#here have a continuation of the sparring match owo]

[dramatisperscnae]

@messeduphood [x]

"Seriously? At least wine me first, bitch," Jason Todd muttered under his breath as he found himself locked in a fierce battle with Dick Grayson. The tension crackled in the air, each blow exchanged fueling their rivalry. As the fight raged on, Jason's back pressed against the unforgiving ground, pinned beneath Dick's weight. The pain surged through his body, but Jason refused to let it break his focus. Summoning every ounce of his physical prowess and mental fortitude, Jason's muscles coiled like a tightly wound spring. The anticipation built as he prepared to strike, channeling the power of a cobra ready to strike its prey. Then, with an explosive burst of strength, Jason arched his body forcefully, mirroring the lethal grace of a cobra in motion. His goal was clear: to catch Dick off guard, pushing him against the wall with a force that would leave him reeling. The element of surprise was on Jason's side as he propelled himself off the ground, his muscles screaming with exertion. The maneuver was audacious, an audacious attempt to gain the upper hand and assert his dominance. In that moment, the clash of their bodies against the wall echoed the intensity of their rivalry. Jason's unyielding determination and calculated moves sent a clear message to Dick: he was not one to be underestimated.

Sparring with Jason was always a test. Big as he was, it was easy even for Dick to forget just how fast Jason was. Most bruisers on the streets weren't all that quick, either in thought or in body, but Jason? Jason was fast. Almost as fast as Dick himself. The one thing Dick had to his advantage was his agility, and even that wasn't always enough.

That was why he hadn't been able to help the grin when he'd finally pinned Jason down, astride the other's waist, mind already working on how to keep him down. If he couldn't think of something fast, Jason was going to break free. Dick might be strong in his own right, but Jason was a goddamn wall of muscle; in a test of pure strength, Jason was going to win.

Okay. So count on him breaking free and use that to some advantage. Dick shifted, unable to help the grin as he tried to get his feet under him enough to be ready without sacrificing any of his hold on Jason. A tricky order, that, and one he didn't quite manage; when Jason bucked, Dick went flying.

He had managed to get some traction, but not enough to actually steer himself; the wall knocked the breath out of him long enough for Jason to be on his feet and against him. Not that he planned on surrendering just yet; it would take more than this for Dick Grayson to throw in the towel. This was half of why he enjoyed sparring Jason, after all; it kept him on his toes. Underestimating Jason Todd wasn't something anyone did more than once.

Dick braced himself against the wall, considering which angle to try for in his own attempt at escape. Going straight forward was just stupid, given he currently had a 6'4" wall of muscle blocking his path, but trying for an angle? That he could do. Just as soon as he found a good opening for it.

[cielowrites]

Put on a Show - Nyx Ulric/Kingsglaive Mage!Reader

A/N: Straight up rn, I’ve never truly written stuff like this and this ended up longer than I anticipated??? ah, just a heads up, it’s fem!reader. i may put in male!reader or a neutral one in the future depending.

Hope you enjoy it! owo

Warning/s & Disclaimer: N/A ; I don’t own any of these characters, especially you, but I did adopt some of the Glaives.

A memory from days ago shouldn’t have taken away his focus this much. Drautos had already reprimanded him so many times that afternoon (You’re slacking, Ulric! Keep it together!’) that it seemed to create a new record the rest of the Glaive had kept score of.

Across the training grounds, you’re tasked with instructing the newly recruited mages. Every now and then there would be one whose eyes would wander to the esteemed hero of the Glaive, as he fell for a feint again. You’d tut at the recruit, called their attention, and continued on with your lecture.

“Although we have people fighting off the Niffs at the front, we mages are largely targeted in battle.” Hands folded behind your back, you slowly paced before the line of recruits, their gazes now solely on you. “Never get caught on your own out there. Always have another mage or soldier with you.”

With a moment to take a breather, Nyx snorted at your words and shook his head. You were definitely one to talk to when it came to getting caught on your own. No doubt you were one of the most highly regarded mages there, but shouldn’t a teacher follow their own advice?

“Something funny, Ulric?” You knew that he’s been eyeing you for the past few days. Despite being flattered, perhaps even a little more than that, you needed to get these mages trained and ready within the next month. You still had a job to do after all, and it was something you took very seriously.

“Oh, don’t mind me, (Y/N). Carry on.” An easy smile on his lips, he sat down to rest and watch you, blue eyes trained on your stride and gestures while the others chatted amongst themselves. Elbows propped up on his knees with his hands atop one another, Nyx leaned forward to rest his chin on his knuckles.

Your demonstration of casting Protect followed up with a fire spell took him back to a small moment he witnessed; the very one that has been on his mind far longer than he thought possible.

“Do the magic! Do the magic!”

He’d been on his way home after a week’s worth of non-stop fighting when he heard the group of children, clearly those of refugees that lived in the lower districts of Insomnia, practically begging someone he couldn’t quite see from where he stood. The amused laugh he heard was all he needed to know that it was you. He stuck to the shadows and took a peek at what you were up to.

Last he saw you was some odd hours ago on inventory duty. How did you finish so quickly? Did you just skip out on it?

Nyx knew he probably would, given the chance. He was just too exhausted after that week and was more than ready to sink onto his bed.

“Last one then. Remember not to tell anyone else about this, okay?” You gestured at the little ones to give you some space and conjured balls of fire from your hands. The children made hushed sounds of amazement as they stared at the fiery red that breathed with you. With a grin, you began to play with the flames on your fingers and continued to enchant your small audience with graceful motions that reminded Nyx of a dancer.

He’s seen what the king’s loaned magic could do to troops of MTs and the destruction it left in its wake. Yet here you were: entertaining children with the same tool being used in a seemingly endless war that’s left many dead or homeless.

Part of him wanted step out and tease you about your ‘inappropriate use of magic’ (Drautos’ words, not his) to interrupt your little display, but he was utterly mesmerized with the way the flames trailed your skin and how you treated it with such gentleness that he felt the back of his neck and ears heat up.

You never seemed to get out of that ‘battle mode’, even after the fight was over. This was a new side of you he’s never seen before and he found himself wanting more of it.

“Hey, Nyx! Are you watching this?!”

Crowe shook Nyx out of his thoughts and pointed towards your direction, eyes brimmed with admiration for you. You and Luche were in the middle of sparring, another demonstration for the new recruits it seemed. Brows furrowed, he watched the match and concluded that it was Luche who had the upper-hand the entire time while it looked like you were struggling to parry his attacks. Was Crowe cheering on him instead of (Y/N)? He was certain that you and your fellow mage were on good terms. Best friends even.

“What’s there to watch? Luche is-”

“Going to get his ass handed to him by (Y/N).”

In a split second, reds and oranges bursted from your hands and curled around your form, the flames like a second set of armor. The sight of it was almost eye-blindingly bright, but Nyx couldn’t help but stare in wonder.

Luche stumbled backwards from the unexpected burst of magic you conjured. The flames made you a difficult target to get close to, much less breathe by, and throwing his daggers would be useless at that point since your magic would swallow it right up. With a grumble, he raised his hands and yielded through gritted teeth.

Nyx caught your relieved sigh when you patted away at the fire on your uniform. You did nothing but intimidate Luche into yielding, but you took the victory well when you saw that the recruits gained a new appreciation for battle magic.

He was pretty sure that he heard Luche mumble something that sounded like ‘what a showoff’ when he made his way to the bench to sit beside him, a frustrated look pinched his features.

“Exceptional work with the new mages, (L/N). Keep up the good work.”

“Thank you, Captain.” You gave Drautos a polite nod as he passed by the locker room and continued to change out of your uniform. As you finished slipping into your casual clothes, you headed out as soon as you could but almost rammed right into Nyx, his group of friends trailed behind him. “Oh! Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to run into you guys...” You paused and gave Crowe a grin, which she returned with one of her own. “And gal.”

“Relax, (Y/N). It’s no trouble.” Nyx shrugged, the leather jacket on his shoulder swayed from the movement. You seemed to be in a rush to get home, but he had a feeling that you were going to stop by somewhere else if the look on your face was anything to go by. “Nice show earlier by the way. You planning on using that on the field?”

Out of politeness, you decided to stay a while to talk. You hoped that the children were all right with you being a little late. They could only be out during the evening for so long after all.

“And make myself a huge target for all the Niffs? Not a chance.” You chuckled as you shook your head. “I won’t do something like that in a fight unless I’m supposed to be the distraction.”

"Well, it’s one hell of a distraction, (Y/N). You should’ve seen the look on Luche’s face.” Crowe started laughing and smacked the back of her hand on Libertus’ shoulder to get his attention. “Show her the face!”

“Hey! That hurt, Crowe!” (Y/N) puffed her cheeks to hold in a laugh and hid her smile behind her first. Nyx caught the sight of it before you hid it, his own lips curved up slowly while Libertus showed his impersonation of Luche’s expression during the spar. The sight was too hilarious for you to hold in your laughter any longer and it rung in the hallways of the Kingsglaive HQ. Simple as the sound was, it was one that warmed the hero.

“I swear, Ostium, you’re just too much.” You took a moment to take a deep breath, a few more laughs tumbled out before it finally calmed down. Your thoughts went back to the kids that were waiting for you and the expression on your face instantly changed. “Shit. I’m sorry, I gotta go.”

“What’s the rush, (Y/N)? Got a date?” Crowe nudged her shoulder to yours and waggled her brows. Pelna let out a sigh and pulled the mage away from you. She didn’t stop there and gave Nyx a small nudge as well, a knowing grin on her face. He met her look with a unimpressed one then turned his attention to you to see what you’d say.

“Maybe, maybe not.” With one last laugh, you tucked away your phone and gave the group a wave. “I’ll see all of you tomorrow. Have a good night and tell Yama that I’ll stop by soon.”

“Only if you put on a great show for the kids. Tell them I said hi too. They know me.”

Your eyes widened at Nyx’s words and froze just as you were about to head out. Libertus, Crowe, and Pelna gave their friend and you a confused look, their heads turned from one to the other. A sly grin made its way to Nyx’s face as he watched you attempt to bounce back from the shock. It was rewarding in a sense, to see you go through a series of emotions as opposed to when you trained the recruits earlier.

“You... You... Shut up.”

You sprinted out of there with your cheeks slightly warm and, despite being quite a distance away from your fellow Glaives, heard the sound of someone being punched and loud exclamations.

[Text: Unknown] hey (Y/N), it’s nyx. just wanted to say i’m sorry

[Text: (Y/N)] How the hell did you get my number??

[Text: Unknown] crowe told me to apologize. which is what i’m doing

Your lack of response the following minutes after made him feel bad and he called you instead, his fingers drummed the thin cover of his pillow as he stared at the wall of his apartment. The ringing seemed to go on forever and he was sure that you probably didn’t want to talk to him by then.

Click.

“What?”

That certainly proved him wrong.

“I’m not going to tell Drautos, you know.”

“... I’m not worried about that. Thanks anyways.”

“So what is it then?” He heard you sigh through the phone, a soft rustle in the background that let him know that you were probably in bed.

“You’re a blunt one, aren’t you?” You heard a snort on your end and pinched the bridge of your nose. It was nice that he wasn’t the type to tiptoe around matters like this, but some tact didn’t hurt every now and then. “It’s...just something I’d rather keep private. Self-indulgence type thing... and stuff...”

“... Something to keep your mind off the fight then?” This man just never ceased to amaze you. Ready to struggle through words to describe what these ‘shows’ meant to you, Nyx was able to put it so plainly for in a matter of seconds.

Then again, you knew that was the way he worked, even out of battle.

All you could do then was nod, as if he there in front of you. Your silence seemed to confirm everything got him. “Got it. I’m... Really, I’m sorry about that.”

“... You get it. That’s all that matters, Ulric.”

“Nyx.” He chuckled, the sound rather breathy and surprisingly soft in your ear. Your felt yourself becoming warm all over, more so than when conjured flames licked at your skin from your little display for the kids. “Just Nyx, okay?” You went silent, trying to gather yourself for a moment, while he became worried.

Did he go out of line again? There weren’t any official ranks within the Kingsglaive aside from Drautos being Captain, but it was obvious that you were considerably high up there. Within the mages unit, at least.

Just as he was about to ask if you were still there, you finally broke the silence. “Nyx?”

... Shit. The effect he had on you earlier had reflected back to him. The grip on his phone tightened just a bit and he swallowed hard before he spoke.

“Y-yeah?...”

“You better put on a show tomorrow for those recruits because you sucked today. Then I’ll accept your apology.”

And there went the moment.

“As long as you’re watching me too, (Y/N).”