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let-them-read-fics · 4 years

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Rivalries Of The High Seas

Requested By Anon: "Pirate AU, enemies to lovers."

AU: Pirate

Pairing: Captain!Rosé x Fem!Captain!Reader

Word Count: ~ 7,375

Warnings / Misc. -- Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Major Injury (Inflicted On Reader), Dangerous Situations, Fluff

Disclaimer: This writing is a work of fiction, and no disrespect is meant for those mentioned herein.

A/N: Anon, thank you for this one! I've never seen the movie you mentioned in your request, but you did well in explaining what you wanted to see here. I had a lot of fun with this one, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

PS ~ Captain Rosé could step on me and I'd say thank you

♡ Happy Reading ♡

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

Death isn't a new thing to you. It isn't some far-off, enigmatic fear capable of tearing down your psyche anytime the topic is brought up. In fact, you're faced with the harsh realities of it almost everyday, given your ranking. Even still, when you woke up this morning, you hadn't expected for the day to consist of you meeting your end.

Your hands remain clasped together tightly, bound to the rickety wooden chair you've been securely strapped into by layers of rope and chains. Your wrists burn as the rough material pulls against your skin, surely leaving dark marks by now, but that's the least of your worries as you eye the bandits standing before you. Their faces hold smug grins, cheeks pulling back in eerie smiles to reveal crooked teeth. "I won't give you the pleasure of seeing me beg for my life. I accept my fate." You say bravely, holding your head high.

"How noble, Captain." They sneer, leaning far too close for comfort. You fight the gag that works its way up your throat at the smell of them, the wicked stench burning your nostrils as it invades them.

"Even if you escape now, the rest of my crew will come for you." Rosé finally speaks from behind you, sitting in the same state as you as she glares at the surrounding men. Her fingers futilely pull at your shared restraints for the millionth time, brushing along your wrist in the process.

"It's cute that you think that matters. We'll be long gone by then."

Her head lightly pushes against yours as she leans back in her chair, seeking to evade the man when he enters her personal space. For some reason unbeknownst to you, your blood boils at his actions -- though Rosé is your enemy of sorts, seeing that she's a rival captain herself, you can't help but want to keep him away from her.

The vile creature parts her legs with an evil smirk on his lips, his filthy hand groping her thigh as he runs his fingers along her beautiful skin. She whimpers in protest, growing afraid of what he'll do to her in her captive state. Had she been unrestricted right now, she would've most definitely cut his hand off, forever reminding the world of his misdeeds.

"Just get it over with!" You shout angrily, voice hoarse from all the screaming you've done today. You've grown tired of the game they've been playing for over an hour, flipping between beating and ridiculing you relentlessly.

"Alright, alright," their leader chuckles, putting his hands up as he approaches you. He instructs his men to be on standby, ready to gather around the two of you and hoist you into the air. They wait for the all-clear to throw you overboard and into the chilly sea below, full of creatures you've seen during your fateful adventures over the years. There are certainly worse ways to go, and you attempt to come to terms with what's about to happen. Perhaps this is a poetic end for you -- being laid to rest in the place that you've spent most of your life and made countless memories.

"Keep those eyes on me as you fall. I want to remember what it looked like to take down the infamous Y/N L/N." You narrow your eyes at their leader, grimacing as they scan over his greasy, jet black hair and tattered overcoat. Aren't the "bad guys" supposed to at least be stylish? He's a sorry excuse for one if so.

"Kiss my ass." You utter, spitting at him. He lunges forward, just like you expected -- seriously, why are men so predictable? -- and takes the collar of your shirt between his fingers. He delivers a swift blow to your left cheek, only allowing you a second to recover before pulling your head back up to give the same treatment to the other side.

You can feel Rosé tense behind you, doing all she can to reach for you and offer comfort.

With a pained groan, you spit out a mouthful of fresh blood and raise your head to look at him again. "You know, you're not nearly as observant as you think you are." You smile, ignoring the pain that shoots through your busted lip. Before he has time to react, you raise your foot in one motion, swiftly connecting it with his crotch. How could they neglect to tie your feet? That's practically Pirate 101.

He doubles over in an instant, lungs void of the air necessary to speak another insult in retaliation to your act and body incapable of any further movement. His men make the decision for him, taking this moment as a sign to follow through with their plan and throw you over. Shouts and cheers pierce through the air above you as you make your quick descent, not even having time to say a goodbye to Rosé or offer a final word to the universe.

Cold water immediately rushes over your heated skin as you plunge into the waves below, its frigid temperature almost taking what little breath you managed to store away in your lungs. Aided by the water's altered state of gravity, you're able to work your hips past a few of the loosely tied ropes that rested against them.

One thing you admire about Rosé is her quick thinking. She's smart -- while you distracted the leader, she took the opportunity to pry off some of the restraints that required more time and effort, just like you hoped she would. Her slender fingers inconspicuously wiggled their way out of the ropes before freeing you from them as well, and the bandits were none the wiser. Her previous actions make this part all the more easy, and after spending a while on the final ties, the two of you kick off of your chairs and head for the surface. It's a struggle, no doubt, with the way you have to fight to bring the chains up with you and keep them from pulling you further under. But eventually you reach the surface, once again filling your lungs with that miraculously fresh air that they so desperately craved.

The saltwater stings as it flows over your face, getting in your eyes and rushing over all the wounds you've accumulated. Rosie sputters from beside you, struggling a bit to keep her head up, so you extend an arm for her to use to push herself up. You tell yourself you're only doing it -- that is, making sure she doesn't drown -- because she'll be useful in helping you survive. Deep down, though, your intentions extend further than that.

Once you find a steady rhythm with the waves and the fear of drowning subsides for the time being, you scan the horizon line. "I see land -- over there." You say, using your head to point to what looks to be an island in the distance. "We'll swim when we have the energy and float when we need rest, okay?" She nods in response, and the two of you get set on your way.

-----

Huffing from the pure exhaustion coursing through your bodies, you manage to drag yourselves onto shore before collapsing. The sand serves as a good place to lay, almost cradling you the longer you lay there. Tiny, rippling waves -- the aftershocks of much bigger ones -- lull into shore, fluttering past your ankles before being pulled back in by the tide. They lap against your skin, remedying your racing mind with their rhythm. Minutes pass in this cycle, setting you in a state of comfort before you remember everything you'll have to do before nightfall.

Once gaining enough strength, you raise your head and peek over at your rival.

She's sleeping. Of course. You can't blame her, but the sun -- once blazingly hot, perched high up in the sky -- is now setting, giving you a preview of the darkness that the night sky will hold. She turns, rolling her head towards you in her sleep, and you almost smile -- a light dusting of sand sticks to her puffed-out cheeks, and the bridge of her nose holds a small sunburn, making her look sunkissed and blushy. Y/N, stop that, you command yourself, shaking your head at your thoughts. She's your enemy, and she's the reason you're even in this mess in the first place.

"Wake up," you nudge her, reverting back to your previously tense demeanor. The anger you possess for the situation you're in is returning en masse, wiping the pleasant thoughts of Rosé from your mind.

She groans, keeping her eyes tightly shut as she attempts to ignore you. "Roseanne, we have to get up." Your voice is strong, commanding her just like your crew. Your crew, you think to yourself. Some of them were killed by the bandits while others were thrown into the prison chambers of your ship, left at the mercy of your enemies until they decide what they want to do with them. Your people are inventive and strong -- they'll likely find a way out of the sticky situation and reclaim victory. For now, though, you're left to worry about their fates as you attempt to survive on this island. If the elements and animals don't kill you first, the gorgeous woman beside you most definitely will.

"I'm up!" She all but shouts, following another prodding from you. Her eyes flutter open and she instinctively raises her hand to wipe her face -- you catch the chains before they can make contact and harm her, and she sends you an appreciative look. "Guess I forgot about these…" she shakes her arms, jiggling your restraints in the process, "Oopsie."

"Come on." You say, standing up and pulling her along with you. Her dilly dallying is making you impatient, and it only increases your levels of irritation. You don't have time to waste.

"We have to break these," she states the obvious, searching the shore for a decently sized rock.

A sarcastic gasp slips past your lips as you look at her. "You don't say! I was thinking we'd just leave them on." She turns to glare at you, narrowing her eyes as she stops walking. Dear god, there's no time for this. With a mumbled "here we go", you allow her to continue.

"You know, we wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for you."

"Me?!" You shout, completely taken aback. "Quite the contrary, Rosé. You're the one who led them to us!"

"If you would've accepted my offer, none of this would've happened. But you refuse to team up with anyone else. Look at where that got us now." She motions around herself to the island, expression settling back into an annoyed scowl as her eyes settle on you again.

"It's not my fault that my crew is more trained than yours; I had no reason to merge our teams."

"An agreement would've solidified our strength!" She yells, stomping her foot into the sand. Her boots managed to survive the long trip here, but their material is completely soaked.

"I'm responsible for my crew, and my crew only. I had no decent reason to bring yours in with mine. It's just a liability and more mouths to feed." You say evenly, clenching and releasing your jaw a few times.

She begins to fire off her rebuttal, but you tune her out for the most part and start walking further inland. She has no choice but to follow, and she does so while adamantly complaining. You throw occasional jabs to her arguments in order to keep her moving, and your plan works well. She's too busy bickering with you to notice that she's doing exactly what you want her to.

"...and you're so arrogant, Y/N! I mean, really. God, you're infuriating."

"Are you done yet?" You ask, cocking your head to the side while you simply blink at her. She squints at you, about to give you another piece of her mind, but you glance down at the rock you led her to and she closes her mouth.

"You can keep screaming at me or we can break these chains. Your choice." You shrug, pursing your lips. She cuts her eyes at you, but agrees with a huff, nonetheless.

The two of you work together to find fittingly sized rocks, taking turns dropping them on your restraints and methodically working them against them. Eventually the chains give way, allowing your hands to wiggle out of their strict hold. You're the first to free yourself; once you're done, you find Rosé struggling in silence, refusing to ask for your help.

"Here," you offer, extending a hand to her. Doing nice things for people without gaining something for yourself isn't something you do often -- you've been raised differently; grown more independent and self-serving after your time on the sea.

"Oh, now you want to work together?" She quirks an eyebrow.

You put your hands up with an amused grin. "I don't have to help, feel free to do it alone." You stand, dusting the sand off of your clothes as you begin to walk away and investigate the island. She calls out behind you, annoyed shouts getting further and further away as you just smile and continue your journey.

------

"Ah, glad you could join us again." You smirk, adding some kindling to the small fire you managed to set up during her time away.

"Shut it," she bites back, glaring at you.

"Tough crowd," you laugh, raising your eyebrows. For once, she doesn't say anything back. She busies herself with removing her shoes and socks, setting them next to the source of heat to dry before disappearing into the tree line. She returns a few minutes later, carrying with her a few different branches. Some of them are forked at the top, and she arranges them into a sturdy structure beside the fire as well. You try not to focus on how strong she looks as she does it, her muscles glistening in the fading evening light with a sheet of sweat.

To your surprise, she begins stripping.

First her overcoat, which she drapes across the branch acting as a beam between the forked ones, and then her vest. She wrings them out individually, and you watch as the materials drip with what water hadn't already evaporated yet. The loose linen undershirt that she wears remains on, and you're thankful for that -- had she taken it off as well, you likely would've passed out. The blush on your cheeks deepens as you feel her eyes on you, and you keep your gaze trained on the fire.

"Well? Are you planning to stay in those clothes all night?" She asks, running a hand through her hair to fix it and get some of the sand out.

"If I didn't know better I'd say you're trying to get me naked, Rosie." You play, smiling harder when you see her roll her eyes and look away.

"You wish," she scoffs, though you can see her stealing glances at you as you remove your clothes. She admires the shadows that the fire casts over your body, the flames dancing as they offer their beautiful warmth. The two of you go way back, having grown up as frenemies due to your professions, but she's always had a soft spot for you. You piss her off to no end, and yet somehow she can think of plenty worse people to be stuck with.

After catching her staring, you decide to tease her. You flex your muscles, making sure to be extra and really make a show of it. She blushes, hiding behind her hands to escape the situation.

"Awww, somebody's shy." You say, chuckling at her.

"Am not," she protests, though her sheepish grin sells her out.

"Prove it," you challenge, a mischievous smile tugging at the corners of your lips. Teasing her is one of your favorite pastimes.

Tired of the games, she gathers all of the courage she possesses and stands, slowly sauntering her way over to you. Your eyes take in the sight of her, and she smirks; she works hard to stay in shape, and she knows she looks good. Countless weeks spent at sea, working alongside her crew on long voyages has left her with artfully tanned skin and a physique to die for. You go to compliment her, but she stops you before you have the chance, pressing a finger to your pursed lips. She trails it lower, blazing a path across your jawline and chest, stopping at your ribs. Your breath hitches, and she definitely feels it. You curse yourself for being so easy, already knowing what's coming.

"Who's shy now, sweetheart?" She purrs out, smiling victoriously.

How she's capable of switching demeanors so easily baffles you, but it ensures that no interaction with her will be boring, if nothing else.

"Yeah, yeah," you grumble, pushing her away to break the growing tension. She's looking at you with some glint in her eye that you can't quite place -- all you know is that if she keeps doing it, things might escalate to a place neither of you are prepared for.

You clear your throat and step around her to adjust your clothes on the drying rack. "You can go ahead and sleep. I'll stay awake and keep the fire going."

She nods with a slight frown on her lips, though you don't see it. "Alright. But wake me up when you get too tired, okay?" You assure her you will, though truthfully your body is aching for sleep right now. The beating you took earlier did its worst on you, leaving your skin bruised and muscles knotted. She deserves to rest, though, and you're okay with giving her the first shift of it. Besides, your mind would surely keep you awake for the better part of an hour -- at least it'll be used to its fullest with her.

What you don't realize, however, is that when she lays down beside you, cuddling into the sorry attempt for a bedroll that you threw together, she merely pretends to fall asleep. Likewise, when she settles her head in your lap, searching for a more comfortable place to lay it, she's fully conscious. She lazily smiles when you run your hands through her hair, wrapping the locks around your fingers in mindless patterns before releasing them and starting over. It's soothing, and soon enough she calms her eager heart enough to slip away to dreamland.

--- A Few Days Later ---

"Wakey wakey…" Rosé sing-songs, hovering over you. The two of you have settled into this familiar rhythm over the past few days, spending the daytime searching for food and supplies and taking shifts to sleep through the night. You've almost always ended up taking the latter opportunity, though sometimes Rosé would force you to rest first if you needed it badly enough.

"Mmm," you groan in disapproval, rolling over. The sun is far too bright, and your upgraded bed situation is much too comfortable to offer any valid reason for you to leave it. Rosé knows how difficult it is to get you up, but she's learned some very useful tactics.

"Y/N…" she drawls, voice like honey as it releases your name with care. Her lips are next to your ear, teasing you as her warm breath fans across your neck. You audibly swallow, not prepared for that in the slightest, and slowly peek your eyes open. She raises a hand to shield your face from the unforgiving sun, and you smile at the domesticity of the act. She looks like a dream -- her hair is fanned out, swaying peacefully in the calm breeze that rolls in from the sea, and she's grinning that killer smile down at you. Her previous sunburn has turned into a tan now, making her look even more irresistible somehow.

"What do you want to do today?" You ask, lacing your fingers together as you put them behind your head. They work as a cradle, cushioning your head from the sand.

"I saw some berry bushes on the north side of the island. They didn't look like any poisonous kind I've studied about, so maybe we could check them out?" She suggests, sitting back on her knees with a quirked brow.

"Sounds like a plan." You smile lazily, gazing up at her. A light pattern of freckles paints her cheeks, and you can't help but grin at how adorable she is.

"What is it?" She asks skeptically, squinting at you.

"You're just too cute for your own good, is all." You sigh, content as you stand up and tug a blushing Rosé behind you. She closes the "door" behind herself, sealing off the entryway to your humble abode. It's a panel of leaves and sticks, built to be sturdy yet lightweight and easy to move. She built it herself, and a sweet smile works its way onto her lips as she remembers the praise you sent her way after she presented it to you.

--------

"If you don't slow down then I'm gonna slap you," she says, peering up at the trees that loom high overhead. In her distracted state, she neglects to look where she's going.

Her rambling is cut short by your hand darting out in front of her, effectively stilling her movements and words. You glance at the ground, prompting her eyes to follow the path they made and widen upon realizing what you just saved her from. An animal -- some wretched cross between a scorpion and pincher beetle -- continues its trip across the downed log that lays in front of you, menacing in its appearance.

"Thank you," she breathes out, leaning into your side as you hold her and direct her away from danger.

"Do me a favor and don't die, okay?" You quirk, scrunching your face up at her humorously. She shoves you, holding up her middle finger as she walks ahead and blazes a path for the two of you. You chuckle, grinning stupidly as you follow after her.

--- 3 Hours Later ---

"Take cover," you shout to an imaginary army, seeking refuge behind the base of a large tree. Rosé chuckles maniacally from behind one of the berry bushes, her fingers lightly stained from the juices that are running down her palm.

"Nice try, Y/N. But you can't escape… CAPTAIN ROSÉ!" She shouts, surprising you as she charges in your direction, pelting you with berry after berry. You squeal, evading as many of the makeshift missiles as you can by darting behind different greenery. She eventually catches up, snaking her arms around your waist and preventing you from getting away again.

"NO!" You exclaim, slumping further into her arms in defeat after your attempts to escape prove futile. She spins you around to face her, pressing your back up against the nearest tree as the two of you practically double over with laughter. She looks ethereal, with how she shines in the sunlight that sneaks its way through the canopy of tree tops above you. Her eyes are almost closed from how hard she's smiling at you.

A sharp growl breaks the happy moment, perking your ears up and causing your heart to race for a different reason entirely. You glance around the tree, protectively stepping in front of Rosé to shield her from any new threat. An animal -- something you've never seen before -- bares its teeth, snarling aggressively as it sets its sights on you. Your blood runs cold in your veins, stopping your heart momentarily as your brain attempts to formulate a plan on the fly. With only a few precious moments left before it attacks, you glance around for anything to double as a weapon without making any sudden movements.

Rosé is clutched onto you from behind, and you can feel her heart beating wildly. You have to protect her, no matter what.

"On my count, I want you to climb into this tree. I'm going to try and defend us." From what little knowledge you've inferred in the past couple minutes, you doubt the animal is capable of climbing well; it doesn't have the body or feet for it. You fear it is capable of running quickly, though, so the tree is likely your best bet.

"What? No, I'm going to--"

"Roseanne, please, for once, just do as I ask. Trust me." You plead over your shoulder, noting the slight tremble that runs through her as another roar echoes out. Your eyes remain trained on it, never backing down for a second.

One steadying breath later, you shout, "Now!" and swoop down to pick up what helpful materials you can. You charge at the animal, taking the offensive in order to keep as much distance possible between it and Rosé. You successfully jab the sharpened stick into its side, causing it to wail in pain. In an instant it grabs your arm, wrapping it's paws around you as it lunges forwards and tumbles to the ground on top of you. A scream leaves your lips as you watch its teeth dig further into your flesh, garnering deep crimson blood to spill from your developing wounds. You protect your neck with your other arm, only breaking this rule to reach to your side and retrieve the heavy rock you brought along as well. It connects with the side of the animal's head, only making it whimper before loosening its grip the slightest bit. You weren't prepared for it to be such a tough enemy. You use your strength to roll it over and sit on top of it, keeping your arm in its grip to ensure that it stays occupied. Your fingers dig into every sensitive part of its body you can reach, performing the defense moves you've spent your life practicing to use. With a glance at Rosé, you find her safe in the tree, just like you wanted.

"Run!" You shout, willing to keep the creature distracted in order to give her time to escape. Before you can see if she listens to you, it's nails claw into your abdomen, scratching painful designs into the previously smooth skin. It performs another death roll, and you barely have the strength to shank it in the side again. It howls, rearing back to go for your jugular before its movements are abruptly cut short. An unsettling crack rings out above you, and you open your eyes after not receiving the fatal blow you had been expecting. The animal scampers away from you, limping off further into the forest until it's out of sight.

Rosé drops the large branch in her hand, the end of it lightly stained with blood. "Go..." you weakly mumble, eyes beginning to flutter closed as you notice how much blood you've already lost. You feel cold, and you have to fight the shiver that runs through you.

"I've got you, Y/N." She whispers, cradling your fragile frame in her arms as she picks you up and begins the journey back to camp. "You did good." She reassures, having no idea how much you needed to hear that before falling unconscious.

---------

After gathering the medicinal plants and resources that the two of you have accumulated so far, she returns to the fireside, settling down beside you. She raises your shirt enough to have access to your wounds, but not far enough to expose you. Temperate water meets your bloodied and broken skin, rushing over the sensitive areas as she gently cleans them. Once dry, she mixes the materials into a sort of salve to rub on them before laying the plants on them in place of bandages.

The crackling of the fire works with the crashing of distant waves to serve as background noise, making the night far more peaceful than the day had been. She allows you to continue resting, knowing you need all of it that you can get.

About an hour or so later you wake with a start, hands reaching out as if you were right back in front of the animal. Your dreams were plagued with images of the nightmarish beast, and you're having trouble adjusting to the fact that they were all in your head. They felt so real. Rosé is by your side in an instant, brushing your hair out of your face with one hand while caressing your thigh with the other -- it's one of the only places that made it out of battle relatively unscathed. Your panicked eyes find hers, glazed over with tears as you pull her flush against your body, glad to know she's okay. Her warmth reminds you that she's here, that she's real, and that she's safe.

Memories of your fight come flooding back, filling your mind with the terrifying things you witnessed and reigniting your fight or flight response. You remember that she didn't listen to you -- she put herself in harm's way instead of leaving you behind, like you asked -- and you grow angry. Muttered phrases of disapproval leave your lips as you push her away, stumbling slightly when you try to stand on your own. Although confused by your erratic behavior, she reaches out to assist you, only to be met with a harsh refusal from you.

"Stop!" The word comes out as an angry shout -- louder than you originally intended -- but you can't find it in yourself to apologize right now. You find your footing after a moment, holding your side as you walk away from her.

"What's your problem?" She shouts, marching after you. She refuses to let this go without a fight, seeing as how she has plenty more questions than answers now.

"You could've gotten hurt, Rosé, and I could've handled it on my own." You say over your shoulder, continuing on your journey away from camp. Her relentlessness is quickly getting on your nerves.

"Clearly you couldn't! You needed help; why are you denying that?" She stops now, crossing her arms angrily with her brows furrowed. The fact that you're still so set on clinging to your pride is pissing her off.

"You should've left me there! I can't have you getting hurt because of me." You turn around now, setting your jaw. Is she really this blind? This has nothing to do with your pride. Her eyes meet yours, the pools overflowing with confusion as they scan over your face in search of clarification.

"I can handle something happening to me; I've made my peace with that. But if something ever happened to you because of my incompetence…" you shake your head at the mere thought of that, momentarily too overwhelmed to continue, "...I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I care about you, idiot." You add that last line before turning around, not bothering to wait on her reaction. Part of you is scared to, honestly, and the day has been far too eventful for you to handle a potential rejection on top of everything else.

She says nothing, leaving the air around you void of her beautiful voice, and you don't know whether to be thankful or disheartened.

You put more distance between the two of you, leaving a stunned Rosé in your wake as you find a place to sit along the shoreline. Your temper -- more precisely, the fear you hold that presents itself as anger -- reared its head tonight. You didn't mean to snap at her like that, but the possibility of her getting hurt because of you makes your blood boil. That would be unforgivable, and you wouldn't be able to live with yourself. You felt helpless earlier, quickly running out of the strength required to keep her safe.

Salty tears manage to break past your line of defenses, much like Rosé has managed to do with your heart. She's torn down every wall you've ever put up to protect yourself, and now that she's there you don't know how to cope. You've had people you considered close before, but none of them have mattered like she does. You've never been so afraid of losing someone.

A soft hand on your shoulder makes you jump slightly, pulling you from your thoughts. Speak of the devil.

"Hey." She says simply, sitting down beside you. You turn your face away, not wanting to let her see you cry. "I'm sorry for fighting, okay? But I'm not sorry for helping you. I care about you, too, and I'll be damned to just leave you like that." She doesn't say anything else, doesn't try to make you look at her -- she just sits there, waiting for you to be ready to do so on your own.

She's waited on you since you were teenagers, so she figures she's capable of waiting a bit longer now. Both of you are aware of the love you hold for one another; this is just the hardest part -- finally admitting it.

"I can't lose you," you whisper, eyes full of tears that occasionally roll down your cheeks once gravity finds its footing. You turn to the front, still too emotional to look into her eyes.

"Ditto. That's why I did what I did."

Your knees are raised and pulled in close to your body for security, your arms wrapped around them to keep them in place. She reaches over to rest her hand on yours, wordlessly coaxing you into looking at her.

"I…" You pause, voice breaking with the emotions you're still reeling from.

"I know." She says, resting her forehead against yours.

"I love you, too."

She pulls you in, making sure to be gentle and not injure you any further. She raises your head to press her lips against yours, tasting the faint hint of wildberry that still rests on them from earlier. It's slow and new, giving you a break from the intensity you've been dealing with the past few days. You tilt your head to the right, letting out a whimper as her fingers graze a bruised spot on your ribs. She gives you another peck before pulling away, determined to stop herself while she still can. You're addicting, and she already can't get enough of you.

A beat passes between you, giving you time to sort the thoughts rushing around your mind. "I've always loved you." You admit, pulling back to look at her. Tears well in her eyes, shining brightly in the brilliant moonlight as they threaten to fall.

"Ever since we commanded our own boats for the first time. Mine was better, of course," she laughs at that, smiling despite herself, "...but I knew you were different then. I've spent all these years being too stubborn to let myself have you."

She takes your words in, her heart pounding victoriously in her chest at your confession. "I knew when we were still training together. You always made things better for me then; I was so thankful to know you. Even if we teased the hell out of each other."

You grin at the countless memories that come to mind. "Do you remember that night at the docks, after we graduated from our classes?" She looks up, searching her memory vault. "When you kissed me?" She asks. You nod, looking down with a bashful smile.

"I knew we wouldn't see each other for a while, so I wanted to make it count."

"You made it really hard to say goodbye, you know?" She says, her eyes softening as she looks at you.

"I know. But you get half of the blame."

She tuts at you, nudging you playfully. You hiss in pain, causing her to bring a hand up to cover her growing smile. "Oops. Sorry, not sorry."

"If I wasn't hurting so bad I'd tackle you right now."

"Oh, I'm so scared." She laughs, mocking you.

"That's it," you declare, ignoring the pain that shoots through your body with all the moving you're doing. Her laugh practically heals you anyway, so it's not hard to push it from your mind. You press her into the sand, rolling over to straddle her hips and pin her hands above her head.

"Woah, tiger. Don't hurt yourself." She raises her head as much as her restrained state will allow, coming dangerously close to your face.

"You're such a dork." You tut, leaning in to capture her lips once more. She mumbles out a, "you love it, though" against you, and your heart can't help but soar.

- A Few Weeks Later -

A soft melody rides along the airwaves towards your ears, persuading you to wake up from your cozy slumber. You cuddle further into Rosie's tempting embrace, smiling at the way she pulls you impossibly closer. Her throat wiggles as she hums out a familiar tune from your childhood -- one of the songs you used to dance together to.

"You big softie." You coo, resting your chin on her chest to look into her eyes with a smile. She grins, finally peeking at you through her lashes.

"Good morning, beautiful." She says, her accent coming through adorably. She pulls you up to her lips for a kiss before rolling you onto your back.

You sigh as she leaves open mouth kisses to your neck, dragging her lips over the skin there lazily. She takes her time, leaving marks here and there to show the world who you belong to. Her hands skim over the warm skin of your abdomen, finally free of the intense wounds you've been recovering from. Only small scars are left now, serving as a testament to what you endured.

"Mmm, I'm hungry. Let's go get something to eat." She chuckles at that, her head falling forward to rest against your shoulder as her body shakes with laughter.

"You're thinking about food while I'm kissing you?" She grins, propping herself up on her arm to look down at you lovingly.

"What can I say? I'm a hungry girl." You kiss her cheeks, ghosting your lips over hers. "Although," you tease the corner of her mouth, "...you're looking pretty tasty right about now. I might just eat you instead."

She squeals as you crawl on top of her, pretending to bite her skin as you tickle her sides.

"I surrender!" She shouts, finally giving into you. You kiss her one last time before pulling away and practically dragging her out of the structure.

"I'll get started on cooking the fish if you grab some water." You offer, rustling through your handmade crate for the skewers you use to prepare food.

"Alright," she nods, kissing you on the cheek before grabbing your canteens and setting off towards the freshwater spring not far from camp.

"Be careful!" You call out after her, smiling when she turns around to face you with her hands in the form of a heart.

---------

"Good job baby. That was delicious." She compliments, leaning back against the log you use as seating beside the fire. She almost always opts to sit in the sand and rest against it for some reason, but you're long past questioning her at this point. Rosie's… unique.

"They don't call me Chef Y/N for nothing." You quip, holding your head higher with a sense of self-importance.

"They don't call you that anyway."

"Hey," you pout, slapping the back of her head with no real force. "Let a girl pretend, would you?"

"Fine, my apologies." She smiles again, and you can't help but do the same. You've lost count of how many times she's made you laugh over these past few weeks, and although you hope to be rescued sooner rather than later, the thought of being stuck here with her for a while longer doesn't seem all that bad.

"You're doing it again," she trails off, wiggling her voice up and down to tease you.

"What?"

"Looking at me like a lovesick puppy." Her eyes shine in the warm, tropical sunlight, pools of rich amber that you wouldn't mind getting lost in. They match the color of whiskey almost perfectly.

"Not my fault. Have you seen yourself?." She scoffs, but blushes nonetheless. You lean over to press a kiss to the top of her head affectionately.

Your attention is stolen away all at once as you hear the words you've been imagining ever since you arrived on the island. "Land, ho!" Multiple voices bellow out in the distance, prompting you to search for their source. Collective cheering can be heard, and you swiftly stand -- as if that simple act will miraculously enable you to see better.

"We're coming, Captain!" Jisoo, your second in command shouts, seemingly hanging off the bow of the ship -- your ship. A squad of others follows behind, maintaining a tight formation as they make their way to shore.

"Us too, Captain!" Someone calls from one of the neighboring boats, apparently one of Rosé's crewmembers. She waves back excitedly, and you bite back the smile that tugs at your cheeks.

Eventually they reach land.

"Y/N!" Your scout, Lisa, shrieks like a schoolgirl, running into your arms eagerly. She was the first friend you ever made during your training years, long before you met Rosé, and you were truly worried for her.

"Ah, Lisa. Jisoo." You look between the two of them proudly, glad to see them alive and well. "What happened?"

"We managed to defeat Captain Crusty's men--" she stops to explain when she notices your brows furrowed in amused confusion, "--that's the nickname we gave the bandit leader. Anyway, we defeated them and repaired the ship enough to make it back to shore. They did some major damage, though."

You nod, satisfied with their story, until you remember that they didn't come alone. You subtly motion your head to the other crew, and Jisoo gets the memo. "We found the rest of these pea-brains back at the docks and they insisted on coming along."

"Hey, it's not like we wanted to be stuck with you either!" Jennie, Rosé's second, hits back, defending herself and the rest of her crew. "If your moron captain would've listened to Rosé we wouldn't be here, and we wouldn't have lost anyone in the process."

"Quiet," Rosé warns, stepping in front of her to block the two sides from each other.

Despite knowing it isn't technically your fault, Jennie's words do hold some truth. You feel guilty for all the senseless violence you could've potentially spared your people from enduring, and the what-ifs weigh heavily on your mind and heart.

"So long as I'm still in charge, no one will disrespect Y/N or her crew. Are we clear? I won't take kindly to any of you going against me." It's a heavy warning, and her tone makes it clear that she'll be true to her word. They know better than to test her. Her eyes scan the group of misfits, all looking bewildered by her sudden change of heart. It must be a bit jarring for them, after being such bitter enemies with the others for so long. Regardless, scattered nods and grumbles of acceptance leave them before they all scurry away to get started on their tasks, looking like scolded children.

You send Lisa and Jisoo along with the rest of your crew to go ahead and board again, seeing that you have no real equipment to pack up this time. It feels wrong to leave the island -- the place that brought you back to Rosie and allowed you to open your heart to her -- without something to remember it by. So, with a whispered, "Wait here," you run back to camp to snatch something.

You return soon after, a huge smile plastered on your face. "You're bringing our door?" She laughs, tilting her head at your strange choice.

"Duh. Good to know your eyes still work, I was getting worried." You tease, giggling as she pinches you.

"Come on baby; let's go. Last one there has to clean the poop deck."

"Get back here!" She yells, chasing you into the chilly water with a smile. Whether she loses or not doesn't matter much to her -- she finally has you after all these years, and she can't wait to see where the future will take the two of you.

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spyrothesquish-0006 · 3 years

Note

Can I ask about the brothers visiting an MC in a coma, assumedly sometime after they left their 1 year school year at Devildom? Also would it be bad to ask for a platonic/familial relationship instead of romantic?

How the brothers react to visiting GN!MC in a coma (platonic)

Warnings: None besides hospital and coma mentions, also if you're uncomfy with platonic kisses I'm sorry 😢 I see Asmo as very touchy-feely so even if it's a strictly platonic/familial relationship, it would not be rare for him to kiss your cheeks. And platonic requests are always fine! I hope you enjoy!😊

Lucifer:

• surprisingly was not the first to find out, but once he did, he was quick to be at your side

• depending on how you got to be in a coma changes his reaction

• if it's because someone hurt you, Lucifer will be on a war path to make whoever did it pay dearly for hurting someone in his family

• if it's because of an accident, his worry over you will increase, never wanting to see you in such a state again

• will take whatever measures necessary to make sure you stay safe once you wake up

• if the coma is due to an illness, Lucifer will do everything in his power to get you the best treatment possible

• only the best doctors and nurses are fit to care for his family

• if allowed, he will move you to a devildom hospital to be treated

• will not be leaving your side any time soon

• if you thought this demon didn't sleep before, it's even worse now

• he will stay by your side and hold your hand until he sees your eyes open again

• the paperwork in his office might pile up, but honestly he couldn't care less

• you become his #1 priority

• would often pet his hand over your hair and talk to you at night

• even if you can't hear him, he still tells you how important you are to him and his brothers

• "We're all worried about you, MC. You need to wake up. Please.."

Mammon:

• the minute he knows you're in the hospital he takes off, not even stopping long enough to learn why or that you're in a coma

• completely loses it when he sees you in the hospital bed

• it's a mix between fear of losing you, and anger at whatever it is that put you in that coma

• even if it was in no way his fault, he still blames himself for not being there to protect you

• still feels a bit guilty even if it's something completely out of his control, like an illness

• will be by your side any chance he gets

• definitely tries to curl up in the hospital bed with you

• if he isn't allowed to/there isn't enough space, he will curse until the entire hospital knows infernal curse words

• nothing gets between him and MC, that's his family!

• if for some reason he has to leave your side, his crows are stationed outside your window until he gets back to watch over you

• would call in any favors he has to if it means paying for the best medical care, or finding healing potions

• he remembers Satan once saying how if someone is in a coma, that they can still hear

• he often talks to you as if you're awake and responding, late night conversations lessening his worry about you, but sometimes these end in tears if he gets too carried away, knowing you're not responding and might not any time soon

• "Be a good human and wake up, won't ya? You got us all so worried, and it ain't fair."

Levi:

• once he hears the words "MC" and "Hospital" in the same sentence, he has the worst panic attack imaginable

• accidentally summons Lotan and destroys part of the HoL in his panic

• races to the hospital, not caring who he has to talk to or push past to get to you

• all he cares about is his Henry being okay!

• hospitals aren't really his favorite place, being filled with people and germs, but he will stay by your side until you wake up, no exceptions

• he basically moves into your hospital room

• brings his and yours favorite handheld games and plays them all hours of the day and night

• doesn't want to fall asleep in case you wake up

• even though it makes him a blushy mess, he sits on the edge of your hospital bed and keeps his tail firmly wrapped around your hand to "hold" it while he plays video games

• even if you aren't awake, he still watches your favorite animes with you, hoping that maybe the sound of it will make you want to open your eyes

• "Hey, MC, this is your favorite episode right? Do you think maybe you could open your eyes and watch it with me?"

Satan:

• once he knows you're in a coma he rushes to the hospital and immediately sets to work questioning every doctor and nurse that's treating you

• wants to know everything, why you're in a coma, for how long, what can he or any of his brothers do to help you?

• if the doctors treating you are not to his standards, he will throw a temper tantrum until better ones are brought in for you

• refuses to even entertain the idea that you might not wake up

• he gets very irratible with everyone and everything, but it's only because of how worried he is about you

• he may be pissy and quick to let his temper flare, but he's nothing but gentle with you

• he always holds your hand, sitting by your bedside and reading to you to calm his wrath and worry

• he picks only your favorite books, eyes flicking expectantly between the pages and you when he gets to your favorite parts, hoping that just maybe they'd excite you enough to wake up

• "MC, I brought your favorite again. We left off on chapter 6 right? I know your favorite part is coming up, so give my hand a little squeeze once we get to it, okay?"

Asmo:

• nearly faints when he hears you're in a coma

• once he's at the hospital, he demands to know everything

• Who, what, where, when, he accepts nothing but the most thorough answers possible

• is so wracked with worry that he actually forgets his own routines while he takes care of you, not bothering with his lengthy skincare routine or his beauty sleep, instead focusing on yours

• even if you're out cold, you still should be looking your best and be taken care of!

• after all, he would never leave his family helpless to take care of themselves

• he often talks to you while he brushes your hair or does your skincare for you, never wanting to let you fall behind on the gossip

• talking to you also keeps his nerves in check, often falling asleep while he fills you in on what everyone has been up to

• if he doesn't fall asleep while talking to you, he most likely ends up sleeping while scrolling through devilgram posts, curled up in your bed with you so he can still cuddle you until you wake up

• while he holds you he often peppers your face in gentle kisses, murmuring his affections for you and saying how much all of his brothers care about you

• he'd often call you sleeping beauty at night, but now that nickname leaves a bitter taste in his mouth

• "Do me a favor darling and wake up, hmm? It's so boring without you to talk to. If you wake up soon, I'll take you on a shopping spree, alright?"

Beel:

• worried sick once he knows you're in a coma, rushing to the hospital and refusing to leave your side

• he doesn't even feel hungry as he watches over you, far too worried about you being okay to think about eating for once

• seeing you so fragile looking in the hospital bed reminds him too much of losing Lilith

• plants himself by your bed and is incredible gentle while he holds your hand

• he knows how strong he is, and seeing you in a hospital bed makes him even more wary about accidentally hurting you

• he does have to eat eventually, almost snacking on things in the hospital room before a worried nurse got him some food from the cafeteria

• it may not be the best quality, but he honestly doesn't care that much

• if it means he can stay by your side, he'd eat dirt

• despite how worried he is about you, he keeps a brave face and is always smiling and laughing as he talks to you, telling you about all the things him and his brothers have done after your year at RAD ended

• he always brings your favorite snacks when he sits with you, hoping that maybe you'll be hungry enough to wake up and eat with him again

• "MC, I brought your favorite snacks again, I'm sorry I ate them last time...if you wake up before I get hungry they're all yours though! I can get you more if you're still hungry after."

Belphie:

• to everyone's surprise, he was the first to know you were in a coma

• he often visited you in your dreams after you left RAD, making sure you didn't have any nightmares and to just chat with you

• so when he went to visit you in your latest dream, you told him how you were in the hospital and couldn't wake up just yet while your body healed

• he promised to relay the information to his brothers and was quick to be at your side

• he's less worried about your condition than his brothers, only because he can still visit you while you "sleep"

• just because it's not as bad doesn't mean he has no worries though

• part of him is scared that one day he'll try to visit you and you just won't be there dreaming anymore

• because of this fear, he sleeps as often as he can

• self care isn't exactly his strong hold, so he figures his brothers will take better care of you than he can

• instead of helping you physically, Belphie helps you mentally

• he makes sure you never feel lonely in your coma

• he keeps any bad dreams or negative thoughts away, and he never lets you lose hope about waking up, no matter how long your coma lasts

• to make things more fun, he often alters your dreams so you two can go on adventures

• if you feel like flying? He's got you. Wanna be pirates for the day? There's a sword an eyepatch waiting for you

• even though he can still spend time with you in your coma, he still insists on being at your side physically too

• would bring your favorite blankets and pillows and plushies to put in bed with you so you stay comfortable

• is another brother who would curl up in the hospital bed with you, even letting you use his pillow until you wake up

• snuggles you like a koala 25/8 and sleepy mumbles into your ear are common

• "mm, MC? I know it's fun and all, but you gotta wake up at some point dummy. Don't make me go in there and drag you out."

254 notes · View notes

hongism · 3 years

Text

mists of celeste ➻ 37

➻ pairing: ??? x fem reader ➻ genre: space au, pirate au, space pirate!ateez, angst, smut ➻ word count: 16.9k(? i think?) ➻ rating: M ➻ warnings: language, violence, guns and weaponry, blood, future warnings tba chapter specific warnings: talks of torture, talks of past self-harm, nothing directly graphic all mentioned through conversation, graphic depiction of a panic attack ➻ summary: Sneaking aboard the ship of a renowned space pirate may not have been the best idea, but you’ll have to make do with what fate has handed to you

⇐ previous | next ⇒ | masterlist

✧✧✧ act five ➻ part four

“I’m going to kill the king, Hyunwoo.”

“Y/N, you can’t… that’s going too far.”

“I don’t think we have a choice any longer.”

“We always have a choice, Y/N. It’s just about what you decide to do with that choice that matters. Think about why you’re doing what you’re doing, and what your intentions truly are. It’s not about revenge or payment for a crime — the crimes of his people cannot be put onto his shoulders.”

A sigh passes through your lips, one that sounds more exasperated than anything else, and Hyunwoo lifts a brow upon hearing the noise.

“This is revenge, Hyunwoo. He allowed my past to be taken, he created the law that allows the military to do that. Not to mention the other crimes he has committed — even if they are a result of him sitting idly by and watching them happen. I’m not saying Jisung is always right or that he is a saint for wanting to do this. But if Jisung won’t commit to doing it, then I’ll do it for him.”

“And we swore to find a way to get those memories back, Y/N. Don’t let this cloud your judgment. Don’t let your devotion to making Jisung happy decide your future. If this is something he wants, then he should do it himself and face the consequences on his own! It’s not a burden that you should bear as well. I know this is something you will come to regret!”

“Then you’ll have to stop me with force because I’ve already made my mind up about this. I don’t see Jisung getting in my way right now. But after all, isn’t this what he wants? He’s just too much of a coward to do the dirty work himself!”

“We both know where he stands on this, which is precisely why he’s not here. Just — please let us try one more time. I’ve spoken with a few of my off-planet contacts about this, and we have one last idea that might reverse the effects of the serum. You know how difficult this is; the military keeps such a tight wrap on everything about the serum. It’s near impossible to just get a spare vial, and even harder to examine how it works with test subjects while still being ethical. We are trying our best, I promise, just please hold out a little while longer. Jisung is getting things set up now… so please… just come with me and try before you do anything drastic.”

The man extends a hand, palm facing towards the ceiling and fingers outstretched for you to take. There’s hope in his eyes, a hope you haven’t seen from him in a long time, and that look is what brings your feet forward. You place your palm over his and curl your fingers tight around the side of his hand. He squeezes back as a small grin overtakes his lips.

“If this doesn’t work, then you know what I have to do, Hyunwoo.”

“I know,” he whispers. The hope in his eyes flickers a little, like a flame hit by a gust of wind. “In that case, I’ll do whatever I have to so that you don’t come to regret that decision.”

“Hey, get up. It’s go time.”

You wake with a start, not fully come out of the memory that paints the insides of your eyelids until you look around at your surroundings. Yeosang seems to be the one who woke you seeing as his hand is still outstretched to your arm. The sight of him brings you back to reality and reminds you of where you are and what exactly is going on. Jongho sits on your other side, dressed in nicer clothes than you’ve ever seen him wear before — a pleated and pristine navy suit complete with a bright yellow tie and hair gelled back on his head. Yeosang too wears a somewhat expensive garb although he appears more natural in the silk tunic covering his torso. His naturally dark roots are starting to peek through the blond near his scalp, accentuating the harsh part down the middle of his head.

Despite the fact that both look relatively harmless in this state, you know they each have weapons hidden somewhere on their person underneath that formal wear, just as you do with the knives strapped over your thighs under the skirt attached to your waist. Such an outfit like yours is something you hardly agreed to — it was moreso an insistence on Seonghwa’s part to at least dress the part (although he had to listen to some of your incessant nagging about how you could never fight in a dress so he had to settle on finding a substitute in the form of a jumpsuit with a skirt wrapped around the back. Yet the more you pick at the seams and touch the fabric, the more you recall the none too pleasant conversation you and Seonghwa shared as you were preparing to leave for the mission.

“Perhaps I do have an eye for beauty after all, or is it that you simply look breathtaking in anything?” Seonghwa stands in the doorway to your bedroom, not a mind for privacy as he watches you struggle to tug the zipper of your suit up.

“Can’t even breathe on my own, huh?” You huff out as you drop the zipper in defeat.

“I’ve already seen every inch of you, have I not? There’s nothing to hide that I haven’t seen before,” Seonghwa says through a laugh. He watches your cheeks flush with color before dropping his arms to his side and coming closer to you. He remains wordless as he pulls your zipper up for you, smoothing the fabric under his fingers down once it’s pulled up to your neck. “It suits you. Things like this, I mean. The silk makes you look… softer, yet the color combination of black and white makes you look lethal. Perfect definition of beauty, no? That something so delicate could also kill you? A wonderful dichotomy in my eyes.”

“Someone is in a poetic mood today.” You don’t hide the way your eyes roll to the back of your head, but Seonghwa doesn’t seem all too bothered by your show of faux-annoyance. Instead, his hands find your hips and turn you to face him directly, staring so intently into your eyes with his own dark ones that you lose the rest of your retort.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to go on this mission so desperately but that didn’t quite work out.” You’re quick to shake your head, already in the midst of denying his words before he even finishes his sentence.

“It’s alright. I’ll have Yeosang and Jongho there with me.”

“I would go if only Hongjoong would let me bu—” The thought cuts short as you place a hand over his forearm.

“Seonghwa, it’s okay. Hongjoong is right to have you stay here while you’re not 100% better. And you can both keep an eye on Jisung this way. We’ll bring Wooyoung back as quickly as possible, I swear.” Instead of consoling the man, your words seem to have an opposite effect as he drops his gaze to the floor.

“If I were stronger, this wouldn’t even be an issue. You should not have had to waste so much time having to look after my fragile and weak mental state when you could have caught up to the ship sooner and had all three of them back in one go.”

“This is what we’re working with, Hwa. It has nothing to do with your welfare. We still would have been too late regardless of whether that night had happened or not. So please — it will all work out and be okay. It has to.”

Seonghwa’s smile is quaint, a small twitch of his lips, then he’s leaning in to close the distance between your lips. You lift your hand to push hard against his chest, furthering that distance before he gets the chance to meet your lips with his.

“I just put on this black lipstick and you already want to mess it up? How rude,” you scoff. That isn’t a real reason, and you both know it, and you only solidify that further when you speak next before biting your tongue. “You shouldn’t push it right now. I still haven’t forgiven you for not fighting my decision to go with Jisung. Besides wasn’t the decision to… stop whatever this is mutual?”

“It was, of course,” he murmurs back, not quite meeting your eyes. “I am merely a creature of habit, so it will take some time for me to adjust to this change. But… Y/N, might I be so bold as to ask you something?”

“Hm, isn’t that a question right there?”

“I’ll take that as a yes then?” You regard him with a small nod but pull away so that his hands drop to his sides again. “Were any of the feelings you had for me something real and tangible? Not just because of what we are and that comfort of both being Sirens, I mean.”

You should have known he would bring this up eventually, especially with how the two of you are constantly dancing around each other and the topic. Still, you aren’t ready for it.

“I… don’t think I know the answer to that question, but even if I did, I-I might not be able to answer with complete honesty.” The smile that comes to paint Seonghwa’s lips is nothing short of sad and painful, not quite reaching his bright eyes with its usual mirth.

“It’s a conversation I wish for us to have one day, but I too fear that I might not be able to be completely honest either. Perhaps — perhaps we got a little too caught up in the heat of things without truly thinking about why we were doing the things we were doing.”

“Why did you do it then? I was the one who gave the initial push, I started things, I claim responsibility for that, but you pulled right back. So why?”

“I have found time to think about such things quite a bit lately since I was left in the medbay alone for so long; however, now is not the time to talk about that as it would take too long. Has Wooyoung brought you back yet?”

“No, not since the night in the medbay. But San very clearly said three days until they would land on Dorado, and it’s been six since then. They should be there by now, and the deals should have gone through. Wooyoung’s was to be immediate after all.” Seonghwa’s smile drops into a half-hearted scowl.

“Without Wooyoung on the inside, we will have no way of knowing where San and Mingi are.”

“Unless Jisung decides to be kind with his information.” You run a hand through your hair, mussing the already down tresses enough to be somewhat noticeable. “We’ll have to make do.” Seonghwa stretches across the empty space between you

“I won’t keep you any longer then. Tell the others good luck from me, and please… be careful? No unnecessary risks if you can avoid them. I’d like to see you all back in one piece.”

Reality swoops in on you as Jongho places a firm hand over your thigh.

“You alright? I can practically feel you thinking so hard.”

“Yes, yes, of course. Just… wondering about the mission.”

“It’ll be okay,” Jongho murmurs, squeezing at your leg a little tighter. “It’s a straightforward mission — easy in and out.”

“Hopefully.” Yeosang is the one to hum the word but he doesn’t look at either of you as he speaks. “Once we’re in, I’ll talk to the main desk and ask for someone with Wooyoung’s general appearance. It’ll be a bit difficult because they will have given a new name — something a prostitute would have. I’m not sure how many people in there will have similar appearances to Wooyoung but we’ll have to do our best. You two remember what you’re supposed to do?”

“Yes,” you nod. “Follow suit, wait fifteen minutes for you to pass through the reception area, then ask the same thing. A male short in stature with black hair and tanned skin. All prostitutes have collar so it won’t be Wooyoung’s defining feature any longer.” The recitation rolls off your tongue with ease after having heard Yeosang repeat it so many times by now. He nods in approval nonetheless.

“Remember there are cameras in each of the rooms. Don’t know how they use them but it’s something to be aware of. Hopefully, one of us will be able to come across Wooyoung, and in the case that you do?”

“We are to stay in the room with him for the allotted time, ping back to the ship and let Hongjoong know we have him, then wait for his signal,” Jongho responds. “His contact here on Dorado will be hacking their surveillance systems once we are certain that we have Wooyoung in a safe position.”

“Hongjoong sure seems to have a lot of contacts for someone who doesn’t trust people,” you murmur more to yourself than to anyone else, but Yeosang picks up on it nonetheless.

“His contacts are few and far between. This is one he has known since before he became a captain, so he holds a bit more trust with him. Back to the plan though, after his contact confirms our safety, you’ll crack a window and hop out hopefully unscathed. Remember that the Upper Echelon of Dorado is tight on security. Whoever gets Wooyoung out will have to be mindful of guards and try not to look suspicious. If any guards stop you, do not engage with violence. Simply do as they ask you to and tell them that Wooyoung is your slave. And one last thing: don’t forget we’ll be going in silent so keep a close eye on your wristbands. Understood?”

“Clear as day,” Jongho says while you offer only a hasty nod.

“Good, stay sharp then. We’ll be landing soon, and it’ll be go time immediately after that.” With that, Yeosang sits back and shuts his eyes, leaving you and Jongho to stew over the plan again in silence. At least until you decide you can’t take it anymore and turn to talk to the Berserker again.

“Are you nervous at all about the mission?”

A shrug.

“No more than usual. Recovering Wooyoung won’t be easy by any means, of course. It’s a step in the right direction, right? How are you feeling?” As though sensing your nerves, he pats your thigh a few times, and you simply stare down at the dirty floor beneath your feet.

“I feel a bit guilty in a way because I’m not too worried about the mission,” you admit, albeit quietly because you aren’t sure how please Yeosang would be to hear the words. “The only thing that is on my mind right now is how San is doing and if he’s okay.” Although you told Seonghwa otherwise, the sudden radio silence that Wooyoung has given you has made you anxious to an unspeakable degree. And not having the security of being able to see San through Wooyoung’s eyes is plaguing you more than you’d like to admit.

“I understand that,” Jongho says through a deep exhale. “I feel the same way about Mingi right now honestly. No matter how much faith and trust I have in Mingi, that fear always lingers and resides in me.”

“That’s how I feel about San. I shouldn’t be worried about him but part of me is just fearful that we won’t make it in time. That he’ll accept the serum before we can get him out.”

Jongho brings his hand up to take hold of one of yours, squeezing around your palm as tight as he can without hurting you.

“I know San better than I know anyone on the crew, besides Mingi perhaps. I’ve spent years at San’s side. He was the only person who trusted me at first and trusted me enough to let me in. That trauma he bears, the scars on his past, the red in his ledger, those lingering pains that resurfaced when the mutiny happened — I have felt them all. I spent months at the foot of his bed, taking what pain I could away for as long as I could, just existing to comfort him and help him get through even one more night. And in that myriad of emotions I felt from San, not once did I ever feel him desire to take it all away. Those scars he bears are part of him, and he treats them as such. Something like… small accessories on a bigger picture that he won’t let go of. So no matter what happens, I have confidence that San won’t let them win. He’s far too stubborn for that, his heart is too big, he has too much love in his body for such a thing. He would rather die before he forgets the crew, and that fact alone makes me confident that San will hold out.”

You are left in the wake of Jongho’s words for too long, letting them crawl under your skin and find a home there. You count the seconds that pass before your voice finds you again.

“I understand that.” Forty-one seconds. “It’s just the fear of him being hurt when I’m not around to stop it that is hard to get past.” Jongho’s smile is nothing if not soft and gentle, the epitome of understanding.

“In our line of work, that fear is always present. It’s always a possibility too, but at some point, you reach a point where you accept that sometimes, you won’t always be able to save someone from all pain. Just because you can’t prevent every ounce of pain doesn’t mean that you are doing something wrong or that you’re not doing enough.” Jongho pauses. Some emotion fills his red eyes and leaves them swimming with something unspoken. “There are some pains that we must allow to happen, no matter how much we wish to do the opposite. Even something as horrid as pain can be necessary and needed to move forward in life. Try not to dwell on it too much and focus on Wooyoung for now, yeah?”

“I’m trying my best,” you sigh and drop your head back against the seat. The second your thoughts begin to drift, you are brought back to another memory, this time one of Hongjoong’s dark office with Seonghwa at your side.

“You punched Jisung in the face?”

“Please, I let him off easy,” you huff back, ignoring the lieutenant’s slight shock in favor of finding interest in the wall.

“That’s not the important part,” Hongjoong cuts in from where he sits behind his desk. You shift to glance over the captain. “Does Jisung know anything about you being a Siren?”

“No, not that I recall,” you mutter after little thought. “I never slept with him or anything like that, and I can’t remember him ever seeing my back so it’s safe to assume he doesn’t know. Besides who would just see tattoos and immediately assume ‘Siren’?”

“Then his interest in you has nothing to do with you being a Siren?”

“Exactly, but why is that important? I can tell you why he wants me if that’s what you’re curious about.”

“We’re just eliminating suspicions right now.” Hongjoong shifts his focus to where Seonghwa stands. He wears a bit of a cocky grin as they stare at each other, both feet slung up on the edge of his desk and one brow raised. “See? Jin has nothing to do with this.”

“That doesn’t eliminate the possibility altogether!” Seonghwa retorts. A frown mars his otherwise pretty features, twisting his lips into a scowl so deep that you feel your own muscles ache at the sight of it.

“You live your life in fear of Seokjin. For what? Do you not trust me to keep you safe?”

“That isn’t it and you know it, Joong. I will not sabotage your plans simply because of what I am. That is why we keep my identity to be a closely-guarded secret yet our number one enemy knows of that identity. That is a weakness, and it’s one that you need to take seriously.”

“Why is that? Sheltering you would be more suspicious to the crew than anything else. Unless you would like to inform them of your identity? Allow me to call them all right this instant.”

“No! No, Hongjoong, I — fine. Have it your way. Keep believing that you’ll be able to fix where Jin went wrong by ignoring the issue altogether because th—”

“That’s enough.” You bristle at the tone of the captain’s voice even though he is not speaking directly to you. “I’m still on edge as well, Hwa, and I know you are as well. I know why you are too, but please have at least a little faith in me. Now, Y/N—” Hongjoong turns back to you now “—I’d like to ask about the nightmares you had that night.”

Your initial response is to inhale sharply and glance over at Seonghwa with panic boiling in your gut.

“Why do you want to know?”

All Hongjoong does is roll his eyes and drop his feet off the side of his desk. You purse your lips at the action, watching him with wary eyes as he shifts his position to prop his elbows up on the same wood.

“Seonghwa, you’re dismissed.”

“I — Captain?”

“Dismissed, Lieutenant. I need to speak with her in private.”

“Why is it something I cannot be present for?”

“That was an order, not a suggestion. Now go.” If possible, the temperature of the room would drop ten degrees. Seonghwa seems to want to retort further but he bites his lip instead. Then, he gives a quick bow at the waist and mutters a goodbye before slipping out of the office without any further issue. “What did your nightmares consist of?” Hongjoong repeats, arching a brow as he speaks this time as though it will get you to talk faster.

“You didn’t have to get me alone to ask me that, did you? What is this really about?” The questions flow without hesitation, and your second refusal to talk about the dreams draws a sigh from Hongjoong’s lips.

“Do you know anything of Seonghwa’s relationship with his mother, Y/N?” A beat of silence. You shift your weight from foot to foot, glancing away from the captain to find interest in something on the floor.

“I… did witness a few of his memories when the two of us were still with each other in the dreams, but — if you mean to ask me about his nightmares, I have nothing to offer. I didn’t see those at all.”

“No, he already told me all about those nightmares. I don’t need to know more of them,” Hongjoong exhales with a shake of his head. He draws his arms up over his chest as he talks, falling back to slump in his chair and letting his exhaustion shine through. “Initially, I was going to have Seonghwa go with Yeosang and Jongho on this mission. But now, that plan has changed and I will be sending you instead.”

“Why?”

“I can’t send Seonghwa down to Lynder unless I myself can be at his side the entire time. There is far too much of a risk if I am unable to do that.”

“Risk? Of what? He would be with Yeosang and Jongho, would he not?”

“Yet if even the barest whim overcomes him, they would have to listen to whatever he says because of his position as lieutenant. I am the only one with more power than him, and as such, he has to listen to me. If he goes to Lynder, the risk is of him abandoning the mission to seek out his mother.”

“That doesn’t sound like something he would do at all,” you counter. Both you and Hongjoong drop your chins at the same time, although yours is more of an accusatory and pointed action compared to the slumping defeat that comes over Hongjoong’s body when he lowers his head.

“I don��t know how much or what exactly you saw in Seonghwa’s memories. I do not need to know either. But something you need to know is that we have been back to Lynder exactly once since I met Seonghwa there. And that one single time, two years ago, we had to lock Seonghwa in the brig for six days straight to keep him from breaking out to kill his mother. Seonghwa tore cuts into his arms and shoulders so deep that Yunho had to come stitch him every night until we finally chained him to a wall to get him to stop. When he finally gave up on trying to break out, I went in and took the cuffs off, only for Seonghwa to choke me hard enough to fracture my neck and leave bruises that lasted for several weeks.”

“A-Ah…” The sound of your dry swallow echoes in your ears. It’s hard to imagine Seonghwa — cool, rigid, stoic, gentle and calm Seonghwa — ever being so depraved and rabid as to harm himself as well as Hongjoong. Seonghwa, whose greatest fear is losing his captain. Yet the grave expression coating Hongjoong’s delicate features remains serious and deadpan, and you know every word is one that holds a memory that is painful to recall. He’s telling the truth.

“Have you ever had that voice in your head telling you to be cruel, Y/N?”

“Of course I have,” you admit through a whisper, like the words are going to break the threads of tension hanging in the air.

“Seonghwa has lost his will and his mind to that voice time and time again, and it gave him his reputation as the Lieutenant of Death. Mingi may be a slave to a childhood which bred him to be a monster, but Seonghwa? He’s a slave to his own consciousness, the part of him that spent years trying to be perceived as an Elitist so that he could hide what he really is, someone cold and calculated without an ounce of remorse or emotion. He put his own monsters under the bed, but now he can’t get them out.”

Hongjoong sits up a bit straighter all of a sudden. His gaze is still unfocused and hazy though, refusing to look you straight in the eye. Either subconsciously or through the fog of that revisited memory, Hongjoong lifts a hand to his neck and rubs idly at the skin there.

“My Seon—Lieutenant is strong, but strength isn’t worth a damn thing when the person you’re fighting is yourself. He admitted to me once that the thought of letting that voice win is more terrifying than the act of killing his own mother. So for that reason, I can never allow such a thing to happen. Seonghwa’s demons are nothing if not rabid dogs begging for a pound of flesh, and if he can’t fight them on his own, I’ll do it for him.”

“Y/N, are you sure you’re alright?” Jongho yet again brings you back to reality, most likely a bit disturbed by the way you are squeezing his hand tight enough to hurt, but he takes it without complaint. “You keep drifting out of focus.”

“Yes,” you say, filling your chest with air when you remember to breathe properly again. “Everything is fine.” Rather than responding with words, Jongho just places his other hand over your joined ones and brings them to rest on his thigh. If you listen closely enough, you’re able to hear him humming a soft melody under his breath but the rumble of the transport car covers most of the sound up. Still, it’s a relaxing sound that brings you some much-needed peace of mind for the remainder of the ride.

And as it turns out, Yeosang wasn’t bluffing when he said the three of you would be there soon because you had barely started listening to Jongho’s soft song when the car comes to a screeching halt that leaves you lurching forward.

“Alright then.” Yeosang stands first, hands smoothing down the fabric of his tunic even though it’s still perfectly in place. It’s not against his nature to get nervous or anxious, but it is still odd to witness like this. He is usually stoic in an unsettling way yet the grim expression he now wears is only accentuated by the crude shadows cast over his face. “It’s go time. Let’s get Wooyoung back in one piece, yeah?”

With that, the three of you climb out of the vehicle to be greeted by a dark and pristine city with thick clouds of smoke billowing through the air below you. Looking over the lip of the road is like looking down a cliff with the dramatic fall to the lower portion of the city. You weren’t exactly prepared to see such a drastic difference between the upper and lower echelons, yet looking over that cliff is like looking into a different city altogether with wooden buildings and decrepit warehouses that can barely hold themselves together. Where you stand with Yeosang and Jongho feels like a different world altogether with roads lined with lights and technology, tall buildings made from wood with exquisite carvings detailing the sides. From what you saw of the city in Seonghwa’s memories, Lynder has not changed one bit since he was here last.

You can’t clearly see many of the buildings below your feet, but it doesn’t stop you from wondering which one could possibly be that bar where Seonghwa met Hongjoong, if it even still exists. Jongho pulls you away from the road by the arm, tugging you along behind him as you approach a new building. The swaying wooden panel outside the door is a dead giveaway, but it’s the absurd amount of lilies trailing over the railings that tells you what this place is.

“They weren’t bluffing with the House of Lilies name,” you mutter, wrinkling your nose a bit at the overwhelming stench. Yeosang has grown alarmingly still; he lingers outside the tall double doors with a hand hovering over the brass handles without budging even an inch for far too long. You could pretend to not know why he’s hesitating, you could act like he is merely holding you back and push past him in annoyance, yet instead, you find yourself laying a hand atop his shoulder and squeezing the fabric there lightly. “No matter what happens in there or what we find in there, we will bring Wooyoung out alive.”

Yeosang releases a shaky exhale that makes his shoulder quake under your fingers.

“I know we will.” He looks past your face to make eye contact with Jongho then gives a curt nod. “Here goes the first fifteen minutes of hell.” The Elitist pushes hard against the brass handles, and the door gives way to his effort.

If you thought the smell outside the House was horrid, you don’t even know how to describe the reeking stench of flowers that hits you with the force of a tsunami. It’s thick enough for you to feel as though you are wading through a sea of flowers when in reality it’s just a strange yellow haze hanging about the interior. Yeosang doesn’t let the smell affect him in the slightest; he walks inside without missing a beat, shoulders pushed back so far it nearly hurts to see. Despite that, he walks like a prince, like someone who knows how to act in high society with ease, and for the first time, you don’t see Kang Yeosang before you. Instead, it’s Kang Minhee, the forgotten prince of Aera, who walks before you and heads for the front desk where a middle-aged woman with dramatic hair and hefty makeup stands.

“We should mingle a bit and look natural,” Jongho whispers when the two of you stop just inside the doors. “May I?” He motions to your arm with a small smile, not saying anything else and leaving you confused.

“May you…?”

“Quit being dense and give me your arm,” he huffs back and extends his elbow for you to loop your arm through, and this time, you get the hint, hooking your hand around the inside of his arm. Yeosang shifts to look back at both of you as you pass, and you offer each other discreet nods before he returns to speaking to the receptionist.

You let Jongho lead the way for the most part since you aren’t sure what you’re supposed to be doing outside of “looking normal”, although even doing that is somewhat difficult. Jongho doesn’t stray far from the entrance area until Yeosang dips into a hallway and out of sight without looking back at the two of you. Moments later your wristbands buzz, signaling that it’s time for the first fifteen-minute countdown to begin. Jongho shifts to fiddle with his wristband while you keep your hand folded over his elbow still. It gives you a chance to glance around the whorehouse without the distraction of having to act normal, but frankly, there isn’t much to see beyond the bodies filling the foyer and mingling about the lounge before you. There are flowers everywhere — probably an overabundance of them, and they aren’t just lilies as they were outside. You can’t pinpoint whether those flowers are the source of the clawingly sweet scent stuck to the insides of your nostrils or not, but that yellow fog seems partially responsible to some degree.

“You seem to know how to look like you belong in high society,” you mutter once Jongho pulls his attention back to your surroundings. A huff of laughter leaves his lips.

“It’s not because I grew up that way. I was merely an observant child who wanted to grow up and have more than what I had.” A smile cracks his stony expression. “Isn’t that what all children want?”

“I—”

Well, you wouldn’t really know, would you?

Jongho’s expression softens as he realizes what he’s said and who he has said it to, and his gaze turns apologetic seconds later. He turns to flag down one of the workers milling about with drinks, taking two glasses of what looks like wine in one hand. Jongho angles one of the half-full flutes in your direction. You take the hint with relative ease despite the clawing scent of flowers still muddling your thoughts.

“I didn’t mean to hit a nerve,” Jongho says through what seems to be a sympathetic smile. “What do you think your childhood was like? If you don’t mind talking about such things. We have time to kill after all.”

You draw your lips into a tight purse, curling them around the edge of the wine glass and pressing an imprint of your dark lipstick there. Subconsciously, your hand tightens around the inside of Jongho’s arm as well, although the Berserker doesn’t comment on the added pressure as he simply continues to regard you with the same steely and careful gaze.

“I think it must have been rather sad,” you admit after some thought. It must not be the answer Jongho was expecting at all because his brows draw together in confusion. “What kind of childhood must one have for them to willingly sell away their memories by fourteen? The more I think… about that time — when they gave me the serum — I recall fighting the doctors but I don’t think it was because I didn’t know what they were doing. I’m certain that I knew my memories would be taken from me. It was the act of them strapping me to a chair like a prisoner that frightened me.”

This time when Jongho smiles, all you can see is pain in his deep red eyes.

“I would have given anything in the universe to have my memories taken away at that age too, if it’s of any comfort to you.” He pauses to swirl the liquid in his glass, watching the red liquor dance before his eyes under the yellow haze around your bodies. “Don’t think you’re weak for wanting to forget that past. No child should ever deal with pains that strong, even if you can’t remember what they are.”

“People like you… San, Mingi… the whole crew honestly — how can I not view myself as weak in comparison? People who were given the choice but denied it and rejected it unlike me, who apparently didn’t want to be left with some shred of dignity. What did I become with that fresh slate they gave me? All I could do then was be weak, but it seems like that hasn’t changed one bit.”

Jongho won’t let up with that devastating smile, and you are about to turn away so that you don’t have to see it any longer when he finally lets it fall.

“For what it’s worth, you are rather strong in my eyes. During your fight with Jisung, I’ll admit that I tried to ease some of your pain then. It’s not something you know about — the others know of it by now so I should have told you sooner and I’m sorry for that but I have a special mutation in my genes that gives me the ability to take away and absorb emotional auras. I inherited it from one of my grandparents so it’s something I grew up learning how to use and I carried that over when I joined the crew. I attempted to do that with you because you were in so much distress and I was worried but — b-but your pain was too much for even me to bear. So before you go around calling yourself weak, you ought to give yourself more credit. Just because the pains you bear are different doesn’t mean that they are any less than the pains the rest of us bear.”

Jongho doesn’t say anything more than that; he slings his wine back in one shot like it’s nothing then places the now empty glass on a waiter’s tray as he’s passing by. You don’t touch your own, mulling over the glass as you fall deep in thought. If Jongho could feel that much from you, then it begs the question of what else he might be able to feel from you.

Can he sense that I’m a Siren too? Would he be able to tell that Seonghwa and Wooyoung are Sirens as well?

Your mind shifts to latch onto something else he said. Your pain was too much for even me to bear.

“It’s okay, Y/N. Stand down,” he murmurs. “You need to pick your battles, and this is not one for you to fight right now.” Again you feel that pull of warmth coming from him, like someone is trying to pull something from your chest, but it retracts almost instantaneously. Jongho falters. His eyes squeeze shut harshly, face contorting with something that almost looks like pain in your eyes, but that lasts less than a second before he’s recovered again. It’s not enough to stop the onslaught of emotions coursing through your veins.

You had been too preoccupied at the time to think about that moment until now.

“That time — did I hurt you? When you tried to take it away, did I hurt you even a little bit?”

“Nothing you did hurt me, Y/N. It wasn’t your fault, I promise you didn’t do anything. It’s something I have done time and time again for others on the crew and something I would do again as well. It’s what I’m good at, and something I was born with for a reason. If it helps even a little bit, then why would I not take the temporary pain?”

Every fiber of your being is telling you to fight those words, to tell him that it’s not worth it, your pain should not be a burden he has to bear as well, yet no words fall from your lips. Your mouth stutters uselessly without saying anything, and Jongho just keeps smiling like nothing is wrong. The clenching in your chest is not fine, however, and you force yourself to turn away from him in the hopes it will alleviate that pain. Instead, your eyes travel to a head of bright red hair that is so starkly different than anything else in the room that you have to stare right at it. It would be nothing odd or out of the ordinary to you since the crew you are now part of has such a wide array of hair colors. It would be something you look right past without much thought.

And yet you find yourself staring right at it. Right at the girl who turns to look around the lounge with red hair sweeping through the air.

You jolt.

Something hits your shoulder hard enough to tip your drink over and spill some of the red wine onto the floor. Your hand retracts from Jongho’s arm to touch the knife hidden behind the fabric of your skirt. You’re forced to pull your gaze away from the girl, finding the man who bumped into you to just be a stumbling drunk man with little sense for spatial awareness and direction. Jongho wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you a bit closer to his body. The man continues on without any regard for you or the wine he just spilled. Jongho takes your glass with his free hand, discarding it at the nearest flat surface before redirecting his focus back to you.

“It’s okay, Y/N, everything is okay.”

“I’m fine,” you murmur back, but your gaze goes straight back to where that redhead just stood.

“You look like you just saw a ghost.”

Instinct tells you to stay put and continue on with the mission, putting that familiar face to the back of your mind. But again your heart is clenching painfully in your chest, racing so fast that you feel the pounds echoing in your ears, and you know you can’t let go of her that easily. Not when she’s this close to you.

“I think I did.” You pull away from Jongho to go chasing through the crowd after that red hair, but the Berserker moves with you in a rush.

“Y/N, we can’t get off track. There’s only six minutes until it’s your turn to go to the counter.”

You wave him off with a dismissive hand rather than responding with words. Moments later, you find your target again, just as she is turning to head for the hallway that Yeosang went down not too long ago.

“Soojin?” You throw the name out as a last resort, mostly a desperate attempt to see if you are right and your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you in this heady yellow haze.

She freezes in place. It gives you just enough time to shove past the crowd and get closer to where she stands. You close your fingers around her shoulder, tugging with as little force as possible so that she turns to face you. There’s not a doubt in your mind when you see her face. She seems to recognize you as well based on the way her eyes are blown wide as saucers. The girl — well, you suppose she would be a woman by now — glances past your shoulder to look at Jongho. Her throat rolls as she swallows around nothing.

“You must have me mistaken for someone else,” Soojin whispers, bringing her gaze back down to you. She dips her head a bit then pulls away from you to head down the hall. You think back to Jisung — the threats and odd comments he made combined with the newly resurfaced memories of Hyunwoo lingering at the forefront of your mind, and you know without a shadow of a doubt that you can’t let her go this easily.

“P-Please, Soojin — I need to talk with you. It’s important, please, I have so many questions and no one else to ask.”

“I’m sure you do, little scapegoat,” she huffs back. “I actually have work to do though and a client waiting for me, so I’m not all too inclined to speak with you. I’m not sure why you came here, but I don’t think I have the answers you’re looking for either.” You don’t have a chance to keep her from leaving after that because she turns and leaves so quickly that it leaves you reeling. Jongho tugs you back by the arm, pulling you from the hallway and out into the lounge again before you can chase after her.

“What the hell was that?” He hisses under his breath.

“She — I-I knew her. She w-was my teammate, one of the p-people assigned to my unit in the military. I… I had no idea she ended up here of all places. Jongho, I have to talk to her, please, I have to. This c-could be what I need! If Jisung won’t tell me the truth, then maybe she knows something. She has to know something o-or else I—”

Your voice dies in your throat, but your unspoken desperation seems to reach Jongho nonetheless. The key to whatever memories you lost could lie in Soojin. Things happened so quickly at the end, perhaps she learned of something before leaving Eros with the others.

“She called you a scapegoat,” Jongho says. He swallows hard, Adam’s Apple bobbing with the motion. “What was that about?”

Truthfully, you hadn’t gotten that far. You didn’t even think to question that part but it is odd and not something you recall her calling you in the past.

“I’m not sure why she would say that. All the more reason to speak to her and ask. Jongho, please!” You attempt to pull away from his grip as you speak. The Berserker doesn’t budge, too strong for you to fight like this, and he doesn’t let up even when you try to slap his hand away.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.” He yanks you back to him and brings his free hand up to rest on your forehead. This time, you can physically feel the panic in your bones ebbing away and being pulled to your forehead where Jongho touches you. It’s a frightening sensation but the influence he has over you takes that fear away as well, leaving you in a daze of confusion because you know you should feel bothered right now but you cannot bring yourself to feel that way even as Jongho pulls away from you. His jaw twitches just a hair, not moving much beyond that, then he grits his teeth to hiss out his next words. “Wooyoung is our mission. You have to focus. You have two minutes to get up to that counter and do your job. We can try to track down your teammate later, but not on a mission like this.”

You have it in you to at least be angry enough to tug your arm out of his grasp.

“Don’t touch my emotions like that again. I understand you trying to take my pain, and as much as I hate that and despite the thought of you taking my pains for me, this is different. Emotionally sedating me for the sake of completing a mission better is different.”

You don’t give him a chance to reply before you’re heading off for the counter where Yeosang stood not too long ago. The woman who previously occupied the space behind it has disappeared, now replaced by a young man who must be younger than you from the looks of it.

“How can I help you, ma’am?” He asks as you sidle up to the desk.

“I’d like a room, an hour’s worth.” You fumble a bit with your pockets as you try to fish a credit chip out without exposing the knife strapped to your thigh, but the boy doesn’t look up until you slide the chip across the counter.

“Of course, of course,” he hums. “Do you have any preferences for pleasure tonight?”

“A male short in stature with black hair and tanned skin,” you recite back, forcing a smile onto your lips when the boy glances up at you. He tilts his head to the side. You swallow the saliva gathering in your mouth as the stare grows unsettling then he shakes his head and speaks again.

“Would you like someone more submissive or dominant?”

“Hm? Oh, um…” That wasn’t part of the plan. Surely Yeosang would have mentioned it if he had known they would ask. But what would he have said if they asked him the same? “Um, submissive is fine, I suppose?” The boy hums again then motions towards the hallway where Yeosang and Soojin both headed down.

“Your room will be on the second floor, Room 213. Please take the stairs at the end of the hall.” He passes a keycard your way along with your credit chip, leaving you with a grin and a soft-spoken, “Your courtesan will join you shortly. Enjoy.” You bristle at his words but manage to smile a little bit as you take both the card and your chip back. You leave the counter to head for the hallway, not pausing to look back at where Jongho might be, but you ping your wristband as you go. Nothing has come in from Yeosang’s side again so it’s safe to assume he doesn’t have Wooyoung with him by now. It leaves you and Jongho with more pressure and either more or less of a chance to recover him, so you can only hope for the best as you climb the stairs to the second floor.

Room 213 is empty as expected when you slip inside, and it’s free from that odd yellow fog outside as well, so you bask in the freedom and breathe fresh air deeply while you can. It’s a basic and standard room — much more like a small hotel room than anything else from the cabinet near the door and the double bed pushed up against the wall. There’s a metal sink as well close to the window but nothing else adorns the room leaving it rather dismal and simple. Not that you expected these people to treat the courtesans with even an ounce of respect; it’s still disheartening to think of Wooyoung being stuck in such a small and cramped space without a choice.

Whatever peace you thought you could have is cruelly interrupted less than five minutes later as a series of shy knocks reach your door. You blink up from where you sit perched on the edge of the neatly made bed. Is this how Yeosang felt waiting for his door to open? You inhale sharply, heart pounding mercilessly in your throat and choking you with the strength of an actual hand. And shamefully, you can’t even bring yourself to look at the door when it slides open, too afraid of not seeing Wooyoung standing behind it.

“Y-Y/N?”

You snap your head towards the door so quickly that your neck pops with the effort, eyes blinking open faster than ever, and even when your gaze settles on him, you still can’t quite believe he’s really before you. In that moment, the two of you merely regard each other with stunned stares like neither of you can believe this is possible, and in that time, the door slides shut again to leave you together in the all too small room.

“Wooyoung.” You bring yourself to your feet, standing on shaky legs as you face him. “W-Woo—”

He cuts you short by barreling into you with such force that it knocks the air out of your lungs. The metal around his neck scrapes against your skin hard enough to cut but you pay it no mind as he squeezes his arms around your waist and releases a heart-wrenching sob into your shoulder. Reason returns to you then, bringing you to ping your wristband again; although this time you tap it three times to alert the others that you have Wooyoung with you now. There is nothing more to do after that other than to hug him back as his tears soak your neck and shoulder.

“I-I didn’t — I di-didn’t want to lose hope b-but… fuck it was s-so hard not to and I was st-starting to think I wouldn’t ever s-see you again,” Wooyoung sobs. You almost want to cry with him if not for the small blinking light in the upper corner of the room that catches your eye and sends a surge of panic through you.

“The cameras, Wooyoung. They’re still on, we need to—”

“Y-Yeah, they’re — they only c-check if you hit the button by the bed.” Wooyoung pulls back from your shoulder, at last, rubbing at his tear-stricken cheeks so hard it makes his skin blossom with red. He pauses to catch his breath, or at least steady himself enough to speak without choking on his words. “That si-signals that you’re unsatisfied so they’ll c-check and see what’s — what’s wrong before sending a new courtesan.” Wooyoung puts his hand in yours and laces your fingers without hesitation. The touch seems to offer him some more comfort that helps calm his small hiccups and cries. “Is Y-Yeosang okay?”

“He’s alright, yeah,” you whisper back through a smile. “Misses you something awful, but he’s here too. He tried to get to you first, but they must have sent someone else to him. Jongho came as well. To get you. We came to get you, Wooyoung.”

Those words make Wooyoung’s eyes well up with sickening haste. He sinks to the bed before another sob forces its way out, and you sit down beside him like the mattress might collapse if you move too quickly.

“I’m so glad. So fucking g-glad. Being in a pl-place like this without Yeosang — it’s fucking hell.” Wooyoung sinks his teeth into his lower lip just to keep it from trembling.

“Have you…” Surely it’s not a question you have any right to ask, and part of you feels like Wooyoung did need your help but merely did not want to bring you to this place, even if just to watch through his eyes. Still, you swallow the nerves and force the question out. “Have they made you work yet?”

“It’s not important whether they did or not,” Wooyoung says through a weak smile, but that tells you all you need to know. It sounds too rehearsed and monotonous, like he’s been told to say this even if only by himself. “B-But what’s the plan? How are we getting out? Is someone coming to get us?”

“Um, we’re to wait the allotted time here until we get news from one of Hongjoong’s contacts here. He’s a hacker, and he’ll take care of the surveillance system so that we can open the window and get out that way. We’ll meet Yeosang and Jongho in an alleyway not too far from here after that. Then head back to the ship on a transport car.”

“Thought of everything, huh?”

“I sure hope so.”

“It should work just fine. We’re on the second floor though, so it’ll be quite the fall. Just remember to not go face-first.” Wooyoung’s smile is infectious, and you laugh along with his jest, hand squeezing around his. “How is Seonghwa doing?”

“A-Ah, I nearly forgot you knew about that. Um, he’s alright but Hongjoong didn’t think he was well enough to come on the mission with us.”

“Captain is up then? Yeosang mentioned he’d been out for quite some time because of his injuries. That’s great news that he’s up! I — he’ll be happy to hear that I have some info about where Mingi and San are being held too. I can tell him when we’re back on the ship. B-But Seonghwa is okay otherwise?”

“Yunho said there’s no lingering signs of health issues so he’ll be okay physically. I… I have so many questions that I don’t even know where to begin.” Wooyoung’s smile stretches a bit wider.

“I assumed you would. That’s okay though; we have a full hour to use anyways, so you can ask me anything while we have the time to be alone together. I would say we could do it later when we’re back on the ship but Yeosang probably won’t let me out of his sight for even two seconds from now on. It’d be best for us to get it all out now so we don’t have to hear him scribbling in that damn notebook of his.” Wooyoung can’t hide his elation despite the teasing words, and you know that getting to see Yeosang again soon means more to him than you could ever understand. Yeosang must be feeling the same way himself, waiting out this hour with painstaking patience.

“What happened in the days you didn’t let me in? You went quiet for so long I was getting worried.”

“Ah, we shouldn’t start there,” Wooyoung murmurs, glancing down at the floor. He pauses. The breath of hesitation leaves your stomach in knots. “Nothing you want to hear, I promise. That’s why I didn’t try to bring you in. It wasn’t anything pretty, but I assure you there was nothing they could do to hurt me physically. I’m too far gone for that sort of torture. It’s… over and done with now. More scars to add to my collection, and more for Yeosang to cry over probably. We’ll both be fine. You’re probably wondering about the whole connection thing and us both being Sirens and such, right?”

“I — admittedly yes, but looking back now it seems almost obvious? I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner, I guess. But yeah, specifically that connection or whatever it is. Yeosang said he didn’t know much at all about it.”

“Right, yeah, I don’t know much myself either, to be honest.” Wooyoung presses his lips into a pout. “It’s hard to say what exactly it is. Seonghwa’s books don’t really have anything about this sort of occurrence, but what I’ve gathered from it so far is probably all that Yeosang told you. ‘There’s no place in the universe that you can hide from each other’. Daichi told me that once.”

“He told me the same actually.”

“Mhm, I think he knows a bit more about it than he claims to. For me, I can almost hear you in my head when you’re in distress, even when you’re far away. Except it doesn’t sound like you’re scared or anything like that. It almost sounds as though you’re softly singing to me? Like… I’m on a boat with gentle waves and you’re singing to me through the water. When I’m asleep and dreaming and you reach out to me for help, I can close my eyes and find myself on a boat like that. A white boat on a black lake. And I hear you singing to me in the water, look down, and see a tiny flickering light through the darkness. For years I’ve had that dream.”

“Yeosang… he talked about you having such a dream. Swimming in a black lake and trying to reach someone but not being able to?”

“Yeah! Um, I’ve woken him up so much because of that very dream. I would have that dream time and time again before you joined the crew, desperately swimming to reach you but it was like something was blocking me from getting to you. Like I could never reach you no matter how fast I was. I would never be able to get in. Then suddenly — one night I did, and I woke up in a box of fabrics in the cargo bay.” Wooyoung shifts to look you in the eye, a weak laugh slipping through his lips. “That feels so long ago now.”

“I’ve been wondering how to thank you for that,” you murmur. “If not for that moment, I would have died.” The skin around your nails suddenly seems a lot more interesting, and you busy yourself with picking at it mindlessly rather than looking back in Wooyoung’s direction. He doesn’t let your hand drift far from his though before he’s tugging it right back into his grasp. His other hand finds its way atop yours as well, holding your joined ones together tightly.

“I didn’t do it to get a thank you. It was just… the right thing to do. It’s sad that we live in such a bad and awful society where you feel the need to thank me for doing something as simple as that.”

“Did you not thank Yeosang for saving his life once upon a time?” You dare to ask. Wooyoung is a bit startled at first, caught off-guard by both your sudden question and the content behind it, but he laughs loud and clear without restraint.

“For someone who claims to hate talking about his life, he sure does talk a lot, doesn’t he?” Wooyoung brushes his bang out of his eyes, pushing the strands that have quickly grown unruly and long to the side. “Yeosang never lets me thank him. Any time I’ve tried, he shut me down before I could finish. Honestly, he saved my life twice. Once when he chose me from that lineup of slaves and spared me a crueler fate, and once when he broke those chains and set me free.”

Chose… me…? Then it wasn’t Yeosang’s mother who picked Wooyoung out for him?

You don’t get to dwell on that thought for long because Wooyoung simply continues to ramble, more and more peace coming to his shoulders as he calms down further.

“Yeosang only ever thanks me. As odd as that is.”

“Did you — have you ever saved his life then?” You already know the answer to that question, but it’s already hanging in the air between you by the time you catch yourself.

“Yes.” Wooyoung is beaming by now, lips stretched wide as he grins. “I got him out of prison when they charged him with treason.”

“And that’s what he thanks you for?”

Wooyoung’s smile doesn’t falter even as he shakes his head in denial.

“He never claims to have saved me, not even once. Instead, Yeosang says that I saved him.”

“B-But why? Objectively he did save you, so why does he not acknowledge that?”

“Because, Y/N, there’s a difference between loving someone and being in love with someone. Yeosang and I loved each other for many years before. But just loving each other wasn’t enough for Crown Prince Kang Minhee to break my chains and commit treason. When ”I love you“ turns into ”I am in love with you“ and ”I am in love with the mere idea of you“, then Yeosang set me free. Even though I would never have asked him to do it, he chose to on his own accord. So he thanks me and says that I saved him because of that. Because I trusted him enough to put my life in his hands time and time again and let him fall in love with me. He claims it to be a difficult thing — allowing an Elitist to fall in love with you. But with Yeosang… he has only ever made it easy. There are times where it is difficult and frustrating, where I wish that he could be anything other than an Elitist, for fuck’s sake, times when I would rather break his neck in an absolutely non-sexy kind of way, but that’s part of love and loving someone. That’s why he’s grateful to me. It sounds selfish and egotistical to say, but after having him repeat himself for so many years, I’ve grown to accept that even if I don’t believe I deserve it.” Wooyoung speaks with a raw conviction that you’ve heard before. It’s the same tone Hongjoong used when speaking to Seonghwa in the medbay, the same tone Yeosang used when talking about Wooyoung and their past together.

Even if you wanted to formulate a response, you don’t think you would be able to because of how overwhelming the emotion in Wooyoung’s voice is. He’s had every opportunity to blame Yeosang for the misfortune in his life, claim that if only Yeosang hadn’t picked him from the start he would be better off, claim that Yeosang got him out of being a slave only to put him in a more dangerous position. Wooyoung could even blame Yeosang for not protecting him well enough to keep him from being kidnapped and tortured.

Yet not once has Wooyoung blamed him.

Perhaps you were being unfair in pushing the blame onto Seonghwa’s shoulders when he didn’t fight your decision to go with Jisung. Is it so wrong to want someone to fight for you? Yet Yeosang has fought every day for Wooyoung and continues to do so. Wooyoung, who has been through hell and tortures he does not wish to speak about, asked about Yeosang’s well-being before anything else. Yet if they were in your position — if Wooyoung were the one agreeing to go with Jisung to save the others, would Yeosang not drop everything to fight for him?

Your mind screams back at you, telling you that it’s different, the situations aren’t the same, the relationships aren’t the same, and you cannot compare yourself to people like Wooyoung and Yeosang who have had years to figure this out. And so, you don’t compare yourself to them.

Rather you compare Seonghwa and Hongjoong to them. How Seonghwa’s worst nightmare is not being able to save Hongjoong from himself. The sheer will and determination in Hongjoong’s eyes when he said he would never let Seonghwa’s demons overtake him. You can’t help but wonder if perhaps that is similar to what Wooyoung and Yeosang have. Neither are anything remotely close to what you have — had, your mind suggests ever so helpfully — with Seonghwa yourself.

“It may be selfish, but I don’t want you to push me away. I would rather be hurt and still have you in my life rather than to be perfectly fine without you.”

That memory slips through unannounced and unasked for, and the mere prospect of why it’s coming back to you while you’re having such thoughts scares you so much that you slam the door in that memory’s face and throw away the key before it breaks loose.

“But anyway that’s — I rambled a bit too much, that’s not the point, um, have you ever had similar dreams like those? The ones I had, I mean? Before waking up in my body or before you came to the crew, any time you can remember. I know you haven’t had much opportunity yet, but you’ve had a few experiences by now.”

“I can’t recall ever having those sorts of dreams. That dream you mentioned about the lake — I had a dream that I was drowning in a black lake the night you came to save Seonghwa, but when I wake up in your body, it’s simply that. All I know is falling asleep and waking up like a passenger in your consciousness. I don’t have any control like you’ve had over my body.” Wooyoung’s eyes are oh so expectant and pleading, and it twists something painful in your gut. You want so badly to have information for him, to be able to give him answers or even a hint as to what could be going on, but frankly, you have nothing to offer. “I’m sorry, Wooyoung. I-I feel utterly useless in this whole situation. I d-don’t know what’s wrong with me or my head, I just can’t remember at all and I don’t… You and Seonghwa seem to have this whole Siren thing figured out, how it works, what sort of abilities you have, how to use them. I, on the other hand, have so many gaps and missing pieces in my memories. I’ve had one or two moments where I consciously used some sort of ability, then Seonghwa tried to help me learn, but other than that I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“It’s okay!” Wooyoung rushes to reassure you, squeezing his hand tight around yours as he smiles again. “Y/N, please don’t worry about that. I don’t expect you to have an answer right now, it’s really okay. We’re gonna figure this out together now that you finally know what I am and we’ll be back on the ship soon. And I can help you understand more about being a Siren in general too! If we can get to the Dreamscape together, maybe Daichi will be willing to talk.”

“Last time I was there, he tried to kill me and told me that if I kept asking questions he would end my life,” you snort. Wooyoung’s smile drops into a grave expression that doesn’t fit his features.

“In the beginning — when I first started seeing Daichi, that is — he wasn’t like that. He wanted me to find other Sirens. That’s what ultimately made Yeosang choose Captain’s crew because Daichi had told me there was a Siren there. Then as more time went on, Daichi seemed to get more and more frightened by the idea of Sirens finding each other. He started telling me that someone dangerous would find me, someone I should guard myself from.”

“He warned me of the same when I first came aboard. But Seonghwa mentioned how Daichi’s job is to guide Sirens to each other?”

“That’s true, yes, but Daichi seems to have changed his mind along the way. I can’t understand why, but I’m sure it will make it a lot more difficult to find two more for Captain.” Your conversation dies a bit there, leaving both you and Wooyoung to stew over the predicament. According to Daichi, you spent years denying your identity and refusing to listen to him, so you never made an effort to find any Sirens like both Wooyoung and Seonghwa have been apparently. Still, it leaves you more curious than before, especially given what all happened in your latest escapade in the Dreamscape.

“Tsukio can find you anywhere, even while far away! This mental connection you share, this link — the two of you are a dyad, a yin and a yang, a pair that cannot be severed. No matter how far apart you are, the two of you will always be able to come back to each other.”

“Did he ever tell you that we will always be able to come back to each other?”

“Come… back to each other? No, I’ve never heard him say such a thing before.”

“I remember seeing you in a dream before, not the Dreamscape but an actual dream. But that dream felt more like a memory, and I asked you about it once in the medbay. I know you told me no then, but does it have anything to do with what Daichi said possibly?”

“Hm, I suppose it could?” Wooyoung leans back and looks up at the ceiling. You can’t figure out what’s on his mind just through his expression, and what he says next doesn’t help much either. “But I don’t have any sort of memory like that.”

“You — you were wiped with a serum too, weren’t you?”

“Did Yeosang tell you that as well?” Wooyoung asks through a frown. “Did he mention how guilty he feels about that too? Probably, that would be very much like him to do so. Guilty for things that aren’t even his fault… but yes. Yes, my memories were wiped too.”

“I have another question. I’m sorry for asking so much all at once. Yeosang never gave me a clear answer though, so I’m still curious, but why haven’t you told Hongjoong about this?” Wooyoung doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he sinks his teeth into his lower lip and refuses to look your way for a bit. The silence drags but it’s nothing uncomfortable or unsettling. It isn’t like you’re on a time crunch right now either, so you’re more than willing to wait until he is ready to speak.

“It’s something stupid and selfish honestly,” he whispers after a bit. His other hand finds purchase on the bed, picking at a loose thread hanging off the sheets. “I didn’t expect Yeosang to take it so seriously, but now he’s adamant even when I try to tell him otherwise. Really it’s just that when I was still a slave, I didn’t always have to wear the collar. It dampened and muted my abilities so I couldn’t use them freely. Shocked me a lot too whenever I foolishly tried to use them without permission, leaving some really ugly and awful scars. Yeosang always treated the wounds when that would happen.”

His hand travels up to touch the band of metal hanging about his neck. You follow the movement with your eyes. You can’t miss the spreading scars underneath the metal as he shifts it, like little lightning bolts of pale skin hiding beneath it, and you wonder if that’s what you felt the first time you woke up in his body.

“I have a lot of scars from lots of different things. It shouldn’t be any different, and it shouldn’t even matter because it’s stupid and childish and I need to get over it. Even though the collar is dead and doesn’t work, like it doesn’t mute my abilities anymore or anything like that, just the idea of having it on keeps me sane. Being a Siren is both a blessing and a curse. Some abilities you’re born with are crueler than imaginable and can be used to do horrific things. The things I was forced to do with mine are not something I ever want to revisit again. So… I keep the collar on because the trauma I suffered while wearing it for so many years keeps me sane. Merely the idea of wearing it prevents me from using my abilities because I was conditioned into a state where if I tried doing anything while the collar was on, I would be hurt. When it comes to visiting you, it’s different because I’m asleep when that happens. And whenever people other than Yeosang or myself try to touch it, I get thrown back into the memories of his father taking it off me to use me as a weapon and I-I can’t — it’s too much to bear.

“I trust Hongjoong. I really trust him and admire him and respect him so much. As much as I do Yeosang even if it’s in a different way. But I have an innate fear of authority that tells me no matter who it is, the people who have power over me will abuse it. That if anyone above me knows I’m a Siren, I’ll be used again, and I’m afraid of that. So it’s not that I don’t want to tell Hongjoong. Just that as long as I have this collar on and as long as these demons linger at the edge of my mind, I don’t think I can ever tell him what I am.”

You want to express an apology for bringing those memories back or at least offer an ounce of consolation because you can almost feel the pain radiating off his body in waves. But the moment you reach out to pull him into a hug, the door to your room slides open out of nowhere. You jerk, and Wooyoung lifts an arm to protect the both of you, but you take the initiative in pushing him down to the bed. In one swift movement, you climb in front of him, one knee down on the mattress and the other stretched out in front of Wooyoung’s body. The blade against your thigh is cool on your fingertips, but you don’t pull it out quite yet. The flash of red hair before you stops you at the last second.

Soojin?

The girl is already halfway in the room, door sliding shut behind her, and the second it’s fully closed, she turns to twist the lock into place.

“W-Wait, we’re n-not supposed to lock the doors!” Wooyoung protests, leaning up over your shoulder to see better. Soojin levels him with a sharp glare. You reach behind you to push Wooyoung back enough so that he’s hidden behind your shoulder, matching Soojin’s stare with equal intensity. The girl steps closer to you, draws a single finger up, and stabs you hard in the chest with her dull nail.

“You and me need to have a chat after all it seems.”

“What do you mean?” You clench your fingers around the handle of your knife, still not completely at ease with the woman standing in front of you.

“What do I mean? I mean that my fucking client downstairs just tried to fucking murder me and gave me a message from Han Jisung of all people! Seeing you and hearing from that bastard on the same day after being free from that past for several years? That’s no fucking coincidence, Y/N.”

“Murder!? How did you — how did you get away?”

A laugh of disbelief escapes Soojin’s lips as she pulls back a few feet.

“I killed him, of course! What else was I supposed to do? I dumped the fucker’s body out the window for staff to clean up later. This sort of thing happens frequently enough for them not to question it, and besides, I told them it was a jealous worker so they won’t really care all too much about him. But what the fuck is going on? Why are you here and why did Han Jisung just tell me my time is up and try to have me killed?”

“I… I-I don’t — I’m not with Jisung, I know nothing about that at all. He—” You cut yourself short with a sharp inhale, eyes darting across the floor like it has all the answers in it. “Wait, he knew I would be coming here though. Did he know that you worked here?”

“Unfortunately, not by choice though. We ran across each other around a year ago in the city, and I mentioned working at the House in passing.”

You shift to motion back at Wooyoung and pull your hand off the knife on your leg at last.

“He was brought here against his will by Jisung. Well, whoever Jisung is working with at least. I only came to get him out. We’re — he’s part of the crew I’m working with now. Jisung knew where he would be and that I would come to get him.”

“And he’s still a psychopath when it comes to you then?” Soojin scoffs, brows knitting together to accentuate her disbelief. “He tried to have me killed just so that I would stay out of your business?”

“I don’t know, Soojin,” you exhale. “It doesn’t make any sense why he would do that. I already made a deal with him and he’ll get to take me regardless of what happens here.”

“T-Take you?” Wooyoung interjects. “Take you where?” His hand latches around your elbow and squeezes hard. You ignore the man in favor of maintaining your focus on Soojin, however, much to his dismay.

“Unless you know something Jisung wouldn’t want me to know and he couldn’t even risk the thought of us running into each other and speaking.” At that, Soojin tilts her head to the side in confusion.

“What could I possibly know that you don’t?”

“What happened before you left the crew?” Her confusion intensifies to a dramatic degree.

“Have you gone mad? Do you not remember or something? You were always a bit bad with memory, yeah, but has it gotten this bad?”

“Please, Soojin, I’m begging you please just tell me what happened before the crew fell apart. I know you called me a scapegoat for a reason, please.” You reach out across the empty space between your bodies, having to stand to reach her, but when you do, you close a hand around her wrist. Soojin blinks between where you hold her and your face without speaking for so long that you think she’s going to refuse you again.

“I called you a scapegoat because I thought you were in on Jisung’s plan at the time,” she says finally, pulling her other hand up to run through her hair. “You would’ve done anything for him so I thought that was just another part of it.”

“What did I do?”

“I should be asking what you remember happening instead.”

“What I remember is stealing documents and plotting to dismantle the military from the inside out with you guys but I fucked up. I know I fucked up and got caught and Hyunwoo took the blame for me and it got him fucking executed.” Soojin leans back, hand tugging out of your light grip.

“I know nothing of what happened after Ash, Juyeon, and I left Eros. But before we left…” It’s her turn to hold you by the wrist. She turns your arm over and exposes the inside of your left arm, right where that damned brand sits against your raised skin. “You didn’t deserve this. It wasn’t your burden to bear. You were the scapegoat, and that’s why the team fell apart, that’s why we all broke up and ran away. You didn’t plan to steal anything, nor did you plot a thing. Neither did Hyunwoo. It was all Jisung; Jisung wanted to dismantle the military and kill the king. When Juyeon, Ash, and I found out what he was planning to do, we brought it to Hyunwoo. All Hyunwoo said was that stopping Jisung wasn’t something he could do. So he told us to leave while we still had the chance and that he would take care of things. He would take the blame so that no one else would have to get hurt. But you didn’t want him to do that, so you ran off and carried out Jisung’s plan for him.”

“Which part? Did I k-kill the king… before Hyunwoo died?”

Soojin heaves a deep sigh.

“The last night we were all together as a team, you snuck out of the barracks and infiltrated the palace. You stole the documents Jisung wanted — whatever the fuck they were because I don’t even know why he wanted them in the first place if he was going to kill the king anyways — and you killed the king that night too. Everything went to shit. It all happened too fast for the rest of us to know what was really going on. You just came back to the barracks and turned the lights on and…”

You don’t realize how hard your head is pounding until the woman trails off, voice dying in her throat, and then it hits you will so much force that you feel your body beginning to lurch. You would fall over, most likely smack your head on the sink as well, if not for Wooyoung jumping up and catching you by the waist before you can fully go down. And thanks to him, all you do is hunch over and hold your head in your hands as a stab of pain sears through your skull.

“Breathe, Y/N, breathe for me,” he urges as you slump your weight back against him. “You need to breathe, okay? You’re hyperventilating. One breath every five seconds, slow it down, you’re okay.”

“Th-There was blood. There was blood, wasn’t there?” Looking at Soojin fills your vision with pure crimson, but it’s not because of her hair this time.

“Yes,” she whispers back, not daring to speak any louder than that. “You were… drenched in blood that wasn’t yours. And we were so scared you had been hurt somehow. I carried you to the bath and cleaned you but you didn’t have a single scratch on you.”

“O-Oh god,” you choke out. The red in your vision turns coppery as a different image takes over and a new memory swarms your head.

“What the fuck did you do!?”

Hands squeezing hard around your throat, shoving you under bloody waters.

“Let her go!”

“You ruined everything! How could you do this? Why are you so fucking useless? I told you to sit still and not do anything!”

The water spread to your nostrils and forced its way in as you struggled to find air.

“Jisung, release her right this instant!”

The hands around your throat just grew tighter.

Wooyoung eases you down to the floor when the rest of your strength leaves you. He keeps a hand at your waist, using the other to hold your head to his chest in a desperate attempt to control the wild tremors shooting through your body. You keep a hand pressed to your throbbing temple but it does nothing to alleviate the pain you’re in, one that feels as though something is trying to rip your head in half with their bare hands.

“C-Can’t remember more. I can’t, I do-don’t want to remember anymore, I — it hurts. It hurts too much, it hurts so much.”

“Shh, it’s okay, it’s okay. You don’t have to remember anymore, okay? You’re good, you’re done, no more. No more.” Even through the pain, you can’t miss the desperation in Wooyoung’s tone. His hand moves for your arm where your wristband sits, buzzing uselessly against your skin. “Y/N, what does this mean? Is something happening?”

You want to answer, You even open your mouth to do so. Yet the moment you do, the taste of that metallic soapy water fills your mouth and you choke on air.

“Y/N, please, what does it mean? Are we in trouble?” You think you shake your head but the panic in Wooyoung’s eyes isn’t reassuring and you aren’t sure you have any hold over the muscles in your body right now. “Please, do you know where our friend is?” He asks, directing his focus to where Soojin kneels in front of you.

“The brunette?”

“Brunette? No, no, I’m talking a blond?”

“J-Jongho,” you force out, gritting your teeth until your jaw hurts from the force. “Jongho… here too.”

“I saw that name on the register,” Soojin cuts in. “I checked it to find what room you were in and saw his name further down on the list.”

“Please get him and bring him. Please, I know you — we just need your help right now, please,” Wooyoung begs. His grip on your waist tightens a little as Soojin hesitates, and it doesn’t let up until the girl nods and leaves the room in haste. Wooyoung brings you back to his chest once she’s gone, matching your shaky breaths as he gently rocks you back and forth. “I can’t… know your memories or the pain you’re feeling right now, but I know what it’s like to suddenly be hit with memories you forgot you had. Ones that were suppressed behind an iron wall. I know what it’s like to have it slip out and hit you.”

“It fucking hurts.” You clench your jaw again, feeling a burn of pain up the side of your face with the movement. “Like someone is stabbing my b-brain with a da-damn icepick.”

“Are the memories painful?”

“I d-don’t know. I can hardly think straight. My head hurts. That’s all I can think about.”

“The serum… I’m assuming it’s the same one I was given back then. It can’t take away memories. Yeah, they tell you that it’s a wipe, but that’s only because they don’t want you trying to find those old memories. It can’t remove parts of the brain like that. They just use it to lock away memories but there’s no guarantee of it being permanent, so when you do remember something they tried to lock away, it hurts.”

“D-Does it hurt you like this too?”

“Yes, but I’m — pain isn’t something that bothers me all too much, and I’m lucky enough to have Yeosang nearby when it happens. I’ve got a prescription for the pain from Yunho too. We can… we can get you something long-term back on the ship.”

Another stab of pain hits as the door slides open, metal grating hard on your ears, but this time Jongho stands with Soojin. He rushes over to join you and Wooyoung on the floor in a panic, obviously torn between being excited to see Wooyoung again and your current crumpled state.

“Yeosang’s hour is up and he’s waiting at the meeting point. Captain hasn’t buzzed in on the contact yet.” Jongho reaches down to lay a hand against your forehead. You’re quick enough to turn your face further into Wooyoung’s shirt, inhaling the sickening floral scent that clings to his skin.

“Don’t even think about trying to take it away,” you hiss.

“I can’t take physical pain, don’t worry. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Here, something for the pain.” Soojin interrupts the moment to lean over you with a cup of unknown contents. “Fast-acting pain reliever. Every room has some in it just in case patrons get too out of hand. We keep it in the cabinets, I promise it’s nothing bad. It’ll numb you and make you a bit sluggish for a while, but it’ll also take the pain away.”

“Thank you,” Wooyoung murmurs as he takes the cup from her hands. He helps bring the cup to your lips, pushing some of the murky grey liquid inside into your mouth, and you struggle not to gag around the taste of it. He doesn’t stop until the entirety of its contents are drained into your mouth then tilts your head back to keep it down when some threatens to drip out the corners of your lips. An unknown hand comes down on your knee.

“Y/N, I’m so sorry.” Soojin. “I didn’t mean to hurt you with this information.” You swallow hard only to choke a second later on the putrid aftertaste clinging to your tongue. Wooyoung lets you cough into his shoulder without complaint, passing the now empty cup back to Soojin.

“You couldn’t have known,” you murmur after escaping the coughing fit. “It’s not your fault.”

“I didn’t know what they would do to you after we left the planet,” she sighs through the quiet of the room. “I should have expected it honestly, knowing Jisung, but maybe I hoped he would be better than that. He always manipulated you so it only makes sense that he would try to manipulate your memories too. Do you at least know what happened a little bit better now?”

“Y-Yeah, yeah.” You try to pull away from Wooyoung and get up but his grip on you doesn’t let up. “My memories were taken away for a second time and replaced with something else. So instead of only losing fourteen years of my life, I lost eighteen and spent the last three years believing those manipulated memories to be real. I’m peachy.”

Another buzz from your wristband pulls your attention away, and Jongho glances down at his own too.

“Cameras are down.”

“Let’s go then,” you mutter.

“Are you okay to move? Don’t push it if you’re not strong enough.”

“We need to go now while we still can,” you protect, letting Wooyoung help you to your feet even if it’s on shaky legs. Jongho gives a curt nod then heads for the window, no doubt to pry it open. Soojin catches you by the arm before you can fully turn away.

“I’m sorry, Y/N. Even if you can’t remember all of it, there are still things I regret saying and doing to you. I should have known back then how much Jisung was manipulating you and not pushed so much blame onto your shoulders.”

“You can get out now with us, Soojin. While you have the chance.”

“And do what with that freedom?” She huffs out a dry and lifeless laugh. “Wander aimlessly? Ash and Juyeon are both missing in action. I have no clues or leads on where they might be or if they’re even alive. I don’t have anything left out there beyond the House.”

“I… if I hear anything out there about them, I promise I’ll send you a message. I’ll find a way to get news to you, maybe through my captain’s contact or something. I swear if I can help you get out of this hellhole I will.”

Soojin reaches up to ruffle her hand through your hair, mussing the loose locks more.

“You always were a good kid, Y/N. Too good for the life you were forced to live.” It hurts to watch her smile. It hurts even more to let Wooyoung guide you to where Jongho waits by the now open window. “Go while you can, you three. The medicine will wear off in a few hours, but hopefully, you’ll have access to something better by then. I’ll make sure you get out safely.”

Jongho dips through the open space first, hopping down to the pristine streets below with little issue.

“Send Y/N down next!”

You can’t tear your gaze off Soojin. You don’t know when you might see her again or if you even will, and it hurts to leave her behind like this but she just keeps smiling at you with bright eyes and blinding hair.

“T-Thank you, Soojin. Please stay safe, if you can.”

“Always.”

With that, Wooyoung hoists you over the ledge of the window and dangles you far enough down so that your fall is softened a bit. Jongho catches you by the legs, taking the brunt of your weight before you hit the ground. Wooyoung drops down beside you without warning a second later. As Jongho eases you down, you dare to glance up at the window you just left from, and it shuts slowly without a sign from Soojin inside.

Wooyoung rushes back to your side and loops an arm back around your waist when you start to slump forward again.

“That’s — that’ll look too suspicious,” you mutter, pulling his arm back to his own side.

“We just dropped out a fucking window. I’m sure that would look more suspicious.”

“I’ll be okay.”

Yet two steps later, you’re stumbling over your heels and Jongho comes to your rescue this time. He tugs your arm through his own as he walks forward without saying a word. You can only lean your weight on him and slump your chin against his shoulder.

“Thank you…”

Silence drapes over the three of you as you make your way to the meeting point with Yeosang. You aren’t in as much pain as you were earlier (Soojin wasn’t bluffing when she said fast-acting) but the medicine is already making you a bit groggy. It feels a bit like you’re wading through sludge just trying to walk a few steps, and frankly, Jongho is the only thing keeping you going at this point. Wooyoung lingers at your other side. Every once in a while, you feel his worried gaze find its way to your form. He might even be speaking to you at some point because you hear something that sounds vaguely like his voice through the radio static in your ears, but there is far too much on your mind and too much to think about right now for you to pay any attention to that.

If… if I killed the king before Hyunwoo’s execution, then who did I kill that night? Did I kill anyone at all? Was that memory fabricated? What have I been working towards all these years if that’s a lie?

Funny how your search for answers only left you with more questions instead. There are too many questions to keep track of and not remotely enough answers to them. You know you won’t be able to have those answers yet either, not while San and Mingi are still missing and Jisung is bothering you. Where would you even look for answers now? Jisung would never tell you a thing, Hyunwoo is dead and gone, and now you’re leaving Soojin behind.

The one thing that reaches your brain through the static in your ears is a dry and choked sob. You pull yourself out of your thoughts as Wooyoung disappears from your side. It doesn’t take much to guess why. You’ve reached the meeting point, the all too small alleyway where Yeosang waits for you three, and Wooyoung is running straight to him with reckless abandon.

“Y-Yeosang, angel, Yeosang, my god I’m—” Wooyoung’s voice dies in a cracked sob when he reaches the Elitist. His hands barely brush the man’s shoulders because Yeosang drops to his knees in front of Wooyoung, face hidden but no doubt bearing tears, and he balls his fists around the flimsy material of Wooyoung’s pants. He presses his forehead to Wooyoung’s hip, hands traveling further up to press against the small of his back. Wooyoung can only card a hand through Yeosang’s hair in response, but it’s enough for now. It’s enough for both of them like this, with Yeosang’s knuckles white from the pressure of clinging to Wooyoung, and you and Jongho maintain your distance as best you can to give them this moment.

“Are they happy?” You whisper to Jongho even though the answer is blindingly obvious before you. The Berserker’s lips twist into a small grin.

“I don’t think there’s a word strong enough to describe how they’re feeling right now.”

Yeosang pulls his head off Wooyoung’s hip and stares up at the man with tears on his cheeks and stars in his eyes. Wooyoung dips down to the Elitist’s height, pulling his face up to his own and slotting their lips together like nothing else in the universe exists around them. Again, it’s raw, as all emotions between these two seem to be, but it belongs to them and it’s something you can’t take away from them. When they part lips to gulp in desperate breaths of fresh air, Wooyoung places his forehead over Yeosang’s and takes the breath from his lungs like that. They don’t exchange words but there doesn’t seem to be a need for words either, not until Yeosang seems to catch hold of himself and come back to his senses.

“The car is waiting for us at the other end of the alley. Driver’s already pulled up.” Jongho nods when the Elitist drags his gaze over to where the two of you stand. Yeosang lets Wooyoung pull him back into space after that, unable to contain a smile as the Siren continues to press more kisses to his cheeks. You and Jongho trail behind them to the other end of the alleyway. Seeing them together like this makes it worth it. You knew it would and you were striving to bring them this moment, but seeing it unfold before you like this increases that feeling tenfold.

Once in the car, Yeosang sits Wooyoung down in one of the cushioned seats then drops to the floor between his legs even when Wooyoung protests and tells him to get up.

“Stop, that’s weird! It looks weird, Yeo, please! It looks like you’re trying to su—”

“Shut up,” Yeosang mumbles back as he drops his head to rest against Wooyoung’s thigh. “You’re the one who makes everything dirty. Get your head out of the gutter.”

Wooyoung obviously doesn’t mind all too much because he returns to toying with the Elitist’s blond locks moments later as you and Jongho settle into the seats beside the pair. And from where you’re sitting, they really do look like young boys again, more than just a former slave and ex-prince but also less than that. Just… boys who fell in love despite the odds set against them.

“I’m sorry, Woo, I’m so sorry.”

“Shh, angel, I know. It’s okay. We’re okay.”

You tune out of the conversation there. It’s far too intimate and personal for you to encroach on, and the medicine has you falling asleep in your seat anyways. Jongho seems to pick up on that, reaching over to pat your leg.

“Rest while you can.”

A hum comes as your reply as you slump to the side, head hitting the side of the car with a loud thud. Jongho exhales a quiet laugh and pulls you over to rest against his shoulder instead.

“’m sorry for snapping at you,” you murmur. You’re forcing your eyes to stay open long enough to get the apology out but it’s growing more difficult by the second. “I didn’t mean to, I was afraid… of her slipping out of my grasp but… that’s no excuse.”

Your fluttering eyes snap wide open when something presses down hard on your nose. You blink uselessly at Jongho and the finger he hovers over your face.

“Stop talking nonsense, yeah? Rest. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You’re not?”

“Hm, no, I’m not.”

“Promise.”

“I promise I’m staying right here.”

“And we’ll get San back?” You mumble just before the drowsiness wins.

“We’ll get your San back too, I promise.”

✧✧✧ a/n: yall imma be honest this chapter feels like a whole fever dream and a half but i love it nonetheless she’s my Baby i hope you guys love her just as much and enjoy her <3 lots happened but also not a lot happened? i feel like the wc is so dramatic for Not A Lot but yaknow that’s life ! next chapter we’re getting juicy and bringing a part 16 move back bc teehee that’s what i do best u know me anywho let me know what u think as always i love u all im so happy to bring u guys this chapter and so excited for the coming ones!

taglist: @faeriewoobin @sugarrimajins @atinyinwonderland @sparklychangbin @jeong-uwu @jeonartemis @anothershorthuman @xxbluestrifexx @haotheheckk @noonawriter @lostscenarios @nlost21 @mirror-juliet @okokokok123-45 @purple-aeon @theoinkypiglet @toothlessshiber @atinyarmyx1 @simpforhyunjin @hwangwoosan @vampire-jimin @softyubi @drumboydowoon @chatsgotmytongue @just-a-starfruit @babydolljo @scintillating-souls @khjssss @rawrrainn @hewwo-from-the-other-side @icekdy @eggteez @bangtanxberm @uglychildd @lucymultistan

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roger-that-cap · 3 years

Text

meet me in the gardens

knight!natasha x lady!reader

summary: being the widow of a decently wealthy lord and sitting on a large plot of land automatically meant that you were a candidate for the program that you couldn’t say not to; the hosting. you had to sponsor a knight and keep them in your home for an entire year, which was troublesome enough on its own. but you never expected your knight to be a woman, and you certainly didn’t expect to have a full on illegal love affair with her, either.

warnings: marriage lol, angsty knights and ladies, reality slapping mfs in the face almost too quickly

word count: 3.3k

hi guys,,, it has been a slow minute, thank you guys for even still clicking on this after all this time lmao

part seven!!

It was customary to have more than one handmaiden dress a lady for her wedding, but both you and Wanda knew that no one was going to be allowed to watch you break down from the inside out. There were no words between the two of you as she laced you up as an unmarried woman for the last time, your gown gorgeous and heavy with weight and meaning. You didn’t even sniffle as the tears ran down your face, eyes blazing with emotions that would be forever unspoken.

Wanda wiped your face and started to dress that up, too.

While you stood there, you couldn’t help but think of the night before. Dinner with Rumlow was an absolute travesty. He was rude, brutish, and even more of an animal than your last husband. He chewed like he was some type of wolf, smacked his lips far too loud, and was by far the rudest person to your staff. His language was of the pirates and his eyes wandered from you, to Wanda, to a younger girl, and then back to you with the same look of disgusting desire. It was painfully obvious that he was the type of man to see things and get things because he desired them. He was the type to break his toys, as well. He was horrible, and that was all before the eyes of other people. You started to feel sick when you thought about how brave he would be behind closed doors. The doors that would be closing very, very soon on the two of you.

The dinner was horrible, but the worst part was that Natasha wasn’t there. The worst part was always going to be her absence.

“You look so beautiful,” Wanda said, her voice a crackling and regretful whisper as she watched you in the vanity, a small and forced smile on her face. You met her eyes only for a second in the mirror before you turned them away, down to look at your covered feet.

“I’m being thrown away,” you said slowly, like the words were pulling themselves from your lips. “For the second time in my life. Is this the life of a woman that I tried to avoid so terribly? Is this the fate of all women?”

Wanda opened and shut her mouth, trying to find something to say that could possibly help you, and then she just shut it for good, her lips wobbling. You could feel her guilt radiating off of her, feel it stewing and brewing inside of her heart and chest even though it wasn’t her fault. You wanted to tell her that, to reassure her that she didn’t fail you like she thought she did, and that she never could fail you, but your lips were stuck together as white hot tears fell down your face.

There were three sharp knocks on your door, and you wiped your tears quickly, expecting someone to barge in. “Who is it?” You asked, the fake strength in your voice barely enough to hide the fact that you were crying and miserable.

“I’m Lord Rumlow’s-”

“You aren’t allowed in here,” Wanda responded roughly. “No one sees her until she comes out, that’s a rule.” And it was a rule, one that you had forgotten all about. No one was supposed to see the bride before she made her long walk to the groom. And even during the walk, a covering was supposed to be on the bride’s face, shielding her from the world. It was sickening. “So go away.” Wanda’s tone had whoever the man was nearly jogging away, not even asking a second question.

“I don’t know if I’m gonna be sick or not,” you muttered, and Wanda pushed the barrel that she brought earlier closer towards you.

“Use it if you need to, honey.” Just as you were about to bend over and give up the breakfast that you didn’t even eat, there were soft raps on the door.

“If have to tell you to go away one more time-”

“It’s me,” a familiar vice said, and Wanda immediately stopped talking. “And I brought someone else, too.” You picked your head up from the barrel and looked towards the closed door, trusting that Pietro wouldn’t have done anything stupid. Wanda felt the same, clearing the space between where she originally was and the door within seconds. Pietro came in, fumbling and looking at you with a pitiful smile. You turned away, and then there was a flash of red in the corner of your eye.

Your chest seized up.Your hands started to shake, and the tears that you had dried started back up all over again. “Oh.”

“Let’s leave them for a few moments, Pietro.” Wanda suggested, tugging him out of the room by the arm and leaving you and Natsaha in the room together, alone.

No one spoke for a long time.

You just stared at her, just like she stared at you, watching her chest rise and fall, and the guarded look in her eyes. She looked angry. But you knew her better than that. Sometimes, you wondered how you know her better than that because you had such a short time to know her at all. But it felt like you had watched a thousand sunsets and seen millions of river cycles with her. But it still wasn’t enough. And now, standing in front of her with a wedding dress that wasn’t meant for her at all, you knew that you had lied to her and to yourself that night at the river. Nothing was ever going to be enough.

“You look…” She started, taking a step closer to you. “You look stunning. You always have.”

You shook your head at her, looking away for a moment to gather your bearings. Your voice trembled as you tried to get something out, anything that would make the situation even a little better. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” You gave her a glare. “Don’t be. We both knew how this was going to end, and we both still continued. This isn’t shocking news to me, or you. It’s horrible, but we knew it was coming.”

In that moment, reality hit. All those stupid promises about going to the gardens or the woods behind Rumlow’s back seemed like a suicide mission. That one, long chat about running away seemed like two naive children after being scolded by their parents. You had been peacefully living in an untainted world with Natasha, when you of all people knew much better than that. “So, what? What point are you getting at?”

“I chose to go on being with you because I knew that regardless of where you were or where I was, or who you were with, that the love wouldn’t leave. I chose to have a little slice of happiness and knowledge that we tried, and that we had fun together. I chose to have that, and so did you. We know that we would have worked out, if this wasn’t happening. We know that if there’s another universe or another life, that we’ll end up together. Just not this time.” She took a step closer to you, her eyes lingering on your damp cheeks. “I’ll always be in love with you.”

You were realizing too quickly that a world where you were allowed to love her and she was allowed to love you was years and years away. It was a place you could only dream about, but all you had to work with was a world who didn’t tolerate true love in the face of duty, and a world who certainly didn’t tolerate two women together. You would not let her die for you, or your love.

“From afar,” you said, and for a second you were afraid that she would push you and ask why you were walking away. You were afraid that she wouldn’t get it. You had been jumping around in your own mind, making concrete conclusions at the drop of a hat and jumping to the next subject. You wondered if she was keeping up, if she was on the same page as you were even through all the skipping around.

It hurt to admit, but you were realizing that you were on the same page. Just the other night, you were promising forever, promising every second alone to each other. You promised a life of secrecy and adoration, and that was what your hopeful heart wanted. But now, you had a mind, and your mind knew it was life or death. Your mind knew that sneaking around wasn’t plausible and it held more potential for danger than you ever wanted to have. By the look in Natasha’s eyes, you could tell that she had made a complete turn, too. You were both at the same crossroads, staring at each other from feet away.

You had told her forever, and she had promised you the same, but it just wasn’t going to work. It never was going to in the beginning.

But then she nodded at you, a sad look in her eyes even though there was a tiny smile. “From afar.”

“Are you gonna be there?”

“To watch you get married?” She said, her face twisting up in disgust. “No.” Pause. “I can if you want me to be.”

You shook your head. “Don’t come.” She would already have to sit through the hours of barbaric celebration by law, but she didn’t have to watch the ceremony. Making her would be torture to you both.

“That’s what you want?” You nodded your head. “Then I won’t come.”

Your heart was racing in your chest, contrasting to the way you typically felt just content upon seeing her. “What if I told you that I wanted you to kiss me one last time?”

“I’d ask where all the time went, for us to be on our last already.”

You scoffed, more out of disbelief than because you found it funny. “Where did all the time go?”

She shrugged. “The stars ate it up.”

§§

You had to be one of the angriest brides the kingdom had ever seen. The veil covered your face, your hands trembled with nerves and fury, and your eyes held unshed tears. Wanda was whispering beside you as the room to the door opened, telling you that she would always have your back while the procession started, but you hardly heard a thing. All you could think of was that it was your second time being sold like a farm animal, being made to marry someone you hated. You hated it. You hated the High Priest. You hated that the distant king did nothing. You hated that you weren’t strong enough to put a knife through Lord Rumlow’s eye.

The procession was slow, as all processions for weddings were. Much to Lord Rumlow’s chagrin, you were being led by two people instead of one, who was supposed to be one of his knights. Wanda and Pietro led you, one on each side, the three of you linked by hand while it was traditionally by elbow. Your feet ached almost as much as your heart as you walked past people that you could hardly see because of the veil, but you could tell that they were in awe. The dress was long and beautiful, you had some of the most expensive jewelry money could buy, and you were sure that you looked like a princess. You could hear the whispers of people who were excited to watch a noble wedding, excited to have the feat that was entitled to everyone in the village after such a big event. You wanted to cry once you realized how unaware they were about the way you were forced into it.

Soon, you checked out of your own body. You were confident enough in Pietro and Wanda’s leading of you to close your eyes, holding back tears. If he lifted the veil and saw you crying, who knew what he would do? You saw stars when you did, constellations, clouds, even flashes of your favorite rose bushes. You took in a breath, eyes still closed as you tried to find a happy place. You prayed to the gods that the walk would be never ending, that the twins would lead you off in the forest and have you live as some sort of forest woman, fending for herself but free. But then their feet stopped.

“Today we have come under the light of the sun to see a love blossom,” your eyes snapped open as you blinked, squinting at the priest who was holding his brown book, even though he hardly needed it. He was talking without looking at it, eyes searching the crowd for attention. You rolled your eyes.

He seemed to talk for hours. You could feel Brock Rumlow next to you, taking Pietro’s spot on your right. Pietro made a displeased sound and stood next to Wanda, who was clenching your hand tightly, like she was terrified of letting you go. You were so far out that you didn’t even realize that he was done talking until you felt your right hand be grabbed by a rough one, one that reminded you of words and fights and blood. It was callous and cruel, and your head whipped around to see Brock Rumlow holding the deep red sash, his mouth moving in confidence as he repeated the vows that the priest said.

“Lady Y/N,” the priest said, and slowly, your veiled face turned his way. “Repeat after me, if you please. No, I do not please. You echoed every word with such monotony that it hurt your own sears. You saw Rumlow’s jaw twitch at your minor defiance. You tilted your head higher. “You may now wrap your hands.”

You watched him wrap both of your hands together with the thick, red ribbon. Your stomach lurched as you realized that there was no going back after the priest said the next words. You had already been through it once before. Your heart skipped beats in your chest. I’m never going to be free again. This is it. This is my last moment of freedom. My last moment of true happiness has gone with the wind.

“You may now unshroud your bride, and show her to the awaiting world.”

§§

The rest of the day passed in a blur. A common girl that Rumlow had nearly thrown your way was refused by you, and when she said that she was required to stay, you made her sit down while Wanda undressed you and put you into the comfortable yet delicate dress that brides wore after their weddings. She had to watch awkwardly as you sobbed in and out of Wanda’s arms, not even caring that she was there.

The tears were long gone by the feast and the anger had come out to play. Every time your new husband attempted to speak to you, you ignored him. There was a hard look in your eyes as you sat and watched everyone, watching the culture clash between your peaceful people and his rowdy men and women. They were the ones drinking quickly, belching, laughing far too loudly for your taste, and being crude. Your people had separated themselves from them and were talking amongst themselves, no doubt becoming worried because of your demeanor.

“You’ve only spoken to me once tonight, wife.” You ignored him again.

It was true. You spoke to him one time, and it was when he told you that Wanda and Pietro couldn't sit at the grand table. According to him, there weren't enough seats at the table that was meant for lords and ladies, and he had brought his own fair share. He didn’t see the twins as anything other than your friends, and so he tried to have them moved over to the corner of the room. You didn’t tolerate that at all. “They’re staying with me,” was all you said, and by the way he tensed up, you were sure that it was going to be a fight. Maybe it was the rage in your eyes that made him back down and nod twice, jaw clenching along with his fists. But indeed, they were beside you, just as silent and angry as you were.

Natasha hadn’t shown up yet. It was heavily frowned upon for her to miss the celebration, but you weren’t going to force her to come. You knew that if the roles were reversed that you would rather die than see her dressed as a bride and not be your bride. You knew that the situation was eating at her just as much as it was at you. You hated it.

Part of you was glad that she wasn’t there. You were glad that you wouldn’t be tortured by seeing her so far away but so close, so unattainable that it was laughable that your heart even wanted her. But since she had gotten out of that carriage and you had expected a man, your heart pumped for her. And it always would.

“Are you enjoying yourself, wife?” Even though you hadn’t heard his voice much, you knew his slimy, self assured tone from anywhere. It sent shivers down your back and a frown to your face as your thoughts were catapulted from the woman you loved straight to the man who you would rather die than be associated with.

The dress was heavy on your shoulders even though you were sitting down, and your distraught feelings were heavy on your mind. “No.”

“We’re wed, and now we are powerful.” He said, his goblet of wine reaching out towards the guests, even though only a few were watching your interaction. “Look at us. Two people in deep lov-”

“I really couldn’t care less, Lord Rumlow.” You said, blinking twice once you realized that you had spoken your thoughts aloud. You swallowed some water from your own silver goblet with the time that his shock granted you. “You and I both know that this wasn’t for love, and if you ever suggest that was the reason we were married, I will tell everyone the way you begged for my hand over letters and make sure that you are no longer capable of having an heir.”

There was another moment of silence from him, and then a scoff. His face was friendly, maybe approachable even, but when you took a shallow look into his eyes, you could see the fury brewing beneath his expression, the anger at being blatantly disrespected- by a woman.

“Look,” he started, his voice more sinister than you had heard it yet, “we have two major pieces of land together, and a large population of people under our control. Farmlands and water, it’s ours now. On my own, I was strong. But now that I’ve wed you, I’m fucking untouchable.” He leaned back in his seat and you released a long breath through your nose. His dark eyes were still boring into yours, even as you dared to tilt your head sideways, a show of derision. There was a subtle flash of red. “And I will be damned to hell if I let you disrespect me after I’ve climbed my way from the bottom. Remember that.”

You had already had enough. Enough of him, enough of the situation, enough of being told what to do. The first man you married that had turned you from a girl rolling in dirt with pigs into a wealthy lady without even a whisper of your consent was long gone. You would be damned if you let another turn you into a broodmare and an idle chess piece, regardless of the consequences. “And my first husband is dead,” you said, head tilting even more. “Remember that.”

You couldn’t hide your smirk without the silver goblet.

******

an: well hi guys haha it’s been a while since this has been updated! i’m so sorry that its been about two months... i hope that someone still loves this story at least! its coming to an end very soon! i hope it all ties together like i want it to, and that it feels resolute to you guys. i’m gonna tag some of y’all!!

taglist!

@yelenabelovasgf @msmarvelsmain @procrastinatingsapphictrash @fayhar @8plasma @slut-for-nat @dontmindmejustreading @swords-are-cool @200605chaeng @thescottishavenger @antidaytime @jenny-song @madamevirgo @natasha-danvers @blackxwidowsxwife @shycucumbersandwich @dailyavengering

@xxxtwilightaxelxxx @ima-gi--na-tion–na-tion @chickenhavewisdom

#natasha romanoff x reader #natasha x reader #natasha romanoff angst #natasha romanoff fluff #nat x fem reader #natasha x female reader #natasha x fem!reader #marvel au #lesbian!natasha #lgbt marvel #natasha romanoff fanfic #marvel fanfiction #knight au #knight!natasha #royalty au

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hiddendreamer67 · 4 years

Text

Chasing the Captain

Here’s a piece set in the mer au au (or reverse mer au) made by the talented @voidsides. Roman is a merman prince who has fallen desperately in love with pirate captain Virgil, who he follows around constantly trying to woo his grumpy human crush.

Read more of my work at @hiddendreamerwriting!

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Captain Virgil stood aboard his ship, gazing out at the waves as the vessel continued to cross the sea. Such a vast, unforgiving landscape, the ocean- Virgil could stare into its depths for ages, knowing that a single storm could bring him plummeting into its unforgiving murky secrets. It gave him a strange sort of chill, bringing his life up to the edge and spitting in destiny’s face instead, riding along the waves like a tamed wild steed. Sometimes it felt as though he could speak to the sea itself, whispering for him to jump in and the horrible consequences that would befall him below…

And sometimes, the sea did more than whisper.

“Cap’n, it’s back.” A crew member jutted his thumb towards the hull of the ship. Virgil groaned, already hearing that melodious voice as he approached.

“Oh Captain my captain, your ship may be steady in her course but I am more so!”

Virgil huffed, rolling his eyes as he stepped up to peer over the rail. There, following the ship diligently was that same dreaded mer folk. Ruby red scales sparkling in the setting sun, the creature looked almost out of breath but was attempting to hide this with a dazzling smile.

“I thought we lost you in the storm.” Virgil drawled, sounding almost disappointed. It had been a blessed few days of silence.

“Captain, a pleasure it is to see you as well!” The mer lit up at the sight of Virgil, completely ignoring the captain’s statement. “Don’t you look ravishing this fine evening, care for a dip?”

Virgil flipped him off.

“Ah, I see your manners are as lovely as ever.” The creature appeared a bit peeved, but a simple hand gesture wouldn’t deter him. If it would, Virgil would have seen the beast off a hundred times over. “Perhaps a song will lighten your spirits~”

“Fuck off, siren.” Virgil called out to him. Once upon a time, Virgil believed this creature to truly be a siren, a being of the sea that enchanted sailors to sink to their doom. Now Virgil wasn’t so sure, as to be around a siren for this long should’ve meant the death of his entire crew; either this was a very incompetent siren, or a very stubborn and foolish mer folk.

And given Virgil has had the pleasure of hearing the creature sing, he knew it was the latter.

Just as promised, the mer began to hum, easily picking a tune out of the air. Virgil grimaced, turning away from the rail and heading towards his quarters before the song could lure him into a false sense of security.

“Oh, ‘tis the pearl one.” One deckhand commented. “That’s me favorite, tha’ is.”

“Bet he’d love if you told it so.” The other teased.

Virgil groaned, turning to the pair with a scowl. “Don’t encourage it. I forbid you.”

“Oh Cap’n, wouldn’t matter if we said nothin’.” The first assured him. “Tha’ creature has eyes only for yourself.”

Virgil flushed, steadfastly ignoring how the man’s implications made him feel a strange hum in his chest. “Ridiculous.” He scoffed, slamming his door shut before he could be hackled further.

Unfortunately, there was some truth to his men’s words. For whatever reason, this beast had chosen Virgil and would accept no other. Virgil had tried every trick in the book to avoid the mer, short of retiring to land. He boarded a new ship. He sailed new waters. He holed up in his quarters. No matter what maneuvers Virgil tried, within a matter of time the mer would always, always return, and not leave until Virgil had interacted with it.

In the beginning, the very idea of such a curse terrified Virgil. What could the siren possibly want? How long until Virgil was inevitably drowned like all the countless tales? Why was Virgil singled out above all others? But as time passed… for whatever reason, Virgil’s fears morphed into a more quiet curiosity. For whatever reason, the creature seemed to mean him no harm.

So what did it want with him?

Virgil sighed, once again looking out his porthole window at the dark frothy waves. The sun had set some time ago, giving the waters an even more ominous ambience. The singing, now that Virgil was focusing on it, had ended some time ago. Virgil paused, surprised to see the mer was not pressed up against the glass as he was wont to do. Perhaps the last time Virgil had scolded him about “freaking PRIVACY-” had finally gotten through his thick skull.

(It had been rather alarming to find eyes peering in from the murky depths when he was changing. At least the creature had the decency to be sheepish as well.)

Virgil hummed for a moment, drumming his fingers on the desk. Begrudgingly realizing he wouldn’t be able to sleep without knowing if the mer was truly gone, Virgil grabbed a tankard and headed up to the deck.

The captain headed back to the hull of the ship, peering into the path they carved in the ocean. No eyes peered back at him. He took a swig of his rum, slowly circling the length of the ship and examining the waves. No sign of his mer anywhere.

Why was he disappointed?

Virgil sighed, nursing his drink as he attempted to sort out his thoughts. What did he care if the sea serpent wanted to leave? He didn’t care.

Virgil winced, knowing his words were both harsh and pathetic. It wasn’t right to call him a serpent, not when he had done nothing but try to earn Virgil’s trust. Not when he had a name.

Virgil sighed again, placing his head in his hand. “Oh, Roman…”

“You remembered!”

The captain jolted, so lost in his thoughts (and his drink) that he had failed to notice the mer slinking up in the waves. And now Roman was properly grinning, his teeth on full display as he was clearly delighted both at Virgil’s statement and catching the captain unawares.

Virgil huffed, immediately sinking back into his grouchy demeanor and pushing the warm feeling from Roman’s arrival deep down. Deeper than all the oceans combined. “How could I forget? You won’t stop singing your own praises.”

“Well, I would sing yours.” Roman assured him, leaning his arms on the rail a few paces away. He had learned at sword point to give Virgil personal space. “But you’ve refused to give me your name.”

“Hmm.” Virgil just shrugged, taking another sip of his drink.

Roman rolled his eyes, pushing his dripping locks out of his face. “So mysterious. Dark and brooding only keeps a man’s interest for so long, you know. However I am becoming increasingly interested in why you chose to call out to me- does the heart grow fonder, I sense?”

“In your dreams, princey.” Virgil chuckled. Despite his thoughts dwindling on the mer beside him, his gaze was fixed solely on the sea in an almost unfocused trance.

“A sand dollar for your thoughts?” Roman tilted his head.

Virgil paused, debating whether he should tell Roman what was truly on his mind. It was a dangerous game, one that would admit to Roman’s slow siren games working.

“What would…” Virgil paused, refusing to meet Roman’s gaze. He almost didn’t want to know the answer if the darker truths were correct. What would happen if I joined you? Virgil shuddered, watching the waters churn a bit more dangerously. The sea, dangerous mistress she was, would not be so kind to a landlubber like himself.

“What do you want with me?” Virgil murmured. “You’re always going on about how you’re so enamored with me, and you keep trying to get me to jump overboard but- but why?! What could you hope to gain? Stringing me along for the ride, playing your twisted games-”

“What?!” Out of the corner of his eye, Virgil saw Roman’s eyes go wide as saucers. “My captain, my tempter, my beautiful anxious two-legged fool… do you really think so lowly of me? Are my affections all some ploy to you?”

Virgil winced, turning to face Roman fully. He expected the mer to look outraged, insulted even. What he didn’t expect was the pained pleading expression he got in return.

“It’s not so difficult a notion.” Virgil shrugged, hiding his shame behind the lip of his mug. “You have been hunting me for ages.”

Roman let out an offended gasp. “Hunting- how barbaric a notion! Courting, I’ve been courting you, my insufferable flame.”

Virgil all but choked on his drink.

“Or trying, at the very least.” Despite his bold words, Roman had gone rather red in the face as well. “A-and you should count yourself lucky that I continue to try! You haven’t exactly made yourself easy to woo.”

Virgil coughed down some more liquor, needing the liquid courage to get through this conversation. He coughed again, trying to regain his composure. “So- I ask again, why? Why keep ‘courting’ me-” Virgil found a sour taste on his tongue at such an outdated phrase- “if all I do is push you away? Why don’t you leave me alone?”

Roman’s tail agitated the water, a sign Virgil had learned meant the mer was feeling uncertain. It was a more common sight than the mer would ever admit. “I… surely you don’t mean that, do you?”

Virgil just raised an eyebrow, challenging him.

“I think of this as a game, I suppose, it’s true.” Roman admitted, his fingers trailing down into the water with an outstretched hand. “But I thought you were playing along. I guess a part of me always suspected that was just my wild fantasies, though.”

“Oh?” Virgil frowned.

“Why, you must think me terribly annoying.” Roman’s ear flaps flattened to his head as the mer sunk further down. “Perhaps I was the only one who… I wanted to be wanted. Is that so terrible? To imagine a smirk upon your features every time I surfaced? I know you slow the boat down when I’ve been missing, giving me the chance to catch up.”

“I do no such thing.” Virgil lied through his teeth.

Roman sunk further, clearly too stuck in his own gloomy thoughts to catch wind of Virgil’s terrible lie. He met the captain’s gaze, looking pitifully pathetic.

“If you truly want me to go, I’ll go.” Roman spoke softly. Virgil sucked in a breath. “I won’t chase you down any longer. You’ll be free of me. Is that what you wish?”

Virgil stared at him for a very long time, gazing deep into those beautiful brown eyes. He only found sincerity in their depths. Now was his chance to get rid of this mer once and for all; if he told Roman to go, he would never see the mer again.

“...no.” Virgil sighed. “That’s not what I want.”

It was quiet for a moment, only the rippling of the waves to be heard. And then, Roman leaned over and punched Virgil in the arm.

“Ow!” Virgil looked at him aghast, surprised by Roman’s strength. “What’s that about?”

“You jerk!” Roman hissed. “You rotten fiend-”

“What happened to oh captain, my captain-?”

“How dare you play with my heart like that!” Roman’s lip went out in the most adorable pout. “You made me actually doubt for a moment, thinking I had been nothing more than a burden to you all this time, wasting my best years on someone who didn’t care.”

Virgil had been teasing at first, wanting to rile up the fish to see what happened; he never meant to make Roman truly upset. “You’re right, that was cruel of me.”

“Hmph.” Roman turned away from him.

Virgil smirked, feeling more than a little emboldened by his booze. “Can I make it up to you with a gift?”

Roman’s ear flaps twitched, the mer sending him a glance. He gave Virgil a coy smile, poorly hiding his genuine excitement. “For moi?”

“Yup.” Virgil leaned closer, dropping his voice to a near whisper. “Virgil.” He leaned back, letting out a loud laugh at Roman’s befuddled expression. He took another swig of his drink, turning to head in for the night. “Wha- what does ‘Virgil’ mean?” Roman desperately asked.

“It’s my name, dumbass!” Virgil laughed over his shoulder. He turned back just long enough to drink in the look on Roman’s face, giving the shocked mer a hearty salute before closing his door.

The next morning, Virgil awoke with a pounding headache. He groaned, trying to stave off his hangover with some water as he headed to the deck. It didn’t help that every crew member he passed kept giving him a knowing smirk.

“Have a pleasant eve, Cap’n?” The deckhand asked, Virgil’s head tilted to take in the melody rising from the ocean. He groaned when he heard the words.

~ Arise my sweet Virgil,the pearl of the sea~

~Oh Virgil, my Virgil, forever we’ll be~

All variations of his usual songs, inserting Virgil’s name in as many places as possible. Clearly Roman had enjoyed his gift, no matter how much Virgil was beginning to regret it.

“And this is why you don’t talk to sirens, lads.” Virgil shook his head, muttering under his breath and refusing to head to that side of the ship as his cheeks turned scarlet. “Feed scraps to a hound and it will follow you to the end of your days.”

“Aye, and what a pup you’ve fed.” The lookout chuckled, gazing through an eyeglass back at the mer.

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just-call-me-the-intrusive-thot · 4 years

Text

Soulmate September - Day 9

Day 9 - When you write something on your own skin it appears on your soulmate’s skin as well. (Pirates and Sirens AU)

Pairing(s): Romantic Dukeceit, Background Romantic Prinxiety

TWs: Swearing, murder mention, Remus being Remus, semi-detailed leg and fin injury

–

Those who ran afoul of The Witch’s Serpent rarely lived to tell the tale. Many a foolish young sea-farer - far too inexperienced and overly cocky - had met their end at the hands of the galleon’s captain long before they could even hope to make their mark on the open seas.

Captain Remus Gaspar was an impulsive, enigma of a man; capable of great feats of bravery and reckless daring do, alongside acts of cold blooded murder and remorseless torture inflicted upon those who crossed him. The sea choked on the bodies of his victims while he and his crew sipped the finest stolen wines with nary a hiccup. The naval officers of the mainland cowered in fear while Remus decimated their trade routes and sent their men to the depths to keep the fish company. In fact, only one man had faced the Captain and lived to see another day, but kept coming back for more.

Commodore Logan Callows.

Remus would have admired him - in all senses - if not for his fanatic loyalty to the crown and it’s laws. Make no mistake, Remus very much wanted Logan’s head for a bow ornament with every fibre of his mortal being, but outside factors forbade Remus from fatally wounding the man. Namely, Logan’s first mate and closest friend was his brother-in-law, Virgil Giordano. Why did Roman’s soulmate have to be a man who could rival any opponent in a knife fight, despite being the sort to panic over the smallest change in weather conditions? Remus had no goddamn idea what fate was playing at, but he knew for certain that killing Logan would result in having to run from Virgil’s swift and immediate crusade for revenge. And if there’s one thing Remus Gaspar refused to do, it wold be spending his life in hiding.

Remus loved his brother dearly but all the familial loyalty in the world wouldn’t save him from Virgil’s wrath. He’d learned that much from his last encounter with Logan’s ship, The Inquisitor. Too many cocky remarks and attempts to stall while his men pillaged the lower decks of the ship in secret had earned him a close encounter with the business end of Virgil’s dagger. Naturally, the Captain had made things worse by uttering a rather salacious remark for which he was gifted a shiny new slash mark along his cheek.

“As a warning.”, his brother in law had hissed.

When forced to retreat, Remus had lamented the size of their haul at first. Not nearly enough sugar and spices as they’d been hoping for, but a small crate of flintlock pistols ripe for sale more than made up for the loss once they’d been discovered among the spoils.

Thus we come to the present moment; Captain Remus, sat upon the docks with a bottle of expensive rum, staring out into the ocean blue. His men had been more than happy to give the Captain his space while they spent their time merrily drinking in the local tavern. Once he was sure he was alone, Remus removed his black leather bracer and rolled his white sleeve to stare at the message written upon it. The Captain had seen many an alphabet in his day - either scrawled upon the foreign exports stolen from trading vessels, or within his memories of home, being tutored alongside his twin as children - but Remus had never laid eyes upon the letters that adorned his skin in a shimmering golden cursive.

Naturally, ever since he’d first been written to, Remus had made an effort to search for the script, but the only ‘lead’ he had been given was an old woman selling wares a couple of ports prior who had raved on and on, claiming it to be the language of the sirens. He’d scoffed at the idea and decided it likely wasn’t worth trying to work out in the first place.

Remus had never been one to buy into this whole soulmates arrangement. Even the day Roman had shown him the violet cursive that had appeared like magic, Remus had rolled his eyes and sworn off taking such a thing seriously. After all, acknowledging that kind of thing brought about some rather unpleasant thoughts he would rather not think about. The fierce Captain liked to play remorseless, but in truth, Remus simply knew that life at sea demanded blood, and it was up to him whether it’d be the blood of his enemies, or his crew and himself. But that didn't stop his mind wandering into territories he wished it would stay out of. How many men lay on the sandy shores of the depths with messages from soulmates unaware of their beloved’s fate? Did severing the connection hurt? Would fate allow those whom he’d unknowingly widowed to love again? Or had he doomed them to a life alone with no one to share such a connection with ever again?

… More rum would be needed it seemed.

A clattering from the nearby rock shoal drew Remus out from his own mind with a couple of curses leaving the Captain as he knocked over the rum bottle and watched a good portion of it pour away before he could right it again.

“Son of a bitch!”, he hissed, corking it and casting a glare towards the rockpool where the clattering had come from. Whoever had just cost him a good amount of rum was in for the brawl of their life. Remus threw on his coat and cursed his inebriated steps over the craggy rock face, swearing once again as he nearly rolled his ankle when his boot sunk into an unseen rockpool. He wrenched his leg free and crested the large flat rock in his way.

The second his eyes could focus, Remus made a mental note to find that old woman on their round trip and apologise.

Sprawled on it’s side nestled in the sand was an honest to god siren. The Captain was mesmerised by the creature; it’s long golden hair flowed over it’s scaled shoulders and torso, complimented by it’s black and yellow streaked fin-like ears that fluttered angrily each time it hissed. It wasn’t hard to work out why it was so angry. The creature’s left leg fin had been hooked in a rather nasty mess of fishing line and barbed hooks. The Captain had seen the technique used before to ensure a plentiful haul, who knew it could catch such a creature of legend so easily?

Perhaps Remus was succumbing to the creature’s charms, or maybe he was just too drunk already to think things through, but he found himself whistling to the creature to catch it’s attention. The way the creature’s panicked, beautiful eyes met his own momentarily knocked the wind from his chest as he wheezed out, “Need help?”

It let out a strangled sound and scrambled backwards, only to let out a cry of pain as it’s injured leg dragged along the sand. The Captain dropped down from his rock perch and made his way over,

“Woah there! Unless you want that fin ripped out you should lemme unhook you-”

Despite the excruciating pain it must’ve been in, it still managed to hiss dangerously at Remus in a voice that felt like a million tiny hands groping around in his brain with every syllable,

“Stay back!”

Remus’ halted momentarily, the voice in his head warning him, “Come any closer and I won’t hesitate to eat you alive!”

In spite of any semblance of common sense, Remus impulsively shot a cocky grin the creature’s way, “Kinky!”

The siren wasn’t amused.

It lunged forward to swipe at Remus, but the Captain caught it’s arm, making sure his grasp wasn’t painful, but firm.

“Watch it, you’re gonna take someone’s eye out! Or maybe these beauties will just gouge a couple chunks outta my face-”

Remus’ rambling was cut short as he saw the siren’s expression shift from a ferocious snarl to one of immediate fear.

“Please don’t kill me-”, it murmured quietly, slapping it’s free hand over its mouth. It tried to change back to a more aggressive persona but Remus refused to be intimidated,

“The last thing I wanna do is hurt you. Now are you gonna be a good lil fishy and let me unhook you?”

The siren scanned his face with those enchanting eyes once again, scrutinising every inch of Remus before it huffed and turned away from his gaze. The Captain took it as a sign of an indignant ‘do whatever you want’ and sat on the sand next to the siren, already beginning to carefully remove the hooks as best he could. Each wince the creature gave was met with an apology until Remus got the hang of it.

“.....What’s your name?”, Remus mused to the surprised siren, “Might as well get to know each other, right?”

The creature mumbled something Remus couldn’t understand under it’s breath but relented reluctantly, “My name is Janus. At least, that's how you humans would pronounce it.”

“It’s a beautiful name. Mine’s Remus.”, the Captain mumbled, too hyper focused on removing the hooks to see the way Janus’ cheeks flushed a dark ochre colour. Once the last hook had come loose, both of them let out a shared sigh of relief; Remus admired his job well done but grew concerned as Janus went to stand up. “Hey, you’re going to hurt yourself doing that.”, he warned, to which Janus scoffed, attempting to hide his emotions once more.

“I’ll be fine, Remus, I’ll heal quickly-”

“The salt water’s gonna sting like a bitch.”, Remus cut in.

Noting the wince Janus gave in response, he continued, “At least let me take you to my ship so I can bandage you up proper-“

“No!”, Janus declined fiercely, though he softened right after, letting Remus know it was likely a reflexive reaction, “I apologise. I… I’m rather wary of that kind of thing. Please understand.”

Remus sighed and stood up, taking off his coat to place it around Janus’ shoulders. The siren stiffened, though curiosity got the better of him and he softly touched the warm material. Janus inhaled and immediately was hit with the smell of the garment; a mix of body odour, dried blood, sea salt, and countless food-like smells. Not to mention the reek of old alcohol.

“In the name of Uranus, do you never clean this ornate rag!?”

Remus cackled, taking Janus’ hand to lead him to The Witch’s Serpent, noting that his fingers were webbed. Adorable.

“Nope! Not since I hauled it off the guy I ran through to get it!”

Janus’ nose crinkled at that yet the siren kept following Remus towards his ship. With a proper glance in the light of the port, Janus piped up, “Oh. That’s an interesting coincidence.”

“What is?”, Remus questioned, making sure no one was aboard yet so he could lift a flustered Janus on deck despite the embarrassed glare he received from the siren.

“I’ve been following your ship for months.”, Janus elaborated, trying to regain his footing on the decks, “With the scraps and bodies you leave behind in your wake, I rarely have to bother hunting for new prey.”

Ah. Remus wasn’t sure what to make of that yet, simply shrugging, “Good to know you’ve been freeloading this whole time.”.

Once more taking the hand of the siren, Remus led him towards the Captain’s Quarters; the room was just as gilded and ornate as the coat keeping Janus warm, with various trinkets, maps, paintings, and oddities given their own place within the room. Taking the opportunity to snoop around while Remus was rooting around in his desk drawer for bandages, Janus allowed his eyes to lead him on a journey around the room. A telescope, a star map, family photos, animal bones, even a goblet made from a man’s skull connected atop a metal stem, Janus had never seen so many interesting and macabre items. His interest peaked when his gaze landed on a beautiful topaz necklace resting on a book of fairytales.

Janus’ fingers traced the jewellery adoringly. It was rare for such trinkets to end up on the seafloor unless a storm had sent an unfortunate vessel to the depths. Not that Janus was ever lucky enough to get at the spoils; the boisterous captain may be sweet on him, for who knows what reason, but his own kind were never too fond of Janus’ standoffish nature and biting remarks. Of course, Janus didn’t care if he was lonely. He didn’t. Not at all. “You can have it if you want.”

Remus’ voice startled the siren who nearly tripped over the end of the Captain’s large coat. He chuckled and slowly lifted the necklace off the book to carefully let it loop over Janus’ neck.

“It suits you. Really brings out the scales.”, he complimented. Without giving Janus a second to process the act of kindness, Remus led him towards a wooden armchair in front of his desk. He guided Janus to sit down in the chair while Remus sat on the desk itself. To his side was a roll of bandages and a cloth, ‘for the blood trail’ he’d explained, gesturing to the droplets patterning their route. Janus watched the captain remove his bracers and sink to the floor to tend to his wounds. By the gentle way the Captain held and bandaged him, Janus assumed the man had sobered enough for the siren to pose the question,

“Why?”

Remus frowned, looking up to lock eyes with the siren, “Why what?”

“Why’re you...”, being so kind? Treating me so sweetly? Not trying to kill me to sell my skin? “.... treating me like this? You realise I threatened to eat you earlier, right?”

The Captain shrugged, his expression as blank as before, “Yeah. But you didn’t. And you got all fucked up in some moron’s fishing line, so it wasn’t like you posed much of a threat-”

“Exactly.”, Janus interrupted in frustrated confusion in his tone, “My voice is out of practice, if you wanted to, you could’ve slaughtered me for my skin. Any human would be a fool not to. But here you are, treating me like I’m worth more to you alive than dead. Adorning me in such… expensive trinkets.”

Remus’ brow furrowed at that. “For someone who threatened to eat me earlier, I figured you’d practice a little more self preservation.”

The siren scoffed, “I didn’t say I wanted to be slaughtered, I’m merely trying to work out why you wouldn’t take such a chance. Doesn’t your species enjoy monetary gain? Like I said, any human would be a fool to miss such an opportunity- oW!”

Janus fixed Remus a glare as the Captain flicked the abused tip of his leg fin, “First off, yeah, I like money but that's not what I do this shit for. Secondly, most humans think your kind aren’t even real. If I waltzed into town claiming I had siren skin to sell, I’d be run outta town as a conman. Besides, if I’m nice to you, I’ll have an ally in the water, and that's far more valuable to me.”

As he wrapped up the calf area for good, Remus grinned up at the siren, “You’re also really handsome, so that helps.”

Janus’ face crinkled in a flustered surprise, “Remus, I’m part fish-”

“You’re still handsome as fuck.”

“I’m not even using my human glamour-”

“And? You’re hot.”

“I’m literally covered in fish scales-!”

“Still hot!”

Janus couldn’t think of another rebuttal, so Remus counted it as a win for him. He rolled his sleeves to tackle the rest of the injuries when he caught Janus’ eyes tracing the fresh scar on his cheek.

“Wondering how I got this scar?”

“I may be interested.” came the coy reply.

Remus smirked, “You could call it a gift from my brother-in-law. I got a little too up close and personal with his best friend and found up with this beauty. It’s a shame, said bestie’s pretty fun but he’s the biggest pain in my ass since this one time I ate some bad eels-”

“That’s charming,”, Janus interrupted in disgust, “Why don’t you simply dispatch this ‘bestie’ and be done with him?”

“Can’t. If I did that, Virge-”

“Who?”

“My brother-in-law.”

“Ah. Continue.”

“Virge would hunt me down to the ends of the Earth and the last thing I wanna do is trade away my freedom to do whatever the fuck I want.”, he averted his gaze to Janus’ leg and kept bandaging it; whoever had put that line into the ocean had no idea the damage it’d caused to such a beautiful creature. “Besides, if I hurt Virge like that, my brother Roman would be miserable. Even if he probably hates me, some dumb bitch part of me really doesn’t want him to feel like shit just ‘cause I went and upset his soulmate.”

Janus scoffed quietly. It lacked the venom he no doubt intended it to have but the disdain was enough to draw the Captain’s attention. “You humans are far too sentimental. My kind have no qualms treating even close family like scum if we so desire. Even our soulmates it would seem..”

Remus caught the darting glance Janus sent towards his scaled wrist, noting the sigh he suppressed. “.... They’re a damn fool to not want you.”, the Captain murmured thoughtfully as he finally finished the upper shin bandaging. He wiped his brow with the heel of his palm but stopped as he felt smoothe fingers wrap around his wrist. His confusion was answered as the siren bore holes into the sliver of writing on his arm with those mesmerising eyes.

“You’re not the only one having soulmate trouble,”, Remus began answering, “Never really cared much for this shit, but now I got a message, I can’t make heads or tails of it-”

“Help me. I need you.”

Remus locked eyes with Janus, the siren’s own eyes wide with realisation and looking ready to bubble with tears, “That's what it says. It’s in Aquan. I wrote that to my soulmate while I was feeling…. rather vulnerable.”

Unsure of how to react to this turn of events, Remus stood and sat on his desk once more. He was too stunned to reply at first. A million questions swelled and crashed upon the shores of his brain, all fighting to be asked, but Janus beat him to the punch.

“Why did you never write back?”, the hurt in his voice stabbed at the Captain’s heart, “I mean, even if you couldn’t understand me, why didn’t you just...”

Remus wasn’t sure himself. No, that was a lie. He simply never fathomed that the message had been a cry for help.

“I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking.”, he began, looking to Janus - no, his soulmate, and asking in return, “What happened?”

Janus sucked in a breath through his teeth, “.... It was a moment of weakness but….. My family had cast me out. Not that it was all too surprising, nor could I stand most of them anyway, but… being left alone to wander by yourself is a rather terrifying thought no matter the situation. I’d reached my breaking point. I felt like I’d been abandoned by my kin entirely. I thought perhaps my soulmate would be there for me. I never imagined you were human.”

“Makes sense. I’m sorry your family sucks ass.”. Eloquent as always. But hey, the snicker that got from the siren was worth it in Remus’ eyes. “And I’m sorry I didn’t write back. But I guess it’s good we finally crossed paths.”

Remus gestured for Janus to join him on the desk, to which the siren accepted the offer, being careful not to catch the coat he was still adorned in on anything on the way up. With his soulmate seated by his side, Remus wrapped an arm around the siren and held him close. Janus gave a lop-sided, fond smile, leaning into the act of comfort and gently resting a hand on Remus’ chest.

“What now then, my Captain?”, Janus’ voice was as soft and sweet as a ripe peach. Remus knew it’d require a lot of explanation where his crew was concerned, but he wasn’t about to let Janus slip away from him. He pressed a kiss to the siren’s temple, relishing the blush that spread over Janus’ cheeks. With a grin, Remus cackled,

“Simple, we make good on this alone time we’ve got ‘til my crew get back!”

Sorry this one’s so late TTvTT I miight need some time to finish days 10 and up, but I’ll get things written asap. @tsshipmonth2020

Taglist: @somehow-i-got-an-account @cateye-glasses @fandomsofrandom

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eirist · 3 years

Text

Little Bits and Pieces of Heaven

EASY, LOVE

One-shot #: 24

Disclaimer: One Piece (and its characters) belongs to Eiichiro Oda-sensei.

Reminder: I have no beta-reader. Any grammatical and spelling errors are solely mine.

Warning: OOC possible. One shot.

Rating: T

Note: This can be a companion story to Calm Before the Storm. I rarely write one-shots with an ongoing arc timeline but the story’s much better in Wano set-up. I originally tried a different setting but it didn’t work out.

Title is borrowed from the song Easy, Love by Tom West. It has nothing to do with the story plot but when I came across it, I immediately thought it suits this one-shot best.

Summary: Since when did falling for someone been so easy?

Nami silently observed from the upper deck of the Sunny as the samurais of Wano Kuni arrived from their journey from the Ringo region.

If the merrymaking at Kuri beach—where a barbecue celebration (one of the many they had for the last few days)—was already loud and boisterous before… it turned to a total pandemonium once the group dismounted their horses to join the party.

Luffy was hollering from too much excitement; yelling Zoro’s name as he bounded towards the swordsman—who was getting off his own horse—so he could glomp him.

Her lips quirked in amusement. Idiots. Look how happy they both are to see each other.

It’s been days since the green-haired man traveled to the northern region to pay his respects to the samurai Ryuma who gave him Shusui. Few of the red scabbards went with him…

…along with Momo’s sister, Hiyori.

Nami pursed her lips at that. And it immediately turned into a frown when she noticed Zoro assisting the beautiful woman down from her own horse. Even with Luffy still entangled around him, his rubbery arms encircling the taller man’s torso, Zoro was still able to effortlessly lift Hiyori and set her down carefully on the ground.

Hiyori looked absolutely pleased. Her hands lingered on Zoro’s shoulders as Luffy continued cheering right at his ear.

Then Sanji decided to enter the scene to gripe and swear at his rival before taking the now-surprised Hiyori’s hands off Zoro to lead her towards the feasting table in a frenzy of popping hearts, nose bleed and drool.

Nami would’ve blown him some kisses for that. The look Hiyori threw on Zoro’s way didn’t escape her eyes yet the dense man was expectedly was oblivious to it; his attention was completely on his captain as he tried to pry him off his person.

She studied Zoro for a few seconds. He was being unusually nice… if not extra nice to the former oiran. Well… Hiyori was, after all, the reason why he got his hands on a new and more powerful sword.

And apparently, as Brook had gossiped to her and Usopp one drunken evening, it wasn’t just the sword. The musician had caught them in a rather… compromising position when he happened upon them in the hideaway hut back in Ringo.

Her frown deepened. The familiar sensation of something weighing down her chest came back again. Just like that night when she first heard the story.

Her hands twitched involuntarily and she didn’t notice that she was clutching the railing quite hard.

“Nami? Are you alright?”

The navigator whipped her head sharply towards the voice.

Robin was standing a few feet away from her with a questioning look on her face. She just emerge from the library and was holding a book in her hand when she spotted the younger woman so deep in her thoughts as she gaze at party below.

“Sorry,” Nami said in a sheepish tone, feeling weirdly guilty at being caught spacing out. “Got distracted for a second. What was that again Robin?”

The archaeologist smiled as she approached her, not bothering to repeat her question. She peered down below. “Ara, they’re finally back.”

“Yeah…” Nami followed her gaze. “We can now set sail… that is if our captain is finally done with all these feasts.”

Robin giggled. “I doubt that. Now that Zoro’s here, he’ll probably want to celebrate again.”

“Hmmm…” Nami smiled at her. “I don’t know why I bother with that thought when I already know what’s gonna happen.”

“Fufufu… shall we join them?” Robin asked.

Nami brushed back a stray tendril of hair that escaped her pony tail and shook her head. “You go ahead first.”

Robin nodded. She patted Nami’s shoulder lightly before heading down the galley. From the looks of it something was bothering the navigator.

But for now it’s much better to leave Nami to her thoughts. She’ll eventually share whatever was on her mind when she’s ready.

“Oiiii Nami! Namiiiii!” Luffy was shouting from the shore, waving his rubbery arms enthusiastically to get her attention. “Look! Look! Zoro’s finally back!” He started tapping Zoro’s back with enough force to earn a death glare from the surly man as he growled for him to stop.

Nami rolled her eyes at their antics.

Zoro tilted his head to her direction and their eyes met.

They held each other’s gazes. Nami willed her face to remain expressionless as they continued their stare off.

The katana wielder raised an eyebrow at her, wondering why her reception was as cold as the northern region he had just recently came from.

And just like that, Nami tore her gaze away from him and turned on her heel disappearing from his sight.

Zoro was left confused. What just happened? She didn’t even bother to greet him and just stared straight at him like he was someone she didn’t know.

Did he owe her something?

Beside him Luffy stopped his antics and blinked, also baffled by Nami’s odd behavior.

“Ne, Zoro. Did you do something?”

-------------------------

“So did you do something?” Usopp queried, raising both eyebrows as he regarded the swordsman beside him suspiciously.

They were sitting on one of the feasting tables, eating and drinking. The former pirate hunter just told him about what happened earlier.

“I just got back!” Zoro hissed at him, slamming the tankard he was holding down the table. “How can I do something when I’m not even here these past few days?!”

Usopp shrugged. “Maybe you did something before you left.” He suggested, stabbing another slab of meat with his fork and taking a hefty bite from it.

“Like what?!”

The sniper shrugged his shoulders again unable to give an answer. He had long ago learned that Nami’s temperament is as unpredictable as the New World weather. Sunny with a high chance of thunderbolts. No use trying to figure it out.

“Oi Robin,” Zoro then turned towards the older woman who was sitting beside him. He nudged his head towards the Sunny’s direction. “What’s with her?”

Robin shifted her eyes towards the empty upper deck. Nami still hasn’t come down to join them and had probably barricaded herself inside the library. She shook her head apologetically. “I honestly do not know Zoro.”

“What did I do now?” Zoro grouchily asked no one in particular and Robin’s lips quirked up at his predictable reaction.

“Ara… Are you saying you did something?”

“No.” Zoro snarled as he eyed her indignantly. “I didn’t!”

“Maybe she’s just in one of her moods?” Usopp interjected. “You know how she is.”

“She probably is.” Robin agreed. “Best to stay clear for now Zoro.”

Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth irritably, Zoro reached for a bottle of sake.

They were ok before he left. More than ok to be honest as he recalled their drinking session days before the raid in Onigashima.

So what happened?

-------------------------

The sound of the revelry was beginning to increase in volume indicating that it was starting to shift into full swing as cheers and singing filled the air.

Yet everything was lost on the orange-haired woman who was sitting by herself in the ship’s library. Her pretty brown eyes were fixed intently on the window just behind her mapping desk.

Oh she is in a mood alright. Ever since she realized what the heavy feeling that was settling inside her was.

By Kami, she’s jealous.

Yes indeed, she is.

She tipped her head back and groaned. What a nasty feeling.

And to think this was all because of that moronic, directionless swordsman.

She likes him. That she was sure now. That’s the reason why she was so down when she heard Brook’s story about him and Hiyori. And when he set off to Ringo with said woman in tow, not even bothering to ask if any of the Straw Hats wants to go with them.

And she’s not gonna even touch the scene she witnessed earlier when he assisted her down from her horse like he had been a gentleman all his life.

What else could have possibly happened to them? They’ve spent a lot of time together after all.

Zoro never mentioned anything about her that night she was drinking with him. And it’s not like she should be privy to it. What Zoro do or does is his own business.

She banged a fist on her mapping desk to stop the thoughts and winced when she realized that it was a damn rash action.

But the pain in her hand was nothing like the one wrenching her heart.

She smiled wistfully. And here she honestly thought there was something… between them.

Foolish, foolish thought! She chastised herself. How can she let herself be pulled in that moment with him!

And now… here she is.

Never mind that that was not the first time it happened and she realized it will not be the last.

She bit the insides of her cheeks. Now is not the time for this. She better straighten her thoughts and get a hold of herself. Some of her friends are pretty intuitive, they’d know at a glance that something’s up with her. She’s pretty sure Robin’s brilliant mind has already put two and two together.

Squaring her shoulders, she decided she’d come down to join the merriment after five more minutes.

Taking a deep breath to settle her nerves, she closed her eyes and…

The library door suddenly swung open; the heavy foot falls that followed it gave away who just entered.

Damn it! She’s not ready to face him yet!

She steeled herself when he crossed the room. She heard him grab a chair and set it down just beside her with a ‘thud’.

She didn’t even flinched at the sound. Normally she would be bitching about it. Complaining on how crass he is.

Instead she just kept quiet.

“What is it?” Zoro grunted; a bit peeved that she ignored his presence knowing full well why he was there.

“Nothing,” she answered after a few seconds, still not looking at him.

Zoro made a disapproving sound. He knows something is up. Nami cannot lie to him. He knows her too well.

“Spill.”

She remained quiet. And it was so unnerving to him. Whatever it was, he was getting the idea that it was serious. She was usually upfront with whatever she was thinking.

The silence that hovered between them was intolerable. It was pushing him over the edge.

Then Nami turned her head towards him. A determined look was all over her face.

And her lovely, brown eyes.

“I’m jealous.”

Zoro blanked at that. He heard what she just said—loud and clear.

And yet his mind cannot process what she finally decided to divulge.

He opened his mouth to say something… to blurt out an expletive, a retort.

But nothing came out.

Nami was looking at him intently, watching him. She watched as his usually nonchalant expression cracked, his cool composure completely obliterated by that phrase.

His face slowly colored.

There was no other way than to hit him with the truth. She readied herself for his outburst.

Instead he surprised her by stammering and turning into a deeper shade of red.

A chuckle escaped her.

What an adorable idiot he is.

She riveted her gaze back to the window. This is more than what she expected.

Amusing as it may seem, the heavy feeling from earlier still hadn’t left her.

Beside her Zoro continued spluttering.

That should be enough to keep him at bay. Nami thought amusedly.

She heard him took a deep breath before finally muttering a ‘damn it’.

And he suddenly leaned towards her, reaching out to grasp her hand roughly in his.

It drew her attention back to him.

He was grumbling something under his breath. She couldn’t quite catch what it was because her heart was thumping wildly inside her chest and blood was rushing to her head.

Zoro held her hand in his even as he refused to look at her. His face was so red now that steam would probably come out of his ears in a matter of seconds.

For a moment, Nami honestly thought he would combust.

But he still didn’t release her hand. Instead he held it tighter.

Nami chewed on her lower lip fighting the smile that wanted to grace her lips.

Just like that… everything felt better now.

Drat. She’s so screwed.

Nobody said a word. They remained quiet with their hands linked.

“So…” Nami began, deciding to break the silence. “Is this your way of—”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t evenlet me finished!”

“Just shut up.”

A hush fell between them again.

“So… you’re jealous?”

“Ugh. Shut up Zoro!”

#zoro x nami #ZoNa #zonami #zonalove #zona one-shots #zoro nami fanfiction #zona fanfiction #roronoa zoro #nami

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husbandograveyard · 4 years

Text

Out of all days to get lost...

Hello everyone! This is part II of the beautiful Fern Flower Scenario @some-piece wrote for her summer challenge. Please go read it and follow her, she writes the best things I swear! The part II started off as a joke of which I really loved the concept, and I couldn’t say no when she asked to collab! I hope you enjoy part 2~

Summary: Zoro has an awful habit of getting lost. Even on his wedding day. Character: Zoro. Word count: 3.2k 2nd person Reader insert. Disclaimer that the wedding is loosely based off of the stereotypical western idea of marriage.

Weddings weren’t really common in the pirate world, besides the arranged kind, especially if you’re in any way or shape related to big mom or another influential family. But the ones out of love? Rare. There is very little time and space for love, let alone wedding parties with entire pirate crews involved while there’s enemies all around, marines and other pirates alike.

Zoro and you hadn’t been really sure on how you would break the news to the other crew members. So far, Robin had been true to her word and had not spoken a word to anyone about it. There were some mysterious smiles and knowing glances, but those were not new for Robin, so everyone kept sailing after you left the island where the Fern Festival was held, blissfully unaware of what had happened in the forest.

The way everyone found out was by accident. Nami had ‘spotted’ the ring in cleaning out the room. You had decided to stash it away carefully, keeping the news and the funny story around it between mostly you and Zoro for now, but once Nami connected the dots, she went off about how you had denied her the berries price for finding the Fern Flower, and you had no choice but to explain the circumstances. Nami’s yelling had by then attracted the attention from some other crew members, and before you knew the whole ship was aware of yours and Zoro’s status.

Luffy was immediately ready to throw a whole feast, right then and there, but was quickly stopped by Nami, who had forgotten about her anger from minutes ago to now enthusiastically name all the things she wanted to do with you. You had to curb her enthusiasm a little by telling her you had already agreed on Robin as maid of honor, after all, she knew and had been able to keep quiet.

That didn’t stop Nami from still rambling on about all the things she wanted to do and plan. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think she was more happy about the engagement than you are. After talking it over with the whole crew, Zoro placing a hand on yours the entire time as you said what the both of you wanted to do, actual plans were made.

Nami and Robin would be in charge of the clothes of everyone. Your dress, the men’s suits, everything. Zoro agreed as long as it wouldn’t be ‘too flashy’ or ‘too tight’. His only requirements were being able to breathe, and being able to carry his swords. It’s not like Zoro didn’t want to be involved in everything, he just mostly wanted you to be happy, himself to be comfortable and have a party with those who matter most. Other than that, he was fine with mostly everything.

Nami would map out a route to an island that did not have many inhabitants and would be safe to dock at without getting in trouble with the locals, marines or other pirates. A ceremony on the beach would be a little more special than one on the sunny.

Jinbe would be the officiate the marriage, and Usopp and Franky would take care of the special effects. You weren’t entirely sure what that meant but you let them to that, if it made them happy to contribute.

Luffy was Zoro’s best man, you were not entirely convinced if your captain was the best choice for the role, but it was Zoro’s choice, and you knew how much he cared about his captain. In all honesty, Luffy had very little idea of what exactly was going on, but was happy to just follow whatever instructions, as long as there was enough meat at the afterparty.

Of course, Sanji would take care of the food, his eyes lit up when you said he was free to experiment with whatever recipes he saw fit. The moment he got the okay, he practically dove into the kitchen to get started on little testers for you, Nami and Robin to decide on. Even begrudgingly giving some to Zoro, he had a say in this too after all, it was heartwarming and hilarious to see them interact on their best behavior just for this special occasion, it truly was something.

Chopper was going to be the ring bearer. Zoro really wanted the little reindeer to have an important role and this seemed perfect. Chopper was more than excited to even help go pick out the wedding rings. The actual wedding rings would be kept in his possession just so Zoro couldn’t lose them again. Just to be safe.

Last but not least, Brook was in charge of the music and he had promised to compose a handful of songs just for the occasion. Seeing the whole crew work together for this made you emotional already, even weeks before the big day came. It was heartwarming and it seemed to give everyone an extra boost during the rest of your adventures, because on your way to the island that Nami picked out, there were still plenty of pirate things to do.

Time flies when you’re having fun, or when you are dreading something. The closer you came to the island where it all was gonna happen, the more nervous you got. You didn’t even know why exactly. You were looking forward to it so much, the cherry on top of the best relation you ever had and the only one you wanted to have still for the rest of your life.

You were looking forward to it every night you went to sleep in Zoro’s arms, your head resting on his broad chest, his even breaths lulling you to sleep even though your heart was racing with unnecessary stress and anticipation. But with every preparation that got finished, every little item checked off the list, you were feeling like everything was just too perfect? Suspiciously so. The day could be perfect, that’d be ideal. But the slightly pessimist voice in the back of your head kept nagging you about what could possibly go wrong.

You docked at the island by the evening a few days later. All preparations were complete, now it was only a matter of going through the motions. A small party in the evening, preparations in the morning and noon, and then the actual ceremony would be tomorrow in the evening, exchanging vows as the sun goes under. It seemed incredibly cheesy to Zoro, but it everyone had rather unanimously decided that it was also incredibly romantic, and time-management wise it worked out very well. You could party all night, and continue the adventures in the morning. It was all perfect.

You excused yourself from the evening party rather early, nerves eating at you and you wanted to be up early and feeling well the next morning to be able to help wherever you could. You kissed Zoro goodnight, who replied that he’d be joining you in a bit. He would probably only admit it to you if you asked, but he was looking forward to it too, and was actually uncharacteristically nervous about it as well. But even if everything possible went wrong, there was nothing in the world that could ever diminish his love for you and that helped a lot to make him feel at ease. He had proposed to you buck naked, it could only get better from here on out.

You were still awake when he eventually joined you for the night. He noticed, but was still careful as he joined you in bed. “Can’t sleep?” “I’m nervous” “No need to be. We know we work well. You’re gonna look so nice, and we’re just gonna have a nice party with the crew. It’s just affirming what we have” You smiled. His blunt honesty sometimes was exactly what you needed. You turned to your side, kissing him softly before gliding down so you could rest your head on his chest.

You were about to close your eyes when you started overthinking again. You jerked up as your brain had successfully misguided you into thinking you misplaced something. “The rings!” “Don’t worry, Chopper is keeping them safe.” “Oh, right...” Zoro chuckled, stroking your back as he tried to calm you down so you could sleep. You felt stupid for being so nervous, but well, there was nothing you could do to keep your emotions from going haywire.

Zoro’s breathing was steady and even as it always was, but you could hear his heart beating a little faster in his chest and you smiled, happy to know you’re not alone. But he had been right. Nothing could go wrong. You were just going to affirm what you had. And what you had, was magical. Dorky as he could be, blunt as he could be, you loved this man with all your heart. He was strong, honest, and too many other things to name up. He made you so, so, so incredibly happy and it was the good thoughts of the man you were lying on, combined with his soft snoring - even nerves weren’t enough to keep him from his naps - that eventually lulled you to sleep as well.

The following day chaos ensued. It was not that nothing was prepared, it was just that so many little things and final touches needed to be done, that everyone seemed to be in each other’s way. You barely managed to kiss Zoro good morning before Nami dragged you out of the room to get you all ready, but not before she lectured Zoro on not being allowed in your room under no circumstances until the ceremony. Zoro was barely awake, but groggily nodded as Franky came over to drag him away as well.

Nami and Robin barely let you do things yourself, making sure your hair was perfectly in place, the dress was in order, and when they were all done, you felt yourself tear up a little when you looked in the mirror. You couldn’t believe this was actually happening. You spent most of the afternoon talking, the two doing their utmost best to distract you to keep you inside so you wouldn’t accidentally be revealed to Zoro too early. It worked fairly well, in spite of the occasional emotional moment when you talked about Zoro and the few nervous moments when there was just too much ruckus outside for it to be normal preparations.

Time was dragging on, and then there was a knock on the door. Sanji came in, looking rather serious, you figured it was because of the whole buffet he’d been cooking from early morning on till now, one would be tired from doing less than that in a day. He swooned when he saw you, complimented you and your dress furiously before taking Nami to the side and whispering something in her ear. Her eyes widened and you felt your heart sink. Something was wrong.

“What’s wrong? What’s happening?” Sanji took a deep breath, sighed heavily and stood in front of you. “Don’t panic y/n, we will get it in order. But....” “But what?” You were getting nervous. What could possibly have gone wrong at this point in time that it would mess with the wedding enough to make you panic? “They can’t find Zoro.” Nami filled in angrily, “I told you to watch him!” “Hey! I was cooking all day, he was with Franky and Usopp. Said he was nervous, went into the city for some sake so he’d leave us alone to deal with all the wedding things so he wouldn’t bother us. And then he just went off in the general direction of the city.”

You were unsure whether to laugh or cry or panic or all at once. “Guys, you really let Zoro, go find a city, on a new island, all by himself? He’s probably wandering around somewhere” Sanji replied. “We realized too late that it might be a bit of a problem. Franky already went into the city to retrieve him but we cannot find him.”

You stood up, Nami pushing you back into your chair. “Please y/n, let us handle this.” You scoffed. “Like hell I will. Besides, I have a knack for finding him whenever he’s lost. Call it our connection or something. I don’t care if he sees me earlier than we’re supposed to.” You weren’t even that discouraged, finding Zoro was something you had done before. Just never in a wedding dress. But hey, there was a first time for everything right?

You crumpled up your dress and held it up with your two hands so you could walk around more easy, thanking whatever deity there was on sea that you had opted for flat shoes as you ran onto the beach, in the general direction of the city, before going a completely different direction, something your instincts told you your fiance must’ve done as well.

The sky was starting to color all kinds of yellow and orange and you cursed a little, pretty sure the planned timing was already off. But well, no wedding without a groom right? You chuckled a little to yourself. Of all the days he could get lost, he had to pick today. He was probably getting at least frustrated, and you hoped that maybe he’d yell out, that would at least make locating him a little easier.

You ended up in a little forest in between the beach and the city, almost half an island away from where the Sunny was docked. Your heart was beating fast and you were a little out of breath from power walking all the way here, but you were pretty sure this was it. An frustrated grumble and the familiar sounds of swords slashing something let you know that you were dead on. Was he really getting so frustrated that he was ready to cut down a forest in order to find the way back more easily? Apparently. Relieve washed over you and you ran in the direction of the sound, now yelling out his name.

Now, Zoro’s inner compass isn’t worth anything, but there is nothing wrong with his ears and withing seconds he was by your side, looking a little disheveled from running around in the forest, and completely speechless when he saw you in your white dress. You hugged him tightly and when you stepped back he was still kind of staring. It was almost funny, you had never seen him at such a loss for words.

“Are you okay babe?” “Yes... I... wow... Fuck..Sorry” You giggled, you’d never seen him like that. “You look gorgeous” “Thank you”, you smiled, “you’re not looking too shabby either.” “I ruined it all didn’t I? Lost the ring, now lost myself?” The guilt in his voice was apparent. It had to be, otherwise he’d never even be admitting that he had gotten lost. “You didn’t ruin anything. I am here, in a white dress, you are here, in your costume. There’s a crew waiting for us with food, and booze, and a ring. There’s nothing wrong, we’re just affirming what we already have.” You used his own words against him, smiling broadly as you pressed your lips to his. He melted into the kiss, wrapping his arms around your waist and holding you so close you felt like you were going to lose your balance if it weren’t for his support. “I love you so much” “I’m glad you do cause we’re literally about to get married” He laughed one of his rare, heartfelt laughs and it was so pure, so genuine, that you felt your eyes tear up already. It may be getting dark, but it was not too late to do this thing.

The crew had decided to trust you, after all, you did manage to find Zoro more often than anyone else, due to that connection that could almost only be explained by you and Zoro really being made for each other. They had continued finalizing the preparations, but were still getting a little nervous as the sun was setting already.

Franky just started making the big fire already that was meant for the afterparty. You could still get married in the moonlight, it would work out just as fine. The whole crew was reassuring each other that you could come back with Zoro any moment now. But that didn’t take away from the growing worries they were all getting.

It was Jinbe who first spotted the silhouette of Zoro carrying you back to the sunny. Zoro had proposed he’d run with the two of you, while you gave directions. He didn’t want to tire you out more after running all the way to him, and was very fittingly carrying you back bridal style, under loud cheers of the rest of the crew.

There was no time for scolding Zoro or fixing your hair. You laughed as Zoro put you down on the ground and kissed him quickly. “Let’s get married”.

The ceremony itself was short and simple, and you were pretty sure Jinbe had cut out some parts to make it go even faster. You didn’t mind, now that everything was in place you couldn’t wait to get married, all the worries and nerves you had felt the past few days and hours had ebbed away the moment you kissed Zoro in the forest.

You had promised yourself not to cry anymore, but when you were exchanging your vows, you couldn’t help but tear up, and you felt your heart swell when you noticed Zoro’s ever so steady hands were shaking when you exchanged the rings. You were pretty sure you heard Franky sniffle the entire time in the background too. When you sealed the vows, the ‘I do’s’ and the whole ordeal with a kiss, the crew cheered so loudly, you were pretty sure the entire island could hear it, and the party ensued.

You sat down with Zoro, enjoying the delicious food Sanji had prepared, enjoying the warmth of the campfire and laughing at the stories of everything that had gone wrong during the preparations that the others were retelling now that it didn’t matter anymore and actually was funny. After the cake was cut and eaten, speeches and well wishes were given, another barrel of sake was opened and the strangest thing you’d ever seen happened: Zoro refused his refill.

You were about to say something about it when he swiftly swooped you up in his arms. You yelped, immediately attracting the attention of the entire crew. “Thank you all for helping us out. Thank you all for being here. But now that you all will stay out on the beach for a little longer, I am going to enjoy a proper wedding night with my beautiful wife.” Zoro’s tone of voice and smug grin left no room for imagination and you buried your blushing head in his chest while the crew could only laugh in response.

Zoro didn’t even wait for answers as he walked towards the Sunny with you in his arms. You didn’t dare say it out loud, but you were happy that Sunny was right in front of you so at least he wouldn’t get lost on the way to your bedroom.

Fin.

#roronoa zoro x reader #zoro x reader #one piece zoro #one piece reader insert #one piece #reader insert #collab #one piece imagine #imagine #one piece x reade #wedding fic #humor #fluff #sfw #cute #some-piece

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alyss-spazz-penedo · 4 years

Text

Do you remember that time I told you I cried while writing a thing for the unedited v!Wind fic, @w1lmutt. Do you.

Consider this a warning: It’s karma time 8)

<<First Part 6 Next>>

"Oh." Link stops dead, halting their limping journey into the village. He looks around like he's not sure if he's dreaming. "Oh."

“Link? Is that you?” Mesa calls from his vegetable patch. Link sways as he stares at the man, looking like he's seeing a ghost instead of a perfectly hale and healthy Hylian. "Goddesses, you don't look so good. Are- are you holding up alright?"

"He'll be fine," Tetra replies, when it becomes clear Link can’t respond.

"And Tetra too." The man shakes himself. "Aryll was looking for you, Link. You'd... you'd better get on home," he says, horribly sympathetic. Link feels his heartbeat hitch.

"No," he breathes. Tetra nearly drops him as he jerks forward. "No, no no no, I was supposed to have more time- I’m not ready-!”

~o0o~

"Liiiiiiink!" A voice echoes faintly down into the cave. The heroes look up as one, reacting to their shared name. "Where are youuuuuu?"

A beat. "No one recognizes her, right?"

A round of negatives. Then, from further away, "Big brootheeer! Liiiiiink!"

"...You don't think-?"

"The villagers?"

They exchange looks. Time makes his way out of the fountain first. He surveys the now empty forest, frowning. "We should make haste."

~o0o~

There’s a crowd gathered on his doorstep by the time Link manages to stagger his way home. Their grim voices sweep over him like the tide, rushing in and out. He can’t grasp a single word they’re saying.

Sturgeon, the closest thing Outset has to a doctor, is kneeling next to her. He looks up when Link barges in. "Come now, old friend," he murmurs to Link's grandma, patting her hand. "Look who's come to see you. Won't you open your eyes for your dear grandson?"

“Mister Sturgeon? Is she- she’s gonna be okay, right?” Link pants. “What happened?”

“She collapsed outside. Gave poor Aryll quite the fright. We brought her in but... I’m afraid there’s not much to be done, lad.” The old man looks almost calm, almost resigned—already grieving, which isn’t fucking good enough.

Link seizes him by the collar. “What do you mean not much to be-!” He starts to snarl. Stops. Grandma’s eyelids are fluttering open.

“Link...?” She breathes, terrifyingly soft. “Is that you, dearie?”

He drops the useless old man immediately, falling to his knees next to the cushion she’s laid out on. “Grandma, hold on, just hold on, I’ll- I’ll get a potion, no, a fairy, just-!“

“Goodness. It feels... like it’s been such a long time since I last saw you. You’ve grown.”

Link freezes. He clutches at her hand gently, desperately. “No I haven’t,” he croaks. “I was here when you fell asleep. I haven’t- I haven’t aged a single day since then, I made sure-”

“You’ll stay a while this time... won’t you?” She wheezes, hazy and unfocused. “I’d like... to be able... to see you off again...” She sighs, eyes drooping. Her hand falls limp.

“Grandma?” He whimpers. “Grandma, I’m not going anywhere. Wake up, please wake up, just a little longer, I’m- I’m almost ready-” A feverish light enters his eyes. “I finally found it,” he promises her. “A way to show you Hyrule. Fields bigger than entire islands, and forests full of creatures we’ve never seen before, and huge deserts of sun and sand dunes. The winds there are so sweet, not a lick of ocean salt to be found, and it’s so beautiful-“ His voice breaks. “You can’t leave without even seeing it, Grandma. You can’t.”

Grandma doesn't respond.

Instead, Link jerks as a most unwelcome voice offers, “...Try this."

The heroes that did this stand gathered by the doorway, in the space the villagers had vacated to give him some privacy. They look as though they’ve been there a while. The Hero of Time holds out a bottled fairy like a peace offering.

“You,” Link hisses. Stops. Tetra’s laid a supportive hand on his shoulder. “Why would you...?”

“Thank you,” she tells Time in his stead, accepting the fairy and shoving it into Link’s hands. Link stares down at it, shakes himself, and promptly upends the container onto Grandma’s chest.

The little sprite spirals and spirals, scattering pixie dust. Nothing changes.

Frantic now, Link feels for her pulse. It takes him far too long to find it—faint and stuttering. “Why isn’t it working?!”

Hyrule pushes forward. “Let me try,” he offers, hands up like Link is a wild animal he’s trying not to spook. “I don’t have much experience with old people, but I know some healing magic. Maybe I can help.”

Link stares at him, the words taking longer than they should to comprehend. He gnaws at his lip, once, before giving his permission with a tight nod.

“Careful, ‘Rulie,” someone cautions. Link doesn’t bother looking up to see who, eyes fixed on the glowing hands the older boy lays on his grandma’s chest. “You’ve used too much magic today. Potions only do so much.”

"It's fine." Hyrule casts once, words falling musically from his lips. When the light dies, his patient looks no different. Frowning, he tries again, slower, hands running up and down Grandma’s form, picking up her hands and cupping them in his own.

At last, panting, Hyrule shakes his head, and Link could run him through where he stands.

“Why not?! You said you could help!”

“He said he’d try, kid. Back off.” Not unkindly, Legend forces him to step away from Hyrule.

The healer, for his part, merely shakes his head again. “I don’t understand it. There’s barely any life left in her. I’m sorry, but I don’t—I’m not even sure how she’s breathing right now.” He steps away, gently placing her hands back on the blanket. “It’s... almost as though she's been hollowed out. She’s been beyond saving for a long time now.”

“No- no that can’t be right, she was having a good day when, when I- she was outside, she was walking, she was, she wasn’t-!”

The travelers exchange glances. Legend is the only one callous enough to say what they all suspect. “Then that curse probably drained whatever she had left, kid.”

Link whirls on him with a snarl. “You’re lying!“ He yells, fingers itching for a sword that isn’t there. “She wasn’t-!”

“They’re not,” Tetra cuts in. She has her arms folded across her chest, tight. Link still catches the shiver she tries to hide. “If what that... thing did to her was anything like what it did to me... ‘drain’ is a good way to put it.”

Link shakes his head again. “You’re lying,” he chokes. Slower, broken, he whispers, “it wasn’t supposed to hurt her.”

“I’m sorry,” Hyrule repeats again, uselessly. “But I don’t think she’ll last the night. She doesn’t have enough energy left.”

Link is about to do something—beg, lash out, scream, please can’t you use mine, when-

“Who are you guys?” A high voice demands from beyond the crowd of heroes. “Why are you in my house?”

“Aryll,” Link breathes.

His sister doesn’t hear, squirming her way in while shouting, “Link? Big Brother, are you home? Grandma, Grandma she-”

She breaks past the travelers. Stops dead when she takes in the scene. “Big brother? Why are you crying?” She utters. “Grandma’s- Grandma’s gonna be okay, isn’t she?”

Link opens his mouth. Closes it. Trembles.

Twilight, standing closest to Aryll, puts a hand on the girl’s shoulder and gently urges her closer to Link, to Grandma. Like that might do anything. Like that might help.

His hands clench into fists. “Get out,” he rasps. Aryll clutches at his sleeve. They’re both trembling now.

“Are you sure?” Hyrule hesitates, and Link hates the way he looks at them. The way they’re all looking at him and his family. “Maybe we should-”

“Get out get out get OUT!” He demands, voice rising to a shriek. With a sharp swing of his Deku leaf and a massive blast of air, most of the intruders are sent tumbling backwards, out to the porch. The ones that manage to keep their feet are swiftly escorted out by a grim-faced Tetra.

The pirate captain surveys them with cool eyes as they gather themselves, as they exchange uncertain glances. “You don’t need to be here,” she says, giving voice to what they’re all thinking. “Scram. Outset doesn’t have lodgings for travelers; go figure out where you’ll stay if you’re staying, or where you’ll go if you’re going. Except you,” and here she jabs her finger at Warriors demandingly. “You better stick around, because you are going to tell me the whole story later. Now get lost, all of you.”

Her piece said, she whirls on her heel and marches right back into the house they’d all been ejected from. The door thunks firmly shut behind her—a clear warning not to follow.

~o0o~

At the first hint of sunrise, Link knocks on Master Orca’s door.

“I know you guys are in there. I’m not here to fight.”

They crack open the door. Link’s a mess. He regards them all with glassy eyes, and when he doesn’t find what he’s looking for, croaks, “where’s my sword?”

“Why should we give it to you?” They are, reasonably, rather wary at the request.

“I need it to get rid of the blockade. The monsters can’t stay, they’ll scare people.”

They consider this, consider the boy standing numbly before them. Finally, Wild fetches the blade from the depths of his Slate.

Link takes it. Nods at them. Turns around and trudges down to the ocean, single-mindedly making his way to the nearest platform on the water. The visiting heroes follow him as far as the shoreline, where he slips on the Helmaroc Mask and takes to the sky.

In the dim light of the false dawn, they stand vigil and watch as Link wordlessly, mindlessly slaughters his way from one end of the horizon to the other.

#Vinked Universe #my writing #I spent like an hour sobbing when I first came up with this #tw minor character death #minor. MINOR character #fanfic

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pinkispoggers · 4 years

Text

Cold Nights | Mando x Female!Reader

CHAPTER 1: HEAVEN IN THE HOT SPRINGS

Prompt: What if you were to take the place of frog lady, but only to change Din's life in a few days? To be the person he never knew he needed, and to you, to find out something about yourself that would change your life.

Warnings: Smut, Fluff, And unprotected sex

Word count: 4k

You had finally finished with your work for Peli Motto, but you needed a way home, and she couldn't directly provide that. She has left you to think or send someone you know a holo-message to get you out of here, but all your hard work lead up to no luck.

It’s has been 2 hours since your efforts took place and still nothing. You started to panic. Would you make it home in time for life day? Or would you be stuck on this musty, hot planet for the holidays?

Mid panic, you hear a familiar voice seeming to hold a tense conversation with what sounded like a male. A gruff but sweet voice that you were mesmerized by. You peek out to see a tall figure with shiny… beskar armor? You hadn't seen that in years! "Wow" you whisper and Peli turns her head to see you staring at the armor of this person. You hadn't even looked up to see the helmet and notice a Mandalorian. You look up slightly, then gasp. You had only heard stories of them when you were a child, but now you see one right in front of you. You are terrified, but you can’t stop the feeling inside of you; excitement.

“Well, C’mon now,” Peli says with delight. “My friend here is gonna get you home!” Peli smiled. You were very scared and shaky. You didn’t know how to react at this moment, but you slowly moved forward towards the two, feeling eyes all over your body. You knew a pair of those eyes were his. But it felt strange like he was not judging you, but he was more or less admiring you.

Peli had motioned to hop on the ship, and of course, you complied. You walk towards the big ship, wary of being judged for anything you were doing as you were unsure this was a good idea. A little green being is following right behind you. You hadn’t noticed until in cooded and startled you. “Oh, don’t worry about him,” Peli called. That also made you jump. “It’s just his kid.” She laughed. You thought for a minute before heading forward. His kid? His species? No, he was a giant, and that was merely a baby. It couldn’t be. You didn’t want to seem rude, but you needed to ask later.

You finally make it into the ship. Anxiety washes over you—another foreign location. The smell of the ship sent you into a daze. It smelt so… new. For an old model, of course. You felt like curling into a ball in the middle of the ship’s hull, but then he stepped in, careful not to scare you. He walked right past you, scooping the child into his arms, and you started to follow him for a reason you couldn’t precisely explain. He had nothing to say about it, which, to you, meant you should continue following him.

You get to the cockpit and sit yourself in the passenger seat, setting your luggage next to you. “Now im gonna ask you to stay strapped in whenever you’re seated. Traveling sublight is a bit dicey these days.” The Mandalorian speaks to you in a gruff voice while pressing some buttons. “Whether it’s pirates or warlords, someone either ends up with a nice chunk of change or your ship.” He goes on. You turn to face him, and he turns halfway to face you.

“Well, that shouldn’t spike my anxiety.” You whisper, hoping he wouldn’t hear, but he did. He was a reticent man if he wasn’t comfortable, but you didn’t know that, so being you, you try to start up a small conversation. “Sorry if that was rude. I don’t usually talk to people except for Peli.” You breathe. “It’s ok,” He says softly.

There's a long silence between you two, but the Mandalorian breaks it. “May I ask your name?” He askes quietly. “Oh yeah! It’s Y/N!” you say in a screech, happy that someone is interacting with you. “Alright, Y/n, Where are you from?” He asks happily. He had never been this comfortable with a stranger before. It was like he’s known you for all his life. Something about you made him so joyful like he could talk with you for hours. You could break through his mesmerizing beskar

“Oh me? Im from Trask, or that’s where im forced to live with my family cause I have nowhere to go…” you stutter. “Oh, well, I hope you’re happy there, Y/n.” He exclaimed, and you frowned, but he chose to start a quick conversation with you. You didn’t know, but this was rare for him to be talking to someone like this.

“Can I ask you something kind of personal?” He asks. “Yeah, go ahead.” You say with confidence. “Do you have a partner?” He asks. You sit there for a moment, trying to comprehend that question. “Im sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” “No, No! It’s ok! I’ve never had a partner… Have you?” you ask. “Yes,” he states. The way he says it made you want to jump. “Im sorry.” You cry, and he doesn’t answer. “So Im gonna hit the rack. I’ve set the nav for our course; it’s gonna take a while. I recommend you get some rest.” He laments as he gets out of his seat and glides past you, child in hand.

You just couldn’t sleep thinking about what he had asked. A partner? Why would he be wondering about that? No, he didn't think of you that way-- he couldn’t. But you did. You had barely known him for an hour, and you were already falling for him. Now you didn’t even want to go back home, but you knew that your family would be waiting for you. You wondered about him while slowly drifting off to sleep.

He is wide awake, stirring in his space. You. You were all he could think about. Your grace, your beauty. He had feelings for you that he could not deny. He sat there for an hour thinking only of you, of what you would look like under him. But he couldn’t think of you like that; he had just met you.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the loud beeps coming from the cockpit. "No," he breathed and ran to the cockpit.

You awake to hear a conversation between the Mandalorian and two unknown voices and immediately jump, but when you were about to speak, the ship went down fast. You let out a screech as you feel your insides being moved around from the pressure. He’s flying to the planet quickly, and you shout. “SHHH,” he shushes you loudly as he pilots the ship in between clouds.

It’s a beautiful sight, but this is not what you signed up for.

As the ship turns and shakes through the atmosphere, you turn and bounce. This is not fun for you. “Razor Crest, stand down. We will fire. I repeat, we will fire.” an anonymous voice says through the coms. Your stomach sank. You didn’t want to say anything to keep the Mando calm. But then it fell.

"MANDO-" You scream as the ship plummets. “Y/N NOT NOW,” The Mandalorian shouts, and your stomach twisted as the boat falls towards the planet. You tried to hold on to anything you could to study yourself, but as the Razor Crest fell, you couldn't. You were screaming down until you couldn’t scream anymore. The ship finally steadies itself and heads into a canyon with two x-wings following.

You start to hyperventilate; sure, now you were going to die until he finally sets into a divot in the side of the canyon, hitting every bump on the way. You are still hyperventilating, trying to calm yourself after everything that just went down. The Mandalorian pushes a few more buttons before shit hits the fan again. You sure the cracking of ice in the ship makes its way through it with a crash. You groan as it hits the ground, and you both pass out.

He slowly wakes up from the daze, only wanting to know if you are ok. He looks back on the floor where you lay and puts his arms under yours to lift you off of the cold steel ground, which you are freezing on. As he is grabbing you, you wake up and shout, thinking that you are in danger, to which he replies by setting you softly on a chair. “My luggage, my luggage!” you shout through teeth chattering. ‘I’ll find your luggage, don’t worry!” he replies. You whine and groan. “Gotta get you some blankets, keep you warm,” he called as he rushed out of the cockpit.

It’s been a minute, and he’s not back. You start to panic. "THAT LITTLE GREEN THING BETTER NOT BE IN MY LUGGAGE!" You call. "Don't worry; he’s not!" The Mandalorian lies.

~in the lower level of the ship~

You sit on your luggage with a warm blanket around you, feeling safe for the first time on this trip. The Mandalorian gives you and the little green creature something to eat and drink while he figures things out. “If you haven’t guessed, we're in a tight spot.” He exclaimed. “The main power drive is not responding, and the hull has lost its integrity. I suspect the temperature will drop significantly when night falls.” he goes on without letting you reply. “I’ll have a better idea of our prospects at that time.”

You aren’t listening to what he’s saying, but you try to be respectful, but that’s hard when he’s going on about things you have no interest in. You just nod your head and pull the blanket closer to your chest. He sits right next to you as you continue to watch the child eat. "We will figure everything out in the morning, but for now, I suggest you get some sleep." He yawns peacefully. The big-eared kid climbed onto his lap and cuddled with him. You were still surprised that one of the most feared killers in the galaxy could sleep, or keep a pet, for that matter. Well, everyone had a different life.

You settled on the cold steel of the ship’s floor, wrapping three blankets around you, hoarding them. Not like he would need them anyway. You barely slept. All you could think about was him and not being able to get enough warmth. You didn't exactly know what you were feeling towards him. It was something like an attraction, but you feared him. Maybe it was the fact that he towered over you, or perhaps it was that he is a Mandalorian. You had no idea, but all you knew is that you were pulled towards him, and he was letting off the same energy.

It was too cold where you were sitting and being you; you knew you needed to find more warmth. You desperately wanted to get heat from him but didn't want to invade his personal space like that, and it would be too awkward to ask him. You slowly got up from your now warm spot on the ground, careful not to wake him before morning when he would start trying to repair the Razor Crest. You sneak through the blanket he used to cover up the gaping hole in the ship and started your adventure.

You head out into the cold and noticed a large cave. You thought maybe the shelter would be warmer than the ship, so you run in. its a beautiful cave, lots of different paths that you were not ready to go down, but you chose one that leads to a beautiful place with what looked like rocks all around which gave you a bad vibe for some reason. But then you saw it. A hot spring. “Yes! Yes!” you bolt to it, stripping down into nothing and hopping in, ready to skinny dip into this pool. You get into the spring and immediately warm up. “Yesssss, this is it.” You say, as warmth traveled all down your body, and you felt amazing, but right when you were finally relaxed, “Y/N?!” a familiar voice called. Right when he did, you lowered the rest of your breasts underwater.

He finds you completely naked underwater but doesn’t mind. “Y/N, I know it’s warm, but it’s not safe here; we need to get back to the ship.” He sighs. A wave of confidence and comfort rushes over you, and you stand up in place, revealing your breasts to him. You couldn't see his face, but he was hypnotized like it was his first time seeing tits. He was just bathing in your trust, knowing he could take advantage at any time, but something told him not to.

You can no longer fight this feeling, but you were very unsure of your actions at this point. Did you want to go through with this? It was just going to be a quickie, right? He’s trying to be as respectful as possible, but to him, you are the perfect being, and he can not let this moment go to waste. He starts to fumble with his chest plate, soon getting it, with the rest of his armor except for his helmet off. “Mando?”

The armor was all off; now time for the suit. He struggled for a moment before pulling it all the way off. You quickly turned away, not wanting to look at him, trying to be respectful before he hopped into the spring. You turn back around to see nothing but his helmet and shoulders until he stood up. His full chest was showing now. You cower below him, unable to speak or move, admiring all the beautiful scars on his chest and the way his chest moved up and down when he breathed. He was so stunning. Right when you were about to speak, he pushed you up against the ice. "Mando i-" you say as his finger comes up to meat your plush lips.

He rips you from the ice and pulls you closer to him. "Mando im a virgin…" you whisper. "Oh, don't worry, I'll go easy on you." He cood. You reached out to try to touch him, to feel him before he could go any further on you. Your hands reached his sides, gliding your hands up and down his sides and over his stomach, feeling raised lines that could only be scars as you traced them up and down. But the temptation to take advantage of the situation was getting to you. So you followed your lower gut and started lowering your hand towards the pit of his stomach, earning a warning growl from deep in his throat. That just gave you an urge to go farther.

He slid his thigh in between your thighs, which almost touched your womanhood. You moaned softly, and in response, he purred. He admired your thighs most about your body, along with your beautiful breasts. I am very aware that you might not be able to take all of me. She didn't either…” you felt a little bit of jealousy now. “Who is “she”? Am I helping you cheat? What's going on, Mando?!” you hissed. “No need to get mad. She is my ex, it's fine.” he breathed “whatever you-” you were interrupted by a finger to your clit, circling in slow motions. “M- Mando i- oh yes,” you moan. He sped up a little more, taking that as clearance. You now were a moaning mess; you hadn't ever been touched like this by anyone but yourself. And you loved it.

“M- Mando, i-m close, im g-gonna cum!” you moan. You were on fire, feeling more alive than ever. “Cum for me. Cum.” His beautiful voice was enough to send you over an edge you had never reached before. You were quivering in front of him. So beautiful, the glow of your body overwhelming him, making his lust for you grow quicker.

Then you heard it, the grunting and slaps. He was… rubbing himself down, because of you? Your stomach burned and twisted with passion, ready to take him, all of him. What you didn't know is that he was long, precisely 8 inches, that you were not exactly prepared for as you could only take about 5. You were pulled out of your thoughts with the tip of his cock, pressed firmly against your slick folds. His hands gliding through your (h/c) hair, his thick fingers gliding along your stomach. “Please,” you beg. You wanted his thick cock to stretch you out. And when I say thick, it was big.“Now, I want you to scream for me, sweetheart.”

Before pressing the tip back at your entrance, with a sudden thrust, he was bottomed out. About half of him was buried inside of you, stretching you out to the max. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head. The feeling of his cock overwhelmed you. You tried to move around him, feeling him hit your sweet spot, which made you clench hard around his oversized member, earning a loud groan from the Mandalorian.

He moaned, looking down at you, half of him already inside you, yet he wasn't able to go any further. He growled, easing himself into you, hoping you could take a little more of him. You tried to calm yourself, your stomach tightening, trying to take all of him. “Have I reached your cervix already?” he tried pushing even deeper. “M-Mando, stop,” you moaned “does that hurt now?” you nodded. He had to stop because he didn't want to lose your trust. He wanted one thing. For you to fall into subspace. He had fucked plenty of times in his life. But his goal was to get someone to trust him enough to fall into subspace, which he had failed before. He was way too dominant for someone to trust him fully. “Well, you will take all of me,” he grunted.

How? I'm too tiny. I can't.” you mumbled. “You can, and you will.” Mando chuckled. He slowly pulled out of you, trying not to hurt you. In response, you sighed. “I'm sorry.” you lamented. To which he smiled where you couldn't see “no need." He buried himself back into you and let you have a moment to get used to him, to stretch to his size without hurting you. “OH MANDO,” you scream as he finally fully sheaths himself into you. Your eyes roll to the back of your head like it was the first time. His thick cock stretching you out to the max and filling you up completely. “You're doing so well. Just hold on a little longer,” he whispered into your ear. These phrases were the only thing keeping you from splitting you in half. The pain turned into pleasure in an instant.

He started heavy, slow thrusts, gradually increasing his pace while keeping a finger on your bud. “Oh, Mando- M-MANDO a-AH,” you yell. You were a moaning mess under him, your legs shaking and convulsing. This earned a groan from his lips. He picked up the pace in both places. You were so close to cumming, to an edge, farther than you have ever gone to. His thrusting became even faster, hitting your g-spot every time until- “A-AH” you came, violently around his swollen member, making his member explode with loads of hot cum. “There we go.” he purred as he works you through this high.

He’s expecting your body to come down from this high already, but it doesn't. Then it hits him. You have fallen into subspace. He has never had a partner fall this far with him. He's scared. You are so vulnerable to him in this rare moment, but he is also honored that you trust him this much. You should have never trusted someone like him. “Where have you gone?” he grins.

He pulls out of you, feeling satisfied with his work. But he needed to get you back to the ship and fast because it was starting to get dark. He clothed you, still fading in and out of subspace consciousness, then himself, keeping an eye on you while he suited up.

He’s all done suiting up now, about to carry you back to the ship when “Patoo?” a little voice called. He turned his head to see the small, big-eared child. “No, no.” He barked at himself. The child shuffled over to where you were. Something was keeping Mando from stopping him. The child put his hand against your side, closing his eyes as to try to connect to you. You awakened hyperventilating. “M- Mando, we need to leave now!" You shout as he turns your way. "Ok, let's go then. do you need help?" He asks. "No, I think I'm fine but keep him away from those rocks… or eggs…" you mutter. "Eggs?!" He shouts. "Y/n we need to leave!" The Mandalorian adds.

You get up from where you lay with difficulty, and the Mando grabs the kid, who is running towards the eggs. You try your best to run, but the limp is taking over. You end up waddling out of the cave’s long tunnels, following the Mandalorian.

You make it out of the cave and back to the Razor Crest, entirely out of breath and holding on to your lower stomach for dear life. The bridge to the ship lowers, and you hop on, sitting on an empty crate. The Mandalorian went to grab some more blankets, leaving you with the child. You couldn’t help but stare into those big eyes and at those humongous ears. He was staring back into your beautiful eyes, trying again to talk to you, although you didn't understand what he was saying. He motioned for you to pick him up, so you scooped him into your arms.

You could hear babbles coming from the child, but he wasn't talking. It was more like thoughts. "What are you saying, kid?" You thought. But as you were about to try to speak to it, Mando came in with a few more blankets. "I'm sorry it took so long, but I found some if you need them." He said. You took the blankets with a simple thank you, and you continued to stare at the kid.

The night is rolling in fast, and you have the need to sleep, and so does he. You hop up with the child in hand, handing him back to the Mandalorian. You walked to the opposite side of him and lay down.

You're tossing and turning, not getting any sleep. You want to complain about how cold it is, but you knew that he already knows, plus, you don't want to seem rude. You're freezing, teeth chattering; none of these blankets would add up to the heat you desperately wanted. You thought about getting more blankets, but you already had 5, but then you had an idea, a horrible idea. Your mindset was based on your old hobby of stealing spice and trading with the Pykes. You were very sneaky. The only problem was the child was on his blanket.

You sneakily got on your knees and made your way over to the Mandalorian and his pet. Right when you were about to touch the blanket, "I know it’s cold, Y/n." He spoke in a more resonant voice than usual, and it startled you. "You should have said something." He lamented. "All the blankets in the galaxy couldn’t warm me," you snort. "Well, how about you come over here." He said boldly. "What?" You ask, not sure if you heard him right. "You can come over here if you want to Y/n," He repeated himself.

You slowly crawled over to him, not sure if this was ok. You were terrified. When you finally got to him, he lifted one of his blankets off of him and set it on you. You got closer to him every second until you felt his Beskar. It was so, so cold, but that didn't mean you would not lay on it. It took a minute, but the beskar heated up, and you were content. You buried your head below his neck, and he said not one word. "You are an angel, Y/n," he said in his deep, sleepy voice, and it scared you.

“Im no angel. You have no idea of my past,” you say groggily. “Well, to me, you are,” he spoke without hesitation. “Sure Mandalorian man, I barely know." You giggle. You scoot yourself closer to him, putting your arm on his chest and drift to sleep.

#din djarin #brown eyes #fanfic #mandalorian #smut fanfiction #smut #grogu #babyyoda #thechild #themandalorian #the mandolorian season 2 #mando #mando x reader #mandalorian x reader #mandalorian x y/n

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sortasirius · 5 years

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“Destiny’s Child” and the Destiny of...Them

So that was..........A Lot.

Liked A LOT about it, a lot more than a usually do with Buckleming, but uh, some issues. Eugenie didn’t really need to bring up Busty Asian Beauties, that had gone and we didn’t need more of it. And I hate any mention of John Winchester that is positive, whether it’s in an AU or hammering home how poor of a father he is, but other than some details, this was a wild ride that I mostly enjoyed and have a lot to talk about. They certainly crammed a lot in there.

Starting from literally the very beginning, they’re hitting us with some sick parallels in the “Then” portion of the episode. Listen, y’all know me. Y’all know I am.......Not A Fan of M*g or M******l, I am, however a Rachel Miner stan, so when the “Then” started out with the pizza man and the cringy kiss from “Caged Heat” I sorta rolled my eyes but held out hope for a Rachel cameo bc I.....lov her. But then.............”I learned that from the pizza man” is compared directly with Dean being mistaken for a pizza man? And then eating pizza in like 20 different scenes? Could the production be louder??????? There is, in my opinion, literally no other way to take that, that was a sequence that basically said “Dean taught Cas how to kiss” and I will not be accepting dissenting opinions at this time.

Also AU Sam and Dean were so dumb and I appreciated their stupid Fiat and the song that played when they got out of the car, thanks Amyn, I appreciate you dawg. And then Sam and Dean explaining it to Cas? Thanks base gods.

Cas was so fucking sassy in this ep and I......love him so much.

The idea of killing Amara is interesting, mostly because it brings her into play again, we saw in the beginning of the season that she just....doesn’t give a fuck about any of this, but the boys don’t know that, so maybe she’ll become an ally? Idk, here’s hoping. I miss her.

And when Cas and Dean have this exchange about the occultum:

“It was housed for hundreds of years in an ancient before it was-”

“Plundered by pirates!”

“No-”

“It was...dug up by tomb raiders!”

“No.”

“It was...seized by the king of the dead and his warlords amiclose?”

“Looted by invading mongol hoardes for trade on the black-”

“Black market, yeah I was gonna say that next, that was the next one.”

Like.....can y’all say MARRIED? Anyway.

Danneel and Gen??? Together??? Ruby and Sister Jo???? Together???? I’m gay.

I’m SUPER interested in the convo that Jack and Cas have in the kitchen, specifically about Dean:

“Will he ever forgive me?”

“You know, Dean...he feels things more acutely than any human I’ve ever known. So, it’s possible he could work through this. One day he may explode, let it all out, breathe deeply and move on.”

“How long will that take?”

“I don’t know.”

Can we say PARALLELS fam?? First of all, Cas is so in tune with Dean, he knows him so well, knows how much he cares how deeply he loves. Honestly it causes me chest pains to think about it for too long. But Cas knows this because he just went through it, Dean “couldn’t forgive” and “couldn’t move on” until he had an Outburst in Purgatory and begged asked Cas to forgive him for how he acted. It’s an interesting parallel because it isn’t a direct parallel: Dean was the one that asked forgiveness of Cas, not the other way around. It’s a little detail, but at this point every little detail seems to be important down the road.

Also there were a lot of Looks between Dean and Cas and they were all soft and I gtg

And then we get the big mention: the first mention of Cas’ deal since last season. I knew the writers wouldn’t just write this plotline off, and Cas is, “far from happy” as he says himself. So.....not to clown.....but if getting Jack back doesn’t make him happy............what does? (I think we know)

And then Cas in the Empty, looking for Ruby, and runs into “Meg” (Rachel I missed u). And I think it’s fascinating that the Empty appeared as Meg specifically. The Empty knows Cas, of course, but, more specifically, the Empty knows EVERYTHING about Cas. “I know who you love, what you fear.” And the Empty appears to Cas as someone that he TRUSTED, not as someone that he loved. It’s an important distinction, because if the Empty wanted to appear as something that would RATTLE Cas, it would appear as someone that he loved or hated, but he trusted Meg, that’s why it appeared to him as her.

Also, “go get her, pizza man” after that intro? Really just hammering home that Dean is the pizza man with all the subtlety of an elephant imho.

Also Concerned Husband Dean is alive and well, he doesn’t even hesitate, he makes Jack bring Cas back immediately, important information be damned.

But before Cas leaves, Empty!Meg says something that should NOT be glossed over, about Death’s plan to defeat Chuck, “Funny thing about her plan though, she didnt say anything about needing you.”

How many times have we heard this this season? How many times has Cas occupied the negative space? “No one mentions Cas,” the loudness of his absence after the breakup, when he was kidnapped by Leviathan in Purgatory, not being mentioned in Billie’s plan, and now? Fret not my friends, I know so many people are worried about Cas, but Andrew Dabb is a Cas stan first and a human second, and all of these mentions or lack thereof of Cas being a part of the endgame? It just makes him all the more important, because he’s a surprise attack, Chuck never sees him coming because he doesn’t consider him important.

And when Cas comes back and Dean calls him an idiot? Some serious callbacks to one of the gayest episodes and one of my personal faves: “Lily Sunder has Some Regrets.” They be married.

AU Sam and Dean were very wrong and I did not wike it and that’s that on that tbh.

So they get to the church, Sam holds the door against the hellhounds like the badass boy he is, and Dean and Cas really do just stand exactly where a couple getting married would stand, with Jack standing where the officiant would stand. I mean.....it’s LOUD. It’s just real LOUD in here. Also pretty fucking ON THE NOSE that Jack stands in front of Jesus, Cas in front of Mary, and Dean in front of Joseph. I’m not qualified to do religious iconography meta but uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh come on now.

That snake sequence...Jack’s life flashing before his eyes before he gets his soul back? Ya boi weeps. Buckleming had no right to write something as amazing as Jack’s snake sequence and final scene, it shouldn’t be allowed and it was not what I was expecting.

So.....there was a lot happening in this episode but, y’all know I sound like a broken record here, Dean and Cas were, once again, the overwhelming and blatant focal point. Sure I watch with my eyes tuned to them especially, but they’re really cranking up the volume over here. The Empty deal is back and unresolved, Cas talks to Jack about Dean’s forgiveness, Dean’s fearful when he thinks he’s lost Cas again, the fucking pizza man. It all points one direction.

#destiel #destiel meta #spoilers #spn #supernatural #my writing #meta #spn 15x13 #lilly liveblogs supernatural #im clowning HARD guys

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eviesmyspiritanimal · 4 years

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Pool Pandemonium

Summary: When the gang decides to spend a day at the pool, some rather interesting events transpire. Lonnie's trying to steal Jay from Audrey, Carlos is caught in an interesting situation and Ben's sleeping through it all while Mal and Evie do their usual sisterly stuff. Plenty of familial/friendship feels with everybody with some Jaudrey, Huma, Bal, and Jarlos dashed in.

“Don’t you think it’s kind of weird that Ben is over here tanning with us?” Evie questioned, gesturing to the sleeping boy nearby, and Mal raised an eyebrow as she gave Evie a onceover.

It was a nice, hot Saturday afternoon that Mal, Evie, Uma, Audrey, Jane, Carlos, Jay, Harry, Gil, Ben, and Lonnie had all made their way to the pool. They had scheduled it since the summer days had been so hot recently that they were nearly intolerable even with air conditioning. At this point, almost everyone had come out and joined them at the pool except Audrey, who was no doubt ensuring that she looked perfect before being seen by everyone.

Of course, Mal herself did not particularly want to get into the pool, but she did want to spend time with the others. Therefore, as a result of Mal’s choice to abstain from swimming, Evie resolved to join Mal on the poolside in hopes of getting a tan and also to keep her favorite person in the world company.

“First of all, out of the two of us, you’re the one tanning. I’m the one taking cover under an umbrella. Second of all, just look at his pale butt, E. He needs a tan more than anyone here,” Mal pointed out, raising her eyebrows as she looked between Evie and Ben. Ben was soundly asleep, enjoying the warm sun against him as he snoozed.

“Yeah… You guys are like a couple of vampires, aren’t you?” Evie asked, and Mal scoffed, narrowing her eyes at the bluenette who even this early in summer had a gorgeous tan covering her skin. Of course, Evie was always that way. She always turned an absolutely beautiful shade of golden.

“Well, look here, golden nugget, not everybody can get a tan,” Mal bantered with the other girl, and Evie barely held back her adoring grin as she gazed at her sister.

“Yeah, especially not you,” Evie commented teasingly with a giggle, and Mal simply glared at her. Evie just snorted hard, holding her stomach as she laughed unashamedly.

“Don’t make me push you into the pool,” Mal pointed a scolding finger at Evie, and Evie just reached her hand out and grabbed the finger as she persisted in her mirth, seeing right through Mal’s words to the joking undertones.

“Hey, I can arrange that,” Uma suddenly piped up, emerging from the pool water as she rested her arms on the edge and looked at the two best friends with a mischievous glint in her eye. Evie quickly pulled her legs up to her chest, her laughter slowing significantly as she quite obviously took Uma’s threat seriously.

“At ease, Blue. I ain’t targeting you just yet,” Uma waved her concerns away, but Uma’s last words still stuck with Evie, so she decided to keep away anything that Uma could potentially grab onto.

“Watch out, ladies, coming through,” a voice suddenly declared, and Uma raised an eyebrow, a slight smirk pulling at her lips as Audrey suddenly came through in her hot pink bikini.

“Look who they let out of the circus,” Uma commented aloud, referencing Audrey’s bright colors, and Audrey just rolled her eyes, ignoring the pirate captain.

“Wow… Is there some reason you’re dressed in a bikini?” Mal questioned, wrinkling her nose a bit as she took in the vast amounts of skin that Audrey was displaying. Of course, most of her disgust was simply disguised envy. Mal did sort of wish that she could get a tan like Audrey and Evie could.

“Hey, what’s wrong with a bikini?” Uma questioned defensively, and Mal almost grinned as she remembered that Uma had one on as well.

“Yours is functional. Audrey looks like she came out of Victoria’s Secret,” Mal pointed out, and Evie immediately chuckled in response to Mal’s statement. Mal just shrugged as Evie’s hand snaked around her own and squeezed it tightly.

“That would explain her lacy underwear, though, wouldn’t it?” Uma acknowledged slyly, and Mal cackled wickedly.

“Ugh… Anyway, to answer your question, Mal, besides the fact that my bikini is absolutely the most stylish, Lonnie is going to be here with us today,” Audrey stated, and Uma looked at the princess confusedly, trying to decipher this enigma.

“What? You trying to impress Lonnie with your ability to tan or something?” Uma asked cluelessly, motioning toward Audrey, and Audrey huffed in aggravation.

“No! I’m trying to outdo her! Jay’s right over there, and I do not intend for Lonnie to get his attention!” Audrey explained her logic behind her mode of dress as she gestured in the general direction of the opposite side of the pool. Uma turned her head, following Audrey’s hand movement, and the pirate’s eyes widened a bit as she realized the scene that was occurring in that direction.

“Well, don’t look now, Princess, but it looks like she’s over there trying to get his attention right now actually,” Uma spoke, and Audrey’s eyes snapped to where Lonnie was getting much too close to her Jay. Jay was just talking to her happily, grinning and laughing as they conversed, and Audrey felt her insides catch on fire with the pure infuriation she felt at the entire ordeal.

“She’s trying to steal my guy!!!” Audrey declared, and Uma pursed her lips, nodding her head.

“Sure looks that way.”

“We’ve got to do something, girls!!! Help me!” Audrey cried, and Mal squinted as she gazed at them.

“Just chill out, Thorn. I recognize that body language from anywhere. He’s not into her,” Mal waved the princess off, and Audrey narrowed her eyes as she clenched her teeth in her anger.

“But she’s definitely into him,” Uma commented, and Audrey almost growled underneath her breath. Uma looked up at the princess, raising an eyebrow.

“Hey, you want me to whoop her butt for you?” Uma offered, and Audrey knew that the pirate captain was being completely sincere with her words.

“Well, no! We’ve got to use finesse! We can’t just charge in like some kind of rabid pack animals!” Audrey almost screeched, trying to keep her voice down at least a little so Lonnie would not hear her.

“UGH!!! She infuriates me sometimes!!!” Audrey practically snarled, and Uma looked between the princess standing nearby the pool and the two people at the far-off end of the area.

“Welp… Finesse or not, there’s only one way to fix it,” Uma told the princess, and Audrey paused. However, just as soon as she did, Uma surged up and grabbed Audrey’s arm, yanking her into the pool.

“You got to get in and get started!”

Audrey squealed just before she splashed heavily into the water.

Mal and Evie flinched, squealing a bit as they tried to shield themselves from the incoming water. However, Ben never even reacted, simply snoring as he relaxed in the seat.

As soon as Audrey came up to the surface, she was sputtering and looked nearly feral.

“WOULD YOU STOP DOING THAT?!!!” Audrey screeched as she went into a coughing fit, and Uma cackled evilly. Mal could not help but smile and laugh with the pirate. Evie tried diligently to avoid laughing too much, but she was failing miserably.

“Hey, consider yourself lucky. At least this time it wasn’t gnarly old pond water or Enchanted Lake water. It was all fancy and chlorinated just like you like it,” Uma leaned into Audrey’s space, moving her fingers to accentuate her words, and Audrey leaned away from her, wiping her face hard with her hand.

“Yeah, which is why my eyes are burning now!” Audrey whined, and Uma rolled her eyes with a deep sigh.

“Nothing is ever just right for you, is it, Goldilocks?” Uma questioned somewhat rhetorically, and Audrey squinted angrily at Uma.

“Hey, don’t call me that! My hair is brown now, you know. I stopped dying it blonde a while ago,” Audrey pointed out, coughing a little as she tried to get the last of the water out of her system. Uma rolled her eyes, completely unimpressed.

“Sure thing… Anyways, let’s go get your dude,” Uma waved her off and took the princess’s arm as she guided her through the pool in the direction of Jay and Lonnie.

Mal looked at Evie, raising an eyebrow. Evie gazed back at her.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Mal questioned somewhat tiredly.

“We shouldn’t have let everyone get together in the same pool,” Evie questioned in a manner that was more of a statement.

“Precisely,” Mal agreed, and Evie shook her head slowly as they watched Uma and Audrey head toward Jay and Lonnie.

“Alright, now how’re we playing this?” Uma questioned, and Audrey huffed as they grew closer to the two.

“I don’t know. The sudden stunt you pulled a few seconds ago seems to have taken any ideas I could have had,” Audrey snidely remarked, and Uma grinned widely.

“Oh, well, in that case, I’ll just dunk her and him and be done with it,” Uma proclaimed with false cheer, and Audrey groaned and shook her head.

“Just follow my lead.”

“How did I know you were going to whoop out that bossy streak?” Uma asked aloud, and Audrey just shot Uma an ungrateful glance before forcing the most overly happy and sweet grin that she had in her considering her current emotions in regard to both the situation at hand as well as Uma’s irritating ways.

“Hey, Hottie,” Audrey greeted, and as soon as Jay looked at her, she planted a giant one on his lips. He made a small noise of surprise, but before he could get into it too much, she pulled away, looping her arms around him as she rested her head on his shoulder. He smiled at her, despite the fact that he was terribly confused at the moment.

“Hey, Foxy.”

“Oh, and Lonnie! How are you?” Audrey questioned, and Lonnie grinned a little, somewhat put out by Audrey’s sudden appearance.

“I’m pretty good. It’s really been a while since we talked, hasn’t it?” Lonnie replied, and Uma nodded.

“Yeah, it’s been too long,” Uma piped up, keeping as much cordiality in her tone as she could. At this moment, it was all Uma could do to keep from dunking Lonnie and fully submerging the girl in the water. After all, Uma was rather protective of Audrey and her feelings, despite the fact that Uma would sooner die than let anyone know that.

“So what were you two talking about? Uma and I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Audrey innocently spoke, and Uma barely held back the smirk at Audrey’s wicked ways. Sometimes Uma could not help but think of how Audrey would have excelled as a villain kid.

“We were just talking about my upcoming spot in Men’s Health magazine,” Jay pointed out, and Uma could almost feel the jealous rage emanating from Audrey. However, the princess quite admirably kept it together.

“Oh, yes, my Jay is such a hunk, and as soon as I heard he was going to be in the magazine, I could’ve just popped. I’m so proud of him,” Audrey noted as she kissed his jaw, stroking his chest gently with her fingers as she spoke. Jay looked at her strangely, but grinned anyway, honestly not quite sure what was going on, but enjoying the attention nevertheless.

“Yeah. I imagine you are pretty proud of him,” Lonnie awkwardly acknowledged, and Uma almost laughed at the strain in Lonnie’s voice as she spoke.

“Yep,” Audrey agreed, and Uma nodded along with the princess. The energy was just overwhelmingly territorial at this point, and Uma could have sworn that she saw claws coming out, despite how subtly.

However, not too far from the scene unfolding with Jay, Audrey, Lonnie, and Uma, Carlos and Jane were sitting next to one another on the edge of the pool as they peacefully talked.

But they were soon joined by Harry and Gil.

“Hey, Wee Laddy. Lil’ Duckling,” Harry greeted, and Jane shrunk back just a little as she moved a bit closer to Carlos. Carlos took her hand protectively, looking at Harry with as much confidence as he could possibly muster. Especially considering the fact that Harry was significantly outdoing Carlos with all of Harry’s rippling muscles and barely clothed form. Carlos could not help but feel a little intimidated, and he really hoped that Jane did not like what she saw with Harry.

“So, I’ve got a bit of a… Proposition for ye,” Harry spoke, the beginnings of one of those maniacal grins for which he was so infamous. Carlos furrowed his brow, not liking where this was going. He really hoped that this idea had nothing to do with Jane.

“Alrighty, so me and Gil were thinkin’.”

“You could go get up on the high dive and jump,” Gil excitedly declared, smiling dopily as he glanced at Harry for approval. Harry nodded along with a crazy look in his eye.

“And why would I want to do that?” Carlos questioned, furrowing his brow, and Harry shrugged.

“Well, I just thought ye might wanna prove that ye aren’t totally chicken. After all, if ye refuse, Janey ‘ere might ‘ave to find ‘er a real man, eh?” Harry explained, and Carlos frowned a little at the thought. Jane shook her head.

“Don’t listen to him, Carlos. I wouldn’t think any less of you if you didn’t jump off. Even I wouldn’t jump off.”

“Oh, it’s alright, Carlos. Don’t cry, pumpkin pie,” Harry teased relentlessly, making his voice more high-pitched as he tried to goad Carlos into going along with his plan.

“I’m not doing it,” Carlos declared, and Harry gasped in mock surprise.

“Ooh!!! Chicken boy, chicken boy!” Harry declared, and he started to make chicken noises. Gil wasted no time in joining in with the sound. After several moments of this, Carlos groaned.

“Fine! I’ll do it!” Carlos conceded, and Harry grinned widely, reaching around Jane and clapping Carlos on the back.

“There ye are! Go for it!” Harry encouraged, and Carlos swallowed hard, getting up before Jane could say anything as he headed for the high dive nearby.

“Oh, no… Carlos, don’t go!!” Jane called after him, but Carlos kept going. Harry grinned at Gil as he slid into the pool. Gil followed him quickly, and they headed out to the center of the pool to get a better look at the spectacle.

Carlos climbed up the ladder carefully, working his way up to the top. Soon enough, he was at the diving board. He carefully stepped up on it and started to head toward the end of it. However, as soon as he got somewhat closer to the edge, he suddenly realized that it was an exceedingly long way down and that the water did not look nearly deep enough for him to safely jump into.

So he froze up and he carefully got down on his knees, aiming to back up toward the ladder safely. But he found that he was completely frozen with fear, so he grabbed onto the diving board with his arms and shut his eyes tightly, clenching his teeth as he tried to keep his terror at bay.

“Oh, no,” Carlos whimpered, hanging on tightly to the diving board.

Down with the others, Jay was fully distracted by how Audrey was practically hanging onto him like a koala as Uma stood to the side, looking as if she might bite Lonnie’s head off at any moment.

However, he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. Jay turned around to look, and he was met with Harry’s wild eyes.

“Hey, tell yer baby brother to hurry up and jump,” Harry spoke, and Jay furrowed his brow as the rest of the group turned to look at him.

“What? Jump from where?”

“The high dive!” Gil pointed out, and Jay immediately looked up. His eyes went ridiculously wide as he gaped at the sight of Carlos clinging to the diving board.

“Carlos?!” Jay cried, but the boy did not reply. Jay just stared at him for a long moment before Audrey started smacking his shoulder insistently.

“Don’t just stand there! Go help him!!!” Audrey exclaimed, and Jay was jostled into action. He quickly swam through the water, pulling himself up onto the edge as he hurried up the ladder to where Carlos was currently stuck.

“Whoo!! That’s my man!!!” Audrey yelled loudly, and Uma smirked a little, knowing that the words were just a flex on Audrey’s part as she tried to rub her ownership in Lonnie’s face.

Mal and Evie soon hurried over to see what was going on.

“What is happening?!” Evie demanded, and Mal shook her head swiftly.

“And why is Carlos on the high dive?!” Mal questioned frantically. Uma laughed a little as she looked at Harry and Gil.

“Y’all wanna explain why he’s up there?” Uma asked, and Harry smirked widely.

“Me and Gilly dared him to!” Harry told the both of them, and Gil smiled widely as he gazed up at Evie with adoration.

“He was chicken! But I wouldn’t be chicken. I’d jump right off of it,” Gil proudly announced, staring at Evie. The blunette was immediately uncomfortable as she crossed her arms before her, trying to resist the urge to shudder in reply to his attentions. Mal immediately sniggered at the ordeal. However, her attentions were soon brought back to the matter at hand.

Jay had finally made his way to the top, and he carefully walked out on the diving board, his eyes fixated on the form of his little brother.

“Hey, Frosted Flake,” Jay greeted, and Carlos just trembled a bit.

“Get me down from here!” Carlos begged, and Jay nodded slowly.

“Alright, come on backwards,” Jay coaxed, but Carlos shook his head swiftly.

“I can’t move!” the younger boy expressed, and Jay groaned a little.

“C’mon, dude, you gotta get down,” Jay told him somewhat softly, pulling at his shoulders as he tried to get the younger boy to move. Jay was quite honestly somewhat afraid that they would both fall in at this rate.

Jay kept working at the younger boy, trying to persuade him to release the diving board and come with him. However, despite Jay’s tugs, Carlos would not budge a single bit. In fact, the more Jay pulled, the more the boy glued himself to the board.

“Hey! Do you need me to turn into a dragon?!” Mal suddenly shouted, and Jay shook his head quickly, gesturing dismissively.

“Oh, no, no, that won’t be necessary,” Jay called in reply.

“Carlos, come on! This is embarrassing!” Jay told him, muttering the words under his breath in stern tones. Carlos was seriously starting to get aggravating. He would not move no matter how hard Jay tried to make him.

“You don’t have to jump, okay? Let’s just back up carefully, alright?”

“I can’t, Jay, I can’t!” Carlos quivered, and Jay groaned deeply.

“Jay, do what I do!! Stroke his head and tell him that he’s going to be okay! Cuddle him if you have to!!!” Evie yelled to the both of them, and Jay laughed loudly.

“I am not doing that,” Jay declared, and he then began prying at Carlos with a renewed vigor.

From below them, Audrey could easily see that they needed help. So she looked to Uma, hoping that the pirate would put away her initial wickedly mischievous urges in favor of helping the two.

“Uma, can you please help them get down?” Audrey questioned, and Uma nodded eagerly. Audrey immediately knew that asking Uma for help was undoubtedly the worst idea she could have had.

“Sure! I’ll help them down,” Uma replied, and Audrey winced, already having a strong inclination of how this was going to end.

Uma headed up the ladder quickly.

“Dude, would you move? It’s not that far!” Jay aggravatedly addressed the boy. Carlos just shook his head.

“Hey, boys, how’s the weather up here?” a voice suddenly questioned, and Jay looked behind him quickly only to see Uma as she held onto the ladder, the mischief swirling in her eyes.

“Nice enough, I suppose,” Jay hesitantly replied. Uma nodded easily in reply.

“Well, that’s just peachy. Now, look, you two, this is gonna end one of two ways, but whichever way you choose, you’re getting into the water,” Uma told them, getting down to business immediately as a wicked smirk played across her face while she held onto the ladder carefully. Jay glanced between Carlos and Uma and sighed deeply as he realized that Carlos was just going to have to jump.

“C’mon, Frosted Flake. You gotta jump.”

“WHAT?! I thought you said I didn’t have to jump!!!” Carlos cried hysterically, and Jay groaned.

“You’ve got to. Uma’s going to push us if you don’t,” Jay informed him, and Carlos glanced in the direction of the ladder. Uma smiled at him, full of false cheeriness as she offered him a little wave.

“PUSH HIM, PUSH HIM, PUSH HIM, PUSH HIM!!!” Harry and Gil chanted, and Uma blew them a kiss with a waggle of her eyebrows.

“Would you two stop! That’s terrible!” Audrey cried, and Harry and Gil just kept going. Lonnie shrugged.

“Honestly, I kind of want to see her push them in,” Lonnie noted with a laugh, clapping along with Uma’s first mate and prized barnacle as she cheered Uma on. Audrey rolled her eyes.

“Of course you would,” Audrey huffily pronounced, and she placed a hand on Jane’s shoulder as the girl gaped up at the high dive in horror.

Realizing he had no other choice, Carlos swallowed hard, shakily standing up. Jay held out an arm, trying carefully to balance on the high dive as he attempted to help Carlos to his feet. As soon as Carlos was standing, he looked down at the water and Jay could see him tense up in fear.

“I can’t do it!!” Carlos proclaimed, and Jay shook his head.

“C’mon, dude, be a man.”

“I’M NOT A MAN!!!! I’M A BOY!!!!” Carlos screeched, and Jay shook his head, almost feeling Uma’s energy as she was readying herself to push them.

“Well, there’s no better day to jump into manhood with both FEEETTT!!!!!” Jay yelled as he was suddenly shoved forward and ran into Carlos as they both lost their balance and descended into the deep water.

They both hit the water hard, but Jay soon emerged, dragging Carlos with him. Carlos was coughing violently, and Jay patted his back as he glared up at the high dive.

“WHOO!!! That was AWESOME!!! WHAT’S MY NAME?!!!” Uma cried excitedly, and Harry and Gil whooped with pure enthrallment. Lonnie even cheered a little, and Jay rolled his eyes, allowing himself to laugh a little with the entire ordeal. After all, it was a bit humorous.

Jane swiftly swam over to Carlos, placing a hand on his back as she fretted over him. Jay released him, allowing him to join Jane as they headed back over to the edge of the pool. Audrey moved over to Jay, and he wasted no time in grabbing her waist tightly. She placed her hands on his chest.

“So, do I get a kiss for my heroics?” Jay questioned, raising an eyebrow, and Audrey rolled her eyes but leaned in nevertheless as she gazed at his lips.

“Who says you’re deserving? I didn’t see a hero. I saw you two have a great fall like Humpty Dumpty,” Audrey commented, and Jay smirked at her wickedly as he kissed her suddenly. Audrey gasped a little but giggled in spite of her shock and kissed him back vigorously.

However, they were suddenly interrupted by an enormous splash. Audrey gasped as she recoiled in Jay’s arms. To her surprise, Uma suddenly emerged, coughing hard as she wiped her eyes.

“Uma?” Audrey gaped at her, and she suddenly realized that Uma looked totally disheveled. Audrey almost laughed as she suddenly realized what must have happened.

“Did you fall off the high dive?” Audrey questioned her voice wavering with the barely contained giggles, and Uma immediately stopped as she stared at Audrey.

“No!” Uma squeaked as she suddenly started coughing once again.

“Oh, she did, alright!” Lonnie cried excitedly, and Uma flashed her an irritated glare.

“She danced right off the side of it,” Mal added with a wide smirk. Audrey just stared at Uma for a long moment.

“What happened?” a voice suddenly piped up and they all turned to look at the source of the voice. There before them was Ben standing there, his skin practically glowing red as a beet as he gaped at all of them.

They all shared a glance before bursting into laughter.

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abloomntime · 3 years

Text

A Bloom In Time Ch23 Poppy’s Day Out

"Last stop Express Town. Thank you for choosing PenCo Metro for all your space travels. We at PenCo value your time as customers and hope to see your lovely faces again soon. And hope you enjoyed your space traveling experiences with us." The few penguins that were on the metro along with Poppy, Cookie, and the girls excited the space train as it sat still in the giant tower like structure funnel that would take it back upwards to the moon. Passing a few other penguins and maybe an owl or two heading back towards it. "Attention boarding passengers. The Evening Express back to the moon will leaving within fifthteen minutes. Please be sure to have your luggage in hand when you board."

"Does he always have to say the same thing every time we use it?," Mu asked earning a slight frown from Cookie.

"That's his JOB. It's what he's supposed to do. Don't complain about him doing his job correctly."

Whelp. Here they were. Down on the planet finally and had real dirt under her feet.....Or sand. Really, REALLY hot sand. Blue eyes gazed around her at the scorching desert surroundings and the decently sized town of owls walking around. It looked as if she just walked into a western movie and stopped. There must've been at least a hundred and twenty different buildings if she was estimating it good enough from their spot on the hill. It was a decent sized town all right. Not too big. Not too small. But absolutely hot with the afternoon sun beating down on them and such. One gigantic building stood in the dead center of the town and it had a decent sized parking lot too. She was certainly more at ease and comforted at least. Express Town certainly looked more her time than the flashy neon lights of Moon City that's for sure. Smiling she followed along Cookie as the girls ran ahead of them a few feet giggling and playfully shoving at one another kicking up sand.

"This place looks pretty rustic," Poppy commented smiling. From the hill she could also see a set of train tracks leading into and away from the town and beside that was a train station. Everything just looked as it was in a western like town in her day. Not that she's ever been to one, but she did have relitives who did.

Cookie nodded in front of her watching the girls with a smile. "That there big building is the Dead Bird Studios. Most of the owls who live here work there or in the small shops around town. You see Conductor may be a little.....loud but he loves supportin' local shops here. He gets all his costumes from the famous clothing store nearby, and his coffee from Jukebox Cafe'. They have a delicious bird seed chocolate cappuccino...If you don't mind birdseed that is. My own little resturaunt is right across the street from the studios. I always wanted one, and thanks to the directors' generosity I finally did."

".....I think I actually saw one of this Mr. Grooves's picture shows now that I think about it." Her memory went to two night before while cleaning the attic and kitchen. She still couldn't sleep after a while and stayed up a bit watching something she couldn't remember fully on the television the girls left on.

"Oh really? Well Mr. Grooves certainly has a more flashier taste than Conductor but his are just as nice if you ask me," Cookie replied unbiased before looking over her shoulder at her. "The first place we'll stop by is Hawk's Eye Pawn shop."

".....Pawn shop?"

"It's kinda like a trading post. You trade things there for pons or bye somethin' they have on the store shelves."

Oh. So a trading post. She knew what those were alright, had one on the edge of the town she lived in. Where she got most of her furniture and goods actually. Following Cookie, they all went into the town of owls. And she got a good look at everyday life in a town of owls and birds. As soon they stepped foot in there she could see that everything was made a little taller thank goodness, she didn't feel like crawling through any more doorways and tunnels feeling awkward and big and clumsy. Funnily enough most of the houses they passed seemed to be nothing more than homes, if the stores didn't have open signs or display cases in their windows, she would've thought all of these were just more homes for these owls. And speaking of the owls, most were just walking around minding their own business, walking in or out of buildings, and Poppy even saw a few elderly owls in the comfy seats of rocking chairs on shady porches watching the world go by. The girls giggled and ran past them in a game of tag with Bow reaching her hand out trying to catch Hattie or Mu. And some of the old birds smiled at the energetic children. Poppy would admit they were definately a cute bunch as well. Still following the cat, Poppy lifted her arm up to wipe at her long bangs and forehead. It sure was hot, not surprising since it was a desert, but she hoped they'd get to this 'pawn shop' soon. And hoped it was cooler inside. The girls never got too far from them as they ran around kicking up dust and sand in their game as Poppy switched between watching them and looking around fanning herself. Where did they all get that energy? It was too hot to play in her opinion, and the weight of the gold in her apron was starting to hurt her neck and shoulders a bit. That was soon all solved when Cookie turned in front of an all brown wooden building and started up the steps leading into it. Of course Poppy and the girls following behind and running in. A small bell above the door rang out as the door was opened and Poppy sighed at the wave of cool air hitting them as they waltzed in. But was surprised at the stuff she saw. Calm guitar music played from a small radio in the corner as an owl held his head in his wing looking boredly at them from the desk, to his right was a register. All around the place was cluttered items jammed everywhere. From beds, to pots and pans lining the walls, to random objects she'd never seen before.

With a sigh the owl spoke. "Welcome to Hawk's Eye Pawn Shop, where we have a hawk's eye view for priceless and useful objects. Feel free to ask if you need any help.....or not, " he said in a flat tone. Giving Poppy the feeling of slight annoyance in her as she raised a brow. Luckily Cookie stepped in before anyone else could as the girls ran around looking at things like normal children their age did. Walking right up to the desk as the owl followed along lazily with his eyes as he stared at Cookie before rolling his eyes. "Hello, Ma'am. How may I assist you this fine evening?"

"Glad you asked." Cookie pointed over at Poppy. "My friend here has a lot of gold she'd like to trade in today."

"..Gold?" Immediately the owl's interest peeked as he chuckled and finally smiled at them, "Oh w-well this IS a surprise! Please come, come! You've come to the right place, Miss." He gestured for Poppy to come over and reluctantly she did as the owl rubbed his hands-....uh..Wings together and smiled widely at her. "Just allow me to measure it a-and we can get you your pons, Ma'am."

"Uh...Ok." She reached down to the larger pocket of the two and pulled out the heavy gold cheese wheel, it must've been fifteen pounds at least. She set it with a small thump on the table and the owl hooted in surprise at the large item she placed down. Blinking and gawking in surprise at the large thing. ....Which was followed by the trophy, and the potion bottle out of her large pocket. And then the Mafia statue, pencil, candle, gear, and cheese slice. The owl gawking at all the things laid out before him in pure gold glory. "There ya go. That's the lot of it."

The owl sputtered blinking at them all....Before reaching up to pull out a small magnifying device out of his breast pocket and picked up the golden candle. "T-T-This is!...INCREDIBLE!! I've never seen such fine craftsmanship in my life! AND IN PURE GOLD!! It's unmistakable! Pure. Solid. Twenty four carrot GOLD!!" He could almost FEEL the heat radiating off the candle, it almost looked like it could've been real at one point. He looked back at Poppy unbelieving. "W-Where did you ever aquire such beautiful items?!"

"Oh...I- Uh..." She had to think fast. She wasn't about to tell some stranger some magic alien potion turned these things into gold by some king roach. They'd think she was crazy. So why not tell the truth but a different truth. "My g-great granddaddy on my mama's side was a blacksmith. He worked with metal's all the time." Which was true. Her Great Granddaddy Silver Copper-field on her mother's side was a blacksmith.

"But we found them in the attic," Bow innocently chimed in tilting her head confused.

Mild panick flashed on Poppy's face. "Uh...W-Well people find all sorts of old things in their attics all t-the time!"

Which was another truth. But the owl seemed too enchanted by the items he rolled over his his hold to care about her nervous tone at all. "Well he must've been a fine crafter in his day. I've NEVER seen such beauty." He snapped up to her suddenly slamming his hands on the counter and leaning over making her jump in surprise and lean back. "I MUST have them! Won't you part with them! It'll make me the talk of the town for once besides those ratty directors!! I'll be the only bird in the world to have them!!"

Now Poppy could sense pretty well when some one was gonna fight being raised around a bunch of rowdy country folk that often fought over land and territory. And BOY! The way the two little girls and Cookie bristled at the comment the owl made sure did look like they were about to argue, but that was NOT what she came here to do. She wanted to get out and have a relaxing day seeing this new place, so thinking quickly she got between them and the owl smiling more than a greedy pirate. "Deal. But on the condition ya give me what I'm owed for it all, and the promise ya won't say a word about where ya got it from." She didn't need someone asking around in case.

He quickly agreed grabbed the gold one by one. "Oh I promise. I very, very promise. Hmhmhmhmhm!! Not one word out of me. After all I don't want anyone else to have one but me."

Poppy sighed and watched as with great difficulty the owl man just gathered up all the gold in his arms teetering and wobbling about as he went towards the left side of the counter. They all watched as he wobbled his way towards a large scale against the wall that reminded Poppy of the large scale the local banker used to have to measure her pons in whenever she went to put her savings in the bank, only much bigger. A few large clanging noises rang out as he dumped the gold into it and watched as the red arrow of the scale tipped until it measured-

"F-F-Fifty two pounds!," the owl gawked at the scales before giving a thoughtful look. "Let's see. Minus tax on gold fifty two equals up too about....." His eyes widened and he suddenly let out a hoot gripping the feathers on his head. "F-F-Five thousand pons!!"

"Oh....Do you not have that m-many pons?"

"Uh..." The owl nervously looked between her and the statues. "N-No. J-Just a little over half of it. B-B-BUT I-I C-CAN OFFER A TRADE!!" He quickly pointed around the cluttered place, as if nervous to lose the precious gold he so desperately wanted. "I-I can pay half and trade for the other! W-Whatcha say?"

Poppy stopped for a minute. Looking around the cluttered place with a raised brow, and gazing over everything slowly. That wasn't a bad idea actually. Since she could use some knew things once she gets settled on her own again and didn't need anymore help. And getting stuff for free? Now they were talking! Maybe this was the universe paying her back for all her troubles and hard work finally! Smiling she happily agreed to the deal much to the Owl's delight and he quickly scrambled about to grab all the pons he needed for the trade from a giant vault in the back and they began searching. Well, the girls found lots of little knickknacks like small toys and for Bow a large sunhat with a pretty blue bow on it and how could Poppy say no to that? Well, the red head wasn't going for any random fancy stuff like antique clocks or any other fancy thing right now. But considering $2600) was a lot of pons to trade for, she could spare them to choose a bunch of things for themselves. But looking among some used exercize bikes she found a few things she was really looking forward to see again. What else but some good old fashioned farming tools? A rake, gardon hoe, pitchfork, shovel combo! She hit the giant jackpot!! Smiling as she dragged the old things out of the dusty corner and examined them. They looked to be in good condition. Rusty and dusty, but a mighty fine condition if ya asked her.

"Uh. Ma'am, are you sure you want those?," the owl said leaning back over the counter staring, "T-Those are antique farming tools that were just dumped in the corner. No one would want them.

"I sure do!," She said smiling back at his confused face, "They're just what I needed.

"Well...Y-Yes, t-t-they're in great condition for three hundred year old tools. That's why they're here, they could run in the thousands. Are you sure you want to waste your time with them?"

"Yep!" She Heaved all of them over one of her shoulders with a smile. "I got a plan for these babies. You just keep counting the pons."

"Ok. If that's what you want. It'll be nice to get them out at least," he mumbled to himself ducking back behind the counter.

Continuing looking around a little bit, Poppy managed to find a gold club bag along with her search and stuck her new tools into it, slinging it over herself and able to carry about her new beauties easier. Turns out those tools and the old antique stove Cookie kept looking at. Poppy saw the way she kept longingly staring at it every few minutes of looking around and gladly said she'd take that for her friend here. Cookie insisted she didn't have to but Poppy's mind was already made up anyways, as stated she didn't need that much pons leftover to trade back here again anyways. And she deserved it for all the kindness she had shown Poppy a complete and utter stranger. Well it turns out the knick knacks Hattie stuffed in her hat, (just random things like a few teddy bears, jewelry, a grappling hook, and anything else a girl like her would enjoy) combined with the old stove and it's set, along with those old tools were just enough to cover the other half but she did have to fork over another 100 pons to cover the extra 100 pons the tax came out to be. The bag she was handed wasn't really big, about maybe a small decent sized pumpkin and weighed about as much as a large house cat did. And that went into her large apron pocket for safe keeping while slipping the gold back of farming tools over her. She still had $2,500 to spend. And that was quite a lot of pons especially. Luckily the things weren't as expensive as made out to be. But that did leave another question, what were they supposed to do now? Luckily Cookie had a fantastic idea after seeing the way the uh....tacky dress Poppy was wearing and had the idea for them to stop by the local clothing store much to the children's protest about how boring it was going to be. So they once again found themselves leaving the greedy owl to fond over his new prized possesions and left back out into the hot sun. Resuming their routine of Poppy following behind Cookie as she lead them down the street to wards the far side of the town as the kids ran around again chasing one another. The only difference was Bow was using one hand to keep that giant sun hat on her head now as she went around running after the first two. Poppy still couldn't figure out how Hattie kept all those things in her hat. Alien magic?

"You'll adore this lil shoppe," Cookie happily told her giving a bright grin, "They're real experts at fancy sewing. You see they make most of the costumes for the studio and the directors' movies."

"It sounds like this whole town thrives on that place huh?," Poppy stated giving a look around the old buildings and many owls walking by.

"Oh, this town has been here for quite a long time with the studios," Cookie corrected, "It's only until recently that business really thrived for lacol birds. In the less hotter winter seasons, people come from all over to get a glimpse at the two kooky canaries running those studios. Means Conductor gets some extra business running his train too, he likes to say more budget for his movies come from it."

"Wow. Really?" So this place was some kind of famous spot because of this Mr. Grooves and Conductor, whoever they might be. From what she's heard of them so far, they seemed really nice supporting local business and bringing in so many customers. And she had no reason to not trust Cookie so far. A smile graced her face when he spotted the girls run a little ways ahead of them and caught an earful of their giggles. That was until one fell over. It was just a small rock hidden in the sand that she didn't see, but that didn't stop Bow from tripping over it and faceplanting the sand, knocking up some sand in her crash. Poppy and Cookie both gave a small gasp of surprise and Poppy instantly ran over to her, metal tools clanking together on her back. Hattie and Mu had stopped hearing the thump in the sand from behind them at Bow's faceplant and watched as the curly haired girl pushed herself up. Bow laid there unmoving for a few seconds but by the time Poppy got over there to kneel next to her, she had pushed herself up crying a bit with her eyes shut and spitting out more sand from her mouth. Sun hat falling off her head as she did. Two hands grabbed her and turned her around to face the worried face of the red head as she looked her over. "What happened? Are you alright, Sweetheart?"

"My eyes burn!," Bow cried reaching her balled fists up to wipe at her face but was stopped by Poppy pulling them away.

She sighed. "Well don't rub them, you probably just got some dirt in your eyes needin' ta be flushed out." Looking around she spotted an outside water pump fountain like the one her old home hand and without another thought picked up the tiny girl and stood back up. Bow still crying at the stinging and wrapping herself around Poppy's shoulder as she walked. "Oh hush now. All you need is to rinse it out with a lil water and you'll be right as rain!" She carried Bow over to the small pump across the street and pried her off to set the small gal down in front of the Nozzle. "Now I'm going to pump some water out, and I want you to start rinsing out those eyes and mouth of yers. Ok?" Bow sniffed still crying small tears down her face and Poppy grabbed a hold of the pump handle. Pushing n pulling it up and down to summon the water underneath. A garbling sound came from the pipe's inside and with a pop sound, cold water burst out from the pipe and sprayed the small child in the face. Bow jumped in surprise at the sudden cold water on her but sputtered and swiped at her face and the stream of water hitting her. After a few more seconds of it, Poppy stopped and allowed the strong stream to trickle slowly before stopping completely. She watched as Bow turned her cheek the other way and spat out a mouthful of water, coughing and wiping at her face. Now all soaking wet. She rubbed at her eyes for a moment before blinking her eyes open and looking up with red eyes. There we go. Now that she could see, her eyes would be irritated for a lil bit, but it wouldn't be worse than just someone suffering from a bit of hay fever. "There we go. All better."

....Bow sniffed and blinked. Wiping one eye with her hand and looking down at herself, her other hand grabbing her white jacket. "Now I'm all soaked and cold."

"Uh...Yeah." Poppy rubbed her head. "Kinda figured the sun would dry ya out, but I guess I can buy ya a new dress while we're at this here clothin' store.''

"...*sniff* Really?"

"Absolutely." Walking back over, Poppy bent down and repicked Bow up into her arms letting the little girl grab onto her. "We'll get ya a nice pretty dress that'll make you look like a darlin' lil princess!...Well more of a princess than you are already."

Bow smiled again sniffing and Poppy smiled at her...But paused when she heard someone else awing at them from behind and when she turned around there was a pair of old birds on a shady porch right behind them. The old birds were smiling at them from their rocking chairs like what they were seeing was the most precious thing in the world. "It's so nice to see such a responsible and caring young mother these days," one of them spoke smiling widely, "Your daughter looks like a darling little one."

......Poppy blinked. "Mother? Who me?" She pointed at herself with her free hand before shaking her head. "O-Oh! No, no! I'm not her mother! I'm just watching her for someone I know!"

"Oh, that's too bad. You would make a lovely mother for the dear."

Poppy chuckled nervously but Bow seemed to be looking at her with a strange look. "My...Mother?"

Giving a small thanks Poppy quickly excused herself from the watching eyes of the old birds and back over to Cookie who was waiting for them with the other two children. Wiping dust from the pretty sunhat and looking up at the soaked child in her arms. "Well. I can see we'll be needing to take care of that while we're in there too."

Poppy gave another nervous chuckle but grabbed the sun hat, handing it back to Bow who gladly plopped it back onto her head. Well, guess they weren't going to wait on getting this lil gal some dry clothing. Following Cookie the rest of the way there, they all came across possibly the girliest lookin' store Poppy had ever seen. It was all painted pink and white and had flowers in window pots. Well seeing those cute lil things made her smile at least, she always loved flowers. Above a sign was nailed above the door reading Mrs. Talon's Fabric Shoppe. Guess they were going in when Cookie walked right on up without a second thought so naturally Poppy and the children followed suit. A bell above the door rang like before and thank PECK it was another building big enough she didn't have to crawl through to get there. Upon entering it was the same pink and white themed as the outside. Along the walls was shelves upon shelves of fabric, balls of yarn and threads of all colors, sewing machines for sail along with smaller kits, and anything else one would need for making clothes. Such as buttons, sequins, patches, and books of patterns or techniques. Poppy noticed there was also a giant pink curtain in the back and next to that was a rack of already made dresses with a sign that said 'discount bin half off'. In the very front of the store was a white counter, and a lady owl wearing a floral dress with glasses that made her eyes look too big for her face, but unlike the first owl this cashier welcomed them all with a smile and friendly voice.

"Good Evening, Customers! Welcome to Mrs. Talons! Here we tailor to creatures large and small," she replied in a high pitched tone, "How may I-...I-I..." Her impossibly large eyes went wide seeing the crew of five girls waltz in as Poppy closed the door shut with her foot. "I-....I DON'T BELEIVE IT!!" She suddenly squealed startling the red head woman into almost dropping Bow and blinking at the pig like squeal before the owl lady leaned over the counter looking at Cookie. "I DON'T PECKING BELIEVE IT!! THE COOKING CAT IS IN MY BOSS'S STORE!! M-Ma'am I'm your b-biggest fans! My owlets love your deep fried worm and rice recipe!" Cookie didn't even seem fazed as she chuckled and waved. Making the more owl all the more nervous at having the cat celebity in her store. "H-How may I help you, Ms. Cat?"

"Please. Call me Cookie." Cookie pointed at Poppy still holding Bow in her arms. "We got a youngin' who's in need of some dry clothes and a fashion emergency if I say so myself."

The owl looked up at the two humans adjusting her glasses and frowning at Bow's soaked clothes and the absolutely ghastly amount of tacky lace and fake rubies studded to the collar of Poppy's dark blue dress. Not a good mix, it looked like she was a desperate rich lady trying to play the part of princess. "Oh...I certainly see why. Well, unfortunately with my boss away currently working on a large order for Mr. Grooves, I can't offer anything except for the designs left out from last year's tourism season." She gestured a wing over towards the bargain bin and Cookie slightly frowned at the limited suppy.

"Are you sure you can't make one?"

The owl shook her head. "Sorry, Ma'am. For you I would in a heartbeat, but I'm just the cashier. I ring people out and offer assistance if the customer has questions. The only tailors are my boss and her assistant and they're already away on a giant order call. But if you're interested we do provide everything you need to sew yourself."

"That won't be needed," Poppy cut in slowly lowering Bow to the ground and standing back up and walking to the bargain rack, "I ain't the kind of picky prissy gal a lot of folks I knew was." Walking up right to the rack she skimmed through the options of dresses available and to be honest most were plain day to day dresses without any patterns, but that suited her just fine. She wasn't real picky when it came to clothing as long as it fit ok and it didn't look like the ghastly thing she was wearing so she just grabbed a few random dresses off the bargain pile that was the same size she was wearing. A plain all pink and green one. One that was all white with purple flowers all over it. Another green one with a picture of a kitty cat in the middle of it. And just a purple one with some kind of black vine pattern. Looking back up, she noticed Cookie writing on a piece of paper as the owl excitedly watched, and she gave another small squeal when Cookie handed whatever it was over to her. How strange. Two of the girls were boredly bouncing some yarn balls...Where was- She got her answer when Bow pushed past her and reached up to rummage of her own accord, after a moment pulling out the only thing they seemed to have in a child's size. A bright orange dress with a single daisy on it's front. Her cringe made Poppy chuckle a bit and reach down to pat her head. "Hey. May not be the most pretty, but it's just til we get back an' then you can wear anything ya want. Alright?"

She didn't look happy but relented. "Fine."

"That's my girl!" She gave bow a smile as the little girl blinked and gave Poppy a confused look as she walked to the counter dresses in her arms.

"Your girl?"

Well, the clothes were bought. Which equaled up to about fourty six pons for all of the dresses including Bow's which she changed into behind the curtain. She was dry now but she didn't look like it stomping out and staring at her clothes in disgust. Well with two more bags in hand, one for her new dresses and one for Bow's, they excited the store and the girls were glad to not be coped up in there anymore except for Bow who followed the first two with crossed arms as the adults followed out.

"Come back anytime! Thank you for your purchase!," the cashier called out behind them and Cookie waved back.

"Ya seem to be well known, Huh?," Poppy asked the cat and Cookie shrugged.

"Lots of folks enjoy my work. Who am I to complain?"

"Touche." Poppy sucked in a deep breath and looked out into the world around them with a smile. "Man it's good to see ground that ain't littered with ghosts! But I wish it wasn't so hot!"

"Well this is a desert." Cookie smiled at Hattie chasing Mu around the two using Bow in the middle as a barrier from each other. "But they don't seem to have a problem with playin' anyhwere."

Poppy shrugged. "Doesn't surprise me with what I've seen. But I am surprised they aren't thirsty."

Cookie turned to her. "Why? Are you?"

"Well. A lil bit. When's the next ride back to the moon again?"

"Uh...Well I believe it's just a lil bit past noon, ya'll have to wait for the night train at ten o' clock."

Poppy snapped her head to her with a surprised face. "Wha- THAT LATE?"

"Well it IS the night train for a reason Sugar. But tell ya what, I'll treat ya'll to some real good food at the Jukebox cafe while ya wait." She started stepping towards somewhere else and Poppy slowly followed after.

"Oh no. You don't have to. It's alright."

"And let you eat nothing but a cheese wheel and apples?," Cookie shook her head, "Oh no, no. That wouldn't do at all."

"Ain't there a market or tradin' post with food in these here parts?," Poppy asked back making Cookie chuckle nervously.

"Well....Yes. B-But since everyone in town are actually birds, they don't really sell food catering to humans or many other species except for coffee and what's served in the cafe's since those places get to see more of a diversity especially when tourism comes a callin'. Otherwise it's bird seed, worms, insects, some fruit, and anything else birds eat. Most of what else they get is ordered from the city a couple miles away or mafia town. "

"Oh great. Guess it's cheese and apples for supper tonight then." Her stomach growled and she placed a hand to it shyly making Cookie chuckle.

"Don't worry. I'll send ya'll home with some left overs from mah kitchen set at the-...." Poppy suddenly stopped mid step body completely frozen as if she was paused in the middle of a movie and Poppy almost stepped on her tail stopping just in time. Cookie suddenly grabbed her fuzzy cheeks with a frown. "Oh no!"

"What's wrong?"

"I left my handbag at my set in the studios! My bird passport and wallet's in there, it let's me get free supplies from the cafe with the reward points."

"So...That means?"

"We're going to have to make a pit stop at the studios before anyone eats."

#ABloomInTime #a bloom in time #flowercrown #A hat in time the florist x snatcher #A hat in time snatcher x florist #a hat in time snatcher x the florist #A hat in time florist x snatcher #The Florist #A hat in time the florist #a hat in time snatcher #a hat in time florist #Snatcher x the florist #the florist x snatcher #florist #florist x snatcher #snatcher x florist #Snatcher

4 notes · View notes