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okgrumps-blog · 7 years

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The Best and the Worst of You

Chapter 8: Captain Arin (Neverbone)

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“Hey uh… Arin?” The scraggy-bearded chief officer approached his captain nervously. Their ship, known only as ‘The Cruiser’, was currently gliding over planet Earth. It was only a small vessel, with two floors and a minute selection of rooms. Each wall had a full-length window embedded into it, which gave the two crew members a clear view of where exactly they were (not that they needed it, since Barry was an expert at navigating the vast distances of space). Arin was stood by the control panel, looking out over the rounded surface of Earth. Upon hearing Barry shuffle in, he turned his head to look at the younger man in concern.

“You’ve left him by himself?” Arin furrowed his brow, one hand hovering over a set of buttons on the panel. Barry scuffed his shoe against the floor, looking down shamefully. Upon seeing how nervous Barry was, Arin settled, looking back across to the front window. “Is he still being unreasonable?”

“He…!” Barry was quick to straighten his back, looking to Arin with a determined face. “I don’t think he’s lying, Arin. You know Sexbang wouldn’t go this far. He’d have had his fun for five minutes, then have gotten bored.” Barry tried to explain. Arin merely rolled his eyes and used one hand to gesture Barry to the control panel, Barry obediently hurrying to his side. They switched places silently, Barry hovering both hands over the control panel, looking to Arin for further instruction.

“Keep the ship on her course.” Arin patted Barry’s shoulder, beginning to walk back to the room where their Sexbang-lookalike was being held. “I’ll talk some sense into him.” And before Barry could argue, Arin was already out of the door.

Dan had been chained to a thick metal pole, which threatened to zap him if he tried to break away from him. He figured it was something to do with electric currents running through the pole. He had moved himself to sit on the floor next to the pole, staring at the cuff on his hand until Arin finally walked in.

Dan wasn’t too bothered about being held captive, because he knew in around an hour he’d be back home anyway. It just so happened that this time around, he’d been mistaken for an enemy – more specifically, Danny Sexbang, from in-universe Ninja Sex Party. He’d only been able to speak to Barry so far, this being his first time meeting Arin; Barry had been more understanding than he’d expected, but he was still sceptical.

And when Dan looked up at Arin, he wasn’t surprised to see Arin Neverbone from in-universe NSP. He held a certain presence about him, with a constant frown on his face, dressed in hot pink outfit. It was like someone had smashed this version of Arin with the Arin from Starbomb.

Arin walked up to him and crouched down by his side, a small sigh escaping him. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do here, but the game's over, Danny Sexbang. We’ve won already, so don’t try to act like you didn’t just appear here and we didn’t just capture you.” Arin scanned Dan’s face, and a sense of unsettling doubt weighed in his chest as ‘Danny’ showed little sign of understanding.

“My name’s Dan, firstly.” Dan began with a smile. He wasn’t scared at all, which made things easier. “Dan Avidan. People call me Danny sometimes. I’m a dimension traveller.” With that, he held out the hand that wasn’t cuffed to the metal pole, hoping that mentioning his ‘occupation’ as such would fully explain himself to Arin. Arin’s breath hitched.

“A dimension traveller…?” Arin said softly, crossing his legs so that he was properly sat next to Dan. “We’ve been trying to work on shit like that for ages.” Dan was surprised with the sudden informality, but accepted it – after all, this was just another version of Arin Hanson.

Dan found himself explaining his situation, Arin listening along with interest. Yadda yadda, an hour every day. Yadda yadda, a different Arin every time. Yadda yadda, trying to make a difference.

Once he’d given Arin the information he’d needed, the Captain nodded, scratching his beard. “I’m sorry we mistook you for an enemy.” He apologised. And with the simple gesture of a hand, the chains from around the metal pole (and Dan) were released. Dan wriggled his wrist around with a small smile on his face. “I thought we’d finally found him.”

“...Danny Sexbang?” Dan questioned. A small nod followed from Arin. “Are you chasing after him, or something?”

“We had an alliance, and he broke it.” Arin began. Dan’s eyes widened in realisation. This was Samurai Abstinence Patrol, wasn’t it? “That’s when it started, anyway. But one day, Ninja Brian- he’s the chief officer- sent to us that Danny had gone missing.” Arin fiddled with one of the black fingerless gloves on his hands. “We’ve renewed the alliance until we find him.”

Dan was silent for a moment. Everything was slowly starting to piece together. Some Arins he’d met didn’t know a Dan, and others… their Dan just straight-up disappeared – like the mermaid, or the guy who lived in Paris. And Arin mentioned having a nightmare about him disappearing… his stomach was suddenly filled with dread. Looking at Arin, he took a sharp breath in.

“I think we’re disappearing.” Dan blurted out. Arin looked confused, so Dan continued. “All of us. Every instance of Dan Avidan that ever existed.” Dan looked down at his own hands and gulped. Arin scooted closer to Dan with a frown.

“But why would they be doing that?” Arin asked gently. He seemed worried, and Dan didn’t blame him. He was worried, too. Dan was trying to come up with an answer, but he couldn’t think of one.

Then, something struck him – how tense had they been before they started dating? It had been a brief comment from Arin, about how Dan was doing anything other than dedicating time to Grump sessions, and when he wasn’t busy, he was too tired to even hang out. Had anything changed since they started dating? Sure, they’d cuddle and…

Oh God. They’d cuddle and Dan would sleep through Arin staying up. Then they’d be too tired to spend as much time as they’d planned at the Grump Space, and go back home. Then Dan would go out…

Oh God.

The cycle would repeat itself constantly. For days and days. Without cuddles, how long had this been going on for?! And did Dan ever take a moment to check how Arin was holding up?! Was he too busy, even for such a simple thing as that?! Arin dedicated hours of his time for Dan – meeting with him after every outing, staying awake to make sure Dan didn’t disappear.

Oh good fucking God.

Realising Arin was staring at him in concern, and that his breathing was becoming quicker by the second, he spoke. “I haven’t been there for him.” His eyes focused on the cold metal tiles of the floor. “The other Universes derive from the Arin that I know.” And that’s all Arin needed to hear to understand.

They were both calmer after a while. Dan had spoken about ‘living in the moment’, and though the subject was heavy on their minds, Arin insisted he gave Dan a tour of The Cruiser. They finished up at the front window, next to Barry, who had to receive a full explanation from Dan yet again. Arin took control of the ship, Barry going off to calculate their next movements.

“Ninja Brian thinks we killed him.” Arin admitted, staring out at the surface of Earth once again. Dan snorted

“Are you kidding? Jeez, I knew the Samurai Abstinence Patrol was vicious, but…” He giggled, Arin turning his head quickly in confusion. “If anyone’s gonna kill anyone, it’s Ninja Brian himself, right?”

“How… do you know about us?” Arin didn’t seem tense, merely curious, perking up. Dan ran a hand through his own hair and chuckled softly.

“It’s a song I wrote for my band, Ninja Sex Party.” Dan grinned as he saw the excitement rise on Arin’s face. “Something like… ‘No sex until you’re married’, am I right?”

Arin nodded excitedly. “Oh my God, we exist in another universe?! That’s so cool!” He quickly looked back at the front window. “Damn… guess we’re trying to make a difference somewhere.” He smiled happily to himself.

The two stood in comfortable silence, watching the stars twinkle. Dan never thought he’d get to go to space – he knew Arin would be jealous, and their good friend Mark, too. Speaking of which…

“This is gonna be a little random, but…” Dan looked around the main hub of the ship with a hum. “Do you know a guy named Mark? Mark Fischbach? Or uhh… Markiplier?”

Arin looked back at Dan and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. He’s on the communications team for our crew, but it’s only me and Barry for the time being. We’re short-staffed for the summer – people got family to see, holidays and stuff…”

Dan felt a giddy smile come across him – he’s happy that there was at least one Mark that finally got to go to space.

Dan had a coughing fit back at the Grump Space bathroom, the sudden change in air quality throwing him off. He stood up and cleared his throat properly before wandering to see Arin. He found Suzy first, who was one of the only people at the offices.

“Welcome back, traveller.” Suzy smiled, patting the seat next to her. She’d been by herself for a while, it seemed, and needed the company. “Did you have a good trip?”

“I went to fuckin’ space!” Dan grinned. Suzy gasped, turning her whole chair to face Dan. They chattered for a good fifteen minutes, before it hit Dan that Arin wasn’t in his own office – the door was wide open.

“Where’s Arin? Is he okay? He was afraid, Suzy fiddling with the necklace around her neck.

“I don’t know.” She said. Never a good thing. “He was really quiet when you left. But I think he was like that anyway, right?” Dan nodded. “I tried talking to him, but he didn’t really want to. So, I went out, bought his favourite ice cream and gave him a huge tub of it.” She laughed nervously. “It seemed like a good idea at first, but I genuinely think he’s torn through the entire tub.” She’d felt bad for that; Suzy had only wanted to cheer Arin up, but she couldn’t know that Arin would use that as comfort food, or that it would make him feel worse. Dan listened sadly, standing up.

“He’s probably in the Grump Room. I’ll talk to him.” Dan waved to Suzy before heading over there. He was already scared for Arin. And after what he’d realised earlier, he was even more scared now.

Arin was curled up with a blanket and, of course, the now empty tub of ice cream. The room was dark, only illuminated by the light of their gaming screen, which was showing some kind of Mega Man game. Dan didn’t know which one – he wasn’t an expert, unlike Arin. Arin didn’t even hear him come in, staring at the screen as he fiddled lazily with the buttons on his controller.

“Hey big guy…” Dan slowly approached Arin, sitting at the other end of the couch. Arin jolted, looking at Dan in surprise.

“Shit, is it midnight already?” Arin seemed genuinely shocked, resting his controller to one side. Dan nodded, rubbing Arin’s arm as he tucked one leg under himself.

“Yeah, buddy. How long have you been locked up in here?” Dan asked, sliding his hand up to thread his fingers through Arin’s hair. Arin tilted his head ever so slightly, closing his eyes, enjoying the relaxing feeling of Dan’s touch.

“Since you went.” Arin admitted quietly. Dan just nodded, removing the empty plastic tub from between Arin’s thighs. Arin shifted slightly and sighed. “Sorry.”

“You don’t gotta apologise for that.” Dan responded just as quiet, putting the tub aside and out of sight. “I’m just glad I’m here now, y’know? I’m sorry I didn’t really bring it up earlier. I know this is gonna be a long conversation, and I wanted to be ready for it.” Dan explained. Arin looked confused, shifting so that he was propped up against the armrest of the couch.

“What do you mean?” Arin asked. Dan’s expression saddened. He rose to go to the door, putting up a ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door (one they barely ever used when recording) and locking it. Arin watched him, only slightly terrified, and Dan returned to sit on the couch closer to Arin.

“Arin…” Dan started, clearing his throat. He had no idea how to approach this. He opened his mouth to continue, but Arin interrupted him almost immediately.

“What about today? Where’d you go? Who did you see? Was I super-smokin’ hot?” Arin grinned, obviously trying to change the subject. Dan just stared at Arin in disbelief.

“This is serious, Arin.” Dan shook his head. “Like… Like, real talk? But actual real talk.” Dan hoped that Arin would understand, and Arin seemed to just about, but something was holding him back about being totally serious with Dan. Was he hiding something?

“Did I do something wrong…?” Arin asked, his eyes a little wider. Dan quickly shook his head and reached across to hold onto Arin’s hand.

“No, no…” Dan squeezed Arin’s hand with a sad smile.

“Oh.” Arin looked at their hands, squeezing back. “Then, what’s up?”

Dan drew in a long, deep breath. This was definitely going to be a heavy conversation, and he wasn’t sure that he was ready for it. Maybe he wasn’t. But Arin was watching him expectantly, and if they didn’t talk about it soon…

“Arin, how are you feeling?” Dan watched the younger man’s reaction, studying every bit of body language he could recognise. Arin seemed to tense under Dan’s eye, itching at the back of his neck. A less-immediate response from Arin only made Dan worry more. “Okay, on a scale from like… one to ten, where the higher numbers are happier. If that’s easier?”

Arin took a moment to think, staring at the gaming screen in front of them. He never wanted to worry anyone, but Dan and everyone else back at the office seemed to be worried enough already, so he guessed he failed on that one.

“I don’t know.” Arin started, averting his eyes from Dan’s concerned stare. “I thought I was one of those people who, like, are always fine and shit. I’ve never had anything be so difficult.” Arin sniffed and looked back to Dan. Dan rubbed his thumb over the back of Dan’s hand.

“You don’t have to be fine. It’s okay not to be fine. Nobody can be fine all of the time. Then we’d be, like...:” Dan looked at the ceiling as he tried to come up with some sort of analogy. “Like Smiler from the Emoji Movie, you know?” To which Arin snorted at, snuggling into Dan’s chest as he rearranged himself on the couch.

“God, you’re just gonna bring up that, right here right now?” Arin giggled. Dan ruffled Arin’s hair with a short sigh and a smile.

“You know what I mean though, Ar.” Dan was running his fingers through Arin’s hair again. “I’m worried about you. Suzy’s worried, Ross is worried… pretty much everyone is.” Dan pouted and pressed a gentle kiss to Arin’s forehead. “You can talk to me… I’m not gonna tell anyone your personal shit if you don’t want me to.” And Arin understood that, with a quiet huff.

“I feel so lost…” Arin bit his lip. “Like everyone’s so far away, even when they’re right next to me.” He fiddled with the bottom of Dan’s t-shirt as he spoke. “Everyone’s got shit to do, and for once I haven’t really got anything worthwhile going for me.” He sighed, and Dan grew more concerned. What else was there? “It’s hard watching you go every time, to have the time of your life with someone who’s exactly me, but more interesting. Some guy with some purpose.” Arin pushed his forehead into Dan’s chest and groaned.

Dan was heartbroken. He hated hearing Arin talk so lowly of himself. He wrapped an arm around Arin’s waist and held him close.

“Arin… you’ve got plenty going for you. What about Grumps?” Dan spoke in a soft voice, being as caring and as understanding as he could. “What about your voice acting stuff? I promise you’ve got a purpose in life, even if you haven’t found out exactly what it is yet.” Dan lifted Arin’s head up and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. Arin kissed him back, pulling away with a soft sigh.

“I guess you’re right, then.” Arin was defeated. “I hate being left alone. It makes shit like this happen.” He scooted closer on the couch, until he was practically on top of Dan. Dan accepted, just making sure his arms were wrapped around Arin.

“I’m here now, it’s okay.” Dan rested his chin on Arin’s shoulder. “Things are gonna be okay.” And God, he hoped they would be.

After they’d managed to record a few episodes (it was about time!) the early hours of the morning were approaching, and though he knew it was a ridiculous time, Dan made the effort to text everyone at the office to ask them to keep an eye on Arin. He hated the idea of Arin feeling alone so much of the time, especially if it got him thinking negatively. The last thing anyone would want, worst-case scenario, would be losing a Grump.

Dan made the effort to drive Arin back to his own house, as Barry had gone back to Dan’s. He knew Suzy would take care of him, and Dan still needed some time to process what he’d heard earlier today.

Arin refused to be carried by Dan again, even when he was stumbling all over the place due to how tired he was. He hoped that Arin would get a decent amount of sleep tonight. But, when Arin finally realised he was going to his own place rather than Dan’s, he freaked out again.

“What if you’re not around tomorrow?” Arin was tense, Suzy quietly reaching over to link her hand with Arin’s. Dan didn’t know what to say. It was true; one day, he might be- well, God knows where! But Arin was so sure that having Dan close to him during the night, or staying up, would ensure that Dan didn’t disappear.

“I could crash in your spare room, if you really want me to.” Dan smiled softly. Arin was nodding quickly, Suzy also nodding by his side.

“I think that’d be best, then. I’m sure Arin has some pyjamas you can borrow if you need them. It’s cold tonight.” She walked further into the house, Arin following. Dan followed after them, a nervous feeling rising in his chest as he watched Arin. He was so worried for him, and yet he felt like there was nothing he could do.

That night, Suzy slept next to Arin, Dan taking the spare room – as planned. This time, it was Dan’s turn not to sleep; he was too busy thinking about all of the reasons why every Dan would disappear, and how badly it would hurt Arin for him to not be around. If Arin felt alone enough as it is… then, he really was worried for Arin if something happened.

Unfortunately, something awful was about to happen.

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criticalrolo · 7 years

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Because It Became Too Long As An Ask...

Not really a recent session per se, but for prep for the upcoming (slightly futuristic) sequel campaign we’re doing, my friend and I decided to have a little backstory together. Shadow Of A Star (Tabaxi Rogue) ended up falling into the Feywild where I met Eli (Redhnyan, ahomebrewed fey being, Ranger, only 8 inches tall). Shadow struck a deal with Eli’s employer, a cross-planar merchant, offering what services he could in exchange for passage back home.

The merchant agreed, and they all traveled to Sargasso, a massive inter-planar hub of governments and commerce (think Alpha from Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets). Now, unfortunately, this merchant, being a fey being, had previously engaged in less-than-legal activities with and against other merchants, and thanks to a tip, was quickly arrested in her apartment. Shadow tried to intervene and extract her, but failed when an automaton coldclocked him. He woke back up hearing the live officer calling for backup as the machine started cuffing him, so he slipped right out of that, and now he and Eli are kinda stranded there while they try to figure out how to get Shadow back to his home plane.

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ilosttrackofthings · 7 years

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minifics (3/4)

the Grant/Jemma edition (aka everyone’s favorite)

melodramatic

The second Grant sits at the bar, there’s a drink in front of him. The bartender nods over his head to say it’s been taken care of, but Grant doesn’t bother looking, just waits until the stool next to his is occupied.

“‘If I ever see you again, I’ll kill you’?” he asks. “Seriously?”

Jemma rolls her eyes. “I had to make it convincing, didn’t I? Since you bollocksed your cover up.”

He doesn’t wanna fight. He takes a sip, enjoys the smoky burn after six long months in captivity. After a few seconds of quiet—odd for her; he wonders if he should be worried—he feels her nails drag in his hair. After six months, that’s good too.

asphyxiation

Jemma’s having some trouble breathing. First because of the elbow Bakshi managed to dig into her side, between the planes of her tac vest. Then because of the tight pain that’s wrapped itself around her lungs. And now because there is a mouth on hers, preventing her from drawing in air. (Not that she’s much inclined to.)

Ward. It’s Ward’s mouth. Traitor, murderer, monster. She needs to kill him, it’s why she’s here.

But the burn in her lungs is fading—even as a different, more pleasurable burn replaces it while the kiss draws on—becoming more manageable as it moves to her skin. He’s undone her vest somehow and his hand is under her shirt and his cold fingers brush the exact spot and-

The noise she makes would be embarrassing in the best of circumstances. Now, with the man she hates with every fiber of her being eliciting it, it’s downright shameful.

Still, she wishes he’d do that again.

He breaks the kiss, allowing her the freedom to breathe but no room to. His forehead rests against hers and while they pant for air, she realizes the precarious position she’s in. Her vest open, one of Ward’s arms wrapped around her back beneath her shirt, holding her steady on the edge of the shelf she’s dragged herself up on. Her arms are around his neck and her legs around his waist, his free hand is gripping her thigh tight enough to bruise.

She meets his eyes as reason begins to outweigh the onset of hormones that comes with being marked. He’s her soulmate. Grant bloody Ward is her soulmate. She really should have killed him when she had the chance.

trust

“You need to trust me here, all right?”

Simmons tears away from him, nearly slipping in the blood at their feet in the process. “Trust you? You- you-”

He’s kinda proud of himself right now; it’s been a side goal of his for months to render her speechless.

“You just dropped Fitz out of-” The end of that sentence is muffled by his hand over her mouth.

“No,” he says. “I dropped his body out because it was freaking you out to see it. And his body will be found because the medpod is made to float and sends out a beacon if it’s ever detached. All right?”

She looks down at the blood. Not Fitz’s. It belongs to the Hydra grunt who grabbed her and left those marks that are sure to become bruises around her neck. Grant kicked his body out after the medpod detached.

“But John can use you and you’re not the one who tried to kill him, so you’re gonna be safe here. So long as you trust me.”

He takes her hand while she’s still processing, pulls her back into his side. This time she doesn’t try to get away.

plea

“Don’t think of it like that,” Grant says. His voice is impossibly strong, if a bit rough from the screaming he’s done recently. His fingers likewise are firm around hers. “It’s repaying a debt, nothing more.”

Jemma bites her lip, unable to speak, not with the guards watching from beyond the glass.

“Back at the Academy, you’d have been dead if it wasn’t for me.”

She would have. Grant put a stop to the senseless slaughter and instructed Hydra’s agents to imprison the cadets and agents who hadn’t previously hailed Hydra for future processing. If it wasn’t for him, she would have been buried in a shallow grave years ago.

Conversely, if it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t now be one of Hydra’s leading doctors, second only to the Doctor himself and given the human prisoners he has no interest in. If it wasn’t for Grant, she wouldn’t have tortured and killed countless people in Hydra’s name. If it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t be tasked with turning him into one of John Garrett’s wind-up soldiers now.

He holds her fingers tightly around the scalpel. “A life for a life.”

She forces down the pity and shame—they can wait for the future, when the loss will rise up to overwhelm her—and tugs her hand away. “It’s no use pleading,” she says. “You knew what Hydra’s policy on traitors was when you joined the resistance.”

He smiles briefly before she presses the blade to his arm. She won’t be able to make it fast, but at least now he knows she will end it. She owes him a life, after all, she just wishes it didn’t have to be his.

impulsive

“You’re really Hydra,” Simmons says as Trip is dragged away for a session with the Hub’s resident compliance specialist. And since Hand is overseeing his transfer, that leaves just Grant and Simmons.

“Yep,” he says. “And if you’re smart, you are too, starting right now.”

She’s still got that hollow, shell-shocked look. This is the time to push her, If he can get her going along with Hydra now, while she’s too scared and confused to argue, it’ll be easier to keep her with Hydra later.

“You’ve betrayed us,” she says, looking at him with more resignation than fear. That’s a good sign.

“No. I saved you. You’re alive right now because I joined Hydra years ago.” That’s not entirely true. She’s alive right now because she’s a genius. She’s not joining Trip because he said he could bring her around without risk of destroying her brain.

“You’re the enemy.”

He grits his teeth. She really needs to get off that.

But before he can figure out how to shift her focus, she shifts it herself, grabbing the front of his shirt in her cuffed hands and pulling him down for a kiss.

For all of two seconds it takes him by surprise, then he relaxes into it and sweeps his tongue past her lips, making her moan. He can work with this.

lost

“I think we knew one another,” she says while tying off the last stitch. Her patient, who has sat quietly all the while, lifts an eyebrow in silent question. It’s a simple move, but somehow he makes it devastatingly attractive. She finds she can’t help but smile as a familiar—if anything can be familiar when one is suffering from retrograde amnesia (and yet she knows what retrograde amnesia is and how to suture a wound and which chemicals in the cupboard across the room would best act together to make an effective bomb)—warmth curls in her gut.

“Not a stretch,” her patient says. Like her—like everyone in this facility—he’s lost his memory and she has no more idea of his name than her own. “We’re all here, so…”

She pulls off her gloves and rests a hand over his, where he’s been thumbing the scar along the inside of his wrist while she cleaned him up. “No. I mean-” She shakes her head at her own foolishness. She can’t be sure, and if he doesn’t think so…

He catches her chin when she tries to turn away. His eyes are dark in a way that holds promise. “You mean,” he says heavily, “like this.”

He kisses her and yes, yes, that is exactly what she meant, but she’s rather too busy wrapping her arms around his neck to say as much.

#biospecialist #my fic #*td #biospec fic #minifics #fic: amnesia

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lassluna · 8 years

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Los Angeles Fairy Tales (1/?)

A/N( Lucifer and Once Crossover, may be more, may have a plot, who knows? Thank you for all the reblog encouragements of “DO IT” and “write the thing” from: @trueromantic1 , @randomramblings473 and @captain-swan-jones.

I also had a bit of proofreading from ruhi and svenja on the CS Writing Hub on Discord to make sure Maze was in character. I don’t know their names here...)

Chapter 1: Maze Makes a Friend

Maze didn’t like humans. She’d grown used to them, but he had trouble dealing with certain aspects of them.

They were needy and fragile things. Maze was a demon; she didn’t do well with fragile things. She often forgot this when chasing down skips. On occasion, she broke a bone or two. It was becoming a problem according to Chloe. They thought she was using ‘excessive force’ on her catches.

“The only reason that no one has tried to charge you with anything is that none of your perps want to confess to getting beat up by a girl smaller than them.” Chloe told her one night over wine. “So you need to be more careful, try to be gentler.”

Gentler. Chloe was telling a demon to be gentler. It would be laughable if Chloe believed she was in fact a demon.

Maze rolled her eyes. She was created not to be gentle.

Linda tried to teach her to be patient and nurturing last month; she said it could help let go of some of her anger. Linda still didn’t understand that it wasn’t anger that made her violent, it was stupid people. Linda gave her a fish to take care of.

Trixie confiscated her fish, for what, Maze didn’t know, she was trying to be patient, but it wasn’t doing anything. She was just trying to make the thing do something, she was just poking it, with a knife, but it was only a little knife.

Trixie named it Bubbles, and hid Bubbles in her room.

It was a ridiculous assignment anyway.

So Linda gave Maze a different one to help teach her ‘people’ skills to fit in better. Linda told Maze to make a friend, sounded simple enough.

So Maze started looking. She tries the person she gets coffee from when she’s on a stake out, but her voice is too high pitched and all she talks about is if some guy likes her. It made Maze want to hit her.

There was this cop guy that emailed her the newest batch of dirt bags to hunt down, but he kept calling her ‘missy’. Maze was no missy. Instead of telling him all the things Linda coached her to say to a new friend, she told him that if he called her missy one more time, she’d decapitate him with his stupid emails.

So that guy was out.

There were a handful of other people she tried, but they didn’t seem too receptive, and Maze wasn’t too interested either. Maze decided that this assignment was also stupid.

She already had friends. Lucifer, Linda, Chloe, Dan, Amenadial. She didn’t need anymore. But Linda shook her head.

“Someone new.” She insisted. “Someone not connected to Lucifer, your own friend.” Lina explained. “You say you want a life outside of Lucifer, to be on your own, well this is a good step towards that.” Maze hated it when Linda was right.

Maze had pretty much given up, ready with a rant about how she couldn’t possibly befriend another human, how they were just too self-involved and weak for her to have to deal with. The whole point was to teach her to be gentler with her catches, and getting her pissed off by idiots, was not going to help.

She tried to forget about it and catch her recent dirt bag. A thief by the name of Tom Martin, the ass had robbed a jewelry store; put the owner in the hospital for no good reason. Just to assert macho dominance, Maze rolled her eyes looking the file over.

See? This was what made Maze exert a little bit more pressure than she needed to.

Maze stared from her car, waiting for him to come out of the restaurant, she preferred catching her prey in her element, the dark alleys or parking lots, and it usually prevented civilians from screaming.

She looked up, seeing the guy staggering out looking like he’d had one too many with a blonde woman besides him. Maze smirked; she got out of her car and quietly crept behind the couple. She’d push between them and arrest Martin. She promised herself that she’d only break his leg if he tried to run.

Maybe.

However, before she got a chance, the blonde moved. She took the hand that was around her hip and twisted it behind the guy’s back, slamming him into the car she was walking him towards.

“Call me Missy one more time, I dare you.” She hissed, pulling her cuffs from her side and cuffing him. It made Maze stop in her tracks in intrigue. She smirked at the sight. “Back to jail with you.” She said, pulling the guy up. The blonde caught her watching.

“It’s not what it looks like.” She said with a tired sigh. “He’s a criminal, skipped out on his bail.” She assured her.

Maze nodded. “Oh I know sweetheart.” He said, coming close. “First time someone beat me to a catch.” She praised, looking the blonde over, she didn’t look too tough, but Maze new better than anyone that looks could be deceiving.

“Well I deserved it for letting this creep feel me up for a half hour.” She complained. Maze chuckled. There was no way she’d have that patience for that. She’s more of a predator sort of bounty hunter.

The blonde smirked. “And it won’t be the last I get.” She said confidently, shoving the guy into the back of her car. Maze chuckled. The blonde was returning Maze look with her own. Maze could tell when she was being sized up. She returned a smirk.

“You think.” She smirked. “You got lucky this time blonde.”

Blondie rolled her eyes. “We’ll see.”

Maze made her way back to her car, not even upset that she lost her skip. She thought she might have possibly a new friend.

Apparently the blonde in the Yellow Volkswagen wasn’t wrong, she spotted her at least four of her skips that week. She was good.

She didn’t just honey trap them, she hunted almost methodically, going to all the best places for dirt bags to lay low, the second she spotted them, she took off after them like a demon out of hell.

It was awesome.

“Talk to her.” Linda encouraged when she met her for her weekly session. She looked happy, almost proud of her. All Maze had said was that she might have found a human that wasn’t completely annoying. “Do you remember what I told you about how to make a new friend?” She asked. Maze nodded.

“Be friendly, talk about common interests, open up to her.” She recited in a bored tone. It honesty wasn’t that difficult.

“Just not too much, no demon stuff.” Linda corrected.

“Be a good listener; invite her to go for drinks.” She continued. It was how she became friends with Chloe after all.

Linda nodded. “Good. What did you say her name was?” Linda asked.

Maze hadn’t, she hadn’t even asked for the blonde’s name, just that she was a bounty hunter like her and didn’t take crap, so Maze asked around, most people hadn’t heard of her, apparently she’d only moved to LA a few days prior to Maze meeting her. IT meant Maze would have to do this the old fashioned way.

She found her rallying a pair of guys with handcuffs.

“Need a hand?” She asked approaching. She vaguely recognized the men, no one of any particular interest.

“And split the check, no way.” She snapped, pushing them to their knees, dialing her police contact, whoever that was.

“I don’t need you money.” Maze promised. “Just know that not many of the cops like to come down for pick up, you might be a while.” She looked skeptical.

“I’m Mazeken, but my friends call me Maze.” She introduced. “Best Bounty Hunter in LA.” She said smugly.

“For now.” The blonde quipped back. “I have a knack for finding people.” She said. Maze shrugged.

“We’ll see.” She said. “So do you want that help or not?” She shook her head.

“I got this.” She said stubbornly. Maze frowned.

“What do you do besides catching dirt bags?” She asked, switching gears. The blonde shrugged.

“They keep me busy.” She mused. “Looks like the cops got here after all.” She said just as a blue and white police car pulled up.

Maze frowned; this was harder than Linda made it sound.

She was being nice, being kind, being what a good friend should be.

It repulsed her, but she was trying.

She tried to invite her for food, nope, she wasn’t hungry, she tried sharing her past work experience at a bar, Lux. She tried complaining about her roommates, (Chloe snored). She got nothing in return. No sharing of stories, no attempts at being her friend. It was like talking to a wall.

Linda encouraged her to keep trying, that sometimes people need to get used to the idea of something before they accept it, but it was really, really hard for her, Maze didn’t do nice, so it was taking everything out of her to be that.

Maze asked if there was a way to make someone your friend. It would save her a lot of trouble right about now.

Linda assured her she couldn’t, all Maze could do was extend the hand of friendship and hope she takes it.

The last straw when she brought her coffee. The blonde looked at it and shook her head. “Thanks, but I don’t drink coffee.”

Who doesn’t like coffee?

Maze was done. She dropped the coffee on the ground.

“Look, I don’t know what backwater town you came from, but I’m done.” She snapped, seemingly surprising the blonde. “I like you, you seem way cooler than most of the mortals I run into, so I wanted to be your friend, but now, no way, not interested.”

The blonde looked at her in surprise, but Maze didn’t care. He turned around and walked away.

“Maziken?” The blonde called out. She stopped. “That place you used to work, Lust?”

“Lux.” She corrected.

“I was hoping to get a drink tonight.” She said casually. “Is it good?”

Maze turned around with an uninterested look.

“The new bartender isn’t half bad.” She said. Lucifer was out on a stakeout with Chloe, otherwise there was no way Maze would bring her around Lux.

“Want to join me? I can tell you about this one time I was a cashier at a grocery store as a kid.” She said, leaning against her bug. “But right now I have a skip to catch.”

Maze smirked. “Sure.” He said, looking uninterested. “But only if I catch mine in time.” She said.

“Ken Fisher?” The blonde asked. Maze nodded.

“Winner buys drinks.” She said with a competitive edge.

“You’re on.” Maze agreed.

“Swan.” The blonde supplied. “Emma Swan.”

#once upon a time #Lucifer #Crossover #fanfic #LassLuna Writes

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