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mypoisonedvine · 3 years

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𝖙𝖜𝖎𝖈𝖊 III {finale} || professor!helmut zemo x reader

{𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖙 I} {𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖙 II}

𝖘𝖚𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖞 : some part of you thought that maybe you could get through this without ever having to really talk about your feelings, or the future, or all those things you were pretending didn’t matter. but they matter, and they can’t go unspoken forever.

𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙 : 11.7k

𝖜𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘 : smut (semi-public sex aka car sex), some possessiveness, angst, fluffffff way too much fluff, violence (mentioned), mentions of serious injury, military references, relationship discussions, choking (non-sexual lmao it’s just on food), minor character death (in a flashback kinda, not graphic)

You glanced over at him as he stared out into the road ahead, one hand on the wheel and the other resting on your thigh, his thumb absent-mindedly stroking your skin.

The weekend getaway had been his idea, but he let you pick the destination. You picked a cabin in a cute little seaside town, something relaxed where you could spend the whole weekend in bed together and not worry about the rest of the world for a little while.

But you were still in the car, so you were still worrying— specifically, worrying that this felt sort of like a boyfriend and girlfriend thing. And that itself wasn’t so bad, but it made you feel like the ‘what are we?’ talk was inevitable, as was that talk going poorly. You could picture it now: I like spending time with you, he’d say, one of those things that sounds like a compliment but really means you’re worth it as long as you require no effort and stay out of my way.

And you’d just nod and pretend to be okay with it because you were in too deep now to break it off. When you were together, you were so happy that you couldn’t imagine ending it; and when you were apart, you missed him so much that all you could think about was the next time you would be together.

We’re happy now, why do things need to change? he’d say, one of those things that makes sense until you really think about it and understand that it just means why would I care if we’re moving forward or not? I’m already getting what I want.

You sighed, leaning your head back against the seat, and he glanced at you quickly. “What are you thinking about?” he asked, squeezing your thigh.

“Nothing,” you mumbled.

“You expect me to believe that?” he chuckled. “You’re overthinking again, I can feel it.”

“You can feel me overthinking?” you confirmed, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course,” he nodded. “I can tell your mood very well by now.”

“Alright, then why ask me what I’m thinking about if you already know what I’m feeling, mind reader?” you challenged.

“You’re sighing because you are bored from being in the car so long,” he decided, “and you’re also noticing that you’ve never dated anybody who drove such a nice car before.”

Does that mean we’re dating? “Anything else?” you smirked.

“And you’re wishing I would move my hand a little higher.”

Before you could react to that, he moved his fingers up under your skirt, gripping your thigh tightly until you breathed another sigh— one very different from the last.

“Am I right?” he grinned.

“Spot on,” you breathed, whimpering a little when one of his fingers toyed with the hem of your panties. It was subtle, teasing, and yet it was enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and your thighs to clench together which he noticed easily.

He tutted in faux disappointment when his finger moved down to find a wet patch in the fabric. “Oh, wet already… what are we going to do with you, draga?”

Whatever the fuck you wanna do with me, you thought, but when your lips fell open thankfully only a little moan fell out.

It was impossible to complain about the risk of distracted driving when his fingers slipped into your panties and explored your folds— yet you were about to complain when he pulled his hand away, until you watched him bring his soaked fingers to his lips, quickly getting a taste before reaching under your skirt again. As if that wasn’t hot enough, he growled a bit when he pushed two fingers into you suddenly.

“Fuck,” you whispered, making him smile proudly. He only ventured the fingers inside you briefly, sliding them out slowly to brush the rough pads of them over your clit and it made your whole body shudder— he pressed down, drawing slow circles, until you were biting back whimpers and pleas for more.

He kept on teasing you, only reaching as deep as he needed to to lightly press into your spot before slipping out to rub your clit and then start the process all over again.

“You’re so…” you panted.

“Hm?”

“You’re so mean,” you hissed.

“Am I? I can stop if I’m bothering you,” he offered.

“N-no! I… I just need more, please,” you groaned, yelping a bit when he pinched your clit roughly.

This time when he filled you with his fingers, he twisted his arm to go a bit deeper and kept his thumb on your clit, your soaked pussy making it easy for him to pump in and out at an increasing pace.

Your eyes fell shut as you gripped the seat beneath you, rocking your hips up against his hand for more.

“Ohh, fuck, Helmut, I’m gonna come,” you warned mindlessly.

You only opened your eyes when you felt the car start to shift, looking over to him as he checked the road before pulling over off the side and stopping near the wooded treeline.

“Wh-what are you—?” you mumbled, cut off when he put the car in park and grabbed your face to kiss you roughly. You held the wrist by his hand that held your face, moaning against his tongue, still not sure what he was up to but already on board.

“Get in the back, I can’t wait any longer,” he whispered, and you nodded dreamily as you broke away and awkwardly climbed into the backseat; he followed soon after, pushing you back against the leather and sliding his body between your legs; holding you close, kissing you harder.

It would have been reasonable to expect that the small space would make everything more uncomfortable, but instead it just made it hotter— like there wasn’t room to be anywhere but pressed right up against each other, like the only place he could rest his hands was on your body. You felt totally helpless to his dominating and open-mouthed kiss, to his thick hands tugging your clothes out of the way while you blindly attempted to open his belt.

You reached into his trousers and found him already incredibly hard, wrapping your fingers around the silky skin and grinning when he cursed under his breath.

A bit hasty with your desperation getting the better of you, you guided him to your entrance and began to slowly push your hips forward— but he held your thighs and did it for you, sliding in in one smooth stroke.

This angle seemed to force him even deeper, and you clutched his shirt in weak fists as he pushed all the way inside. “H-Helmut,” you breathed as he started to move, not quite sure if it was a plea for him to slow down or never stop.

“Fuck, say my name again,” he demanded.

“Helmut,” you repeated, giggling when he kissed your neck on a spot that sort of tickled a bit.

“One more time,” he instructed; you could feel his grin against your skin, alongside his teeth grazing your pulse.

Just as you started to say it he fucked you harder all of a sudden, just to make you choke on it. Soon you were saying his name like a prayer, over and over until you worried you’d lose your voice and he had to kiss you to make you stop. “Say you’re mine,” he pleaded softly, right against your lips, “like you did the first time.”

You felt shame pang at the back of your head, a strong instruction from what was left of your logical mind not to do that. But for all your mind’s protests, your body was already his and already bending to his will. “Yours,” you moaned, “Helmut, I’m yours…”

“I know,” he breathed, nodding slightly as he kissed you again, “I know, baby.”

You whimpered and wrapped your legs around his hips, holding him closer as he stayed deep inside you, barely letting him pull back to thrust though he still managed regardless. The bottom of his shirt was rubbing against your clit (consequences of only half-undressing for a quickie) and it made your back arch until you couldn’t push your body into his anymore.

Embarrassingly quickly, pressure began to build inside you, your moans getting louder as they echoed around the inside of the car.

“Will you come for me, draga?” he purred, a low growl against your neck where he had moved his assault of wet kisses. You nodded quickly, holding onto his back tight and biting down on your lip a bit too hard. His hand held your neck, thumb running over your jaw, and in a way it soothed you, but it also sent you tumbling over the edge all at once You barely choked out his name as your attempt at a warning, as if it weren’t obvious just from the way your channel seized up immediately. “Good girl,” he cooed lowly right against your ear, “so good for me, don’t stop.”

You couldn’t stop so long as he kept his pace— not nearly as fast as you were used to, much more measured and patient, and yet it ruined you in a way nothing else could.

It was much too sensual for the backseat of a Lexus. Much too delicate and loving for two people who weren’t even in a formal relationship. Much too perfect to ever forget, irritatingly enough.

He kept his eyes open to watch your face closely as he came inside you, admiring every detail of your face twisted in pleasure— a tear even fell down your temple and he softly brushed it away— before it all slowed down to a stop and you were just holding each other.

Once you both cooled off for just a second, he pulled you close and rolled you around so he was sitting and you straddled his lap, keeping you in an embrace while he kissed your neck and shoulder. “So beautiful,” he whispered, so quiet you almost didn’t hear it.

You wanted to tell him that you meant it, that you were really his. That it wasn’t just dirty talk (and you weren’t even sure if it qualified as ‘dirty’). Even if he rejected you, at least it would be off your chest.

But you chickened out; and in your defense, if there’s any time to have a talk with a partner that might end up awkward, right before a weekend trip is probably the worst time possible. So, it was strategic aside from just pathetic.

“We’re already going to be a bit late,” he noticed, lifting his hand over your shoulder to look at his watch, “is it alright if we just stay like this for a while before I get back to driving?”

You nodded sleepily against his shoulder and he grinned, kissing your cheek. “Maybe you can rest here in the back after that…”

And you did, drifting off quickly in the comfort of his arms. You only partially roused from your sleep when he carefully pulled out of you and laid you down gently, the sound of the car starting coming a few moments later.

He had to keep his eyes on the road, but he wanted so badly to watch you sleep in the rearview mirror.

“So, what did you think?” you smiled expectantly as you turned from watching the credits roll on the TV to looking at where he sat beside you on the cabin’s big fluffy couch.

“Eh,” he shrugged.

“What?!” you squawked. “You just experienced an American classic!”

“American classics, in my experience, are aggressive and boisterous and… greasy,” he explained.

You snorted. “How can a movie be greasy?”

“I meant the food—”

“Oh! We should watch Grease!” you realized.

He grumbled something in Sokovian to himself as he rubbed his forehead, and you laughed in relent. “Fine, I won’t make you watch anything more.”

“No, I like watching movies with you,” he decided, “but maybe the next one can be a bit more… subtle.”

"The next movie we watch should be Sokovian," you suggested.

"There aren't many Sokovian films… the constant war was pretty hard on the cinema industry, believe it or not,” he scoffed. “We managed to make a lot of porn, though.”

“Well then maybe we should watch some of that,” you smirked, and he laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Oh no, it’s awful. Plumbers and lonely housewives, cops pulling women over, that sort of thing,” he dismissed.

“Cheesy porn tropes, you say? Like, perhaps, a professor and his student?” you pressed, leaning in to run your fingers playfully over his open collar. “So unrealistic.”

“It was different with us,” he decided.

“How?”

“It wasn’t for a grade, we never used the term ‘oral exam’...”

“Mm, maybe we should have,” you purred, hopping up to straddle his lap and trace your finger over the chain of his necklace that was just barely exposed under his shirt. “It’s sorta sexy.”

“Really? Oral exam?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. “Makes me think of the dentist.”

“Oh, so you don’t think dentists are hot?” you joked. “Who doesn’t like latex gloves and drills in their mouth?”

He laughed, and although you were sort of trying not to seem totally desperate, you just couldn’t hold yourself back from trying to kiss that smile right off his face— thankfully he didn’t seem to mind, humming a bit against your lips and placing his hands on your back to hold you closer.

Just when you thought he would deepen it, he pulled back slightly.

“Wait,” he mumbled against your lips, pushing you back gently to break the kiss. “It was… different with us, right?”

You shook your head slightly, confused as you struggled to remember what he was talking about. “What? Yeah, of course.”

Hastily pressing your lips back on his, you were all in but he was clearly distracted, only half-heartedly kissing you back; you could all but taste his hesitance and it forced you to pull back and look down at him again.

“What’s wrong?” you asked softly, tilting your head.

“Oh, uh, nothing’s wrong,” he assured, “I just… I was just thinking.”

“...what were you thinking about?” you asked when you realized that was the end of his sentence.

“I was thinking about what you said a few weeks ago, on my birthday— that you liked that I’m so much older than you.”

“Mhm?”

“You’re not…” he started and began again. “This isn’t just… about that, for you, is it?”

“What?” you furrowed your brow.

“I mean, is that what this—” he motioned to the space between the two of you— “is about?”

You frowned, a little sinking feeling already forming in your gut. “I don’t understand,” you spoke, but your fear was more that you understood him completely.

“My English isn’t good enough for this,” he sighed. “Sometimes I worry that this is… something you do.”

“That what is something I do?” you asked, a bit more pointed than you meant for it to come out, but you really just needed him to say it.

“Date older men,” he finally finished. “Seduce professors, I don’t know, whatever you’d like to call it.”

You straightened up and got up off of his lap, stepping back. “Seriously? You think this is, like, my kink or something?”

“No, I don’t think so,” he clarified, standing up with you, “but I’m asking in case I’m wrong.”

Maybe on some level, you could appreciate that it was a reasonable question. After all, you had been sort of wanting to ask him if he made a habit of seducing students— but you didn’t because you knew it would be horribly offensive, which is why it was so aggravating that he was doing it to you now. In these months together (but not together together), had he not learned enough about your character to realize you weren’t in it for anything but him? “I told you I haven’t even dated that much before you,” you reminded him firmly, crossing your arms.

“And I believe you, I’m not accusing you of anything—”

“It kinda sounds like you are!” you snapped.

“And it sounds like you are getting defensive about it, which makes me worry even more!” he shot back, and you wondered if you’d ever heard him raise his voice before.

“Well, don’t worry about it, because it’s none of your business,” you rolled your eyes, “we’re not even dating anyway.”

Just as you started to walk away, not even sure where you would go when you were staying here with him (a walk outside, maybe, just to clear your head and be somewhere that he couldn’t see you cry?), he stopped you with a hand on your shoulder.

“Wait, please,” he breathed, and only because he sounded so broken-hearted did you turn around.

“What?” you sighed, showing your irritation in lieu of your heartbreak.

He took a quick breath, collecting himself before he spoke again. “I don’t mean to be invasive and I certainly don’t mean to be controlling,” he explained, “I just… I want to understand what you want. From me, specifically.”

“Okay,” you nodded, “that might be a more complicated question than you realize. With a complicated answer.”

“I have time, I have the rest of the weekend," he decided. “Just tell me that this isn’t only fun for you. If it is, then… then I’m glad you had your fun, and we can have fun together here, and then when we get back to the city… we can go our separate ways.”

“And if it’s not?”

He swallowed, looking away briefly before stepping closer, reaching up to cradle your face in his palm. “If it’s not just fun, then… then we need to have a different conversation.”

You cleared your throat nervously. “What conversation?”

“I need to know first,” he insisted, “or it would be wrong for me to tell you. I don’t want you to spare my feelings, draga, I just want the truth.”

What you really wanted was to know his feelings first so you could spare your own, but he was so adamant on making you speak first, his gaze desperately searching your face as you tried to avoid the heat of it. “I…” you began, not sure what to say. You knew what you wanted to say, you just didn’t know how, exactly. Looking up into his eyes again, you took a quick breath and started over, trying to ignore your heart racing inside your chest. “It’s not just fun, Helmut, or a bucket list thing or a ‘trying something wild and crazy while I’m still young’ thing. I’m serious about this… but, you know, if you just wanna stay casual I understand—”

He cut you off with a kiss, sudden but not quite desperate; rather relaxed, actually, and you melted into it as his arm snaked around your waist and pulled you close.

“I love you,” he whispered against your lips.

“You— what?” you gasped, pushing back slightly against his chest.

“I love you,” he repeated. “It’s not just fun, it’s not a bucket list thing or a midlife crisis thing— I love you, I’ve been in love with you for weeks and couldn’t think of what to say… I was afraid to smother you, you wouldn’t be wrong to want more freedom than you can have with me.”

A shaky breath moved in and out of your lungs as you looked away from his gaze— it was too wonderfully all-encompassing for you to be able to process this with his eyes on you.

“I hope it doesn’t bother you,” he mumbled nervously, “but I can’t change how I feel.”

“No, it doesn’t… it’s good,” you smiled, starting to laugh. Your heart was beating so heavy you could hear it in your ears, you could barely even hear yourself speak as you answered him. “Helmut, it’s— I love you too, of course.”

“Really?” he beamed.

“Really.”

He kissed you again, harder, and neither of you could stop smiling through it. "Say it again," he pleaded softly.

"I love you," you repeated. "I love you, Helmut."

“Mm, one more time,” he encouraged with a soft laugh as he lifted you into his arms and began to carry you down a familiar path to the cabin’s bedroom.

“I love you I love you I love you I—” you had to stop to gasp when he bit down on your neck, not too hard but still quite surprising, before he tossed you down onto the bed and pounced on top of you.

“Is it fair to say that we’re dating now?” he presumed, making you laugh.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“So it’s just us, you and me, girlfriend and boyfriend?” he continued. “Nobody else?”

“There was never anybody else,” you promised.

“I know, and now there never will be,” he cooed, placing a kiss right on your ear. “You’re all mine now.”

A shiver ran up your spine instantly. “God, how do you do that? Go from sweet to filthy in a split-second?”

“Mm, a habit of mine,” he hummed, “because it makes you all cute and whiny.”

You frowned as he kissed your nose. “Hey!” you, proving him right, whined; he laughed and held the back of your neck as he kissed you again.

Just the sex that followed that conversation would’ve been enough to make this an amazing weekend, but it was even better to leave the vacation as a couple when that wasn’t even how you’d started it.

Afterwards, you laid together in bed and commiserated how silly you both had been to assume the other didn't want more, deciding from now on to be open and honest as much as possible. That was what inspired you the next day to spend the morning trading secrets over the breakfast he'd made.

"I cheated on my eighth grade Spanish exam," you admitted, making him put down his fork in pretend shock.

"¡Chica traviesa!" he gasped.

"Maybe if I'd actually studied, I would know what that means…"

"Truthfully, I can't judge you. I did something similar in my primary studies,” he recalled. “I broke into the teachers' desk and stole an early copy of the exam. But I didn't use it myself, I used it to impress a girl in my class."

You smiled trying to imagine that. "I can see you as the romantic type when you were a kid," you hummed.

"I was more the rebellious type, with girls being one of the more reliable ways to rebel."

That piqued your interest, and you gave him an excited grin of anticipation. "Did you have a punk phase?"

"It was Eastern Europe in the early 90s: of course I had a punk phase," he chuckled. "How else do you celebrate the end of a brutal capitalist revolution but by importing every Western record you can find and dying your hair black in a petrol station's bathroom sink?"

"Oh my god!" you giggled.

"But it was rather minimalist, I wasn't permitted much stylistic freedom so it was little things like that… I wanted an ear piercing, but my mother would've truly had a heart attack."

"I guess you're better than I was,” you shrugged, “my rebellious phase was brief but with a much stronger willingness to sacrifice my mother's sanity."

"Yes, that's more typical," he nodded. "I suppose my real secret was that I didn't want to rebel from my parents nearly as much as I thought I did… I just wanted to make them happy."

You smiled at him as he stared down at his plate. "You sound like a sweet kid."

"Horrifically stupid and a bit self-involved but sure, sweet," he agreed with a chuckle.

"So, all our secrets are out, huh?" you grinned.

"Perhaps I have a few left," he smirked as he leaned across the table to kiss you softly. "I'm saving them for a rainy day."

The weekend went by much too quickly, but you couldn’t begrudge the return to daily life now that you were returning to it together— so far, you’d found that together was the best way to experience life.

Almost as fast as the vacation, so went the seasons as well: you both had classes through summer, and you enjoyed the freedom that came with a much more empty campus; fall, as always, was damp and chilly yet comforting— sometimes the leaves turned just the right color of brown before they fell to remind you of his eyes; winter sent you back home to see your family for the holidays, just for a few days, and you told them you’d bring your mysterious boyfriend next time even though it made your heart race to imagine that.

Your birthday passed at some point during the year, and he took you out to one of those slightly-hipstery barcades where he revealed his secret talent for skeeball— you were glad he felt comfortable completely annihilating your high score even on your birthday. He invited your friends, too, and it went significantly less horribly than you imagined; they only asked him weird questions about being a professor a few times, but otherwise everyone got along oddly well.

And soon it was another spring again, one of your last ones before you graduated, and you let yourself focus on things other than what might happen when you left the university and he almost certainly stayed. For now, you just needed to worry about how you’d ever find time for each other during finals season when both of you were busy for different reasons.

Dinner tonight? I have a reservation at 7 for a place in the museum district. They have a dress code so wear something evening ready if possible. -Z

you don’t have to sign your texts you know. I know it’s you. it says your name right above the text.

It’s more formal this way. -Z

it’s a text message, it will never be formal??

Will I see you at dinner tonight or am I in trouble for asking over text? -Z

I’ll be there

I look forward to your company, draga

hey, you didn’t sign it! progress!

-Z

goddamn it

“This place is… really nice,” you noticed sheepishly, glancing around at the minimalist-yet-luxurious decor of the restaurant while you took your seat across the white-linen-covered table from him. “Like, significantly nicer than I’ve ever been to before.”

“Well, you look like you fit right in,” he assured, and you almost believed him— it was the nicest thing in your closet, but still seemed like the wrong energy compared to how him and everyone else seemed so casually flawless. “I took the liberty of ordering for you,” he explained as he poured water into your glass for you from the basin at the table, “I was going to make you order the salmon anyways, it’s really impeccable.”

“What’s the occasion? I’m still feeling spoiled from the anniversary celebrations last month.”

You two had decided to celebrate a year since the day you’d met (and had sex for the first time; it was an action-packed day) instead of the day you had officially began your relationship, since there was no reason to commemorate months of pretending to be casual while you were both quietly devoted to each other.

“I just want to have a nice date with my girlfriend, is that so terrible?” he smiled.

“No,” you answered quickly, “but that’s a load of bullshit.”

He chuckled a little. “You’re right. I wanted to do something nice with you before I go.”

“Yeah, that’s not ominous at all,” you frowned. “Care to elaborate, international man of mystery?”

The conversation paused briefly as the server came by with your meals, and you gave him a little nod of appreciation before he left; the salmon did look pretty amazing, and you trusted your boyfriend’s taste even if it was often more refined than your own.

“I need to make a trip home in the next few months,” Helmut finally clarified. “Nothing particularly interesting, and thankfully all very temporary— boring estate management stuff, comes up every once in a while,” he shrugged.

“How long will you be gone?” you asked, hoping you didn’t sound as needy as you felt.

“No more than three weeks.”

“Three weeks?!” you yelped.

“You know I’d never leave your side if I had the choice,” he smiled. “It’ll go by in a moment, you might not even notice I’m gone.”

“Are you kidding? I practically live at your apartment. We probably haven’t spent three days apart since we met. Hell, we have sex, like, five times a week!”

You heard the chatter of nearby restaurant-goers die down, and you awkwardly looked around to find some of them staring at you as Helmut tried to suppress his laugh.

“I… may or may not have forgotten we’re in public,” you whispered harshly as most of them seemed to get back to their own conversations. “Let’s not eat here again.”

“Oh, would you like to announce our sexual frequency anywhere else?” he joked, though his tone remained as serious as ever, and it made you laugh even though you were the butt of the joke. “Olive Garden, maybe?”

“Shut up,” you demanded between hiccups of laughter.

“The Texas Roadhouse? I’m sure they would love that,” he continued. “They seem like a real liberal crowd.”

“Stop,” you snorted, trying to catch your breath and not laugh too loud in front of all these people who already had a poor impression of you.

“Or we can go to the drive-through at Taco Bell and you can tell them through the little speaker thing,” he offered, and you hid your burning face behind your cloth napkin.

“You’re mean, I was just trying to say that I’m gonna miss you if you’re gone for so long!”

He leaned across the table to grab the napkin and slowly pull it down from your face, smiling at you when he could see you again. “I’ll make it up to you,” he promised. “We’ll have sex fifteen times when I get back, for lost time.”

“That’s not really my issue,” you sighed. “I mean, yeah, we’re still definitely gonna do that, but that’s not what I’m gonna miss most.”

“I know,” he nodded, “don’t think I’m going to do anything but miss you terribly the whole trip. In fact, that brings me to what I wanted to talk to you about tonight.”

“Telling me you’re leaving for three weeks isn’t the main topic of discussion?” you realized.

“It was, but now I’m here with you and it has me thinking all sorts of things,” he explained.

“Okay… what are you thinking about?” you asked quietly.

“Well, I was just thinking that I don’t want to keep you from living your youth while you can,” he answered, looking back at you as you took a sip of your drink, “but that I’d like to marry you.”

Just like that, you inhaled some water and began coughing and choking.

“Hypothetically!” he blurted out, leaning forward to make sure you were okay but you waved him back into his seat.

“I, uh,” you began, coughing one more time before you started again, “I didn’t think that was what you were thinking about.”

“Well, clearly,” he mumbled.

“I mean, I didn’t know you were thinking about that at all,” you explained, “like, I wasn’t sure that we were there yet.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t notice when I told you not so long ago that this year with you had been the best of my life,” he recalled, making you smile a bit to yourself at the memory. “I’m there. I’m just asking where you are.”

“I guess I need to think about that,” you lied. You didn’t need to think about it, you knew that he was talking about exactly what you wanted, but you needed to convince him you were taking this question seriously— god knows he was constantly worrying that you shouldn’t be tied down to him when you were so young, and although you typically handled that by making a bondage joke (and he typically handled that by making a non-joke bondage offer), you didn’t want him to worry about this.

“Maybe you can think while I’m on my trip,” he decided, “and when I come back, we can talk about the future.”

“I just meant for, like, a few minutes,” you admitted. “I don’t need that long, Helmut. I know what I want.”

“Care to enlighten me?”

“To be with you, whatever that looks like,” you said, sounding more confident than you thought possible. “That’s what I want. And I don’t wanna hear you saying anything about how you think I might be too young for marriage or that I might change my mind later… I have a right to love just as much as you, and to know what’s right for me.”

“And it’s me?”

You smiled as you reached for his hand where it rested on the table, squeezing his fingers in yours. “It’s you. Obviously.”

He looked at your hands held together before he smiled back at you— but it faded suddenly, and he pulled his hand away to lean back in his chair. “There’s something else I should tell you, before I let you say too much...”

You swallowed thickly. Oh god, here it comes. Secret family in Canada, glue-sniffing addiction, absurdly specific and disturbing fetish… the wheel of misfortune was already spinning in your head, and you took a bite of your fish to try to look natural.

“You should know the truth about my family, back in Sokovia? We’re, in a certain sense of the word… royalty.”

You started choking again; why did he keep telling you this stuff while you had something in your mouth??

“Shit, are you alright?” he asked nervously, and you nodded in spite of your fit of coughs.

“Are you a prince?!” you spat out as you started to catch your breath again.

“A baron. A little less romantic, I know,” he smirked.

“And if… if what you’re talking about, actually happened, then that would make me…” you trailed off, raising your eyebrow expectantly.

“My baroness,” he finished for you. Funny enough, the word my was doing more for you than the royal title. “Hypothetically.”

“You keep saying that word,” you noticed. “I hope we think it means the same thing.”

“Maybe a better word would be ‘eventually,’” he decided, and your back straightened because oh shit, this is really going to happen. “Maybe an even better word would be ‘soon.’”

You almost choked again, with no excuse this time as there was nothing in your mouth to actually choke on. “H-how soon?” you whispered, and his lips curled into a mischievous grin as he lifted his drink.

“Sorry darling, I don’t think I can tell you that,” he decided as he took a sip slowly, still staring you down over the rim of the glass.

You shifted nervously in your seat, trying to imagine how you were supposed to be anything but jittery after this conversation.

“Can I ask an inappropriate question?”

He raised his eyebrow. “Let’s try not to scare the other patrons again, but sure.”

“How rich are you?” you blurted out, and he laughed a little.

“Somewhere between ‘outrageously’ and ‘ludicrously,’” he decided. “It might seem a little far-fetched considering I prefer not to live extravagantly here in the States… but we’ve made good use of the last dozen-or-so generations of wealth.”

“And you let me pay for lunch last week!” you remembered, leaning forward to smack him on the shoulder with a scowl.

“That’s all you have to say about that?” he realized bewilderedly.

“It’s all that I can process right now!”

“I should apologize for not telling you sooner,” he nodded.

You paused as you stared back at him. “I sorta thought you’d continue with that by explaining why you didn’t.”

He sighed, looking away. “I spent so much time worrying you were only with me in pursuit of a new experience with an older man. And then if you knew how much money was involved… I didn’t want to jump from one insecurity to the next with you, if I could avoid it.”

“You’re insecure about being rich? Next you’re gonna start crying ‘cause your cock’s too big,” you rolled your eyes.

Again, other diners turned to you and this time you looked back at them.

“What are you looking at, huh?” you snapped, and they all stared back down at their plates quickly. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“If you could stop antagonizing the public, that would be ideal,” Helmut hissed.

“I don’t think I’m handling this very well,” you groaned, hiding your face in your hands. “I wish you would’ve told me before.”

“So do I, but believe me that I had my reasons,” he sighed.

You lowered your hands from your face to rest them on your elbows as you crossed your arms. “I think if we are going to talk seriously about this next step, then you’re gonna have to tell me those reasons,” you decided.

“Right, of course,” he nodded, clearing his throat as he looked to the side. “Well, I guess I should start from the beginning. As good a place to start as any, yes?”

You wrinkled your brow; you weren’t sure why he was so clearly nervous.

“As you can imagine, I was born into the royal life, I didn’t have much of a say in it all. From the time I was eighteen I was the 13th Baron in a line of Sokovian royals who controlled a certain amount of land. In retrospect, I understand how incredibly fortunate I was, especially compared to the poorest people in my country, but at the time all I could appreciate was that it was stuffy and boring and allowed for none of the adventure I longed for. Hence the aforementioned punk phase, but that didn’t satisfy for long. I suppose that was why I enlisted.”

“You were in the military?”

He nodded. “Briefly. I liked the idea of being a part of something that had nothing to do with my name. And I was two years into my contract when my unit was stationed in a little border town, mostly farmland, but Sokovian borders are always contentious places… anyhow, one night, while another Lieutenant and I were on patrol, there was an ambush. They shot at us, we shot back, but we were just firing into the dark so we went down rather quickly… I assumed that was the end, everything went black in an instant before I could even think…”

You shuddered, appreciating how traumatic this was for him as he looked down at his lap, stoic but in that way that clearly held more underneath.

“I woke up in a bed, in a cottage,” he recalled. “A farmgirl heard the gunfire and waited until the enemy forces moved on to render aid. She told me I was nearly dead when she found me but that her uncle was the local doctor and had been able to remove the bullets and stitch me up.”

“You told me those scars were from being attacked by a dog as a child,” you remembered.

“Yes, I didn’t forget the lies I told you,” he frowned. “I think that one should be understandable.”

You swallowed, regretting saying anything. “O-of course, I’m sorry.”

“The important thing is that she told me my partner was dead when she got there, and she couldn’t do anything for him. I was in shock— keep in mind I was young and dumb and thought of myself as some kind of invincible— but for the next month she delicately nursed me into… at least decent health, and helped me cope with it all.” He took a deep breath, a soft and somber smile crossing his face. “I suppose you can imagine what happened next.”

He looked at you again and you gave him a shrug, unsure what he expected you to guess.

“We fell in love,” he finished flatly.

“Oh,” you nodded, “right. It sounds pretty romantic.”

“Yeah, the wounded infantryman and the rural farmgirl… it was all very pastoral,” he sighed, “but anyways, my family was more than hesitant to allow me to marry a poor girl, which obviously only made me want to do it more. I even told her that I’d leave the title for her, and she gave me some pitiful monologue about how she’d never forgive herself if she was responsible for me being disinherited, she pleaded with me to find a way to gain my parents’ approval… but I knew that we were in love and that nothing could stop us, so I didn’t think much of it.”

You tried to imagine him as a young, hopeless romantic, and some part of you was a bit jealous that others got the opportunity to experience that side of him when you didn’t; but it wasn’t like he was exactly cold and hardened now, at least not with you. Just wiser, with more experience and more scars.

“My parents had put their foot down and demanded I call off the engagement. And, oddly enough, they told me that it wasn’t her social standing that bothered them but that they simply didn’t trust her. That they thought I was being rash and had only known her a few months— that I was too young, I would change my mind. I was incensed; I mean, not only do they dare to insult my foresight, but this was the love of my life they were talking about like she was some conniving witch. So I said some things I regret to this day, and I told them to keep their title and their properties and have me formally disowned at their earliest convenience.”

“Wow,” you breathed.

“Well, the truth, as it often does, came out sooner or later. That all along, her love was for the money and not the man. When I told her I’d left my title behind for her, she… didn’t take it very well. And by that I mean she slapped me so hard I saw white for a second.”

Your heart hurt to imagine him being treated like that.

“I told her that we would be poor but we would be happy together, she told me that she never wanted to be poor again, that the reason she did all this was to get out of this hellish farming town and live in a castle in Novi Grad. I suppose I could’ve forgiven all that, after all I imagine she struggled greatly for a long time living that way. But then she started ranting about how she didn’t drag some dying Baron through the mud that night on the patrolway just to marry a poor man. I was heartbroken just realizing that she knew who I was when she saved me— that she might not have if I were anyone else. Like, say, my partner that night.”

Your chest was too tight to gasp properly. “You don’t mean…”

“She held out on me for a minute but I finally got her to admit it… the other man was alive when she found us, but she left him to die while she saved me, apparently planning from the very beginning to seduce me and escape to Novi Grad like she always dreamed of. His name was Miroslav Pavlović, and he was a good man… a boy, really, only twenty when he died. Alone. In the dirt.”

Hot tears on your cheeks made you realize you were crying, and you awkwardly wiped them away in hopes that he wouldn’t notice.

He took another deep breath and seemed to reorient his mind, away from the mourning and back to his story. “Of course, I, being a young man with all my pride, told my parents that I ended it in respect of their wishes, but I think my mother suspected what really happened. Especially when the girl went ahead and married my cousin.”

“She what?!”

“An industrious young woman, I have to give her that,” he nodded. “She didn’t need a Baron, she just needed somebody who could get her out of the farm and into whatever her idea was of a luxurious life. And yes, it is exactly as wonderful as you’re imagining to see her on those rare occasions where the extended family all has to gather.”

“Yikes,” you mumbled. “That’s… cold.”

“I suppose it all worked out for the best— I dodged a bullet much worse than the ones that hit me before I met her, she got her riches and noble husband, and my parents were free to arrange a marriage for me with a woman of more adequate social standing. I was so convinced I was terminally unlovable that I actually went along with it.”

“You married her?”

“No, I just agreed to, on the condition that we meet a few times first, at least. It was the second time we met when she confided in me that she was actually a lesbian.”

“Oh!” you chuckled, hoping it wasn’t inappropriate to laugh a bit. Not as his misfortune, per se, or at the idea of a lesbian in general, but just the way this story seemed to get more complex at evey turn.

“Yes, well, my family was more liberal but hers were not the sort who would respond well to that news… I considered going through with the marriage to give her an alibi, so to speak, and the both of us would quietly have affairs with women— ideally different women— to keep up appearances for our families. She and I actually got along alright, we thought maybe we could be good friends, which some husbands and wives aren’t even when they marry for more genuine reasons.”

You scoffed as you nodded, “yeah, true that…”

“But,” he shrugged, “I got cold feet, I just couldn’t bring myself to resign to an entire relationship built on a lie again, so, I decided to leave it all behind and study at a German university— I chose history because I’d consumed historical nonfiction voraciously throughout most of my life and it seemed like a good fit, and I suppose it was the right choice… because here I am.”

You took a long, deep breath, but you didn’t feel that much more stabilized afterwards. “Okay, a lot to unpack with that,” you announced. “I understand why you didn’t tell me about the money, with everything that happened before… but you lived this entire life that I knew nothing about. You already know everything about me.”

“I couldn’t tell you much more than I did without burdening you with it.”

“Sure, but you can appreciate that this puts me in a sort of vulnerable position,” you offered.

“Right,” he agreed. “That was, of course, never my intention. I don’t tell anyone the things I’m telling you now, understand that. Everyone at the university thinks I came from much more humble beginnings and has no idea about my military service— well, except for that one royal historian who unfortunately recognized my name, but I’ve been bribing him into silence from my first day.”

“Wait, you pay him off?!”

“Oh, god no— I just grade his final term papers,” Helmut shrugged. “But still, I got pretty comfortable with my reinvention, weeks go by without me thinking about my life before this. Especially with you… sometimes I thought maybe it would be better to quietly abandon it all and become the person you thought I was.”

You smiled a little; maybe you wished that you knew how to be angry with him even in times like this, but you just couldn’t do it. “You’re still the person I think you are,” you assured. “Where you come from is not who you are, it’s just one of those things that help make you who you are. It’s up to you to decide what you do with it… and I think you’ve done something pretty great with it. Plenty of people who didn’t need to work for a living just wouldn’t.”

“I know it sounds nice, and I won’t pretend it isn’t an invaluable resource, but I find it much more fulfilling to work. I really love what I do, so that helps.”

Nodding a little to yourself, you reflected on how true that really was; after all, this all began in a classroom where you were enchanted by his passion.

“I suppose the moral of the story is… I’m sorry that I hid things from you,” he concluded firmly. “I’ve learned that I can’t protect myself from heartache and love you properly at once— I have to pick one. I want to choose to love you, I want to choose that every day for… well, forever. If you’ll let me. But if the secrets are too insurmountable, I won’t judge you.”

You let out a heavy sigh. “That’s the dilemma of love, isn’t it? You have to be willing to get hurt. But the last thing I want is to hurt you, I promise. And in the end, it really doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor or a fugitive from the law or an alien from space: I love you, really.”

For the first time since he started telling you everything, he seemed to relax. “I love you too, I hope that much is obvious.”

You nodded, reaching across the table to hold his hand. “Yeah, it is. I’m still getting used to that, honestly.”

“Not that I don’t mind being the first,” he tilted his head, “but it’s a shame no one ever cherished you before, in the way that you deserve.”

“You do seem to mind it a little bit, when you always go on about ‘keeping me from my youth’ or ‘restricting me when I should be free’ or whatever,” you recalled, putting on a poor imitation of his accent when you quoted him.

“Well, I guess it’s that I never desired to be the first,” he clarified, staring you down suddenly, “but that I intend to be the last.”

That look… you were already biting your lip and you didn’t even notice it. “Okay,” you sighed.

“Hm?”

“You can be the last, just take me home,” you whispered, crossing your legs to hold your thighs together as your tongue ran over your teeth.

He could only bear to tear his eyes from you for a second as he called out, “The check, please!”

wanna come over later? I can’t focus enough to study

You stared down at the text you’d sent Kacey, wondering if it made you sound pathetic. You didn’t want to seem like the sort of girl who made her boyfriend her whole life, and therefore had no idea what to do with herself while he was gone. And to be clear, it wasn’t loneliness itself that made you so listless; of course, you missed him plenty, but your inability to get anything done or even enjoy some alone time was disrupted by that sort of numb, shocked feeling you got every time you remembered that he wanted to get married.

Even more shocking: you wanted to get married.

It didn’t feel too soon, it didn’t feel all that sudden, but it felt like it should feel too soon, if that makes any sense. Maybe you could try to explain it to Kacey if she ever checked her damn phone.

You groaned as you tossed the device away, knowing staring down the screen wouldn’t make her answer any faster. Having already watched everything good on every streaming service ever, you figured your next step was to move on to the mediocre things on streaming, but you couldn’t decide between a show about renovating tiny-houses or cooking using only leftovers.

It was hard to focus on your choices when you kept playing the moment before he left in your mind over and over.

You nestled in under his arm around your shoulders, tightening your grip around his torso until you caught a glance of his watch.

“Don’t you need to leave soon? There will be traffic on the way to the airport.”

“No, there shouldn’t be, it’s only a ten minute drive.”

“What? It’s at least half an hour.”

He laughed a little as he realized the misunderstanding. “Darling, I’m not going to the airport. I’m going to a private airport. For a private plane.”

You cleared your throat. “Oh… right. Still getting used to the exorbitantly rich thing.”

“But I suppose I should finish my packing, I think I’ve put off the last of it long enough,” he sighed, sitting up and tearing himself out of your arms even though you were pouting about it.

Before he left he gave you a long kiss at the door, just meant to say goodbye, but then your knees went weak and he had to hold you and it all started to lead from one thing to another very quickly.

“Fuck, Helmut, your flight,” you reminded him breathlessly, holding onto his biceps as he kissed down your neck.

“They’ll wait for me, it’s my fucking plane,” he growled, grabbing your hips hard. “I need to be inside you one more time before I go.”

Just as the best parts of the memory started to flood back, your phone rang and you jumped up instantly; the sound of 99 Luftballons, your custom ringtone for him that started as a joke but stuck for some reason, told you it was your boyfriend calling and it barely rang for a second before you answered.

“Hi!” you greeted instantly. You looked at the clock on the wall and did some quick math to realize it was probably almost time for dinner there, when it was still before noon where you were.

“Hello, darling,” he answered back, his voice instantly soothing you as you leaned back against the headboard of your (his) bed.

“Your accent is stronger than when you left,” you noticed.

“This is the first time I’ve spoken English in days,” he explained.

“How does it feel to be home?”

“Do you mean being in Sokovia, or talking to you?”

“Baaaabe,” you whined playfully, “you’re gonna make me all needy…”

“I just wish I was there to see the effect I was having on you,” he cooed. “It’s been a bit boring without you— I’m going to bring you with me next time, I assure you. Not just because I miss you so much, but so you can see the country. I want you to see my homeland and there’s no one better to show you around than myself.”

“You really love it, don’t you?” you hummed.

“More than almost anything,” he answered, and you knew what he was implying he loved most. “I know it has… struggled, it isn’t considered exactly a vacation spot by many, but it means everything to me. I don’t have much family left for you to meet, but I’m sure I’ll find some people to show you off to.”

“I’d love to come with you,” you agreed, “you know I’d go with you anywhere, though.”

“And you need to try the ćevapi!” he added, and you could hear his beaming smile through the phone. “Sokovian food is very different from Western dishes but I think you’ll enjoy it.”

“Yeah,” you agreed dreamily, laying back on the pillow as you heard him sigh from the other end.

“God, I miss you,” he breathed, making you hum proudly.

“Miss you too,” you agreed. “I’ve been thinking about you a lot…”

“Yeah? I bet I can guess what you were thinking about.”

“Such as?”

“Things I can’t say right now, in case someone hears me,” he chuckled. “We may not speak English much but they still understand it.”

“Well, I’m all alone,” you purred, “and I’ve been thinking about everything I’m gonna do to you when you get back.”

“Oh fuck, baby, don’t—” he pleaded weakly.

“I really wanna ride you,” you continued in a sultry voice you didn’t even mean to put on, “even though you’re probably too big for that, I just want you so deep in me I can’t fucking breathe—”

“You’re cruel,” he hissed, a low whisper, and you loved his helplessness.

“It’s been so lonely without you, Helmut, I’ve been fucking myself with every toy I can find but nothing fills me up like you do, god I just need your cock.”

“I should’ve had something custom made,” he decided, still whispering but you could hear him smirk, too. “So it’s only ever me inside you.”

“Even then, it’s not the same… it has to be you, the way you fuck me is just impossible to recreate, nothing’s as good as you, professor.”

He made a strained noise and you giggled happily. “How long has it been since you’ve called me that?”

“Too long,” you hummed, “I still think it’s pretty hot.”

“Oh, it definitely is,” he chuckled breathlessly, “listen, I have to return to my meeting, and you’ve made it impossible to focus on boring legal things now but I need to try my best. Alright? I’ll call you tonight, if you’re still awake.”

Of course, your tonight was his tomorrow morning; you decided not to make him worry by admitting you would stay up all night to be able to talk to him. “Okay,” you sighed, “good luck in your boring legal meeting.”

He gave one last whispered ‘goodbye’ and the line beeped as the call ended; you sighed and flopped back onto the bed, staring up at your ceiling blankly.

He’d only been gone four days. How were you supposed to make it to three weeks?

When his plane landed, you were waiting for him in the car, parked on the runway; it was a much quicker process than picking someone up from a traditional airport, plus you got to run to him the second he was off the plane and it made you feel like you were in an old movie or something.

Throwing dignity to the wind, you jumped into his arms and let him spin you around, setting you down to kiss you hard as you wrapped your arms around his neck.

“I missed you so much,” he mumbled against your lips, hands gripping your waist, and you’d been trying to imagine this moment ever since he left but you couldn’t have ever come close to how perfect it was.

“Missed you more,” you promised with a smile. “Let’s go home, Helmut.”

“Or…” he trailed off, and you raised an eyebrow as you sank back down onto your heels and looked up at him.

“Or?”

“Or we could get back on the plane and tell them to take us wherever we want.”

“I-I have finals!” you gasped. “So do you!”

“Not until next week,” he dismissed, “this is just for a few days.”

“I haven’t packed any of my stuff!”

“You have your phone, everything else can be bought when we get there,” he shrugged.

“What’s gotten into you?!” you giggled, looking back up at him wildly and wondering how he could seem so calm.

“I’m rich and in love and a little bit impulsive, is that so bad?” he smirked. “Where do you wanna go, draga? Rome? Sydney? Jakarta? Nairobi?”

“...Luxembourg,” you blurted out.

He chuckled a little, eyes sparkling. “Why there?”

“First place I thought of. Is that a good enough reason to want to go someplace?”

“It is to me,” he grinned. “You get on the plane and get comfortable, I’ll tell the pilot where we’re going.”

“Okay,” you laughed. “This is crazy, you know.”

“I know,” he nodded, taking your hand and guiding you up the stairs back onto the jet.

It wasn’t like you’d never experienced the concept of travel before, but it was still blowing your mind that you’d woken up in your (his) bed this morning and now, in the same day, you were spending your evening in box seats at the Luxembourg National Opera. He picked out the gown you were wearing (only fair since he was picking up the tab) and at first you had worried you couldn’t pull it off, but the way he kept glancing over at you made you confident you looked just fine.

“You’re not watching the performance,” you whispered to him, leaning closer to his shoulder.

“You don’t really need to see an opera, do you?” he frowned. “Can’t I just look at you?”

“These tickets cost an arm and a leg, you can look at me for free!” you hissed, but you softened a bit when his hand moved to rest on yours and he kissed your temple softly.

The two of you stayed that way for the rest of the performance, leaning on each other and holding hands. Even when you'd been together this long, you still felt butterflies when he interlaced his fingers with yours.

When the show was over and the lights came up to a wave of applause, he looked at you with bright eyes and took your hand.

"Let's walk to the hotel, yes?" he suggested. "Explore the proper way instead of a cab."

"I can't walk that far in these shoes," you frowned.

"I'll carry them for you!"

"I can't walk that far barefoot," you laughed.

"Then I'll carry you," he offered, extending his hand for you to take.

And that was how you ended up being carried piggyback through the streets of Luxembourg, across cobblestone that reflected the soft yellow glow of the street lamps and sconces, in the most expensive dress you'd ever worn.

Life is crazy like that, sometimes.

"You know, this place is a bit like Sokovia," he decided, "but with a better GDP and fewer churches."

"As I understand it, most of the world has a better GDP and fewer churches than Sokovia," you quipped.

"Hey!" he yelped in defense. "Just because it's completely true doesn't mean you have any right to say it!"

You laughed, holding onto his neck tighter but trying your best not to inadvertently choke him.

"Typical of a Westerner to have something snarky to say while standing on the backs of hard-working Sokovians," he scoffed, "or, in this case, riding on the back of one hard-working Sokovian."

"Hard-working? What exactly does a Baron do for work?" you interrogated.

"Uh, carry spoiled girlfriends around tiny European countries, for one," he enumerated, "and when we're not casually becoming distinguished professors in America, we have to manage the various projects of the estate… the Zemo family— which is just me, at this point— runs eleven orphanages. I visit those sometimes and make sure they have everything they need."

"Okay, I don't know that I'd call that hard work, but it's very important so you get a pass," you decided.

"This is us," he announced he stopped walking.

"What's us?" you asked, looking around.

"This building, this is where we're staying," he explained as he set you down and made sure you were balancing right on your heels.

You let your jaw drop as you looked up at the building, admiring the carved stone face with its intricate detail, designs that evoked a certain prestige that just couldn't be found on American buildings.

"Wow," you nodded, "you really don't skimp on your last-minute random vacations, huh?"

"Not if I can avoid it," he shrugged, leading you inside.

For an exterior so gothic, the hotel’s lobby was modern and clean, though certainly not lacking in extravagant touches; you were a bit too tired to properly appreciate that, though, leaning up against his shoulder as he conversed with the front desk clerk in German in order to finish the check-in process.

The hotel had one of those elevators with mirrors on the walls, and a more energetic version of yourself might have noticed the fooling-around potential of the space, but instead you just let your eyes fall shut until you reached the correct floor. Being an incredibly fancy place, the rooms had actual keys and not just RFID keycards— you thought Helmut looked quite regal in his opera tux, unlocking a mahogany door with a golden key. Hard to imagine him in a windowless office and a messenger bag on his shoulder now, but you could remember falling for him in that state just the same.

He let you in first— a true gentleman, of course— and the moment the door to the room shut behind him, you groaned and flopped down onto the bed unceremoniously. He, meanwhile, undid his bowtie and unbuttoned a few buttons of his shirt before he laid down on his side by you, running his fingers over your back left exposed by the dress for a few moments before he pulled away.

“Darling?” he called to you softly, but you were too lazy to lift your head from where they were buried in the pillows.

“Mhmm?” you answered back, muffled.

“I…” he began, sighing before he started over. “Well, nevermind.”

“What is it?” you pressed, turning your head over to see him— but then you saw his face, and the conflicted look it wore, and you sat up to lay closer to him. “What’s wrong?” you asked gently, watched the way his hair fell into his face when he combed his fingers through it and glanced away from you.

“Draga, I must admit that I lied to you before about why I was returning home,” he spoke, and you were confused but said nothing. You would’ve worried if it weren’t for the look on his face— calm, yet with something brewing in his gaze that you couldn’t quite describe. But you trusted him. When your brain would normally fill the silence with a thousand awful ideas of his real reason for his visit to Novi Grad, it was suddenly quiet. “It wasn’t just for management of the estate… I had to retrieve something.”

He reached into his coat pocket, fishing out a small velvety box with red and gold along the edges. Your heart either stopped, or beat harder than it ever had before; at a certain point the difference was irrelevant.

“I know I should wait longer, for the perfect time, or even just any other time than when you’re not jet-lagged and I’m not so nervous I can’t even think, but…”

A sudden sigh fell from your lips when he opened the box and showed you the ornate ring inside— you couldn’t tell if it was aquamarine or blue diamonds but they shined brilliantly nonetheless.

“My mother wore this ring from the day my father gave it to her until the day she died,” he explained. “I would like for you to wear it.”

Too stunned to do much else, you looked up at him blankly.

“I want you to be my wife,” he clarified, like he thought you didn’t understand what he was asking, and finally you snapped back to reality (as overwhelming as that reality was). You smiled, even nearly laughing, as you leaned in to almost press your lips to his— but when he leaned closer you kept him at bay with a hand on his collar.

“Say it again,” you requested coyly.

“You’re going to make me propose twice?” he realized, and you nodded as you bit your lip. “I’ll say it a thousand times, draga: be my wife.”

“Two down, 998 to go,” you grinned, laughing when he growled and pulled you closer to bury his face in your neck. You definitely noticed the longer beard when it tickled your skin with every kiss to your pulse.

“Be my wife, be my wife, my wife,” he cooed, casually starting to slip the ring on your finger before you dodged him.

“No no no, you haven’t said it a thousand times yet,” you chided him, “and I haven’t said ‘yes’ yet.”

“Oh, darling, don’t dare me to make you say ‘yes’ as if I don’t make you scream it out every night.”

And that’s exactly what he did: make you say yes a thousand times to a thousand proposals, pinning you down and showering you in love relentlessly. For once you just accepted it; for once he didn’t feel guilty.

In a certain sense it was sort of hasty, half-dressed and unexpected with him fumbling to hold your dress out of the way while you clung to his shirt and kissed him hungrily: but still, it was nothing less than sensual, due in part to every beautiful thing he whispered to you until you were too far gone to understand them. He still kept going after that, even, just to feel the weight of his words on his tongue. Just to promise himself to you whether you could hear him or not.

Who could say how far into the night it went? That was the magical thing about it all— neither of you cared, neither of you worried or even thought twice about what time it was or if the sun would rise soon or if it would never rise at all and this was actually the beginning of the apocalypse. It didn’t make a difference; because whether the world ended now or in a decade or in a billion years, you would be together for the rest of your lives.

We were young and in love and I knew nothing could stop us, you remembered something he said. He said it like it was ridiculous, just a frivolous dream; and in retrospect, he may have been right about that specific situation, but now you understood why he had felt that way— you too felt that euphoric glow of knowing you were on the edge of something amazing. Maybe not something perfect, but something that would work out for the best in the end.

When he was finally satisfied with how many times he had satisfied you and you fell asleep on his chest, he took the opportunity to slip the ring on your finger, admiring how beautiful your hand looked wearing it before he kissed the top of your head.

“Fits perfectly,” he whispered to you in spite of your unconsciousness. “We’ll be so happy, draga… I promise.”

#helmut zemo x reader #baron zemo x reader #helmut zemo au #professor!baron zemo x reader #professor!zemo x reader

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createandconstruct · 3 years

Note

Wait, Garland

So. I started this reply, worked on it for two hours, and then moved my window and tumblr eviscerated most of it. Safe to say after that I had to mourn what I lost for a bit. I hope I can channel my original thoughts and words! Maybe it’ll be even better? We’ll see!

Anyway let’s talk about the wrinkly genome himself. Buckle up this one’s a doozy (enjoy some required reading music that fits the man of the hour).

favorite thing about them:

His design. This all knowing watchful eye of Terra is as lifeless as he is old. His eyes are blank and empty. His face is withered. His body, without the imposing cape, is like an emancipated black skeleton, where at its center lies the only light and color of Garland’s entire form. He is entirely black and white, except for the red glowing sphere at his center. At first look when I saw it I felt that it’s very much a metaphor for the role designated to him by the Terrans. In Garland’s chest lies the red glow of Terra, the exposed ribs of his black, armorlike chest, keep it within - protecting and hiding it from the outside world of Gaia. Until the time is right. Garland is nothing more than what the Terrans made him to be. An eternal servant that takes every breath for the protection of Terra as that is the reason he was given for living. Every inch of his body was designed for such purpose. Its only right he was designed to aware like a living cage, protecting that last flickers of Terra and its souls that lie within.

On that note let’s look at his design another way. Terra’s revival is Garland’s only reason for living. Zidane questions Garland’s own wants and desires to which he can only claim they are the restoration of Terra and its souls. He has nothing except the words he was fed by the Terrans millennia ago. Garland is the true hollow shell of a man you find in the remains of Terra. He is worn, withered, and ancient. He has lived so long for one reason only, a reason that was never even his own. The light of Terra - the light of the selfish, arrogant, and greedy souls of Terra - are stuck within his opened chest, powering him like an exposed heart or soul. Terra is his power source. Garland cannot rest. He was not created to rest. He was created to follow the reasons the Terrans gave him for his existence. (I exist only to kill) Garland exists and has existed unable to find his own reason for living - Terra’s forever trapped within him. A constant reminder. On the outside, Garland has withered away through his taste of eternity, while Terra’s light has remained strong within him, still forcing, powering, and pulling him forward to the ultimate goal. Perhaps that’s why Garland is only able to voice his own thoughts in death (even calling their failures towards their planet arrogant, and reflecting positively on his chance at existence despite his purpose), after the light of Terra inside him has finally gone out and he is beyond his creators’ reach.

Though, my final, and favorite, interpretation of his design begs a question… are there truly even any Terrans left? Memories and experiences make the soul, FFIX tells us. Garland cannot take Zidane’s soul from him as his soul is no longer the power source Garland gifted him. It is the laughter, tears, and memories Zidane shared with his loved ones on Gaia. Zidane is of Gaia. He is Gaian. So then who is Terran? The genomes, even Kuja, are not of Terra. Not the true Terra, anyway. The Terra the sleeping souls tried to preserve in the face of mortality and the wasting away that comes with time. The people we see are from the planet’s remains. The true Terrans are those who know the history, who know the culture, who lived and walked and experienced the planet when it was its own, and not a parasite latched inside another. The genomes know nothing of these things. If we call them “Terrans” it’s only because they were created on the fragments that were left inside of Gaia. In reality the Genomes were finally born on Gaia, once they began to experience - began to create memories of their own. There’s a reason Terra’s water does no flow. The world we visit within Gaia is just a frozen memory of a long dead planet.

And when those sleeping souls of Terra... when they finally arise will they even be Terran? They will have no memories of the planet or crystal where they originally cycled. Even if Gaia was assimilated, they will have bodies born on the planet of Gaia, where only remains of Terra lie, from the failed merging of the crystals. Even if the crystal of Gaia turns red the memories of these new “Terrans” will be of their new planet. They will essentially be Gaian and will likely consider themselves so as there is no plan to pass down memories to these new people from Garland. Garland is restoring the Terran souls into a new cycle, as if trying to return things to how they were before Terra’s death. It’s like a child trying to get a deceased loved one to play or react to them like they always do, not understanding things will never be like that again. Garland can never truly restore Terra or the Terrans to the they were. Those people, the original Terrans, even if their souls remain, have been lost to death and time. Perhaps their memories could have been passed on much like Vivi’s at the end of the game but because they were so desperate to ensure that their “superior” life, history, culture, and race endured forever, they lost the chance to truly persevere such things by passing it down to others in the present for the future. Instead such things were lost when they tried to allow themselves to endure by erasing the life from another planet.

All this is to say that, the only true Terrans are those who hold one of their souls, who know the history, and the culture and the only such person who exists, is Garland. He is the last true Terran. The remains of Terra have been cast with the blue of Gaia’s light. The Terra we see, that we visit? That’s not Terra. Terra is gone. Only one of its people remains. And the tragedy is that while Garland says his goal is to restore Terra, he’s going about it in the wrong way. In reality, Garland, an almost immortal being, who carries the last true light of Terra within himself, always had the means to truly preserve Terra and its people’s memories: by simply sharing them with the future. Instead, the Terrans doomed Garland and their planet with their plans of grandeur and eternity. A doomed fate that follows all who attempt to escape death. Which is why it is perhaps so appropriate that when Kuja destroys the remains of Terra within Gaia it is only fitting that Garland has died along with them too.

least favorite thing about them:

Like Kuja, as an antagonist, there’s a lot to dislike about Garland, but that’s intentional. He’s a good villain, I like him. I rather mention something that kinda annoys me writing wise? Not even annoying, just something that gave me a raised brow the first time I played the game and now gives me a headache the more I think about it: Omnipresent Garland voice.

Now Garland speaking to Zidane in Memoria I can deal with. It can make sense, even though it’s not explained. He’s a timeless being who existed before the current civilization on Gaia began. You could argue through his soul experimentation and millennia existence he has found a way to keep a level of consciousness as his own soul travels to the crystal. We know the cycle of souls is slower due to the manipulation of the crystal by Garland so it makes sense his souls is traveling slowly in the cycle towards the crystal after his death, allowing him to find Zidane and chat. Its also an interesting parallel of Zidane and co. traveling through Memoria, deeper into the crystal, while Garland’s souls travels too. Memoria is almost like Garland’s 5000 year life flashing before his eyes. Until he eventually reaches the end. The void of space. Perhaps the void of death. It’s the place his voice finally leaves Zidane. Is Garland’s voice disappearing into that void an indication of him stuck in a purgatory like state? Never return to a crystal? Or perhaps that void is the end of himself (of his consciousness), as we know him, but his soul continues on like Zidane and the others do as he is accepted into the cycle of Gaia’s Crystal? Whatever the case I can deal with Garland’s bodiless voice in the end game. I like it honestly.

What bothers me a bit is Garland’s voice appearing right after Kuja kicks him off the cliff. I get it. Kuja has to feel on top of the world before he spirals and crashes. He finishes off Garland and gets to dance about in victorious glee only before Garland’s voice resounds in everyone’s heads. His presence still lingering even after death to inform Kuja of his own impending fate. But it’s still a little jarring when it happens the first time you play it. Garland falls to his death and then he’s telepathing through the force. There’s a moment of “wait he’s alive?” then “wait he’s not” and then “how’s he doing this?” It can take you out of the scene which should very much be about Kuja. This is very much a nitpick and something that can be explained away because of Garland’s character and capabilities but whenever I play I’m like oh here comes ghost Garland. Though maybe it’s better to think that Garland actually did survive the fall and as he lies dying in the abyss beneath Pandemonium, with his remaining strength, he speaks to Kuja and others in the same way Kuja speaks to Mikoto and Zidane at the end of the game. Yeah I like that. Seems I fixed my own gripe. And now the essays are over and we can get to the fun stuff.

favorite line: I have some favorite villain lines of Garland and some favorite sentimental post-Mufasa’d-Garland lines. We’ll start with villain: "Forget all that. You are destined to live among the stars for all eternity.” I love this line, it’s kinda haunting that this is not just Garland’s motive but the motive of the Terrans. I then love Zidane’s retort. Their whole back and forth is just William Shatner Shakespeare drama father vs very angry teenage theater kid son. Number 2: "Don't you know what it means to meet your maker?" Something about this line real hits home the clashing between Zidane and Garland in Pandemonium. It always stood out to me, especially the first time I played. It’s the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Garland. He is Zidane’s creator who was so ready to erase him with barely a snap of his fingers. As for sentimental lines, I’m predictable: “Zidane… take care of Kuja.” and “Even if I were created to serve one purpose alone, I do not regret being born to this world." Shout out to - despite my earlier ravings - Garland’s narration over the scenes in Memoria. When you encounter each memory and then get the fade to black with his objective description, it’s like the souls who have experienced each memory I talking through him. Both Terran and Gaian.

brOTP: Garland has no bros. He has no friends. Though I would have liked to see Mikoto and Garland interact. I wonder what her feelings were towards him as she was his third project, a last resort, who would easily be replaced if she went wrong in the same way Zidane replaced Kuja, and she replaced Zidane.

OTP: Garland x the eternal sleep

nOTP: Do people even ship Garland with anyone

random headcanon: I always thought that after Garland attempted to steal Zidane's soul he carried him in his arms to inside of Pandemonium and placed him in that chair. It felt disturbing and poetic to me. This idea that when Zidane is at his most vulnerable - his soul literally being pulled from his flesh - Garland, his creator, carries him away like a father would a son. Yet Garland brings Zidane to the deepest part of Pandemonium to place him on a throne where he’ll sit alone, as everything that makes Zidane, Zidane, slowly slips away. A creator - a father in some sense - drops his son into solitude never expecting Zidane’s true family to come through, reigniting Zidane’s very soul. Perhaps at that point when they come to face him, Garland already had an inclination he’d lose.

unpopular opinion: Not sure I have an unpopular one? Something I realized though is Kuja’s purple/silver/white hair may very well be his natural color as it matches Garland’s hair. I’d like to think that Kuja, as Garland’s first unique, soul-filled genome, was created in Garland’s image. Garlands also a great villain who is built up well by the entire game and he does not come out of nowhere. That may be a hot take for the non-ffix appreciators

song i associate with them: Copied City by Keigo Hoashi and of course, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (though this piece also has a distinctly dramatic Kuja vibe as well). If Garland got his own unique boss theme I’d imagine it being something dramatically played on the organ. Though nothing fits Garland like and Mourning by Keiichi Okabe. This piece is just incredible in general but it's insanely powerful and well, mournful. (And you KNOW WHAT I just found the ARRANGED piece of mourning and hOLY ORGAN: Mourning Arranged by Sachiko Miyano. I am now adding it as required reading music for this post.)

favorite picture of them: This piece by @spoonybart is haunting. The colors and lighting form the center glow of Garland’s chest really give him the other worldly and imposing presence he has in game.

Also this art by @oeilvert Literally so incredible. It is ingrained in my experience of playing FFIX for the first time. When I got to Terra and experienced Pandemonium for the first time I went searching for art that captured my feelings and found this piece. It is perfect.

And then there’s this piece by もりもり on pixiv. I found it and can’t stop thinking about it. Absolutely incredible. It makes me wheeze whenever I see it. Garterbelt Garland. Amazing 100/10 everyone else go home.

#asks #werareallkujaandkadajstans #ffix #final fantasy ix #garland #garland ffix #final fantasy 9 #kuja #zidane tribal #feel free to send me whatever characters ya'll i will continue my essay writing #you're also now legally obligated to go give love to all that art and the artists #if you don't your soul won't cycle

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nimsajlove · 3 years

Text

Death

The final battle is won by the Jedi, with Ahsoka Tano right at the front. But at what cost?

Brothers-AU Ao3

The radio silence to the planet below was broken when a small light flashed silently on the holo table. All the clones on the bridge paused a second until Rex took a deep breath and answered the call. A few figures appeared, most of them gathered around the table. He saw General Secura and Bly, tall and protective behind her. Wolffe was there, his annoyed gaze on Plo Koon on the other side of the table. Cody and Kenobi stood next to each other, Rex directly opposite. They looked tired, General Kenobi's shoulders had slumped forward. A few admirals from the surrounding cruisers had also already joined the group. In the center, on the table, was the almost motionless form of Mace Windu. His shoulders were in a straight line with his back and he gave each of those gathered a calm look. Should that radiate security? "The men on the ships can now be sent down, the situation is under control.", Windu ordered calmly and General Secura nodded, within a second many of them had disappeared again and Rex immediately cut the connection himself. Instead, he opened the internal channel and looked through the visor of his helmet at Jesse, who was standing tense beside him. “Get ready to move out, the medics have priority. We'll send them down in small groups.”, he instructed and was a little surprised at how calm he sounded.

* ~ *

Ahsoka paced the bridge like a caged animal. Her gaze kept sliding to the window, still only the hyperspace could be seen. With a deep breath, she forced herself to stand still and tightened a strap on her breastplate. The clones had asked her to wear advanced gear, and when even Kix had spoken to her about it, she was no longer able to argue. With one thumb she traced small circles on the rough paint of her bracer, that helped. Her pulse calmed down, her head cleared. Plo Koon was right behind them on his cruiser, the agreement between the two Jedi also calmed Ahsoka's last hectic thoughts. "Sir, we are ready.", a calm voice announced from the door and Ahsoka straightened up with a low sigh, this would be hard. "Thanks, but you'll stay." The clone came closer and a steady hand landed on her shoulder. "Ahsoka, let us come with you.", Rex asked right next to her and she looked up, he had the helmet on and she followed the bronze-colored patterns with her gaze before giving his hand a quick squeeze. "Kid, you don't have to do this alone.", he urged as her pause continued and she gave him a small smile. "I know, but you and Master Plo’s men are the reinforcement. If the Seps also attack Coruscant while we are fighting down there, we will need fresh troops.", she explained quietly and the hand on her shoulder got heavier, Rex couldn't say anything about that. The tactic was understandable. His shoulders sagged a little and she recognized the sigh, even if the low tone did not get through to her. At the same time they leaned forward and Ahsoka pressed her forehead against her brother's helmet. They paused for a few heartbeats, then a noticeable jolt went through the cruiser and Ahsoka looked up to see their destination in front of them. Sighing, she pressed her lips to the side of Rex's helmet, then pulled away. "Commander, I'll leave the bridge to you.", she smiled and Rex nodded slowly, then raised his hand in a faint salute. "General, we will wait for you."

* ~ *

Rex had quickly left the bridge to the other officers, Kix could watch from his corner how the Commander controlled and steered the normal chaos in the hangar. His calm voice carried far, all the way to him and the others. Jesse stood next to Kix, still as a rock. He had Hevy and Cutup in tow, they seemed determined not to leave the Medic's side. A few steps further Burnes had shouldered his rucksack and was just putting on his helmet. In his back stood Fives, Mad, and Crick. Behind them the next medic, again accompanied by three other soldiers. They were led by Echo, he kept glancing over at Fives. Fives returned the glances through his helmet and Kix was sure that he was signaling slowly and clearly at waist level. Echo nodded and watched what was happening around them again.

* ~ *

Gut checked the instruments one last time before starting the engines and the ship came to life beneath him. A small indicator lit up, within a few seconds it told him that the ship was fully occupied. That was good, with a satisfied nod, Gut closed the doors and waited for the start signal. Then he started.

Coruscant looked peacefully from up here, only when they got closer to the temple did Gut see from his seat what the Jedi had fended off here.

* ~ *

Fives was the first to jump out of the still floating ship and look around with his pistols raised. Immediately a clone came towards him, Appo was not difficult to recognize. Fives lowered the weapons and waited for a report, instead Appo ran at him at full speed and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. "Force, I'm glad to see you here.", he whimpered softly and Fives was so confused! Completely disconcerted, he put one of his pistols away and wrapped his free arm around Appo. He just kept talking. Something about a mad General Skywalker, and dead men, dead children. He talked until Burnes grabbed him and directed him to the next wall, there he just slumped and stayed where he was. A few other men seemed to recognize the situation and came over, they were from the Guard. At the red color, Five's stomach clenched into a small ball, but the medics immediately took to Appo and a familiar figure pulled off his helmet.

Fives thought he hated Fox. But it looked more like the Commander would do THAT himself. Even Fives had to admit that he looked awful. “Ah, Fives. I ... we ... ", Fox tried to begin slowly and frowned in dissatisfaction, he seemed frustrated. And tired. Dried blood was stuck to his temple, hadn't there been time to take a look at that? How long has the Commander been walking around here with, Fives assumed, a concussion? Anyway, they had to go on. Obtain relevant information. "Tano or Skywalker, where?", he asked and Fox's face calmed down, he nodded and still looked a little confused. But calm. "I last saw Tano at the council chamber.", he announced and Fives breathed a sigh of relief, the chances that Ahsoka was still alive were probably not that bad. The others were already moving again, he hesitated. He leaned the back of his hand against Fox's stiff arm for a moment and studied him. "Take a rest, Commander, I'm sure the others have it under control."

* ~ *

Echo was faster, he almost ran into a temple guard in the middle of the hallway. Immediately the strange Jedi grabbed his arm and prevented any stumbling, but also got between him and whatever was happening in the corridor behind him. "We're looking for General Tano.", Echo reported quickly, hoping to get on like this. The guard didn't move, but a figure behind it. "Let them through, I need these men over here.", General Plo Koon's calm voice came over and the guard stepped aside, the small clone unit hastily moved across the corridor to the other Jedi.

Wolffe had already found his general with a few men in tow. Echo almost stumbled when he saw them carefully lining up small bundles of white fabric against a wall. Too big for rubble, too small for adults. Then his gaze slid to Plo Koon and Wolffe, they were both standing near a window and shielding two figures from everything around them. When Ahsoka's men came closer, the General seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and his Commander took off his helmet, came a few steps towards Echo and hastily grabbed him and the Medic. They were braked so hard that both of them stumbled. "Be careful, she already tried to bite me.", he growled and Echo saw tiny holes between the armor on Wolffe's glove. Ahsoka had tried to bite him? What happened? Droidbait pushed past them and Plo Koon made way. The togruta crouched on the floor, her hands clutching a man's face. His head rested in her lap, her whole body shook, and she had her face hidden against his chest. General Skywalker wasn't breathing.

* ~ *

Droidbait came to a stop, slipping slightly, he didn't have to be a medic to read the black holes in General Skywalker's robes. They weren't blaster holes. What happened here?! Ahsoka seemed to be able to sense him moving a step closer to her. Her shoulders tensed and a loud rumble came from deep in her throat, a sound the clones had rarely heard. Like a wounded animal, she curled up even closer to protect Skywalker's head, Droidbait stopped and waited. It wouldn't work like normally, they knew Ahsoka's panic attacks and this was worse than any of them. Without further ado he fell to his knees and crawled a little closer, he saw blood and soot sticking to Ahsoka's clothes. The medic wouldn't be able to look at her like that. "We already tried to separate her from Skywalker, we had to… retreat.", General Plo Koon muttered behind him and Droidbait bit the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. This would probably get ugly...

"Ahsoka?", he asked softly, a growl answered him. Huh, it wasn't often that he was really scared of her. But now the time had come. Even if that wasn't a reason to try the gentle way first. "Vod'ika?", he tried again and slowly pulled the helmet off his head with one hand, perhaps an unfiltered voice would help. Oh, if only Rex were here! Ahsoka didn't react, Droidbait saw Echo kneel down next to him out of the corner of his eye. "You hold her, I'll detach her from General Skywalker.", Echo muttered, Droidbait nodded, that sounded like a plan. "I'll take the lightsabers from her.", Wolffe muttered from behind them. Was he that afraid of her hurting somebody? Echo glanced at him, Droidbait daring not turn his head. He had to keep an eye on Ahsoka. "Ready?", Echo finally mumbled softly from the side and when no one contradicted he took a deep breath. "Go."

Droidbait quickly shot forward and pulled his sister up by the shoulders, Echo had grabbed her hands and released her grip on the other Jedi in a blink. That gave him the chance to wrap his arms around her and fix her arms in place. Arms full of a growling, crying and kicking woman, Droidbait simply let himself fall back. His back made hard acquaintance with the polished temple floor, and Ahsoka briefly pressed the air out of his lungs. From the corner of his eye he saw that Wolffe was putting the two lightsabers into Plo Koon's hands. Then a hot pain shot up his arm. Razor sharp teeth had bored into his hand and Ahsoka's growl vibrated right into it. But he didn't let go. Not even when two men took the dead Jedi and carried him away. When Ahsoka bit harder and reared up violently. Or when she slowly calmed down and lay limp on him and simply refused to let go of his hand. Part of his attention followed the medic, who somehow had persuaded Plo Koon to sit down. He was unsatisfied working on the Jedi Master's wounds, that was good. Wolffe stood by and his silent anger bounced off Plo Koon's calm. The two were a good match.

Suddenly another liquid joined the blood on his hand. He lifted his head a little, tears ran thick and fast down Ahsoka's face and a violent, loud sob shook both her and his hand. "It's okay.", he muttered and looked around hastily for Echo, who had started to help with the tiny bodies and saw his new situation. With quick steps he came over and helped Droidbait into an upright position, Ahsoka landed on his lap and although she still refused to release the bite, she buried her face in his chest as best she could. "We're here, you're okay.", Echo muttered, rubbing one hand over the valley between her montrals. That made it worse. A loud whimper filled the hallway and even the temple guard withdrew.

* ~ *

"General Tano!" Ahsoka looked up, breathing heavily and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She did not see exactly who was approaching her. But the clone was part of the 501st and that was enough to be alarmed. Had something happened to Anakin? “He's gone mad! He just… he has…” The soldier choked on his own sentence and leaned forward, coughing violently. She supported his shoulder with one hand, the battle going on around her faded into the background. "What happened?", she demanded calmly and the clone shuddered under her hand. “He ordered us to attack the Jedi, a few refused. He just…” He started coughing again and Ahsoka gripped his shoulder tighter, she went cold. What had Anakin done? What had left his men at this state of panik? And why should they stand against the Jedi? She knew the wrath of her former master and she did not want to be afraid, but she feared so much for the life of the clones. "Where did he go?" The man gulped down another coughing fit and pointed in the direction from which he had come. "Council chamber.", he managed and Ahsoka squeezed his shoulder. “Call your men back, they shouldn't interfere! We'll take care of it.“, she instructed and looked up, she looked for the others and found them quickly. A nudge in the force was enough and the Jedi Masters shot over to her. "What's going on?", Kenobi asked and gripped his lightsaber tighter. Behind him, Plo Koon had still raised the blade and Ayla Secura had the protective figure of her Commander directly behind her. "Anakin.", Ahsoka growled quickly and sprinted off.

* ~ *

Rex left the last shuttle that landed on the planet. It felt like an eternity since he had last heard from the troops on the ground. He looked around, spotted Cody and tore his helmet off in one quick movement, a small part of his fear fell away from him. Cody was alive. The other saw him and walked over to him with great strides before he just crashed into Rex and let the helmet sink onto his shoulder. Rex threw his arms around Cody, who suddenly laughed dryly and humorlessly. "I'm so kriffing tired Rex.", he mumbled and Rex wasn't sure if he was actually slurring. Almost two rotations had passed since they sent the first men down. Sighing, he pushed Cody away and studied his brother's limp posture. “Take a rest, I know this is not your shift. It's Bly and Wolffe's turn now. Sit down, get some sleep.”, he asked softly and Cody nodded. Fuck, he must be really tired. With his shoulders sagging, he went to the next wall and slid down, Rex could swear Cody was asleep before he was actually seated. It was strange to see the seasoned commander like that.

He hadn't expected to find his brother apart from General Kenobi. He looked around searching, the sheer number of bodies all around the edges of the hangar made him shudder. With stiff shoulders, he put his helmet back on and began his search. On the way he passed clones and Jedis who were carefully moving the dead to the side. Most of the medics had gathered in a wide corridor and Rex was frightened. There were more Jedis among the injured than clones. The latter wore mostly blue and red, what had the 501st got into? He saw a familiar figure and pushed through the rows until he could take the soldier by the arm. Crick, who loyally followed a medic and lend a hand as best he could, jumped violently and slapped the Commander's hand away in a relfex, only then did he look up and his shoulders slumped down again. "Sorry Commander.", he muttered hastily and handed something to the medic. Rex eyed the younger clone, he looked unharmed. "Where can I find the others?", he asked and gave the display of the communication channels in his helmet a sour look, the radio had failed about 10 hours ago. And even before that, Ahsoka hadn't answered. "The remnants of the 501st are gathered two aisles further, the 332nd has its resting place near the quarters.", said Crick and despite the helmet, his voice sounded pressed. Remnants of the 501st? What the fuck happened here?! He should have gone down with Ahsoka, first of all! Despite his inner turmoil, Rex nodded curtly and set off. He knew only a few plans of the temple, but the 501st was really not difficult to find. He rounded the corner and stopped. Maybe 60 or 70 men leaned against the wall or lay on the floor, all huddled together and tense as if something were coming up to attack them any second. A few meters further there were bodies lined up, too many to count quickly. Their helmets lay on the white sheets. This was bad, so much worse than anything. If Rex had believed that Umbara or Teth had taken on the men seriously, then this was no longer a battlefield. It was an execution and few had escaped.

One of the figures got up, spotted him, and stumbled over to him. Blood and soot obscured most of the blue color. Someone would have to get Skywalker's head hit after this! To leave the men alone in this state was unheard of! "Where's General Skywalker?", he asked harshly and was surprised when the clone in front of him winced as if he'd been hit. Had his tone been that wrong? "He's dead, Commander.", whimpered the man in front of him and Rex fell silent. Skywalker, dead? Cody without a Kenobi. And Ahsoka? "And General Tano?", he asked more calmly, Ahsoka would definitely help to take care of the men as soon as she knew about all the circumstances. She had never let her family grieve alone. "I don't know, we haven't seen her in two rotations." Rex went cold.

* ~ *

Cutup was so damn tired. Again and again his chin sagged on his chest, but he wasn't allowed to sleep now. Puffing, he struggled into a more upright position and watched Burnes patch up Droidbait's hand. "Ouch.", Jesse commented dryly from the side, but his eyes never left the door. How then, if Ahsoka and Kix were in there. They had also promised Cody that they would keep an eye on General Kenobi. And he was also in the small quarter.

Cutup threatened to sag again and took a light push from Hevy. He looked up gratefully, while his gaze slid over the 332nd. The corridor was packed, all the men who tried to spend their 5 hour break sleeping had leaned against the walls and dozed off, in between lay the few injured. Five groups had had the bad luck to end up with a leftover fallen Jedi to run into. They were still alive, even if the Medics had fought hard for Thud for some time. If Cutup craned his head a little, he could see him lying next to Mad and Target, his head resting on Tar’s thigh. Cutup was just thinking about getting up and getting back to work; he wasn't going to use the three remaining hours to sleep anyway. The door next to him slid open and Kix and Kenobi came out. Deep scratches graced the Medic's armor, Ahsoka's physical strength WAS impressive, even if also frightening. Kenobi looked tired, his eyes hollow and his hair tangled. "Go and rest General, I'll let you know if something changes.", Kix mumbled softly, Cutup was sure that only the few clones at the door could overhear. Kenobi nodded slowly. "I'll be back here in a few hours Kix, don't worry.", he tried to smile and failed. Then he disappeared down the aisle, his robe flowing behind him. Kix took a step out of the door, a loud scream set in behind him and as the door slid shut it broke off. "Can't we do something?", Hevy asked quietly and some men looked up at Kix for help, the medic wearily rubbed his face. “What should we do if each of us risks his fingers by even looking at her? You see what happened to Droidbait's hand. We don't need that now.", he growled and the men grumbled softly, suddenly one of them looked down the corridor and winced. "Something else we don't need.", he muttered hastily and some around him looked up to follow his gaze. Cutup picked himself up a little too.

Rex had Fives and Echo in tow, both talking to their old friend. Echo reassuringly, judging Fives by his demeanor he chose the course of a direct confrontation. "Not this too...", Kix muttered and grabbed his helmet from Jesse, he had never seen Rex in such a mood. He ignored his two companions completely and made his way through the crowd, circled the wounded and stood up in front of Kix. "She's alive?", he asked, his voice hard and pressed. Kix nodded tightly and Rex's tall stature collapsed a little, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and looked at the men around him for the first time. He took off his helmet, Cutup eyed him and exchanged a critical look with Hevy. Of course, the Commander hadn't slept since they picked up Plo Koon. He looked damn tired. But he held himself upright and his eyes were clear. "Then why are we all waiting out here?", he asked Kix softly and the medic nodded over to Droidbait. Burnes had simply slumped to the floor next to him and was dozing on the other clone's shoulder. "Hey Rex, what's up?", Droidbait tried to joke and raised his bandaged hand in greeting. Rex eyed him, a small smile appeared on his face. "You probably not anymore.", he took up the banter and then gave Kix a questioning look. Cutup stretched his legs, this was going to be interesting. “She bit down to the bones of his hand. These are from her.”, Kix explained and waved his scratched arm, his tone neutral and distant. Cutup understood, just don't think too hard about the situation. Rex seemed to be brooding and gripped his helmet tighter under his arm. "We can't leave her alone, not when Skywalker is dead.", he muttered, quietly. All clones froze, until Jesse raised a hand and squeezed Kix's shoulder. "She killed him.", he explained and Cutup would from now on forever remember the day on which even Commander Rex's calm facial features had slipped.

* ~ *

Ahsoka tried to find something in all this darkness, but there was nothing. Just this hole where her Skyguy had once been. She had ignored her bond with Anakin Skywalker for a long time, but this was different. There was nothing there! A huge void that nothing seemed to fill. If Master Kenobi had felt this way on Naboo, she was amazed that he hadn't thrown himself to his death. Even dying had been easier than this, and she knew death. Oh, she wanted to go back to that empty weightlessness. But every breath still burned her lungs. There were voices, far away and growling softly, she curled up even closer in the darkness. She didn't want to go to these voices, she wanted to go back to her Master. She wanted back what she had destroyed herself! The voices grew louder and a low hiss made her slide back until she had massive resistance in her back. A wall? Probably.

She waited, a rumble still low in her throat, as several figures moved across the room. Too loud for a Jedi, her rumble stopped. These weren't Jedi, that was okay. Nobody who would get her out of here. "Vod’ika?“, asked a rough voice and Ahsoka got goose bumps, she didn't deserve this address! A choked, wet growl forced its way out of her throat and she wrapped her arms around her head, why didn't she have ears that she could just keep shut ?! The voices murmured softly to one another, she was not adressed. She sorely missed the taste of blood in her mouth, the soothing weight that she had been able to chew on. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew it had been a brother's hand. But it had also been a brother's voice that had told her the truth right to her face. Anakin Skywalker was gone and she was still here! Why was she still here?! "Ahsoka, stop hiding.", another voice grumbled, her memory recognizing the different ways of speaking and promptly providing her with pictures. She didn't want to know a name for this face, she didn't want any reason to stay here any longer! "That's childish, at least apologize to Droidbait.", another brother reprimanded her, her head happily busy digging out her memories. Droidbait, so she had gnawed his hand? Huh... There was silence for a short while and Ahsoka turned back to the hole in her, it was so big that she couldn't feel anything beyond it. Then a hand grabbed her firmly by the shoulders, her cozy darkness crumbling into a thousand pieces. Where would they take her now? Farther away? Growling, she struck blindly at the person above her and snapped wildly until she got something between her teeth. Too soft for meat, it covered her tongue like cotton wool, and when she increased the pressure, her teeth almost severed the soft material. What was that? "Kid come on, look at me.", a low voice echoed through her head and she shuddered, this was the least brother she wanted to see. She knew when he was here, she had already lost her fight.

The grip on her shoulders tightened as she tried to curl up again. Escape was impossible, hiding in vain. Growling and trembling, she opened her eyes and stared at Rex. He just stared back until he carefully removed a hand from her shoulders. Far too gently he put it on her cheek. Her body screamed, she wanted to fight. For her life, for that of her master. She didn't want this affection, this calm. She didn't deserve any of this. She had failed! "We couldn't follow Hardcase and we can't follow him, but they'll be waiting for you. And we will stay with you right here.", Rex muttered, sounding so sure, so convinced. The hole was still there, but her shields broke like fine glass and her senses were flooded with the emotions of the people in the room. It hurt, a hoarse sob broke through the thing she was chewing on. Since when was she crying again? She blinked, her vision blurred. She couldn't see the others and panic overcame her. What if she lost them too? She blinked frantically again and tried to raise her hands to pull the thing out of her rigid jaw. What had just been offering peace now seemed to stifle her. Hands grabbed her wrists, preventing her from touching her face. No! She wanted to breathe! Her breaths came faster and faster through her nose, her throat tightened. And then there were fingers, gently plucking the thing out of her mouth and she gasped for air, wanted to curl up protectively and instead fell with all her weight against a warm body. Warm and alive. Arms held her, she felt dizzy. She was still gasping for air until a hand hit her cheek more forcefully than she had expected. She choked on the breath and coughed. Her head cleared. Where the fuck was she? "Was that necessary Kix?", muttered a disapproving voice, Jesse. Oh yes, her brothers were here. And the other men were sure to be waiting for her. Because the battle was over. Because she had kil... The thought hurt so much that she shuddered and shook her head violently. She didn't want to see the pictures! That was not fair!

She felt Rex grab her tighter and tilt her head, so her montrals actually fitted under his chin. Then a low hum vibrated right through her montrals into her head. Without thinking about it, much of the tension left her body, even though she couldn't stop the tears.

* ~ *

Cody woke up with a familiar weight beside him. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times. Damn it, he was still wearing his helmet. That would surely take revenge in a few moments. How long had he been asleep? He could still remember Rex quite clearly, everything after that was gone. Kriff. With a tormented sigh, he looked to the side and examined his General briefly. Obi Wan Kenobi had curled up under his robe beside him and slept like a stone. Or at least like one by his standards, because he hadn't woken up yet. Only when Cody sat up carefully did the Jedi next to him stir and looked around, disoriented. The Commander saw the exact second in which Kenobi was back in the reality. He looked up at him with dull eyes, and the blank stare struck him. Ah shab, that Skywalker had to side with the Sith too. Laser-brained idiot, now Cody not only had to chase after his General, he also had to be careful that Kenobi didn't take any of this personally!

So absorbed in his thoughts, he only noticed quite late how a person approached with quick steps. Ah, Fox. Was he back on his feet? Cody grumbled and got up, a shitty idea. His back protested violently and even Kenobi winced when it cracked loudly. “Some Jedi-healer sent me off. The 332nd refuses to let her see General Tano, she hopes Kenobi could help.", he grumbled and Cody longed for a coffee. And the power to turn back time a little. Until a point where he could have simply chained Skywalker to a chair and everything would have been fine. It wasn't possible though, so he would do the next best thing. Making sure his family was safe. "I'll see what I can do Commander.", Kenobi tried to smile, he was still sitting on the floor and was just about to fold the robe neatly. Fox nodded curtly and turned to leave, briefly pushing the back of his hand against Cody's. Yes, Cody was glad the other was still alive too. Even so, he didn't look after Fox, but pulled General Kenobi up onto his feet. "Well then, Sir. Let's see what Tano and Rex did this time.", he growled and was satisfied when it actually seemed to amuse Kenobi, at least a bit. He gave a bark of laughter and patted his clothes. "My dear, how bad can it be?"

It was pretty bad, nearly unbearable. As soon as they had rounded the corner they stood in front of a corridor full of men. For a split second they just sat there or talked softly to each other, then they had spotted the newcomers and their formation closed. A solid wall of clones between them and the door to Tano. Kriff, it was hard to see how determined and loyal the men were. But it was stupid even to assume Kenobi would do any harm to Ahsoka Tano. So Cody did what he was good at. Taking a deep breath, he moved calmly towards the crowd, he felt Kenobi closely following him. And when they got to the men, the Commander just pushed his way between them. Nobody dared to really stop him in the end. He had bet that, Kenobi could snake along behind him without lifting a finger.

Marshal Commander Cody only had to pause right in front of the door, a few of the younger clones under Tano's command pushed themselves in front of him, blocking the way. "She didn't do anything, there is no need to take her away.", one of them grumbled, a jagged line on the forehead of the helmet. Right next to him was a face that Cody already knew. Ahsoka had spoken of Hug, she liked him. "It doesn't matter which Jedi you send, she won't come with you.", Hug muttered a little more calmly than his friend next to him, but no less convinced. Cody eyed the small group, what were they doing? "Why should I take General Tano away?", he asked, sounding a little perplexed. Yes, that covered it pretty well. Nobody was interested in taking Ahsoka Tano anywhere. What for?! “The Jedi wanted to take her with her, so we refused. Sir, she must not be punished.", a voice answered quietly and carefully, it belonged to a soldier with a striped helmet. Ah, this one Cody definitely knew! Thud was perhaps a little better known than the young clone himself liked. The story about him had made Cody smile a few times in the past few weeks. "Punished? Why that?!", Kenobi asked and Cody winced in surprise. Kark, his General was still there too. He took a hasty step to the side, Kenobi looked at the men in front of the door in amazement. “General, we can well imagine what was done with Dogma back then. I don't think the Order would simply dispose of General Tano, but there is still brainwashing so...", grumbled a pilot from the floor next to the door, Cody held his breath. Nobody knew 100% what was happening on Kamino, but every clone had a rough idea of it. But the Jedi had never been approached about it! That was a taboo so that the Order couldn't send them away. "…dispose? Who does that?", asked Kenobi and the pure shock and disbelief in his voice made all men hesitate, Cody let out a deep breath and then breathed it in again. Okay, that was unexpected, but welcome. "You don't know what the Kaminoans do with defective clones?", Cody asked on the spot and Kenobi shook his head violently. Was the horror better in his eyes than the void before? Maybe, after all, it was something. Cody hated himself for the thought. It was better to act quickly and help the others to catch up mentally. “Soldiers, I don't think the Jedi Order acts like Kamino. Nothing will happen to her, I promise.", he turned to the men in front of the door. Before anyone could answer, it slid open and a helmeted head emerged. “Wonderful words, Commander. I still have my doubts, but Ahsoka heard the two of you, so inside with you guys.”, Fives instructed and if the situation wasn't so absurd, Cody would have been slightly irritaded.

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cheri-translates · 4 years

Text

[CN] Gavin’s Delightful Search Date (Eng Translation)

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a date (觅趣之约) which has not been released in English servers! 🍒

This wholesome date graced the CN Server in early January 2020. It comes with an event, which I’ve included as a prologue 🌸

[ PROLOGUE ]

The proposal Kiki just sent me is displayed on the screen. After reading it carefully, I shift my gaze away from it.

The evening has already set in. I stare out of the window, towards the ink-blue sky, and my mood suddenly dulls.

The glow of sunset sweeps across the calendar at the side--

MC: It’s tomorrow...

I mumble softly, unsuppressed disappointment in my voice.

As I’m just about to get up, my phone suddenly rings. The name flashing on the screen happens to be the person I’m worried about.

I hurriedly press the ‘answer’ button.

Gavin: MC, are you still busy?

I take a deep breath, trying my hardest to channel a big smile so that my voice would sound full of vitality as usual.

MC: I’m more or less done with today’s work. What about you?

Gavin: There’s still one more suspect to interrogate.

After saying this, a pause lingers in the air.

There’s a faint crackle of electricity. Just when I’m about to speak, Gavin broaches the subject first.

Gavin: Tomorrow...

Originally, Gavin and I had agreed to go on a trip tomorrow. This was a trip I had been looking forward to for a very long time, but...

Yesterday, Gavin told me that because of a sudden mission, he has to remain in Loveland City, and can’t leave.

Our planned trip had to be cancelled.

Gavin: Tomorrow, which street do you plan to start from? I’ll accompany you.

MC: Huh? Wait... h-how did you know?

A soft laugh comes from the other end of the line. Gavin doesn’t respond directly to my question.

Slightly shocked, I look at the proposal which is still displayed on my screen.

This is a new program the company is planning to do - it’s a program involving searching for oddities.

I have to scour through the streets of Loveland City to look for various strange news and amusing incidents, then let the audience pick the “King of Weirdness”.

MC: What about your mission? Wouldn’t it be affected?

Gavin: It wouldn’t. It’s fine as long as I’m on standby in Loveland City. If a situation suddenly crops up, they will contact me. So, I will accompany you tomorrow.

I can’t prevent a grin from appearing on my face, and I can hear my erratic heartbeat.

Deliberately concealing my happiness, I bite my lip and ask him softly:

MC: ...only tomorrow?

In the next second, I hear Gavin’s faint and familiar laugh. His tone seems to become more gentle.

Gavin: I’ll accompany you over these few days. I’m really sorry about breaking my promise regarding the trip. Fortunately, I have an opportunity to make up for it. It should be very interesting to explore the streets of Loveland City with you.

No longer suppressing the happiness in my heart, I nod excitedly.

MC: Mm... see you tomorrow then!

Gavin: All right. I’ll pick you up at 9am.

After hanging up, I walk over to the window. When I lift my head towards the pitch-black sky, I only see the twinkling stars.

Tomorrow will definitely be a bright and sunny day.

[ DATE ]

The date begins with MC’s final day of exploring Loveland City as part of preparing for the new program

While MC and Gavin walk around, they chance on a beautiful fountain

MC: Why have I never noticed that there’s such a beautiful fountain here! Come to think of it... even though we were bustling around for the sake of collecting materials, we discovered many different things. Not only did we discover a different Loveland City, but also...

I pause and turn around, watching Gavin as he walks up the stairs towards me.

On this winter afternoon, fine and clear sunlight falls on his hair and shoulders, making him look as though he’s emanating a faint amber glow.

I purse my lips and speaks softly.

MC: I also discovered a different you.

Gavin stands beside me, looking as though he’s thinking about something.

Gavin: If you have nothing on tomorrow, we can continue doing this.

My eyes widen.

MC: Continue with this “walking around”?

Gavin: Mm, continuing this different date.

Gavin looks at me, a warm smile in his clear eyes.

Gavin: I was also looking forward to the trip for a very long time. Having to go back on our agreement... and that I didn’t have a choice, I’m still very apologetic. I’ll spend more time with you next time.

My eyes crinkle into the shape of crescent moons, and I nod forcefully as I respond.

MC: Why don’t we walk around the vicinity of Sunshine Alley tomorrow then?

Gavin: All right.

While I speak, I take a step forward. Failing to notice the stairs beneath my feet, I step onto an empty space.

MC: Ahh--!

The pain I anticipated doesn’t arrive. A strong and powerful arm encircles me.

Warmth emanates from Gavin’s palm, seeping into my skin, and also seeping into my heart.

MC: That was close. I almost fell on my face.

Gavin: That wouldn’t happen. With me around, you won’t fall.

The tenderness of his gaze also embeds within it certainty and confidence.

Gavin: There’s no need to worry. No matter what happens, I will always catch you.

Our eyes meet under the marble stone stairs. When he says this, both his tone and his gaze hold the same resoluteness.

Blushing slightly, I scratch my head, trying to make myself look stronger.

MC: Actually... the probability of things happening like they did just now is very, very low! I’m usually not this reckless...

Perhaps realising that my words aren’t that persuasive, my voice subconsciously trails off.

Gavin stands to the side and looks at me, his smile carrying with it a teasing glint.

Gavin: Mm, got it. But you’ll be even safer with me around.

His words dissipate under the sunlight, and he offers his hand to me.

Gavin: Let’s go.

The afternoon sunlight seems to bring with it a certain tipsy spell, causing my cheeks to heat up slightly. Our hands are tightly entwined as we walk towards an unknown destination.

They head towards some lively sounds, and discover a park which has a running track. It’s packed with crowds who are dressed in sports apparel

MC asks a random person whether an activity is behind held, and the person informs them that a relay race would be commencing soon

Hearing his words, I turn towards Gavin, deliberately wearing an expression of deep contemplation.

MC: I remember that in high school, Senior seemed to be an excellent athlete!

Gavin: High school...

Gavin is stunned for a moment, then he reaches out to rub his neck.

Gavin: Yes, there was such a thing. I also remembered that you fainted during a sports meet...

MC: Stop--!

Without waiting for Gavin to finish, I hurriedly stand on my tiptoes and reach out to cover his mouth. Through my gaze, I signal that he isn’t allowed to expose my “dark past”.

Gavin looks at me, his eyes crinkling. He nods gently.

Just as we prepare to leave, a participant suddenly calls out to us.

He looks to be in his forties, and has a frantic expression on his face.

Citizen C: Sorry to bother you, but I heard that you’re an excellent athlete?

Gavin: ...is anything the matter?

The uncle is carrying two sets of sports apparel, wiping sweat off his forehead.

Ah Tu: I’m Ah Tu. The other two members in our team suddenly couldn’t make it... If I can’t find replacements, Ah Yuan and I will be disqualified. But this competition is a promise I made to my daughter, so...

Another man standing at the side nods along with the uncle’s explanation, and he follows with a question.

Ah Yuan: So we wanted to ask if you could help us, and participate in the relay race with us?

The two uncles look at us expectantly. This sudden invitation feels as heavy as a gigantic mountain.

As a good-for-nothing when it comes to sports, even if I really wanted to help, I subconsciously prepare to reject them.

MC: No, I can't do it...

I toss Gavin a pleading glance, seeking for assistance as he stands beside me wordlessly.

Gavin: Please give us a moment.

MC: Huh?

Before I can react, Gavin pulls me to a corner.

Seeing that nobody is around, I open my mouth and swing my arms, my words coming out in a slight garble.

MC: Gavin, you know that I... I’ve always been terrible at sports. I can’t do it for sure...

Gavin holds onto both of my hands. A concerned and reassuring smile flashes across his eyes.

Gavin: MC, what are you worried about?

He targets the crux of the issue directly.

I lift my head slightly, my heart palpitating slightly as I meet his eyes. Sunlight streams through the leaves on the holly, creating specks of shadows on the ground which sway with the breeze.

MC: I... I'm worried that I’d run too slowly. I’m worried that I’d not pass the baton to you successfully. I’m worried that I’ll be a burden... to you, and to those two uncles who are looking forward to the race. After all, I made a big fool of myself at the sports meet before, and this competition is so important to that uncle...

Lowering my head, my voice becomes softer and softer as my confidence falters.

Actually, ever since I fainted during the high school sports meet, I’ve developed an unpleasant association regarding sports meets, and always feel like I’ll never be able to complete them successfully.

In the next second, however, I feel a warm breath on my face.

I bury my head into Gavin’s chest, and I can hear his powerful heartbeat at my ear. The warmth at my back rhythmically calms my restless emotions.

I hear his voice from above my head, but it feels as though it’s coming from his chest.

Gavin: I said it earlier. No matter what happens, I will catch you. These words are applicable even now.

I lift my head from his arms, opening my mouth and wanting to say something. However, the words are lodged in my throat.

Gavin: As for “being a burden”... With me here, you don’t have to worry about it at all. As for the baton, as long as you hand it to me, I’ll definitely catch it. This way, are you still worried?

On this winter day, the warm sun hangs in the sky. On ground, our embracing shadows are short.

Encircled in his arms and hearing his incomparably resolute and confident words, my worries and fears unwind in an instant.

A breeze courses past, blowing some stray hairs onto Gavin’s cheek.

Gavin reaches out to brush my hair aside gently.

As though he sees the hesitance and struggle in my eyes, Gavin doesn’t rush me, and instead smiles patiently.

Gavin: It’s all right, don’t force yourself. I’ll tell them.

He’s just about to take a step while speaking, but I pull him to a halt.

MC: Eh, wait--! I... I’ll give it a try! We’ll give it a try! Together!

I emphasise three times consecutively, as though pumping myself up. Then, I tilt my head to the side and grin at him.

MC: We have an agreement - you must definitely catch me!

Gavin’s eyebrows arch slightly, and he releases a light laugh.

Gavin: No problem. If I can’t do it, I’ll promise you anything you want.

MC: All right! It’s a promise!

Since the decision has already been made, I carry a decisive and unhesitant attitude, even walking in front of Gavin.

[Note] I translated “decisive and unhesitant” from the original idiom used, 壮士断腕 (“zhuang shi duan wan”), which refers to how a warrior cuts off his wrist when he is bitten by a viper to prevent the poison from spreading throughout his body. It’s meant to describe someone who acts decisively without hesitation.

The familiar and intense gaze behind me gives me an unending stream of strength and confidence.

When Gavin sees the girl’s head turn back to flash him a faint smile, with the wind causing her hair to swish gently, there is an overlapping of that expression and the warmth from his memory. Subconsciously, the corners of his lips lift upwards.

After changing into their attire, MC stands in position on the track

He stands 100m in front of me. I shoot him a “all the best” hand gesture, and he wordlessly mouths “don’t worry”.

At this moment, a blank is fired! The relay race has begun!

My heart starts beating rapidly, and I’m nervous beyond compare. I stare intently at the uncles and watch as they utilise all their strength to sprint forward.

Seeing the second uncle about to reach me, I hurriedly stretch out my right hand, my body acting on its own and shifting slightly.

When I grab the baton, all my earlier worries and distracting thoughts are tossed to the back of my mind.

I look towards Gavin, who is waiting at the final leg. Without a care in the world, I run towards him.

The intense sprint makes me gasp for air. Air rushes into my lungs, and my throat feels dry and rough.

I grip the baton tightly in my hands, my gaze focused entirely on Gavin--

It happens to be around 2pm, when the sunlight is at its best. The brilliant sunlight pours over his entire body. His brown hair and amber eyes are bordered by a layer of gentleness and a gilded edge.

He is already prepared to take off. His head is turned to the side, his eyes on me, his right hand outstretched behind him.

In that moment, a wave of immense strength and courage fills every fibre of my being. My pace quickens subconsciously.

Closer, even closer--

Only two steps away from Gavin!

MC: Gavin, catch!

The fleeting touch in the air, the warmth of his fingertips, and the emptiness in my hands relieve me of a heavy load...

It’s as though a gust of wind breezes past my hand. Our hands touch for less than a second, but Gavin quickly and accurately takes the baton from my hand.

For an inexplicable reason, a wave of heat suddenly surfaces in my heart, causing my entire body to feel cosy and warm.

MC: Gavin, you can do it! Gavin, all the best!

Watching as Gavin lunges forward, I shout and cheer.

The two uncles have also walked over, and are shouting alongside me.

Uncles and MC: All the best! Gavin, you can do it!

My line of sight remains on Gavin’s figure. I take a shortcut, brisk walking towards the goal.

Afar off, I see Gavin being the first to reach the finish line! Amidst the cheers, vibrant, colourful streamers are sprayed into the air, scattering in all directions.

Immense joy blossoms in my heart, and I can’t help but jump up in happiness.

MC: Gavin, you’re amazing!

I cheer as I run towards him. He’s standing near the finish line, and I catch my breath.

Seeing me, a slight smile appears on Gavin’s lips. There are tiny speckles of joy in his eyes.

MC: We won first place!

Without realising it, I hold onto his arm, swinging it happily.

Having been “maltreated” by sports meets for so long and so mercilessly, experiencing success for the first time makes me repeat myself.

MC: Gavin, I actually didn’t hold anyone back. We won first place!

Gavin: This first place was the result of our combined effort.

Gavin watches me quietly, his gaze tender. A cool breeze brushes past, lifting the corner of his shirt, and also wafting his refreshing scent in the air.

Not far off, the leaves of the holly rustle softly, the branches swaying with the wind.

Hearing Gavin’s voice amongst these sounds, my heart starts to clamour with emotions.

I open my mouth and am just about to say something when the two uncles rush over, covered in sweat, their faces flushed with excitement.

Ah Yuan: Young man, you can run really quickly!

Ah Tu: Thank you so, so much. First place... I didn’t even dare to dream about it! Initially, we were just thinking along the lines of “it’s the effort that counts” and fulfilling a promise to my daughter. I never expected to give her the trophy for first place!

Seeing that they’re coming over, I loosen my grip. The moment my hand falls, Gavin’s encases it with his.

Gavin: This is the result of everyone working together. No need to thank me.

The two uncles remain overwhelmed with joy, patting Gavin’s shoulders in gratitude.

Ah Tu: There’s free water at the grandstand. We’re heading over there now. Remember to take it too!

Watching the two uncles walk away slowly, I lift my eyes to Gavin.

His eyes are lowered, his gaze on me.

Facing the light, his face is bright. His fringe, drenched with sweat, sways with the breeze.

Gavin: Why did you let go?

He suddenly holds up our entwined hands, his brows arched slightly.

I’m stunned for a moment, then tilt my head to the side and respond, eyes crinkled.

MC: To give you an opportunity to hold onto me!

Gavin is left dumbfounded for a while, as though surprised by my response. After that, he lets out a soft laugh.

The surrounding temperature seems to climb upwards, and the air is reminiscent of a budding hyacinth on a winter day, sweet and fragrant.

MC: How about this - you can take a seat at the grandstand, and I’ll bring you a bottle of water.

Gavin: No need, let’s go together.

Holding a bottle of water, Gavin holds my hand as we walk over to the grandstand and sit on the steps.

MC: It’s just a bottle of water. Actually, I could handle it on my own. Also, I’m no longer tired.

Gavin: [coughs]... I was worried that there would be repeat of what happened in high school.

Gavin: I feel more relieved if we’re together.

Sensing the meaning in his words, I let out a relieved laugh.

MC: It might sound strange to say this, but I once thought that I’d never be able to overcome this. But once I actually gave it a try, I realised that this obstruction is fine once I stepped across it. Gavin, thank you... for “stepping across” it with me.

I turn around to look at him, streams of emotions meandering across my heart, reminiscent of the clearest, purest thawed ice of early spring.

The railings of the grandstand reflect the sunlight, scattering mottled light on the ground.

In the mottled light, I see Gavin twisting off the cap of a bottle before handing it to me.

Gavin: I can’t really drink now. You can drink first.

His breath is still slightly unsteady, and his hair is clearly drenched with sweat, tufts of hair drooping against his temples.

I take the bottle, but place it at the side.

Wintry wind wisps past. I hold up the towel near my hand, and try to wipe away the sweat on his forehead.

MC: What if you catch a cold from the wind... Or you could put your coat on?

Just as I make contact with his forehead, a warmth encases the back of my hand, mingled with the dampness of sweat.

The warmth, along with a hot flush, seep into my skin. My ears redden involuntarily.

Gavin: I’m all right. [coughs]... I’ll do it myself.

[Cheri’s thoughts] The disjunct between the sprite and what he’s wearing in the CG is so jarring but I’m not complaining. JUST LOOK AT THAT GLORY:

Gavin takes the towel from my hand, and quickly wipes his forehead. After that, he wipes off the remaining traces of sweat on his face.

The wind blows up his fringe. Light is reflected in his eyes, making the amber colours even more bright and limpid.

He turns his head to the side, lifting his eyes to look at me, his gaze warm.

As the warmth grows deeper, I see the certainty, firmness, and trust that have remained all this time, from before the race till now.

Recalling his words from just now, my heart is infinitely convinced that when he said he would catch me no matter what happens, he definitely will.

As long as I’m with Gavin, I can set my mind at ease and leave everything to him.

MC: Gavin, I will always remember what you said!

Despite my lack of clarity, Gavin quickly understands. His determined, well-defined side profile turns gentle in an instant.

Gavin: All right. You must remember them all, including this.

He reaches out to pat my head. In this moment, I see a radiance even more scorching than the sun, and a warmth even more moving than a breeze in spring.

After resting for a long time, Gavin and I change back into our clothes, and tactfully decline the two uncles’ offer to split the prizes. We walk towards the exit of the park slowly.

The closer we get to the exit, the stronger the wind becomes.

However, perhaps due to the running we did just now, my body feels warm, and even our intertwined hands are warm - they even seem warmer than before.

After taking in a deep breath, I release a sigh.

MC: Running and moving about from time to time feels great! Right now, I feel warm all over.

Gavin: It’s good that you like it. If there’s a chance next time, want to participate together again?

I smile slyly, deliberately elongating my words.

MC: I’d consider it! Come to think of it, why were you hoping that I’d participate in the relay race?

Curiosity is etched on my eyes as I lift my head. Gavin looks at me, then averts his gaze.

Slowly, several images surface before his eyes... the high school sports meet back then, the tartan track, and the slender figure who fainted because she didn’t have breakfast.

A gentle laugh escapes from Gavin’s lips. Perhaps, apart from allowing her to have more faith in herself, it was also to make up for his regrets in high school.

Not being able to participate in competitions with her, and not being able to tell her personally that he was the one who had immediately brought her to the infirmary back then.

MC: Gavin?

Gavin: ...no particular reason. I just wanted you to exercise a little more. You’ve been busy with work lately, so you need to take care of your body.

Is that all? I’m still slightly unconvinced. Gavin has averted his eyes, staring at the gates of the park, which are only a few steps away.

Without the shelter of trees and buildings, intense sunlight pours on this patch of land.

Under the glow of sunshine, Gavin’s face seems to have a gilded edge. He once again turns his head towards me, his gaze filled with everything I’m familiar with.

In an instant, my heart feels full.

MC: The weather is great today, and the people we met were amiable and interesting. I’m going to properly cherish today’s fortuitous encounters!

Gavin: As long as I’m with you, everything we do is worth cherishing.

The sun hangs above our heads, and the cooling breeze is behind us. On this winter day, the most beautiful view is this very moment, right before my eyes.

🎐 MOMENTS: First 🎐

Gavin’s Post: After exercising, the heart feels content.

MC: It actually feels pretty good to run occasionally!

Gavin: We can do it more often next time.

Gavin’s Post: After exercising, the heart feels content.

MC: Losers at sports have expressed that it’s very difficult to experience such a feeling...

Gavin: I’ll bring you out for a run tomorrow to give it a try.

Gavin’s Post: After exercising, the heart feels content.

MC: Actually, I’m pretty interested in sports other than running!

Gavin: All right, we’ll try something you like another day.

🎐 MOMENTS: Second 🎐

Gavin’s Post: To replenish stamina, is it better to choose a sports drink or plain water?

MC: It’s not a bad thing to occasionally have sports drinks~!

Gavin: All right, I’ll try it next time.

Gavin’s Post: To replenish stamina, is it better to choose a sports drink or plain water?

MC: I know! Plain water is the healthiest!

Gavin: Mm, that’s what I think too.

Gavin’s Post: To replenish stamina, is it better to choose a sports drink or plain water?

MC: If it were me, I’d pick milk tea~

Gavin: ...didn’t you say you’d quit it yesterday?

🎐 TEXTS 🎐

[ First Scenario ]

Gavin: Do you have anything on during the weekend?

MC: Sounds like Mr Gavin wants to make an appointment with me?

Gavin: Mm.

Gavin: I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning. Are you free?

MC: Could it be another physical training session... can I say no!

Gavin: Don’t worry, it’s very relaxing this time.

Gavin: Walking along the beach and enjoying the breeze.

MC: Sounds good!

Gavin: Mm.

Gavin: It’s a stroll, just like the time we went around collecting materials. You should like it.

Gavin: It’s settled then. See you tomorrow.

[ Second Scenario ]

Gavin: Do you have anything on during the weekend?

MC: I haven’t decided...

Gavin: In that case, I have a suggestion.

Gavin: I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning. How’s that?

MC: Mm... I’m quite busy this week, so I want to spend my weekend doing “lazy people activities”!

Gavin: All right.

Gavin: We’ll go for a walk on the beach. How does that sound?

MC: Mm... why did you plan this trip to the beach?

Gavin: To fulfil my promise of “spending more time with you”.

Gavin: Of course, it’s also because I want to spend the weekend together.

[ Third Scenario ]

Gavin: Do you have anything on during the weekend?

MC: Nope, I'm prepared to spend two days lying down at home with my phone!

Gavin:

Gavin: I’ll pick you up tomorrow.

MC: Sure! I heard that a new shooting gallery opened. Want to take a look?

Gavin: ...

Gavin: Or do you want to go for a walk along the beach?

Gavin: You’ve been working overtime recently, so it’s best not to engage in any intense exercise.

MC: Oo, as compared to the beach, I’d prefer going to the Wetland Park.

Gavin: All right, let’s go to the Wetland Park then.

Gavin: As long as I’m with you, anywhere is fine.

#mlqc #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc gavin #ahhhh T^T #MY HEART

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bumbleberrysky · 4 years

Text

alexa, play candyshop (bass boosted) | 03

pairing: gabriel x reader genre: soulmate au, canon divergent around s13, hurt/comfort, humour, future smut (probs) wc: 3.7k rating: sfw warnings: none really

You knew there was a reason some divine power brought you to the Winchesters all those years ago, but to this day you still have no idea what that reason is. It’s something you’re destined to find out soon though, especially when you return to the bunker after months away and find not only a new face, but one that belongs to someone who up until that point you’d thought was dead. What does his return have to do with the changes you’re suddenly experiencing in yourself? Will you finally find out the reason you’d been brought here in the first place? Maybe…

Chuck works in mysterious ways after all.

prev. || next

“Well, whatever it says, we’re gonna have to wait until Cas and Dean get back before we can decipher it.”

You huff, sparing a glance to the angel huddled in the corner, resting his head against the drawers beside his bed. It’s been a few days since you’d first come back and you wish you could say you’ve had all sorts of good progress with Gabriel, but the truth is that you haven’t. He has receded so far into himself that a part of you is actually worried the archangel you knew is gone completely.

“I’m a bit worried,” you admit quietly to Sam after a moment. He turns his gaze to you and you hold it. “He’s… he’s worse than I thought.”

And, put bluntly, you’d thought he was bad.

Sam doesn’t say anything, merely releases your gaze and turns to survey the room once more; the walls are plastered in a scrambled mess of what you can only guess is enochian. You’re not sure when Gabriel had the chance to do it, but you know that earlier you’d visited him to offer him a portion of his grace back and he’d refused, so you’d left and when you returned some time later the walls were like this.

“Did Dean say when they were going to be getting back?” you ask, wringing your hands.

“He didn’t respond to my text, so I can only assume he’s driving.” Sam huffed a laugh. “Cas forgot to charge his phone again so I can’t reach him either.”

You purse your lips, trying not to smile. Of course, it is the little things that Castiel forgets. Like that wireless technology needs charging, that Beyonce is too well known to be used as a cover name, and those straws that don’t always come with fast food drinks.

You’re about to speak when the faint sound of metal hitting metal echoes through the bunker, heavy footsteps on steel stairs following suit.

“Well, I guess that saves us asking,” you say, patting Sam on the arm as you move past. The two of you depart Gabriel’s room, sparing him one last concerned glance before you close the door behind you.

“I’m home! And I brought food!”

Yeah, that’s definitely Dean. You just hope Castiel came in with him so he can see his brother and read the scribble on the walls.

x x

The scribble, as Castiel informed you, is a thrilling account of Gabriel’s Story, so to speak. What happened to him after his so-called ‘death’, and you tuned out for a fair amount of it (mostly during the detailed recount of time spent with porn-stars in Monte Carlo) but heard the important bits, like how he was traded in to Asmodeus and what the Prince of Hell then proceeded to do to him for the years following.

It saddened you, despite it being largely something you already suspected if not knew.

After listening to Castiel read the enochian on the walls, you’d had to leave. Uncharacteristic of you, and Dean had given you an odd look as you passed him in the hallway, but you couldn’t spend another minute in there. You felt bile rising to the back of your throat.

You really don’t have an explanation for why you’re reacting so strongly, so viscerally, to everything that has to do with Gabriel. Like you’d affirmed earlier, you only really met and interacted with him a handful of times! You aren’t close with him, haven’t known him extensively—

So why do you have this gaping pit of loss and grief in your stomach, like you’ve lost a limb?

It doesn’t make sense, and you’re not sure if you can make it make sense, honestly. You’d like to be able to put it on the backburner too, but every time you try it just creeps its way back to the forefront of your mind. In a bid to distract yourself, you hole yourself up in your room for the rest of the day, marathoning whatever dumb show is on TV. If you’re lucky, the entertainment channel might have old reruns of Neighbours. That never fails to make you laugh with its exaggerated soapy drama.

To your disappointment, the only thing playing in a marathon fashion is Family Guy, and with a sigh you bundle up in your covers and resign yourself to the afternoon. Well, if you wanted to numb your brain then this result isn’t so bad after all.

You spend the rest of the afternoon in your room, and pass out at some indiscernible hour. When you wake next, it’s a ridiculously early hour of the next morning and the TV is still running. You have a cramp in your neck from your odd sleeping position, and you rub it with a scowl as you emerge from the blankets and turn off the TV. You slept way too long, and there’s no way you can get back to sleep now.

Begrudgingly, you slip from your bed and into a standing position, relishing in the stretch you feel as you lengthen your tight, tense limbs. The floor is cold against your feet but you’re too lazy to search for the slippers that came with your room and instead just go on your way. Destination: kitchen.

You feel like a ghost, wandering the silent halls of the bunker. Dean is most definitely passed out by this point, and Sam… well he’s probably asleep, but you wouldn’t bet on it. That psychopath could also be out jogging. You’re so zoned out that you don’t even realise you’ve reached the kitchen until you stub your toe on the doorframe.

“FUCK!” you curse, managing to restrain yourself from howling like a lunatic just barely, at the last second. You double over, heaving in a big breath. Of course it had to be the little toe—

“y/n? Are you alright?”

The low, gravelly tone that brushes your ears is familiar and always welcome. You stick your thumb up so Castiel doesn’t worry while you grasp your bearings. When you find your voice, you follow up the gesture with a squeaky, “Fine! Peachy.”

“I would remind you that I can tell when you are lying, but I don’t think you aimed to be very believable.”

You straighten, throwing Castiel a bright smile despite the pain still throbbing in your foot. You should have looked for the slippers—this is your hubris catching you slipping.

“Sorry Cas, I shouldn’t be sarcastic. I’m fine, but I think one of these days I’m gonna break my toe for real on that stupid doorframe.”

Unfortunately, this isn’t your first run-in with the doorway. If anyone asked, you would tell them that the design of the hallway is atrocious and that door is not where it’s meant to be. Well, it’s not where you expect it to be every time you come to the kitchen, and is clearly an obvious design flaw.

The angel lets out a soft noise of understanding, lips twitching in the ghost of a smile. “Perhaps. You don’t seem to have very good luck with doorframes.”

“Nope, I definitely do not,” you respond, shaking your foot out before moving over to the fridge and checking to see if Dean bought strawberries. A noise of delight escapes you as you find what you’re looking for, several punnets stacked in the back corner. Ah, and they say old dogs can’t learn new tricks—Dean is a very good learner with the proper motivation!

(Pavlov would be proud of you.)

Castiel has a smile on his face as he watches you remove one of the punnets, hopping up onto the bench facing him and flicking the plastic open. He approaches, movements fluid and calm, and for a few moments you sit in comfortable silence. He is the first to break it.

“y/n… are you alright?” At his repeated question you give him a confused look, and he hurries to elaborate. “I mean… with everything. With Gabriel. I noticed how you left, yesterday.”

Ah. Well, you knew that you hadn’t been subtle, but you hadn’t been sure whether anyone was going to question you on it. You munch on a berry as you think, gaze flicking to the side. You wouldn’t dream of telling Sam or Dean about the odd sensations you’d been feeling, despite the fact they knew how you’d reacted to the news of Gabriel’s death, but Castiel… you felt comfortable confiding this in him.

“Well… yes, and no.” You drop the top of the strawberry into the lid of the punnet and reach for another. “To be honest, I don’t really understand what is going on with me. It’s like… super overactive empathy. It just hurts, to see him that way. And it makes me sad, knowing what he went through. Painfully so.”

Castiel nods, light eyes on you as he listens attentively and with care. You chew through another two berries before continuing. “Hearing it straight from him—well, as straight from him as it could be, I suppose—it just got to be a bit much for me. I had to leave. It just… made me feel a bit sick, is all.”

The look on the angel’s face is pensive, and it’s as though you can see his mind whirring a mile a minute behind the sky of his eyes. “I see,” he murmurs, gaze flicking to the side as he thinks. “Well, you are a very kind soul, so I am not surprised by your empathy. Though, if it is affecting you so strongly…”

He pauses, eyes finding your own again. “If you feel ill again, come find me. I’ll help as much as I can.”

You smile at him, every moment as sincere as you’ve ever been. “Thanks, Cas. I really appreciate it.”

x x

Sam must have done or said something to Gabriel while you were locked up in your room, because there seemed to be a sudden change in his progress.

For the better, you think. Well, you hope.

He was a little less withdrawn, a little less manic and fidgety. He still doesn’t really speak, and doesn’t react well to loud noises or sudden movements, but Sam told you he had spoken last night.

To correct him about calling the Monte Carlo porn-stars ‘hookers’, of course. You’d wanted to slam your head into the tile wall when you’d heard that.

The day passed quickly after your encounter with Castiel, and you spent it cleaning and polishing your weapons—you don’t want to go down as that one stupid hunter whose greatest folly was improper upkeep of her arsenal. Only when you’d polished your machete to a gleaming shine did you admit that it was likely time for a break. You thought it had only been a few hours, so when you wandered out and found that it was actually almost dinner time, you’d been pretty surprised.

Sam had run into you in the hallway and filled you in, and afterwards had insisted on accompanying you to the kitchen. It seems you spend a lot of your time there, now you think about it.

The large, industrial-feeling space is where you find yourself now, making a lazy stir-fry from pre-packaged vegetables and beef. You’d tasked Sam with cooking the rice since he’d insisted on lingering for conversation, and since you trust that he’s more capable than his brother you don’t bother checking on his progress.

“Castiel was worried when he first saw Gabriel, but after seeing the writing he’s happy because it means the Gabriel we know is still in there, somewhere.” Sam updates you from your side, sniffing and peering into the wok before you in mild interest. “That smells good. You sharing?”

“Maybe,” you answer him, giving him a sly look. “Depends… you got any of that guilt-free ice cream hiding in the freezer?”

Sam peers around to make sure his brother isn’t listening before nodding, “Back corner, behind the frozen berries. We got a deal?”

“Pleasure doing business with you, young Winchester,” you answer with a shake of his hand, putting on an accent for his benefit. He snorts, moving away to grab two bowls—good timing, you have to note, since the stir-fry is almost done. “Kind of sad you still have to hide it from Dean, though.”

“Are you kidding? He has a nose like a bloodhound for sweets,” Sam says, coming back with porcelain in tow. “Did I ever tell you about the time he found an industrial-size bag of Hershey’s kisses I bought? I hid it in the vents in the dustiest corner of the library, and he still found it. That was meant to last me months and he tore through it in a week.”

You blink, mildly impressed. You knew he had a sweet tooth but you didn’t know it was that bad. “Dude, get your brother some therapy.”

Sam snorts, muttering something about how it would be easier to herd cats and juggle at the same time. You’re distracted for the moment by an errant thought that filters across your mind at the mention of chocolates.

Gabriel, in his time spent as a trickster, developed quite the soft spot for them… could it…?

You stir the food before you once more before taking the wok off the heat, moving it to the wooden chopping board on the bench; Sam takes initiative and turns off the stove behind you, something you’re thankful for.

You’ll have to test your theory after dinner.

x x

The chocolates and candies you’d left for Gabriel after you’d had your dinner are, to your delight, gone the next time you see him.

You’d placed them on a tray for him outside the room and knocked, letting him know you had left him something. Of course, after that no matter how much you wished to stay you forced yourself to be on your merry way so he could retrieve them in peace. The rest of the night had been spent arguing with Dean about the proper name a werewolf-vampire hybrid should be called—not because you have an important opinion on the matter, of course, but because Dean gets very fired up about the subject and it’s very funny to behold.

Back to the point, when you’d returned on your trip past Gabriel’s room this morning (on your way to the kitchen, as anyone would expect), the tray had been placed neatly to the side with the wrappers twisted into the shape of a big, shiny bow. Kind of impressive, especially since you have no idea how he got them to stay stuck together like that.

It made you happy, though, that he’d eaten them. Angels don’t need to eat, of course, but he’d seemed to develop a taste for them ever since adopting the mask of Loki so you thought it might help make him feel a little more like himself.

You try not to think about it too much because it actually makes you a bit embarrassed— why are you so invested? You don’t quite want to know.

Currently, you’re settled in the library with your legs crossed and a tome on celestial beings in your lap. By your side is a plate of celery and a jar of peanut butter, and Dean, who is seated at the oak table with Castiel across from him, is giving you periodic looks of disgust and twisted curiosity. He’d started off attempting to read up on some monster—you suspected it was Werepires, after last night’s argument—while Sam popped off to the store for groceries, since Mary and Jack were meant to be returning tonight. The keyword to note here is attempting; each crunch of celery between your teeth yanks his gaze from the book to you and you can tell its wearing on him. Castiel says nothing, having discovered candy crush on his phone earlier, and merely glances between the two of you every now and then with a faint look of amusement.

“Alright,” He finally breaks after your third stick of celery, giving it a look like it personally offends him. “How can you eat that? Just use a spoon if you like peanut butter so much.”

“What the fuck, ew,” you comment, chomping loudly before dipping the stick into the jar for another coating. “I hate peanut butter.”

“You’re sitting there practically eating it out of the jar!”

“I get cravings sometimes, Dean!” you throw back, somewhat defensively. “It’s like when people eat vegemite—no one likes it, but you get cravings for it, you know?”

“What—ew, no, I don’t know!” Dean’s face has now crumpled into a complete look of disgust at the mention of that particular spread, and he shudders as he regards you. “Every time you leave I almost forget what a freak you are, and then you come back and I’m reminded all over again.”

The way he says it has no bite whatsoever, and you flash him a grin. You don’t realise Castiel has even been paying attention until he speaks, the humour lacing his deadpan tone the only give-away that he’s teasing.

“That wasn’t very nice, Dean. You eat some weird things for a human yourself—like that greasy, fried dessert from the stall in the food festival we drove through.”

Dean at first looks like he wants to argue, but at Castiel’s example a flush of green instead washes over his features. “Ugh, god that was gross. Don’t ever let me buy before I try at a food market again, Cas.”

Castiel snorts softly, turning back to his phone, “You have my word.”

Dean seems to have forgotten he was shaming you for your celery topping, his attention now directed back to the book before him. His face is still kind of pale and you assume he is now adequately distracted enough for you to continue eating in peace. After consuming the rest of the celery in your hold, you go to turn back to your own book. It isn’t meant to be, though, because in the next second the familiar sound of the heavy metal bunker door creaking open splits the air and Sam’s bright voice follows after.

“We’re back! We brought fried chicken.”

You slam the lid back on the peanut butter, putting it on the plate with the celery and launching to your feet in record time, the book unfortunate collateral. It’s like you’re possessed as you zoom into the kitchen, stomach alive and stirring at the mention of chicken despite the fact you’d already been eating.

Upon entry to the kitchen, you’re faced with two new people you have yet to be introduced to—considering you’re familiar with most of Sam and Dean’s other contacts by this point in your friendship, you presume that these two must be Jack and Mary, the Nephilim and the Winchester brother’s resurrected mother, respectively.

“Hello!” you greet, darting forward to help Sam with the food. He gives you a look that tells you he knows exactly why you’d come to help and gives you the bag full of groceries instead of the one with chicken, just to spite you. Your face falls into a pout but your voice is still cheery as you continue, “I’m y/n, I hunt with Dean off and on.”

Both of their faces light in recognition, and you realise that your reputation has preceded you. Exactly which reputation depends on which brother mentioned you—you imagine Dean would have had some very interesting comments to add.

“Hello,” the woman, Mary, speaks, and you’re taken aback by how soft-spoken she seems in contrast with the badass aura and get-up she’s got going on. You’re a little surprised to see her, considering she’s the same age as you presume she would have been when Sam was a baby. “I’m Mary, I’m sure you’ve heard about me. It’s a pleasure to meet you, and… thank you for looking after my boys over the years.”

You beam a grin and it must come across as a very shit-eating one because you hear Dean groan from the next room over as he ambles to join the crowd in the kitchen.

“Don’t encourage her,” he says gruffly as he enters the kitchen, hugging his mother and ruffling Jack’s hair before following his nose to the bag with the chicken in it. “She’ll never let it go.”

“I’m Jack!” Your attention is torn from the previous interaction and redirected to the youthful blonde man next to Mary, grinning at you brightly. “I’ve heard so much about you—it’s nice to finally meet you!”

“Oh, you’ve heard about me?” you can’t help yourself from asking, and you hear Dean’s groan echo behind you. “All good things, I hope.”

It’s a little unfair of you to be fishing in the Jack pond for little tidbits you can use to bully Dean later, considering he’s literally barely a year old and doesn’t really know better to keep his mouth shut, but it is what it is. The question left you out of habit more than anything.

“Oh, definitely,” Jack answers, going to help Mary the second he sees her struggle with a bag from the corner of his eyes, “Well, mostly. Dean—”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Dean interrupted loudly and pointedly, not-so-subtly holding his finger to his mouth to tell Jack to shut it. “Dinner time! Everyone into the library, we have a lot to catch up on.”

Begrudgingly you let it go and follow his directions. He has a point; there is definitely a lot of informing to be done, especially regarding the archangel in the room down the hall.

You take a seat and wait for your meal to be served. The night passes quickly from that point on, the brothers cracking out some beer and Dean snickering when you turn your nose up at it (bad experience, better not to remember it). You get to know Mary Winchester and Jack Kline a little better, and now with all of your heads put together you hope you can come up with a solution to the issues around Gabriel and his recovery.

Well, that and you’re going to see if you can get some good material out of Mary to tease the brothers with. When in Rome, after all!

prev. || next.

#supernatural #supernatural x reader #supernatural fanfic #supernatural gabriel x reader #gabriel x reader #reader insert #spn fanfic #spn gabriel #gabriel x you #supernatural gabriel x you #supernatural soulmate au #soulmate au #wing fic #hhhhhhhh #supernatural au #supernatural series #gabriel series

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purplesurveys · 3 years

Text

1269

Last thing you bought online? Did you like it? OMG OMG so I got Angela an Army Bomb!!!!!! for her birthday!!!! It was HELLLL looking for sealed ones that were already onhand, but fortunately I was able to find one from this really nice seller a few days ago and the shipping was quick as well. I’m just a little worried because the outbox has a little dent on it :( but it was the best onhand offer I could find so I got it before anybody could call dibs. I still hope she likes it! I got her batteries too so that she can try lighting it up as soon as she has it. :D

Could you date someone who didn’t drive (and didn’t show an interest in ever getting their license, either)? I feel like this is such a petty thing to make a big deal about...if they knew how to commute or any other way to get to their destination, I don’t think this should be a problem. It would only be an issue to me if they refused to get a license in a very I-generally-lack-ambition kind of way.

How would you react if your artwork became famous? I don’t have any to show off to begin with. I love appreciating art, but creating it was never a forte of mine.

Would you get your nipples pierced? No, I don’t plan on getting any piercings. How many people know your birthday? Outside of my family, my best friends. I think everyone else relies on Facebook to be reminded, which is fine with me.

Has anyone ever tried to ruin a relationship you were in? No. Quite the contrary, really...I was sometimes informed about red flags taking place, which of course my stubborn ass ignored.

Have you ever watched a whole hour long infomercial? Probably, as a kid. The channel from which I used to watch WWE aired these really long infomercials so I would watch those while waiting for like Raw or whatever show was going on after.

What is your current MySpace song? I never hung out on Myspace. I had an account, but I was too young for it so it wasn’t long before I got bored.

What is your favorite kind of meat to put on your sandwich? Pulled pork or fried chicken.

Which one of your exes do you feel like you have the most chemistry with? I only have one ex.

How do you feel about people who make Facebook profiles for their pets? I find it really cute. But I personally wouldn’t put in as much effort lol.

Have you ever personally known a pair of conjoined twins? Hmmmmmmmm I don’t think so.

What was the most disturbing thing you have ever heard your mother say? She threatened suicide in front of me and my dad in a very calm way when I was around 11, I think? Maybe 12, idk. I haven’t actually thought about that moment in an extremely long time until this question. I’ll move on now and shove the memory at the very very back of my head before I get sad.

Is there something in particular you like to look at photos of? What is it? Aside from members of BTS (lol), interior design inspirations.

Chewy chocolate-chip cookies: like or dislike? Ooh, love. When I bite into a cookie it hassssss to ooze chocolate, otherwise I would be underwhelmed.

If your boyfriend/girlfriend wanted to dress only in the opposite sex’s clothing, would you support that? If not, would you leave them? Support.

Do you think your grandmother is/was beautiful? They both are.

Which of your fields of interest are you a total expert on? Anything that has to do with writing (except poems), I guess? I like being able to give people advice and tips when it comes to that.

When was the last time you got all dolled up? Last July when we had a big PR media launch thingy and I couldn’t afford to look like shit on Zoom.

Do you ever name objects? (i.e. mp3 players, guitars, cars, etc.) Never.

Do you have a criminal record? Not criminal but it’s possibleeeee that I have some kind of record on my license from the time I got stopped by an officer in Alabang, lmao. It was a minor offense from a tiny part of the town so I don’t actually know if they filed it, but it’s possible.

Last person you took a nap with? I don’t really nap with other people. I hate falling asleep in front of others to begin with.

Does seeing your mother cry automatically make you feel sad as well? No.

Do you think someone likes the same person you like? I don’t like anybody.

Do you want your life to stay the way it is right now forever? No, I do not want to stay in a pandemic and not get to maximize my life the way it’s supposed to be enjoyed forever.

Have you ever been to craigslist.com? I’ve never checked it out; idk if we have that here?

What about eBay? I also dunno if they operate here so no, I’ve never bothered.

Have you ever used Nair? Not Nair, but I’ve used Veet before.

Are you medicated? Nope.

Do you shape/fill in your eyebrows? I never do stuff to my eyebrows except shave them.

Have you ever stolen/borrowed clothes from an ex? Several articles of clothing were left behind here, yeah. I never had the chance to give them back because I stupidly thought we were going to get back together eventually. By the time I moved on the timing was already off, so the clothes stayed with me untillll...just a few days ago, actually – when I finally cleaned up my room and got rid of a bunch of knickknacks that accumulated here over the years, including all her shirts and sweaters and stuff.

Could you make a statement about anything political? The 2022 presidential election landscape looks like complete shit and I’m nearly at that point where I want to stop giving a fuck about this country’s future.

Do you think you’ve already met your soulmate? No.

Do you get the feeling something good will happen in your life soon? I think I’m already living in it, haha.

Do you enjoy romantic movies, even when they’re cliche? Sure, but cliché is also hit and miss for me. I love Titanic and Love Actually, but I cannot stand movies like Me Before You and The Notebook. I guess it depends on certain executions, like the acting, screenplay, casting, etc.

Have you been to McDonald’s in the past month? No, not inside. We did drive-thru within the last month, though.

Have you ever slept over at your best friend’s house? Not at Andi’s, but I have at Angela’s.

How often do you go bowling? Extremely rarely. I can’t tell you the last time I went bowling.

Last time you were in an apartment? Like 2007 when I visited my aunt back when she still lived in one. None of my friends have their own apartments.

Have you ever seen a live seahorse? I don’t think so.

Would you like to have your own yacht? I mean I wouldn't say no if you offered it to me for free, but I'm not exactly interested in one. < Same.

Winnie the Pooh or Tigger? Tigger always made me laugh as a kid.

What’s the unhealthiest thing you’ve eaten today? Luncheon meat, I think? I didn’t go overboard with the junk food today.

Has a stranger ever offered to buy you a drink? Hm, not that I can recall.

What is something you’d be happy to receive as a gift, that doesn’t cost a lot? A bag of the salted egg chips that I really like costs like 30 bucks, or roughly 60 US cents.

What kind of music does your significant other/crush like to listen to? I don’t have any irl crushes, can I use a celebrity crush instead? HAHA he’s heavily into jazz and whenever he gets asked for music recos he always gives jazz artists from like the 50s and 60s.

Who did you have your first kiss with? Do you remember what colour his/her eyes were? Gab. Dark brown.

Are there any themes from TV shows that you like to sing along to? The Big Bang Theory and Friends; and then I also liked humming to the themes of Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, and BoJack Horseman. The Phineas & Ferb theme was also a lot of fun to sing along to.

Do you eat dessert after dinner? No, I never do that. I’m usually already full after dinner, and we don’t always have sweets at home anyway.

Have you ever had too much to drink and felt embarrassed about your behavior the next day? Sure.

When you go out drinking, what do you prefer to drink? Cocktails. I very rarely go for hard drinks/shots, especially if I brought my own car.

What was the last animal that you saw? Dog.

What was the last thing that you said to one of your siblings? I just told my sister I was done using her laptop so she can have it back. My Memories of 2020 DVD turned out to be region-locked so I have to use her laptop every time I want to watch it :(

What is the most expensive thing that you’ve purchased that you paid for: My Map of the Soul photobook cost me around 5k in total.

What is your favorite messaging program? Messenger.

Do you eat fast food more than 5 times a week? Wow no. Aside from being extremely unhealthy, that’s also a LOT of spending??

Have you ever almost drowned? Yes.

Have you ever learned something shocking about someone through Facebook? I mean I’ve had to learn about more than one family death through my Facebook feed, which sucks but is nothing I have control over. Otherwise the most shocking thing I’ve seen is probably classmates from high school having their own kids, but at this point I’m used to it already.

What’s the scariest living animal that you’ve petted? I’m not really afraid of carrying/petting animals especially if there’s a guide or expert nearby, but the most daring one was probably the crocodile I volunteered to hold in Palawan.

Do you remember the first conversation you ever had with the person you currently have feelings for? Not at all.

Do you dread certain days of the week? If yes, what day/s and why? I hate Mondays for obvious reasons lol. I don’t know anyone who is actively cheery about reporting back to work.

If you eat oatmeal, do you have it plain or do you have certain toppings that you like to add to it? I never eat oatmeal. I had that every single day for breakfast from like kindergarten to 4th grade and I vowed never to take a spoonful of it again.

What is the funniest or strangest thing you’ve ever heard somebody say in their sleep? I dunno. I used to keep a log of the things my ex used to say in her sleep and a great deal of them were hilarious, but obviously I deleted that note a long time ago.

Choose one - Butterfinger, Milky Way, Snickers: Butterfinger.

Do you use Mozilla Firefox? Nopes.

Who is your favorite person to hug? Angela and Laurice.

Have you ever had to have a mug shot? Nope.

What was the last thing you carried to your room? Kimi.

When was the last time you had a late night phone call? WELL over a year ago.

#survey #surveys

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sablelab · 4 years

Text

Covert Operations - Chapter 101

SYNOPSIS: The Section One teams converge on the monastery to rescue Jamie and Claire. However, ever resourceful James Fraser manages to free them both just before the team arrives. A new field operative is a huge surprise to Claire and Jamie when they hear a familiar voice. The team finally makes its way to egress with their rescued operatives hoping they won’t encounter any more triad hostiles. Meanwhile, Karen, Jonathon Randall and Wang Yu are nearing their destination.

My heartfelt THANKS for reading, liking and reblogging my story. ❤️ Also THANK YOU for your lovely comments on my Valentine story at the end of Chapter 100. ❤️

Next month I will try and post twice a week on Wednesday and Saturday as I have a few chapters under my belt at the moment.

Previous chapters can be found at …https://sablelab.tumblr.com/covertoperations

CHAPTER 101

The gas permeating through the room was having a quicker effect on Claire than on Jamie. Struggling to keep alert she felt the heavy weight of her head on her neck as it lolled forwards. Although she struggled to keep her body upright and had little control over her head’s movements, Claire forced herself to push her head backwards again. However, it was an effort to keep conscious as she felt herself becoming more and more lethargic. Suddenly she fell forward again and her mind began to hallucinate.

Once, travelling at night, I fell asleep in the passenger seat of a moving car. Lulled by the noise and the motion into an illusion of serene weightlessness. Then the driver took a bridge too fast. And I woke to see the world spinning outside the car windows, and the sickening sensation of falling at high speed. That is as close as I can come to describing what I experienced here in this chamber. But it falls woefully short. What? When confronted with the impossible, the rational mind will grope for the logical.

However, Claire fought valiantly against the need to go to sleep and suddenly a sound caught her attention. What was that noise? Was her mind playing tricks on her? She could have sworn she heard gunshots. Was she hallucinating? Surely Jamie had heard them too?

The sound repeated ... It was gunshots.

Slurring her words somewhat Claire tiredly turned her head sideways and uttered, “Jamie ... did you ... did you hear that?” Jamie’s hand tightened on Claire’s and his body became rigid. “Aye ...” he replied realising that the team had finally arrived but knowing that they must leave this room as quickly as possible if they were to stay alive. He’d seen how rapidly the gas was starting to have a harmful effect on Claire. Her consciousness was deteriorating at an alarming and accelerating rate. Her words were sluggish and control of her body was diminishing too. There was only one thing he could do, what he must do. With grave urgency and with one last mighty effort Jamie willed his wretched, bruised body to react. His hands gripped the arms of the chair, then moving about, he managed to lift his body placing his legs underneath his torso. His thighs bulged with the strain as he knelt back then forward on his feet. Flexing his hands over and over then tightly gripping the arms of the chair, he stared ahead channelling his inner strength and Section One training. With determination, Jamie pulled his body up with all his might and managed to break the arms from the chair thus freeing himself. Rising from the chair he immediately shook off the wooden arms and once one hand broke free of his restraints, he quickly loosened the rope bonds of his other. His next thought was to free Claire. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ In the interim the hiss of the gas unexpectedly ceased and as the door suddenly swung wide open, a rush of fresh oxygen filled the room. Jamie breathed deeply when he immediately noticed a difference in air quality. It was such a welcome relief to be able to breathe fresh air back into his lungs as the gas had rapidly taken hold of their bodies and had especially affected his Sassenach.

The team leader, Geillis Duncan quickly and expediently rushed through the door. Her eyes immediately took inventory of the two operatives as she quickly glanced from one to the other. Seeing the lethargic state they were in, particularly Claire, it was obvious that the team had definitely arrived just in time to avert a disaster.

“Jamie?” She stated as she watched him kneeling before Claire.

However, he was intent on what he was doing to release his Claire. He was in the process of freeing his love for the quicker the gas dispersed the quicker they would both feel more lucid. Nonetheless he turned at the sound of his name and acknowledged her. Then without missing a beat Jamie quickly continued in his task of untying his Sassenach from her restraints. Although she opened her glazed eyes, Claire was oblivious to Geillis Duncan who had just entered the room. Rushing over to Jamie, the team leader pulled off her balaclava, so he could see who it was. Laying her weapons on the ground she knelt beside him then assisted him in releasing Claire by helping to remove the various ties binding her to the chair. Claire had not spoken or otherwise indicated that she realized that the team had finally arrived or was in the room.

Geillis briefly examined the two operatives. Claire Beauchamp appeared to be just holding on. She seemed to be in a very bad way with the effects of the gas. Sweat was pouring down her body and she seemed barely conscious. Her face was bruised from torture but James Fraser was no better although he seemed to have become less lethargic since he had been able to breathe fresh oxygen back into his lungs. Seeing him attend to Claire reinforced her thoughts.

Another operative quickly followed close behind on the heels of his leader. He ran into the room with the sole purpose in mind to free Jamie and Claire and get them out of this room as soon as possible. However, he stopped in his tracks though and quietly observed the events taking place. His rescue attempt was not needed as he saw that Jamie and Geillis were already working on freeing Claire from her manacles.

Claire also struggled to focus on a kneeling Jamie as he worked to free her from the chair. She didn’t move she just looked vacantly around the room seeing but not really seeing at all. Her lack of cohesiveness worried Geillis for Claire appeared oblivious to any sense of danger or urgency. So, without hesitation she reached into her thigh pack and extracted a small cylinder and mask and quickly attached it to Claire’s face.

Breathing deeply, Claire coughed as life-giving oxygen filled her lungs. Geillis and Jamie shared a look. The open door had enabled fresh oxygen to seep into the room and displace the gas, so it shouldn’t take long for the life-giving oxygen to take its full effect on both of them. Jamie had obviously fared better and was more alert but now that Claire had had a good dose of the precious air, she was showing signs of rapid improvement. She coughed again. “Where are we?” Reaching up Jamie gently touched her face his expression concerned. However, he was not overly alarmed now that she had regained some momentum from the dose of oxygen that Geillis had given her. He knew it wouldn’t be too long until she was feeling much better.

“Claire ... it's me ... Claire,” he softly uttered as his eyes caressed her face.

Immediately responding to his touch, she smiled replying, “I’m okay Jamie ... just a little groggy.”

“Can you walk?” Geillis Duncan asked knowing that they needed to make egress as quickly as possible.

Breaking her gaze with Jamie when she saw Geillis standing there too. “I think so,” she responded.

Noting that Claire was indeed also less lethargic now was encouraging for they still had to leave the monastery undetected if possible. There were still triads on the premises and time was of the essence as Team Two had their orders, hence the quicker they were able to leave the better.

“That’s good,” Geillis answered giving Jamie a glance indicating the need to leave.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ However, before Claire was able to get up from her chair though, she heard a male voice speak from the back of the room. “I’m sure glad to see you both alive.” Hardly believing what they were hearing Jamie and Claire both looked up and glanced in his direction. The Section operative pulled off his balaclava and gave them both a cagey smile. “Rough mission huh?” Whatever or whoever they were expecting; the familiar face that appeared in the doorway wasn't it. They were astonished to see who their rescuer was. “Don’t look so surprised,” he stated with a cocky grin, “How ya doing Sugar?” “M-Murtagh?” Claire said faltering over his name in shock. “Yep ... I'm here, and it's me. It's gonna be okay.” He looked over to Jamie. “Hey man, good to see you. Remember I did say to look after my Sugar.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he saw the recollection of their conversation resonate in Jamie’s mind.

Murtagh’s statement had stopped him in his tracks as he’d walked away, from munitions. “Look after my Sugar,” he had said in all seriousness. Although he’d kept walking, he had felt the weapons’ expert’s eyes boring holes into his retreating back. “I will,” he’d answered earnestly.

“Aye ... I do remember,” Jamie replied recalling back to his conversation with Fitzgibbons in Munitions before the start of the mission. However, it was Murtagh’s parting words of warning, although spoken in jest that had prophetically come to pass ... “I don’t want to have to come after you.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

That night, all those months ago, Murtagh Fitzgibbons had also unwittingly blurted out his inner thoughts to him when he’d handed out the weaponry for the mission to find Tony Wong.

“I must say, however, I am envious of the fact that you will get to use these Jamie ... I think that's great.” He’d watched Murtagh pensively finger the weapons and knew that he was remembering the old times when he had been on missions. “Boy! … Wouldn’t I just love to be out in the field with you this one time.” “Perhaps … ye never know Murtagh,” he’d said in reply. “Nah! I’m too old for all that field work.” Yet here he was and Murtagh’s retort seemed obsolete now. Obviously, this was his chance to be out in the field this one time after all. Operations must have agreed to him being on the team ... and under the circumstances they could use all the first-rate operatives they had. Murtagh was an Asian weaponry expert after all ... there was more to him than anyone knew. His time in Vietnam had honed his skills to expert status. Murtagh Fitzgibbons was an old master ... and his expertise was undisputed. For Claire’s sake he was glad he was on the team. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Claire’s stumbled words brought them both back to reality. “What? ... What ... are you doing here? How did you ... get here? Why are you here?” she uttered surprised to see her most unexpected friend. With feigned modesty Murtagh answered, “I needed to brush up on my field mechanics and I just wanted to make sure you'd be able to find your way back home.” He winked at Claire and his face crinkled with mirth. “So how are you doing?” “I'll be fine.” He saw Claire’s battered face but her inner beauty was still radiant. “Mmmmm … You look just as beautiful as ever.” Knowing that time was of the essence Geillis Duncan issued orders that they must get going. “Let's go!” Seeing that Claire was still a little fazed, Murtagh held out his hand and helped her up to her feet from the chair. “I guess you guys want to get outta here, huh?” he asked stating the obvious. Claire held his gaze and whispered, “I'm glad you came.” He smiled in return ever so pleased that the team had arrived when they did. If they had found Jamie and Claire deceased, he didn’t know how he would have reacted to that scenario. “I was worried we wouldn’t reach you both in time. I feel better now that we’ve found you both alive.”

Geillis Duncan turned to lead the group out of the room. “Come on hurry ... We need to go. Second team will be placing the detonators around the monastery any moment.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Rupert Mackenzie and Jasmine Kwong stood several feet away keeping guard. Facing the entrance of the antechamber, their rifles were cocked and at the ready to fire should any triads appear unexpectedly. When the two team members heard them all exit the room Rupert glanced over his shoulder briefly but his grin soon turned to shock when he saw the two operatives and the state they were in. He shot a look at Geillis but she failed to see it as she spoke to Fergus on her comm. unit. “Fergus, it's me. We've got Jamie and Claire. How do we get out of here?” “Nothing's secure yet. Can you augment a Tactical?”

“No. Jamie and Claire are in a bad way. We’re going to have to keep them close.” “Okay, let me see if I can create some space for you ... Team Two, increase your wedge by a few degrees and don’t set the detonators until I give the order.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In the woods, outside of the monastery Abernathy replied, “Understood Claudel.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As they exited the room, Murtagh handed Jamie a weapon while Rupert Mackenzie slipped out the spare gun he carried on his thigh for Claire. She looked at the gun then at him. "The area's not secure, yet," he stated. "There's a good chance we will encounter more hostiles." Her eyes held his before replying. "Right!" Meanwhile, Geillis moved towards the exit where they had originally entered. She paused at the doorway then glanced over her shoulder to look at the group and waited for the go ahead from Fergus. “Okay, Geillis. There's a door ten meters to your right, down the hallway. It leads out. You'll be clear for the next sixty seconds.” Moving to the door, she raised her gun and looked each way. Geillis' eyes peered down the corridor watchful for any hostiles still around. Seeing none she turned back and looked at the group. "We've got to go now!" They proceeded to the exit, and checking again to make sure that the way was clear she gave the team a nod, then ordered with some urgency, "This way!" Slipping through the door, she led the way out of the chamber back into the corridor. Although still not completely recovered from the effects of the gas, Jamie was one step behind her with his gun raised and carried high. Murtagh fell into line with Claire at his side with her pistol carried at hip level. The two flanked Geillis and Jamie while the other operatives had fanned out around them. Suddenly, one of Jonathon Randall’s men burst into the corridor with his gun aimed at Jamie. Although his reflexes were sharp, they were not as sharp as the team’s leader Geillis Duncan. She was the first to see him and methodically turned around at the sound of the door opening and shot the man before he could get any rounds of ammunition off. Taking the lead, she moved forward to where the hostile lay to check to see if there was anyone accompanying the dead guard. She then re-joined the rest of the team again. Their objective was to reach some balustrade columns a short way ahead but as they started along this exposed area of the hallway to the door, triad guards appeared from the floor above. They opened fire. Bullets sprayed the wall behind them as the team made a desperate lunge for cover.

Fergus could hear the gunfire over the open channel. "I can't keep this corridor clear. You've got to get out of there." *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ When there was no immediate reply Fergus became worried. "First Team?" Geillis took shelter behind a nearby column while Jamie knelt beside her. Eventually she was able to reply to his question. "First Team engaging some hostiles." The hostiles continued firing at the operatives, and they were pinned down by the ricocheting bullets. She looked around the corner and made eye contact with Murtagh on the other side with Claire who had taken cover with him. Fortunately, he was in the better position to make a move on the hostile. Geillis gestured to him.

"Are you ready?" With a sparkle in his eye he replied, "Yeah, let's go.” Murtagh then lay on his back as he moved to get a better drop on the guard cutting off their retreat. Taking aim, he got off an extraordinary shot. Bang! This knocked the man over the balcony before he knew what had hit him. Another appeared, then another and another. Murtagh rolled. Bang! Bang! Keeping his eye on the hostiles, he took out every one dropping them with precision marksmanship. Bang! The adrenalin was wonderful. Murtagh felt a rush of blood to his head at the kill. It had been a long while since he had been in this situation and not since the Terrogamo mission had he felt this good. What good was it to be a weapons specialist if he was not able to put his skills into practise once in a while? he thought merrily. However, despite the adrenalin rush, Murtagh remained alert and his senses strained to pick up any further signs of hostile company. Claire peeked around the column and watched the gunplay in awe of the craggy operative. Murtagh Fitzgibbons hadn't lost it, he was still as sharp as ever. "Claire! Claire, get over here!" He whispered noticing that the coast was clear for the moment for her to join him. However, before she could make a move, suddenly behind her, a Rising Dragon triad guard broke through the doors, firing. Claire turned and instinctively returned fire, shooting the guard who fell nearby. She looked down at the dead guard seemingly paralysed by the sight of the lifeless body. Looking back at her Murtagh noticed Claire's reticence and rushed over to her. "Hey... Stay ... with ... me!" But it was soon obvious that she was all right. "I'm okay." As he looked at her his face lit up like a Christmas tree. "That wasn't so bad for a sixty-year-old teenager, was it Sugar?" he bragged. Claire nodded and gave him a wry smile. "Murtagh ... I'm surprised you could stand the excitement. How does it look now?" He looked around to see if the coast was clear, then with his eyes wide with the excitement of his experience he replied. "Empty." "Let's hope so or else we could be sitting ducks." They shared a look before Murtagh answered her. "That's always a concern. Ready?" “Yes.” The operatives forged ahead to egress hoping they wouldn't encounter any more triad security guards. Meanwhile … The Dragon rises up his back In daylight near and far He soars at night with deadly eye Beneath the moon and star The Rising Dragon!

Lost in thought, the three triad members sat in the helicopter and played out the mantra of the Rising Dragons in their minds. To each person on the aircraft their success had been the epitome of what the Rising Dragons stood for. The death of the protagonists Claire Beauchamp and James Fraser was a coup which showed the might and fortitude of the triad. To them they were victorious and had upheld the ethos of the triad. Sun Yee Lok would be most pleased with how they had accomplished their task of ridding the triad of those that sought to destroy them.

Be cautious of its ruthless ways This enigma to the night For the Dragon bears upon his wings A chilling tale of fright The Rising Dragon! "Death with Honour" its way of life With motto "Strength by Dare" Once you yield fear nought … but When it seeks you, beware! The Rising Dragon!

Be wary of its mercilessness For treachery brings you danger. Perpetrators be especially vigilant, It will rise up in anger...

The Rising Dragon!

Although each had a different perspective each had the same conclusion ... the Rising Dragons had triumphed over their adversaries. It could look forward, regroup and get on with the business of what they did the best. Now that James Fraser and Claire Beauchamp were no longer a thorn in their side, the triad would recover and bounce back stronger than ever. Their deaths would be a warning to all those who may seek to undermine the might of the Rising Dragons and hence would think twice about staging a coup in the near future. Although the triad had taken a hit of late with the deaths of key members, once the word spread amongst the other triads of their success in eliminating its foe, their rivals especially Samuel Li, from the Black Panthers would curtail their ambition to become the supreme Dragon Head of the triads by trying to usurp Sun Yee Lok.

The triad has a cruel, ferocious wrath Beware! Take heed! Think twice! Never ... ever ... deceive or betray For you will pay the price... The Rising Dragon! This mythical beast the dragon Unbending and combative its rite Roars so wild upon the sea The symbol of power and might The Rising Dragon!

To all who dare to take us on We will demonstrate forceful prowess You may try but you will never win For failure only brings success ... to The Rising Dragon!

Nearing their destination, each played out the scenarios in their heads that they had of their recollections of what had just taken place at the monastery. They wanted to be prepared for whatever questions Sun Yee Lok would ask of them. He would be most pleased that they had been successful and all knew that he would want to know the details of their experiences. Thus, a recount of what had happened and how it had impacted on them was the best way of making the events fresh and real. Each of them took strength in their convictions of events at the monastery and knew that their leader would be most pleased they had stayed true to the Rising Dragons’ principles. The rule of the triad is absolute To the vanquished just misery it will bring It triumphs over adversaries Then its greatness loudly will sing The Rising Dragon! An invincible, powerful brotherhood The Triad rules supreme Don't ever try to obliterate For retribution will be extreme The Rising Dragon!

The triad soars in its conquest For power and fortune go to the bold The dragon will reap rewards and enjoy Long life in abundance ten-fold The Rising Dragon!

Karen, Jonathon Randall and Wang Yu looked forward to the meeting with their supreme leader. Each hoped that they could bring something unique to the table for their meeting with their Dragon Head in the morning. Success for the Rising Dragons was the primary concern but a personal reward for their achievements would also be gratefully accepted. Whatever reward Sun Yee Lok would deem as suitable would be graciously accepted, but it was the fact that they had been successful in ridding the triad of the two thorns in their side, the ones who had bought upheaval and despair to the triad, was the best reward of all.

The three triad members glanced at one another knowing that each had musings of what had happened at the monastery and the consequences of their actions. But more importantly, they were proud to be a Rising Dragon triad member who had been true to the ideals, standards, ethos and principles of the triad and were now returning triumphant to report back to their leader.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ to be continued on Friday the 28th February.

Next month I will try and post twice a week on Wednesday and Saturday as I have a few chapters under my belt at the moment.

#jamie and claire #Jamieandclairefanfic #jamieandclaireau #jamieandclairecrossover #outlander fanfiction #covert operations #the lallybroch library #crossover outlander/lfn spies modernau

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fortunatelylori · 5 years

Note

I wonder what Sidney meant on the boat when he tells her "why is it that when I finally get a chance at happiness, i cannot accept the fact?". It just doesn't make sense that he asks her that, does it? If he's at that time questioning whether he can still love Eliza, or if he's already in love with Charlotte, then why does he ask her that? I'm just confused by that moment!

Hey, nonnie!

I touched on this briefly in my epsiode 7 Sidney analysis. To keep it short, you’re not the only one who is confused. Sidney is as well. :))) Episode 7 is a rollercoster of emotions for him and his ultimate turning point.

Let me explain: At the end of episode 6, Sidney is as open emotionally as he’s been all season, all because of Charlotte of course. And that is incredibley apparent in their dance scene.

However, unfortunately for Charlotte, and Sidney as well as it turns out, that is the exact moment Eliza Champion comes back into his life. Since his emotional walls are down, he not only reacts to her appereance positively but immediately starts thinking that perhaps he should restart their relationship.

To put it simply, Sidney takes what he feels for Charlotte and he redirects it towards Eliza. The reason for that being that Eliza was, most likely, the only woman he had ever loved prior to Charlotte, the woman who caused him to become emtionally distant so he inadvertently associates love and happiness with her. As I’ve mentioned in my meta, he also idealizes their relationship and doesn’t really have a clear picture of who Eliza is.

And here is where the confusion starts. Because Sidney is unable to understand himself or his feelings so he ends up saying one thing and doing another one. He says this:

Sidney: It is a strange feeling. You’ve wanted something impossible for so long and suddenly it’s within your grasp.

But actually spends the entire episode looking for any excuse to interact with Charlotte while being pretty passive in his interactions with Eliza. He says he wants Eliza but it is her that is persuing him, while he is, without realizing it, persuing Charlotte.

Eventually, because he is a smooth motherfucker with one hell of a smile, he manages to convince the girl who is desperately hurt by his confusion, to join him for a “balancing of the boat” where he asks her this question:

Sidney: May I ask you something, Miss Heywood? Why is it that when I finally have a chance at happiness, can I not accept the fact?

This isn’t very different from what he told Tom a few scenes earlier, namely that he feels something is wrong with him for hesitating after wanting Eliza back for so long.

Except there is a salient difference. In the scene with his brothers, it was Tom who initiated the conversation regarding Eliza (because he is THE FUCKING WORST) and Sidney fended him off instantly.

In the scene with Charlotte it’s him that is asking for her opinion. Leaving aside the romantic conotations, think about what that says about Sidney and his opinion of Charlotte. He has immense respect for her and he trusts that she will give him an honest and sensible answer (one he knows he won’t get from his brother becuase … sing it with me … THE WORST!!!).

That being said:

If he’s at that time questioning whether he can still love Eliza, or if he’s already in love with Charlotte, then why does he ask her that?

It is my opinion that Sidney isn’t questioning that. His feelings for Charlotte have been put on hold the moment he saw Eliza at the ball. What Sidney is questioning is why if he’s wanted Eliza for so long, doesn’t he want to move forward with their relationship.

He actually goes through a list of excuses as to why:

I haven’t picked up an oar in years = I no longer know how to act when I’m in love or how to move forward.

(btw, this is bullshit because by episode 8, we know Sidney does know exactly how to act when he’s in love … mainly like a bubbling idiot who watches the weather channel all day long)

Sidney: I had convinced myself that I was destined to remain alone. That I was ill suited for matrimony. = I told myself I was done with all of that for so long I don’t know how to get out of my bad patters now that I can.

Ultimately, it is Charlotte who gives him the answer, as she’s done other times in the past:

Charlotte: I do not believe anyone is truly ill suited for marriage (except Tom but he’s ill suited for life in general). Not even you. I suppose it’s just a question of compatibility.

If you watch this exchange again, you will notice that Charlotte draws a pretty staggered breath after sayng the compatibility line. That’s because she knows she’s giving Sidney the means by which to reach out to Eliza.

There’s nothing wrong with you, our lovely, selfless heroine says. You just need to find someone you are compatible with.

And Sidney understands that message. However, in true Sidney fashion, he acts completely differently from what Charlotte expects. Instead of running off trying to fill out the latest compatibility Cosmo test with Eliza, he does this:

The boat scene is very important in the story of Charlotte and Sidney, not least because of the hand grazing the thigh, touching the waist porn but also because it’s the scene where Sidney realizes that it’s Charlotte he wants to “row boats” with, not Eliza. Which will eventually lead to this:

Sidney: I am a great deal less than perfect. You’ve made me all too aware of that. But, for whatever it’s worth, I believe I am my best self, my truest self, when I’m with you.

Le sigh, nonnie!

#sanditon #sidney parker #sidlotte #my asks #my metas will come with a heafty dose of tom hate from now on #so ask questions at your peril

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singledarkshade · 4 years

Text

Stress Relief

Summary: Stuck with the annoying Lieutenant Coburn on a mission, Rip is being driven crazy. But it's a mission that will change his life forever. Author’s Note: Rip Week Day 4: Time for Romance – Rip is a romantic at heart, ship him with whoever you think is right for him. Any pairing goes. I chose Miranda and Rip. ********************************************* “Your mission is one that shall require you both to practice patience,” Druce said as Lieutenant Rip Hunter and Lieutenant Miranda Coburn stood side by side at attention in his office, “I was against pairing you two, considering your inability to be in the same room without almost every discussion becoming an argument. However, you have the specialities that are required to ensure that the mission is successful.”

“What is the mission, sir?” Miranda asked before Rip could.

“You are being dispatched to ensure that the exploratory mission to Neptune in 2151 is successful,” Druce stated, “We have received information that there will be an attempt to disrupt it.”

Rip glanced at Miranda before asking, “And this requires both of us?”

“You are to work together,” Druce ignored the question and continued, “Lieutenant Hunter, your technical expertise will be required to fix any issues with the probe that may occur, while Lieutenant Coburn, as the more qualified pilot, will be there to ensure that it is flown into the right part of the planet if required.”

“Sir, I can…” they both started, stopping and frowning at one another.

Druce stood, “These are your orders. You will be taking the Waverider.”

“Sir,” Miranda frowned, “Surely I should take my own ship with my own AI? Which was put together by the technical team and not...” she glanced to where Rip stood before finishing, “Hunter.”

“No,” Druce said, stopping her before she could argue, “One ship will be overlooked but two will be less easy to hide. I have made this decision and you’re dismissed.” When neither moved, he sighed, “Now.”

Druce watched as the two Lieutenants left his office. He counted to three before the door opened again and Rip appeared.

“No,” Druce stated sharply, “Lieutenant Coburn will be working with you on this mission and nothing you say shall change that. I understand that you two do not get along but, in a word, tough. Now get out of my office.”

Rip seethed in annoyance.

Coburn was not only arrogant but so uptight and smug that the next few weeks were going to be utter hell.

“Gideon,” he called as he entered his ship, the ship he had spent years returning to its former glory, “We have a mission and we’re going to have a guest for the duration.”

“The information has been uploaded to my system,” Gideon told him, “I have prepared a room for Lieutenant Coburn.”

Rip gave a slight smile heading up to the bridge, “Thank you, Gideon. Hopefully, this won’t last as long as Druce thinks it will.”

“Captain,” Gideon said. Although he was only a Lieutenant, Gideon always referred to him as Captain since he was in command of the ship, “Might I suggest that you look on this as a test of your patience.”

Rip rolled his eyes as he stepped onto the bridge, “Gideon, please stop channelling my mother.”

“Lieutenant Coburn is waiting to enter the ship,” Gideon told him.

Nodding Rip started his checks.

“Captain,” Gideon stated, “You are being childish.”

“Fine,” he sighed, “Let her onboard and show her where she’s staying. Although you probably shouldn’t refer to me as Captain while she can hear.”

“I am programmed…”

“I know,” Rip cut her off, “But considering Lieutenant Coburn’s love of the rules and how she will react to the title, especially since she’s going to be onboard for the next few weeks, please just do as I ask.”

There was several minutes of silence before Gideon replied, “Of course, Lieutenant Hunter.”

Miranda walked onto the Waverider, irritated that she was being stuck with Hunter for the next few weeks. Druce’s golden boy had a tendency to disregard whatever rules he didn’t feel like following.

The fact he had a ship before graduating to the rank of Captain was something that had rankled all of them. Fine he had rebuilt the ship and fixed the AI, but the basic fact still annoyed her.

“Welcome onboard, Lieutenant Coburn,” Gideon spoke up, “I have a room ready for you.”

Miranda nodded, “Thank you, Gideon. Where is Lieutenant Hunter?”

“He is currently on the bridge readying the ship to leave,” Gideon replied, “As soon as you have unpacked, he has asked that you join him.”

“Tell him I’ll be a few minutes,” Miranda told her, entering the room that had been set aside for her.

Dropping her bag on the bed, she unpacked the spare uniform she’d brought with her and hung it up. Grabbing her hairbrush, she pulled her hair back into a neat ponytail making sure she looked like a proper Time Master. Hunter may ignore the regulations regarding his clothing when not on the base, but Miranda was not going to especially as she knew it would drive him crazy.

“Finally,” Hunter rolled his eyes the moment she walked onto the bridge, “Are you ready to go now?”

Sliding into one of the seats, Miranda pulled down the restraint, “Ready. Although as I am the better pilot surely it would make more sense if I piloted.”

“The Waverider is mine,” Rip replied sharply, “I’m flying.”

Smirking that she’d managed to rile him, Miranda leaned back and said nothing as they took off for their destination.

*********************************************

Rip sighed in annoyance, they’d been stuck here for almost two weeks waiting to see if the suspected Time Pirates would show up to stop the exploratory mission to Neptune, a hugely important even in human history.

Coburn was driving him crazy. She insisted that they follow the normal training regime they would back at the Vanishing Point despite the fact they neither needed to, nor were expected to.

And she was everywhere. The ship was big enough that they shouldn’t have to see one another except when they swapped to watch over the bridge and yet, every time he turned around there she was.

Sipping tea, nibbling a biscuit (never eating it properly she always nibbled), playing with her hair, leaning on the main console as she studied information Gideon provided while tapping one foot against the floor as she thought.

“Gideon,” Rip called as he headed to the galley, “Is there any indication there are pirates anywhere?”

“No, Captain,” she replied, “Lieutenant Coburn has readjusted the scanners during the night to ensure accuracy.”

Rip let out a long sigh, “Of course she did. Can’t she leave anything alone?”

“The scanners are ten percent more accurate now,” Gideon told him.

Letting out an annoyed snort, Rip headed to make himself some tea. Pulling out a mug to make Coburn one as well.

“Does she want something to eat?” Rip asked, as he programmed breakfast for himself.

“Lieutenant Coburn has asked for porridge with apple and cinnamon,” Gideon replied, “Along with the tea you were already making for her.”

Rip looked down at the fact he had two mugs in front of him, he hadn’t realised he’d done that. With a shrug he grabbed a tray and put the two mugs plus their breakfasts on it. Walking onto the bridge, he was surprised by how he felt heat rise in his neck when Coburn smiled at him.

“I take it there was no sign of any pirates?” Rip asked as he handed her the bowl with her porridge and her tea.

Laughing she shook her head before she closed her eyes taking a sip of her tea.

“I will give you this,” she smiled at him, “You know how to make a good cup of tea.”

Rip shrugged, his neck getting hotter as he replied, “Well, Mother taught me a few things.”

Miranda chuckled amused as she began to eat. Even though this mission had been completely pointless so far, she actually enjoyed being on the Waverider. It was nice to spend some time away from the Vanishing Point, allowing her to go over some of her theories which to her surprise Gideon was really helpful with. Not to mention making Hunter do the daily training regime when he clearly found it irritating was fun.

They’d never gotten along.

They were both so competitive and it didn’t help that they were always pitted against one another. She also despised the fact that he’d had the Waverider since they’d been first year cadets. Logically she knew it was because his entry project was to rebuild Gideon, and he had managed it which allowed Gideon’s self-repair systems to fix the Waverider with his help. But it was still something that annoyed a lot of people.

However, over the past few weeks, watching him within his own ship had been interesting because it turned out he wasn’t as aggravating as she always thought him to be. When he didn’t realise that she was there, Hunter…Rip would sing to himself as he worked, on occasion singing with Gideon. She could see how much pride he had in the Waverider, it was kept in pristine condition and he worked on each system every few days.

To her surprise, he also made dinner from scratch rather than using the fabricator several times during the week. Miranda had been stunned when he made some for her as well but even more so that it was delicious.

“I can take over now,” Rip said as he finished his roll and sausage, “If you want to go get some sleep.”

Miranda shrugged, “I’m fine. Not really tired at the moment.”

He looked at her thoughtfully, “Well, Gideon can set up the firing range.”

“Is my company that awful?” Miranda teased, surprised at the soft blush that touched his pale features.

“Not really,” he murmured before adding, “I just thought you would want to get off the bridge for a while.”

“Gideon mentioned that you’ve been studying the Gosher Riots,” Miranda noted, it was one of the topics she had been given to study recently, “Any thoughts?”

Surprise touched his face, and Rip replied, “One or two.”

“You can’t seriously believe that?”

Rip shrugged, “All I’m saying is that it is highly unlikely.”

“All the evidence collected shows that it was what happened,” Miranda argued back, “Do you have anything to suggest otherwise?”

He mused for a second before nodding, “Druce let me borrow a diary from Helas that is part of his collection. The man who wrote it was a servant in the palace at the time.”

Miranda’s eyes lit up and she leaned forward, “You have one of the diaries onboard?”

Rip smiled at how excited she was at the prospect, “It’s in my quarters. I’ve been reading it the past few nights.”

“And you’re saying it disproves the theory?” Miranda demanded, as she started off the bridge.

Confused Rip followed her, “No, it actually claims that a chemical was used to start the whole thing.”

“So, you’re not a believer in the so called ‘Love Dust’?” Miranda laughed as she reached his rooms.

Rip rolled his eyes, “It’s preposterous. A chemical substance that makes you fall in love with another person is ridiculous.”

“Well,” Miranda noted, “To be fair it’s not falling in love, just an uncontrollable need for sex.”

Rip felt heat cover his neck again but thankfully Miranda wasn’t paying any attention to him as she just walked into his quarters and headed straight for his desk.

“Oh wow,” she murmured, gently lifting the diary up and turning a few pages, “This is incredible. Listen to this, ‘The sweet smell of the magical dust they covered the palace in filled the air and soon the floor was nothing but bodies, naked and writhing as they pleasured each other, their only intention to reach satisfaction’.”

Rip swallowed at the sound of her voice caressing each word.

“And what do you think of that?” Miranda asked amused.

“It’s a poetic description of an orgy that likely had more to do with copious quantities of alcohol than magical ‘love dust’,” Rip replied.

Miranda laughed, “Oh come on. Why can’t you believe in something that you are not able to put in a little box?”

“It’s preposterous,” he said again, “

“Well it’s not like we’ll ever know,” Miranda rolled her eyes before a mischievous smile touched her lips, “That time is forbidden so we couldn’t steal some to test it.”

Rip frowned at her, “What a shame,” adding sarcastically, “I really wanted to test your theory.”

“I have a small sample of the substance for you to try,” Gideon spoke up suddenly.

Before they could say anything the hiss of the air conditioning system preceded a sickly-sweet smell. Rip felt his head begin to swim, shaking it and blinking to clear his vision he tried to focus again. Miranda appeared before him, and it was like he was seeing her for the first time. Her dark eyes bright with her brilliant mind, her pale skin was glowing, a slight blush on her cheeks and then he focussed on her soft pink lips.

Rip found himself moving and pressed his lips to hers. Miranda’s arms locked around his neck pulling him close as their kiss deepened. Rip slammed into the wall as they stumbled slightly trying to get closer to each other.

Breaking apart for air, Rip trailed his lips down along her neck while she pushed his jacket off him. He moaned as Miranda’s hands suddenly slid along his stomach and in the back of his mind Rip realised that she’d undone his shirt.

It wasn’t long before their clothes were scattered over the floor and Miranda pulled him over to the bed.

Rip rolled off Miranda, breathing heavily and lay at her side staring at the ceiling trying to work out what had possessed him to do something so stupid.

And then he remembered…

“Gideon,” he snapped, “What the hell did you drug us with?”

“It was the chemical that is known as ‘love dust’,” Gideon replied.

“Why on earth would you do that?” he demanded, trying not to look at Miranda, “Why would you…”

“You requested the chance to test Lieutenant Coburn’s theory, which I gave you. However, the dose I gave you wore off within twenty seconds,” Gideon told him, “Anything that happened after those twenty seconds came from you.”

At his side Rip heard Miranda begin to laugh.

“Rip,” Miranda said softly, touching his cheek so he would look at her. And she looked gorgeous with tousled hair and pink tinge to her glistening skin, “This wasn’t a bad thing.”

“It’s forbidden,” Rip reminded her.

Miranda shrugged, “What is? We’ve been stuck here for almost two weeks waiting for something that hasn’t happened yet. This was just a little…stress relief. That’s not against the rules.”

“Stress relief?”

A slow smile touched her lips and she lay on her side leaning on her elbow, “I’m feeling very relaxed and I’m sure you were too. Before you started having a panic attack.”

Rip stared at her.

“Well?” she slid closer to him, “Were you relaxed?”

Swallowing he nodded.

Miranda softly touched her lips to his again. When she broke the kiss, Miranda smiled at him before sliding out of the bed, not bothering to cover her naked form.

“I’m going to have shower,” she glanced over her shoulder, “If you’re feeling a little stressed again, you should join me.”

Rip lay frozen for several moments listening to the water start.

Stress relief…

He slid out of the bed and stepped into the shower room; Miranda smiled when she saw him through the steam. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him close when he joined her.

“We should destress a little more,” Miranda murmured, before adding, “And I need help washing my hair.”

*********************************************

Miranda wandered to the galley to get some tea before heading up to the bridge to check if anything had happened. They’d been here almost a full month waiting for an attack which so far hadn’t appeared.

Since their first ‘stress relief’ session they’d spent every night together, and Rip was getting a lot more comfortable around her. It was amazing how different he was now he’d relaxed. Miranda knew Rip was smart, you had to be to even be considered to be a Time Master, but he had always been very quiet. Although she knew he was one of the top students of their class, Rip rarely spoke up amongst the others. Only doing so when he had something specific to say, which was usually disagreeing with her, so she’d never got a chance to watch his mind work until now. He had one of those minds that worked problems at angles, solving them in ways she hadn’t expected. It was incredible, and completely unexpected, how well they worked together.

After they had a ‘stress relief’ session each night, they would talk. Going over theories and ideas that they both had, they seemed to connect in a way Miranda had never thought was possible with anyone, never mind him.

She knew that once their mission was over, she had to ensure they continued to spend time together.

“Yes, sir,” Rip said as Druce finished speaking, “I’ll tell Lieutenant Coburn.”

“Tell me what?” Miranda asked the moment Druce disappeared from the screen making Rip turn to find her walking onto the bridge.

He stood, “We’re being recalled.”

“Oh,” she grimaced, “Straight away?”

Rip smiled slightly, “No. They’re allowing us to witness the probe landing.”

“Oh,” Miranda grinned, “That means we have six hours.”

“Well actually six hours and nineteen minut…” he stopped as Miranda pressed her finger to his lips.

“That means,” she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, “We can ‘destress’ a few more times before we head back to base.”

Rip sighed, “This isn’t a good idea, Miranda. We both know what we’re doing, no matter how we label it, is against the rules.”

“Rip,” she breathed, “You have broken a lot of rules and gotten away with it.”

He winced, “But anytime I have done so was in the service of a mission. This is different.”

Miranda shook her head, “I don’t want to stop spending time with you. Even before Gideon dosed us, I was attracted to you, but I had no idea how you felt about me. We’re allowed to care for each other Rip, no matter what they say.”

“But…”

“Do you enjoy being with me?” Miranda asked firmly.

Rip stared at her for a few moments before whispering, “Yes.”

“We’re not hurting anyone,” she reminded him, “And considering how much time we will spend on missions mostly on our own then,” Miranda brushed her lips to his, “A little ‘stress relief’ can’t be frowned upon.”

He continued to stare at her, his mind going over and over everything.

“Unless this doesn’t mean the same to you as it does to me,” Miranda sighed.

She moved away and Rip caught her hand making her turn back.

“I don’t…I’ve never…” he took a quick breath, “I’ve never felt like this for anyone, Miranda.”

Stepping closer to him again, Miranda took his face in her hands and whispered, “Neither have I.”

Rip rested his forehead against hers, “I don’t know how to do this.”

Miranda kissed him, sliding her arms around his neck and pulling him close. When they parted, she murmured, “I don’t either, but we can learn together.”

Still holding onto her, Rip nodded, “Okay.”

“Now,” Miranda smiled, “We have just over six hours before we have to return to the Vanishing Point. Let’s ‘destress’ a few times before we go home.”

As she pulled him, Rip moved with her knowing he was in deep and realising he didn’t care.

*********************************************

“Lieutenant Hunter is not currently onboard,” Gideon spoke up as Druce stepped onto the Waverider.

“I know, Gideon,” he replied as he started through the corridors, “He’s currently being debriefed. I’m just here to retrieve the book he borrowed from me.”

“Of course,” she stated, “It is sitting on the desk inside his quarters.”

Druce nodded, “Thank you, Gideon.” Reaching the room he easily found the diary and lifted it, “Lieutenant Hunter will be busy for several hours, and a team will be fitting some new fabricators. Your scheduled self-diagnostic has been moved up to today.”

“I am not due for a self-diagnosis until next month,” Gideon noted.

Druce smiled, “I am aware of this, but this was the first long term mission you and the Waverider has been on since Rip repaired your systems. Soon you will be away from the Vanishing Point for extended periods of time and it’s best to ensure now that no problems will occur.”

“Your reasoning is sound, Time Master Druce,” Gideon told him, “I will alert Lieutenant Hunter that I have done this.”

Druce waited until he was sure Gideon was in diagnostic mode before he found the camera he’d set up in Rip’s room.

Rip and Miranda had a part to play in the future, but both had been annoyingly restrained despite the obvious attraction. He hoped this mission, with the planted chemical aphrodisiac, would push them where he needed them to go. In some ways they were both very predictable in what they would argue about and Druce just needed to ensure the material had been there.

Quickly checking through the film captured and smiled to himself as he watched the two of them getting intimate.

His plan was on track.

#ripweek #day 4 #fic #legends of tomorrow #rip hunter #miranda coburn #gideon #zaman druce #hunterburn

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fireteam-dauntless · 4 years

Text

A Tale of Two Guardians XXVIII

Part I of the Destined Series Chapter 28: Last Rites masterlist

word count : 3.8k tag list : @mail-me-a-snail @basically-nacl @shins-wife @speed-boop

I armored up the next morning, just after sunrise, and didn’t even make myself a cup of coffee. I only slept for a few hours, but I had been tossing and turning all night. Cayde and Amanda had worked all night to modify the stealth tech, and it was dropped off at Maverick’s earlier this morning. We were all meeting there to install the tech, then going to orbit to head towards the moon.

I left my apartment and walked to Maverick’s. The air was chilly and a thin mist hung in the air after last night’s storm. It almost suited the situation. I arrived at Maverick’s apartment and knocked on the door, and Skinner answered it almost instantly.

“What took you so long?” He said in a teasing tone, but stepped aside to let me in.

I held up a finger to silence him as I stepped inside. “Shh… I skipped out on coffee to get here as soon as possible.”

“And that is why I have a pot on for you.” Maverick was hunched over, doing some final adjustments on his boots. I smiled softly and walked over to him, gently squeezed his shoulder, and kissed his head

“Thank you, you are a lifesaver.”

“Genny, send your Ghost over here,” Skinner called from the living room. After I poured a cup of black coffee, I held out my hand, my Ghost appeared and flew over to Skinner. He gently grabbed her out of the air, and held out his own Ghost. He was reading a code that his Ghost was displaying, and started to input it into my Ghost’s interface.

“Is that the stealth code?” I asked and took a sip of coffee.

“Yup. Maverick and I took a while to figure out how to get them to work with our Ghosts, but it’s easier for me to install it on yours since I know how to this time.”

“Thanks, Skinner.”

Silence fell over the room. I could feel the tension rising in the room and I shifted uncomfortably. I could tell neither of them wanted to go back there.

“Alright, there you go.” Skinner sent my Ghost back over to me.

“Do the codes work?”

“Yup,” Maverick said. “We tried them out earlier. We should be all set to go back to the Hellmouth.”

I looked between the two of them, and they both looked equally uneasy. “Then let’s go,” I said firmly and finished off my cup of coffee. I knew I wasn’t the Fireteam leader, but someone had to get these two out of the apartment and onto our ships. “The sooner, the better.”

—————

The three of us stood at the beginning of the Abyss, Maverick and Skinner were standing side by side ahead of me, their hands holding fast onto their weapons even though there wasn’t an enemy in sight. We approached a platform where two Wizards were chanting, but before I could even react, the Hunter and Titan unloaded their guns and the Wizards collapsed into piles of ash. I looked at them warily, but gave them a small nod regardless. I noticed something in one of the piles, the glint of something lost ages before. I approached the pile and brushed the ashes aside, revealing a dead Ghost. My eyes widened.

“Guys, what do you make of this?” I called out to them. No response. “Skinner? Maverick?” I looked up and saw that they were standing on the glowing plate, waiting for the bridge across the Abyss to form so that we could enter the Keyhole into Crota’s throne world. “Hey! Guys!”

“Please, Storm, let’s just get Crota’s essence and leave. I don’t want to come back here ever again,” Maverick said with a sigh. He didn’t even turn to look at me. He was in total focus mode on this mission.

“Yeah that would be great.” Skinner added.

I sighed in defeat, but tucked the Ghost into my robes for safe keeping. The Vanguard could identify whose Ghost it was if Maverick and Skinner didn’t know. I joined them on the plate. “Okay,” I said quietly. “I’ll just show you back at the ship.”

“Okay,” Cayde began over the Vanguard channel. “You’ve got the crystal. All you have to do now is fill it with Crota’s soul. The Hive are in the middle of some kind of funeral, so-”

“Not a funeral, a death ceremony,” Eris cut in. “Crota’s essence is being prepared for the next realm.”

“Right,” Cayde resumed. “So when you get to this ‘funeral’, Oryx will be watching close. Use Rasputian’s cloak to slip past the Taken. Find Crota’s soul, wrap it up, and get out.”

The bridge fully formed and solidified. I followed behind Maverick and Skinner as they began to cross. I stayed close to them with a firm grip on my hand cannon.

“Where exactly are we headed?” I asked, more toward Eris than my fireteam.

“When the Deathsingers begin their song, you’ll know we are close.”

“What she’s trying to say is that she doesn’t know. Don’t worry, I’ll keep my ear to the ground.” Cayde added.

“And I will try not to step on his head.” Eris commented.

I chuckled a bit at her comment, but Skinner and Mav didn’t even react.

Halfway toward the Keyhole, Cayde started again, “Stay out of sight, fireteam. We need you guys back alive. Ghosts, you have the frequency?”

“And your… modifications. We’ll be ready.” Mav’s Ghost said with doubt. None of us could blame him. Cayde’s modifications tend to have… malfunctions.

“Then move quietly and unseen… like death,” Eris said.

My Ghost sighed. I took one glance behind us just before we passed through the Keyhole, and saw the bridge disappear. Well, I thought. There’s no turning back now. We entered the Keyhole and we were dropped into one of the two towers before the Bridge.

“Let’s hope this works,” Mav said. “Activate cloaking, Ghosts.”

After a small popping sound, we were gone from sight.

“I can’t see you!” I exclaimed quietly. “Can you guys see me?!”

“Well that’s good then, it’s actually working this time,” Skinner said with relief.

Cayde spoke over comms with a warning. “Keep your distance. They can’t see you, but they can still smell you. Eris can replace her ship—we can’t replace you guys.”

“I think he’s talking about you Metal Man,” Skinner snickered.

“Shut it Skinner, not now,” Maverick growled coldly.

“Cross the chasm. Enter their world.” Eris said.

I walked over to the edge of the platform and knelt down. Using my sniper’s scope, I gazed down and scanned the area. “Look down there,” I whispered to them. Maverick came over to me and I handed him my scope. “A tomb husk. I bet you that’s how we’re getting across this chasm.”

“I like it,” he said and handed the scope back to me. “Alright, Skinner, you get the husk, Storm and I will wait by the Bridge.”

“Oh I see how it is…” Skinner began to complain, but Maverick cut him off.

“No, I’m not sending you over there because I can!” He said in an angry whisper. “I’m sending you over there because you're better at stealth then us! Now please go get the husk.”

“Jeez! Fine, I’ll get it, asshole,” Skinner grumbled before we headed out to the Bridge.

Maverick and I took cover behind a lamp near the bridge, out of sight and scent from the Hive Knights that were patrolling the area. “What’s with the blue and red Knights?”

“Well the Red Knights are Swordbearers when we killed them the first time they dropped their Sword. And the Blue Knights are the Gatekeepers and they can only be killed by the Ascendant Sword the Swordbearers carry.”

“Oh and the Gatekeepers…?”

“They're the ones that kill Enigma and Paradox,” he hissed. I could tell he was holding back his anger, and I gently placed a hand on his arm, squeezed genty, and let go.

Skinner ran up to us, holding the husk. “Here Mav, I got the husk.”

“Good now put it on that altar.”

He walked up to the altar and put it and as it faded the Bridge began to form. We crossed the bridge, snuck around the Gatekeepers that were pretty much guarding the doors, and ran over to the giant doors that led to Crota’s throne.

“Welp, time to open these loud ass doors.” Skinner groaned.

“Oh, come on, they couldn’t be that loud,” I murmured softly.

“And that’s where you're wrong,” Maverick said. “Skinner, if you please.”

He touched the door and it very loudly began to open.

“You think they heard that?” I asked.

We began down the hall toward Crota’s Throne and the Deathsingers began their song. “The Deathsingers!” Eris exclaimed over the Vanguard channel. “They are preparing Crota’s soul for the next realm. Follow their cry. It was just as this when I walked in the dark. Their wretched songs in the wind as Eriana fell…”

We dropped down the hole and Maverick held up his hand to stop Skinner and I as Eris began speaking again. “Reach Crota’s tomb and take what remains of his soul.”

“There are a lot of tombs here—how do we find Crota’s?” Maverick asked.

“You’ll know it when you see it.”

Maverick looked around the room, then visibly stiffened and froze in his place when he turned to us. He was looking right through us. Skinner and I turned around, and I felt my heart sink. There were the bodies of two Hunters against the back wall, one was completely severed in half, and the other had a Hive Cleaver pierced through his chest. Empty bullet casings and spent magazines littered the ground all around us. Between the two of them were the remains of two Ghost shells, shattered into pieces, but their cores were recognizable and intact. Maverick and Skinner both walked towards them, and I felt myself frozen in my place. It was Paradox and Enigma, if I could guess it was anyone. Maverick fell to his knees and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. I walked closer slowly, but I gave him a bit of space at the same time. He did the same for me when my team was found. When we found them on Phobos.

“I failed you two.” Maverick started quietly. There was tense pain in his voice. “I promised you guys that I would always be by your side. No matter what. And I failed at that. I haven’t been able to forgive myself for this and I still can’t.” His shoulders were trembling. Skinner and I knelt on either side of him.

“Come on Mav.” Skinner began. “We’ve got to get this mission done.”

“Look at the bright side, mon chérie, at least you have us.” I said, trying to make light of the situation. He still had people to fight for. At the time that I lost my team, I had lost everything. It was hard for me because there was no one left. But it must be even harder for him because he lost them when he couldn’t make the sacrifice that Gilly made for me.

“Storm you know how this feels.” He snapped in an almost statically cold voice. I winced at the harshness of his tone. “Your leader got you out. He got you out because you have so much more to do. Fireteam leaders are supposed to make sure their team makes it back alive. Even if they don’t. I should be here with the Sword through this STUPID ROBOTIC FRAME!” He almost began yelling, he only lowered his voice when he realized he could have alerted the Hive. “If you didn’t stop me, Skinner, I would be here with them, and only you would have made it out.”

He collapsed in the pool of Hive gunk in defeat, his head in his hands. His body was trembling. I felt so bad for him. He couldn’t express emotions, he couldn’t grieve like I could.

Skinner placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed tightly. “No, I wouldn’t Maverick. If you stayed with them and the events played out the same, I would’ve been with Vision and would’ve died in this Pit. They told you to stay with us because they knew if you stayed with them, we would have all died instead of just half of us.”

“He’s right Maverick,” I reassured. “But now we need you, you’re still our leader and we can do this. Together.”

Shortly after the pep talk Skinner and I gave him, Maverick regained his composure, collected the cores of Paradox’s and Enigma’s Ghosts, and stood. He walked toward the hall, scanned the area, and pointed at the floating coffin ahead. “There, that’s Crota’s tomb, let's get the essence.”

Skinner and I nodded and we started to follow Maverick. We avoided the Hive walking around so we didn’t get smelled out. We walked up to the tomb silently and Maverick whispered over the Vanguard channel, “We found it, Eris, what’s next?”

“Let the crystal drink deep from Crota’s essence.”

Maverick was holding the crystal, and looked at Skinner and I from over his shoulder. He motioned for us to wait where we were, and walked up to the coffin. My heart squeezed and I took a step towards him, but Skinner held my arm and shook his head. He was right under the Deathsingers.

“It’s working!” Maverick gasped quietly. “How much do we need to pass as an Ascendent Hive?”

“Only a taste, but steal all you can.”

Skinner and I were getting antsy just from standing there, but all of a sudden Maverick’s cloaking failed and he appeared underneath the coffin. “Maverick!” I shouted, and Skinner immediately covered my mouth after. He and I were still cloaked.

“Somethings wrong! I’m exposed!” Maverick shouted as the Deathsingers began to scream.

“Lock for transmat! Get out of there!” Cayde yelled over the channel.

“We must have Crota’s soul!” Eris yelled.

“You’ve got enough!! Lock for transmat, Ghosts!”

“I can’t!” Maverick’s Ghost exclaimed. “Everything is corrupted!!”

My heart was pounding and I could feel the blood draining from my face. We were stuck here. It was like walking into a nightmare as Hive began to run out of the doorways behind us.

“I can’t connect… Stay alive! We’ve got to make it back!” Maverick's Ghost said with a panic filled voice.

“Bring down the gun!” Maverick shouted to his Ghost

“Now?!”

“Yes NOW!” A gun appeared in his hands in place of his Auto Rifle. Then he turned to us. “Skinner, cover us!” Skinner nodded, took out his knife, and began taking down the Thrall that were running towards us one by one, under the cloak of darkness. He looked like a shadow as the Thrall fell to the ground.

“Storm, Thunderstrike me with everything you got!”

“What?! Why?” I looked at Maverick in disbelief. Now of all times, he wanted me to hit him with everything I had?

“Just trust me! Do it!”

I nodded and swallowed hard, drew all the energy I could from my entire body, and thrust my hand forward. However, instead of a normal thunderstrike, all of the Arc energy in my body shot forward towards him in a concentrated beam. I held my wrist steady with my opposite hand and I felt my feet lift off the ground a couple of inches. I don’t know what came over me, but when the beam faded I collapsed to one knee, breathing heavy. I was lucky that my cloaking didn’t fail.

Skinner rushed over to me and helped me stand up. “Storm, are you alright?” He asked me, his voice filled with worry and awe.

I nodded my head and held up my hand. “I’m fine,” I said quietly. I looked over at Maverick, it was him that I was worried about. The gun he was holding emitted green flames out its sides. Maverick looked over at us.

“Now can you two connect to your transmat?”

We checked with our Ghosts and saw that the link was able to pull us out of the area. The two of us nodded in sync.

“Good now get out of here while you can!”

“NO!” I shouted without hesitation. “We’re not leaving you here alone!

“We’re a team, Maverick!” Skinner added, “We stick together!”

“I’m not asking, I’m giving you an order.” He snapped as Taken blights began to materialize. He said something to his Ghost quietly, then turned his back to us.

All of a sudden I could feel myself starting to transmat out of there. “NO!” Skinner and I both shouted at once, just before we were teleported out of the Throne Room and back to the towers just before the bridge to get into Crota’s Throne, and the bridge had deconstructed. We couldn’t get back to him. Our cloaking failed shortly after we had landed.

I collapsed to the ground and felt dread gripping my entire body. I pulled my knees to my chest and started sobbing. Why would he send us away when we could help him? Why would he try to do it alone?

“No…. no… no…” I held onto my helmet and pulled my limbs in close to my body.

“Storm!” It was Skinner. “Thank the Traveler you’re okay.”

I looked up at him. My entire body was shaking. “He sent us away,” I cried. “Why? Why would he do that? He’s going to die in there!”

The Hunter was quiet as he knelt down beside me. “C’mon, Storm. Maverick’s tough. He’s going to make it out.” He looked away from me, towards the door to Crota’s Throne. “He… He has to.”

“But what if he doesn’t!” I shouted through my tears. “What if his Ghost can’t get a lock on for transmat and he can’t get out!”

He stared at me for a moment, then sighed. “I don’t know, Storm,” he admitted. “We just have to have a little hope.”

“There’s nothing left,” I whispered. “I lost hope when I lost my fireteam. You guys… you guys gave me hope again. Maverick… oh, mon chérie, mon amour, je ne peux pas te perdre, pa comme ça… pas comme ça… reviens-moi s'il te plaît….”*

Skinner and I sat quietly. I couldn’t stop crying, not even when my cries turned into strangled, stifled sobs and hiccups. Skinner was trying to keep me calm and kept rubbing circles on my back. I don’t know how long we sat there in silence. Both of our Ghosts were insisting that we should go back to our ships, but we couldn’t find it in us to leave. This entire time, we had no connection to the Vanguard Channel, like the signal was stuck in that room with Maverick. We couldn’t even tell them that we had gotten out alive, or that Maverick was still stuck in there.

All of a sudden, we heard the whurr of a transmat, and both of our heads shot up. Maverick was on the ground, starting to sit up. His armor was beaten and splattered with Hive blood.

“You… You pulled me out!” He said in shock. He slowly stood to his feet

“One of Toland’s tricks…” Eris responded with panicked relief as Skinner and I joined back into the Vanguard Channel. “There is nothing I fear more than the Dark, but I will not lose another Guardian. You’ve imprisoned the last whisper of Crota’s soul. It is left to you now. Find Oryx on the Dreadnaught. Destroy him.”

“You asshole!” Skinner yelled and jumped up from my side. His hands were clenched into fists. But instead of throwing a knife into his face, like he normally would, he embraced the Titan tightly.

“I thought I lost you. We thought we lost you.” He said before taking him just out of my earshot. I looked away from them. Even though he was out alive and in one piece, I was still crying. My heart still hurt. I was upset that he sent us away, angry that he made us leave him; I couldn't bear to look at him, and yet, I was flooded with relief that he was alive.

Maverick walked over and sat next to me. “Storm, I’m…” He started, but before he could continue, I hugged him tightly. He almost didn’t know what to do for a moment, but he wrapped his arms around me regardless.

“I thought I lost you, mon chérie,” I whimpered. “Why? Why did you send us away before we could help?” I felt betrayed all over again. How could I put my trust in someone who wasn’t able to trust me?

“I… I wasn’t going to get three people killed. So I wasn’t going to risk it, but I now realize that was foolish,” he admitted.

“Yeah, no shit it was foolish,” Skinner scoffed.

“And why did you have me Thunderstrike you?” I asked as we pulled out of our hug. “Or… whatever I managed to do. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“Well not exactly,” he said as he pulled out the weapon. “It needed a supercharge and only you, a Stormcaller, could charge it. I knew I wouldn’t survive without it.”

Dawn appeared at my shoulder, scanned the gun, and immediately started to yell at him. Even I looked at her in shock. “Do you know what you’ve created, Maverick!?”

“What are you talking about?” Maverick asked with a shake of his head.

“Don’t play stupid with me! You knew what her Light would do to the gun!”

“Mon chérie,” I said and got Maverick’s attention away from my Ghost. “What is that weapon?”

Before he could answer, my Ghost cut him off. “It’s a Weapon of Sorrow! This one feeds on the owner’s anger and aggression!”

“And that’s how I survived!” He snapped at my Ghost. “It’s the only reason I’m alive!”

“But can you control the weapon?” Dawn was in his face, accusing him of some crime I didn’t know existed. “Or will it control you?!” I reached out and gently grabbed her shell, pulling her back away from him.

“Dawn, calm down,” I said softly. I paused a moment and looked at Maverick. “Can you? Can you control it?”

“I’ll control it. I’ve told my own Ghost the same thing. And don’t bother telling the Vanguard, they know. Now can we all please go home? I really don’t want to be here anymore.”

“Yeah I’m with you Mav.” Skinner said.

“Me too.” I agreed. “I… I want to go home.”

---translations---

* “My sweetheart, my love, I can’t lose you... no like this... not like this... come back to me, please...”

#destiny #destiny fic #destiny fanfiction #a tale of two guardians fic #destiny the taken king #fireteam dauntless #my guardian oc #star's writing #destined pt 1

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compassroseproductions · 4 years

Photo

[Image Description: The party of Everyone Dice is gathered in a wasteland, staring into a portal. In the foreground, Burnie and Cordelia are holding hands, with Burnie on the viewer’s left and Cordelia on the viewer’s right. Their other hands are against stone pillars framing either side of the image, light bursting between cracks in the stone. The same light is also enclosed in Cordelia and Burnie’s connected hands. In the background, Zaala stands just behind Burnie at the viewer’s left, Shay stands framed between Burnie and Cordelia in the center of the image, and Alois stands just behind Cordelia at the viewer’s right.

End Image Description.]

Everyone Dice: Session 003 - Into the Geistlands

Recap art by @darkthare

“Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another session of Everyone Dice!”

Our session started with a shout out to tumblr user @amediocrepigeon, a plug for Humble Bundle’s racial equality bundle, and our announcement about The All-Nighters. (Note: The premiere date for The All-Nighters that we originally announced in session 3 is no longer accurate, and The All-Nighters will now be premiering on Saturday, July 11th, at 9:59 PM Pacific, 11:59 PM Central on the Compass Rose Productions Twitch channel.)

And with that, we started playing Dungeons & Dragons.

Kacey quickly recaps the second session, and we start with Alois & Burnie’s autopsy of the prisoner. Burnie casts Detect Magic as a ritual on the corpse.

Erin: “Meanwhile I will literally be performing an autopsy on this guy.”

Lynn: “I will help with the literal autopsy after I do the magic autopsy.”

The guards seem unsure about the necessity of an autopsy, and reticent about letting them perform an autopsy in the guard house. The guards prepare to move the corpse to the morgue for the autopsy. Burnie does sense something faint in the corpse’s chest, and it’s similar to the coins found in previous undead.

After moving to the morgue, Alois uses what’s left of the ritual she had performed on Tristan the night before to heal his corpse for three points.

Erin: “It probably won’t do anything but…” Lynn: “Low-key mortifying.” Everyone: “...” Lynn: “No, it’s high-key mortifying, actually.” Kacey: “Yeah, it’s high-key mortifying.”

As expected, healing the corpse does nothing, but Alois wanted to see what would happen. She then performs the autopsy. She understands the theory behind it, but this is her first time performing an autopsy. It’s not a very clean autopsy, given her lack of practice. She finds a coin inside him, the same as the others, burnt into his heart. She also finds a strange, fibrous plant growing from the coin that has pierced into the corpse’s lungs.

A little out-of-character discussion happens when Scottie learns that his assumption that the entire party was hanging out for the autopsy was incorrect, and it’s established that Zaala is with Burnie and Alois, sort of watching from the doorway.

Neither Zaala nor Burnie have ever seen a plant like this, and it looks unnatural. Alois, however, has heard of it, but never encountered it personally before. It’s incredibly rare, and known as Redweed. It’s typically used as a poison. A seed, when ingested, will grow quickly, drawing nutrients from living tissue and often killing the host.

Alois asks who was looking after the man and recommends to arrest the guard who brought him water. Burnie recommends not jumping to any conclusions, but thinks speaking to the guard would be a good idea. The guard said the water came from one of the town wells.

Alois: “I think that we should go into the well.” Burnie: “I think we may be getting ahead of ourselves a little bit there!”

Alois says that nobody should be drinking from the well (which probably incited a little panic), and she and Burnie get into a disagreement over whether or not testing the water on animals is cruel or pragmatic. Burnie believes the lives of the citizens are more important, and Alois believes the animals are also citizens.

While Alois, Burnie, and Zaala were attending to the autopsy, Shay and Cordelia were getting the supplies granted to the party by Lord Gerhardt Ulfrich, including an ox and cart. Shay wants more health potions than the two included in the supplies. Gerhardt also hands Shay something that looks like an old compass and calls it a Wayfinder. The Geistlands shift around people as they travel through, and traditional navigation is unreliable. The Wayfinder will allow people seeking a specific destination (an ancient ruin) to find it regardless of how the land shifts around them.

Shay and Cordelia enter a shop and Shay haggles for the purchase of 2 more healing potions in exchange for bringing back a rare herb (“like a white lily, but it’s not a lily”) called a Moonswallow Flower from the Geistlands. Cordelia purchases tobacco, and Erin, out of character, tries to egg May into stealing the tobacco instead. On their way out, the potion-seller says that if they find more than the two agreed upon flowers, he would be willing to pay for them.

Burnie and Zaala go to meet the others at the cart and Alois goes back to the river to speak with the fish. She warns the fish to avoid red, and then asks if there are “any caverns that have a bucket in it,” looking for wells without calling them wells. The fish haven’t seen any buckets. Before returning to the party, Alois tries to look for supplies for health potions. She ends up, as it turns out, in the yard behind the potion shop accidentally stealing his plants. When she realizes that the plants are in someone’s yard, she leaves the herbs she had gathered behind.

Erin: “She’s a bastard, but she’s not a stealing bastard.” Lynn: “She’s not a bastard, she’s baby.” Erin: “She’s a baby bastard.”

The party departs from Luchev into the Geistlands, and even though the party is heading in a straight line, it isn’t long before Luchev is no longer behind them, but to their right, and is, strangely, continuing to grow distant as they follow the Wayfinder.

The party finds a shrine in the Geistlands with a collection of both ancient and much newer coins in its collection bowl. Shay recognizes the shrine instantly as a shrine to The Wandering One. Cordelia and Burnie put coins into the bowl. Alois doesn’t understand why they’re throwing their money away, and asks why gods need shrines. Shay and Burnie explain that it’s an offering for safe travels or respect. Zaala and Alois both put coins in the shrine. Zaala: “My people don’t worship gods, as such, but we will pay respect where respect is due.” Lynn: “Burnie smiles big at Zaala.”

Burnie stops to do a quick prayer, Cordelia kneels in front of the shrine to pray as well, and Shay drops a coin into the offering bowl before the party moves on. As Burnie prays, the clouds part a little and a small ray of sunlight bathes the shrine in light. “That’s all Burnie needs to know.”

As the party leaves, Cordelia steals a handful of coins (focusing on newer coins) from the offering bowl. “You’re gonna get us cursed!”

Finally, the party settles down for the night, and they discuss possibly foraging for food, but ultimately decide it will be safer not to risk getting lost in the ever-changing Geistlands and instead eat the rations they were given. Burnie and Alois resume their disagreement over the value of humanoid life over beast life.

Burnie goes to talk to Shay. “I’m just gonna make casual conversation.” She asks if Shay left anyone behind in Urtu, asks about her sisters - “Why specifically sisters?” - and family. Shay has a younger sister, Ava, who she misses, but she’s still doing her own thing, so she won’t be going back anytime soon. Burnie asks if Shay has ever been in love. “What is love, really?” Shay doesn’t do love and romance.

Burnie asks “What did your sister look like?” Like Shay, mostly. Long, brown hair. Not tall, but she was a child when Shay last saw her. Burnie continues asking after Shay’s sister.

Burnie: “What’s your favorite flower?” Shay: “...What?” Burnie: “Your favorite flower. I’m just curious!” Shay: “I can’t say I’ve ever thought about it; I don’t really like flowers, ‘cuz once you get ‘em they have a limited amount of time before they just die. They’re kinda useless.” Burnie: “You could press them and they could stay with you forever.” Shay: “That’s not really my thing.” Burnie: “My favorite flower is the Delilah.”

(Note: A Delilah is a type of Dahlia.)

Shay doesn’t react, or tries not to.

Cordelia and Shay opt to sleep inside the wagon. Burnie and Zaala plan to sleep outside the wagon. Alois is setting up to sleep under the wagon. The party begins discussing watches, and has to explain what a night watch is to Alois. Zaala takes first watch, Burnie second, Alois third, and Shay last. “When you are in a group, you should rely on the group.”

After watches have been established, Alois casts Speak with Animals on herself and Burnie so that they can speak with the ox. His name is Steven. He doesn’t like the grass in the Geistlands. Buttercups are his favorite flower.

Zaala asks after Burnie’s conversation with the ox. Burnie suggests showing Zaala some of her pressed flowers, and Zaala seems… reticent about it.

Zaala: “If you think I should, then I will.” Burnie: “Well, I don’t want to force you to open up to her if you don’t want to.” Zaala: “It’s not that I don’t want to open up, it’s they’re… special to me.” Burnie: “Of course. Then no, maybe not.”

Zaala didn’t start pressing flowers until she and Burnie started traveling together, and Burnie has absolutely seen the pressed flowers. For a few minutes before Burnie goes to bed, they look over Zaala’s pressed flowers together in her little journal. All her handwriting is Giant script, and for the first dozen or so pages it’s nothing but handwriting. After that is when it shifts to including flowers from places that Zaala and Burnie have been.

Before the break, we talk about our dice giveaway (on Twitter, entries close on 6/30/2020, winner announced on 7/1/2020) of a set of HeartBeat Dice’s pride dice.

After the break we jump back in with Zaala’s watch and a Perception roll of 9. “Playing someone with low perception physically hurts.” When Burnie’s watch starts, she begins by making sure everyone else is definitely asleep, and then leaves the campsite, putting the cart between her and Zaala. She asks Delilah to manifest. (AJ has a face journey.)

The ghostly figure of Delilah takes shape before Burnie. “Delilah is a little bit taller than Burnie, even without the hovering. She has narrow shoulders, thin hips, but is clearly more muscular than Burnie… She has a long face, super long, like straight, dark hair, wearing a simple tunic, with long pointed, like elfin ears, maybe half-elfin ears.”

Burnie: “How are you, my love?” Delilah: “Lonely.”

It’s been a long time since they’ve been able to interact, and they’ve missed each other. They kiss, and Burnie talks about Delilah’s secrets. She asserts she has no secrets from Delilah, and Delilah says “that’s not true,” and looks at the party. Burnie wants to know if Delilah knows Shay, and Delilah teasingly asks if Burnie’s jealous. Burnie says she doesn’t get jealous, and Delilah says she does get jealous.

Burnie asks if Delilah trusts Shay, and Delilah says Shay is a good soul. When Burnie asks if she wants to talk to Shay, Delilah says “maybe one day. I don’t think she’s ready … quite yet.” Burnie: “I’m not jealous. I just wanted to know if you wanted to talk to her.” Delilah: “You’re a little jealous. You wanted to know if there’s someone else who had earned my affections.” Burnie: “All I know is that right now there’s not someone else and that’s all that matters to me.” Delilah: “We can wander through time, eternity, and there will never be anyone else, Beatrice.” Burnie: “I feel the same way, Delilah.”

They sort of dance as they spend the rest of Burnie’s watch together. Outside her passive perception, she doesn’t actually do a proper watch.

Alois’ watch begins with a perception check of 24. She sees a procession of spirits following a guide - a large, multi-armed figure - of some sort. She calls out to the spirits. “Hi! What are you doing?” The procession doesn’t stop, but the guide shifts and looks at her. Eventually the figure goes back to the spirits. “And Shay will keep watch like a normal person.” Shay’s watch begins with a discussion about whether or not floor dice are acceptable. Ultimately Shay’s perception check is a nat 20, and the group decides to accept all floor dice. In the far distance Shay sees a ring of stones, above which there appears to be no cloud cover. “That is suspicious.” Her watch passes otherwise uneventfully.

The party starts back on their journey, choosing to eat rations as they travel. After following the Wayfinder for a bit less than half the day, the party approaches the stone ring that Shay had spotted. Cordelia hears a soft thrumming from the stones, and she’s fairly certain it’s the melody from her dream. While Burnie is using Detect Magic Cordelia and Alois approach the stones, and Alois touches one (Cordelia waited for Burnie to finish what she was doing). Alois feels an almost electric tingle from the stones. When Cordelia touches the stone, it shifts, and the melody increases in volume. The whole party can hear it now.

Burnie asks if Cordelia has ever been to these stones before, and rolls Insight against Cordelia’s “no.” Cordelia is, in fact, telling the truth. The party continues puzzling over the rocks for a while longer. May: “This is a bad die, I’m getting a new die.” AJ: “You need a dice jail.” Scottie, nodding sagely: “Gay baby jail.”

The music is getting louder, and Cordelia asks if Shay, Burnie, and Zaala want to try.

Zaala: “...If… sure? Sure.” Burnie, looking at Zaala: “Okay… Well, if you’ll do it, I’ll do it.” Zaala: “This is what journeys are for, right? New things.” Burnie: “New things.” Zaala: “Including singing stones.” Burnie: “And talking animals.”

Burnie, Zaala, and Shay touch rocks, too. Shay and Zaala feel the electrical current, but when Burnie touches one of the rocks, a streak of white light flickers in the cracks. Zaala crouches down on Burnie’s level to see what she’s seeing and asks her to touch the rock again. Everyone sees the light flicker through the cracks. Cordelia touches the same rock that Burnie had, and the music gets louder and a white flicker happens followed by a blue-green flicker. Zaala wonders if it’s a puzzle.

Cordelia: “Um, um, give me your hand.” Burnie: “Alright.” Cordelia: “Touch that rock!” Burnie: “Alright?”

The two join hands and touch separate rocks, forming a chain between them. The rocks shift and move and form standing structures. White and blue-green energy pulses within the cracks of the rocks. Burnie speaks with her deity in Primordial, and she hears a sound like someone tearing an enormous piece of paper. In the middle of the circle, a rift tears open in the fabric of reality and a portal opens. Through the portal is a cold-looking mountainside (and it’s Scottie’s turn for a face journey, though milder), near the top of it, maybe 30 feet away from where the portal lets out, is a ruined, partially collapsed tower.

Scottie: “Does the mountain look familiar to me? With how much I traveled Bralia?” Kacey: “Yes, it does. These are the Snowcloak mountains.” Zaala: “Well, that’s… home.” Cordelia & Burnie: “That’s what?” Zaala: “That’s home, through there.” Cordelia: “You live in that tower?” Zaala: “No, not the tower, but the mountains. That’s home.” Burnie: “Do you know of any rock formations like this near your home?” Zaala: “No.”

Zaala proposes that the party finishes the job and comes back to the rocks. Someone quickly skirts the perimeter of the rocks, and the Wayfinder always points to them. Zaala says she thinks Roderick must have escaped to Bralia, and she and Cordelia believe they must go through to finish the job.

Burnie and Cordelia let go of the rocks to see if the portal will collapse. The rocks shudder briefly, but they hold. As soon as it’s obvious the portal is stable, Zaala walks through without warning and Burnie follows immediately after. The rest of the party follows behind them, bringing the ox and cart along with them.

The session ends there.

#everyone dice #dnd #dnd art #dnd livestream #dungeons and dragons #dungeons and dragons art #dungeons and dragons livestream #everyone dice recap #compass rose productions

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hollenka99 · 4 years

Text

The Vlogger

Summary: With no choice but to keep going, Chase meets others like him and starts his second chance at life with them.

Warnings: Suicide, alcoholism, self deprecation, depression

@egopocalypse

As soon as Chase Brody pulls the trigger, he regrets it. Not because the rapid loss of blood is dizzying or he knows he may have something to live for. Instead, he rethinks things due to the pain. There's a hole in his skull, a hole he put there himself. If he knew he'd remain conscious, he wouldn't have bothered with the gun. So he's stuck there on the ground, the camera crew hovering uncertainly as an ambulance is called. The thing is, he doesn't want to actually die, doesn't want his children to grow up without their dad. He just wants a way out. No matter what he does, he can never fix the situation at home. Now Stacy was taking them from him. If he won't get to watch them grow up then it should be because he made it impossible, not Stacy. He believes that was the logic that got him in this situation. It was a stupid piece of logic. If the ambulance doesn't hurry up, he won't have much longer to dwell on it. For fuck's sake, why couldn't it have been instant? He can't even shoot himself properly. Now is not the moment to admit that may actually be a good thing. He finds himself waking in a hospital bed. As sure of his abilities as he is stern, Chase doesn't know what to make of the German doctor attending to him. The guy's bedside manner could do with slight improvement at times. However, Chase can't deny he's helpful when he needs to be. Chase find his left arm doesn't work as it used to. Apparently, he suffered damage to his premotor cortex. He won't be able to perform complex actions with that arm, whatever the hell 'complex actions' meant. Physical therapy is advised. He's too preoccupied by the fact he wrecked part of his brain to listen too intensely. That hadn't been in his list of things he'd hoped to achieve. Well, he supposes he had wanted to mess things up in that area of his body. But... the fatal kind. Not that he really knows what he wants in general. Except probably stopping the shitshow that was commonly referred to as his life from plaguing him further. He wants Stacy. And the kids. He wants to be the father and husband of a happy family. He wants to be happy himself. Dr Schneeplestein provides him with an address after he lets it slip he has nowhere to go after being released. It's where the doctor's friends live. They are always open to welcoming a new inhabitant. Chase's isn't convinced he should bother. Schneeplestein suggests he should at least think about it. Well, it's not like he has anywhere else to go. He might as well give these people a chance. Jack is really friendly once he arrives at the house. After checking Chase was aware of Sean, he calls someone named Marvin to the living room. Marvin is clearly a very cold person. The welcome he delivers is the opposite of Jack's. One had made him feel like he was welcome, the other seemed to want him gone immediately. Well fuck you too, Marvin. Despite being quiet and somewhat of a loner, at least Angus didn't seem too bad. Chase doesn't know how to react when Jack directs him to a private clinic within the building. He's even more at a loss for words when Dr Schneeplestein is there, greeting him. Okay, yeah, he gets it. While the doctor may not live in the building, he was an ego himself. Chase had noticed the similarity in appearance when it came to the guys here. Over the coming days, Schneeplestein checks up on him. He promises it is okay to call him Henrik if wants. Their discussions develop into a mix of formal medical stuff and informal getting to know each other better. Schneep reveals he is himself a father of three. He suggests Chase talk a little bit about himself. Okay. Well, his name was Chase Brody. He ran a YouTube channel called Bro Average where he performed trickshots. Occasionally well rehearsed stunts too. He had been married to a woman called Stacy. However, she had just announced she wanted a divorce. She was planning to take full custody of their two children. Their names are- they are... Wait, why couldn't he remember their names? Did the incident take some of his memories? Shit, don't tell him he's fucked up his memories as well as his arm. But he's been thinking about the situation since waking up, here and at the hospital. Wait, no, he was just thinking of them as 'the kids'. Why the hell hadn't he noticed before now? He was a bad father, just like Stacy had- "Chase?" "They're my children, how can I not remember their names?" "I did not either." The doctor reassures him. "Maybe talk to Jack, he is good with names. Helped me remember." He does indeed speak to Jack. They reach Noah without too much issue. It takes several names to get there, sure, but his son's name is fairly common. His daughter though... this was taking forever. Even Jack sounds like he's losing hope as the suggestion of Daisy is accompanied by a sigh. Chase is so thankful this is the one to stir something within him. Encouraging Jack to keep on the plant-based route hits his helper with a second wind. A handful of names later, they finally reach their destination of Willow. Willow and Noah. He remembers now. He can see a 4 year old girl with dark hair who loved mint choc chip ice cream. Then there was her 3 year old brother who loved to chat about anything and everything. They may not have been born at the right time in their parents' lives but he by no means loved them any less because of that. Not everyone has memories of rocking their daughter to sleep while studying. He'd love to hold those two again. As the days and weeks go by, Marvin remains distant. Chase approaches Jack, needing to know what the hell the magician's deal was. He learns there had been another ego, a 16 year old superhero who'd arrived in July. At the beginning of November, Jackie had slipped out to clear his head. Suffice to say, he was yet to return home. Marvin and Jackie had been becoming close friends at the time of his disappearance. He was simply grieving more noticeably than Jack. Jack also takes this opportunity to discuss a second mystery ego. Antisepticeye was very dangerous, not to mention unpredictable. Jack had caught glimpses of him prior to his official appearances on the channel in October. Anti was the one behind Jack's throat scar. Understandably, he'd rather not go into that day. What was important was that Chase did his best to stay safe from Anti, now that he was aware of him. Anti had attempted to kill Jack, abducted Jackie and recently, hijacked Sean's PAX panel entrance reel to threaten the audience. If Chase ever found himself in Anti's sights, run. Drop anything non-essential that may slow him down and get the hell out of there. Eventually the interactions that seem forced melt into something nicer. It's still clear the memory of Jackie will remain superior to him. However, it was good to be more than tolerated by Marvin. Things are easier like this. As it turns out, the magician is actually a pretty cool dude. He's really into plants and able to do a lot of cool stuff with his magic. Please keep everything made of iron away from him though. The first time he bought alcohol, he pretended the intention was innocuous. He'd had a shitty few months. It would just be to take the edge off a bit. Better to get a little tipsy than try to permanently escape again. 'A little tipsy' soon becomes stumbling to bed drunk. Which inevitably results in painfully frequent hangovers. It's a good thing he doesn't have to save money for rent or anything. He can keep this habit going for longer. Of course, this behavioural change doesn't go unnoticed. Jack encourages him to limit himself to a bottle a day, if he needs to drink at all. He understands and appreciates his concern. However, it wasn't exactly his place to dictate what Chase could and couldn't do. This talk still has an effect on his drinking habits. He gets better at hiding his stash. The best thing about the bedrooms in this house were that they changed to fit the needs of the ego whose bedroom it was. This in turn meant he had a mini fridge without asking for it aloud. Jack and Marvin grow more desperate with trying to get through with him. There are weeks were he does genuinely attempt to make an effort to improve. Those attempts don't usually go well. At least there are two people cheering him on. Stacy's even been more approachable about the split during the past month or so, which was pleasant. She still wants full custody though. Especially because she's aware of his issue with alcohol seemingly developing into something likely diagnosable as alcoholism. That would be motivation enough to get him to stop. It only makes him feel worse when he gives in to temptation. At the end of July, Jack invites him and Marvin to marathon the Harry Potter films. He's had an argument with Sean and needs the distraction. Following the end of the second film, Marvin leaves for a moment to take a bathroom break. He turns to his friend on the other end of the sofa. "I-" A pause to question whether he should even bother with this line of conversation. "Jack, I don't get you, dude." "Uh, okay. Where did this come from?" "I don't know. I just don't get why you bother with Sean. You always seem to be at each other's throats." "Why did you try to hang on to your relationship with Stacy for so long?" "Hey, don't bring her into this." "Well?" Chase gives the most exaggerated shrug he can muster before crossing his arms, curling into himself on the sofa as he does so. The best Jack is getting out of him is a mumble. "Dunno. Still love her. Kids." "Yeah, well, Sean and I have quite a history ourselves. What can I say? We can't really go our separate ways by this point. He's an asshole but I still love him despite it. It's... it's complicated. We've known each other since we were kids. We were there for each other back then and we are still down to hang out now. I mean, that's what happened today. He's a busy dude and I don't expect him to drop everything for me. Yet we still make time for each other." Jack pauses to pick up his glass. "Want me to top you up before we start Prisoner of Azkaban?" "Jack." "I was made to be his friend. I can't... not be. Like I said, it's complicated. So, top up?" Days later, he spots Jack stumbling towards where Henrik was privately working on something. When he asks if his friend is feeling well, Jack waves him off, excusing it as 'probably nothing serious'. The words sound strained, as if he's attempting to keep his lunch in. Chase would call him out on the blatant understatement, were it not obvious Jack didn't want the fuss. The first clue he gets is Marvin leaving his room to hover restlessly in the corridor. The magician murmurs about something in the air feeling off. Chase suggests opening a window to aid air circulation, only for Marvin to snap that it wasn't like that. Besides, it was August and fairly warm. Most windows were already open. The second is Henrik being heard loudly speaking his surname. It doesn't sound right, almost like he's not the one to have said it. Marvin freezes at this. This has clearly shaken him for some unknown reason. As rapidly as the noise had stopped Marvin in his tracks does it cause him to pivot and march in the direction of where Schneep is working. The final hint of what is unfolding is Marvin's desperation. He's at the door to the med bay, pounding it with any spell he can think of. Chase rams into it whenever he is sure he isn't at risk of being unintentionally hit. They cry out to Henrik and swear they're coming to help. The locked door receives a series of abuse in a matter of minutes. The door finally gives. Marvin blocks his view temporarily but he sees regardless. There are too many wires and machines for him to comprehend they're all attached to one person. If he'd known, he would have swapped places with Jack in a heartbeat. Henrik is nowhere to be found. Chase's first encounter with Anti has robbed him of two of his good friends. His and Marvin's lifestyles change immediately. Marvin rarely has time to practice magic. Chase, similarly, puts Bro Average to one side. They both focus on providing Jack with the best care their inexperience can form. They are way in over their heads with this. However, Jack remains alive. They must be doing something vaguely correct. The 17 year old in the stolen outfit appears at their door a month on. Chase originally assumes this is a new ego. Oh, Marvin is going to be livid. He already lost his cool when Robbie showed up. Let's not even mention when Sean attempts a visit. Either way, the kid looks completely shattered and like he could collapse in a heap any moment now. He struggles to focus on the sentence he's trying to finish. This ego really is out of it. What kind of video did Sean upload today that it produced someone so wrecked? The teenager sways a little. Chase moves to steady him while Marvin is spouting the same shit about how Sean better not have created another ego. Tired of Marvin's anger at this specific moment, he calls him over to help. The magician barely enters the hallway before the newbie crumples into Chase's hold. He glances back at Marvin, a second away from encouraging him to assist him already. The haunted expression on his friend's face prevents that. Oh. This was Jackie. Of course it was. The two of them place him in the medical bay. Marvin withdraws into himself. Especially in the following days. He spends all his time hanging around Jackie. All he talks about is Jackie and how he's doing. Jackie, Jackie, Jackie. Listen, Chase is glad Jackie has returned home. Ecstatic, even. It's just... things have drastically changed in the household in barely any time at all. First it was Jack slipping into a coma. Now it's Jackie showing up after months of no clues regarding his whereabouts. It doesn't help when the teenager sticks to Marvin's side wherever possible and acts wary of Chase. He supposes he gets it. Marvin is the only person, other than Angus, whom the young superhero recognises from his pre-Anti life. Meanwhile, Marvin, who has spent close to a year missing his friend, wishes to protect him as much as he can. Either way, Chase gently inserts himself into the friendship group. He's heard about this guy a fair bit and felt his absence in the grief of those who'd loved him. He wants to get to know him. It took a couple months for Marvin to be chill with him. Chase would rather not return to being rejected once more. That's why he continues to be Marvin's person to spill his woes to and the one to let Jackie know he's not judgmental of the potential symptoms of PTSD on display. October isn't a good month. An ego named Shawn Flynn is born on the 5th as a result of Sean's video involving his Bendy voice role. On Halloween, they find it very suspicious that an ego who got a personal video hasn't shown up at their home yet. Didn't this guy also have pictures on Instagram as of earlier this week? He really should be here. Especially seeing as he had his own room waiting for his arrival. Chase volunteers himself to speak to Sean. As it turns out, that was the right move. When Sean lets him in, he is introduced to Jameson Jackson. It goes down as well as expected. Chase brings Jameson home and give him the house tour. As they travel around the building, he ensures Jameson knows Sean is not to be trusted. When the new ego argues that their creator had accommodated him, Chase decides this moment was as good as any to visit the medical bay. "This is Jack. He's a prime example of what happens when keep trusting Sean and believing he actually cares. We're not shitting on Sean for the hell of it. We do it because he's a dick and we'd rather not force anyone else to lose their friend." Chase takes a stabilising breath. He shows Jameson to his new room and suggests he familiarise himself with it this afternoon. If he needs anything, feel free to give him a tap on the shoulder. He has to admit, Sean has balls. Not only did he trick Jameson into being his friend, he's trying to get Chase to sympathise with him too. Sean even has the nerve to give some sob story. Obviously, he'd twist the truth to get his way. Chase is smarter than that. It's not like he's to blame for Sean being overloaded by the need to keep up with the upload schedule. That was purely Sean's own doing. Then he has the audacity to pull the Jack card. Oh, fuck you. How dare he?! So what, Chase is just supposed to become Jack 2.0 until Sean bothers to wake him up? No thanks. Unlike Jack, he requires sleep so it's not like he can help without consequences. Besides, he's got his own shit going on. Maybe Sean recalls the whole 'depressed and suicidal guy who's going through a divorce' thing he'd centered his character on. "Chase, please, at least think about it. Jack is in that coma because I was stressed and resentful. I don't want to risk making things even worse. I know I'm just repeating myself now but less time focusing on videos means more time for me to work out how to fix everything." He does think about it. Okay, fine! If it's just to keep the channel going then whatever. The channel is necessary to keep all of them healthy. He'll do it for Jack's sake. Anything to increase the chance of waking him up is worth it, right? Even if it means going against his morals. He nearly throws Sean's offer back in his face a month later. It was simply a charity stream. All that was supposed to happen was a nightly break in the 2 day event. He will forever hate CCTV footage and security from this point onwards. What the fuck did Anti do to Jackie that Silent Night triggers him? The night is spent ensuring two things. One, that everyone, especially Jackie, felt as safe as they could be in a stressful situation like this. The second objective was to observe the feed for the whole night. They sleep in the living room and take an hour long shifts to monitor the glitches. A doctor moves in during January. As much as they need the medical help, Dr Jacksepticeye is hardly Henrik. Either way, an ego is an ego. Chase is glad he's not the only one who is uncomfortable watching the stranger overseeing Jack's care. They just need Henrik back. Things can be generally alright after that. After much negotiating from both parties, Stacy agrees to allow him some custody. She'll have the majority of it but she's fine with weekends being Chase's time with them. Yes, yes, god yes. He'd obviously prefer to have it more evenly split. Maybe alternate weeks or Monday-Thursday morning for one and Thursday afternoon-Sunday for the other. But weekends? He gets to see Willow and Noah for 2/7 of the week? He'd take an hour a year if that was the most Stacy was willing to compromise. The others surprise him with a small party, complete with cake, when the arrangement becomes official. That first weekend can't come soon enough. He has a talk with Jackie about mental health and coping mechanisms after he catches him binging on his secret whiskey stash. Trust him, hangovers are no fun. Stop trying to force your raised metabolism to submit and become intoxicated. Frequently battling with your head is exhausting. Drinking yourself silly is not the answer. No, don't ask why he resorts to alcohol. Do as he says, not as he does, you know? Please tell him you're aware he's down to confide in if you want. No, no, don't cry. It's all good. Marvin doesn't have to know a single thing. Anything else you wanted to say? Zero judging, he swears. Early May finally provides them with their favourite German doctor. Like Jackie, Henrik's wellbeing has certainly seen better days. To think, the three of them had been having some dumb debate about Spider-Man moments before the big reunion took place. This is the beginning of the 10 days where Chase believes things can be good for the egos. The only thing missing is Jack's consciousness. A week later, he provides Sean with a video he'd edited himself. The level of trust they have between each other now means Sean doesn't check the video's contents. It is for this reason that the comments come flooding in before his creator's wrath does. Sean deems the mistake irreversible and the video therefore eligible to stay up. Chase can only hope it doesn't lead to any more issues. The weekend passes without any problem. On Monday, he notices Willow forgot to bring her doll back to Stacy's. He might as well return the toy. It is with annoyance that he realises Stacy's probably experiencing a power cut. Albeit dangerous to have done so, Chase considers it lucky that he was carrying that lighter in his pocket. Come on, work already. Stupid thing. The flame is tiny but at least it's something. Better than exploring blind at any rate. As Chase wanders through dark hallways, he becomes increasingly aware he may be endangering himself. After all, this home was meant to be displaying signs of life. Where were- Faint laughter. Children's laughter, undoubtedly. Oh God, that sounded like Willow and Noah. A girl screams. He wants to run to her. Fuck it if it's clearly a trap. His daughter's in trouble and he'll expose himself to whatever's frightening her without a second thought. He wants to sprint and he knows he should. Yet something keeps him at a cautious pace. His frustration grows as whispers are cut off by what sounds like Noah crying. He's coming, he swears. Daddy's coming. Just hold on. The whispers intensify as he turns the corner. This new hallway is bathed in red. Chase has better visibility but it wasn't necessarily a good thing. The room at the end of the corridor is completely soaking in the colour. It leaks onto the surrounding walls. The only object blocking the light is the silhouette. "Who's there?" The silhouette's head steadily twists over its shoulder. A second passes. An eye illuminates green with an unnerving crackle. It does nothing to acknowledge the questions its current prey begs to have answered. "Where are they?" Chase cries. "What do you want from me?!" There is no time to scream or escape. There is only the erratic approach. And as quickly as a video can cut to darkness, they are both gone.

#jacksepticeye #chase brody #creator au #my writing #writersofjack #tw suicide #tw alcohol #tw kidnapping

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tintin-is-my-life · 4 years

Text

- FANFICTION - 2nd part

An Unexpected Meeting

At that moment, Kathrynn had just woken up. She was determined to get out of the hold of which she was trapped. She shouted to Sakharine's attention:

Sakharine ! I'm talking to you, who do you think you are? You are on my boat! You have no right, especially not to command my crew or even to corrupt them for whatever reason !

LET ME OUT OF HERE!

At that moment, the door opened. Thisis Tom, come to put Kathrynn back to sleep

She barely had time to slip behind the door When Tom entered the room, he saw it was empty. But, he soon realized that he had been the victim of a ruse, since without warning Kathrynn came out from behind the door and knocked him out with a punch in the face.

He gave the alert:

Haddock has escaped !!!

Once again he received another punch,this time from Allan.

You idiot !! Said Allan.

Allan, then took all the necessary steps to find Kathrynn But they still had to warn Sakharine. And he was afraid of that, after all the blunders they'd just committed.

Kathrynn tried to find a hiding place in the meantime, because all the exits had been made. So she went into one of the holds. She barricaded the door. Then, when she turned around, she saw... Tintin, still asleep.

Kathrynn: Who is it? I don't know him...He's in really bad shape ! I don't know why they did this, but they're gonna hear me upstairs!

She took off her chains. And laid him down on the floor, resting his head on his coat.

Ahh, he's waking up ! She said.

Tintin: Mmh

Kathrynn: Sir, are you okay ?

Tintin: Mmh, my head...

It hurt a little bit all over. And he was still bleeding from the many blows Allan and Tom had dealt him.

Kathrynn: Let me help you up !

Tintin: Who are you, by the way ? he answered.

Kathrynn: I'm the captain of this ship ! she said.

Tintin: I see ! Is it because of you that I'm here ? You're on Sakharine's side, aren't you?

Kathrynn: Not at all ! I too was a victim of that scoundrel ! He corrupted my entire crew and had me locked up in the hold. I managed to escape and I had to hide. That's when I found you. She turned back.

Tintin: I'm sorry if I've offended you...

Kathrynn: I probably would have reacted the same way. (^-^)

Tintin: By the way, my name is Tintin. What's yours? It seems to me that you haven't told me your name yet...

Kathrynn: That's right ! My name is Kathrynn Haddock!

Tintin: Did you just say "Haddock"?

Kathrynn: Uh... yes, is it that important?

But Tintin doesn't have time to answer. There's a voice behind the door.

It's Allan's: Found ! It's not a very clever hiding place.

Kathrynn: We have to get out of here before they can get in !

When Tintin saw a few things, he exclaimed:

I've got an idea! We're going to use this to get out!

They opened the porthole, and threw the rope that allowed them to reach the porthole on the top floor. Allan and Tom managed to get in shortly afterwards. But of course, the hold was empty.

Where is your radio room? We've got to send a signal to the authorities before we leave ! Said Tintin.

In the meantime, Allan and Tom went to warn Sakharine about what had happened.

Sakharine was desperate. How could he trust two such idiots, he thought.

Then he came out of his silence:

Sakharine : How could you let them escape?? I want you to find them ! Both of them! If you kill, Tintin it's not so bad but I want Kathrynn ALIVE ! I've got some business to attend to with her. I have vengeance to exact!

Right, boss ! They exclaimed.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

While the whole crew was on their heels, Kathrynn and Tintin managed to reach the radio room. Kathrynn left Tintin and went to prepare a rescue channel. But suddenly, while Tintin was busy sending the distress message, he was interrupted by Tom who was passing by. Tintin knocked him out with a punch. Tom had time to sound the alarm. But Tintin didn't have time to finish his message. Shortly before, he had discovered the destination of the boat. He was on his way to Bagghar to get his hands on the third boat and thus on the third and last scroll, that of a certain Omar Ben Salaad.

Tintin is pursued by several men, but they are not fast enough to catch him. Kathrynn was able to reach the rescue channels but she was also spotted. The canal is ready. Tintin runs with all his strength, despite his injuries, to join her. They finally manage to escape, but Sakharine won't stop there.

At dawn, we find Tintin and Kathrynn on their small canal in the middle of the ocean.

Tintin takes the opportunity to ask her some questions about the Unicorn:

Tintin: So, are you a Haddock?

Kathrynn: Yes !

Tintin: I thought this family had no more descendants?

Kathrynn: Yet, I'm way ahead of you!

Tintin: Can you tell me what happened, then?

Kathrynn: This is going to sound strange, probably, but I don't remember anything ... at least not yet...

Tintin: What do you mean?

She takes her head in her hands.

The story I was told got lost in my head... It's as if that memory has been taken away from me...

Tintin: It will inevitably come back to you one day, don't worry ! (^^)

Kathrynn : Still, I'm sure this story has something to do with this Sakharine. There's got to be something, otherwise why else would he have chosen my boat, my crew?

Tintin: I think you're right! I have that impression myself...

A few hours later, the canal fell victim to the shooting of Karaboudjan's plane.

Tintin and Kathrynn protect themselves with the hull of the canal. Fortunately, Tintin still had a weapon (the one he had stolen from one of the sailors).

He only had one bullet left. He had to be well concentrated to hit his target.

Shortly afterwards, the seaplane landed. Tintin hit him. As the pilots didn't know that he didn't have a single bullet left, Tintin took the opportunity to put them under control. They too, had a gun, but they didn't expect Tintin to arrive, so they were not suspicious.

Now, Tintin and Kathrynn have a way to reach Sakharine in Bagghar and prevent him from stealing the third scroll.

But, on the way, they hit a real storm and the plane crashes in the desert.

Everyone is safe except for the two pilots who escaped with parachutes.

Tintin and Kathrynn continue on their way in order to find a way back to civilization.

But of course, it is unbearably hot and after a few hours they faint. They are found in the night by an army commander and one of his troops, and are brought back to the command post.

Tintin has been awake for a long time, but Kathrynn is still in a deep sleep. Tintin is at her bedside. She seems to be having a rather agitated dream. Then suddenly she wakes up.

Kathrynn: I remember everything!

Tintin: Really ?

Kathrynn: Yes! My dream reminded me of a lot of things. But there's one thing that still intrigues me. In my dream, the pirate was wearing a scarf over his mouth. I couldn't see his face.

Suddenly, one of the soldiers comes into the room, it's hot outside, he's wearing a scarf and he takes it off when he comes in. And then Kathrynn has a flash. She sees her ancestor take off the scarf of Captain of the Pirates, a man named Red Rackham, with a sword.

And now she sees his face.

Kathrynn: That's impossible !

Kathrynn: What's going on ? Said Tintin.

Kathrynn: So that would be his real reason. The treasure is just some kind of bonus for him. What he wants most of all is revenge.

Tintin: ?

Kathrynn: You're not going to believe me... Sakharine is the true descendant of Red Rackham ... Well, the captain of the pirates who invaded "The Unicorn" at the time! And just as my ancestor defeated him, and Sakharine is his descendant, he wants revenge for the bitter failure of my ancestor, Sir Francis Haddock.

Tintin: How? But it's unbelievable! At the same time, it would explain a lot.

Kathrynn: Indeed. We have to leave for Bagghar soon!

Under no circumstances will I let this Bashibouzouk steal the treasure of the Knight of Hadoque!

Tintin: Let's go without further delay!

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

When they reached the heights of Bagghar, they saw the port where the Karaboudjan was moored.

We are on the right track. There it is ! Said Tintin.

And they entered the city.

A few minutes later, Tintin gave the alert. I think we're being followed !

What do you mean, we're being followed ? Said Kathrynn.

Indeed, two people seemed to be following them, quite closely too.

Tintin and Kathrynn took them by surprise. And there they discovered... the Dupondt. The latter had received the distress message Tintin had sent from Karaboudjan. They had come to join them in Bagghar. And they also had the wallet that Tintin had had stolen and in which he had put the scroll.

Now we're on equal terms. He says.

When he looked up, he discovered that posters were being put up on either side of the city gates. Bianca Castafiore, a famous Milanese singer was giving a concert tonight in the palace of Omar Ben Salaad. Palace in which the third and last "Unicorn" was located.

Tintin and Kathrynn were present at the concert. They're pretty well dressed. They took the time to buy Moroccan-style clothes, perfect to blend in with the crowd.

When they sat down in the distance in the hall, they saw The Unicorn well exposed in a display case by a bullet.

I wonder how Sakharine could break that glass and take "The Unicorn" ? Said Kathrynn.

Tintin didn't have time to answer, so the diva entered the scene. She had short blond hair and wore a long pink mermaid dress, which ended with small ruffles. She began to sing. Honestly, her singing is unbearable. She sang almost out of tune. But Tintin and Kathrynn tried to bear it. Looking around, Tintin noticed Sakharine, who was watching the scene from a balcony. He had one of the best seats, at the same time, he was the one who organized everything, which Tintin and Kathrynn didn't know.

Towards the end of the song. Bianca went higher and higher. Tintin understood pretty quickly what was going on. Sakharine had organized this concert himself, because only the voice of the famous Bianca Castafiore was powerful enough to break the glass that surrounded the caravel, glass by bullet moreover. Then Sakharine's falcon flew towards "The Unicorn" and then broke the mast and stole the parchment that was hidden there.

And there, everything followed, Sakharine, who had long since noticed the presence of Tintin and Kathrynn, pointed them out to make them take the blame for him and thus save time. The Sheikh's guards approached them. Tintin and Kathrynn defended themselves and finally managed to escape to pursue Allan, Tom and Sakharine, who were fleeing by car with the scroll.

Eventually they caught up with them. And fights broke out. Punchings broke out as well.

With all this, they finally made it to the harbour.

As they fought, Sakharine noticed the scroll the Dupondt had returned to them. He knows that Kathrynn has it on her. Sakharine provoked Kathrynn. Tintin was in a bad position at that moment. Sakharine pointed a gun at him and then he said to Kathrynn :

If you don't want him to die, give me the scrolls !

A serious look on his face. Then she turns to Tintin. She closes her eyes. Tintin is always ready to take the slightest risk, but right now, it would be too stupid to die for a simple scroll, even if it leads to a magnificent treasure. Kathrynn decides to give the scroll to Sakharine, who is more than happy to receive it.

Sakharine : There you go, I've won !

I wouldn't speak too quickly if I were you, said Tintin.

And as if for fun, Sakharine shot Tintin, but fortunately he didn't manage to touch him.

While Kathrynn and Tintin protected themselves from the bullets, Allan and Tom had time to start the car to return to the boat.

They watched the car run away with an awful feeling of failure.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Tintin and Kathrynn had sat on a café terrace waiting to find a solution. All his emotions had made them thirsty and they needed a pick-me-up, without alcohol of course.

Kathrynn: We have to find something, we can't let them take my ancestor's treasure like that! There's got to be a way! We've got to catch up to them!

Tintin: I wish I was as optimistic as you are, but there's no hope left! They're too far ahead of us. And we have absolutely no idea where they're headed.

Kathrynn: I think you're more optimistic, but we can't give up at this point.

Tintin: I'm more of a realist, if you don't mind.

Kathrynn sipped her mint tea and thought. There had to be a way to catch him. Then suddenly she had a click.

Kathrynn: OF COURSE ! Tintin, did you use the radio to send a message?

Tintin: Yes, I did... He replied a little desperately. Wait a minute! You're right, I know what radio frequency they're transmitting on, which means, if I give that frequency to the police, they'll be able to find the boat wherever it is!

Kathrynn: We need to find a plane !

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

A few hours later, Tintin and Kathrynn found themselves in the port of Brussels, accompanied by a few policemen ready to trap Sakharine and his henchmen. Sakharine came down the gangplank and ordered Allan and Tom to keep his actions secret. Then he went to his car, where Nestor was waiting for him. Sakharine got in, but Nestor didn't have time to do the same. Just as he tried to open the door, the car was lifted into the air by a crane operated by... Kathrynn, who was enjoying herself. She placed the car near the crowd of five policemen, including Dupont and Dupond, as well as Tintin. They approached the car to put Sakharine under yoke, but they saw absolutely no one. Until Sakharine came out of the front seat and yoked them in turn. He threatened them, then shot them, wounding one of the policemen in the leg. Sakharine took advantage of the policeman's attention and fled. Meanwhile, Kathrynn had come down from the crane, thinking she would be more useful on land. She came face to face with Sakharine, who pointed her gun at her, a finger to her mouth to tell her to shut up. Allan and Tom, who had noticed that the situation had degenerated, got out of the boat discreetly and positioned themselves behind the policemen and Tintin so as not to be spotted. They pointed guns at them and Allan ordered Tom to tie them up so that they couldn't bring in more reinforcements. Tintin, also tied up, was forced to follow Allan and Tom, who of course pointed a gun at him. They joined Sakharine and Kathrynn on the deck. Kathrynn was stunned to see that Tintin was now Tom and Allan's prisoner.

Sakharine spoke up:

Good ! I hadn't planned any of this, but I figured we could settle the score here after all. He said, looking at Kathrynn, and ready to draw his sword at any moment.

Red Rackham ! Kathrynn said

Sakharine : I am delighted to see that you have finally understood! It would have been much less fun to kill you without you knowing the whole truth! I tracked you down by documenting myself on a boat I had discovered a long time ago at a flea market in Russia. "The Unicorn", of course! So I swore at that moment to avenge my ancestor for the humiliation Sir Francis had inflicted upon him. The treasure is only a bonus on top of that, but it is also a real pleasure to see me get the treasure that has been in your family for generations.

...

So here's what I propose: Let's fight here and now to end it all in good faith! Only one of us can win and it will be me! You are obligated to accept. If you don't, I'll order Allan to pull the trigger and you can say goodbye to your friend. Ah-ah-ah-ah! Tonight I will finally restore my ancestor's honor! He said with determination. What is your answer?

Kathrynn: I accept, of course ! she said, looking at Tintin.

Tintin: Kathrynn, it's much too dangerous.

Kathrynn: If I do nothing, they'll kill you! I have to do it!

Sakharin: That's enough, let's get down to business !

Allan and Tom held Tintin firmly in addition to his bonds so that he wouldn't come and interrupt the fight. Sakharine, quickly drew her sword stick. And Kathrynn armed herself with a piece of piping she'd found on the deck, it was it or nothing.

Sakharine warned her, and Kathrynn tried to avoid the blows. It was a tough fight. Kathrynn was fighting with all her strength, for her ancestor, for Tintin, but also for herself. Suddenly, Sakharine succeeded in disarming her. Her weapon fell a little further. And soon after, Sakharine pierced it with her sword stick. With the shock, Kathrynn coughed up blood, and her eyes began to water in pain. The blade was still in her body. Sakharine moved the sword to cause her more pain, then pulled it out with a violent kick to knock her down. Kathrynn fell to the ground.

Tintin: No! Kathrynn !! He shouted in fright.

He wanted to join her to help her, but Tom and Allan stopped him.

Tintin: But let go of me at last!

Tintin tried to fight back but nothing helped. To calm him down, Allan hit him in the stomach. Next time it's a bullet in the head!

Kathrynn was bleeding a lot. She still had enough strength to get up again, but Sakharine stopped her by pressing her foot on her back, which made her fall back down. He grabbed her by the hair and whispered in her ear:

So, how does it feel to lose?

Kathrynn: Ahh!

Then he turned her over to make sure she was on her back. He kicked the hand that supported her wound and put his foot in its place, making it suffer even more. She could no longer move, and fainted a few seconds later.

Sakharine raised her head and smiled: Ah ah ah! I hope you are proud of me, dear Rackham! My revenge is finally accomplished!

Tintin was totally impotent, he had tears in his eyes. Kathrynn... He had never been in such a situation before. He had always known how to get out of danger. He felt awful. Even in all his adventures, he'd never experienced such violence as he did now. Sakharine was a more fearsome man than all the bandits he had known before and would do anything to get his way.

Moments later, Sakharine ordered Allan and Tom to let Tintin go, and Tintin rushed to Kathrynn. He took her in his arms. A bond had been created between them, something Tintin had never felt before. Feeling Tintin's touch, Kathrynn managed to open her eyes. She looked at him and smiled at him :

I'm glad I was able to live this adventure with you... she whispered to him.

Tintin saw the light go out in her eyes. He couldn't stop crying. He hadn't told her anything, but he was beginning to have feelings for her, what he didn't know was that she too...

Tintin gently laid Kathrynn's head on the ground and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Then, with clenched fists, he stood up looking at Kathrynn's inert body.

You're going to pay for this ! He shouted to Sakharine, who watched the scene with an amused and cruel look.

Tintin heard a noise behind him. He barely had time to turn around when he saw Sakharine pointing a gun at him. He didn't have time to react, Sakharine touched him on the head.

The end.

#tintin #les aventures de tintin #the adventures of tintin #the adventures of tintin the secret of the unicorn #les aventures de tintin le secret de la licorne #sakharine #ivan ivanovitch sakharine #kathrynn haddock #allan thomspon #tomtintin

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