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#▌✦ ❝ a crew that needed him‚ so they could be great  ➽ the dregs
oatmilktruther · 4 months
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okay so i wrote this little oneshot like a week ago and idk it's not going on ao3 but i like it a lot so if you would like some canon divergent post s2ep5 ed pov hurt/comfort during and after a storm with all of the canon typical agony a storm would mix up in our beloved ed check out under the cut
also i learned how to do a cut just for this post every day's a school day
it’s a storm.
all things considered, not even that big of a storm.
but when your captain is the one great love of your life that you just got back and then you just told him you needed to take it slow and so it’s been two whole days since you’ve kissed him and you tell him to get below where he’ll be safe and he squares his shoulders and puts on his captain voice and insists that no, he’ll stay above deck with the crew like a proper captain and so you won’t step away from the helm even after wee john offers, more and more aggressively, to take over, but no, you still won’t do it, because the only person you know for a fact can steer your captain through the storm is yours truly, but then the rain doesn’t stop coming and neither do the waves and neither do the memories and for a storm it’s a warm summer of a showing but you’re shivering down to your leathers, shaking in your boots, trembling with everything that you almost gave up the last time you sailed through a storm—
it ends up being a little more than a storm.
it ends up being a little more than thrashing waves. it ends up being a little more than stinging rain. it ends up being a little more than the burn in your arms as you wrestle the helm through every pitch of the bow. it ends up being a little more than the clench of your gut every time you see a body scrabble across the deck. it ends up lasting a little longer than the three or so hours of the actual storm. 
it ends up being the second you have the revenge safely tucked in the relative calm of a cove to wait out the last dregs of churning waves and drenching rain and ripping wind, firmly anchored and certain that she will ride it out, you collapse right where you’re stood by the helm. it ends up that your captain catches it with his eyes the second you start, catches you with his hands moments later, just barely saving you from a harsh landing against the deck. it ends up being your name, murmured into your ear more desperate than anything since come back to me, it ends up sounding just as much like a plea, and at this point you have no idea what you can do for your captain beyond what you've done, but the desperation to do it anyways is just as strong—
because you know—
you could steer his crew through a thousand storms, worse than this one, you could weather a course, steady and sharp for a thousand leagues, you could lead the charge on every raid until your captain was ready to retire, and it wouldn't mend the gaping hole that sits in your chest between the two of you, between you and him and the crew, between you and the rest of the world—
you know, slow or no, there’s something broken that not even you can teach yourself how to fix.
it ends up not mattering after all.
because what happens is your captain wrenching his arm up under yours, bracing against you, pulling you bodily across the deck and into his quarters, and you don’t even register the pulse in your heart that his quiet strength, he dedicated strength, his devoted strength stirs up in you, because in this moment all you are is cold, all you feel is quiet, not a calm but a devastating stillness. 
you are going to die. 
that’s what comes, when the storm winds down.
were—
you were going to die.
you’re not dying now, are you?
this feeling that’s creeping into your skin and tracing chilly fingers across your spine and twisting up your guts as your captain gets you, dutifully, out of your clothes, and into something dry and soft and gentle, as your captain settles you into a chair in front of the empty cavern of the fireplace, that feeling— 
you’re not dying.
it’s just the cold. 
the feeling isn’t creeping into your body, it’s creeping into your awareness, making itself known to you, absent pilot that you’ve been, it’s clawing for recognition when all you had sights for was escape on the horizon, isn’t it?
and the more it demands its recognition, the more your feeble body gives up the fight.
you’re cold.
you’re shiver the night through shatter your bones with chattering cold and your captain is making a fire in a fireplace you once used to burn up memories of him.
you’re cold and he is on his knees working to make you warm. 
it’s right that you can’t speak. you’d tell him to stop. he’d tell you he’s the captain and you can’t order him around. you’d fall more in love with him than you already are. 
falling. 
sorta sounds like a relief, sometimes, falling. not so much when you land, but before that, the moment suspended in air when you are not on the ground or of it, when there’s nothing you can do to prevent the inevitable, but it hasn’t quite happened yet. 
in another life, free fall would have sounded like freedom to you.
knowing now what it’s like, you wouldn’t take it back, but you couldn’t quite recommend it. 
the cold hole in your chest started to shrink as he built the fire and began to grow again as he stepped away, as he promised to be right back, but that hole in your chest was too hungry to care, the shiver in your bones too violent to be eased by any promise, but he’s a good captain now, and he’ll do right by you, so if he’s coming back, he must have a reason to go in the first place, and so you sink into the chair he put you in and you trust him to come back, because you can and because you need to. 
because he does come back, two big buckets of water in his solid hands, braced by solid arms, solid footsteps leading him into the bathroom and then right back over to you, because he said he would come back, and here he is, offering, in a way that’s an order, to bring you to the bath. 
and you go, on young legs that are just learning to walk with support, relearning after a lifetime of walking alone or not at all, and you go, and he goes with you, and he settles your body, carrying that big cold pit, into steaming water, steaming water and bath oil and salt, and you rest so carefully against the copper of the tub that you learn, relearn things about delicacy, about how your body can feel delicate and fragile and delicate and held. 
about how a touch can feel like a need and a want and a burn all at once as he scrubs heat and comfort into your hands, into your hair, into your shoulders, as the slide of soap and the scent of clean, washed clean, not stripped clean, not gutted clean, just good clean clean trickles into your awareness. 
how does he do that?
you wonder all the time, where it comes from, the part of him that can be terrified and fragile and broken and still resolutely do the job, with a soft sort of determination, a gentle sort of strength, you wonder all the time.
it reminds you of something, of the ceaseless urge onwards when everything else is falling apart in your hands, in your mind, the way they could throw your corpse on a sailboat and you’d still get it rigged before the squalls came. 
it reminds you of that.
but it’s not that.
yours is driven by memory in muscles that move limbs, in your arms and your legs and your back.
you know now, his muscle beats stronger ever than that.
it’s his heart. 
you know.
it’s his heart.
it’s his heartbeat in his hands as he holds you, it’s his heartbeat in his throat when he promises, again, to be right back, again, after a knock at the door, it’s his heart in his eyes when he comes right back, again.
it’s his heart in the crew when they came to the door to ask if you’re alright, if you are alright. 
when he tells you about it, as he dries your hair, as he braids it back for you, when he tells you about it like it’s not a revelation, like it’s not a redemption, to be asked if you are alright. 
well. 
something about him makes miracles happen quietly. 
something about him makes quiet miracle after quiet miracle happen not so quietly inside of you as he helps you out of the bath on legs that are returning to strength, as you go together into the cabin and you don’t need to bolt, as he offers you the bed, again like an order, and the quietest of miracles bubbles up out of your throat and you ask him to stay. 
you ask him to stay and you ask him to join you and you ask him to hold you and quietly, though it’s far from a miracle, he does. 
he does.
he holds you, and you shake and you shake, all over again you shake and it’s not from the cold, and he holds you and he knows.
he knows.
“you’re safe.”
you know.
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freddycarterswife · 1 year
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THE JOB. chapter one.
Summary: Kaz and her have a deep past together but got separated years ago. they both came to a rise in the criminal world both forming their own little gangs. they soon reunite for a certain job but do they recognize eachother?
A/N: this is my first time writing so please leave some feedback! I really enjoyed writing this and will probably keep posting parts either way. if there’s any confusion please check my last posts explaining everything
Parings : kaz brekker x reader (Silas Landaskov x reader!platonic! Kiana Noykon x reader !platonic!)
Warnings: One swear word i believe, angst angst angst towards the end
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My eyes scanned over any documents I could find to pass the time. There wasn’t anything to do in the barrel unless you had a job lined up. And right now was one of those days where I was desperately searching for something, or anything to do.
Our last job was over two weeks ago and we were getting low on supplies. We weren’t one of those big gangs, we didn’t hear about every job which ment less and less kruge coming in. People still knew who we were of course but mostly in the barrel area, not like the Dime Lions or the Dregs who were known all throughout Ketterdam, maybe even parts Ravka but that’s a bit of a stretch.
Shuffling through documents I had probably already seen more than once until I felt another presence in the room.
“What have you got for me tonight Silas?” I spoke not looking away from the papers scattered in front of me, I knew it was him. It didn’t matter.
“I heard from the crow club that there’s a job lined up, and soon” His voice was soft, it always was when he spoke to me. I noticed that just days after I found him.
“Well if you heard it from there I highly doubt we’ll be able to catch it. Brekker probably already has people out.” I glance up and immediately catch his honey colored eyes already staring back at me.
“Normally Id agree… But it’s a large sum! I don’t think we’d want to pass it up. One million kruge.” He whispered the last part afraid someone else would hear, though it was just us.
Any form of shock, or excitement I showed was quickly discarded by a thin lipped scowl. If what he was saying is true than most people in the area would probably already know. We usually got the scraps of any known job which ment not only Brekkers crew knew, so did Rollins.
“What job could possibly be worth that much in the barrel?” I say mostly to myself picking at the fabric of my gloves. There’s not many people in Ketterdam wealthy enough to blatantly put out an offer for that much. It had to be big.
“I over heard a conversation between the wraith and Dirtyhands. Dreeson is looking for a crew to cross the fold and bring back something. Meetings start at midnight”
Silas always refused to say Kaz’s name. It always sounded bitter coming out of his mouth. A scowl on his face and furrowed brows as he spat the name out like it was scum on the bottom of his boots. I never knew why nor did I ask.
“I guess that would pay for a chance of certain death.”
My crew had done business with the merchant before, not a very kind man. He knew his way around a deal and he knew how to cheat you out of your share. But for now I wouldn’t mind going back, we left on good terms which would give us a small advantage on the others.
He didn’t need to speak I already knew what he was going to say, his thoughts were swarming as I looked into them.
A Heartrender.
But why would Dreeson need one? They are usually only needed for a possible injury or if you need to get information out of someone. I searched farther into his mind but found nothing. Great. Lucky for us another member of my crew had good ins with a few grisha.
“Get Kiana, she’s bound to know a Heartrender. But other than that get your things. We have a meeting to crash.” I stood up from my desk a small smirk forming, my chair screeching against the wooden floors as I made my way to the door grabbing my coat with an embroidered snake on the back on the way.
Silas sent me a confused gaze a pointed at his blonde curly locks “I told you to stay out of my head!”
I sent him a warning glare. He immediately apologized and headed out to find our Sharpshooter.
——————————————————
The wet cobblestone under my feet were making louder noises than I would like.
11:47 pm My pocket watch read. Less than twenty minutes to get to Dreeson and my wraith and shooter were nowhere to be seen. I shut the watch, my gloved finger gliding over the engraved small “J” on the front.
Just as I look up I see two people heading towards me and another jumping to my right. From afar I can see a woman I cant identify. Shoulder length black hair, slim figure, porcelain skin, and about a few inches shorter than I was, but it was too dark to tell. To her left was a slightly taller woman curly brown hair tied into a sloppy bun, chocolate skin, and a slight limp in her left leg. Kiana.
I start making my way back onto the trail I was walking down, the three following. Kiana to my left, Silas to my right, and a woman I now knew by the name of Eve trailing closely behind us. As we got closer to the building I heard multiple new pairs of footsteps. Seems that everyone in the group also heard it as now Kiana leaned closer careful not to touch me as she whispered. “The Crows.” Now id never gotten the chance to meet the Crows face to face, Id only heard of them in stories or the gossip around the barrel. So I had no idea what any of them looked like, even Mr. Brekker. And I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me.
I sighed deeply rolling my eyes as my pace increased knowing there were eyes burning into each one of our heads.
I heard their voices, not caring enough to pay attention to what they were saying. Silas would get it.
“Who are you lot?“ A man I assumed to be a guard spoke in a heavy accent. I couldn’t tell what he looked like from the darkness and the gate in front of us.
“We’re here to see Dreeson.” Dirtyhands and I spoke almost in unison. I didn’t dare to even glance his direction.
“You’re not with Pekka’s crew.” The man spoke stalking closer to the gate.
“And you’re not in Pekka’s pocket anymore, if you don’t owe him.” I watched as a small black bag flew threw the bars of the gate making a jingle noise as the gaurd caught it.
Bribing him? Living up to the stories i’ve heard already.
“And what about you little lady?” He moved his body to now be facing towards me his face now being illuminated by the light. I cringed internally at the name but kept up my poker face.
“I’d rather not pay a man when i’m not sure he’ll even open the gates after.” I say calmly but with a sharpness in my tone.
He gave a stiff nod and started unlocking the gate.
I dig into my coat pocket knowing I had nothing in there, thats what illusions are for right? I pull out a slightly larger bag and held it out. He grabbed the bag, fingers brushing against my hand made the hair on my neck rise. He inspected the bag and moved aside. I walked around the man, Silas quickly moving behind me as the rest of the groups made their way in.
“Where’d you get that kruge?” Kiana rushed up beside me asking with amusement in her voice wriggling her eyebrows at me. Just as I was about to give her a knowing look a voice cut me off.
“HEY! This coin has a hole in it and one of them just has rocks!” The gaurd angrily shouts after us. My eyes widen and I can tell the group behind us freezes as well.
“Inside. Inside.” Brekker nodded his head rushing his gang inside trying to get a head start but we were quicker.
The only noise you could hear was each one of our footsteps making our way down the dimly lit hall that I vividly remembered.
Two doors at the end of the hallway opened up as we all tried cramming our way into the uncomfortable medium sized office. I shift myself so I wouldn’t be in risk of touch anyone and I notice another person in the room does the same thing.
Kaz.
“One look and I can tell. Criminals.” Dreeson states matter of factly looking at the Crows leaning forward in his chair. His eyes roam the room until they find my familiar pair.
“Miss Rietveld! Lovely to see you again my dear.” The wealthy merchant smiled as I gave him a friendly nod the cold expression never leaving my face.
Kaz’s brows furrowed together as he finally caught a glimpse of my face in the light.
‘It’s not possible.’ he thought to himself and shook off the thought almost immediately.
“We’re here for the job, we brought what you asked.” I moved slightly to reveal Eve’s place where she was standing behind me. Her face seemed to light up when she saw who we were talking to.
“Mr. Dreeson how wonderful to see you again!” She said in a sickly sweet voice. She sounded like candy, though it made my ears bleed.
Dreeson stood up from his chair and made his way over to us lightly grasping Eve’s slim hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckles.
I could tell the Crows were getting annoyed.
“Let’s cut to the chase. Why are we here?” Kaz’s cold tone echoed through the walls of the office.
“Well, i’m not meeting anyone till midnight.” Dreeson replied with the same ice laced in his words.
“We heard you needed a Heartrender.” Kaz says with little to no interest. A woman to his right who seemed to be overdressed for the occasion raised her hand.
“Well it seems we already have one Mr Brekker.” Dreeson states turning back to Eve giving her very noticeable heart eyes.
Gross.
I tuned out the rest of their conversation instead finding my shoes more interesting. ‘have they always been that dirty?’ I thought to myself lifting up my right toe inspecting the mud and grime that covered them.
“Y/N?” A hard voice echoes through my mind as I turn my attention to whoever said it.
“Hm?” I say raising my eyebrows a hint of annoyance in my voice.
“Let’s go!” Kiana ushers me forward. I see the Crows, Dreeson, and the two Heartrenders make their way into some sort of basement.
———————————————————
I was pacing through my office, my coat long discarded on the bench. The meeting with Dreeson was a bust.
A Sun Summoner? It sounds to good to be true. If we were to go through with this we’d be kidnapping a real life saint. Or I should be saying if I found a way to go through with this before Kazs crew. I looked up at the clock, 4 hours left out of the 6 we were given.
My hands running repeatedly through my now tangled hair I groan with frustration.
“What was that?! Huh?!” An angry voice storms up to me. Silas.
“How could you accept that? It was already a long shot when we thought we had a day but by sun rise? Y/N cmon!” His voice raising with each word he spoke.
I walk behind my desk to keep the distance between us “Don’t you ever raise your voice at me.” my voice low and dark. He rolled his eyes taking a daring step closer. His body pressed against the wood of my desk.
“We have to say no.” He tried searching for my y/c/e eyes but never found them.
“No.” I said plainly. How could I say no? It was a deal of a life time! If I got that money i’d have a better chance of finding him- I pushed that thought out of my mind as quickly as it came. I cant think of him during a time like this, it’d only make me more anxious and feel more guilty if I didn’t find a way to pull this off. So I stuck with the thought of beating the infamous bastard of the barrel.
“We cant go!” His voice now bouncing off the walls of my office. I didn’t flinch, I wouldn’t.
“Cant we?” I glared at him, my gloved hands curling around the papers beneath them.
“Are you forgetting the stadwatch knows who I am? If they see me anywhere near the fold I’ll get taken Y/N! You know that! Even if you find a way that doesn’t solve this problem now does it?!” His arms swinging at his sides. He was right, I did know that. But as of that moment I didn’t care.
“If I cant crack this none of us are going anywhere.” I turned my attention back to my desk. I felt something in my body, the feeling I always felt went I got angry or too overworked. The power that I could no longer shove down.
“And if you do?” He tests, leaning closer.
That’s it.
“THEN MAYBE YOU STAY HERE!” I slam my hands on the table looking up at him furiously. Small red energy waves hovering around my hands. I shut my eyes tightly, whenever this happened it’d always go through my eyes shifting the color, and it hurt like a bitch.
Silas seemed surprised by my outburst, maybe even hurt. “Then maybe I wont be here when you get back.” He spat rushing out of my office.
Shit.
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pixeldolly · 1 year
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SWAT - Round 1 - Smith
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The Sixamese being a telepathic species, a great deal of their technology was built around it. PT9′s ship, for example, did not have any manual controls for flying - it was piloted using one’s mind, and was the reason why no human had been able to get it up into the sky again. 
The ship was equipped with other devices too: reclamation vats that broke down waste matter and converted it into many things - food, fuel - “brain food” that the crew used to power their mental abilities via neural enhancers. 
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Scavenged parts from several of these apparatuses were hidden in PT9′s shed, modified to serve a different purpose:  repairing the harmful effects of the planet’s sun on his physiology. The largest had originally been a stasis chamber, which could sustain a Pollination Technician or Colony Drone for centuries during the long interstellar voyages. 
The ship had its own, vast power core, but on Sim Earth, PT9 had needed to find an...alternative energy source.
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Human beings fit the bill quite nicely - the young, healthy ones in particular. Their bodies were rendered down to the molecular level, and the energy was transmitted to an innocuous-looking device that plugged directly into the brain. Then, it relied on PT9′s psionic abilities to work its magic on the rest of his body.
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The process was quite efficient, considering the machine was jury-rigged, highly experimental and practically held together with duct tape and string. Frankly, PT9 was amazed it still worked, even after all those years - very little waste matter was produced at all.
A rush of vigor and what could only be described as well-being flooded his body as the energy transfer was complete, a high like no other. He relished it like someone dying of thirst relishes a drink of water, or a drowning victim surfacing for a gulp of air to ease their burning lungs.
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He felt younger, stronger, lighter, full of energy and zest for life. More like...his old self.
The dregs would be preserved, used for other purposes; nothing would be wasted. Everyone in Strangetown admired his award-winning roses and begonias, that grew lush and vital despite the desert climate, surrounded by a lawn so green, that at first glance it looked unnatural. 
Green, like the light seeping from the locked shed where none entered except him.
Well; none that ever came out again.
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pawnshopsouls · 2 years
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Destiny Verse: SkiffLight!Salem
Tag: ¢::SkiffLight::¢ — New Light!Salem
Summary: Salem-217 is a new light, but he isn’t part of the vanguard. Instead, he could be found as part of an Eliksni skiff crew led by Evek, Captain of House Onyx (Fallen OC House by @aurea-fide​ ).
Skills: Arc & Void Light, Warlock Well+Melee, (super & grenade yet to be perfected), pole-arms proficiency, free-running/parkour climbing, skiff mending, sail mending, (useless with a cutlass), can speak Conversational Eliksni
History: Raised in the Cosmodrome by his ghost Chauncey, Salem began his life as many new lights did: in enemy territory with no memory and a little light telling you, “Eyes up guardian! Welcome to  the world! Grab a gun, hold onto your Light, and let’s go, the bad guys are coming!”
Rifle, Light, and a little orb who seemed to know what he’s doing was all he had as the young warlock made his way through his first journey. However, all similarities to other New Light’s journey ended when a tunnel collapsed and Salem helped a dreg survive the encounter. With a few set bones, a healing well, and a goodly amount of patience and gentleness, Salem managed to heal the injured dreg before its captain came to save it from the “lightbearing devil.”
Fortunately, the dreg intervened and the captain, who’s crew the dreg was a part of, barely agreed to spare the young warlock’s life—a payment for sparing one of his crew. Such encounters would not be the norm with other Fallen though, as remnants of the House of Devils still plagued the Cosmodrome, which would become a frequent haunt of the young warlock as he tried to find out why one fallen treated him so differently than the rest of its kind.
An answer would come during the heat of battle as a dreg would come while Salem was on guard duty, its arm bandaged in hopes that Salem would recognize it. The gambit worked and Salem allowed the dreg to approach and ask him for his help. Having already had a history with this dreg, Salem uneasily agreed and left his campsite to see what “great friend” of the dreg needed healing. Who should it be but the captain who had thrown him across the room to keep him from harming the very dreg he’d healed.
With much pleading from the dreg and a look at the rag-tag crew anxiously surrounding the captain, Salem agreed and set to work saving the Fallen’s life. It took some time and multiple wells, but eventually the young warlock managed to heal the Captain’s wounds before slumping exhaustedly against a wall of the crew’s skiff.
Realizing he’d been saved and examining the light-healed wounds, the captain acknowledged Salem’s skill and offered him a place on their ketch and crew. Whether it was out of fear of offending and getting killed; not having found a place within the vanguard; or to spite Chauncey who was against the idea, Salem agreed and joined the Eliksni crew.
Now he works as both a field and onboard medic, healing wounds as best he can with what little experience he has with the Light. Meanwhile, he is also learning the ways and culture of the Eliksni as he too must work his way up the ranks from the position of a lowly cabin dreg to a proper Wraith or Vandal.
However, that doesn’t mean he won’t go exploring for a bit~ Though he may want to change uniform before he does.
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INEFFABLE - Kaz Brekker
Chapter Eleven
If you would like to read this on Wattpad, it’s on there as well, my @ is in_my_feels_probably and there’s a few visuals and better descriptions and stuff on there. otherwise, enjoy, let me know what you think, and you can check out my masterlist for updates and more. don’t forget to read the prologue, it’s important to the story!
INEFFABLE – Kaz Brekker
ineffable (adj.) too great to be expressed in words, utterly indescribable; too sacred to speak of. 
Chapter Eleven
It was early that morning, and the Crows had stopped the carriage. Elham had quickly changed back into her regular clothes, glad to be out of the dress. The Crows piled out and moved to stand behind the trunk Alina was stowed away in. They stood ready to defend themselves, Jesper with his hand on his pistol.
Elham put her hand on top of Jesper’s, reholstering his pistol. “Saints Jesper, we didn’t go through all that trouble just for you to shoot her.” “Relax, love, it’s just a precaution. Besides, I don’t think a bullet is going to do much damage against the literal sun.”
Noises came from inside the trunk, and the lid popped open, Alina slowly emerging. She cautiously climbed out and jumped down in front of the Crows, holding her hands up in surrender.
“We don’t want any trouble.”
Alina’s voice was shaky. “Neither do I, so I’ll just be on my way.”
Kaz swiftly drew up his cane, blocking her from getting away on his side. Jesper stepped forward hesitantly. “Clearly, you want out of East Ravka. We can help you. We have a secure route through the Fold.”
Inej was gripping Elham’s hand tightly, and Elham was almost having to hold Inej up to keep her from collapsing. She knew this must have been a lot for a believer. Hell, it was a lot for her too.
Alina glanced at them warily, and Inej nodded at her, Elham offering a reassuring smile.
“I prefer to travel alone.”
Elham quipped up. “Baghra wouldn’t want you to. She told me about you. You’re safe with us, I promise. He’s not going to get you, not while I’m still standing.”
Elham knew her attempt was futile, but it was worth a shot. Alina’s face contorted with hesitation, like she wanted to trust her, but she knew she couldn’t.
“No, I can’t. Like I said, I prefer travelling alone.”
Jesper raised a hand towards her, signalling he meant no harm. “Don’t be rash. You stick with us, and everybody gets what they want.”
“I’m not being anyone’s captive ever again. So step aside, and let me pass.”
Elham almost felt guilty. She remembered the fear she felt escaping the Little Palace, and she knew there was nothing she could say or do to ease Alina. She looked to Kaz, who still hadn’t moved his cane, blocking Alina in.
Kaz relented. “I’m afraid we can’t let that happen.”
Jesper put his hand back on his pistol, and Alina’s eyes caught it. She moved her hands together, and Elham quickly dropped Inej’s hand, raising hers. She sparked a flame, ready to defend the Crows, when she was blinded by a searing light.
Inej had blocked it, and Elham had turned away before she got the full force of it, so she recovered quickly enough to see Jesper and Kaz ducked away, groaning, and Inej’s hands raised in surrender.
Elham had two options. Raise her hands and fight, cornerining Alina, or, she could let her go. She could get her kruge, ensure the safety of the Crow Club and Inej’s indenture, or, she could betray Kaz, and end up indentured to Heleen at the Menagerie.
But when she saw Alina’s hands raised in defense, the look in her eye matching a scared and defenseless animal, she dropped her hands to her side, stepping back towards Inej.
She’d accepted her fate the second she offered herself up in Inej’s place, and she knew she’d do anything to ensure the safety and security of the Crows, her family. There was no point in capturing Alina, not when she had been in the exact same position all those years ago.
Alina was scanning her eyes between Inej and Elham, slowly lowering her hands when Inej had slightly bowed her head to her. She looked at Elham, who just gave her a quick nod. Alina nodded her head back in thanks, and dashed around the side of the carriage and away from the Crows.
Jesper and Kaz had recovered now, slightly rubbing at their eyes, looking around. Elham sighed. She was in for it, and she knew it.
---
The Crows had trudged into one of the bars in the city, and were all seated around a table, silent. Jesper was scouting, and Inej had come in and taken a seat next to Elham, who had already downed a shot or two, and was still eyeing Kaz’s drink.
“There’s no horses missing at the stable, so…”
Kaz was slumped in his seat, gripping his cane. “So? What? Are you two going to tell me how the target got away?”
At that question, Elham had seemed to sober up a bit, now sitting up straighter.
Inej tilted her head, taking a deep breath. “I let her go.”
“You let her go? Elham, what were you doing during all of this? Fiddling with your thumbs?”
Elham stared Kaz down. “Well first, I was making sure my retinas were still intact. When I finally recovered, I sparked a flame, but then I realized the Sun Summoner would do us no good if I burnt her to a crisp...and I also realized Inej was right. So I surrendered, and she ran.”
Kaz leaned closer, and his tone was menacing, one of the worst he had ever used to speak to her.
“You both were hired to do a job.”
Elham scoffed. “Oh, is that right? I’m an employee, now? Not the one person who’s made sure your ass didn’t end up dumped in the harbour every night for the past few years? Got it.”
She slumped in her chair, turning away from him, missing how his face fell. Inej cut Kaz off before he could speak.
“The job was to pick up a fake for an easy million kruge. We found a living Saint who can summon the sun.”
Kaz pulled a coin from his pocket, twirling it between his gloved fingers. “A good magician is a good con artist. The trick is to make it look real.”
He opened his palms to reveal the coin was missing. Elham, slightly more intoxicated than she needed to be, almost laughed, muttering. “That was a good one, Kaz, you should do parties.”
Inej ignored her. “This is different. You saw her summon with your own eyes.”
“The best illusions are the most convincing. That’s the game.”
“You can hide behind your cynicism, but I believe she’s the real thing.”
Kaz turned to Elham, who was watching him with glazed eyes. “Do you?”
She took a breath, and nodded. “I do.”
He turned back to Inej, his words bitter. “I don’t see you falling to your knees to worship every Heartrender or Squaller we meet.”
Elham had heard enough. “Saints, Kaz, that’s enough. Don’t mock and belittle her faith just because you have none.”
He scoffed. “And you do?”
She hesitated. “I didn’t. Maybe I do now, I don’t know what I believe in, I’ve never found any comfort in the Saints, but I trust Inej.”
Inej was unrelenting. “This is different. Her power is a miracle. I won’t betray my faith.”
“Pious as that may be, we cannot work effectively as a crew if you’re making decisions based on religious zeal!”
Inej was seething. “Is that a threat to return me to Heleen?”
Kaz didn’t waver, leaning in, voice desperate.
“Either we get the target, or Heleen gets the Crow Club and Pekka gets whatever’s left. And if we do somehow manage to make it back, but empty handed, I’ll get to keep what’s mine, and you’ll be safe. But what does it matter if she gets my Valkyrie?”
Elham stilled in her chair, and Kaz’s eyes widened as he realized what he said. Inej’s face contorted in confusion.
“Wait. Why would Heleen get the Crow Club? Or Elham? What’s going on?”
Kaz’s jaw was clenched as he glanced at Elham, who was already staring, eyes glassy, tears threatening to spill over. He abruptly stood from the table, grabbing his cane and scampering off.
“Kaz! What did you do?”
She turned to Elham who was sunk in her seat, not meeting her gaze. “What did you do?”
Elham quickly wiped under her eyes, clearing her throat. “I, uh...something pretty stupid, I guess. But it was worth it.”
Inej gripped Elham’s hand. “Come on, you’ll have to do better than that. Please tell me.”
Elham hesitated, but finally gave in. “Well. We needed you for the heist, and Kaz knew he couldn’t pay off your indenture, which is what it would have taken for Heleen to release you. So...he gave her the deed to the Crow Club.”
Inej’s eyes widened, panicked. Elham quickly recountered.
“I didn’t let him do it! I could never let him give up something like that, it’s too big a risk. But I knew we had to free you, and I swore to myself that once we got you out of there, I wouldn’t let you go back.”
“Saints, El, what did you do?”
The tears were falling now. “Before I joined the Dregs, I off and on worked for a small place down by the harbour. I was desperate, and the owner hired me on a nightly basis. I wasn’t indentured, I did it all out of my own free will, I was lucky enough to at least have that. So, I guess you can say I have experience.”
Realization hit Inej, and she leaned her forehead against Elham’s. “You didn’t. Tell me you didn’t.”
A sob caught in Elham’s throat. “I did. I couldn’t let you go back there, and I couldn’t let Kaz give up something he worked so hard for. So, if we don’t make it back, Heleen gets the Crow Club. If we do, and we’re empty handed...she gets me. I’ll be her little fawn.”
“Saints, Elham, why did you let me let Alina go, why would you do all that for me? I could never ask it of you.”
Elham let out a chuckle, but there was no humour in it.
“You would never have to. I would do it again a thousand times over for you, for you and for him. But Saint’s Inej, I’m scared. I don’t want to go back to that.”
Inej’s voice was determined now, as she pulled Elham into a hug. “You won’t, ok? I promise. She’s not going to take either of us.”
It was Inej’s turn to let out a watery chuckle, her hold on Elham tightening.
“You’re crazy if you think Kaz is going to let you go, you know that right? I think he’d tear down the Barrel brick by brick before he let his Valkyrie go.”
Elham hummed into Inej’s shoulder, before pulling back, wiping under her eyes.
“I hope that’s true.”
“Of course it is.”
Elham scanned the room, spotting Kaz and Jesper.
“Will you go settle our tab? I’ll go see what the plan from here is.”
Inej nodded and stood heading for the bar as Elham headed to take a seat next to Jesper.
---
A/N - hi everyone! i should have a new chapter up soon, but we're getting really close to some of the stuff i've been really excited about writing in. also, the google doc i have for this book is literally 75 pages? like huh? it's well over 20-25K words, like what? and wattpad says it takes over 2 hours to read, that's crazy, y'all are dedicated for those of you reading it all in one go. anyways, let me know what you thought, feel free to reach out, and thanks for the support?
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kissofthespring · 3 years
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title: ruin the mob ship: iwaizumi x fem!reader (afab!reader) genre: yakuza x coffee shop au cw: blood, guns, violence, potential assault, face sitting, degradation, daddy kink. cute nicknames for the reader. unprotected sex. (wrap it up folks.) note: this is just part one. There will be a part two eventually. (oops.)
"Hajime..."
The wound won't stop bleeding. You can feel your consciousness slipping. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. Dummy. Tsubaki?!" He practically yells as he presses his steady hands to the wound. 
"No, no, no." 
How had you gotten here?
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Six months earlier.
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Iwaizumi ran his hand through his spikey locks as he stared at the image on his phone. A pretty girl with her hair pulled up and off her neck. The smile on her face reaches her eyes. She's mid-laugh this shot. "This is Ushijima's sister. She has no idea, though. She's his half-sister. Same father, different last name." Matsukawa says as he reads over the information on the laptop in front of him.
"She's just a girl. What did she do?" Hanamaki spits as he takes apart his gun and starts cleaning it. He's right in a way. You had just turned 29 years old. The smile on your face made Iwaizumi feel old. He had just turned 35, but he couldn't remember the last time he smiled like that. 
"So, are we taking her hostage? Or..."
"Killing her. Little Cutie has a price on her head, it seems." Oikawa interrupted him, kicking his feet up onto the table. "It's a hefty one. Otherwise, I wouldn't have us take the job. Iwaizumi, you're the best, so it's on you."
"Tch. Fine." Iwaizumi had a weird rumble in his chest. What had you seen to get you on their radar? Or who had you spoken to? "She works for a coffee shop, yeah? This should be easy."
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Usually, whenever Iwaizumi Hajime got a job, he'd look over the provided profile and then take out the contract. Something about this one set him off. You probably had no idea you'd seen something. You looked like the type that would go to the cops right away if you'd seen something terrible. So clearly, to you, it was normal. He stepped onto another roof, watching you as you turned down an alleyway stepping toward the red light district. Now, this didn't make sense. This wasn't on his profile of you—a barista working her way through graduate school with no contact with your father. In fact, you didn't seem to have any family contact. He watched as you slipped into the red light coffee shop. Struck with the realization that you were exactly like your profile after all. You were setting the coffee in front of a customer when he walked into the shop. "Welcome. I'll be right there in a moment." 
There's no line, so he moves to stand at the counter. He takes in your appearance over his shoulder. Yep, he can see Ushijima in your eyes. It's the shape and softness of your features that set the two of you apart. Not to mention your body. The curve of your breast visible beneath the black apron. The jeans you'd wiggled your way in were form-fitting. Your shirt was a half-buttoned black dress shirt. Just formal enough that you looked professional, but still, the cleavage made it sexy. Working in the red light district, you seemed to pick up something from the girls that frequented your establishment. You step back around the counter before grinning at the man in front of you. 
“How can I help you today?”
Your voice is chipper as you lean against the countertop. You take in the appearance of the man in front of you. The all-black tech wear was something you were familiar with. There was a silver earring in his ear, and you could see a tattoo peeking up past his coat as you observed him. Fuck. He was your type. Probably covered in tattoos underneath the jacket on his frame. He was built too. Fuck.
But if he was in the red light district, you knew better. He was one of four things, a pimp, a john, a yakuza, or an escort. From the looks of him, you couldn't help but think that he was too pretty to be a pimp, so either he was getting some, or he was just a part of a crew. You rested your hip against the countertop as the man before you stared up at the menu above your head. 
"Large coffee, black, and a small cup of ice water." 
"Sure." 
You turn to get his coffee and find him pulling out cash to pay. "Nope. You're new around here. On the house tonight. If I see you again, then I'll make you pay." You wink as you pass him the coffee, then move down to grab an ice cup. His eyes widen as you clear the total and smile again. "Usually, I hear a thank you for that."
"That's not a way to run a business..." 
You pass the man the water before shrugging. "It's a cup of coffee; I sell more than I give away. Stand in front of me any longer, and I'll make you pay." He picked up the coffee, and the water moving over to the bar area. You could see the scowl on his face, though. Had you surprised him? Hm.
Hajime couldn't help but stare at the coffee cup with anger. Her blood would be on his hands, and she had given him free coffee... Was it foolish of him to think that perhaps whoever put a hit out on you was wrong? Probably. He couldn't help it, though. He watched you as you worked, made fresh coffee, dumped the dregs of the old one. Looked up at the door when the bell rang. Gave a smile to the old man in front of you and smiled that same smile at the gangster that crossed your threshold. You were glancing at the clock before throwing him what you thought was a subtle glance.
Hajime was nursing that same cup of now cold coffee three hours later. You two were alone in the shop; you were about to say something when the bell above the door rang, and your face turned cold. It was instantaneous the shift in the air. 
"Hey, Pet." The man who entered called out with a grin. "Thought over my offer?" He lifts his still-lit cigarette to his lips, a smirk curling upon his lips. "This place really could use the protection, and... You'd make a lot more money."
"Listen, Futakuchi. You're great, and I even let you smoke in here when the sign says no smoking. But I'm not interested in being one of your girls, or protection for the shop. We manage fine, thanks." You turn your back to the man lifting a heavy pot of coffee to dump it out for the night. "I'm closing up for the night. Please leave, Futakuchi."
"What about that guy?"
The brown-haired gangster pointed at Iwaizumi, who offered you a smile as if he was willing to play along if need be. "He's my new employee... Now please leave." You glance over at Iwaizumi, who stands to his full height; he was glad that he had grown from his childhood. Now standing at 6'0, he was taller than the other man by centimeters, but it was enough. He shrugged off his coat, the tattoos along his arms finally visible. The brown-haired man had to know what they meant.
The Seijoh Syndicate was infamous. The traditional Japanese style, mixed with a floral and dragon motif... It worked for him. You admired for a moment before you cleared your throat and tossed Iwaizumi the keys for extra measure, "Lock the door after him, would you?" You noticed the way his muscles rippled as he nodded, "Well. The lady did say to leave." Futakuchi crushed his cigarette under his boot before turning around, "I'll be back, Y/N. Maybe next time, you'll be kinder."
"Doubt it!"
You called as Iwaizumi locked the door, and you clutched the edge of the countertop in front of you. "I... I can't thank you enough for helping me out. I'm sorry for getting you roped into this. Um. Thank you..."
"Iwaizumi Hajime." What a mistake that was for him to tell you and a way to identify him, but he did it.
"Thank you, Iwaizumi. You honestly saved me from having to be really aggressive with him. Ever since I opened this place, he's been trying to get in my pants." You take a heavy pot of coffee off the burner before moving to dump it in the sink.  
"How did you know that you could trust me to play along with you?" Iwaizumi asked gruffly, settling back into the seat at the bar. When you shrugged, "I didn't. But I hoped that you would. If you wait for me to finish up, I'll split the tips with you for your help. I just don't trust that he's gone." Iwaizumi gave you another nod before siping on his cold coffee. Even cold, it tasted good. Weird. Must be the beans she used. He watched as you locked up the safe for the night and then stood up. 
Your head could nestle just under his chin if he so wished it. He didn't, but you could. As you grabbed your bag and handed him his portion of the tips, you grinned. "You know, I understand you might not need the job, but if you wanted a position here..." 
He cut you off before you could finish. "I don't. You shouldn't be so generous. Someone will one day take advantage of that kindness." Damn it... It was him. Iwaizumi realized. He would be the one because he was going to have to kill you eventually. You watched as the man grabbed his coat and left the shop. You turned on the alarm then stepped out into the back alley behind your shop. 
You were walking home, your keys stuck between your fingers when you felt it. The shift in the wind, someone was following you. When they struck, you'd thought you'd be ready, but your head was pushed against the brick, and the hand that you had your keys in was twisted behind your back sharply. "Sh, Pet. I just... I don't think you're safe working with that guy. Nor do I think you're safe on your own." The mouth of the man who had been trying his damndest to get with you found our neck. He was pushing you against the wall with his body weight and one hand. His other was tracing the waist of your jeans. You thought that if anything like this was to ever happen to you, you'd struggle or something, but you froze. 
He pulled your arm a little harder, causing you to yelp. "Let her go." There's a click behind you, and your eyes find the green ones of Iwaizumi. The gun in his hands looks huge; you shrink into yourself when Futakuchi lets you go. "Hey man... Look, I let her go. Whatever, Y/N. If this is who you're with now, I'm out. Fucking bitch." Iwaizumi raises his arm, shooting into the sky, causing you to flinch, and the man who was now cursing your existence to scrambles away.
You had shrunken in on yourself when you felt a hand press against your forehead. "You okay? Let me help you home." You clung to him and directed the man who saved you from another to your home. What a fool you were. You had no idea what he was sent to do. As you pressed your key into the door, you looked up at the man, "Can I repay you somehow?"
"Don't be so kind. You just saw what happens when someone wants to take advantage of that kindness. Next time I won't be there. So... No. Go take a shower and eat something. Good night, Dummy."
You were about to tell him not to call you that, but exhaustion took over, and you just slipped inside your apartment instead. Meanwhile, Iwaizumi was documenting the exits and entrances around your place. God damnit. Taking you out could be easy if you weren't so... Good.
This was a bad hit.
Whoever had it out for you had it for the wrong reasons.
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It went on like this for five weeks. Iwaizumi would show up three hours before closing, hang out in your coffee shop and then walk you home. You had gotten to know bits and pieces of him too, and he had done the same with you. 
One night it's the two of you left in the store, locked up for the night. You weren't paying him any attention when he brushed your hair out of your face a bit gentler than you thought Iwaizumi would be, making you drop the peach scone you were bagging up for the night. "Fuck!"
He's laughing, doubled over, clutching his stomach as you smack his arm. "That's what gets you to swear, Tsubaki? I was gentle. What would you do if I wasn't?" The tension is right there between the two of you. "Shut up, you jerk." You reach for your scone to throw it away when you noticed he hadn't stepped away or gone back to his coffee. "Come driving with me, Tsubaki. It's a nice night." Your eyes met his before you nodded, fiddling with the keys in your hands, "Sure. I'm almost done..."
You finished the closing tasks, turned off the lights around the store, pushed the money through the red door on the safe, and finally set the alarm for the night. Iwaizumi was smoking a cigarette outside the door when you slipped out of the shop. "Okay, I'm ready." He took in your appearance for a moment. You wore a black skirt today, and the thin black top left little to the imagination. God, he liked you. It still lingered in his mind; he was supposed to kill you.
Oikawa had gotten annoyed at him for not completing the job weeks ago, but... Hajime didn't give a fuck. He had spent time with you, and feelings developed from there. You were kind. You cared about everyone who came into your store equally. You'd close shop if a woman came in after being beaten by a John. When a young man came in wounded, you dropped everything to patch him up. You were a safe haven for women and gangsters alike. They knew they could come to you for a place to hide. He found himself unable to kill you. Whoever had put the hit out was wrong. He'd find them first.
You had no idea the thoughts that brewed in the spiky-haired man's head. He held the door open for you to slip in, then slipped inside himself and started driving.
The road turned to gravel as he drove into the hills of the prefecture. Your hand rested against the edge of your skirt, nerves making them shake a little. He turned his wrist up on the gear shift. "If you need to hold my hand or something." Instantly, you latched on to it, bringing it over to your lap, and grinned. The hitman couldn't help himself. He'd gone soft for you... His hand gripped your back. You relaxed, and eventually, your hand slipped out of his, but his hand didn't move from your thigh, gripping it slightly.
Finally, he stopped at a spot overlooking the city. It was secluded and beautiful tonight. His hand moved down your leg to your knee before moving back up gently, "I like you, Tsubaki. You know that, right?"
"I had an inkling. Does this mean I get to call you Hajime now?" You turn toward him full-body, shifting so your back was against the passenger side door, and his hand came up to rest on the back of your seat. "I like you too. I mean, I have for a while, and not just because you saved me before." You fiddled with your fingers, a look of shock coming over your face when Iwaizumi reached for your hand.
He lifted your right hand and pressed a kiss to the inside of your wrist, making you breathe out sharply. His green eyes traced your frame and finally found your face. "Can I kiss you?" The question hit your ears, and before your brain could stop you, you leaned forward to capture his lips in a kiss.
The kiss is hungry and rough. Teeth were clashing together as you finally break that tension you had both had between you two. You reached up to tug his hair, and you could feel his growl against your lips. "Fuck."
The windows fogged before you realized it, and he was pushing you against them, his hand wrapping around your neck to pull you closer to him. He was rough, but god did it feel good. His teeth tug at your lip before whispering, "Can I touch you, Tsubaki?" He presses his forehead against yours, his fingers tangled in your hair as you catch your breath.
"Yes. Touch me, Haji. Please." 
The moment the please leaves your lips, he feels feral. His name dies on your lips as he palms a breast with one hand and slips the other one up your skirt resting on your thigh. The kiss was deepening as he swipes his tongue along the seam of your lips. Your gasp was all he needed. His hand moves to your cloth-covered cunt, before pulling back to whisper, "I want to fucking hear you moan."
And moan into his mouth you did. Gasping as he played with your clothed breasts, you wanted more.
The man above you is grinding his hip against your calf as he cages you in against the passenger seat. "Please, don't tease, please." You whisper as the kiss breaks, and he leans back to admire you for a moment. You're his prey here. With his big hands, he could snap your neck and be done with the job. Or he could give you pleasure. His hand lingering on your breast and the other between your legs told him what he wanted to do. He wanted to fuck you. Wanted to ruin you.
The hand between your legs found your hip clutching it slightly. "I want you. But I want it to be special. We shouldn't do this here." You let out a whine that he knew would be his undoing. "Hajime... I want to feel you inside of me. We can go back to my place if you want a bed. I just... Fuck me, tonight."
"Dummy." Iwaizumi whispered against your temple before capturing your lips against his. He slides his hand down to your cunt again. "I know how to satisfy you for now, at least until we get to your place and we make some choices." His large fingers brush against your panties before pushing the fabric to the side. He swallows your moans with kisses as he rubs your clit with his middle finger. He slides that same finger down until he gets to your center and pushes inside of you.
Your hips jolt, and you gasp as his mouth makes its way down your neck, leaving marks as he goes. "More, please. Hajime. Please."
He drives his middle finger into your cunt, grinning at the gasp that chokes from your lips. "Such a greedy little dummy." He adds another finger before he glances down to marvel at the way you suck his fingers in. The dirty and lewd noises were coming from your mouth as he fingers you. "This hand of mine taking you out? Making you dumb? Sweet, sweet little one." He feels your body shake involuntarily, your head rolling backward. 
"That's it, baby. Let it go. Cum for me."
Your thighs are shaking as you cum with a gasp, his hand tightening on your throat to control the blood flow and how you were feeling. It was so good that a second one washed over you quickly.
Your vision finally colors again, and you watch him as he lifts his hand to his mouth, sticking each finger in one by one. "You taste so good, Tsubaki. Like my favorite candy."
You roll your eyes at him before shifting to press your body against the passenger side door. "Just drive to my place, and don't make illusions to me tasting like candy..." Iwaizumi shifted gears before chuckling. "I could say something else, but I thought candy suited you. You're sweet. I liked it. And so did you if the way you came was any indication."
The drive went on like that, him teasing you and you bantering it right back to him. When you arrived at your apartment, you instantly felt shy. Your state radiated off of you in waves as you stared up at the tall building. Iwaizumi's hand reached over to squeeze your thigh. "We don't have to do this tonight... I got you off; that’s what I wanted to do."
You looked up at him shaking your head before reaching for his hand and lacing his fingers with yours. "Come inside; I’ll get you some tea."
His voice reverberated in your brain as you both got out of the car, "I don't want tea, Tsubaki." I want you. Those words are unspoken as you both approach your door from the confined space of the elevator. 
You fumbled with the keys, dropping them than picking them up again. Iwaizumi's hand rests on the small of your back to soothe your thoughts. "Do I make you anxious? It's not my goal, dummy." He's gentle as he brushes your cheek with careful fingers. He's treating you like glass as you both enter the apartment. Shoes fall off feet quickly as soon as the door closes.
You step backward into your apartment, leading him down the short hallway to your bedroom. He follows his hand resting on your shoulder, taking in the ease of your clothes. "God, you're so beautiful." He pushed your shoulder strap down your arm smiling as your tank top fell quickly. Your overshirt was already discarded when you entered your apartment. Your knees hit the bed, and you reach for his long sleeve shirt. "It's not fair if I get naked first, Hajime."
He pulls the shirt over his head with one arm in a swift movement and lets it fall to the floor. He steps closer so that his body can cage yours in against the bed. His knees were nudging your own apart slightly. "We're nowhere near even, Peaches." 
Your fingers trace the patterns of his tattoos, running up his arms and across his chest. Iwaizumi lets you touch him like this, a cool grin curling upon his lips. "You like them?" Your fingers find a dragon wrapped in ivy; the teal creature struggles to the sky on his right arm. Tsubaki flowers bloom across his pec then the more traditional Yakuza tattoos catch your eye. You knew he was a part of a gang, but this was so detailed. You press your mouth to the flowers and nod. "They are beautiful. You are beautiful, Ha-" He cuts you off, catching your mouth with his and kissing you deeply.
The sensuality of the kiss makes your back arch practically into him. When you broke it to breathe, he's smiling down at you brushing your hair back with such careful calloused hands. "No one has ever called me beautiful before, Tsubaki-chan." He nibbles your bottom lip before lifting a hand to your chest. "Can I take all this off you? I want you."
There were moments of softness as your clothes fell away to skin. Iwaizumi’s rough hands roaming gently down your body until he got to your cunt again. You breathed in sharply as he touched you and felt your body react and arch toward him. "Hajime." You moaned as he captured your lips and reached for your hand to place it on his thick considerable cock.
Your delicate fingers wrapping around him caused his breath to catch in his throat. "Fuck, dummy."
You stroked him gently, rubbing your thumb over the slit on his cock as you did so. He caged you in from above as your feather-light touch caused a soft moan to escape his lips.
He hisses through his teeth as your foreheads touch, and you stroke him, your hand tightening a bit as you move it. "Tsubaki..." He whispers against your skin, dropping kisses against your shoulders, "That sweet hand of yours, it probably doesn't feel as good as your cunt. I want to do something for you, though." 
He pulls you with him and rolls onto his back. He pulls your hips to his face roughly, his large hands cupping your ass as he did so. "I'll make you feel good, dummy. Just sit still and enjoy the ride." His teeth nicked your thighs as he pulls you closer to his mouth. "Hajime! Hey, wait. I don't want you to get hurt by me." He looked up at you from between your legs; he’s practically salivating as he says. "Oh, you little dummy. You won't hurt me. I want to make you feel good." He pressed his face to your center, smirking when he felt your thighs clench under his hands. "Sensitive, huh?" You squeal a little bit as he buries his face between your thighs.
You're drenched, and his tongue has you fisting his hair with the first stroke. He speaks against your cunt, something you can't quite hear, but it makes your body vibrate, "Mine." His fingers spread you wide tentative licks against everywhere but where you want him. He's not gentle. He eats you out like a starving man. Getting lost in your taste. You gasp and whine as your body arches against him. His nose brushes against your clit, and your nails dig into his arms. Fingers against the inked limbs.
You're gushing against his mouth as he tugs you against his face more. He hummed against your clit, smirking as your body arches and your full weight finally rests on his face. His tongue flattens against your cunt, as he finally lets his the fingers of his right-hand slip inside of you. "Cum, Tsubaki. Cum for me."
He sucks against your clit, his teeth grazing against it slightly. You gasped, hips bucking slightly. He chuckles as you tug his hair, "Hajime, I..." You came hard thighs locking around his ears as your body falls to his face. You're trying to catch your breath, body folding to the pillow. Hajime slips out from under you, rolling you over and pressing a gentle kiss to your cheek. "You okay there, Peaches? You taste so good. I couldn't help myself." He reached for your cheek brushing your hair away from your face gently. "Such a pretty little thing."
Your fingers brush against his inked arms and chest softly. "Did these hurt?" You ask as you catch your breath. He doesn't seem as though he's going to move forward tonight. He's made you cum. It was all he wanted today unless you were up for more. "They hurt like hell. Mat- uh, my tattoo artist has a heavy hand." You trace the dragon as it rolls up his shoulder. "So... Now what?"
Iwaizumi rolls on top of you, nipping your neck, his sharp teeth making you jump. "Now, I'll fuck you. I'll fucking ruin you for anyone else." He looks up at you before taking your chin in his hands. "If you don't want this, let me know. We can stop right now." You leaned forward to catch his mouth, kissing him mid-sentence. "Fuck me, Hajime."
He groans against your mouth, moving to pin you against the bed. A growl slipped from his lips as he pressed you against the bed, he pushed his pants down and his boxers following as well. His cock bounced against his stomach, well-hung; you couldn't help but lick your lips. You noticed more tattoos that traveled down his legs as well. His golden skin is covered in beautiful black ink.
"You're beautiful." You whispered. Iwaizumi reaches for your hand before kissing the inside of your wrist. "You are. Now, lay back for me." You do so, and his body covers yours. He reaches between your legs, grinning down at you, "Such a wet little slut." He made sure to look into your eyes when he degraded you. He was checking to see if this was okay. "Please. Daddy..." His mouth dives into yours, his tongue licking generously into your lips. He lines his cock up to your entrance before pushing inside of you.
A whine escapes your lips. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, dummy. You feel so fucking good." You clutch his shoulders, nails digging into his skin. "Fucking hell." He caught your lips before pushing into your insides more. He bottomed out finally, your walls fluttering around him. Your plush velvet walls fluttered while he lifted his eyes to meet your own. "Are you cumming again? You're so tight." Spots developed in your vision as he ruts into you. His hips grind against your own, the angle of him lifting your hips, but pressing your chest down slightly to the bed made your back arch.
"Harder. Fuck me harder, Hajime."
His hand slips up your chest to your throat, wrapping it around it as he lowered his body to yours, his mouth against your ear. "You got it." He sets a rough pace, his hand squeezing around your neck to control the way your body felt for him. "So fucking tight." He groans as he shifts your hips to change the angle again. You cry out loudly as he continues to rut against you. The head of his cock nudges your cervix entrance, and you arch, a whine escaping your lips. He was stretching you out in the best ways; your entire body arches as you cum unexpectedly, eyes widening as he meets your gaze.
"Came already? Pretty slut. Daddy's turn."
He kisses your mouth before rolling you over, pressing his chest to your back as he presses inside of you again. You’re sensitive from your orgasm and fluttering around him again. He grins against your shoulder before moving his hips roughly against yours; his right hand slides from your hip to your mouth, right hand, and sticking two fingers between your lips, he grins. "Fuck, you're gorgeous like this. All fucked out on my cock. Your mouth open like this. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck." He starts pulling his fingers from your lips and finding your clit to make you cum again.
He drives your head into the mattress, and you gasp the angle changes again. "Where do you want me to cum, Dummy?"
"Inside. Please, Daddy."
His green eyes met yours as you spoke, begging him to cum inside. He grabs you by the neck, pulling you up against his chest, and presses his mouth against your ear. "That's it, baby. That's it, so tight." As you cum again, he follows, groaning as he does. "Fuck, what a good girl. Good fucking girl." He presses kisses to your shoulders as your body collapses bonelessly in Hajime's arms. He gently lets your body move to the bed. He brushes a hand through your hair as he pulls out and watches as his cum slips out of your cunt slowly. He pushes it back in with his fingers before looking up at your face. "Let me clean you up and get you some water."
You groan softly before nodding. "Maybe two cups of water. Hajime, I don't think anyone's ever..." He grinned, pressing a kiss to your fingers. "I can tell. I'll be back. Towels?" 
"The linen closet is outside the door. My cups are above the sink. Thank you."
Hajime leaves the room to grab what he needs to clean you up. Meanwhile, you sigh, trying to relax now that your sexual libido's been satiated. It was then you heard his phone go off—the ring tone indicating a text message. You reached for it, surprised when it opens up right away.
shittykawa: Well, is the job done?
Your eyes widen, quickly placing the phone back, unsure as to what he was talking about, but whatever it was, you didn't need to get involved. Hajime came back into the room, moving the damp towel up to your leg while holding a glass toward you in the other. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Hey, I think your phone went off." He continued cleaning you off, reaching for the object with a frown. "Shittykawa, it's not important. Now, do you want me to stay tonight?"
"Yes."
“Okay, I’ll be right back.” He kisses your cheek gently before grabbing his phone and getting up from the bed. You fell into a deep sleep as you waited for him to come back. Meanwhile, Iwaizumi stared out the window in your living room, calling Oikawa quickly. “Pick up, pick up.”
“Iwa-chan, what the fuck are you doing? Why isn’t she dead yet?”
“Listen, Shittykawa. It’s a bad hit. I’m going to kill whoever put it out on here. She’s an asset to the red light society.”
“Are you blinded by pussy? Iwa-chan. She’s Ushijima’s sister. She’s collateral for him. The guy who put the hit out wouldn’t be wrong.”
“Why?”
“Because the amount of money we were paid wasn’t anything to sneeze at. Look, if you don’t kill her, another team might.”
“I don’t care. It’s a bad hit, Tōru. Please.”
“Fuck, you slept with her. Fine… We’ll come up with something… Fuck, Hajime. If she gets you killed, I’ll kill her myself.”
“She won’t. Now, good night…”
“Good night. Enjoy your fucking fuck.”
103 notes · View notes
klbwriting · 3 years
Text
Unexpected Allies - Chapter 8
Fandom: Six of Crows
Pairing: Kaz/female!Reader
Summary: the trio finally make it to the resistance to see who of their friends is alive
Note: this will probably be the last chapter for today, I hope you like it!
Taglist: @mcntsee​
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              Y/N nearly cried when they finally saw the settlement that the resistance had set up.  She was freezing, tired, and in pain from being on a horse for two days straight. As much as she liked Jesper she was a little tired of him being her main companion.  He talked non stop and as much as she loved to hear about Ketterdam and their adventures as the Dregs, including some embarrassing stories about Kaz, she still felt guilty about what had happened to their home and every story brought the memories of its destruction flooding back.  Also, she was pretty sure if he told one more story about Kaz screwing up a job that Kaz was going to start hurling his cane around and she really didn’t want to watch him beat his friend to death.  
              As they approached the camp a small group started walking towards them so they dismounted to meet them face to face. She saw the relief flood to the other’s faces as a young Suli woman approached with a few others of various nations.  
              “Inej!” Jesper cried, running up and hugging the smaller girl.  She smiled just as bright as he did, clearly happy to see they were alive.  Kaz wandered up and Y/N fell back to let them have a reunion.  She walked over to the others that had come up with Inej.
              “ Y/N!” a man said, moving and hugging her, picking her up and spinning her.  
              “Mal!” she said, clearly happy to see him.  She hugged him back.  The last time she had seen Mal was at the battle with Alina. He was devastated by her death and last she had heard he had retreated to the mountains for some unknown purpose. She was elated that he had found the resistance and was fighting again.  He set her down and she found she was crying a little.
              “O tears for me?” he said.  She nodded still laughing.
              “Last I heard you were still working with the Darkling” he said, frowning.  She nodded.
              “I was for a time, then I saw an opportunity to truly help the resistance and I brought them with me,” she said, motioning to Kaz and Jesper.  She was surprised to see Kaz staring at Mal with absolute malice in his eyes.  She would talk to him later, right now she needed to focus on sharing her knowledge with the leaders.  “Can we talk?”  Mal nodded and he led her into the camp with the others.  
              Kaz assumed that the man Y/N was hugging was from the war, someone she was close with clearly.  He had felt jealousy well up in him for a moment and then it subsided with the realization that she loved him.  He smirked to himself as he turned back to see Inej eyeing him.  Great, now more people were going to be asking about him and Y/N.  
              “What?” he snapped.  She smiled at him.
              “I see you still have your sunny disposition,” she said.  Kaz rolled his eyes but couldn’t help the small smile on his lips.  It was coming easier to him and he couldn’t stand it.  “Who is she?”
              “Her name is Y/N, she was in the Darkling’s inner circle, she betrayed him to get us out of prison and bring us here,” he explained.  Inej studied him again and nodded as if she understood something.  “Don’t say a word, I already had to threaten Jesper to keep his mouth shut.
              “I will keep this to myself but I am sure everyone will know the minute you look at her,” she said.  “Good for you Brekker, finally found a soul.”  He snarled and she was a little taken aback.  “A soul I see that only appears for her.  Come, we will get you food and a place to sleep.  Mal and the others will want to talk with Y/N for awhile you might have to wait until tomorrow to see her.”  Kaz didn’t much like that option but he didn’t have a choice.  They were here now so the time he had with Y/N was going to be more limited now.  He would busy himself with something.
              “Are you doing any jobs here?” he asked as they walked into the camp.  As soon as they were through the makeshift gates Jesper ran and nearly tackled Wylan and Nina to the ground.  They all gathered around, the Dregs back together and Kaz felt at home again.  
              “We are the crew that steals supplies here,” Inej explained.  “They’re trying to figure out where to attack the Darkling but its hard considering he’s always moving and always heavily guarded.”  
              “Maybe we can help with that problem now that I’m back in the picture,” he said.  Inej nodded.
              “I know that is probably why Y/N broke you out, when we arrived they asked about the plan to get into the Ice Court, how we got so close to the parem without being caught.  We all knew pieces of the plan but not everything, we needed you for that,” she said, motioning for him to follow as Jesper went off with the others. She led him towards a small tent. “This one is empty, Jesper will probably sleep in the one next to yours.”  Kaz wanted to ask about where Y/N was sleeping but he didn’t want to answer anymore questions about her or see another of Inej’s looks so he just nodded and went inside.  “There should be clothes for you.”  He heard her leave and laid down, intent on taking a quick rest.  However, exhaustion from the journey finally overcame him and he drifted off into a deep sleep.
                Y/N had always hated meetings and that hadn’t changed during her journey north.  She sat at a table with Mal, Inej, and other leaders of the resistance mostly listening.  They were trading ideas about how to get the Darkling vulnerable, how to corner him or weaken him.  She sighed.
              “He thinks I stole a vial of jurda parem.  If we can get a plan in place I will let it slip about where I will be and he will come looking,” she said.  They all stopped and looked at her.
              “You are not going to be bait for him,” Mal said. She shook her head.
              “It’s the only way, he knows I took it, he just doesn’t know that I smashed it,” she said.  “He also knows I would never trust anyone with that vial but myself.  He may be expecting me to bring the full army we have but he is cocky if we tell him to come alone he will.  He won’t think we are worth the effort of the Second Army.” Silence fell over the group.
              “That could work,” Inej said.  Others murmured their agreement.  The only person still not convinced was Mal but in the vote to start planning he lost.  After the meeting it was nearly 11 bells and she was exhausted.  She was about to leave when she saw Inej approach.
              “Inej, I’ve heard a lot about you,” she said, offering a smile.  Inej nodded and shook her hand.
              “I wanted to thank you for freeing Jesper and Kaz, they are dear to me,” she said.   Y/N nodded.
              “I understand, I’m glad I could get you all back together.”  She looked around, the rest of the group had disappeared so she took the opportunity to ask, “do you know if a Pekka Rollins is here?  Did he survive the Ketterdam assault?”  Inej looked surprised at the question.
              “Yes he survived and yes he’s here,” she answered. Y/N nodded.  “Why did you want to know?”
              “Kaz asked me about him, I was just getting an answer before I went to find him,” she said.  She would be searching tents all night but she had grown used to having his presence near when she slept and she wasn’t going to sleep well unless she knew he was there.  
              “He’s in block 55b, tent 6,” Inej said.  “And Y/N, I don’t know what you did to earn his soul but take care of him please.”   Y/N nodded before heading to find his tent.  
              She found where Inej had said, peeking in and seeing him asleep on one of the cots.  She took the other and moved it a little closer, keeping arms distance like she did when they camped.  He must have heard her because his eyes opened and he sat up quick, cane ready to swing.  
              “Calm down Kaz, its me,” she said, moving to lay down.  She pulled up the blanket and smiled at him as he settled to lay down again.
              “You know you can’t sneak up on me,” he said, looking at her.  “Can’t sneak up on anyone really.”  She made a face at him and he smirked at her.  O that smirk would be the death of her really.  “So how did it go with…whoever he was.”  She heard the edge to his voice and almost laughed.
              “His name is Mal.  He was Alina’s love and she was his.  He was like a big brother to me.  I’m happy he’s here.  He just vanished after she died, I figured he had left to die in solitude or something, but he’s here fighting, which is great. He’s a tracker, can always use someone like him,” she said.  Kaz nodded. “I met Inej, asked her about Pekka Rollins.”  Kaz perked up some, leaning to his elbow.  
              “Is he here?” he asked.  She nodded.
                With that confirmation Kaz was ready to start doling out revenge immediately.  He started to get up when he felt a hand on his coat sleeve, just gripping the fabric and not his arm.  He looked at her and once again noticed the lack of disgust at her touch.  He had been jostled by Jesper on the way in and had nearly vomited then, his aversion had become selective apparently.  He trusted Y/N and her touch, making it ok for her to get closer than anyone had before.  
              “Don’t go Kaz, he’s not in the camp anyway, I asked around on the way here.  He’s on a job in Fjerda trying to gather some of the encampments of refugees and lead them here,” she said.  He sighed and laid back down again.  She left her hand out in the air between them.  Kaz sighed and suddenly felt itchy.  He realized he had been in these clothes for two days and needed to change.
              “I’m going to change into the clothes they left…” he said, standing again.  She nodded and closed her eyes.  He chuckled, shedding his jacket and shirt.  He got cleaned up and redressed.  He was about to put his gloves back on when he looked back at her hand hanging between the cots.  He set the gloves down and laid down again.  “Are you awake?” he asked.  Her eyes drifted opened.
              “Yes, I probably won’t fall asleep for awhile even though I’m so tired,” she said.  He looked at her face and then her hand again.
              “Don’t move,” he whispered.  She looked confused but stayed still as he reached out with his bare hand and took hers.  He held it gently, feeling the rough skin, every cut and blister from riding and foraging on their journey, and he found he was alright.  He didn’t know if he could do more than hold her hand but he wouldn’t push himself tonight.  She was staring at him and he gave her hand a squeeze before letting go.  “You said you would keep a memory of my touch…I wanted it to be real.”  
              “Kaz…” he held up his hand to stop her.
              “Go to sleep Y/N, you’ve earned a rest.  I’ll make sure no one bothers you in the morning and I’ll be here when you wake up,” he said.  He saw eyes close slowly as she now seemingly curled the hand he touched to her chest, holding it as if it were treasure.  
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aloha-solar · 3 years
Text
The Spaces Between the Stars: Chapter One
AO3 is here
Pairing: fem!Shep x Kaidan
Rating: M
Ex-Cerberus Operative Miranda Lawson was not a doctor. The Alliance military and the staff at King James Hospital made that quite clear when she sent in an inquiry to join their team. They said that while they appreciated civilian aid, “Miss Lawson was not equipped to handle the delicacies of medical aid on severely injured patients.” In an ordinary case, Miranda would have agreed with them. She didn’t know how to perform an appendectomy. She didn’t have a clue on the proper procedure to amputate a limb. Hell, if she needed to deliver a baby, Miranda felt pretty sure she would end up telling the mother to keep her legs crossed until the doctors arrived.
But Commander Shepard wasn’t an ordinary case. Miranda rebuilt the woman from scratch, fitted her with different cybernetics to repair the pieces they couldn’t replicate from ordinary skin tissue, and made her look and perform better than before. She brought a clinically brain-dead woman back to life. Whatever medical expertise that was, Miranda had it.
But the Alliance didn’t want an ex-terrorist working on their galactic hero. They wanted an actual doctor, and Miranda felt pretty sure most of the doctors in the hospital never worked on someone who ended up being as much synthetic as organic. She sent another fifty letters, all of them rejected. But she still waited. People always came around…even if it did take them a while.
“Are you serious about all this, princess?” Jack asked one night. “You seriously think they’re going to let some cheerleader with nice tits into one of their secret operations?”
“To be honest, Miranda, that does sound a little bit far-fetched,” Kasumi said. “Okay, well, more than a little, but I’m trying to be nice.” Miranda fought against rolling her eyes. The three women weren’t exactly friends, but when the whole universe seemed to be on the brink of destruction only a month before, it seemed only fair to let bygones be bygones, even though Jack still probably wanted to paint her bedroom with Miranda’s innards, while Kasumi most likely stole half of Miranda’s credits while Miranda was watching. However, Miranda wouldn’t have even sought out the position if it weren’t for Jack and Kasumi: several of Jack’s students were being treated at the same hospital, and Jack caught a glimpse at Shepard when she got lost after visiting hours. Kasumi got access into Alliance records during her work on the Crucible and discovered the files detailing Shepard’s rescue and her current medical condition. Jack had gotten the message to Miranda first, while Kasumi ended up sneaking into their comm channel and spamming the chat with all the data she could find about Shepard’s status.
Miranda drummed the rim of her wine glass, like she was playing a piano. “Why not?” she said. “I know every piece of Shepard’s body, both inside and out. I know what pieces of her are still organic, and what areas are heavily synthetic. I spent two years of my life trying to bring her back.”
“This isn’t some kind of fucked-up Frankenstein shit show,” Jack said. “This is actually treating a person.”
“She crash-landed on Earth,” Miranda pointed out.
“Yeah, but there was still an intact body.”
“And who gave Shepard the parts to keep that intact body? When we first got her, she was more like a pile of meat than an actual human. If the Alliance is working on an intact body, they’ve got the Lazarus Project to thank for that.”
“That’s not the fucking point.”
“It’s a point enough.”
“Maybe the Alliance is upset that the woman who rebuilt the Commander Shepard wasn’t actually Alliance-affiliated,” Kasumi said. “Or at least, she wasn’t at the time.”
“I’m still not.”
“There you go,” Kasumi said, taking a sip of her neon-orange drink. Miranda wondered if Kasumi drank enough of it, she would actually be visible when she cloaked herself. “They want to keep everything in the family. Better to not risk an outside source ruining the Alliance’s poster girl.”
“The queen of the girl scouts,” Jack muttered into her bottle of beer.
“So if the Alliance screws anything up, they’d end up blaming me and my Cerberus background,” Miranda said. She downed the last of her wine. In the dim light of the bar, it looked a little too much like blood.
“Yeah,” Kasumi said. “They screw up, they can blame Cerberus for shoddy workmanship. They make her as good as new, it was all the technological advances of the Alliance.” Miranda snorted. She grabbed the wine bottle and poured another glass, nearly overfilling it and spilling it all over the table.
“You’d think that because we worked with her, we’d actually get a chance to see her,” Miranda said, more into her wineglass than her tablemates.
“I think it’s more ‘forced into helping her on a suicide mission’, princess,” Jack said. She opened another bottle of beer with her teeth. Miranda winced and prayed that the white stuff she saw was beer froth and not Jack’s teeth chipping away. Kasumi peered at Jack from underneath her hood and caught the bottlecap when Jack tossed it to the side. “Besides, Kasumi’s still a thief, so they don’t want her stealing their fucking medical equipment. You were on the run for six-goddamn-months, so they don’t know what the fuck you were up to: you could have still been with the Illusive Man for all the Alliance knew. And I’m the Psychotic Biotic, so that’s totally someone they want around the Savior of the Galaxy.”
“Are they calling her that now?” Kasumi said, taking an orange slice from her drink and squeezing it onto the table. She dabbed at the juice spots with her glove. “I can see the air quotes around it already.”
“The point is,” Miranda said, “the rest of the Normandy crew—even Garrus and Tali—get to see her whenever they come back. We’re the poor idiots pushed off to the side.” Miranda swallowed the rest of her wine in the glass, before grabbing the bottle and finishing it off in three long gulps. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, before standing up so abruptly that she made her chair fall backwards and the table wobble. Kasumi grabbed her drink without spilling a drop. She made a grab for Jack’s at the same time Jack did, spilling the rest of the beer onto the floor.
“What the fuck, princess?” Jack said, standing up too.
“You don’t need to follow me,” Miranda said. “I’m going to go to the hospital again. I just need an official explanation other than the vague political bullshit they gave me.”
“You just downed a whole bottle of wine in like ten fucking minutes,” Jack said. “You’re going to be shitfaced walking in there.”
“Liquid courage,” Miranda said.
“Oh my God.”
“Why are you questioning it?” Kasumi said, taking another few sips of her drink before dumping it into a potted plant just a few steps away from the table. “It’s either going to go extraordinarily well or extraordinarily poorly. Whatever it is, it’s great entertainment.”
“Kasumi—” Miranda said, but Kasumi cut her off by cloaking herself. Jack rolled her eyes and sucked at the beer bottle, trying to get the last dregs.
“Are you coming?” Miranda asked. Jack spat the bottle back out onto the table. It bounced and rolled off next to the potted plant that Kasumi threw her drink in.
“And miss the chance to see the Cerberus cheerleader embarrass herself? Fuck no,” Jack said.
“Good,” Miranda said, in a tone that implied the opposite. With legs wobblier than a baby giraffe, she led the invisible Kasumi and the (unfortunately) still visible Jack out of the bar and onto the sidewalk. Jack quickly motioned for a taxi and forced Miranda in first, then Kasumi, then Jack.
“Take us to King James Hospital,” Miranda said. Her stomach was churning like crazy. She wondered if wine vomit stained fabrics in the same way actual wine did.
“So what’s the plan?” Kasumi asked as she uncloaked herself.
“I dunno. Probably laugh at her when she pukes all over Admiral Hackett,” Jack said.
“I’m just trying to get an explanation,” Miranda said, shooting Jack a glare that should have killed her five times over. Unfortunately, Jack was still alive. Even worse, she kept snarking on Miranda.
“Remember how after Pragia I said I was going to spill your guts all over the walls?” Jack said, snickering. “Looks like you’re about to do it yourself, cheerleader.”
“Can we not go that far?” Kasumi said. “I am not in the mood to see if a test-tube human throws up differently than me.”
“I mean, she’s gotta be flawed somewhere, right?” Jack said. Her face flickered in the streetlamps, making her look ghost-like. “Seems not even Little Miss Fucking Perfect can avoid getting hungover.”
“Can we please stop now?” Miranda asked, clutching her stomach. The bottle of wine on an empty stomach—“You need to eat carbs before you go nuts on the alcohol!” Kasumi said when Miranda ordered the wine, but of course she didn’t listen—seemed to only get worse the longer it took to get to the hospital. Or maybe it was the nerves. Miranda sent in a lot of letters to the hospital, but she’d never actually gone in and spoken to the doctors face-to-face. Maybe she never had the time. Maybe she didn’t want to interrupt them. Maybe she was scared at taking the rejection in-person. It felt like one of the Illusive Man’s tricks, only there was no way to charm herself out of answering it. She put her head on the cool window and closed her eyes as Jack and Kasumi argued as to whether Jack could or couldn’t get alcohol poisoning based on her implant.
Eventually, the car slowed to a stop. Kasumi re-cloaked herself, Jack nearly fell out of the cab, and Miranda gave the driver five pounds extra than she was originally going to, but it seemed like the least she could do for him, especially considering that he just spent half an hour with the world’s best thief, the Psychotic Biotic, and the Cerberus Cheerleader. After she watched the driver peel away, Miranda staggered around and blinked in the hospital’s bright lights.
“You’d think they’d reduce their power a little bit, considering that London has power rations going on,” Kasumi mused from somewhere on Miranda’s left-hand side.
“And let five-hundred people die?” Jack said, scoffing.
“Fair point. Also, Miranda,” Kasumi said, briefly un-cloaking herself again. “I was able to steal some of Cerberus’ files before the Normandy got impounded. It’s all pretty much from the Lazarus Project.” Miranda blinked.
“What?” she said.
“I can transfer the files over to an omni-tool or a datapad. What one would you prefer?”
“Damn, Kasumi,” Jack said. “How did you even get those files?”
“A thief never reveals her secrets,” Kasumi said, typing on her omni-tool. “Or maybe that’s what magicians are supposed to do. Whatever. Anyway, Miranda, I’ve set the files to both your internet and extranet address.” Miranda pulled out her omni-tool. Sure enough, she received ten attachments. Tentatively, Miranda opened one. Her own voice came booming back out at her as a lung surgery played on the screen.
“As you can see here, we ended up abandoning the idea of using tissue from the right lung and instead just used synthetic pieces in order to repair the punctures in her left lung,” screen-Miranda said.
“What made you change your mind?” another voice said, and Miranda swallowed. She forgot that she gave every piece of information to the Illusive Man.
Another voice came on, and Miranda fought the urge to roll her eyes. Wilson. “With all due respect, sir, Operative Lawson realized that ou—my initial plan was foolish. We couldn’t take tissue from the right lung without causing severe damage to it.”
“I see,” the Illusive Man said. He paused to take a drag from his cigarette, and Miranda used the ensuing silence as a chance to turn her omni-tool off.
“Never thought I’d hear his voice again,” she mumbled.
“You want to know something funny?” Kasumi said. “In a lot of the Alliance documents, they abbreviated his name as ‘TIM’.”
“Jesus Christ,” Jack said. “And I thought Rodriguez’s name was pathetic. TIM? Yeah, that’s a name that’ll make people shit themselves on the battlefield.”
“They won’t accept it,” Miranda said. Jack and Kasumi glanced at her. “They’ll hear the Illusive Man’s voice and they’ll think I’m still with Cerberus. Let’s get back to the bar.” She turned around to call another taxi, but Jack yanked her back with a biotic pull. She pulled a little too hard, and Miranda landed right on her rear.
“Damn,” Jack said. “With a bubble-butt like that I’m surprised you didn’t end up bouncing.”
“What was that for?” Miranda said as Kasumi yanked her up.
“Yeah, it’s called ‘you’re not leaving this hospital until you go in there’, Queen-Bee,” Jack said. She crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side. “The Illusive Man was a major piece of shit, and if there’s a hell I hope that fucker’s rotting in it. But it’s like you said: you were the one who brought Shepard back, and you were the one who built the squad that took on the Collector base. You might piss me off most of the time, princess, but there’s two good things I can say about you: one, you’ve got nice tits, and two, you’re damn good at getting shit done when you put your mind to it.”
“That’s about the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” Miranda said. She took a deep breath and gently shook Kasumi’s arm free. She stared up at the hospital again, her fists clenched. “All right then. Let’s do this.”
“And Jack and I will be there as moral support!” Kasumi said. “Jack’ll be the one you can look at for encouragement and me…well, it’ll be good to know my presence is felt.” Miranda gave a quick nod to the two of them before marching her way up to the hospital. Her legs still felt shaky, though she wasn’t quite sure if that was from nerves or from the wine. Luckily, she still managed to make it to the reception desk without turning her ankle in her boots. The receptionist—a young woman whose nametag read “Charlotte”—looked up at Miranda and Jack.
“Erm…” Charlotte said, her fingers hovering above the terminal as she took in their appearances. “Did you two just come from a fancy-dress party?” Miranda did suppose they looked a sight: while her white body-suit was more public-friendly than Jack’s crop top and tattoo combo, the two probably did look like they’d come from a costume contest instead of a bar.
“Good thing I cloaked myself, right?” Kasumi whispered in Miranda’s ear.
“No, actually,” Miranda said to both Charlotte and Kasumi. “We’re here to see Commander Shepard.” Charlotte bit her lip and looked at a spot on her desk.
“Commander Shepard isn’t here,” she said, fiddling with a sticky key on the terminal. “Was there anything else I could help you with?”
“Oh, bullshit,” Jack said, and the two women pressed their palms and leaned over Charlotte’s desk at the same time. “Shepard’s here. She might be in a different ward, but this is the only hospital in a three-mile radius that’s had patients that were hit by the Reaper beam.”
“Plus we worked with Shepard, so we’re kept in the loop as to what happened to her,” Miranda lied.
“Plus I had access to the Alliance information that stated Shepard’s current medical condition,” Kasumi said, shimmering in-and-out of her cloak as she said it. Charlotte glanced from Jack, to Miranda, to the space where Kasumi stood, and wilted.
“She’s on the third floor. She’s had a whole private room to herself,” Charlotte said. “All the people from the Alliance keep going in there. I think one of the admirals is in there right now. Can you please…go away now?”
“That wasn’t too difficult, was it?” Miranda said. She turned on her heel and walked away. “Come on Jack,” she called as she walked to the elevator. She took a quick glance around and saw Jack do a quick fake-out at Charlotte’s desk before running up to catch the elevator. Miranda clicked the button.
“We make quite a power-team, don’t we?” Miranda said as she watched the numbers on the elevator slowly reach their floor. Jack snorted.
“Don’t let it get to your head,” she said as the elevator doors opened.
“If we’re going to be a girl-squad, can we be like Charlie’s Angels?” Kasumi piped up as the three women stepped into the elevator. “No, wait, actually bring Shepard, Samara, and Tali into the equation and we’ll be like the Sailor Scouts!”
“Who?” Jack asked.
---
Shepard’s room wasn’t that hard to find. It was the only one surrounded completely by Alliance military. Miranda, Jack, and Kasumi turned a corner and, upon seeing the huge swarm of blue in the distance, all quickly turned back around.
“That many members of the Alliance there?” Miranda said. She glared at Jack. “I thought you said there weren’t many people around her room!” Jack shrugged.
“That receptionist did tell us that one of the admirals was in there right now,” Kasumi said. “They’re probably just there for protection.”
“There’s like ten guys there,” Jack pointed out. “They don’t need that many. And if you’re that worried, I’m sure a quick shockwave will send ‘em running.”
“We’re not here to give this hospital anymore patients.”
“If you’d like, I could go check,” Kasumi said. She shimmered and became invisible again. Her soft-padded shoes echoed down the hall as she ran down, before quickly running back. As soon as she saw Miranda and Jack again, she became visible. “What was that admiral that Shepard kept talking about? The one with the grey beard? Hatchet?”
“Hackett,” Miranda said. She sighed and buried her face in her palms. “Great. This is going as well as ever.”
“Might mean two things,” Jack said. “Either Shepard is awake and communicating, or she’s about to die and there’s like a funeral going on in there.”
Miranda pulled her head from her hands so quickly she banged her against the wall. “Kasumi, did you see Shepard’s condition?” she asked.
“No, I could only see the admiral,” Kasumi said. “But they wouldn’t bring ten bodyguards in unless something really big happened, right?”
“And this ward does require fewer medical staff. They moved her from the last time I was in to see the kids,” Jack said. “Before, she was in kind of like an emergency unit.”
“Great,” Miranda said, rubbing the back of her head. “So what am I supposed to do? Just walk up to them and act like I’m Shepard’s doctor or something?”
“Her nurse,” Kasumi said. “That would be a little bit more believable than a doctor.”
“Yeah, a nurse in a porno,” Jack said. “With that outfit, there’s no way they’re going to think she’s a nurse or a doctor.”
“I can steal one,” Kasumi offered.
“A nurse or a doctor? You’re good Kasumi, but no-one’s that good.”
“I meant an outfit. And we’ll all act like medical staff.”
“And then we’ll all get put in jail because we were caught impersonating medical staff,” Miranda said, sighing. She stood up properly. “No, the only way to face this is head on.”
“You’re not gonna puke, are you?” Jack asked from below.
“No,” Miranda said, though she wouldn’t be surprised if she did. “Wish me luck.” She stumbled around the corner again, and tried to muster up any sort of courage, drunken or otherwise. She couldn’t. What she got was a few angry soldiers staring at her as she wobbled towards them.
“I’m here to see Admiral Hackett,” Miranda said. Even before the sentence left her lips, she was aware of how stupid that sentence sounded, like a child on their first job interview.
“The admiral?” one of the soldiers said, and the one on her right hand side started to snicker. “Sure, if you pay me a million credits.”
“So the Alliance is accepting bribes now?” Miranda said, crossing her arms.
“How about two million and a night in bed with you?” said a soldier a few steps away from the first two soldiers. “Actually, forget the two million. How about just a night in—” Shepard’s door opened, and all the soldiers immediately zipped up their mouths and stood to attention. Admiral Hackett walked out.
“At ease,” he grumbled. He frowned at them. “Soldiers, you do know I can see you when you’re goofing off out here, right? Keep doing that, and I’ll tell your chief that he might want to put you all on latrine duty for a month.”
“Um, sir?” the first soldier said, raising her hand. Hackett scowled at her. Her friend pulled her hand down and the soldier started sweating. “Um…that woman over there said she was here to see you?” Hackett turned around and raised his eyebrows. Miranda clasped her hands behind her back, though despite her heels and her posture, she felt incredibly small.
“Yes, I am,” she said, her voice shaking. “I was the one who headed Project Lazarus—”
“—And brought Commander Shepard back after we all presumed her dead. Yes, I know who you are, Operative Lawson,” Hackett said.
“I haven’t been a part of Cerberus since the Normandy was taken by the Alliance,” Miranda said. Hackett had the ball in his court and this was her only chance to put up a decent fight. “The Illusive Man was dangerous and deserved everything that he got. I’m here as a friend to Commander Shepard—”
“Miss Lawson, I know you’re here as more than a friend to Commander Shepard,” Hackett said. He put his hand on his chin and gazed directly into her eyes. Miranda stared back. “You’re here because you want to get involved.”
“I am more than capable of doing so,” Miranda said. “I built Shepard back from nothing, and she saved the bloody galaxy.”
“I know,” Hackett said. “And you’re the only person who knows exactly what kind of tech we’re dealing with. You’re on the team.”
“I’m—what?” Miranda said.
“I don’t believe I stuttered there, Miss Lawson.”
“No, Admiral, I heard you the first time,” Miranda said, feeling her face grow hot. She felt a surge of bile in her throat and she quickly swallowed it down before she embarrassed herself even more. “I’m curious to know as to why you’re so…so willing. I have footage of the surgeries if you want solid proof of my work,” she said, pulling out her omni-tool. Hackett placed his hand on her arm and looked Miranda in her eyes again, much softer than before.
“We’ve already most of it, Miss Lawson. Some of it was left on your terminal on the Normandy, and we were able to pick up other bits and pieces from the raids on Cerberus bases,” Hackett said. “You’re the leader of this project now. Shepard’s been out for a month, and humanity wants to see its hero back. If we could raise the Normandy, we’d use them as a placeholder until Shepard was up and running, but they’ve been off the grid since the Crucible went off.
“So we need Shepard, and the staff here aren’t equipped to bring her back, especially when there’s so many wounded. There’s only one other person that’s performed the impossible, and that’s you. Get in there and wake her up. In exchange, I’ll make sure all of your activities with Cerberus are taken off your record. Troops, let’s head out.” With that, Hackett and his foot-soldiers marched away, leaving Miranda feeling like she did when they recovered Shepard’s body. From behind her, Kasumi and Jack walked up to watch Hackett and the Alliance soldiers leave.
“Well then,” Miranda finally said.
“God, if any of my kids turn out to be that shitty, I’m making them deal with Zaeed,” Jack said. “No, Garrus. Actually, fuck it: both.”
“I thought you met Hackett before this?”
“Yeah, with a group of like sixty other people to get pardoned. Not exactly a heart-to-heart conversation.”
“Did he say when you needed to start? Probably tomorrow, right?” Kasumi said. “Then let’s head back to the bar! You need to celebrate the fact you’ve got a new job now, Miranda!”
“Yeah,” Miranda said. “The most important job in the world. Now, does anyone know if there’s a bin or pizza place nearby? I’m probably going to throw up if we don’t get some of this wine absorbed.”
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Text
Slip Away Pt. 2
Kaz Brekker x Inej Ghafa
Read Pt. 1 here! Or read on Ao3 here!
Summary:
After a long year of putting slaver ships at the bottom of the ocean, Captain Inej Ghafa docks in Ketterdam for the first time in a long while. She tells herself she’s come back to take on some new crew, maybe visit a few old friends. But if Inej is being honest with herself Jesper’s last few letters have had her worrying about a certain bastard of the barrel, one she hasn’t heard from in months. One who’s rasping voice and light touches have haunted her dreams since she left.
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WC: 2, 557
Warnings: nightmares, some heated touching, & lots of feels
Kaz was drowning, again. The water that filled his mouth tasted like sweet rotting death and he clawed at his throat. Desperate to be rid of it, to be free of the darkness that held him beneath the surface. He could never escape, it dragged him deeper and deeper until he could no longer thrash, he just opened his mouth in a silent scream. 
His last thoughts full of all he hadn’t done. Ketterdam’s king barrel boss was nothing in the face of what made him truly happy. Inej.
Her name was like a prayer gone unanswered within him, Inej who he wouldn’t let himself have. Inej who deserved better then him. Inej who had told him once when she thought he couldn’t hear that she loved him. 
Inej. Inej. Inej. 
His breathing grew erratic and all of a sudden the blackness of the dream was fading and he was blinking in the sunlight. Kaz’s brows knit in confusion, why wake from one nightmare only to come to in another dream? It couldn’t be anything other than a dream to wake up nose to nose with the one lovely face he’d been thinking of just moments before. 
But as the fuzziness of sleep faded Kaz started to notice the little things that no dream could capture correctly. Her hair had come down around her face, the end of that signature braid hanging over her waist and there was a birthmark above her collarbone that he liked to kiss.
And then her chest rose, and fell, and rose again. Kaz froze. Unable to tear his eyes away as her dark brows crinkled and moved, oil black lashes fluttering as she made a soft noise of contentment. He couldn't comprehend it, Inej, in Ketterdam, in his bed.
Before he act on the instinct to escape and get dressed however she opened her eyes fully, warm brown gaze dragging over his features carefully. It felt like a phantom touch, and when he couldn’t help himself any longer Kaz reached for her and with one slender finger, tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. She was really there. Sleepy and barefoot in his bed. 
“Inej…”
She reached out a finger to smooth the divot that had formed between his brows and Kaz shivered. Her touch was like an electric current, terrifying yet exciting, and he wanted- saints he wanted more of it. But he couldn’t for the life of him remember…
“You asked me to stay.”
He blinked, and she saw the confusion on his face, took it as a sign that he’d made a mistake last night and went to get out of bed. Kaz stopped her quickly, instinctively panicking at the thought of being without her again. 
Gulping nervously at the look she gave him when she settled back into bed Kaz tried to appear emotionless. “Did I… um did I say anything else?”
Inej grinned then, slow and cat-like so that he was both warmed by the sight and slightly terrified. “You said you missed me Kaz.”
He couldn’t help it, he spluttered, “I-I what?”
She sat up so that they were close once more and smiled at him again, radiant and backlit with golden light so that she looked like some ethereal goddess come to torture him or save him. He couldn’t decide which it was.
“You said you missed me,” she leaned in conspiratorially as if to whisper some great secret, “and I think you might have meant it.”
When she leaned back Kaz couldn’t help the grin that crept onto his face, enjoying the way her dark eyes widened at the sight of it. Before he could come up with a witty retort to divert attention away from just how much he’d missed her, however, Inej spoke more firmly. “And I suppose you have a perfectly good reason for refusing to see Jes and Wylan? Or getting so drunk I find you collapsed at your desk?”
Kaz winced, the last few months had been a blur of bills and whiskey. He rarely stayed sober for more than a day, but even with a drink or two he could still work, the alcohol was just to keep distracting thoughts at bay. Distracting thoughts about Inej at bay.
Yet here she was in his bed, lecturing him like the good old days, and where was he? Grinning like an idiot at the sight of her, arms crossed and braid loose against her back frowning at him. “Kaz!”
He snapped out of it, pretending he had not just been distracted by the way her hair glowed different shades of brown in the sun. “I was trying to forget.”
Her arms dropped to her side and Inej sighed, “How many times are we going to talk about this Kaz, there’s nothing wrong with thinking about things that make you happy.” 
He knew what she was implying, and she was right, nothing made him happier than thoughts of her. Her smile, her hair, her laugh. But he frowned all the same, no reason to let Inej know that such thoughts had him wishing he could sail away with her and leave Ketterdam behind. Those wild day dreams had become an almost daily occurrence and it was starting to scare him, his seventeen year old self had once thought that Ketterdam needed him as much as he needed the unforgiving city. 
But now? With the Dregs putting more and more indenture hoarding establishments like the Menagerie out of business and offering those on the streets opportunities for good work, he found himself yearning for something other than the long weeks of paperwork and intimidation tactics. Dirtyhands felt like a figurehead long forgotten and Kaz finally wanted something he could have. Frankly it terrified him.
“Do you ever think about what makes you happy at sea Wraith?”
It was a stupid question, a doubt he shouldn’t have let himself voice, but it was early and she was finally here with him, making him soft. She took a while to answer, and he kept his eyes fixed on the rumpled sheets that stretched between them until she answered. “I try not to,” she breathed out the next words in a frustrated huff, “thoughts of you are distracting.”
Kaz Brekker would be lying if that particular admission didn’t make his shriveled up heart beat out of his chest. Leave it to Inej to be completely honest. He felt a warm hand trailing up his arm then, and tracked its progress from his wrist to the Dregs tattoo. Even her hands enthralled him, so delicate, and yet he’d seen her use them to grip daggers and slit throats. 
And because he was a sick son of a bitch, that was the thought that had desire coursing through him. Before she could say anything else he let that desire spur him on, making the first move for once as his hand slid up her shoulder to cup her neck. The sensation of her skin against his was smooth and warm, nothing like the repulsive cold and wet he’d come to fear for so long. 
In fact he relished the tremor he felt run through her as his fingers caressed her jaw, they both knew it was unusual for him to initiate anything this intimate, so he appreciated the way she relaxed into his touch. Letting him know she was alright, that this was alright. 
“Do I make you happy Inej?”
His other hand went to the base of her braid, slipping it from the hair tie and watching as she closed her eyes, the dark waves fanning out around her shoulders in a way that convinced Kaz once more that Inej Ghafa was magic. She opened her eyes when his hand fit to the curve of her waist, her shirt riding up slightly as she spoke, her voice breathless, “You could.”
His hands stopped. He felt himself approaching the edge of the cliff again, the abyss waiting for him below full of possibilities and terrifying unknown variables. But also… Inej. He watched as the woman in front of him waited with eyes closed probably expecting, predicting, that now was when he left her. Pulled his gloves back on and turned away from her, from a future away from the Dregs.
Inej deserved better. He could try and be better, for her. 
Kaz let his hands drop to the bed, watching as she let out a breath, never disappointed, always waiting for him. Before Inej could open her eyes he kissed her. Hard.
Her mouth responded to his instantly, her arms held tightly at her side until his hand came to cup her jaw, and she twined both around his neck. Their foreheads were touching now and Kaz was aware of every place they touched, the heat from her skin and the slide of her tongue against his, consuming any anxiety like a flame. It had been too long since she’d touched him like this and when her fingers curled themselves in his hair he groaned into her mouth, no one drew that sound from him. No one but her. 
When they broke apart her hands didn’t leave his neck and he didn’t pull his forehead away from hers. Her eyes kept him steady, if the world was a stormy sea Inej’s eyes were land. 
“I leave in a fortnight.” 
Kaz startled slightly, pulling back to take in her closed off expression. He knew she was already preparing to leave him, readying herself. It made him sick with longing, the longing to be with her always. So much so that he blurted, “Can I come with you?”
Now it was Inej’s turn to startle, those pretty black lashes framing her wide eyes as she looked at him. He was rooted to their spot on the bed, hands resting on her elbows as his thoughts grew panicked. 
The sea is where she belongs. What do I offer that she doesn’t already have? Why would she want me there?
“You- you’re serious?”
He felt the darkness threatening, lapping at him like an encroaching tide, “It was a stupid question I-”
Inej laughed, the bright and beautiful sound that haunted his dreams erupted from her and she threw herself on top of him. Kaz was so surprised he fell backwards onto the bed, eyes wide as he stared at her on top of him, her smile lighting up his dark room. “It was not a stupid question. I’ve been waiting months for you to ask.”
His shock must have shown clearly on his face because she only laughed again. Kaz thought quite suddenly that he wanted to hear that sound every day for the rest of his life. “Oh, ok then.”
The words came out shaky but he knew Inej heard the small smile in them, her lips brushing his neck and trailing up to his jaw as he lay beneath her. He felt the rising heat of her skin as his hands came to rest on her waist, his eyes tracking her lips until she hovered directly above him. When he brought his mouth to hers Kaz thought quite suddenly that if there was one person he would be happy to touch for the rest of his life, it would be Inej Ghafa. 
~*~
Kaz woke to the rocking of the warship, it’s creaks and groans a familiar song that gently prodded him awake every morning. He wasn’t surprised to roll over and find himself alone in the captain’s cabin, Inej woke with the sun. Running a hand through mussed hair he pulled himself out of bed, pulling his boots and gloves on before stepping out onto the sun soaked deck. It had caused quite the bout of gossip when Captain Inej Ghafa brought back a friend to join the Wraith’s crew, and a male friend at that. Then there was trying to hide the fact that Kaz, despite having a hammock to himself below deck, spent just about every night on board in Inej’s arms.
Thankfully no one in Inej’s crew of rescued slaves and refugees was very judgemental of this fact, as far as they were concerned the first mate had told him, what the captain did in her free time was none of their business. But that didn’t stop Kaz from turning an embarrassing shade of pink when the crew called him “the captain’s Ketterdam man”.
He took in the sight of the calm sea and was relieved to spot Inej alone by the rail, the rest of the crew still below deck. The former gang boss took a moment to admire the way her braid danced behind her, her face tilted upward towards the sun as the ship sailed ahead. It still took his breath away, how in her element his wraith was at sea. It warmed Kaz to see her like this, warmed his soul in a way that made him believe he could be happy spending the rest of his life with her like this. Helping where he could, but letting someone else call the shots for once. “I can hear your breathing, being invisible is not your strength.”
He smiles slightly, she’s not wrong. “I was just enjoying the view, Captain.”
Kaz watched Inej shiver slightly at the title, they’d only been at sea a few weeks and she still hadn’t gotten used to him calling her by title, still insisting on Inej. But he loved watching her flush whenever he called her captain, it was so rare to see his stoic treasure perturbed by a simple title, who could really blame him for misusing it? “Are you going to come join me or have you still not found your sea legs Kaz.”
He smiled, how rude. It was true it had taken him an embarrassingly long time to get used to more than a few weeks at sea, but no matter, Inej had always been there. Kaz moved to the rail leaning so that they stood shoulder to shoulder looking out over the sea. He felt an overwhelming surge of gratitude then, at the realization of how happy he’d been these past weeks. “Thank you.”
Inej looked at him, a playful smile on her sunlit face. “For what?”
“For wanting me here.” 
He turned his face to hers and the smile that greeted him was so bright Kaz couldn’t look away.  “Never thought I’d see the day.” 
Wait she was laughing at him now. Kaz narrowed his eyes and nudged her. “What? Why are you laughing?” 
He didn’t want her to stop laughing now that she had started, dark hair blown out of her braid and lashes kissing her cheeks. “Oh nothing you’re just being so honest today, I never thought I’d see the day.”
Inej slid closer until Kaz looped both arms loosely around her waist. She was looking up at him more seriously now, her laughter having drifted away on the breeze. “I’ll always want you here Kaz, with me.”
Tension that he hadn’t noticed seeped from his shoulders at that, a small sigh leaving him when she brought one hand to his face. His voice was shaky when he spoke. “Good. That’s where I want to be.”
Inej smiled, that warm soft smile that made his chest hurt and Kaz couldn’t not lean in and kiss her soundly. 
~*~
Guys this was SO hard to end and I’m still not happy with the ending so please tell me how I did :’) 
Don’t forget to come say hi on ao3 and leave a comment or reblog this post! ~ Love Liles
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southslates · 3 years
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great powers
(or, the aftermath of kaz’s broken leg; an excerpt from my name is ozymandias, king of kings)
Kaz’s leg didn’t set right.
Perhaps it might have had he gone to an actual medik instead of set it himself with Anika beside him, looking to the side as he kept his face stalwart and positioned his bone into place as best he could. He’d blacked out briefly and then pointed her out of the room when his vision came back, and she’d left with her braid swinging.
He'd brought her to the Crow Club the year prior, found her rummaging the streets. She was fifteen, older than him. He’d dragged her back to the club and had Bastian give her a gun and that had been it. He knew she liked him and he didn’t know why. He was scrawny enough and though he’d already started to garner a reputation for himself on the streets as a thief, it wasn’t anything serious. Yet.
He thought about how Bastian had cornered him before last night’s heist. The boy was three years older than him and twice as large, but his face was only half as mean as Kaz’s. He was aware of Kaz’s fantastic ability to pick locks—it got around, and it was an image he’d been cultivating himself in—but he also saw Kaz as just a child.
Kaz Brekker couldn’t wait to age just so that he could become more suited to be King of Ketterdam, Kerch, or even just the bloody Barrel. He had been asserting himself here, but all these people saw was a child. They ignored the quick flicks of his fingers or the whirrings of his mind and replaced the mastermind with a fresh-faced victim of youth.  
But he was King, and he found a way around that. He’d told Bastian that he’d handle the whole heist from the inside and that all the rest of the Dregs would need to do would be to stand watch. He’d though they’d at least inquire as to how he intended to truly steal from the bank, but none of them did. They hadn’t thought he’d make it out alive.
Except he had. The locks had been easy to crack, pliant and melting under his hands as he’d thought about Jordie, thought about the opposite of cool metal; rotting, rotting skin, warm and bloody and damp. The strangely warm air of the Ketterdam night contrasted the freezing depth of the waters around Kerch. It all fit perfectly right besides itself.
He loitered too long at the locks. He shouldn’t have, but he got lost in his head. A minute later he shook his head and promised he would never do such a thing again. The world he wanted didn’t have room for weak men. Or even weak children.
He was older than Jordie had been. He felt years more intelligent. He finished his climb through the wall, swiped three files worth of legal papers, and then tossed open a window on the fourth floor. The streets were almost empty. The guards out front were supposed to be distracted, but Bastian hadn’t taken the time to do the bare minimum Kaz had asked. He’d tipped over thousands of kruge onto the streets and as Muzzen—the absolute idiot—whooped on the other side of him, they grew alert. Kaz had jumped across the rooftops to move away from the uniformed hired stadwatch.
He'd grown too comfortable on the roofs of Ketterdam. He’d forgotten the city wasn’t quite his yet, and when he’d hit the ground he’d done it with a twist of his leg. And that had been it—Anika and Seeger had helped him stalk back to his room, papers carefully folded beneath his vest. They’d wanted to call for a medik, but of course they didn’t have any. They were just a small crew, the pitiful exhaust of the Barrel's machinery.
When I rule, he thought, I will have a real healer. A medik. Perhaps even a grisha.
He sighed and stared at the small window in the corner, his leg propped up against his headboard, as he laid backwards, his face to his door. He didn’t want anyone to approach him in this kind of state. Hopefully they’d all be happy with the fruits of his labor. They’d disapproved of the reason for the heist, but now they were sure to value him.
Brick by brick, he though. The motto revolved around his soul like the pistol beneath his pillow. Brick by brick he would destroy the lie Pekka Rollins had crafted to destroy him. Brick by brick he would build up the Dregs into his people, even if he had to make small sacrifices of fame to do it. Brick by brick, he would be something more than the boy drinking hot chocolate under Ketterdam’s streets. Brick by brick, he’d stand above every tower, every damning pulpit of this city where trade was religion.
He'd make power his religion. He’d make kruge his God and revenge his witness. For a moment more fanciful thoughts came to mind; grisha, the Council of Tides. All aside. He had one goal for now. He would find vengeance to forget the past. Then he would be more than what could be dreamed of.
Kaz Brekker was a fourteen-year-old boy with a broken leg and a pistol in his right hand. His mind worked like a clock ticking backwards. Broken, absolved, each whirring gear in place, turning all day, every day, day and night until the streets met the witching hour. He was a nobody who wanted to become somebody.
The next day Anika came to him with his meal and he was pragmatic enough to accept it. She settled across from him and he wanted to tell her off, but he was an invalid for the time being and he didn’t think he was quite yet in the position to shoot her. He fixed an icy glare at her and she staggered back a little but didn’t fall, didn’t recoil in fear. His white fingers flexed around the pistol’s grip, and that meant nothing to her.
He found that entertaining. She had been here for eight months. He’d been here for two years, building this gang up from the slums. She wasn’t afraid of him yet, but she would be.
“What are you trying to forget, Kaz?” she asked.
He was not anticipating that question. He made it a pattern to not ask for clarity. She reached for his hand and his fingers skimmed the gun’s trigger. Too close, too far.
Kaz could try to justify it, tell a story about a king. He was thinking of bodies in a harbor. A voice sang in his mind. We are all amongst the rulers of the dead, it said. And you already, Kaz Brekker.
What was his body count? Fourteen? Fifteen? He’d stopped counting last year. He’d almost cried his first time and told himself he wouldn’t count. He was still human.
“Get out,” he said.
“Kaz—”
“Get out,” he growled, fire and fury rising out of his throat, his strangely scratchy voice. He was growing into puberty, and it sounded more threatening than it had been years ago, when stone against stone had just been the scraping of a boy who had barely survived plague.
She left. Kaz sat there. He held the pistol. His leg didn’t set right, and he thought he was better off for it. He had lost time at the locks. He would never do that again.
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pyrewriter · 3 years
Text
Short Medical leave
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Eliksni name pronunciation: Sovrreik (Sov-rr-ike) 
 Uncle was ecstatic to see that we had not only made it through the night but managed to save all those that would have otherwise been left to their fate. The Dregs who assisted me in the trench were to be promoted for valiance as well as their display of loyalty and ability. Similarly to how my brother and I these Dregs would skip the rank of Wretch but they would not yet be vandals, moving directly to Marauders was a significant honor nonetheless. Ogethres had been thinking of rewarding them and my report gave him more than enough to use as justification. The fellow Vandal would not become a Captain but would be honored for their role in assisting defend the wounded. 
Deliberately I did not mention the Wretch who had earlier attempted to strike a defeated Risen's tiny machine. During the flight back in the Skiffs of a morning crew they approached me and expressed their regret, I scolded them but felt that was enough. There was no sign of deception in their words ,if there was they could not hide it from me, so reporting would be demeaning. I left them with wisdom uncle once told me once "An enemy defeated, be watched, but left well alone".
Uncle sent me to the infirmary just to be sure that I was not internally injured from prolonged combat. The medical staff asked me to lay down so they could properly examine me but when I tried my body refused to relax fully. While I was checked over I couldn't help but chuckle at the hilarity of how I most likely looked like one the old stone likenesses of humans often found in city remnants. Once the medical machines came up as normal the medics told me to avoid combat for a while just to make sure I wasn't on the brink of collapsing. 
Normally I would have simply thanked them for their care and advice before charging headlong into the next mission but I decided to listen to our medical experts for once. Fortunately there was always more than enough work that needed to be done, with my engineering skills I favored more hand on jobs. Sometimes younger Dregs that had heard of or seen my work in the field would murmur in curious clicks whenever I would dive for maintenance on submerged areas of our home. I always thought it sobering for the younger in the guild and humbling for myself as it kept me from discounting the effort of others or believing myself greater because of my station.
Brykis had similar sentiments but if one were to ask him he would tell them that he simply didn't like the thought of his brother being left out. I would often find him helping process collected salvage or teaching fresh Vandals how to use and maintain their equipment. Father Pyrrhaks was always busy with political squabbles as our uncle Ogethres trusted few others with such delicate responsibilities but they rather enjoyed more menial tasks. Often in luling times both Ogethres and Pyrrhaks would wear simple robes and chat casually or help with small unofficial tasks around the coast. 
A few days into our off time ,before Brykis or myself had even fully woken, our door opened, uncle's unhelmed face greeted us with a smile. "Come, relax today, little responsibility, Pyrrhaks join soon" he said nodding for us to follow him once we were dressed. During our medically required break, uncle seemed to realize just how long it had been since all five of us had been present at one time at the coast with little to keep us busy. Brother left first after wrapping himself in more relaxed cloth than our usual armor, I was still feeding on my morning Ether from Sekos-4 after wrapping myself. When I followed Brykis father was already with them so I was last but with all of us gathered now uncle revealed his intent.
"Long time since had much free-time, wanted to spend with family" he clicked with almost excited vigor, I smiled beneath my wraps and chuckled slightly. In my many years of life I had heard many recounts of the ferocity of Arkons, their amazing strength, how Risen struggled with an all but unguarded priest reclaimed from the Prison of Elders. All these stories are true yet they never tell of their lives off the battlefield or how they were as leaders. Sometimes I wondered if they were anything like uncle but from what I know of the times before House Dusk I doubted it. 
Following Ogethres we waved and warmly said hello to those we passed as we walked, the casual nature of our guild on full display. I've heard from wandering gangs and our usual traders that we are strange because of our lax attitude with a thriving gathering of Eliksni so close to the Great Machine. Whenever they remarked on such things I always compared us to when our people first met humanity, perhaps weak at a glance behind our walls but every maw hides teeth. Often such words would get me sideways looks and in truth I couldn't blame them, it was a human saying.
Uncle had walked us down near one the end of the wall that bordered our home where it met the waters edge. It was a rather quiet area while still having line of sight across everything to the opposite end of the wall. There were a small number of Dregs and Vandals milling about moving aquatic animals of all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors that they had caught. Ogethres called with a loud clack that got the attention of a more round looking Captain who raised an arm in greeting before lumbering over to us. 
"Greetings my Arkon, how been, long time no talk" she clicked with a flemish voice.
Ogethres waved a hand "Been well, busy and well, apologies for little talk, much happened" he chuckled "should know, you part of that". 
"Bahg, so much movement, difficult move so much so quickly, thankful for you, Ogethres my Arkon" the Captain replied with clear gratitude in her voice. Bowing her head she turned with a wave for us to follow as she showed us a spot among other workers casually chatting or humming tunes. "Four sets, as requested, told other to treat same as any" the Captain listed, adding with a chuckle under her breath "Hehe, can't stop all though" she joked 
"Your effort enough, thank you friend, Great Machine bless" Ogethres told them with a low chitter and a hand over his heart. Pyrrhaks, Brykis, and myself bowed our heads slightly and rasped in thanks for the Captains effort to coalesce as well as allowing us to use their equipment for recreation. The Captain echoed the blessing before heading off to direct idle dregs to what needed to be cleaned or stuffed with coolant. "Come, let us 'fish' as it is called" uncle stated as he strode across the sand toward a set of poles with string dangling from them. I recognized such poles from movies I had stored in Sekos-4. 
All four of us were absolutely terrible at using the poles which led one of us ,often uncle, getting a sharp metal hook caught on themselves. Despite this however we continued to learn both through trial and error as well as tips from fellow Eliksni around us fishing around us. Once everyone was able to get their hooks into the water with relative consistency we were fishing as a family, it felt nice, a calm that I hadn't known for quite some time. We caught a fair amount of aquatic life but nothing astonishing, patience, luck, and knowledge were what made one good at catching water dwelling creatures.
Time felt like it slipped by while we sat enjoying the presence of each other and before we realized it the sun was setting over the horizon. We had managed to spend an entire day sitting in the sand with poles in hand to help feed hatchlings and sprog. Thankfully nothing that couldn't be handled by those uncle left in charge appeared during our time on the edge of the wall. While the rest of my family went off to rest or double check the feeds for anything that slipped through I went to fulfill my nightly duties. Slipping into my work harness I chuckled at myself ,it was a completely peaceful day for our guild, still I worked through the night consuming only enough Ether to not deprive myself. 
The next morning I found myself being woken by an engineering Dreg, apparently I had blacked out with my legs dangling from an access hatch. Laughing at their description of how they found me ,"Similar Arkon threw you during accession, right in hole", I thanked the Dreg before heading to my quarter. Luckily I had been awoken before most others so no one knew that I never made it back after they bedded down. Brykis did wonder what I was doing up so soon as I fumbled around trying to get my standard armor on. 
"On Ether crew, morning deploy" I told him, it was no lie, I did sign on to be escort for an Ether extraction at the earliest signs of day. 
He shook his head while rubbing a set of eyes with one hand "Doctor told no exertion, you against better judge?" he asked pointedly.
"Extracted before, same spot, quiet, go stretch legs, take light load" I reassured him grabbing only my dagger "Worry much, brother". Taking a moment to pay tribute to Esyra before leaving I set off to meet the other members of what would be my crew in the hangar to be told the details of our mission. During the brief I learned we were taking our Prime Servitor ,Sovrreik, which explained the larger than normal present crew. Ogethres thought it best to keep them within the safety of the ketch ever since the Risen had discovered our underground compound before. 
I found it odd that we were taking the prime servitor but before I could raise the question as to why we were taking such an important figure I got my answer. "Risen damage collection servitors, as see, taking extra guard, collected sector before, near coast, safe, pack light" the leading Captain clicked tossing aside a data pad. Most were fairly new Vandals but they had enough experience with combat that I was unconcerned about any wildlife we may encounter. Boarding our Skiffs and hovering as we waited for Sovrreik.
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screaming-skvll · 3 years
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The Fall of the House of Spider
X. The First Salvo
XI. The Salesman
“I should buy a tank.” Those were the words Mardin uttered upon seeing the tally of the total take from their single day of coordinated disruption of the Spider’s extraction crews. Whatever they were skimming off the top in addition to the agreed-upon 35 percent, Mardin’s acquaintances from several Hunter dens had discreetly delivered account numbers, stash coordinates, and of course crates upon crates of raw glimmer.
They now found themselves in possession of an embarassingly large fortune, so naturally their thoughts turned to outfitting themselves for the next stage of Radiant’s plan. That is why, a few days after busting up the glimmer miners, the Titan and the Hunter stood in the spacious, airy interior of a rusted industrial yard hidden away in a corner of the Cosmodrome, negotiating opposite a three-armed Eliksni with a too-wide grin over the purchase of a number of spider tanks and the services of his lackeys to operate them.
“You know I can’t drive,” Radiant reminded Mardin as they waited for Fiksis, their host, to return from checking his available inventory.
“They’re all gonna be remote operated,” he replied, “though I could probably pilot one. I used to fly an Eliksni galliot, remember?”
“Are you ever going to stop talking about that ship?” Radiant sighed. “And anyway, we both know it was a Reef refit. It’s not like you were using the original controls.”
The Hunter flicked a ragged corner of his cloak, then crossed his arms. “It still had a few original buttons. Some of them were labeled in Eliksni.”
Radiant glared with a short microwave burst, then turned back around as the strange, dreg-sized proprietor of the makeshift tank factory approached. Fiksis the Fixit was said to have once belonged to the House of Wolves, but had been unaffiliated since the Reef Wars. Instead of pursuing what even then many Eliksni quietly considered an impossible and pointless fight, Fiksis sought out opportunities to profit from his sprawling technical knowledge and obsessive love of machines. Naturally he found a welcoming niche in the black markets of the Reef’s underbelly, maintaining, refurbishing, and rebuilding ships, weapon platforms, and all manner of other devices and systems big and small. He even became a much-sought pit mechanic in the shady world of unsanctioned sparrow racing, where he was known as the Gearbox Goblin.
Fiksis’ appearance matched his silly nicknames to an almost comical degree. A bewildering collection of tools and small parts jangled from bandoliers and belts slung all around his small frame, jingling with his every movement. Rumors conflicted about whether he lost one of his upper arms in a mechanical accident or an unfinished docking, but all agreed his refusal to regrow or replace it was meant to express his defiance. His acumen as a tinkerer and repairman certainly hadn’t suffered for the missing hand. Despite his personal wealth and access to resources, Fiksis never increased his ether intake enough to grow even to the stature of a vandal. Again, contrary gossip insisted this was either to more easily crawl about inside machines’ guts, or to present a deliberately misleading impression of helplessness.
Hunched well below eye level, lugubriously bubbling about what a great honor it was to receive illustrious Lightbearer guests, and incessantly offering them tea, Fiksis certainly seemed unthreatening. However, both Radiant and Mardin marked the sharp glint in his bright eyes. They were also well aware he’d forcibly captured the facility in which they stood, quite abruptly evicting the former occupants, stragglers from the House of Salvation. The two Guardians remained wary, despite Fiksis’ humble demeanor and easy welcome.
“Inventory... is good,” Fiksis declared, his vocal synth crackling with the wheezes between words. “Production... goes smooth, yeah? As many walkers as you desire... I am delighted to... proviiide.” His insectoid mouth drew out the last syllable into trailing, quiet chattering. He beamed up at the Guardians with another massive grin full of sharp, uneven teeth. Many appeared to be recently regrown.
“How many do we need?” Radiant asked Mardin, simultaneously pinging him on a subvocal channel: Don’t go overboard.
“Well,” the Hunter began, returning Fiksis a grin of his own, “I believe we should start with, say, a dozen—assuming, of course, you can field enough personnel to operate that many.”
“Oh, yes, as many pilots... as you neeed,” Fiksis rejoined immediately. “What... is dozen?”
“Twelve,” Mardin clarified, ignoring Radiant’s antennae judgmentally angling in his direction.
“Tweeelve, yeah,” Fiksis rasped. “No... problems, ey? Immediate... delivery.” Another broad show of teeth. “Need only... designate wheeere.”
Mardin turned to Radiant. “Well then... Where shall we hit Spider next?”
Radiant paused, glowering, before answering: “Everywhere.”
When Fiksis the Fixit learned his customers intended to use his walker tanks against the Spider, he offered them a discount.
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pawnshopsouls · 2 years
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Destiny Verse: Salem-217
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Originally from another dimension/universe entirely, Salem Bonachard came to Earth during its golden age in hopes of showing his adopted nieces, Kat and Yuki, that humans weren't all that bad. His effort was partly successful before he received a powerful premonition from the Sovereign (his people's diety) that he needed to prepare for something terrible.
So he did. With the help of Kat and Yuki, Salem worked to prepare himself and them against a great catastrophe that was headed their way. Unfortunately, no amount of preparation, even by a prolific clerci cleric such as himself, could have prepared him for the arrival of the Pyramids.                       
           With a safe house set up with a shrine and everything for Yuki's protection, Salem joined in the effort of trying to defend the Earth from the power of the oncoming pyramids. He met with some success, shielding some areas while refugees tried to escape their fate. But even with his rune-protected regions, Salem's strenght was not an unlimited resource and in the end, he was forced to choose between being ashield and being a sword.
           Thus he took up a "sword" in the form of a magic-infused mech, and attempted to drive off the enemy before it could break his shield. Alas, his efforts were in vain as while he was fighting, his shield was broken and a foe man managed to impale him, breaking his connection with the mech before using his very blood to steal and seal his soul into small gem to keep it from fusing with another shell.            
           With the aether of his soul stripped from his body, Salem perished with his last words to the world being, "You ain't seein' the light fadin', only its vessel. Might be dispersed but won't ever be destroyed... stick a'round, yeh'll see what I mean." At that, he keeled over and was left to lie in the ruin of the community he was trying to protect.            
           Fast forward to the present day when a ghost by the name of Chauncey finds his remains and noting a faint hint of Light in the bones, decided to take this person on as his Guardian, not knowing just the sheer amount of trouble he'd have keeping up with this naiive, active, and trouble-prone guardian. Even his name has brought trouble, with them finding a street sign poiting the way to "Salem, 217". The guardian liked the sound of it so much that Chauncey agreed to give it to him, (though now they have to explain why he's not an exo and where the number in his name came from).
           Now a days though, Salem-217 has caught himself into a different kind of trouble: the kind dealing with Ether. In his first encounter with the Fallen, he had healed a dreg and was captured and brought by said dreg's crew mates to heal their fallen captain. Utilizing a more focused healing well and his own fraction of aether, Salem did just that. However, in healing the captain, the Fallen would decide he's much more useful alive and keep him as a standby medical "officer" until his rescue by the Exo, KAT.            
           Unfortunately, such an experience does not leave one unmarked. After having a taste of ether and its healing affects on his body, Salem-217 found himself needing more to keep from collapsing from exhaustion and attempted to steal some from a smaller band of Fallen. Unfortunately, that band wasn't just a band but a scouting party for the new Fallen group, the House of Shards.   
           Though his capture and punishment were brief, his induction into the House of Shards hasn't been an easy one. Neither he nor Chauncey wish to be in the position they're in, but neither one can say that the guardian doesn't deserve this. After all, when you steal from another, the other's the one who sets the punishment.            
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inyuji · 4 years
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Don’t know how much more ducks I wanna draw. For now, I wanted to get this out of the way. This is dubbed the “Stranger Things” AU, where Miyu Moreno met Drake as young teens, but under bad circumstances. Basically Drake and his classmate Elmo Sputterspark befriend Miyu and dub themselves the “Weirdo Club.” And they just enjoy an entire autumn doing fun shenanigans while trying to find leads to Miyu’s possible relatives. WARNING: LONG story description. Read at your own peril
Miyu’s adoptive mother, Lucia Moreno, did not survive the risky operation to cure her illness. This left Miyu an orphan, and unable to look after herself. What’s worse was being secretly watched by strange people who claimed “child services.” The spirits and yokai warned her of the shady government agents. Out of desperation and fear, Miyu snuck out of Japan to America when she was thirteen, hoping to find any relatives who could take her in. Unfortunately she was still being tracked by the shady agents, so she ran and hid as far as she could. She stayed hidden, barely surviving in a rumored “haunted house,” in the homely town of St. Canard.
Young teen Drake Mallard would brave his way into the haunted house to retrieve his classmate’s bag, which was maliciously disposed by some schoolyard bullies. That’s how he stumbles into a half-starved Miyu, and a bunch local ghosts and a few yokai. Drake barely understood Miyu’s plight, but decided to visit her and help. While trying to teach Miyu with English, Drake discovered some untranslated and translated manga at his local bookstore, and used these as a teaching aid for Miyu and himself. Drake has been introduced to Anime much earlier and now has even more things to nerd over. Our boi is dorkier than ever and I don’t regret a thing.
Over a month, his classmate noticed something was up with Drake. They are not friends, but they are friendly to each other. Drake decided to trust Elmo on his secret, and soon Elmo became part of the “weirdo” club. Miyu would mostly stay hidden, but she occasionally pops out in public when she’s dragged to movies or possible school events. They did share a very awesome Halloween. Drake and Elmo would research possible leads to Lucia Moreno’s relatives or any past work acquaintances. Miyu would try to dreg up clues or help from the local spirits also. At some point, Drake’s mother found out about Miyu when she came home early from shopping and caught Drake trying to smuggle in Miyu to his house. After getting an explanation, she decided to let Miyu stay, though she really wants to alert authorities about the “runaway child.” She does see how Miyu is deadly scared of any “bad men” finding out, since a few had posed as government workers.
The shady agents from Japan have tracked Miyu down, and it’s revealed that they are Onmyoji hunting down Miyu for her magic. Drake and Miyu hastily embark on a road trip to flee from the Onmyojis and seek out the past Darkwing actors. With Elmo occasionally guiding them via radio and Miyu’s helpful spirits, they are able to visit the main Darkwing villain actors and ask about Lucia. While they have good things to say about her brief time on the show, they do not know much about Lucia’s family or if she even had family here. During their biking trip, they befriend a stray Grim, who has kept stealthy vigil over Drake and Miyu. When they finally meet Jim Starling, they are given even more disappointing news. Jim was really shocked that Lucia had adopted a kid during her time recovering and feels guilty about Miyu being an orphan. Jim lies about not knowing Lucia much, not wanting to reveal that his dangerous stunts were the cause of Lucia being injured during set, resulting in her damaging her voice and falling ill. Rather than risk the show being cancelled, Jim had suggested to the writers and producers to drop Lucia from the show. Drake is a bit hesitant to believe that this acting hero is lying, when all the other actors remember Lucia. Miyu has practically given up when their final lead knows nothing.
The Darkwing actors had actually met up shortly at Jim’s signing to ask if he had met Drake and Miyu. They are concerned that two kids are trekking a long way, and hope to rectify their poor judgment of letting the kids go on their merry way. They are disappointed that Jim had practically lied to a bunch of kids, knowing that he too knew Lucia during the short time on set. At that moment, the 2 Onmyojis start interrogating the crew, claiming they are investigators looking for 2 runaway children. One of them however, is pissed and hates dealing with the “normies.” The actors deny knowing where the kids went, and Jim lies though his teeth that the kids probably hit the bus to the next town. When the Onmyojis leave, everyone is officially freaking out. All of the actors are calling the cops and contacting old colleagues who had worked on the Darkwing production. Jim is too freaked out to do anything and doesn’t want to get involved.
When the Onmyojis finally catch up to Miyu and Drake, Drake was almost killed. Witnessing this caused Miyu to awaken her Kitsune blood. Miyu’s real mother was a kitsune, which has given her a sixth sense for the supernatural and magic. Jim Starling had stumbled on this fight while on his way home, and attempted to help. He was easily subdued and injured in the process. After Miyu maliciously subdued all yokai shikigamis (onmyoji summons) and the 2 Onmyojis, the police and paramedics were able to come in time. Drake is diagnosed to be in coma, with low chances of waking up, and this breaks Miyu. Jim feels terrible that he was practically useless and that he was the reason that Lucia was ill and had to seek treatment, which ultimately killed her. Drake’s mother is wracked with grief, but she doesn’t blame Miyu, seeing how much Miyu blames herself. During the fight with the Onmyojis, they reveal that they had sabotaged the operation that would supposedly cure Lucia’s illness. They wanted Miyu easily vulnerable to induct her into their ranks as an Onmyoji in their organization. Miyu blames her existence and her magic for hurting people around her. Out of desperation, Miyu consulted whatever yokai friends for a solution, and prays for Inari, the Kami closely related to Kitsune and possibly the Kami her kitsune mother had served. Inari appears as a spectral apparition and warns Miyu that she will weaken in magic, even with Inari’s help. Miyu doesn’t care for magic anymore. Drake finds himself in a spectral limbo and told about the plight happening in the living realm. Drake doesn’t want Miyu to sacrifice her magic for him, and stubbornly makes his way towards a gateway back to the living, but with great difficulty.
Drake still has to stay hospitalized, but he only needs to heal from a broken arm, and surprisingly, his skull has recovered nicely. Miyu’s magic has been sapped near dry, so all proficiency she had gained is back to level 0. However, Miyu would still have to be processed into Foster Care. There is no guarantee that Miyu will find a stable place to keep in contact with Drake through long-distance letters. Jim had talked a bit with Miyu, asking about her life with Lucia. Wanting to appease his guilt and truly being sorry for Miyu, he manages to take in Miyu as his foster child. He wants to give Miyu a stable home so she can keep consistent correspondence with Drake and Elmo.
Miyu and Jim are able to visit St. Canard every month, especially during school vacation breaks. This gives the kiddies a chance to continue on their Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Jim has started to get the hang of being their Dungeon Master. Now that Jim is a foster father, slowly becoming an adoptive father, he bites down his pride and takes any small gigs to pay bills. But this has been good for him. He’s slowly gaining momentum as an actor, though nothing too noteworthy. Miyu is quite proud of Jim doing his best, and always makes it a routine to pack a bento for him. She finds every chance to personally bring it to him. Over time, Miyu has regained her proficiency in magic in her late teenage years. Jim has been getting good support and contact with his old DW crew, and some parenting advice from Mss. Mallard. Drake has been taking good care of the Grim, who is now lovingly named “Kage.” When Miyu is in her teenage years, Jim is actually nailing a lot more Duckflix gigs who have taken some note of Jim’s improving repertoire. It also helps that he’s become less of a jerk.
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dregstrash · 4 years
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Sooooo @xan-drei created this beautiful piece of artwork featuring Jordie and Kaz. And I had added a little drabble to it because here’s my thought. Jordie lives, and finds out making money the honest way was impossible, and so he became a pirate and Kaz is still part of the Dregs. So calling it jordie lives au or pirate!jordie au or (more popularly known) thot!jordie
Also I had like a real life fic idea for this, but it got too long, and too serious. and thot!jordie is all about having fun
Edit: @wafflesandkruge made a great point to tag fellow thot!jordie enthusiasts. that was a big my bad: @dirtyhandsnet @reapersbarge @zemenipearls  @legolasofmirkwoodforest
Kaz hated the summer.
There were too many people in the streets. It took longer for the night to truly set in. The sun was always beating down on his suit, seemingly cooking him from the inside out. And oh yeah--
“Kazzie! Happy Summer Solstice!” Jordie’s voice reached him as he entered the Slat, and he didn’t have to look at his brother to know just how many pairs of eyes were clinging to the charming, dashing pirate that Kaz had the misfortune of being related to.
“If you insist on staying here,” Kaz replied blandly as he made his way to the staircase, “You might want to learn how to button a shirt up properly.”
His brother’s laugh was grating, and as Kaz passed by the ogling crowd of Jordie’s admirers, a soft thump hit the back of his head as his brother’s shirt fell innocently on the floor.
Finally, he turned to glare at Jordie, and he just winked back in return, “Maybe you could show me, oh great Button Master.”
The Dregs around them were too terrified of Kaz to laugh outright, but he could still see the mirth dance in their eyes. Anger flared at Kaz’s temples, and if he hadn’t caught sight of Inej’s shadow at the top of the stairs he was sure that the next move would have involved that same shirt around Jordie’s neck.
He took a deep breath, and whacked the two boys whose eyes were glued to the man in front of them with his cane.
Jesper and Wylan yelped in pain. Jesper cursed him, while Wylan’s face turned the exact shade of his hair.
“Now, if you two are done ogling. Pick your jaw off of the floor. We have  a job.”
“All work and no play makes for a bitter man, Kazzie!”
His brother’s voice carried all the way up the stairs and Kaz started to feel a headache beat on his brow.
“Treasure family while you have them, Kaz.” Inej’s cool voice greeted him in the entrance of his room, and under normal circumstances he would have loved to poke a little fun at her unwarranted advice. But these weren’t normal circumstances.
Three weeks since the weather started to warm up and already he’s had to deal with his nuisance pirate of a brother.  If it was just the barging in when he was in the middle of running numbers, and scattering all his work, or pestering him when he was doing his rounds, or calling him Kazzie every moment he could, it might have been manageable. But it wasn’t just that.
Too many times has he had to forcibly kick his brother out of his own damn room with a willing companion.
(“You have your own saintsforsaken ship!”
“Your office was more convenient.”
“It’s on the third floor!”
“Listen, Kazzie, in the heat of a moment, when two people--”
“Get out, Jordie. Before that ship of yours becomes driftwood in Fifth Harbor.”)
Too many times has he had to whack any number of his Dregs over the head when he was trying to explain the necessary rotations and positions of the guards for their next score, and their attention had drifted to his brother who was too loud as usual when he came to the Barrel with the rest of his crew and a fresh keg of liquor.
(“We have work to do!” Kaz had fumed.
“And I need to get rid of this contraband before setting out again. This was from a private label from a brewery in the Shu Han. If I was caught with it, they could charge me for piracy. They’d hang me!” His brother had teased with the scar on his cheek winking mischievously, as his crew began to laugh with Kaz’s gang.
“It’s either the Shu or me, brother.”)
Too many times has he had to pretend not to hear or notice the people that whispered behind his back when he walked around his own damn home
(“No, Jordie’s definitely the better looking one.”
“Only when he has a beard, then my vote’s for Dirtyhands.”
“You're less likely to get murdered with the pirate anyway.”)
“We have work to do, Inej.” He snapped as he stepped into his room, “I have no interest in treasuring anything that doesn’t have Ghezen’s face stamped on it.”
“You always take the fun out of everything, Brekker.” Jesper sighed behind him as both he and Wylan settled around his room, ready for their assignments.
Kaz’s grip tightened on his crow cane, and took three seconds to breathe. His brother was a thorn on his side, but he won’t get to him. He was a businessman. He could act professional.
“The Razorgulls are planning to hit one of our--”
“Inej is that a new shirt?” Jesper interrupted.
“Wh-what are you--”
Kaz’s gaze snapped to his Wraith, and unfortunately, she was indeed wearing a new shirt. It was a soft lavender cotton shirt with bits of embroidery lining the color and the sleeves. The color accented the richness of her brown skin and provided a nice contrast to the dark braid over her shoulder.
“You buying that wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with a certain charming pirate downstairs, would it?” Jesper laughed.
Inej’s cheeks flushed, and despite Wylan’s silence, Kaz noticed the forming of a smile in his eyes.
“We don’t have time for this.” Kaz grit out. “Now, we have to--”
“Kazzie, I need to borrow--” Jordie burst in the room, “Oh, hey everyone, sorry to interrupt. But--”
Without thinking, Kaz strode across the room and slammed the door in his brother’s face.
He really hated summer.
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hermywolf · 3 years
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ranking my favorite characters about random shit part 2
ranking my favorite characters (clarke griffin, dean winchester, fox mulder, rose tyler, newt, kaz brekker, samwise gamgee, charles xavier, bill denbrough, lord asriel, steve rogers, scott mccall, anna milton and barry berkman) about random shit. this is entirely self-indulgent
PART 2 : how many allies do they have/how powerful are their allies. basically how screwed they’d be if they had to rely on their allies to survive
1- DEAN WINCHESTER
yeah believe it or not im putting him before charles or steve. listen, listen; dean just. does this thing. in which he’ll get pretty much anyone on his side after like two conversations. ESPECIALLY incredibly powerful supernatural creatures. i mean he’s got sam, aka the second best hunter on earth, and jack, literally GOD, on his side; then obviously the dean winchester simp squad, castiel, a seraph and commander of garrisons who can get heaven to fight for him; benny, a vampire; crowley, a powerful crossroad demon and the king of hell; amara, literally THE DARKNESS HERSELF, god’s SISTER; and then there’s just SO many others who will fight for him for diverse reasons, rowena, eileen, claire, jody, donna, kaia, mary, anna, gabriel, DEATH HIMSELF was his bitch before billie, then ketch charlie kevin, he’s just got so many allies and so many are some of the most powerful creatures in the universe. i mean, jack, amara and gabriel alone are three of the most powerful beings who have ever existed, as well as billie and the other archangels but all of them are dead, and chuck but he’s also dead and even he would be on dean’s side since dean is his favorite and if it’s an actual life-threatening situation chuck would want the show to keep going. so yeah dean winchester’s got the biggest defense squad imaginable and honestly? good for him, he deserves it
2- CHARLES XAVIER
do i even have to say it? outside of his ability to. you know. literally control minds, he’s also a leader who inspires loyalty and trust, and he’s got all the x-men fighting for him, including jean and logan - and even if we’re being honest some of the brotherhood, i mean especially in the first class timeline, erik and raven would absolutely be on his side. he’s got some of the most powerful mutants of all time ready to fight for his life
3- STEVE ROGERS
I mean he’s the leader of the avengers, man. have you seen the avengers assemble scene? they were fighting against thanos there but don’t try to tell me all of them wouldn’t fight for him. he’s got the falcon, black widow and the winter soldier on his side as well as the SCARLET WITCH, CAPTAIN MARVEL, THOR, do i need to keep going. he’s got a huge reputation and everyone knows and trusts him. and as we can also see in all his movies he inspires loyalty and devotion easily so even with people he doesn’t know he can get himself a loyal army in one well-delivered speech à la captain america
4- KAZ BREKKER
while most of the people on this list (steve, scott, charles, dean, bill, newt, anna) are born leaders who inspire trust and loyalty, kaz is just. really good at blackmail and insanely smart and cruel. and he’s got an insanely scary reputation too. he’s got the crows on his side no matter what, so an amazing spy, the best sharpshooter in ketterdam, a grisha who survived parem, an ex-drüskelle, and a demolition expert; as well as now the entirety of the dregs and inej’s crew, probably. plus, he most likely has leverage on the entirety of ketterdam and more. if he got in real trouble he could probably dig out the years and years of blackmail he got stacked away and get himself allyships with anyone he wants. plus his allies are ruthless, diverse and all strategically selected
5- SCOTT MCCALL
he’s got his entire pack ready to jump to help him anytime. and really when you think about it his pack is so big and diverse, there’s all kinds of creatures/skills ready to help him, plus he’s a true alpha, any werewolf would jump to his aid. I mean let’s look at his pack, stiles, allison, lydia, derek, malia, isaac, kira, hayden, mason, corey, and then of course stilinski, deaton, melissa, chris and peter, i mean even theo... he’s got a huge pack who is extremely loyal to him and they’re all kinds of creatures too, he’s fine
6- ROSE TYLER
everyone loves rose SO much. like obviously the doctor will give his life for her without hesitation but we also got jack, mickey, jackie, and even a bunch of people she met for like a couple episodes like donna or sarah jane immediately loved her. so i think she’s ultimately got some pretty solid allies especially with her father’s wealth and torchwood’s support in the alternate reality
7- CLARKE GRIFFIN
im putting her pretty down because on one hand he’s got very powerful/devoted allies on her side, like bellamy, lexa, roan, nyilah, finn, wells, etc (the key of getting your allies to be entirely devoted and loyal to you is to make at least half of them fall in love with you OR to top them so good they’ll literally put their lives down for you because of how good it was and clarke got that down to an art) BUT they’re also like. all dead. like almost all the people i just listed are dead so. yeah she’s kinda on her own in the end but if we look at early seasons clarke before literally all of them got murdered she had skaikru, azgeda and trikru pretty much in her pocket, so three of the biggest/most technically advanced armies on EARTH ready to fight for her.
8- LORD ASRIEL
now he doesn’t have actual allies per say but he can manage to get pretty much anyone on his side through charisma, threats and promises, so he ends up steadily getting massive support from witches, angels and many others in the books. he can pretty easily get himself a bunch of followers at his side ready to die for his cause.
9-SAMWISE GAMGEE
now listen he does have a pretty solid bunch of allies, aka the entire fellowship, who they, themselves, have a bunch of allies, who have a bunch of allies. i mean homeboi’s got ARAGORN and LEGOLAS and GANDALF on his side all ready to jump to save the tiny hobbits anytime so he’ll be fine.
10- BILL DENBROUGH
he’s immediately got the losers on his side, which is a win because they’re stubborn and annoying enough that they defeated an alien demonic clown. plus they’re quite literally assembled by a divinity to destroy a demon, so they’re the perfect team to kick ass and they’ll risk their lives for each other. plus he’s got a fanbase! people read his books and watch his movies. meaning he’s probably got a pretty big part of stan twt ready to help?? idk man i just think he’ll be fine when it comes to allies
11- NEWT
he’s got the entire glade ready to jump to his aid pretty much at any time, i mean let’s be honest if there’s one person all the gladers would agree on defending it would be.. ok it would be chuck bc he’s a CHILD but otherwise it’d be newt. plus he’s alby’s second in command and even gally likes him and respects him more than he likes and respects most people, which isnt much but hey kudos for the effort. anywho yeah the entire glade would defend him i think
12- ANNA MILTON
she would’ve once had the entirety of heaven at her commands ready to smite anyone who comes close to her but now that she fell and rebelled they all want her dead so. i mean i wish i could say cas would help her but after he betrayed her im not so sure? and the winchesters well idk either, maybe, maybe not, depends whether or not the entire trying-to-kill-sam ordeal happened. gabriel might help her? idk where to put her because i don’t KNOW if cas, dean, gabriel or the angels would help her but if any of them did then even one of these is a pretty solid backup so. idk man
13- FOX MULDER
im only on season 4 but as far as i can see he’s got only scully. which is pretty solid backup, she can kick ass, but still. i guess it’s one of the downsides of everyone thinking you’re batshit insane and having the entire government out to get you because they all LOATHE YOUR GUTS SO MUCH
14- BARRY BERKMAN
I mean dude. he pretty much kills all his friends. like he could ask for chris’s help but umm well he killed him, if he’s in a bad situation oh great he’s got a friend at the police except NO he murdered her. what’s that? fuches? no barry’s literally trying to murder him as of now. sally wouldn’t help him at all. cousineau just found out barry murdered his gf. at MOST he can hope that noho hank will help but i mean he’s not much help tbh i love the guy but he’s kinda useless<3
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