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eldritchships · 19 days

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18 and/or 20 with anyone of your choice for the kiss meme :)

Tysm! I ended up doing both! The first one with Jason (883 words), and the second with Dr. Drakken (1042 words).

18 - Fingers/knuckles

“Please, stop squirming."

Nikki’s shoulders hiked, tensing up to stop himself from moving. Despite the polite phrasing of the request, there was an edge to Jason’s soft tone that indicated he was on the brink of frustration. Nikki’s hand shook in Jason’s grasp, and a hiss escaped through his teeth as the layer of thick frost crept further up his wrist.

Having dropped rather gracelessly into Jason’s favourite chair when he’d been brought back here, Nikki tried to keep his focus on the feeling of the fabric underneath him, silent except for the occasional grunt or sharp inhale of pain. It wouldn’t be helpful for his telepathic powers to go haywire right now while Jason was trying to attend to his injury.

Jason’s gaze scrutinised the crystalline ice crawling through Nikki’s flesh. He rummaged through a bag thrown beside his kneeling form, drawing out a bottle of something red and viscous, tied with gilded thread. The substance almost looked like mercury, and Nikki’s mouth twisted into a frown, eyes obscured by his scruffy white hair. A wave of reassurance touched his mind, mixed with barely-restrained impatience and concern. Feelings from Jason. A silent prompt to trust him.

Jason fumbled the bottle open with one hand, and raised it towards Nikki’s freezing one. There was a moment’s pause, but Nikki sucked in a breath, making no attempt to stop him. The bottle tipped, its substance dripping in thick droplets like candle wax onto the back of Nikki’s hand. Jason mumbled words Nikki couldn’t understand, and he watched in awe as the potion absorbed into his skin. A moment passed and then, with a brittle crack, the ice shrank back to fit within Nikki’s palm before disappearing altogether. Warmth flooded Nikki’s previously numb fingers, and he wiggled them gratefully.

“I’d have thought a man who calls himself ‘Brain Freeze’ would have fared better against a frost demon.” Jason muttered, resealing the bottle and placing it back inside the bag. Nikki grimaced, raising a free hand to rub the back of his neck. The annoyance within the joking remark wasn’t lost on him.

“Sorry. I was caught off-guard.” Jason couldn’t see Nikki’s eyes settle on his healed hand, still clutched tightly by Jason’s. The memory was still fresh in his mind of watching Jason get slammed back by that wall of ice, breaking focus to shout out and allowing that crummy demon a free shot. He did regret letting it happen, most of all because Jason hadn’t looked him in the eye since then. A pang of guilt squeezed Nikki’s chest at the thought that he’d disappointed Jason. He couldn’t know for sure, unless…

Nikki slowly extended his mind towards the presence of Jason’s kneeling before him. He prodded at the bubble of consciousness, nudging through the emotions sitting on the surface. A sigh broke his concentration, and Nikki froze again, knowing he’d been caught.

“Nicolas…” Jason said slowly, a frown turning his lips as he tightened the bag’s drawstrings, “If you want to know how I feel, you only have to ask.” Nikki relaxed, smiling apologetically. He pulled his thoughts away from Jason’s and flexed his tongue, consciously changing his method of communication back to spoken words.

“How do you feel?”

Jason sighed again, but this one sounded more like a deep breath. His thumb brushed against the back of Nikki’s hand, over where the frost spell had first hit.

“You shouldn’t be so careless. A mistake like that could have cost you far more than a frozen hand. Only one of us possesses knowledge of the arcane and I won’t always be there to help you - nor will Etrigan.” For the first time in hours, Jason’s gaze rose to Nikki’s. It was sharp and gravely serious, and Nikki shifted uncomfortably in his seat, another wave of guilt tightening his throat. A shadow fell over Jason, nearly imperceptible if not for the tautness in his expression. “I’ve watched many of my compatriots fall in my lifetime…I couldn’t bear to lose you too.” Nikki stared at him. The quiet admission demanded at least a moment of silence, even though Jason had hesitated to say it aloud. Nikki’s head lowered, and he attempted a laugh.

“Hey, I’m not much of a catch.” The joke failed to coax even a smile out of Jason, and Nikki’s laugh died out. He started to avert his gaze, but startled when Jason moved to rise to one knee. His hold strengthened around Nikki’s hand, lifting it to press a soft, reverent kiss to the knuckles. Nikki pulled back ever so slightly and his covered eyes swept over Jason’s form, his skin tingling where lips had pressed. Down on one knee, gazing up at Nikki with sincerity and purpose…it almost felt like a proposal. Or a knight pledging fealty to his lord.

“Promise me you’ll be more careful.” Jason didn’t move an inch, didn’t falter in how he looked at Nikki. Nikki swallowed, unprepared for the sudden weight of the request.

“I…I promise.” He stammered out. He followed the answer with another, much stronger one, directly fed into Jason’s mind and heart without any of his voice’s uncertainty; “I love you.”

Tension unwound from Jason’s back, and his lips finally curled upwards - his version of a wide smile.

“I love you too.”

20 - First Kiss

“Don’t overthink it, Dr D.”

“I am not overthinking it!” Drakken snapped. Without looking up from her copy of Villains Digest, Shego made an unconvinced-sounding hum of agreement. Drakken scowled at the back of her head before looking back to himself in the mirror, his hands wrangling his tie into something presentable.

Drakken swallowed, his mouth feeling unbearably dry. His eyebrows furrowed together as his earlier conversation with Shego resurfaced in his mind, and he quickly tried to dispel it alongside the thudding of his heart in his chest. He prayed that his hand didn’t feel too clammy holding onto Melpomene’s.

Fortunately, Mr Melpomene’s attention seemed elsewhere right now, keeping a slow, easy pace with their hand entwined with Drakken’s as the two walked up the front path. Drakken watched one of their canine ears twitch in the evening’s cool breeze, and he reminded himself to keep it together. He had made it through dinner, all he had to do was escort Melpomene home. For crying out loud, he was going to rule the world someday, he could handle walking his date to their door!

Melpomene’s lair was exactly what you’d expect a music-based supervillain to have. A tad on the small side though; as if a concert hall had decided to pack up and retire to the countryside. There was even an old stereo sitting on a table underneath the shelter of the porch. They crossed the front steps and finally came to a stop within reach of Melpomene’s door, turning to face each other.

“Well…” Drakken started, eyes flicking between the door and Melpomene. He had no idea how to continue his sentence, and eventually settled on an awkward, “This is it.” Melpomene nodded slowly, and a smile exposed their fangs, sending butterflies right to Drakken’s stomach.

“I had a lovely time tonight.” They said warmly. They squeezed Drakken’s hand, still holding theirs, causing his gaze to snap there without much subtlety. He hesitated, mulling over the best response to give. Why was being charming so much easier when he didn’t like the intended receiver? Melpomene always made it look so effortless.

“So did I.” Drakken finally replied quietly. He sunk in on himself, meeting Melpomene’s gaze with a smile that frustratingly lacked confidence. But Melpomene’s smile didn’t waver, and he even spotted their tail wagging behind them. It was admittedly kind of adorable, and Drakken couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I’d love to do this again sometime…?” Melpomene’s head tilted, voice lilting up at the end to turn the statement into a question. Drakken quickly straightened and nodded, trying to regain his usual air of self-assuredness.

“Yes! Yes, of course. That sounds delightful. I, uhm…would love to.”

Melpomene’s smile widened and they chuckled, a melodious sound that Drakken was only able to enjoy for a moment before realising with a start that their hand was slipping from his own.

“Goodnight, Dr. Drakken.” Melpomene was turning away, rifling through the pocket of their striking ensemble for some kind of key. Drakken’s eyes widened and without thinking, he shifted forward and touched their arm, not enough to grab but enough to make them freeze.

“Wait!” They stared at him. Drakken stared back. He fumbled over his words again, stammering out a syllable or two as all his mad genius failed to voice the feelings tangled up inside of him. Alright, maybe Shego had been right…he was overthinking this.

Melpomene continued to stare at him, not moving and expecting an explanation for Drakken’s sudden outburst. Drakken took a breath and swallowed down his nerves, looking Melpomene in the eye.

“I didn’t think the evening would be over so soon.” One side of his mouth pulled up with a weak chuckle, but it trailed off as he started to squirm. “But I was hoping I could…leave you with a kiss goodnight?”

“Really?” Melpomene’s voice was flat, but their ears perked upright. Drakken gave a lopsided grin, unease creeping over him again as his offer hung in the air. Melpomene removed their hand from their pocket, turning back towards him. “I would love to.” Drakken brightened, grin strengthening tenfold and this time he had to tell himself to reign in his enthusiasm. He attempted a cool, collected clear of his throat as he smoothed a hand over his dark hair and stepped forward. Melpomene’s scarlet eyes practically glowed with delight when he placed his other hand on their upper arm to steady himself, and Drakken’s composure started to crumble even as he leant in. He faltered, his face inches away from Melpomene’s own, feeling the sensation of their soft brown fur under his touch...it was overwhelming, but thankfully Melpomene closed the gap for him, pressing their lips to his. Drakken’s gaze warmed before his eyes closed, letting the admittedly chaste kiss last a long, unhurried moment.

Drakken parted and stepped back once he thought it polite to do so; Being a maniacal supervillain didn’t mean he couldn’t also be a gentleman. There was a small tug on his suit jacket, Melpomene having grasped the fabric during the kiss without him noticing. The look on their face was practically starstruck, and Drakken gave a slightly smug smile as he watched them blink to return to Earth.

“Drak…” Unlike Drakken, Melpomene didn’t try in the slightest to hide his fluster, and it was growing on Drakken more and more with every passing minute.

“Goodnight, Mr Melpomene.” Drakken nodded, putting his hands in the pockets of his slacks in lieu of anywhere else to put them. Melpomene cleared their throat and returned the nod, trying to regain their earlier composure. Their tail waved behind them again.

“Goodnight.” They retrieved their keycard and swiped it in the door’s lock; several high-tech security systems beeped and whirred as they retracted inside. Drakken took that as his cue to leave, and started back towards the front steps. He almost tripped on them in an attempt to look back, and the smile that had yet to leave his face widened as he saw Melpomene doing the same, lingering in their own front doorway. A moment of warm silence passed between them before they both finally managed to tear their eyes away, and turned to make their way to their respective lairs.

#thank you for asking!#my writing #Lab partners #this was fun :] I enjoyed getting to give these guys some time in the spotlight #❤️‍🔥

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