#once again with warm light and cyan shadows you guys know me

[hoe-imaginess]

cornered | dabi

dabi x reader

requested prompt: Villain F! Reader got secret information about the League, but is cornered by Dabi who is deciding what to do with her

word count: 2.2k

a/n: this honestly just turned into a little chase scene... hope it’s alright

⤰⤰⤰

You were teeming with triumph as you hurried down the alleyway.

Part of you knew that you were cruising on a premature celebration; you’d succeeded in your furtive plot, and taken the information you needed from the League. But obtainment was one thing—now came escape.

The benefactor of your risky mission required that you deliver the information to a warehouse near the old side of the city, the same place you’d made the deal in the first place. So there you went, almost as soon as the deed was done. You’d taken a sonorous route as a precaution, just in case you had any pursuers. But now, satisfied that you had no tail, and that you were mere moments away from collecting your due pay, you made haste to your destination.

The warehouse was empty and darkened, no lights giving illumination inside or out. You thought that was inconvenient at most, but not necessarily suspicious. Therein lay your mistake.

You pushed inside the warehouse and waited to be greeted. No one came.

Increasingly antsy, you moved around the gloomy interior as carefully as possible. You thought better of finding the lights and switching them on, so you continued your tepid investigation in the darkness, if only to idle while you awaited your patron.

Halfway into your search, you decided against testing your own patience, and pulled out your burner phone. Almost in the same instant that you dialed the confidential number, an offensive smell invaded your space. That, too, you found inconvenient, and nothing more. It was an old warehouse, you reminded yourself, as you put the phone to your ear. Nothing odd about a rank odor.

You heard the phone ringing through the speaker, and then, you heard the ringing in the warehouse.

Puzzled, you moved the phone from your ear and listened closely. Yes, there was a simple ringtone resounding through the place, and yes, it had to be your benefactor.

Still, the line continued to ring, and ring; the tone in the warehouse sounded in tandem. It was clear to you that you would be receiving no answer. And it was then that suspicious took its root.

You followed the ringtone in the dark, until you could see its faint glow yards away. By then, the horrid smell had turned almost intolerable, but also decipherable: like the stench of overcooked pork, stinging your nostrils with every inhale.

You envisioned a dozen nasty sources for the stench, some imaginatively morbid, but the scene you found upon following the ringing overwhelmed you.

A burnt corpse lay strewn on the floor. The scant moonlight coming in from the warehouse rafters gave poor illumination to the scene, but you could see quite clearly the blackened body, its form mangled by fire—a fire that hadn’t smoldered very long ago, if the heat coming off the body was any indication.

Beside the body lay the cell phone. It gave its last ring as your call went unaccepted, then the screen’s light gave out.

Your benefactor was dead. That much was certain. The rest was a mystery that buzzed in your head, quickly gaining into panic as you realized the demise that had befell the now-corpse was likely one you were meant to share. Why else would the man have been killed this way? Why here? And by whom?

The question was quickly answered.

“You must’ve taken the long route to get here,” a voice came in the darkness. “I’ve been waiting a while.”

You spun toward the sound, and took a step backward the moment you spotted a figure leering beyond the burnt body.

“Who are you?” you asked, unwilling to play the part of the victim, not when this assailant clearly had lethal purpose.

“Naive of you not to expect this, ya know,” he muttered, and moved out of the shadows.

You were just short of thinking that his voice sounded familiar, when he came into full view of the moonlight to reveal himself.

Dabi.

With hands in his pockets, and a joyless smile on his face, he carried the aura of a man who had all circumstance on his side. And you knew very well that he did.

“I figured if you were dumb enough to double cross us, that you’d also be dumb enough not to cover your tracks.” His foot tapped the forgotten phone on the ground, the one which had belonged to your late benefactor. “Eavesdropping on calls is easy enough, if you have tech savvy acquaintances.”

You tried to remember the League associates you’d met, and what their quirks had been. You couldn’t recall any with the capability to exploit your schemes, but that certainly didn’t mean you hadn’t been ignorant to assume you’d get away with this betrayal so easily. Apparently, you’d underestimated Dabi’s mistrust in you.

“As for whatever information on us you’re willing to sell,” he began, “I’ll be needing that back.”

You stood tall, proud to stand your ground, even as your hands started to fidget anxiously.

“Did Shigaraki send you?” you asked.

“He doesn’t know I’m here. But I’ll tell him the gist of it later, after I handle it. I’m curious. What exactly do you have on us?”

“Nothing,” you declared calmly, and without a haste of defense. “I have nothing on you.”

“Yeah?”

He kicked the burnt body with the cap of his boot. A piece of the crisped limb crumbled under the minimal force, and scattered along the concrete like debris.

“Is that what you were comin’ to sell to this guy?” he asked. “Nothing?”

You bit the inside of your cheek, knowing the evidence and ambience were stacked against you. But you weren’t about to be cowed. You met his stare, matching his menace with defiance.

With the gravity of this situation quickly rising, you felt the warm brush of your quirk ready itself, prepared to defend in whatever way possible. You’d seen enough of Dabi’s power—and worse, his cruelty—to know that the dreadful anticipation you felt was fully justified.

“Bet you thought you were good at this sneaking around stuff, huh?” He took a step toward you; you stepped back. “I’ve been suspicious for a while, but honestly, I was more curious to see what you’d do, and how you’d do it.”

Now he was walking around the burnt body, forcing you to circle in the opposite direction.

You decided to drop any pretenses, lacking as they’d been in the first place.

“How long have you known?” you asked.

He shrugged. “Like I said, I’ve got an eye for this sort of stuff. And lately, it’s been on you.”

The threat behind his words suddenly made you hyperaware of the corpse between you two, of the putrid smell steaming off of it. Morbid fantasies seized you, and you realized you might soon be joining the heap of ash at your feet.

“So, I’ll ask again. What is it that you have? And what did this guy want with it?”

“I thought you were well-informed,” you returned, risking his patience, buying yourself some time.

He gave a gruesome, humored smile. It was a grisly contrast to his lifeless, torched victim below.

“I guess it doesn’t matter what you have on us,” he finally said.

The debased smile on his face remained, but there was a threatening descent in his demeanor, a pointed narrowing of his eyes that put a shiver down your spine.

“No one’s ever gonna get it, anyways. I’ll make sure of that.”

In the instant that his flames illuminated the gloom with their cyan, you turned on your heels and dashed into the darkness.

You didn’t know how spry Dabi was, or how easily he could catch up to you. But with what his long-range firepower could make up for, you doubted it mattered.

With most of the structures in the warehouse silhouetted against the dainty moonlight, traversing the interior in haste was nearly impossible. Even as you ran, you could still smell the cooked flesh, following you and dizzying your senses.

You couldn’t pinpoint the entrance, nor an exit. It left you stumbling practically blind through the poorly lit building, and you were thankful once you floundered upon a wall. You stumbled along, fingertips moving across the brick to guide you.

Somewhere behind you, Dabi was on the move. Now he spoke, his voice low and reverberating in the darkness.

“You’re startin’ to piss me off,” he called after you. “This’ll be a lot easier if you stop running.”

It occurred to you that he might want you alive, so that he could drag you back to Shigaraki Tomura, and face punishment at his hands—literally. That put heat into your steps, and you stumbled along that much faster in the darkness, hoping against hope that some source of escape might present itself.

The footsteps were behind you again, and quickly gaining. You moved carefully over junk strewn on the floor, and found yourself near a door. You twisted the knob, breathed out a quick sigh of relief to find it unlocked, and slipped inside.

You found yourself in a spacious room, an office of some sort. The first thing you noticed was the window across the room, throwing moonlight through its pane and brightening the dusty interior. You went to it quickly, and tried to wedge fingers underneath the frame and haul it open, to no avail.

“Come on girl, don’t make this hard,” Dabi called into the room. He was just beyond the door.

You bit your lip to keep a groan of frustration down, and hid in the corner of the room. As you did so, the door creaked open. You heard his boots crunching over the wooden threshold. Then the sound of the creaking door moving again. It closed, and clicked. He’d locked you both inside.

Then came silence.

You waited for him to speak, but nothing came. You peered out from your hiding spot, searching for him in the darkness. You saw only a faint outline of his form, the scant moonlight catching off the leather of his outfit.

“If I have to light this place up with you in it, that’s fine,” his voice echoed in the dark. Then came his punctuated, languid footsteps somewhere in the room. “But it’d be easier if you’re alive. I still have some questions for you.”

The thought of enduring what would probably be a horribly sadistic interrogation made your skin crawl. He wasn’t just here to catch you in your trespasses, but to squeeze information out of you, too.

Dabi moved across the room, searching for you. You couldn’t see him now, his silhouette hidden by stacked boxes and other clutter in the darkness. There was a side door that led to the outside, you knew. And you knew it had to be on this side of the building. You’d clocked it in your previous visits to the warehouse as an escape route in case of an emergency. This more than qualified.

But the dark gloom was so profound that locating the door was nearly impossible. This room was denied even a sliver of the moonlight.

At the least, Dabi was apparently as lost as you were. That, or he was taking his grueling time in his approach—which sounded much more fitting, especially knowing his fire might do him well if he needed to illuminate the room somehow. But clearly, he was toying with you. At least for now.

Just then, his footsteps stopped somewhere in the darkness. You waited, and waited some more. You wondered if he was expecting you to make a move, to expose yourself by sound. But you refused; the gloom was your ally, and you would utilize it in full.

But just as you thought you were safe behind the boxes, one of the shadows in the corner forsook its concealment, and he appeared.

Then, as you tried to flee, he slipped over to block your path. “I don’t think so,” said his shadow.

His cruel confidence gave his silhouette the appearance of something taller, something more menacing. The burnt odor returned in full force, and you realized it must have been radiating off his corrugated skin.

An instant later, you felt the wave of fire, and shrieked as the flames fed through the fabric of your shirt, singing delicate skin.

You dove for the floor, and rolled onto your back to extinguish the flames. But the damage was done, and as you backed yourself against the wall, your skin seared with fresh pain.

He stopped in front of you, leering down. His attack had merely been one of intimidation; he’d purposely grazed you, but the surrounding wooden boxes gladly kindled his fire, and quickly caught ablaze.

The flames rising around the room threw a sheen of blue over his expression: rigid and lacking mercy. You wondered if your schemes, your complicity in this act of betrayal, was worth whatever was to come next.

Your throat was tight. The dry, hot air choked you. But all you could do was glare up at him in a desperate show of defiance.

"You’re gonna regret ever thinking you could get away with this," Dabi said with a smile.

Indeed, you were thinking that very thing, when he reached for you.

[icequeenoriginal]

What if you made a fanfic where bowceit puts a spell on roman where roman sees bowceit as virgil and virgil as bowceit

Author’s Note: I am so so so so so so so sorry. You asked this over a year ago, maybe longer but I got so distracted that I did not get to it until now. I was never going to abandon this, even if the AU is basically over. I hope it was worth the wait. I love the prompt by the way.

Mario AU belongs to @sugarglider-s

A03 link 

Warning: Brainwashing, mistaken identity, misunderstanding, fighting, villain but sympathetic Deceit, crying, yelling (Let me know if I missed anything)

Pairings: Prinxiety and Logicality 

Title: The Original is Always Better

~

It was supposed to be a fun day.

It was rare for Patton’s and Roman’s free days to line up with one another, even rarer for Patton’s, Logan’s, Virgil’s, and Roman’s free days to line up but on a Saturday at the end of the month, the stars finally aligned for such a thing to occur. They would have to thanks Remy next time they see him. 

Patton had come up with an idea for them to have a picnic on Emile’s island. They could make a whole trip out of it. They could visit Emile, swim in the ocean, lay on the beach. 

“That sounds like a perfect idea dear,” Logan replied, which made Patton smile and blush.

Roman nodded, “I can bring my beach ball, I haven’t used it in ages!”

“Could be nice to get some sun for once,” Virgil added.

And so the day was set, they would leave before sunrise in Patton’s pink plane. That way they could get as much of the day in as possible and a certain snake wouldn’t see them leaving the Mushroom Kingdom.

Patton and Logan spent the day before preparing the food as well as packing. Roman and Virgil meanwhile, came up with games as they packed. 

It was going to be a great day.

Keyword: Was.

~

As the main four were happily planning their getaway, Bowciet was sulking in his throne room, nothing his servants weren’t used to. 

He had suffered another bitter defeat by the Sarcastic Brothers. Plan after plan, he could never win. He would get so close and those annoying jumping brothers would always stupidly find a way to beat him. 

And the worst part? After they were rescued, the princes would go on and on about how they were so happy that they were saved by their wonderful boyfriends.

“What do those princes even see in those two lowlife peasants plumbers anyway?!” Bowciet exclaimed.

“Because they’re cool?” A Gomba suggested.

“Because they are kind?” A Koopa offered.

“Because they don’t kidnap them?” A hammer bro adds.

Bowciet growled and blew fire at them, making them run out of the room in pain and fear. Bowciet slumps back into his chair.

What his minions said was absolutely ridiculous. They were completely not cool, cool people do not ruin the plans of a king! They were both a four at best and they weren’t THAT strong. Logan could jump pretty high sure, but he was as boring as a textbook. How could Prince Patton ever be attracted to that? And Virgil, an anxious freak who jumps at his own shadow, Roman likes that?

Bowceit knew he would be a much better match for the princes but they never give him a chance to prove it. They usually turn their back to him when he puts them in their cells and ignores him. How rude of them. 

No matter how many presents and compliments he gives, they never give him a chance. Roman even had to gall say they both could not stand the sight of him.

Wait.

They could not stand the sight of him.

But they could stand the sight of those plumbers.

Bowciet smirked, his newest plan was forming in his mind. 

He summoned a Magikoopa to his throne room.

“Yes, your majesty?” The Magikoopa said as it entered the room.

“I need you to make me a spell, as quickly as possible.”“What kind, your majesty?”Bowceit smirked, “Illusion”

~

As much as Virgil hates getting out of bed early, and boy does he hate it, he was very happy to find out that the seats on Patton’s plane leaned as flatly as possible. He sleeps through the entire plane ride with Roman run his fingers through his hair. Virgil breathes in Roman’s scent. He smells like the flowers in his garden and the tea he makes. Mainly honeysuckle and strawberry, it causes Virgil to dream of running through the fields with Roman. It is them alone, with only the flower-covered valleys and the warm sun. 

In his dream, Roman’s smile rivals the sun, as if it doesn’t do that in the real world. Dream Roman runs a bit of head, a gap is starting to form between them. It made Virgil a bit nervous but Roman only looks over his shoulder and smiles. “Follow me!” Dream Roman shouts happily, “Don’t stop following me.”“Never” Virgil whispers.After a few more minutes of Virgil chasing Dream Roman, Dream Roman stops and stands in the middle of the endless field. 

Virgil stops a few feet behind him and pants, trying to catch his breath. Dream Roman turns to face him and lifts up Virgil’s chin gently. Virgil blushes and Dream Roman smiles at him.

Dream Roman smiles back and says, “It’s time to wake up Virgil.”

The dream ends as Virgil begins to blink, he feels someone is shaking him awake. He turns to the source of the shaking before immediately freezing when seeing how close Roman’s face is to his.

It did not matter that this was how Virgil normally wakes up, Roman always makes him freeze with how beautiful he is. Virgil can’t help himself as he scans every feature of Roman’s face as if he was seeing Roman for the first time.

Roman smiles softly at him, flashing his pearly white teeth, “Hey sleepyhead, we are here.”

Virgil nods quickly, face completely red with blush. “T-Thanks Ro.”

Roman kisses his forehead before pulling him up and out of his seat. Virgil can barely keep up as Roman runs out of the plane, having to hold down his hat as they go. 

Virgil has to squint when the light suddenly hits his eyes. Once his eyes adjust, he gasps at the sight in front of him. The beach sand is crystal white and very warm when Virgil touches it. The water is cyan blue, so clear that you can see the fish swim through it. The palm trees are ten times Virgil high with huge lush leaves. It wasn’t like Virgil hadn’t been to Emile’s island before but you don’t really have time to stop and smell the roses when an evil snake monster kidnaps your boyfriend.

Patton quickly rips off his shirt and jumps into the ocean to swim around, having changed into his swimsuit on the plane. Logan soon joins him, making sure to put out the picnic blanket and the picnic basket.

Virgil yawns, “I think I’m going to take another nap. The warm sand is just too tempting.”Roman giggles, “Okay then babe. I’m going to make a sandcastle next to you then.”Virgil had to physically stop himself from swooning. He knew that Roman had a bunch of stuff planned for them to do together and Virgil knew that Roman generally did not want to give up what he comes up with but he always does it for Virgil. Virgil is always his priority. 

Virgil pulls Roman into a kiss before laying down. 

Roman blushes, “What was that for?” Virgil wasn’t always one to initiate kisses.

Virgil covers his face with his hat to block out the sun and to hide his blush, “Just felt like it.”

Roman smiles at Virgil, his heart soaring with love for his boyfriend. Virgil always found a way to be sweet without trying. It was one of the things Roman loved about him.

~

Virgil woke up again to someone shaking him. This time it was his brother so Virgil was far less jumpy this time.

“What’s up, bro?” Virgil asked sleepily 

“We are about to eat lunch and I figured you would want some,” Logan replies 

“Lunchtime? How long have I been asleep?”

“You slept through the entire morning.”

“Did I miss anything?”“You missed Roman joining us in the ocean then he and Patton make this giant sandcastle,” Logan says as he points to a sandcastle that is about two stories tall. It looks like a miniature version of Patton’s castle except on the front, instead of a glass window with Patton holding a rose, it is a drawing of Patton and Roman made into the sand. Roman peeks his head out of the sand castle’s window and waves, “Virgil! My love! You are awake! Look what we made!” 

Virgil’s eyes widen in shock at how big the castle is and how it can hold both Roman and Patton. Roman does not seem to notice this as he exits the sandcastle with Patton.

They all sit on the picnic blanket and Patton serves the food. They eat are given their favorite sandwiches and favorite kind of chips. Patton also packed potato and macaroni salad for them all to share. 

“What do you guys want to do next?” Roman asks between bites.

“Hmm…Oh! What if we went for a walk around the island?” Patton suggests.

“That sounds absolutely wonderful Patton! I have been meaning to take note of the flowers around here to expand my garden!” Roman replies

Virgil snickers, “Do you even have any garden space left Princey?”

Roman waves him off, “I can just start a fourth garden.”“FOURTH?!”

“Instead of debating Roman’s plant obsession, we should finish our lunch so we can begin our walk,” Logan says while waving his hand to silence his brother and his brother’s boyfriend.

The other three nod in agreement and eat their food in relative silence.

~

Once they pack up their things and changed on Patton’s plane, the four head deeper into the island. They pass by plants and bushes that are twice their size but they oddly seem to be walking on a mostly clear path. Roman runs a bit ahead, hardly able to contain his squeals as he sees all the plants in front of him. He scribes a quick drawing of them into his little orange notebook. Virgil is standing next to him, holding his umbrella and smiling at his boyfriend’s antics. He adored Roman’s passion and will do anything to not let that fire die.

Eventually, the four come across an empty field. It has patches of leaves all around it. They all look at one another, something feels off. It seemed too quiet, none of them were used to pure quiet.

Patton squats in front of one of the patches of leaves. “It looks like the bed Emile has.”

Logan nods “The Emiles must collect leaves and make beds that they sleep on.”

“Why aren’t any of them here?” Virgil asks, nervousness creeping into his voice. 

“They might all be doing something right now.” Roman offers, hoping to calm his boyfriend.

No one else replied, there was no way it was something as simple as that, it never was. Patton moves to investigate another pile of leaves when it suddenly begins to shake. Before Patton can react, a Goomba jumps out, causing Patton to yelp. Patton falls on his back as the Goomba lands just by his head. Logan quickly stomps on it and helps Patton up.

Two dozen more Goomba jumps out from under the other piles of leaves surround the four of them. The four each take out six Goombas but don’t have time to celebrate when more of Bowceit’s minions surround them. 

Roman bursts into laughter “No originality Bowceit? Oh well! I’m going to make this fun for me! Whoever defeats the most minions gets the first swing on Bowceit!”Logan, Virgil, and Patton all exchange a look before all smiling and nodding. Unbeknownst to them, Bowceit was smiling too, his plan was working exactly as he expected. 

The four fought the Koopas, not noticing that they were being moved further and further away from each other. They push Logan and Virgil to one side of the field and Patton and Roman to the other side. Once they were where Bowceit wanted them, he sent Hammer Bros. towards them.  They throw their hammers between the two groups, forcing all four of them to be on their own and surrounded by Koopas. 

Bowceit smirks and walks out from behind the tree, receiving glares from all of them. “Well, well, well…look what the Koopas dragged in.”

All four of them groan, making Bowceit hiss at all of them. “Rude.”

“What do you want Bowceit, this time?” Logan says, annoyance and bitterness dripping from his mouth. 

“Oh please Logan, as if you do not know,” Bowceit replies as he looks at his gloved fingers.

Logan rolls eyes, “Of course…well since you are up to your old tricks, I might as well use mine!” Logan then jumps up in the air, well over the enemies. He lands a punch square into Bowceit’s jaw. As the two begin to scuffle, Virgil takes out the Koopas on their side to go help Logan fight Bowceit. 

On the other side, Roman starts to take out the Koopas near him. That is when he notices that the Koopas near him and Patton are running towards Virgil. Roman immediately feels suspicious. Bowceit normally sends the most amount of Koopas at Roman. He looks around and that’s when he spots it.

A magikoopa, directly diagonal from Patton waving its wand, ready to cast a spell. Roman runs to Patton as fast as he can.

“PATTON!” Roman yellsPatton turns to him confused, “Huh?!”The magikoopa fires the spell.

Roman shoves Patton out of the way and yells in pain as the spell hits him and knocks him to the ground. 

“ROMAN!” Virgil shouts and jumps over the group of Koopas. Logan kicks Bowceit away from and turns to the group of Koopas, ready to take them out so they can’t stop Virgil. He pauses, confused when he sees that they are not following Virgil, just standing. Logan turns his head to Bowceit and sees him smirking. 

Virgil quickly helps Roman up, “Ro! Are you alright?”

Roman blinks at him before grabbing his arm and throwing him across the field. Everyone but Bowceit freezes in shock. Virgil hits a tree and rubs the back of his head in confusion.”

Bowceit smiles, “Not the one I was intending,” Bowceit shrugs, “But I can’t complain!” Bowceit walks to Roman and smiles, opening his arms. “Excellent throw my dear”

Roman giggles and blushes. Bowceit takes cups his face and Roman leans into his touch, shattering Virgil’s heart.

Bowceit turns his head to Virgil with the evilest grin on his face as he carcasses Roman’s cheek. 

Virgil went numb. 

Virgil will be the first to admit he has a lot of fears. Some odd like jumping too high he gets lost in space and some serious like burning to death in lava. This, however, was worse than any fear of his.

Bowceit winning. 

He had gotten one of the princes. His prince. His Princey. And Roman looked happy in his arms. Roman’s normally kind and playful grin was replaced by a devilish and evil grin. And his eyes…

Oh god, his eyes.

One thing Virgil loved to do was just stare into Roman’s eyes. Roman’s eyes are normally warm, brown, and playful. His eyes now…they were ice blue. Piercing ice blue that sent daggers into Virgil’s heart. 

Bowceit picks up Roman bride style pulling the giggling prince close. Bowceit sends him a wink and runs off with Roman. 

Logan, who has been frozen in shock the entire time, takes a step forward only to have to dodge a hammer throw at his head. Logan narrows his eyes at them but something purple catches his eyes.

Logan sees his brother shaking, on the verge of tears. Logan is livid. He jumps up and stomps down hard on two Goombas. He angrily but silently takes out the rest of Bowceit’s minion in the area. Logan is panting by the time he is finished but ignores it to run over and check on Virgil.

Virgil clings onto his brother as he tries to get himself to breathe. This was not the time to panic, but it was also the perfect time to panic. Did this have to be Virgil’s life right now?

It took a while but Virgil was finally able to get his breathing normal enough to think straight. Patton made sure to give him a big hug just to make sure.

“Okay, okay,” Virgil pulls away from him “So what the heck just happened?!”“Language!” Patton shouted. Just because it is a stressful situation does not mean he will be allowed to curse.

Virgil blinked at him before shaking his head, “What happened to Roman?”

Logan pauses for a moment before replying, “Clearly, he has been brainwashed in some way. Most likely by whatever that spell was.”

“Right, right, great, great! Now how do we fix it?!” Virgil asks, already feeling his panic returning. 

“Well, it’s a spell, right? We need to find a magikoopa,” Logan offered.

Virgil nods, “Right, right. That makes sense. Of course, it makes sense. Is it always this hard to breathe?” Virgil says as he pants.

Patton pats his back as Virgil tries again to catch his breath. 

Logan puts his hands on Virgil’s shoulders, “Virgil. You are my brother. I will do anything for you. I will get Roman back.”

Virgil smiles and puts his hand on one of Logan’s hands, “Thanks bro, now let’s go kick some magikoopa butt!”

~Roman laughs as “Virgil” carries him through the island. “Virgil” jumped through the air, making Roman hold onto him tightly.

This was surprising to Roman. Virgil was never this energetic after a fight Bowceit. Though, to be fair to him, this time did not require traveling through nine different worlds to get to said fight. 

Roman was happy about this small change. Normally his poor stormcloud would be too drained to want to do anything but cuddle in their shared bed. Roman wouldn’t mind if it was because Virgil enjoyed it, he minded that it was the only thing his love could physically do that did not strain his body.

Well, now was not the time to think about that. Now was the time to admire “Virgil’s” jumping skills. He knew both Logan and Virgil hated their jumping ability but that did not make it any less impressive. Though, Roman did think it was odd that “Virgil” seemed to land so loudly. He figured Virgil would be the lightest on his feet, after Patton and him of course. You can’t spend your youth dancing and not be.

Roman had no time to think about it as he gasps, nearly jumping out of “Virgil’s” arm. “Virgil” stops moving to prevent Roman from falling out of his arms. 

“Stop! Stop here!” Roman demands.

Bowceit raises an eyebrow, “Why?”

“Look at those flowers!” Roman untangles himself from “Virgil’s” arms and motions to the flower field in front of him, “I have never seen such amazing and huge flowers!”

Bowceit would admit that the flowers in question were…okay looking. They were very tall with bright pink flower petals. The petals were very vibrant pink with white accents. Bowceit feels his piranha plants were much nicer.

“We have to see more of it!” Roman shouts as he points to the field. 

“Maybe later, I have something much more fun in mind.”

Bowceit had a plan. He would convince Roman to come back to his castle and marry “Virgil”.

“What could be more fun than this?” Roman asked perplexed. What could be more them than running through a flower field and fall into each other’s arms only to stay there and watch the sunset?

“Well I was thinking we could go to Bowceit’s castle–” Bowceit begins only for Roman to cut him off.

“Pffft, we spend enough time there, too much time in my opinion,” Roman says with a laugh. 

Bowceit did his best to hide his annoyance with that statement. The spell may make him look and sounds like Virgil but unless he acted Virgil, there was a chance Roman could peek through. 

“Yeah but you knocked him out, maybe we could trash the place?”

Roman made a very perplexed face and Bowceit sucked in his breath. After a few moments, Roman bursts into laughter. “We do that too much too. Come onnnn, please?”

“I just…had a funny prank idea we could pull on him!” “Virgil pushed.

“I promise we can do that next time but when are we going to have a quiet moment and who knows how long these flowers again?”Bowceit did not have time for this. Another problem with the spell was that it only lasted until the sun went down. That is what he gets for rushing the creation of the spell but he wanted this done today. So much for being eager.

How would Virgil react to Roman’s begging? He knew virtually nothing about the younger plumber due to not caring to. The only thing he knew was he got upset easily which either led to tears or him getting punched in the face by the purple plumber. 

He did once overhear Roman describing a painting Virgil apparently did for him to Patton when they were both in his dungeon but he doubted it could help him in this situation. Unless…

“Alright, but just long enough for me to get a…drawing in,” “Virgil” replies, almost hesitantly. 

Luckily for him, Roman’s pleading face morphs into a soft accepting smile, “Of course dear. Then we can do whatever you want afterward.”

Bowceit smirks, “Excellent.”~

A magikoopa was flying peacefully when a green shell suddenly came flying at it. The magikoopa had no time to react before it was knocked right off of its broom and falls to the ground. 

The magikoopa screams as it went tumbling to the ground. It hit the ground with a thud and it grips its head in pain. 

Once its vision cleared, it gasps as it sees it is surrounded by a very angry Virgil, Logan, and Patton. All three of their arms are crossed and they are glaring daggers into the magikoopa.

The magikoopa scrambles onto its butt as it looks at the trio, absolutely terrified. Before it can try to escape, Virgil grabs it by the robe and drags it to make it face to face with him. 

It squeaks, “Don’t hurt me! I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Virgil growls out, “You were there! You cast a spell on Roman! Now tell me what you did to him!” 

As Virgil is talking, Logan walks around him to be behind the magikoopa. “Just so you know, Patton and I won’t hold him back.”

“In fact, we will help,” Patton says, his voice sounding like a horror movie villain.

The magikoopa began to sweat profusely. “It-it was an illusion spell!” it squeaks out.

“What kind of illusion spell?” Virgil asks, tightening his grip on the Magikoopa’s robe.

“It made Bowceit look like you and you look like Bowceit to Prince Roman! If it hit Prince Patton, it would have done the thing to Logan!”

 “That must be why Roman attacked you when you touched him,” Logan says as he rubs his chin in thought.

“Alright so now tell us how to break the spell!” Virgil shouts. 

“I am not telling you anything!” the magikoopa says, acting as if its voice was not completely shaky.

However, before Virgil could do anything, Patton rips the magikoopa away from him.

Patton glares at the magikoopa with nothing but malice with his eyes. “You are going to tell him so we can save my best friend or you are going to deal with me,”

“Like you can hurt a fly!” The magikoopa barks at Patton.

“I only hurt those who deserve it, and you for one, deserve a lot.” Patton throws the magikoopa to the ground in anger. He pulls out his umbrella and swings it down on the magikoopa.

“WAIT!” the magikoopa screams.

Patton stops just as the umbrella is about to hit him. “Yes?”“I’ll tell you everything! I swear!” the magikoopa pleads, getting on its hands and knees.

“Then start talking,” Patton says with a glare. 

“There is no way to break the spell!” Patton winds up to swing again.

“BUT! THERE’S A BUT!” the magikoopa “The spell will end when the sun goes down! His plan is to marry the prince before then as you!”

“Anything else?” Patton asks

“Bowceit Jr. made me come up with a spell to make himself taller.” the magikoopa replies, looking down at the ground in shame before bursting into tears. 

The three of them look at each other, very uncomfortable. They slowly back away from the crying magikoopa and head off to find Roman.

~

Roman had a great time in the flower field. He was able to collect some seeds of the flower and have a nice walk through the field with “Virgil”.

Though “Virgil” seemed to be awfully quiet, not having anything to say to him.

It strikes Roman as odd. Sure, Virgil was always one to keep to himself. When Roman would boast and brag to his Thomases and Talyns, Virgil would walk silently next to him with a smile on his face as he intently listens to whatever Roman has to say.

However, when they are alone, Virgil becomes the more talkative one. He would go on about his adventure with Logan, his ideas for songs, and anything that was on his mind. 

Roman figures that something must be wrong. With him being uncharacteristically pushy earlier and with him not saying anything, there must be something going on in his mind. 

“Mind if we rest in the tree for a bit? My legs are a bit sore.” Roman asks while pointing at a tall tree.

“Virgil” shrugs and follows him. Bowceit knew it was a bit late in the afternoon but he was sure they still had enough time to complete his plan. He goes to sit next to the tree but stops to watch Roman climb the tree. 

“What are you doing?” “Virgil” asks.

Roman stops his climbing. “What does it look like? I’m sitting in the tree.” Roman replies, almost laughing.  

“But why?”

“Because we always sit in trees together?” Roman replies, looking very confused. 

“Oh? Oh! Of course! Sorry, I completely forgot.” “Virgil” scrambles up the tree after him. Roman continues to climb up confused. 

Roman sits on a high branch that overlooks the island. Bowceit could see that the sun was beginning to go down. He frowns, he is running out of time. He was nowhere near his castle with the wedding chapel. He doubts that there were any wedding chapels on Emile’s Island, there were hardly any buildings at all.

“Alright, what is wrong? Don’t tell me it’s nothing, you wouldn’t be frowning if something wasn’t wrong.” Roman asks, his arms crossed so there was no room for discussion. 

Bowceit was stuck. He began patting his sides nervously, it was a habit he has always had ever since he was younger. 

As he was doing that, he felt a small box in his pocket. The ring! He had completely forgotten that he had it on him with everything going on. 

Bowceit tried to hide his shock at discovering the ring but he clearly did not do it well as Roman cups his face. 

“Stormcloud, tell me, please. You know you can tell me, anything babe.” Roman asks gently. 

Bowceit’s finger’s rest of the ring box. This was his last shot. 

“I have something to ask you,” “Virgil” asks as he slips his hand into his pocket. 

Roman is confused, he knew Virgil put his hands in his pockets when he was nervous but he had no idea what was making Virgil nervous. 

“Will you…?”

“Will I?”“Will you…tell me why you like me?” 

Bowceit didn’t know what possessed him to ask that question. It was always lingering in his mind. Why them and not him? He was a king after all! With minions and a huge castle,  not to mention very adorable children. So why did the princes date the plumbers? They are plumbers, what exactly do they have to offer?

Roman’s frown was deep that Bowceit was so sure that it would cause permanent frown lines. He takes a deep breath and says, “Okay, I am only going to say this once more. So make sure it stays in your brain this time because you know I hate repeating myself.” Roman emphasis his point by poking “Virgil” forehead. 

“Alright, alright, I get it.” “Virgil” replies, waving Roman off, “Just tell me.”

Roman makes a show of clearing his throat, tapping his chest, and do some vocal exercises. “Alright. First off, I demand as your prince and loving boyfriend that you never doubt our relationship again. I know you get anxious about a lot of things but we should not be one of them, my stormcloud. I adore you. I love how cautious you are but are still willing to jump over literal lava when I am kidnapped. You are strong and a hero. But that is not all I like. I like it when you sing when we sit together under a tree and read a book. I like doing nothing and everything with you because it is you. You are an amazing artist and musician. You are an amazing brother and boyfriend.”

Bowceit is shocked, to say the least. He has never heard Roman talk this soft or sweetly. The ring felt heavy in his hand.

“And secondly, I don’t just like you, I love you.” Roman says as he puts his hand on “Virgil”’s hand that is resting on the tree branch. 

Bowceit looks down at their hands before looking up at Roman’s face. He is smiling, the most loving smile Roman had ever given him. Roman’s now blue eyes seemed to shimmer with joy and love.  

This is all he ever wanted from the prince. And yet…

It felt wrong. This was wrong. 

He squeezed the ring box. He had to make a choice. 

~

As this was happening; Logan, Patton, and Virgil seemed to be running around like chickens that have lost their heads. They first headed straight for Bowceit’s castle after talking with the magikoopa. They were shocked when they did not find Roman but rather the danger noodles making a gigantic pillow fort in their father’s throne room.

They headed from world to world afterward but they could not seem to find Roman anywhere. They made it back to the Mushroom Kingdom before deciding to take a breather. 

Once they arrive, Virgil walks up to the closet tree and punches it. He immediately regrets this action as his anger quickly turns into pain. He sticks his wounded fist into his mouth to silence any curse words that threaten to escape. 

Patton pulls him into a hug, gently rubbing his back. He rocks Virgil back and forth in an attempt to soothe him. Virgil tears up, though he is not sure if it is because of the pain or the sadness he has been trying to suppress all day. 

Once the pain dulls, Virgil pulls away from Patton, and Patton lets him go. Virgil tends to pace when he needs to calm his mind down. 

Virgil paces in front of Patton’s castle, almost biting his nails but stopping when he remembers he has gloves on. “AGH! Where could they possibly be?!” Virgil shouts in anger.

“We will find them, Virgil,” Logan replies.

“No, no. No, we won’t!”“Virgil–”

“No, no Logan, don’t you dare! Don’t tell me we will! Because we have looked everywhere! We went to every Zone, fuck, we’ve been to his castle! And even if we do find them, they probably are already married. That’s probably why we can’t find them because they’re on their goddamn honeymoon! It’s over! He’s gone!”

Virgil pauses, the weight of his words hit him, “He’s gone…I lost him.” He nearly fell backward from it. He begins to hug himself, trying to catch his breath. 

Logan is completely lost. He wants to reassure his brother but he doesn’t know what he could possibly say to help him. He had no logical positive explanation. The logical explanation is that Virgil is right. He did not know what to do. 

Luckily, Patton does. 

“So you’re just going to give up?” Patton says, making the two brothers turn to him. His pink sleeved arms arm crossed and he is glaring at the pair. 

“You guys are only heroes when it’s easy for you? Now that you’re in a hard spot you’re just going to stop?” Patton says angrily 

“Well, dear, there is not–” Logan starts but Patton silences him with a hand raise. 

“Don’t ‘dear’ me! And don’t you dare say there is nothing you can do! What would Roman say? What would Roman DO? Do you think he just sits around and waits for you guys to save him?’“No…” Virgil replies “He never gives up. H-He would keep trying…”

“That’s right! So you need to do that too!” 

Virgil is silent for a few seconds before standing up straight, “You’re right…”

“What was that?” Patton says, his face morphing into a smile. 

“You’re right!” Virgil shouts, determination coming back to him, “I am not going to give up! Because I am not a quitter!”

“That’s right! So what are you going to do?!”

“I’M GOING TO BREAK BOWCEIT’S FACE!”Patton blinks at him, “…What else are you going to do?”

“Oh uh save Roman. THEN BREAK HIS FACE!”

“Okay, kiddo.”

“I WILL SEARCH EACH ENDS OF THE EARTH AS MANY TIMES AS POSSIBLE TO BREAK THAT UGLY SNAKE’S FACE!”

“Maybe you won’t have to,” Logan chimes in. 

Both Virgil and Patton turn to him and say, “Huh?” 

“Think about it, where was the first place we checked when we knew Bowceit had Roman?”

“Bowceit’s castle, but he wasn’t there,” Virgil replies, still confused. 

“And when we saw that they were not there, where did we go?”

“To every other place, we know Bowceit has a tower.”

“So that means we didn’t check…?”

“…THE ISLAND! THAT SON OF A BITCH NEVER LEFT THE ISLAND! WE GOT TO GO!” Virgil screams before taking off in a run. 

“Virgil! Kiddo! We have to take the plane!” Patton shouts after him. 

“Oh right.”

~

“Cover your eyes and follow me.” “Virgil” instructs Roman as they climbed out of the tree. Roman raises his eyebrow skeptically but covers his eyes with one hand, using his other hand to take “Virgil’s” hand. 

They walk for a while before Roman hears what sounds like running water. “May I open my eyes now?”

“Not yet, not yet, Count down from..from 300.”

“300?!”

“Virgil” sighs, “Please? For me.”

Roman rolls his eyes behind his hand, “Okay, okay. But this surprise better be worth it. One, two, three…”

Bowceit steps back from Roman with a frown. He shakes his head and runs away as quietly as possible.

He could not believe that he was actually doing this. He should be jumping at this opportunity and fast, the sun was starting to go down. He looks over his shoulder at Roman still counting. He sighs and continues to walk away.  

Damn his stupid conscience.  

~

Once the plane touches the ground on the island, Virgil runs out of it. He is prepared to rip this island to sherds to find his beloved. Luckily he only has to run for a bit before he finds Bowceit. 

He jumps up and goes to punch Bowceit but Bowceit dodges. Virgil lands and gets into a fighting set “You…”

“I’m not here to fight,” Bowceit says putting his hands up in defense. 

Virgil rolls his eyes, “Wow, that’s a first, but I do not care. Where’s Roman?”

“He’s down that path,” points, “He’s fine, just counting.”

“What? Why is he counting?” Virgil asks, prepared to hear something about a bomb. 

“He’s counting down until the spell breaks. Go and get him.” Bowceit says. 

“How do I know you’re not lying?” 

“Because I’m heading to my airship by myself. But don’t believe me, it doesn’t make a difference to me.”

Virgil stares at him, and he can’t find any indication that Bowceit is lying. “…Why are you doing this?”

“I don’t want to win this way.”

Virgil looks at him in utter shock. 

“Oh pick up your jaw from the ground plumber. Don’t read into this. I will marry one of those princes, just not like this.”

Virgil couldn’t hold back his smirk, “Not if my brother and I have anything to say about it.”

Bowceit smirks as well, “We will see.” He salutes Virgil before stuffing his hands into his pockets and walking off. 

Virgil’s smirk morphs into a relieved smile. He takes off to Roman, he’ll break Bowceit’s fave another day. 

~“Three…two…one…” Roman removes his hand “Oh my gosh…”

The lake he had been brought to was surrounded by Evening Primroses and Moonflowers. The sky was filled with bright beautiful stars. Roman smiles at the scene before turning around. Standing behind him is Virgil, staring at him with his bright brown eyes. 

Roman runs over to him and takes his hands. “This place is beautiful. Did you find it on one of your adventures? Wait, don’t tell me. I want to listen to the wonderful sounds of this place.” Roman looks around with a smile before his eyes land back on Roman.

His brown eyes. His soft, warm, and oh so loving brown eyes. 

“Stormcloud, why are you crying?” Roman asks as he cups Virgil’s hand and wipes the tears away with his thumb.

Virgil lets out a watery laugh, “Nothing baby, I just love you so much.”

Roman kisses his nose “And I love you too. And I will always love you.”

Virgil grins, “I know.”

~

Taglist:

@corkeecoderyt @Per-seph-o-nee @Ohshrekmyheck @3milystuff  @Asymmetricalgarbage8888   @fairytailtwists  @sanders-sides-rebloger  @sanderssidesfluffyangst  @unikornavenger @0callmevirge0 @gloomingwitch @roxiefox24 @ijustreallylovesanderssides @unisaurioamorfo @mycatshuman

[a-dorin]

under the same stars

pairing: august moor x darth maul 

word count: 3.043k

warnings: some cursing, angst, canon typical violence (lightsabers, confrontations), the start of some yearning, a naive jedi, a slight age gap

a/n: this is a rewrite of my old oc series, under the same stars! i hope you guys like this version more, as i will be deleting the old one. let me know if you would like to be added to the taglist! i love these together a little too much already. 

“again,” a voice commanded, “i want to see that combat technique once more. obi-wan, i advise you to keep your right arm tucked in, more towards your body. if it juts out any more, she would be able to notice that, and use that to her advantage.”

“do we really have to do this one more time?” a padawan tucked his braid behind his ear, scorn laced in his tone, “she is not playing fair, master. she’s using her abilities.”

“there’s no playing fair in battle, obi-wan,” a brunette piped up, clipping her saber to her belt, “are you just jealous that someone seven years your junior is going to be made a jedi knight in just a few short months?”

the senior padawan snorted, rolling his eyes, “anything else you wish to rub in my face? your tactics aren’t working on me this time, august.”

a sly smirk crept across the brunette’s features as she folded her arms across her chest, “yeah, well, i still would like to share a few bits here and there. oh, also how you just got your ass handed to you back there--”

“that is enough.”

eyes darted to the jedi master as he glowered over them, shaking his head, “i am aware that it may be difficult for the two of you to train together, especially with the age difference. however, i expect the two of you to be nothing but civil and respectful to one another. you both are gifted in your own ways. obi-wan, you are an excellent fighter, with clean and precise movement. august, you are more gifted with the ways of the force. yet, if you were to be paired for a mission, your petty bickering would only hold you back. nothing would be accomplished.”

“my apologies master,” the brunette mumbled, shifting uneasily, “it won’t happen again.”

qui-gon exhaled, bringing a hand to his temple, “you say that every instance but clearly the issue remains unresolved. if the two of you are to become jedi knights, you must embrace all aspects of the code, along with the ways of the force.”

“yes master,” obi-wan hung his head low, “i have failed you.”

“there is no such thing as failure,” the jedi’s voice softened, “you will learn how to handle your emotions in time, obi-wan. the path to become a jedi is not one that is easy, nor accomplished in a matter of years. it is a lifetime journey.”

“are we dismissed now?” 

qui-gon’s head swiveled over to august, his eyes narrowing, “august, did i say that you were dismissed?”

“master windu and master buir requested my presence for tea,” for a moment, august’s demeanor cracked under her master’s harsh inquiry, “i told them that i would go after training.”

“after the spat you just had with obi-wan, i do not believe you deserve to be let off the hook.”

“do i get to go meet with seraphine for tea?” obi-wan cleared his throat, fiddling with the sleeves of his robes.

“absolutely not,” qui-gon’s response was immediate, “i believe i have the perfect assignment for the two of you.”

obi-wan’s lips parted, his eyes widening, “master, please, if anything, we can resolve our issues at a later time--”

“i want you to patrol the streets of coruscant tonight,” qui-gon folded his arms across his chest, as if he was challenging his padawans to interject, “you will work together. i will remain here at the temple, but i have complete faith in both of you. if you report back to me with a single singed robe, or a hair out of place from scrapping, i will extend the punishment. do you understand?”

“we’re not officers,” august sneered, “we’re--”

“jedi,” qui-gon finished, “keepers of peace.”

“no tea time for august tonight,” obi-wan let out a chuckle. 

“and no tea with your girlfriend, either,” august spat, a whine rising in her throat, “master, can we please have separate punishments? i’m already tired of obi-wan’s droning.”

“pouting will get you nowhere,” qui-gon’s lips curled in a grin, his gaze twinkling with amusement, “i advise the two of you leave the temple at once. night is beginning to fall. when night comes, that is when the scorn of the universe emerges from the shadows.”

“fine,” august huffed, straightening her sleeve, “come on, obi-wan, let’s get this over with.”

“don’t you fret,” obi-wan countered, throwing on an earthy-toned cloak, “i’m counting down the hours until sunrise.”

as the two parted from the temple, the sun dipped below the horizon, casting an orange glow over coruscant. the moon was high in the sky, waxing towards a full moon. soon, the stars would be out, dancing across the night. soon, the shades of lilac, burgundy, cyan, and tangerine would be replaced by a rich navy blue. 

silence fell over the pair of padawans as they descended from the stairs, the only sound the echo of their footsteps. as much as august ached to fly a small shuttle around for the night, qui-gon felt it was best that they remain on foot, where they could not be easily recognized in a crowd. 

which, a night with obi-wan was the last night august wanted. especially on a gorgeous summer night like this. 

stars glittered above, beginning to dot the sky, a sense of bliss rippling through august as she made the trek towards the sprawling array of streets, skyscrapers, and speeders. yet, that bliss was quickly replaced with dread as the lights of the city began to shine, shrouding the skyline. 

“are you all right? you’re still wearing that frown from earlier,” obi-wan inquired, his tone apprehensive. 

august sucked in a breath, her brows furrowing, “why do you care, obi-wan? you want nothing more than to spite me. i don’t ever recall a time where you actually showed me an ounce of respect for me or my emotions.” 

“i am aware,” the padawan exhaled, “although you are one to wear your emotions on your sleeve, i can sense a bit of turmoil within you. are you that upset about spending a few hours with your fellow trainee?”

“i would rather have a cup of tea with a sith than spend the night with you.”

the bustle of life began to fill obi-wan’s ears, the whoosh of ships, the hum of lights, as well as the dialects of a variety of species. he choked back a swift rebuttal, clamping his lips shut. 

yet, it was only moments later when her voice flooded his ears once more, so soft and quiet. 

“i’m sorry.”

“sorry?” obi-wan echoed, “for what?”

“you know exactly what i’m apologizing for,” her voice hardened, “don’t be coy with me, kenobi.”

an amused smirk formed on the padawan’s lips as he glanced at august momentarily. her gaze  was focused on the surrounding scenery, as they were beginning to make their way towards a marketplace. her brow was furrowed, plush lips drawn together, as if she was deep in thought. yet, the warm glow of lights softened her features. 

underneath the hood of her cloak, her brunette hair was woven into an intricate half-down, half-up style, earrings dangling from her ears. free strands of hair swayed along with the breeze, her blue eyes glimmering with the reflection of coruscant. obi-wan swallowed thickly, careful not to stare a second longer. her eyes shifted, falling on the padawan. 

“you’ve been surprisingly quiet tonight. is there something on your mind?”

“no,” obi-wan shook his head quickly, “i’m just taking it all in. this is one of my first solo missions, you know.” 

“first time qui-gon’s letting you off a leash, huh?” august smirked, shooting obi-wan a wink.

obi-wan scoffed, waving a hand to deflect her statement, “i have undergone several successful solo missions, just so you know.”

a chuckle bubbled up in august’s throat, “oh, is that so? are you sure they were successful?”

“yes,” he retaliated, “how many solo missions have you been on, august moor?”

“a few,” she shrugged, “however, i did not need qui-gon’s permission. i was assigned to them by the council.”

“oh,” obi-wan mused, “august followed the councils’ wishes for once in her life.” 

“at least i’m not a pushover like you, always groveling at the council’s feet,” august snorted, rolling her eyes, “do you ever wonder if the jedi are always the divine beings they claim they are?”

“you’re beginning to worry me,” obi-wan retorted, “you’re talking like a sith, august.”

“i am just speaking what’s on my mind,” she exhaled, her hand gravitating towards the hilt of her saber, “you don’t ever think about what would happen if you didn’t seek the route of a jedi? if you were just a normal, ordinary being on your home planet? don’t those thoughts keep you up late at night? do you ever just ponder? do you ever wonder what your life would be like if you were gifted with the force but did not follow any sort of code?”

“it’s not like we were given a choice in the matter, august,” the senior padawan observed, “we were taken to the temple as younglings. however, you must recall that jedi who are one with the force do not chose whether or not we possess these capabilities. we are born with them, as we are chosen by the force to bring balance to the universe.”

august groaned, “spare me the bullshit, obi-wan. you sound more and more like qui-gon every day.”

“is that such a bad thing?” obi-wan arched a brow. 

“i’m just so tired of all of this mumbo-jumbo bullshit about the jedi and all of the regulations we have to follow,” she threw her arms up in the air, “it’s all so pointless and for what? to hold some title because we’re gifted with capabilities that others do not have?”

obi-wan paused, his eyes noticing a cloaked figure slinking through the shadows, “august, wait. do you see that fellow over there?”

august stopped in her tracks, a shudder coursing through her body, “o-obi-wan, it got all cold all of the sudden.”

his jaw clenched, the aura of the air shifting around them. tension crackled, the hairs on his neck prickling his skin, “don’t worry, i feel it too. would you like me to follow him, or would you like to take the lead on this one?”

“you’re the senior padawan here,” august muttered, fingers curling around her saber, “but, i guess i’ll take charge. i’ll comm you in case i run into any trouble.”

“be careful,” obi-wan’s hand grazed her wrist, “please, come back in one piece.”

“i will,” august nodded, “i promise you that, obi-wan.”

it was almost as if her senses blurred the moment she went in pursuit. blood roared in her ears as her heart pounded, the noise swirling in her ears almost static. her sense of smell was flooded with the burning stench of pollution, garbage, and murky water. 

her thoughts were clouded, skull throbbing as she inched closer and closer, her knuckles nearly white as she gripped the hilt, “hey! stop!”

abruptly, the figure turned into an alleyway. he was swathed in darkness, the embodiment of a living shadow. under the veil of his hood, august could feel his gaze piercing through her, picking her apart, tearing her open. 

dangerously intelligent, unforgiving, cold eyes. 

pools of amber, flowing effortlessly into a ring of scarlet irises, luminescent in the night. 

leather gloves wrapped around the hem of the hood, pulling it down to reveal the identity of the strange creature. someone who august felt compelled to follow, drawn in by the pull of the force. 

he was a zabrak, ivory horns protruding from his skull. his skin was a crimson hue, black tattoos interwoven across his features. with sharp cheekbones, along with a strong nose, he was given a menacing aura. the gleam of silver caught august’s eye, instinctively drawing her saber, igniting it. 

in the distance, thunder rolled, the atmosphere thickening. a droplet of rain sizzled as it met with the blade of her saber, the violet hue illuminating her face. clenching her jaw, she gritted her teeth, spitting out the inquiry once more. 

“i thought i told you to stop. why didn’t you?”  

the zabrak’s lips curled into a sinister grin, flashing his incisors as he drew his own saber, the blade an eerie scarlet color, “i cannot believe it. a jedi has fallen directly into my hands. what should i do with you?”

“i am no jedi,” august growled, adrenaline coursing through her veins. 

the sincerity in her statement sparked interest within the zabrak. cocking his head, his eyes narrowed into slits, “you’re not with the jedi, yet you’re here on coruscant? what are you then? are you a rogue? a jedi plaything?”

“i am only training to become one,” the girl averted the zabrak’s gaze, keeping her saber drawn, “who are you? you have ten seconds to tell me your name and business here.” 

“like i would be terrified of you,” the zabrak’s voice was hot with scorn, “i am maul and i have no business here other than a meeting.” 

august inhaled sharply, “where are you from? i want to see your credentials. the senate was not meeting tonight, so there’s no real reason you should be here.”

“who are you?” the zabrak did not move a single muscle, maintaining his demeanor, “i believe it’s only fair you give me your name, little one.”

“my name is august moor,” the girl shifted uneasily, nearly panting. 

maul closed his eyes, reaching out to august. as the wind rolled through the streets, the rain nearly washing away her scent as it fell in heavy sheets. however, he could pick out the faint scent of rose, the sweetness of blossoms. 

his breath hitched in his throat, as her emotions consumed him entirely. he could sense her fear, her anxiety, “you’re anxious. why are you anxious?”

“because i don’t know who you are and you’re picking me apart. you’re a force user, aren’t you?” august retaliated, her tone indignant. 

maul opened his eyes, noticing august’s features for the first time. her skin was pale, with undertones of pink, a blush tinging her cheeks. droplets fell from her jawline, dripping onto her robes.

her eyes were a shade of gray, hints of blue swimming within their depths. they were innocent and naive, eyes that were not quite haunted by the horrors of a lifetime. her brunette hair was down, with a braid woven around her head. strands of hair poked up, more than likely from the summer storm.  

tit was without a doubt that she was beautiful, even if maul didn’t know a single thing about her. through the black cloak, she was donned in a grey tunic, royal blue fabric wrapped around her chest. 

“don’t be scared,” maul murmured, the blades of his saber retracting as he stuck out a hand, “i am not going to kill you, little one. that would be unnecessary. my business here is not to harm you or bring you any harm.” 

august clipped her hilt back to her belt, letting out a shaky breath, “i-i don’t know if i should trust you.”

a shiver ran down the zabrak’s spine as he reached out, “you’re going to catch a cold, little one. i advise you head back to your temple, where it’s warm and dry.”

“who are you to tell what i can and cannot do?” 

maul’s brow furrowed, “you are right, but this storm is not going to end for a while.”

in her cloak, a comm beeped, signaling that obi-wan was attempting to contact her. august flinched, “i-i should go.”

“it would be wise,” the zabrak hummed, throwing his hood up once more. he took a step forward, grasping august’s chin with his glove. drops of water reflected on her lips as the pad of his thumb brushed them away. 

“next time, stay out of the rain, little one.”

within seconds, august was alone in the alleyway, the ghost of his touch consuming her whole. 

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

august shot up, her heart thudding in her chest as she glanced wildly around her quarters, pulling the blanket to her chest, feeling as if the entire incident was just a dream. a wild, vivid, intense dream. rising to her feet, she took a hesitant step towards the viewport, her knees wobbling. the moon was high in the sky, signaling that a few hours had past. the storm broke, white, fluffy clouds sailing through the sky. 

meanwhile, a zabrak rose to his feet, a dull throbbing in his skull. his muscles ached, sore from hours of combat training. he let out a few, ragged breaths, attempting to clear his cloudy mind. the encounter with the padawan must have been a nightmare, or rather, an interesting daydream. whatever it was, his master, darth sidious could never hear about this. he could never find the truth.

yet, when darth maul strolled down the corridor of his ship, a feeling of loneliness unraveled. he couldn’t help but feel an engrained feeling of sadness, laced with regret. 

glancing out the viewport, maul gazed at the horizon stretched before him. an endless array of stars glittered, shining bright. 

huffing, august shivered as a draft entered the space, the chill seeping through her clothing. yet, she couldn’t help but give the sky above her one last look, taking in the way the stars twinkled. 

two lost souls stared at the stars, wondering if the other knew. 

august slipped underneath her sheets, her eyelids heavy. she dozed off, dreaming of her encounter from earlier. the meeting was a pure coincidence. surely there was no driving force behind it. it was all a simple daydream or fever dream. 

darth maul felt exhaustion rack his body, almost collapsing to the floor. he was tired, as he practiced combat technique for hours after arriving back to his ship. yet, this was a new wave of sleep overcoming him. the zabrak crawled to his bed, dreaming about his interaction with the padawan. 

more than anything, he wanted to permanently ingrain the image of her in his memories, her beauty captivating. he wanted to remember the way her eyes glimmered in the rain, how she admired him momentarily. 

a sith and jedi’s paths intertwined, under the same stars.

[theluckoftheclaws]

Lovebug, a @spaceiplier fic

“There’s no use. We’re almost out of fuel, and the only place to land nearby is that tiny, barren rock. You can barely even call it a moon,” Ethan announced dejectedly. The Barrel crew collectively sighed. Maybe they could signal Jack for help, but who knew how long it would take for him to come get them. They had no other choice but to land and wait for aid.

“Okay, the rock it is,” Mark decided.

The Barrel touched down on the barren planet. Mark clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention.

“Okay, guys. We’ve been through way worse than this before. It’s just a empty rock. We’ll be homeward bound by tomorrow morning. Ethan, let’s turn our remaining power off completely and focus on contacting Jack. Tyler and Katherine, you guys can check on our supplies. Amy, you and I can explore the place. Just to make sure it really is empty.”

“That plan sounds good to me,” Tyler replied, “Kat, let's get going.”

“You could be a little less bossy about it,” Ethan complained, but he swiveled around in the pilot’s chair to do as Mark had suggested anyway. Amy smiled at Mark.

“Let’s get the dogs. They’ve been cooped up for a while, they need to run around.”

“Good idea!”

A few minutes later, dogs excitedly dashing ahead to sniff interesting things and then running back, the pair walked down onto the surface of the rocky landscape. The moon was empty and small, but it was rather beautiful this time of night. You could see the larger planet it orbited in the night sky, as well as several of the other moons that orbited the same large planet.

Something Amy and Mark didn't see, however, were three starstruck eyes, watching them from the shadows. The watching figure spread translucent green wings and fluttered into the air to get a better vantage point from which to observe her visitors.

Henry ran behind a rock and then poked his head out from behind it.

“Ship,” he announced monotonically.

“What are you talking about?”

“Ship!” Henry repeated more loudly. Then he ducked back behind the rock. Mark and Amy shared a look. Then they warily followed Henry. A dusty, yet rather intact single-person ship was in a small crater, lying on its side. It was one of the smallest crafts Mark had ever seen.

“What the hell?” Mark demanded, “How did this get here?”

“Do you think it has any fuel left? We could siphon the fuel into the Barrel’s tank!” Amy suggested. Mark approached the shuttle and walked around it in a circle. It looked much like the stereotypical flying saucer. A small panel on the bottom led inside the tiny cabin. Mark tried to force the panel open, only for a little light on the bottom to turn red. It started beeping, slowly at first but speeding up incredibly quickly.

“Uh oh.”

BOOM.

Amy covered her eyes with her arms as the explosion kicked a huge cloud of dust into the air, turning the sky brown. She coughed and opened her eyes.

“Mark?”

Nothing.

She took a hesitant step forward. “Mark?!”

Chica let out a low whine.

“Oh my god…”

Amy covered her mouth with her hands. She felt like she was going to throw up.

“Over here!” came the call from above. An alien with pale skin, three electric green eyes, softly pointed ears, and gossamer insectoid wings slowly flew down from above. She held a stunned Mark in her arms. He struggled a little and blinked dazedly.

“You’re lucky I was here. The Superiors don’t like it when the shuttles are tampered with.”

“Could you...put me down...please?” Mark coughed.

“Who the hell are you? What are you doing here?” Amy demanded.

The woman narrowed her eyes at Amy.

“I just saved his life. And this is MY hive, trespassers! I should ask you what you’re doing here!”

“I would like to be put down,” Mark said nervously.

“Maybe I should have just let you get blown to bits!” she snapped. Razor-sharp pincers slid from the corners of her mouth and snapped together irritably as her wings flapped erratically.

“Let go!”

Mark tried to wriggle away. She noticed him then, retracting her pincers and delicately setting him down. She took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry for losing my cool. I’m Peevils. I live here.”

“All by yourself? Oh, maybe you can come with us once we leave!” Mark suggested.

“No! I can’t leave! Not ever!” Peevils yelped, “I mean-” she took a deep breath again- “No. I’m not allowed. I’m the queen of this place. I can’t leave it leaderless.

“So!” she said triumphantly, wagging a finger at Amy, “what are you doing here, trespasser? Hm??”

“Our ship ran out of fuel, so we landed here because it was the closest,” Amy replied, crossing her arms across her chest. Peevils pondered this.

“Well, that seems reasonable,”

“Quick question: why did that shuttle explode?” Mark ventured.

“I was sent here to start my own hive. I can’t go back until I’ve made a thriving world. The shuttle is designed so I don’t even have the option.”

“I thought you said you were a queen!”

“I am!” she said defensively, “I just…don’t have a kingdom yet…” Peevils seemed to crumple a little. She turned away from them and looked down at her feet.

“Well, that’s okay. You’ll do a great job, I’m sure!”

Mark patted her on the shoulder reassuringly.

Peevils turned up to look at him.

“That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me… Okay, um, this is awkward since we’ve been talking for a while now, but I never did get your names.”

“I’m Mark. This is Amy.”

Amy frowned slightly. Something about the friendly pharax seemed...off. But she couldn’t put her finger on it.

“That’s a nice name. If you need someplace to stay, you’re welcome to come back to my hive.”

“Can I bring the rest of my crew? We don’t have a lot of supplies left, and I’d be a pretty crappy leader if I left them out in the cold.”

Peevils narrowed her eyes a little.

“There are more of you?”

Mark nodded.

“Sorry for not mentioning it until now, but yes, there are more. Three more, to be precise. I don’t want to impose on you, so we can just stay on our ship if—“

“No, no, no, no, no! It’s fine, it's great! People are great! I love people!”

Peevils’ eyes didn't seem to match her sunny tone. They were calculating something, but what, Amy didn't know. Mark smiled brightly.

“Awesome. Let’s go tell the guys what we’ve found!”

***

As Mark explained to Tyler, Ethan, and Kathrine what had taken them so long and who this random lady was, Peevils tried to pet Henry and almost lost a finger in the process. This made Amy trust her even less than before, but she couldn’t exactly bring it up to Mark without sounding paranoid. ‘My dog doesn’t like her and she has shifty eyes! Clearly we shouldn’t accept any of the extremely helpful hospitality she’s offering!’

Well, she was being incredibly hospitable. It had been agreed upon that Ethan was going to stay at the ship, to take care of the dogs and see if anyone picked up their signal, since he didn't need food and their supply of dog food would last weeks; and everyone else was going to stay in Peevils’ work-in-progress hive. The pharax led them through the rocky landscape to a hole in the ground. She shimmied down the gap with ease. Mark was next, then Katherine. Tyler got stuck for a full minute when he tried to get down, but he made it eventually. The dogs followed him, and Amy was last. The tunnel was narrow and dark.

“I’ll give you the grand tour, but it won’t take long. Mind the bottomless pit into the abyss,” Peevils announced, walking further down the tunnel. After a while it opened up into a larger open area with offshooting areas. One cavern contained sleeping pods, another was lined wall-to-wall with little hexagon shaped shelves containing food frozen in some kind of jelly. The rest of the cavern was empty rock. Everything seemed to be vertically oriented, climbing the walls of the hive. The hive was built using some kind of green resinlike substance that glowed from within.

Everyone settled in different pods for the night. It was cramped, but they were warm and dry and soon they were fast asleep.

***

Mark awoke to see someone with glowing eyes standing over him. He opened his mouth to scream when he realized it was just Peevils, holding a piece of cyan fruit with a little bit of some kind of jellylike substance clinging to it.

“What are you doing in here? You scared the living daylights out of me!” he whispered urgently. Peevils smiled.

“I got you some chilled fruit. Sorry if I woke you up.”

She offered him the fruit. It was fuzzy and cool to the touch. Mark sat up and tried a bite. It tasted sweet, but slightly sour. Mark ate the rest of it.

“Thanks, Peevs.”

There were a few seconds of awkward silence where they both stared at each other. Mark raised a eyebrow.

“Peevils, you’ve been living on an empty rock for who knows how long, so I understand that you may not have the best social skills, but here’s a tip; this is the part of the conversation where you leave the room and continue with your day.”

Peevils’ face flushed dark green.

“Oh, sorry!”

She backed out of the pod and shut the door. Peevils smiled wistfully. Then her eyes narrowed with newfound determination. She headed to the main chamber of the hive and darted down one of the unfinished tunnels. Everything was finally falling into place.

***

A little while later, Mark went to the main hub of the hive, where everyone else was sitting around.

“Ethan called,” Kathrine mentioned, “He said that Jack’s on his way, and he’s bringing some fuel so we can get back in the sk-“

“What’s up, guys? Trick question, it's me!”

Peevils was sitting on a ledge high above them, her wings outstretched. She dropped from the ledge and crossed her legs as she touched down.

“What’re you all talking about?”

“Our friend Jack is coming to give us fuel so we can leave!” Mark replied with a grin. Peevils’ smile looked more forced than ever.

“I thought you’d be staying here for longer?”

“Well, places to go, people to see. It’s been cool knowing you. Thanks for the food!”

“Yes, it has been...nice. I guess you had to leave eventually…”

Her wings drooped slightly. Then she stood up.

“Well, I’ll see you off. Best go back to your ship before your friend comes!”

The group walked down the tunnel they had come in from, Peevils and Mark bringing up the rear. As they passed by the area that opened out into the planet’s surface and the deep pit next to it, Amy noticed that some of the roof seemed unstable. It was being held up by a single support beam. A beam Peevils was about to snip through with her pincers just as Amy walked underneath it.

“Look out!” she shouted as the arch collapsed around her. It all happened so fast. Tyler and Katherine stumbled back into the tunnel that lead outside. Amy tried to dodge the falling rocks, but she tripped over something and stumbled off the ledge into the abyss. Peevils grabbed a dazed Mark by the shirt collar and pulled him towards her.

The dust slowly settled. Mark looked around, then back to the pharax hovering over him.

“Y-you…Amy…”

“Shh, don’t worry about her anymore,” Peevils cooed, “She won’t bother you again.”

Panic gripped him and he shoved her away.

“Get away from me! Amy! Amy!!”

Mark tried to back away, but there was nowhere to go. He was cornered against a wall.

“Stop calling her name!” Peevils snapped, “She’s gone!”

Gone.

“No, n-no, no, she’s not—she can’t be-“

“Shhhhhhhh…I’m here now…”

Peevils retracted her pincers, pulling him into her arms. Mark shuddered, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. He looked over her shoulder at the room, and through his tears he noticed something.

A hand holding onto the edge of the cliff.

A robotic hand.

Another hand reached up to grab the edge, and Amy struggled to pull herself up. Their eyes met and she mouthed ‘stall’.

Mark did his best crocodile tears. He made the most innocent tearful expression he could think of.

“I’ll always be here for you,” Peevils cooed, rocking him back and forth in her arms, “We’re going to be together forever, my prince.”

Mark sniffled in a way he hoped sounded authentic.

“F-forever?”

Peevils’ pincers suddenly slid out and bit into the sides of his neck, injecting him with something that made his knees feel weak. He was so…tired…

Mark slumped to the ground.

Peevils stood up slowly, turning around to glare at Amy.

“You can’t take him from me now!” Peevils snarled venomously before lunging for Amy with an insectoid shriek

***

Tyler and Katherine burst into the clearing where the two ships were, gasping for breath. They had run the whole way.

“Woah, what’s the rush? And where are Mark and Amy?” Ethan wondered.

“Peevils attacked us! She’s barricaded them in her hive!” Tyler stuttered out.

“Who the hell is Peevils?” Jack demanded.

“She’s the ruler of the chunk of space rock we’re floating on, mostly because she’s the only person who lives on it. We thought she was super nice because she let us stay in her home. But now she’s trying to stop Mark from leaving!” Kathrine explained. Jack thought for a moment, glancing at the planet the moon they were on orbited.

“What species is this Peevils lady?”

“Why does it matter? Uh, she said she was a ‘pharax’ or something. It’s not important!”

Jack facepalmed.

“Ya idiots! Have ye never heard of what the pharax do?”

“Until yesterday, I’d never even heard of a pharax!” Ethan complained, “So you don’t have to be all ‘ooh, here’s this info about them that everyone knows’ because everyone doesn’t know!”

“There’s billions of species out there, we aren’t gonna be able to know everything about every single one of them,” Kathrine added. Jack shook his head and took a deep breath.

“That’s not the fuckin’ point! We’ve gotta get over there, now!”

***

Meanwhile, Amy fought for her life against the alien queen. Peevils’ mandibles closed harmlessly around Amy’s metal arm with a metallic ting. Amy punched her in the face with the other hand. Peevils hovered up into the air for a moment before diving back down, grabbing Amy and throwing her into a wall with all of her strength. The green resin of the hive wall fractured with the force of the blow. Amy looked up at Peevils and smirked.

“Too strong for your own good…”

Peevils looked up just as the ceiling collapsed on her. Amy found the strength to stagger to her feet, and she picked up the limp Mark. Heart in her ears, she checked his pulse, and breathed a sigh of relief. He was just asleep. Just then, the others managed to tunnel through the rubble in the entrance.

“You’re okay!” Katherine exclaimed. Tyler looked worriedly down at Mark.

“She bit him, but I think he’s just asleep,” Amy told him as Tyler took Mark and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Jack spoke up.

“He’ll be extremely susceptible to suggestion when he wakes up. That’s a side effect of their venom.”

Amy nodded.

“Good to know. Thanks for coming back for us, I don’t know how much longer I’d have been able to hold her off. Let’s get out of here!”

They quickly made their way back to their ships and took off, heading far away in the opposite direction.

Mark woke up, a few hours later. Amy watched his eyes flutter open in a haze.

“Are you feeling okay?” she asked. Mark looked at her with a dopey smile.

“Huhhhhh…? I dunno…how’re you?”

Amy let out a long, beleaguered sigh.

@spaceiplier

[thevldimagines-blog]

Hello! May I request a scenario with Keith and his alien male (Unless you prefer to keep it gender neutral!) s/o are hanging out on the command deck watching the stars pass by, when Keith just grins and laughs at some silly joke s/o made and s/o just stops and stares because "holy shit he's adorable"? It's alright if you don't want to do this one tho and thank you either way! Really love your blog!

;;how cute !! i’ll just keep the s/o male w/ he/him prns for this one :^) thanks for sending ! (im so sorry u said s/o but i totally just wrote like a crushing y/n forgive me)

–

The galaxies look so endless from where he sat, [Y/n] couldn’t help but feel small amongst the display of stars. He’d be out there for hours, counting the stars until his eyes would grow heavy. The command deck is the perfect place to sightsee, and he’d spot foreign galaxies that he’d never be able to see from his home planet. It’s relaxing.“You come in here every night, don’t you?”[Y/n] jumped, head turning to meet eyes with deep, blue eyes that he’s grown so accustomed to ever since he started this shitshow of a mission to save the universe. They seemed lifeless most of the time, but now they glowed with something that made [Y/n]’s skin crawl. How could Earthlings be so ominous yet fascinating at the same time? He sighed out, slowly facing away again to look out at the array of stars once more, “Yeah, pretty much.” Feeling a little embarrassed, he props his elbow atop his knee, “ I thought you’d be sleep by now.”Keith’s footsteps drew nearer, until they ceased beside him and he watches Keith plop down next to him from the corner of his eye. He’s still wearing his stupid black shirt that would usually be topped off with an equally as stupid red jacket, and his hair is tied up into a clean ponytail in the back. He had begun wearing it like that after the air conditioning in the castle had malfunctioned that one time, assuming that tying it up would keep his thick sheath of hair from warming up his nape, which it did. [Y/n] had complimented his temporary hairdo to which he received a roll of his dark cyan eyes - but after the air conditioning had been fixed, he still wore it up sometimes. It’s amusing and it brings a smile to [Y/n]’s lips.Now sitting beside him, Keith rubbed at the back of his neck, “I couldn’t sleep. There’s a lot of things on my mind tonight for some reason.”[Y/n] glanced towards him, resting his chin against the heel of his palm, “Shocker. Usually you don’t have anything going on in that weird human noggin of yours.”Keith grimaced, “Shut up.”[Y/n] grinned, shifting a little so that he could face the other. He had been joking of course, just a little, “No, but really - do you want to talk about it? I’m all ears.”Keith didn’t meet his gaze, lips pursing into a tight line as he seemed to contemplate whether or not he indeed felt like talking. [Y/n] actually expected him to say no off the bat - with him being the kind of guy he is. Stubborn and closed-off, yet calm and a tad funny if he got comfortable enough. Hunk seemed to be the only one able to pull that side of Keith out of its shell, and [Y/n] felt a little jealous.Keith blinked, eyelashes casting shadows over his cheeks as he averted his gaze to the stars, “No, I’d rather not.”Of course. [Y/n] thought bitterly.“…It’s just a feeling, really.” Keith added, exasperating tone sounding more and more riddled with fatigue as he went on, “But like, you know…Some nights I just get upset about stupid things…like what happened back at the Garrison - getting booted happened because I was being a dumbass. And I know Iverson’s disappointed in me because of it.”[Y/n] stared at him. Only Keith would refuse to talk about his feelings seconds before doing just that, and he didn’t mind. Being from a different planet put a small boundary between them of course, there were things that [Y/n] couldn’t understand about humans and there were things that Keith would never understand about his own species. This ‘Garrison’ place seemed to come up a lot between all of the paladins, and he just couldn’t see why there would be a place on earth solely for space exploration. Back at his own planet, going out to explore the galaxy is like a casual thing. But perhaps the Earthlings just weren’t that advanced yet.“Don’t let it get you down.” [Y/n] muttered, feeling a little hot since he has nothing else to really say. He wanted to put his hand on his shoulder or something just to seem a little more comforting, but he couldn’t, “You know what helps me feel better? Jokes-”“Please don’t.” Keith cut in, but [Y/n] is already leaning back on his arms, looking up in thought.“Let’s see…” [Y/n] smiled, racking through his thoughts for a few moments, “I have one exclusively for Earthlings that’s guaranteed to make you laugh.” He looked back to see Keith glaring at him, deadpanned and stoic, “Don’t look at me like that, I’m trying to make you feel better.”Keith narrowed his eyes, yet [Y/n] could see his lips barely rise, as if suggesting a small smile, “I’m good, really -”“Okay, here it goes.” [Y/n] rolls his shoulders, fixing the other with a giddy look, “Taking things literally can lead to confusion, but at the end of the day, 11:59.”Keith blinked. [Y/n] could spot every ounce of confusion in his gaze and his ears redden, turning his face with a sheepish laugh.“It’s stupid, I know-”Then, Keith’s laughing. It’s not forced or out of pity, it’s sincere and light and absolutely endearing. [Y/n] stiffened at this, turning to look at a display that may as well be the most rarest thing he’ll ever lay eyes on. Keith is laughing into his gloved hand, cheeks turning pink as he curls up in his laughter. [Y/n] just stares, his own crimson hue spreading across his nose as he eyes the painfully genuine grin decorating the other’s jaw. He’s adorable. Fuck, he’s adorable.Keith is catching his breath again, chest rising as he wipes a seemingly invisible tear from his eye. [Y/n]’s gaze jumps away, definitely not wanting the male to know that he had been staring. But the darkest of lighting couldn’t hide the blush adorning his cheeks at this point.“Okay, I admit…” Keith breathed, brushing a few stray bangs out of his eyes, “that was pretty damn funny.”[Y/n]’s multiple hearts are fluttering in his chest now as he huffs, gazing back up towards the stars, “I told you it’d make you feel better, didn’t I?”Relatively composed now, Keith glances towards him again. [Y/n], fearing he may melt under his gaze, turns to look back at him with a knowing smile. Maybe Hunk really isn’t the only one that’s able to bring out the softer side of this red paladin. “Thanks, [Y/n].” Keith says, tone gentle and clear above the normal whirring of the castleship, and frankly over the painful beating of [Y/n]’s hearts that he’s certain the other could hear.And as they look out at the stars once more, [Y/n] doesn’t feel so small amongst them anymore.