#vamp machina au

[waltwhitmansbeard]

Sitting in the other one’s lap when they have no where else to sit(during appropriate times 👀) with Vaxleth, please?

Sitting in the other one’s lap when they have no where else to sit(during appropriate times 👀) going a lil off-script with this one and setting it in vamp machina, pre-kidnapping

Keyleth asks every night for three weeks straight until Vax finally relents. He doesn't know why she's so set on this, easily the dumbest idea she's ever had, but when she makes her eyes all big and shiny like that, what's he supposed to do, let her down?

So he takes her to a vampire bar.

It's the sleazy dive near the docks, the kind of place that the kind of girl like Keyleth would never accidentally stumble into. When he picks her up from her apartment, she's dressed in what he's sure she thinks is something incognito—skinny black jeans, one of his t-shirts, a baggy gray flannel, boots that have seen better days. And it's true, she looks the part—she looks fucking incredible, if he's being honest—but it's not going to change the fact that she smells undeniably human.

They take a taxi, and on the entire drive, Vax goes over the rules three more times, low so the cabbie doesn't hear. "Never more than two feet away from me, don't take any drink offered to you, keep Pike's holy symbol around your neck at all times—"

"—conjure sunlight if things get hairy, yes, I know." She rolls her eyes at him, but Vax can tell she's excited. "I promise, I'll be on my best behavior."

"Yeah, well, it's not you I'm worried about."

The cab pulls up outside the bar, which looks identical to every other brick-faced building around it, cracked sidewalks and all, and Vax gets out first, putting himself between her and the door. As he helps her out, he murmurs, "We can leave now. The night's still young, we can probably catch that movie you were telling me about."

She ignores him, brushing past him to head for the door. He scrambles to catch up to her. When they enter, it's exactly as he remembers: low lights, throbbing music, vampires and their rented donors lounging on all configurations of couches and tables. The whole place smells of copper and cigarette smoke, and instantly Vax is starving.

He keeps a hand firm around Keyleth's waist. Her presence does not go unnoticed; at least half a dozen of the closest vampires swing their eyes up and down her body, one obviously comparing her to the scantily-dressed woman his teeth in whose neck his teeth are currently buried.

Vax hates this place.

"C'mon." He starts to urge her toward a table farther away from the main bar area, but Keyleth resists. "What about a drink?" she asks, gesturing toward the bartender.

"You offering?"

Vax yanks Keyleth away from the burly, seedy vamp suddenly leering over her. "Fuck off," he hisses, letting his fangs finish the rest of the threat. He's not surprised when the other vamp slinks off; this place sucks, but at least it's generally understood that you don't eat off of anyone else's plate without permission.

There's a table free in the corner, which makes Vax antsy, but at least it's empty. As he shepherds a too-curious Keyleth towards it, he's stopped by an annoyingly familiar drawl. "Never thought I'd catch you here, brother."

Vax freezes. Keyleth stumbles, then turns to see what made him stop. "Are you...oh, wow." Her head swivels between Vax and his sister, who is seated at a booth along the wall across from two other vamps whose names Vax can't remember but whose faces he recognizes from the many, many nights he spent bouncing between haunts like this one. "You two look...I mean, you must be Vex!"

Keyleth is beaming, like this is always how she imagined meeting her boyfriend's twin sister. Vex is draped along the back edge of the booth, looking as casually sinister as ever, her eyes surveying Keyleth in a way that Vax knows means scrutiny, not hunger. "And you must be the witch." Her eyes swivel over to Vax. "You brought her here? And here I was thinking you stopped being fun when you started eating at home all the time."

Keyleth's cheeks tinge pink, and the other vamps—Vax is going to remember their names any second, he's sure of it—start to salivate at the smell of her blood pooling so close to the surface. Keeping his voice low, Vax murmurs, "Play nice, Vex'ahlia."

Vex throws her hands up in surrender. "I'm always nice, brother." She smiles sweetly at Keyleth. "Would you care to join us, darling?"

Before Vax can protest, Keyleth chirps, "Of course!" She eyes the seats beside Vex, which will definitely not fit the both of them. Undeterred, Keyleth grabs Vax by the arm and shoves him unceremoniously beside his sister. He's just managed to right himself when she perches on his lap, swinging her legs beneath the table. "There!"

Everyone stares at her, Vax easily the most dumbfounded. She's never been like this. Keyleth tends to be shyer than most, preferring to keep her affections behind closed doors, which is more than fine with Vax—so sitting on his lap and playing with the fine hairs at the nape of his neck in a den of vampires and iniquity is about as far from the Keyleth he knows as she can get.

Vex, on the other hand, seems bemused. "You are a wild thing, aren't you?" She leans in, teeth glittering in the light of the candle in the middle of the table. "I can see why my brother likes you."

"And I can see why he speaks so highly of you. You're so confident. I admire that."

"Aren't you sweet?" Vex whacks Vax's shoulder. "You should be sweet like her."

"Oh, he's plenty sweet." Her fingers have abandoned his hair and are now playing with the sensitive tip of his ear, and even in the tense atmosphere of this bar, it is...doing something to him. "He's a real gentleman, walks me home from work, brushes my hair out before bed, always stops drinking before I get dizzy—"

Vax chokes. "Keyleth—"

The woman across from Vex—Jenna? Jemma? It's driving him crazy—smirks. "Quite the pair you two make. I don't suppose you ever share..."

"Oh, I don't share." Keyleth lifts the hand that isn't torturously teasing his ear, and Vax's eyes blown wide when small sparks of sunlight dance between her fingers.

The vampire couple shies away with a hiss, and then the man grumbles, "We should go." The two slip easily out of the booth and disappear among the crowd.

Just like that, Keyleth slumps against Vax's chest, barely giving him enough time to catch her before she slides off his lap. "That was a lot."

"I'll fucking say. I've never seen you act like that before."

She smiles sheepishly. "Did you see her face when you walked up? She wanted to eat you up." She shrugs. "I had to...educate her."

Oh, if they weren't in the most dangerous place in the city right now. Vax's jaw hangs low, but Vex's head tips back as she cackles. "Oh...oh I like you. Feisty little witch you've found yourself, Vax. I rather think this vine's got thorns."

Keyleth preens. Vax presses his lips to the crook of her neck. "And what lovely thorns they are."

[demigoddessqueens]

Main masterlist 8

Staring at them in admiration

Critical Role 🎲

Vox machina - dancing with Percy / truth or dare? // the party with vampire!reader // but why me? // Vax and his fighting “buddy” // hand kisses // feeling “flirtatious” // love you?? // love me as a wyrm // Bloodborne!reader // the boys + dentist appointment // I love you 🥺 & I love you too 😄💕 // the love letter 💌 // Vax + writing prompt //

PercyxVex week 🩵🤍💙 - ao3 series

modern s/o series, canon/AU - Percy 💙 + others //

Mighty nein - modern AU //

Mollymauk Week - ao3 series

Bells 🔔 hells/Crown 👑 keepers - orym and his crush // Ashton x reader who likes pink things // spin the bottle //

Song fics (all fandoms) - keyleth song fic // BR batch 3 // songs for boys 1 // grog song fic //

Castlevania 🦇- Dracula with a colomba!reader // but why me? // hand kisses // facing BBG + CR // Dracula drabbles // Castlevania “I love you” prompt // Trevor + jealousy // Dracula and his love //

Marvel - boxer!Miguel // ares x Aphrodite // incorrect quotes // magician ✨friend // single dad!Miguel // incorrect quotes: swoon // incorrect quotes 3 //

Monster lover(s) 💕😈🥺 - hand holding prompt //

The dragon prince - aaravos x monarch!reader // aaravos + reincarnation //

Baldur’s Gate 3 - I really like the vamp // be nice to him ☹️ // I like Gale and 🦇 a lot // Astarion angst // incorrect quotes // astarion fluff // Gale + Wyll + Halsin fluff // Shadowheart and Karlach fluff // poly headcanons // romance novel // incorrect quotes // Gale + prompt // Astarion + prompt // Blood Lycan Tav // sun and moon + Astarion //

Blood of Zeus ⚡️- Hermes with grumpy!reader // Apollo x god!spouse of different pantheon //

Assassin’s Creed - July codexmonthly “Eden” // arno birthday headcanons // August codexmonthly // shay birthday headcanons // belated birthday headcanons // Haytham + angst headcanons // he needs a good cry // but why me? // smutty 🔥 Haytham // pregnant headcanons // snowed ❄️ in // sleep seggs // oc daughter // at the ball // learning languages // drunk Haytham // sleep seggs part 2 // hand kisses // Ezio drunk 🫠🥴 // September codexmonthly // Haytham proposal 💍 + wedding night // haytham sloppy toppy // assassins and “I love you” prompt // soft Haytham // more assassins fluff // Haytham + Ziio & reader // Frye birthday 🎉 headcanons // dullahan shay and vampire Haytham // boyfriend headcanons // November codexmonthly // Haytham smut

Codextober 2023 // ao3

Dragon 🐉 Age - why I like mages // Cullen + writing prompts //

Genshin Impact - I like the new guy 🩵🤍💙 // hand kisses + Miguel //

Star 🌟 Wars - touch starved + others // Ezra bridger //

The Last of Us - Joel + kisses //

[rosebudbl00d]

✧NICE TO MEET YOU!!!!!!✧

Hi howdy!! I'm Sylas! I'm 18, trans-masc, aroace-spec and use pup/he/vamp/rot pronouns, but you can just use he if you'd like!!

I'm autistic and have ADHD, and prefer if you use tone indicators when talking to me!

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

MY SPECIAL INTERESTS ARE MINECRAFT/MCSM AND VOX MACHINA!!!!

Some other stuff I like is:

-Hermitcraft/Life Series

-Horror Media (such as Saw, Dredge, Inscryption, and others)

-Warrior Cats

-Birds

-Alternative Culture/Styles (namely goth, metal, and scene)

-D&D and Tabletops

-Analysis, Writing, and use of art to convey storytelling (music, costumes, etc)

-Furries and Fursonas

-Vague and weird shit

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱••••✩••••̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

MY TAGS!!

#wrathstarau or #wrathstar - my vox machina au!

#archfic - my minecraft/mcsm story!

#sylas.txt tm - general ramblings/me blabbering

BYI / DNI / BOUNDARIES

I am an adult!! I might reblog things that may not be suitable for minors (that being said, I do not reblog or post NSFW and most nudity), including gore and horror elements. I enjoy adult media that may not be suitable for all audiences and I am a trash mouth n swear a LOT! Sometimes I make jokes that may be uncomfortable to you! If that is not your thing then steer clear!

THIS IS NOT A SAFE SPACE FOR P3D0S, Z00S, L0LIS, FUJOS, PR0SHIPPERS, HOMOPHOBES, TRANSPHOBES, RACISTS, ZIONISTS, ABLEIST PEOPLE, AND ANY OF THAT SORT. IF YOU SUPPORT OR ENGAGE IN ANY OF THE ABOVE YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE, AND IF YOU TRY TO ENGAGE WITH ME YOU WILL BE BLOCKED OR OTHER ACTIONS MAY BE TAKEN!!

Please refrain from asking to be my mutual- or just dm-ing me out of the blue without asking. Please don't message me about nsfw content or flirt with me (platonically or romantically. I have a qp-partner and am not comfortable with flirting in general!)

Please try to keep your personal drama outside of my blog unless it is EXTREMELY serious or it directly affects me (if that is the case please just dm me or shoot me an ask).

I'm not comfortable with nsfw works of my characters, aus, etc. You're free to make sfw arts and works as much as you want (@ ME!!! USE THE TAGS!!! I WANNA SEE!!), though please be respectful!

Please don't repost/steal my artwork or posts. PFPs are fine as long as you give proper credit.

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱••••✩••••̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

(Commission info will be added later.)

I hope you have a great time on my page, maybe you'll learn something or discover a new thing you like while your here, or maybe not, who knows! Have a wonderful day!!! <3

[malaismere]

was daydreaming and am now obsessed with the au idea where percy got turned into a vampire during the briarwoods invasion, and nothing else has changed because vox machina just think he's some stuck up noble

like,extensive skincare routine, always tries to be in shadows, hates light? he's pale as fuck, clearly he just gets sunburns.

never eats or drinks around them? clearly doesn't care for shitty tavern food, but as long as he's not dragging them and complaining while they're on missions, he can spend his money how he likes

oh, and he's so polite, annoyingly so, but at least all it takes is a 'get in here' for him to decide to enter places, everyone has they're weird quirks

i'm torn between the best dramatic reveal being him, like, biting someone mid fight after being cornered in melee and them going: what the fuck, or it just coming up casually that he knows silas is a vampire cause that's who turned him, not realizing they hadn't figured it out, and, really, he should have guessed that, no one ever accused vox machina of being subtle about anything else before

[vaxxy-the-raven]

Okay, but, diving back into my newest AU with resurrected Vax joining the Mighty Nein:

Vax becoming a Wizard Cleric, training under Caduceus and Caleb - though Vax wouldn't mind being under Caleb in a very different way ;) ;) ;)(#vaxilgast 💙)

Vax learns Polymorph and likes to become a giant raven when they need to travel and someone needs a lift or into just a regular little raven whenever he feels anxious or homesick

Vax loves watching Veth work her magic, missing how fun it can be to stealth around and do cool rogue shit, but he's not ready to relearn that stuff yet

He is very cuddly, especially towards Caduceus, after realising that he feels he wasn't openly affectionate enough with Vox Machina

Vax loves petting Frumpkin

Vax has nicknames for everyone;

Caduceus: Petal

Caleb: Spark

Molly: Peacock

Jester: Cupcake

Veth: Buttons

Beau: Boss

Fjord: Captain

Yasha: Wingling (a mash up of wing & sibling)

The other 8 members all have nicknames for him;

Caduceus: Little Raven

Caleb: Hübscher Rabe

Molly: Mr Birdie

Jester: Gumdrop

Veth: Mr Raven Queen

Beau: Vamps

Fjord: Vaxster

Yasha: Wingling

Vax still has his wings, but his new body is missing his tattoos and any scars that he had from the shoulders down as Delilah had never seen those before

Delilah also gave his new body slight fangs, hence Beau's nickname for him, but Vax isn't a Vampire

Vax still has a massive sweet tooth that occasionally gets him into trouble

Vax is terrified of running into Vox Machina or Shaun in the wild, not ready to face them yet

Vax gets new tattoos;

A small, black silhouette of a flying raven surrounded by a crown on his inner left wrist for The Raven Queen

The Elven script for "V" & "M" in black, bold letters on his inner right wrist for Vox Machina again

Two coloured snowdrops that cross over each other with a third standing tall behind the first 2 on his outer left shoulder for his mother and sisters

A small, black silhouette of a Unicorn standing up on its hind legs behind a pair of coloured antlers wrapped in ivory on his outer right shoulder for Keyleth and Shaun

Three small, black silhouettes of identical, horizontal daggers on his lower right calf

A small, black silhouette of a snake wrapped around his left ankle for Simon

Vax still wears mostly blacks & greys and continues to braid his hair with pretty beads, but now he also tends to tuck a small daffodil in behind his right ear & two large blue and brown spotted feathers that are tucked in behind his left ear

Vax eventually gets his own Fey Animal Companion who usually takes the form of a small brown bear cub that is called Vexora

Vax remains a loyal follower of Sarenrae and The Raven Queen, but worries that The Raven Queen is upset with him since he was resurrected despite that having happened against his will

Vax has a stupid big crush on Caleb, like, a really big ass crush that keeps him up some nights

Also! Adding Vax to the Mighty Nein while Cad & Molly are both in it brings the member number up to 9. (:

[psychodelic-insomnomaniac]

We have the child Giorno joins Passione after he runs away and Polpo gives him to Bucciarati au which hasn't been named, the child vampire Giorno runs away and is found and raised by Jotaro and the SWF au and hasn't been named, the Tarnished Gold au, the Deus Machina au, unnamed not torture mermaid au, the unnamed Pokemon au, the not really Animal Crossing/Beastars au that I think people just canceled because of the spiral that happened au, and the Lifeline Abba Dad au. That should be all?

Actual baby vamp SPW Giorno does have a name. That’s Haematophagia. The Pokemon AU is GioGio’s Budew Adventure. 

[yourhuge]

sac à dos de tennis En Remise

Is la asics gel grise votre choix sur toute la Pâques libère.Sarah Jessica Parker's SJP Collection embrasse talons bas pour l'automne '16Sarah Jessica Parker scintille dans ‘Katrina' pompe de concepteurs CollectionTop automne croquis SJP leur chaussure idéale pour les couples de Gala GalaMet 2016 rencontré à travers les années numéro 23 est de retour au grand écran, mais cette fois, c'est James qui est réglé pour star dans cette suite ‘Space Jam.La collaboration avec fabricant australien Globe a été lancé jeudi à Brooklyn, New York, - le basket-ball le lieu de naissance de beaucoup - de la Brooklyn, un hôtel. Taylor Swift's peut couverture Vogue lui-même n'a pas Bandeaux & Poignets Tennis été une surprise. Le dimanche, Vogue Rédacteur en chef Anna Mme WINTOUR a organisé un pré-remplies Gala partie à sa maison de ville de New York.Alors que de nombreux participants s'enorgueillissent d'adhérer à ce thème - cette année, c'est ‘Manus x Machina: Fashion dans une ère de technologie - qui a ouvert la porte à une foule de questions et de spéculation sur ce que nous allons voir drapée sur les organes de l'un des stars comme ils arrivent. Alors qu'ils envisagent de conserver leur élan tout au long de l'année, un autre regard sur la prochaine. Se reposer au sommet d'une pleine longueur unité asics trabucco translucide qui peut être perçu comme presque marcher sur l'air, le composant offre la résilience Chaussures De Tennis Hommes élastique et protection contre les chocs ainsi, tandis que des rainures de flexion intégrées permettent une plus aire naturelle de motion. il y aura une nouvelle libérer demain frais, Avril. Les sourires sur leur visage encore fait fondre mon coeur même des semaines après le voyage.s'est réuni grâce à l'YearsTaylor Gala Couples Swift a rencontré YearsOver Gala de style à travers le les années: le plus fou des chaussures de sport asics homme de la rencontré Gala CarpetWill rouge Beyoncé usure au Givenchy. Obviously je dois balancer quelque chose de lumineux et de préférence dans la catégorie de couleur pastel. We've des Spurs vu quelques regards viennent de la saison de la A, ne pas Tellin à ce que le reste sera sautaient.Le samedi soir, Vogue a également accueilli une partie à New York store Search & Destroy. asics chaussure de ville pour libérer ‘élite’, James SneakerJimmy Jazz à repeupler le asics destockage au cours MatchupKanye Final Ouest dit qu'il pense que le LuxBron.’notre exercice 2016 est un départ fulgurant, entraînée par une combinaison des cotisations des marques acquises en 2015 et l'augmentation des revenus découlant de l'équilibre de notre portefeuille ‘, a déclaré le PDG Yehuda Shmidman séquentiel dans un communiqué. Vêtu d'une toile tissée Tan de couleur supérieure, le simpliste bas-top sneaker est détaillée par le contraste des accents de cuir Teal sur l'onglet languette, le talon contre et trois bandes image Balles De Padel Pas Cher de marque à travers le vamp. Nous sommes allés à un fabricant de vêtements que spécialisé dans bras, examiné comment ils ont utilisé les tissus et dit, ‘c'est possible de faire dans le domaine des asics gel lyte v pas cher. www.sportsoldes.com/tennis-de-table

[seeyuwriting]

Unheimliche Täler und phallogozentrische Mythen

— Über Weibliche Künstliche Intelligenz in Alex Garlands Ex Machina

The Uncanny Valley, auch bekannt als „Akzeptanzlücke“ und erstmals vom japanischen Robotiker Masahiro Mori im Jahr 1970 hypothetisiert, bezeichnet jenen faszinierenden Tauchgang, den menschliche Emotionen im Angesicht von leblosen Spielzeugpuppen bis hin zu körperlosen AI vollbringen: Sobald künstliche Einheiten einen gewissen Grad an Menschenähnlichkeit überschreiten, wächst unsere Empathie nicht mehr linear mit, sondern fällt schlagartig ab und verwandelt sich in Abstoßung.

Bereits in den ersten Minuten von Alex Garlands Oscar-gekrönten Science-Fiction-Thriller Ex Machina (2015) stellt sich das Motiv des uncanny valley als effektive Metapher vor, um schließlich in ein populäres Narrativ rund um weibliche Künstliche Intelligenz überzuleiten. Garlands Spielfilmdebüt reiht sich somit in jene Tradition ein, welche von Fritz Langs Metropolis (1927), über Spike Jonzes Her (2013), bis hin zu jüngst Denis Villeneuves Blade Runner 2049 (2017) reicht, und nicht zuletzt in Mythen wie Hesiods Pandora wurzelt.

Als Caleb den Piloten fragt, wie weit es noch bis zu Nathans Anwesen sei und dieser ihm antwortet, dass sie bereits seit über zwei Stunden dessen Grundstück betreten hatten, erscheint dem Protagonisten die weite, von Bergen und Fjorden durchsetzte Landschaft noch fabelhaft. Auch auf das Publikum wirkt sie mächtig und gleichzeitig beruhigend in ihrer Reinheit, begünstigt durch Rob Hardys minimalistische Kinematografie und nicht zuletzt eine unwissende Erwartungshaltung. Sobald jedoch Ava das Spielfeld betritt und die Gefahr, die sie ausstrahlt, greifbarer wird, erhalten jegliche, darauffolgende Naturszenerien eine bedrohliche Konnotation. Die darin enthaltende Implikation der Dichotomie von Natur und Kultur, sowie parallel dazu die von Frau und Mann, liefert der Untersuchung jener Trope einen Schlüsselmoment, welche die weibliche AI in einem Charakterspektrum zwischen untergeordnet und unterwürfig bis unheilschwanger und tödlich oszillieren lässt.

Warum ist Ava – eine mit „Selbstbewusstsein, Imagination, Manipulation, Sexualität [und] Empathie“ erobernde, intellektuell wie optisch verführerische Künstliche Intelligenz – weiblich? Warum ist es voraussehbar, dass keinem männlichem Pendant ihre Rolle zugeschrieben wurde? Woher stemmen unsere extrem gemischten Gefühle für sie?

Ex Machina (2015) ist eines von zahlreichen Beispielen, die sich der vorherrschenden Massenimagination fügen und eine von Autoritäten wie Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates und Elon Musk ausgesprochene Angst gegenüber AI auf eine Figur projizieren, welche u.a. als femme castratrice und the machine vamp betitelt wurde.

Bereits seit Homer stellt Künstliche Intelligenz – „the science of making machines do things that would require intelligence if done by men“ – buchstäblich glänzendes Traummaterial für Mythen generierenden Medien dar. Im Zentrum stehen meist die ambivalenten Beziehungen zwischen Schöpfenden und Kreationen, wobei Faszination, Angst und Machtkampf gleichsam Trennlinien zwischen beiden Parteien ziehen. Im jahrtausendalten Epos als auch im zeitgenössischen Film nach der industriellen Revolution scheint jedoch vor allem die Liebe immer wieder das unheimliche Tal überbrücken zu wollen – in diversen Formen, aus verschiedenen Richtungen, aber mit scheinbar unzerrüttbaren Rollenverteilungen, die eine Reihe an geschlechterideologischen Implikationen mit sich ziehen.

Vollständiger Text auf Anfrage. – Dieu Linh Nguyen Xuan. Veröffentlicht 2017.

[waltwhitmansbeard]

45. Realization of feelings at the Worst Possible Moment

Ooh boy, that could apply to practically all the CR ships.

You know what? Surprise me.

45. Realization of feelings at the Worst Possible Moment setting this in vamp machina. it directly precedes this.

She's a vampire. Of course she is. Vex'ahlia is a vampire and Percy is the dumbest motherfucker on the planet. Gods forbid he know a single moment of peace. Gods forbid anything in his life be uncomplicated.

This next bit is uncomplicated, though. The next bit is simple: slay the vampire. This is what he's been doing his entire adult life. Identify the threat, neutralize it. Quick, easy, utterly uncomplicated. He pats the inner pocket of his jacket; the stake is there, where it always is.

He's halfway between his place and hers, and as he walks, strides long and quick, he doesn't think about what he left behind. He doesn't replay the memory of tears streaming thick down Keyleth's cheeks, doesn't remember the tremble of her chin as she stumbles through her desperate apology. If he thinks about Keyleth, his best friend, letting a monster tear her open and drain her blood like it didn't matter, then the stake might just end up in his own heart.

Instead he makes the mental leaps, over and over and over. Keyleth is seeing Vax. Vax is a vampire. Vax's twin is Vex. These are all facts Percy knows to be true. More facts he knows to be true: Vax and Vex still look as identical as fraternal twins can look. Vex's skin, while soft, smooth, supple, has never been warm to the touch. Vex's favorite thing to do, when they are a tangle of limbs and sweat beneath her silky sheets, is bury her nose into the crook of his neck, where his blood still churns from her expert ministrations. Percy has never seen Vex under the light of the sun.

Dumbest motherfucker. On the planet.

He's less than a block away from her apartment now. The stake feels like an anchor in his pocket. His heart pounds erratically in his throat, and he can't figure out why. So what, she's a vampire? So what, he'll be killing her in less than five minutes' time? This is what he does. It doesn't mean anything, because it can't mean anything.

So why is he a hair's breadth away from crying?

He comes to a halt on the sidewalk, nearly causing a pile-up among the other pedestrians, who shoot him annoyed looks he barely registers. Why is he a hair's breadth away from crying? Why does the though of driving this stake through Vex's heart make him want to peel his skin off, inch by inch? They're fucking. They fuck. Their sexual compatibility is off the charts, and sure, Percy can't imagine ever having anyone else in his bed again, but it's not like it's a real loss, it's not like he lo—

His heart stops. Holy shit. He's in love with her. Not just lust, not just companionship, love. He loves the way she laughs, loves the razor-sharp accuracy of her wit, loves the music she plays when she's soaking in the tub, surrounded by rose petals and bubbles the size of his fist. He loves falling asleep next to her and waking up next to her and seeing her bury her face into his pillow as he sneaks out before dawn. He can't imagine ever having anyone else in his bed again because he doesn't want his bed, he wants theirs. He wants her every thought on every subject, wants to write them down in leatherbound tomes and reference them like a scholar in the subject of her. He is utterly, completely, hopelessly in love with her, and now he's standing here, ten feet away from her stoop, and his fingers twitch up toward the stake in his jacket pocket.

He stares at her front door. The last time he walked through it, his bones felt like jelly and the smile on his face was stupid, bright. For fuck's sake, he's been in love with her for months. What a thing to realize right before he plunges this stake between her ribs.

Because he's going to do it. That's the thing that's going to kill him. He forces his legs to move, one joint after the other, and as he stomps up the few steps of her stoop, he knows that he's going to do it. He hits her buzzer, and when she drawls, "Hello?" he can barely choke out her name. It is torture, the way she sighs, "Percival," the swiftness with which she grants him entry.

He has three flights of stairs to get his head on straight. During each one, he convinces himself to do it, over and over and over. Quick, easy, uncomplicated. Slay the monster. Save the world.

He is at her door too fast, not fast enough. He knocks. She opens. She looks like heaven, like hell, like the best and worst thing that has ever happened to him. "I didn't expect to see you so soo—"

Her eyes fall onto the stake, now gripped with white knuckles at his side. The recognition comes lightning-quick; she always was so much smarter than him. For a moment, her face is impassable, and he'd give anything to know what she's thinking. Whatever he could have guessed, he'd be wrong, because in no world would he predict a smile, curling and hot, like smoke. She meets his eyes again, her expression a mystery he'll never be clever enough to solve. She steps back, opening the door wider. "Why don't you come on in?"

[waltwhitmansbeard]

"...you knew?"

Vax and Kiki, please.

22. "...you knew?" setting this in vamp machina! it's gonna gonna be vaxleth adjacent, bc i got this idea and couldn't stop chewing on it.

"Percy, wait!"

He's not listening to her. He's triple-checking the locks on all the windows and doors, pulling out boxes and boxes of wooden bullets from every crevice of the apartment, shoving bottles of holy water into her hands. "It's fine, okay? We'll fix it. I'll fix it."

He's not listening to her. "Percy, can we just talk about this—"

He hasn't stood still since it happened, since he walked in on a scene she knows to be straight from his nightmares. There's a book, some leather-bound thing that looks to be half a millennium old, open on the coffee table. "There's a spell in there, I think, can you look? Something about deinvitation. See if it's something in your wheelhouse."

Keyleth is just standing there, unmoving in the center of the apartment, holding a washcloth to her neck. The blood's starting to seep out under it. She doesn't know what to say next.

So Percy keeps going. "If you need anything from the shop, let me know and we'll go together once the sun rises. You're not staying in this apartment alone, not until we can make sure that fucker can't get back in here."

She wants to cry, but she thinks maybe her body forgot how. "Percy."

Something about her voice, now, stops him, and his face melts into something halfway between pity and worry. "Hey." He comes over, pulls her into a hug. She feels dirty sinking into it. "It's okay. It's not your fault. They're so good at this, at tricking people. I should have been here, yeah? This is my fault."

Her body is remembering now. "Percy..."

He pulls out of the hug to take her crumpled face in his hands. "Do not blame yourself for this. If he comes near you again, I'll kill him."

"I invited him in."

He kisses her forehead, and oh, she deserves whatever storm comes barreling her way. "I know. It sucks, but it happened. It was a mistake."

"No."

He frowns. "What do you mean?"

The words are so faint, she can hardly hear them herself. "I knew."

The realization is a full-body process. The brow furrows, then the spine straightens, and the jaw sets. His eyes go cold, distant. "...You knew?"

There's just no way he'll understand it. "I love him, Percy." The tears are flowing hot, fast, unrelenting. "I...I let him in. I let him..." She presses the washcloth harder against the spot where, less than half an hour ago, Vax was sensually pulling from her life force. "I knew what I was doing."

Percy skitters back, then, as if she'd slapped him. In all her life, she's never seen such betrayal in someone else's eyes. She imagines he'd be less hurt if she gutted him from navel to sternum with a knife from the kitchen, if she doused him in oil and set him aflame. Whatever was between them, whatever friendship, whatever family, whatever trust, she watches it shatter in real time.

She wishes she regrets it.

They stare at each other for a long time, maybe minutes, maybe days. She says nothing, because there is nothing she can say to make this better. When the cold stillness becomes too much to bear, Percy spins around, stomps out the front door, slams it shut behind him. She collapses, then, all of the guilt and the sorrow and the anguish crashes down on top of her, the levees broken. She sobs, arms clutches around her middle, until the hard floors dig into her knees, until her tear ducts run dry, until through the same window through which Vax fled, she sees the sun beginning to rise.

[waltwhitmansbeard]

For the Hospital prompts, may I request

17. "Please tell me that isn't your blood on your shirt." Perc'ahlia in Vamp Machina?

If it's not fitting, you can pick another universe <3

17. "Please tell me that isn't your blood on your shirt."

Vex isn't used to the worry. When one is a powerful, nigh-indestructible undead killing machine with razor-sharp teeth and an ass that won't quit, one becomes accustomed to feeling untouchable, unshakable, even in the face of acute danger.

And then some skinny nerd with a death wish and annoyingly nimble fingers comes along to turn everything upside down, and here she is, arms crossed tightly around herself as she resists the urge to tear open this receptionist's throat in rage. All she gets is a phone call from the witch her brother's been knocking around with—"Percy's in the hospital. I...I thought you'd want to know."—and she's not even allowed in to see him. These fluorescent lights are hell on her skin, make her look even more undead than normal. How much longer is she expected to wait before someone gives her some fucking answers?

She's left to stew in her own anxiety for so long that she almost misses when they come out, Percy half-draped along Keyleth's side as she helps him hobble toward the door. In a flash, Vex is in front of them, earning a gasp of surprise from the witch. She inspects Percy, taking his chin in her hand as gingerly as she can to inspect his face, his neck, his clothes. "Please tell me that isn't your blood on your shirt."

And despite the swollen black eye and the stitches on his lip, the fucker laughs, gravelly and low, and Vex wants to bite him in all the best ways. "Not all of it."

Keyleth scowls. (As annoying as she finds her brother's fascination with the little witch, Vex can't deny she's pretty, rosy and delicate in a way she bets tastes wonderful.) "He stumbled across three vampires feeding on a woman in alley and thought he'd take them all on himself." Vex frowns; he's a talented vampire hunter, she is aware, so surely three wouldn't be enough to do this kind of damage. Keyleth continues, her voice dripping with acid. "Why don't you tell Vex how many wooden bullets you had on you at the time, Percival?" Oh, how fun—this kitten has claws.

Percy's eyes flick up to the ceiling, clearly over being chastised. "Two."

Vex's stomach swoops. Two bullets? For three juiced-up, pissed-off vampires? Gods, she's lucky he's alive. She drops his chin. "I thought you were intelligent, Percy."

His eyes—eye, really—narrow into slits. "What would you have had me do, Vex'ahlia? Let them kill her?"

Yes, she wants to snarl. Fuck that bitch, better her than him. Vampires killing humans is the natural order of things, but she'll burn this city down if he's one of them. She's aware of the hypocrisy, of the irrationality of her bone-chilling desire to keep him safe, but she can't be bothered with reason. He's hers, and Vex is not interested in sharing. She sees the challenge in his eyes, his waiting for her to say it out loud, her willingness to say that some nameless human woman should die in order to prevent this level of devastation to his body, the body she is so very fond of, but she won't give him the satisfaction.

She slips her arm around his waist, on the opposite side of Keyleth, and begins to urge them forward. "Come. I'm sure your witchy roommate has supplies to heal your pretty eye back home, and I'm going to take that shirt and use it to find the one who did this to you."

"If you want to see me shirtless, Vex'ahlia," he murmurs, low and weak, "all you need to do is ask."

Fuck, Vex can feel the heat of the embarrassed flush on Keyleth's cheeks, but it's overshadowed by her own heat simmering low in her belly. She brings her lips right up to his ear, which is also caked in blood. "You and I both you know you enjoy it when I don't ask."

That, at least, seems to rattle his self-satisfied confidence; he nearly trips as they exit the hospital. Vex grins, eager to get him home and punish him deliciously for his recklessness.

[waltwhitmansbeard]

14. A kiss so desperate that the two wind around each other, refusing to let go until they are finished and/or 39. Kissing tears from the other’s face with keyleth/vax please? Preferably hurt/comfort 😁

39. Kissing tears from the other’s face. setting this in vamp machina!

Vax has a complicated relationship with sleeping at night. A year ago, he would never—the night is when his kind bloom like jasmine, when they venture forth into the world and pretend, as best they can, that they have lives to live. Sleeping at night would be throwing away his only chance to get fresh air, to walk the streets, to see the ways the world has changed during the day.

But not now. Now, he lives for nights like these, tangled up with her under the cover of darkness. Keyleth must sleep, and so he will sleep alongside her, if only to share this, the one normal thing between them. His sleep is often fitful—it is unnatural for him, even with all these months of practice—but he would rather throw himself into the sunlight than rouse her for any reason, so he focuses his energies on staying asleep for as long as he can.

Which is why it's such a surprise when he wakes up to find the room still dark and the bed beside him empty. He sits up, rubbing at his eyes. "Kiki?"

She doesn't say anything, but he finds her anyway, his vampiric vision honed for this kind of darkness. She's curled up on the floor beneath the window, her knees pulled to her chest. The blinds are pulled up just a fraction of an inch, and she stares out into the city, the faint scars littering her arms glinting in the sliver of moonlight. She is as still as a statue and as quiet as a ghost.

He pushes off of the bed, approaches her slowly, quietly, as one might a trapped animal. "Keyleth?"

She doesn't face him. "I'm okay. Go back to sleep." Her voice is even, monotone, dead.

As if he would. He kneels down in front of her. "I...I don't want to touch you, if that's not what you want." He can taste the salt in the air before he sees it, the single tear tripping down her cheek. "But if it's okay with you, can I...?" He hovers a hand near the arms bound around her shins.

She swallows thickly and nods, and he rests his hand on her forearm. More tears tumble from her eyes. Her skin is cold—how long has she been sitting like this? "Are you in pain? Are you hurting?" A miniscule shake of the head. "Okay. Is...is it—"

"Vax." The name is a whisper. She turns to look at him now, and her face is a lake, perfectly calm on the surface but alive, just below. She's been crying for some time, he can tell. "You can't fix it. I'm so sorry, but..." Her voice hitches. "...you just can't fix it."

And she's right, and hates himself for it. "I know I can't. I'm so, so sorry that I can't fix this." Slowly, he leans in, places a hand on the side of her face. He gives her the space to do so, but she doesn't pull away. "Can you talk about it?"

Her eyes flick back to the window. "I could feel it. In my dream. The pain and the...the teeth." His stomach is a stone, a knotted rope, a ship at sea. "I wanted to go onto the fire escape, to be outside, but..." A new wave of tears spill beneath his fingers. "...all I could think about was, what if they were out there?" The sentence cracks halfway through, and her face is finally starting to crumble. "What if I can never go outside again? What if they've trapped me in here just like I was trapped with them, and I—and I—" She's breathing fast and heavy now, and he pulls her in, tucks her head into the crook of his neck and lets her fall apart.

There is no word good enough to describe this. Not rage, not heartbreak, not sorrow, not agony. There is only the floating, sinking, endless horror of knowing that he has failed her, knowing that she suffers because of his actions, knowing that he has countless days ahead of them and they will not be enough to put right what he allowed to go so astonishingly wrong. She is haunted now, his sunshine girl, afflicted with shadows of her own, and he gave them to her. It is inconceivable to him that she even tolerates his presence, let alone requests it, but her fist is twisted into his shirtfront, and she makes no move to pull away from him.

So he wraps his arms around her and keeps her in close, a hand on the back of her head. She shakes with the force of her sobs, and he does his best to buoy her through it, to keep her head afloat in the storm. After a few minutes, her crying quiets, and he gently pushes her from him just enough to get his hands on either side of her face. He kisses her tears and murmurs, "Do you know how much I love you? How in awe I am of you every day? I wish you didn't need the strength that I see in you, but fuck, I'm so glad you have it."

She shakes her head. "I'm not, I don't—"

"You do. You do. I don't know how many lifetimes I'll live but I know that in all of them I will never meet a person who astounds me like you do. Keyleth, I know this is hard, and I know it's scary, and I know it feels like you're not going to make it through, but you are, and you're not going to do it alone. Love, please don't ever hide in the shadows, not from me. I will always, always, always be here when the dreams get bad and the nights get long. I will sit with you, in the cold, on the floor, until the sun rises in your eyes again, if that's what it takes, because I have every faith in the world that you will see the other side of this pain."

Her eyes slide closed, and her exhaustion is staggering. He continues to kiss her cheeks, her eyelids, her nose, her forehead, until the tears finally begin to slow. He whispers, "Can I take you back to bed now?"

"Please."

And though it is merely feet away, still he gingerly scoops her up, carries her in his arms to the bed. Instead of setting her down, he sits, pulls her against him as he lays them down together. Her face is buried in his shirt, now wet with her tears, and he keeps his arms tight around her torso, hoping that, for now, they are enough to keep her shattered pieces from blowing away into the night air.

[waltwhitmansbeard]

their mouth at your ear, whispering!!! (For vamp machina! Whichever ship you want)

their mouth at your ear, whispering vamp machina au!

Percy cannot believe how casual she's being. Vex'ahlia is draped along the couch in this apartment she shares with her brother—her vampire brother, because the twins are vampires, and have been the entire time he's known them.

He's such a fucking moron.

"If you tense up any more, darling, you'll snap in two," Vex purrs, "and I would rather snap you in two myself."

He's trembling. His hands are clenched into fist at his sides. "You're a monster."

"Well, of course I am." He cannot believe how blasé she is, how bored she sounds, as if his entire world isn't crashing down around him in this very moment. "What's the problem, dear?"

"The problem is that I hunt things like you." (The problem is that I know how your skin tastes, and I cannot get enough of it.) "The problem is that your kind slaughtered my family, and I have vowed to rid the world of you once and for all."

She shrugs. "I'm right here, Percival. You're welcome to try your best." He doesn't move, and she lets out a low chuckle. "I didn't think so." She slinks off of the couch, body more liquid than solid, and approaches him, movement slow but not wary—she isn't the least bit afraid of him, which is perhaps the most embarrassing piece of all of this. She presses herself along his side, her lines pulling long, as if she were a cat lazing in a sunbeam and not monster of the shadows. His heart is jackrabbiting in his throat, his skin flushed and hot, and he can only imagine how he must smell to her right now.

Her lips, the ones that have been so many places, explored so much of him, are at his ear. "For such a smart man, you really do know nothing." Her fingers walk from his chest down his torso, and lower. Her teeth graze his earlobe, sharp, cold. Still he does not move. "So black and white, your small little world." Her breath is hot, curls around the shell of his ear. "I should love to show you all the prettiest shades of red."

[waltwhitmansbeard]

oh my god, you're covered in blood. In Vamp Machina? ^_^

oh my god, you're covered in blood. this is the au. based on this ask.

Keyleth doesn't normally make deliveries, but Zahra is worth the exception. She's become quite the loyal customer since her move to Emon, and she enjoys her dry sense of humor. It's worth the twenty minute detour on her walk home to deliver her usual dried aconite and Keyleth's signature calming tea blend of chamomile, peppermint, and rosehips.

She follows someone into his building, then take the stairs to the second floor, where she knocks on the door labeled 2D. "Delivery!"

There's some shuffling inside, a chaotic fumbling, and then a familiar, "Uh, not a great time!"

She frowns. That's Kash's voice, she's sure of it. He's come in with Zahra a handful of times, and he's peppered Keyleth with quite a few questions about her work. "Kash, it's Keyleth! From the herbalist's? Zahra didn't pick up her order today, so I just thought I'd drop it off for her."

There's a pregnant pause, followed by a strained, "Leave it at the door, please."

Something's not right. He's an odd one, Kash, but he's not usually this...cagey. She bends down to set the paper bag just up against the door, but she knows this nagging feeling isn't ever going to leave her alone, so she tries the doorknob. "Kash?"

It's unlocked, which is weird in and of itself, so she pushes inside, hoping to help a friend in distress.

.

At this point, slipping in through Keyleth's bedroom window is old hat for Vax. He'd prefer to walk in through the front door—it's degrading, sneaking around like he's a teenager and not well into his second century—but an encounter with her bitchy vampire hunter roommate is not what he needs right now. He stretches out on her bed, thumbing through a trashy romance novel she checked out from the library as he waits for her to get home.

He's so engrossed in the surprisingly complex political plot line of this bodice ripper that he almost doesn't hear her enter the room. It's the soft snick of the door shutting behind her that pulls his attention away from the book. "Hey, this is actually pretty good once you get past—holy fucking shit."

Her face scrunches up as her hands start to flap in his direction. "Quiet! I don't want Percy to hear."

Vax launches himself to to his feet. "You're worried about Percy? Keyleth, you're covered in blood."

She sighs, as if his pointing it out is an inconvenience for her. "Yes, I am." She shuffles over to her closet and begins rummaging around.

He feels like the back of his head is going to explode. It's all over her, caked onto her arms, splashed up into her hair. He can smell it, rich and warm and sweet and hers. He swallows thickly. "Do you care to share why?"

She pauses, her back to him. "No." She continues to pull out a change of clothes.

Well into his second century, and he's never met someone as inscrutable as her. "Keyleth, fuck, are you hurt?"

He knows the quiet no is a lie before she says it. There's a stiffness to her movements, a tenderness clearly borne of pain. He comes up behind her, put his hands over hers to stop their movement. "Keyleth." She looks at him, exhaustion seeping into every corner of her face. "Please, talk to me."

He can see them now, a few slash marks through the sleeves of her denim jacket, the source of all of the blood. His heart hasn't beat in many decades but he swears he can feel it racing now, feel its roaring fury in his chest. "Who did this to you?" He tries to keep the trembling rage from his voice, but he knows he fails.

"It was an accident."

"That's not an answer."

"Look, it looks a lot worse than it is, okay? I promise." She puts her hands on either side of his face, and for a moment, he must hold his breath to keep out the delicious aroma of her blood on her skin. "You trust me to keep your secret, yeah?" He nods; he trusts her with every dead bone in his body. "Then trust that other secrets are just as worth keeping."

His teeth long to tear into something, to rend someone's flesh for this. "Are you saying another vampire did this?"

She snorts. "Definitely not." She presses her lips to his, and fuck, she tastes divine. "I'm going to get cleaned up, put some of my healing poultice on this. I'll be fine by morning, I promise." She gathers up her clothes and disappears into her bathroom, leaving Vax stunned and seething. He may not yet know who harmed her, who spilled her blood and left her to limp home, but when he does, he will become every bit the ruthless monster the man in the other room of this apartment knows him to be.

[waltwhitmansbeard]

'' your eternal optimism is super annoying. '' '' noted. now get out of bed, and enjoy the sunlight. ''

Ma'am, may I ask for some Vaxleth in these trying times, pls? your AU or non-AU of choice.

'' your eternal optimism is super annoying. '' ''noted. now get out of bed, and enjoy the sunlight. '' setting this in vamp machina!

Keyleth has never been prone to bad moods. Some days, weeks, months are harder than others, to be sure, but she has always been a generally content person. Her father used to joke that she was the only baby he knew born with a smile on her face, and she took that to heart. There's a lot of darkness and hardship in the world, so many things that go bump in the night, but it's a choice, she thinks, to wake up and greet each day with the best she has to give.

But today, she is not getting out of bed. She can see it, the sliver of brilliant golden light fighting between her bedroom curtains, but she is choosing to ignore it. She buries her face in her pillow and tells herself it is still night.

Beside her, the bed shifts. "You still asleep?" His voice is soft, a hoarse whisper, thick with the remnants of his own rest.

"Yes," she replies, muffled by the pillow, and he laughs.

"You're never in bed this late. What happened to my morning bird?"

She twists her head to glare grumpily at Vax, whose hair is spread out like raven's feathers across the other pillow. "I'm not getting up."

His bemusement slips into concern. "Are you feeling alright?" A hand, cold and firm, comes up to her forehead. "Are you sick? Do you have medicine in the bathroom, I can go get it—"

"I'm not sick." She wrenches herself around so she's now staring up at the ceiling. He feels so solid beside her, even though he gives off very little body heat. She wants to curl into him, bury her face into his chest like a rabbit retreating into its warren, but looking at him feels like too much. "I just...I don't want to go out today."

The bed shifts again, and his face appears in her periphery, peering down at her. "Will you tell me?" One of his hands plays with her fingers atop her stomach, curious yet patient.

And what is she supposed to say to him? I don't want to go out where you can't follow? I think about you inside, confined to the shadows, and I want to die? When the sun hits my skin it feels the exact opposite of how your hands feel on my face, and I don't know which feeling I love more? There's nothing productive to come of this conversation, no change to be effected when they are each what they are.

He senses her hesitation and lays back down, curving his body along her side. His forehead tips against her ear. "You cannot say anything to make me upset, you know. I always want to know what you're thinking, even if you're ashamed of it."

She swallows thickly. "I...it's lonely. Sometimes. Out there. Without you. And..." She blinks, and a single tear beats a path down her ear. "I just want to stay here with you."

He's quiet for a while, a long while, and Keyleth knows this is the thing he's most afraid of, shackling her to the shadows with him. But it's worse, really, because she doesn't want to give up the sun for him, she wants to bring him into its light. She yearns for long, bright days among the people of their city, endless summers of brilliant warmth. She wishes she were a creature of the night herself, a night owl, someone accustomed to living in the dark, but she just isn't. And he knows that.

So he gets up. She scrambles to sit up, confused as he pushes himself off of the bed and pads over to the window. He stands just to the side of it and yanks the curtain toward himself, and suddenly the room is filled with dazzling, clear morning light.

"Vax!" she yelps, aghast.

He points toward the window, just barely out of the burning edge of a sunbeam. "That. That is where you belong. Not trapped in here with me. You are going to go out and go to work and stop by the grocery store on the way home because you guys are out of eggs, and I will be here when you get back to help you cook dinner and listen to all of your stories about your annoying customers. You are going to have an amazing day, and you're going to be surrounded by people who love and appreciate you, and I'm not going to hear anything else on the topic."

She pulls her knees up to her chin and pouts. "Your eternal optimism is super annoying."

"Noted." He pulls the curtain back even further. "Now get out of bed and go enjoy the sunlight."

With a huff, she throws back the covers and slips out of bed, but then she stops and crosses her arms. "You gotta do a me a favor before I go."

"Anything."

She grins. "Close the damn curtains and come over here and kiss me."

And wonderful, attentive, generous boyfriend that he is, he obliges, and oh yes, the sun is warm, but not so warm as this.

[waltwhitmansbeard]

This is not from any prompts list, and you can ignore it, but it was inspired by the date night drabble.

Could I prompt you to write about the first time Vax and Keyleth go on a date during the day after Vax gets his daylight ring in Vamp Machina?

this is the au!

She takes him to her favorite spot in the city, on the eastern edge of the large public park, where there's a spot between two majestic, twisting oaks that perfectly frames the rising sun. She doesn't know how long it's been since he's seen a sunrise. Sometimes it's better not to ask.

He's jittery, nervous, his eyes continually flicking down to the silver ring on his right hand, as if he doesn't believe it's there, as if he doesn't believe it will work. She covers his hand with hers and smiles. "You're going to be fine."

He smiles, but it's not the easy smile she's used to, curling and teasing. "I know. It's just..."

"A lot."

"A lot."

They've rolled a blanket out, a stack of morning pastries and fruit in front of them that Vax seems too anxious to eat. It's a new dynamic, his nerves and her bemused calmness. Normally he's the one talking her down from the ledge, but it's nice, being the one who is absolutely confident that everything's going to be fine.

She checks her phone—three minutes to go. She squeezes his hand. "Are you ready?"

He lets out a half-manic laugh. "Yeah. Yeah."

"Listen, if it doesn't work, I'll cover you with the blanket."

His anxiety is a surprise, really, given that he barely blinked before hurtling through the gauntlet of murderous Clasp members in order to get her and Percy out. She wouldn't've guessed that a little sunlight would cause more trepidation than that. "You think it's not going to work?"

He gives a little shrug. "No. It'll work."

A ringing endorsement. "It's okay to admit you have doubts in my and Pike's abilities."

He shoots her a look. "I do not."

"Then why are you so worried?"

His leg jiggles. His gaze shifts between her and the place where the sun is rising in mere moments. "I don't know."

She curls into his side, tips her head onto his shoulder. She's hugging his arm in both of hers. "Well, I can't wait. No more shadows for you, mister."

He huffs out another laugh, and just then, the first blood orange sliver of the sun crescents over the horizon, bathing the two of them in pale, distant light. Vax flinches on instinct—how many times in his long unlife has he pulled back a curtain a little too early, stepped a little too far from the shadow?—but...nothing. No pain, no searing along his skin, no flames. Just sunlight, radiant, piercing, and so, so colorful. It takes so little time for the orange to give way to yellows and pinks, the early clouds soft brushstrokes blending the colors together.

She doesn't see any of it. She watches his face, the tiny shifts in his eyes and mouth as the beauty of it settles over him in waves. He is awed, slack-jawed and speechless, as the sunlight reaches the parts of him she's never seen in such clarity.

"Your eyes are beautiful," she murmurs, and his head snaps to the side, like he's forgotten she's there. And oh, what colors in his eyes! Golds and bronzes and warm browns, rich and sparkling. His pupils widen as he sees her, too, for the first time, the sun climbing higher and higher to cast new rays on them both.

"Your hair," he breathes, and her hand flies up, suddenly self-conscious. He laughs, all tension gone, and pulls the hand away. "No, it's...wow. Wow."

She puts her hands on either side of his face and pulls him in for a kiss. He can't stop grinning, so she grins, too. "I'm so happy," she whispers, voice nearly lost beneath the cheerful morning birdsong from the trees overhead.

"Can we stay?" he murmurs. "Watch the whole thing?"

As if she'd ever ask him to leave. "As long as you want."