#destiny 2 fics

[flowers-of-io]

This Book Is Full of Lies - Chapter 10

The enormous gates of the Pyramidion rumble and fan out slowly. A shaft of light pierces through, perfectly triangular against the uneven staircase if it weren’t for a shadow of a humanoid figure right in the middle.

“Took you quite a while.”

Chapter 10: Death, Rewritten

[brainrotcharacters]

The one where Wade and Logan remind me of Achilles and Patroclus

Because what the fuck do you mean "Do I know you, bub?" Bitch I'm going to spay you

You would recognize him by touch alone. By smell.

You would know him blind by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth.

You would know him in death at the end of the world.

[sylenth-l]

[🚧 WIP] Some hoonters sketches I did after reading @jate-kara's works 🥺💙

[creepesthesia]

Worship.

Another pic in the style of the previous one.

I'm so sorry that I don't really have the time now to make something uh... good and more polished? Every day I come back home dead tired & I'm painfully slow at drawing. Oh the suffering. :( But I'm working on something interesting rn, stay tuned

[screebyy]

Part 3 wheeeee :)))))

and FYI Night of Ascents is referencing the Awoken's celebration on the anniversary of the day they left the Distributary, which was revealed in the Hiera Hodos lore tab that was released w/ this past dawning :)))

Prev | Next Part 1

Panel 1: In the dreaming city, Jolyon is leaning back casually against a white stone wall covered with green vines with pink flowers. His arms are crossed and he is looking down, lost in thought. Crow is walking around a corner towards him, up a rocky path with blue gemstones embedded in natural rock formations. It is almost dusk, and the setting sun is casting soft golden light and deep blue shadows on the scene. Crow: “Jolyon, hi…” Jolyon: “Hey.” Crow: “You wanted to talk?

Panel 2: Close up of Jolyon’s face. He turns his head towards the camera, to glance at Crow from the corner of his eyes. He looks sad and a little uneasy, like looking at Crow is painful for him. Jolyon: “...”

Panel 3: Jolyon turns his head away, looking off into the distance. His expression is not visible. Jolyon: “I used to live out here. When we first came to Sol.”

Panel 4: The landscape Jolyon is looking out at, split into two panels. On the left is the present day in the Dreaming city - the sun is setting behind a ridge, and a white set of stairs is visible winding up the mountainside. There is a white statue embedded in the rock, and there are trees and grass growing along the sides of the staircase. On the right, is the same ridge in the distant past, before the Dreaming City was created - the rocks are barren and desolate, and there is a crashed metal ship painted with red stripes that has long since been abandoned on the mountainside. The windows of the ship are glowing with light from inside. The silhouette of a tall person is inside the ship, opening a sliding hatch on the side of the ship to greet another, shorter person standing outside. Jolyon: “In the hull of an old cargo ship, just under that ridge.”

Panel 5: In present day, Jolyon is still leaning against the wall. He looks down and away from Crow, who is staring out at the landscape. Jolyon: “Before Mara and Riven reshaped everything.” Crow: “I remember...”

Panel 6: Close up of Jolyon’s face in profile. He is staring down at the ground, and looks distant. Jolyon: “...”

Panel 7: Jolyon looks back at Crow with a determined and slightly wary expression. Crow looks back at Jolyon, though his expression is not visible. Jolyon: “You told me about the Dawning. You remember what we celebrate here?” Crow: “Yeah…”

Panel 8: Close up of Jolyon from over his shoulder, as he looks at Crow. His face is not visible. Crow (offscreen): “The Night of Ascents.”

Panel 9: Jolyon turns back towards the ridge, looking up at it with a grave expression on his face. Crow looks away from him, glancing back up at the mountainside with a sad, distant Jolyon: “Do you remember coming here? The first one?” Crow: “...”

Panel 10: Close up of Jolyon, centered around his shoulder. Only the bottom half of his face is visible, and his expression is unreadable - he is still looking forward, out at the ridge instead of at Crow. Crow (offscreen): “I remember.”

Panel 11: Jolyon pushes himself up off the wall, and turns towards Crow. Jolyon: “Technically, it isn’t for a few more weeks, but….”

Panel 12: Close up of Jolyon, staring straight at the viewer. There is still a pained, sad expression in his eyes, though he looks like he’s trying to hide it. Jolyon: “Will you walk with me tonight?”

Panel 13: Close up of Crow, who looks surprised by the request. Crow: “Y-… Yeah.”

Panel 14: Wide shot of Jolyon and Crow climbing the white stone staircase that leads up the mountainside. Jolyon is a step ahead of Crow. Crow: “Of course.”

[swordoffrivolousthings]

Thoughts about Heroes of Olympus and how it could have been better.

Sometimes I think about what would have made HOO a better series. And I'm not talking about the obvious 'too much focus on romantic relationships' and the lack of usage of certain characters or the dumb ending.

I mean the little things that would change so much (mainly character dynamics but also worldbuilding i.e. Camp Jupiter and Gaia's reasoning)

Some of the points are inspired by @crisisreading and their posts. They are the first I saw raise some of my own points so! part 2

Make the ages vary more in the main cast, trust me

Let Percy, Annabeth and Grover get older by 4-5 years. Let them become adults and find themselves outside the godly war. Let them even finish college, I wouldn't get mad. Let them do anything beside being teenagers.

I promise this would make the dynamics more interesting. Percy and Annabeth will be more mentor figures, than fellow comrades. This would create some distance between some of the them, but ultimately create something fun. Piper would come to see some aspiring female figure in Annabeth (I think this would ether be positive or negative, depending how Annabeth changed as a character over the years, but I tend towards negative). Leo would potentially have someone older to exchange ideas with. Jason would possibly feel intimidated by Percy's vastly superior age, prowess and experience, instead of being able to clash heads with him.

Hazel would have not one, but two that people that would play parent to the others' reckless behavior. (go snort your harmful stereotypes up your ass, Riordan.) Frank, when telling Percy and Hazel about his stick, would possibly find in Percy a kind hand (not that he wasn't kind already, let me explain) and Percy would probably share with him this feeling of vulnerability - not dump it on Frank - about having your life tied to a specific thing. I mean his Achilles heel, with which he would have lived for far longer.

And a whole lot more.

2. Add Grover into the series as a perspective character

You have a new trio dynamic introduced in the first book of the series. Let the original trio interact as main characters and let us see how their relationship has changed.

Grover's opinion on the conflict between the gods and Gaia would be important. He is the Lord of the Wild, and Gaia is the literal personification of the Earth. Let us see his struggle between the loyalty he has to the gods and his friends and his powerful feelings towards protecting nature.

Also, he would act as a protector for the demigods. Because while I enjoy Hedge, he is not enough to keep them safe.

3. Throw the bullshit about Gaia getting revenge for Kronos' defeat out of the way

Gaia, as mentioned before, if the personification of the Earth. One of the first gods to emerge from Chaos.

Gaia can, of course, keep her resentment for the gods defeating the son that freed her from her pain (caused by Ouranos initially). But she is a mother goddess. She should want obliterate humanity because humans are slowly killing her. Painfully. She wants to survive and the only way she sees how if by killing all the humans. She wants to save her children, aka animals, insects, nature, and the only way she sees is bloodshed. Gods are not rational in their anger, no one is. So let her be angry and vengeful and out for human blood.

DO NOT MAKE HER A FUCKING VILLAIN, MAN! Make her an antagonist, but someone's whose ideals are worth taking in and adapting. Kinda like Luke about the demigod and minor god recognition. Where have the themes of the original series gone? Remember, an important theme in BOTL was protecting the environment. It was one of the most important moments when Pan faded. Do not let that go to fucking waste. Especially not now, in the world we live in.

4. Show the effects the war had on Camp Half-Blood. Hint it at Camp Jupiter, when Percy does not have the memories to corelate it with

We've had years since the end of the Second Titan War. How did the gods change the course of events ? (the victors write the histories) How much of Luke's reasoning for starting the war was erased. (hint, all of it.) Show us how much the perspectives were shifted and how much the people that fought in it were made into martyrs and villain, basically becoming caricatures.

Let us feel how much this hurts Percy, Grover and Annabeth. How it had impacted and impacts their trauma, grief and utter horror. The younger, newer campers see them as wonderful, all-just and loyal heroes of the gods. The way they hate it.

Good moment to implement the new cabins for the gods and let the new ones forget that it wasn't always this way. Let Percy's demand to the gods be forgotten, shoved under the rug. The tragedy unfolds, use it.

Since in Camp Jupiter none of the main characters have fought, let us see the subtility. Let the older legionnaires be ragged, scarred. Older and weary, with eyes glassy and suspicious. Have younger recruits have this heavy air around them. They know what happened, what killed most of the older people in the legion.

Have Jason, Hazel and Frank see these things in Annabeth, Grover and Percy too. They realise that oh. oh. these three have fought in the war, of course they would. Show them gain respect for the trio. The same kind of respect they have for the veterans back home.

5. Cut one of the Seven from the prophecy.

I know this seems radical, but it is a symbolism thing, which I think would be more interesting in a world based on Greek mythology.

It is established in PJO that three (3) is an important number: 3 Olympian sisters (Hera, Demeter, Hestia), 3 Olympian brothers (Hades, Poseidon, Zeus), 3 Fates, 3 quest members, 3 Furies, 3 godly realms (the Underworld, Olympus + the sky, the seas). Use this.

Give us six (6) prophesized heroes. It is, after all, the second most used number in the series and a multiple of 3.

I suggest Annabeth. Why? because she has her quest from Athena. Let that be her top priority, while hanging out on the Argo II to get to Rome. Let her bond with the younger demigods and have her possible death be always on her mind. Bring her hubris into play and she would think herself the chosen one, the one demigod child of Athena to survive. This would make her falling into Tartarus with Percy not letting her go more taxing on her psyche.

Show us how she hates herself because she took one of the principal quest members to certain death. She feels like she'd jeopardized the whole saving the world thing.

Cut the Seven to Six and let Annabeth die in Tartarus. Show us why a single-man quest is a death sentence. Why three (3) is such a valuable number.

6. CONSEQUENCES!!!

Jumping straight off the last point.

Change why Annabeth would end up in Tartarus. Make her ignore the string around her ankle because she thing that nothing bad can happen to her now. After all, Arachne is gone, right.

Let this be her undoing. I do not care how she dies, but make her choices, her hubris, be her undoing. Do not let her death up to a chance, a mistake or miscalculation. Show how toxic Tartarus is, because we do not see it enough, but make it Annabeth's idea, the plan by which she dies.

Do not make it Percy's fault. Let him try to do everything to keep her alive, but still failing. Attack his sense of loyalty, his self-esteem. Show how the experiences and her death affect him.

Bring the trauma from the last war back in those chapters, in a place where demigods leave something behind.

To less drastic things - let the others get hurt. Permanently. Show how this life affects and damages people physically, too.

Have one lose an eye, another get horrific scars. Lose a limb, a part of themselves. Do not make it seem like any other could have gotten the same wound.

Tailor them to their character, their pride and their skill. Hit them where it hurts most and let us see how it changes them.

Also, about Leo. Kill him too. The fact that he ended up alive is a deux ex machina. He should have suffered the consequences.

Also also, bring back the fatal flaws. They are missing from the series. Play with them, show why they are important parts of their characters. Bring back ancient Greek fatal flaws, and new ones that make sense in a modern world.

Hurt them because what hurts them is part of who they are. Show us why the Greeks invented tragedy.

7. Age up the target age. Go more young/new adult

I understand that PJO was made for middle schoolers. But the target audience had grown up alongside the characters, and as such they have matured.

This is why I said to age Percy, Grover and Annabeth up further. Leave some distance for the old and new readers to get up and personal with the new main characters. Have them find common ground with the new demigods but have their anchor in the old ones.

Make the readers work to understand and refamiliarize themselves wit the older demigods. Because they've changed.

Targeting a more mature audience allows exploring n. 6. The realistic consequences of living with the fear that something will come and eat you. How just a little mishap could change you for life. (or what has been left of it)

Please do not go grim dark. Show that despite this all, their purpose has not stopped existing. A life exists outside of your appearance or disability still exist, and while it would be hard, do not lose hope.

8. Hope, or lack of its importance in the Heroes of Olympus series

Alongside other callbacks and reinforcements of PJO's lore, where is Elpis (hope)? Why doesn't she appear as a larger theme in the books? I don't know.

Elpis is still in the jar, having been used as a threat of defeat. But now Kronos is gone. Have Gaia use it as s symbol for her own cause.

Make hope Gaia's argument. The most important part of why her cause stands. Gaia is waking now because there is no hope for the betterment of the planet while in human - and therefore godly - grasp. She wants to save the planet, but they, the destroyers, are opposing her.

Hope is what she wants to bring back. The hope that death will not be the end of life, but further evolvement and betterment of all species.

This argument is what the counterargument should unravel. All species? Why are humans considered irredeemable, unworthy of becoming something greater?

Why can't they not coexist and why can't humans learn how to care about the world surrounding them.

Make hope for humanity and for the environment not a question of if they are capable to coexist, but how we can manage that. Humanity and nature are not mutually exclusive, but two halves of the same whole that need each other to sustain their longevity. Yes, nature can exist without humans, but humans can't.

This does not mean that the best way forward is to kill all humans.

There is no need for hope in HOO because there are no greater questions being asked about topics that require hope, because otherwise we would descend into nihilism and fatalism.

9. Give the gods reason to act the way they act, or a look at a greater narrative problem in the series

I may be generalizing, but the gods act erratically and make choices convenient for the plot, as it is, to happen.

Hera: how, specifically, does she know that Gaia is rising and what her plans are. Why is she against Gaia, when the older goddess has a track record of helping the Olympians on different occasions in the myths. Why does she decide to act when she does, how she knows that the king of the giants (whatever his name may be) is coming after her right then.

We don't know.

Athena: we understand why she wants the Athena Parthenos back. Why not force the Romans to give it back. After all, she is a goddess, even if the Romans don't respect her as the Greeks did, she has power and sway over them. Why send her children, a supposedly important part of what brings her glory, to a near-certain death. Is it misguided vengeance, an obsession to get the statue back at all cost, or simple cruelty. These reasons could apply very well to sending the Romans, yet she doesn't.

Zeus: why lock down Olympus? Paranoia, which fair, but you are a King, why wouldn't you look after your subjects? (bc Riordan chose to ignore part of his characterization in the myths and part of his godly domain) (I know kings aren't perfect, but after the last war, one would think he would do everything in his power to stop another one before it begins) Why not seek justice for Octavian's lies, that affect their ability to win the war, and kill/imprison him? Justice is part of his domain, as Zeus Nomius.

I know that we wouldn't necessarily need these answers, but without some of them, some choices left hanging seem to be there only to add to the drama and danger of it all.

All in all, I have many problems with the 'Heroes of Olympus' series. Some of them are nitpicks and personal preference as a high fantasy reader in my free time. Some of them would really add to the story and continue the themes of PJO.

Please ask me if something wasn't clear to you. I'll happily explain further.

If you find something you don't agree with, let's discuss. I'm open to changing my opinions.

[destiny-in-the-universe]

Would anyone want to see me keep yapping about Cars? I can always talk about my own rewrite for Cars 2, and my own silly thoughts about other AU’s I’ve made up with and such- (includes headcanons)

coughs asking for… a friend? (the friend is me-)

Genuinely I did not think there would be a Cars fandom but then again, this is tumblr and I’ve seen niche, dead series come rising out of the ground like zombies. So, if y’all exist somewhere - i am here, meows

lowkey debating a server but that’s irrelevant right now. I just want to know about me yapping about Cars (Pixar)

[makoredeyes]

Hecking FINALLY did it 🫠

[l3rking]

QUINN YOU CAN’T JUST SAY THAT

[eiramew]

discussin..

[flowers-of-io]

Doctrine of the Passions

However eager he is to help his friend with restoring the Warmind, Yilwran would like it required less of a Golden Age engineer's wounded ego, and less Clovis Bray in general. Julianna isn't happy about it either — still reeling after her quest against the Witch-Queen, Clovis' presence only adds more questions and doubts on top of her existing ones.

On the other side of the barricade, a Deathsinger apprentice fights for her position in Xivu Arath's ranks. Her dream initially shattered after the slaughter of the Hellmouth Choir, she is now resolved to do whatever it takes to gain the remaining power she needs to morph into a Wizard and enter the last stage of her training.

The baton is raised. The breath drawn. The symphony is due to begin.

Chapter One: Hounds of War

[zalia]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Destiny (Video Games) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Osiris/Saint-14 (Destiny), The Drifter & Osiris (Destiny) Characters: Osiris (Destiny), The Drifter (Destiny) Additional Tags: Alcohol, Heavy Drinking, Angst, Memories, Reminiscing, Friendship, Game: Destiny 2: Episode: Echoes, Game: Destiny 2: Episode: Echoes spoilers, Spoilers, Depression, Neurodiversity, The Sundial (Destiny), Osiris/Saint-14 Angst (Destiny), The Iron Lords (Destiny), Camaraderie, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Anger, Insecurity, Pain, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD Summary:

Sometimes the only person you can talk to is one that you knew before you were a legend. Unfortunately for Drifter, that means playing bartender to one belligerent, and heart-broken, Phoenix.

[confusedlucifer]

gay grampas 2: gay wedding

[syncopation53]

I rewrote a scene in Avelynn's intro chapter (the first d1 moon mission) so now it's basically like this

[michaelhuangwtf]

Reading Pigeon and Phoenix lores gives me feels

[keesdarlin]

☆// the night market

info! cayde-6 / fluff, ambiguous relationship + gender neutral reader

cw! no CWs

notes! first draft on this account - kinda nerve-wracking! also my first time ever writing for cayde -- just a lot of firsts going on. i hope that this is a good way to get this account started. feel free to drop any requests into my inbox! (listen i'm also writing this like cayde never died just for my own peace of mind. i just can't really do that right now just pretend along with me. lil vaguely christmas-themed piece)

it's chilly. the cold bites right through the thinnest layers of your clothes - the ends of your sleeves that cover your knuckles. no armor tonight. it's nice, if you're being honest.

the atmosphere is bright, more festive than you're used to. old string lights hang overhead, swaying as people move about the tents, looking through wares for sale. people chatter away at stalls, haggling without too much seriousness. music plays from somewhere -- wherever it's coming from, you can't see it, but it sounds nice and calm and live. you can't remember the song exactly, but it's familiar. it puts you at ease in the crowd. you just stand in the middle of the hustle and bustle, watching. it's nice to disappear into the crowd every once in a while, to be an observer rather than a protector for just a moment. a reminder of what you're fighting for.

you hum to yourself, your ghost hovering over your shoulder as you watch the motion of the crowd. then you yelp, feeling a purposeful yet awkward nudge against your shoulder. you turn to confront whoever it is with one hand over your chest, the other flying to the carefully concealed holster at your hip, to be met with none other than cayde-6. you force your eyes shut for a second and focus on the exhale that follows, hand falling away from your holster. "you scared the light out of us, cayde!" your ghost cries, shell spinning anxiously.

when you open your eyes, your expression is fairly deadpan, unamused at the slight smile he cracks. "since when are you so jumpy?" he teases, holding a mug in each hand. "i got us some, uh, hot chocolates. isn't that what you do at these things?"

he hands you one awkwardly, twisting his wrist so that you would be able to grab it from the handle. the mugs are metal, well-worn and dented, but just the right temperature to warm your reddening fingertips. "since i'm not wearing any gear," you mutter, holding your mug close to your chest. "and you might wanna be a little more careful with scaring me. i could've shot you." you really did scare us, you know.

cayde scoffs, stuffing one of his hands in his pocket. "seriously? you're packing heat at this little christmas fair?"

silently, you lean into him with your hip leading, just enough for him to feel the pressure of your holster against his leg.

his eyebrows raise in realization. "oh. i stand corrected."

you shake your head, hiding a grin by sipping at your drink. you nod in approval, humming your thanks.

then it's quiet for a beat. your ghost dissipates back to wherever they go when they're not hovering over your shoulder (you try not to think about it too much; the rationalizations can get kind of freaky), and you and cayde are left people watching in the center of the hustle and bustle.

"what are you doing here anyways?" you ask over the edge of your cup, opting to watch a group of friends flit from stall to stall instead of looking over at him. "i thought you weren't coming."

"well, i wouldn't be a very good, uhm..." it's a strong start, but when he turns to look at you as he speaks it's like the wheels in his head start to struggle a little bit. he clears his throat, trying to get himself back on track. "i wouldn't be a very good friend if i let you come by yourself, would i?"

you laugh softly, and the sound is bright, cutting through the buzzing noise of the crowd. "so he does have honor," you tease, finally smiling at him. for a second it doesn't feel quite so cold outside. then your gaze aims straight again and the rest of the atmosphere comes back into focus. "no, you wouldn't be. i would have taken it very personally."

"that so?" cayde looks down at you, amused. his voice rumbles deep and hearty in his chest, like the crackling of a campfire. it feels safe, has you wondering why you thought to bring your sidearm in the first place. but then you remember that he's looking at you, waiting for your response.

"oh, absolutely," you chuckle, and it comes out just a touch too fast, but if he notices he doesn't say anything. just laughs along with you.

the air settles again, both of you sighing into your mugs. "would you like to walk a little bit?" he asks, pulling his free hand out of his pocket and gesturing down the aisle.

you smile, fully this time with teeth and all, and take a step forward. "sure, i'd love to."

so you go, weaving through people and looking through trinkets and laughing at little lighthearted incidents occurring on the periphery of the market, humming along to the music, one of you always close behind the other. and the part of you that thought this would probably be awkward falls silent.

"you know what would go great with this hot chocolate?" you ask over your shoulder, and the brush of his cape against yours tells you that he's coming around the corner of the tent after you.

"what would?"

"some cookies," you say, smiling even though he can't see you. "on me, of course, since you bought the hot chocolate." you turn back into the aisle, deciding that the tent's wares no longer interest you.

cayde scoffs, sounding almost shocked. "listen, kid, you don't have to-"

you glare playfully over your shoulder, following your nose down the aisle to a vendor selling sweet treats. "if it makes you feel better, we can say that i'm only getting you one so that i don't feel bad about getting two for myself. deal?"

and cayde laughs again, breath coming out in wispy puffs. "okay, sure. deal."

the line goes fairly quickly and in no time you hold three chocolate chip cookies, carefully handing one off to the exo man. "thanks," he says awkwardly.

you shake your head. "no problem."

both of you munch on your cookies for a moment before you abruptly look up at him again. "we've never hung out outside of work before," you say as though you're just realizing it.

cayde straightens up at the though. "oh... i guess we haven't really, huh?"

you shake your head.

"guess that makes sense seeing as we're both... always working..." he says shoulders slumping. gosh, how boring.

"do you want to do something?" you ask. "like do something, not just hang out at the market?"

"i, uhm. sure. yeah," he stammers.

you nod to yourself, starting off into the crowd. he scrambles to follow after you.

soon enough he finds the both of you in a bustling field a tiny bit away from the market. it's much more calm out here than in the market even in spite of the number of people around.

"you do this often?" he asks uncertainly, watching over your shoulder as you sit hunched over on the ground, decorating a paper lamp.

"do what often?" you reply, not looking up from whatever it is that you're drawing.

cayde gestures vaguely, floundering for a moment. "this whole night market thing."

"oh." you look up from what you're drawing for a just a moment, staring at the sky. "not really. mostly just for the dawning."

cayde smiles. "so are you a dawning fanatic? do you do the outfits and the presents and the themed parties and all that?"

you wrinkle your nose, laughing lightly. "no, not really. i just like the market. don't have much to decorate with at home."

he nods. "fair enough."

then you turn to him, holding out your pencil. "you draw something on there too."

"oh, i'm not much of an artist."

you roll your eyes. "who cares? just put something on there, anything. it'll make things more fun."

cayde hums a disagreement but starts drawing anyways. once he's done he hands the pencil back to you. you hold the paper lantern up to the light, playfully analyzing it. "it's beautiful," you coo teasingly. he only bumps you with his shoulder in response.

"okay, so now what?" he asks, hands clasped together.

"now," you start, fluffing the lantern open, "we send it off."

cayde nods his head. "and how do we do that?"

you smile and pull a tea candle and a lighter out of your pocket. "with these. see you light it and you put it in the little holder in there, and then it floats. you wanna see?"

cayde smiles down at you and something about how bright the expression is makes you forget that you're out in a field, away from all of the light and holiday chaos of the night market. "sure," he says like it's simple. and you guess it is as you flight your lighter and light the little candle.

he watches as you place the candle in it's little structure. then he helps you lift it above your head, both of you giving it the tiniest boost as it goes on its journey in the sky. you sit in silence together as you watch it float off into space, into the smattering of stars across the sky.

"thanks for coming." you let yourself lean into the warmth of his side. he doesn't protest. it's comfortable there, in this moment, in the air trapped between the both of you. "i normally do this by myself, but it was nice to have company this year."

finally, he peels his eyes off of your little lantern in the sky to look down at you. "i had a great time. 'd love to do it again."

your expression melts into a cozy smile as your brain processes the words. i'd love to do it again sometime. you grin up at him. "deal."