#give Din a break my man is doing his best as a single father

[rhaenyradaemons]

so you’re telling me my boy Din went through the horrors of life in order to get redeemed but then the Armorer took one (1) look at Bo-Katan and went "it’s okay bestie you can take the helmet off idc"??? even Paz was flabbergasted 👁️👄👁️

[ladydorian05]

A Christmas with you~

Oh god...where do I begin, okay as of today Dec/24/2020, the movie We can be heroes isn’t out yet, so everything is just from my imagination, interactions, personalities and everything else that may sound slightly canon, it’s most certainly NOT canon. I hate using ‘Y/n’ on reader inserts but this time I had to. Thank you @din-damn-djarin​ for being my beta for this fic, I really, really appreciate it. Go check out her fics, I adore her Neigbor Marcus Pike series, it’s SO good. 

This is a monster of a fic, where did so many words come from?

Hope you guys like it.

Thoughts are in italics 

A Christmas with you~

Pairing: Marcus Moreno x f!reader

Summary: You’ve been in love with your best friend for years, what you don’t know is that he’s also in love with you. Could a little push from one cunning young girl help you both get together during the most wonderful time of the year? (sorry, still suck at summaries)

Warnings: Reader’s superhero name is “Striker”, why? Because my brain thought it sounded cool, I jump from POV to POV, one plotting child, best friends to lovers, a pair of pinning idiots and implicit spiciness.

Words: 7K something

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

It was no secret to any of the members of the Heroics that you had no family to spend the holidays with.

In a way they were all your family, you were all a close-knitted team, but sometimes, it just wasn’t the same.

Then, there was Marcus and his daughter. He had been there from the moment you joined the team he became a very close friend, your best friend. Most of the time you got partnered with him, especially when it came to reconnaissance missions, you worked well together, you trusted each other and always had each other’s back.

Eventually, you began to feel differently towards him. You were no fool, you knew what you felt for him was definitely more than simple fondness, attachment or admiration. Your heart rate increased when he was close, his smile makes you smile, you would do anything for him, anything to keep him and his loved ones from harm’s way.

He’s always been so charming and handsome and a total gentleman. There had been times where you had wanted to take the first step, confess your feelings to him and see where that would take you, but you couldn’t; at first because he had been a married man about to become a father when you met him and then when his wife stopped being a part of the picture, well you just wanted to be there for him as a friend, he had enough on his plate raising Missy on his own, he didn’t need you to dump all of your feelings on him.

He was doing amazing on his own, but you wanted him. No, you wanted both of them, Marcus and Missy, to know that you would be there for them whenever they needed you. Besides, you were just friends, he’ll never see you as anything more.

“That will be all for today, everyone’s dismissed. I wish you all a happy Christmas eve and remember to keep your locators close, we all know how crime rates increase during this season. I'll see you again here until the 26th” Ms. Granada said, taking you out of your thoughts and officially ending the debrief meeting.

Every year, during the holidays, most of the team got a leave from duty, beginning early on Christmas eve, until the 26th; that was if no major crisis happened that required the whole team, otherwise only a handful of volunteers were left on patrol duty during those days.

Seeing as you’ve never celebrated the festivity, you always volunteered to be a part of the patrolling team. Not that your teammates had never invited you to spend Christmas with them and their families, they had done it on multiple occasions, not wanting you to be alone, time and time again you had reassured them that it was alright you didn't mind spending the night patrolling.

In truth, you always declined because you didn’t want to intrude, the celebration was all about family and spending time with loved ones, you knew your friends had good intentions but you just didn’t want to feel like you didn’t belong there, like you were invited to tag along out of pity.

Eventually, the invitations stopped coming your way, and while it hurt a bit that they gave up on you, you were also relieved for not being put on the spot again and again having to decline their generous offers.

But this year, unbeknownst to you, a scheme was beginning to brew inside the head of one young girl, to make you change your plans for the night.

~~~~~~~~~~

Missy wasn’t blind, she knew there was something between her father and Striker, even before she learned that her father was a superhero.

When she was younger, she had shipped his dad’s alter ego and Striker. They always looked so in-sync on the tv, like the perfect duo, but now that she gets to watch them both in real life? She had no doubts, they liked each other.

And it wasn’t just when they were in costume, Striker had always been around ever since she could remember, all of her birthday parties, her school festivals, even helping her dad every time some mom came up with the idea to have bake sales at school over and over again; what’s wrong with that woman?

She had noticed all the constant glances, the here and there ‘accidental’ brush of hands, even the full-on staring; just like right now, during the debrief, her father’s eyes kept straying from Ms. Granada to Striker and every single time he turned his attention back to the meeting before he could notice how Striker had been doing the same thing. Oh yeah, they were both pining for each other.

The problem was that they were SO stubborn, she’s been trying to bring it up to her dad, but he would immediately change the topic of the conversation with some question about school or any upcoming mission, it was frustrating!

She wanted him to be happy, she wanted both of them to be happy, and being superheroes was dangerous business, she wasn’t about to wait until something happened to either of them, as dramatic as that would be, for things to move forward. Like always, it was up to her to give them a push.

“You know, if you keep staring at her like that she’ll burst into flames.” One good thing that came with the pair of pinning adults was that the whole thing made them so easy to tease, and she loved to tease her father.

“I think you're mistaken, that would be something Lavagirl could probably do, not me sweetheart.” With a chuckle, Marcus puts a hand on her head to ruffle her hair. “Ready to go?” Changing the topic, again. This time she wasn’t about to let it go.

“Not yet. Actually, there’s something you haven’t done.” Missy crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Oh, really?” Marcus smiled as he mimicked his daughter’s stance. “And what is that thing I haven’t done?” he said with amusement.

Missy smirked. “You haven’t asked Y/n if she wants to come home and celebrate with us. “The smile on Marcus' face disappeared, a stunned expression replacing it.

“What!?”

“Yeah, you should invite her, we can all have dinner together and maybe she can stay and open presents with us.”

“Uh…Missy, sweetheart I don’t think that’s a good-“

“Oh, come on, dad! It’ll be great! It’s not as if we’re doing something REALLY special tonight. Please?”

“Sweetheart, she’ll probably say no, you know she never comes to Christmas parties.” His hands moved from his chest to rest on his waist as he spoke.

“Which is why you should invite her over. We’re not throwing a party; it’ll be just the three of us. And even if she says no, you won't lose anything just by asking.”

He wouldn’t know what to do if she rejected him. How cliché of him to fall in love with his best friend.

He had slowly fallen for you, so much so that by the time he realized what was going on, he was already a goner.

He had always known how beautiful you were, your smile, the way it illuminated your whole face; your eyes, your nose, your lips. He noticed how you were always helping people, inside and outside your Heroic persona, he also noticed how you tried to dismiss your own worries, not wanting to ‘burden’ others with them.

If only you would let him do for you the same things you do for him. He would love nothing more than to share whatever problems weighted down on you. He also knew you never accepted invitations to any Christmas celebration, at first, he had thought maybe you were being shy, being the new member of the team and all that, but year after year you always declined every single invitation from your teammates, he had always hated the thought of you spending the holidays on your own, patrolling the city.

He had never tried to invite you himself, back when his wife was around, they had always traveled to her parent’s house so it was useless to ask you to tag along, and then, after she left, it had been difficult to even try to celebrate.

If he asked you to come to Christmas and you said no, if you rejected him…well what hope could he have that maybe, just maybe he could find the courage to confess his feelings. But the probability of them being unrequired scared him so much. Should he risk it all?

Missy didn’t need to be a telepath to know what her dad was thinking, he was thinking too much and that normally resulted in him chickening out, well this time she wouldn’t let him.

“Or do you actually like the idea of her spending Christmas patrolling the city in a cold night most likely on her own?” This time she copied her father’s stance, silently challenging him to a staring contest, she had this in the bag, her dad had never won a staring contest in his life.

“You can be so stubborn when you want to, little lady.” Marcus said after a few seconds, breaking eye contact.

“Who do you think I got it from?” She said with a self-satisfied smile on her face.

“Come here.” Marcus pulled her in a hug. “I love you; you know that?” he said, leaving a kiss on top of her hair.

“I know, I love you too. Now stop stalling and go ask her.”

“Okay, okay. Sheesh, you’re also bossy.” He squeezed her a little before letting go and walking towards y/n.

“It’s called leadership!” He shook his head laughing, well, at least he was doing something right, god knows raising Missy almost on his own hadn’t been easy.

~~~~~~~~~~

You had been waiting to see which teammates would be staying with you this year to agree upon a schedule, when you noticed Marcus approaching you, he stood in front of you with a wide smile making his adorable dimple appear.

“Hi there.” He greeted while rubbing his hands together, one of his nervous ticks.

“Hi there yourself, everything okay?” It was weird, you could see how tense he was and he kept shifting from foot to foot.

His eyes widened and his head kept moving as he nodded. “Yeah, yes, everything’s alright.”

“Okay.” Now this was a Marcus you didn’t get to see often. Normally he was so self-assured, he always carried himself with confidence, even in the face of danger. “Are you excited to go home and spend a whole day with Missy?”

“Of course, it’s been some time since we’ve had the chance to spend a whole day together.”

“I’m glad you got the chance, she’s been working so hard, you both have, you deserve some time off.”

And so do you. He thought.

“You know, you’re right, you should also take a break.” He frowned. Marcus could see the bags under your eyes. You had also been working harder, pulling more time than the others. You did this every year during this season and it always pained him, while everyone else went home to their families you didn’t even hang your suit and equipment for a night and a day off, no, you made sure to keep everyone safe.

“I don’t know, not many of us volunteer for patrol as it is, and I don’t have any plans for the night or tomorrow so, why not?” You looked down at your feet. It was the truth, why bother taking a break, only to go to a cold empty apartment? You could find a better use of your time like this.

Marcus, swallowed, steeling what little resolve he had, it was now or never.

“You know, we- Missy and I that is. We were wondering if…maybe, if you don’t have any other plans; and of course you can say no, but it’ll be great if you said yes, and it’s nothing formal-” You watched him with amusement as he kept rambling, “It would be just the three of us and well, pizza and movies and junk food, staying up until midnight and opening some presents. Don’t worry, you don’t have to actually bring anything, it’ll be fine with jus-“

Shit, why was he talking so much, and why wouldn’t his hands stop moving!? Something like this hadn’t happened to him in a freaking long while, since he first invited a girl he liked on a date, like twenty or so years ago!

Leave it to you to have this kind of effect on him, only you could reduce him to a babbling idiot, if this kept going on, he wouldn’t be able to actually ask you the question.

~~~~ 

Oh my god! What is he doing!? Missy stared at her dad as he kept talking and moving his hands around while you just looked at him with mirth and confusion.

She had to do everything in this family, didn’t she?

“Would you like to join us tonight and maybe even tomorrow?” Missy interrupted her dad before he could keep on talking.

 Marcus hadn't been so grateful to his little girl than in that moment. “Umm, yeah, would you like to join us?” Marcus looked at you with a smile and hopeful eyes.

“Oh…OH!” You were speechless, you weren’t expecting an invitation this year, least of all an invitation from him. While it wasn’t weird for him to invite you to special occasions, he’s never once tried to invite you to spend Christmas with him. You always thought this time of year was special for him and that he preferred to spend it alone with Missy. “I-I…”

“Please say yes! It’d be fun, we just sit in front of the tv and watch movies while eating junk food!” Missy jumped in hugging you. She wasn’t scared to use her resources, every single one of them, if that meant that y/n agreed to the invite; she’d even use the puppy eyes if she had to, she had to exploit that one before it stopped working.

“I don’t know, we can’t leave the city defenseless…” Puppy eyes it was.

“Pretty please! I’m sure it’ll be fine, you always stay on duty, they can manage one year without you!”

Oh no, not the puppy eyes! You stared at Missy’s brown eyes, they looked so much like her father’s. You shifted your gaze from Missy to look at Marcus only to find him doing almost the same expression. God damn it! Not him too, he’s too old for that face to work, why is it working!?

What the hell, it’s not like you didn’t want to.

“Okay, I’ll join you guys”

“Yes! You’re the best, see ya later!!!” Missy gave your middle a squeeze before running out of the room, leaving you and Marcus staring after her.

“You mister are way too old to be pulling the puppy-eyed look, you should be ashamed.” You turned to see his smug face.

“I’ll keep using it for as long as it keeps working.”

“What a disgrace.”

“So umm, does six work for you?”

“Yeah, I’m just going to let the others know I won’t be a volunteer this year. See you then.” With a smile you gave Marcus a quick hug before approaching one of the members of the Heroics that, much like you, always volunteered and was the one in charge of making the schedule for patrol rounds.

“Yeah, see you.” Marcus said shaking his head, long after you had left his side. He needed to get a grip of himself, if not, he would have a long night waiting for him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Even if Marcus said not to bring anything, you hated arriving at a friend’s house empty handed, even if it was Marcus, especially if it was Marcus; so you made sure to grab a couple of things on the way to your apartment. Some bags of everyone’s favorite chip flavor and enough ingredients to make some cinnamon rolls.

You took a quick shower once the glaze was done and the cinnamon rolls were in the oven. With one towel around your body and another one around your hair; you stood in front of your dresser debating on what to wear.

It’s not like this was a date; as if. So why worry so much?  Still, you kept on throwing clothes on your bed, you told yourself enough by the time you were seriously contemplating putting on a dress.

You put away the mess you made, leaving out a nice button up shirt and a pair of comfortable dress pants, the ones that had actual pockets, you finished your look with some comfortable boots, you were probably going to end up taking them off at some point so you also put on some cute Christmas themed fuzzy socks.

Satisfied with your choice, you decided to put on a baggy T-shirt to take the cinnamon rolls out of the oven and to prevent the glaze from dirtying your clothes when you poured it on the buns once they were cool enough.

You were fifteen minutes late by the time you got dressed, packed everything up, and grabbed the presents for Marcus and Missy that you had wrapped up a week ago. You send Marcus a message saying that you were on your way.

~~~~~~~~~~

Marcus went into full panic mode when they got home an hour and a half away from the time he told you to arrive, they lost too much time lining up to pay at the supermarket, he insisted on going once he remembered he was out of your favorite candy, he also got a bag of chocolates and some sodas.

For a moment he contemplated getting some beers, but soon dismissed the idea, he wasn’t that much of a drinker and he didn’t like to drink in front of his daughter. Besides this wasn’t a date, of any kind, just his daughter and best friend; who he had been in love with for a long time now, spending some quality time together.

Shit, he forgot about the pizza!

“Missy, go take a shower and change into something more comfortable but nice and then come give me a hand, we need to set everything up in the living room” He said as he dialed the number from the pizza place the three of you loved.

Missy took the grocery bags to the kitchen before doing what her father asked her to do, but in reverse, that way there was a chance that you would arrive while she was still getting ready leaving the two of you alone for a few minutes.

She opened the chocolate and candy bags dumping the contents into two different small bowls, she listened as her father finished ordering the pizza on her way to the living room where they had a slightly bigger tv than the one in front of the breakfast table, she left the bowls on the coffee table in the middle.

“Missy, I thought I asked you to do something else before setting everything up.”

“I know, but we’ll finish faster this way, you need to take a shower too. Can you get the glasses from the cupboard?”

He sighed but went to the kitchen to get the aforementioned glasses.

“Hey, did you order the potato wedges?” Missy asked, taking one of the soda bottles and putting it inside the fridge.

“Yup.” Marcus answered, passing her the second bottle. “Give me a hand with the plates please.” He bumped her with his hip as he passed her.

They inspected their work for a moment before going to their respective rooms to get ready, Missy decided to take her time choosing her clothes, she even contemplated whether it’d be too much to take a bath instead of a shower.

 ~~~~~~~~~~

Never before, in his whole life, had he gotten ready for ANYTHING as fast as today. He almost pulled out a suit from his closet before doing a double-take and grabbing a nice shirt, some black denim pants, and his favorite sneakers.

He decided to forgo any kind of hair product and only dabbled a little bit of cologne on his wrist and neck. On his way to the living room, he stopped by Missy’s room to knock on her door.

“Are you ready darling?”

“Not yet!” Was her muffled response.

“Okay, I’ll be in the living room, take your time but remember we’ll have a special guest over.” A special guest? Come on Marcus, she’s been here multiple times before, she’s like part of the family, maybe not in the way he wished her to be but still.

~

“Okay, dad!” A special guest!? Really!? He was hopeless, did he even notice how obvious he was? Why hadn’t he done something about it yet? Y/n could easily slip through his fingers by the time he decided to actually make a move. She needed to up her game.

 Marcus kept staring at the clock as it read five minutes past six, leg bouncing. Maybe his clock was wrong, maybe he didn’t put the right hour, maybe it was forward by a few minutes.

God, he was a mess, he needed to calm down, it was just Y/n, his best friend; she’s hung out with them before, on multiple occasions, except…well she wasn’t JUST Y/n, she never was and never would be.

She was everything, she became everything to him in such a short time that sometimes it scared him. If he had to be truly honest with himself, he needed to admit that he began to fall for her the moment they met, he fought against it for years, he was married with a baby on the way for god’s sake.

He had loved his wife and he would’ve never cheated on her, but he also couldn’t deny the connection he felt with you from day one, he had never felt something even remotely close to it with anyone else.

If things had been different, he would have told you about his feeling’s way sooner, he had been selfish, he knew he couldn’t afford to lose you, he lost his wife, Missy lost her mother, he couldn’t lose you too if you didn’t feel the same, that would’ve destroyed him when Missy needed him more than ever.

So, instead he kept it silent, holding on to the hope that maybe, someday, he’d be able to act upon his feelings for you.

He was startled by his phone chiming in his pocket, the first thing he noticed was the hour, quarter past six; and the second, your message. ‘I’m on my way.’

He sighed, you would be there soon, could he maybe try to hint at something tonight? Well, if he didn’t, maybe he could bring ‘that’ out.

~~~~~

Fifteen more minutes later you were finally ringing Marcus’ house doorbell, not for the first time, you were happy with the proximity of your apartment complex to his house.

“Hey! Why didn’t you use your key?” Marcus' smiling face greeted you. “Oh, I see why.” You were holding a container in one hand, balancing two gift boxes on top and the cloth bag with the chips in the other.

“I kind of couldn’t even if I wanted to.” You laughed.

“I told you, you didn’t have to bring anything but yourself; here, let me help you.” He took the container with the cinnamon rolls from your hands. “Come on in.”

“As if you didn’t know me Marcus, I never come here with empty hands.” You followed Marcus to the kitchen after closing the door behind you.

“This thing is warm, what’s inside?” he had left the bag and the container on the counter, he also put the boxes aside.

“Well, you have two options, you can try to guess or you can open it.” You said with a smile, taking the bags of chips out to fold the bag they were in.

“I know it’s warm, is it something sweet?” so guessing it was, you loved to play this kind of game with him every time you brought baked goods.

“Yes.”

“Can I smell it? Am I allowed to do that?” he asked, eyebrows raised and a big smile on his face.

You faked a thoughtful look before nodding. Marcus lifted the container close to his face and took a deep breath.

“Cinnamon?” His eyes opened wide in delight. “No way, don’t tell me! Are these, you brought cinnamon rolls!? Holy sheesh!”

You laughed at him, you knew he loved cinnamon rolls so you made them as often as you could, you even gave him the recipe but he claimed that they just didn’t taste the same when he made them himself. You thought he was just too impatient to make them and preferred to just eat them.

He opened the container to keep the bread from getting soggy because of the condensation inside it.

“My god! They look delicious, I swear could kiss you right now!” What!?

 FUUUUCK!!! YOU IDIOT! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!!!! he froze up, there was a moment of silence between the two of you before it was thankfully interrupted by the doorbell.

“The pizza is here! Just in time.” He said with maybe too much enthusiasm. The delivery guy deserved a big tip, he just unknowingly saved his ass.

 Did you hear correctly? Did he say kiss? That’s what he said, right?

No, well yes, he did say it, but he probably didn’t mean it like, well...THAT. It was just an expression, he was overjoyed you brought him food and you were just thinking too much into things. Yeah, that was it, you were thinking too much.

“I heard the pizza arrived! Don’t start without me!” You shook your head, clearing your thoughts as Missy appeared around the corner. “Hi y/n!”

“Hi Missy.” You opened your arms towards her for a hug that she walked right into.

“You got chips, nice. Wait do I smell cinnamon rolls!?” Like father, like daughter.

“Ah-ah-ah! Don’t touch those, little lady. Those are for later.” Marcus said stepping into the kitchen. “Now, come on, I left the pizza on the coffee table.”

“But dad, they’re WARM.” Missy argued, stressing out the last word.

“Don’t you think it also hurts me to leave them there? We can reheat them later in the oven.” Marcus said with his hands on his hips. Missy looked like she wanted to say something more, so you decided to cut in.

“Mis, why don’t you take the gifts I brought and put them under the tree? We’ll be there in a minute.” You said handing her the boxes.

“Okay, but I get to pick the first movie!” Both of you watched as she walked out.

“I swear this girl.” Marcus huffed running a hand through his hair.

“Don’t you dare finish that thought Moreno, you’re just as bad as her when it comes to your precious buns.” You said shaking your head.

You hear him gasp as you walk to the fridge, knowing he probably stashed the drinks there. “You wound me!”

“Uh huh, let’s go before she decides to start eating without us.” You grabbed one of the cold bottles of soda inside the fridge and made your way towards the living room. “Don’t forget to bring the chips.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Together you made your way to the living room.

~~~~~~~~~~

Missy decided to sit on the carpeted floor right in front of the coffee table, that way her dear pining love birds would be forced to share the loveseat.

“What took you so long? I hope the big box is for me, also I already picked a movie.”

“Don’t be impatient, you’ll find out soon.” You said as you ruffled her hair a little, leaving the bottle of soda on the table close to the glasses.

“Oh no. Sweetheart, we forgot to move the couch.”

“It’s okay dad, you two can have the loveseat, besides this way I’ll be closer to the snacks.” Don’t be suspicious Missy, you don’t want to ruin this perfect chance. Phase one, getting them to sit together: complete, phase two is on hold.

“You sure you don’t mind darling?”

“Nope, can I start the movie?”

~~

Oh god, they were going to be really close to one another.

Calm down, Moreno. You’re fine, this is fine. It’s your best friend. He reminded himself for the millionth time that day.

He didn’t know what was wrong with him, maybe it was because this was your first Christmas with them and all the domestic stuff was getting to him.

He turned to look at you “After you.” He said gesturing towards the loveseat with his hands.

“Thank you. What are we watching Missy?”

“First Home alone, The Santa Clause, Arthur Christmas; you know, the classics with a touch of new stuff.”

“Let’s begin then.” Everyone sat in their respective places with a plate and a slice of pizza.

As the evening progressed, he found himself using the ‘stretching move’ to put his arm around you, when he noticed you weren’t bothered by it, he willed his body to relax and enjoy the company of his favorite people in the world.

 As the movies kept playing on the screen and the snacks disappeared little by little. You felt yourself get more comfortable.

For a moment you let your imagination run wild; for a moment you let yourself believe this was a normal occurrence, family movie nights, cuddling with Marcus on the loveseat, going to sleep beside him afterward, waking up beside him, help him raise Missy…

You needed to stop this, as wonderful as everything sounded inside your head you knew none of that would become a reality.

“Okay, it’s getting late,” You got startled by Marcus nudging you softly with his shoulder before pausing the movie, you hadn’t even realized you leaned into him “don’t think that I’ll forget about your bedtime just because Y/n is here.”

“But dad!”

“No, come on, let’s open some presents and then I want you to go get ready for bed. I can see your head nodding from here, you’re tired, go on choose one.”

Phase two: Leave the love birds alone, has officially begun. Missy thought, wishing for her dad to finally take the opportunity to climb that last step. Phase three of her plan, officially having you as a mom, depended on it.

“Okay,” Missy said pretending to be disappointed “Y/n, which one is mine? The big one?”

“Sorry Mis, It’s actually the small one.”

“Oh.”

“’Oh’? What’s that supposed to mean? Don’t you have faith in me?”

“I do, but what cool stuff could possibly be wrapped in such a small box?”

“You’ll see once you open it, sweetheart.” Marcus left the remote control on the table and returned to his previous position on the loveseat, arm around you and all.

Both of you watched as Missy broke the wrapping paper and opened the wooden box taking out what looked like a smart watch from inside it.

“Oh! It’s one of those cool watches!” Missy exclaimed with surprise.

“Yes and no.” you said, leaning in towards her.

“what do you mean?”

“This one’s special, see I got Tech-no to make it especially for you. It does work like any other smart watch, but you’ll be able to use this one even if you don’t have a Wifi connection or aren’t close to any phone tower.”

“What!? How!?”

“It’s linked into one of the Heroics main recon satellites, it has a GPS function that’ll show you the map and your location no matter where you are, it also has the emergency button. It’ll alert your dad, me, or the Heroics mission control station. It has many more functions, I think, but that’s all I remember. Tech-no included a manual, you’ll get it once you turn it on. Oh yeah! Almost forgot, aside from being able to use conventional charging cables, I don’t know how but he also included solar panels.”

“OMG! I can’t believe it!! It’s the best gift ever!! Thank you!!!” Missy jumped from her place on the floor to tackle you in a hug.

“You’re welcome, I thought it could come in handy now that you’re in the saving the world business with us.” You said with a laugh.

“Hey, Missy, you still want the big box? We can exchange.” Marcus said with raised eyebrows.

“No way! This is mine, I’m gonna go charge it. Thankyousomuch, goodnight, bye.” With that Missy took off running towards her room.

“Hey, don’t forget to brush your teeth!” He reminded her.

“I won’t!”

You both heard the door to her room slam close.

“Wow Y/n, you didn’t have to.”

“It’s no big deal Marcus, you know how much I love her, and I worry. She’s too much like you.” You said staring at him.

“Wha-what’s that supposed to mean?” He said feigning offense.

“I mean it in a good way! She’s kind and selfless, headstrong, brave, and so intelligent. What we do is dangerous, and now that she's exposed to it, well, knowing her she won’t stay behind anymore. All we can do is give her the tools to keep herself and her team as safe as possible.”

Could you be any more perfect? He knew you loved his daughter, it’s always been clear to him, but could she love him just as much?

“You know now I have to try and top that gift next year, right? There’s no way anything I got her this one is going to top yours.” He said with the most serious face he could muster.

“That was the point.” You answered with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

“Mala.” he said, squinting his eyes at you.

“You think I’m bad!?” you gasped, “I’ll show you bad mister.” You stand up from your seat, you walk in your Christmas themed socks; boots long forgotten in favor of comfort; towards the tree to take the gift you brought for him. “No present for you, I’m going to keep it.” You said smugly .

“Now that’s not fair.”

“Oh, I think it is.”

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry.” He apologized.

“What? What did you say? I couldn’t hear you.”

“I said I’m sorry, oh benevolent woman! Goddess of the amazing Christmas presents! I kneel before you.”

“You’re ridiculous.” You laughed at him.

“The things I have to do for a present.”

“You didn’t really kneel.”

“You serious?” he asked flabbergasted.

“No. Now open your gift before I change my mind.”

Marcus eagerly tore the paper apart, revealing a thinner wooden box than the one Missy received. Inside, Marcus found an old throwing knife.

You stared at him, holding your breath as he opened the gift, it wasn’t some cutting edge piece of tech, but you knew how much that knife meant to him.

He was speechless, he instantly recognized it the moment his eyes laid on the engravings of the blade, this had been one of his father’s throwing knives. While not exactly a superhero, his father had served in the army as part of a special secret division. He had preferred knives instead of guns. And he taught Marcus everything he knew about them, that was the reason he had chosen to fight with swords, in memory of his father.

But how, how could you have gotten hold of one of his knives, they had been lost during his last mission.

“I-I, how-” He swallowed hard “How did you find it?”

“Well, I remembered what you told me, about your dad, what he did and a-about your dad’s last mission and well, remember last time I took some days off a few months ago? I did some research and found the town he had gone to. I asked around and I found this old lady, she treated your father’s wounds at some point during his mission and he tried to pay her by giving her one of his knives, she never sold it. I told her about you and well, she insisted on returning the blade to you.” You finished your tale a little bit breathless, he became really quiet when he opened the box.

He couldn’t believe you remembered that, it’s been so long since he told you about his father.

Had it been a mistake to search for the blade? Did you overstep? Maybe you should have told him before going on that trip.

“Marcus, I’m sorr-” One moment you were trying to apologize to him and the next you were being enveloped in a pair of strong arms.

“Thank you.” He said breathless, leaving a kiss on top of your head. “This means so much to me.” You just smiled and hugged him back.

You stayed like that, relishing in the feeling of his arms around you, holding you tight to his chest.

This woman, this wonderful, amazing, beautiful woman… fuck it, he knew what he had to do.

You felt a pang of sadness and longing as Marcus’ arms began to retreat from around you.

“Wait here. I-I need to go get something.” You watched as he left the box with his gift on the table, stood from his seat and disappeared around a corner.

 Calm down, calm down, it was just a hug. You told yourself.

Marcus came back to sit beside you a minute or so later holding a small baby blue box with a white ribbon on top in his hands.

“I-I’ve been waiting for the right moment to give you this. It’s nothing like what you gave us but…I hope you like it.” He reached for your hands and left the box in your palms.

Upon a closer look, you noticed the box came from a jewelry store, an expensive one at that. You opened it carefully, not wanting to damage the little box. Inside the box, lying on a silky looking piece of fabric, you saw a beautiful heart shaped golden locket, there was a flowery design with some vines on the surface giving it some texture.

“Marcus!” You gasped. “You didn’t have to; this must’ve been really expensive.”

“Go ahead, open it.” You did as he said not lifting the heart from its silky bed. Inside, you found a small picture of Marcus, Missy and you.

You remembered that one was taken during Missy’s birthday last year, in the picture the three of you were laughing, your faces dirty with cake frosting from the small war that took place moments before his mother had taken the picture without them noticing.

“Marcus! This is beautiful, thank you so much!” You were about to hug him when he raised a hand to stop you.

“There’s more.” You were confused, he was acting a bit strange, you noticed he was tense as you looked from him and back to the necklace. “Turn it around.”

Once more you did what he said, closing the locket you took it in your palm noticing something engraved into it. On the back you found that it was indeed engraved. It read:

‘For the holder of my heart~’

It’s now or never. He held his breath as he watched you read the words. He began to worry when you didn’t show any kind of reaction.

“What?” you whispered, it can’t be, could this mean, did he, what?

“I-I was going to wait to give it to you, I had this elaborate plan, I wanted to ask you out, take you to a nice restaurant, then maybe we’d go to a park or something. I also thought of giving it to you on your birthday, but then we got kidnapped by aliens and I lost the courage, because what if I ruined everything? What if I ruined our friendship just because I fell in love and you didn’t feel the same? Then things would’ve become awkward and we’d stop hanging out and eventually we would’ve become strangers and I never want that to happen, I want you, I want you in my life, in our lives and I can’t imagi-”

“Marcus.” You interrupted him. “You love me?”

“More than anything.”

“How long?”

“Long time now.” You nodded slowly. Your brain still trying to process everything he just said, but mainly repeating ‘he loves me!’ over and over again.

“Can you... help me put it on?” you gesture to the necklace still in your hands.

He nodded, taking it in his hands as you turned around for him. He didn’t understand what was happening, you were still here, you asked him for his help to put his gift on, so that was something good, right?

“Done.” He said stunned as you turned around to face him with the biggest most beautiful smile he’s ever seen.

“You love me?” You asked again. Your voice, now full of emotion, a stark contrast from the flat one you used a moment ago.

“Yes.”

“You really, really love me?” now he was getting confused.

“Yes Y/n, I love you, you and only you.”

“Good. Because I love you too.” He barely had time to react before your lips were on his and just like that, time stopped, right there, in that moment, there was only you, the feeling of your lips on his, the pounding of his heart, the feeling of your hands, your fingers as they carded through his hair.  

He couldn’t get enough of you. He pulled you closer to him until you ended up straddling his lap, his hands on your hips, your lips moving in perfect sync with his as if it wasn’t the first time you kissed. His senses overwhelmed by you and how you made him feel.

Suddenly, you leaned back, ending the kiss with a smack; much too soon for his liking; leaving you both a panting mess.

“You have no idea how many times I’ve dreamt of you saying that, of you feeling the same way.” You said breathless, giving him a small peck when you finished talking. 

“Oh, honey-is, is it okay if I call you that?”

“It’s more than ‘okay’ Marcus.” You said laughing.

“I’m glad, because I’ve been dying to call you all kinds of beautiful names. And me too, honey; I’ve imagined countless times telling you how I feel about you. I’m so sorry it took me this long to tell you.” He pulled you in, claiming your mouth again, in a kiss more intense than the first one making you moan. You felt his tongue lick your lips, silently asking for entrance, letting go of your inhibitions you let him explore the insides of your mouth, your own tongue tangling with his.

This time he ended the kiss, making you whine from the loss of contact.

“I want you, but tell me to stop, and I will.” He whispered in your ear, “Tell me if it’s too soon and I’ll stop.” he sucked on your earlobe before leaving a trail of kisses down your neck, alternating between kissing and sucking on the sensitive skin there.

“Don’t you dare stop Marcus.” you gasped, “Don’t you think we’ve waited long enough?” you asked as you ground your hips against his earning a groan in response.

He returned to your lips for one more hungry kiss before outright growling “Hold on tight, honey. Let’s take this somewhere more comfortable.” His hands slid from your hips to your ass, supporting you as he stood from the cushions making you squeal in surprise. Your arms went around his neck as you tried not to fall backward.

“Marcus! Warn me next time.” You admonished him “What about Missy? What if she hears us?” You ask as he begins to walk towards the part of the house you knew led to the bedrooms.

“That’s why we’re going to my room, so we don’t have to worry, it’s soundproofed. Now like you said, we’ve waited long enough.” He squeezed your ass before latching his lips on your neck again.

~~~~~~~~~~~

He stirred awake, with the feeling of your hand drawing mindless patterns on his naked chest. With a smile, he remembered what happened last night when he finally confessed to you, and what happened after as well.

He let his eyes open, slowly, letting them adjust to the little morning light that managed to seep through the curtains. He turned his head to look at you, your head resting on the hand that wasn’t drawing shapes on his chest.

He smiled at you, lifting one of his hands to hold yours, lifting it from his chest to place a kiss on your knuckles.

“Hey. Merry Christmas.” You greeted him with a smile.

“Merry Christmas indeed. Did you sleep well, honey?” he asked, lowering your hand in his and resting it on his chest right over his heart.

“Better than ever.” You gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment before leaning in at the same time to share a sweet, slow kiss.

“I wish we could stay like this forever.” He mumbled against your lips.

“Who would save the world if we did?” You managed to ask between little pecks to his lips.

“I bet the others can do it just fine.”

“Okay, well, who would keep Missy out of trouble?”

“Yeah, I don’t think either of us can keep her from that.” he stared at you, before saying your name. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Marcus.”

You stayed in bed, in each other’s arms, until one of you remembered that neither of you turned off the tv last night, and he remembered the cinnamon rolls had been left on the counter in the kitchen.

Once dressed, Marcus in his pajamas and you in one of his shirts (that almost made the both of you stay in bed longer) and a pair of pants that he let you borrow to keep you comfortable, you set out to clean the living room.

When that was done, you set to work together inside the kitchen preparing breakfast for everyone, reheating the cinnamon rolls and making fresh coffee.

The two of you were soon joined by Missy, whose only reaction to the two of you being now together-together was a very happy, very exasperated ‘Finally!’.

He looked at his little family with a smile on his face as he sat down on the table. He could finally say that this Christmas he finally received what he’s always wished for, what he’s been yearning to have for years.

Your heart.

Tag list: @mindless--ramblings​ @oloreaa​ @16boyfriends-and-me​ If anyone wants to be added or removed from the taglist, or wants to only be tagged for certain characters, please let me know.

[sushiburritonoms]

Untitled Library Din/Luke ficlet

@darkisrising asked for #25 on the AU short fic list and I wasn't short enough for the little Ask box reply thing. I have worked multiple positions in libraries public and private so this came really quickly to me. Sorry for the multiple inside jokes in here but I hope @sadiebwrites appreciates this!

--

Normally Luke enjoyed Wednesday mornings. The middle of the week was a quieter time for library staff; it was far enough away from the hell that was the weekend shifts that Luke could take a break and mentally prepare himself for Thursday’s Toddler Storytime and Friday’s afterschool crush.  There were usually only a few moms with small children hanging around the board books corner at this time and typically his page could handle their easy questions.  It was supposed to be a nice peaceful time for him.

“Heads up Luke, your DILF is back.”

Luke nearly dropped the stack of new picture books he was carrying out from tech services. “Geez Dak, careful with that cart! ….Wait my what now?”

The library page grinned as took the new books from Luke’s hands and put them on his cart. “Your DILF! He’s in Children’s with his kid. You know, the biker looking dude with the sweet ‘tash?”

“I’m sorry young Dak,” the reference librarian Obi-Wan said with his head still huddled over his Wednesday crossword puzzle, “but might I inquire what a ‘DILF’ is?”

“No you may not!” Luke moaned as he ran his hand over his face. “And please keep your voice down.”

“Sorry boss!” Chirped Dak, “but they’re the only two in the room right now, so you got him all to yourself!”

“Luke’s got who all to himself?” their archivist Tionne asked as she walked by with her empty coffee mug.

“The DILF from last week. He’s back with his toddler and it’s not even Thursday,” Dak reported breathlessly.

“Hmm, is this the dark haired patron with the 2 year old boy, just moved in from Nevada?” Obi-Wan said thoughtfully as he finally looked up. “The one you were all telling me about last week?”

Dak nodded. “The hot one, yeah!”

“Don’t you have books to shelve,” Luke hissed at his page.

“Oh that’s so sweet,” Tionne murmured, “you looked so smitten after they left last week too.”

“I did not!” Luke protested. “I looked like my usual non smitten, very busy self.”

“You spent a half hour with them and pulled every single amphibian book we had for the dad,” Dak reported, “the guy looked overwhelmed as he left.”

“I was doing my job,” Luke said through gritted teeth, “just like a certain somebody should be doing.”

“I’m going, I’m going,” Dak smirked as he started to push his cart out into the public area.

“Wait a minute,” Luke said suddenly as he remembered something. He peered at Dak’s bookcart and pulled a green and pink picture book out. “I think I’m gonna need this.”

Dak frowned. “You better not try to reshelve that yourself, I need to take stats if you use it.”

“I’m fully capable of logging usage stats myself,” said Luke.

“Yes, but will you?” Tionne asked as she sipped her coffee.

“No.” Obi-Wan and Dak replied for Luke.

“Why do I put up with any of you,” Luke muttered to himself.  “I’m leaving this conversation now.”

“Hmm,” said Obi-Wan. “Have fun with the ...DILF.”

“Oh my God, please never say that again,” Luke begged his mentor as he almost but not quite ran from the back room. The sound of Tionne and Dak laughing followed him out.

Sure enough as Luke walked towards the Children’s Room he could see there were only two patrons inside. The tiny toddler Grogu was absorbed in yet another book about frogs and snuggled inside of one of Luke’s red bean bag chairs, while his father sat awkwardly in a child sized wooden chair.  For a moment, Luke thought he might be able to sneak back to the reference desk without being spotted but nope. Little Grogu looked up and squealed in a non library friendly pitch as he spotted him.

“Shhh, mijo,” his father said gently. “We’re in a library, remember? Inside voice.”

“It’s alright,” Luke said as he stepped towards them. “There’s hardly anyone here at the moment.”

The father was startled and looked up at Luke. Then he unfolded himself from the tiny chair and stood up, looking strangely nervous. “Ah...hello.”

Luke put on his best friendly and not at all flirty children’s librarian face. “Hello again and ¡Hola, Grogu! ¿Cómo estás?”

The toddler squeaked from the beanbag chair in almost incomprehensible Spanish.

“Bien,” his father translated. “¿Y Usted?”

Luke’s spanish was limited to grade school level so he just went with “Muy bien, ¡gracias!” Then switched back to English. “Did we finish all of those books from last week?  What a great reader, excellente!”

Grogu’s dad looked up with his gorgeous brown eyes and chuckled, his deep voice sending a small bolt of electricity down Luke’s spine. “He wouldn’t put them down, he’s been obsessed with them all week. Especially the bilingual ones, thank you Mr. Skywalker.”

“Call me Luke,” he said with a smile. “You got a real reader there, señor…” Luke waited.

“Oh!” The man said. “Sorry, I guess I forgot to introduce myself last week. Din Djarin.”

“It’s nice to meet you Mr. Djarin.”

“Just Din is fine.” Din gave Luke a shy smile that sent more fluttering feelings throughout Luke’s cardigan covered chest.

“Din then.” He couldn’t help staring, fascinated by how the dingy lighting of their poorly funded library could still make Din’s eyes look amazing. Oh he had it bad--and for a patron! If the Head Librarian Jocasta Nu saw him, he’d get another damn lecture about professionalism and there would go his chances for the library to fund his trip to ALA in Chicago this year.

“¡Papi!” Grogu suddenly said. “¡Quiero libro!” He pointed to the picture book held in Luke’s arms.

Luke blinked. “Oh of course! Yes, this is for you.” He knelt down and handed Grogu the picture book. “This book is new, we just got it today and it’s about Frogs. It’s called ‘Kiki Kokí: La Leyenda Encantada del Coquí.” In English it was ‘The Legend of the Coquí Frog.’

Din looked down and gave Luke a huge smile. “Another bilingual book.”

“I try to order as many as I can,” Luke said solemnly. “I have some time, would you like for me to read it to him? It would be good to practice my Spanish in front of a more sympathetic audience.” The toddlers at Thursday’s Storytime were brutal critics.

“I--we--would love that,” Din said, giving Luke another amazing smile.

Oh god he loved Wednesday mornings, even if he was in so much trouble.

---

You can request a ficlet from the AU list here but I'll probably be slow in replying (I need to go do some actual work lol).

Edit: There's a part II here

[toomanystoriessolittletime]

Pedro Pascal’s Characters

updated: 09/10/2021

Fic Ratings (read warnings in fic for details):

(G) General Audiences

(M) Mature

(E) Explicit: only suitable for adults

-> fake dating Drabbles with all the dude’s  <-

Home (M)

It’s been a long day year for Javi and all he wants is to go home.

Leave the light on (G)

Sleeping with the lights out seemed like a thing all the people do. So you told him how you struggled with it, after you almost fell asleep at a stake out he made sure you would feel safe from now on. 

switch (E)

When your new hot neighbor turned out to be no other than Javier Peña, the Agent that would join one of your Departments with you as his Superior, things should get a little more complicated. But somehow they didn’t…

Missing you (G)

A gala from the American embassy in Bogota lets you finally run in the man who you left without saying goodbye almost two years ago.

mix up (E)

A mix-up with the building's laundry was all it took to get what you always secretly wanted.

late night calls (E)

It all started with a phone call to the DEA office to tell Javier about the surgery of his father. You had insisted to take care of him after Chucho told you about the surgery. That you would fall in love with his son you had never met before? Just as surprising to you as it was to Javier. 

Night shift (E)

Meeting Javier during one of your nightshifts at the hospital turned into falling in love with him. But working different shifts can be challenging, yet you somehow make it work.

Whiskey, Cigarettes and Condoms (E)

You are working in a shop and your most interesting customer is the hot guy who buys XL Condoms every single week. Until he stopped.

Don't you want me (M)

6 years passed since Javier made the one decision he wished he could take back. What happens when he meets the one woman he ever truly loved?

Decisions (G)

You find your boyfriend cheating with one of your friends after getting home from work and call the person you always call when shit hits the fan.

Drabbles:

answering machine (G)

It's been two years since you heard Javier's voice. That didn't mean you weren't talking to him.

-> inevitable (series; M->E)

All your life you thought that there was no way the prophecy would come true. That was until you answered a distress call from a certain Mandalorian.

firsts (G)

Din knew it was the best for the kid to go with the Jedi. But on his way back to… he didn’t really know where, there was only one person he would allow to see how sad he really was. 

saved (G)

Being saved during a battle by a Mandalorian might have been faith for Alana and her little daughter Leila. 

my girl (E)

A Mandalorian crashing into your backyard and ruining your business might have been the best thing that ever happened to you.

Watch me (E)

You try to tease the Mandalorian after taking a skinny dip in the lake. He’s not having it.

drabbles:

one day (M)

One day you would get Din out of his armor to swim with you. Today you succeeded... partially

Happiness (G)

Din finds happiness. And his son finds his old armor.

prompts:

" I know we're not together but I might die today so I'm going to kiss you just in case there is no later" (G)

thots:

Din been jealous (E)

The baker’s daughter (E)

Mydra never thought she would end up in the local brothel, but after her father died, and she was too young to take over his business as the local baker, she found herself agreeing to what was proposed to her. So she lived at the local brothel, watching the girls and boys work, observing, until one day she finally would be ready to let one man be her first. That she would form somewhat of a friendship with the Prince of Dorne was as surprising to her as it was to him.

My flower (E)

Falling for the Prince of Dorne after he took you in, letting you work as his maid, was not something you (or him) planned. But when he found you sleeping in his bed, wearing his cloak, you were about to find out that maybe it wasn't just you who had fallen in love.

One step ahead (E)

When you took the job you knew that he might be there. Breaking up with him because of your ego was a mistake. But you were here to do your job. Weren’t you?

Drabbles:

caught (E)

It was a hot day in Sunspear. With the Martell family gone for travels, you wanted to sneak into the royal pool to cool down. Never thinking that maybe you weren't as alone as you thought.

and then the world stopped (E) Part 1 Part 2

Vic wasn’t unhappy when she moved with her husband to Washington D.C. She was happily married, had a new job as a teacher and was trying to get pregnant. But after a year of trying still nothing has happened. She didn’t know that just one accident of the nanny of one of the children in her class was about to change her whole life.

two lives (M)

Dave never planned to cheat on his wife. He never planned to fall in love with another woman. He never planned to live two separate lives. And he never planned to be attending the funeral of the love of his life after their mission went wrong.

second chance (G) (sequel to two lives)

7 months passed since Dave found out the woman he loved didn't die. Would she ever remember him?

disobedience (E)

Working as the babysitter for Dave York’s daughters came with all kinds of benefits. You didn’t mean to become one of those people. The typical cliche of the babysitter sleeping with the father of the kids you were watching but there was something about him you couldn’t stop thinking about. This is also how you found yourself at the only place he told you to not ever visit him, wearing nothing but a coat. The CIA offices.

private show (E)

Monica was struggling to give her two daughters everything they deserved. When Dave York walks into the Diner she worked in one night and offers her a job at his strip club, things begin to change…

Dance the night away (E)

He didn’t look like he could dance Salsa. But oh how wrong you were...

strictly professional (E)

AU: You were tired of handling your boss' affairs. Not because that wasn't part of your job. No. Because you wanted to be his affair. His only affair. And you had a plan for how to get there. Even if it meant blackmailing your boss Dave York.

unusual love(rs) (E)

When your husband Frankie proposed seeing other people while he’s gone for work you were hesitant at first. Until you found just how much he liked the idea of you with another man…

-> love(rs) (E)

Frankie is home and he hasn’t stopped thinking about the video you sent him. Now he wants to watch live. And participate.

found (G)

Dave and you had been friends for 20 years. You watched him get married to another woman and become a Dad, ignoring the constant heartbreak it was causing you cause you were in love with him. Four months after his death you receive a postcard with cordinates. What would you find?

to die for (G)

The man who broke your heart comes back to protect you from the man you were falling in love with.

one wish granted (G)

You could have wished that the man you had loved all your life finally would love you back. It was him granting the wishes after all. Instead, you wished you had never met him. That you really didn’t remember him maybe was the punishment Max deserved most.

Paris (G)

Maxwell Lord left after everything that happened with the Dreamstone. But a little part of you hoped you would see him again.

changes (G)

On your way to your last day at work before you start a new job you almost got ran over by a dog (and a boy). Thankfully a handsome stranger is there to help.

Neighbors (M)

After breaking up with your fiancé you find yourself moving back in with your brother and his daughter just outside of the city. Marcus Moreno is his neighbor and he really does take his neighborly duties to heart. Including taking care of mowing the lawn when your brother had to leave for work for a while.

Yes, Mr. Moreno (M)

With Missy moving out of the house to go to college Marcus felt more alone than ever before. When he met his daughters college roommate at a diner in the middle of the night he made a decision Missy could never find out about

-> Yes, Mr Moreno - The first time (E)

Marcus takes Alice home. She stays the night.

Going back home Masterlist (series)

Claire never thought she would be back in the town she grew up in. But after her fiancé broke off their engagement, leaving her 5 months pregnant and alone she found herself calling Frankie Morales in the middle of the night, one of her childhood friends who insisted that she booked the next flight out. Trying to fix her life with a little help from her friends she would find out soon that going back would be the best decision she ever made.

Distraction (G)

Meeting a single Dad on the plane back to the states was maybe just the distraction you needed to get over your fear of flying. 

Nap Time (E)

Sometimes you and Frankie just need to have some alone time when the kids are napping.

Drabbles

Guy’s night (M)

You let Frankie decide how he wants to end his guy's night...

throwback (G)

Teenage you had bn head over heels for Frankie Morales. What happens when when your best friend takes you out on a double bind date almost 20 years later and your date is no other than Frankie?

Friday's at Frankie's (G)

After a week gone for work you come home to Frankie and his daughter

drabble about Frankie taking care of you when you have cramps

-> Sunday Morning (M)

You wake up in Frankie’s arms on rare quiet Sunday morning.

prompts:

you're sick, and we can't kiss, and it's , fkn, torture (M)

Max Says... (E)

Max remembered your aniversary and planned a trip to New York City. You gifted him the one thing he always wanted. Allowing him to use his mind control on you.

[thefanbasewhore]

Something that can never be.

Summary: a request for number 12 and 15 from the prompt list but I couldn’t figure out a way to put both in so I just did, no. 12 “How was I such an idiot, to believe that you of all people could ever love me?” Din is a body guard of a princess who has been under his care on the Razor Crest while her father fights a war. After a few months the war is over and she must go home.

Warning/Content: heart break, body guard din and princess reader.

Paring: Din Djarin x female reader

Tag list here || Master list.

“I’m sorry.” The tone is particularly soft, velvet smooth as he speaks, eyes big and pleading but hidden in the confines of the helmet. Guilt creeping shoulders forward and makes his stomach churn, the weight of his presence pressed into the back of her chair with a heavy hand.

It’s been hours since their little screaming match and she made little effort to move from the co-pilot’s chair. At first Din acted like he didn’t care, that it wasn’t his problem but the heaviness of his words made it hard to think of anything else. “I didn’t mean to upset you..I’m sorry. I’m just tired and should have handled the situation differently.”

He receives silence but watches the way her teeth clenches under the force of her jaw, bitting the skin of her cheek. The Mandalorian’s heart pounds as sadness rolls over his bends his neck further so the helmet touched the back of the chair with a deep sigh.

This was new, the silence and the fighting. It seems silly now, he just wanted some alone time. Time to pull of the helmet and sleep since he’s been away on a mission for two weeks, running on 7 hours max. He doesn’t mind the closeness and excited buzz she greets him with, actually loves knowing someone other the kid was waiting for him to come back but the moment he walked into the ship, a cold feeling of irritation made his mood sour.

He could leave it alone, return to his bunk because maker knows his limbs burn for sleep, vision blurry due to hooded eyes. He rounds the chair, not caring as he sits directly in front of her, between her legs on the ground. “I’m sorry. I’m tired, I’ve barely slept 10 hours the last two weeks.” Not to mention the fact that he received news of returning his one and only love home today.

That was clear in the way he boarded the Crest, not even a hello but a small pat on the child’s head before pushing past the threshold of the cargo space empty handed. It was a simple question but one that filled his chest with searing heat, he’s been gone for weeks with nothing to show and why? Because he was too busy thinking about the way her lips twitch into a smile, the small dimples hollowing at her cheeks.

“How was I such an idiot, to believe that you of all people could ever love me?” He’s thankful the silence is broken but she refuses to meet his eyes, the promise of tears crushing his chest with doubt, the words searing his skin, it burns and seeps into his chest with a wave of fire that stings with each breath.

“I am sorry.” He can’t admit the words as smooth gloves finding the surface of her knee but that’s not what surprised her. It’s the fact he used his thumb to rub soft circular motions into the boney promiance, showing the sincerity of his words. He wants to say it but putting it out in the universe will only make it harder to say goodbye.

“what are you sorry about? The fact that I’m in love with you or you don’t feel the same way back?”

The words make him pause, fingers stiffening against the skin.

This was new… The Mandalorian barely even speaks, let’s alone purposely touches someone, especially in such a comforting away. The gesture takes every ounce of her breath away, as his tired muscles ache to tilt his chin towards her, he has to choose his words wisely.

“You are a princess, you do not belong here with me. You have to go home..” The sound her own heart ticks her ears, watching the helmet drop low in defeat, the cool surface of the beskar against her inner thigh as he lets out a shaky breath, begging in silence for forgiveness.

But his next words make it impossible to move, wanting nothing more then to have him closer. “What I want does not matter, the fact that I want you in my bed every night and kiss you every waking minute of the day doesn’t not matter.”

“You have to go home.” He repeats, as if it’s to remind himself more than anyone. To fight the urge to rip the helmet off and spend forever with the girl who slipped through the stretches on his beskar to his cold, untouched heart. “I can’t give you a good life, you will never be safe. Your father hired me to keep you safe.. the war is over now, you have to go home.”

“I don’t want to! I don’t care about having a good life. You know me better then anyone, I don’t need money, jewels or dresses, I want you.” The Mandalorian feels his eyes drop, too defeated to argue but also torn between erasing the ache of pain that plagues his own heart and the sight of tears on her cheeks.

“Listen to me..” A hand gently grips her jaw, eyes meeting the dark silhouette of the visor, they are not visible but just as sad as her own. “Don’t ever doubt that you are one of the most important people in the universe to me, I would tear it apart to find you, kill every single person myself until you are safe but.. this can never be, sweet girl. I have to let you go.. no matter how much I love you.

He pauses, tone gravel and filled with sadness, holding back his own tears. "You have my heart.” There is no reason to lie as his other hand cups the back of her hair, playing with the strings of hair with hopes of easing some pain away. “But I am bringing you home.. to live a good life, marry a good man because I love you, I will not be the reason you regret your life.”

“Din, please, please don’t bring me back.” It’s hard to look away from her quivering lip, to listen to every word that falls from those perfect lips but he fights the urge to give in, tasting his own salty tears against his tongue. She is desperate, latching onto his wrist as he tries to back away, begging silently with big eyes.

“I have too.” With that the Mandalorian lets go, leaving a cold shiver behind as he exits the cockpit. His hands shake as he defends the ladder, boots hitting the hull with a loud thump as he makes a b-line for the refresher and closing it behind him.

The helmet is already off, thrown across the small room in a fit of internal rage. His hand instinctively comes up to his chest to rub away the sting of his heart breaking.

This is for the best. He has to tell himself, over and over again until the Crest beeps as a reminder they are close.

Tags:

forever tags:  @victias,  @altarsw ,  @nikkixostan  , @moonlightnumbsthepainifeel,  @est19xxshit , @owloveyounever , @engie115@dinsbeskar,  @akatasukilove ,  @nerdalert-andi , @mailee420 , @you-and-i-deserve-the-world, @thatonedindjarinfan,  @Sporadicshoebailifffish,  @coldlilheart,  @starsvck,  @agirlinherhead,  @lokismidnight,  @expellopatronum,  @dinschutta , @queenbbarnes, @ironbabey,  @i-ship-it-ironically, @coonflix, @ilikemymendarkandfictional, @maileecabudal,  @buckysalefty, @fangirlmendes, @godohammers, @mermaidbrina, @capsheadquaters,  @kaermorons, @carlygrayson ,  @naturalswifty89  @spideysimpossiblegirl  @Curiouskeyboard,  @idjitdestiel,  @tossacoin2yourwitcher​ 

[suitetarts]

pockets full of stone

A mer-may collab with @miranhas-art 💙 See below the cut for another gorgeous Mari illustration! ... and my fic

Din Djarin nearly dies (again) and meets someone from the stories he heard as a child. He didn’t expect them to be so sassy, though.

Rating: General Word Count: 2.8k Warning: Description of drowning, thoughts of death, vomiting (water) AO3 Link

A push, grunt, then a large splash into the lake’s dark and chilled waters. 

This was the last time Din was going to talk business on a pier without his jetpack. He knew the bounty was desperate, and for Maker’s sake, the Quarren had thrown his body weight around earlier on the Crest trying to piss Din off by scaring the kid. He should have known better.

Din pulls himself back to the present and away from any blame. He could worry about that later. Or never, and he supposes he’ll find that out soon. His whole body feels incredibly heavy, much more than what he has grown used to over the years. Where metal meets man, he is dragged down; the weight of his padding and armor applying an inescapable pressure as the moonlight fades to black above him. He tries pulling at the water with his arms while kicking with his legs, grasping for anything, but still he feels himself sinking deeper. 

Wait, the… Who would take care of the baby if Din can’t....

His breaths are coming fast as he tries and fails to calm himself. Keeping his body upright means that the water still hasn’t crept into his helmet, which is something he can work with. But only for a short few moments. Din realizes he’s probably going to run out of breathable air before he reaches the bottom of this icy lake, much less walk out of it, as he continues to sink.

Din’s mind begins to fog as he figures he might be able to save himself if he loses some of the beskar. He doesn’t have the luxury to dwell on this, as close to his heart and soul the beskar may be. The armor will be at the bottom of the lake whether he succeeds or fails, so he gets going. His normally nimble fingers are cold and difficult, and they fail to find purchase on the slippery latches of his pauldrons. The cape wrapped around his chestplate in such a way to make it nearly impossible to remove without being able to look down and see it. His head lolls forward, allowing water to rush into his helmet and the dwindling air pocket. Din’s mouth and nose are full of water, his throat contracts, his chest stutters, his lungs burn. He can’t focus on the latches to his armor or removing his belts, all he can feel is the cold depths rushing all around and within.

Fuck.

Fuck.

The Mandalorian reflects for a moment. He’s done his best, but his best wasn’t good enough. This is it. He’s flirted with this for years, and it's finally here. Is it honorable? Probably not. Is it what he deserves? Most likely. What’s his legacy? A lifetime spent trying to be worthy of being saved, only to waste it. Figures.

Before Din lost consciousness, two glowing blue lights rushed towards him, but he was too far gone to care. He was finally warm.

Death is a funny thing. No one really knows what happens in the instant before it actually happens. Everyone says they know, but obviously they don’t. There’s no certainty in death, just like in life. What happens to someone when they cross the veil, from one world to the next? If it's anything like traveling at lightspeed, Din knew that like the back of his hand. A shudder felt through the hull, a pause, and then that’s it. Silence and flashes of stars, except perhaps these would fade to black before long. What would he see in those stars? A story?

If Din was to see a story before he died, he knew plenty of them. He had once been fond of the stories that came from strangers. He would beg his father to take him to the cantina, to let him sit in the dirty booths and eavesdrop on the travelers talking about their recent journeys to Coruscant or to any number of exotic planets in the outer rim. The idea of being totally free to do whatever Din wanted in the whole entire galaxy was so thrilling, especially compared to his reality of being tied down to his father’s shop in the bazaar forever. What kind of story would that make for, compared to what was out there in the stars? There were dashing pilots, gunners and soldiers, merchants, bounty hunters, peacekeepers, missionaries. Stories of war in far off places, of mysterious species unlike anything he’d ever dreamed, of personal loss, of unexpected love. Whenever he asked to go -- before, that is -- his mother would give his father a look, one that was always angled so that Din couldn’t see, and then his father would relent and take the young boy out for the afternoon. But eventually, both of them would shush him when he asked. They stayed inside, ‘it’s not a good day’ his mother said, and kept the store closed. There were whispers of war, a real war. The whispers were exciting to Din at first, they reminded him of the stories. The heroes were going to swoop in to stop the bad guys and put everything back to normal. But then the whispers grew into screams, explosions, shooting. Where were the heroes? All the thrilling things he had heard in the cantina, but terrifying and happening to him with no one here to--

Stop. Din’s dead, and yet he continues to torture himself. If he gets one last laugh, it should be at himself.

Din didn’t want a story, or to relive his life. What about something he never got to do? He had always hoped that he could live in a fantasy, if only for a moment, where he could have a simple life. A moisture farmer on some backwater planet, or a working class mechanic for a Mid Rim starport. Although that was never a life he would actually want for himself, a simple life was always a nice thought for a different Din. One who wasn’t so…. damaged.

So here he is, a man on the brink of death. Is he seeing his life flash painfully before him again, is he living in a dream, is he nowhere at all?

A kiss. He’s being kissed.

Now, Din had never kissed anyone on the lips in life. He knew the steps, the basic mechanics, but he imagined that it was a much different experience to be kissing an actual active participant and not just the skin on the back of his own hand. There was a certain give and take that he was looking forward to -- a dance, a battle of will fought with plush lips and soft tongues. Even beyond the direct battlefield, there was the periphery of where one’s hands would be, knees intertwined, legs weak and swaying. His arm wrapped around their waist and his fingers brushing tenderly over their cheek, while they pull him in by the shoulders until they melt together.

He would have much rather died in a kiss like that.

In this brief moment of purgatory, however, he can settle for this one chaste kiss. This ‘kiss’ he is having now, if it’s to be called that, is… Hmm. It isn’t what Din imagined. Everything is dark, and it's not anything like a dance. This person seems to be gasping into him with their mouth wide open, like a fish out of water. Whoever he’s kissing has clearly never done this before either, otherwise why in Maker’s name would anyone want to kiss again? He strains his arms to reach forward at whatever is capturing his lips, but he can’t find his strength. He had never known that kissing would need to be so rushed, or involve so much blowing of air? He --

Oh.

Din grunts around a cough, finding himself on his back and in quite a bit of pain. His insides feel like they are saturated and about to burst. He rolls over onto his hands and knees on the muddy banks of the far side of the lake so that he can proceed to throw up an obscene amount of water, which only makes the burning in his lungs more and more painful with each heave.

A sigh of relief, a soft voice breaking through the silt caked in his ears which seems to speak only above a whisper. “I-I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Din freezes. The discomfort and pained heat in his chest is nothing compared to the inferno under the bare skin of his face. He continues to stare at the ground, but shifts his eyes up so that he is looking in the direction of his savior.

A human, scantily-clad with only a dark cloth wrapped around their chest and some sort of leather skirt, sits in front of him on the rocks, their legs still partially submerged in the murky lake water. They thumb at their wet lips as they smile at him, and he feels a blush creep from his face all the way down his chest. Those glistening, smiling lips had been on his lips.

His lips.

His face.

The Creed.

Despite a sensible voice in Din’s head trying to remind him that they had saved his life, despite the weakness that pervaded every inch of his body, a flare of anger rises in him. He is dar’manda now, because of them.

He pulls himself up into a seated position on the lakeside and puffs out his chest, only to find the pain evaporating his anger. “What did you do….” he asks himself.

Their smile fades as their brows furrow. “I think that’s pretty obvious. I saved your life.”

“I didn’t mean-- My life?” Din sighs around a laugh. He’s done this before, hasn’t he? Why’s this different from the cantina? Because this person isn’t made of metal? He knew going along with anything less than what the Creed requires of him would become a slippery slope. The tears come easily and he does nothing to stop them. “No, my life is over.”

They set one of their hands on the rock beside them, leaning their weight onto it and towards him. They open their mouth around a smirk, then pause. They start again, but with a blank sincere expression. “Why’s that?”

It’s probably the adrenaline from nearly dying and being unmasked again, but for a moment Din considers grabbing their arm and pulling them in for a real kiss. What does it matter now? His body shows no signs of his thoughts, not a single twitch of muscle, but his face must be betraying him as he watches their eyes train in on his as they purse their lips and smile with their dark, shimmering eyes. Whatever blush he still had on his face grew a shade darker.

“You’re a bold one.” They say around a smile, their long fingers twisting through their hair.

Din squeezes his eyes shut and turns away from them, towards the dark sky full of stars. His voice cracks as he gives weight to the words running through his mind, to the feeling of emptiness inside. “I’m dar’manda.”

They snort, and Din can’t help but whip his head at them. 

“Can’t be that big of a deal if I’ve never heard of it.”

Din expected them to not know, but not for them to be so arrogant about it. He had an explanation ready, but since he was caught off guard and doesn’t want to get lost in the weeds with this person, he summarizes the summary as, “It means I’m done. I can’t wear the armor anymore.”

“Because I saved you?”

“Because you’ve seen me,” Din explains, finding the familiar words of his Creed. “No living thing can see me without the helmet. That’s… that’s the one rule. And I broke it.”

“But I’m the one who broke it.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

They blow a raspberry and wave at the air with their free hand. “You humans really can be so dramatic.”

Din pauses, squinting up at the twinkling stars as he absorbs their words. Well. Now he’s curious. He brings his gaze back down at his savior. It's dark and he’d just drowned, but he didn’t see anything… off.

“You seem human to me,” he says as he turns over and sits back on his haunches.

“You seem duller than I hoped.” They bite their lips around a smile as they laugh softly. They pull their legs out of the water; the skirt seems to shine iridescent in the moonlight, like facets of a precious gemstone. Their feet were…. Hm. Their skirt, their legs, are covered in leather? No, scales…. 

Din finds his mouth gaping as he stares at a tail, the fin slapping wetly against the rocks in step with the drum of their fingers against their thighs -- singular, thigh?

As he struggles to think of a good first question, they purse their lips in thought. “Let me go get your hat,” they say before quickly slipping back into the lake.

“W-wait, it’s not a...,” Din calls out stupidly, launching himself slowly and awkwardly from his haunches and reaching out in the empty air where they once were. 

This can’t be real. Mystical, intelligent beings with the head and upper body of a human, but the fins and tail of a fish. He was more than familiar with the stories, but such creatures were just children’s tales. Although, what was fiction now that he is taking care of a fifty year old infant with telekinetic powers? The galaxy was a big place, he supposed.

The mer-person seems to come back just as fast as they’d left, setting Din’s helmet on the shore at his feet before pulling themselves back up to sit their colorfully-scaled behind on the rocks.

Din reaches down and fumbles for a moment with the beskar, checking the inside before placing it back on his head. The pads are damp and uncomfortable, but not any more uncomfortable than feeling so exposed. “Thank you.” 

“It's no problem, hat boy,” they prod as they casually clean their fingernails. Din bristles.

“It’s not a hat.”

“And I’m not alive,” they say seriously, looking at Din’s eyes through the visor somehow. The jovial tone fades to a comfortable yet tense silence. He tilts his head, waiting for them to continue their thought.

“Why get yourself all worked up? No one would believe you if you told them about me anyway.”

“I would know,” Din states softly. The tension dissipates but the two stay motionless. Din contemplates and shrugs minutely in defeat. He would know, yes, but he already knows. This isn’t the first time he’s failed when his Creed has been tested. Yet, who would argue whether droids or mer-people are ‘living beings’? The line is blurry, so it's up to Din to decide when the line is crossed. Considering his responsibility to his foundling’s care, he pushes the thoughts of being dar’manda far from his focus, into hiding in the recess.

Ripples from the lake, bouncing moonlight off of its surface, catches his attention. Save for a brief fading view of two blue lights in the dark water, nothing. They are gone, and Din is alone. His wet lungs wheeze as he reaches down, patting along the areas where they had been, searching for any remnants of their existence. An imprint, a misplaced item, a loose scale. Not a trace.

After a moment, Din pulls himself to his feet and trudges up through the pocket of trees surrounding the lake to a small path leading back to the pier. It had only been ten minutes or so since he had been pushed into the lake, but the bounty and his client were gone. Din assumed they both left giddily, since the bounty could think he was dead and the client didn’t have to pay the back half of his premium. Wasn’t the first time, after all.

The Razor Crest’s security lights flickered to life as her prodigal son returned, the side bay ramp welcoming him inside with a flick of the wrist. As Din walked up the ramp, he was faced with an empty carbonite rack -- and more accurately, what amounted to an empty coffer. He wondered if he still had some of the murky lake water swimming through his brain because he couldn’t bring himself to care.

The beskar helmet quickly pivoted away from the carbonite chamber as he heard a grumble and the shuffling of blankets. The baby stirred from their shared cot, chirping and cooing to be held. Din crossed the hold with long, swift strides and obliged, removing his damp and filthy gloves to thumb over the baby’s warm cheeks.

Din sucked in a breath to speak, but paused. No one would believe you if you told them about me anyway. He would always know, but… He had nothing to hide from his sweet little foundling.

Din sat on the floor below the cot, leaning against the wall as he cradled the sleepy babe in the crook of his legs. The lake water dripped off of him slowly, glinting in the safe yellow glow of home as Din told a story.

[lordabovehelpme]

Family Day- Din Djarin x Reader

This wonderful moodboard is brought to readers like you by @jedi-jesi (go give her some love. She’s a literal mastermind)

A/n: Cara is a flirt and I will except no other answer. 

This is the next part to my Days filled with Love series! You can find the first part here :) 

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

“Mommy! Look I’m flying!” Reeza screams out in delight as Paz lifts her around in the air.

“Very nice, sweetheart.” Smiling, you go back to stirring the soup you have planned for dinner.

“Hey magic hands!” Greef, loudly announces his arrival, instantly giong to pick up your eldest child.

Cara follows him with her signature smirk, “Hey mama.” Din’s hands tighten on your hips, but you shoo him away.

Leaving the soup and your husband's hands, you tickle Grogu’s nose in Greefs arms. “I’m so glad you two were able to make it!”

“And risk never experiencing your cooking again?” She scoffs but allows you to pull her into a large hug, her own arms eventually wrapping around your shoulders.

“You’re always welcome.” You shimmy from her arms with a wide smile, but you can feel the heavy stare of your husband on where you two were conjoined.

“Auntie Cara!” Myles rushes in from outside and tackles her.

“Hey little man!” She lifts him up into her arms and rubs his helmet. “Now you match shiny over there.” You just know under his helmet he has the biggest smile.

Paz walks over with Reeza still climbing from his limbs. “Do you need help with anything?”

Giving him a grateful beam, “No, I think I’m alright.” Isabet cries from her seat at the table. “Actually can you-”

“I’ve got it.” Before you can even finish your sentence, Paz has already taken Isabet into his arms. “Come on Di’kut, get your son, we’ll teach them how to wrestle like the good old days.” Walking out the door, Myles jumps from his aunts arms, and grabs her hand, leading her after his uncle. Greef, with Grogu in his arms, follows right after them.

Din’s hands find your hips once again and he slowly raises his helmet. Pressing a kiss to your cheek as he takes Tobbi from where he was strapped to your back. “We’ll be outside.”

“Mm, okay have fun. Don’t let Paz bruise them up too bad.” However, there is no true worry in your voice. You know for a fact that on any given day Paz would protect your children and your family as if they were his own.

***

You watch with a smile on your face as Paz lets all five of your children climb all over him outside. He really does love them as if they were his own.

“Mesh’la, why don’t you come outside?” Two hands grab your hips and turn you around.

“Din! You scared me!” Lifting his helmet to his forehead, you peer up into his brown eyes. “I’m almost done with dinner, then I’ll come out.”

He leans forward and attaches to your neck, his hands lift you up and set you on the counter. Walking forward, he lodges himself between your thighs. “You look so pretty in this dress.” One of his hands trails up from your knee, pulling the fabric of your yellow sundress to your hips.

Grasping his hair you giggle as his scruff tickles your collarbone. “Thank you. But you better not be planning anything right now mister.”

“Why? Everyone's outside, no one will know.”

“I can’t believe you’re even thinking of that while we have guests!” You pull him from your neck, but you can’t hide the soft smile on your face. He just whines, bottom lip pushed out in a pout that you can’t help but kiss.

“You two better not be making anymore kids in there!”

A squeak falls from your lips as Cara sticks her head in the kitchen. Heart rising to your cheeks as you push your dress back down to your ankles. Din only shoves his helmet back on his head and offers a mumbled, “I’m trying.”

She smirks at the two of you, leaning on the doorframe and crossing her arms. “Just wanted another drink of water. But it seems like a tall glass of it was waiting for me on the counter. Weren’t you little Mama?”

As you walk over to the fridge, you elbow your husband as he growls. Grabbing the ice cold water, you pour a glass for Cara and hand it to her. “Here you go.” Flashing her a smile, you take the fresh bread from the oven. “Could you do me a favor and tell everyone that dinner is ready?”

“Sure thing mama.” Downing her glass in one big chug, she sets the glass in the sink and walks back out the door.

“I don’t like that she calls you that.” Once again, his greedy hands pull at your flesh.

“She just does it because she knows it gets under your skin. It’s just how she teases you.” Pressing your forehead against his helmet, press a kiss to where his mouth would be. “Now can you go use these big muscles and grab three extra chairs?” Giving his biceps a firm squeeze to further prove your point. “If you’re good, I’ll give you a nice gift tonight, okay?”

He growls in approval and walks away, but not without delivering a firm smack to your bottom.

***

As the sun sets and fireflies start to rise from their slumber, laughter can be heard from the Djarin residence.

“And then-” Paz’s booming laughter fills the living room from where he sits on the floor, “then he just fell over! Like one second he was there and the next he was gone!”

“You never told me you fell off a blurrg.” Your own words falling soft as they try to sound through your giggles. The hand your husband holds is squeezed and you just know under that helmet his cheeks are rosy.

“He’s making it sound worse than it was.” His visor tilts down to look at Isabet who has fallen asleep in his arms, trying to hide his embarrassment.

Paz scoffs and tickles Reeza’s stomach, giggles erupting from where her limbs thrash around. “Your dad’s an idiot.”

It’s like a flip was switched in her mind. She wrangles herself from his hold and stands protectively in front of her father. “Daddy’s not an idiot! He’s the smartest person alive!” Her little scowl mirrors perfectly the one her father often throws you.

Greef chuckles and him and Cara share a glance.

Sounding prouder than he should be, Din states, “Yeah, hear that, smartest person alive.”

Paz crosses his arms, “Yeah because the “smartest” person would obviously cheat off of me on every single written test we had.”

“That was only one time! I wasn’t able to go to class because you broke my arm! It was only fair.”

“WHAT!” Snapping your head to the left, you peer at Din, needing explanation.

“You haven’t told her yet?” Paz, for once, actually sounds shocked.

“It’s embarrassing.”

“Oh come on shiny, now we all want to know. You’ve got mama over here on the edge of her seat.”

Myles looks up at you from where he sits between your legs on the floor. Studying your facial features as you eagerly nod at your husband.

“If he won’t say anything, I’ll tell it. So it was when we were about sixteen and seventeen.” Reeza, already enveloped into the story, places herself back into his lap. “We were friends with this one girl and I-”

“You had the biggest crush on her.” Din interjects.

“We were friends! Anyway, her birthday was coming up and WE wanted to get her something. But WE wanted it to be special, so WE decided to poke in her room while she was doing her training. You know, learn more about her.”

“So you were looking for her diary?” Cara asks.

“Uncle Paz isn’t that mean?”

Looking down at Reeza he says, “Never do anything that your father and I did when we were young. And no, not her diary. Something that told us more about her.”

“So a diary.”

Paz’s helmet tilts towards her and you know he's glaring. “Anyway, the major problem was, her room was on the second floor of the covert, so in order to get up there we had to climb through her window.”

“SO he elected me to stand on his shoulders and climb in.” Din huffs.

“You offered!”

“Yeah because I didn’t want to lift your fat-”

“DIN!” Slapping your hands over Myles ears, you yell over him.

“You’re just jealous that I’m taller and stronger than you. Anyway, we were about to make it in, but low and behold, she opened the door and it spooked Din.”

“No, you were scared because you liked her, so you lost your footing. So Paz fell over and I fell on top of him. I tried to catch myself, but I rammed my forearm right into Paz’s butt and we eventually found out I broke it.”

“Butt of steel baby.” Everyone besides Din breaks out in laughter at his comment.

“Not something you should be proud of.” Din huffs out beside you.

“Wait so how did this mystery chick respond?” Greef asks.

“Let’s just say we weren’t friends anymore.” Paz shrugs his shoulders. “Missed out.”

***

All five of the kids have been put down, it already being way past their bedtime.

“Come sit with me mama.” Cara pats her thighs and before you can respond Din pulls you into his lap.

“Tough luck.” Greef mocks her before sighing, “Anyway, we best be getting back. I’m dreading what’s going to be left of the city.” Cara rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

Standing up from your husband's lap, you rush into the kitchen. “Let me grab you some leftovers! Hang tight for one minute.” Throwing some soup, bread, and fruit into tupperwares, you hand them to Greef and a few to Cara.

“Thanks mama.”

Smiling, you pull her into one last hug, “Of course.” Letting her go and giving another hug to Greef, he gives you a firm pat to your back. “It was so good to see you guys.”

He smiles before leaning down and whispering in your ear, “You know, you really make him happy.” Shocked, you peer into his eyes searching for the usual jokes he cracks. He only nods and offers your husband a firm handshake. “Until later, Mando.” The two of them walk out and back to their ship.

“Guess that’s my cue.”

Turning to Paz you pout, “Oh no, you’re totally welcome to stay. We have the guest room for a reason.” Little do you know that behind you Din is glaring and signaling for him to leave.

“Ehhhh, umm, I don’t want to overstay my welcome. Plus, I have, umm, some stuff to do tomorrow.”

Giving him a big hug, you laugh as he picks you up. “Thank you for coming, it means the world to the kids.”

He sets you down and under his helmet he smiles, “You guys are my family, I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.”

Smiling, you watch as the two men hug each other as if they are never going to let go. It’s the truest form of a bro hug. They both have their arms at an angle and firm pats are delivered to each other's backs. Small whispers you can’t pick up are spoken between the two.

“Thanks for coming man.”

“For sure. Alright, I’m heading out. See you guys around.”

Waving at him from the porch, Din walks up behind you and grabs your hips.

Sighing, you relax into his embrace. His fingertips massage circles into your hips and his head rests on your shoulder.

“What is it?”

“I- uh, I think you promised me a gift earlier.” He pulls you back against his hips and you gasp at the way he’s poking your back.

“Already?”

“I can’t help it!”

Giggling you let him pull you inside. “Alright sit down and watch your show.”

“A show? Now I’m really excited!”

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

Next Part: A Day Spent Alone

Hehehe I had too much fun writing this one. I hope you guys liked it!

As always, feedback is mega appreciated.

Love you all, Lordy :)  

(Cara calling you mama is my new favorite thing)

Masterlist

Taglist: @ficthots @along-the-lines-of-space @jedi-jesi​ 

If you want to be added/removed from my taglist, just give me a holler! :) 

[lovelysilence14]

Mandalorian S2 Finale - I thought it was beautiful (WHY do some people hate it?)

So, this finale was so incredibly emotional for me! The ending had my heart in a grip! I LOVED IT. To me, everything came together poetically. 

I’ve been hearing how people - or some - DIDN’T like it and thought it somehow went against the “core” of the show? 

Um, what? 

I loved it because I think it was THE moment Din became a father to Grogu

NO, I am not saying he wasn’t before. Of course he was! Why do you think I even stuck around to watch it? I ADORED the father/son dynamic between the two!

But, the moment you’re willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for your kid by giving them a better life when you KNOW it’s going to rip your heart out and KILL you to do, but you know you have to because it’s for the kid’s best... YOU HAVE BECOME A PARENT. 

Din did that! He made the TRUE parental sacrifice. It was confirmed that Din had a broken and lonely heart/life before Grogu came along. Yes, the Creed meant EVERYTHING to him. But, he was still a broken man and a lonely person. It was also confirmed how Grogu “healed his lonely heart”.

So, Din could have been selfish by keeping Grogu for himself. He said HOW many times that the kid was the ONLY thing that mattered to him?

But, he didn’t. He gave him up because Grogu CHOSE to go with Luke and Luke confirmed how Grogu only wanted to go if Din was okay with it. 

People... GROGU WANTED TO GO WITH LUKE. 

He spent at least 20 years of his life with the Jedi and was in training before being ripped from it. BRUTALLY. He was just living his life happily until it was just randomly ripped away from him. He MISSED being with the Jedi. 

We all saw how he was reaching out to Luke through the security camera 

We saw him reaching out to Luke again when he came to get him from the room. 

He WANTED to complete his Jedi training. It’s a huge part of him and he WANTED to finish what was stolen and left incomplete for him. 

Does that mean he loves Din any less? No. After all, he would ONLY leave if Din said it was okay. Luke even said so! He didn’t want to leave Din because Din became, as Ahsoka even said based on feeling his literal emotions, LIKE A FATHER TO HIM. 

The last thing he wanted to do before leaving was to see Din’s face, even through the helmet. He didn’t want to say goodbye. You KNOW it killed him too. 

But, he wanted to finish what was started for him 20-some years prior. Emotionally, he HAD to do this. 

Din knew this; so he did what any good parent would do and LET HIS SON LIVE A BETTER LIFE. Even if it was without HIM in it. We all saw the tears in his eyes as he was struggling not to just break down. 

And come on, did we really expect this to go any other way? We all knew Gideon was going to catch Grogu and we all knew at SOME point, Grogu and Din were going to part ways. 

How was it NOT going to happen for the sake of ripping our hearts out and getting us emotional? 

Yes, I KNOW what happens at the Jedi academy...

Yes, I KNOW what happens eventually. But, HEAR ME OUT. 

Ben doesn’t destroy the academy for another 20 years. And Din PROMISED that he would come and see Grogu again. Unless we’ve been watching a different show, Din is a man who KEEPS his word. 

Every. Single. Time. 

TWENTY YEARS, PEOPLE. 

Absolutely anything could happen in that twenty years that takes Grogu away from the temple. Anything! Just because Din left Grogu doesn’t mean he’s not going to eventually GET HIM BACK. He still could! 

We don’t know how this story ends yet. 

They had the same problem with Ahsoka in Clone Wars 

I read that they had the exact same issue with Ahsoka in Clone Wars and explaining HER disappearance from ROTS. 

Apparently, George Lucas was going to kill her off. 

But, it was suggested they just make her leave the Jedi Order instead to explain why she was gone. I read Favreau or Filoni was the one to make her rather infamous choice and derail the initial first choice to simply kill her off. 

Why? Because the fandom LOVED HER. 

AND, come on, Grogu is a HUGE money maker for Disney! Killing him off would be suicide for their profit deals. Why kill him off? 

No one would be buying Grogu plush toys or talking dolls anymore! (Damn, I still want one SO BADLY.)

Financially, it doesn’t make sense to kill Grogu off when they still have SO MUCH profiting hopes on him. 

So, I am clinging to my raft of hope that Favreau/Filoni are going to MAKE THIS RIGHT

They did things right in Clone Wars/Rebels with Ahsoka and giving her a happy ending (even with the ROS thing where people were FREAKED that she died, they said she was possibly still alive despite it). 

People were TERRIFIED she was going to die in Clone Wars or in Order 66. They thought for SURE she was going to die.

But, she STAYED ALIVE. Why? Because we, the fans, OPENLY ADORED HER.

We all ADORE Grogu. The reason they kept him out of promotional material, even toys, was because they KNEW we were going to love him. Why kill off HALF THE REASON your audience sticks around? 

That doesn’t make any sense. 

I HAVE HOPE THEY’RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. Until I see them ACTUALLY screw this up, I am standing by faith in the story line. 

Favreau has been confirmed to already have the S3 story line planned out. Let’s not just abandon ship just yet and have A LITTLE faith in them! No one’s complained about the story line thus far. Why start now just because it ended in a way the majority of us already knew was going to happen? 

The story isn’t over yet, everyone! Remember that!

And I thought ending was rather poetic in a way too. Yoda trained Luke... and now Luke trains who may be the last living being of Yoda’s kind! Aw, man. My emotions! 

[dinsrose]

“Dancing with Your Ghost”

Summary: Just a little one shot I wrote from yet another scene I wanted to bring to life in my head. Din is out getting supplies for himself, Grogu, and the reader, when he spots an item that gives him vivid flashbacks of his parents dancing in the kitchen. He remembers how happy they looked in that moment, and he wants to recreate that moment with his lover.

Din Djarin and Female Reader

Fluff; Slow Dancing; Cute; Soft Din

Read here on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29917344

Din POV

Just a few more pieces of her favorite fruit, and I think we are good to go. I turn over the fruit in my hand to examine it. It has to be perfect. It can't be bruised, not too ripe. The pieces of fruit in the basket shuffle around shuffle around as you try to find the most perfect pieces in the batch. Just like her.

Finally deciding on three pieces that are about as good as it gets, you put them in your satchel. The lady selling the fruit smiles at you as you hand over the required amount of credits. While you have them out, you count the remaining number of them in your satchel. Enough to get fuel, and get back to Navarro.

You start to walk back in the direction of the Crest when something catches your eye. A small trinket box sitting on top of one of the merchants booth. It's not the trinket box itself that appeals to you, it is the figurines on top that catch your attention. There is a man and woman on top slow dancing.

A wave of nostalgia washes over you as you stop in your tracks. Suddenly, it is not two clay figurines, but your parents glued together in synchrony as they waltz through the kitchen. You remember getting out of your bed to get a drink of water, when you noticed them. They were cleaning up the leftovers from dinner, and had somehow found themselves molded together in synchronizing movements instead. You can still hear the pure joy coming from your mother's laughter as you watched your father dip her back slowly. They moved so perfectly together. That was one of the few moments in your short time of knowing them, that you could see the pure love radiating from them.  

The memory brings a sharp pain to the back of your throat as it fades into nothing. I hope she knows how much I love her. You think to yourself as you walk back through the crowd toward the Crest.

Reader POV

Grogu is so rambunctious today. He won't stop getting into everything. He keeps finding pieces from God knows where on this ship to pull off. You have even had to search for him multiple times, because for some reason he thinks it is funny to hide from you. He even started climbing the literal curtain hanging in the cockpit of the Crest. His screeches rang through the Crest when you yanked him off of it. It turned into an all out tug of war. Refusing to let go, a piece of the curtain had ripped off making the two of you fall backwards onto your butt. Maker, he is exhausting you today.

"Grogu, stop!" You cry out as you grab him from the pilot seat of the Crest. He had snuck hi way up here without you knowing and started hitting every button he possibly could. Just knowing he was going to blow something up, you grabbed for him.  

"I can't take much more of this today, kiddo." Sighing in exhaustion as you looked at him. "Please...I know you can understand me...just please calm down for a few." You gave him the saddest face you could possibly muster in hopes he would give in. He lets out a small giggle as he lifts his small hand to your face. His little fingertips graze your cheek as he lets out a coo. That almost makes you melt. How can something be such a menace, and so cute at the same time? You don't even have it in you to stay mad at him.

Throwing Grogu onto your hip, you start towards the ladder leading down to the hull. As you descend the ladder, you hear the hatch to the ship begin to open. Thank the maker. You have never been more excited to see Din in your life. Grated, you are excited to see him again, but you really need a break from this kid.

Din walks up the ramp slowly bringing in his haul from the market of whatever town you guys had landed in. Pulling his satchel off his hip, he whips his helmet up in the direction of the two of you.

"Thank the galaxy you are back." You breathe out. "This kid has been an absolute menace today. He has been into absolutely everything! I cannot get him to go to sleep." You whine.

"Is that true kid? Have you been giving her trouble?" He asks while pointing his gloved finger towards Grogu.

He lets out a loud giggle as he hops out of your arms, and starts waddling towards Din. He swoops him up into his arms and caresses his little, green forehead.

"He is fighting sleep" Not taking his eyes off the kid as he says it. "Need to shut him in the POD. Got to be firm with him."  He continues.

Watching as Din walks over to the little POD, you cross your arms. Of course HE can get him to calm down. He lowers Grogu into the POD and gives him a firm statement.

"Nap time" He says as he shuts the POD.

He turns back to you slowly while extending his arms out. Told you so. The stance reads. Walking back over to his satchel, he whips his helmet in that direction, motioning for you to join him.

"I got you some things." He exclaims.

Skipping over to the satchel, you lower down into a squatting stance to see what he brought back. He lifts his helmet up in your direction as he pulls out three pieces of your favorite fruit. He is so good to you. A smile spreads across your face as you reach for the fruit. Before you can grab one, he yanks them out of your reach. Confusion washes over you as you pooch out your lips in the best pouty face you can muster.

"Can't eat here, we are going outside to eat." He says.

"What? Why? It's dark out!" You pout. Keeping your eyes trained on him in hopes to distract him, you quickly whip your hand around the back of him, trying to snatch the satchel. He catches onto your plan and falls back, taking the satchel further away from your grasp. A giggle escapes your lips as you fall onto his chest, still reaching for the satchel. Laughter erupts from him as he holds it above your reach.

"Got to be quicker than that, Rose." Your heart melts. That is a nickname he gave to you back when he found you. He is the only person allowed to call you that, but you love it when he does.

For some reason you are in a teasing mood. "I could have totally grabbed that if I really wanted to shiny." you giggle out.

"Yeah? Or did you just want to find an excuse to fall on top of me." He shoots back.

Your face flushes at the statement. Even though you guys have been technically together for months now, he still finds ways to make you blush. Now that you think about it, you did snatch at the satchel knowing you would fall onto him. It isn't something you can help. There is just something about him that makes you always want to be touching him in some way.

"I'll take that as a yes." He concludes since you had fallen silent. "Don't worry, I don't mind."

His hand reaches up to your chin as he grabs it firmly. He slowly rubs his thumb across the curvature of your chin as you both take each other in. He shifts his body while sitting up. Wrapping his hand around your back, he moves you with him.

"My sweet Rose" He breathes out.

Maker, this man knows how to make you absolutely melt. He can be so sweet sometimes. It makes you even more soft knowing he is only like this with you and Grogu. He barely pays attention to anyone else. If anything, he is cold and distant from others. Not with you guys, though. He is always making sure the both of you are happy and cared for. He goes above and beyond every single day. You couldn't have been given more luck in the entire galaxy than with him.

"Alright, let's go. I have a surprise for you." He says as he interrupts your thoughts. His body rises from the floor and brings you with it. How are you to say no to him? You'll eat anywhere as long as he is there with you.

His hand tugs at yours, beckoning you to go with him down the ramp. Looking back to make sure Grogu is fine, you see the little POD floating there motionless. The little bugger has probably already fallen asleep. Of course.

Hand in hand, he walks you down the ramp and into the grassy patch in front of the Crest. The only light outside is coming from the glow of whatever town that is in the distance. You hadn't noticed he had thrown the satchel back around his hip and brought it with him. He sets the satchel on the ground and drops your hand.

The air around you is humid, and dark. Looking a little closer at your surroundings, you notice the little twinkling lights fluttered about. Fireflies. They're so beautiful. They dance about in the mossy trees around you, making for the perfect setting.

"Where are we, shiny?" You question. Hearing some shuffling, you turn your attention back to Din. He has laid out a blanket across the grass and is setting a lantern down atop it. He has carefully laid out the fruit you were so eager to bite into a few minutes earlier, along with some flowers you had never seen before.

"The planet Saleucami. City of Taleucema." He replies.

You barely hear him, you are too caught up in the sight before you. He had taken the time to buy these things for you, knowing they were your favorite, and set up a little picnic for the two of you. Of course, he would not be able to eat with you, but the sentiment was incredible nonetheless. Your heart floods with joy. What did you do to deserve this man?

Making your way over to the blanket, you let out a gasp. "Din, what is all this?" A smile spreads across your face as you gesture out to the scene before you.

"The surprise. Wanted to do something nice for you." He replies. "See that town over there?" You follow his finger to the lighted skyline of a city in the distance.

"They are holding a celebration tonight. In a few moments, they will light the sky with fireworks, and fill the atmosphere with music. I know you have never seen fireworks before. Wanted to make it...special." He continues.

Fireworks. You had only imagined what they would look like. The city you grew up in had never had any celebrations, and you had never been anywhere that had them. It hits you that just a few short weeks ago, you were babbling on in the cockpit of the Crest about wanting to see fireworks to him. You didn't think he was even listening, because you spent many hours of your day talking nonstop in there to him. This is why he insisted we stop here. Tears well up in your eyes as you look at the man in front of you. The feelings inside you were overwhelming.

"You look beautiful in the moonlight." He exclaims as you stand there, an emotional mess. "More beautiful than the moon itself." He continues chuckling to himself.

That does it. Before you can think, you are running to him, arms outstretched. All you want is to touch him, be close to him. That is the only thought screaming over and over in your head. When you finally reach him, you pounce on him, pulling him into a warm hug. Your head finds its way into the crook of his neck. The smell of leathered amber fills your nostrils as you breathe him in.

"Din...thank you." You breath out into his neck. He wraps his arms around you and just holds you there. He feels like...home. That is the only word you cant muster to describe how he makes you feel.

A loud explosion makes you jump. Suddenly, the sky is lighting up with beautiful colors of red, green, blue. A gasp escapes your lips as you scramble up onto your feet to get as close as you possibly can.

"Maker, Din do you see this?!" You shout pointing frantically at the sky. The sky is a sea of beautiful colors, explosions pulsating all around you. A song starts playing in the distance, one you have never heard before. It has a beautiful tune, and it fits perfectly with the setting around you.

You stand there in complete awe for a few seconds. Turning around, you want to see his reaction the the scene. He is right behind you. The fireworks reflecting off his shiny beskar. You make a not, that watching them reflect off his helmet, is about the most beautiful sight you have ever seen. Prompting for you to turn back around, he spins you by your shoulders. His hands slowly wrap around your back and to the front of your tummy. He rests his chin on top of your hairline as he watches the beautiful scene with you. Placing your hands over his, you lean into his chest and smile up at the sky.

The song playing is so perfect for the moment. "I put the record on...wait till I hear our song...every night I'm dancing with your ghost."

Your hands drop from his as you continue to take in the beautiful sight before you. This is the definition of perfection. Suddenly, you feel Din grab your hand and spin you towards him. He pulls you close and wraps his hand around your lower back.

"What are you doing, shiny?" You giggle.

He slowly raises your right arm with his, and cautiously takes a step back. He pulls you with him prompting you to take a step forward.

"Din? What are you doing?" A giggle escaping your lips.

A faint sound of humming comes from under the helmet. Is he...singing? A huge smile spreads across your face as the realization hits you. He pulls you forward and prompts for you to spin under his raised arm. Oh. I get it. He is wanting you to slow dance with him. A tingly feeling explodes over your whole body. Maker, you love this man with all your heart.

Spinning under his raised hand, he slowly slides his other down to the curve of your lower back. He pulls your body as close to his as you can possibly get. This moment right here, life could not get any better. You will forever be grateful for the day this man saved you. The day he came barreling into your cantina, guns blazing. It had to be fate. The stars could not have made a more perfect match. This man is your soulmate, you know it. Your thoughts are interrupted by a sharp pain hitting your right foot.

"Ouch!" You screech out and jump back. Din freezes in place and brings his hands to the front of him.

"I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to step on your toes." He stutters. "this isn't something I have ever tried, but...I wanted to try for you." He continues while fidgeting his fingers.

A smile spreads across your face. Trying to hold back your laughter, you reassure him. "It's okay, shiny. I won't hold it against you." He could be so clumsy sometimes, and honestly, that was something you absolutely adored about him. He was always stumbling around in that large armor. Made it hard for him to move. On top of that, he was very tall. He towered over you. Made it a little difficult to do anything around you without accidentally crushing you.

Taking a step back towards him, you reached out your hand to touch his helmet where his cheek would be. Wanting to reassure him it was okay, you cupped the side of his helmet in your hand and slowly caressed the cold beskar.

Assuming he got the message, he instantly reaches both hands to either side of your waist. A yelp escapes your lips as he swiftly raises you into the air. He lowers your feet slowly down onto the top of his boots. Holding you there until you are secure, he motions for you to wrap your arms around his waist. Overwhelmed with how incredibly sweet he was being, you do as he insists without argument. Your feet plant firmly on top of his boots, and you wrap your arms around his waist to gain balance. Your head lowers gently onto the chest plate of his beskar. Turning your head to the side, you can still see the fireworks shooting in the distance.

He starts to move again once confirming you are secure. slowly moving to the beat of the rhythm so as not to make you lose balance. The world slowly spins around you as he takes you around and around. His hand is caressing your back as his hips sway with the movement.

"Every night I'm dancing with your ghost." You hear faintly from his chestplate. Tears well up in your eyes when you realize he is singing along to the song. He begins humming the tune after singing that one singular line. The vibrations from his chest filling your ears. Your grasp around him tightens as you slowly close your eyes. You want to live in this moment forever.

"Shiny?" Your eyes suddenly fly open.

"Hmm?" He hums from under his helmet.

"This is our song." You whisper into the beskar. "Our love song. A special song just for you and me."

"That it is, my cyar'ika" He hums.

Pulling back to try and look him in the eyes, you want him to know how special he is to you. How grateful you are to him for doing all he has done for you.

"Din...I...I just want to say thank you. Thank you for...being you. Thank you for all you have done for me. You have given me the galaxy, Din. You...saved me. You whisper out.

Granted, you have never been the best with words. Hoping he understands the depth of your love for him, you reach your hands up carefully to either side of his helmet. Wanting him to lower his head to your level, you tug at his helmet gently. He allows you to pull him down to your lips. your lips find the top of his helmet where his forehead would be, and you plant a singular, soft kiss.

He stands there for a few seconds in silence before reacting. His hand leaves the small of your back as it makes its way up to the side of your face. He plants it firmly against your cheek and allows you to sink your head into his palm.

"My Rose...it is not I who saved you, but you who saved me. Ni kar'taylir gar" He whispers as he lowers the head of his helmet down to meet with your forehead. His hand drops back down to the small of your back.

Both standing there soaking in the moment, fireworks and song long finished, you just hold each other. Neither of you wanting to be the first to let go.

[iwrestlenow]

TITLE: Many More To Die (Chapter 14)

FANDOM: Sanders Sides (Necromancer AU)

SUMMARY: A gift from the past secures the future. Knowledge is our greatest defense.

Or, this time, Logan means it when he says he'll never let go.

SHIPS: Logince (Logan/Roman), Moceit (Patton/Janus) and Dukexiety (Remus/Virgil)

WARNINGS: graphic descriptions of violence and death related grossness (i.e., decomposition and fantasy derived nastiness)

There's an epilogue after this, so sorry it's kinda short--and I'm not kidding, guys, shippy bullshit to follow for the next 739 years.

NOTES: This is based on the gorgeous piece of art by @gretacticdraws that can be found here. I ended up writing a ficlet for it, and then my brain got swallowed up. Breathe at me wrong, and I’ll write more…hell, who am I kidding? I’ll write more anyway because this? Is self indulgent drivel. XD

Also located at AO3 over here.

1023, A.A.

Thomas felt a little bit like he was going insane.

Venturing through the deepest of the forgotten sewer tunnels beneath the palace, he shut his eyes and thought of Nico—his unruly curls, his too wide smile, his infectious laughter.

It wasn't his imagination—he heard it echo, somewhere worlds away, bright as the sun.

The grief knotted tight in his chest for an instant before it began to loosen again, bleeding comfort into the raw places in his heart.

They keep the Vigil. He reminded himself. Outlaw wouldn't lie to you.

Taking a deep breath, he quickened his pace.

Once he reached it—a break in the tunnel, where the unfinished pipe sharply cut off into stone and earth, Thomas knelt before the spot where he'd buried the parcel that Outlaw—Josiah Crofter—sent him.

A simple wooden box containing a vial of ashes and a single thread.

“You know what the Vigil is: our funeral rite, our means of keeping the dead alive in the worlds beyond. The Necromata got no souls, so memory's all we have. So we lay their body to rest, and the memories...trinkets, letters, clothing...we give to the funeral pyre. One that never ceases burning.”

Reaching into his belt, Thomas pulled out a dagger.

“When the fire dies, ashes are collected from the freshest embers and kept—and every year, they are added to a fresh pyre. Ashes are collected. The cycle repeats. The fire always burns...so long as the Necromata hold the flint and steel, the Vigil will continue.”

Gritting his teeth, Thomas lay the dagger against his palm, took a breath—and drew the blade against his skin with firm, even pressure.

“But the power of the Vigil is stronger than that. A secret, long kept by our people...that the Vigil don't just safeguard life after death.”

The skin yielded beneath the blade, weeping a garish line of crimson.

“It can safeguard life itself.”

Thomas bit his lip at the sting, but made a fist over the little mound of earth before him.

“The vial I gave you—the embers of your beloved's Vigil, a single thread from the handkerchief you gave me, stained with his blood. Buried 'neath your palace, you join us in the Vigil's keep...offer it blood and a blessing, and the Sacred Souls will let your beloved keep yours in turn.”

He watched his blood hit the dirt, little drops of red catching kernels of earth on their surface.

“The living remember the dead to keep them alive...so it goes when the dead remember the living.”

“For our sons, my love.” Thomas whispered. “For them, and them alone, keep my Vigil.”

The drops of blood sank into the earth so abruptly it startled him.

He heard his husband's laughter again—barely an echo, worlds away.

Even as his tears began to fall, Thomas felt himself smile.

********** 1033, A.A.

THOMAS.

It didn't feel like coming back to life—it felt like remembering.

The heartbeat that eluded his thoughts, the breath that danced on the edge of his consciousness, thoughts and reason and existence that lay just on the tip of his tongue.

A body to live, of course, how had he forgotten? Eyes to open...yes, certainly...

...well, that was a little bit harder. Something was wrong, terribly wrong...

That was when Thomas realized that his body hurt—everything hurt.

“...I may be mortal, but I am still a Weaver...with power over life and death.”

Somehow, over the sudden din, Thomas heard the choked sound of someone unable to breathe. It was a sound he vaguely recognized—a sound that chilled his blood, which already felt strange moving through his veins...chill, sluggish...

THOMAS.

...Nico?...

FOR OUR SON...KEEP THE VIGIL.

Thomas finally managed to open his eyes, head slowly rolling to the side.

The first thing he saw was the door of his bedchamber shattering. A hound swiftly followed, a massive creature with glowing blue eyes that made a beeline for one of the royal guard. Half paralyzed, half fascinated, he watched the animal's jaws close around the guard's throat and his head shake, tearing flesh...

Ichor, black and nauseating, spurted from the guard's throat instead of blood.

On the animal's heels came...yes, that was a heart healer, picking through the splintered wood with a look of horror on his face. A mage came to his side, a prison mage from the look of his robes.

He heard swords clashing—a gleeful cry of triumph. Oh, Remus, his beloved slice of chaos personified...

If Remus could bellow like that, however, he could breathe.

Thomas's eyes finally found the middle of the room—a chair, Roman's body slumped in unconsciousness.

THOMAS.

“I know.” Thomas croaked, struggling to sit up. Every one of his joints felt stiff and brittle, his throat sandpaper rasping one face to another.

Still, he got to his feet. Still, he stumbled over to where Roman sat, reaching out a too thin, too gnarled hand to pat his cheek.

“Ro...Ro...Ro—damn it. Roman!”

Roman stirred, his eyes slowly blinking open with a moan.

“...not...Ro...Roman...”

“What? I don't understand...”

Roman's head lolled to one side, his features paling. Thomas followed his gaze...

He knew the soldier—Colonel Mori, the man he'd barred from that young necromancer's presence once he'd realized what had been done to the poor child.

A poor child sprawled on his back—and Thomas couldn't be sure how, but he knew, he felt it in that place within his chest that tingled when Remus learned a new way to blow something up. He knew it in that place behind his brain that lit up when Roman was about to burst into his chambers with some new poem or story.

The part of him branded father strained towards whatever it was within Roman that was branded son, and Thomas knew it was in the wrong body.

“Rest.” he reassured the boy in Roman's body, patting his shoulder. “I'll be back in a moment.”

Straightening, his limbs grew looser as anger swelled in his chest...no, rage.

Rage for the young life that had been stolen. Rage for his son, who lay dying on the ground—rage for a man that he hated for what he'd done to someone Thomas respected and trusted.

Rage, even, for his broken bedchamber door, and the bodies falling all around the room. Rage filled him, revitalized him, resurrected him from the last dying embers of the grave.

Walking up behind an unsuspecting Mori, Thomas reached out and, without a single shred of regret, grabbed the man from behind to pull him close.

“I should have let the executioner do this ten years ago.” he spat in Mori's ear before he gripped his chin in one hand, secured the other at the right angle, and wrenched with a cry of fury that only died when he heard the satisfying snap of bone and sinew.

He swore, as Mori fell, that he could hear another voice alongside his—no longer worlds away, but so close he could nearly smell the bright citrus of his favorite cologne.

“I'm sorry, my love—but today is not our day.” Thomas couldn't stop himself from whispering. “Wait for me?”

Nico's laughter rang right in his ear, clear and true, before it receded back into the worlds beyond the reach of the living once again.

Roman.

Remembering in the absence of two men's anger, Thomas fell to his knees. The body before him was too still, the eyes glassy and distant.

“Roman...Roman, please!...”

“Your Majesty.”

Thomas turned sharply. At some point, the din had died and silence fell heavy over the room. A young cadet knelt beside him, blood and ichor staining his clothing and his cheek. His eyes were wide and haunted.

“No.” Thomas breathed as the cadet looked to the body on the floor and reached out to gently close its eyes. “No, no no no...”

Arms wrapped around Thomas from behind. Tears dampened his neck—blindly, shaking, Thomas reached behind him to run soothing fingers through Remus's hair.

“Logan, he—he has a Claim.” Remus stammered through deep sobs. “He—he can't be dead. Not when Logan can't...when he can't...”

Thomas didn't understand, but as he glanced towards the chair where Roman's body had been slumped, he watched Roman stand slowly, shuffling towards them, and kneel carefully on the other side of Roman's corpse.

“The Claim is bound to flesh, and it suspends when the soul leaves the body.” the necromancer in Roman's body replied—Logan, his eyes cold and hard and nothing at all like his dear, passionate son.

“He wasn't supposed to come for me.” he continued, running a hand over Roman's hair, his voice too flat, too lifeless. “I warned him...”

Logan trailed off, his eyes widening. Something dangerously like hope sparked in Thomas's chest.

Before he could even draw breath, Logan slammed a fist into the corpse's chest.

********** Knowledge.

“Logan, what the fuck?”

Knowledge is how.

Logan planted his palm in the middle of Roman's chest.

He covered his hand with his other, firmly meshed his fingers.

It is our best weapon...and our best defense.

Throwing all his weight behind it, Logan drove his hands into Roman's breastbone, establishing a steady rhythm.

“Logan, you gotta stop...”

“Virgil, move.”

Remus's voice, deafening silence. Logan kept his gaze focused on his hands in Roman's chest, tried to keep his vision clear so he could do it right.

The way Roman taught him, as his brother taught him.

“Stop.”

Remus's voice. Logan stopped.

Roman's chest barely lifted, then sank.

“Go.”

Logan resumed the compressions. A rhythm, a count...

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Stop. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Stop.

The vital breath—a means to raise the dead without magic.

The cycle continued. Logan gave up his soul with every thrust of the heel of his hand, let it fly into the ether, let it burn to nothing and filled himself instead with Remus's brisk instruction, with the drumbeat of the pulse he desperately tried to tattoo into Roman's chest--

“Logan, stop!”

Logan stopped. Someone was coughing, spasming, rolling to the side...

With an animalistic wail of agony, Logan flung himself around Roman, and followed his soul out of his body.

********** When Roman came to, he was hacking, his lungs burning, his whole body feeling...

...he lost the feeling as dizziness overcame him, and he was suddenly holding Logan instead of being held, the smaller man wracked with wheezing, desperate gasps for air. Everything still felt chaotic, off-kilter...

Chaos. The Animator.

This time, when Roman gathered him close, Logan didn't rear back. He burrowed hard into Roman's chest, shaking like a leaf, and clung so hard to Roman's shoulders he was certain there would be half moons left behind of Logan's nails on skin. Holding him tight, Roman surveyed the rest of his father's bedchamber.

There were bodies everywhere, many of them untouched. There was some blood, but most of the black stuff that filled the air with the smell of rotting death had been spilled from bodies under the Animator's control that were so long dead that their blood had turned to sludge—and now that they were inanimate again, in varying stage of decomposition as they lay, mutilated.

The only people left standing were the victors.

Emile and Remy, wrapped around each other, Emile strangely calm while Remy's solid black eyes took it all in with an equally strange, haunted expression.

Virgil and Remus, side by side, kneeling there before him. Virgil was visibly swaying, but Remus looked perfectly serene—blood and ichor dotting his face, smearing his hands, a rock in the middle of the rapids.

Janus, standing in the middle of the room, equally stained by battle and yet no less resplendent for it. By his side, still in animal form was Patton, calmly licking the blood off one massive paw. Janus had his fingers barely stroking Patton's head, and the side of his face layered with scales was spattered heavily with that same combination of red blood and black rot.

As Janus met his gaze and smiled, Roman felt certain in that moment that Janus had surrendered to Patton the human portion of his dual drake's soul.

Then there was his father, just at his elbow—somehow beautifully, miraculously, alive and watching him with a watery smile. He still looked...well, terrible, features still too thin and leathery, his pallor still that of a corpse dessicated by magic, but his eyes were open and sparkling with real, vibrant life.

“Hold on,” Roman breathed as he smiled back at his father and pulled Logan impossibly closer, “don't let go.”

Logan laughed, then hiccuped, pressing his face to Roman's neck. For the first time in ten years, Roman felt himself draw a true breath: free, clear, and clean as Logan clung to him tight and meant the words as he said them.

“I never have. I never will.”

[yukikorogashi]

💞💖💘💕 don't have to do them all if you don't want to, this just seems cute!

Positivity meme (Slowly Accepting)

Send 💞 and my muses will say something nice about your muse

   FOR AS NERVOUS AS SHE WAS, there was no denying just how EXCITED she still was-- as she began making way up to the front of the classroom itself. Having even gone through the effort of asking for both her uncles’ feedback, when it came to both her written and oral presentation. Both-- that have certainly needed quite some reworking, as expected. Still, however, that night would prove itself to be exhausting and yet, surprisingly fun. Especially as she sat there and listened to TWO VERY DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEWS on the subject matter itself. Now rewritten and even typed out from the FAMILY TYPEWRITER itself (That she had an absolutely BALL typing on-- that was, until Uncle Hosea stepped in due to the typos she kept making). she was ready. At least, so she wanted to believe... as she looked over her entire class, and over towards her teacher then. As she straightened the essay held firmly within her very hands, Itsuki would clear her throat, straighten her back one more time, and began:

   “Ah ‘ave dreamed about the day dat ah would get ta find a place ah could call mah very own HOME. An’ yet, little did ah know dat he would come in the form of a man named ARTHUR MORGAN. A kind, an’ hardworkin’ man, WHOM ah had only gotten da chance ta meet wit’. When he had paid a visit to the ORPHANAGE-- jus’ so he could HELP OUT. An’ while he ain’t all dat-- oof, sorry-- is not much of a talker, his ACTIONS always spoke louder than words. The day we got ta meet an’ sit ta-gether at the swings, would be the beginnin’ of the BEST DAYS of mah life. As ah would soon enough, be allowed ta call this man... mah own FATHER.

    Now, as ah had mentioned earlier, mah pa-- mm, ‘cuse me-- father, is a hardworkin’ man. Who always gets up before the crack of every dawn, and works his fingers to the bone. On the ranch that he near singlehandedly takes care of. An’ despite that, mah pa still finds the time ta watch o’er me, an’ help me out wit’ mah homework, whenever need it. Every moment we get to spend ta-gether is an ADVENTURE. Even when it comes ta preparin’ DINNER, you’d ‘ave ta be there ta believe it.

  Ah love my pa, an’ uhm just so grateful ta ‘ave him in mah life. He makes me so PROUD ta be his DAUGHTER.”

   And she could only hope, that he felt the same way about her.

   AND SO WOULD THE REALISATION strike her, so much so like a bolt of lightning shot down from the VERY HANDS OF ZEUS himself. For despite having known the other far longer than she had any other soul in these past few centuries. Kassandra was still far less inclined to openly express herself these days, when compared to how her younger self would most likely have had... so very long ago. Grimacing to herself then as she remembered her attempts. Of the words that she had dared deemed SACCHARINE, Kassandra believed then that it was perhaps for the best that she had long since grown past... such ways.

   “Something nice, you say...” It wasn’t to say that she had nothing at all to say (The complete opposite, in fact), but simply struggled to string those words together in a coherent enough manner, right then and there, “Hm, let me see...” 

   “It has been so long since I have met a man like him. A man as loyal as he. That by the Gods themselves, it almost makes the HEIREIAI’S own actually PALE in comparison.” Remembering back to the very day that he had come to her aid, Kassandra’s first impression of these lands had definitely been salvaged thanks to him. Unlike those MALAKAS to which she had been more than glad to offer a MUCH NEEDED PAY BACK to, later on. “He is a good man...” A wonderful man, A GREAT MAN, in fact. Especially to this Spartan warrior. These few simple words... to which she would continue to struggle in openly expressing, save through a soft gaze from her. Or a touch from calloused fingertips themselves.

   Drifting off for a moment with a gentle purse of her lips, Kassandra’s eyes would then wander off to where he would now stand. As a more evident smile would begin to make its way upon already thoughtful features.

   “... one who has made me smile, if not laugh, so many times now since I have arrived here...” As it became apparent that some playful rough housing had since begun to take place between him and one of the other gang members, Kassandra would snort as she continued to watch them off from the side, “... And one whom I cannot possibly imagine NOT having in my life.”

Send 💖 and my muses will say something nice about you, the mun

   “... Naw way... is dat... is dat rea-leh ya???” Oh Goddess, just look how much they have changed since she had last met them. As Itsuki would begin to amble through the thick snow, so would a brilliant squeal would leave her as she flopped forward and threw her arms around them in greeting, “It is yoooou! Oh, Rory, it’s been AGES! It’s so good ta see ya again!!!” All too abruptly however, would she stop in her hopping (Humorously sluggish considering how much snow there was out here, but all the same as ENERGETIC as it possibly could be), and give the most POWERFUL POUT that she could muster up at them, “Hmph! Took ya long enough ta visit! Didn’ ah tell ya dat ah was gonna cook us the yummiest din-din da next time ya dropped by? ... Wait, ah didn’? ... Well then.” Wasting no more time then, so would the child begin to guide them back to her hut. With their hand held in her well-worn, but all the soft white mitten. It would offer some semblance of warmth from the cold itself, before a far greater source of heat from the fireplace greeted them from beyond the hut’s entrance drapes.

   “C’mon, sit yerself down, now! Ya need a break frum all’a dat hard work ya’ve been puttin’ in, oh, ah can tell! An’ ‘ave ya been gettin’ enough sleep?” Itsuki simply couldn’t take her eyes off them, as she began setting everything up. Grinning over to them every now and then, as she got the bowls and utensils ready. “Omgosh ah jus’... ah nearly didn’ recognise yer fer a second, y’know? But... ah know it’s ya, da moment ah took a good look at dem PEEPERS of yers! Still as purteh as da last time ah saw am, hehe! Oh-- uhm jus’ so glad ta see dat y’ve been doin’ so well fer yerself, y’know? Ah mean-- ah heard ‘bout how yer doin’ fer da sis. But, uhm so glad dat ah can finall-eh see it fer m’self! An’ jus’ tell ya how PROUD ah am of ya! Yer jus’ kickin’ so much BUTT out there, an’ it shows!”

   As she handed a large bowl of OHAW over to them, Itsuki would still continue to chatter excitedly away.

   “Ya gotta share wit’ me what ya’ve been studyin’ over thar, hehe! Please!”

   A KNOWING SMILE would begin to grace her lips, as she acknowledged the other with the slightest nod of her head. "And so, do we finally meet... Come, sit with me.” And as she would say those words, the immortal swore that she could hear IKAROS’ near indignant squawk amidst the red cardinals, bluejays, and goldfinches that have chosen to brave the coldest of seasons itself. To which she would silently offer a half-hearted apology, and a sigh through her nose in remembrance. For it was a pity, seeing as he would have liked them. 

   “... Malaka, it amazes me just how well you are able to withstand this cold during every single year!” The statement would leave her in an almost boisterous sort of bark, one that clearly bore jest (While also most likely causing any nearby to jump). If not a desire to lighten the somewhat awkward air between them. After all, while they have known one another for quite some time now-- it would only be now, that they would be allowed to meet one another FACE-TO-FACE. And all thanks to the FATES themselves-- and of course, one other soul that couldn’t be there, right then. “I have most certainly heard a great deal about you, Rory. A shame that it is only now that we would finally have the chance to meet, no?” For their eyes would bear a striking resemblance to the FIESTY CHILD that she would hold near and dear to her heart, after all this time.

   “Now, let me see... Allow this great and powerful immortal to peer into your very soul~” Even as she would snort at her little half-joke, the woman would continue to study the other intently. Reaching out to brush some strands away from their forehead, as she continued to smile down at them. Her expression almost unreadable, before another eventually nod followed, with this one being one of the UTMOST APPROVAL, "Ah, so the tales are true.” Carrying on in her theatrics, Kassandra would sit back ever so slightly as she lifted the STAFF OF HERMES TRISMEGISTUS up to the skies themselves, “You-- Rory--bear the SOUL OF A WARRIOR. A flame that has burned and braved through much.” As she would settle her free hand back upon their shoulder, that mirthful expression was almost comforting. Once again, knowing for all that she had seen, and yet, bearing such WARMTH that she had since begun to offer to only very few, “There is so much waiting up ahead of you, Rory. So much that we are all so excited to see you accomplish... And so, accept this one piece of advice from me: Keep fighting. Promise me this, will you?”

Send 💘 and the mun will say something nice about your muse

   I will never forget the day when Rory and I started talking about you, after watching that very first trailer that featured you, Mister Morgan. We had such high expectations, and good lord, did you blow it all COMPLETELY OUT OF THE WATER! Heh, like, you aren’t just a handsome outlaw, are you? You ended up being so, SO MUCH more than that. And I thank the lord each day that Rory chose to pick you up as a much. And do SO MUCH JUSTICE when it comes to their HEARTFELT PORTRAYAL of you. We have had so many amazing interactions together, and one of the best things I got to be blessed with over these past years was Itsuki finally getting to have such a wonderful man as her father! And of course, not only that... I see you spending some time with a certain Grecian lady~ Oh, you know the one I’m talking about ~ 😏

   You are most certainly one of the most comforting presences to see now on this site... especially when times are admittedly as rough as they are. And, I hope you know how always make Itsuki’s day, whenever you choose to comment or pop in her inbox to say hi or chastise her, hehe. I just always love seeing you around on my dash, Mister Morgan. And don’t think I forgot those sweet words you left for me on my old blog during one rough day I had. I just wish I had been able to keep a digital copy of it, truth be told. But I will most certainly never ever forget them. 

   Now, forgive me for ending this off like a typical fangirl. But we love you, YES WE DOOOOO!!! And sorry, sir. But I’m gonna have to break social distancing and give you a big ol’ hug now... And of course, thank you so much for the JELLYBEANS! c:

Send 💕 and the mun will say something nice about you, the mun

   WHEW, I’m sorry this took awhile, but I really wanted to make sure that I got all of this done properly (Especially with ol’ Kassandra, hahaha!). But oh man, oh man... Rory, please. You know what this is going to lead to. When it comes to me gushing about you. Say something nice? ONE THING? PUH-LEASE! You are one of my bestest friends, Rory... and I get so choked up, no matter how many times I say that. I thought you were going to be one of those super cool folks that I was going to just admire from afar. But no, the Gods themselves must be smiling down upon me because we ended up talking and well, the rest is history. We have done so SO MUCH together over the years that it still amazes me to this day, tbh... During some days when we reminisce together, another memory pops up that makes us go “HOLY SHIT, OH YEAH!!!” I am just so happy that we can talk about nearly anything, you know? How we can connect on so many things, tbh. No matter what the subject is, I swear-- we always get into some long-ass conversations, and I just love that so much!!! 

   But oh, what the heck am I doing? I’m suppose to be saying nice things about YOU! And the stuff before is just cheating, so get to it, Becky! Like, Rory... you are just an amazing friend to everyone that knows you tbh. A person that everyone is so lucky to have in their corner. I know so many people feel the same way as me, and can never express their gratitude enough for all that you have done for them as a friend. You are just such a kind, patient, genuine, and empathetic person, and that is honestly so damn rare to find in people these days. Which is why I am always so grateful that I can open up to you on my worst days, and especially when you yourself are so wonderful as to reach out to me and give me a hug first... I’m such a weenie that has since started to huddle in her corner. So when I hear you from behind me, tapping gently on my shoulder the way you do... I’m so grateful, Rory. I truly am...

   And not only that, you know by now that I stan TF out of your writing, and think that you are one of the most amazing writers I have ever known! You know I enjoy tf out of every interaction I get to have with you. Ever amazing interaction we get to have between our muses. And honestly, I will always be one of your biggest fans. Who will be booing and hissing at those who are too blind to see quality when its right in front of them! You are honestly such an intelligent, hardworking and talented individual, Rory... And I can’t say that enough, tbh. If you ever wrote and published a book one day, you KNOW I’m gonna be the first one to preorder it! So you better tell me when you do... catfish? B(

   But just in case I don’t find a good Christmas or EOY meme... I hope you know much I cherish you, bud. How proud I am to bear witness to how far you have come over these past years. I am literally already vibrating here for the day you graduate too tbh. Like ohhhh, I think I need to do a video recording to YELL over just how proud I am when that day comes for you!!! Please continue to fight with all your might, okay, bud? We are all cheering you on, and ofc, I’m always here whenever you need a breather from that tough ass battle. I love you so much, and can’t wait to our next chat on Discord!!!

[ahtohallan-calling]

a week of snow days // a fluffy kristanna fic set in my plane au verse for one shot wednesday!

The first real snow of the year is always an important occasion in the Bjorgman household.

(I recommend reading the previous fics in this verse first!)

one.

“Hey, Anna,” he says, that still-shy smile unfurling on his face even though they’re only talking over the phone and it’s been four months and he told her he loved her weeks ago and she said it right back.

“Kris! Thank goodness I caught you in time!”

“In time? Is something wrong?”

“No, no, it’s just that the weather channel says the first snow will be tomorrow instead of this weekend, and I’m about to have to go into this huge meeting, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to get to the store in time!”

He’s confused; he thought in Colorado, people knew how to drive in the snow. “I don’t think it’ll be bad enough that you won’t be able to go tomorrow.”

“No, no, that’s not the point! It’s the first real snow of the year. I have to have the supplies.”

“What supplies, skatten min? I can bring some rock salt over if--”

“No, I need hot chocolate! The kind with marshmallows. And cookie dough and pretzels and--”

“Anna, start over.”

She heaves out a sigh, and his smile grows. “My family and me, we’ve always celebrated the first big snow like it’s a holiday. We always go out and play in it together, and then come in and have hot chocolate and watch a movie or something. And it’s important to me, and-- and--”

She sounds hesitant, unusual for her; he doesn’t interrupt the silence. Finally, he hears her take a deep breath.

“And you’re important to me, too. So if you have time--”

“Of course I have time. I’ll pick up the hot chocolate and drop it off on my way home.”

“Oh-- thank you, but, um. I also meant...it would be really nice to do my first snow day stuff with you. If you want to, I mean.”

His smile is now a full-blown, ear-to-ear, sun-bright grin. “I’d love to.”

two. 

“You remembered?”

He blinks down at her. She is still curled up on her side in bed, her hair somehow all over her face and her pillow and his pillow all at once. There are shadows under her eyes because she had to meet a deadline last night, and she is wearing his oldest, most worn t-shirt.

She is so beautiful he wonders how the whole world doesn’t stop and stare.

He sits on the edge of the bed, puts his mug of hot chocolate on the nightstand and passes her hers when she sits up. “‘Course I remembered. I want to do this every first snow day for the rest of my life.”

The smile on her face is so warm it could have saved the Titanic a whole lot of trouble. And she doesn’t even know about the ring hidden in the back of his sock drawer.

three.

He pulls in to the already-icy driveway so fast for a moment she is frightened until she remembers he put the snow chains on last week. 

“Come on, my love,” Anna says, picking up her infant daughter from her nap, “let’s get you dressed.”

As if the little girl wasn’t already adorable enough with her mussed blonde curls-- the reason Kristoff keeps calling her his little duckling, even though he was the one who suggested calling her Sofie in the first place-- she gives her mother a sweet smile, the one she is already learning gets her whatever she wants.

Kristoff bursts through the door then, his cheeks red from the cold. “You didn’t take her out yet, did you?”

“Of course not,” Anna reassures him, leaning up on her toes to give him a kiss on the cheek he leans down to receive. “Besides, I’ll need your help getting that snowsuit on.”

His job is mostly to distract Sofie as Anna slides her little kicking legs into the pink, puffy snowsuit, the one they picked because “it has excellent reviews about the quality of insulation” and “the cute little bear ears on top!”

(He did agree once he saw it in person that the bear ears were, as Anna put it, “the cutest thing in the history of the world”, except for of course his daughter. “And you,” he had added, earning himself an extra kiss.)

She lets him carry Sofie outside, knowing that it pulls at him that he cannot stay at home most days like she does. By the way he looks down so solemnly at the infant, she knows there is more on his mind than just this annual tradition. 

As she watches, a single snowflake falls on the tip of Sofie’s tiny, perfect nose; for a moment, she is startled by this new sensation, but then she laughs, for the very first time, and suddenly there are tears in Anna’s eyes.

She thinks there might be some in Kristoff’s, too. “Dette er din første snø, skatten min,” he says softly. “Du vil ikke huske det, men det vil jeg alltid.”

Anna hasn’t picked up enough Norwegian yet to know exactly what he’s saying, but she gets the meaning, all the same, and she tucks her hand under his arm and leans her head against his shoulder, grateful that he will always be there to keep both of his girls warm.

four.

“Are you sure it’s alright?”

“Kris, honey, do you know why I’m so short?”

“Because you didn’t take your vitamins?”

“Because I fell so many times on my head as a baby that it squished me permanently.”

He sighs and leans down to set Sofie on top of a drift of hard-packed snow, though he still holds tight to each of her tiny hands. “That’s not true, Anna.”

“It could be. No one’s ever tested it. But anyway, I ended up fine, didn’t I?”

“Jury’s still out.”

She tries and fails not to giggle at his teasing. Sofie laughs, too, as if somehow she understands. She understands enough, at least: that her parents are happy, and that’s enough to make her happy, too.

“Anyway, honey,” Anna says, moving to stand a few feet in front of the pair of them, “this is better for her to practice than indoors. Out here, all the snow is basically padding.”

“But it’s so cold…”

“Which is why we’ll be here to pick her up and brush the snow off.”

He sighs and slowly lets go of both of the toddler’s hands. She wavers for a moment, and his hands shoot forward to catch her, but then she takes a wobbly step towards her mother.

“That’s it, Ducky!” Anna cheers, “come to Mommy!”

For the first time making this little journey, Sofie doesn’t fall. “You can tell she’s half-Norwegian,” Anna says in between the proud kisses she’s showering on her daughter’s face. “She’s a natural.”

five.

“Hi, Pappa! It's the first snow! Where are you?"

"Hello, my Sofie. And hello Mommy, too. I'm still in New York, remember?"

"But it's the snow, Pappa, it's important."

Anna bites her lip and takes the phone back out of the chubby toddler's hand before she can drop it. "I know," Kristoff says, disappointment in his voice, too. "I was hoping the snow would wait until tomorrow. I'll be home then."

"But it's here today."

She is two and not quite half, and so she does not understand things like dissertations and conferences and the rising costs of air travel.

"I know. But you can drink my cup of hot chocolate for me, okay? From the big cup."

She is, however, old enough to understand that this peace offering is a Very Big Deal.

"Okay!"

Later that night, after she has been put in her favorite pajamas and tucked in with the special blanket and has heard two stories, she remarks to her mother that she would have rather had her father than the special hot chocolate.

Anna calls Kristoff again that night when she has tucked herself in, too. She tells him what Sofie said, and his entire face lights up.

"Now it's only you I have to worry about," he teases.

"What do you mean?"

"That you might love hot chocolate more than me."

Normally she would tease him and say she does, but she wishes he had been here today, too, and so instead she just smiles and says, "You never have to worry about that, skatten min."

six.

“Pappa! Wait!”

He turns, surprised, to see Sofie trailing across the snow towards him, waddling more than usual behind him thanks to her puffy snowsuit and the already-high snowdrifts. 

“Ducky, hva gjør du?” he asks, already turning back to meet her.

“Don’t go to work!” she wails. “There’s snow!”

Before he can reach her, she slips on a slick patch and falls face first into a pile of snow. He breaks into a run, but all of a sudden a massive lump of auburn and white fur is there, using his nose to help push her back upright.

By the time Kristoff reaches her, she’s standing, using the St. Bernard’s back as support; she looks like she’s still torn on whether she should laugh or cry, and so her scoops her up as quick as he can and brushes the snow from her cheeks.

“Tell Olaf thank you,” he says, kissing her forehead to help warm it back up.

“Thank you,” she chirps, and the dog gives a happy no problem woof.

“And anyway, Sofie,” he adds, shifting her to his hip so he can get back to getting the box of Swiss Miss he accidentally left overnight from the trunk of his car, “it’s a Saturday.”

seven. 

“Oh, what’s that big one for?” Anna asks, coming out in the backyard to watch as Sofie struggles mightily to roll a ball of snow that’s almost as tall as she is.

Kristoff’s eyes sparkle with mirth as soon as she asks. Sofie completes another roll and answers cheerfully, “For your tummy.”

She lets out a burst of surprised laughter. “Is it really that big?”

“Yeah, Mommy, it’s ginormous.”

Kristoff tries to hide a snort of laughter by pretending it’s a cough as he comes over to stand with her. “To be fair,” Anna says drily, “I’m seven months pregnant. What’s your excuse?”

She nods at the other snowman Sofie had already built, one that has an even bigger base. “Who do you think that one is?”

Sofie overhears them and calls out, “That’s Pappa!” as if they needed clarification.

Now it’s Anna’s turn to try and hide a laugh. “Perhaps four-year-olds aren’t the best judge,” she says, leaning up to kiss her husband’s cheek. “But just so you know, even if you were that round I’d still think you were the handsomest man alive.”

“You flatter me too much, kjære,” he says, leaning down to give her a proper kiss when Sofie isn’t looking.

“Believe me, I know,” she says, patting the swell of her stomach. “How d’you think I ended up in this situation?”

“Mmm...I thought it had something to do with love at first sight and being married five years to my favorite person and--”

She kisses him again even though Sofie’s watching and will inevitably let out a squeal of disgust. “Well...that too, I suppose.”

“Jeg elsker deg, my Anna.”

She slips her mittened hand into his gloved one. “Love you, too.”

[incorrectdeceptionquotes]

It Takes Two

In collaboration with @s4karuna, she introduced this idea by striking up a conversation with me (so glad she did) and we’ve been building on it for a couple months and we finally decided to actually write it! XD

Hope you like it guys!

...And Happy New Year!

O'Leary's was the last stop on Team Deception’s bar hopping night, their usual homecoming tradition when they came back to New York after a national tour. Dina had somehow managed to wrangle Gunther into doing a duet with her while Cameron and Jordan were downing shots in a corner booth, occasionally heckling Gunther.

“Okay...” Jordan slurred. He was a bit of a lightweight and despite having matched shot for shot with him, Cameron didn’t seem as drunk, only slightly tipsy. “Cameron...”

“Yes Jordan?”

“I got a challenge for you.”

“Oh?” Cameron raised his eyebrows, “What are the stakes?”

“If… If you win...” Jordan garbled, “I… will dye my hair… hot pink again.”

Cameron was intrigued, “And if you win?”

“You… will do whatever I say.”

Cameron raised an eyebrow at that. “Uh Jordan, I don’t know where you’re going with this, but I just wanna be friends.”

“Ha!” Jordan slapped the table, “You wish you could land this… but no.” Jordan looked to be thinking, “If I win… I have something else in mind...”

“Are… are you going to tell me?”

“Nope! I'll… I’ll only tell you if I win.”

Cameron smirked, “So that’s how you want to play it?” He did another shot, “Fine. What is your challenge?”

“I... dare you... to take a shot.”

“Wait, that’s your challenge?” Cameron snorted, “We've been doing that all night.”

Jordan wagged his finger, “Oh-ho-ho-ho... no, my friend. Not just any... shot.” He downed another, “I’m talking about... the infamous Smoker’s Cough.”

“The Smoker’s Cough?”

“It’s a shot of Jagermeister... topped off with mayonnaise.”

Cameron scrunched his face at that, “Ew, mayonnaise?”

“It’s not… not too late to back out.”

Cameron took another one of the shots in front of him with a shake of his head. “No way.” He swiftly downed the drink, “Take that as an ‘I accept your challenge’.”

“There’s only one rule.” Jordan stated, “You’re not allowed to gag or spit it back after drinking it.” He got from his stool, “I’ll be right back.”

Cameron downed another shot. How bad could this drink be? He’d had worse things before so it couldn’t be as bad as Jordan had implied. A few minutes later, Jordan came back with a shot in hand and sure enough, it was topped with good old fashioned mayonnaise.

“Here… you go.” Jordan shakily placed the drink in front of his friend. He really was a lightweight.

Cameron picked up the shot and eyed it for a moment, “Okay… here goes.”

Jordan watched him as the blue-eyed man shrugged and downed it in one go. He seemed to be alright at first. Then his face scrunched up in disgust as he clapped a hand over his mouth to contain his coughing.

“G’ugh! It's vile!” He wheezed. “What the hell is in that?”

Jordan laughed as Cameron let out a couple of coughs, “I had the bartender…” Jordan slurred, “M-make the drink with Andong soju instead. Packs quite a punch, doesn’t it?”

“Oh yeah. Can’t help but think--” He coughed again, “That might have be cheating. Not even your hal-abeoji can drink it and he could give vodka guzzling Russian ex-soldiers a run for their money at his age.”

“You never said I couldn’t change anything.”

“Well played Kwon. Well played.” Cameron mumbled, “So what is it you want me to do?” Cameron would be lying if he said that the gleeful look on Jordan’s face didn’t make him feel a little nervous.

Three years later…

The Archive had been host to many Team Deception celebrations over the years, but this had to be a first. Helping the FBI break a major case by doing what the team did best had... sparked something in him for lack of a better word. Through the din of the party, Cameron spotted Kay in the corner, her phone to her ear as--was she smiling just now?

It wasn't like he hadn’t seen her smile before, but this one was different. It was one of pure joy, her eyes radiating every ounce of love in her heart.

It was beautiful. That smile was beautiful.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he only managed to catch Kay saying “--okay, I’ll see you in a minute, honey.”

Wait, what?

Honey? Suddenly, Cameron was very interested to know who she had been talking to. He just wasn’t expecting there to be anyone who would make someone as cool and professional as Kay call them “honey” of all things. He shook his head and escaped to the balcony.

Kay noticed him walk out as she hung up before her eye caught one of his show posters. The past couple of days had showed her that he wasn’t just some playboy illusionist. Magic really was his life. It really meant something to him… and his brother meant everything to him, she could tell. It reminded her so much of her and Caroline in the past, she mused as she joined him on the balcony.

“Hey.” She said as she walked up next to him.

He grinned, “Hey.”

“You did good Cameron.” Kay told him, “Thank you.”

His smile only widened, “Don’t mention it. Sorry we didn’t get off to the best start.”

“Water under the bridge.”

They were silent for a moment. Cameron opened his mouth, about to ask something like so who were you on the phone with if you don’t mind my asking, when he suddenly heard what sounded like little kids squealing in the other room.

“Uh Kay? Are you babysitting or something ‘cause whose kids am I hearing?”

Kay's lips twitched in amusement. “I’m not babysitting, it's a completely different thing.”

Well, if they were going to start working together, she might as well tell him now.

“You don't babysit your own kids.”

Cameron’s jaw dropped. “You have kids?!”

Kay nodded. “Twin girls.” She had been a little hesitant to tell him that part, worried that it might hit a little too close to home. “The sitter’s just bringing them here for me.”

Cameron was about to respond, say anything other than since when do you have kids and when you gonna let me meet them, when he heard shrieking giggles as a pair of tiny toddlers holding hands, dressed in pink and purple tumbled onto the balcony.

“Oh my God,” he gaped, shocked by the sight of two identical girls with round apple cheeks and adorable little dimples waddling over to Kay, “there's two of them.”

It was impossible not to see the resemblance to Kay when they had the same feathery dark curls and bronze skin. They were perfect little copies of their mother... except for the eyes. The girls’ eyes were opal blue and star-like and Cameron’s smile was fading fast because he never considered the possibility of her being married with kids. Even though he had secretly checked her hands several times for a ring only to find nothing.

Kay laughed as she picked up one of the giggling toddlers, who had purple overalls and a gold bunny shaped clip in her hair. “Well, I assume that as a twin yourself, you’d understand that twins generally come in twos.”

Still, he had to admit that even he and Johnny weren't this cute at that age. Kay's genes were truly magical.

“Soooo…” he drawled, “Who’s the lucky guy?” He wasn’t going to try to beat around the bush this time. If she was with someone then he didn’t want to step over any boundaries.

Kay was silent for a moment as she settled her daughter on her hip. “Donor #478.”

Cameron scrunched his nose in confusion.

“There’s not really a father in the picture,” Kay explained, straightforward as always. “I honestly couldn’t tell you who he is if I wanted to. Kind of the point.” That wasn’t the part that confused him. It was just… there was something about that number. Something familiar.

“You’re a single mom?”

Kay nodded, unashamed. She decided a long time ago that she wasn't going to have a partner and ended up with two when she went in for one. She suspected that identical twins ran in the donor's family. Kay's mother had helped take care of the girls until her strength had failed and she would've been completely alone if it weren't for Mike and Lara.

“That’s… kind of amazing,” he grinned in wonder.

Kay chuckled, “Well not everybody thinks so.”

“Eh, screw what other people think.”

He suddenly felt a tiny hand tug at his pant leg. He looked down and found a familiar pair of blue eyes staring up at him in wonder. The girls had obviously inherited Kay's impossibly long eyelashes and he was positive that they would destroy hearts someday just like their mother.

He crouched down, smiling at the little girl, still amazed at the power of genetics. “Hi there.”

The girls were nearly identical, but this one had hair that was a shade or two lighter than her sister and a pink penguin print headband that matched her overalls.

“That’s Liya.” Kay explained.

“Hi Liya.”

Liya eagerly raised her arms up and her tiny voice squeaked, “Up. Up.”

Cameron gave a quick look to Kay, “Do you mind?”

Kay looked a little surprised. Liya wasn’t usually so friendly with strangers. The agent shook her head before she thought much of it. “Uh, no. Go ahead.”

Cameron scooped up the little girl and she beamed up at him. He paused as he noticed Kay’s unreadable expression, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s just… Liya usually isn’t so welcoming to new people.”

“Well, maybe she can tell I’m not so bad.” Liya rested her head on Cameron’s shoulder. He briefly caught the comforting scent of baby powder as she did so and it made him melt a little. “Who’s this other little lady?”

“This is my oldest, Ayana.” Cameron smiled at the toddler and Ayana gave him a tiny smile. “Ayana, you can say hi.”

Ayana waved and squeaked a little, “Hi.”

Cameron grinned at the little girl, “Hi Ayana.” The little girl buried her face in her mother’s shoulder and yeah, he was just about dying from the sheer cuteness of the Daniels girls.

“So Liya and Ayana, huh?”

“My mother's Ethiopian. Her grandmother came here from Addis Ababa all by herself to start a new life and I think she would've had some very strong words with me if I didn't follow the Assefa family tradition.”

Cameron chuckled as a thought popped into his head. “Does this mean that Kay's just a nickname?”

Kay rolled her eyes. “Cameron Black, you can't expect me to give away all my secrets.” She'd keep her birth name to herself for a while.

“Eh, between Mike the fanboy and Jordan’s hacking, I'll figure it out eventually. How old are the girls anyway?”

“They just turned two a couple of weeks ago.”

“Wow. Well, I should get them something then. How do they feel about stuffed animals?”

Kay chuckled, “Cameron, that’s sweet but--”

“No, no, I’m serious. Two is a big milestone.” He grinned. Somehow, for a moment, he wasn’t feeling hopeless.

“So what's next?” Kay asked, “You go after the mystery woman who framed Jonathan? I still have to prove she did it.” Cameron figured she was right, “What about your show, your team?”

“When we were kids,” Cameron started, “I was the performer, the onstage persona, but Johnny was ‘The Disappearing Boy’ hidden under the stage, behind the curtain, but he was always there for me...” He turned to face the agent he’s decided he’s befriended, “I have to get him out, Kay.” He could feel Liya’s little arms wrap around his neck in a pseudo hug, almost like she was trying to comfort him.            Kay nodded in understanding, “I did notice something. Jonathan's illusionist copied every detail from your disappearing-jet trick except one.”            Cameron raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You watched my special?” He turned his head to the toddler in his arms, “Did your mom watch my special?” Liya just giggled.

Kay laughed, “Okay. I saw it. It was fantastic.”            Cameron grinned in disbelief, “Fantastic? Wow.”            “After you made your jet disappear, you left something behind. Deck of playing cards.”            Cameron nodded in realization, “We should go back to the hangar and make sure she didn't--” He was cut off by Kay pulling out an evidence bag with a deck of cards in it. He chuckled, “You already went.”            She grinned. There was that smile again, “This is where I say ‘ta-da,’ right?” Ayana giggled at the way her mother was speaking. Despite being so young, Ayana and Liya never heard their mother sound so playful.

“Yeah.” Cameron smiled as he reached for the deck, “May I?” She handed him the bag. He pulled out the deck. It made a few beeping noises before it started to ring. He answered.

“Hello Cameron.” A woman’s voice came from the other line.            Cameron could feel his frustration flare up. “Who are you?”

She shook her head. “Always asking the wrong questions.”            “Why are you doing this?”

She raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly. “You don't remember? Don't worry. I don't blame you for that. But I've thought about you and Jonathan for years.The show's about to begin my show. Are you ready?”

Cameron heard the sound of Beethoven’s Fur Elise being played in the background. “You're in the Frankfurt International terminal. Spent the last twelve months flying around the world, and airport acoustics are pretty distinctive. Plus, Frankfurt pumps muzak Beethoven like they're afraid someone might forget he's German.” Cameron could have sworn he heard this mystery woman’s breath stop for a split second. “Tell me, did you look over your shoulder?”

She raised her eyebrows. “Goodbye Cameron.”            “Get used to looking. We're coming for you.” It was all Cameron could say before the call disconnected.

“Hey.” Kay said as she adjusted Ayana in her arms, “You alright?”

Cameron pursed his mouth and nodded as he put the deck in his pocket and adjusted Liya just to make sure he wouldn’t drop her. “I’m fine… just can’t believe that after all this time, there’s a lead.” Kay gave him a sympathetic smile, “Believe it or not, this is the first time I can confidently say that Johnny’s going to come home.”

“You know, it’s really admirable that you’ve kept hope for all this.”

Cameron gave a small smile, “I’ve always believed that hope can be a powerful thing.”

They gave each other a smile and spent a moment in silence, watching the city lights before Ayana tried to wiggle out of her mother’s hold to join her sister in Cameron’s arms. Kay tried to get her to calm down.

“Ayana honey, be careful.”

Cameron chuckled, “If Ayana wants a hug too, I don’t mind.” He opened his other arm as a sign to the little girl that she could join her sister.

“You sure?”

Cameron nodded, “Positive. It’s a good thing I have enough arms because if you had triplets then things might be a little difficult,” he joked.

Kay helped him adjust both girls in a way that would be easy for him to hold them both at once. What really surprised her was just how fast her girls warmed up to him. She knew that Cameron was a good man, but it was still a little odd that Ayana and Liya could see that so quickly too.

“Hey there Ayana. You didn’t want to miss out on the fun either, did you?”

The older twin giggled as her tiny hand gripped his shirt. Kay smiled. It wasn’t often she felt comfortable letting her daughters be held by someone else, but she trusted Cameron.

“Hey Kay?”

Kay raised her eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“We have some chocolate chip cookies.” He didn’t notice the way the girls perked up at the word ‘cookie’. “Do you mind if I give them one?”

“Cookie?” Ayana squeaked.

Kay smiled. “Well, they already heard the word ‘cookie’ so you kind of have to give them one now.” Cameron laughed at that. “Why do you have chocolate chip cookies in the first place?”

“Agent Daniels,” he gasped in mock offense, “I might be a man of fine tastes, but I can enjoy a good chocolate chip cookie once in a while.” Kay rolled her eyes at his childishness.

“Cookie!” Liya babbled.

Kay’s chuckle turned to laughter. She knew the girls’ sweet tooth would distract them. “Well, we should probably get them their cookies.”

She reached to take one of the girls when Cameron just cuddled them closer to him. “You know I don’t mind holding them for a little while.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded, “Oh yeah. You’ve had a long day too, let me help you by carrying around these adorable little ladies.” Kay couldn’t help but smile as they made their way back inside.

Three years ago…

Cameron and Jordan pulled up to the building they asked the cab driver to take them. “Why are we here?” Cameron narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

“Why do you think?” His friend responded, “This is your punishment.”

“Oh my God, Jordan, you don’t mean...”

“Oh… but I do.” Cameron rolled his eyes, “Hey! You lost our wager.” Jordan retaliated, “If you had won, you so would have watched me dye my hair pink!”

Cameron paused. “...You’re not going to come inside to watch me do this are you?” Jordan gave him a look. “I’m sorry Jordan, but the way you say things all sound very suggestive!”

“Just go do it!”

“Fine.” he huffed. They both got out of the cab and went inside the building. It was a bank and all Jordan had dared him to do was make a donation. He stayed at the front desk until the deed was done. There was nothing to be ashamed of. It wasn't as if Cameron was the first person to make a donation like this.

In fact… he was the 478th person to make a donation for that particular bank.

[gdsqd]

Heavy is the Head

“Are you still awake?” The timid whisper was barely louder than the din of the crickets’ nightly gossip. There was no answer. Only steady breathing that was just a beat too quick to pass for sleep. It would suffice.

“Come now, I know you’re awake. Please don’t ignore me...”

The quiet continued. The noise of the crickets echoed from the room’s stone walls. The moon’s white face stared through the open window, directly at the quiet visitor. He peered around the corner. The bed was hidden in shadow, its occupant barely visible as a pale halo of hair where the head was supposed to be. Ferdia indulged in his friend’s game for few minutes longer. When he had enough, he confessed with a sheepish smile:

“I know you’re awake because you make a tiny little snore like a mouse’s squeak when you sleep.”

His voice was warm and playful, but he spoke in confidence now. The cessation of the quiet breaths stopped. A full minute passed before the blond admitted defeat.

“I don’t snore,” he grumbled. His voice was awake and alert.

“Of course not.”

The quiet took hold again. In the darkness, Oillìn rolled onto his back. He couldn’t see his friend from this angle, so he settled on the ceiling instead.

“Are you angry at me, Oillìn?”

It was a strange, but not uncommon question coming from Ferdia since they were boys. Back then he would easily blow it off. Tonight, he wasn’t feeling it.

“What does it matter?” he began, an edge of irritation to his tone. “You’re the future king. Act like it.”

A pained sigh sounded from behind the wall, and Ferdia wrung his hands like a scolded child.

“I’m trying…” he muttered. He searched for the right words, so as not to make Oillìn even more cross.

“It’s not going so well.”

“For a start, you could, I don’t know, try sleeping with your wife? Rather than stealing into another man’s room?”

A sound of disgust sounded from behind the wall, forcing an amused snort from Oillìn.

“That’s…another issue,” the prince confessed. The blond didn’t press the matter. His face settled into stern neutrality, and he let another period of quiet continue. He opened his mouth to speak but hesitated just in time for Ferdia to begin first.  

“May I come to see you?”

The blond took a long moment before releasing his tired sigh.

“Go away Ferdia,” he breathed, before turning on his side and tucking himself into his covers. He was fed up with the passivity, the too-gentle-tone of what would be his king’s voice. From what he knew, Ferdia would obey him, turn tail and leave the room as if he wasn’t heir to the throne. He was painfully accommodating, with a thoughtfulness Oillìn wasn’t sure whether to like or dislike.

You’re too soft… He thought as he drifted off.

The shift of weight on the bed woke him immediately. His light-blue eyes shot open, and pleasantly surprised was he to see his friend sitting just beside him.

“Please.” Ferdia sounded quiet, but firm with restrained urgency. Wordlessly, Oillìn rolled to the side and faced away from the brunet, the window and the white moonlight. The tension loosened in his chest as he felt the other’s movement behind him. He didn’t flinch when the warmth enveloped his back, and the heat of the smothered breaths seeped through his hair.

“We’re not boys anymore, Ferdia. Aren’t you going to grow out this?” Oillìn lectured.

“You haven’t chased me away yet. You are also at fault,” Ferdia replied matter-of-factly. Oillìn had no retort because his friend was correct. He cracked a silent grin. The minutes passed in the quiet, as Ferdia entertained himself, twirling a lock of Oillìn’s whitish blonde hair around his finger.

“You’re avoiding me,” Ferdia started.

“You’re in my bed.”

“And you haven’t looked at me once.”

“Oh, pardon me, Your Majesty,” Oillìn scoffed.

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

“Well…one of us has to act their rank around here, right?”

Ferdia didn’t answer. He withdrew his hands and pulled them to himself. Sensing he had gone too far, Oillìn turned to face him.

“Sorry,” he whispered, a dutifully subservient look on his face. It was an expression Ferdia saw every single day of his life, one he never liked seeing on his friend’s face. He gave in.

“No, you’re quite right.” 

A pause.

 “You’re both right.”

“Both?”

The brunet fell quiet. Now, it was his eyes that were turned away.

“Father and I have been talking,” he breathed. “He is coming of age, and his health is beginning to waver. Before he passes, I am to execute a retaliatory raid on the Eastern Abhainn Cine.”

“Is that so?” Oillìn was inches away from him, but his voice was barely there. Ferdia took another deep breath.

The goal will be to recover lost properties from their previous attack on one of our own. That is, cattle and slaves. Messengers have already been sent out with an order for the Kern. Within three moons they will know their duties and compensations. Including those loyal to us, an army of even fifty men should suffice…”

“And the Glass?” Oillìn prompted.

“The Glass…” Ferdia hesitated. “It is only a raid…” he trailed off. Oillìn’s zeal waned away with his voice. He was of the Gallowglass elite, along with several members of his family.

“I’ve decided to employ them, only in the case things go awry on the field. This is a retrieval, not a slaughter…”  He said those last words as if to make them certain.  

Oillìn, now with stars in his eyes, lost track of his friend’s monologue. All he was hearing, was an order from his prince, a call to arms. His best friend would finally lead a raid on their long-standing rivals. And he would be on the field right alongside him. The fire of the battle stirred in his heart. Already, his mind went to the smooth bodies of the arrows between his fingers, the weight of the small axe in his hand, and the satisfying crack of a sling that hit its target from several feet away. And just beside him, with tresses of billowing umber…

“Oillìn???”

The worried tone of Ferdia’s voice plucked Oillìn from his reverie. Stupidly, he had completely lost track of the conversation. What he did know, was that while he looked forward to the battlefield, Ferdia didn’t. He hated conflict in all its forms. War, hatred, dispute, even grudges were distasteful to him. He preferred compassion, mischief, and gentle playfulness. It was a softness of heart unfortunate for a future king, but one that made serving him a pleasure Oillìn looked forward to each day. He let his gaze rest in Ferdia’s pensive, brown eyes.

Silence hung heavily between them as the prince awaited a response from his personal guard. Oillìn’s voice was important to him. He needed his confirmation that he wasn’t a monster. Though he’d been raised for this role, he always dreaded his inevitable place at the helm. Now it was fast approaching. He read Oillìn’s face for answers. All he got was a condescending grin.

“Say something! Don’t just lay there smiling like a fool!

Oillìn hadn’t realized he was smiling until the scolding began. Thinking fast, he narrowed his eyes and further widened his grin into a leer that had been proven since boyhood to push a flustered Ferdia to his breaking point. A great many scuffles were started this way.

“Don’t give me that damned look. Answer me!”

The angrier he got, the heavier the heat swelled within Oillìn’s chest. Ferdia’s anger was cute on its own. It was the sheer demanding in his voice that Oillìn craved. He wanted to see his king rule, and if pissing him off would draw it out of him…

He let out a haughty chuckle for good measure. When the brunet bared his teeth, Oillìn knew he had won.

“Enough of that STUPID Look! HOW can you be joking at a time lik-“

The outburst hushed with a touch of the lips. The kiss was chaste and long, Oillìn’s compensation for pushing his own desire within his throat. Ferdia didn’t move, didn’t even breathe until Oillìn drew back.

“You’re talking too loudly,” he replied. His voice was deadpan. It was only with his next remark that his tone softened to match the tender admiration in his eyes.

“And…I’m proud of you.”

Ferdia lay still, beet red, stunned from emotional whiplash. A simple “Ah…” was all he managed, his heart now racing in his chest. Now he noticed Oillìn’s eyes. The white of the moon tinted them an icy blue. So roused he was by the kiss, he forgot to be angry about Oillìn’s taunting.

“Oillìn…”

“Yes?”

There was a pause before Ferdia found his words.

“Do that again,” he whispered, still in a daze.

Without a word, the blond shifted closer, cupped a hand about the other man’s face, and slipped his tongue between his lips.

[avengersohyeah]

Another Stark

Masterlist

A/N : So this is a request from lovely Anon, i don’t know how to reach out to you, i hope you could find this fic. It turned out to be one long ass one shot, since i’m a sucker for reader background drama so yeah.. i hope you enjoy it (Tony x Male! Brother Reader)

When Tony lost his parents he couldn’t even feel anything. Sadness, pain, regrets, all those things came to him all at once. Numb him whole, he refused to feel any of those emotions. So he shut them out, that’s why he’s numb. Trying to forget everything by partying, drinks, women, but those things could only last for a few moments. And when he’s far away from those things, all the demons of his past creeping their way to his mind. Forcing their way to make him feel them. And at these times, he could only wish for someone. Someone to hold him close, to tell him that everything is alright.

 Pepper, she’s been there with him through every sleepless night. Easing his demons away with her touch and her love for him. But that’s not enough. As hard as he denied, even with Pepper’s presence near him it still not enough. He craved for something’s different. Love, not the kind that Pepper gave him, not the kind that he gave her either. A love for people, for someone that you care more than yourself. Not the kind of love between a couple, but the kind of love you feel to your family. Pepper is his family, and all his staff he consider them as a family at some point. But that’s not enough.

 Before his parents leave their house to deliver those serums, he didn’t had a chance to tell them good bye. To hug them, to tell them I love you even if he knew that they might not comeback once they drive past the gate. It’s all because of his Dad. A few days before they decided to take the serums with them is the day when he found out. His Dad slept with one of his staff. It was a night when his mother were scheduled to came home from her trip to Paris. He was going to call his Dad and ask him if he could go with him to the airport. That’s before he reached the door of Howard’s office, and heard those sounds. Moans, panting, and profanities that spilled with their heavy breath in hushed tone. Then it all hits him, He’s Dad, even if he claim that he love his mom, still couldn’t get his hands off of another woman. And since that night, he despised his father like nobody could.

14 June 1992

 Somewhere across the country, a women is fighting to deliver her baby. The one she never thought would she keep. When she found out about it, it was three months after Howard’s death. So she did what she thought was right at that time. She left the mansion, handing Howard’s secretary her resignation paper. She couldn’t bare the thought that anyone that killed Howard could also go after his child if they found out. Even along the way in her nine months away from the Stark family, she managed to keep a track in Tony’s activity. For precaution, because she is that kind of women that always prepare everything to face the worst. She wrote everything that she know, in case someday her child ask and she can’t explain it with words.

16 years, and she was right about you would want to know the real story about your father. She just goes silent and hand you the box filled with envelopes of letters without address, just your name on it. You took the box and headed to your room. You read every single letters your mother wrote for you. Sadness, anger, guilt, you’re not even sure what kind of emotion you felt at that moment. You rushed to the living room and find your mother sat her, with her head on both palms and shoulders shaking. You kneel in front of her, and you bring her to your embrace while you both letting your tears flow. God how your mother has suffered. You’re not stupid, Stark, who’s apparently your brother has become the news since his parent’s death. Being the genius playboy philanthropist at young age he is draw all kind of attention from the world. But does he know he has a brother? Well half brother. Maybe not, because as what your mother wrote to you, she left without saying anything. But now at least this explained where you got this genius head of yours.

You never thought that finishing school earlier than any other kids in your age is a big deal. But apparently it is for Stark Industries. As a massive company that value young intellegent people, they keep a track in every single school in U.S for someone that is possibly could they recruit to their company. Well mostly they took a records of individuals like you, young, genius, and finish school early must be one of the requirement too. And that’s how Tony find out your existence. The day your file was handed to him as a possible recruit for science team has him shook. His mind went back to the day when he heard his Dad and your Mom in that office. He looked through your files and smile etched on his face. He doesn’t even realize he’s smiling until he felt his cheeks sore. Although he never expect it, but the fact that he still have someone out there that has Stark blood in them warmed his heart. That, and here he read through your files he felt proud of you. The kind of proud feeling those big brother felt when their little brother did something that is so awsome for him. Reading through your achievements, he couldn’t hold the big smile that creeping on his face.

“He has Stark in his blood after all…” He said to himself.

“Who has Stark blood in his ?” Pepper asked as she walked to his desk. She kissed him and then stand there beside him to wait for his answer.

“Would it be weird if I tell you that I have a brother ?” He asked her with one brow raised.

“What do you mean you have a brother ?” Tony then showed her your files and tell her everything happened in that night. She went silent for a long time.

“Come on say something!” Tony breaks the silence

“You want to meet him.” It’s not a question, but a statement because Pepper knows him like the back of her hand. “I’ll handle the meetings for this week but you owe me Tony” She walked to the door and before she exits Tony yelled “I Love you MIss Potts”

 When you came home that day you could’ve swear your heart is going to jump out of your chest. There, sitting on your dinning table with your mom, chatting comfortably is Tony Stark. The one that you learned as your half brother just three days before. Dumbfounded, you couldn’t find any words and just walk to your chair in that table like a robot. Sitting in front of someone that you admire secretly felt bizarre.

“Close your mouth, you’ll catch a fly” He said then chuckled

You smiled at that, and looked to your mom, then to Tony again. Somehow it doesn’t feel awkward at all, it felt like it’s normal. All this time you ate with your mother in this very table and you always feel incomplete. You always thought that it’s supposed to be your father. But now seeing Tony here, you finally realized that it is not a father figure that is missing in your life. Your mother has always been one when it’s needed. It is a brother that you’ve been longing for this whole time. When you finally came to this realization, you responded “Welcome home brother…” This earns you all the eyes in the room, your Mom that is visibly crying before she’s now sobbing again. And Tony, he smiled so wide and you can see the tears also pooling at the corner of his eyes. You spend the lunch trying to catch up on each other’s life. Mostly it’s Tony that wanted to hear your stories, what you’ve been through to be this amazing person you are.

“You finished school earlier this year, what’s your plan ? Ever considered in joining Stark Industry?” Tony asked after they finished their lunch.

“Actually when I was in high school I thought about applying to your company..” At this revelation, Tony’s eyes light up, only to be replaced by shocked expression at what he said next “But then i have this i don’t know, desire ? to serve the country.”

“No way… You’re not ! You’re coming with me to my company” He sulk like a child.

“Well you’re to late for three days brother, I just got back from special force recruitment and I’m in the program”

“No Way you’re not even 18… how could they let you in?” He whined

“I don’t know and I don’t care, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t catch up for the lost time.”

“Fair enough… how about you show me around tomorrow ? I want to know everything about you, school, friends, anything, before you go to that special force of yours and make us go Dear John.” At this you just laugh and agreeing to his request.

When you were finally finished your military education, you were sent straight to a secret operation in Middle East. A lot of things happened in the span of four years, and the best thing to you, it’s Avengers. The fact that your brother is Iron Man was surprising to anyone, you included. But what surprising more is that Tony kept his promise not to out you as his brother to the world. At first he was planning to do so, that way you wouldn’t need too join the special force program in the first place. But you refused, you told him that serving your country is a calling for you, and you wanted to give everything you have to do it. And he caved in, somehow knowing each other in such a short amount of time made you both bond faster and stronger than you could imagined.

The day when New York attack happened was the same day when you were in your mission, so you had no idea what happened back in the States. And when you finally got a contact, it’s a months later from the secret base in Tel Aviv after you finished your mission. Given the break to come home, you couldn’t wait to surprise your brother and his team of super heroes. Well, it’s mainly just a reason so you can see the legendary Captain America in person.

Avengers Tower

 If Tony isn’t a crazy rich genius billionaire, the recovery of his tower wouldn’t be this fast. It took exactly three months for his Tower could finally function like it used to be. The team were also gathered again after their vacation, minus Clint that nobody knows his whereabouts, and Thor that is in Asgard.

“Spangle you could just ask JARVIS to torn the TV on” Tony said from his seat at the corner of the common room.

“Yes… It still freaked me out to talk to someone I couldn’t see..” Steve scratched his head in embarrassment.

“Well, prepare yourself to be more surprised what Stark have in his Lab..” Natasha cut in with a mug of coffee in hand.

The banter between the ex-assasin and the spangled men were actually pretty amusing for Tony. If only his mind is there at the moment with him. But no, his mind went to all those years ago when he first met you and your mom. The day you spent together doesn’t feel like he’s trying to get to know someone. It felt just like two brothers that’ve been away from each other before they reunite. It’s funny because when he finally get to talk to you more, he saw himself in you. It’s obvious that you have Stark’s brain, even as he hate to admit it, you look way better than him. But the one that makes him grow even fonder of you was your sass. You could give him a taste of his own medicine. That’s why he loved you so much.

He’s been staring at his phone that displayed your picture, the one in your uniform right after your graduation ceremony. A week before you were sent to Middle East to lead backup team in Tel-Aviv Israel. He was sad because he didn’t get to say good bye in person to you. Knowing nothing about when will you come back because it’s classified. Well for other people it is, but nothing can stop him from making sure that he knows when will his little brother come back. He already have a party planned in his head to welcome you. He’s caught up in his head and didn’t hear that Nat have been calling him for a few times.

“Tony.. Tony! You okay ? We kinda lost you for a moment..”

“Yeah yeah…I’m fine just counting time till I could throw another party.”

“You just threw a party few months ago when this building was reopened.” Nat rised her eyebrows in amusement

“Well get used to it, in fact I could throw a party right now if I want…” He replied matter of factly.

Their interaction were cutted off by JARVIS “Sir, you have a visitor from U.S Army’s Special Force.” At this information both Nat and Steve turned at Tony with questioning look. Only to be welcomed with his shocked wide eyed expression.

“Where is he ?” His voice came out calm while his mind is going overdrive. There’s only two possibilities if someone from your commando wants to find him. It could be you, but he remembered you wanted to keep your Stark blood as a secret. Then there’s this possibility where it is one of your team mate that delivering him a very bad news that he never wanted to hear. But the fact that he knows your mission were supposed to be a year long, he couldn’t help his mind to go over the later possibility. He stand up a little bit shaky and unfocused, first time seeing Tony in this kind of state Nat and Steve decided just to follow him in silence.

The three of them reached the door of Tony’s office where JARVIS told them the visitor’s waiting. Nat and Steve could see Tony’s hand shaking as he reached for the handle and pushing the door open. As the door opened, they could see a men with his back to them. His posture was obviously a soldier’s one. Broad shoulder, fairly tall, taller than Tony but still a little bit shorter than Steve. And he wear a complete formal uniform from Army, Steve recognize it everywhere since it’s not that different from back in the days. He was about to ask who are you, but Tony breaks the silence.

“(Y/N) ? Is that you ?” Hearing Tony’s voice weavering only invite him to look at the billionaire. He never thought that he would ever witness the most miraculous thing in his live. There, Tony Stark that he know have a heart of steel, like literally, with tears streaming down his face. He was to struck to Tony’s expression to notice that by now Natasha’s face also turned into that comical slack jawed expression.

The men turned and they could’ve swore that for a flash second he looks exactly like Tony with taller frame. It was until you opened your mouth Steve and Nat completely lost their control of their face “Good to see you brother, I heard you saved the world….” Then he flashed the brightest smile they’ve ever seen.

Tony just dashed into the room and take you in bone crushing hug. Sobbing while mumbling incoherently. Again, Nat and Steve just to dumbfounded seeing Tony crying uncontrollably. It’s like seeing one of those chick flicks where the two sister has been separated for a long time then they met for the first time.

Tony pulled back still snifling “God, I thought they want to meet me to deliver your death news or something..”

You chuckled at him “I’m not that easy to get rid off, besides what makes you think that ? couldn’t you just, I don’t know figure out that it was me ?”

“Well, I did, at first. But then I remembered that you were assigned in twelve fucking months mission in Israel. So my mind drift to the worst possibility.” He confessed

“Wait…. How did you know I was assigned to Israel for twelve months?” You asked, and you could visibly saw him shifted awkwardly “God ! Tony, what I told you about hacking into my commando’s system? How if they found out?” You asked him in annoyed tone

“They wouldn’t, trust me.. but how ? Your mission plan were designed for twelve months?” He countered

“Well, because of someone like you that could possibly hack into our system, I changed the whole plan. They run a simulation then goes with mine, it’s way more efficient, and faster than what the commando made us so..” You shrugged

“You use that Stark brain of yours good.. Anyway have you eaten yet ? I have a chef from France that I hired for a week, you want a steak? Oh wait I’ll get you a steak, you love meat…” He rambled like a mother that saw their children after school.

You cleared your throat “You won’t introduce me to them?” You gestured to the pair that still has confused look on their face.

Tony looked back and drag you with him, at first you thought he was going to introduce you to your favorite heroes, but he dragged you past them, rambling that you need foods more than you need to be introduced to them. You screamed as you walked the hall “It’s honor to meet you Captain, and Black Widow you’re gorgeous I’m a fan..” Your shout were cut short when you turned the corner.

They were still trying to process what they just witnessed in silence untill Natasha speaks “So, Tony just cried..”

“He has a brother…” Steve continued

“Obviously younger one..”

“And he’s in an Army..”

“A Special force..”

“In such a young age…”

“And his rank is higher than yours..” At this, Steve whiped his head to look at Nat in shocked expresion. “What ? you didn’t see it ? He’s Colonel..” Natasha give him her Black Widow smirk

“Shit…” Steve cursed

“Language!..”

Taggs :  @thegreatficmaster @supernaturalimagine @supernaturaldaily @waywardwinterfics @buckyywiththegoodhair @angryschnauzer @mrgrant9559-blog @kaylzjordan @rawritsmeh @supernaturalfanfiction-com @after-avenging-hours @winchesterenthusiast​ @themerlintrashcan​ @wayward-warriors​ @themorningtrashcan @izzywinchester @avasparks​ @eve05glee​ @thegabbybear @paladin-alby

[lalainajanes]

mermaid caroline has found herself tied up on this awful british dude's pirate ship and told to navigate them to the island on the treasure map and she knows perfectly well where the treasure is but it's just SO MUCH MORE FUN to give them wrong directions.

Lies To Buy Myself Some Time

Above herit’s chaos and she basks in it, her eyes on the horizon as the sun sets.

She canhear the sailors rushing to and fro, their footsteps pounding the ships’ woodendeck. There’s shouting, harried questions and clipped answers and above the dinhis voice is the loudest.

CaptainNiklaus Mikaelson is livid, barking orders at a rapid clip. It’s deliciously satisfyingfor Caroline. She hums happily, swimming lazy circles, her movement limited bythe enchanted manacle and chain that keeps her imprisoned, attached to a hookimbedded into the hull.

Any guiltshe might have felt is erased each time the tug of her tether reminds her ofwhat he’d done to her.

It takeslong minutes for the noise to die down. She anchor hits the water with a splashand the ship groans, listing slightly to one side.

Oops. Lookslike the treasure hunt was going to be delayed.

She faintlyhears her name being called but she ignores it, despite the sharp insistence ofit, sinking as deeply as she can into the water. If Klaus wants to talk to herhe’s going to have to get wet. His voice cuts off for an instant and then shehears a string of curses. The two thuds that follow are familiar, as is theclatter that follows. A second later a body slices through the water on thestarboard side, quickly righting itself and kicking back to the surface.

For ahuman, Caroline had to admit, he was fairly impressive in the water. Shestudies him without really meaning to, captivated by the way the muscles of hislegs bunch and relax as he treads water.

It’s onlynatural that she finds that fascinating, aches to touch him, to map the contourswith her fingertips and learn what the motions feel like.

He’squieter when he addresses her again but no less forceful, “Caroline, if you arenot above the waterline within the next few seconds I will shorten your line. You think you miss your freedom now? Icould be far less benevolent, love.”

When shecrests the water she’s shaking with fury, “Don’t threaten me,” she spits.

“You ran myship aground.”

“Did I?Odd, I could have sworn you were theone doing the steering.”

His eyesfall closed and his chest expands as he takes a deep breath. It’s a gesture herepeats often, one that means he’s struggling to reign in her temper. It nolonger scares her – as hot as his temper burns he’s never lashed out at her inanger.

No, heprefers to coax. He can spin honey sweet words, beguile with smiles and knowingeyes.

It’s how he’dgotten close enough to clasp the cuff around her wrist.

“You have asingle job, Caroline. Once it’s complete you’ll be free. Don’t you want to befree?”

Of courseshe did. But she wanted him to suffer more.

She remainssilent, slipping lower into the water, her eyes narrowed into slits.

Klaus isnot a stupid man and he eases closer to her. “I need this treasure,” he says,almost gentle. There might, for the first time, be a hint of apology there andCaroline allows his approach. “It took weeks to track your people down, longerstill to get close. Merchant ships cross these waters daily, sitting heavy withgold. They’re easy pickings if I just wanted wealth. I have wealth, enough tolast several lifetimes. What I’m after is something different.”

This is thefirst she’s heard of that.

“And what,exactly, are you looking for?”

This timehis exhale is longer, frustrated. “I’m not precisely sure. There’s a legend.”

“And thoseare always real,” Caroline mutters, making no attempt to mask the healthyhelping of sarcasm.

“Says themermaid,” Klaus shoots back.

Okay, fine.He had a point.

Sherephrases, “What does what you’re looking for have to do with me?”

He reachesfor her, watching her face carefully as he brushes her arm. Caroline tenses buthe makes no move to grab her. The touch remains light, skimming over the sigilinked on her skin. “The tattoo on your shoulder. What does it mean?”

He’d neverasked before even though she’d caught him staring at it often. “It’s a rite ofpassage,” she begins. “We receive it when we reach adulthood, once we areentrusted with the secrets of our territory.”

His handleaves her skin, grasping one of the leather cords he wears around his neck. Hetoys with a silver medallion, turning it over. Caroline instinctively leanscloser to see what’s etched on it. The light is low but her eyes are sharp andshe recognizes the shapes lines easily. She touches a fingertip to the metal, “That’smy tattoo. Our clan’s crest.”

“It’s myfather’s crest too. It’s all over a manor thousands of miles from here. Not thehouse of the man who raised me but the home of a man I never knew. My mothergave me a letter upon her husband’s death. It contained the medallion and amap. A map that led me to that island.”

Her handfalls from his throat, grazing his chest before sinking into the water to latcharound her wrist. She tugs at the cuff, something she’s done hundreds of timesin the last few weeks, but it doesn’t budge. His eyes follow the motion and heglances away.

She’dthought him in danger the first time she’d spotted him, half submerged in theshallows of a tiny, uninhabited island, wearing only trousers that had beentorn at the knees. She’d spied no ships docked, no supplies on the shore, andhe’d barely been moving.

Damn hersoft heart. It was entirely responsible for her current predicament.

Caroline had thought she’d been rescuing him, performing an act of charity, buthe’d merely been resting. Later he’d explained that he’d been filthy andexhausted, having been dropped off to explore the island. He’d sought relieffrom the sun in the cool blue waters and she’d interrupted his break from work.

Klaus hadbeen startled when she’d grabbed his shoulders in an attempt to haul him up soshe could check his heartbeat. Caroline had panicked when he’d begun to flail,had turned her back and dived back into the water to escape.

“You sawthe tattoo the first day,” Caroline says, when the realization dawns. “And youlured me back because of it.”

Hercuriosity had gotten the best of her embarrassingly quickly. She’d crept backto observe him as soon as dusk had fallen, watching from a safe distance. She’dfound herself fascinated by him, had avidly watched him put the finishingtouched on a shelter and build a fire. He’d caught fish and cooked them overthe flames and, once they were prepared, he’d stood and called out to her.

She’d havenever thought that she’d find being addressed as “Miss Mermaid” endearingbefore that moment.

He’doffered to share his dinner and Caroline had swum closer, her curiosity gettingthe better of her. She’d always hungered for new adventures but excitement was inshort supply in the waters she’d lived in her whole life. Meeting a human,eating cooked fish, weren’t experiences she’d ever had and she’d rushed intothem headlong.

Carolinehad taken a leap and shown herself, following the tide in and accepting the tinplate he’d offered. The fish had been a little burnt but she hadn’t minded, hadquickly become absorbed in learning about her new human acquaintance. She’d hadan endless pile of questions for him about things she’d observed and he’dindulged her, never seeming to find any question too silly or insignificant.

She’d comeback the next night, and the next and the one after that. She arrived a bitearlier each time, lingered longer. Klaus worked to win her trust, sitting sideby side with her in the water fielding her questions and telling her thestories his people had made up about the stars.

When he’d finallytaken her hand she’d shivered, her breath beginning to quicken. Her heart hadbegun to flutter wildly in anticipation that had taken a sharp turn toconfusion.

Klaus had cuffed her and Caroline had never feltcolder or more stupid.

“Why didn’tyou just ask me?” Caroline demands,all of her banked fury rising. It’s suffocating and difficult to contain. Herfingers curl, the temptation to wrap them around his throat nearlyoverwhelming. “I would have helped you.”

Klausblinks, something like surprise flitting across his face. “Why?” he asks, theword thick with surprise.

Carolinelets out a harsh noise, “Because I thought you were my friend! Because Ithought…” she snaps her teeth together, cutting off a confession that Klausdidn’t deserve.

The play ofemotions across Klaus’ face is hard to follow. Shock and disbelief and regret twisthis features before they settle into something like hope. “Would you help menow?” He asks carefully. “After I’ve…”

“Kept mechained to your boat like a prisoner,” Caroline supplies harshly.

He sighs,his shoulders tensing. “It’s not an acceptable excuse, I know. But it never occurredto me to just ask. Where I’m from people don’t just help other people. Notunless they get something in return.”

To Carolinethat sounded like an awful way to live.

“How badlyis the ship damaged?”

“We’ll limpinto a port at first light. She’ll probably need a week of repairs. I won’tknow for sure until she’s in dry dock.”

Caroline doesn’ttry to hide her triumphant grin. She’s been leading Klaus in all sorts of wrongdirections out of spite and anger and a sheer stubborn determination to keephim from his goal. This is her most successful sabotage yet and she’s immenselypleased with herself.

Klausappears resigned to her glee, “I’ll admit I should have been paying moreattention to my surroundings but I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

“Oh, pooryou,” Caroline bites out. She lifts her wrist, lets it hover in front of hisface. “Let me go and maybe I’ll helpyou.”

His lipspress together, and he shakes his head, “Sweetheart, I can’t just…”

“You can,”she insists forcefully. “I think it’s become abundantly clear that I amperfectly content to lead you in circles and into catastrophe. If you want tofind your treasure you need to try another tactic. When you uncuff me I’m goingto leave. I need to swim and I need some time. I’ll find you in a week.”

He wavers, “Howcan I know that you’re telling the truth?”

“You’rejust going to have to trust me.”

His handgoes to the leather cords again, finding one and following it around to theback of his neck. He tugs it to the side and she spies the key knotted there. “I’mprobably going to regret this,” he mutters, more to himself than her.

Carolineholds her wrist higher, brows rising pointedly. She’s not sure if she’ll end upcoming back, truth be told. He’d betrayed her and it would serve him right ifshe left him waiting for her in a port she’d never swim to. “I guess we’ll see,”she says sweetly.

The cuffcomes off and sinks and Caroline takes one last long look at Klaus. Just incase she never sees him again. He opens his mouth and she knows that whateverhe says will just confuse her so Caroline flees, diving deep and swimming hard,putting as much distance as she can between them.

It’s theonly way she’ll be able to make the right decision.