#because he disappears for a day not thinking anyone will notice and leon is like are you alright?? have you eaten??? where did you go?

[vi-visected]

elyan/leon is an underrated ship

[navstuffs]

hi!! i really love your writing and i would love if you could feed me with a request (only if you're comfortable with it, ofc) 👉🏼👈🏼 what about a leon x reader where reader is passing through a very tough depressive crisis and is really not fine mentally speaking — and leon just try to help and comfort them through this? 👉🏼👈🏼

anyway, thank you for your fics, they really helped me these days 😭💗

Anchor

Pairing: Leon Kennedy x GNPartner!Reader

Summary: It is 1 am when Leon Kennedy knocks on your door. He shouldn't be there and you shouldn't have opened it. 

Warning tags: hurt/comfort, angst, leon almost died, reader is suffering with anxiety due to past events, can be read as platonic or romantic (you choose)

Writer's Notes: hello! first of all, im sorry i took so long to write this request for you. i changed some stuff and i hope you don't mind (reader is still depressed). thank you so much your kind words and i hope this fic serves as comfort for you!! <333 stay safe anon!

for more painful leon's fics, check my masterlist. i have some happy ones too :)

It is 1 am when Leon Kennedy knocks on your door. It is the third time that week only, the fifth of the month. 

It starts when you don’t appear at work after two weeks since his return, and no one knows where you are. HR informs you are sick, which means you are still alive somewhere in the world, just sick. Okay, but sick with what? Sick how? Are you in the hospital? Do you need any help? Leon knows you don’t have family around, like him, and you are pretty much alone - like him. 

So, as any regular worried friend would, he calls and texts. He wants to hear your voice and guarantee that you don’t need help and have everything you need. That you truly are okay. No answer. HR has guaranteed him you are not dead, but what if you—no, he shouldn’t think about that.

The next step is going to your house. He knows where your address is and wouldn’t be a complete weird appearing there in the afternoon. No answer. Leon won’t be a creep as far as looking at your windows, at least not yet. He won’t go as far as busting your door and checking how you are feeling because he needs to confirm you are okay. You might just not be home.

On the second visit, Leon got awfully close to kicking your door. Before he could do that or even knock, he saw a shadow pass over the window. Though Leon told himself he wouldn’t, he looked inside just in time to see you disappear to the second floor. So, at least you are really alive, Leon’s body filling with relief. It could have been a bad case of flu, and you don’t want to contaminate anyone.

One more week passes, and he visits your house two more times. Those times you didn’t even bother to hide yourself, lazily lying down on the sofa in a way Leon couldn’t see your face (oh yeah, now he is definitely peeking out your windows). So you are genuinely ignoring him or truly sick with some contagious disease. Maybe Covid?

The fifth time he knocks on your door, it is 1 am and Leon is deeply not only worried but bitter. He was sitting in his apartment alone, wondering what you had and why you didn’t open the door for him. You two are colleagues, and Leon would dare to go as far as to call you his friend if anyone asked. How many times have you brought him soup while he was sick? Brought him meds, kept him company? Checked on him until he was finally all better?

It would be only fair if he did the same.

Leon grabs his keys without even thinking: You will open the door for him tonight. And if you don’t, well, he will kick it open. To hell with the civil approach.

-x-

All the courage slips away from his body when he notices the kitchen’s light on. Leon can’t see anything inside since you decided to make his life harder and close the curtains. So, instead of kicking that door until it’s down, Leon goes back to the gentle approach (like the idiot he is): he knocks.

The door opens not even ten seconds later, and Leon blinks, surprised. You are there. You, not a trick of his eyes: a fluffy and long blanket covering your body, only your face peeking with a familiar expression Leon recognizes immediately - he had seen in his own mirror before.

“You won. What the fuck do you want?” Those are the first words to him in weeks.

“May I come in?” 

You ponder for a moment, your eyes red, and Leon wonders when you last slept. You walk away, leaving the door open, and Leon follows inside, locking the door behind him. 

Your house isn’t in the best state. He had been here before and thought you weren’t the most organized person (“I can find myself in my own mess, Leon.”). The mess had grown too much from normal. There were tons of take-out boxes on the kitchen counter, pizza boxes, and fast food bags. At least you had been eating—not the best food ever, but feeding. He could work with that.

And the bottles—oh, those Leon would identify anywhere. You weren’t a heavy drinker, and you mentioned plenty of times you didn’t know how he liked whiskey. Now, there were countless empty bottles of whiskey, beer, and vodka, so much so that the place looked like a bunch of frat boys had a party just the night before and didn’t bother to clean.

Leon follows you to the living room as you fall onto the couch. An old Simpsons episode plays on the TV screen. There are still some bags and bottles on the floor, but fewer. Your eyes focus on the TV, not really watching or paying attention to him.  Leon stands there, keeping a safe distance from you and gathering what to say. 

“I came to check on you.” Leon starts, his eyes glued on you. “You haven’t called or texted me back. The HR said-”

“I am sick. I wanted to be left alone.”

“I know, but-”

“I could complain about this to HR, you know? It could be considered an invasion of privacy, and you could lose your job. “

“I was worried about you.”

“You saw me in the window that day, didn’t you? I’m alive and breathing. Now get out.”

You hide your face in the sofa, conversation clearly done on your side. It feels like an impossible battle to win. Leon then tries again, “Do you need anything?” 

“No. Get out.”

He sighs, turning on his heels. Leon wants to say you can call if you need him, any time, but Leon knows you wouldn't. This is an impossible battle to win, Leon realizes as he starts to leave. But then he freezes, a memory piercing his thoughts. Leon comes back to the living room, your face still hidden.

“No.”

“What?” 

“I am not leaving. Not before I know what is wrong.”

“I am sick.”

“Yes. So I have heard.” 

You don’t turn to look at him, and that’s fine. If you want to be stubborn, so could he. Leon can wait. The episode on the TV finally ends, and as the familiar opening plays in the background, you slowly turn in his direction, one eye appearing first, then the other, as if expecting Leon would be gone by now. Unlucky for you, Leon S. Kennedy didn’t give up that easily, especially for his friends.

“I don’t know what you are feeling, but I know that face.” His voice manages to sound neutral.

Of course, he does. Of course, your partner, the legendary D.S.O veteran, would know. You, just a newbie, would have no idea what he went through, but Leon didn’t seem the kind of person to crumble for anything. Leon would probably be fine if you were the one to get shot, not him. He wouldn’t have panicked, he wouldn’t have started crying, screaming for someone to help them, losing themselves in a sea of despair and pain.

“Hey…”

Blood. So much blood in your hands. You are useless, you can’t help him as Leon’s face loses color-

“Hey.”

He deserved someone better—someone much better as a partner—not you, a weak agent who thought you were strong enough to stand by his side. Oh, how wrong you were.

Leon calls your name, more urgent this time, and your line of sight is filled with the face of the man you considered your friend right at your path—concerned blue eyes, his hair tickling against your face. His forehead is in concentration, the faint ghost of a beard, as he speaks soothingly. “Hey, look at me. You are safe. Deep breaths, come on.” 

The visions mix as you blink: Leon losing blood in your arms, unconscious, back to being safe, his worried eyes staring at you.

Your rapid breathing noise fills the room, your heart wanting to burst as the pain spreads over your body, the pain worse than being stabbed or punched. You keep your eyes on Leon - he is fine, he is safe, he is well, he is worried sick about you- as he continues to nod and tell you to breathe.

It takes a while, Leon’s hands on your shoulder as you finally calm down, the tears rolling freely from your eyes.

“I am sorry.” You manage to whisper. “I am so sorry.”

“You are safe. We both are safe.” Leon declares, and you take that in. Right now, yes. But what about tomorrow? What about-? “Hey, eyes open at me.” When had you even closed them? “Come on. There is no one else, just you and me. And we are safe.” 

You nod, not arguing back. Finally, you sit down, and Leon takes two steps back. “Water?” 

“I think there are some in the fridge,” you reply, cleaning your tears. Leon leaves and quickly comes back with two bottles, unbottling them for you. You shake your head, but Leon insists, and you drink in small sips, the cold liquid refreshing your dry throat. When was the last time you had any water? Or took a shower? Or slept?

Finally, you give him space on the couch to sit. Leon doesn’t, and you point your head to your side, and he sits, keeping a safe distance from you. You two say nothing for a while, simply looking at the TV to watch Bart Simpsons on his shenanigans. 

“I am sorry.”

“Would you stop that?” Leon sighs back, frustrated. 

“No. I am sorry.”

“Fine. I forgive you. Are we good now?”

“No.” 

“I knew it wouldn’t be,” Leon replies with a sad smile.

“You could have died, and I didn’t-” Leon says your name, but you continue “-let me finish. I didn’t help. I didn’t move. I did nothing.” 

Leon didn’t want to talk about this, knowing it was inevitable. The day he took a bullet for you: not one, but two. Leon noticed before you, his reflexes quicker than yours. It was his responsibility anyway.

You only watched, shocked, as the bullet pierced his leg, then his chest. You didn’t move or flinch; you just froze, your hands closing and opening nervously as Leon fell right in front of you. You had been fortunate that the backup team had arrived on the other second, finding in the middle of the swarm of bullets a screaming you protecting Leon with his own body, all training thrown out of the window. You two should have been dead. Life had given you and him another chance, since no other vital organ or vein of Leon had been damaged.

You don’t remember much after except asking for your resignation that same day and getting a “No” as an answer. So you decided to get on sick leave until some higher-up got tired and fired you.

“I did nothing.” Leon tries to interrupt you again, but you continue, “You could have died, and I did nothing.”

“It wouldn’t be your fault.” 

“What? Of course, it would!” 

“No, it would not.” 

“Can you fucking stop trying to make me feel better?” Your tone is so angry, so vile, that Leon almost flinches. 

Death is always in the back of his mind. Every time he is out there, he could die. He is expandable; they all are, but he couldn’t just let you die. You a much smarter version of what he once was during Raccoon City. The same bravery, but not foolish as his. Much sharper. Leon knew why he got paired up with you in the first place, the irony not completely lost in him. 

It would have been fine if Leon died that day he protected you, but not okay if you did. Not on his watch. Not now, not ever.

“I can’t help it,” Leon replies, a sad smile on his lips. “I can’t help it, especially when a friend needs my help.” 

A friend? 

Do not grow attachments. Wasn’t that your first lesson? It had been hard to be paired up with a man who hated it at first, then to learn how to laugh at his silly jokes or admire how far Leon would go for anyone. For anyone, except himself, stupid brave man.

You open your mouth and close it, simply lying against the sofa with your eyes closed. 

“So, let me help you?” His voice is warm and inviting. 

It would be best if you said no. You should kick this man out of your living room, out of your life, and never go back to that stupid job fighting an endless battle that would end with you dead or someone you cherished dead. You don’t know how Leon does it, but as you open your eyes, his blue eyes look straight at you awaits in hope. Waiting to comfort you, support you to the best of his abilities, and be your friend.

The pain is still there, vivid in your soul and mind, but there is hope. Right there, in that tiny spot you gave Leon S. Kennedy. That’s why you shouldn’t have opened that damn door, you realize, but it is too late. You limit on nodding.

[d10nyx]

NYYYYYYXXXXX!!!!!! HAIIIII HRUU :3! bless ur soul for putting up with my nonsensical yapping.. i love ur inputs<3 & NEW BOTS WOOO thank you for these gracious meals😋

AND I WAS THINKING (here we go again LMAO)..RE2 LEON AS A LOSER COLLEGE CLASSMATE. he’s a loner. kinda nerdy, not that talkative. sits in the back of any room. poor baby is too shy to make a conversation w anyone, & when/if he does, nobody’s listening/thinks his input is weird/is talking over him so he jus gives up on trying 2 make friends & just decides to focus on his studies (◞‸◟)

until popular!reader comes along & makes the effort to get to know Leon by sitting next to him. bro is baffled! but shes popular for a reason; so sweet & considerate, funny—cute! it’s the most attention that anybody has ever given him & he gets so drunk off of her mere presence that he just can’t help getting a little crush on her!

but then that quickly develops into an unhealthy obsession; “accidentally” bumping into her “randomly”, rubbing himself to pictures of her, attached to her by the hip! her bf doesn’t like him for being so touchy, so he kinda beats Leon up :(… a lesson is NOT learned bc Leon complains to reader abt his boo-boos, & she tells her bf off. seeing this, Leon tells her lies abt her bf & she believes him always bc Leon is nothing but an angel! 

bro has a whole wall dedicated to her. photos of her w her friends (who r etched out/cut out), her walking around campus, etc. mf collects her chewed-up pencils & forgotten hairties (bonus if they have strands on them) & and disposed gum-wrappers like they’re ancient artifacts. occasionally takes her empty/half-full waterbottles and licks & kisses the lip to pretend he’s making out with her. typically results in him whimpering her name while humping a pillow… yeah he’s pathetic, but she’s none the wiser!…. do u see my vision….

-🍼

🍼anon i'm literally on my knees asking for your hand in marriage because i love love LOOOVE creep/perv re2 leon :3 pls yap in my inbox forever bcs your ideas are so juicy and make me scream!! BUT HIII!!! i'm good !! hruuu?

but omg ofc i see the vision!! he's so sweet at first, just happy to have a friend. but reader is the only one who's ever treated him like this, and his innocent crush is so quick to become an obsession. the water bottle thing had me SCREAMING like ughhhh.

reader is so oblivious. leon is so unassuming and like... no one cares about him, so they don't notice when he slinks away at the beginning of the lecture with reader's room key... oops. he gets himself some souvenirs(aka used panties...) but he's also *such* a gentleman that he doesn't just care about that. he's also taking note of stuff like the shower gel n shampoo she uses so he can get the same ones as reader to feel closer to her :33

bonus points if he snaps one day. after she tells her bf off, her bf gets really fucking defensive about HIS girlfriend. every time leon walks into the room, he's pulling her in for a kiss - not just a peck, but like... a sloppy makeout sesh. leon ends up being like 'hi i wanna say sorry for how i've acted... come w me'. except he's not sorry at all (duh) and he gets rid of her boyfriend once and for all.

of course, he's the one to comfort reader when she's completely distraught at her bfs 'disappearance'. he lets her into his dorm room and cuddles her while being all sweet, using her emotional vulnerability to coax reader into letting him touch her. he's got her right where he wants her now. and if her friends start to catch on? he's got no problem disposing of them, too.

[icelandsgirl]

List of My 35 Favorite Hetalia Fanfictions

This list is mostly for me to go back to, but if you wanna check them out, I do recommend. So good. I ranked them in order of my favorites because it's my list and I do what I want.

Gutters (glassamilk, July 2010) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6122026/1/Gutters 'The Calamity' has left the world stripped and dying. Alone in a civilian bunker in Munich, Sealand will be reunited with the last known living member of his surrogate family and together, they will set out across Europe to find those they have lost.

The Danish Slaughterhouse (Decada, November 2012) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8744418/1/The-Danish-Slaughterhouse At Mathias's insistent begging, the rest of the Nordic Five decide to go visit this "new, bigger, totally badass" mansion of his and spend some vacation there. But the stay might not be as pleasant as Mathias had let on...

the Soviet Insanity series (Shadows in the Light of Day, October 2014) Part One: Interference https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10728361/1/Interference One of the unwritten laws for surviving in Russia's house is that you never, ever interfere with his punishment of your friends. Unless you're Lithuania. Then, no one's going to stop you. They're all too frightened to stand up to Russia...but Estonia is going to change that. Part Two: Latvia's Absence https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10758808/1/Latvia-s-Absence Lithuania and Estonia's punishment may be over, but the Baltics still have to survive the aftermath. With Latvia forbidden to speak to the others and Lithuania determined to unravel the mystery behind Latvia's 'disappearance', will anyone notice how strange Estonia is acting? Will Latvia be able to cope without his friends? And will they all be reunited? Part Three: Insanity https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10862382/1/Insanity Reconciled to the belief that Lithuania and Latvia do not care about him, Estonia makes a desperate plan that he believes will save them all, but may in fact destroy him once and for all. As Lithuania struggles to make sense of Estonia's behavior, he is confronted by a nation who is only just realizing what has been happening to the Baltics for years. Part Four: Web of Delusions https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11007515/1/Web-of-Delusions For now, the Baltics, Belarus, and Ukraine seem to finally be safe. However, when Lithuania's pity for Russia overcomes his common sense, he ends up even further entangled in the web of insanity that they are all trapped in. As Estonia and Belarus try to find a way to break free, Lithuania makes a last attempt to save Russia from himself.

Þetta Reddast (nicegaai, January 2023) https://archiveofourown.org/works/44430493/chapters/111752707 Berwald, Mathias, and Sigurd are cousins. Emil is Sig's little brother. All of them have the same thing wrong with them. (Maybe it's genetic.)

Evig Eies Kun Det Tapte (slire, June 2015) https://archiveofourown.org/works/4147929?view_adult=true Set 1349 → 1350 AD. During the Black Plague ⅔ of Norway's population perish. After a year of wandering his country looking for God(s), he seeks sanctuary in Copenhagen.

When I'm Falling Down (quinndalynn, February 2012) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7855439/1/When-I-m-Falling-Down Left alone by his so-called Nordic 'family' once again, Iceland grapples with the monster inside, meanwhile pondering how he only truly thinks himself to be alive when he's falling.

A Certain Sort of Loneliness (APHPuffinChild, December 2016) https://archiveofourown.org/works/8809477/chapters/20198536 Emil has never dealt well with change - it always made him feel like he was being left behind.

The World Is Ugly (KnoxInSocks, April 2017) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12461154/1/The-World-Is-Ugly Emil Steilsson has always lived with depression, but it only gets worse when he moves from his home in Iceland to America with his older brother. The only thing keeping him sane is the gorgeous boy in his class, Leon Wang, who went through a similar experience a few years before.

Cold Dark Sea (roughdiamond5, April 2016) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11908631/1/Cold-Dark-Sea Leon trusts Emil until the last beat of his increasingly undead heart.

The Monsters In Us All (Shini-chan, June 2021) https://www.quotev.com/story/9310191/The-Monsters-in-us-all-Dark-Yandere-Hetalia-x-Reader/6 "Oh dear, look what you have done. Stealing my heart and then acting like it is no big deal. Now you pay the price, love. And the price is you!"

Unstable (SwiftNinja91, July 2012) https://www.deviantart.com/swiftninja91/art/Insane-Iceland-x-Therapist-Reader-Unstable-P1-317521066 Emil seems perfectly fine... despite the occasional creepy behavior.

She'll Never Know (Alfredosauce, August 2022) https://www.quotev.com/story/10382221/Hetalia-x-reader-ONE-SHOTS/19 Everybody’s pumped for the week-long skiing trip in Switzerland. While Emil and you are back to showcasing your weird relationship— “platonically” holding hands and sharing beds, Mathias never catches the drift like everyone else does and demands the same treatment from you. Emil eventually gives in to jealousy and denounces his friendship with you the first night in. He thought he was satisfied with these developments, all until he overhears a conversation between Mathias and Lukas two days later. Seems like he wasn’t the only one pining for you. His chance at revenge arrives when he finds the Dane unconscious in the snow after a freak accident.

Lights, Camera, Action! (smileygohappy, June 2022) https://archiveofourown.org/works/39743103/chapters/99499203 Lukas is a professional adult film star who has gained a wondrous amount of recognition and fame over the past few years. To keep up that ongoing popularity, he then asks Emil for a favor—to be in one of the adult films with him.

Tall Cold Grass (Jacquzy, June 2011) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7043530/1/Tall-Cold-Grass It was wrong. It was disgusting. He was his brother, his dearest baby brother, and he could still remember how he'd first found that small, frightened child, shaking behind the tall, cold grass.

A World Without Light (Wheatley, December 2014) https://www.quotev.com/story/5769241/A-World-Without-Light-a-DarkHetalia-Nordics-story/1 When the gods gave Norway one last chance to be with the people he loved most, they told him he needed to give something up that was important to him. He gave them his sanity. Now locked in a world of pain and darkness, Norway searches for his lost ability to smile again.

Bad Decisions (Secondhandpianist, March 2023) https://archiveofourown.org/works/18148376/chapters/42914384 Eirikur generally liked to believe that he was a good and responsible person. He always paid his bills on time, he hardly ever missed work, but could he be considered responsible or even good after he found out what he’d managed to get himself into?

Texting (MeowHime, October 2015) https://www.wattpad.com/story/51275813-iceland-x-abused-reader-texting You'd lived in abuse for years, and your family would constantly remind you that you were worthless. On a whim, you joined a group chat, since socialising wasn't your strong point. There, you met a boy under the name of Iceland_Puffin. You became friends, and since then, had exchanged phone numbers and texted each other every night. Little did you know, he was transferring to your school.

Sovn, Lillebror (ReykjavikBondivik, November 2017) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12741583/1/S%C3%B8vn-lillebror Depressed Iceland is Depressed™.

the Suicide Season pair (ticcking, March 2018) https://archiveofourown.org/series/966831 Russia is slowly dying (and he no longer likes to hurt people); Puberty is hitting Sealand like a bus, and something is wrong with America...

Frogs In a Pot (Leafy_leaf, September 2022) https://archiveofourown.org/works/41793708 “Don’t let someone be mean to you. You’re a very sweet child, so I worry you’ll be taken advantage of.” His boss said. Well, he had certainly tried to avoid being taken advantage of.

Shrinking Norway (PolarbearNinja2, June 2014) https://www.deviantart.com/polarbearninja2/art/Hetalia-Fanfic-Shrinking-Norway-Ch1-458571199 Shinking Norway.

[argonavis-hcs]

Hello!!! can I have headcanons with yandere Nayuta?..

» a/n: I sure have. I'm sorry again for taking too long to answer :'

» Tags: Asahi Nayuta x gn!reader

» TW: obsessive behavior, delusional yandere, overly jealous

head canons under the cut. read at your own risk

Let's say you're Gyroaxia's roadie, you're acting professional most of the time and everyone treat you the same way, but Nayuta is a different case. You barely exchange words with him because all he does in your presence is either being grumpy or disappearing completely, it's as if he dislike you and not afraid to show it

You wonder if it because you're not doing a good job but Kenta assure you that you're doing fine. So what is it? Most of the time Nayuta is either treating you like you're some pest or completely ignore your existence. But after being with the band long enough you just accept the fact that that is his normal behavior

You still keep it professional with people like Kenta, but the other three treats you like a friend or even a family outside the working hour. Leon and Ryo are like your little brother while Miyuki likes to flirt with you from time to time, though you're aware that's just how Miyuki is so it's nothing serious

But If Nayuta is in the room, his usual grumpy-self is more grumpy than usual, if that's possible. You couldn't help but feel small when he gets snappy out of nowhere. So you just focus doing work with the feel of someone staring at you, burning a hole through your head

Nayuta secretly wants you away from here. From everyone. He hates it when everyone gets too close to you. Making you laugh, striking a conversation that's longer than 30 seconds, complementing little details about you. How dare they?! He's the one who notice it first, everything about you that ha could see, every little details, he knows all of them. You use different hair tie every day, you like to wear your ring on your pinky finger, your weird obsession with photocards, what social media you love to use on your free time, everything

One day Nayuta have had enough. He pulled you out of the room, pulling you harshly by the wrist without a care about who sees. His expression seems angry while he's giddy on the inside. Because this is the first physical contact from you that he ever received

You're confused with his behavior. You can't help but think about all the wrong thing you could be doing that cause him to be like this. Little did you know that your whole existence is the one turning him like this, so not in control with his feelings

In his head, you're his. And you don't get a say in that. He could only hold so much of his temper. You don't want to see what he would do if you ignore his warning and keep on being friendly with anyone.

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

What’s everyone favourite season or weather?

(Headcanon Masterlist) (Full Masterlist)

Aww this is cute!! Most of this is coming out of my arse, some of it is thought through, you guys try to figure out which is which😜

Arthur is quite fond of Autumn! Not too hot, not too cold, so training outside can still happen. It's also one of the best seasons for hunting, so he can get out on horseback more often, and spend hours, if not a couple days at a time, away from Castle Stress™. There are sunny days, but nothing too sweltering that it disturbs the running of the City, and it's the same with rain; there are even the odd Autumn storm, but nothing so ridiculous that it causes damage or lasts more than a few days. His favourite weather is definitely like... warm (not hot), with a slight breeze, and thin cloud cover. No glaring sun, but still warm, breeze will keep him cool but can also help with hunting and stuff.

Merlin is definitely a Spring baby. It's all about growth and animals and plants and beauty!! Plus he loves both bright sunshine, AND storms (a headcanon that comes up in my fics repeatedly lol) which is basically all you get in Spring. If Arthur was slightly smarter, he'd notice that Merlin definitely pulls his disappearing act more often during Spring, because he's off running around in the forest like some kind of feral child. In terms of specific weather, his favourite is definitely a storm. But like a proper storm: loud thunder, bright lightening, rain as if you're stood directly under a waterfall. It’s just... huge, and loud, and bold. Storms are bigger than he is, and out of his control, and that’s kind of comforting for our Warlock. I actually have like... A Whole Fic based around this.

Leon is similar to Arthur, and for all the same reasons. He likes whatever season/weather makes his job as a knight easier, and makes hunting more successful/fun. Does not like storms, like, at all.

I feel like Elyan is probably one of the only ones among them to genuinely enjoy winter more than other seasons. But like... stereotypical winter; snow storms and lit hearths and loads of blankets. He’s not a fan of sleet or hale or rain storms, but he loves when it’s bitterly cold and bright out, or snowing. It just makes existing in his home, or working in the forge, seem so much more special. Plus he has lots of fond memories of sneaking away from his parents and messing about with Gwen, and sometimes even Leon, in the snow.

Percival is similar to Merlin I think, a fan of Spring and sun, though not so much rain and storms. It’s just bright and fresh and like a breath of clean air after the oppressiveness of winter.

Gwen loves her some summer!! The heat makes it difficult and uncomfortable to work sometimes, but it’s also just lovely!! Flowers and bees and butterflies and warmth and sunshine!! Sneaking off to swim in a river, messing around with buckets of water (specifically, sneaking up on Elyan/Merlin/Gwaine/anyone really and dumping said bucket of water over their head). Picnics!! Clear skies to view sunsets and sunrises!! It’s just great and she loves it :D

I want to say that Morgana is edgy and likes Winter, and she may very well claim that, but her favourite season is actually Spring. Usually not too cold, definitely not too hot (and with her pale af skin? Girl gets heat rash really easily and she suffers), but it just feels like a breath of fresh air, like a clean slate. I also like the idea that nature and magic are like... intrinsically intertwined so... she just feels more at ease, even if she doesn’t understand. She likes a bit of a chill but not so cold she’s shivering under a cloak, a nice breeze, and skies clear enough that she has to squint only slightly in the sun.

My man Mordred likes Autumn! Sort of similar reasons to why Merlin and Morgana like Spring, but he’s more a fan of cold weather than hot, so Autumn takes the cake over Spring for him. He’s a fan of the colours, and the weird heatwave that always seems to happen in October, and the growing excitement for Yule, and the harvest, but also just... the idea of the world resetting. He resonates a lot with the idea of peacefully shedding a skin, an idea, a life, and allowing yourself to gently start anew. Spring couldn’t happen without the Autumn.

Lancelot likes Winter me thinks!! For similar-ish reasons to Elyan. When he was travelling he HATED it because it was dangerous to be in the wilderness mid-winter, but now he gets the blessing of a roof over his head and a reliable income and a warm hearth. Winter is like... SO comforting now, it’s blankets and fires and huddling with friends. It’s something he’s never really had before, and it’s always a bit of a novelty that he doesn’t have to be afraid of getting too cold anymore. Merlin thinks this is adorable.

Gwaine is a summer baby through and through. He pushes people in rivers and dumps water on them (do I have a headcanon—that I hope to one day expand on—that Gwaine and Gwen are secretly a chaos duo?? Yes. Absolutely). He’s like a cat, or a lizard, he’ll just find a big rock and fall asleep in the sun; he drinks less in the summer as well, because ale is warming and he’s already warm and in high spirits, which the others appreciate. Man just likes being out in the sun.

Gaius could not care less. He’s got a preference for Spring and Autumn I suppose, because there’s less sickness (like hypothermia/heatstroke) for him to deal with, and just... existing as an old man is far easier when you don’t have to live in some sort of extreme temperature, whichever end of the spectrum it may be.

~

Hope that’s what you’re after anon!! Lemme know if y’all agree or not!! :D

[naresnani]

Less Than Nothing

Fandom: Ikemen Prince | Ships: None | Characters:  Leon Dompteur, The 4th Prince | Words:  1.947

Tags: Leon’s route spoilers, overall Depressive tone, mentions of slavery, discussions/thoughts of death.

Notes: This is an old-ish fic that’s always been an AO3 exclusive, but recently I couldn’t see why I shouldn’t also post it here. Just heed the warnings.

Also, the original end-note from the AO3 post:  “This is so unstructured and abrupt and weird and ugh. But I need to get this out there bc i dont have a lot of time to attempt this fic again. I just want to point out what the game wouldn't point out in Leon's route: how horrifying this is for a bunch of kids to go through.”

Summary:

After a name is given away, what's left of him?

It's Prince Leon's 6th birthday and so he is about to die soon or something like that.

That number is common in his life. Now that he has actually lived that amount of years, nothing feels all that different. Nothing changes. No one applauds nor bursts out crying the moment the clock hits. There's no storm or rain brewing. There's no sun, either. The sky is bleached white. Everything is condescendingly normal. He feels as if wishes to say, ‘so look, I'm still here, see. No one wants to apologise? At all?’ And everything shuts up in front of him.

He blows out the six candles stuck on his cake, all at once. It's very satisfying. Some did applaud him. His mother refuses to look at him. He eats happily on his bed, because it's his birthday. 

 The day goes on like normal. He's just as lonely. 

He had opened the window and let the air in. It's dry summer breeze with blooming roses. It's the same set of curtains as it was a year ago, waving in the wind. 

He doesn't know what to do. 

He may have to… spend the rest of his life wandering around, reading, maybe, singing to himself, maybe. Not to spend too much time in the sun, not to run, not to play. He couldn't be with his brothers, 'lest they'll know he's sick. Does no one notice his absence anyway? Is that the point? 

He watches the Palace garden from his windows, waiting if anyone will be passing by. The Palace sounded vacant. No one can be heard speaking, singing, he may have been left here alone by everyone. Maybe that's how it is to die. Everyone will just suddenly disappear. How interesting wouldn't that be. 

He chuckles. Once, he had cried himself to sleep thinking about dying. He imagined watching his family's grief from above. Maybe looking down from above his buried casket. Maybe he'll slowly float up, and his mother will hold onto his arm with tears on her face begging him to stay, and he cannot speak to her or go back down again because he keeps floating, and his words turn into clouds. Something is pulling him up, an angel of death, or God himself, maybe. Who knows how that works. Nevertheless all that seemed very sad back then and he likes to imagine it every night and it was just a childish excuse to cry. Now he's older. Crying does nothing. And mother wouldn't be that childish, either. She's not a crybaby, and she wouldn't beg him to stay. 

Right, especially now that she's busy. He finally heard that he's about to meet someone very important. He should stop worrying about this. It probably wouldn't feel anything different. No one would be looking, no one would watch it happen.

 "Close the door, I want to speak with him alone."

That attendant agrees silently, and out comes his very important 'guest.' 

The angry kid that's supposed to replace him looks so... pitiful, and just like him . He freezes, for a moment. 

Like seeing the angel of death… Like watching himself from above. 

He can't help but burst out laughing.

"Amazing! They did it, huh, they really found someone. Mother had truly done it." They're really serious about replacing him! 

The tips of his fingers turn cold, so do his toes, and his chest constricts. His laugh had twisted the kid's face even more. This kid hates him. He hates being here so much. He really wants to jump at him and strangle him and he's not sure what to do. 

" You ," the kid speaks, with a squeaky voice the Prince cringes at. He's horrified. Maybe as horrified as the Prince is. "I'm- I'm not doing it! I'm not going to accept this! I'm…" 

Then the kid said, with venom in each breath, "... I look just like you."

"Exactly." This kid even has his eyes. Amber and... tells that he's about to punch him in the teeth. "We're catching up real well, I think."

"What even are you people," he asks. "What have you been doing here? How do you get to live like this?"

"I don't... What? Who knows?" He shrugs. Inside, that question ticks him. He feels like grinning. Scream something out loud. He's not sure what this excitement really is. "I've been here since I was born. I don't know what you want me to say."

The kid turns red. That hatred, he saw his reflection in it. It fits. He wants that anger. He wants to hate this much. 

"Screw off then, I'm not spending my life pretending to be bunch of toffs like you." Strangely, the kid didn't end up attacking. He turns and leaves.

"Wait... huh. Buddy where are you going?" He calls out. "Back as a slave? Run away somewhere alone? Are you kidding? You're pathetic!"

The speed at which that kid turns back at him, he wants to laugh. " What did you say? "

The kid stomps right at him and grabs his collar and he could knock him out right there. He cracks up! For once in his life the Prince felt a spark of catharsis. There it is, that's the word. 

That feral anger on my face, I want it badly. 

Weakling, childish, crybaby. It's so pathetic to be born sick and dumb, watching all the King's other sons get to be princes. Maybe this is right, then. Maybe it won't end in a mess after all. Maybe mother is not going insane. Maybe this kid will be a better him. 

The Prince answers. "I said , are you just going to go back to where you were? Really. Just because you're upset and jealous? You are going to be a prince, kid! and you'd rather go back into the mud!" 

"Prince? Who cares about being a prince! I've never met any prince that matters to me. It means nothing to me and you've done nothing to me. It's all made up and stupid!"

"Oh, grow up." He shoves the kid off. "It's time to face it. You're going to be a candidate to the King's throne. No King ever cares about a slave before, but don't you see what I mean?" he grabs him and shakes him, so he'll understand. "If you hate it so much, wear this stupid title, take it up, use it to as you please, change the world however you want. Someone a step lower than the king has so much more power than someone deep down on the dirt. So much. It's all up to you. I'm giving you this place as I die. Do you understand?"

He turns silent, and the Prince let go. "Then... what if I do that, huh? Use it however I please... What if I use it to destroy this kingdom?"

"What do I care?" This kid is going off places. Can't say he didn't like him though. For a slave, he's impressively stubborn and critical. Smart. He'll do just fine. "I'll be dead."

If you think it's all so stupid that it's worth destroying, then it probably is.

The kid frowns. He doesn't make any move. The Fourth Prince smiles confidently, having successfully convinced this boy of his fate.

If it is still possible to watch, after all, from above, then he can't wait to watch this kid do whatever he pleases. Runs and kicks and screams in anger. 

--------------------

  He is always locked in his bedroom, now.

But Leon secretly hands him the key. He'd walk outside still even if he'll get caught. Even if he turns lightheaded and his chest feels even more painful. 

The clock rings and hums throughout the Palace. His footsteps misses the floors. There are loud, muffled music and conversations. He watches Leon from behind doors.  

Leon always looks docile and nice. Always looks smart. Leon has been learning to read very slowly and to write with his right hand. The tutor came to see them both sometimes, and as if in constant horror, he gave us books to read while he lost all of his energy and strictness. Lost all of his age at once. 

But this isn't what he wants to see. He wants Leon to be him . Not him. Not another dull day. Not another colorless sky. But he supposed they're both now forced under the same rules. And under the same name, and title. And they're about to be the same person. 

Wearing his clothes, wearing his coat, his mantle, his lion crest. He's wearing everything. 

And when Leon struts across the ballroom, under the chandeliers and stands besides his mother, besides the King, besides the other sons.... 

The door was pushed open and he saw a mirror. The reflection does not say a thing. 

He spoke first, "You're having fun, aren't you?" 

The sick boy speaks with Leon under the dim light of the moon. They hid themselves in the dark corners. The stark cold summer wind bursts freely across the balcony. His voice is cracking, but it's because of the cold. 

"Fun?... I'm doing this for you." Leon said, with a frown. "It's not 'fun'. I feel out of place. And everyone is watching me."

"You look like you are." He shivers. He wraps his hands together. "Have fun out there. I would try and have fun. Prince Leon is a... chipper. And smart boy. Yeah."

His voice gradually turns smaller. Leon looks confused, and spoke to him carefully. "... Fine. Look, I'm trying. I'm scared to speak with the other sons. And the King doesn't... I don't know. I don't know how to speak..."

"Speak? That's it? Just speak to them like you speak to me. Is that so hard?" He sighed loudly. "Listen, no one likes these parties. It's noisy, tiring, and it's too bright. Everyone is playing pretend there too, not just you. Chill out and enjoy it."

"I said I'm trying . I just want to be a good Prince Leon."

A good Prince Leon... Why does he say it like that? 

That name, that title, as if it's a Thing that's not him. 

He looks at him and sees….

"Listen. You're doing well as Prince Leon. You're going to be so happy, kind and everyone is going to like you a lot." He smiles, because he has to smile right now. 

Now Leon is staring at him. And he is… What does he call himself now, he wonders. The word 'Prince' suddenly feels dry like inhaling dust. 

Leon shakes his head. "Don't say that. Don't expect too much. I don't know how to be happy and kind and… I don't know ." He threw his arms up. "I don't know what to do if you're not here with me!" he says. "I don't even feel like going in there again."

Leon wraps his cape around the sick kid's freezing body, because it really is cold. And he must be rattling his teeth. Oh, what is Leon even talking about? Leon doesn't need Leon here, Leon has to go back immediately… One of him, one of them. The 4th Prince. 

He clutches his hair. Surely someone sees this too, right? It's not only him that thinks this is insane? Off kilter? That he's about to be acted out by this kid while he can go die and be forgotten? 

Why is he thinking about this all over again? He's tired. He's very tired. 

"Prince Leon? You're okay right?" 

Leon's palm is warm, unlike the kid's. 

"I'll be fine. Go back inside and… just enjoy your life, alright? No one's looking. No one is watching you."

Except the kid who will watch him from above, floating.

(Home)

[imjeralee]

diluc and maybe leon and raihan reacting to their crush singing a confession for them while playing their uke? like maybe one day the boys are looking for their crush and finds them sitting at the edge of a waterfall all picknicked out, singing beautifully and then they realize the song is about them 👉🏻👈🏻

Hi anon, sorry for the delay. I’ve been working on my Serenitea teapot home lol. It’s Diluc’s birthday today!!! I think I have posted this at the right time :)

Diluc:

You were acting secretive and evaded him at almost every opportunity at the Dawn Winery so he got a lil suspicious but he spots you at Springvale with your ukulele and realises you have set up a cozy little tent for two with a picnic hamper and mat spread out just a small fraction away from the waterfall. It’s all for him!

and when you start singing, he gets flustered on the spot and grows red to match his hair. Like he can’t even move for a few seconds. He’s not used to this at all and when you’re finished, he still doesn’t move. So you get nervous and you’re like “Master Diluc?” He’ll clear his throat and close his eyes, crossing his arms and trying to maintain that cool/calm composition

I don’t imagine Diluc to react immediately tbh so the growing silence makes you anxious until he finally composes himself, strides over and sits himself down beside you on the picnic mat with a sigh. He looks tired from work. You hope he liked your surprise (and your confession via song).

You’ll ask him if he likes everything and Diluc is too embarrassed to say too much so he’ll merely nod and say stiffly, “Thank you.”

You thought...Diluc would....tell you if he likes you back, right? But the entire evening is just spent eating and drinking together but you’re too embarrassed to ask, so as the evening progresses, your mood plummets and you begin to feel like a fricken idiot as you sit side by side, watching the stars of Mondstadt

And you don’t notice it but you accidentally placed your hand on top of his and at first you’re like eyes wide and heart beating fast, but then you hear Diluc sigh and he’ll shift your hand the other way so he ends up with his hand laid gently over yours and occasionally he’ll brush his thumb over your knuckles and there you go, you have your answer ;)

Leon and Raihan under the cut:

Leon:

Leon is easy to please. At first, Leon is taken aback and gets flustered by your show but eventually he will settle and calm down and Leon will think this is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever done for him in his life and will spend the entire duration holding his cap in his hands, soaking in your song, with his eyes closed. 

And when you’re finished, he’ll reopen his eyes, grin and clap before heading over to you and you’ll notice that he’s blushing and he will tell you shyly that he likes you too so your feelings are reciprocated. Leon is so straightforward, he will tell you how much he enjoyed your surprise and how happy he is

he appreciates things like these because they hold more value to him and also they’re unique, special memories to him. Also, it’s all about the experience.

He’ll want to know how much work and effort you put into this and you know he is sincerely grateful by your hardwork. Most likely he will return the favour in the future

You’ll spend the rest of the night cuddling together and he’ll let his Pokemon out so they’re also included

He’ll always remember this day and will think back with a fond smile

Raihan:

I can’t remember if there are waterfalls in Galar but you managed to find this sweet spot and got everything ready and when Raihan strolled in at the right time, you’re like ACTION! and start your song and Raihan stops in his pace and stares wide-eyed at you

This guy will be so surprised by your....well, surprise, that he’ll whip out his Rotom phone and record you. He’ll record it all. 

Then when you’re finished, he’ll be like cheering and cooing over you, telling you that was so adorable and how happy he is. He’s really flattered and love the amount of effort and energy/time you put into doing this for him

He’ll respond by sweeping you off your feet and lifting you in his arms - careful of your ukulele of course - and he’ll hug you so tightly that you almost disappear into his hoodie and then he’ll smother you with appreciative but passionate kisses because he likes you a lot too!

You’ll spend the remainder of the evening eating and laughing and he will take photos - lots and lots of photos. Photos of the food, selfies, him/you with his pokemon

Also, Raihan will be re-watching the video of you singing over and over again until you get annoyed/embarrassed by your own singing voice

PS he will also play this on your anniversary for many years to come

[askteamspirit]

"So what made you reach out now?"

Azura took a second to wipe his eyes, gathering his thoughts. At least for now, the hard part was over. But now he had to explain himself

“It, uh kinda has to do with why I left in the first place” he started, eyes flicking away for just a second as if hesitant to bring that up again. “Did you…. Notice anyone strange pop up in the days or weeks afterwards asking questions? A Goodra, Typhlosion, or Dragonair?”

Kai racked his brain trying to remember. He hadnt been in a good headspace in those days, but….

“Hold on, were you involved in something shady? Or just get mixed up in something we didnt know about??” Kai asked, concerned, his tail swishing a bit behind him

“N-no, nothing like that, at least, not really." He swallowed, again gathering his thoughts. Truthfully this was the first time he’d be telling anyone about this, about everything; even Rax and Zephyr hadnt had the chance to ask questions between the attack and him leaving.

Even thinking about the events still felt wrong, as if speaking about it would somehow bring teridax himself back from the dead to attack again.

“It’s… the reason I left home, and eventually made my way here. Their group tore my hometown apart. We never saw them coming and I still dont know why. I-I was the only one who-“ he stopped himself. His breathing had gotten erratic.

For the briefest second Kai would have seen his eyes flicker away to something other than their familiar iridescent shades.

After a second to compose himself, he spoke again.

That night I... lost control. Of that thing you saw my last day here. I hurt the leader bad enough to get away, but in the long run, it put a target on my back. So when I snapped again, with you there to see it, I just… I had to leave. I didnt want them to hurt you or Leon”

Azura stepped towards the wall to their side, leaning on it for support as though telling that story had physically drained him.

“But now… I dont have to be afraid of them anymore…. Theyre gone”

Kai, having followed beside him, remained silent, this new information about where Azura had come from, and what had transpired since he left sinking in

"G…gone? So you…?" His words caught in his throat. Kai had been in his share of dangerous fights but even now he hadn't ever...killed anyone. admittedly he was still afraid of doing it.

“Well, the Dragonair got taken in by Magnezone. As for The Typhlosion and a Charizard, new To their gang I think, well, we don’t really know what happened. Something in Infernape pass got the typhlosion, and the Charizard disappeared without a trace. And the Leader...”

He paused, arriving at the question he’d been avoiding. Part of him wanted to say he didnt because Teridax’s insistence on attack brought it on himself, or that he would have avoided it if he could. But as willing to lie to himself as he was

He wasnt willing to do it to Kai

“Yeah... I-I killed Teridax”

Another moment of silence followed

"It must have been hard, but...with everything they did I think you saved a lot of people's lives in the future. you're a hero Azura. I'm proud of how much you've grown"

The Zangoose pulled his arm back before turning fully towards Azura "So....is that still something you don't have control of? the dragon thing?"

“Well, I think I’ve gotten a better handle on it at least. Not having that bottled up anymore helps, but”

“I have to work myself up to use it, and I don't quite… feel like myself. It’s kind of uncomfortable actually. So I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about it, or even using it”

Kai's couldn't help but feel concerned at all Azura had been through that he’s never known about. That he was still going through. But at least, for now, he was here.

"So long as you're safe, I'm not ready to have ya disappearing on me again ya know."

“Y-yeah, I’m never gonna do that again.” The smeargle promised. “I’m even gonna be here all week, so we have plenty if time to catch back up!” He continued, now feeling like, all things settled, he could look forward to this time together

Kai, on the other hand, could feel his heart sink, if only a little.part of him foolishly wanted him to stay forever with him again but....he knew that couldn't be the case.

"You know....It'll be hard once you go again...but at least this time I know where ya are...and that you're safe....that we’re okay.

"I'll have to come by there and visit you sometime, you have to show me the new friends you've made, the whole town!" He said, cheering himself right back up. Things probably wouldn't be the same, but that didn't have to mean there weren't still things to look forward to, or to be happy about

Seeing Kai’s cheerful disposition return brought a smile to the smeargle's own face “Oh, yeah! The guys back home are great! You’ll get along with em just fine!” He couldn't help but snicker as he added; “But, uh, you might be the kinda guy Zephyr ends up wanting to fight. It’s a compliment, though, I promise.”

The zangoose's ears perked up at the mention of a fight "Sounds like even more reason to visit"

Opening his eyes again, something caught Kai’s attention. He wasnt entirely sure how he’d missed them till now, being to preoccupied by Azura just being there, maybe, but….

They looked pristine. Almost the same as they had when Kai had first given them to him

"You still held on to these old things, huh. I'm glad...I probably woulda kicked your ass a bit if you had lost them~"

Kai smiled down at his old friend, reaching out to grab his hand

“Well, then, if you’re only gonna be here for a week, we should get going!”

[honeyycorpse]

Lost n Found (Kuzusouda fic)

   Fuyuhiko couldn't find Kazuichi that day. He was no where to be seen. Which was unusual for his boyfriend, the taller male would want to follow the other like a lost puppy most of the time, often showing up at Fuyuhiko's dorm door when he's not working in his room or the shop the school has for his talent.

   "Peko, have you seen Kaz? I haven't seen him all day and he won't answer my texts." Fuyuhiko had almost startled Peko mid practice with the question. He had been sitting watching his sibling as they trained but hadn't brought up his reasoning to be around Peko so much that day. Peko knew he had a lot on his mind though.

   The silver haired one set down their bamboo sword, "My apologizes but I have not. Have you asked Ibuki or maybe Leon from the 78th class?" Fuyuhiko shook his head.

   "I'll go find them and maybe ask around on the way, thanks Peko." Peko nodded, "Just keep me updated."

   Fuyuhiko passed by many in the hallways on his way to where Ibuki usually would hang around. The hall monitor with crimson eyes, a short female with blonde hair along side a taller female being a shy stutter bug as usual, even the robot and his detective boyfriend but none would be Kazuichi.

   Entering the dimly light music room, the Yakuza already knew Ibuki was in here from the sound of her odd music filling his ears. He saw a swift figure on the stage and another still frame sitting in a chair in front of the bold stage. Fuyuhiko flicked on the lights to illuminate the rest of the music room.

   "AH! Who turned on the sun!" The music's cut was unpleasant and there was a sight of Ibuki rubbed their eyes with the palms of her hand. The other female was Miu Iruma who, coincidently, was another one of Kazuichi's friends. She also rubbed her eyes to adjust to the sudden burst of light.

   "My bad, I just came to ask a quick question." Fuyuhiko didn't plan on staying long as he leaned against the door frame.

   "Ooohhh Mr. Yakuza coming to ask a question! Well spill away virgin!" Miu's mascara was smudged due to her frequent eye rubbing, and if it wasnt for the comment, Fuyuhiko would have actually told her.

   "Have either of you seen Kazuichi at all today? I haven't been able to find him."

   Ibuki put a finger to her chin to insinuate they were thinking, "Oh- Ibuki is sorry! They haven't seen Kazuichi since dinner yesterday!"

   Miu also tried giving it a thought, Fuyuhiko had no faith she knew something until she said, "Nah I haven't seen the twerp today but I saw him talking to Leon yesterday before the nighttime announcement. Don't know what they were talking about or if you knew."

   Fuyuhiko didn't know, but It's almost confirmed now Leon had been the last to see Kazuichi. The Yakuza gave Kazuichi a goodnight kiss a little after dinner because he was going to bed early. Fuyuhiko thanked the two and turned back off the lights. He knew he needed to find Leon soon.

   The blonde first peered outside a window from the second floor at a good spot to where Leon would be practicing baseball. To no avail, Fuyuhiko instead tried to remember people other than Kazuichi, Leon surrounds himself with. He sooned realized the hall monitor he saw earlier was seen around Leon sometimes. Fuyuhiko rushed back down to the first floor to find the man, he quickly sped walked throughout the hallways, peeking into classrooms to make sure he wasn't in any. Turning the corner sharply, he began to pick up his pace, he didn't know when his heart began to race but his thoughts were soon torn from him as he heard a loud,

   "Slow down!! You cannot run in the halls!!"

   Fuyuhiko stopped instantly and whipped around and was faced to face with the who he was looking for at the time, Kiyotaka Ishimaru.

   "I was looking for you that's why!"

   "You ran in the halls to come find me? You could have done the same thing without running!" Kiyotaka shot.

   The Yakuza rolled his eyes, "Whatever, have you seen Leon? I need to talk to him."

   Kiyotaka tapped his foot, he obviously knew something, "This will not turn into a fight will it? I will not inform you about Leon's whereabouts if you're out to get physical!"

   Fuyuhiko was getting frustrated already with the taller man, as he always did, "No you idiot! I'm just trying to find my fucking boyfriend!"

   "Kazuichi? The one with the garish outfits?!"

   "Yeah that would be him." Fuyuhiko huffed. Taka let out a big laugh as he always does, "Ah! You should have just said so! Leon is with chihiro in the greenhouse! Chihiro may not be there anymore though.." Fuyuhiko let out a sigh of relief and mumbled a slight thank you. Before Kiyotaka could say anything, the blonde bolted up the stairs as fast as he could.

   He didn't notice how much he had started to worry about Kazuichi, even though it wasn't like him to go a whole day without talking or even seeing Fuyuhiko, Kazuichi has disappeared a couple times after being mad at his boyfriend. Though, Fuyuhiko couldn't recall him ever doing anything to piss off or upset the pink haired man recently. Maybe Kazuichi was instead having a bad day, wanting to be left alone and deal with whatever it was by himself. That wasn't uncommon for him either.

   What broke Fuyuhiko out of his thoughts this time was a tap on his shoulder. He hadn't even made it into the greenhouse so the sight of Leon Kuwata was a surprise as he turned around.

   Leon rubbed the back of his neck, "Man I knew you'd come looking for me. Can't find Kazuichi can you?"

   "Don't make it sound so fucking ominous! Just tell me where he is!" Fuyuhiko barked, clamping his fists shut.

   Leon took a step back, "Wow chill man! He's in the greenhouse but he told me to guard it for him so no one will go in to bother him,, but he doesn't seem too good so if he gets pissed you got in just tell him to blame it on me." Leon shuffled over to unlock the doors to the greenhouse, "He really needs you, man. Even if he doesn't admit it."

   Fuyuhiko took a peek inside the greenhouse and looked back towards Leon, "Thanks." Leon nodded and shut the door behind the blonde.

   The Yakuza didn't see anyone at first but as he began turned the corner of the giant plants stationed in the middle of the greenhouse, he heard a small sniffle. He stopped, and peer around the corner and there he was. Kazuichi Souda.

   Leon was right when he said Kazuichi didn't seem too good. Kazuichi's back was facing where Fuyuhiko stood, but the sight was just....sad. His beanie was across from him, assumed to be thrown with how disheveled it looked, his slouch from sitting on the floor was worse than usual, his hair seemed unkempt and tattered, not even his jumpsuit was tied in the front like he would always do when he was too hot, it was instead displayed across the cold floor. The most noticeable feature of disarray from Kazuichi, was the small sobs and whimpers that left him. Fuyuhiko knew he couldn't leave Kazuichi alone like this.

   "Kaz?" Fuyuhiko's voice was calm and quiet but Kazuichi still jumped and whipped around. Kazuichi didn't even get to respond as a hoard of tears streamed down his face and he ran to hug Fuyuhiko. The vaster sobbed into his boyfriend's shoulder. Fuyuhiko wrapped his arms around Kazuichi and began to rub his back, trying to calm him with light "Shh"s and "It's okay"s.

   The blonde was able to set Kazuichi in his lap, on the rough floor once again as his lover began to calm down. Fuyuhiko tried his best to brush and play with Kazuichi's hair without accidentally pulling at it and disturbing the boy. He used his other hand to rub soothing circles around Kazuichi's back under his tank top.

   "You wanna talk about it?" The blonde whispered, still holding Kazuichi close to him. Fuyuhiko saw the tears fall from Kazuichi's eyes as he blinked tears away, he waited for a response with patience.

   He soon felt the pink haired boy shift and sit up, wiping his tears from his eyes and shaking his head, "Not...not right now.." He avoided eye contact with his lover.

   Fuyuhiko nodded, "Whenever you're ready to talk I'm here to listen, Babe." He placed a kiss on Kazuichi's cheek, "I love you."

   "Thank you..I love you too.."

[mfb-better-fury]

Episode 2

Day

The boy from the observatory is exiting an airport on his quest to find Gingka by going to the WBBA headquarters. He momentarily stops to wonder if he should go elsewhere, but his musing is cut off as Johannes appears, forcing him into a bey battle. (Beat Lynx VS Mercury Anubius) Feeling outmatched, the boy decides to flee, but Johannes catches him easily.

Determined to find Gingka and share what he knows, the boy makes an escape by knocking numerous crates and boxes over.

At the WBBA, Kyoya is asleep in a bedroom with the new Leone sitting on the nightstand next to him.

Out in the hall, the others are gathered, having been joined by Hikaru. Gingka, Kenta, and Madoka are beginning to question Benkei about Kyoya’s condition. He is uncomfortable with this but admits there’s no point in hiding it anymore.

Shortly after the events of Battle Bladers, he had started noticing Kyoya acting somewhat strangely. Kyoya had denied anything was wrong at first, but after about a month he’d shown up out of the blue looking shaken. He’d then confided in Benkei that he was beginning to hear a dark voice in his mind. Obviously this concerned Benkei, and this worry only grew when Kyoya added it had gotten clearer over the past few days. He could now tell that it had latched on to his desire to defeat Gingka and was driving him to want more – to destroy him and Pegasus completely. Convinced this had to be L-Drago’s doing, the two of them had reached out to Hikaru and Tsubasa.

At the mention of her, the trio looks at Hikaru in surprise; she refuses to meet their eyes. She admits that what Benkei says is true – she and Tsubasa both had known about Kyoya’s issues all along. The three of them along with Benkei had decided to keep it all a secret so as to not worry anyone, though as they all knew from the World Championships that had not worked out with Tsubasa.

Madoka hesitantly starts to ask something but keeps faltering. Hikaru answers the unasked question – she’s never heard voices, exactly. For her it was a cold, crushing feeling when she launched Aquario, and nightmares when she slept. She is not eager to talk about this and quickly moves back to the topic of Kyoya.

Hikaru and Benkei explain that the reason Kyoya had distanced himself from them all after Battle Bladers was because of this voice, as he didn’t want to put them in harm’s way. Once it was loud enough that he couldn’t disobey it, however, costing him his spot in the Japanese representative team, he had decided that the only way to be free was to sate it. To do that, he had to find another way into the tournament so that he would be able to face Gingka. This is why he disappeared and formed Wild Fang.

Kenta asks if Nile and Demure know; Benkei solemnly confirms. Just as Benkei had found Kyoya with them, the dark power had spiked as it was realizing it would have a chance to face Gingka now that Kyoya was in an opposing team. It took all three of them to calm Kyoya and Benkei had confessed everything to them. There had been many more spikes during the championships, including one just before the press conference with Chandora. After they had snapped Kyoya out of it he wasn’t fit to attend, so they had sent Benkei as a way to cover their tracks and make sure no one knew something was wrong. Benkei adds with a sad smile that he is and forever will be grateful beyond words for them standing by Kyoya’s side, rather than running away to save themselves.

Gingka, Kenta, and Madoka are worried into silence from hearing all this. Hikaru sees this and assures them it’s not their fault and they shouldn’t feel like it is. As it is now, Tsubasa has broken free, and her nightmares are starting to dwindle. Benkei adds that this is the first time Kyoya has erupted like that since just after the World Championships, meaning it’s been a few months and they see this as great progress.

Even so, Gingka can’t stop himself from commenting that if he had been able to stop L-Drago when Ryuga had first reawakened, none of this would have happened to them in the first place. However, he let Pegasus’ anger about Ryo’s supposed death take control of him. He looks at the bey sadly. Benkei, Kenta, and Madoka remember the strange red aura that had surrounded him back then. Kenta says he had always wondered what exactly that was, and it makes sense that it would have been from Pegasus given the circumstances.

Hikaru is unable to provide Gingka with reassurance, not knowing what to say. She simply reaffirms that it is not his fault, no matter what he thinks.

After an awkward silence, Hikaru says she’s going to check on Kyoya and heads into the bedroom. Benkei watches her go; when Madoka asks if he’s going to follow he says no. Though he will follow Kyoya to the ends of the earth and fight by his side forever, this is one thing that Hikaru is better suited for than he is. He takes out Dark Bull to look at sadly, saying that it is all he can do to simply keep Kyoya from hurting anyone because he knows Kyoya would never be able to forgive himself if that happened.

The others are quiet for a moment before Kenta notices something and asks what happened to Bull. Benkei is caught off guard and tries to evade the question, but as he does so Bull is shown more clearly – it is rather heavily damaged.

Madoka cries out in alarm at this and demands to know what happened, before stopping herself as she remembers how Benkei had stopped the new Leone from hitting Pegasus, then proceeded to battle it. She realizes that Benkei has been going against Kyoya during these dark power spikes for months and feels horrible that she hadn’t thought to ask to check on Bull and Leone after the World Championships.

Benkei quiets her, saying that while he may not have the best tools like her or access to a bunch of new parts, he is still fully capable of taking care of his bey. During the World Championships, and even before that in the days of the Facehunters, he was the one who would clean and repair his teammates’ beys so they could continue to battle. This surprises them all as they hadn’t realized Benkei had this skill.

Even with this reassurance, Madoka begs him to let her give Bull a thorough repair while they try to figure out what’s going on with Leone. After looking at Bull again and thinking to himself that there is only so much he can do, and Bull has given him so much strength protecting Kyoya, Benkei relents on the condition that she allows him to help. Madoka agrees to this compromise.

In the WBBA bedroom, Hikaru is sitting in a chair close to the bed when Kyoya stirs. She is relieved to see him awake, but he doesn’t respond. His only action is to quickly look around then pick up Leone from where it sits.

After a lengthy silence, Hikaru gently tells Kyoya that Madoka would like to watch the new Leone in battle so they can try to learn more about it. Kyoya turns away at this. After another pause, Hikaru comes to a decision and leans forward a bit to say: “What if…”

Later in the day, the group along with Ryo is gathered in the multi-stadium arena in town. Kyoya and Hikaru aren’t present, making Ryo wonder what made them late when Hikaru was the one who told them Kyoya was ready to do the test battles and they should meet here. Though Kenta worries something may have happened to Kyoya, Benkei assures them that the two likely took a detour so that Kyoya could better clear his head before facing them. He then asks that they not bring up the incident, revealing one more thing – Kyoya hardly remembers anything that happens when the dark power spikes. The others are startled, but Ryo promises to keep quiet at least for now.

Moments later, Kyoya and Hikaru arrive. Hikaru apologizes for being late and explains they had needed to stop to pick something up. Kyoya says nothing and is clearly avoiding meeting their eyes. Due to his silence, Hikaru adds that Kyoya’s ready to get things started.

Benkei immediately offers to be Kyoya’s opponent, but Madoka shuts him down. She reminds him that Bull needs to be looked at and he should not battle until that has been done.

Gingka clenches his fists at his side and holds his tongue. Though he wants to help, he is certain that it would be a bad idea for Kyoya to battle him again so soon after what happened.

Kenta begins to offer to battle, but this time Hikaru denies it. She instead asks him to hold her tablet, then explains that Kyoya will be battling against her. Everyone else but Kyoya is shocked at this and Ryo asks if she’s certain. She responds by saying that it will be good for the both of them, then begins to head down to the stadiums without another word; Kyoya follows.

As they watch Hikaru and Kyoya take their places, Madoka expresses her concerns about Hikaru battling in a tournament-level stadium for the first time since Battle Bladers. Ryo is watching silently, hoping Hikaru knows what she’s doing.

Hikaru takes a moment to look at her launcher, then readies it. Kyoya only stares at her for a moment before speaking at last: “Are you sure?” The concern on his face is just as clear as it is on the others’ and Hikaru’s apparent confidence falters slightly. Her launcher lowers for a moment, but she then takes a deep breath and lifts it again. Her response: “I trust you, Kyoya.”

Her words hit, and Kyoya readies his launcher. In her mind, Hikaru reminds herself of something she has always been sure of: No matter what has happened to him, Kyoya is their friend. He would never hurt her.

The two count down and they both have a successful launch, which Ryo is happy to see. Madoka begins the analysis of the new Leone as it and Storm Aquario begin a steady but lighthearted battle. (? Leone VS Storm Aquario) Though troubled by everything that has been happening since yesterday, Gingka is relieved as he watches Hikaru slowly begin to relax and let herself get into it.

Outside in a park, the boy from the observatory hasn’t been able to shake Johannes. He’s now walking backward to keep an eye on Lynx but is flung back after a hard attack. Struggling to sit up the boy calls Johannes a bully; Johannes claims it’s not personal, just his job. He then calls for Lynx and the explosion knocks the boy further away. His cries call the attention of someone passing by, who considers the situation for a moment before turning in their direction.

As the boy tries to get a hold of himself, Johannes is snickering and saying that he should just give up now and go back home. Shaky and scared though he is, the boy refuses; Johannes tsks and says he tried to warn him before sending Lynx in for a finishing move. Before the attack can connect, they hear the call of someone launching their bey. Lynx is knocked away from Anubius as Storm Capricorn enters the battle, bouncing all over. Startled, the boy looks back in the direction the bey came from.

Tobio is still holding his launcher and muses aloud that he’s all about taking down a target, but there’s no point in a battle where the opponent has already lost their fighting spirit.

After a brief delay of confusion, the boy recognizes Tobio from Battle Bladers. He then hesitates because as he recalls, Tobio had entered as a member of the Dark Nebula. Then, out loud, he realizes something more important: “You know Mr. Gingka!”

Tobio acknowledges and agrees with this statement, to which the boy continues that he desperately needs to speak to Gingka as soon as possible. As Tobio gets a better look at the boy he finds that he looks somewhat familiar and wonders if he’s seen him in Gingka’s crew before. He decides it’s not important at the moment and turns his attention back to Johannes, telling him that if he wants a challenge then he and Capricorn will gladly oblige. Johannes watches Capricorn’s movements and the way it’s hitting Lynx for a few seconds, then hisses that this has become too annoying and calls his bey back. He takes off before either Tobio or the boy can say anything.

Tobio calls back Capricorn then turns to the boy, asking how he knows Gingka. The boy confesses that he’s never met Gingka but his cousin is often with him. This intrigues Tobio and he internally recalls that he hasn’t been able to pay Gingka and his friends back for helping him repair his, Ryutaro’s, and Tetsuya’s beys after Doji had made them battle Ryuga. As he looks at the boy again, he realizes why he looks familiar – he reminds Tobio of “what’s-her-face...Madoka”. He doesn’t remark on this yet, just tells the boy to call back his bey and they’ll go somewhere that he can get patched up. The boy watches him for a moment in silence before nodding, though he’s clearly wary.

In the arena, both Kyoya and Hikaru have managed to gain their footing. There is still clear hesitation in Hikaru’s calls to her bey, but she has started to smile. Kyoya has started to come out of his silence as well, though he is still fairly subdued.

Ryo observes that Leone is quite clearly much stronger than before and asks if Madoka has made any headway. She nods and begins to talk about her findings – Leone’s fusion wheel has been separated into a core and a frame, and if they rearrange these pieces, different modes are now possible to achieve. By flipping Leone’s fusion frame, Kyoya will unlock a counter mode instead of his typical defense. This is why after evolving, Leone’s hits had gained so much sudden power. In counter mode, Leone would be considered an attack type bey. On the other hand, if the fusion frame is flipped right-side-up, Kyoya should still be able to access defense-type features as per normal.

The others are impressed, but Gingka still wonders what caused the transformation in the first place. Ryo agrees with this and asks Benkei if he can remember anything strange happening before the battle took place. Madoka adds that he should share anything even if it seems insignificant.

After some thought, Benkei confesses that he may know something, though he’s not sure if it’s important. The night before last, he and Kyoya were training in Wolf Canyon. After Dark Bull was knocked out their training was interrupted by a light headed straight for Kyoya, now holding Leone. Once the light had faded and they could see again, Leone was left dimly gleaming and both bladers were confused as to what had just happened. He finishes with how since it had happened so quickly he assumed he must have just dreamed it.

Ryo is bewildered by the mention of “a light that fell from the sky” but Madoka remembers that she had seen the same kind of light pass by her window as she was working on Pegasus that same night. She then pauses and seems to contemplate something, murmuring about lights from the sky and wondering why that sounds familiar, though the others don’t hear this.

As for the battle, Hikaru has started to realize that although she is shaking, it doesn’t feel like the same cold fear that usually takes her over. No – this is excitement. She can’t remember the last time she felt this way. After taking a breath and clenching her fist, she thinks to herself that this is what she’s missed so much. Words from her mother, not from when she was a child but far more recently, pass through her mind: “At the end of the day, what beyblade is meant to be is a game. Taking it too seriously will take out any enjoyment you could get from it, and then what’s the point of battling at all?”

Hikaru knows she’s been letting her fear control her. For a while, she was too shattered to try and do anything about it. Now though, as she looks across at Kyoya who is still not quite himself, and down at Aquario which she can hear singing with the excitement of being active once again, she knows that just like Kyoya and Tsubasa have had to do, it’s her time to fight her fears.

As Kyoya is mentally noting Aquario’s attacks don’t seem to be very effective against the new Leone, Hikaru calls out and catches his attention. He finds her standing taller than she has in a long time, and she asks if he’d like to see if he can still take hits as well as he can dish them out. After a surprised pause, he manages a small smirk and wonders if she’s up to the challenge.

Hikaru tells Aquario that it’s time they let loose and have some fun, then calls for Infinite Assault. Aquario’s duplication technique goes into full effect, surrounding Leone and barraging him from all sides like waves crashing onto the shore of a small island. Noting that Leone is hardly bothered, Kyoya asks if that’s the best she’s got. Hikaru answers that she’s not done yet and she’ll make Leone lose its footing no matter what; her blader’s spirit has begun to rise around her for the first time in months. Kyoya tells Leone to stay steady; Hikaru tells Aquario not to hold back.

A pulse runs through the real Aquario, unnoticed. Before anyone can really process it, Hikaru’s spirit explodes and the stadium is engulfed in white light.

[cobaltusami]

Tropical Vacation pt. 1

Hey hi hello! So I'm going to be starting to post the 50 follower special over the course of this week, I have proof read 10,000 words worth of writing so hopefully by the time I have all the parts already written posted, I'll have the rest of it done or almost done!

There aren't any real tickles In this part because I was setting up for the rest of the story, but there's a close encounter near the end. Next part will have lots of tickles!

Characters In this part: Makoto, Leon, Mondo, Chihiro, Taka, Sakura, Hina, Hiro, Celeste, Kyoko

Words: 1,944

PT 1: [You are here.], PT 2: [Click here.]

It was a normal day In Hope’s peak academy-- If there was ever such a thing. The students were gathered In the dining hall eating breakfast as they normally do and chatting amongst themselves.

The energy was pretty calm today, Hiro cheerfully pointed out upon arriving, only to be told not to jinx them.

But alas, all good things must come to an end.

“Hey, do you hear something?” Makoto asked hesitantly. Kyoko nodded and closed her eyes momentarily, focusing on the odd sound.

“It sounds like… Ocean waves.” She concluded, her lavender eyes scanning the room curiously.

“Ocean waves? Why would we be hearing the ocean?” Makoto pondered aloud.

“Hina, Is that not what It sounds like to you?” Kyoko asked the swimmer, who had perked up at the mention of the ocean.

“You’re totally right! I hear It too!” She agreed.

Leon looked to his left where a speaker was attached to a support beam. “It’s coming from over here. Don’t tell me, Monokuma…” he trailed off with a heavy sigh.

As if he were Beetlejuice and his name had been mentioned 3 times, a wild Monokuma appeared from out of seemingly nowhere. “I thought you students might benefit from a change in scenery! I wouldn’t want you getting TOO depressed, You might get too depressed to kill anyone!”

The whole room heaved a collective sigh. “For the last fuckin’ time, We aren’t going to kill one another! So you can go fuck yourself!” Mondo snapped.

“But Robots don’t have the right parts for that!” Monokuma retorted, looking dejected. “How could you be so cruel? Pointing out my insecurities like that…”

“Yeah yeah, This Is great banter and all but--” Leon wasn’t about to sit through another hour of Mondo and Monokuma going back and forth, not after the last time. “What the hell do you mean, ‘Change of scenery’?”

“Good question, Kirishima!” Monokuma responded. “Oh, Whoops, Wrong series!”

“Has Monokuma finally lost it?” Hiro whispered. “What’s he talking about? Series?”

“I dunno... Did Monokuma ever have It to begin with, Man?” Leon whispered back.

“Anyway!” Monokuma cleared his nonexistent throat. “I thought I would liven your surroundings up with some ambience for a while, What do you think? Pretty realistic huh? You can practically feel the ocean breeze right?”

Makoto exchanged glances with Kyoko, not trusting this little shit for a second. “That’s It?”

“What? Were you expecting more?” Monokuma asked, tilting his head.

“There’s not going to be like a shark In the pool or anything… Right? This is it?” Hina asked hesitantly.

“Don’t give him ideas.” Makoto said, exasperated.

“Eh? Why would I do that? I want you to kill each other, Not become shark bait!” The bear retorted. “If you don’t believe me, go check around the school. I don’t have time to explain my feng shui to you, I have places to be!”

As abruptly as he appeared, He disappeared In an annoyed huff. Leaving the dining hall confused.

“So, Does everyone else think he’s using paranoia as a motive again or Is It just me?” Leon asked in a deadpan tone, a few students nodded in agreement.

“I for one would welcome a change in pace! Perhaps he is legitimately concerned for our mental health!” Taka spoke up. “We should absolutely check out the school after breakfast to see what’s changed!”

“T-Taka… Bro…” Mondo sighed. “Monokuma don’t give a shit about us, This Is obviously a trick.”

“What did he mean by that?” Chihiro asked quietly. “He has places to be?”

“He was probably just bullshitting us as usual.” Leon replied.

Kyoko hummed quietly, skeptical. She had also caught that unusual dialog line.

“Let us finish breakfast and then go look around.” Celeste suggested, taking a sip of her tea.

Everyone agreed and the energy of the room returned to It’s previous lightheartedness.

Upon exiting the room afterwards, the students noticed inflatable palm trees and random piles of sand scattered across the common area.

Makoto stared at the ‘decor’ In awkward silence, there’s no way it could be this harmless… right?

“It appears as though Monokuma really did do some redecorating…” Kyoko hummed thoughtfully, though not fully convinced of the remodel either.

“It’s…” Hina trailed off, an inflatable Monokuma wearing a grass skirt catching her eye.

“Tacky?” Leon suggested, kicking one of the Monokuma decorations out of his way.

She eyed a giant inflatable flamingo as she replied. “Kind of cute? I mean, At least It’s different.”

“Different, It certainly Is…” Sakura mumbled, sticking by Hina’s side just in case any of these inflatable beach toys decided to spring to life like Monokuma and try to attack the Swimmer.

“I think It looks fuckin’ stupid!” Mondo scoffed.

“Not just that, Monokuma has completely made a mess with all of this sand everywhere!” Taka seemed more outraged about the mess than the ominous looming threat.

“Sakura-- Look at that!” Hina pointed excitedly at a massive flamingo floaty. You could literally fit multiple people on it. “It’s so cute! I’m so gonna put this in the pool!”

“Hina, What do you need an inflatable this large for?” Sakura sighed. “You don’t even use them.”

“So that we can both chill on it together and pretend we’re at the beach, Duh!” Hina giggled, The martial artist couldn’t help but smile and shake her head at that.

She was about to say something in response but felt something light land on her head, She instinctively grabbed it and inspected it. It was a pink lei. “What the… Where did this come from?”

“The fuck?” Mondo grabbed a blue lei off of his shoulder.

Hina perked up as a yellow lei landed in her hands. She looked up in the direction It came from to see Chihiro standing atop a massive duck floaty that was similar in size to the flamingo. In their hands they had several more lei’s.

“Chihiro, where did you find those? These are so cute!” Hina squealed, happily putting the lei on.

Chihiro giggled. “I found them sitting in a box next to the door.” They replied, smiling.

Sakura and Mondo both looked up at Chihiro in silence for a moment as they both processed what they were looking at. But once they did…

“CHI!” Mondo yelled, alarmed.

“Chihiro!” Sakura gasped.

“Y-Yeah?” Chihiro asked meekly, startled by the unusual reaction from their friends.

“What are you doing up there??”

“Get down from there right now before ya fall and hurt yourself!”

“What are they now, Chihiro’s parents?” Leon asked, exasperated.

“I mean, If I had to pick anyone here to be my parents, I’d pick these two.” Makoto chuckled quietly.

Chihiro frowned and went to climb off of the duck’s head but they stumbled and squeaked as they went crashing towards the floor.

Mondo dove for the small programmer but Sakura had already seen they were gonna fall so she had taken off in their direction.

Sakura managed to catch them in her arms but didn’t anticipate Mondo also diving for them, she figured Mondo would have seen she was already on it but evidently not.

Mondo ended up colliding with Sakura and the two went tumbling to the floor, luckily Chihiro hadn’t been collateral because Sakura had just put them down.

“OW FUCK!”

“Ugh…”

Leon and Hiro both cracked up laughing at the two, but quickly stopped when Taka and Hina sent them death glares.

Mondo laid there, winded. His upper half was draped across Sakura, She had tried to catch him to break his fall but underestimated how much momentum he’d built up and they both ended up hitting the floor a few times whilst they tumbled.

“Oh no! Are you guys okay?!” Chihiro gasped, rushing over to them with teary eyes. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t think anyone would get hurt!”

“Hurt? Who says... we’re hurt?” Mondo tried to put the programmer at ease, mustering up a lopsided grin. “I’m fine, what about you Sakura?”

She was silent for a moment, Most likely also winded from hitting the floor so hard.

“Sakura?” Mondo repeated, pushing himself up off of her, his hand brushing against her side. Her eyes snapped open, suddenly very alert as she jerked upwards into a sitting position.

“Y-Yes. I’m fine too.” She blushed, her arms wrapping around herself self consciously.

Mondo made a confused face. “What’s wrong? Ya hit your head?”

“No, I… Nevermind.”

Chihiro’s face scrunched with confusion too as they replayed what had just happened in their head. Then they realized. “Ohh! I think I know!”

“What Is It?” The Biker asked, turning his head to look at the small student.

“I-It’s nothing. I suppose I’m just a little bit winded from you landing on me.” She said calmly, her face unreadable.

“Well… That could be too…” They mumbled, thinking over It more carefully.

Suddenly, Hina began laughing, as she had apparently figured out what happened. “Oh my god! Mondo! Dude she--”

“Hina!” Sakura interjected quickly, sensing danger. “Don’t even think about It!”

“Will someone just tell me what the fuck is going on!?” Mondo snapped.

“I can’t say It, Because Sakura might kill me If I do.” Hina snickered.

Chihiro sat down next to the Martial artist. “Are you hurt…?” they asked quietly, putting their hand carefully on her side.

She flinched visibly and looked at the small student, blushing. “N-No. I’m fine, Really.” she tried to reassure them. Because she was too busy worrying about Chihiro, she didn’t catch the look of realization across Mondo’s face. Ohhh and the evil grin that followed…

“Sakura, Don’t tell me…” Mondo grinned as the white haired student looked back at him. “Are you ticklish?”

She recognized the almost predatory look in his eyes, and quickly put distance between them by backing up then rising to her feet. “No.” she responded In a serious tone.

Mondo stood up and was slowly advancing towards the slightly nervous woman. “I think you’re lying~”

“Taka!” Sakura said suddenly. “I think Mondo’s bleeding.”

“What!?” Taka was quickly in front of his Kyoudai, checking him for injuries, also effectively standing in his way.

“Wh-what? No-- Taka I’m fine! She’s tricking you!” Mondo stammered, incredulous that Taka would fall for such an obvious trick.

“Trick or not, I need to make sure you’re okay!”

This gave Sakura a chance to get away from the biker, sneaking past back to the safety of her room.

Once Taka was sure that Mondo wasn’t bleeding, he backed off. “Ogami! This isn’t fuckin’ over!” He called down the hall in vain.

“I believe It Is!” She called back, Hina was nearly on the floor laughing her ass off.

“S-Sorry Kyoudai…” Taka meekly apologized.

Mondo sighed. “It’s fine. You were just worried.”

Taka was about to say something else but felt a lei being placed around his neck, he looked down at it in surprise. It was red to match his eyes. “Ch-Chihiro?” he stammered, turning around to face the Programmer.

“I saved the red one for you, there was only one in the box and I thought it would look the best on you.” They smiled.

Taka teared up at the kind gesture. “Th-Thank you! I shall treasure this for as long as I shall live!”

Chihiro giggled as they hugged the strict student, making him even more teary as he returned the hug.

“Using Taka against Mondo to escape Is really smart…” Leon said quietly to Makoto and Hiro.

“Yeah, How come we never thought of that?” Hiro replied.

“That would require you all to have a functioning brain in your heads.” Celeste smiled as they gave her pointed looks.

Kyoko smirked at this, apparently agreeing with Celeste’s sentiment.

[lit-in-thy-heart]

Merwainecelot + leaping hug? It sounds a little dangerous now I'm typing it but it is them 🤣

@donttouchtheneednoggle i received this and spared a second to scream before the chaos entered my mind, it is absolutely a little dangerous but that makes it completely plausible, thank you for the prompt! 💖

this is set between s3 and s4 and there is a slight magic reveal?

do i need to say it's under the cut by now? probably not but it is under the cut because i had far too much fun with this...hope you enjoy it! (i promise you there is fluff)

i am working my way through the others but if anyone wants to send a prompt across, i will welcome it!

Squinting against the menacing sun, Lancelot finally dropped Gwaine’s fingers with a deep breath. Of course it made sense to split up and cover more ground, but he couldn’t quite shake the fear of losing a second partner within a period of several days. He knew it was just his fatigue thinking and he forced himself to glance over at Gwaine once more before diverging in his path.

Merlin had been missing for two days and neither Lancelot nor Gwaine had caught a second of sleep since. The other knights had attempted to coax them into a slumber but, each time their eyes closed, the aching absence of Merlin’s body burst all thoughts of peace. They’d both spent hours going over Merlin’s movements, trying to pinpoint precisely where they had lost sight of him. Lancelot ran his fingers through his hair. If they didn’t find Merlin, then it wouldn’t just be him, Gwaine, and their inner circle that would be crushed. It could potentially be the entirety of Camelot. Arthur had inherited a weak strain of Uther’s paranoid streak and, if Merlin didn’t appear – or, worse, he appeared but not in a live state, which didn’t bear thinking about – then the peace treaty certainly would not appear.

Lancelot dropped to the ground, fingers fumbling along a nearby branch. Catching one fingertip on a thorn, he cursed quietly and inspected the damage, mind distracted for one moment of relief. Watching as blood bubbled to the surface, Lancelot pressed his mouth to the small puncture mark. There had been one afternoon, several months ago, where he had done nothing except lounge outside with Gwaine and Merlin, sketching as Gwaine had struggled to sew a new neckerchief for Merlin (Merlin had given them both one as a favour in a melee and Gwaine’s had been hacked to pieces, along with part of his arm) and Merlin had been depriving a branch of hawthorn of its thorns. Lancelot lingered by the tree for several moments more before straightening and running his hands through his hair again.

The forest had been searched countless times by the knights in daylight hours, and by him and Gwaine in the snatches of starlight when Merlin should have been tucked between them, but that didn’t mean that they were going to stop haunting it. If anything, it made Lancelot more determined that Merlin had hidden himself away in some concealed cove until it was safe to venture out. Because as powerful as Merlin was, there was no way that he could simply disappear off the face of the earth. Not without leaving some clue for Lancelot and Gwaine.

At a rustling, Lancelot withdrew his sword and assumed a defensive stance, lowering his weapon as his eyes latched onto a flash of dusty blue, the corners of his mouth hopefully curving. Gwaine stumbled into view. Through the filter of the trees, the sunlight caught his hair and twisted it into threads more valuable than any precious metal. He swiftly moved to Lancelot’s side, hands skimming his shoulders.

‘You haven’t found him yet?’

Lancelot shook his head, one hand moving to push back Gwaine’s hair whilst the other fell to the neckerchief tied around his wrist. He had a matching one, in red, covering the veins that Merlin had traced many times over during stolen seconds when their mouths had met in the shadows. He’d left his mark on both of them, and had then had the audacity to pull away his touch and allow the cold air to come rushing in. As Lancelot buried his fingers in Gwaine’s hair, moulding his palm to the soft curve of the other knight’s scalp, Gwaine pushed his head further into Lancelot’s hand, closing his eyes.

‘It had to be during dinner that he went missing,’ Lancelot said. They were the same words that he’d said time and time again, but he couldn’t think of anything else to do but cover the same ground in the hopes that they’d dropped something along the way. ‘We were all distracted, then, and anyone could have taken him without us noticing.’

Lancelot could feel Gwaine’s head moving against his palm in agreement. ‘Particularly if he had nipped off to restock on wine.’ Biting his lip, Gwaine opened his eyes. ‘You don’t think that he’s still in the castle and just got lost on the way?’

‘No. We’ve searched every nook and cranny of that place. And you can’t get lost for two days.’

With a sigh, Gwaine dropped his forehead so it rested beside Lancelot’s. ‘If you head east, I’ll head north,’ he heavily said.

Pressing a kiss to his mouth to remind himself that Gwaine wasn’t an apparition, Lancelot nodded. ‘If you find him, you know what to do.’

Gwaine dropped a kiss on Lancelot’s temple and departed with his mouth set in a thin line, fingers curled around the pommel of his sword. He would be quite happy to never set eyes on a forest again, although that would mean that he would probably never be able to step outside Camelot’s inner courtyard. The grip on his sword tightened as he kicked through undergrowth, other hand firmly keeping the hair off his forehead. On the afternoon of his disappearance, Merlin had taken the string Gwaine always used to tie back his hair, as well as all of the shirt strings the three of them owned, with the justification that he couldn’t play with Gwaine’s hair if it was constantly tied back. Gwaine hadn’t had the chance to say that he only tied it back around Lancelot and Merlin so he didn’t miss any of the subtle smiles that fell across their faces like the dappled shadows of trees in the breeze.

He supposed he could tie it back with Merlin’s neckerchief, but he wanted a piece of Merlin to remain close to his skin. Elyan had been the one to suggest winding the garment around his wrist, when Gwaine had crashed into his and Percival’s chambers after realising Merlin was missing. As Percival had left to frantically seek out Lancelot, who had already been tearing through the castle in panic, Elyan had taken Gwaine softly in his arms and gradually slowed his shallow breaths with careful words and a firm grip. And then, after Gwaine’s heart had stopped gunning at a hundred miles an hour, Elyan had chastised him for the guilt at not taking action like Lancelot had done. Lancelot, it transpired, had not taken as much action as Gwaine had thought, concealing himself in a cupboard where Percival had found him struggling for breath. Merlin had been the most important constant that they both had, and they’d lost him. And when Percival had tentatively guided Lancelot back to Elyan and Gwaine, the two of them had collapsed into one another with tight grips, as if afraid that the other would also melt into the air. It had taken them several hours to recover, by which point Leon had already headed a patrol and searched the surrounding area. They’d found nothing but a bloodstained rag caught on the branch of a blackthorn, and one graze of Gwaine’s and Lancelot’s fingertips had confirmed that it was from Merlin’s clothes. Gwaine still had that tied around his arm, which he had been told was not necessarily wise, but there were no open wounds on his skin.

Kicking a shrub aside, Gwaine set his jaw and scanned for any scrap of Merlin that he could find. Then, hearing Lancelot scream his name, he dropped the hand holding back his hair and sprinted in the direction of Lancelot’s desperate voice. 

Lancelot had actually been making progress. A delicate river dropped through the forest and, thinking perhaps that there might be several hiding places that they had previously overlooked, he had headed towards the bubbling murmurs that came from the gentle current.

In the glancing gaze of the sun, the surface of the river skittered across the tree trunks with fractured grins and Lancelot had stopped for a moment to readjust his eyes. Consequently, it had taken him a while to spot the figure emerging from the river, and even longer to recognise the features.

Merlin had stepped into the sunlight, dripping with water, and for one awful moment Lancelot had been convinced that Merlin had drowned and this was his spirit returning to condemn Lancelot and Gwaine for not rescuing him. But then Merlin had spoken his name in the only way that life itself could, holding out his hands, and Lancelot had disregarded all fears and leapt straight into his arms.

Between calling Gwaine’s name at the top of his lungs, Lancelot’s hands frantically roamed Merlin’s face, searching for any traces of injury. There were bruises around his throat and dried blood at the top of his head, but nothing seemed too serious. And Merlin hadn’t dropped Lancelot yet, despite the knight’s legs being wrapped around his waist, which was a promising sign.

Satisfied that Merlin wasn’t going to keel over, the elation on Lancelot’s face slid away to reveal a stern expression. ‘You could have told us that you were leaving.’

‘Funnily enough, I didn’t have “getting kidnapped” on my to-do list,’ Merlin replied, the fatigue in his eyes shining through as he spoke the fateful word ‘kidnapped’.

‘I meant leaving dinner, but it doesn’t matter now,’ whispered Lancelot, pressing a kiss between Merlin’s eyebrows.

‘Merlin!’

The force with which Gwaine collided with them both, paired with the momentum created as he jumped from the ground, toppled all three of them over and Merlin let out a yelp as he made contact with the damp forest floor, only inches from the perilous edge of the riverbed. Gradually, Lancelot and Gwaine slid from him and established themselves either side of him, drinking in his appearance. Then Gwaine decided to clamber on top of Merlin again and began rigorously running his fingers over Merlin’s body, just as Lancelot had done. Only, this time, his hands found a thin cut on Merlin’s upper arm, where a chunk of his sleeve was missing.

‘What happened?’

Following Gwaine’s gaze, Merlin frowned and prodded the swollen skin around the cut. ‘I’m not sure. Must have caught myself on something when I was being dragged away. Honestly, I don’t understand how word has got out so quickly that Arthur actually values me. He sure as hell doesn’t act like he does when he’s around me.’

Leaving Lancelot to explain the delicate concept of Arthur actually caring about Merlin, Gwaine hastily began to strip off, tossing his armour aside and pulling off his shirt to untie the scrap of Merlin’s clothing that had been retrieved by Leon. Once it was flat in his palm, Gwaine placed it in the gap and slid his gaze over to Lancelot when the material slotted perfectly over Merlin’s cut.

‘Blackthorn.’

At that single word, Lancelot’s eyes snapped up. ‘Fuck.’ Motioning for Gwaine to remove himself from Merlin, Lancelot climbed on top of him instead, hands fluttering around the injury. ‘Did they give you any treatment for this?’

With a frown, Merlin looked between the two knights. ‘No. I didn’t even realise I’d been cut until Gwaine noticed it. I had escape plans on my mind, and then had to try and remember where the castle was. I really wish they had provided us with maps.’

Gwaine, putting his shirt back on – much to Merlin’s dismay – glanced at Lancelot again. ‘Are you going to be able to draw it out, or do I need to find garlic?’

Placing his hands over Merlin’s arm, Lancelot’s brow furrowed. ‘I should be able to draw it out, but it’s going to take a lot.’

‘You can use me, if you need to,’ Gwaine softly said. He drew one of Lancelot’s hands towards him, settling it beneath his shirt and over his heart, his own hand covering the gentle fingers. ‘You can take everything you need.’

‘Um…What are you doing?’ asked Merlin.

‘The long and short of it is, Merlin, that you have been scratched by a blackthorn and if Lancelot doesn’t deal with it then bad things are going to happen very quickly. Lancelot has also not slept for two days so pulling out the infection is going to take a lot of out him if he does it alone. So he can draw his strength from me. Oh, and I know you have magic. And that you’ve been trying to teach Lancelot how to heal.’ Then with a grin, Gwaine added as an afterthought: ‘Lancelot has been teaching me some stuff, and let’s just say that your and his being aren’t the only things I can set on fire.’

‘That’s—That’s a lot of information to receive in several seconds. And why didn’t you tell me that you knew about my magic?’

‘Because I was waiting for you to trust me enough to tell me yourself,’ Gwaine said, though there was no bitterness in his tone. He knew how prejudiced he had been towards magic, and he couldn’t blame Merlin for being terrified about the reaction if he ever came out with it. There were many things in Gwaine’s past that he hadn’t yet disclosed to either of them for fear of being abandoned. ‘Lance, are you ready?’

‘I’m ready,’ Lancelot quietly responded, closing his eyes and focusing on feeling for the teeth of infection that had sunk into Merlin’s skin.

‘It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you, Gwaine. It was—It was just that I’d already endangered Lancelot by telling him. I couldn’t bear to have two people I love executed. I was trying to protect you.’

Gwaine ran his thumb across Merlin’s forehead. ‘I know, Merlin. I know.’

They lapsed into silence and Merlin closed his eyes, letting himself drift like a feather in the wind between the boundaries of Lancelot’s and Gwaine’s touch. There was a growing warmth in his arm that was reaching uncomfortable temperatures, but he kept his mouth shut, knowing that it meant Lancelot’s trick was working. He’d regretted making the offer of teaching him magic as soon as the words had tumbled loose from his lips, but as much as he’d hated keeping yet another thing from Gwaine, he hadn’t felt able to go back on his word. In the end, though, it had worked out for the best. Lancelot, despite having Merlin as a teacher, had excelled in healing spells – quite how he managed it, Merlin was none the wiser – and as he reflected, the warlock really should have noticed the training injuries on Gwaine’s body that had faded suspiciously quickly overnight. And Gwaine having an accolade for fire spells bore an element of poetic satisfaction as well; just as Lancelot had healed Merlin so long ago with his acceptance, Gwaine was always able to set him beautifully ablaze with love, and Gwaine himself was overflowing with it. Merlin wasn’t entirely certain of what effect he had on them, but they had said over and over that he meant everything to them, so there was definitely something that kept them tethered to him.

Gasping, Lancelot pulled away and promptly fell against Gwaine, his eyes closed. Gwaine himself looked drained, and Merlin wasn’t feeling much better – despite his importance as part of a ransom, his kidnappers hadn’t really put much thought into keeping him healthy over the past couple of days, and he wanted nothing more than to curl up with them both for a week. He sat up and twisted around so he was leaning against them both, relishing the arms that found their way around his body, and he savoured the memory of Lancelot’s weight around his waist when he had clambered out of the river. Placing a hand on their legs, Merlin sent a warm shiver up them both with as much of the energy that he had remaining. It wasn’t exactly healing, but it was a shot of assurance and gratitude, and when he raised his eyes Lancelot and Gwaine were regarding him with identical smiles that illuminated every shadow that fell across their faces.

Then, gradually, Lancelot drew him closer to them, sparks from Gwaine skipping across their interwoven limbs as Merlin was loosely caged by the two people whose fleeting gaze could extinguish the stars, their hearts forming a distinct and harmonious rhythm that was like shy rain on glass.

[starkatana]

So Close

Pokemon Piers x Female Reader (OC)

Summary:

You and Piers confess your feelings for each other but you’re only in the Galar Region for a limited amount of time. What do you two decide to do with your newly professed feelings?

Notes before reading:

Originally from Unova, in Galar for research.

You’re working with Sonia researching dynamaxing pokemon.

You’re full-time job is working at the pokemon nursery, you rehabilitate injured pokemon and you take care of abandon pokemon.

You have a Levanny as your pokemon partner.

AN: I’m back! I’ve been sitting on this forever thinking “why do i always have an OC when writing for different characters, i don’t know” I’m going to post it anyway! Hope you enjoy!

You are at a party in Hammerlocke hosted by Raihan in honor of the new champion because it’s long overdue after the Rose incident and the twins' fiasco. A party was what everyone needed to celebrate and unwind. You’re Sonia's plus one, and once you had a moment by yourself Raihan came over, drink in hand, smug look on his face, “Hey, y/n are you single?” he’s straight to the point, “Asking for a friend.”

Your face immediately gets warm. Your eyes quickly shift over at Piers before looking back at Raihan. As quick of a glance you thought it was to Piers, Raihan noticed, and his smug grin only got bigger. “Piers?” he asks.

“Is that the friend?” you respond.

He simply shrugs in response giving you a playful smile.

You give him an eye-roll and followed by a light shove. Your cheeks are pink with embarrassment and you’re only a tiny bit upset that Raihan was able to read you so easily.

He lets out a laugh, “Don’t be embarrassed.” He reassured, “So you know. He stares at you every time you look away.”

“Why are you telling me this?” As cute as you think Piers is, the thought that he could like you back never crossed your mind. “I don’t think he likes me much at all.”

You’ve been in town for about two weeks now, and every time you are around, he never seemed to be interested in you. He would only talk to you if someone else was already talking to you. When you two got into a conversation, you thought he was just being friendly. There was that time where he invited you to Spikemuth, but he invited everyone, and when you said thanks, he ran off without another word.

Raihan lets out a small laugh, followed by a slight headshake, “I’ve known Piers a long time. As fearless as he is on stage, offstage, he’s shy. Keeps to himself, and never draws any more attention to himself than he needs to.”

For some reason you didn’t believe that, but decided not to push the topic. “Again. Why are you telling me this?”

“because” Raihan sighs, “I’ll say it outright. Piers likes you, and I’m letting you know that he’s not going to make a move. You’ll have to do that.”

You turn to face Raihan, who mirrors you and smiles at you, “He’s a good guy, but he’ll always put everyone’s feelings before his own. He’s focused on getting Marnie set up to take over the Spikemuth gym. So, he’s just going to stare at you from afar and use Marnie as an excuse to come over and talk to you because my poor punk baby is never going to do it himself.”

“Please ask my brother out, y/n.”

You turn around, and Marnie steps up next to you two. “We have to make this conversation fast.” She says, “It’ll only be a matter of time before Piers comes up to join our conversation.” You look over at Piers, who makes eye contact with you, and you look away again, heart beating fast and blush washing over your face.

“I don’t know what you guys are talking about. He doesn’t like me.” You try to lie to yourself. You are only going to be here for three months you live in a different region, even if things went well and things worked out, how long would it last with the long-distance?

Marnie and Raihan roll their eyes sharing a glance.

“Everyone can tell that you two have a thing for each other.” Marnie gestured at you.

“Everyone except you two.” Raihan continued.

You don’t know what to say. All this information was coming so fast.

“And then I whipped out a peace sign saying I would win the next one.” Raihan let out a hearty laugh.

“What’s going on, you guys?” Piers asked as he walked up to your group. “Hey, y/n.”

“Hey, Piers.” You quickly sink into your drink, at the same time trying to shrink into the background to disappear. Now that you knew that he liked you back, you didn’t know how to act around him. Not that you knew before, but definitely not now.

“Raihan was just telling us how he lost to Leon. Again,” Marnie said.

How were these two so good at lying?

“Now, my goal is to defeat Leon AND Gloria.”

“Good luck with that.” Gloria laughed, joining their group as well with Hop and Bede close behind. “These two nincompoops want to duke it out in the stadium, can they Raihan?”

“Oh, hell yeah.” Raihan cheered, “I’ll ref! But first!” he takes his Rotom phone out, “Selfie!” and he brings the group together to snap a picture. It felt purposeful where Marnie took a step forward, giving peace symbols as Hop and Gloria get close to you, pushing you into Piers. You and Piers lock eyes, you feel your face turn bright red while you give him a sheepish smile. He smiles at you in return. When the camera snaps, neither of you were looking at the camera.

“This one’s a keeper!” Raihan said looking at the photo, “Let’s go to the stadium!” Raihan announced to the room. The kids run off with Raihan as they run past you and Piers. Piers instinctively pulls you close as the VIP room empties, leaving you in a daze as to what just happened. You two are some of the few remaining people in the room. You look up at him, and the two of you share a moment where his arms are around you protectively.

“Thanks, Piers.”

“No problem.” He hesitantly lets go of you and pulls at the ring on his choker, “Raihan always manages to get people pumped up for Dynamax battles.”

“It's fascinating.” You say, looking through the window over at the stadium, “I’m just curious what the lasting effects on dynamaxing pokemon are.”

“Is that what you’re working on with Sonia?”

“A little.” You look over at him and catch him looking away from you when Raihan’s words go through your head: He likes you.

“Do you want to watch?” he asked.

You shake your head no, “I’m good after that Swordbert and Shieldbert thing, I’m good without dynamax pokemon for now.”

He nods, “Alright then.”

You suck in a quick breath, you take a shot, “Do you want to get out of here?”

“Sure.” He agrees without any hesitation.

Crap. You didn’t think you’d get this far this fast. “Let’s go to the daycare and see some baby pokemon.”

He gives you a soft smile, “Sounds like fun.”

He orders a Corviknight, and it takes you two to route 5. Not only were you working with Sonia on the lasting effects on Dynamaxing pokemon, but you also helped out at the daycare. Your fulltime job is daycare caretaker, you help rehabilitate pokemon and care for the ones abandon by their owners. You two go inside the daycare and see your Levanny sitting outside the door of the nursery spitting silk as if she was knitting.

“How are things?” you ask her.

She lets out a soft coo and points to the door, telling you to be quiet. Then she starts pointing at you two and nods.

“Okay.” You blush, “C’mon Piers.” And you lead him out of the daycare.

“She takes her job very seriously.” Piers joked.

You laugh, “Yeah, she’s great at it.” You breathe relieved. Even your pokemon seem to think you two would be good together. “Sorry, we can’t see any baby pokemon right now. They’re all sleeping.”

“It’s alright.” He was so go with the flow, it was nice change of pace from your crazy structured day-to-day life and his presence is just so calming, “It’s a beautiful night,” he gestures down the bridge towards Hulbury, “care to join me?”

“Of course.”

The two of you silently walk down the cobblestone together taking in the view and the fresh air. The night was perfect. The sky was clear, the stars shined bright next to the moon in the sky, there's was enough moon in the sky to illuminate your walk, but not enough to drown out the beauty of the night. It was a picture-perfect evening. Other couples were walking around and standing on the bridge.

“This is romantic.”

You blush at his voice and the thought. “Yeah.” You let out a weak chuckle, “I walk this every day, and I never realized.”

“It’s… beautiful.” He stammered. You looked at him, he was pulling on his ring again.

You gently touched his upper arm, “I think so too.” He lets out a light sigh followed by a smile.

You two stop in the center of the bridge, overlooking the wild area with a gorgeous view of the Hammerlocke gate, “This is my favorite view.” You say leaning against the railing as he takes his place next to you.

“It’s beautiful.” There’s a noticeable pause between the two of you as you looked over the wild area. “Just like you.”

You stop and look over at him. He lets out a low cough, obviously looking away from you trying to avoid eye contact. A lightbulb went off in your head, he was trying to do that earlier too. He’s so precious.

“Piers,” you pause, I like you.

“What's up?” his voice sounded hopeful.

“Nothing, it's dumb.” You shake your head, giving yourself an eye roll. While he turns to look at you, you turn away looking in the opposite direction.

“I’m sure it’s not.”

You face him, and for the first time, you two make eye contact without the other turning away instantly. Everything about him takes your breath away. You feel your face get warm again. He’s so cute, especially in the moonlight. His bright blue eyes were so easy to get lost in. It wasn’t obvious, but he has such a welcoming and friendly energy that once you got past an exhausted looking Piers, that did scare some people, he is honestly the nicest person anyone would be lucky to be around.

“What?” he asked, his face grows concerned. You look ahead of you again, taking a deep breath trying to find your composure.

“Okay.” You wipe your hands on your shorts. “I’m going to take a shot here because of,” you rotate your hands around each other avoiding his eyes, “ideas.”

“Yeah?” you could hear his confusion.

“Has anyone told you anything.” you wonder aloud, looking back at him.

“I mean.” He looks away this time but back at you before continuing. “I think you’re cool, but I know you’re only here for what two more months?”

“Yeah.” You sigh. That was a big factor in why you didn’t want to get involved with anyone here. You were only in Galar for three months, you had two and a half left. There was no need to get into a relationship with each other or even bother about letting him know how you feel. As much as everyone wanted to, there was no point. Why make your small group of friends here awkward?

“I’ll just come out and say it.” You look over at Piers. “I have a crush on you.”

“What?” you say instinctively. Raihan said he wouldn’t make a move, but apparently, he didn’t know Piers as well as he thought he did. You heard what Piers said your brain just needed a second to comprehend and register what he said.

“I’m sorry.” He apologized, pulling at the ring on his choker, “I just felt like I would’ve exploded if I didn’t get it out right now.”

“No, it’s okay. I just….I like you too.” You respond, “I just don’t know.”

“Same.” He lets out a weak smile.

The silence is tense between you two.

“You leave in three months, and I just don’t want to make things awkward.” Piers said. “I really like hanging out with you and I don’t want that to change, but if….” His voice trailed off.

“Yeah! I totally get that.” You agreed, “We don’t want to force anything.”

“No. No. Definitely not.”

“So, we could just take this as it goes.” You say.

He nods, “Yeah…”

“So, because you said it. I do like you too.” You reassure him.

He gives you a smile, “Thanks, I was getting nervous for a minute there.”

“Have you not been nervous this entire time?” you joke, “I’ve been freaking out.”

He laughs, “No, I’ve been a nervous wreck this entire time.”

You two share another laugh together as you have before. It felt natural and easy being with Piers. You deeply wished something would happen between you and Piers, but there was time to see where this would go.

“So, we’re just going to see where this goes?”

“I’m okay with that if you are.”

“I’d really like that.”

“Okay.” He smiles at you, “Want to come over for dinner on Thursday? I have this new song I want you to hear.”

“Yeah,” you agree, “Text me when you want me over.”

“Always.”

It was a good feeling to get that off your chest. You two lean against the railing looking back out at Hammerlocke gate in silence, but closer together. You lean your head on his arm and take in the moment you have together. Piers settling into being your pillow.

“Thank you.” You say, “I’m glad.”

“Me too.” He responds.

Thursday came. He was just finishing up a training session with Marnie, while you sat in the back watching the two battle. Immediately after Piers comes up to talk to you about what he was planning to make for dinner.

“I hope that sounds okay.”

“Sounds awesome. I can’t wait.”

“I really hope you like the song too. I wrote it with you in mind.”

“Piers.” you hold your hand over your heart, when Marnie walks over and starts stabbing the air between you two.You two stop what you were talking about and stare at her.

"What are you doing?"  he asks her.

"Trying to cut the romantic and or sexual tension between you two.” She continues furiously stabbing the air, “Crap, it’s not working!”

You and Piers blush furiously.

[katekyo-hitman-aus]

Guided Sky (?)

Au where Tsuna accidentally meets Skull and ends up traveling all across the world while doing schooling with Skull. The baby just accidentally got lost in Japan while he was on break for a while after he went to Disneyland.

Lucky baby, the boy thought while burying his face in homework he never understood.

To add more salt to his wounds, Nana actually hired him in order to be a tutor! And oh he was smart. Everytime Tsuna tried to outsmart him, Skull would just point out the plot holes and make Tsuna question everything he did. 

The baby had the mind of an adult and it freaked him out and only him since babies could become this smart at the age of 1! Everyone ignored the fact that Skull could also do things not even adults could do like flip off of a rooftop without breaking his little baby ankles.

The baby was exhausting as hell and gave him heart attacks everytime he did something for his “job” in the first 2 weeks even in school. It would nearly kill the kid every time Skull followed a teacher or peer classmate without any problem. Including his bullies! 

Tsuna went along with Skull’s antics only because Skull’s presence made it less likely for Tsuna to get in trouble or bullied. It started happening the day after he got sick, due to his bullies dumping toilet water on him. Skull was very calm that day and left him to his own devices for once.

But Tsuna’s tutor was 90% a wild kid despite his IQ. And to make things even more bizarre, Tsuna’s grades were gradually climbing up which was a miracle. Skull gave him a box of treats on golden week for passing all of his exams with a 70 or higher. He used to get 20’s and 10’s as a reference….

Skull shuddered at his previous scores before he dragged the young kid and Nana to some nice places in Japan that even Nana never knew about. 

They all got to wind down and have fun in all the attractions, even Nana started acting like a kid. It was a common occurrence to see the son and mother running around in some other city for an hour or two before actually shopping around. As usual, nobody noticed the purple baby or thought the baby was a creepy doll in every city they went to. 

It was the best week ever. Skull got a cat ear umbrella set with pastel raincoats for the 3 of them (Skull used it as a robe). And the food was amazing! Skull even hooked Nana up with some cooking professionals and Tsuna got a 80.5% discount on most of the things he bought related to anime or other types of books. In fact, he ended up discussing anime in an internet cafe with 3 adults who lowkey looked very familiar.

It was actually Skull’s friends who were equally intelligent as him and actually created their own big companies. Sadly, the week of fun had to end but they did end up getting a bunch of stuff which filled up 7 giant suitcases of stuff. Half of it was a bunch of stationery and a few questionable things in Skull’s bags along with a few key chains/kimonos. Nana and Tsuna bought out half of a bakery and a few other things they kept separate from each other.

After the initial bliss of golden week, he successfully did his work without any late homework and smiled at the teachers for once.  

Now that he actually did his homework everyday, the teachers got bitter at the fact that he seemed to do way better, and the students left him alone.

Tsuna frowned at the hostility the teachers had and told Skull and his mother about the events after a week of the same treatment..

It was only a month later that all the teachers his class was assigned had been illegitimate student teachers who barely helped their professors or couldn’t even get into a basic college…. Namimori middle school had separated since basically almost all of the teachers didn’t even gain a degree…unsurprisingly, the terrifying demon expanded school territory. He shivered.

The demon of Namimori had terrorized Kokuyo afterwards. It was only a few miles away from the outskirts of Namimori Middle.

“Tsu-kun?”

“Mhm?” said son nodded up, his lap covered in wrinkled papers and documents. Nana bit her lip nervously.

“Well, I know Namimori isn’t the best so me and Skull think it would be better if you studied in another place….” She looked at Tsuna for confirmation.

He nodded slowly, putting away the school files and recommendations.

“I think you should be studying somewhere with Skull. I don’t know why but after we both met Skull, I feel a lot more wary for you, honey.” Her forehead crinkled in displeasure as she hugged Tsuna. 

“Are you going with me?” Tsuna inquired, his eyes sharpening at her hunched pose.

“Sadly, no. I have no place anywhere outside of Namimori…. and if Iemitsu hears about me disappearing, he will search for me. Your father is a very… focused person. I would let him go but I’m scared of what he’d do to you or anyone else…. it’s not that hard to realize how tenacious Iemitsu is if you knew him dear.” She chuckled mirthlessly, her eyes darkening but prideful at the same time.

He protested but nothing could pass out of mouth, he shut his mouth after 5 minutes of silence.

“…what do you say?” his tutor stood at the door, having been there for the whole conversation. Skull’s eyes pierced through his soul. Tsuna froze in some unknown emotion and turned towards his mother. She tearfully smiled at him, getting up to make dinner.

He shook in disbelief…. Skull or his mother.

Tsuna frowned, grasping his mother’s hand. After a week of not doing anything, he reluctantly greeted his mother farewell which broke his heart. Skull gave them closure for the next 3 hours.

While they were going to the airport, Nana had texted her son and so forth, both sides missing their family member like crazy.

After 3 years, Tsunayoshi visited Japan for the first time alone and a Hitman entered Japan. Both people could feel a pit in their guts, unsure of what it was. 

As for Skull, he had abandoned Tsunayoshi with a plane ticket and 3 checks that could buy out a small town on his 16th birthday, though Tsunayoshi had understood. It wasn’t Skull’s place to help the Vongola no matter how much Skull loved his pupil.

It was very obvious to Tsuna that the Vongola or it’s allies had done something devastating to Skull’s life since the cloud was so understanding. Tsuna’s palms turned clammy for the first time in a long time, gripping the cloud flame fused crystal in his hand. It was the only thing Skull truly gave that indicated his bond with the 16 yr old.

His sky flames braced him for the worst as he stepped onto Japanese ground, sharply inhaling as observant sun flames doused the airport, the hitman’s eyes scanning for the Japanese heir he needed to train.

Then they made eye contact. Reborn did not like this brat, Leon tensed and curled up on his shoulder away from the Sky’s stare. A snarky grin makes it out of the teenager as well as anger from his Cloud’s experience with the hitman.

Sun and Sky flames set each other off, creating humidity in the air conditioned airport.

(Somewhere in a quiet place, Skull woke up with orange and purple eyes, instinctively reaching for a silver shortblade behind his pillow. Sensing the irritating sun flames through his sky, he pushed out the sun to balance the powers of a grown man with developed flames in comparison to a teenager with a weakening seal that was slowly disintegrating his muscles and organs..

He hoped nothing too bad would happen to what was his. Or there would be hell to pay. He went back to sleep with restlessness in his body.)

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

Merthur soulmate AU where they can always find each other:

Leon fulfils his self-appointed “older brother” role by helping them get away with it, and Morgana decides the son of her new guardian wasn’t so bad after all, if he came with such a great friend.

Part 2   Part 3 Part 4

This was requested a little while ago, also Homophobia doesn’t exist in this world and maybe that’s unrealistic but I literally don’t care, let me have this.

Everyone has a soulmate. It’s a fact of life.

No one really knows quite how it works, only that it’s something magical, and has been around since before recorded history.

Everyone can find their soulmate. They feel a tug in their heart, that always pulls them in the right direction, no matter what. No matter what obstacles or distance separates them, they may always be united, they may always find their way home.

Soulmate bonds were the one piece of magic that King Uther left untouched when he started his purge, for he was bonded to Arthur’s mother, and despite his cruelty, he could never find it in himself to deprive others of such a feeling. 

(Besides, they were so ancient and global, there’s nothing he could’ve done to destroy them; easier to save his pride and leave them be.)

Very rarely, only a few times in a century, a pairing will appear whose bond is so strong, the compass in their hearts works in a slightly different manner.

King Uther’s son, Prince Arthur, and heir to the throne of Camelot, was one half of such a special pairing.

~

The first time the Prince disappeared, he was five, and meant to be taking a nap.

This meant that his nannies hadn’t even noticed he was gone before he reappeared in his bed, and no one in the castle knew of his little adventure.

To say Hunith was surprised by the appearance of a very young, very blond child in her kitchen was an understatement. 

The last thing she was expecting to see when she turned around from laying her three year old down for a nap, was a noble-looking boy, who definitely hadn’t been there moments before.

After she recovers from her shock, she glances over at the front door (still locked) before looking back at the child with concern. She took a step towards him, and crouched down before quietly speaking:

“Hi there sweetie, how did you get in here?”

Child!Arthur ignores her, instead taking a wobbly step towards Toddler!Merlin, and without looking away from him, asks:

“Who’s that?”

Hunith is taken aback at that, and looks more closely at the child. He was clearly in sleep clothes, but they were made from expensive fabrics, and he looked chubby and happy and healthy, not like most young children around these parts.

She steps in front of Arthur again to try and catch his eye:

“Why don’t you tell me your name, and we’ll try to find your mum?”

Arthur looks at her only briefly as he pouts, before side-stepping again and regaining his line of sight to the dark haired toddler (still sleeping):

“Don’t have a mum. And dad’s busy. I wanted to find my person.”

Hunith tilts her head at that, but before she can ask what he means, Arthur finally looks at her properly, and begins speaking again:

“Are you my person? Or is it him? Nanny Marge says everyone has a person, and we can always find them.” he says it with confidence, and a self satisfied nod.

Hunith blinks, she knows all about soulmates, everyone does, but that still didn’t explain how the child had just appeared:

“Well, my name’s Hunith, and that’s my son, Merlin. Where are you from?”

Arthur yawns and stumbles towards Merlin, wrapped in blankets and laid in the corner. Hunith goes to grab him (Merlin was a fussy toddler, and it took forever to get him to sleep and she really didn’t want him to be woken up again.) but relaxes as Arthur sits cross-legged about a foot away from him, not ripping his gaze away for a moment.

He looks back up at Hunith sleepily, obviously starting to feel the effects of not napping:

“Mer-lin. I like that name. Like the birdy. I’m Prince Arthur of Camelot, son of King Uther.” He says the last part like it’s been rehearsed (it has) and Hunith stifles a gasp as she finally realises what’s happened.

Her old love, before he left, had told her of the rare pairings that appeared occasionally. The soulmates whose bond is so strong, they simply have to wish to be in the others presence, and they will appear there.

Truth be told, Hunith thought it was just a story. Soulmates are fairytale enough, but being able to appear at their side whenever you so wished? That was the stuff of love-stories and legend. Yet here stood a child, who claimed to be a Prince from another kingdom, who should be safely locked away in a castle several days journey from here. And all he seemed interested in, was Merlin.

Hunith wasn’t really sure what to do with this revelation. Not that she wasn’t glad her son had a soulmate, but her son’s soulmate was heir to a throne that would order a pyre for Merlin, even as a child. Merlin was floating spoons and lighting candles and knocking over cups before he could even crawl. Camelot was no place for him, at least not right now.

What if he accidentally did magic in front of the Prince? Would Arthur be scared, would he hate his own soulmate? Or would he not yet understand and tell someone accidentally? Would the King order his own son’s soulmate killed, if he found out?

Hunith shook the questions from her mind for now. Merlin was asleep, and she needed to figure out how to persuade Arthur that he needed to go back home:

“Arthur, that’s a lovely name. I know you want to find your person Arthur, but I think it might be best if you go home, before someone starts worrying, don’t you?”

Little Arthur yawns again, but pouts:

“I don’t want to go back. It’s so boring there, no one except Leon lets me play anything, and Leon’s busy.”

Hunith holds in a sigh, she can imagine life is difficult for an heir to the throne, especially with a father like Uther. She crouches down to his level again:

“I know sweetie, but you don’t want anyone worrying, do you?”

Arthur waits a moment before shaking his head forlornly. Hunith hopes she’s persuaded him, the only way he would go back is if he wanted to, she couldn’t force him. And she really didn’t want to have to journey back to Camelot on foot, and have to explain to the King why she had his son:

“No. I like Nanny Marge, and dad is always mean to her when she loses me.” Hunith frowns at that, but before she can say anything, Arthur stands on wobbly legs, and looks at her with determination:

“Ok. Bye-bye-”

He looks to Merlin again, and whispers his next few words, like he didn’t want to wake him:

“Bye Merlin. I promise I’ll come back-”

He looks back to Hunith again:

“Please can I come back? Leon says I should ask permission before going to someone’s home, so can I please please come back?”

Hunith worries her lip with her teeth at that, they were soulmates, she couldn’t exactly say no. But she also didn’t want to encourage the little prince to just disappear whenever he was bored:

“I... of course, Arthur, you’re more than welcome. But not too often, and not for too long, OK?” she tilts her head in question, and smiles when Arthur gives a decisive nod. 

She holds in a smile as the Little Prince (what she had affectionately been referring to him as in her head) scrunched his face in concentration, closing his eyes. After a few seconds, he disappears with a pop and a few sparks, and she lets out a breath of relief, hoping that he had returned safely.

She stands still for a moment and blinks, seemingly trying to process all that had happened. She hums thoughtfully, before looking lovingly towards her son, and muttering to herself:

“I have a feeling that your future just got a lot more complicated, my love.”

~

For the next year, Arthur would pop in and out of Hunith’s house once a month or so. He only ever came when he was meant to be having a nap (the only time he was really unsupervised during the day).

Luckily, it would appear, that he and Merlin shared nap times; Merlin can’t accidentally expose his magic to the Little Prince if he was asleep every time he appeared.

Over the visits, Hunith learnt as much about Arthur as she could. He knew Gaius, which she was definitely relieved at (and sent a letter to him explaining everything the day she found out they knew each other). Someone in the castle knowing where Arthur had disappeared off to, if anyone ever noticed, would help.

She also found out who Leon was, the son of a noble, an aspiring knight-to-be, around twelve years old to Arthur’s six (both he and Merlin had birthdays at some point between visits), and that he seemed to be the only person around who allowed Arthur to have a little fun every once in a while.

After a little coaxing, she found that Arthur didn’t really know anything about his mother, only what Leon could remember, because Uther refused to speak of her (she thought that was a little heartbreaking, but hid it well).

Arthur kept his word, and never stayed for longer than ten minutes, but Hunith worried; she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold Arthur off for very long. He had visited around thirteen times, and Merlin had been asleep for every one of them. 

Arthur would want to wake him up eventually, to actually talk to his soulmate, and who knows what Merlin would do.

~

Eventually, a few months before Merlin’s fifth birthday, Hunith sat him down and told him what had been happening. That he and his soulmate were very special, and that Arthur had been visiting whilst he was asleep.

To say that Merlin was excited was a vast understatement, and Hunith had to quell her panic when he asked if he could visit Arthur where he was:

“No Merlin, I’m sorry, you have to stay here, remember?-”

She frowns sorrowfully at Merlin’s pout and teary eyes, before schooling her face into a smile and continuing:

“But I promise, next time he visits, I’ll wake you up and you can play together, does that sound fun?-”

She chuckles at his excited nod:

“But only if you don’t use your gift sweetheart, Arthur might not be as good at keeping secrets as you or I am, so we’ll have to wait until he’s older, do you understand?” she whispers that, hoping that it would be easier to convince him if he thought of it as a fun game, instead of a life threatening secret.

Merlin thinks for a minute before nodding:

“Yes mama. No magic until he’s older.”

Hunith pats him on the head, taking a deep breath and preparing herself for Merlin to repeatedly ask her how long until Arthur visited.

~

So that’s how it goes for several years, Arthur visiting Ealdor when no one was paying attention, he and Merlin playing quietly, with no magic, for a while, before Arthur popped back home.

Hunith was grateful for the current simplicity, but she knew it couldn’t last. Merlin had been asking more and more if he could visit Arthur, and it was only a matter of time before he snuck off without telling her.

That, and the magic problem.

Arthur had spoken of his lessons, how according to everyone at home, magic was evil. Merlin always looked so sad at that, and Hunith was grateful for the fact that Arthur didn’t sound so sure. But she also knew that it was only a matter of time before Arthur was convinced by his father’s determined hatred, and she didn’t want to see the heartbreak on Merlin’s face.

The first time The Little Prince spoke of an execution, he was eight, and Merlin had just had his seventh birthday. Merlin cried as Arthur described it, and Hunith had to stop the anger at Arthur growing in her: it wasn’t his fault, and he didn’t exactly sound happy about it at all.

If anything, he seemed almost as upset as Merlin and when Arthur had noticed Merlin’s tears, he stopped talking immediately and bit his lip, looking to Hunith worriedly.

Hunith clenched her jaw before wrapping an arm around each of the children, and speaking to Arthur quietly as Merlin still sniffled:

“Do you think you can keep a secret, Arthur? A really big one, from everyone? Even Leon and your dad?”

He nodded vigorously, and Hunith gives him a weak smile before looking to Merlin, who stared back at her with watery eyes:

“Go on then Merlin, I think he’s old enough to know, don’t you?”

Merlin nodded this time, a little more hesitantly than Arthur, but he looks to his soulmate anyway.

Arthur stared back with wide, worried eyes, and gasped as Merlin all but whispered:

“I was born with magic. I am magic.”

Arthur looks scared for a split second, before he shuffles close to Merlin and taking his pudgy hand in his own. He thinks for a second, before looking at Hunith quickly, and then Merlin. He gives a firm nod as he says:

“I don’t care, and I promise not to tell anyone. If you have magic then it can’t be evil, and when I’m King, I’ll make sure everyone else knows that as well.”

Hunith lets out a sigh of relief, feeling like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders as Arthur’s short arms pull the three of them into a tight hug.

~

The first time Merlin disappears, is almost a year later. Arthur was nine, and Merlin was only a few days away from being eight.

During Arthur’s last visit, he had told them of a new addition to the castle, a sad, dark haired girl called Morgana, a year older than him.

He explained that something had happened to her parents, and his father had taken her in.

Merlin seemed concerned at that, and Hunith had a feeling that it would only be a matter of time before her son decided he wanted to help her (the boy was dangerously empathetic, he teared up at even the thought of other people suffering).

When she found the scrawled note on the table (Arthur had begun sneaking books with him, and he and Hunith would sit with Merlin, teaching him to read and write as best they could) with backwards letters and misspelt words, she almost panicked.

But she sat herself down and took a deep breath, knowing that Arthur had managed to keep the secret so far, and that Merlin could just reappear if he found himself in danger.

That didn’t stop her from scolding a sheepish Merlin when he returned half an hour later.

~

Arthur and Merlin had organised it on their previous visit. Arthur would make sure that he was locked safely in his room at a specific time, and Merlin could come to him for a change. Then Arthur could go get Morgana (and maybe Leon) so he could meet them. 

Morgana had only been there for a month or so, and she had yet to warm up to Arthur. She was quiet, but had a sharp tongue when she chose to speak, not that that had put Arthur off quite yet. 

He was still determined that they would be friends, and Merlin was great! So what better way to get Morgana to like him, than to introduce her to Merlin?

Merlin was overjoyed when he appeared in Arthur’s room, the bedchamber being larger that the footprint of his entire house back in Ealdor. The bed itself was what he found most impressive, it was so huge and soft! And there were so many blankets and pillows! Merlin quietly thought to himself that he should come here more often.

Arthur was nervous. Excited, but nervous. They’d known each other for years now, but this was the first time that Merlin was actually seeing his home. What if he didn’t like it? What if he didn’t want to be soulmates anymore, because he preferred his own home?

(”Although-” The Little Prince started to think, “if Merlin decided he wanted to stay in Ealdor, I think I would just stay with him. ‘Gana can do all my boring King stuff here, and I can go be a farmer with Merlin.”)

Those nerves disappeared the moment he saw the grin on Merlin’s face. Arthur showed Merlin where to hide, just in case, whilst he went to fetch Morgana. He had already told her he had a surprise, so it shouldn’t take too long to persuade her to follow him.

Arthur found her in a flower garden hidden round the back of the castle, she gave in and allowed him to drag her by the hand to his chambers with only minimal grumbling. She did however glare as Arthur pressed a hand over her mouth when she went to question why they were hiding from everyone who passed them in the corridors.

Eventually they were stood outside Arthur’s chambers, but before they enter, Arthur turns to Morgana and whispers conspiratorially:

“This is a secret so you have to promise not to tell anyone, kay? Not even Leon or my dad.”

Before Morgana could reply, she gasps, looking over Arthur’s shoulder with wide eyes.

Arthur turns and bites his lip as he sees Leon (now 15, and well into his initial Knight training) leaning against the wall casually, arms folded on his chest, and an eyebrow raised:

“What is it that no one is meant to be telling me, My Lord?”

Morgana stands in silence, hands folded in front of her, trying to appear as casual as possible as Arthur stutters:

“Oh... err... nothing Leon. I just wanted.... I wanted to show ‘Gana what I learnt on the piano this morning!” He hears Morgana huff behind him, she hated when Arthur called her that, and had said as much to him, but he didn’t seem to care.

Leon raises his eyebrow even further as he begins walking towards the two children:

“Is that so? Well why is that such a big secret? Don’t you want to show me too?”

As Leon stops in front of Arthur, towering over the boy, he puts his serious “I’m-potentially-about-to-tell-you-off-if-you-don’t-start-telling-the-truth” face:

“I... uhh... wanted it to be a secret! Until I get better! Then I can show you and dad!”

Morgana struggles not to mutter complaints at his terrible lying as Leon sighs:

“Arthur, what have we said about lying? It makes communication hard, and makes it difficult for people to trust you, and will only lead to problems later on. Would you like to try again?”

Arthur looks to the floor as he shuffles again, and Morgana feels just a little sorry for him. Not that she would say that.

Leon sighs once more and crouches to his level, forcing Arthur to meet his eyes. He gives the young prince a small smile as he speaks:

“If you don’t want to tell me Arthur, that’s fine. “It’s a secret for me and Morgana” is a perfectly acceptable answer. But lying isn’t. If you promise me that you aren’t doing anything naughty, then I’ll trust you, but I would feel better if another adult did know about it.”

Arthur looks up at him at that, surprised. His father would never accept Arthur keeping secrets from him. He replies quietly:

“It’s a secret for me and Morgana... and an adult does know about it... sort of. And it isn’t bad, I promise! Buuuuut-”

Arthur fiddles with his hands as he looks to his door briefly, before looking back at Leon:

“-if you promise to keep it a secret too, then you can see!-”

Arthur pulls his face into a scowl before continuing:

“-but ONLY if you promise!”

Leon hums exaggeratedly, and rubs his chin:

“Well... I promise to keep it a secret IF it isn’t naughty, or hurting anyone. How does that sound?”

Arthur’s face breaks into a grin and he nods, before opening his door and stepping inside. He quickly waves the others in and shuts and locks the door behind them, taking their hands in his own:

“You can come out now Merls, I’ve bought them!”

Leon and Morgana were astonished when a skinny, semi-grubby, obviously peasant-boy, came crawling out from under Arthur’s bed, and had to hold in gasps.

Merlin stands awkwardly as Arthur grins at him, and waves nervously to the new-comers:

“Hi... I’m Merlin. Me and Arthur are-”

Before he can finish, Arthur excitedly interrupts him:

“He’s my soulmate!”

The room is silent for a while, Merlin getting more nervous by the second, Arthur practically bouncing off the walls with excitement (and being oblivious to the awkwardness), Morgana being marginally surprised but taking it in her stride, and Leon... well... Leon was absolutely freaking out. But you wouldn’t know that from looking at him.

After only about a minute (but it feels like forever for Merlin), Leon stutters some words out:

“Arthur where did you.... why... where did you find this kid??”

Arthur looks to him in confusion as he stops jumping up and down:

“I told you. He’s my soulmate.-”

He puffs up his chest and puts his hand on his hips, looking extremely proud of himself as he continues:

“-I found him all on my own. I’ve been visiting him forever, but I wanted him to come here for once, so he could meet ‘Gana.”

Morgana breaks out her stupor at that, and looks at Arthur incredulously before looking back at Merlin:

“Hi, Merlin.” with a small smile, which Merlin returns.

Leon takes in a deep breath, wondering how the hell he was supposed to deal with this. The Prince had... kidnapped a commoner? Without anyone in the castle noticing?? What??? Nothing in his lessons trained him for this.

He shakes off his confusion and finally looks away from Merlin, and to Arthur:

“Wait... what do you mean you’ve been visiting him? When have you been going? And where?”

Arthur swayed on the spot, trying to look innocent:

“At the beginning I went when I was supposed to be napping. Then I would go when I was meant to be doing self-study. I only go once or month or so, and not for very long. Merlin’s mum is always worried about someone missing me.”

Leon takes another deep breath:

“Arthur... how did you sneak out without anyone noticing? And how did you get Merlin in?”

As much as Leon wanted to solve the problem of “there is a random commoner child in the prince’s room” thing, he was also greatly disturbed by the fact that two children, who hadn’t even hit double digits yet, had been sneaking in and out of what was meant to be a heavily fortified, guarded, castle, for years.

Arthur seems to have a realisation at Leon’s questions:

“OH! Like this!”

With that, he runs out the room, and Leon goes to follow him, but the prince manages to shut the door just before he got there.

Morgana is looking on all of this with mild confusion and shock, not really understanding what was going on, but happy to wait quietly and see what would happen.

Just as Leon goes to open the door, he hears a pop, followed by a voice from behind him:

“See!” Leon freezes and he hears Morgana gasp.

The teen turns around slowly, to see a grinning Arthur stood next to a cheerful looking Merlin:

“Uhh... Arthur, how did you do that?-”

Leon begins panicking, the only thing running through his head is “sorcery!” and whilst he would like to believe that Uther would never harm his own son, with the way he was going with the purge... there was no guarantee.

He rushes forward and grips Arthur’s shoulders:

“I need you to tell me how you did that, right now Arthur, it’s important.”

Arthur frowns as he replies:

“I told you. He’s my soulmate. I just have to want to be with him, and I can be. Merlin’s mum says it’s super rare, and that makes us special.” Morgana once again gasps at that before smiling, and speaking for the first time since she said hello to Merlin:

“I heard about that! Two of the nobles in my old home could do it. It IS rare, but sometimes soulmates can blink and be next to each other, if they wanted that!”

Arthur and Merlin nod enthusiastically at that, and Leon sags with relief, now that his mind and heart weren’t racing so much, he did remember briefly reading something about that during his studies. And if all of this was just soulmate magic... then they should be safe.

Though by the looks of the boy... probably still best not tell Uther about it. He doubts the King would be pleased about his son being bonded with a peasant.

“Ok... ok.-”

Leon turns his attention to Merlin:

“-You said your name was Merlin? Does someone know that you’re here?”

Merlin nods as he replies:

“I left a note for my mum. But I can’t be too long though, or she’ll worry.”

Leon looks surprised at that:

“You can read and write?”

“I taught him!” comes proudly from Arthur. 

Leon nods again and re-locks the door behind him, before gesturing at everyone to sit on the soft rug together.

After establishing that Merlin had only arrived just before Arthur went to fetch Morgana, Leon says that they can sit and talk for another 15 minutes or so before Merlin had to go home.

Arthur pouted at that, but a look from Leon stopped him before he actually complained. Morgana and Leon spent the time asking questions about Merlin: where he was from, and how old he was, and about his family.

Merlin was shy at first, but Arthur had been talking about Leon forever, and Morgana seemed nice, even if she did look a bit sad sometimes.

After their time was up, everyone gave Merlin a quick hug, and Arthur promised he’d try to pop over at some point next week (Leon definitely had to stop the momentary panic at that).

Merlin disappeared with a pop, and Arthur made Morgana and Leon promise not to tell once more. Once they promised, they each wondered off Morgana to an afternoon lesson, Leon to s training session, both deep in thought.

Arthur smiled to himself. He didn’t like keeping things from Leon, because he was the only one around who was any fun, and Morgana had definitely seemed happier. So his plan succeeded!

~

It continued like that for some time. Arthur was the one who went to Merlin’s most often, but occasionally Merlin would go to him.

Morgana slowly started cheering up, recovering from her grief, and the three of them (almost always overseen by an always-worrying Leon) loved spending time together, and playing in the safety of Arthur’s chambers.

Thankfully, Uther never questioned it, happy that his son and his new ward seemed to be getting along finally.

The first time Merlin woke crying from a nightmare that was filled with smoke and fire, he was twelve.

He appeared in Arthur’s room within seconds, wanting nothing but the comfort of having his soulmate next to him, and Arthur woke to the quiet sniffling of a distraught Merlin perched on the end of his bed. 

Before he’s even fully awake, he has him wrapped in a hug, and is stroking his hair in an effort to calm him.

There may not be guards stationed outside his rooms during the day, but there were at night, and would be until he turned 18 (still four and a half years away), so they needed to be quiet.

They fall asleep curled up next to each other, clutching hands, and Merlin sleeps through the rest of the night without a problem. (They both wake with a start as a servant knocks on the door the next morning, and after the quickest hug they’ve ever shared, Merlin pops away, back to his own bed.)

That begins to happen more and more often, and after a couple weeks, Merlin is sleeping in Arthur’s bed most nights. 

He isn’t quite sure if he sleeps so much better because the bed is worth more than his entire village (it’s so comfy!), or if his magic is more relaxed with Arthur by his side, but either way, the nightmares stop almost entirely.

Hunith realises fairly quickly what’s going on, and does worry briefly if going to the place his nightmares took place in was the best, but Merlin seemed happier, and less tired, and once he promised to always be back before the servants came into Arthur’s room, she was a little more ok with it.

(She also made Merlin and Arthur swear to tell Leon, just in case. She hasn’t met Leon of course, but the boys talk about him and Morgana constantly, and she was grateful that the boys had someone other than Gaius (who hadn’t actually met Merlin yet) to look out for them. At this rate, Leon wouldn’t be surprised if all of this caused him to have a heart attack before he was even officially knighted. But he wouldn’t have it any other way.)

Once Arthur finally persuades Merlin to tell him what his nightmares are about, he’s horrified. It’ll be then that Arthur will begin to be more vocal about his objection to the executions, and ask questions about magic. Uther always punishes him of course, but Arthur just learns to hold his tongue instead.

Merlin cries, Morgana smiles widely, and Leon is speechless, when Arthur tells them that:

“When I’m King, magic will be everywhere! Of course people will have to be careful with it, but in the same way us knights have to be careful with swords. Isn’t that right, Leon?”

Leon goes pale at that, and takes a few moments to respond:

“Right... well. Just.... make sure you do your research Arthur, and that you know all the facts, and do NOT, no matter what, ever tell your father about this. Do you understand?”

Arthur nods glumly. He’s tried to change his father’s mind in the past, and it got him nothing but bruised knuckles and an hour long yelled lecture and extra training hours with the knights.

Leon looks to a sniffling Merlin next, and asks him what’s wrong. Arthur holds in a worried gasp, and Morgana raises an eyebrow (even at 14, she was incredibly observant and smart, she knew what was up).

Merlin grabs Arthur’s hand, but looks up at Leon through thick eyelashes, and mumbles so quietly, Leon barely hears it:

“Promise you won’t get mad? Or hate me?”

Leon has a bad feeling that he knows where this is going, but he puts a gentle hand on Merlin’s shoulder and gives him a soft smile:

“I could never hate you Merlin, promise.”

At that, Merlin bites his lip, and glances at Arthur quickly, before looking to the fire in the hearth. Leon furrows his brow in confusion, and Morgana hides an excited smile as Merlin mumbles under his breath:

“Give me a dragon.”

Leon gasps and takes a step back as the flames flutter, as if blown by a strong wind, before morphing into a miniature dragon.

The royal sorta-siblings look on in wonder as Merlin screws his face in concentration, eyes glowing golden, and Leon stares, speechless.

After a few minutes of the dragon flying around the large fireplace, it fades back into the flames again. Morgana whispers under her breath:

“That was amazing!” and Arthur smiles proudly as Merlin takes in deep breaths. He’d never held it that long before, and it had worn him out slightly.

He looks back to Leon (who is still staring dumbly at the fire) and furrows his brows in worry:

“You did promise... you’re not scared of me are you?” He looks close to tears again, and the tremble in his voice grabs Leon’s attention once again.

The older teen gathers the three of them in a tight hug, before whispering (worried someone would hear, even though they never have before):

“Of course I’m not scared of you, Birdy (an affectionate nickname, started by Morgana, and picked up by everyone else, much to Merlin’s chagrin), you just have to promise to be careful. I promise to try my best, but if someone else finds out I probably won’t be able to protect you, Ok?”

At that he pulls back, but grips Merlin’s shoulders tightly, worry written all over his face. When Merlin only nods infinitesimally, Leon shakes him ever so slightly, and gives him a desperate look:

“OK??” Merlin nods more vigorously, and mutters out an “I understand, Leon.”

Leon lets go and sighs, looking to the floor and fiddling with his hands hidden behind his back (one of the many rules he learnt growing up as a noble: fidgeting is a sign on weakness).

He takes in a fortifying breath and moves his hands to his sides before looking out the window, noticing that it’s almost dusk and looking back to the three children with a smile:

“You best get home Merlin, it’s getting late and I don’t want your mum to worry. Same time next week, ok? Next time we see each other, I’ll be a knight.” He says it with a grin, and smiles light up on the other’s faces as well. They were young, but they knew how much this meant to Leon, especially Arthur, who was about a year into his training.

Merlin gives everyone a quick hug, lingering a little longer on Arthur (like always) before stepping back, and disappearing with a pop.

~

The secret is revealed when Merlin is 15 (Arthur being 16, Morgana being 17, and Leon being 22).

The four of them had agreed a next meeting time, like normal, though they were having to be far more careful. With Arthur being older, he was being saddled with more and more responsibilities. His training hours and lessons were longer, he was expected to travel away from the city more, and he shadowed The King whilst he undertook his duties for the rest of the day.

Uther had mentioned Arthur’s soulmate in passing a few times (that always incited a hidden smirk from Morgana, and a nervous gulp from Leon, if he was around).

But Arthur always managed to derail the conversation and avoid the topic by saying something along the lines of “Finding my soulmate is important to me father, but not as important as learning to be the best King I can be for the kingdom. I feel the pull everyday, but until I am steadfast in my abilities and duties, it will remain unimportant to me.”

Uther always looked partially sad at that, he had loved Arthur’s mother, his soulmate, very much. But mostly he is proud at Arthur’s confidence and determination and loyalty.

If only he realised that Arthur was lying through his teeth, and had decided when he was incredibly young that he would happily hand all of it over to Morgana, in order to lead a simpler life with Merlin.

Anyway.

The next meeting time had been agreed. But bandits had been sighted causing trouble a few hours outside of the city, and Arthur was called to attend an emergency council meeting.

The page didn’t leave his side for a second, leading him straight to the council-room, meaning that Arthur couldn’t pop away for even two seconds to warn Merlin not to come.

He just had to hope that the meeting was over quick, and he could escape somewhere solitary before the young Warlock came around.

He was so close.

He paid close attention during the meeting, making excellent suggestions and being generally helpful, in an effort to speed things along. This backfired in a way he didn’t quite expect.

The meeting ended, knights sent to deal with the problem in the manner decided, and councilman heading back to whatever it is they did when not in meetings (at this point Arthur still doesn’t know, and is too afraid to ask). 

The Prince had almost made it out of the door before Uther called him back in. He halts in the doorway, and Morgana, ahead of him in the hallway, looks back, giving him a fearful look and mouthing “Give him an excuse! Hurry!”

Arthur turns back to the room (now devoid of everyone but The King and himself):

“I apologise father, but I was in the middle of-”

Uther gives him a stern look, and crooks a finger towards himself:

“Come. Here.”

Arthur schools his face, appearing blank, as he re-enters the room and shuts the door behind him. He stands to attention in front of his father, and figures this is just another part of the meeting he would have to hurry along. 

He glances at the shadows on the wall quickly, he should have another few minutes, as long as Merlin didn’t get too excited and appear earlier than he’s meant to.

“I wanted to congratulate you today Arthur. You did very well-”

He places a hand on his son’s shoulder and smiles hesitantly:

“-I... I’m proud of you. You’re learning well, picking things up quickly. You understand the workings of court and council near fluently now, and Sirs Kay and Leon tell me that your combat training is going astoundingly.”

Arthur’s resolve crumbles a little at that, and he almost forgets his desperation to leave the room:

“I... thank you, father. I’m trying my best to do you and the kingdom proud.”

Uther nods firmly at that and removes his hand, stepping back, the tender moment over as quickly as it had begun:

“Good. You are dismissed for the day, go back to your studies.”

Arthur struggles to hold in a relieved sigh as he bows briefly before turning around and almost rushing towards the door. He is too late however, and just as he reaches for the doorknob, he hears the tell tale pop sound from behind him. He freezes as he hears:

“Arthur, where the hell-” quickly interrupted by his father roaring:

“WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?! GUARDS!”

Arthur rushes to turn around and grabs Merlin’s hand, pulling him to the side as guards burst through the door he was just stood in front of.

All of them raise swords at the terrified boy that Uther was pointing at, and Arthur quickly positions his body between them and Merlin:

“NO! Don’t hurt him! Please!”

Morgana rushes in just moments after the guards, and spots the boys immediately, stepping around the knights and standing next to Arthur defiantly. Uther looks affronted before yelling, red-faced:

“What is the meaning of this? Explain yourselves this instant, and get away from that beast!”

Morgana tightens her jaw as she takes Merlin’s other hand protectively in her own. She can feel him shaking, but knows he is too scared to just disappear again. She’s secretly grateful for that. If Merlin disappeared now there would be a manhunt and demands of explanations. The King might believe them if they can show him the truth (the same way the boys had shown her and Leon all those years ago).

“Please father, just listen. Merlin is my soulmate, it isn’t sorcery, we simply have a bond stronger than others-”

At Uther’s still-angry snarl, Arthur straightens his back, and takes in a breath, standing still and strong:

“You will NOT harm him. I would lay down my life before you lay a hand on him.” The guards falter a little at that, but still keep their swords raised.

Arthur hears Merlin take in a shaky breath at that, and squeezes his hand slightly. Morgana nods her agreement and Arthur gives her a brief, grateful smile as she says confidently:

“The same goes for me, if you wish to harm Merlin, or separate him from Arthur, you will have to order your guards to strike me down first.”

Uther lets out a growl at that:

“Soulmate or not, he used sorcery to appear out of thin air. That is treachery!”

Arthur huffs before shouting back:

“NO! Just ask Gaius, or Geoffrey. Occasionally, there are soulmates whose bond is stronger than normal, just ask Gaius-”

Arthur gives Uther his own growl as he continues:

“-And like I said. I would challenge you yourself, before I allowed anyone to hurt him.”

Uther slumps slightly and narrows his eyes at his son before telling one of the younger guards to fetch Gaius and Geoffrey immediately. He does however tell the other guards to keep their swords trained on the boy, and Merlin almost takes a frightened step back, only stopped by Arthur and Morgana, who hold him steady.

Arthur and Uther remain in a hard staring contest for the few minutes it takes the guard to return, Gaius and Geoffrey in tow.

Gaius glances at Merlin in surprise, but covers it quickly as he returns his gaze to The King as he growls:

“Tell me all you know of soulmate bonds.”

Geoffrey speaks first, confusion in his tone:

“My Lord?” 

Uther levels a glare at him as he yells:

“NOW!”

Geoffrey is taken aback, but replies immediately:

“Well My Lord, everyone on this earth has a soulmate, someone whose soul is bound to your own. The bonds provide a compass of sorts, meaning that one can always tell what direction their soulmate is, and, with practice, roughly how far away they are. No one is certain of how these bonds come about, though centuries of research show that they aren’t harmful in anyway, and other than incredibly rare, extreme, cases, the two whose souls are bonded are a perfect match for each other; bound to fall in love-”

Gaius jumps in here:

“And in even rarer cases, My Lord, a pair may appear whose bond is so strong, they have further... abilities. This pair of souls will be able to appear to each other at will, only needing to wish to be in the other’s presence. They are also able to disappear again, but may only transport themselves to the position they were before. Academics are even more perplexed as to how these bonds are forged, though the only known pairs with such a bond have all gone on to achieve great things.”

Gaius resists the urge to look towards the three teenagers, and keeps his placating gaze on The King, who does seem to be calming slightly. Uther looks to Geoffrey for confirmation, and the librarian nods, adding:

“It is incredibly rare sire, but possible, and proven.”

Uther is considerably less angry now, but the guards don’t relax, and neither do Arthur or Morgana as The King speaks again:

“How would one prove such a bond, and differentiate it from sorcery?”

Gaius jumps to answer this question, trying to keep control of the situation:

“Well one could simply ask for a demonstration-”

He gestures to the teenagers still huddled to the side:

“-I’m assuming that these...?-”

At Uther’s stiff nod, he continues:

“-might I ask Prince Arthur to leave the room, the door shut behind him, and demonstrate his ability?” Uther looks angry for a moment, and Morgana tightens her hold on Merlin as he takes in a scared gasp. After a few moments of deliberation, The King looks to his son and gives a slight, but firm, nod.

Arthur gives Merlin a quick smile, and reluctantly lets go of his hand before saying:

“I’m only leaving him if the guards sheath their swords, and step back-”

Uther goes to interrupt him, but Arthur continues harshly:

-And THAT, is final.”

Uther gives a nod once more, and the guards cautiously put their swords away. Arthur nods at Morgana, and she takes his place directly in front of Merlin as he walks out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Morgana can feel Merlin shaking behind her, but she grits her teeth, and squeezes his hand. She meant what she said, she would force the guards to cut her down before she allowed them to hurt her friend.

A second later, she hears the tell tale pop, and smirks slightly at the astounded look on Uther’s face, not having to look to know that Arthur was now stood behind her.

Uther still looks slightly disbelieving, but before he can say anything (or God forbid accuse his son of sorcery) Gaius speaks up:

“I have both ancient and modern literature on the subject My Lord, if you would like to read about it.”

Uther lets out a sigh, and purses his lips before looking to the physician:

“Very well. Have them ready for me tonight. Everybody out! I wish to talk to my son and this... boy.”

Gaius throws one last glance to the three teenagers, before shuffling out the room, closely followed by Geoffrey and the guards. Morgana stays in place.

Uther looks exasperated before saying:

“That includes you, Morgana. Out-”

Morgana interrupts him angrily:

“No. I will not leave. Merlin may be Arthur’s soulmate, but he’s my friend as well. I won’t allow you to hurt him, or speak down to him.”

Uther looks enraged once again, but Arthur speaks before he can start yelling again:

“I shan’t talk about it unless Morgana is allowed to remain, father. She has been nothing but loyal and protective of Merlin, and as his soulmate, I appreciate that greatly. She stays.” 

Arthur thought about demanding that Sir Leon be summoned as well, but he didn’t want to get the man into trouble, he had already done so much for them. And besides, Arthur is fairly certain that if he continues to order his Father around like this, he’ll lose his temper once more. There’s only so many demands someone can make of the King before context becomes unimportant, and it becomes a matter of pride.

Uther grits his teeth once more before nodding, and muttering out a quiet “Fine.”.

The King straightens himself, and regains his regal composure before speaking once again:

“Merlin, was it? Bring yourself forward, boy.”

Morgana goes to argue, and Arthur looks insulted, both about to retort against the tone and choice of words, but before they can say anything, Merlin pushes between them, to face Uther head on.

He gives a small bow, but maintains eye contact, and speaks once he raises again:

“Yes sire, my name is Merlin.”

Uther scowls as he looks him up and down, and Merlin can feel Arthur and Morgana fuming either side of him.

“You look like nothing but a farmer. I will not have my son and only heir, bonded to a peasant.”

Merlin goes to retort at that, indignant at having his worth as a person lowered by his class status, but before even Arthur can speak up, Morgana steps forwards angrily:

“I told you, I will not allow you to speak down to him. Merlin is a wonderful person. Kind, and compassionate, and wise beyond his years; he’s twice the man most of your so called nobles are, you will treat him with the respect he deserves, or the three of us will leave right now.”

Merlin is taken aback at that. I suppose because it’s only ever been the three of them, and Leon, he’s never really seen Morgana angry. Sure, he’s listened to her rant about the unjustness of Uther’s laws, but never anything like this. The display of somewhat aggressive protectiveness from her definitely makes him tear up a little.

Uther’s face turns red at her demand, and he looks about ready to kick off again, but Arthur steps forward, in line with Morgana (once again, leaving Merlin protected behind them):

“As she said father. Merlin is my soulmate, whether you like it or not. I will not leave him, we will not be separated, and that will never change. If you can not speak to him respectfully, then you won’t speak to either of us at all.”

Merlin takes Arthur’s shoulder and pushes himself forward again before saying quietly:

“Arthur, no, he’s your father. I don’t mind, it’s fine, maybe I should go?”

Arthur doesn’t look at him, but takes his hand wordlessly, gripping it tight as he glares at Uther (who looks slightly taken aback at the offer).

Morgana once again takes Merlin’s other hand and says:

“No. We’re resolving this now, and The King is just going to have to come to terms with the fact that someone’s status does not define their worth.” She looks pointedly at Uther at that, and the older man sighs, rubbing his eyes slightly, before gesturing to the council table:

“Fine. Arthur, Morgana, Merlin, take a seat, and we shall discuss how we plan to move forward.”

~

END OF PART 1

Part 2 is up! Part 3 is up!

Let me know what y’all think :)