looks like on your face. So…"

Azul meets his gaze, and for a moment there's a glimpse of that real smile.

"There it is," Jamil points out, feeling himself grin, too.

A small laugh bubbles out of Azul, and his shoulders relax. "I think… I just want some time to be… not what everyone expects me to be."

"Then let's do just that," Jamil says encouragingly. "If there's anything NRC's done for me, it's given me the space I needed to do what I wanted to do, so tell me, Azul... What do you desire the most at this very moment?"

Azul furrows his eyebrows in thought, chewing his bottom lip. "I'm not sure, exactly… That sounds bad, doesn't it?" he chuckles softly. "Um… Perhaps I should decide on which drink I want first. And I don't want to keep Ruggie and Najma waiting for theirs."

Jamil shrugs, content to have hopefully at least nudged him in the right direction.

He patiently waits next to the merman as he deals with the machine.

Azul straightens up with four drinks in his arms and hands one to Jamil.

He looks down at the bottle and sees that it's blond roast coffee.

"I remember that it's what you had at the cat café," Azul says. "I thought you might still like it."

"Indeed. My tastes haven't changed since then," Jamil quips. "Thanks. What did you get? Same drink as what you got in the café, too?"

Azul shakes his head. "No, just sparkling water. I don't wanna get something with a lot of calories. Shall we get back to the others?"

Jamil nods. "Let's."

But as soon as they round the corner, they run into Najma and Ruggie, who are trying to look as casual as possible.

"Oh, heeeeeeey, you two!" Najma greets. "We were… uh… just on our way to check up on you! You were taking a while!"

"Ah, my apologies for taking too long," Azul says, handing milk tea to Najma and fruit juice to Ruggie. "Shall we get back inside?"

Jamil squints at the both of them as they receive their drinks, then he relaxes, deciding to let it go for now.

"Actually, why don't we walk around?" he asks Azul and Najma. "Ruggie and I can show you a lot of NRC's facilities that no mere tour guide can provide. What do you two think?"

"That sounds lovely," Azul smiles.

"Oh sure," Najma turns to Ruggie. "He won't be a tour guide for me but when it's for Azul…" she shakes her head and gives Ruggie a look that says, "Can you believe this guy?"

"Ah, young love," Ruggie teases.

Jamil rolls his eyes, ignoring them to walk on ahead.

He leads them out of the main campus building, and as they walk along the steep steps to the lower cliff area, he turns to Azul. "Ah. By the way, what did you and Jade talk about?"

Azul adjusts his glasses. "Jade informed me that he remains the sole member of the Mountain Lovers Club, and he wants to promote it so that more of your schoolmates would be encouraged to join.

I suggested that he put up some sort of shop in Octavinelle, since it would be easier to manage if it's just in his dorm. He mentioned his fondness for mushrooms, and that he could pick them and other various plants when he goes hiking for his club activities. So I proposed that it might be good to cook those mushroom dishes for his dorm mates, perhaps even sell them eventually, and to other students as well if he has the time and manpower for it.

He seemed to like the idea so far, and he said he'd be interested to pursue it and ask for further consultation down the road. I asked him why he didn't just collaborate with his Prefect, especially if it would give funds to their dorm as well. Jade said that his Prefect is too… carefree for his liking."

"... Huh. Interesting," Jamil mutters. This is the first he's ever heard of Jade's own hobbies. It says a lot that he's willing to consult Azul about it of all people. "Guess he went to you for help then because of your business acumen."

Plus there was cooking once more. Azul really likes the idea of setting up a catering business, even if he seems to deny himself of that.

"Do you guys have any Masterchef programs back in RSA?" Jamil asks.

They've gone past the staircase and are now making their way to the windmills and hilly fields to the west of campus.

"We do," Azul replies. "I joined last year because the theme was baking, and it was something that I didn't have much experience with. It required significantly more precision compared to cooking, and it was quite the fun challenge to tackle. How about you? Have you joined any similar programs here?"

Jamil nods, before gesturing to Ruggie as well. "Both of us, though we joined on different themes. I was doing Seafood and Ruggie dealt with Eggs."

"The best part about those programs is the leftovers people make and leave behind," the hyena grins.

"Most of our ingredients are either locally cultivated," Jamil nods to the windmills and the chicken coop nearby. "Or bought from Mr. S's shop."

"Have you been inside Sam's joint, lil' Viper?" Ruggie asks, noticing how she's looking around the area. "Where did yer teacher even tour you around?"

"We went to Mr. S's, yeah," Najma nods. "And before that, our teacher showed us the different areas where club activities happen. We caught the Equestrian Club in their practice, it was so cool! I wanted to see the Board Game Club, too, but they weren't in their classroom earlier."

"Oh hey, I think they might be there now," Ruggie checks his phone for the time. "I was hanging out with Ortho earlier and he said that he had to get back to Idia because Board Game Club activities would be starting. Whaddaya say, fellow tour guide?" he turns to Jamil. "Should we take lil' Viper out to see the Board Game Club?"

Jamil shrugs. "Fine by me. It's Idia who I worry about. Dunno if his heart can take new strangers."

He leads them over straight to the club room, clearly unbothered by the prospect.

When they arrive, the club members are separated into small groups, playing different board games on tables placed around the classroom.

"Greetings!" Ortho zooms in front of them, hovering and waving his hand as a greeting. "I see we have new visitors!"

"Hey, Ortho," Ruggie gives him a high five. "This is Najma, Jamil's lil' sis. And this is Azul, Jamil's… I dunno."

"I have met Azul Ashengrotto, yes!" Ortho nods enthusiastically. "Hello again!"

"Hello again, Ortho Shroud," Azul smiles.

"Oh neat, you know each other," Ruggie says.

"Whoa, are you a robot?" Najma asks in fascination, looking at Ortho up and down.

"You may call me that, yes," Ortho says. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Najma Viper! Is there any board game you'd like to see?"

"Hmm, do you have mancala here?" Najma looks around.

"Searching the web for information about 'mancala'," Ortho stays still while a series of beeps could be heard somewhere from him. "Information acquired! We don't have that exact game, but we have materials we can use as a passable substitution. Shall we proceed?"

"Heck yeah!" Najma runs off with Ortho to one of the vacant tables.

Idia appears, looking down at his tablet. "Hey Ortho, have you seen the—"

He looks up and sees the three of them. "Eep!" he jumps back, putting up his tablet to hide his face. "It's Mr. Jamil and his handsome love interest from the rival school," he mutters. "Why am I in this scene?" He peeks above his tablet to look at Ruggie. "Why did you bring them here?" he says in distress.

"Showing Jamil's handsome love interest around," Ruggie replies. "Careful, Idia. I might think you're the one crushing on our guest here."

Idia shudders. "N-Not a chance. Sparkly guys and gloomy shut-ins like me don't mix. A-Anyway, now that you've seen the club for yourselves, you can go now, right?"

He looks around, spots Ortho and Najma playing, and groans. "You gotta be kidding me. You're staying, and who's THAT?!"

"My sister," Jamil replies. "Her school is conducting a fieldtrip here today."

Idia shrinks into a crouch so that he won't be seen. "A-Ah… I should've figured. You guys got similar-looking f-faces."

"No, we don't," Jamil frowns, confused. "Anyway, looks like we're gonna be here for a while. Hope you don't mind."

"And what if I do?" Idia stammers.

"We'll stay here longer," Ruggie snickers. "Might as well find ourselves something entertaining to do while we're here."

"Is that The Game of Life?" Azul says with interest, pointing to the open board game at a vacant table.

"Y-Yeah," Idia says. "Do you play that?" he asks in a small voice.

"I used to, but it's been a long time." Azul approaches the table. "May I?"

"Huh? Uh, s-sure," Idia says.

Azul picks up the dice and throws them on the board with a flick of his wrist. Each die lands with the six side facing up.

Azul's face brightens as he chuckles. "Still got it."

"Whoa!" Idia hurries towards Azul, forgetting his shyness for a second. "How'd you do that? That's gotta be luck, right?"

Azul just smiles and picks up the dice again. He throws them, and the sides with the six dots are facing up once more.

"NO WAY!" Idia picks up the dice and inspects them. "Did you rig these? What spell is that?"

Azul chuckles and shakes his head. "I used to play this, and there was a time when I practiced how to throw the dice so that they would land with my desired numbers facing up. It took a long time and a lot of math and wrist cramps, but I eventually figured it out," he says proudly.

Idia's jaw drops as he stares at Azul. "That's like, mega-obsessive geek behavior. You played this game a lot?"

Azul nods. "Indeed. Do you like this game as well? Perhaps we can play some time," he smiles at Idia.

Idia falls quiet, and his face goes red and he scurries away, hiding behind Ruggie with his tablet covering the lower half of his face.

"Th-th-there're other games here," he gestures to the other tables. "If you wanna check out any more," his voice fades out and he shrinks behind Ruggie's shoulder.

"Who do you play these dice games with?" Jamil asks Azul, quirking up an eyebrow. "They must feel like quite the unfortunate sap facing against you."

"Rielle," Azul says. "We discovered this game in our freshman year, and I didn't like that I had so little control over the outcome of the dice. He said that it really is up to chance, and I took that as a challenge," he said smugly.

"Like RSA Rielle?" Idia says in surprise, appearing behind Ruggie. "You just casually play board games with the mega-protagonist crown prince?"

"Not anymore," Azul shrugs. "A mega-protagonist crown prince does get busy with princely duties, and I haven't had much free time as well."

"Then consider this a good opportunity to let loose before it's back to busywork," says Ruggie. "Knowing that the chance and dice games can be rigged crosses them outta the list, what sort of board games do you like to play?"

"Hmm," Azul hums thoughtfully. "I like Clue. And Monopoly. Though both games take a long time to play. How about you two?" he looks at Ruggie and Jamil.

"Eh," Ruggie shrugs. "Board games don't really fill my pocket with pay so I don't really dabble on 'em. I heard some really old ones can fetch ya a pretty penny, though!" His eyes begin to roam the club's belongings with greedy interest.

"Ahem," Jamil gives the hyena a pointed look before glancing back at Azul. "Playing either sounds fine with me. Just so you know, I'm not gonna lose so easily."

A smile pulls at the corner of Azul's lips. "Good, it wouldn't be fun otherwise."

"Ugh," Ruggie makes a disgusted sound. "You two don't mind if I don't join you, right? I don't need to be around all this unresolved sexual tension," he gestures with his hands as if indicating something in the air.

"What are you gonna do, then?" Jamil asks. "Those games work better with more people."

Ruggie shrugs. "I dunno. I'll roam around and see if any game interests me."

He walks away and begins looking at the different games that the club members are playing.

"I've never played mancala before," Azul offers. "From what Najma and Ortho are doing, it looks like it only needs two people. Would you mind teaching me?"

"Oh. Well, sure, if that's what you want," Jamil replies. "Like Ortho said, we have to find some substitutes for it first."

And so they do, cobbling up "shells" with the use of dice and bowls after getting (reluctant) permission from Idia.

From there, Jamil lays down the ground rules and the objective of the game, teaching Azul with a calm demeanor and a small demonstration.

Azul understands the game well enough, and they start playing. As he's moving the makeshift shells around the board, his sleeve hikes up a little and reveals the crescent cuts on his wrist from his fingernails. He notices it—Jamil could tell from how he paused for the briefest second and his eyes widened—and smoothly switches the pieces to his right hand and continues his turn. But that only revealed his blood-tipped fingernails, though the amount of blood was little enough that he doesn't seem to know it was there.

"Have you played this game a lot with your sister?" Azul asks casually.

Jamil goes to tear his gaze away from Azul's hand and musters an answer, voice a little tense.

"Right, um… We'd play every once in a while, but then she'd get fed up with losing all the time and find another game that I'd be unfamiliar with or come up with extra rules in the hopes of giving me a handicap."

From nearby, Najma can be heard yelling out in defeat. "I should've known better than to challenge a robot in a game of strategy!"

"Seriously, what is the appeal of this thing?" Ruggie says, sidling up to a pair of students who were engaging in a battle of chess. "I keep getting roped in to play this only to get my ass beat. Oh shit, your horse is vulnerable to that bishop over there."

"Hey! No backseating!" one of the chess players snarl.

"And it's a knight, not a horse!"

"It's a piece in the shape of a horse, what's it matter?" Ruggie scoffs.

Despite the lively atmosphere, Jamil feels tense as he plays the game with Azul at a quiet pace.

Then, as the merman's fingers cross over to Jamil's side in the middle of his turn, Jamil reaches out and gently takes Azul's hand, bringing his blood-tipped nails under close scrutiny.

His expression is contemplative, before he glances up to meet Azul's gaze and quietly asks, "How're you holding up now?"

Azul tenses up when he realizes what Jamil has been looking at on his fingernails.

He averts his eyes for a moment before meeting Jamil's again with a small smile. "Better now, thank you. I didn't realize I'd…" he nods to his fingernails. "I wasn't aware… Does everyone else know?" he asks quietly.

Jamil's thumb lightly brushes against Azul's knuckle. "Only Ruggie. Can't disguise the smell of blood against a beastman, after all… Are you worried he or I would tell anyone?"

Azul lightly shakes his head. "I’m not. It's just, apart from Rielle, no one has really seen me be… vulnerable like this. I'm not entirely sure how to act… Or how to feel."

"... What are you unsure about?" Jamil asks, trying to be careful in his questions as he lets go of Azul's hand to resume play. He looks around to make sure no one had noticed them pausing and whispering to each other.

Azul takes a breath and continues playing, speaking quietly. "If people's perception of me changed, if they think that I'm not as strong or put-together as they first thought… what then? Will their treatment of me change? And if it does, what do I do?" He sighs. "Anyway, we don't have to talk about it. I appreciate you listening.”

Jamil waits until Azul has finished his turn before starting his. "And... I'll be happy to keep listening. If everything on the other side of this island is becoming too much to bear, you can always find me here. But if you want my two cents on the matter, if people think negatively of you just because you want to be yourself, without the title of advisor or future king or RSA student…"

Jamil finishes the last move of his turn, steady and sure. "... Then those people are not worth keeping around."

Azul pauses and stares at him for a moment, then he nods and looks down at the game as he takes his turn.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Azul gets quiet for a few moments, then adds in a lighter tone, "You know, Jamil, it seems like you're always the one listening to my woes and offering to help. I'd feel more comfortable if I could do something for you in return. So if there's anything you need help with, just let me know," he meets Jamil's gaze.

Jamil tilts his head. "I think you've already been doing plenty of helping on your part. You listened to me just like this the previous times we hung out, so if anything, I'm just following your example. But hey…" He grins. "I'll keep your offer in mind. Here's an idea, if everyone keeps bothering you with expectations over there, just do what I did: go to NRC. Maybe it's not too late for a transfer."

Azul looks surprised, then he blinks at Jamil. "Hm, I'd never considered that before. Although," he smiles in amusement, "some of your schoolmates might be opposed to that idea. I'd only been here for less than a day and your spritely resident was already trying to kick me out."

"Buuuut let's not forget the way people reacted when we came back to the cafeteria," Jamil reminds him. "Whatever happened there, I have it on good assumption that they're not gonna try anything funny again for a while. Come on… You can set up your own catering lounge here and everything, give the cafeteria a run for its money."

Azul stares at Jamil, then he says playfully, "When we first came up on that stage and did the obligatory handshake at the start of the quiz, with your death grip and hardened expression, I never would have thought that you'll be persuading me to spend more time in your vicinity."

"What can I say? You're pretty good at changing minds, Ashengrotto," Jamil chuckles. "And if you can sway us stubborn fools here in NRC, maybe the same can be done for the rest of the people you surround yourself with."

Azul raises his eyebrows and lets out a laugh of disbelief. "And how ever did I change your mind? Did you like the beach cove that much?"

"It was during the cat café that I began to see you in a different light. It's true that you're more pleasant and nicer than the company I keep," Jamil gestures with his head to the situation behind Azul, where Ruggie's running from the chess players after popping a piece in his mouth out of spite, while Idia is crouching under a desk to hide and Ortho's ignoring the ruckus to play a luck-based game with Najma instead. "But I've begun to think that that may not be a bad thing."

He shoots Azul a playful narrowed glare. "Ah, but I still got a reputation to keep here, so they're free to think whatever they like about you and I hanging out together as long as you don't spill how sappy I get when talking with you."

Azul looks down and laughs, his cheeks becoming a bit pink. He clears his throat and looks at Jamil.

"And what reputation is that, Viper? Are you supposed to be an aloof and mysterious figure here?"

"Hah, pretty much. Also clever and capable and composed, but unfortunately, I feel like you've already seen past all of it," Jamil snickers, then glances down at the board, now emptied except for both far ends. "In the meantime, at least you haven't beaten me in this just yet."

"You are clever and capable and composed," Azul says, leaning back in his chair. "I don't think people would stop seeing you that way, no matter who you hang out with."

"But they also think I'm constantly ready to stab someone in the gut if they go so far as to look at me wrong, which I'm perfectly okay with, and yet…" Jamil leans back in his seat, too. "It's gonna be hard maintaining that reputation when your… energy is infectious. When you smile... really smile… how can I not smile along? Now I still haven't decided if it's a virus RSA students carry or… if it's just you bringing that out of me."

Surprise is evident in Azul's eyes, and he's blushing even brighter. He looks down and chuckles shyly. "So you… You really don't mind that people know about us… hanging out?" He looks at Jamil again, and Jamil senses in his tone that he was going to say something other than 'hanging out'.

Jamil's gaze softens. "I had to wrap my head around it for a bit when my own family member started joking around, but… No. No, I don't mind at all." 

"Sevens," Idia says in the distance, utterly baffled and muttering to himself. "They've been staring at each other several minutes after their game has already concluded… Can't be me, fr fr." 

Azul's posture relaxes and he smiles. "I'm glad you don't. Because… I've recently discovered that there is an aviary in town. And I was wondering… Perhaps you'd like to go there with me?"

Jamil blinks at him, shock blooming on his face.

"Huh? Is this… because of the bird thing I mentioned?"

"Yes," Azul smiles sheepishly. "You're not allowed to keep a pet bird here so I thought, perhaps we could go to them instead. But, it was just an idea, we don't have to, forget I said anything," he shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair.

"Hey, hey, let's do the forgetting once you've actually heard me reject you now," Jamil jokes, knowing full well he'd say the same thing in Azul's shoes. "And there's no rejections from me here. It's, well... I'm definitely looking forward to it." He smiles, both genuinely excited to see birds yet also embarrassed that Azul even bothered to remember and do something to make him happy.  "But first, what's your reason for continuing to hang out with me?"

Azul raises an eyebrow. "You don't hear me asking such questions. Even when you've been persuading me to move across the island just to be in the same school as you," he says jokingly.

"Whoa, I didn't say that just because I want to be with you. I was also suggesting it for your own personal interests," Jamil defends, only to realize a moment later that he had just admitted that he wants Azul to transfer to spend more time with him.

Jamil clears his throat. "Besides, I think I already told you that I enjoy your company, so going along with invites like these feels natural, doesn't it?"

"... It does," Azul holds his gaze. "And… I want to keep hanging out with you because…" he shrugs lightly. "You make me really happy. You say that you smile when I smile genuinely, but… you should know that just being with you is enough to make that happen. And I really like seeing your smile, too. It suits you."

…

Jamil tries to keep that steady reassured look on his face, but his darkening cheeks and his fingers itching for his hood gives much away.

"Okay, srsly, guys, no PDA allowed in the Board Game Clubroom. What are you trying to do? Rub it in our faces?" Idia groans, though he's still doing nothing to physically put an end to it. "Also can someone kick Sir Ruggie out already before he starts eating up our game pieces?"

"I'm on it, brother!" Ortho salutes, hovering up and pausing at Azul and Jamil's side. "Will you two be accompanying Mister Ruggie and Miss Najma in their departure?"

"Oh, we could, yes," Azul says. "We've completed our game, after all." He looks at Jamil. "Shall we go with them?"

Jamil nods and begins to stand. "All right, let's."

He glances out to the windows. "Are you needed back at RSA anytime soon?"

Azul shakes his head. "No. I have until 5 PM until I need to go back. How about you? Do you have any plans since today is a half day for you?"

"Nah," Jamil says. "My plans had been to meet up with you, which now evolved into me being an advanced tour guide."

As they exit the room, much to the club members' relief, he then turns to his companions and asks, "So, where do the visitors wanna go next?"

"Can we look at the horses again?" Najma asks excitedly.

"Club activities are prolly done now," Ruggie says. "But we can still go to the stables."

Najma turns to Jamil with a hopeful grin. "Do you think I can ride a horse?"

Jamil gives her a stern look but sighs. "I suppose… if the club leader is still there, then we can try to ask for permission, but no promises."

"You wanna ride horses, lil' Viper?" Ruggie asks, acting more like a friendlier big brother than Jamil does. "What about our RSA buddy over here?"

"I do have some training in horse-riding," Azul adjusts his glasses. "Though I am a tad concerned that I might not be wearing proper riding clothes."

"Don't sweat it, man," Ruggie says. "You're fine. Let's go!"

They continue to walk under the hot afternoon sun, passing by students having picnics, jogging, or making their way to club activities.

Ruggie turns to Jamil as they're nearing the field. "You gonna want a horse, Jamil?"

"I'm not really interested in riding horses," Jamil muttered. "But I can at least be on standby to babysit these two if I have to. How about you?"

"Nah, I'll just be hanging around. Oh look Riddle's here," Ruggie says when they reach the stables. "Hey, Riddle!"

Riddle turns around from brushing his horse. "Ruggie, Jamil. What brings you here?" he glances at their two friends.

"Azul Ashengrotto?" Riddle says in mild surprise, before turning to Najma. "And I'm guessing you are Jamil's relative? I must say you're quite the interesting group," he says to Jamil.

Jamil eyes Riddle, noting his calmer demeanor compared to how he normally had been until recently.

He had always wondered how that came to be. There were rumors about it, too, but... nothing concrete.

"Hello, Riddle," Jamil greeted. "My sister and Azul are here to visit and, well... I apologize for the trouble, but—"

Najma hops up the fence a little to take a closer look at the horses, starry-eyed. "Can I ride on one of these things, Mister Riddle?"

"I do have the authority to grant you permission, but…" he furrows his eyebrows in thought then looks at all of them. "Do you all want to ride a horse? Do any of you have any experience or training at all?"

"I ain't riding, don't worry," Ruggie says. "Just here to chaperone, sir."

"I've had some experience in Knight Class," Azul says.

"Night class?" Ruggie asks in confusion. "Your evening classes teach you horse-riding?"

"Not 'night' as in 'evening'," Riddle frowns in exasperation. "Royal Sword Academy has a class elective where they can train to be a knight." He turns to Jamil. "Do you and your sister have any sort of training?"

"I wouldn't go so far as to call it training, but I do have experience," Jamil replies. "I'm also here to chaperone, though. It's Najma who wants to try."

"I dunno how to ride horses just yet," the girl shakes her head. "But I can start learning! Can you teach me, Mister Riddle?"

Riddle raises an eyebrow, and there's something that almost looks like a smile on his face. "I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I can only teach you for no longer than 20 minutes, all right? I have other duties to attend to."

"Got it, Mister Riddle! Thank you!" Najma beams.

"And you, Azul? Would I be correct to assume you do not need any guidance?" Riddle asks him.

Azul smiles politely. "Indeed. I shall not be doing anything complex nor dangerous. I can assure you that I will keep the horse safe. And I would not want to take any time away from Najma's training."

Riddle nods. "Very well. If you do happen to need any guidance, perhaps you can ask Jamil, seeing as he has some knowledge of it as well."

Jamil notices how Riddle takes note of Azul's NRC blazer. Riddle looks at Jamil curiously, then turns to Najma.

"Miss Viper, if you'll follow me," Riddle leads her to one of the horses and explains that it's one of the calmest and most suited for beginners.

"Riddle's in a good mood today," Ruggie says. "Imma go ask him if he'll tip me if I clean up here and brush the horses," he jogs over to Riddle and Najma.

Jamil watches Ruggie trot away before glancing back at Azul.

"So… Knight classes, huh? Is that a mandatory part of the curriculum?"

"No," Azul shakes his head. "It's an elective, but I was expected to take it as one of Rielle's close friends. Those who surround him must be able to protect him and themselves to some degree."

Azul starts walking and looking at the horses. "Are you sure you won't be riding? What will you be doing in the meantime?"

"Watching you and Najma ride around. It's fine… Why? Do you want me to ride along?" Jamil asks, leaning against the fence.

"It’s up to you," Azul stops in front of a brown and white stallion. "I'm just not sure if I'm comfortable with the thought that I'm the one who asked you to hang out today and yet you'll merely be standing around and, in your own words, babysitting," Azul smiles at him. "I want you to have fun as well."

"Hmm… Would you show me some stuff you learned from Knight Class if I join in?"

Azul's looks caught off-guard. "It's not nearly as cool as you might think, I warn you. It might not be so different from what you've already learned as a retainer."

Jamil playfully sighs, glancing away. "Then it looks like I must continue to hone my retainer skills by keeping a watchful eye over you and Najma from here…"

"Oh come now, that's not what I meant," Azul says gently, stepping in front of Jamil. "I was just worried you'll get bored if I just prattle on about things you might already know."

Jamil looks at him once more. "Let me be the judge of that.” A part of him feels sure much of Azul's prattling wouldn't bore him, anyway. "Shall we get ourselves some horses, then?"

Azul smiles. "We shall."

After readying their horses, they mount them and begin at a trot across the hill.

Azul tells Jamil about the proper ways to hold the reins and about encouraging the horse to move or stop without hurting it or making it feel tense. Jamil already knows about most of it, as Azul had guessed, but it was a nice refresher, and nicer to listen to Azul explain it.

"Usually the basics end there," Azul says. "But in RSA, we must also learn to wield at least one weapon or shield while on a moving horse."

Azul lets go of the reins with one hand and raises his Magic Pen to demonstrate. "It's a little trickier to keep one's balance when holding something heavy–though we don't have anything like that right now so I'm just using my pen as a stand-in. A more advanced lesson is learning how to accurately shoot a bow and arrow from a moving horse. I never quite learned that one," Azul says in amusement.

"Interesting . . ." Jamil attempts to picture Azul wielding a weapon to battle. It's a strange image, but still rather intriguing. "Are people like Rielle also participating in this elective, too?"

Azul nods. "Our professors in that class have higher expectations from nobility, which is saying a lot considering their expectations for the rest of us already. Though I don't envy Rielle his more rigorous training, he does make for a rather formidable sparring partner. "

"It really does sound like training for knights," Jamil commented. "Have you guys ever been told what it was all for? If it were me, I'd suspect there to be something afoot."

"Rielle is a crown prince," Azul begins. "For people like him, it's to prepare him in case he would need to fight in actual battles for his kingdom. For people like me–those who are expected to always accompany nobility–it's so we would be able to defend them in case of an assassination attempt or any other attack. Then there are those who aspire to be knights in the future. If they receive good marks in that class, it would significantly help their applications after graduation."

To aspire for a job Jamil had been trying to get out of sounds absurd. If he ever finds those hopefuls, he'd tell them they could just swap positions. That way, everyone would be happy.

Now that he thinks about it, they remind him of that First Year, Sebek Zigvolt. Completely wild.

"So someone told you to take the elective because you were Rielle's friend?"

Azul averts his eyes and looks straight ahead. "More like they all assumed I would take it because I'm Rielle's closest friend. His father was looking forward to the both of us going to RSA, saying that the Knight Class there would be very useful to us. Most of our professors said the same thing in our first week at RSA."

Jamil gave him an unimpressed look. "... So you took it."

Azul smiles sadly, keeping his eyes on the horizon. "There is no need to sound so disappointed, Jamil. I know what I did." Then his smile changes into a friendlier one, and his voice sounds upbeat when he speaks. "Come on, I'll race you to the top of that hill. Hiyah!" he snaps the reins, digs his heels into the horse's sides, and it gallops away.

Jamil sighs and speeds along after him, taking in the breeze as he watches Azul ahead.

He supposes there's little he can do considering this is the life his friend chose.

But it's still frustrating watching him just accept it lying down.

He spurs his horse onward to keep a steady pace with Azul's, making sure not to lag too far behind but not close enough to make the other speed faster.

Upon reaching the top of the hill, Azul doesn't slow down. He turns his horse around and veers towards the obstacle course that the Equestrian Club uses for their activities.

His jaw is set and there's an intensity in his eyes as he glares ahead, leaning forward on his horse and speeding up.

Azul reaches the first hurdle, and the stallion clears it easily. They go through the course, Azul going for the more advanced hurdles, the horse leaping higher and farther, Azul ducking and dodging the wooden planks.

Jamil stays close by, briefly figuring that he doesn't want to risk the hurdles if he doesn't know how capable his horse is.

But then he manages to get a brief glance at Azul's expression, and wordlessly, he urges his steed to go for it. He's not going to let Azul take the win that easily.

Jamil's horse clears the hurdles, though the blinding glare of the sun proves to be a challenge at some points. Fortunately, the wind is refreshing enough that he can keep his focus.

As he catches up to Azul at the end of the course, he sees him clutching the reins so tightly that his knuckles have gone pale. His head is bowed down and his eyes are closed as he breathes heavily.

The horse is just standing now, but it keeps shifting on its hooves restlessly, as if sensing its rider's tension.

Jamil slows his horse down, eyeing both the rider and steed ahead of him to spot anything off. Are they injured?

"What's wrong?"

As he walks closer, he doesn't see any injuries on either of them, but Azul isn't responding, his forehead beaded with sweat.

Azul takes a sharp intake of breath and his eyes fly open, only for them to roll back in his head as his body slumps, and he begins to slide off the horse.

"Whoa!" Jamil hisses, dashing forth to catch him before he completely slid out. "Azul!?"

Jamil has one hand around Azul’s shoulders while he leans limply against Jamil’s chest, remaining seated on his own horse.

It's difficult having to calm both horses at once, but Jamil isn't a stranger to calming down animals.

Hooves sounded in the distance, and Jamil looks to see Riddle and Najma on horses quickly approaching them.

"What happened?" Riddle asks when they reach them, his eyes falling on Azul’s unconscious form against Jamil. "Let's set him on the ground, we can't risk him falling off and breaking his neck."

Riddle takes out his Magic Pen and gently levitates Azul and places him on the grass.

Ruggie runs up to them, holding the brush that he’s been using for the horses. "Whoa! What happened to him?"

"Is he injured?" Najma asks worriedly from her horse.

Jamil hops off his own horse and states, "Stand back" as he tries to figure out what's wrong.

Azul's pulse is racing, and his skin is feverish to the touch. At the very least, Jamil doesn't see any cuts or bruises.

Then Azul's eyes flutter open, and his face cringes as he puts a hand up to shield his eyes from the sun. "What happened?" he asks, his voice hoarse.

"A heat stroke, maybe," Jamil mutters, moving to shade Azul from the sun shining overhead. Despite his worry, he maintains a calm composure. "How're you feeling? Can you sit?"

"Were you not aware you were feeling unwell before you decided to ride a horse?" Riddle asks, frowning.

Azul sits up with a grunt. "I wasn't feeling unwell at all. Though perhaps it wasn't a good idea to exert myself so much on a hot day without wearing breathable clothing. Merfolk don't exactly thrive under the sun."

He glances up in confusion. "Isn't it raining, though? I thought I heard something… dripping…" he closes his eyes and shakes his head as if to clear it, then opens his eyes again. "Never mind. I must have imagined it."

Riddle tenses up at Azul's remark.

Ruggie suddenly kneels down next to Azul. "You haven't been using your magic just now, have you? Where's your Magic Pen?" he asks, almost in a panic.

Azul furrows his eyebrows and shows his pen to Ruggie. "I haven't been using my magic. Why?"

Ruggie inspects the magestone on Azul’s pen, then sighs in relief. He falls silent, shakes his head, and stands up again beside Riddle while averting his eyes.

Riddle gives Ruggie a curious look, his frown deepening. He turns to Azul.

"We should have you checked at the infirmary. As the person who gave you permission to get a horse and use this area for riding, this is my responsibility. I shall return Najma’s horse to the stables and then we shall head out.” Riddle is looking at Azul and Jamil imperatively, letting them know that there is no room for arguments.

Azul sighs. "All right," he stands up and brushes dirt from his clothes.

The Viper siblings throw each other a look of concern before Jamil helps Najma off her horse and they both follow.

"Can we come, too? I was the one who wanted to go horse-riding, after all. If I'd known…" Najma asks, nervously fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

"Oh, it's all right, Young Viper," Azul says with a kind smile, gently patting Najma on the head. "It was my decision to go horse-riding myself, and none of us could have predicted what happened."

"You may come along if you wish," Riddle says. “Just be certain not to get in the way."

Both Vipers nod and they quietly wait for Riddle and Ruggie to return the horses back to their stables before they head to the infirmary.

While they’re all waiting outside for Azul as the nurse had instructed, Riddle approaches Jamil and Najma, looking at the latter.

"Najma, Azul would need to be sufficiently hydrated. Would you go to the vending machine out in the corridor and buy him two cold bottles of water? You may get whatever food or drink you want as well," he hands Najma some thaumarks.

Najma straightens up and accepts the money, nodding with a determined look on her face. "Yes, Mr. Riddle!" She runs off.

Riddle watches her disappear around the corner before turning to Jamil.

"What exactly happened before he fainted?" Riddle asks, looking troubled.

Jamil looks down the hall where his sister had run off, then he turns to Riddle. "He got really into his horse-riding, as far as I can tell. He just looks like he overexerted himself, though it was pretty sudden.” He notices the crease between Riddle’s eyebrows, the worried look on his normally composed features. “You know something, don't you?"

Riddle purses his lips. "Were you two talking about anything in particular before he started on the obstacle course? I saw that he had done even the advanced hurdles."

Jamil wonders if it was wise to divulge to others something so personal to Azul, so he decides to be vague. "If you want details, you may have to ask him, but… We did have a conversation about his… complicated feelings over his situation as an RSA student."

The frown on Riddle's face remains. He turns to Ruggie, who is leaning against the wall a little far from them, lost in thought.

"Ruggie."

Ruggie startles at Riddle's voice, then he walks over to them. "Yeah?"

Riddle looks at Ruggie, as if taking the time to weigh his words before saying them.  "Why did you ask Azul if he had been using his magic?"

Ruggie looks down and shifts on his feet. "I dunno…" he mumbles.

"You're suspecting the same thing, aren't you?" Riddle says, impatience coloring his voice.

Ruggie winces as if Riddle had shouted at him, even though the Prefect had maintained his calm volume.

"I could be wrong," Ruggie says uneasily. "It was just the first thing that came to mind, that's all. Guess I'm still a little paranoid…" he rubs the bandages on his arm.

Riddle sighs and shakes his head. "This isn't good at all," he mutters.

"What? What're you both on about?" Jamil asks, glancing back and forth between the two before eyeing Ruggie's injured arm. "Wait… You're not saying this is related to… There's no way."

Riddle raises an eyebrow at him. "'No way'? Let me remind you that Overblots are supposed to be extremely rare, and yet we've had two already happen in this school in less than three months. You're not a fool, Jamil; you must have heard the rumors and pieced them together. This mindset of 'there's no way' is what has left us all ill-prepared in the first place."

Riddle starts to pace the floor, muttering. "The Headmage really should be doing something more about this…"

Ruggie snorts. "Crowley? Yeah, good luck relying on that guy for anything."

Jamil stares at Riddle. "Then it's true. You went through an Overblot, too… Wait, but what makes you think Azul's in danger of the same thing?" he points out. "Did you or Leona have fainting episodes, too?"

Riddle stops pacing in front of Jamil. "Indeed, it's true," he says grimly. "But I don't know Azul Ashengrotto well enough to judge if he's about to go through the same thing. I didn't have fainting spells, but nearing my Overblot, there were moments when… I felt myself slipping away. And then the dripping sound…" Riddle looks away, his face strained from the memories.

"It was the same thing for Leona," Ruggie mumbles. "I dunno if he heard any dripping sound, but whenever he got too upset about having to defeat Malleus, it's like he turned into a different person. He's always been a pain in the ass and his snarls are practically a part of his personality, but leading up to his Overblot, sometimes it's like he lost control of himself. It wasn't loud or anything, and I don't think anyone else noticed. But he was… different." Ruggie shakes his head. "I can't explain it."

"It's the conflict," Riddle says, his voice quiet. "There were times when I could feel the darkness growing within me. I had to fight it with every ounce of my being, and as we all know, I didn't entirely succeed…" he looks down at his hand, a distant look in his eyes. He suddenly looks up at Jamil. "In the moments before he fainted, what was Azul like?"

Jamil furrows his eyebrows in thought. The sad smile, followed by the intense (frustrated?) look in Azul's eyes. "Azul's usually what you'd expect from an RSA student: pleasant, polite, competent... But for such a capable guy, he seems to carry a sense of... resignation when it comes to his future. People expect a lot out of him, most of which I suspect he doesn't wanna do at all, and he gets a bit more morose whenever he's reminded of it."

Riddle and Ruggie exchange worried glances.

"Damn," Ruggie says to no one in particular. "That sounds awfully familiar, don't it?"

"Jamil," Riddle says urgently. "Right before he fainted, did Azul seem uncharacteristically angry or frustrated? How was he in his last few seconds of consciousness?"

"It was hard to say since he was riding ahead of me, but in the few moments I did catch a glimpse of him, I suppose he did seem a little intense. I thought he was just determined to win." Jamil responds. "Then when I was heading over, he looked like he was concentrating on something, since he was tense and had his eyes closed. Then he gasped and fainted. Does that mean anything? I figured he was getting dizzy at the time."

"Tense and concentrating?" Ruggie looks at Riddle and Jamil in turn. "Like the conflict that Riddle mentioned?"

"He could just be getting dizzy," Riddle frowns, then shakes his head in defeat. "I don't know. It's extremely difficult to determine these things, given the unfortunate lack of research on the subject. It would be better if we could also speak to Leona about this, but I doubt he would be so inclined to discuss the subject."

Riddle looks at Jamil. "To be on the safe side, do what you can to see to it that Azul doesn't repress his negative feelings so much. He must be able to talk about them and accept them. Letting such feelings fester will not be good for him, regardless of an Overblot."

"Wait," Ruggie says. "Only powerful mages are in danger of Overblotting, right? Because of how much magic they can produce? Is Azul that powerful?" he asks Jamil.

Jamil frowns. Azul's smart and strong, but Jamil can't say he's seen much of his powers firsthand to conclude anything concrete.

"I think you're better off asking the Leech twins or Prince Rielle. They have known the guy much longer, and the twins told me that Azul had a magic contract business when they were younger."

The sound of footsteps approaches, and Najma appears, holding a bag of drinks.

"I used my money for the others, Mr. Riddle," she says as she hands bottled drinks to all of them and returns some change of thaumarks to Riddle. "How's Mr. Azul?"

The door to the infirmary opens. "Better now, thank you," Azul says with a small smile, closing the door behind him. "It seems like it really was just exhaustion and the heat. I hope I didn't worry you too much.”

Jamil searches Azul's face for any sort of fabrication. He doesn't seem like he's lying, though his eyes look tired.

Then Jamil glances at Riddle and Ruggie, gauging their reactions. Are they going to tell him?

"Hey, I'm glad you're okay, Azul!" Ruggie says. "Welp, hate to have to end it on this note, but I got some chores to do at Savanaclaw, so, see ya!" he waves at them and jogs away.

Riddle straightens up and smiles at Azul. "Indeed, I am glad to see that you are well. I must get back to my dorm now. It was nice to have made your acquaintance, Azul Ashengrotto. Najma has purchased drinks for you to stay hydrated," he gestures to Najma. "Until next time," he nods to Azul and turns to leave.

Azul nods and smiles back, and turns to Najma for the drink.

Riddle pulls Jamil aside. "He's your friend," he says quietly. "You decide what to tell him.” then he leaves without another word.

"Me?" Jamil mumbles in surprise. They were the ones who saw the signs to begin with. Why're they dumping the responsibility on his shoulders?

He huffs in troubled exasperation, before turning to Azul and Najma.

"... Are you sure you're feeling all right?" he asks, eyebrows furrowed.

Azul nods. "I am. I hope I didn't put too much of a damper on the hangout."

"Not at all!" Najma says reassuringly. "I need to go too, because my teacher is looking for me. One of my classmates just texted," she holds up her phone. "Are you really okay now, Mr. Azul?"

"Yes, Miss Najma. It was nice to have met you today." Azul says, smiling. "Take care in going back to your classmates."

Najma turns to Jamil. "Will you be okay?" she casts a sideways glance at Azul.

"Obviously," Jamil utters. "I'm your big brother, aren't I? I'd be setting a bad example otherwise. Now run along and don't get yourself into trouble."

"No promises," Najma grins and runs off.

"We still have some time," Azul says. "Any other places you wanna show me?" he smiles.

"I'm thinking we should inform one of your friends in RSA about what happened so that there's someone else there who can monitor you and do follow-ups, just to be safe," Jamil replies. "I'm surprised you still want to walk around after what happened."

Azul furrows his eyebrows in confusion. "It was just exhaustion, wasn't it? It was my fault for going through that obstacle course in such restricting clothing," he shakes his head. "Oh, speaking of which, perhaps you can direct me to your laundry room? I dirtied your blazer from when I was lying down on the grass.”

Jamil shakes his head. "There's no need. I can have that washed myself. More importantly, it's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to stuff like this. What if it's got something to do with your transition into a human? Or maybe you've been lacking in sleep or food or water. What's wrong with having a friend or two keep an eye on you to make sure no further symptoms occur?"

Azul looks caught off-guard by Jamil’s remarks. "All right, then perhaps we can find a place to just sit, and you can tell me what exactly happened? I'm still a little confused…"

"How much can you recall?" Jamil asks as he leads Azul to a bench by the courtyard.

"I remember leading my horse to the top of the hill," Azul says as they sit down. "Then going through the obstacle course…?" he frowns, as if suddenly uncertain. Then something else mixes with the confusion in his expression. Apprehension? Fear?

"Hey," Jamil softly calls out to him through what he can only imagine is the darkness in his head. He reaches out to brush his hand against the other boy's fingers, holding onto them. "Talk to me. It's okay."

Azul turns to him, his tense posture relaxing gradually.

He shakes his head in confusion and looks down. "I remember being upset… at our conversation about the Knight Class. And then I was… angry? I only remember bits and pieces of the obstacle course, I don't even entirely recall deciding to go there…" his voice fades out into a whisper.

He falls quiet for a moment, looking more and more troubled. "I'd never felt such anger before, the selfish kind that urged me to do whatever I wanted, without thought for anyone else. Normally I would have asked Riddle for permission before using the obstacle course. I could have hurt the horse, too." He looks at Jamil. "How did I get on the ground? Did I fall off?"

"I caught you before you could," Jamil mumbles. "Riddle used magic to set you down after.”

"Oh, thank you. I should have thanked Riddle as well," Azul says, glancing at the direction of the infirmary before turning back to Jamil.

“You looked feverish, like you were having a nightmare…” Jamil continues. “Do you know what or who you were angry towards?"

"I don't remember why I was angry… What do you think is happening? Have you ever seen anything like this before?" Azul's eyes are looking at him with worry.

Jamil has the sense that Azul is used to always understanding everything, and this unknown situation is scaring him.

He really wishes that the ones who actually went through the experience were here. They would have explained it much better than he can.

"I don't know myself, but Riddle and Ruggie seem to recognize the signs. They think you're accumulating Blot at an unexpected rate. Ruggie was wondering if you've been using a lot of magic recently, while Riddle thinks it's got something to do with your psyche." The images of sad smiles and nails dug into skin appear Jamil’s mind. "Azul... you're more upset about your situation than you let on, aren't you?"

Azul looks at him in confusion. "My situation? What do you mean? And Blot accumulation? We have our Magic Pens to control such things, right? An Overblot hasn't been heard of in centuries."

Jamil lets out a humorless laugh. "You can say that to Riddle and Ruggie's faces. I wasn't around when it happened but it occurred to Riddle himself while a friend of Ruggie's Overblotted a few weeks later. You have to take it seriously. Those injuries on Ruggie's arm hadn't just come from a random accident and so far we've been lucky there's been no casualties yet. We're not gonna start now."

"WHAT!?" Azul's eyes widen in shock. "Two Overblots in the span of mere weeks? What did Sir Crowley do?"

Jamil pauses before he shrugs. "I don't know. As far as I was concerned, those incidents had only been rumors until they confirmed it to me personally because they were worried about you."

Azul just stares at him in surprise. Then he blinks a few times. "I see. So they both think I might be having symptoms of an impending Overblot?" he chews his lower lip in worry. "Can you ask Riddle Rosehearts if I can have his contact information? I'd like to speak with him further about it in the future."

"All right," Jamil takes his phone out. It's funny; he's had Riddle’s number since they became fellow Prefects, but he's never found reason to use it until now. He texts the other Prefect for permission to forward his number to Azul. Then he glances up at the merman. "So… Do you think their worries hold any sort of merit, or..?"

"I'm not sure," Azul says. "I'd never known anyone who has Overblotted before, and I haven't done any research about it. It still baffles me that your Headmage hasn't seem to have done anything."

Azul frowns and lowers his voice. "Now that I think about it, he was the one who had started the anger I'd been feeling today." He looks at Jamil then hurriedly says, "Oh, I apologize! I didn't mean to speak ill of your Headmage. It's just that… I think I had started to feel the… darkness… after all the things he said at the cafeteria."

"Feel free to speak ill of him as much as you like," Jamil responds. "It's refreshing to see someone so innocent understand how our Headmage's actually like. More importantly, that's the thing, isn't it? He may have said all that and unknowingly upset you, but the fact that it upset you to begin with means that this is going back a long way. I'm willing to bet Crowley's not the first person to tell you those things and he probably won't be the last."

Azul averts his eyes. "Yes. But at present, I don't see what I can do about it." He looks at Jamil again. "Are you sure this is how you'd like for us to spend our time together? I don't want to burden you with my worries."

"I was the one who asked, right?" Jamil says, reclining into as comfortable a position as he can get. "Sometimes you just gotta vent it out, and I'm pretty sure you dealt with my burdens the past few times we were together."

For the first time in a long while, Azul smiles. It's a small one, but it's not sad or resigned, and it actually reaches his eyes. He sighs. "I'm not even sure where to begin, it feels like everyone has had these expectations from me for as long as I can remember. And I know it's likely just as hard for Rielle, that's why I do stay by his side whenever I can. Why I take the Knight Class, why I'm not entirely opposed to being his advisor in the future. Ever since we were children, we've been each other's breathing room. We always knew that the other would accept us for who we are no matter what everyone else expects. I don't want to just leave him alone to deal with all of that." Azul looks down.

Jamil listens, quiet. ".... Does that mean Rielle knows about your frustrations regarding this situation, too? Or did you keep that one secret because you wanted to spare his feelings?"

Azul is silent for a moment. "I don't know how to tell him," he mutters. "I don't want him to blame himself, he already has a lot to deal with. It's easier for me to get out of RSA and find somewhere else to breathe like today. He doesn't have such a luxury. He's even busier these days with the dance coming up next week."

"But he's your friend, isn't he? Wouldn't he want to know if he or his situation is causing you distress, too?" Jamil points out.

Azul looks at him curiously. "Are you always this emotionally mature? Then why do you claim that your schoolmates see you as someone who would stab a person in the gut for looking at you the wrong way?" he says playfully.

"Because I would," Jamil hums nonchalantly. It's unclear whether he means it or not. "If you want, I can start doing that to the next 'Crowley' that tries to tell you who you have to be. Sorcerer knows I already hear enough of that spiel from the grown-ups back home."

Azul chuckles. "I must say, no one has ever offered to stab anyone for me. And, interestingly, it's one of the nicest things that someone has ever said to me. You really are special, Jamil Viper," he gazes right into Jamil's eyes.

Jamil seems to flinch in surprise at the compliment before awkwardly looking away. "... We're getting off-track. What will you do now that you're aware of the danger?"

Azul sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "The first thing to do would be to speak to Rielle. Any decision I make would affect him." He glances at his watch. "And I must be getting back to RSA now."

He takes off Jamil’s blazer and hands it to him, smiling. "Thank you for today, Jamil. It didn't quite go as either of us expected but… I'm glad you don't mind."

Jamil shakes his head as he takes his blazer. "It's all right, I…"

I'm just worried about you.

"... I just hope you look after yourself better, even if it means being selfish. Don't be a stranger now. You can always hit me up with a text. When you do, we can make up for it next time."

"I look forward to it." Azul stands up. "After all, I still have to get my revenge on you at mancala," he smiles playfully.

"And you have to apologize to the horse you rode for fainting on him without warning." Jamil stands up in succession. "I'll see you to the gate, at least. Come on."

When they reach the gate, Azul turns to Jamil.

"I'll be busy this week because of the Autumn Dance preparations. The next time we'll be seeing each other would most likely be at the dance itself on Saturday. But if you wanna talk, you can always send me a message."

Jamil nods. "The same offer extends to you. It was nice seeing you, Azul..." he says, but he still has a worried look in his eyes. "Take care, all right? Don't let everyone else tell you who you are."

A smile pulls at the corner of Azul's lips, and he tilts his head curiously at Jamil. "How do you feel about hugs?"

Jamil tenses up. "I'm… not really used to physical affection. That's more Najma and Kalim's thing."

Azul nods and smiles in understanding. "I'll keep that in mind. See you at the Autumn Dance, Jamil."

He turns around and walks away.

Jamil watches his slowly retreating form, knowing there's a part of him that wants to tug Azul back and embrace him.

But he hesitates.

And then the moment is gone.

"... See you at the Autumn Dance."

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who's been reading this lil' AU of ours! Feel free to let us know what you think in the comments! We'd love to hear your thoughts ^_^

<- Chapter 3

Chapter 5 ->

(Masterlist)

[rumalumasuns]

"I love you for all that you are, all that you have been, and all that you will be" (unknown) - With Alban Knox

Based (very loosely) on Robin Hood

Part of my Living in a Fairy Tale series

!- Reader is Gender neutral (if I made a mistake somewhere I apologize and I'll fix it as soon as possible!)

!- Mentions of slavery, abuse, stealing, shooting, blood, killing, super light cursing

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, Alban Speaking

Original work by rumalumasuns, 5,766 words (it's long sorry haha), unedited but I will do so when I have time later :)

Once upon a time...,

In the far corners of Inasinin was a small kingdom under the temporary control of the tyrannical Prince Moony de Xytcon, as King Legatus de Xytcon has been away for travel and diplomatic business for ten years.

Prince Moony was not always a tyrant. He was a decent leader for a year, until his most trusted advisor, Aide Viper, began to inform him of traitors and disrespectful rumors floating around. When Prince Moony confirmed these to be true, he started to doubt himself. Unknowingly, Prince Moony became more forceful and less tolerant when talking to others, and found that if he exerted more control, the traitors were easily dealt with and the rumors went away. Enjoying this newfound way to be powerful, Prince Moony became a stricter ruler, a harsher ruler, and, eventually, a tyrant.

Except for a select few, the people of the kingdom were impoverished or barely scraping by. Every couple of weeks, the soldiers of Prince Moony, known as the Lunar Battalion, were sent out to collect the scraps of money that the people had, despite their protests and attempts to fight back. Always, the soldiers overpowered the rebellious citizens, beating them up, almost to the point of death for the overly rebellious.

If money was unable to be collected, the Battalion took the people and enslaved them, making them work in the ore mines that were filled with iron and gems (although finding both was now a hard task due to the excess mining that was being done) until the people fainted, or died.

No one was safe from this fate unless they were the type of person to kiss the boots of Prince Moony (AKA they were a part of Prince Moony's nobility, or they served him). The people couldn't even leave the kingdom, as the gates of the kingdom were shut and guarded by the Battalion.

There was another, much more risky way, to survive the fate of enslavement: thievery. And one thief became the most renowned of all:

"FIND THEM!" bellowed Prince Moony, clutching the document that reported the shenanigans of a particular thief, who stole from all the nobility of his land.

"...But, my lord, we need to tend to our troops who got injured by the thief first do we not-"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT IT TAKES! FIND THIS PHANTOM THIEF AND HIS ENTOURAGE, AND BRING THEM TO ME!"

"...Yes, Your Highness." With a sigh, the butler left the throne room.

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

Alban didn't always want to be a thief: he just wanted a way for him and his sister, Alice, to survive in this harsh, cold world. He had to be able to provide for them since they were six, as at that time, their parents had both died to nobles harshly beating them up for no entertainment.

He learned how to pickpocket from nobles by using his nimble hands to swipe what would be in their pocket. If he was lucky, Alban would succeed in swiping small things from a noble's hand, such as rings or a few bits of cash.

Alban also began to swipe food from the stalls in the market. Although he felt bad for doing so, as most of the stalls were also struggling to make a living, he continued to take for himself and his sister to have something to eat that night, even if it was a small piece of jerky. Alban promised himself he would never take too much from the stalls and noted who to pay back if he ever had the opportunity.

Normally, Alban went to the market in the morning, when it was most crowded and the easiest to swipe something. However, after staying up late to take care of his sister who had a fever, he woke up late.

By the time he had gotten to the market, Alban found that it was too late: there were few people at the moment, meaning that he could get easily caught if he tried to steal something. He wasn't a professional at the age of eight, after all. Alban was about to head back to his makeshift tent, where Alice was, until he heard trudging footsteps. He looked around and saw the stalls closing, and people scattering off the street. Deciding to hide as well, Alban went into one of the nearby alleyways and hid behind a pile of garbage.

He waited silently as the trudging steps came closer and closer until finally, he saw it: the Trek of Slaves. Alban knew that if people weren't able to pay up the high taxes, they would either be forced into slavery or offer other people - children, in particular.

What was in front of Alban was a long line of children, guarded by fierce-looking soldiers of the battalion, with chains on their arms, and a ring on their necks that linked to all the other children in the line. Their faces were gaunt, hollow from starvation, with dull eyes. Their clothes hardly covered their bodies.

One of the children in line was a little girl. Alban unconsciously imagined Alice's face on that child. His eyes darkened.

After the slaves left, Alban came out of the alley and scampered back to his home. He felt something awaken in him. Something had to change. He figured that if his abilities could help him and his sister, his abilities could help others too.

So he did.

Instead of stealing from the food stalls that were also struggling to make a living, Alban began to plan heists against the wealthy and lead escapades against the enslavements.

He planned to steal from the rich and give to the poor, as well as save as many people as he could from their fate in the mines.

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

Over multiple years, fewer and fewer slaves were taken, as Alban released them always before they ever could get in the line for the Trek of Slaves. He succeeded in pulling off multiple heists as he grew older. By the time Alban was in his early teens, he knew the basic layouts of noble homes, he had learned the best ways to conduct carriage and cart robbery, and he swindled multiple nobles, taking first their hearts and then their valuables. Some valuables he distributed to the poor, and others he kept in order to help his future heists. For instance, from a noble who loved theater, Alban gained a black mask that covered the entirety of his face while still allowing him to see, breathe, and talk normally. From another noble who was a mage, Alban managed to snag the mage's magic bag, with huge storage space, as well as her master key, which can unlock any type of lock. With these, thieving was much easier, and Alban felt empowered.

However, being empowered didn't mean that Alban was invincible.

One day, Alban was making his rounds for giving out valuables, which he does twice a month at irregular intervals to keep the Battalion off of his back. While passing through a narrow, shady alleyway, he overheard cries of distress. He headed over immediately and peeked in through one of the windows. Inside, he saw an old woman, who had her arms wrapped around who he assumed to be her grandchildren. A large soldier stood in front of them, flipping a copper coin with his thumb. One of the boys in the grandmother's arms was crying and reaching out to what was in the wolfish soldier's hand.

"You- you heartless being! How could you take all of our savings just like that. We've saved up for that birthday gif-"

"Yes, yes, yes, well, that's quite unfortunate isn't it," said the soldier, dismissing the old woman's protests before turning his attention to the boy. "Little boy, Prince Moony says happy birthday to you as well. Maybe next time I come in, I can take you to him," said the soldier with a wolfish grin.

Alban felt his blood boil at the soldier's implied threat of enslavement. The boy looked no older than five! He tugged his mask closer to his face, put on his hood, and took out a cane and a cup with two copper coins in it. He swung out and clattered the cane in front of him, acting like a blind man. He entered the small abode.

"'Ello there. Any spare change for this poor blind man?" asked Alban, imitating a croaky voice with an English accent as he shook his cup to jingle the coins in it.

The large soldier turned to him and scrunched his face in disgust before he saw that the cloaked figure had a cup with money in it.

"No, but I do believe you have some for me," said the large soldier as he laughed and snatched the cup out of Alban's hand, pushing away Alban toward the old woman in the process. While the soldier occupied himself with taking the money, the old woman helped Alban up. While doing so, Alban discreetly placed something in the pocket of her dress. The old woman looked up at Alban in surprise, before shutting her mouth and acting concerned for him, dusting him off.

"Hey, blind man. Got anything else in there?" asked the soldier in a rough voice, pointing at Alban's cloak. Alban didn't respond. The soldier smirked. "Or... do you have something else to hide? Perhaps... you're someone who's not supposed to be here?"

A moment of silence passed as the soldier slowly reached for Alban's hood before Alban spoke.

"Ah~, guess I got caught," he said in his normal, taunting voice, before bolting out of the home. His hood whipped off, revealing his mask. The soldier's eyes widened in recognition, and he snarled.

"OI! GET BACK HERE, YOU PHANTOM THIEF!" bellowed he, as he rushed clumsily out of the place.

When they left, the old woman checked her pocket and took out what seemed to be a small brown rucksack. She opened it, only for tears to suddenly pool in her eyes and soft sobs to come out of her mouth. She was staring at 5 gold coins, which would help her and her grandchildren get adequate food and live comfortably for a year or so. The grandmother held the bag tightly to her chest as she embraced her grandchildren who surrounded her in concern for her tears.

"Thank you...," she whispered.

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

Alban whisked through the alleys as the large soldier, now joined by several others, tailed after him. To get them off his trail, Alban headed to the place where they prepared slaves for delivery to Prince Moony. While weaving through the confused slaves, Alban pulled out the master key he stole from the mage and waved them near the chains on the slaves. The chains unlocked, and the slaves were free. They exclaimed in joy before bolting out of the preparation area.

The soldiers behind Alban cried out in rage as some split off from the group to try and get the escaped slaves back. Meanwhile, the wolfish soldier almost caught Alban, his fingers centimeters away from grabbing Alban's cloak. He was about to get it, until he was interrupted by a stone to his head. The soldier stopped in his tracks, his hand going up to the side of his face, only for it to come away with blood. He growled and looked in the direction of the attack. His eyes met with those of freed slaves around Alban's age, holding heavy rocks and other heavy objects they could find. They cried out and pelted him and the approaching soldiers, knocking their swords out of their hands and making them bloody.

Not wanting to deal with the fierce barrage, especially when they didn't get paid enough to deal with them, the soldiers just groaned in frustration before running off. Although the wolfish soldier didn't want to, he knew he had to retreat. He looked at the boys, heatedly vowing to finish them off later before he ran in the same direction as his comrades.

After making sure the other soldiers were gone by not sensing other presences, Alban hunched over in relief, hands on his knees, panting, heart hammering. He stayed in that position until he saw a hand show up in front of him. He looked up to make eye contact with a boy around his age, with neon yellow hair and dark periwinkle eyes.

"Oi, I'm Sonny. This is my family," said the boy as he gestured to the other three boys behind him. One had steel grey hair with matching eyes, the other had dark blue shaggy hair with light blue eyes and heterochromia in one eye, and the last one had dark magenta hair with purple eyes that both had heterochromia.

Alban eyed them, then Sonny's outstretched hand, before taking it and giving it a shake.

"...I'm the Phantom Thief."

"I'm Yugo. I'm a huge fan! You-You're really the Phantom Thief, right?" asked the bluenette with sparkling eyes.

Alban hesitated slightly, but for some reason, he felt like he could trust these people, and then nodded.

The grey-haired older boy smirked before coming beside Alban and clapping him on the back.

"Hey, I'm Fulgur, thanks for freeing us back there."

"Yeah, of c-course, it's what I do...," said Alban, rubbing the back of his neck shyly. "Th-Thanks for helping me too..."

The purple-haired boy came up to Alban's other side, smiled, and patted him on the head.

This was the first encounter of the group Noctyx, a band of vigilantes led by the infamous Phantom Thief. The five boys wore matching masks with the forehead part painted with their Noctyx insignia, symbolizing hope to the poor and a nuisance to the rich. They plundered carts of snobbish nobles, provided safe hiding places for slaves, defended the weak, and some of them even provided underground soup kitchens for the hungry. Alice, Alban's sister, also wore a mask as she worked in the soup kitchens. After Fulgur taught her how to read, Alice also took up learning about medicinal plants from a book she found. She wanted to help with her brother's efforts as much as she could.

As Noctyx became more and more famous throughout the kingdom, Prince Moony grew frustrated because he was losing control over the citizens. So, he plotted with his loyal dog, Duke L/N, and commanded him to send in a spy to the land to break Noctyx from the inside.

Duke L/N decided to send his most intelligent child, Y/N Sol L/N.

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

One day, Alban planned a heist on an incoming carriage that was said to be coming in. The carriage belongs to the L/N dukedom, one of the richest nobles because of how often Duke L/N assisted Prince Moony in conquests of land, expanding the kingdom, and attaining more resources.

In the trees above the road where the carriage was supposed to come down, Alban and his friends waited.

"Another day, another petty noble to rob," said Alban to his friends. All except Yugo nodded along.

"But, like, what if this person wasn't petty?" asked Yugo, as he tilted his head. Sonny patted Yugo's head before sighing and shaking his head.

"Yugo, we've been over this! Most nobles are, and Duke L/N is THE WORST type! He kisses the shoes of the tyrant and abuses his servants like there is no tomorrow. He is a terrible man!" exclaimed Fulgur.

"Yeah! We're going to go in, and be like hello you piece of sh-"

"Okay, Uki! Hush, now, we have to focus, please. How far away are they?" asked Alban.

Uki rolled his eyes in disapproval at Alban interrupting him before sighing and closing his eyes. He held his palms upwards in front of his hands, and a bright purple orb of energy showed up. When Uki opened his eyes, he peered into the ball with equally glowy eyes.

"...They're about two miles away, approaching fast," said Uki after the image in the orb focused for him.

"Alright, let's go to our positions," said Fulgur, as he patted Uki on the shoulder to bring him out of his glowing state. Noctyx then pulled on their masks and set out in the trees.

Once they were all in their positions in the tree branches, the slow rumble of a carriage and the clopping of hooves could be heard approaching them.

The moment the carriage was within their range, Sonny pulled out a shotgun he had stolen from a soldier a couple months ago and shot two of the front guards right off their horses.

"IT'S AN AMBUSH!" shouted one of the soldiers who was trying to reel in her panicking horse.

"PROTECT THE CARRIAGE!" shouted another, as he jumped off his horse and was trying to load his gun, before getting hit by Yugo's blue lightning.

Some soldiers started floating as they were surrounded by purple energy before they were thrown somewhere in the woods, and others were punched by Fulgur's fists, which were now glowing red.

Alban pulled out a bow and arrow, both embedded with mana stones. He shot the arrow, causing the mana stone on it to activate and set the tip on fire, burning the soldier it shot. When he ran out of arrows, he took out two knives with poison on their blades and went to the ground to fight alongside Fulgur.

After a couple moments of fighting, all the guards, except one that ran away on a black stallion, were killed. Cackling, Alban headed over to the vulnerable carriage, the others following him just as merrily.

"Now then, Duke... no, you don't deserve that title. Now, you trash, how do you like leaving your fate up to the very peasants that you hate so much?" said Alban viciously, as he grabbed the carriage's door handle gilded with gold, and whipped the door right open.

Expecting to find a terrified old man, he only made eye contact with a woman (a maid?) with light pink hair and purple eyes who looked at them unimpressed, and a man (probably a guard) with white hair and blue highlights, dark skin, and silver eyes who was trying to stifle his laugh.

“...Huh? The carriage- who're these people?? Where’s Duke L/N?”

“𝐇𝐚𝐡! 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐚𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟?” said a voice from behind them.

Shocked because no presence was detected until then, the boys whipped their heads around. Alban’s eyes widened as he made eye contact with quite possibly one of the most beautiful people he’d ever seen in his life. They were dressed in a guard uniform, holding a L/N guard helmet as they sat atop the black stallion from before. The person descended the horse gracefully, secured their belongings on the horse, turned around, and smirked at the shocked Noctyx members.

“𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨, 𝐍𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐲𝐱. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐘/𝐍 𝐒𝐨𝐥 𝐋/𝐍. 𝐈’𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦,” said the beautiful person, holding out five gold coins for each boy.

As soon as he heard the person’s name, all nice fantasies of them shattered and Alban scowled at the person from under his mask. His grip on the knives in his hand tightened.

“…What do you want?” he asked, growling as he prepared to ignore the person and just stab them.

“𝐈’𝐦 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”

‘…What?’

Sensing his hesitation, and seeing as they weren’t stabbed by him yet, Y/N relaxed as they opened their mouth again.

“𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞, 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬,” said Y/N as they opened the carriage’s trunk. Inside were all sorts of precious gems and coins. Noctyx stared in awe. Even on a good heist, they have never gotten that much.

“𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐮𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦’𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐲.”

“Your dukedom? Aren’t you just the child of Duke L/N?” asked Fulgur, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"Yeah, and why would you help us? How do we know you're not pulling us into a trap?" asked Uki, coming up behind Fulgur as he glared at Y/N.

Y/N put their hands up in surrender.

"𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐮𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐋/𝐍. 𝐀𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐈'𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐀𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐣𝐞𝐫𝐤."

The boys looked at Y/N with doubt. Sensing it, they shuffled through the bag that was hung on their horse and pulled out two pieces of paper. Alarmed by Y/N's sudden movement, the boys prepared to attack just in case. Y/N held up the papers in their hands.

"𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐋/𝐍'𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐲'𝐬 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡. 𝐀𝐧𝐝, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞. 𝐈 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭."

Alban stepped forward to take them.

"No funny business," he warned, as he quickly grabbed the papers and examined them. He indeed saw the legitimate schematics of the L/N estate and Xytcon castle. He looked once again at Y/N, who was staring at him with expectation before he rolled up the papers and gave them to Fulgur.

"Fine, we'll work with you. But don't even think about betraying us."

Y/N nodded seriously.

"...Can we come out now?" said the maid in the carriage, who was glaring at them. The guard burst out laughing, still remembering the way Noctyx was so confused by their scheme. Y/N looked to Alban, who nodded. "Ugh, finally!" said the maid, and she jumped out of the carriage with a huff.

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

Over a couple of months, Noctyx and Y/N worked together. Y/N's maid, Lady Alouette, and their guard, Knight Tenshi, aided in the discreet distribution of Y/N's wealth that they brought from the dukedom across the small kingdom, as no one really knew of their faces. The peasant people of the kingdom were advised to hide their valuables in a safe place, whether it was under their house or a secure place on their person.

Y/N had participated in some of Noctyx's heists, scamming a local gambling duke into giving all of his valuables, robbing a snobby duchess of the jewels she's so fond of because of the way she treated the sickly street children, and helping the stealing of some things from the kingdom's noble bank. They also got along well with Alice and helped her whenever she needed help with the underground soup kitchens.

Meanwhile, Noctyx and Y/N slowly plotted a way to get rid of Prince Moony and Duke L/N. Y/N sent regular correspondence to the dukedom (all fake information, of course. Uki would check over the letters Y/N sent all the time) so that the duke and prince wouldn't suspect anything. They believed they had Y/N, a "helpless" illegitimate child, in the palm of their hand, and their only replies back were to keep collecting information. Y/N scoffed whenever they got the reply letter and burned it in the fireplace in front of Alban.

Alban and Y/N had gotten quite close during these months. They chuckled together as they would plot heists that would topple the power of the nobility, and therefore weaken Prince Moony's support. They sparred together, Alban with his knives and Y/N with their sword. Eventually, they were comfortable enough to make jokes with one another as they were cooking their group's dinner, or to discuss the more personal parts of their lives. Behind them, Uki and Fulgur would smile at each other knowingly, while Sonny and Yugo made disgusted faces at the scene in front of them.

It was a peaceful, slow revolt against Prince Moony's reign, but this peace soon shattered.

The group was in the main square of the town they were temporarily staying in when a fanfare was heard. They turned their heads up, and Alban frowned when he saw the wolfish soldier from before leading a large army. His hand went to the knife on his hip, and he noticed the others next to him tense up and prepare for scuffle.

"We have received information that Noctyx, and more importantly, the Phantom Thief, has been residing here. Turn them in, or you will be terminated," said the wolfish soldier, who grinned with malice as he looked around.

Sonny shot a look at Y/N, who shook their head.

"It wasn't them. I can confirm it," said Uki. Sonny sighed in relief - he wanted to trust Y/N.

"But then who...?" asked Alice, as she scanned the crowd. She soon spotted an old uncle in the crowd, grinning maliciously while having his hand in his bulging side pocket. Sonny noticed Alice's gaze, and looked in the same direction before he scoffed.

"Is that the same person who demanded extras? That drunkard, he seriously did this, huh...," said Sonny, glaring at the man before turning his attention back to the wolfish soldier.

"Damn, that trash-," growled Yugo, who wanted to fight the old man before getting stopped by Fulgur.

"Don't make a scene. We need to be discrete if we don't want to get caught," said Fulgur, who glared at the army before them.

"𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐥𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞," said Y/N, who started to back away from the vast crowd that had gathered. But before they could get fully out of the street, the wolfish soldier cackled.

"VERY WELL! We'll find them ourselves...," he said, before raising his sword. "BATTALION! Take anyone who matches the description of the fugitives, and bring them to the castle!"

"YES SIR!" shouted the Battalion, as they set out on foot and on their horses and grabbed anyone - they weren't even trying to find those who matched the description of Noctyx. They grabbed old men, young children, tall women - practically anyone.

"They're trying to rat us out of the crowd by taking anyone - be careful not to get caught!-"

But just as Alban said that...

"Ah-," said Lady Alouette unenthusiastically when she was grabbed by the arm by one of the Battalion.

"𝐄𝐧𝐧𝐚!" exclaimed Y/N as they reached out for Lady Alouette, before she was taken farther away by the soldier who grabbed her. Knight Tenshi went after her, but he never came back.

"AL!" screamed Alice when she was grabbed by two soldiers, who snickered at her helplessness.

"ALLI! NO!" cried Alban, as he tried to fight against the soldiers who held Alice.

"Hello, girlie, you're coming with us," said one soldier, laughing heartily as he forced Alban off of him with the help of two other soldiers.

"Should we take him too?" asked another solider who was holding onto Alban.

"Nah, he seems annoying. Let's just leave him. He'll die soon anyways in these slums."

With that, the Battalion took multiple townspeople, as well as a crying Alice, leaving a half-empty town with multiple weeping people helplessly reaching out for the loved ones they lost.

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

After taking care of the greedy drunkard (AKA knocking him out and leaving him in a less forgiving town), Noctyx and Y/N regrouped at their temporary base deep within the nearby woods. They opened their strategy-meeting tent and headed inside to discuss what happened and what they should do next.

Alban was in despair. He had just lost his reason to live to the Battalion, but rather than feeling anger, he was in shock, and was scared of what they would do to her. Although he zoned out, he finally was aware of the conversation the rest of the members were having when Y/N started talking.

"𝐖𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭- 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨. 𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢, 𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐀𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞! 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐬, 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐧. 𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐠𝐮𝐫, 𝐘𝐮𝐠𝐨, 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝐤𝐢 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 - 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐧𝐨𝐰."

"But... Y/N... I'm just, I'm just some guy who gets lucky a couple of times with his heists, and that was going against a manageable group. I couldn't even protect just my sister. How are we, six people, going to be able to go against an entire castle??"

"𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬, 𝐨𝐛𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲," said Y/N, looking at Alban with a gaze of expectation, which he shrank under.

"...Alright...," sighed Alban, who had a lot of doubt about the operation working. Ever since his sister was taken from him, he felt listless, doubtful, and incapable. He lost her. Sonny, noticing Alban's downcast face, patted him on the shoulder encouragingly while Uki began to stroke his hair soothingly.

Y/N witnessed it all, slightly amused but also touched by how close they were. They thought back to their own family, who easily threw Y/N into the dangerous situation of becoming a "spy", despite the fact that they could be killed in the process. They stepped forward and kneeled to Alban's eye level before they took hold of Alban's hand.

"𝐇𝐞𝐲, 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲?"

Alban stared at Y/N, before taking a deep breath and nodding.

"Okay."

They smiled at each other, while the others around them shared a knowing look, and Yugo made a disgusted face.

"Well, we'll head out for a bit, you guys make our plan and just tell us tomorrow morning," said Fulgur as he opened the tent they were in.

Alban and Y/N nodded and engaged in a serious discussion while looking at the schematics of the castle map that Y/N gave.

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

After some time, the two finally finished planning and started to clean up the discussion table. Alban was feeling much happier after Y/N's constant attempts of making him feel better throughout their discussion.

Moments of silence passed before Y/N decided to open their mouth.

"…𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐧."

"Yeah, Y/N? What happened?"

"𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡-"

"DON'T SAY THAT! Why would you say something that brings such bad karma!? We're going to get through this operation well because we have a plan made by you and we'll make it out together!" exclaimed Alban, gripping Y/N's hand that was on his sleeve. He had just lost his sister, he didn't think he could lose anyone else. Y/N sighed.

"𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭… 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧, 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲?"

Alban was silent for a moment, before begrudgingly nodding.

Y/N hesitated before taking their hand off of Alban's sleeve and moving both hands to his cradle cheeks. Alban's cheeks warmed by the sudden closeness and contact.

"Uh-"

"𝐒𝐡𝐡.. 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧. 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐱, 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟, 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐞, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞, 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐣𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭. 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤… 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞."

Alban's jaw dropped.

"What?-"

"𝐘-𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡! 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄, 𝐈 𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐈𝐓. 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐃𝐈𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐖, 𝐎𝐑 𝐈 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐘𝐎𝐔. 𝐒𝐄𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔, 𝐁𝐘𝐄!"

After the sudden confession, Y/N placed a quick peck on Alban's cheek and quickly left the tent, leaving Alban speechless as he absentmindedly touched the cheek that was kissed.

"W-W-WHAT????"

Meanwhile, outside the tent on the side opposite the entrance, Yugo overheard the entire conversation, and almost dropped the firewood he was holding out of disgust.

"Ugh, lovebirds... when is it my turn too..."

:,^)

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

It was dawn when everyone woke up and Y/N and Alban debriefed them all of the plan. They would raid Prince Moony's castle at night, taking down both Prince Moony and Duke L/N.

In preparation, Y/N sent a letter to Duke L/N to go to the castle so they could debrief him and the prince about what they found out from Noctyx. In reality, it would be a trap that would get Duke L/N and Prince Moony in the same place. They could be taken down together, and that would be the end of the duke and the prince.

“Uki, Fulgur, you two will be in charge of freeing the townspeople. Remember to stealthily do it - we want to cause as least noise as possible in the beginning.”

“𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨, 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.”

Uki and Fulgur nodded before squeezing each other’s hands in encouragement.

“Sonny, Yugo, you’re coming with me and Y/N to the throne room. You’re going to help us take down the Duke and the Prince.”

Yugo pumped his fist in the air, excited for an opportunity to take down the tyrant, while Sonny just loaded his gun with a blood-hungry smirk.

"𝐖𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐲𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐭? 𝐖𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐈'𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐨𝐨."

Everyone nodded grimly. It was a given that they'll probably get injured during this fight, but there was also a possibility that they might not come back.

Noticing the grim atmosphere, Sonny tried to laugh it off and clapped Y/N on the back.

"We'll be fine, everyone."

"Sonny's right, we pulled off infiltrations loads of times. We'll just treat it the same way," said Fulgur, also trying to laugh.

"Alright then!" said Uki as he clapped. "Let's get ready."

Throughout the day, they prepared by gathering supplies, like extra weapons and first aid, and making their own mana bombs to use for attacking the castle.

As soon as the last mana bomb was created by clicking the mana stone into place, Noctyx and Y/N were ready to head out. On the road out from the woods, the two teams (Alban, Y/N, Sonny, Yugo and Uki, Fulgur) split off to do their respective parts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(With Uki and Fulgur)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Uki used his psychic powers to knock out the guards standing at the outside entrance of the castle's dungeon while staying under the cover of darkness.

"They should really learn how to be more secure," stated Uki with disapproval, as he kicked one of the guard's faces lightly. Fulgur laughed as he took the keys off of one of the other guards and used it to unlock the door.

"Yeah, but then our job wouldn't be as easy. You sure you have enough mana stored for this?"

"Yeah, don't worry Fu-fu-chan, I have the most mana out of all of us. Are you going to be okay, though?"

"Of course, I'll beat up anyone for you."

The two exchanged smiles before they pulled their masks on and continued to go deeper into the dungeon, with Fulgur knocking out some guards with his glowing fists, while Uki focused on seeking the right jail cells that had the townspeople.

Eventually, near the bottom of the dungeon, Uki stopped walking.

"Found them," he said, as his eyes started glowing to put all the guards surrounding the townspeople's cells to sleep. He then sent out a telepathic message to the townspeople.

'Hello, this is Noctyx's psychic. We need you to stay silent for this incoming message.'

As they were told, the townspeople remained silent, although Uki heard in their minds their cries of joy and the resurfacing of hope within the people.

'I need you all to stay silent while we are freeing you. Our combat warrior and I will help guide you out. We can only do this with your cooperation. If you agree with our condition, please say in your mind yes.'

After hearing an overwhelming chorus of 'Yes's in his head, Uki looked at Fulgur and nodded. Fulgur steadied Uki, as telepathy used quite a large portion of mana before he took out the magic key that Alban had given him and waved it near the locks of the townspeople. They opened the cell door as silently as possible and gathered to where Uki was. Once everyone was out, Uki told them telepathically that they were to follow him, while Fulgur remained in the back in case anything happened. Before they could start moving, however, a familiar female voice mind-shouted at Uki from behind.

'Uki!'

Uki turned around, only to meet eyes with Alice, Alban's younger sister. Next to her were Knight Tenshi and Lady Alouette.

'Where's my brother?' asked Alice, who was looking around.

'Your brother's in the throne room with the others. They'll be fighting the prince,' replied Uki. Alice's eyes widened.

'I- I need to help them! Please, do you have first aid materials?? I can help tend to the injured.'

'No, Alice. Alban would kill me.'

'Please, Uki! I'll take Knight Tenshi with me!'

Uki pondered for a bit. Alban did say to send Knight Tenshi to the throne room.

'... Fine, but you HAVE to stay with Knight Tenshi all the time, okay?'

'Yes! I promise!'

After Uki told Fulgur telepathically to give some first aid materials to Alice and told Knight Tenshi and Lady Alouette the situation, they did as told. Knight Tenshi escorted Alice to the throne room, as he had been there before, while Lady Alouette stayed with Uki and Fulgur, helping to light the way out.

The silent procession went up through the dungeon without much trouble. Uki, Fulgur, and Lady Alouette planted mana bombs in the areas of the dungeon where a lot of guards collapsed. They were set to detonate on Uki's command.

There was an area in the dungeon that branched off to the inner parts of the castle, probably because the royalty had to visit the prisoners at some point for interrogation or for deciding the fate of the criminals. Uki used his powers to make sure no one was around, and when there was the all-clear, Fulgur planted bombs in discreet areas of the castle where Y/N told them there would be weapons reserves for the Battalion. Lady Alouette contributed by showing Fulgur some more spots that she knew of and discovered while hanging around with the palace servants. Now, even if the guards in the throne room did need help, they wouldn't be able to get any.

Afterward, Uki, Fulgur, Lady Alouette, and the townspeople were able to leave the castle through the secret entrance for royal emergencies. All the townspeople were freed without a ruckus. No one from the castle suspected a thing.

It was a successful mission.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(With Alban, Y/N, Sonny, Yugo)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the other side, Y/N was in their carriage that was waiting in front of the palace gate, adorned in their ducal wear.

"Who goes there?" called out the guard in front of the gate.

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞? 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋/𝐍 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐚."

The guard, who took a closer look at the carriage, realized who he was addressing, and almost yelped.

"𝐈'𝐦 𝐘/𝐍 𝐒𝐨𝐥 𝐋/𝐍 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞," said Y/N in a snooty and cold manner.

"M-My apologies, my lord/lady. I will let you in right away!" exclaimed the guard as he hastily rushed to open the front gate.

Y/N's carriage almost went past him before stopping right next to him as they glared at him. The guard was still bowing, sweat going down his neck as he gulped. He heard that the L/N family's illegitimate child was the most intelligent person in the family and a genius of their time. What fearsome things could they come up with to do to him?

Y/N just scoffed. "𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜," they said cruelly, before continuing on past him.

As soon as they were out of hearing range from the soldier, Y/N sighed in relief, while the others in the carriage (Yugo and Sonny) laughed at them.

"That was some fine acting," said Sonny, who was still laughing.

"Wow, you are very good!" said Yugo in amazement and amusement. Y/N could even hear the slight chuckles coming from Alban, who was the carriage's horseman outside. Y/N flushed.

"𝐉𝐞𝐞𝐳, 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬," they said as they put their hands on their cheeks.

"Just keep it up for inside the throne room. We'll get there as soon as we can," said Sonny, who pulled on his mask.

"Yeah, we'll be there soon, Y/N. Ganbare, it means good luck from my homeland," said Yugo, who also pulled on his mask.

Y/N nodded in thanks as the carriage pulled up to the entrance of the castle building. Standing outside was Duke L/N, who faked a smile at Y/N as they came down from the carriage.

"My dear child! Welcome back!" said Duke L/N, moving to hug Y/N when they put up a hand.

"𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐈 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲."

Duke L/N almost scoffed but remembered that he still needed information from his child, so he just grit his teeth in a tight smile and went back into a standing position.

"... Alright then, let's go inside. Quickly, now."

When Y/N got to the throne room, they were met with Prince Moony beaming at them excitedly from the throne.

"Welcome back, Y/N," said Prince Moony with a pleasant smile. He stood up and walked over to them, took their hand, and brought it up to his lips to kiss it in greeting. From above him, in the ceiling supports of the throne room, Alban scowled at the prince. Y/N told Alban that the prince particularly favored them, but Alban didn't believe it until he was looking at it directly. Prince Moony's smile was genuine as he looked upon Y/N. Y/N, on the other hand, just politely bowed to the prince and released their hand from his.

A look of disappointment flashed in Prince Moony's eyes, but Y/N didn't care as they opened their mouth.

"𝐌𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬," they said, as they subtly glanced upwards at where Sonny, Yugo, and Alban were.

"Yes, yes," said Prince Moony as he sauntered back to the throne and sat down. "Report."

"𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩, 𝐍𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐲𝐱, 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬? 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐚-"

"NEVER!" snarled Prince Moony, who jumped up from the throne in rage. After realizing his conduct, he cleared his throat and sat back down. "I apologize. My dear, we cannot back down. That would mean we are weak. I, for one, dislike that notion very much."

Y/N nodded solemnly.

"𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐌𝐲 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞."

Prince Moony took a while to process Y/N's words: it had been a while since they called him a friend, until he realized too late what they really meant.

"What-"

"YAH!" shouted Yugo as he descended down from the ceiling, his black mask tightly tied to his face and blue lightning shooting at the guards in the throne room below.

Sonny started sniping from his place in the supports and shot the guards that were farther away from Yugo's range, preventing them from trying to shoot at Yugo discreetly.

Alban shot a couple of mana arrows before he jumped down as well, knives ready. These knives were different: they were mana stone knives, which made them hardier than normal and had the ability to burn anything it comes in contact with.

"GAH!" shouted Duke L/N, who shot a look of fury at Y/N. "YOU, YOU LITTLE TRAITOR! YOU DIRTY-"

But before he could say anything else, Alban sliced the duke's neck and stabbed his heart, while Y/N looked at the scene without even flinching. To them, the duke wasn't a father, but a tool. They focused instead on Prince Moony, who now could comprehend everything and looked at Y/N with emotions of sadness, anger, and feeling betrayed.

"Y/N... Why..."

"𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐲, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥."

"..."

"𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐲?"

"...That damned rat, the Phantom Thief, he threatened you to do this, didn't he?" said Prince Moony, clutching the hilt of the sword resting on his hip. "He- HE MADE YOU DO THIS, RIGHT? YOU WOULD NEVER BETRAY ME, WOULD YOU Y/N?! YOU- You... you would never betray me... no, not you," said Prince Moony as he drew out his sword, eyes full of madness and malice as he looked at the Phantom Thief, who looked back at him.

"𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐲!? 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐲, 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭, 𝐧𝐨. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢-"

"DIE YOU PEASANT!" shouted Prince Moony as he launched himself quickly to Alban's location and brought the sword down onto Alban.

"𝐍𝐎!" exclaimed Y/N, who ran just as fast towards Alban, and before Alban or Prince Moony could react, they went in front of Alban and put their arm up to block Prince Moony's sword.

Prince Moony regained his wits just enough to stall his sword so that he wouldn’t slice through Y/N’s arm, leaving only a long gash from their wrist to their elbow. Y/N cried out in pain before they gripped their elbow. Before any more harm could be done to them, Yugo was luckily close enough and pulled Y/N out of the way before Prince Moony could reach for them.

“No… I… Y/N, I didn’t mean to-”

“YOU DON’T GET TO SAY THEIR NAME!” yelled Alban with fury, as he took his knives in his hands and pounced onto Prince Moony. From behind the prince, Sonny used his shotgun and pierced a bullet through Prince Moony’s right calf. Crying out in rage and pain, Prince Moony used mana to knock Sonny down, and Sonny lost consciousness, flying toward the ground.

“Sonny!” cried out Alban. During his moment of distraction, Prince Moony clutched his sword harder and did blow after blow on Alban. Eventually, Prince Moony’s sword and Alban’s knives met in a lock. Prince Moony grit his teeth as he continued to put pressure on Alban’s knives, which started to crack because of the great amount of force.

While Alban kept Prince Moony occupied, Yugo brought Y/N to a safe place at the corner of the wall.

"𝐘𝐮𝐠𝐨! 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐲?!"

"My lady," said a deep voice from above Y/N. They looked up, and their eyes filled with relieved tears as they met with the silver orbs of Knight Tenshi. Next to him was Alice, who was carrying a first aid kit.

Sonny was treated first, as he had a large gash across his stomach from the prince's mana blast. Alice immediately began first aid, having Y/N apply pressure to the wound with their good arm as she brought together medicinal leaves to use for a covering of the wound, as well as wraps to use to secure the leaves. As she was doing so, Knight Tenshi went to Yugo and fended off the Battalion members coming their way.

While this was going on, Alban was still in the lock with Prince Moony. He was starting to lose strength in his arms. While holding his knives, he started to think about the current situation. Alban knew that the townspeople were safe because of Uki, Fulgur, and Lady Alouette’s escort. But the pressure on his knives was so great, Alban was starting to think they'd crack soon. If Prince Moony broke his knives, what then? Would the rest of them end up dying in here, while Prince Moony got to live on after killing off some of the strongest rebels he ever had to deal with?

They were totally outnumbered in this fight. How long would they have until Yugo ran out of mana and Knight Tenshi out of stamina? How long would it take for Uki, Fulgur, and Lady Alouette to come back and help them?

Though all hope seemed lost, hope called out to them in the last minute before Alban’s knives broke.

"MOONY! WHAT IS THIS RUCKUS!" shouted a booming voice from behind Alban. Alban looked into Prince Moony's eyes, which were wide from shock and fear. His grip on his sword lowered, allowing Alban to use his knife and flick it off to the side and point his other knife at the prince's neck. Alban then turned around, only to make eye contact with someone he had only learned about from tales.

King Legatus.

After his initial shock passed, Prince Moony cursed under his breath.

"Oi, I thought I killed you, old man. Aren't you persistent?" asked the prince with malice, and he almost moved to pounce on the king before he felt the pressure of Alban's knife on his neck increase. Prince Moony's eyes shifted to Alban, before he cursed again.

King Legatus laughed, as he nodded in thanks to Alban before descending the steps. A knight bearing the Legatus insignia came up from behind him and shackled Prince Moony's hands, restraining him in the process. Prince Moony glared at King Legatus, who only looked at him in disappointment.

As Prince Moony was taken to the dungeons silently, King Legatus turned to Alban.

"So... you are the infamous Phantom Thief," stated the king. Alban just nodded, still stunned by the fact that King Legatus was still alive.

The king gave a grunt of approval before bringing out his hand. Alban flinched but realized it was a handshake, so he tentatively took it and shook it.

"You helped save my kingdom. What can I do to repay you?" asked the king, who looked at Alban in curiosity. Alban pondered, before lowering himself to bow before the king. The rest of Noctyx saw him and followed his actions.

"My king, I only ask that you help us to reform this kingdom. We have traveled around the kingdom multiple times since we were young. The people are hungry, in need of jobs, and suffering. Please, feed them, provide new jobs, and shelter, and allow them to travel outside of the kingdom as they please. Additionally, the Duke L/N is now dead. Please allow his child, Y/N Sol L/N, to claim the ducal title. They were the only one to not have participated in the illegal acts of embezzlement of the royal treasury and the enslavement of commoners. "

The king looked at Alban, then at Y/N, and pondered, before nodding. It was his son's fault that the kingdom had become like this.

"I will issue my royal decree."

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

"...Hey."

"𝐇𝐢."

"How's your arm?"

"𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧, 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞. 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐭'𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭. 𝐒𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞."

"What face?"

"𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞," said Y/N, as they pointed to Alban's worried and sulky expression. "𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐀 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞."

"Yeah, I know."

The two fell into silence.

After moments passed looking at the night sky, Y/N found their hand being covered by Alban's warm, scarred hands.

"Y/N...," said Alban, still looking at the stars.

"𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡?"

"Did you really mean what you said back there? The night before we entered the castle?"

"… 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧, 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞? 𝐈 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰," joked Y/N, chuckling to themself.

Alban didn't laugh along, but instead turned his head to face Y/N, and take their other hand with his.

Y/N quieted down, before smiling and grinning widely before they took their hands out of Alban's and embraced him.

"𝐌𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐧. 𝐎𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬~."

Alban's face bloomed into a pink flush.

"W-Well, I just wanted to make sure! Jeez, I can't go against you at all, can I?"

"𝐍𝐨𝐩𝐞!" replied Y/N with a cheeky grin.

The two smiled at each other until they felt the air around them become hot as Alban's eyes flickered to Y/N's lips.

No one will ever know who made the first move, but the two leaned in together and shared a warm, gentle kiss.

They pulled apart, and giggled as they looked into each other's eyes, before leaning in again.

It's very safe to say that the two lived happily ever after~

The End.

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

Epilogue:

Alban and the rest of Noctyx were getting merry at the new pub that was opened up by Y/N, who inherited the title of Duke/Duchess L/N after King Legatus expelled the rest of the corrupt L/N family members.

It was just him and his merry men in the pub, as it was reserved for them for the rest of the afternoon. Knight Tenshi was off doing official business in a different county, while Lady Alouette was sent somewhere on an errand for Y/N.

Alban looked out of the pub's window in satisfaction as he saw children in the streets not trying to steal food or from passersby, but running around while laughing and playing.

"Excyuse me, sur. Are yuu pewhaps the famous Fantom Thief fwom the legen?" ("Excuse me, sir. Are you perhaps the famous Phantom Thief from the legend?") asked a small kid, who rushed up to Alban, her little friends rushing up behind her.

Alban chuckled before rubbing the child's head.

"Wouldn't you like to know? Now, run along. I'm sure your parents are worrying for you."

"...I don't have pehwents anymo- can I stay wid yuu, sur?" ("...I don't have parents anymore- can I stay with you, sir?")

Alban widened his eyes slightly, before gently patting the child's head again.

"Little girl, you shouldn't go after someone and stay with them just because you've heard of them once. You may end up in a dangerous situation. I can bring you to a nice home, though it won't be with me."

"...Will da nyuu home let me bwing my fweinds tuu?" ("...Will the new home let me bring my friends too?")

Alban looked up to look at her friends: they were 5 children in total. They reminded him of himself and his merry men.

"Yeah, I can guarantee it. No shady business, I promise," said Alban, as he held out his pinky to the girl.

Hesitantly, the girl brought her pinky to link it with Alban's, before she smiled in delight and her eyes brightened.

A giggle was heard from over Alban's shoulder. Quickly, Alban's head swiveled to the side, only for his cheek to make contact with lips. Y/N's lips. (don't ask how Alban knew lol-)

He felt Y/N smile on his cheek before they pulled back and turned their head towards the group of children, who gaped at them.

"Awe yuu a fairy, miss/mistah/mix?" ("Are you a fairy, miss/mister/mix?")

Y/N chuckled.

"𝐘𝐞𝐬~! 𝐍𝐨𝐰, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲? 𝐈𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭."

The girl Alban made a promise with thought long and hard before speaking for the rest of her group.

"Somting wam to eet befow we goin to da nice hom the mistah pwomised us, pwease!" ("Something warm to eat before we go to the nice home the mister promised us, please!") exclaimed the girl while pointing at Alban.

"𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨. 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧!" 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐘/𝐍 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛.

Alban sighed as he watched them work with the children in the kitchen to make the food.

...What would it be like if they could have a little group of their own?

:)

[katiesharms]

Your fav T Swift song - hangster

it's not my favorite tswift song, but another anon asked for lover, so for both of you, i present this

lover - taylor swift you'll save all of your dirtiest jokes for me/and at every table, i'll save you a seat

jake never thought he'd be the romantic type. in his limited experience with serious relationships, he's been pragmatic. like he's observing the relationship at a distance, objective when he tries.

with bradley, it's all out the window. there's just something about him, about their relationship. they've known each other for nearly a decade, and still, jake learns something new about his boyfriend every day. yesterday, it's that he thought pepperoni was made from crocodile until he was six. today, it's that he uses the shampoo he uses because his mom showed it to him in high school to help with his curls.

everything is settled and exciting all at once; jake can rest easy on their years of shared history and also feel excited about each new tidbit his learns. he wants it all and more, wants bradley's past and their future, wants to be this close to him forever.

a year in, and it's not enough, not nearly. but jake's fine with it, because he knows they have decades ahead of them. the evidence is everywhere, from the way bradley will snuggle into his side at night and whisper 'i love you,' like it's the first time he's ever said it, to how jake

their housewarming party is small and chaotic, with their friends who aren't deployed piling into their newly purchased condo. they moved in two months ago, but with the holidays and unboxing, they haven't had a chance to get everyone over until deep into january.

"why are your christmas lights still up?" phoenix asks instead of greeting when she says arrives, taking in the multi-colored string running around their windows.

"because we're festive year round," jake smirks. "and it's our house, so no one else gets a say."

phoenix flips him off but otherwise doesn't comment any further.

their friends trickle in slowly, toting various housewarming gifts. almost every single one comments on the lights. everyone finally arrives about an hour after the start, fanboy rolling up sheepishly late. once everyone's in, jake heads to the kitchen to start gathering the food for dinner.

their place is open-concept, or open enough, and jake can hear snippets of conversations and full sentences float to him in the kitchen. halo, phoenix, and payback are conversing about something work-related right on the other side of the half-wall separating jake from the rest of the party, and he can add his two cents in between heating up the buffalo chicken dip.

bradley ambles in a few minutes later, coming up behind jake, flush with his body.

"hey," jake says, tucking into bradley and letting his boyfriend wrap himself around him. normally, jake isn't too into pda, but they're in their own home, so everyone else can deal with it. even if he can hear payback gag at the sight.

"hey," bradley greets back, ghosting his lips over jake's shoulder. his hair brushes against jake's cheek, soft and familiar. "i have a question."

jake raises his eyebrow. there's something about bradley's light tone and flushed face that has him suspicious. "is it important?"

instead of answering, bradley barrels ahead, asking, "why isn't there a pregnant barbie doll?"

jake has a feeling he knows where this is going, but he asks, "why?" anyway.

"because ken came in another box," bradley answers gleefully, smiling against the shell of jake's ear.

jake sputters out a laugh, trying to suppress it before everyone else hears. bradley's funny; jake's always known this about him. but before they started dating, jake never knew just how dirty bradley's sense of humor could be. he loves being let into this side of his boyfriend.

"you're ridiculous," he admonishes, but there's not heat in it. jake turns around in bradley's arms and leans back against the counter, letting bradley box him in by placing his arms on the counter.

"i have no idea what you're talking about," bradley says innocently, loud enough that their guests can hear.

jake rolls his eyes, pinching bradley's side in retaliation.

"i'm gonna go set this out. you coming?" he asks, gesturing towards the dip.

"in a minute," bradley answers, leaning back to give jake the space to maneuver. "i gotta grab some more beers for the hooligans."

"hey!" fanboy protests when he hears, but they both ignore him.

jake puts the food down and plops down in his seat. soon, everyone else is following, making their way towards the table. bob sits down to jake's right, and jake asks him about his day, wanting to catch up with his friend.

out of the corner of his eye, jake spots a hand wrap around the empty seat to his left. looking over, he spots javy pulling the chair out.

"sorry, it's taken," jake says, not sounding sorry at all.

"by who? your imaginary friend?" coyote jokes.

"by me," bradley interjects, finally emerging from the kitchen with both hands full of beers. he bumps coyote out of the way, sliding into the already pulled out chair. "thanks for saving me a seat, babe," bradley says to jake.

"anytime." jake smiles, taking a beer from bradley.

"you are both disgusting. i can't believe i thought getting you together would somehow be better than what it was before." coyote sighs, and swings around the room to pull a fold out chair up to the table.

"big words from someone who will probably be sleeping on our couch," bradley jokes.

"hell no, i'm getting the couch," phoenix butts in. "he can lay on the cushions on the floor.

"generous," javy says.

after that, conversation explodes around the table, overlapping arguments and jokes filling their home with noise. jake takes it all in for a moment, leaning back in his chair. bradley's thrown an arm around it, and jake rests against the familiar weight.

"i love you," bradley says unprompted, quietly so only jake can hear.

jake tilts his head towards bradley. "i love you, too. welcome home."

[stewardofningishzida]

Real-Life Scary Story 2:  Queen Mary

This one happened when I was little. Probably around 8 years old. My parents decided to take me to the Queen Mary while we were on a road trip. I asked what was special about it and they said it was a floating museum bigger than the Titanic. That caught my interest. So, on we went.

While we were there, we decided to give ourselves a tour instead of going with a group because we wanted to go at our own pace. My parents gave me a brochure that had an abridged history of the ship on it. It mostly talked about the ship’s service in WWII and how it ended up in Long Beach. While we walked, I checked out the artifacts the brochure listed.

There were a lot of groups that day, mind you. So, we dodged a few of them and listened to a couple of tour guides. Though, for the most part, we wanted space to get a proper look. As we went deeper into the ship, there were fewer and fewer people, which we took full advantage of at first. Then, we found the engine room.

Nobody there. Also, it was surprisingly quiet. Especially since the room was surrounded by echoey metal walls, floors, and ceiling. It was almost as though the place had some soundproofing there, but we didn’t see any insulation or padding. Not only that, but it was cold…almost as though we had walked into a refrigerator. The longer we were in that room, the more I felt something in my gut telling me that we shouldn’t be there. It felt like the cold was penetrating into me. I got goosebumps. Every fiber of my being was beginning to tell me to get out. After a few more minutes of this, I got spooked enough to urge my parents to hurry up. They thought my behavior was a bit strange, but reluctantly followed me out. I practically ran from the room.

The rest of the self-guided tour was fine and everything else was normal. There were people, noise levels were average, and none of the other rooms felt as cold as that engine room. It wasn’t until later, when I looked for more info on the ship online, that I learned about the alleged hauntings onboard. The very room I got scared in was the site of an accident where a crew member was crushed to death in a watertight door during a safety drill. I haven’t been back there.

As a scientist, I don’t really believe in these things, but I still love a good ghost story. This event did happen to me as a kid, but I do have a few plausible and logical explanations: The cold was most likely because the engine room is below the waterline of the ship. So, the cold ocean water conducts heat away from the hull. That probably cooled the room. As for the quiet…The engines weren’t running at the time and nobody else was down there. So…It was probably just how isolated the place was from the rest of the ship. Still, that was one of the eeriest rooms I’ve been in. I’ll leave it at that. Sweet dreams.

[no-droids]

Out of a Trillion

gif credit: @bestintheparsec​

Part Fifteen of the Rough Day Series

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 12.6K

Warnings: uhhhh so there is a bit of SMUT in this one, not too much and I imagine if you’ve made it this far then that won’t be too big of a deal LMFAOOO uh some ANGST and my attempt at HURT/COMFORT and also violence/blood/injury description, so look out for that!

A/N: I started writing this before the season finale aired and I know we all want a bit of goodness and softness after it, but hopefully this will be okay!  I’ll start working on the next part tonight

***

Everything changes and yet somehow nothing does.  

From that point on, it’s like… like you’re both just suspended in this perpetual state of wondering, waiting for the other shoe to drop.  You know he said it’s up to you, but what the fuck?  Look whenever you want?  That’s way too much fucking pressure, he’s out of his mind.  You’re not equipped to handle that, who does he think you are?  Someone that can just… decide things?

And it’s not like you’re afraid of the commitment, or that you don’t want to look.  You do, but every single time a moment comes, it just never… feels right.  You don’t know what you’re waiting for, what feeling or meaning you’re expecting to magically present itself to you, but you can’t shake the idea that there should be more to it than just randomly deciding to open your eyes at some point, shouldn’t there?  Din said there was no ceremony, nothing fancy, and he gave you permission to look because he said he’s not allowed to ask outright, whatever that means.  It’s a standing offer because you guess he isn’t allowed to prompt it for some reason, but unfortunately, that leaves you in just about the shittiest position possible.  Now everything falls to you—initiation, execution, and consequence—and Maker knows you’ve never been that great making decisions under pressure.

But you do want to look.  Sort of.

Sort of.  Because… well, this probably won’t make that much sense, but you’re afraid.  Mostly for him.  What if he’s making a mistake?  It sounds stupid, but you’re afraid of what this means for him, the sheer perpetuity of this decision he’s now expecting you to make for the both of you.  This isn’t your creed, not yet, and you feel like there’s still so much to learn.  Not only about the Mandalorians and his culture, but about him.  To know is to love, and so you’ve taken to asking any nonsensical question you can think of whenever he’s around.  Though you weren’t expecting it at first, you’ve learned that he’ll always give you some sort of an answer.  Some of the highlights include:

“How old are you?”  (“I don’t know.  Probably mid-forties, but there’s no way to tell anymore.”)

“You don’t know your birthday?”  (No, I… think it was in the winter.”)

“What’s your last name?”  (“Djarin.”)

“Do you have any freckles?  Or moles, or birthmarks?”  (“No, none that I’ve ever noticed.”)

“Do you cut your own hair?”  (“Yes, but it’s been awhile.”)

“Do you have dimples?”  (“I don’t smile in mirrors.”)

“Are your earlobes attached or detached?”  (“What kind of question is that?”)

And so forth.

He also gives you so many fucking opportunities to look.  One right after the other.  You used to think Din was incredibly trusting with how often and voluntarily he decided to take his helmet off around you—he didn’t wait a single day once he first felt your hands on his skin to take it off in your presence.  You remember being blown away by his unexpected willingness to part with it after hearing so many tales of the Mandalorians from Kuill; stunned by the ever-present ability to just open your eyes at any moment and that’s all it would ever take.  One simple movement—life-altering, and so easy.

Now you find it nearly impossible, muscle memory just won’t allow it to happen naturally.  And yet somehow, avoiding it is like stepping around land mines.  He doesn’t trick you—he doesn’t set it up, he doesn’t surprise you or anything, but he’s… less careful.  When the kid is awake, Din acts normal—he walks around fully armored, he goes on hunts and returns a few days later with a quarry, teaches you more self-defense techniques in the cleared out hull while the kid watches and giggles at your pain from the safety of his floating crib.  But when the baby goes to sleep, he’s taken to lounging with the helmet off.  He only used to remove it to eat, sleep, or… do other things with you, but he never used to take it off just… because.  Now he does.  Now he’s less careful about darkness, less strict about how much light he allows to touch him.

Now he shares every single meal he can with you, sitting just off to the side so you’ll never see him on accident but providing the free exercise thereof should you ever decide to seek it out purposefully.  Now he interrupts you in the middle of your complaining about the bruises on your knuckles just to lift the rim of his helmet the slightest bit, lean down and give you a quick kiss, and then lower it back into position again before you can even catch a glimpse of the lips you only recognize by touch.  Now he keeps the light on when he goes to take a shower, he leaves the door cracked.

It’s starting to give you heart palpitations, you swear.  At one point, he lets you to see the entire back of his head and it nearly launches you into a fucking crisis.

It’s the middle of the night and he just got up from bed to use the restroom.  He’s quiet enough not to wake you on the way over, but then across the hull and with his back to you, Din flicks the light on in the small bathroom without closing the door.  Immediately rousing you after being so accustomed to the pitch blackness, you lift your head from the warmth of your shared pillow just enough to blearily make out the sight of him leaning a hand up against the wall and dropping his head down, and it takes you a second to realize that it’s actually him.

Soft, dark brown locks ending at his collar but somehow looking longer than you ever imagined when you’ve run your fingers through them.  Cascading in shaggy, natural curls—tall, broad shouldered and trim waisted, naked as the day he was born.  Your heart starts to squeeze in your chest and it just never stops, and for the second time in your life, you feel like he woke you up in the middle of the night just to show you one of the most beautiful things the universe ever decided to hide.  There are trillions of people in this galaxy and how many of them have ever seen a sight that would compare?  He’s just a man, you don’t think a single person would bat an eye.  But to you, he’s… his own monument.  Constructed in honor of everything dazzling that happens to lie just underneath something else.  A breathtaking view, even from this angle, that could only ever mean something to you.

Would you ever be able to know him?  No, that’s not phrased right.  What you mean is that… over the course of all your time together, you remember thinking that if he ever took his helmet off, he could walk right by you and you’d never be able to tell the difference.  He could be anybody.  There are trillions of people in this galaxy and how many of them have the same features?  Brown hair, brown eyes, sunkissed skin that only one person is allowed to kiss, not even the sun.  Would you ever be able to know him?

Staring at his back in the blissful silence of hyperspace and feeling like the Maker himself is letting you in on one of his proudest secrets, some wild thought suddenly occurs to you that… you think you would.  Somehow.

You can’t explain it and you’d never be able to prove it, but you feel like if you lined up every single person in this galaxy shoulder to shoulder, all however many trillions of them there are, then you could walk the entire length of it and somehow come to a stop right where he’s standing.  Every single time.  You feel like you could do it in the pitch black.  You could do it with your eyes closed.

And, he must just be so gorgeous.  Maybe not in a traditional sense (or maybe in one, you’d have no way of knowing), but mostly in just… the rawest sense imaginable.  Not like how symmetry and straight lines are gorgeous, but how a mountain is gorgeous.  Rocky, dangerous, steep, the product of constant conflict between two immovable sides.  He’s got scars littering his body, one of which you remember giving him yourself with a cauterizer on his lower back.  He holds himself like his shoulders could tell their own story if anyone ever asked them; built to endure, weighed down and made strong with a collection of burdens he chooses to strap to them, steel or otherwise.

You don’t want to close your eyes once Din slowly turns around to look at you, but it happens anyways and you’ve never been so disappointed in your own cowardice.

But then, in a way, it could just be your own self-preservation instincts taking over.  No matter how stunning and life changing the spectacle would be, why would anyone ever stare directly at a supernova?  For so long, you’ve told yourself that his face is something you shouldn’t ever see on principle, but in a way, you suppose it’s fair he put this decision on you because he always has, even from the very beginning.  He trusted you to keep your eyes closed for months on end and you never had a problem with it, so why is it so hard to open them now that he’s given you permission?

A couple weeks of that, and you start to worry that you’re unintentionally rejecting him.

It’s the last fucking thing you want, but how can you avoid it?  Din is… different, he notices.  He’s made a living off of finding things that inherently don’t want to be found—he knows all too well what secrecy looks and sounds like, he’s quick and observant and you don’t stand a single fucking chance against him in all the years of his practice.

But strangely, for as often as you feel like you can figure out what he’s thinking without ever seeing his face—realizing what his intentions are ahead of time and not feeling slighted when he phrases things a certain way or just chooses not to speak at all—you never truly realized how much that extended back to you.

He knows you, too.  He told you so.

For some reason, you didn’t even consider the possibility of it working just as well the other way around.  That you could choose to stay silent, and he’d know why.  You feel like the mystery of him just eclipses you in every single way that you don’t consider even yourself much of anything, much less something else to be contemplated and understood.  While you wouldn’t necessarily qualify the conflict as not being ready to commit, he seems more than willing to respect it regardless and nothing about the way he treats you or interacts with you changes.  Normally you’d say it’s like he forgot the whole thing ever happened, but it’s almost the exact opposite.  Like he was just naturally expecting it from you.

Are you truly so predictable, you wonder?  He said you’d say no.  Was he right?  You’re not saying no, you just… can’t remember the word for yes right now.  It’s right there on the tip of your tongue and the harder you work for it, the more frustrated you become with your own inability to find it.

But, instead of waiting, you think Din just decides to continue the conversation with the promise to come back to you when you finally figure it out.

Sometimes, especially when he’s gone, you find yourself thinking about what moment you’d choose, if you could.  Since you can never seem to find the right one naturally, how would it all go if you could construct everything yourself?  Where would it be?  Naboo?  No, that’s too cheesy.  One thing you and Din both have in common is your practicality, your respective propensities for wanting to tackle one thing at a time and not needing frills attached to something in order to find a deep connection to it, a personal value to it.  You weren’t even bothered when he didn’t claim you as a girlfriend to Peli, that’s how reasonable you used to be about labels.  Now you’re your own antithesis, trying to conjure meaning where there isn’t any just so you don’t feel like you’re the one who’s ripping it away.  You want this decision to feel as permanent as it is.  You want it to be a happy thing, something that happens when you’re both so in love that you can’t bear to have metal separating you any longer.

You think… you’ll just know it when the time comes.

***

“I have to leave,” comes Din’s hushed voice through the darkness, and even though it’s the first thing either of you have said in hours, it sounds frustrated.  Like it’s been bothering him for awhile and he’s just now finally telling you.  “I… fuck, I can’t stay here, I should’ve left a long time ago.”

You whine softly into the pitch black, turning your head into the pillow and curling your fingers into his hair.  “But it’s still so early…”

“It’s mid-afternoon,” he groans back, dropping his forehead down against your skin and breathing hot air along it.  “We’ve been parked here for hours, I don’t know how you can sleep so long.”

“I’m not sleeping,” you pout, before gently dragging your nails down his scalp and feeling his whole body shudder with it.  “Earlier I was.”

“Mhm,” he murmurs, leaning down to give you one last long, slow kiss.  You sigh when his tongue comes out and glides soft and hot against your lips, tightening your grip on his hair.

But soon he pulls away, lifting the covers from over his head and pushing up from between your spread legs.  “This one shouldn’t take long,” he gruffs, planting both palms next to your head and kissing you once more in the darkness, dipping his tongue into your mouth this time.  You moan softly and taste yourself on him, moving to wrap your arms around his broad shoulders, but he breaks the kiss and leans back before you can, preemptively avoiding the possibility of getting lost in it.  “I’ll be back around dawn.”

You’ve known it was coming for hours now, so you’re able to play it off way better this time around.  “Okay,” you breathe softly, dragging your palms up his bare chest as he lifts himself tall over your body.  The slight disappointment underneath is so masterfully hidden, you’re almost positive you’re going to get away with it.  “Be safe.  Please.”

But then… well.  Bounty hunter.

Din pauses for a moment like that in between your open legs, letting you slowly slide your hands down his ribs and over the lines of his stomach.  You wait for him to move, find his clothes so you can get around and make some food, wake the kid up from his nap in an hour or so.  Can’t stay in bed all day, no matter how much you wish you could.

Only, he still hasn’t moved and you start to become concerned.  “Din?”

But then he suddenly groans like he just can’t help it, grabbing both of your spread legs and easily lifting them up.  You make a sound of confusion as he maneuvers them until they’re pressed together and draped over one of his shoulders, and then his hips drop and push forward to slide himself thick and perfect into your blazing hot cunt.

Still drenched and swollen from cumming in his mouth so many times earlier, you gasp and he just groans louder, a ragged thing scraping out of his throat while you struggle through blind and unexpected euphoria to reach him.  But you can’t—Din hugs your legs tight to his chest and settles in just like this, turning his head to drag soft lips and a hot tongue over your ankle before he starts fucking you.  Right up against your g-spot, with your whole lower body in the way and preventing you from slowing him down.

You just have to clap both hands over your mouth just to keep quiet since you can’t reach him.  You feel his teeth sink into the meat of your calf, hips pistoning far beyond your reach and it feels so fucking good that you almost don’t hear his gritted words against your skin.

“I have to go,” he groans, repeating it over and over until his voice begins to pull tight and it just sounds like a plea.  “I have to go, I have to go, I h—have to… h-have to go, I have to, I have to, I have…”

*** 

When Din finally steps foot out of the ship, fumbling with his rifle and cursing quietly through the modulator, it’s the middle of the night some twelve hours later.

***

Steady…

Steady………

Fire.

—and… you blink as bark splinters.

Did you…?  You look down at the blaster in your hand and then back to the ginormous charred tree trunk for a few seconds, wondering if you’re just seeing shit.

No, it’s real.  You actually fucking did it.  You…

… hit the target.

All of a sudden, your ecstatic giggle echoes loudly throughout the foresty autumn wonderland around you, reds and oranges and yellows crunching under your feet while you start to dance.

“Hey!  See that, bug!?”  You call out, shoving the blaster into your waistband and shimmying up to your enthralled audience of one, who just so happens to be smiling as wide as you are as he’s scooped up into your arms.  “I hit the target, I hit the target,” you sing, beginning to sway the baby back and forth as he squeals, laughing while you bounce him.  “No demon powers necessary, little man!  I figured it out, I just have to use one hand instead of two.  You can retire now, you’re the right age for—”

A twig snaps in the distance somewhere to your left, and you quickly spin around while reaching for the blaster behind your back.

Except all you see is a blue Twi’lek standing out amongst all the fall foliage, his hands cuffed behind his back and stumbling a few steps at a time while a considerably taller suit of beskar shoves him forward.  You relax and immediately turn to look down at the ground, trying to bite your lip so you don’t smile too hard while they both approach.  You did it—finally, you did it, you’re on top of the fucking universe right now.

You wait for them to pass by and move up the open metal ramp to the carbonite chamber, but then Din apparently decides to pause when he’s directly behind you, yanking the quarry to a sudden halt.  

You know you should probably turn around to address them, but you can’t hide the happiness from your expression, it’s way too obvious.  Though, after a moment, you decide to shyly turn to face the two men while continuing to bounce the baby in your arms, hoping that his and your matching expressions of excitement aren’t too terribly inappropriate right now.

Din looks from you to the splintered bark on the tree, and then back to you again, before slowly tilting the helmet up in a way that feels… proud of you.

“Congratulations,” he finally says, and you can hear the genuine smile hidden in the modulated drawl.

“Thank you,” you beam up at him, feeling the blood rush to your cheeks.  “Was pretty awesome.”

“I’m sorry I missed it,” he tells you, and you don’t know why, but the tone of his voice makes you go so warm.  It’s not like he’s openly flirting with you, but coupled with your giddiness and sounding like that in front of a bounty he caught in record time, it just makes your heart fucking throb for him.

“It’s alright,” you murmur, shuffling your feet through the crunchy leaves below and trying to play it as cool as possible.  You have company.  “I’ll be able to do it again.”

“Let’s see it, then.”  He tips the helmet over at the tree, and you look between him and the unfamiliar quarry for a second, not used to Din just… ignoring their existence entirely for you.  It’s not like the Twi’lek has said anything or inserted himself into the situation at all, but still.  Din has one hand latched onto the cuffs behind his back to prevent him from booking it, but other than that, it’s like he’s pretending he’s not even there.

“Uh…”  You immediately feel yourself get nervous.  “I can… try.”

He nods one single time in silent encouragement, and you slowly turn to face the tree once more.  The kid stays cradled in your arm while you reach for the blaster in your waistband, removing it and using your longest finger to flick the safety off with a practiced fluidity.  Then, extending it out in front of you and taking advantage of your newfound strategy of only firing with one hand, you line up the sight and pull the trigger.

You wish you could say it hits.  It would be so fucking cool and impressive if you hit the target like that, wouldn’t it?  But it doesn’t hit.  It misses, like usual.  Miserably.  And then an amused snort comes from behind you.

“Right stormtrooper, you are—” you hear an unfamiliar accent begin to snark, but the rest of it turns into a garbled howl the second Din jerks his elbow back to slam it in his face.

You whip around just in time to see a cascade of blood pouring down blue lips and sharp teeth—holy fuck.  You gasp and take a step backwards with the kid, not horrified by the sudden display of violence (not after Din spent an hour teaching you how to do that, too) but not quite expecting it at that moment, either.  But then, well… that’s the second time he broke a quarry’s nose for addressing you with disrespect.  There was that other one he choked, you’re pretty sure—though you can’t remember exactly what initiated that.

Din yanks the bounty up the ramp without another word, leaving both you and the kid there to process while he shoves him through the hull and towards the carbonite chamber none too kindly.  However, by the time he seals the quarry to his fate and eventually makes his way back to you, you just… 

Fuck, you feel so stupid.

You shouldn’t even bother, what’s the point?  All that practice and nothing to show for it.  If you can’t even hit a stationary target with the pressure of others watching, what makes you think you’ll have any hope at all in a situation where you actually need to shoot?  Are they gonna stand still for you?  Are they gonna be as wide as a fucking treetrunk?  You’re horribly embarrassed, so downtrodden in the face of a cruel taunt that you don’t even want to look at Din when he steps in front of you.

“Hey, just try it again,” he says without delay, but the damage has already been done.  It’s not his fault, you’re just… not the kind of person who is meant to shoot a blaster, maybe.  

“Ah… it’s alright,” you look out and smile sadly at the line of trees surrounding you, wondering how it’s possible that you only managed to hit one of them this whole time.  You don’t see it, but Din quickly touches the tips of his fingers to the side of his helmet twice before you look back at him.  “I hit it earlier.  I did, I promise.  You can see the mark if you look.”

His glove reaches out to brush your hair back, so unbelievably gentle after using the same arm to shatter bone just a few minutes ago.  “I know you did.  It was a perfect shot, you hit dead center.  I see it.”

“I did it with one hand, that’s why I tried the thing,” you mumble stupidly, looking down at your feet.  Dumb.  Dumb.

A strand of your hair is tucked behind your ear.  “Wish I was here.”

You glance over at him, feeling your expression suddenly go soft with a wave of affection.  It stops all the harsh criticisms, halting your negativity in its tracks and replacing it with just… soft, abstract things.  Mostly just warm, nonsensical fluff, but one clear and resounding thought breaking through.  You wish he was here, too.

“Maybe I’ll get good at it eventually,” you sigh, slowly handing him the blaster with the barrel pointed down and away from both of you.  Din carefully takes it from you, tucking it away somewhere on his utility belt while you gaze out at the designated target and victorious char mark decorating it.  “Or hopefully just okay at it at some point.  I guess I just need to practice more, right?”

“That’s right,” he tells you warmly, catching your free wrist.  “Try using this one when you do.”  And then a lightweight piece of metal is gently pushed into your empty hand.

Your expression furrows while you quickly look down at it, and—

You go utterly still at the gift, not even knowing what to think.

The first thing that you notice is the craftsmanship.  Brilliant, structurally flawless, the perfect size to fit your hand.  You don’t recognize the specific kind of metal that was used—definitely not beskar—but you think it might be constructed from the same material as Din’s old armor.  Dull silver, but with reflective chrome filigree accents around the handle, trigger, and safety.  It’s uniquely constructed and unlike any weapon you’ve ever seen before—no hard lines or edges, just a soft fluidity to the design that’s so aesthetically pleasing, it doesn’t really even resemble a blaster at all.

You can feel the visor silently studying your reaction while you continue marveling, noticing something new every time you look.  The safety is towards the back of the chamber, just like he said it’d be.  The sight is electronic, and you examine the way it’s built directly into the barrel.

Are those extra magnets on the inside?  Is this able to micro-adjust the plasma release for the best shot?  Holy stars, it must have cost a fortune.

“Din, this is…” you can’t decide where you want to look—the gorgeous crafting, the custom design, or him.  Standing so close to you, not saying a word while you search for the right ones.  “It’s so beautiful, I…”

“Was made for you,” he murmurs.  “Had to be.”

You look back down at the blaster to stop your eyes from tearing up.  He didn’t have to do this.  This is so… sweet, such a lovely thing to do.  Don’t cry, don’t cry—

“What is this?” You ask breathlessly instead, rotating the gun until he can see the symbol branded on the handle.  You recognize that it’s his signet, but you never bothered to ask him what it’s called, you never saw it as your place.  It’s an animal of some sort, one with a giant spike attached to its skull, and you’re glad you’ve never come face to face with one.

“It’s a mudhorn,” he answers quietly.  “They’re… dangerous animals.  Fiercely protective, preferring solitude.  The kid saved me from one a few days after I met him.  It’s… the mark of my clan.”

How fitting, you think, and an honor.  Perfect for him, and a bone-deep reminder of your two favorite people in the galaxy on your hip wherever you go.

“Thank you,” you tell him, hoping the sincerity in your voice sounds anywhere close to how you feel.  You haven’t even had it in your hand for longer than a minute and it’s already your prized position, the most important thing you’ve ever called yours.

Din nods and takes a small step back.  “Now hit the target.”

Feeling invigorated and renewed in every single way, you keep the kid tucked firmly in one arm while raising your blaster with the other.  The safety clicks off and your back straightens, chin lifting until something about the angle feels… right.  The trigger moves easily under your fingertip, and there’s almost no kickback considering how light the weapon is.  What you’re not expecting is the pure white beam of plasma shooting out of the barrel—unlike any blaster you’ve ever seen before—but then the immediate sight of it hitting the tree dead center sends a roar of triumph through your ears.  Fuck yes.

“Look at that!”  Din calls out over the kid’s happy squeal, and there’s nothing you can do to stop your loud whoop of victory.  Even though you know it only hit with the addition of those extra magnets to correct your terrible aim, that still feels so good—you feel so fucking powerful and dangerous.  You glance over to Din with a wide smile, but then his arm extends out towards the trunk directly next to the one with charred bark.  “Hit that one.”

You automatically swing the blaster in that direction and shoot.  A few pieces of wood split on impact and send sharp bits flying as soon as the bright white beam collides with it.

“That one,” Din tells you, and then bark splinters a half second later.  “That one.”  Bark splinters.  “That one, that one, that one—” hit, hit, hit, white plasma flying through the air and bark splintering in rapid succession.

He stops and spins around, pointing to a tree at the very edge of the clearing.  “That one?”

It’s furthest away but the trunk’s diameter is enormous.  As you lift the blaster, you know you’re likely to get it easily with this sophisticated weapon, even across the considerable distance.  So instead, feeling like nothing at all can touch you right now and wanting to see how smart the aim mechanism is, you raise up a few degrees higher before pulling the trigger.  Pale plasma launches from the barrel, and then one of the tree’s most prominent branches comes creaking and crashing to the ground right where you split it.

You’re beaming by the time Din turns back to you, the most excited you’ve ever been with your own progress.  He holds there for a moment while you lower your blaster and wait for him to speak, both of you looking at each other and not moving, until suddenly you hear his voice coming back to you.

Hit the target and I’ll marry you.

One of Din’s hands slowly comes up to the edge of his helmet, but before you can even process the implication behind the gesture, you’re immediately looking down at the crunchy leaves under your feet and clearing your throat.

There’s a beat of silence where you stare down at the dead foliage and wonder why the fuck you just did that.  Right in front of him, right to his face, too startled at how quickly you were being confronted with the possibility that you responded in an equally startled way.  It was instinctual, automatic and entirely out of your control, but that doesn’t mean you don’t want to take it back.

But… you can’t take it back.  That’s the way things are, and after a few moments, you hear his boots begin to cross the distance to you.

“Come on,” Din murmurs gently through the modulator, carefully taking the blaster from your hand and clicking the safety back on again.  “We have to get going.  The fifth quarry is far.  Three day trip through hyperspace.”

He doesn’t sound upset or disappointed by your unintentional rejection, thank the Maker.  You want to explain yourself somehow, but it appears it isn’t necessary in the slightest.  His arm wraps around your lower back and he leads both you and the baby back up the open ramp of the Crest, squeezing you close enough to his side that you have to learn how to walk in a different way to stop yourself from tripping over his boots.

The helmet turns and presses to the top of your head while you focus on moving straight.  “Proud of you,” Din murmurs quietly, and your chest fills with enough air that you’d be worried about floating away if he wasn’t latched onto you so tightly.

He eventually releases you and walks over to the armory, pressing a button to unlock the doors while you hold the kid and watch him start to remove the multitude of weapons strapped to his body.

Maybe… maybe this isn’t the right time, but something brave surges up inside you.  After receiving the most precious gift imaginable from him, hitting all those targets and hearing him say that he’s proud of you, you’re buzzing with just enough energy that for better or worse, it makes you open your mouth and ask.

“Could I… come with you this time?”

Din nearly jerks upright and looks over at you immediately, but he takes a while in responding.  You hope he sees it in your eyes.  You hope he sees just how much you don’t want to be stuck here again when this is possibly the one time you’d be able to tag along.  It’s a bullshit quarry, one he could do in his sleep, and you’ve been getting increasingly restless while stuck on this ship.

When Din eventually does respond… well, judging from his shift in tone, you’re assuming he was just shocked at the question and didn’t take any of that time to actually consider his answer.

“No.”  Short.  Unfeeling, and not sorry about it in the slightest, before turning back to return the blasters you were using previously to the armory as if you said nothing at all.

Okay…  Um.  Not great, not what you wanted to hear, but maybe if you explain yourself better, he’ll listen.

“I just… I’m the only reason you have to get this quarry in the first place.”  Your voice is quiet, trying to let go of some of the concerns you’ve kept to yourself over the past two weeks.  Your fingers fiddle idly with the kid’s little woolen sack as he hangs out in your arms, wanting to plead your case but feeling slightly nervous now.  “You were out having a crazy expensive blaster made for me while I shook hands with Karga and agreed that you’d take more work for less pay.  I hate that I did that.”

“You had no choice,” Din mutters, turning around and striding past you while pressing a button on his vambrace to close the Crest’s ramp.  “My fault for being late.”  And… for as warm and comforting as his voice sounded earlier, it now just sounds… dismissive.  Aloof.  Half-listening, not really wanting to talk but forcing himself to.

“Well this time, I thought maybe… I might be able to help?  Maybe?”  Maker, you feel yourself going quieter the more he walks around the hull and ignores you.  “Karga said it was just a missing person, not even a criminal…”

“Karga says a lot of things,” he grunts with his back to you, voice completely monotone through the modulator.

Come on, speak up.  You’ve lacked a backbone for so long, you’ll never get what you want unless you say it out loud and let it be known.  You take a deep breath and straighten your shoulders, trying to put a little bit of spine into it.  “I can be useful.  I can fight now, I’ve been working on my—” 

“You think I’m telling you no because I don’t think you’re capable?”  He suddenly whips around, voice ringing sharp and challenging throughout the hull while you freeze.  You don’t move but everything about you suddenly feels like it shrinks.

“I-I didn’t—” But he cuts you off, taking a step forward.

“I know you can fight, a Mandalorian taught you how.  I know you’re useful, I know it’s just a missing person, and I know you hate it when I leave.”  He pins you with his eyes through the visor, his tone harder than you think you’ve ever heard it before.  “No.  Your job is to stay here, on this ship, with my son, where it is safe, and my job is to go get the quarry.  Quit asking.  I’m not telling you again.”

The baby makes a tiny little distressed sound in your arms and you blink a few times up at the cold metal, feeling all the good feelings from before just… drain out of you.

Okay, that’s fine.  Uh.  You… the cockpit is behind you, you’ll go up there and fly then.  No reason, just… he should get going.

“Okay, yeah,” you nod and tell the wall over his shoulder brace in immediate agreement, before abruptly spinning around and grabbing the ladder.  Din doesn’t move a single fucking muscle while you try to find your way up to the cockpit with the baby held to your chest and a dead stone sitting heavy inside of it, hoping your face doesn’t show the vulnerability you feel wanting to take over as you retreat.  Get to the cockpit first, get to the cockpit first, get to the—

“Sweet girl, I…” you barely hear murmured through the helmet from the floor, soft enough to sound slightly shocked, but you scramble into the cockpit and shut the door behind you before he can say anything else.

***

Silence didn't used to feel like this.

At first it was eerie, unnatural and stifling when you spent years in a wide open desert, wind swirling and dust pelting.  It suffocated you the first few times you jumped into hyperspace, a phenomena you read all about and considered mathematically fascinating before ever experiencing for yourself.  It was… foreign and strange, but you began to value it more and more as time passed.

Then, you started to get to know him and silence just became comforting.  Something you could bask in, knowing it was a comfort to him.  A choice he made because it just fit him best.  You felt safe in it, you felt like you didn’t have to be anything else but you.  You never had to break it just to avoid awkwardness, you became… closer to it, until you learned to fall in love with it.

But only when he was with you and it was his silence.  Not… everything else’s.  Now it’s haunting again.  Now the sheer lack of sound through hyperspace is a stranger to you, and the distortion of light surrounding the cockpit feels less about the sheer magnificence of manipulating space time and more about the fundamental disconnect it causes.  Gorgeous, but at its core, a severance.  Ripping the fabric of the universe apart, tearing a wound in it.

It’s been a few hours and nothing exceptional has happened since your conversation in the hull.  

You’ll admit that you’re a sensitive person, and because of that, you’ve always had a problem knowing if you were right or wrong when someone comes at you with a hard enough will.  You second-guess yourself, it’s one of your worst traits, and you feel like trying to squash that tendency without knowing the limit is partially to blame for why you’re holed up in this cockpit with the kid.  You’re quiet but in a different way from Din.  When he doesn’t speak, it’s because most of the time, he’s sure of himself and doesn’t need to.  When you don’t speak, it’s because most of the time, you’re insecure and don’t want to.

After being left alone with your thoughts for this long, you’re starting to realize that… he was right.  What were you thinking, wanting to tag along?  Wanting to hang out while he risks his life for this occupation, you probably sounded so fucking ignorant.  Maybe… maybe he didn’t have to say it like that, but his point is still very valid and you’re not sure if you’re really justified in hiding like this anymore.

The way he said… your job, though.  That still stings a bit.  This hasn’t felt like an actual job in a very long time.  Was that just an expression, or did he mean it literally?  You’re stuck on it, you’ve just been going over this for hours in your head, trying to figure out if you should be the one to apologize or not—or if this is just you overreacting from the start and no apologies will be necessary at all.

“Sorry you got stuck with me, kid,” you mutter sadly to the baby, watching him fiddle with his favorite metal ball in your lap.  He makes a little gurgle, purring in that weirdly adorable little way of his and it somehow feels like a reassurance directed to you that he’s just fine the way he is.

Maker, you haven’t heard anything from the hull in a fucking eternity; it’s like Din turned into a ghost, hasn’t even made a single footstep that you could hear since you last left him standing there.  You remember performing a quick flight check as soon as you got up here, lifting off as fast as you could and hoping the thrusters would rumble loud enough to cover your series of pitifully shallow sniffles at being yelled at unexpectedly by a very large and intimidating man, not really crying but not really able to breathe normal either.  The little monster was able to wiggle himself around in your lap as you were trying to punch in the correct coordinates for the fifth quarry with rapidly blinking, watery eyes, and then proceeded to give your belly the smallest hug you think you’ve ever been given and pretty much break your heart with it.

Lovely little boy, so sweet when he wants to be.  He’s sat with you this whole time, he even tried giving you his metal ball to play with but ultimately decided to keep it to himself when he realized you aren’t nearly as fascinated by it as he is.  You know it’s probably getting late for him, and you’ve been weighing the idea of handing him over to his father so he can at least get a good night’s sleep somewhere that isn’t your arms.  There’s no blankets in here, just your lap.

“I think I gotta go take you to your dad soon, tiny.  He’s probably missing you,” you tell him, trying to keep quiet enough that you won’t disturb Din in the hull.  There’s a good chance he’s already asleep.  “I think… he might still be mad at me.  Maybe you can give him the big eyes, soften him up a little?”

Right on cue, his enormous eyes start to droop closed, and you let out a tired sigh of exasperation.  That’s not gonna work, come on.  They gotta be open, booger.

You watch him slowly drift to sleep, his ears relaxing until they too start to droop, but when you try to take the ball from him and set it down on the console, his eyes immediately pop back open and the toy slips from your fingertips.  It levitates right back into his tiny hands as you watch, and then he closes his eyes once more while tightly cuddling the thing he loves most to his body.

Unbelievable.

He’s a child, and yet he’s…

“How are you so strong?”  You ask him, unable to even fathom.  “You’re the smallest, most helpless little thing I’ve ever seen and you’ve got such… strength.  You defy the universe for a piece of metal.”

He doesn’t hear you, you think he’s asleep again.  It’s just as well, you figure.  He needs to go sleep in his crib, it’s time.  You scoop him up and make sure the little ball stays tucked snugly in his arms, before finally standing up and stumbling over to the door on numb legs.

Only, when it slides open, you quickly stop short.

Because there, sitting on the floor and resting his helmet against the corner of this small little platform leading to the ladder, is the Mandalorian.

So much closer than you expected him to be.  So big, crammed into such a tiny place.  You didn’t hear his footsteps climbing the ladder, and you would’ve noticed it during the hours you’ve spent in the suffocatingly muted quiet of hyperspace.  He can be silent but not when absolutely nothing else exists and he’s got a thousand fucking pounds of steel weighing him down at any moment in time.  You took off almost immediately once you barricaded yourself inside the cockpit, so has he… did he follow you up in those last few seconds, right after you shut the door?  The ones when you were sniffling like a child and trying desperately to turn the thrusters on before you let the tears come?

His head lifts and his back straightens as you’re looking down at him with his sleeping son cradled in your arms, your eyes slightly redder than they should be.  You’re a mess and… he’s been here this whole time?

“Could you hear me in there?”  You whisper in sudden mortification, but Din just keeps gazing up at you through the impenetrable metal visor.  A complete mystery again.  Unreadable—he could be anyone.

When he doesn’t answer you, your heart twists with the possibility that he’s still upset with you, and you quickly turn to the ladder to figure out the best way to get down without jostling the baby.

“I’m sorry.”  His voice stops you dead in your tracks.  It’s so soft, nearly flipping in and out of the modulator from the lack of volume, the most cautious sounding thing you’ve ever heard coming through the filter.  “I… hurt your feelings.  I’m sorry.”

And…  Maker, if anybody else had said it.  If literally anybody else had said it, you know it would’ve sounded like the most sarcastic, dickish remark in such a delicate moment.  But, you also remember him telling you once that you were tenderhearted.  That the galaxy would never be as kind to you as you are to it.  This… comes out sounding like he’s trying to change that.

It comes out sounding like he’s trying to use his voice to hold you because he doesn’t think you want to be touched right now.  Like… like he’s doing everything he can to be as careful as possible here because you think he might be attempting to do something he’s never done before.  Apologize for saying something he didn’t mean.

“You don’t have to,” you quickly tell him.  He’s not good with words and apologies are difficult enough to phrase for normal people, you don’t want him to fret over it if that’s what this is.  “It’s okay, I know you’re not… you don’t have to.  It was stupid of me to ask.”

“It wasn’t,” he instantly counters, his voice finally seeming to find the floor when it was just hovering before.  Not loud—still gentle, still making sure the kid doesn’t wake up and you’re not frightened away, but a bit more grounded this time.  “It wasn’t… what I wanted to hear, and I didn’t take it well.  Not stupid.”

“It was stupid,” you return amicably, looking down at your feet.  “That’s not my… job, like you said.”

Din suddenly hangs his helmet down to his chest, pressing his gloves to the part that curves over his forehead and rubbing it.  “Shit.  I didn’t mean—”

“You were right,” you acknowledge, having spent the past few hours coming to the understanding that it’s the hard truth and he just phrased it poorly.  “I’m not… built for it, I’d only get in your way.  I barely just managed to shoot stationary targets with a blaster today, and that’s only with that aim corrector built into the barrel.  I’m here to be helpful, not—”

“What are you saying?”  He suddenly lifts the beskar to study you, sounding genuinely confused.  “What aim corrector?”

That… makes you pause.

“The, uh…”  Now you’re confused.  “The one that adjusts the plasma release on the gun you gave me.”

He doesn’t move an inch or say a single thing to you in response and you awkwardly shuffle your feet for a second, everything so quiet that you can hear every little snore that goes in and out of the kid’s tiny button nose.

You blink at him after way too long of that, not knowing why he still hasn’t said anything.  “There’s an electronic sight and like a bazillion extra magnets packed into the barrel, Din, what else could—”

“Sweet girl, that’s… that’s for the Philithiorium,” Din breathes out, like he’s absolutely blown away by you right now.  “That gas is less stable than normal canisters, it takes more magnets to focus the white beam without overheating the metal.”

You stare at him, not truly processing.  He’s saying that… you made all those shots today without any help at all?  By yourself?

Your eyebrows furrow and you blink a few times, but then his slow, heavy sigh echoes throughout the metal walls with disappointment… and you don’t think it’s directed towards you.

“You’re just… always so unsure of yourself.”  He sounds genuinely distraught as his helmet tips down to look at the ground.  “I made that worse today.”

“It doesn’t matter,” you quickly shake your head, your chest already beginning to loosen slightly by just being around him, hearing his voice, seeing the metal glint under the fluorescent light overhead when he’s in such a vulnerable position on the floor.  “It’s okay, let’s just… pretend neither of us said anything at all, okay?”

“Is that what you really want?”  He asks you after a moment of quiet, and for some reason, you hear something in your mind tell you that his arms look so nice right now, don’t they?  You could fit right there, perfect and safe again.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” you smile at him, feeling a bit of the ache trapped inside you continue to work itself out little by little.  You’ll be back to normal soon, it’s fine.

“No, I mean… do you really want to come with me?”  Din asks you, the words sounding cautious.  Confused, like he truly never expected the proposition from you at all.  “Or… do you just not want me to go?”

Oof, what a fucking question.

Why would he ask this?  It’s not pointed; it’s the softest, gentlest inquiry you’ve ever been posed.  Maybe in other circumstances, you’d say that him leaving doesn’t have anything to do with it, but… you’re certain that internally, it absolutely does have at least something to do with it and he was just able to know it before you did.  Which is probably why his sharp words seemed all the more cutting earlier.  It hurt because he said the truth first, verbalized a very deep insecurity you’ve been trying to hide from him and threw it right in your face when shutting you down.

Though, if it worked differently and you were the one who had to be away while he stayed here, you’d like to think you’d handle it way better than how it is now.  At least you’d have a real mission to focus on, new things to see and experiences to have.  You just feel… confined sometimes.

You take a deep breath and figure you’ll use sitting down as an excuse to think for a second.  There’s practically no room but you find it in the back of the cockpit near the doorframe anyways, doing your best to keep the kid level while you slowly lower yourself to the ground near him.  Not touching him, but close.

“I just… I lived my whole life stuck in one spot, wanting to see the galaxy,” you finally admit to him, staring at his chestplate but seeing the helmet tilt slightly in your peripheral.  “Sometimes it’s just… hard to see the galaxy and still be stuck in one spot, I guess.”

“…You want an adventure,” Din proposes quietly, and though there’s not a single hint of mockery in his voice, you suddenly feel like it’s really fucking dumb when he phrases it like that.  What are you, an eight year old?  Wanting to go on an adventure, see things you’ve never seen without any concept for real life?  Credits?  Time?  Resources?

You shrug a shoulder to make it seem like it’s no big deal.  Why is he even entertaining this right now?  “It’s stupid, I kn—”

“Like on Naboo,” he goes on, ignoring your harsh self-criticism, not allowing you the ability to even get it out once he heard the first couple words.  “Going through the forest, seeing that waterfall.  Someplace to find for yourself.  Explore.  Experience.”

You… you want it so badly that you think your eyes might tear up just hearing the words coming out of his mouth when he says them like that.  Like he… just inherently understands.  He knows.

He knows you.  He’s not good with words and yet he found the single most succinct way to put what you thought was a complex yearning without even trying.  You can’t even answer him, he hit the target dead on and you’re left with nothing to say that wouldn’t just be a miserable lie.

“Okay,” Din says after a moment, giving you a small nod.

You’re lost now.  “…Okay?”

“You’re never going on a hunt with me,” he tells you very seriously, no room for arguing.  “Ever.  And not because you can’t handle it, understand?”  He inhales, quickly adding on to his response before you’re able to analyze it the way you want to.  “But if you want an adventure, then… I can try and find a way to give you one.”

Stars.  He’s… too kind.  You somehow feel like it’s more than you deserve.  You were honestly hoping to just shadow him on a hunt, watch him work and stay well out of the way when he needs you to.  Helping if you think you’d be of any help; an extra set of eyes and hands.  You would’ve been fine even if he didn’t apologize for raising his voice at you, he doesn’t have to do this for you.

“Thank you,” you say for the third time today, feeling like each one has somehow multiplied in sincerity.

“It can’t be right now,” he quickly tells you, apologetic but earnest about it.  “I have to find the quarry, and I’m supposed to meet with Karga again in a week.”

You never did let him know about the other part of the deal you made with Karga, you admit.  Four pucks, no hassling, no hard time constraints.  That’s what you shook on, but you just never found a way to bring it up to Din.  Especially since you’ve been so preoccupied with hiding your growing disappointment from him whenever he has to go.

“If…” you pause, wondering the best way to phrase this.  Yikes, this is a toughie.  “Um.  If Karga… I don’t know, hypothetically, if Karga decided to loosen the time constraints back to the way they were before the Corellian bounty, would you… still need to meet with him again in a week?”

You don’t think he even bothers shuffling through all those words.  “Say what you mean.  Please.”

“That was part of the deal I struck with him,” you quickly explain.  “You can hunt on your own timetable again and he’ll keep giving you four pucks like before, no more or less after this one extra quarry.  It’s like a… replacement of sorts, for the one I kept you from getting the time before.  If credits aren’t an issue, you can take more than a week.  But only if you want to, you don’t have to.  It’s just there and you should know, that’s all.”

He takes his time responding, lifting his helmet just the slightest bit in… surprise?  Maybe?

“You never told me you did that,” Din finally murmurs.

“Ah.  Well.”  You look down at the sleeping kid in your arms.  “I didn’t want you to think I was trying to… keep you here.”

It genuinely is a struggle for you, and you think he’s just now realizing that.  As much as you know he gets frustrated with you for always wanting him to be here when he physically can’t be, you think it’s only now that he’s truly realizing the lengths you go to in order to stomp that part of you down whenever you feel it threatening to come up.  You allowed him to leave every single time without telling him he could stay, knowing that all that was left for you was babysitting and target practice for days on end.

“Will you come over here?”  Din finally asks, and the tone of his voice just punches you in the chest.  So soft, so distressed from having you so close yet so far from him and just… full of a quiet hope, like he’s fully expecting you to say no.

“Will we fit?”  You whisper after a moment, even quieter.

He doesn’t answer, he just reaches for you.  You do your best to scoot over to him without waking the kid, and then Din pulls you the rest of the way once he has a grip.  You go right into his arms, laying sideways across his lap and supported by his steel embrace.

Oh, it’s not comfortable but you’ve also never been more fucking comfortable.  One of his knees lifts and allows you to rest your back against it without worrying about falling over sideways and down the ladder to the hull, thank the Maker.  The beskar pauldron over his shoulder digs into your cheek, but Din immediately pushes an arm up to nudge his helmet off and make it better for both of you.  Your face automatically fits into the crook of his neck while he sets the beskar on the bend of his knee, and then he silently cradles you while you do the same to his little boy… who does the same to his favorite metal ball.

“Ni tar’tayl su,” he murmurs into your hair, the one phrase in Mando’a you do recognize, especially with how beautiful and elegant it sounds rolling off his tongue.  “Forgive me.  Ni ceta.”

You sigh your contentment and melt into him, well aware that you’d still be more comfortable in bed.  But when you’re pressed hard against his chest like this and the baby is fast asleep in your arms, you get to feel both of them breathing.  Din’s right lung is probably bigger than the kid’s whole entire body, but you like the radically different cycles they go through.  You think you count six full breaths coming from the brown sack in your palms for every one of Din’s and two of yours.  It creates the most beautiful little symphony that sometimes gets a little off track, but always finds its way back around again.

“How do you say…”  You ask, feeling his hand slowly move down the curve of your spine, mindless and hypnotic.  It catches the edge of your shirt and goes underneath, and even though it’s not his bare hand and there’s no skin to skin, it still feels so good.  Not sexual or sensual even, just… a comfort to you.  “In Mando’a, how do you say… out of a trillion?”

Din’s breaths pause for just a second, his portion of the synchronized rhythm faltering.  Soon it starts back up, and his head turns to press his lips against your hair.

“I don’t think there’s a word for it,” he admits, gently brushing a thumb across the baby’s forehead while he snoozes.  “There could be, but I don’t know it.  I’d use… out of a million million millions.  Dayn alanyc bal alanyc bal alanyci.”

Your eyes begin to drift closed, exhausted from keeping them open after shedding a few tears earlier.  Your first fight and you’re already completely in love with him again after a handful of hours of sulking and one conversation.  How is that possible?  You’re normally a very forgiving person and it wouldn’t have taken much to make you feel better, you just never expected him to… actually want it from you that badly, care enough about it to get on the floor and ask.

Din doesn’t move the entire night through.  You assumed he’d make everyone get up at some point and move to the hull, but he doesn’t.  You fall asleep against his chest, comforted by the silence once again.

***

The next morning, Din quietly climbs into the cockpit while you’re humming in the shower.  You’re too busy basking in the indoor rainfall to feel the ship pull out of hyperspace, and then jump back into it a few moments after.

***

“How long do you think you’ll be this time?”  You ask two days later, sitting on the extended flattop of Din’s old cot and swinging your legs back and forth.  The baby is currently sitting on your lap and trying to roll the metal ball down your knee so you’ll kick it in the air, you think, because he keeps dropping it at different moments and forcing you to stop moving your legs to prevent accidentally denting a wall.  Every time the ball clatters to the floor, he makes a sad sound and it immediately lifts back up into his tiny hands for another try.

Heavy boots clang against the metal floor as Din drops down from the ladder, having just landed the Crest on the surface of whatever planet you’re on.  “I’m not leaving yet.”

“Oh…”  You blink, surprised.  “Okay.”

“I wanted to do some more training with you first, if that’s okay.  You can say no if you want, but maybe not,” Din drawls, striding over to the armory and opening it.  He carefully removes your blaster from the front shelf, speaking with his back to you.  “You’re going to run.”

“Um.”  You take a moment to glance around the enclosed hull, before turning to look back at him with your eyebrows raised.  “What, like… in place?”

Din sighs and closes the armory before leaning back against the doors, rubbing the face of the helmet in exasperation.  “From me, sweet girl.”

Your legs stop swinging, and the baby grumbles and slaps three fingers against your knee.  “What?”

“We’re on Sanctuary II,” he explains, turning to grab his black bag from one of the storage shelves.  He unzips it and reaches back into one of the larger pockets on his utility belt, before grabbing a handful of credits and stuffing them inside.  “It’s a moon, the New Republic occupied it years ago and made it a safe world for refugees and orphans of the Empire.  You’ll have your blaster, some credits, a communicator, and a day head start.  You’re going to run from me.  Show me how much you’ve learned.”

Is… he for real?

Right now?  You don’t even know how to respond, you’re too surprised.  Even when Din approaches and carefully trades the kid for your blaster, setting the bag down next to you on the metal bed, you still haven’t answered him.

“If you want?”  He asks after a moment, and you quickly jerk your head into a nod and jump off the raised platform, almost knocking into him with your sudden excitement.

“Okay!  Fuck yeah,” you grin, but Din shakes his head.

“Rules,” he says seriously, and you quickly do your best to frown, trying to compose your thrilled expression to match his tone.  “One.  This is a safe world, but things can always happen.  You have a blaster now, but it’s for emergencies only.  Do not shoot me with it.  Do you understand?”  You nod, but Din reaches forward to grab your elbow.  “Out loud, please.  For me.”

“I will not shoot you with this blaster,” you vow obediently, carefully cradling the precious firearm in your hands.

“Do not shoot me,” he repeats while pointing a leather finger at you.  “Do not… shoot at me.  Near me.  Around me.  No, just—don’t shoot.  Unless I am… very far away.  Okay?”

Well, he didn’t have to phrase it like that.  You frown, but acquiesce regardless.  “I will only resort to blastering if it’s an emergency and you are not around.”

He nods a thank you for putting it into better words.  “Second rule.  Since you don’t have a ship, I won’t either.  We’re on foot.  I don’t doubt you can hotwire a piece of junk to do what you need it to do, but I’d prefer it if you didn’t.  Good?”

Entirely accurate and entirely fair.  “Good.”

“Three,” he says.  “I’ll have the kid with me, which is both good and bad news for you.  Good news is he’ll slow me down, bad news is I can’t promise he won’t also try to intervene at some point if you’re serious about putting up a decent fight.  What I can promise is that I won’t encourage it.”

“Reassuring,” you nod.  “Also not really a rule.  Please continue.”

“Four.”  He pauses for a second.  “I think I’m wanted by the New Republic.”

You nearly jerk back.  “What?”

“I can’t confirm it and I’m not proud of it,” Din quickly tells you, probably the vaguest possible explanation he could provide.  “I’m only telling you so that you’ll know your advantage and find a way to exploit it.  I can’t be seen by any officers, or they might arrest me.”

Is he fucking serious?  “I don’t want you to be arrested, Din, I—”

“I won’t be,” he assures you.  “They owe me one, I just don’t want to cash in yet.  Trust me.”

You… do.  Insanely, and against every logical thought flittering through your head, you do.  If you were ever going to bet money that someone would be able to navigate a safe world on foot without being caught by the numerous officers scattered across the surface, then you’d put all your credits on Din Djarin.  It… also shouldn’t really surprise you at all that the people seeking his incarceration also owe him a favor, should it?  It actually sounds right on par for him.  “Okay.”

“Fifth, and this one is important, so listen up,” he continues gruffly.  “You check in with me tonight over the e-comm, alright?  I don’t care where you are or how safe this planet is, if you don’t check in, I’ll come find you before the sun rises.  Say you understand me.”

“I understand you,” you tell him, your heart beginning to pound in your chest at the reality of this actually happening.  “I’ll check in tonight.”

“And if,” he goes on, “by some miracle, you manage to make it more than a full day, you check in with me tomorrow night, too.  Say it.”

“I will check in with you every single night for the full five days it’ll take you to find me,” you assert, the adrenaline starting to make you brash and giddy.  

Din tilts his helmet at you sternly.  It is a very, very stern tilt.  “Okay.  New plan, forget everything I just said.”

Your expression furrows.  “What’s the new plan?”

“That is the new plan,” he says, dead serious.  “Us.  Not doing this.”

“Oh, come on,” you grin cheekily up at him, poking his chestplate.  “I’m just giving you some motivation to find me quicker, that’s all.”

Din stares down at you, and… yeesh.  Tough crowd.

“Tell you what,” he finally grunts, sounding incredibly unamused with your jesting.  “If you can last that long with only a day head start, I’ll let you come with me to collect the fifth quarry.  You can even cuff the bastard yourself.”

You know it’s just because he’s rightly confident in his own deadly skill, but hearing him propose the possibility still shoots a thrill down your spine.  “Oh ho, you are gonna regret saying that, shiny,” you beam up at him, starting to hop back and forth on each foot with excitement.

“But if I’m able to find you, you can’t ask me ever again,” he finishes shortly, and you immediately go still in front of him.

“What?”

“If I’m able to find you in five days, I don’t want to hear about you coming with me on a hunt and you can’t ever ask me not to go on one,” Din tells you, his voice rough and gravelly through the modulator.  Not mean or harsh, but firm.  “From now on, it’ll be off-limits.”

You… take a moment, not knowing if you should feel scolded or not.  When you don’t immediately say anything in response, he sighs and turns the helmet away from you.

“Leaving is hard enough as it is,” he mutters, looking at the ground.  “Hearing you ask… makes it impossible.”

You slowly lower your gaze to the floor as well, feeling your heart constrict tight in your chest.  There’s a real pull under his voice, telling you that information even though it sounds like he doesn’t really want to admit it out loud.  It… really is a struggle for him too, then.  You understand.

“Okay,” you nod.  There’s not a single part of you that actually thinks you’ll be able to stay hidden from him for five days while stuck on foot, so this is essentially a given.  You’re not thrilled about the idea, but you’re going to do your best to respect it nonetheless, especially if he cares enough to put off hunting and allow you this experience for yourself.  It’s a better compromise than you ever imagined, and you’ll do everything you can to hold up your side of the bargain.

Din clears his throat and straightens his spine, turning the visor until it faces you head on once more.  “Final rule.  I reserve the right to break any rule we just agreed to, or any fucking rule in this galaxy to keep you safe.  Good?”

Your cheeks flush with heat, your stomach suddenly filling with butterflies.  He doesn’t do that.  Din says what he says or he doesn’t say anything at all, there’s no… taking things back, he’s already breaking his own code.

“What happened to The Way says no take-backs?”  You ask quietly.

“This is my way,” he answers you.  Quick, not even taking a moment to think about it, before pulling out a fancy looking wristwatch thing and clipping it on you himself.  “This is your communicator.  It takes more power than the one you have now but it’ll reach a further distance.  I have one just like it, they’re locked into the same frequency and timesynced together, and the batteries need to be charged every three days.  If you make it that long, I’ll remind you.”  Din grabs the bag while you slide your arm into it, helping you hook it around your shoulder with one hand while he cradles the kid in his other.  Your heart is pounding now, pumping with adrenaline as he pulls you towards the middle of the hull and then wraps an arm around you.

“Hey,” he murmurs, pulling you tight to him and pressing the helmet to the crown of your head.  His voice is barely a whisper through the modulator.  “Gar darasuum.”  For an eternity.

You find some way to wrap your arms around him, even with your blaster in your hand and the kid hanging out in his dad’s other arm.

“Dayn alanyc, bal alanyc, bal alanyci,” you murmur dutifully against the beskar chestplate, knowing your accent is probably butchering the words but hoping they still carry the same sentiment.

And then you’re squeeeeeezed hard enough to get a little air out of you, before you’re let go and he turns around, pressing a button on his vambrace so the ramp begins to lower.

It’s bright outside but not too bright, and everything is warm and gentle and breezy, right in the middle of a lush plain.  You inhale the fresh air into your lungs, looking out across the wide open field, having no fucking clue this is where your day would be leading when you woke up this morning.  Oh Maker, it’s gorgeous here.  Not like Naboo, where every single thing is picturesque and fit for an e-card, but in a soft, understated kind of way.  The sky is a canvas of swirling pastel clouds, pale pinks and yellows and blues, and the communicator on your wrist lets you know that it’s just after noon here.

You take one single step down the ramp, before immediately stopping and turning around to bite your lip at him.

“How am I… how am I supposed to outrun you?”  You ask, already clueless.  “You’re too good, better than me at everything.”

“That’s not true,” Din reminds you sternly, grabbing your hand at your side.  “You already know who’s after you, that’s an advantage nobody else has ever had against me.  You know how I think.  I don’t know how, but sometimes it’s like you can…”  He slowly shakes his head.  “See me.  Through the metal.”

“But… but that works both ways,” you point out, breathless at hearing him say that but needing to focus right now.  “You know me, too—you’ll know exactly where I—”

He shakes his head again, but quickly this time.  “Remember what I told you a long time ago?  What your best weapon is?”

You… do not.  He told you so many things, and you’re assuming every single one of them is going to come into play during this endeavor if you want to outlast.  You’re going to have to think back and remember all of them individually, find the time to figure out your best plan of action based on the remarkably little you know about how he hunts.

“You’re smart, remember?”  Din murmurs, squeezing your fingers.  “Your mind works differently, it sees things in ways I’ll never be able to, not even with this helmet.  So…”  He shrugs a shoulder like it’s the simplest thing in the galaxy.  “Don’t try to outrun, okay?  Just try to outsmart.”

You give him a nod after a moment, still not really sure about it, before giving his hand one last squeeze in return and eventually letting go.  

Outsmart.  Outsmart him, use what you know about him to be the most elusive quarry he’s ever hunted down.

As you make your way down the ramp, you’re already thinking.  His helmet tracks footprints, that’s a thing you know.  You’ll have to find someone to trade shoes with, then—yours aren’t too beat up, maybe you can find a local who’d appreciate a better pair.  Are you going to a city?  Would there be one in walking distance?  The wilderness won’t work, you’ll be too exposed and it would make you an easy target for either him or wild animals.  The weather seems clear here though, and you don’t think you’ll need to worry about rain or snow, but if—

“Oh—but when you do see me,” Din decides to add when your feet finally touch the grass, and you pause once more to turn around and look at him.  He stays quiet for a second, studying you through the helmet for too long.  Like the anticipation is getting to him already.

You bite your lip back at him and adjust the bag on your shoulder, tummy swirling with nerves and excitement.  He tilts the visor up, gazing down at you from the hull with the kid tucked in his arms.

“Try to outrun,” he says gruffly, before turning back into the ship and letting the ramp slowly close behind him.

[bokettochild]

request: sometimes time likes to be alone underwater. with his iron boots and zora helmet, it's easy to just take a stroll at the bottom of a deep enough lake, away from the rest of the world. he did not expect, however, to find legend relaxing inside a small hole in the stone. Mer Legend.

Oh boy! I was vibing with this one for a while, I just wanted to make it perfect!

I'm pretty happy with what I made too, but man is it long!

(I hope this makes you happy, anon!)

When he and Malon have kids, he hopes they don't have this many.

Nayru knows he loves his boys, but they can get a bit much sometimes. They can get loud and overwhelming, and as a man who’s used to traveling primarily alone, with maybe a fairy trailing behind him or his trusted mount, it’s a bit overwhelming. He’s not used to being around people so much, Malon and Talon are his only consistent company and even then, the work they share means that often times it’s only him and his thoughts as he mucks, mends and tends things around the ranch.

Sometimes, when the boys get especially rowdy and playful, it’s just nice to get a moment of quiet to himself. Between Sky and Twilight he knows that nothing overly chaotic will go down, and he trusts the boys to keep each other in check.

So, when they come to the Pup’s Hyrule, their battle in this world over and most of their number restless as they wait for the next portal to arrive and whisk them away, Time allows his boys their space, and with a quick exchange with the only two he can trust to not burn something down (at least while the younger ones can still see them) he heads off into the forest to get a little space to himself.

Of course, he can’t really go far, not if he needs to hurry back, but he doesn’t really need to. His destination is Lake Hylia, which is only a short distance from their camp, maybe ten or fifteen minutes, and, when he gets there, he allows himself to actually breathe for once.

Wild, Warriors and Wind had been locked in a game of cards when last he left, the champion soundly beating the other two both at cribbage while Wars bemoans his poor luck, and Twilight and Sky were discussing wood carving with Hyrule, with the occasional comment from the smithy, who is only too happy to throw in something related every so often as he looks up from his book. That leaves himself and Legend, and he’s long since learned that the vet was one to disappear for his own space when possible.

He’s not overly worried. Legend has items and experience that far outmatch most of their group, and if he runs into trouble Time has little doubt that he’ll be able to get himself out of it to at least gather reinforcements, if not handle the issue by himself.

A deep breath of relief escapes him as the eldest of the heroes pulls a few items from his own bag. The boots are a familiar if not welcome weight as he slips out of his armor and dons the tunic and cap of the Zora, his breath bubbling softly as he steps into the lake before him with a contented sigh.

The cool water floods over the top of him, tugging at his hair and bubbling in his lungs, but it’s doesn’t burn the way that it should. He breathes easily beneath the rippling surface of Lake Hylia, the Zora tunic granting him freedom beneath the waves.

There is little sound beneath, only the muffled noise from above the surface, the flow of the water and-

Time’s ears prick forwards as a single blue eye turns to search the space around him.

Someone is singing.

It’s a haunting sort of melody, one that draws you in and makes you dazed, and Time finds himself stumbling over his own feet as he searches for the source. It is not a Cursed song, nor anything powerful from what he can recall, in fact, it’s almost familiar. It sounds similar to something he hears hummed about their camp at night while the boys take watch. He’d never been able to place which of the young heroes hummed the lilting melody, but he’s let it carry him off to sleep many a time before. Only this song, the one that twines about his head and whispers in his ears and makes his feet trek closer and closer to its source, this song is different, it’s haunted and Broken, and it is sung in a Voice.

Not a voice like most of those above the surface have, but a Voice like a fairy or spirit might have. One that pulls at your very soul and sings in your mind, un-hampered by wind or waves, able to carry across miles to be heard by those that it Sings too.

Heavy feet trod faster.

He’s under no spell, but he is a Link, and by now he has learned that all of their kind are blessed or cursed with courage and curiosity both, and to be without the latter is simply unthinkable for the young-at-heart hero. Something –the forest imp in him maybe- tells him to find the Voice, find the Singer.

He’s only made it part of the way across the lake, hasn’t even left the shoreline properly, when the song stops. Unease creeps over him as he looks around, alert and ready for trouble, only to see nothing but the peaceful stillness of the lake bottom around him.

There! His mind supplies as something pink flits in the corner of his vision, and he’s whipping around to come face to face with-

Long tangled hair drifts in the waves as glistening scales reflect the light pouring down through the waves. Too deep, too dark eyes stare at him in shock for a brief moment, and then-

The creature, the thing, is gone in an instant. Whipping away as it’s glimmer fades into the waves around him, speed no doubt granted by the brilliant tail of the thing sending it rocketing out of his grasp before he even has a chance to speak.

He tried to follow it. He does! But quite soon the adult part of his mind is reminding him how dangerous the thing could be, and that he still has his boys to return to back on the surface. It’s been exactly thirty-two minutes and thirteen seconds since he left them at their camp, and by now they usually would have sent someone to check and make sure that whatever member of their party had strayed off was alright.

Removing his boots is all it takes to float to the surface, despite the fact that he still holds the things in his hands, and it’s with no small amount of relief that he realizes that the bank of the lake is free of other heroes.

Time gathers his things together, wringing out his hair and clothes before returning to his normal gear and heading back to the camp.

Smiles and chuckles greet him as the young heroes tease.

“Go for a swim, Old Man?” Legend quirks a brow, staring up from his place by the fire.

Time doesn’t answer him, but he does shake his head violently enough to spray the younger heroes with water, earning shouts and shrieks from them as they try and shield themselves from the wet. “Seriously, Time?” Warriors moans, wiping lake water from his face. “What are you, a dog?”

Time smirks at the captain and, to everyone's surprise (which produces no small amount of delight for him), he barks.

“What sorts of people have you met in your adventures?” Sky asks a couple of days later, head cocked to the side as he watches his brothers. “You all talk about so many races, but I don’t think I've heard of most of them.”

“Well,” Wild smiles, there’s a glint in his gaze that isn’t quite mischief, but it’s a warning to be wary anyway, because they all know what a crack-pot their cook can be at times. “There’s Hylians, of course, and Sheikah, Yiga, Gerudo, Rito, Gorons, Zora and koroks! You’ve probably already met the Sheikah, since you mentioned knowing an Impa during your journey, and the Yiga are an offshoot of that group.”

Twilight blinks and stares, Warriors furrowing his brow as he two older heroes stare at the younger, but Wild seem entirely unaffected.

“Gerudo are a desert people. They’re really tall, and extremely strong! Most of their race have long red hair and slightly darker skin than the people around Hyrule. They are a society of all woman, with only one man being born to them every hundred years. They worship the goddess Din for the most part, and live out of an opulent city set in the desert where they specialize in the crafting of weapons and jewelry, and the farming of exotic plants.” The champion then proceeds to run down traits and knowledge about the other races, matter-of-factly, as if the details he is sharing are things that everyone from the surface knows.

“Wow.” Sky laughs as Wild finishes. “I had no idea.”

“There’s also the minish.” Four adds. “And the Wind Tribe, who are sky people, of course.”

Sky looks curious, but Four says nothing more, instead gesturing to the other heroes to share their thoughts, which they do.

“Terminans.” Time offers. “Very similar to Hylians.”

“Ordonians.” Twilight adds with a fond smile. No explanation is needed.

The others all nod along, but Legend rolls his eyes. “Humans, like, non-Hylian humans, Shifters,” The vet stares upwards with a light scowl as he ticks the races off of his fingers. “Technically they’re humans too, but Wild counted the Sheikah and Gerudo, so there’s also the Lorulians, Labrynninians, Holodrumese folks, Hytopians, Drablanders, Subrosians, Catalians-” Legend frowns. “I could swear there are more but I can’t really recall.”

Time, for whatever reason, he can’t really say why, cocks his head. “Any water people other than Zora?”

The vet snaps his fingers. “Mer-folk! Thank you, Time. I guess fae and animal folk count on that note.”

There’s a scoff and Warriors is leaning forwards with a smirk. “Fairies and animals, sure, but mer? Seriously, Legend? Have you even met a mer before?”

“Many times.” The veteran drawls, cocking a brow in the captain’s direction. “On multiple adventures. What about you, cap? Jealous you couldn’t snag one for your guild of brides?”

Warriors blusters about indignantly, earning laughter from the others as Legend smirks, but the man recovers quickly enough. “I do not have a guild of brides! That is- that is utterly disgusting!”

“Could have fooled me.” Legend teases, sipping some water from a flask.

“Give him a break.” Twilight snickers, shoving the vet playfully.

The unfortunate thing about Twilight’s shoves though is that the ranch hand doesn’t seem to know his own strength, and Legend is small enough that the light push is enough to send him scrabbling to not hit the ground. More laughter rings about their camp, but this time at the vet's expense, as Legend topples over into the dirt, spilling his drink and failing his arms as he goes.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.” Legend huffs, pulling himself back up and dusts off his clothes, scowling at the water spilled on him. “Great.”

“Oh, come on, you came back soaked to the skin earlier, what’s a bit of water going to hurt you, huh, vet?” Warriors ribs, smirking.

Legend shoots him a half-hearted glare.

“Legend,” Time starts slowly. “How would you describe the mer?”

The vet pauses, gaze resting maybe a moment too long as his hands as he brushes off the hem of his tunic. He’s already done so and there’s really no reason for him to do it again, but he does anyway. “What you’d expect.” He shrugs haltingly. “Hylian on top, fish beneath. Tail, long hair, that sort of thing.”

The old man hums. Legends ears twitch, nose shivering slightly as violet eyes flit over their group. “Care to expand on your sky people story, Four?”

“I’m good.” The smithy replies lazily.

Time would pass it off as a strange one-time thing, he would, but there are... other factors at play.

They’ve traveled to Four’s time, fighting off monsters and solving puzzles the same as they’ve always done. The boys are taking some downtime, playing hide and seek, and just like the last time, Time takes himself down to the river they’ve made camp ear and dons his Zora gear.

He isn’t expecting to see the creature, the mer, again, much less hear them singing -after all, this is a Hyrule far before his Pup’s- but there the creature is. It- or they- frolic in the water, chasing fish and singing softly. The tune is lighter than the last one he heard, a different song entirely, but there is no denying that it is the same mer.

Gold flecked, petal pink scales shimmer beneath the twisted lights that invade the water, hair of the same colors flowing in the current as long fingers, tipped with pointed claws, reach out to swipe at the fish swimming wildly away. They don’t catch anything, but Time hears it giggle anyways, the tune of its voice bubbling in merriment as it rolls like and otter and turns to explore some other part of the river bed.

The cursed curiosity of a hero niggles in Time’s mind. How is the same mer from before in this timeline, ages before Twilight would even be born? And why do they play and explore as if they’ve never seen this river bed before in their life?

Long claws pull through sand, and although their hair blocks their face from his view, he can still hear the warble of delight as the creature removes something sparkling and bright from the river bed. The mer floats in place, turning the item over in their hands curiously before whisking it out of sight and returning to their search.

A mer that likes treasure, huh? Why is he unsurprised?

His own soft laugh startles them, and for a half of a moment, golden ringed, violet eyes, wide and bright and full of shock, meet his own.

The mer is gone before he can make a move.

He asks Legend about it the next day. As they travel along the path towards the nearest town, Time falls back to ask the vet more about mer.

“Do mer like treasure?”

Legend starts, eyes wide as they meet his own, and something in the back of his mind is nagging him that the look in the vet’s eyes is somehow familiar. “What?”

“Do mer like treasure?” He repeats himself.

Legend stares at him, blinking slowly as they continue along the path, but eventually the vet shakes his head and answers. “Depends on the mer. They’re people too, Time, they can have varying interests and hobbies. There is no standard for mer. None.”

“Don’t they all swim at least?”

Legend’s gaze is flat. “There are disabled Hylians aren’t there? Not all Hylians can walk, and not Mer can swim. Some just choose not to because they don’t like it!”

Time frowns. How does the vet know so much about mer culture? “How do you know this?”

The vet shrugs, eyes darting away. “I’ve been a lot of places and met a lot of people. Mer are no exception.”

“I thought you hated swimming and the water?” Wind breaks in, falling back to join the two of them with an odd look on his face. He looks like a puppy and it’s killing Time not to ruffle the kid’s hair.

“Didn’t always.” Legend returns, smiling wryly down at the sailor. “But enough of that. The real question here is if you’ve ever met one, sailor.”

“A mer?” Wind furrows his brow, looking away with a soft sigh. “The water in my world isn’t safe for the people who lived in it. There’s hardly even any fish in most places. The Zora in my time had to adapt to the air instead in order to survive.”

Awkward silence falls over them, the vet looking guilty for a half a moment before he settles a hand on the kid’s shoulder. “The goddesses aren’t always fair, Maliit, it’s not your fault.

Time hums his agreement, heart aching for yet another young hero and a world that suffered for Time’s failure to have properly saved it.

He sees the mer again. Not just when he’s in the water himself, but when he’s keeping watch during the night or on occasion when he goes fishing with Twilight. The Pup says nothing about seeing gold and pink beneath the water, but Time finds himself watching it all the same.

It darts beneath the dock they’re fishing on one time, and when Twilight’s line gets a tug, the rancher pulls it up only to find the one of his boots dangling from the other end.

Time can’t help it, he laughs.

So, this mer is a prankster, huh?

He takes to seeking them out, trying to catch their attention or try to talk to them, but nothing works. The minute that gold and violet eyes meet his own, petal pink scales flick deftly in the waves and the mer is swimming away.

But Time isn’t dumb.

He knows that the same mer cannot reasonably exist across all of time, not with all the changes that come to the world with each hero. He knows that this being is somehow following them, and h’s got a rather good idea exactly how it’s happening.

It’s a long shot, but he knows for a fact that Legend is always gone from camp before he sees the creature, and enough times startling the vet when asking about mer has taught him that the expressions between the two are the same. All he knows on the mer’s face is shock, but the vet’s eyes glimmer the same shade of violet, even if they are different in size and shape, and the petal pink hair that the vet comes out of the forest with one evening after their group was separated is uncannily similar to the shade of the mer.

They’ve made camp again, and rather than climbing into the water when he catches a moment alone, Time settles on the shore, not in the mood to be in the water but in need of its calming song. The air has been tense the past few days, and Time welcomes a brief moment to relax, forcing himself not to think of the gaping wound in his Pup’s side or the ragged breath that wheezes between the rancher’s lips.

Twilight will be fine, he reminds himself. Hyrule and Warriors had worked together to tend the wound and while it would definitely leave a scar, the danger of losing their beloved friend and brother (and maybe son?) is not so high anymore.

He welcomes a free breath, away from the hurt gazes of his boys as they try and process that their beloved canine friend and the rancher are one and the same. A chance to think without having to stop those who were out of the know from bombarding those who were in it with questions.

He’s glad to be free of the questions himself.

Legend seems to be too, if the glint of pink beneath the waves is to be believed.

He doesn’t approach this time, doesn’t try entering the water to speak. He’s tired and he wants his spae, and he imagines Legend would like his own too. So, instead, he sits on the bank, feet trailing in the water and ocarina on his lips as he plays softly.

The tune is a sweet one, one he’d written himself that lilts and dips softly, very nearly perfect for a dance, but far more suited to a night by a fire or watching the sunset. And sunset it is, fading light stretching out across the water, glinting of the surface and reflecting off of gold and pink-

He stops, eye wide as he turns towards the flash in his vision.

Gold and violet stare back at him, framed in curling pink as Legend freeze half-way through pulling on his tunic again.

Gold fades just as the scales dissapear and leave the vet siting on the shore, tunic still bunched around his shoudlers and violet eyes wide with fear as he regards his leader.

“I won’t tell.” Time forces, turning away his gaze and returning his focus to the instrument in his hand. He doesn’t play, but he doesn’t look up either.

“It’s an item.” Legend forces, strained. His voice is still tainted with whatever power had shifted him between forms, and it’s sweeter and more melodious than normal. “I found it on my third adventure. Got cursed.”

“Like the rancher?” Time hums softly, not having to look up to know that Legend is shifting nervously, foot tapping madly at the ground beneath him.

“Yeah.” Legend huffs.

“Okay.” And he does look up them, calm and as open as he can make himself seem as he meets the vet’s gaze.

“Just okay?” One brow cocks as Legend crosses his arms.

“Just okay. It’s your secret, Legend. I can’t change what I’ve seen, but I won’t tell the others either.”

Legend nods, wary bit willing to accept the words, if only for now. “If you say so.”

They’re on their way back to camp, Legend carrying an armload of fish and Time carrying both of their bags when the vet stops and glares at him. “I don’t want to hear any jokes, alright? I get enough of those from Twilight and Sky.”

“They know?” The old man tilts his head in question.

Legend flushes, ducking his head and setting off again at a speed some might label a scurry. “No. Hurry up, these fish are gonna rot!”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Waves lap around his head and it’s all Time can do to break the surface, coughing and hacking as he struggles to remain above the water.

The portal had come at the worst time ever, and no one had been ready to be dropped into the center of the ocean.

Lightning crackles overhead as waves swirl and crash about him. The ocean rages and Time is again reminded how small Hylian’s are in the face of Mother Earth herself.

“Boys!” The shout rasps from his throat as he spins to look about, praying to every deity he knows that he’ll find the rest of them safe and sound, or at the very least together. Never mind that Twilight still can’t walk, much less swim. Never mind the smithy’s shattered arm and Wild’s fear of the water. He can’t panic about those right now, he has to find them!

“Over here!” Sky’s voice answers him. The Chosen Hero clings to the shivering form of the smithy, both are soaked and trembling, but they’re managing to stay above the waves.

“My Hyrule!” Wind calls out as Time strikes out towards them, and the sailor continues once he’s close enough to see that at least five of his boys are safe. “We’re near land,” Wind nods in a random direction and Time wonders briefly how the sailor even knows that. “It could be a challenge in these waves, but we can make it. Have you seen the others?”

Hyrule looks up at him hopefully, the water-logged traveler fighting madly to stay above the water but succeeding despite the waves. Time reminds himself to help the boy learn to swim more effectively later, and more importantly how to properly tread water, but for now he focuses on answering Wind. “You're the firsts. We’ll have to hope the others are alright, getting y’all to safety is my first concern.

“But Wild!” Hyrule splutters, choking on some water as Time swims over to give the traveler someone to cling to. Freezing fingers latch ahold of his armor as teeth chatter, the waves are neither kind nor warm and with their health as it is he’s certain someone is going to end up with a cold when this is all over. “And Twilight! A-and Legend and Wars! They’re out there somewhere!”

“We have to hope Legend and Warriors can elp the other two. We can’t do them any good if we’re fighting to stay above ourselves.” He tries to same calm, but his own mind and heart scream with the same message that Hyrule’s voice does, and its all he can do to push it down.

Thunder rolls overhead and waves beneath as they push off towards the shore, each of the older heroes aiding a younger one as Wind guides them all towrads the supposed island.

Time hs never been so relieved to see sand in his life, and as Hyrule pulls himself up the bach and Wind helps Sky to settle Four, Time can only pray that he’ll find his way back again. “I’m going to look for the otehrs. Wind, stay and help Sky.” The sailor looks as if he wants to hesitate, but he knows better than anyone how a small body can be lost to the waves much easier than an adult. “Make a fire, warm up as best you can. Keep an eyes out. I’ll come back if- when I find the others.”

He stops only to shed his armor and don his Zora gear, but a single dive beneath the water is enough to tell him that it’s for naught. Wind wasn’t joking about his water being toxic, and a single breath of the stuff leaves Time heaving as soon as he breaks the surface.

His chances of finding the boys have lowered considerably.

Nayru above, don’t let anyone have sunk beneath!

Time swims for all he is worth, pushing past weariness as he battles each and every wave. And he’s just beginning to lose hope when he catches sight of something silver reflecting in the water as lighting flashes above.

“Time!”

Blue whips around to meet its twins as Warriors comes to swim beside him. “Have you found any of the others?”

“Wind, Sky, Hyrule and Four.” he breathes back. “You?”

The captian looks rueful but nods to his side. “Legend.”

Time can’t help but start as Legend’s eyes peek above the surface. Golden and violet are glassy in the pale ace of the vet, but they’re there and that means that Legend is alive.

“I’ve officially met my first mer.” Warriors sighs, but there’s worry in the captains voice and face both.

“Split up.” Legend’s voice rasps, and there none of the melodic song that Time is used to hearing from this form of the vet.

Legend is pale, far too pale.

“What’s-”

“Wind’s world.” Warriors tells him. “Water here is toxic.”

The water is toxic. The water, which mer have to breath to stay alive, is toxic.

Time’s gaze shoots to the vet but there’s only a flick of gold and pink as he disappears beneath the waves. Warriors groans.  “He keeps doing that! I swear, I have no way of knowing if he’s even still there, but he still insists on disappearing like the little shit he is.”

Usually, Time would scold his brother for such a tone, but he knows that Warriors is just sacred. He’s terrified, and it leaks into his voice and his actions, and the only way that the soldier knows how to hide the fear is by biting back with venom, not dissimilar to the vet’s own actions.

They swim together, searching and calling out for the two missing heroes. Hope is beginning to fade and Time can feel a gnawing fear eating away at his heart as he thinks of the gaping wound in his Pup’s side and the likelihood that Twilight would even be able to swim with it.

His pup’s chances aren’t high.

“Look!” Warriors shouts over the storm, jerking him from his thoughts as his eyes follow the captain’s pointing hand.

Pink bobs on the surface, backed by bedraggled and soaked black fur as Legend hauls Twilight’s limp form through the water.

“Pup!”

He’s taking the lad from Legend as soon as they’re in reach, and Legend seems to sag in relief as the weight is removed from his shoulder. “Was with Wild. Bring him to-” The vet wheezes and ducks beneath the water for a moment, coming up with a pained expression on his face. “Bring to shore. I’ll get Wild.” He gives them no time to respond, tail flicking as he disappears beneath the waves again.

Time and Warriors exchange a glance and head back to shore, supporting the weight of the rancher between them.

Wind and Sky have managed to get a virtual bonfire going on the shore, and the sailor has laid what blankets and bed-rolls he’s found of their equipment in front of it, allowing their dampened things to ry as he and the other three heroes bundle together for warmth.

It’s with a cheer that they al; greet Time and Warriors as the two emerge from the ocean, and Time can’t help but smile a bit in relief at seeing them all safe again. Only a little longer and Legend will be back with Wild, and then he can rest easy knowing they’re all out of the storm.

Rain still patters against already soaked skin and cloth, but with the fire flickering before them Time can’t bring himself to care over much.

Hyrule’s fingers shiver as they slide over the wound in Twilight’s side, cleansing it from the poisonous water that has soaked into the bandages, and while Twilight grits his teeth and winces, he’s at least conscious enough to do so, and that alone brings some peace to the others.

Warriors informs the others of the whereabouts of their two missing brothers, and Time helps to settle Twilight on one of the warming bedrolls. It made still be wet, but it’s better than getting sand in the pup’s wound.

They wait in tense silence, bundled together to share heat as nervous gazes watch the shore. Wind hasn’t stopped muttering under his breath and Four isn’t doing much better with his half formed sentences and steady murmurs.

It’s only when Wild’s golden hair can be seen on the shore that they all release a breath of air.

Cornflower blue is wide and glazed, likely from shock, but it doesn’t stop the champion from reaching back into the waves to pull out his companion.

Legend is a mess.

The veteran gasps and splutters for breath once he’s free, skin a sickly shade of white and eyes just as glazes as Wild's own as the two clings to each other, and when the two stand together Legend is leaning heavily against the shaking champion, and it’s only through sheer luck that Time and Sky get there in time to catch them before the duo collapses back into the waves.

Wild curls against Time’s chest, fingers shaking and eyes blank as the man carries him back to the fire. Legend doesn’t even stir, lying limp in Sky’s hold as the Skyloftian bustles back to join the other heroes.

Nothing is said about the glistening tail that fades into legs once Legend is warmed and dried, and even if anyone had dared the stern gaze of the first of their number would have been enough to silence them.

Violet blinks hazy and distant beneath the warmed fabric of Sky’s sailcloth, but they are all safe. They are all safe and they are alive.

“Thanks to Legend.” Wild whispers when he comes back, head resting against Times collar bone. “Without him I would have never got Twi back to shore.”

“Three cheers for the vet.” Wars forces a smile, and while the cheers are heartfelt and thankful, they do nothing to lighten the mood.

Legend doesn’t even seem to hear them.

[everythingfan589]

A Work In Progress

Chapter 10: Not Like This

Warnings: Canon-typical violence, crude language

Word Count: 4.3k

Masterlist

In your entire existence, you don’t think you’ve ever slept as well as you did while in the arms of the Mandalorian. The unwavering protectiveness you felt while his arms were wrapped around you made the galaxy disappear, leaving nothing more than three of you alone together.

He was still there when you woke, surrounding you in warmth, but left moments later一obviously he’d been needing to do something but couldn't bring himself to leave you while you slept so vulnerably.

The next two days were spent like they always were一with a few changes. You now ate together, you and the child taking care to always be turned away from him, even turning the lights down slightly to make him more comfortable. He’d even offered himself to you again as a place to sleep一he didn't explicitly ask you. When it was time to turn in for the night, he just sat in the same spot and you joined him.

You figured he was also comforted by the warmth and feeling of touch一something he’d been deprived of for so many years. The silence of the hull left you to your thoughts. Sleeping while wrapped up in each other seemed so...intimate.

You wonder what it means一if he’s thought about what it means. You’ve never been intimate with someone before so it wasn't the first thing to come to mind, but the time spent lying there resulted in the thought flashing by.

You remind yourself that you just work for him.

You’re just a mechanic.

But, are you?

It proved to be much more than that shortly after you took the job. Perhaps, if he had left the child on Nevarro and completed the bounty as planned, things would be different. You never would have gone to Sorgan to hide一which means you wouldn't have become so close一so family-like. If he gave up the child, he would still work for the Guild and go on bounty hunts, leaving you alone for days or weeks at a time.

You would be...strangers.

But...the child is in your possession. You did go to Sorgan and you did become close. In those weeks, you weren't a mechanic and he wasn't a bounty hunter一you were just two people living together and accidentally learning to rely on each other.

You’re pulled from your thoughts on the third day. You’re sitting in the copilots seat staring out the window at the stars when Mando turns slightly.

“Listen. This next job...it’s not going to be like the others.” His voice is hesitant, like he's softening the blow for himself more than you. “I’ve had to work outside the Guild but we’re running low on credits.”

“What’s different about this job?”

“I’m going to be working with some people from my past. They’re not...good people.” He seems to be choosing his words carefully and you wonder if these people from his past reflect poorly on who he was back then. Though, you don’t have a habit of judging people for their pasts.

“Okay.” You nod even though he’s not turned toward you. Part of you is confused as to why he would be consulting with you about this一he normally doesn't explain himself when he takes jobs. He just tells you how long he should be gone and leaves.

“You need to stay on the ship. I don’t want you talking to anyone一or anyone talking to you.” There is an undertone to his voice you recognize. Anger? Resentment? Either way, just from that tone in his voice, you don’t particularly want to meet these people either.

“Okay.” You breathe, not sure what else to say but he nods, satisfied with your simple agreement.

“And the kid一no one sees the kid.”

“Got it.” You nod, not worried about that since the child currently sleeps soundly in the bedchamber of the hull.

“Approaching now.” He declares and you frown, leaning forward in your seat since you don’t see a planet or moon anywhere. That’s when you see the floating station. As he pulls the ship into the substantial docking bay, your eyes widen at the sight.

“Din, this is a full maintenance facility and you expect me to do nothing?! The things I could do to this ship with those tools.” You look around the impressive docking bay, countless machines of impressive stature and performance are scattered around and it’s impossible to mask the disappointment that you won’t be able to use any of them.

“Just...stay on the ship.” He mutters as he brings the Crest in to land on the platform. You sigh, leaning back in the chair to stop from teasing yourself with possibilities.

“Yeah, yeah.” You mumble as he turns off the engine and stands. You can hear an amused puff of hair through the modulator and roll your eyes playfully. “Have fun.”

“Unlikely.” The door of the cockpit seals behind him and you chuckle, allowing yourself to lean forward again to get a good look at the bay. There are dozens of people working一they don’t look like the most pleasant people, but you can tell they’re all mechanics.

A few moments later you see Din down below, walking through the bay to find...someone. The height of the cockpit and the fact that you turned all the lights off gives you full assurance that no one can see you. He takes awhile before you finally see him again, walking back towards the ship. Following close behind is a pot-bellied man with wild gray hair and another man that’s just the opposite一bald with a strong build.

You can see Din’s head turn up slightly to look at the cockpit window and while he probably can’t see you through the darkness of the cockpit一you feel like something is wrong一like he’s trying to warn you.

Unsure what the warning could possibly be, you continue to watch as they join a couple others you didn't see before, them previously out of your restricted view一a droid, a large red man with horns, and a female twi'lek.

You tense as the twi’lek lunges at Din with a knife, pointing it at his neck一he doesn't flinch一she quickly breaks out into a sinister grin tapping the knife on his armour. The group crowds together around a table, a hologram appearing on top of it with a map of some sort.

Moments later, they all turn toward the Crest and you frown as they approach一your heart dropping as the sound of the door opening fills the air.

The helmet turns up to look at the cockpit again and you realize what the problem was.

They’re using the ship.

Without wasting another second, you jump from your seat, the sliding door opening quickly to accommodate your sprint. You practically jump down to the hull without using the ladder to get to the child before the group makes it up the ramp.

You already hear their voices growing nearer, but it’s as you see their shadows growing across the floor of the hull, you realize you’re out of time. Unable to get to the bedchamber in time to grab the child, you slam a button to your left一the door to the chamber sealing shut一concealing the child. With literally half a second before they walk in, you back into the refresher, closing the door behind you.

Breathing out after holding your breath the entire sprint is a little too loud but you hope the group’s obnoxiously loud voices drown it out. You can sense Mando walking onto the ship and somehow一through the door一you can sense his relief to not seeing you or the kid.

That doesn't stop your heartbeat from drumming in your ears一anxiety that the child is alone in the chamber filling you up. You didn't have time to grab him without being caught一you don’t know these people but from what Mando told you一you don’t want to.

You can feel the engines come to life and you frown一did Mando leave them in the hull unsupervised to fly the ship? Did he think you were still up in the cockpit and not hiding in the refresher?

Seconds go by without hearing his voice, only the breathing and footsteps of people you can’t recognize can be heard as the ship finally lurches into hyperspace.

“Will you sit down.” An annoyed hissy voice of a woman threatens from the other side of the hull, only a growl being heard in response before you can make out the sound of beeping.

Shit一is one of them pressing the buttons on the wall panel?

The sound of doors opening makes you freeze, but you recognize the door to be the weapons storage. A deep voice chuckles and footsteps walk toward it but then you hear someone climbing down the ladder.

With the familiar sound of Mando’s arm control panel clicking, the weapons storage doors close, followed by an angry grunt and slam. Whoever that is has a short temper.

The heavy footsteps turn with a growl, seeming to approach the refresher before Mando stands in his way.

Mando grabs the man’s wrist, not letting him get any closer to where he assumes you’re hiding silently一blocking the door with his body.

“Hey, hey, hey.” You hear another voice speak up from across the hull, less aggressive but untrustworthy all the same. “I get it. I’m a little particular about my personal space, too. So, let’s just do this job. We get in, we get out, and you don’t have to see our faces anymore.”

“Someone tell me why we even need a Mandalorian.” The growling voice says and you tense up at the threatening tone.

“Well, apparently they’re the greatest warriors in the galaxy. So they say.”

“Then why are they all dead?”

The painful words are said with humour and it takes everything in you not to open the refresher door on the man’s face. The three voices in the hull start laughing and you lean on the door, feeling utterly useless.

“Well, you flew with him, Xi’an. Is he as good as they say?” The regular man asks, genuine curiosity in his voice.

“Ask him about the job on Alzoc 3.” Her words make the other two men look to Mando expectantly as the air is sucked out of the room, waiting for his answer.

“I did what I had to.” His voice is directly outside the refresher door, barely an inch away from where your hand rests on the surface of it.

“Oh, but you liked it.” The woman says slowly and you frown, trying not to pay too much attention to what she could be talking about一but curiosity is a powerful thing. “See, I know who you really are.”

“He never takes off the helmet?” The man asks and she shakes her head with a grin before dropping her features to be serious.

“This is the way.” She mocks the Mandalorian creed like it’s nothing and you can feel his anger through the door even as he remains unwavered一concealing all emotion.

“Huh...I wonder what you look like under there.”

While you already hate the three outsiders on your ship一in a less invasive and malicious way一you can’t help but wonder the same thing.

“Maybe he’s a Gungan. Is that why yousa don’t wanna show you face?”

Loud laughter erupts from the ship and you cringe at the toxicity taking over your usually comforting environment. You can’t help but be thankful you’re not out there一not wanting to be subject to their mockery一but not wanting Mando to be either.

“You ever seen his face?”

“A lady never tells.” You cringe at her words一you know Mando hasn't taken his helmet off in front of someone since he was a child. He told you about the creed in depth while you were on Sorgan. While there, he felt comfortable enough to share with you in more ways than one.

“Come on, Mando. We all gotta trust each other here. You gotta show us something. Come on. Just lift the helmet up. Let’s all see your eyes.” When they receive no answer from him一as expected一the heavy footsteps move forward.

“I’ll do it.”

That’s not a good idea.

Instantly, Mando rejects the approach, the intention of someone trying to lift his helmet incredibly offensive. Immediately responding with violence, Mando grabs his arm, pushing him back into the wall before punching him in the gut. Grasping for something to avoiding falling over, the man accidentally touches the panel on the wall一opening the bedchamber.

No, no, no.

“Whoa! What is that?” You curse yourself for not understanding Mando’s warning sooner一if you had, you and the child would be safe in the refresher. “You get lonely up here, buddy? What is it, like a pet or something?”

“Yeah. Something like that.” You can hear the tension in his voice, his restraint from overreacting to the exposure of the child. You had one job. One.

“Didn't take you for the type. Maybe that code of yours has made you soft.” The twi'lek says slowly, looking him up and down. If only she knew.

“Me, I was never really into pets. I didn't have the temperament. I mean, I tried, but it never really worked out. But I’m thinking maybe一I’ll try again with this lil fella.”

You can hear the child make the sound he always does when being picked up and you squeeze your eyes shut, realizing he’s being held by one of those people. The protectiveness boiling up inside of you in unmatched一you can only imagine what Mando must be feeling.

You hear a quick footstep, followed by a laugh. The man pretended to almost drop the child and you have to physically restrain yourself from bursting out of the refresher to take your baby back.

“Dropping out of hyperspace now.” The voice of the droid sounds from over the comms. You’re surprised Mando let the thing drive his ship一probably decided the people in the hull were less trustworthy then scrap metal.

Without a second to prepare, the ship lurches to the side一the drop rattling the ship like always but without a moment to get ready一you’re slammed into the wall. The sound of you hitting the door is masked by the others in the hall falling themselves.

“Commencing final approach, now. Clocking signal, now.” As if the droid has no regard for living souls on the ship, he rolls the ship 180 degrees, knocking everyone down a second time. You hear metal clanking outside the door as you fall to the floor, banging your head on the wall.

“Shit一” You mutter, not worrying about being heard. But then you hear the sound of the baby crying一he must’ve been dropped during the roll.

“Coupling confirmed. We are down.”

“Useless droid didn't even give us a proper count down!” The woman snarls as everyone starts to recover, Mando quick to pick up the child from the ground. He walks over to the refresher while everyone is distracted, opening the door and closing it quickly behind him.

“What the hell?!” You hiss, trying to keep your voice down as he hands the child to you一you instinctively rocking him to try and calm him from being thrown around the ship.

“I didn’t know they wanted the ship.” He explains一he’s clearly frustrated and trying not to take it out on you.

“That much is clear.” You mutter, hearing commotion outside the door in the hull.

“They’re leaving the droid on the ship so stay in here with the kid.” He explains before reaching into his utility belt and pulling out a small hand-held blaster. “Only use this if completely necessary.”

“Uh, Mando, just how bad are these people that I need a blaster?” You hold the blaster to your side, heart rate picking up as the seriousness of the situation escalates. Why did he have to take this job?

“Just trust me, okay?” Of course you trust him, but that doesn't stop you from worrying. Before you can answer him, a voice calls out from outside the door.

“Hey, Mando! Where’d you go?” He sighs in annoyance from the group outside before putting his hand on your arm and moving you to hide behind the wall so he can open the door without you being seen. He gives you one last look一which you return with a reassuring nod一before closing the door and locking you and the baby in the refresher.

“I’m so sorry I left you in there.” You whisper into the baby’s soft head, clutching him to your chest as he babbles in response. You listen by the door as the group prepare to descend into what sounds like a station of some sort一leaving you alone on the ship with a droid.

You’ve been sitting on the floor of the refresher, blaster held tightly in your fist for what seems like an hour一you can’t be sure. The child sits happily in the sink, turning the tap slightly every so often to let a drop of water fall into his palm. The ship has been quiet, no disturbances which leads you to believe the droid is still up in the cockpit, unaware of your existence.

“Hey, stop that.” You scold as the baby turns on the tap again, getting the front of his robes wet. He turns to look at you, his ears turning up in question. He reaches for the tap again and you hold your finger up. “No. Don’t make me say it again.”

His little hand touches the handle while looking at you with innocent eyes before turning it on.

“You little womp rat.” You hiss, standing to turn the tap off but before you can get to him, he tries to turn it off一worried about getting in trouble一but as he reaches for it, he accidentally knocks over a metal cup that sits on the edge of the sink.

Quickly, you reach out, trying to catch it but you miss一it hits the metal floor with an echoing bang. You freeze一realizing the noise that just carried through the ship.

“This is not good.” You mumble, turning towards the door and holding your ear to it to make sure no one is coming.

At first you think you’re safe一that the sound went by without question一but then you hear the mechanical sound of gears moving down the ladder and you gasp, pulling yourself away form the door.

The baby makes a little babble in question, wondering what your fuss is about but you turn quickly, putting a finger to your lips and shushing him silently. His ears turn up as if understanding before you turn to the door, turning the safety off the blaster.

You wait expectantly, hearing the droid move through the hull of the ship until一quicker than usual一the door slides open一large lifeless eyes of the droid staring at you. It raises its large rifle blaster to point at you一but your light hand-held was already pointed at the door and you pull the trigger.

It hits the droids shoulder, the cables connecting the circuit to its arm splitting apart and rendering his arm immobile. The blaster falls to the ground with a clank, but you’re not done. You aim higher and shoot again一the plasma creating a hole right through the droids head一right between the large eyes.

The machine falls to the ground, all functions dead and no longer operational. You release your breath and lean on the ledge of the sink, turning the safety of the blaster back on. You turn slightly to see the child with his hand held up high一as if he was trying to stop the machine with his mind and you chuckle一amused with the kid’s imagination.

As if on cue, the hatch on floor of the ship that attaches to the station opens一you raise the blaster again, pointing it at the hole just as an unfamiliar purple head pokes through. Quickly realizing it’s a male twi'lek, you keep your blaster trained on his head. He turns, noticing you instantly as he pulls himself up and onto the ship.

“Look what we have here.” He says suggestively and you’re so close to pulling the trigger that you don’t even notice Mando’s helmet appearing in the same hatch. It’s the realization that the twi’lek is cuffed that makes you hesitate. “You got some onboard entertainment, eh, Mando?”

You cringe in disgust at the words spoken by the man looking you up and down as Mando pulls himself into the hull standing and grabbing the twi’lek by the cuffs and shoving him down to his knees.

“I’m just saying...I’ve never known you to keep company.” He scoffs and you realize your blaster is still pointed at him一you lower it slightly now that Mando is here. “Aren't you a once and dump type一”

Before he can even finish his sentence, Mando has elbowed him in the nose, nearly knocking him to the ground. As he recovers from the blow, you notice a dark blue substance dripping from his nose. Mando grabs his cuffs again, pulling him to the back of the hull and practically throwing him into the corner.

He walks toward you, gesturing for you with his head to climb up the ladder. You’re about to turn back to grab the kid but he stops you.

“I’ll get him.” He mumbles and you nod, climbing up into the cockpit, happily leaving the twi’lek in the hull behind you.

Once safely up in the cockpit with Mando behind you, he lets out a frustrated sigh, putting the child down in his seat.

“I’m sorry about that.” He sounds sincere and you nod, not sure how to respond to the things said only moments ago. He doesn't push any further, sitting in the pilot’s chair and lifting it from the station it was attached to.

It doesn't take long before the ship makes it back to the small floating mechanics station and Mando is telling you to wait in the cockpit. You do as you’re told without any words exchanged, him leading the twi’lek onto the base一getting paid一and boarding the ship once again.

The two of you remain silent as the Crest exits the station, flying away into space. Before he can jump into hyperspace, three x-wings suddenly appear and you frown in confusion. You watch curiously as they fly over to the station and to your surprise一blow it up.

You turn to Mando who continues to look straight ahead一satisfied with the result一before launching the ship into hyperspace.

“Did you do that?”

“Do what?” He asks but you know it’s rhetorical一a way to say not to ask further so you sit back in your seat silently.

You’re not sure what else to say to him. It’s not like the words of a random twi'lek have any impact on how you see him一he’s Din一the man you’ve slept beside for more nights than you can count on two hands. Still, the unwelcome words planted a feeling in your gut you can’t seem to shake. You look over at the child who seems to be drowsy again from the exciting events so you stand, picking him up and turning toward the door.

“I’m going to put him down for the night.” You announce, thinking it’s going to be left at that but he speaks.

“Come back when you’re done.” He says while continuing to input coordinates into the console. He knows you’ll agree without you needing to answer, so you slip away, climbing down to the hull and putting the baby to sleep.

When you get back to the cockpit, he’s putting the ship into autopilot. You’re about to walk over to your seat, but before you can get there, he’s turned his seat so he’s facing you. Without exchanging any words, he taps his thigh with one hand and you freeze, looking down at his lap一uncertain what exactly he’s implying.

Nervous一you step forward until you’re standing right in front of him, he moves his arm, allowing for you to sit across his lap. Your face heats up at the position一flustered would be an understatement as his hand rests on your knee to hold you in place and make sure you don't slip off.

He spins the chair around slowly to its original position, your legs draped over his thighs, his other arm across the armrest that you’re leaning on with your back. You’d be lying if you said the position is uncomfortable一sitting in his lap feels oddly right一like it’s where you’re supposed to be.

“It was a trap.” He starts and you stare into the black visor一closer to it than you’ve ever been before一you convince yourself that you’re looking into his eyes. “You’re not naive enough to think that there aren't bad people out there一but trust me when I say一you can’t trust anyone. Anyone that's not me, the kid, or Kuiil.”

“That narrows it down quite a bit.” You breathe out a chuckle, trying to bring a lightness between you, but you’re unable to smile considering how nervous you are.

“I’m serious.” His baritone voice rumbles through his chest where your hand sits.

“I know.”

“When Calican…” He trails off, staring at you intently as you wait for him to finish一bad memories of the young bounty hunter threatening you with a blaster racing through your mind. “I一I would never let anyone hurt you.”

Your breath catches in your throat, not only at his words, but the way his hand absentmindedly moves up your leg, resting innocently on your thigh.

At the sharp intake of air, he looks down at where his hand is positioned before slowly lifting his head up to look at you again.

“You’ve never been touched before.” He states一an obvious fact that the two of you are aware of, but never fully crossed his mind until now.

“Not like this.” You whisper breathlessly and his head tilts, hand on your thigh tightening just barely, but you notice.

“Is this okay?” There's a dash of concern in his voice that you pick up on and it makes your heart swell. It’s getting hard to breathe but you ignore it.

“Yes.”

His possessiveness doesn't go over your head. But part of you likes it一part of you is comforted by the fact that this Mandalorian cares for you.

Little do you know just how far he would go一he would blast through entire worlds just to keep you safe.

[mc-art-etc]

Its Mermay so I’m re-explaining the aquarium au i got idk even know if i posted about it before lol

Au under cut bc its long!

Lil warning bc there is a lil graphic content discussed here

So! some characters in the au-

Jesse, a mer who was born and raised in the aquarium, very friendly and loves attention. They do not know what kind of fish he is, but speculation is red-bellied piranha bc of his markings + that’s the cluster of normal fishies he spawned with.

Lukas, a mer born in a lake and swept out into an ocean he didn’t belong in. He’s feral, kinda, he only ends up in the aquarium because he gets caught in a fishing net and his tail is torn in two parts. He can’t swim conventionally, only float around and push himself off of objects. He’s a beta fish :>

Aiden, Maya, Gill, all staff at the aquarium, Aiden works night shift where Gill and Maya work day shift. They’re all buddies and are tasked with tank cleaning and show duties for the mer. Aiden also attempts to teach Lukas some nice human words, like fuck and damn.

Stella and Radar, Stella owns the aquarium and is a wildlife/ nature advocate. She chose to keep Jesse because he was a phenomenon and she didn’t want to release him and potentially harm an individual ecosystem. Jesse is the first mer known to humanity, so the aquarium did lots of tests and all in the first few days, but quickly realized he was baby and started parenting him instead lol. Stella considers the mer to be part of the staff, she treats them insanely well (spoils em) and Jesse is close to her. Lukas doesn’t like anyone, but Radar is okay. Radar is Stella’s adopted kid in this au, only coming into the scene when Jesse is fully grown. Lukas tries to steal Radar.

Oliva and Axel, they’re visitors of the aquarium! Olivia does get a bigger role later on though, as a transportation worker and health assistant when it comes to the mer. 

Hadrian, Stella’s father and also the antagonist lol, he just wants to take the mer and run actual tests on them to see what they are and if they can find more for hunting purposes (ew)

Onto the Mer Behavior! Mer don’t talk like humans, they chirp and trill and express emotions through body language, there isn’t a definite spoken language between them, but they could speak and read/write if they wanted to. Jesse can speak human bc he was raised by humans, Lukas not so much. he struggles to say his own name, but he can cuss like a sailor!

Mer culture is odd. Mer rarely spawn through other mer, they’re typically created as anomalies. They are EXTREMELY rare, that’s how they weren’t discovered until Jesse came along. Mer spawn in with other fish clusters, they are typically helpless at this stage and often starve to death or die by other means, but some survive and learn how to fend for themselves. Mer pack bond, if two meet then they will stick together and socialize. if a Mer doesn’t meet another in their young years however, they will become feral. Like Lukas. Feral mer typically attack other mer for defense reasons, fear, but they can learn to socialize again. it’s just difficult. Also, if a baby mer is found by an older mer, the older WILL steal the baby and take care of it. This is why Lukas tries to steal Radar. 

Mer also don’t really die of old age, they just keep growing and growing until something like injury or starvation or disease kills them off. The oldest mer are thousands of years old, wise beyond belief and HUGE.

The storyline of the au is simple, its basically Lukas being dropped in the aquarium and learning to socialize, Jesse being cute, and a whole bunch of shenanigans with the other mentioned characters, until Hadrian tries to take them and bam drama and pain >:) 

pllssss lemme know if i should talk about this one more

[chaozsilhouette]

A Revealing Performance

My rendition for the Shadow Play in @winterpower98's Swap Au.

It was supposed to be a simple thing, then it sort of spiraled into this whole deal. For the effects of the Shadow Lantern, I drew some inspiration from her Cursed Au as I never thought simply using her friends was cruel enough for the Monkey Tyrant.

It serves to show just how far Macaque has grown, but also to highlight just how monstrous he was.

_____________________________

Mei refrained from downing her bubble tea as she waited for the play to start. It had been a rough couple of weeks with Spider Queen and that creepy girl. And failing to find where Xiaotian had run off to after the misunderstanding. When Macaque sent her tickets to the local theatre, she was ashamed to think it was a trap.

Pigsy and Sandy were right. After everything that happened, she needed some serious me time. She had been too stressed.

Besides, everyone knew Macaque was a total theatre nerd. Few people knew that the star puppeteer was actually the Six-Eared Macaque himself. He would totally send her tickets from his stomping grounds as a way to unwind.

It was a shame that Tang couldn’t join them. Apparently, he finally managed to schedule a meeting with the Celestial Realm and was Taking the demon brothers to figure out a new way of sealing the Monkey Tyrant. It was also his chance to explain their little break-in during New Years. He encouraged her to have fun and if it was good, he’d join them for the next showing.

So here they were waiting for the performance to start. Although she wondered what the fake mayor was doing here. They hadn't seen him since he gave her the skeleton key. Still wasn't sure why he had it or why he gave it to her? Supposedly she was only supposed to have it for a day, but he never stopped by to pick it up.

_____________________________

Sun Wukong was a monkey of many talents, but even he had to admit Macaque was a far better storyteller and his mastery of shadows was sheer perfection. But that just made this plan all the more perfect. What better way to teach his wayward beloved’s little flower a lesson than through a trusted medium.

Obtaining a spot in the local theatre was child’s play, a little magic and they were all but begging him to take center stage. Apparently, they had been scrambling to find a new performer after their star puppeteer had to leave for a family emergency (three guesses as to who that was). And with a little glamor, a set of tickets was left at the little flower's doorstep. As far as she knew, Macaque was proud of her progress and believed she had deserved a reward for all her hard work. She was so desperate for something to go right she hardly questioned how her mentor, who was in parts unknown, managed to secure tickets for a new performer.

In his personal dressing room, Wukong delicately touched up his human disguise. Even if he was going to be hidden in his hanfu and cloak, it wouldn’t do to spoil the surprise. Applying his eye shadow with artful flair, the Monkey King took time to appreciate just how handsome he truly was no matter what form he took. Honestly, who would have thought such perfection existed?

A pulse of dark magic drew his attention to his latest partner in crime.

The Shadow Lantern gently floated before him. Its dark magic practically purring at the thought of being used. Wukong could almost laugh at his beloved’s foolishness. He was there when his darling created the lantern, when he infused his own shadows into its very foundation. Did he honestly think such a masterpiece would tolerate being left to collect dust in a cave?

Normally a magical artifact would never consider turning on its master, but after centuries of abandonment, all Wukong had to do was whisper his intentions to return Macaque to his former self to secure its loyalty. The second he first made contact, he could sense a twisted hunger writhing within and with each performance granting it the chance to feed on the life essence of the viewers…. hehe, he almost couldn’t contain himself.

Looking up at the clock, he saw it was just about time for his next performance. His clones had reported the girl’s presence along with the pig and the water demon. Strangely the one with glasses and the little matchstick was absent. No matter, he could make do with two hostages just fine.

After all, the show must go on.

_____________________________

The overhead lights dimmed, signaling the start of the play. Smoke slowly poured from beneath the floorboards, generating an air of mystery. In a flash of golden light, a tall man wearing a beautiful cloak manifested on center stage. The crowd silenced themselves at the display.

“Welcome viewers to a performance you shall never forget!” From the folds of his sleeves, an exquisite lantern floated in front of him. A mesmerizing yet familiar purple glow emanating from the center.

“Our tale tonight is one of love, companionship, and how even the strongest of bonds can be severed through the trickery of the wicked.”

In the background, the shadows twisted and grew in the lantern’s light. Carefully they formed a beautiful scene of a mountain covered in flowers and trees. Attention was gradually guided to the top, where a round stone basked in the sun.

“It all began with the birth of a King.”

The round stone broke, revealing a figure that resembled a monkey. But no, this was a monkey demon, a monkie if you would. The King journeyed down the mountain until he found a tribe of normal monkeys. The group frolicked for a while as the King established himself as the undisputed ruler of the tribe.

A large figure with an ax appeared. The monster brought down his ax upon a small collection of monkeys only to be stopped at the last second by the King. The King used his superior strength to steal the demon’s ax and used it to decapitate the intruder in a single stroke. The monkeys jumped around the King and praised his strength, but the King did not appear satisfied.

“The young King was born with great power and strength, but he sought out more to protect his people.”

The King crafted a raft and set out on a dangerous sea. The King was shown to face off against mountain gods, human warriors, and demonic sorcerers always to reign victorious but never satisfied.

“In his travels, he learned much and faced many enemies, in time his efforts were handsomely rewarded.”

The King climbed a fleet of stairs carved into a mountain to reach a humble monastery. At the top, a stern human stood, but behind him was another monkie. This one however possessed six ears.

“His quest for power led him to a Warrior of potential equaling his own. At first, neither was sure how to react to their mirror, but they quickly forged a comradery that took them far.”

The two monkies trained together, mastering new powers as they sparred.

“Their time together increased their power exponentially and as they grew stronger their feelings blossomed into something beautiful.”

The two were on a cliff overlooking the stars, slowly leaning closer to one another. Eventually, the two faced their opposite and leaned in close.

“Their fates had become intertwined. Their power was unmatched. It was then the King realized what he had been searching for all this time.”

The two shadows merged together in a complex dance until they separated into two beings once again, but not as they began. The two monkeys were now garbed in elaborate, yet practical armor and silks. The King wielded a staff and the Warrior took up a spear.

“Slowly their strength grew to where nothing could challenge them, whether in the Celestial Realm or on Earth.”

The King and Warrior were shown battling heavenly armies and powerful demons with confident smirks. Each battle resoundingly won through their combination of speed, strength, and cunning.

“But it was not enough. The King wished to ensure that he and the Warrior would be able to fight together forever and sought the power and respect needed to secure their future.”

The King took to the Heavens, where he stood before an Emperor in the most extravagant outfit, surrounded by massive guards in magical armor. The Emperor was clearly afraid as the King effortlessly toppled one guard after another, slowly approaching the throne at a steady pace.

“The King’s noble actions were viewed negatively by those who feared his ever-growing power. Eventually, a prison was crafted that could restrain the King, one that not even his beloved Warrior could destroy.”

Just before the King’s latest attack could reach the Emperor, chains wrapped around his limbs and dragged him down to Earth. With a quick flex, the chains shattered, but the King was doomed as a mountain landed on him with a seal placed at the top. The Warrior tried to pry off the seal or find some way to weaken the mountain, his acts growing more desperate with time, yet nothing worked.

“Cruelly, the King was forced to wait until he could be freed, forced to watch his precious Warrior defend their Kingdom on his own.”

With a heavy expression, the Warrior abandoned his efforts to return to the original mountain as dozens of terrifying figures surrounded the monkey inhabitants.

“Centuries passed and their love still burned strong. Soon their patience was rewarded, the King was freed but he was soon trapped in a new prison.”

A monk approached the mountain and removed the seal. The King swiftly destroyed the mountain. The monk humbly bowed to the King and offered fresh clothing and a fillet. The King garbed himself in the gifts only to collapse in agony when the monk prayed.

“Enraged the King played along until the time was right. The King and the Warrior reunited in secret and crafted a plan that would allow them to take their revenge on those that dared to separate them.”

The two monkies hugged and nuzzled each other in appreciation. A quick conversation later, the Warrior changed to resemble the King and joined the monk as the King headed into unknown lands.

“Decades later the King was ready to retrieve his love, confident in his regained strength. But when he arrived the Warrior had changed. It was as if the warrior had lost a crucial part of himself. The Warrior tried to dissuade the King from killing the monk and his companions. He even tried to convince him to give up his rage at the Celestial Realm, believing the war that would ensue wasn't worth it.”

The disguised Warrior was traveling with four colorful characters. The King dropped from the sky in front of the group, a massive crater forming around him. The Warrior regained his true form, but instead of returning to his rightful place, he blocked the King’s view of the monk.

“The King could not believe his ears. This could not be his Warrior. His love always understood his goals and knew why heaven had to pay. The King knew this change was the monk’s fault. The King moved to silence the deceiver in one quick strike only to find it blocked by the Warrior.”

The King and Warrior exchanged blows that tore mountains asunder, split the heavens, and burned down forests. The other demons following the monk tried to aid the warrior, but nothing they did seemed to slow down the King, if anything their attacks only served to further enrage him.

“The two clashed until the Warrior fled with the jailers. Time and time again they clashed, but never could the King reach the Warrior he held in his heart.”

The group fled from the battle, but time and time again the King tracked them down. The locations may have changed, but the carnage after each battle remained as world-shattering as the first. In the end, the Group managed to truly escape, and the Warrior vanished into the shadows he wielded, leaving the King alone with nothing but his memories.

“Even now the King yearns for the companionship of his beloved Warrior, knowing that at his core the Warrior craves the same.”

With the final line sending shivers down the spines of the viewers, the puppeteer vanished in a flash of light.

_____________________________

As Mei waited for her family to walk out, she couldn’t help but think about the play. It almost sounded like they were telling the tale of the Monkey King. But that was ridiculous. No one knew the Monkey King’s origins aside from minor details from the Journey to the West. Besides the narrator seemed to view the Monkey Tryant as a hero and victim. Clearly, that guy needed a reality check.

“Hello, young one.” Nearly choking on the remainder of her tea, Mei turned to see the puppeteer standing behind her with a knowing smile.

His cloak shrouding the top of his face in shadow. For a second, Mei envisioned her father Macaque. He would adore that look. Actually, didn’t she see a similar outfit in his closet on Flower Fruit Mountain? Doesn’t he wear that outfit when he’s hosting a shadow play?

Wait. How did he sneak up on her like that? Was she that out of it?

How long has she been quiet? Crap! Say something! “Oh. Ah-hello. C-can I help you with something?”

“I was about to ask the same. You do know the theatre is going to close soon right?”

“What?” Mei grabbed her phone. The digital clock flashed that it was past nine. That couldn’t be right. That meant she had been waiting for nearly an hour. But where were the others? Surely, they wouldn’t have left without telling her. Were they in trouble?

“Is everything alright?”

“Ah- yeah, everything’s fine.” It’s cool. It’s cool. She could handle this. She just needed to stay calm. “No need to worry about me. I just ah-I have a few questions about your play.”

“Yes.”

“How did you could up with the concept? I mean, no offense, but your premise could be taken the wrong way.” Maybe it was the panic over where her family had disappeared to, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being sized up.

“Hm. Have you ever heard the expression ‘History is written by the winners’?”

“Yes. It’s pretty common.” Like one of the most used sayings in the world.

“The tale was designed to show that love is one of the most cherished feelings of all and that in order to protect it, one must be willing to do anything to keep their loved ones safe. The King only wished to keep his beloved by his side, but the Warrior was misled and forced to battle against his love. That story may belong to only two, but similar tales can be experienced in anyone’s life. Tell me, can you think of a time you fought with those you cared about due to a misunderstanding?”

Without even considering it, horrible memories resurfaced. Mei arguing with MK as she tried to stop him from leaving with the newly released Monkey King. Mei forced to battle Red Son as his mind was slowly consumed by the True Fire of Samadhi. Tang lying to them about his true identity. Macaque leaving when they needed him most without saying why.

“I see you can.” The puppeteer gently guided her back into the main hall, where she took a seat on an empty bench.

“It’s nothing. I just-” She honestly didn’t know why she was pouring out her heart to stranger. Maybe she really was that exhausted. “-there’s so much going on and I’m supposed to be strong no matter what. But sometimes it hurts, just thinking about all my mistakes. Sometimes I wonder if I truly am strong. What if bringing me into this was a mistake?”

“What if it was?” That voice!

Mei turned to see Macaque garbed in a strange outfit, one that honestly reminded her of the Monkey King’s. She was confused. She had never seen him wear anything like that, he looked like the Monkey King’s twisted shadow.

And that expression! Her father Macaque had never made that face before. It looked as though he was reveling in her suffering.

“What’s the matter, little jade? Don’t worry, I won’t leave you alone.” He extended a hand slowly with the intent to cradle her face. A normal gesture he would use to comfort her, but her every instinct was screaming at her to get away.

Mei jumped to her feet and pulled out her spear, aiming it right between the imposter’s eyes. “Enough games!”

Macaque stared at the spear for a second, his fiendish expression only growing more vicious. He threw his head back with a full-bodied laugh, showing how little he thought of her threat. “Ha. Ha. Ha.”

In a flash of light, the Monkey Tyrant was standing before her, still wearing his puppeteer disguise. “Wow. About time. For a while, I was wondering if you’d ever figure out it was me.” His red and gold eyes carefully roved over her body, taking in every shake and fearful twitch. “Put down the spear, kid. We both know you’re not nearly good enough to scratch me with such a pitiful copy of the Dragon Blade.”

That may have been true, but she’d sooner make out with DBP in full view of Queen Iron Fan than leave herself completely open before this tyrant. “So the play was from your perspective. I always figured you were delusional, but this is a new low. Where is my family?” She all but growled, unknowingly her canines had slightly elongated in response to her rage.

“They never left. I’m surprised you didn’t recognize this.” The Monkey King took out the lantern, once more bathing the room in that familiar glow.

“What’s the big deal about a lantern?”

The stone monkie found her ignorance all the more entertaining. To think he hadn’t warned her of his own past.

“The big deal is that my dear warrior crafted this lantern long ago. It was his finest work and like everything he made it has multiple uses.” With a simple hand gesture, the silhouettes of Pigsy and Sandy appeared on the walls. “The Shadow Lantern can do more than enhance one’s skills in shadow magic, it can trap the bodies and souls of its targets. So long as the targets are trapped, the lantern can steal the shadows of its victims so its master can use them as a personal army until there is nothing left.”

“You expect me to believe Macaque made something so disgusting?” Even as Mei said it, she couldn’t help but recognize how similar the lantern’s magic was to her teacher’s. It was cool and soothing, but on the edge, there was an unmistakable edge of malice. “Even if he did, I doubt he made it without you whispering in his ears.”

“Oh child, you have no idea how many secrets he keeps from you. Let me share one with you.” The lantern grew brighter, and the silhouettes of her family members gained more substance as they peeled away from the walls.

Mei adjusted herself so all opponents were in her sight, but nothing could stop the sweat collecting on her forehead.

She sensed something powerful appear behind her. Jumping out of the way as a spear nearly severed her arm. She faced her new opponent. Only to almost drop her weapon.

Standing before her was another copy of Macaque only this one was even more disturbing. Its eyes burned with purple light, the shadows loving curled around it, but worst of all was the sneer filled with razor-tipped teeth.

“Did you honestly think my love was always so nice?”

[tiramisiyu]

Tears of Themis: Xia Yan/Luke 【妄夜之魇】 Looming Nightmare - Date Translation

Translation Masterlist | Xia Yan Masterlist | Unsubbed Video

Transcript below cut:

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Part 1

Forest

In the morning, a group of villagers walked slowly through the forest’s rocks and mud.

Nearby, a young man dressed as a knight noticed them.

Luke: Please wait!

The young man pushed aside the dense branches, rushing over to the villagers.

Villager Captain: You are…?

Luke: My apologies for troubling you all. I’m Luke Pearce, a knight.

As he spoke, he balled up his left hand and placed it before his chest, displaying a standard gesture of courtesy to the villagers.

Villager Captain: So you’re a knight. Greetings, is anything the matter?

Luke: I’d like to ask you all if there is anyone who knows where the evil dragon is?

Villager A: E-evil dragon?!

When they heard “evil dragon”, a momentary fear displayed on all the villagers’ faces.

The whispers among them gradually grew louder, and the originally calm group gradually began to lose control.

Villager A: W-why are you searching for the evil dragon…

Villager B: Why are you asking about that beast’s whereabouts?! Are you trying to get it to come over here again?!

Villager B: O-our village, it…

Villager Captain: Calm down.

The young captain placed a hand on the shoulder of the middle-aged man to calm him down temporarily.

Villager Captain: We were impolite. Sir Knight, none of us have malicious intentions. It’s just…

Luke: Were… you all also attacked by the dragon?

Villager Captain: Indeed…

The young man sighed.

Villager Captain: We originally lived in a nearby village. Three days ago, our village was attacked by that dragon.

Villager Captain: The flames it breathes, and its massive wings that kick up gales when they beat…

Villager Captain: That’s how our houses and fields were thoroughly annihilated.

Villager Captain: Many villagers that couldn’t escape were left forever in those ruins.

Villager Captain: But that dragon didn’t stop there. It… even carried off lots of innocent people.

Villager Captain: That’s what happened to my wife and that grandma’s only daughter.

Villager Captain: We don’t even know if they’re still alive.

The young man spoke until his voice faded. The hands that hung on his sides were tightly clenched, like he was trying to control his emotions.

Villager Captain: Like us, lots and lots of villages and cities have been destroyed by it in the past several days.

Villager Captain: Those attacked by it can only flee in search of a temporary safe place.

Villager Captain: We…

Luke: … I’m sorry for making you recall such horrible things.

The young knight lowered his head in apology.

Luke: On my journey, I’ve also heard lots about its terrible actions.

Luke: When I saw you all from far away, I thought you were all normal passersby. I didn’t think…

Villager Captain: It’s alright. We do have to learn to face this eventually.

Villager Captain: Although, Sir Knight, why are you looking for that dragon?

Luke: Because…

A flash of desolation appeared on the knight’s face.

Luke: Because I’m looking for someone who is incredibly important to me.

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[Flashback]

Fortune-Telling Location

The fortune-teller fiddled playfully with the crystal ball in her hands. The lights floating in the air moved as she did.

With a sliver of curiosity on her features, she lifted her gaze and looked over her visitor, then placed her hands piously in front of her chest.

Fortune-teller: Esteemed Sir Knight, may I ask why you are here?

Luke: …

The knight’s rigid body leaned forward slightly, an unconcealable urgency and distress in his eyes.

Luke: I want to find someone. She’s vanished, and I have no idea where she is.

Fortune-teller: Oh? Find someone? Who might it be?

Luke: Someone… that grew up with me since childhood.

Fortune-teller: Someone that grew up with you?

Luke: Yes.

He released a deep sigh.

Luke: It’s been eight years since the start of the war.

Luke: The day I left for battle, I promised her that I would return home safely and live with her forever, never to leave again.

Luke: But after the war ended and I returned to the village, all that welcomed me was an empty house.

Luke: I asked everyone around about where she went, but they all said that she suddenly vanished one day.

Luke: Only after did I find out that everyone had thought that I’d died in battle.

Luke: She…

The knight grasped tight on the longsword in his hands. The ruby on the hilt flashed faintly in the darkness.

The fortune-teller leaned against the table, holding her chin with her hand.

Fortune-teller: Have you ever thought that she just couldn’t keep waiting anymore, or that she might have moved elsewhere because she thought you were dead?

Luke: She wouldn’t. We’ve lived together for so many years. I know best about what sort of person she is.

Luke: I know that even if I made her sad or if everyone said I was dead…

Luke: As long as she hasn’t seen my corpse, she won’t give up, and she’ll keep waiting for me…

Luke: … Something must have happened for her to choose to leave without a farewell.

Luke: So, I want to find her. I want to know what exactly happened.

The young knight’s voice gradually weakened, until it was nearly inaudible.

The fortune-teller tittered quietly.

Fortune-teller: I understand. Then, please wait a moment—

She placed her hand on the crystal ball. As the lights and shadows drifted, an image of a dragon occupying the plains gradually appeared.

Luke: This is…?

Fortune-teller: Do you know of the legend of the evil dragon?

Luke: Evil dragon?

Fortune-teller: Yes. This dragon runs amok over the continent, scattering destruction and annihilation everywhere…

Fortune-teller: Its evil reputation is now common knowledge among all people.

Luke: But what does that have to do with her?

Fortune-teller: I am unsure of the exact connection it has to her, but based on the image in the crystal ball…

Fortune-teller: You just need to kill the dragon and obtain the treasure chest it protects to discover the way to find her.

Luke: …

Luke: Are you sure?

Fortune-teller: Of course. My divinations have never been wrong. If not, Sir Knight…

The fortune-teller unconsciously knocked a few times on the crystal ball, and a clear sound reverberated in the room.

Fortune-teller: Then you wouldn’t have come to find me, correct?

Luke: … They say that you are the greatest fortune-teller on the continent, and that there’s nothing you don’t know.

Fortune-teller: Which is even more reason for you to believe me, no?

Luke: …

The knight nodded ponderously.

Luke: I understand. Where is the dragon right now?

Fortune-teller: That’s for you to find out.

Fortune-teller: However, there is something that you must think over first.

Fortune-teller: You are a brave and martially skilled knight, but the path ahead may be much more dangerous than you imagine.

Fortune-teller: Even if so, will you still proceed?

Luke: Yes, I must.

Fortune-teller: Even if the price it requires is your everything?

[Flashback end]

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Luke: So I can only do as the fortune-teller instructed, travelling as I search for clues on the dragon.

Villager Captain: It seems like the person you’re looking for… must have been captured by the dragon too.

When he finished listening to the knight’s story, the captain gave a quick conclusion.

Villager Captain: The young lady you’re looking for isn’t the only one. In the past while, that dragon has already captured many good girls.

Villager Captain: Many noble ladies and wives in the city weren’t even spared.

Luke: Then… has anyone ever returned among those who were captured?

Villager B: No – no one has ever seen them again after they were taken.

Villager B: Whether the dragon has hurt them, whether they’re still alive, or where they’re kept… no one knows anything.

Luke: No one knows anything, huh…

Luke: If no one knows, that means there’s still hope, right?

The knight suddenly lifted his head, looking firmly at the villagers.

  Part 2

Forest

In the forest, the young knight faced the villagers, his gaze firm.

Luke: If no one knows, that means there’s still hope, right?

Villager B: This…

Looking at the villagers’ somewhat hesitant expressions, the knight smiled slightly.

Luke: I understand your concerns, but to me, as long as there is still one thread of opportunity, I will definitely not give up.

Luke: So…

Luke: Please, do any of you know anything at all about the dragon?

Villager Captain: …

The villagers looked at each other. The young captain tilted his head as if trying to recall something.

Villager Captain: I don’t know much about the dragon, but…

Villager Captain: Three days ago, when I was fleeing the village, I think I saw that dragon flying towards the highest mountain peak on the northeast of this forest.

Luke: The peaks in the northeast…

The knight looked towards the direction that the villager captain was pointing towards. He could vaguely see the shape of a mountain peak there.

Villager Captain: Yes, but that mountain is farther from here than it looks.

Villager Captain: Plus, there’s also a path full of thorns at the end of this forest that normal people can’t get through at all.

Villager Captain: Currently, not many people have gone there, so I can’t be sure if the dragon is actually there.

Luke: Is that so… but it’s worth a try.

Villager B: Uh… I’ve also heard a little about the dragon.

The formerly irritable middle-aged man, possibly being moved by the words earlier, hesitated for a moment before he spoke.

Villager B: That dragon probably does live on that mountain peak.

Luke: Are you sure?

Villager B: Yes. Two weeks ago, an artisan from the city went with his brothers there.

Villager B: But several days later, aside from a young man, no one in that group returned.

Villager B: That young man said that they were attacked by that beast on the mountain…

Villager B: But sadly, his wounds were too grave, and he passed away a few days later.

Villager B: After that, no matter how much money the city nobles offered, no one else dared to go put their lives on their line.

Villager B: We also…

The middle-aged man sighed.

Villager B: We’ve… given up already.

Luke: …I understand. Thank you all for giving me so much information.

Luke: It’s not that early anymore, and I need to head for that mountain, so I’ll be heading off.

Villager B: Sir Knight, are you really going to look for that dragon?

Villager B: With how massive and brutish that dragon is, it’ll kill you!

Villager B: You don’t know how that young man who returned…

Luke: Thank you for your concerns, but this is a promise I made with her. No matter how difficult the path forward is…

The young knight looked straight at the group in front of him, his voice firm and resolute.

He spoke each word emphatically, answering the question earlier, yet seeming more like he was telling himself.

Luke: No matter how difficult the path forward is, even if everyone has given up, I will not stop moving forward.

Villager B: …

Villager Captain: …

The villagers fell silent for a moment.

A long moment after, the young captain spoke.

Villager Captain: Sir Knight, since you’ve made your decision to go, we have no reason to continue trying to persuade you.

Villager Captain: The road ahead will be difficult, and defeating the dragon is sure to be no easy task…

Villager Captain: All we can do is to pray that you find the one you love quickly and return safely.

Luke: Thank you, everyone.

The knight made a sincere gesture of courtesy again towards the villagers, then turned around and walked into the depths of the forest.

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Plains

After a long trek, the young knight bypassed that rumoured thorny block and arrived at the wilds outside the forest.

Luke: …

Though it was called the wilds, all the plants had long been burned into crisps. Black dust had settled densely over the rocks.

A massive mountain stood at the edge of his range of vision. A dense black fog lingered over the peak, quiet and strange.

At the foot of the mountain, many volcanoes and short rock mounds created continuous undulations, extending to the horizon.

Luke: …

He lifted his head and looked towards the faraway sky. The red light of the pre-sunset sun was harshly dazzling.

Luke: A precursor to the solar eclipse, huh…

Luke: Maybe it really is as the person before said…

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[Flashback]

Villager B: Sir Knight, before passing, that person who returned said…

Villager B: On the day of a solar eclipse, it seems like the dragon’s strength will weaken.

Luke: Weaken?

Villager B: Yes, that person kept repeating this before he passed, so I remember it very clearly.

Villager B: If you really must get near it, maybe you can choose this day.

Luke: … Understood.

[Flashback]

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Luke: …

Luke: Based on the appearance of the sun, the eclipse will only start tomorrow…

Luke: The volcanoes around look pretty unstable right now. Now is definitely not the best time to act.

Luke: I’ll build a temporary residence near the forest and wait for a chance.

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Temporary Residence

In the wooden hut, the knight was in the middle of pre-battle preparations.

Luke: …

He cleaned his sword in the firelight. When his gaze brushed over the ruby on the hilt, he fell into a momentary trance.

Luke: …

Luke: …

Luke: Soon, I’ll be able to see you again.

Luke: Right?

Luke: …

In the empty room, the only response he received was the crackling of burning firewood.

The young knight lowered his head.

The emotions that he had continuously restrained quietly trickled out where no one could hear, under the comfort of the moonlight.

Luke: I’m sorry… I couldn’t contact you even once for so long…

Luke: You must have been so worried during then…

Luke: …

Luke: I wonder how you’re doing right now, and if you’ve encountered any danger…

Luke: Were you scared, facing that dragon alone? Were you injured?

Luke: Don’t be scared, I’ll save you very soon.

The wind blew past soundlessly. In the quiet hut, the knight’s voice became clearer and clearer.

It seemed as if a burning flame had ignited in his eyes. The moonlight shone in, casting light over the entirety of the room.

Luke: We promised that no matter what happened, you wouldn’t leave, and we’d always be together…

Luke: I won’t let you bear everything on your own anymore.

Luke: It’ll be tomorrow… wait for me.

He smiled, his fingertips brushing over his own reflection in the ruby.

Luke: Goodnight.

The knight placed his sword by his side and sank into a shallow sleep.

Just like all the nights in the past many years.

Part 3

Garrison Camp

Troop Leader: Hey, Luke, you returned with perfect timing.

Troop Leader: Just finished bringing over the new delivery of rations. I brought you the letter from the one at your home.

When he saw the person who was placing the letter on his bed, the knight shook his head helplessly.

Luke: Leader, we’re still in the troops right now. Even if you want to address her…

Troop Leader: Alright, alright. The letter that your wife sent, does that work?

Luke: We haven’t gotten married yet…

Troop Leader: Hahahahaha—

Troop Leader: Hey, honestly though, Miss MC really does treat you well.

Troop Leader: I have no idea how she managed to get that many rations and letters sent over here.

Troop Leader: If I remember right, she’s just a commoner, right? The type without even a fief. Tsk tsk tsk, she really is good.

As he teased him, the leader came up to the side of the bed, jokingly bumping against the young knight’s shoulder.

Troop Leader: Luke, I feel like she’s even more proactive than you. Bring out your knight’s spirit already!

Troop Leader: Though we can’t contact the outside world, I’m cheering you on inside, yeah?

Luke: Thanks, leader.

Luke: Although there’s something you’ve gotten wrong. Though I can’t send her replies…

He layered the letters together, placing them in the closest spot to his heart in his armour.

Luke: This is my answer to her. My heart is always with her.

Luke: The day the war ends, I will return to her side, safe and sound.

Luke: When that time comes, I won’t leave her ever again.

✼ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✼

Forest

Luke: …

When he saw the multiple letters in front of him, the young knight sunk into his memories.

To prepare for the nearing battle, he came to the riverside at dawn to change the medicines on the wounds he received in the war.

Luke: Back then, I thought that I would be able to reunite with you after the war ended.

Luke: We’d then be able to be like thousands of other normal people, living out our lives healthily and safely.

Luke: But I never thought…

He couldn’t help grasping tight on the letter papers.

Luke: Did you know that during those eight years, I kept thinking about you over and over, speaking on my own, just like this?

Luke: I remember every single thing you wrote to me about.

Luke: You said that the neighbouring auntie’s puppy stepped all over the rose garden at the doorway again.

Luke: You said that the honey that a friend gave you was very sweet, and you wanted to see the bee yard too, but you didn’t go because you knew I wouldn’t agree.

Luke: And so much more… I’ve remembered every single thing perfectly.

Luke: I… really… miss you.

The knight couldn’t help covering his face with his hand, as certain crystalline things fell slowly between his fingers.

A few minutes later, he took a deep breath, then put down his hand.

Luke: This is bad, I lost control of my emotions for a moment.

Luke: I wasn’t even that sad last night, but maybe it’s because I saw you in my dreams again, so I…

Luke: Now isn’t the time to be sentimental. I’ve got to bolster myself to face the upcoming battle.

The sunlight shone into the forest, past the gaps between the swaying leaves, falling dappled on the knight’s armour.

Far away, the sun displayed a light that was different from normal.

Luke: Is it coming…

He quickly put on his clothes and grasped onto his sword again.

Luke: Wait for me.

✼ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✼

Plains

Because he had already crossed over the forest once, the knight arrived at the plains much faster than before.

Clouds smothered the originally-blue skies. The roars of the dragon resounded nonstop at the horizon, and the air was heavy enough to make breathing difficult.

Luke: …

Suddenly, the roars of the dragon became unusually clear. A massive black shadow rushed down from the mountain peak, gradually nearing the centre of the plains.

Luke: !!!

Luke: This is my chance!

The knight immediately broke into a sprint towards the black shadow.

Evil Dragon: Roar—

The moment he arrived at the centre of the plains, the dragon was landing with two young villagers in its claws.

The two people tossed on the round tumbled a few times. Tears covered their faces, and their hands were tightly clasped.

Luke: !!!

Luke: Run!

The knight threw a wooden gun towards the dragon, then yanked out the dagger at his waist and threw it backhandedly on the ground near the forest.

He loaded an arrow as he sprinted towards the dragon.

Luke: Take that dagger and get out through the forest now!

Luke: I’ve left markers on the path. Follow those!

Female Villager: O-okay… tha-thank you!

The pitiful villagers tremblingly picked up the dagger and ran towards the forest as they supported each other.

They passed by the young man, kicking up sand and stone. The two sides of the battlefield changed in a flash.

Luke: …

The knight did not look back to the already faraway villagers. He calmly set his hands on the bow.

The dragon roared furiously at him, spitting a ball of fire.

Evil Dragon: Roar—

Luke: …

The knight stepped swiftly off the rocks in front of him, resolutely loosing an arrow towards the dragon, sidestepping the close call of the fire.

Luke: This won’t do. It’s too fast.

Luke: I won’t be able to dodge at all with speeds like that…

Evil Dragon: Roar—

Luke: !!!

Without giving the knight room to think, the dragon launched its second attack.

It looked again at the person in front of it and spat out a large amount of fire. The flickering firelight lit up the entire desolate plains.

The knight dodged the attack. The winds surged, the glint of the blade shone, and the surroundings continuously heated up.

Luke: …

Luke: This is how strong it is when it’s weakened?

Luke: If this keeps going, I’ll lose all my footholds.

Luke: What do I do…

His brow wrinkled tightly, looking at the dragon that had built up its power and was waiting to attack again. His hands held his hilt tight—

Evil Dragon: Roar—

The dragon opened its mouth wide, flying towards the young man.

Rocks were sent flying from the intense movements of the two opponents. The knight planted his feet on the shards of rock, both of his hands gripping his longsword.

Evil Dragon: Roar—

Luke: Want to kill me? Keep dreaming!

As if he couldn’t hear the dragon’s roars at all, he was completely focused on looking for a chance to attack.

Luke: If it’s the instant before it breathes fire… as long as I grab that chance…

Luke: If I can strike your vitals…

Luke: I’ll still have a chance!

Evil Dragon: Roar—

The dragon threw back its head, releasing a long roar towards the skies.

Luke: Now!

The knight lifted the sword and sprinted up to the dragon, slashing down on the dragon’s neck with all his strength.

Evil Dragon: Roar—

Blood sprayed, and the massive creature struggled, writhing, and finally spread its wings, flying off towards the heights.

Luke: Don’t even think about escaping!

The young man ran up, and three arrows cut through the air.

Howling winds blew as the eclipse fully set in. On the faraway peaks, the contours of a black castle could suddenly be seen.

Evil Dragon: Roar—

The dragon dodged the arrows, roaring in pain, then escaped in flight towards the faraway castle.

Luke: It all ends here.

The young knight discarded his longbow and gripped at his sword, planning to chase after the dragon.

However, right then, a pattern of lights shone from the astrolabe he was carrying.

He froze for a moment and thought back on what the fortune-teller had told him before—

✼ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✼

[Flashback]

Fortune-Telling Location

Fortune-Teller: Wait.

Fortune-Teller: Keep this with you.

The fortune-teller called out to the young man who was on the verge of leaving and handed a metal astrolabe to him.

Luke: This is…?

Fortune-Teller: If the astrolabe starts flashing, it’s a warning from me to stop fighting immediately.

Luke: … I am well aware of when I should stop.

Fortune-Teller: Sir Knight, you do indeed have lots of fighting experience.

Fortune-Teller: But I am the only one who can help you, so trust me, alright?

Luke: …

[Flashback end]

✼ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✼

Luke: …

Luke: Ouch…

The knight frowned in pain, as if he had finally come to his senses from the tense atmosphere, and looked over himself out of habit.

Luke: !!!

The dark armour had long been stained in blood, and some of the parts that were exposed were covered in wounds of all sizes.

Luke: I was… injured this badly?

Luke: Sure enough… that dragon’s strength…

He ultimately decided to stop.

  Part 4

Temporary Residence

The knight closed the door to the residence.

He leaned on the wall, like an injured little animal.

Luke: How could this be…

Luke: Is the difference in strength between me and that dragon that big?

Luke: How am I going to save her at this point… I…

The astrolabe beside him shone again. Then, after a flash of white light at the doorway, the fortune-teller pushed open the door.

Luke: It’s you?

Fortune-Teller: Sir Knight, I hope you have been well since our last meeting.

The fortune-teller looked over the person in front of her, her eyes squinting slightly.

Fortune-Teller: Looks like you listened to what I told you. Well done.

Luke: …

Fortune-Teller: This expression… were you not willing to give up?

Luke: None of your business.

Fortune-Teller: None of my business… haha, do you remember what I said back then?

Luke: …

✼ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✼

[Flashback]

Fortune-Teller: You are a brave and martially skilled knight, but the path ahead may be much more dangerous than you imagine.

Fortune-Teller: Even if so, will you still proceed?

Luke: Yes, I must.

Fortune-Teller: Even if the price it requires is your everything?

[Flashback end]

✼ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✼

Luke: …

Fortune-Teller: Has reality now changed your mind?

Luke: No. No matter when, I will not change my mind.

Fortune-Teller: Will not change? Then… what can you do?

Fortune-Teller: You must have realized the natural difference in strength between you and the dragon from battling.

Fortune-Teller: It looked like you won the battle, but what are the results?

Fortune-Teller: Even while it was weakened during the solar eclipse, the only effective attack you landed was that single slash.

Fortune-Teller: While you…

The fortune-teller looked at the young knight’s right arm, mottled with blood and some burn marks.

Fortune-Teller: You’re covered in wounds already. How much longer can you hold on for?

Luke: …

Luke: I don’t know. All I know is that I can’t give up. I must get that treasure chest and find her.

Luke: I don’t want to think about anything else.

Fortune-Teller: … Is it worth it?

The fortune-teller went silent for a moment, then asked this question suddenly.

Luke: It is.

Luke: I promised her that I’d return to her, that I’d safely tell her that everything had ended, that we would never be apart from then on.

Luke: I think about her every day, and I look forward to seeing her again every day. I’ve reread each of the letters she sent too many times to count.

Luke: She is my everything. I won’t just give up like this.

Fortune-Teller: … So you plan to seek out that dragon again?

Luke: Yes, and I don’t only plan to find it…

Luke: As you said, I will defeat and kill it, no matter what the price is that I must pay.

Fortune-Teller: … I understand.

Fortune-Teller: Then let me tell you one more thing.

Luke: ???

Fortune-Teller: Do you know why that dragon always flies towards that castle?

Luke: Do you mean that the treasure chest is…

Fortune-Teller: Yes. It’s because the box that it values the most is in the castle…

Fortune-Teller: When it is attacked, it will naturally return there.

Fortune-Teller: In ten days, the eclipse will end, and the sky will return to normal.

Fortune-Teller: The skies before daybreak are always the darkest…

Fortune-Teller: In ten days, when the sky is lightening, the dragon’s power will be at its weakest.

Fortune-Teller: It will also lose the ability to breathe fire.

Fortune-Teller: If you must go, go on that day.

Luke: !!!

Luke: Thank you.

Fortune-Teller: No need for thanks, but Sir Knight, let me give you one last warning.

Fortune-Teller: The path you have chosen is full of the unknown. I hope you will not regret this in the future.

Luke: I am sure that I won’t.

Fortune-Teller: That would be best.

The fortune-teller looked at the knight, smiled strangely, then left.

✼ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✼

After the knight cleaned his wounds, he finally had some time to rest.

Like usual, he stood his sword by his side. When he looked over the ruby on the hilt, he suddenly stopped.

Luke: This ruby… you gave it to me.

He gently stroked it, his warm breath leaving a mist on the gem with his movements.

Luke: I remember on the day I set out, you stood at the very front of those who were sending off the troops, a total mess of tears.

Luke: I was the one who was leaving, but you were even more agitated than me.

Luke: You kept reminding me to take care of myself, to not force myself.

Luke: Then I held your face with a smile, telling you that it wasn’t like I wouldn’t return.

Luke: …

The knight suddenly turned away.

Only when he was able to smile again did he turn his head back, as if everything before had just been an illusion.

Luke: Before I left, you took off a ruby from the mirror you always used and embedded it on my sword.

Luke: You said that a highly skilled person gave you that mirror, and it had magical power.

Luke: Especially these rubies, which represent inextinguishable fire and burning vitality.

Luke: We made a promise together, and then you watched me mount the horse, but I never looked back.

Luke: I thought that I would be able to see you soon after the war ended.

Luke: But now that I think about it, I should have taken one more look at you back then.

A slight bitterness appeared on the young knight’s face, but it was soon replaced by his usual expression.

He laid down on the bed, looking at the fluid moonlight in the sky.

Luke: Did you know that there’s something that I didn’t tell you back then?

Luke: Rubies don’t only represent fervour and life. They also represent love.

Luke: I told myself that after the war, I would confess to you, and let this ruby bear witness to our love.

Luke: So, please wait a little more for me.

Luke: There are still ten days.

Luke: No matter what the price is, I will be the victor.

The knight mumbled as he slowly closed his eyes.

Outside the hut, a black mist rose, then vanished in the silence. The moment that the smoke dissipated, a woman’s quiet laugh seemed to sound from deep within.

✼ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✼

Plains

Ten days later, as the fortune-teller said, the young knight made his way towards the old castle.

But he did not successfully reach his destination, because on the plains under the castle…

Evil Dragon: Roar—

Luke: …

Luke: Are you here to obstruct me?

Evil Dragon: Roar—

Luke: Looks like the fortune-teller was telling the truth. The treasure chest really is in the castle.

Luke: So it must also be true that you’re at your weakest today.

Evil Dragon: Roar—

As if in response to the knight’s words, the dragon snarled in fury. Its massive claws beat heavily on the ground, drawing up plumes of dust.

The knight retreated a few steps, held up his longsword, and stood in battle stance.

Evil Dragon: Roar—

Luke: …

Luke: You sure look enthusiastic.

Evil Dragon: Roar—

Luke: Perfect, then. Let’s have a fierce battle this time.

Luke: This is the last chance. I won’t let you escape again.

Evil Dragon: Roar—

Luke: …

At the edge of the sky, the black sun that had persisted for ten days started to “move”. The light of tiny stars shone through the air, casting light on the person and dragon.

The knight lifted his sword.

Luke: Let’s start.

Dust flew as the shining sword blade cut through. Both human and dragon soon were immersed in intensive battle.

Their battlegrounds shifted several times, from the plains to the mountain peak, finally arriving to the front of the castle’s door.

The eclipse was slowly retreating, and the dark sky was beginning to show its original hue.

Compared to last time, the battle this time lasted for a very, very long time.

✼ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✼

Old Castle on the Peak

Luke: Urk…

The knight brandished his longsword, pushing himself to block the dragon’s attack.

The originally flat field had already been ruined to the point where it was difficult to stand on. Thunder boomed intermittently as dark clouds accumulated above.

Evil Dragon: Roar—

The massive dragon moved again.

Luke: Ow…

Luke: …

This time, the knight’s resistance started to become sluggish.

Scorching blood sprayed out. He lost his footing, falling brutally onto the ground.

Luke: Ugh…!

Luke: No… I can’t fall yet…

He stabbed the longsword into the ground with difficulty and stood staggeringly up again.

He looked at his enemy, his bloodied, dirtied face full of resolution.

Luke: Ha… what sort of battle is this? Just a bunch of mutual killing attempts…

Luke: But did you think I’d be scared? Stop kidding around.

Luke: You have no idea what sorts of emotions I put behind each slash.

Evil Dragon: Roar—

Luke: Although, you don’t need to know, because…

The knight suddenly brandished his sword and rushed at the massive dragon.

Evil Dragon: Roar—

For an instant, the heavens and earth shook. Dust and sand flew as the world was submerged in chaos.

Only the knight’s shouts cut through the air, transmitting into each and every crevice.

Luke: Even though – even though there’s no way you can hear this right now…

Luke: But, I’m sorry… I’m sorry!

Luke: I’m sorry for leaving you all alone for these eight years. I’m sorry for letting you face the dragon yourself after the eight years.

Evil Dragon: Roar—

Luke: Do you know how scared I was when I returned to the village, yet didn’t see you at all…

Luke: I was scared that I would never see you again. I was scared that I couldn’t save you…

Evil Dragon: Roar—

Luke: Let me see you again, alright?

Luke: Even one instant, one second is enough!

Bang--!

After an enormous sound of collision, the young man was knocked through the air onto the ground, sliding to a faraway cliff, to the very edge.

But this time, it seemed like he didn’t have the strength to stand again.

Luke: …

Luke: Does it… all end here…

Luke: But I… you…

Boom—

A downpour of rain suddenly started.

  Part 5

A downpour suddenly started.

Rain struck against the ground audibly, falling on the young knight’s body, flowing towards where the blood and water had accumulated.

Evil Dragon: Roar—

Luke: Am I just… going to lose like this?

The knight couldn’t control his gasps.

Luke: But…

Luke: I still… can’t bear to give in.

Luke: I still haven’t found her… I still haven’t seen her… I …

His voice was full of an unrestrained frustration and helplessness.

He tried, or even forced, himself to keep his heavy eyelids open.

Luke: …

Silence suddenly descended.

It seemed like the rain had weakened, and a small sound was resounding through the air.

Luke: !!!

The knight suddenly opened his eyes wide.

Luke: Is that you?! Is that you, MC?!

He struggled, reaching out into the emptiness.

The black mist suddenly surged over from all directions, winding around the knight’s hand, as if in a gentle “embrace”.

The knight suddenly smiled.

Luke: Are you trying to comfort me?

Luke: Mhmm, I’m not scared. Whether they’re happy things or painful things…

Luke: I don’t care about any of that anymore.

He slowly stood his sword upright, staggeringly standing up.

Evil Dragon: Roar—

Luke: I will… keep going until the final moment…

Luke: MC, you are my strength, and I will fight for you until the end of my life.

Evil Dragon: …

The dragon’s movements suddenly stopped.

It looked at the human in front of it without moving in the slightest, and it seemed as if a light had flashed in its terrifying eyes.

Luke: …

Luke: Now!

The knight brandished his sword for the last time, stabbing it deeply into the heart of the dragon.

This time, the dragon did not struggle nor attack back. It remained in its spread-winged posture as it toppled with a boom.

The turbid blood flowed out from the wound, and soon, its breathing stopped completely.

Luke: H-has it ended?

The knight slowly walked up to the dragon’s corpse. After repeated confirmations, he released a sigh, as if he had been freed from a heavy burden.

Luke: Next… I just need to find the dragon’s treasure chest to find you. Wait for me.

✼ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✼

Old Castle Interior

The knight pushed open the door to the castle.

Just as the fortune-teller said, there was a treasure chest placed in the centre of the large room.

Luke: …

He knelt with one knee to the ground, brushing off the dust on the chest.

The moment he opened the chest saw what was inside, he displayed a shocked expression.

Luke: This is…?

A mirror inlaid with ruby sat quietly on the top of the chest.

The knight reached out with both hands, carefully holding the item in front of him.

Luke: Isn’t this the one you usually use…

Luke: Ah!

Suddenly, the gem on the mirror flashed with a dazzling light.

As if induced, the ruby on the hilt of the longsword beside the knight started to shine too.

They shone together, blindingly bright.

Luke: …

Amidst the light, multiple images gradually appeared in the mirror, like a light carousel—

Luke: !!!

In that familiar village, the young woman suddenly lifted her head as she trimmed the plants, her scissors falling onto the ground.

Her face was full of shock and disbelief. Tears slid down her face, finally vanishing.

Luke: !!!

She then left the village on a journey. She walked to all the ends of the world, as if in search of something.

She traversed deserts and snowy mountains, wearing out pairs and pairs of shoes, and her originally fair skin gradually became rough.

But on her face, all there was, was day after day of ever-increasing defeat and pain.

Luke: No… I’m here, I’m still alive! I’m right here!

Finally, she arrived at this castle.

Seeming like she’d lost all hope, she collapsed on the found. Tears and blood fell, droplet after droplet, on the ruby of the mirror’s upper part.

Then, a light suddenly flashed, and the girl in the mirror vanished.

The black mist filled the mirror, and a vicious dragon flew out of the castle.

Luke: !!!

The knight’s entire body trembled.

He dropped the mirror and sprinted out the door, as if he had gone mad.

Luke: No… not possible… no way… it can’t be…

Luke: How could you have been the dragon?! No way, I couldn’t have killed you…

At some point, the storm had started to rage again.

The figure of the dragon had already vanished. What replaced it was a figure that the knight was as familiar with as could be.

Luke: No way… why…

Luke: Why!!!

He held the girl’s corpse in his arms, then howled in despair like a wild animal.

The girl’s body was as covered in wounds as the knight’s was.

The rain struck their bodies, rushing frigidly over each of their wounds, as if mocking them.

Luke: No, no way…

Luke: This isn’t real… this isn’t real…

Luke: MC--!

The knight held the girl tightly. His throat was already raw, and all the light had left his eyes.

Luke: Is that why you stopped right then? Did you recognize me?

Luke: Why didn’t you escape? Why did you wait for me to kill you?

Luke: Please open your eyes, alright, answer me!!

Luke: Why?! Why?!

Luke: Ah--!!!

The rain descended in torrents, finally trickling down to the ruby, which had lost all its shine.

   Part 6

The storm raged, and the knight’s heartrending cries never once stopped.

The air distorted for an instant. Right after, the fortune-teller stepped out from nothing, walking up to the sobbing Luke.

Fortune-Teller: Pitiful Sir Knight, you still ended up at this point.

Luke: !!!

Luke: It’s you… it’s you!

Fortune-Teller: It is indeed me, Sir Knight, the one who pointed you down this path.

Luke: Pointed me down this path… right, you know everything!

Luke: Let me ask you, did you already know that she was the dragon?!

Fortune-Teller: Yes, I know everything.

The fortune-teller looked at the young man, her voice gentle and tantalizing.

Luke: Then why did you have me find it - have me kill her?!

Fortune-Teller: I had you kill her? That’s quite an unfair accusation.

Fortune-Teller: I am a mere fortune-teller. All I can see is an established truth.

Fortune-Teller: This is her and your fate – you two are destined for an ending of death.

Luke: !!!

Luke: No way! What fate, what ending – I don’t believe any of it! There must be a way to save her!

Luke: I’ll keep looking. I’ll keep looking. I will definitely find it. I will definitely find it!

The young man clutched at the corpse in his arms and forced himself to stand.

The ground was slippery. He fell one time after another, yet he stood again, one time after another.

Fortune-Teller: …

The fortune-teller stroked the crystal ball, looking at the girl who was gradually getting colder in the rain.

Fortune-Teller: There is a way that might be able to save her, but…

Luke: What is it!

The young man shouted hysterically, but his voice was already so hoarse that he was nearly incoherent.

The fortune-teller paused, then looked at him again, her lips curving slightly.

Fortune-Teller: Simple. Make a deal with the devil, using your life.

Luke: …Deal?

Fortune-Teller: Indeed. As long as you offer your heart, she will be able to live again.

Fortune-Teller: But she will lose all memories of you…

Fortune-Teller: Perhaps she will love someone else and live a happy life, or perhaps…

Luke: What do I do?

The knight cut her words short.

Luke: Can you bear witness to the contract?

Fortune-Teller: … Of course.

Luke: Tell me what I need to do. We start immediately.

Fortune-Teller: … Alright.

The knight’s resoluteness far exceeded the fortune-teller’s expectations. After a simple explanation of the ritual, he finished his preparations.

Fortune-Teller: Will you not say any last words to her?

The fortune-teller placed the crystal ball in front of her, looking towards the silent knight.

Luke: …

The knight lowered his head, looking at the girl in his arms.

Luke: I never would have thought that our last meeting would be like this…

Luke: But at least you can continue to live…

The corners of the knight’s mouth lifted with difficulty. He reached out, pushing aside a lock of hair aside on the girl’s face.

Like a deep, yet wordless, farewell.

Luke: There are some things that I didn’t have the time to say before, but it shouldn’t be too late to say them now…

Luke: I…

The knight closed his eyes.

He slowly lowered his head, solemnly and gently kissing the hair of the girl in his arms.

Luke: Goodbye, MC. I pray that your life from today onwards will be happy and joyful.

He looked at her face, looking as if she were in a deep slumber, and said this to her for the very first and very last time—

Luke: I love you.

Right after he spoke, he stabbed his sword into his chest.

Bright red blood covered the marks that had dried on the sword. Thunder boomed as rain fell in torrents.

His heartbeat’s sound gradually stopped.

Fortune-Teller: …

Fortune-Teller: Hahahaha, hahahahaha—

The fortune-teller suddenly burst into laughter.

A black mist gradually wrapped around her. Her body and clothes changed form, finally turning into the form of a witch.

Witch: Hahahaha, what fate, what ending, what deal with the devil? Utterly foolish, truly, ridiculously foolish!

Witch: Although… thank you both. I found this drama quite the satisfying watch!

✼ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✼

MC: …

My consciousness gradually awakened.

MC: Luke! Don’t do anything stupid!

MC: She’s obviously doing this deliberately! Don’t get tricked by her!

I tried my best to call out his name, yet I anxiously noticed that I could not even make the slightest of sounds.

MC: Luke!

✼ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✼

Luke’s Home, Third Floor

*Tira’s note: The date itself said it was the second floor, but his living quarters (the background shown) are on the third floor, not the second.

MC: Luke!

I sprung awake from my dream.

And because of this tiny movement, Luke instinctively popped off the sofa, standing upright on the floor.

I lifted my head and looked hazily at Luke, and my consciousness gradually returned to reality.

MC: …

Luke: …

We looked wordlessly at each other for a few seconds, then couldn’t help laughing together.

Then, Luke gently sat back down beside me.

Luke: What happened? Did you have a nightmare?

MC: Mhmm…

As I gave an affirmative, I moved my body a little, realizing that my arms and legs had become a little numb. My chest also felt somewhat stuffy.

MC: (Huh, was I sleeping in a weird pose? I don’t think so…)

Just as I was thinking, Luke started to rotate his shoulders too.

Luke: Why are my arms this sore all of a sudden… I’m sure that I slept pretty well…

MC: …

Luke: Huh? What’s the matter?

MC: I figured it out…

Luke: What?

The only reason why our arms were so sore… probably was because Luke was holding me the whole time while we had an afternoon nap.

MC: (So that nightmare… probably also happened because of this…)

I felt both a little frustrated and amused, and seeing Luke’s dubious expression, I couldn’t help laughing aloud.

Luke: What’s the matter?

MC: Nothing, I just hadn’t woken up completely from my dream yet.

Luke: Alright, you’re fine now. I’m here with you.

Luke: If you’re still scared, then should I sing a song for our great lawyer?

MC: Sure!

I knew Luke was just teasing me, but I felt like either way, it would be pretty nice to listen to him sing for me again.

Luke: Then sit comfy first.

MC: Mhmm.

I shifted over a bit, and Luke sat down beside me, covering us up again with the blanket.

Then, he gently wrapped his arms around me.

Luke: Then, what does the great lawyer want to listen to? Twinkle Twinkle again?

MC: Yep!

I looked up at him, and then Luke started to tap my shoulder like a metronome as he began singing.

Luke: Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

Luke: How I wonder what you are…

MC: …

As Luke sang, my emotions gradually calmed down.

Amidst this relaxation, I couldn’t help thinking of the scene in that dream again.

MC: (A ten-day eclipse… man, the weird stuff I come up with.)

MC: (Did the earth stop spinning or did the sun just check out of work? So ridiculous…)

MC: (Plus, how could Luke be tricked by someone like that…)

MC: (Although…)

Though that was what I was thinking, I still knew…

Just like the knight in my dream, the love and protection Luke gave to me was always that silent, yet so etched into his very being.

But unlike the dream, we were now walking towards a happy future together.

I would hold his hand tightly, and I would never let go.

MC: …

The afternoon sunlight pervaded the room, and a slight breeze blew past. Everything was as great as always.

On the storage cabinet on the side, the mirror and sword model were stacked together. Under the sunlight, the rubies flashed faintly.

They looked somewhat familiar.

 Phonecall

Hi! Good morning, are you up yet?

Ah… I bought a medieval-themed game that looks really interesting, so I wanted to ask if you wanted to play it together.

This game also has dual-player co-op mode. We can hit new game records together, just like in the past.

The game plot? Seems like a knight went on a quest to slay a dragon to find his missing lover.

I feel like this story’s pretty remarkable, and the animations done for the fights with the dragon in the middle were done really realistically…

Huh, what’s the matter? Why do you have such a pained expression on?

You don’t want to play this game… why? Does the plot make you feel uncomfortable?

Huh?! You had a nightmare with the same plot? And the main characters were you and me?! And we didn’t even get a good ending?!

Pfft… silly, it’s just a dream, don’t take it to be real.

Plus, doesn’t everyone always say that dreams and reality are the opposite?

You saw a bad ending, which means that we’ll have a good ending. So don’t be afraid, it’s all fine.

Hm… if you still don’t feel at ease, then how about we work together to beat this game?

I’ll prove to you that we’ll definitely reach the Happy Ending!