[monstrousturtless]

There comes a time when fandom becomes less of an escape from anxiety to being the source of anxiety. Sometimes I need to remind myself what’s important to focus on, and I made this chart to help me with that. 

(Posting this at the request of a few people. The design/concept was inspired by an instagram post about covid-19 located here). 

[zenpencils]

BILL WATTERSON ‘A cartoonist’s advice’

[itsokaytobesmart]

This. 

[samvinyl-deactivated20220606]

The art style seems to get more and more like Calvin and Hobbes as it goes on

[brushite]

There are a lot of people reblog going this saying “well duh it’s a Bill Watterson comic” but it’s actually not! It’s just a really nice homage to his style. The quote is from Watterson, but the art is by Gavin Aung Than

[today-only-happens-once]

To Tired Writers. To the people out there whose hearts very, very much want to write and work on WIPs, but who are just mentally and physically exhausted right now. It’s okay. It is okay to rest sometimes. Allow yourself time to rest. 

[i-write-fanfics-to-procrastinate]

For my part of the Edens Zero Big Bang to go with my lovely partner @awkwardauthorarianna 's lovely fic about Princess Pino's birthday! Go read it here, it's absolutely adorable! Thanks for being a great partner, Ari!

[lblb-actuallywrites]

You were a great partner, too! So sweet. And the art is adorable.

[lblb-actuallywrites]

Princess Pino’s Birthday

My fic for the Edens Zero Big Bang, to go with @i-write-fanfics-to-procrastinate ‘s lovely artwork. Have some Weicca, with a side of Weisz-Pino Brotp.

~~~

“Oh, but you have to come to my birthday party, Mr. Weisz! Say you will, pleeeeeease?”

Weisz chuckled at the memory as he finished buttoning up his shirt.

‘A personal invitation when there’s already an open invitation to the public,’ he thought. ‘I’ll never understand that kid.’

He’d been in the middle of designing a new piece of tech with Hermit when the Princess of Granbell Kingdom burst through the door.

“Mr. Weisz, Miss Hermit! You know what next week is, don’t you?” she spun around the lab as she shouted, skillfully hopping around the machine parts and workshop debris like a bunny.

Hermit turned away from the blueprints in front of her, smiling wide. “I sure do!”

“No? What’s next week?” he raised an eyebrow in false confusion.

“It’s my birthday! I’m turning eleven, remember?”

“Eleven already? Geez, you’re ancient!”

Pino pouted briefly, before her excitement took over. “I’m gonna have a biiig party!” She spun on her toes with her arms out. “Everyone will be there, it’ll be so fun!”

“Really? Everyone, huh?” Weisz asked.

“Yeah. And that means you and Miss Hermit, too. You’ll be there, right?” she asked, clasping her hands together.

Hermit smiled. “Of course.”

Weisz feigned reluctance. “I don’t know. We’ve got a lot of work to do here.”

“Oh, but you have to come to my birthday party, Mr. Weisz! Say you will, pleeeeeease?” she begged, tugging on his arm.

Weisz looked at the giggling princess and couldn’t pretend anymore. “Yeah, sure thing, kid.”

“Yay!”

Weisz straightened his collar as he thought about having to socialize for hours on end.

‘Eh, I’ll find a way to ditch and go back to work.’

Just as he began to regret accepting Pino’s invitation- he was never not going to make an appearance at the party, but he should’ve at least been smart and not given her any expectations- his thoughts turned to a certain Nobleman’s blonde daughter.

’At least she’ll be there.’

Weisz watched in the mirror as his face rapidly turned pink. Then he shook his head, clearing that thought from his mind as he walked out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~

Happy meowed indignantly.

“Too bad, cat! You need to get off Pino’s present so I can finish wrapping it.”

The blue feline grumbled at being moved from his chosen spot. Not one to be inconvenienced, he took his revenge by walking across Rebecca’s hands as she tried to wrap the handmade bow, nearly tearing the paper in the process.

“Get. Off,” she said firmly, tossing him to the floor. He grumbled and sulked out of her bedroom and towards the sun room in defeat.

Rebecca finished wrapping and tied a ribbon around it. Sighing, she walked over to her mirror and fidgeted with her bangs.

‘I wonder how long it’ll be before Weisz tries to ditch the party,’ she thought, chuckling to herself.

Looking at her reflection, Rebecca realized that, in messing with her bangs, she only succeeded in pushing them too far to the side. She combed through them with her fingers, reshaping them over and over again, to disappointing results.

Rebecca groaned and shook her head, resetting her bangs. Opening her eyes, though, she found that they’d fallen more towards the center instead of pushed to the side, and her curly hair was half-draped over one shoulder.

She took her hand away and stepped back to look at her full reflection. The pin in her ash blonde hair matched her dark blue halter top and detached sleeves, and with her new bang style, black jeans, and boots, she liked the ensemble even more.

‘I wonder what he would think.’

The thought had her turning her head away from the mirror and her cheeks blushing bright red. Her hand moved to fidget with her bangs again, but she forced herself to stop in time to avoid ruining them.

Before she could let her nerves ruin something else about her outfit, Rebecca grabbed Pino’s present and left for the castle.

~~~~~~~~~~

Homura stood in the hallway outside the royal bed chambers, her back and shoulders perfectly straight, waiting for the Prince and Princess to leave their rooms for the party. Her red and orange shirt was in pristine condition, no wrinkles or creases to be found.

The bedroom door to her right opened and Prince Shiki stepped out, adjusting his wrist cuffs.

“Allow me, your Highness,” Homura said as he stopped next to her.

Wordlessly, Shiki offered her his wrist. As she fixed his cuff, she stared at the shape of it, the Crest of Granbell Kingdom: a heart with a dot in the middle, resting soundly in the crevice of two horns. It clicked into place and she stepped back.

“Thanks, Homura!” Shiki said with a bright smile. “You ready for the party?”

“I am prepared.” She nodded, clasping her hands together in front of her.

“‘Prepared’ makes it sound like a mission, not a party,” he chuckled.

She nodded again. “Duly noted.”

“I like your shirt.”

Homura stiffened. “Thank you,” she said, semi-monotone.

“I really like the ocean waves at the bottom.”

A blush rose on Homura’s cheeks, getting brighter the longer Shiki focused on her outfit. She brought her hand up over her mouth out of habit.

The sound of a door down the hall opening interrupted Homura’s embarrassment. It was Princess Pino’s bedroom door, and she came bounding down the hall at Shiki.

“Hi big brother!” she yelled, tackling him.

Shiki caught her easily. “Hey Pino! Happy birthday!”

“Happy birthday, your Highness.”

“Thanks!”

“Princess,” a smooth voice spoke from down the hall. “You need to get dressed for your party.”

It was Witch, the “Shield” of Granbell Kingdom and the Princess’s personal guard. Her long, green hair was tied back in a loose french braid that swung lightly behind her as she walked.

“Okay, Miss Witch!” Pino said, releasing her brother from her iron grip.

“Hello, Prince Shiki, Lady Homura.”

“Hey, Witch,” Shiki said with a small wave.

“Good Morning.” Homura nodded.

“Come, now, Princess,” she said softly, her hand placed gently on top of Pino’s head.

Pino nodded and spun around, waving to her brother. “I’ll see you at the party!”

He smiled. “Sure will, kiddo.”

“Yay!” she clapped her hands together, smiling brightly as she ran back down the hall.

Shiki looked back at Homura and met her eyes.

“Let’s go.”

~~~~~~~~~~

As Pino ate her curry burger breakfast that morning, she couldn’t sit still; kicking her legs and bouncing in her seat, it was enough to catch her grandfather’s attention.

“Excited?” King Ziggy asked.

“Mhm! I can’t wait!”

Ziggy smiled as she took the last few bites of her food, jumping out of her chair and running to the door. Witch, who had been standing diligently in the corner, followed her to her room.

“Alright, Princess. It’s time to get ready. Your guests will be arriving soon,” she said, gently closing the door behind her.

“Are you excited, Miss Witch? Everyone’s gonna be here!” Pino jumped backwards onto her bed.

“Inviting the entire Capital City to the castle for a birthday party is sure to have interesting results. I look forward to it.”

She sat up. “I thought it would be cool for everyone to see it! And it’s more fun with more people, anyway. It’s such a big place, but there’s never anyone here.”

Witch smiled. “Your kindness and consideration for others is admirable, Princess.”

“Thank you!”

Her head snapped to the side at the sound of voices in the hall, looking at the door before leaping off her bed and running out the door. Witch sighed in amusement and followed after the rambunctious birthday girl.

“Hi, big brother!” Pino yelled, launching herself at Shiki.

He caught her easily as he and Homura gave their ‘Happy Birthdays.’ Witch smiled at the scene. She’d always appreciated the bond the two siblings shared.

“Thanks!” Pino said.

She hated to ruin the moment, but time was of the essence. “Princess,” she spoke as she walked down the hall towards them. “You need to get dressed for your party.”

“Okay, Miss Witch!” Pino said, letting Shiki go.

“Hello, Prince Shiki, Lady Homura.”

“Hey Witch.”

“Good morning.”

“Come now, Princess,” she said calmly, resting her hand on top of her head.

She spun around and waved to her brother. “I’ll see you at the party!”

Shiki smiled. “Sure will, kiddo.”

“Yay!” she clapped her hands together, smiling brightly as she ran back down the hall.

“Princess, you need to focus,” Witch lightly admonished her as she followed the bouncing girl into her room.

“I’m excited!”

“I know,” Witch hummed in amusement. “But it’s almost time for you to be ready for your guests.”

Pino skipped to her wardrobe. Witch stood behind her as she flung the doors open, trailing back and forth in front of it, examining her options.

She chuckled at the ecstatic princess marching in front of her wardrobe, looking at each article of clothing with a critical eye, like a general to their soldiers. An illusion only enhanced by the contrast of her spinning on her toes to turn around when she got to either end of the closet.

“I got it!” Pino said, grabbing a white and blue dress shirt and matching skirt, black leggings, short brown boots and a yellow necktie with a heart on it.

“An excellent choice, Princess,” Witch said.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Okay! We’re all gonna play hide and seek!” Pino said to the silent crowd below her. “You’ll all hide in the castle and the courtyard, and I’ll find you!”

The people exchanged tiny whispers and confused glances, the slightest murmurs of which drifted up to the balcony.

“Participation is mandatory,” King Ziggy’s deep voice silenced the crowd’s whispering, paired with a serious look in his eye, before looking back at his granddaughter and returning her bright smile.

“Okay, everyone, go hide! And good luck!”

Rebecca reached forward and grabbed Weisz’s wrist as he started moving.

“You’re coming with me,” Rebecca stated. “What? Why?”

“Because I’m not gonna let you sit somewhere you can easily be found just so you can say you participated. You’re going to actually participate. Play like you wanna win.” She dragged him towards the hall.

“Rebecca!”

She ignored him.

“Rebecca, wait!”

No answer.

“Seriously?”

Still nothing.

Weisz groaned. “Fine.”

Only then did Rebecca turn around and acknowledge him with a satisfied smile.

“Good. Now come on, I know a good place to hide.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Shiki and I found this place years ago. I don’t know what it was supposed to be, but it never gets used anymore.”

Weisz helped her move the tapestry, behind which was panelling nearly indistinguishable from the wall it sat in. Rebecca pushed on it, then slid it to the side.

Behind the panelling was a dark tunnel that stretched beyond where the light reached.

“I’m coming to find you!” Pino’s gleeful voice sang from the PA speakers.

“Come on, let’s go,” Rebecca said, stepping into the tunnel.

Weisz rolled his eyes and followed her.

It was a tighter fit than he had expected; the tunnel was narrow, only a few feet wide, and Weisz was almost too tall to fit inside, with only an inch or two of clearance above his head.

“Great hiding place you picked here, Rebecca.”

“Yeah, I remembered it being bigger,” she said as she settled her back against the wall. Weisz leaned against the opposite wall.

“Now what?” he asked, turning to face her. He froze when he realized there was only about a foot of space between them, maybe less. With nowhere to go to widen the gap, he was glad it was pitch black in the tunnel so Rebecca couldn’t see the bright red blush he was certain was spreading across his entire face.

“Well there’s nothing to do but wait for Pino to find us or the game to be over.”

“Yeah, which is exactly why I wanted to get found quickly and then go back to my workshop.”

“Boo hoo. It’s not so bad. It’s not like we have to sit in silence or anything,” she said.

“Won’t voices coming from inside the wall be a dead giveaway?”

“Oh? I thought you wanted to be found quickly.”

He couldn’t see Rebecca, but the tone of her voice told Weisz she was raising a smug eyebrow at him.

“Shut up. You’re the one who wants to take this seriously,” he said, turning his head away from her.

Rebecca chuckled. He turned his head back, staring at the place he assumed her face was, conjuring her image in his mind.

“So, what’s it like working with Hermit?” she asked.

“It’s fine. She gets on my nerves a lot, but I think it helps in the long run that we piss each other off. Spite is one hell of a motivator and source of inspiration.”

Rebecca chuckled again. Weisz’s heart skipped a beat.

“Yeah, you’ve always been like that.”

“Like what?”

“Not a people person.”

“What’s so great about people?” he asked sarcastically.

“There’s a lot to like when you’re not being shy.”

“Wha- I’m not shy, I’ve never been.”

Rebecca snorted. “Okay.”

“I’m not!”

“Even when we were little, you would rather play with machines than kids your own age.”

“Well machines tend to be more interesting and less talkative than people.”

“That’s a sad life, Weisz.”

“Shut up.”

Rebecca laughed again, louder than before, and Weisz thought that he might just be able to listen to that sound forever and never get tired of hearing it.

“Hey,” she said when she calmed down.

“Hm?”

“Do you remember when we first met?”

“Of course I do. You wouldn’t leave me alone until I played that stupid game with you, Shiki, and Homura.”

“Oh, bull! You wanted to play, you’re just a shy boy who couldn’t admit it.”

“I was not.”

“Whatever, tsundere.”

“What the fuck does that even mean?”

Rebecca burst out laughing again. “It means you’re shy as hell.”

Weisz groaned and rolled his eyes.

“Toasted marshmallow boy.”

“I hate you,” he chuckled.

“And the way you acted around Homura is the textbook definition of a tsundere with a crush.”

“I never had a crush on Homura.”

“M’kay,” she said, her tone very clear about how little she believed him.

He shook his head and rolled his eyes again.

“I didn’t, but whatever.”

“You’re kinda cute when you’re in denial, y’know.”

The air in Weisz’s lungs evaporated and he struggled to breathe, nearly choking on his sudden lack of oxygen.

“You okay?” Rebecca asked. Weisz imagined her raising her eyebrow.

He cleared his throat. “Y-yeah.”

The calm in the air was replaced with a silence nearly as thick as the darkness they sat in.

‘Cute? She didn’t mean it like that, though.’

It was Rebecca’s turn to clear her throat. “So, um… yeah..”

On the other side of the wall, distant footsteps were walking down the corridor towards their hiding spot. Though the tunnel was still pitch black and silent, Weisz could feel Rebecca’s tension; He was surprised to find he was a little tense, too.

“There’s no way she’ll find us,” Rebecca whispered confidently.

“If that’s even her.”

They waited with bated breath, listening to the footsteps grow louder as they moved down the hall towards their hiding spot.

They stopped breathing entirely when the footsteps did, just on the other side of the wall. The lack of noise in the hall only made their breathing and racing hearts seem louder.

Weisz glanced in Rebecca’s direction; though they couldn’t see each other, he knew that she was looking at him, too. His racing heart surprised him, and he didn’t know if that was because of the possibility of being found, or because Rebecca called him cute.

It could’ve been either, and he decided not to look too deeply at the implications of the latter.

Eventually, the footsteps on the other side of the wall moved on, going further down the hall and away from their hiding spot.

Weisz and Rebecca let out a collective sigh of relief when they couldn’t hear the footsteps anymore.

Rebecca chuckled quietly. “You’re so into this.”

“Shut up.”

The sudden light was blinding.

“I found you!” Pino’s voice sang from the entrance.

“What? How? We heard you walk down the hall!”

Rebecca’s indignance at losing a children’s game was only irritating to Weisz because he was indignant, too.

“Oh, that was Witch. I knew this tunnel was here, Shiki showed me forever ago. So I decided to trick you!” Pino explained, as bright as ever.

“An excellent idea,” Witch said proudly as she walked back towards the tunnel. “Truly worthy of a Princess.” She patted Pino on the head. 

Rebecca groaned and Weisz made his way out of the cramped and dark tunnel, stretching as he did. He wasn’t sad to put it back behind the tapestry where it belonged.

“Damn,” Rebecca sighed as she stepped into the hall. “I was hoping we were gonna stay hidden for a little while longer.”

‘She just wanted to win the game,’ he reminded himself

“You wanted to stay hiding in that tunnel with Weisz?” Pino asked.

Her question was innocent enough, but there was something about it that Weisz didn’t like; the tiniest glint in her eye, the smallest twitch of the corner of her mouth.

‘She’s always been too clever for her own good.’

“I-I wanted us to be the last ones found! Or at least as close to it as possible. I really thought we were gonna get more mileage out of that hiding place,” she said, dejectedly crossing her arms over her chest.

“Well everyone I found so far is going back to the ballroom. Grandpa said the food would be set out, so you can eat now.”

“And suddenly I don’t mind losing so much.”

Weisz chuckled at Rebecca’s obsession with all things edible. “You do that, I’m gonna go back to my workshop.”

“You don’t wanna stay?” Pino asked, her eyes widening. “You’re not hungry or anything?”

“Look, kid, I told you, Hermit and I have a lot of work to do. I’ll make another appearance later, okay?”

Pino’s expression completely redefined the phrase ‘turn that frown upside-down.’

“Okay! But you have to promise.”

Weisz chuckled and rolled his eyes. “I promise.”

~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours later, Weisz made his promised reappearance in the ballroom. The crowd seemed a bit thinner, though not by much.

He scanned the room, looking for Pino, and found her playing with city kids her own age near the kitchen doors. Moving towards her, he stole a mini biscuit off the table to pop in his mouth.

It was at that moment when Pino looked up and saw him, running over to him as best she could through the thick crowd.

“You came back!”

“I told you I would. Didn’t you believe me?”

“Of course I did! But I’m still happy you’re here,” she said, with a bright smile to match.

Weisz patted her head. “Well, I guess I can stay for a while,” he said, feigning reluctance. “You go back to your friends over there, they’re probably more fun to hang out with than me.”

“That’s not true at all! Oh, but I should, we were talking.”

“Go on, kid. You can hang out with me whenever you want.”

“You mean it?! I can come hang out with you and Miss Hermit in your workshop, too?”

‘Opportunistic little shit.’

“Eh heh… Only if you be careful around the equipment. And only if we’re not too busy.”

He had a strong feeling that, even with these vague guidelines, he’d just bitten off way more than he could chew.

“Yay! Okay, I’ll see you later, Mr. Weisz.” With a final wave, she made her way back through the crowd to the city kids.

Weisz shook his head. In doing so, he caught sight of Rebecca, chatting in the corner with Homura and Shiki. Even at this distance, her smile made his heart skip a beat. Immediately following this heart anomaly, it became way too hot for comfort in the ballroom.

It wasn’t until he stepped out on the balcony that he could breathe and relax. The cool dusk air was soothing, and the view of the sun setting over the city, casting it in a golden glow, was not one to be missed.

‘What’s wrong with me?’ he thought. ‘Why am I so focused on Rebecca? Do I… Do I really-’

“Hey, Weisz,” Rebecca’s voice spoke from behind him, interrupting his train of thought.

He jumped slightly, his shoulders hunching up. He forced them back down in an attempt to look normal and unaffected. “Hey.”

She moved to stand beside him, tapping her fingers lightly on the railing as she did. Her back was ramrod straight, much more rigid than normal.

‘Why do I know that?’

The implications were adding up, and Weisz wasn’t sure if he was prepared for the final solution.

When she spoke, her voice was quiet “I, um…” she cleared her throat. “I… had fun.. t-today, um…”

Her eyes were closed tightly, her tension palpable in the air that occupied the space between them. It was somehow both too much space and too little.

“Uh, yeah, me too. Surprisingly.”

She hummed in amusement. Another tense, awkward silence followed. No matter how hard he tried, Weisz’s shoulders wouldn’t stay down and his muscles refused to relax.

Rebecca took a deep breath, leaned her head back, and groaned at the sky before bending over and laying her forehead on the balcony railing.

“Why is this so hard?” she muttered, just barely loud enough for Weisz to hear.

The question wasn’t directed at him, but he responded anyway. “What is?”

She stood up. “I-” she sighed, scratching the back of her head. “I just- I… likeyou.”

She spoke quickly, and her voice was barely above a whisper, but her words had Weisz’s shoulders hunched all the way up to the moon that was just starting to appear in the sky all the same.

“What?”

Rebecca turned her face away from him and gripped the rail in front of her tightly. “I… oh, come on, don’t make me embarrass myself again.”

Weisz couldn’t form a coherent thought or sentence even if he wanted to. Somehow, his brain was working in overdrive and also stalled at the same time. He could just imagine the smoke coming out of his ears.

“I- ... um…”

“Just say ‘thanks, but no thanks’ so we can move on already, okay? We don’t ever have to bring it up ag-”

“I.. think I like you, too.”

Rebecca’s eyes widened and a bright red blush spread across her face; Weisz knew he had a matching expression.

“Think, or… or know?” her voice gave away her vulnerability.

“I… think I know.”

Rebecca chuckled once. Then again. Soon enough, she was laughing even louder and more brightly than she had been in the tunnel, which dragged a small chuckle out of Weisz.

“Sorry, I don’t know what was so funny about that,” she said when her laughter subsided.

“Neither do I, but at least it’s not as awkward anymore.”

She smiled, then tugged at her lips slightly with her teeth. “Did you mean that?” she asked, her voice back to being small and vulnerable. “About… a-about, y’know..”

“... Yeah. I-...  you’ve been on my mind all day, and… now that I think about it, kind of… everyday? I- I mean… like, I…” he sighed, releasing the tension in his body only for it to return almost immediately. “I know what you meant about this being hard, now.”

She hummed in amusement. “Yeah, but… it’s out there, now, right?”

“Y-eah.”

“Hey, Weisz.”

He glanced over to see her looking at him, biting her lip slightly, eyes darting back and forth. “Hm?”

She nodded to herself, took a deep breath, stood on her tiptoes and pressed a light kiss to his cheek.

His eyes widened so much, he thought they might just pop out of his head. His shoulders hunched up to an all new height, and he found himself unable to look at Rebecca out of sheer embarrassment.

“Uh, I… uh..” he mumbled.

Rebecca chuckled. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

Weisz just leaned down and hid his face in his arms on the railing. If he added together all of the embarrassment he’d suffered throughout his life, he was certain it wouldn’t even be half as much as what was making his body curl in on itself at that moment.

“Shut up.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Later That Night

“Happy Birthday, Pino!” they shouted as the Birthday Princess blew out the candles on her cake.

The crowd of citizens had cleared out of the castle nearly an hour ago, and of the few close friends that remained, Rebecca was the only one who didn’t either live or work in the castle.

“Thanks!” She said, the same bright smile she’d been sporting all day still shining. “And thanks for letting me invite the city into the castle, Grandpa, I’ve never played a game with so many people before!”

King Ziggy patted her on the head. “Of course, Pino. It was a grand idea.”

“It was pretty fun,” Rebecca said. “Even Weisz had fun, didn’t you?” she added, taking a sip of water.

“Not even a little bit,” he said, a half-smile on his face.

“Not even hiding with Miss Rebecca was fun?” Pino asked. Her words were innocent enough on the surface, but for the second time that day, Weisz felt what the little princess was really saying, and, for the second time, didn’t like it at all.

Rebecca choked on her water and his shoulders hunched up for what must have been the hundredth time that day.

“Not. In. The. Slightest.”

“Awh, that’s too bad,” she said, though he could see the slightest sarcastic curl to the corner of her mouth. “Did you at least have fun in your workshop?”

“Yeah, machines are more fun than people any day.”

“I can still hang out with you and Miss Hermit in the workshop sometimes, right?”

Hermit looked at Weisz with one eyebrow raised and a smirk. She would never mind an interruption from the energetic princess.

“Only if you do what I said earlier. Do you remember?”

“I have to be careful around the machines and only when you’re not busy, right?”

“Yep. Too bad we’re busy all the time.”

“That’s no fair, Mr. Weisz!” Pino pouted.

“Don’t worry, Pino, you can come see us whenever you want,” Hermit said. “Though I don’t know why you’d wanna hang out with Weisz, but you’re always welcome.”

“Yay! Oh, but Mr. Weisz is really cool, and he always talks to me even when he says he’s busy.”

“Aw, you have a fan,” Rebecca teased him quietly.

“Shut up.”

[indraaas-deactivated20200720]

for @awkwardauthorarianna for the ez fic exchange I am SO sorry this is late I’m big dumb with dates :’) hope you enjoy the pino and weisz and found family goodness!

Subject: Unknown

Physical analysis: round; white; colourful designs; wax sticks atop.

Preliminary chemical analysis: flour, cocoa, salt, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla extract, coffee, sour cream.

Detailed chemical analysis? YES / NO

“What are you doing?”

Subject: Weisz Steiner

Classification: EG user, crew member

Status: safe

Keep reading

[lblb-actuallywrites]

Mistletoe Confessions

I wrote this for the Edens Zero Secret Santa Exchange on Discord. Here’s some EZ Crew Christmas Shenanigans!

“I know! We can do Secret Santa!” Rebecca suggested. “It’ll be fun!”

“Woahhh,” Shiki muttered, eyes growing wide. “Rebecca, what’s a Secret Santa?”

She gasped dramatically. Weisz rolled his eyes at her antics.

Shiki, Rebecca, Homura, Pino, and Happy were sitting on the couch in Edens Zero’s game room, with Weisz leaning against the arm, debating what to do for the upcoming holiday.

“I am also curious, but I won’t say that out loud.”

“Secret Santa is where everyone picks one person and gets that person a gift.”

“Ooh, I pick Rebecca!” Shiki shouted with his trademark enthusiasm.

“It’s supposed to be secret, idiot,” Weisz said. “And why do you not know, Homura?”

“We did not celebrate this ‘Christmas’ on Odeo.”

“So each person gets one gift?” Pino asked, her antennae wiggling in budding excitement.

“Yeah. Instead of everyone getting a bunch of presents, we each get one present that’s more personal,” Happy explained.

“How exciting!”

“Sounds like a shitty deal if you ask me.”

“Oh come on, Weisz, don’t be such a Grinch,” Rebecca teased.

“I am not a Grinch.”

“You’re totally a Grinch,” Shiki said.

“You don’t even know what that is!”

“It is decided,” Homura said, nodding solemnly. “Weisz is a Grinch.”

“Neither do you! Ugh, you guys suck.”

“What is a Grinch?”

‘Of course only Pino would have the decency to ask first,’ Weisz thought.

“A Grinch is a grump with a shriveled up heart who hates Christmas, gift giving, and cheer,” Rebecca explained, almost like she was giving a lecture to a group of kindergartners.

“Hm,” Pino said as she processed the new information. “The definition does seem to fit Mr. Weisz rather well.”

“What are we shitting on Weisz for this time?” Ivry asked as she, Hermit, and Witch entered into the madness.

“Weisz is being a total Grinch about doing Secret Santa,” Rebecca said.

“Oh, yeah, makes sense.”

“Why is everyone ganging up on me?” Weisz grumbled.

“Oh, are we celebrating Christmas, Lord Shiki?”

“Yeah! Rebecca just told me about it. It sounds like fun! She also told me about Santa and his spaceship that can travel across the entire cosmos in a day!”

“Santa’s not even-”

Before Weisz could finish his sentence, he was staring down the barrel of Rebecca’s spare pistol.

“Don’t even think of spoiling this for Shiki and Pino,” she threatened quietly.

Weisz held up his hands in surrender. Rebecca slowly lowered her gun, eyes narrowed in a threatening glare.

“If it is secret, then how are the recipients chosen?” Homura asked.

“Everyone writes their name on a piece of paper, and then we each take turns picking one out of a hat,” Hermit said, not looking up from her handheld game. “And then you keep who you’re buying a present for a secret until you give them their gift.”

Homura put her hand over her mouth at Hermit’s pointed comment, but said nothing.

“Couldn’t you just write a program or something that pairs us up randomly?” Weisz asked.

“I could, very easily. But I won’t.”

“Why not?” He was nearly whining.

“I’m keeping in the spirit of Christmas. Also, to piss you off, specifically.”

“Why does everyone want to bother me today?” Weisz grumbled under his breath.

“Cause you’re an easy target as long as you keep bitchin’,” Ivry said, punctuated by flicking Weisz’s ear as she strode past.

“Why do you not like Christmas, Mr. Weisz?” Pino asked.

Weisz shrugged. “It’s not like I hate Christmas, I just don’t care one way or the other about it. And it never made sense to me why so many people act like it’s such a big deal. It’s just another day.”

“It’s a holiday. That’s like saying your birthday is just another day!” Rebecca said.

“It is.”

Rebecca gasped again.

“Can you stop being so dramatic?”

“I have paper and pencils for everyone,” Witch called as she walked back into the game room.

Weisz blinked, not having realized that Witch left the room to begin with, but still taking the paper and pencil when she handed it to him.

The room fell mostly silent, with only the scratching of pencil on paper as everyone scribbled their names down.

“What about the hat?” Shiki asked.

Ivry snatched the sorceress hat off of Witch’s head and handed it to him, putting her slip of paper in. “Here ya go, Shiki. There’s your hat.”

“Awesome!” he said as he enthusiastically shoved his own paper in it.

The hat was passed around the room and everyone put their names in, though Weisz did it with extreme reluctance.

“Alright! I wanna pick first!”

Shiki nearly punched the hat out of his own grip with his zealousness as he reached in to pick his Secret Santa recipient.

“Remember, you’re not supposed to say who you got. It’s supposed to be a surprise to the person you’re giving the gift to,” Rebecca said.

Shiki handed the hat off to her as he read the name on the paper he picked. To Weisz’s surprise, he managed to keep quiet about who he drew.

As the hat made its way around the room, Weisz vaguely wondered who he’d get.

‘If I had to choose, I guess it wouldn’t be too hard to get a gift for Shiki. That idiot would be excited by actual coal,’ he thought, chuckling quietly to himself.

When the hat finally made it to him, there was only one piece of paper left inside.

Homura Kougetsu

‘Damn.’

He left the game room, wondering what in the cosmos Homura would want for Christmas.

‘Even if I asked, she probably wouldn’t know herself, since she’s never celebrated Christmas before.’

He groaned, dreading the task ahead.

~~~~~~~~

“Okay, we’re off! We’ll be back soon!” Rebecca called out to Witch as everyone piled into the Aqua Wing to venture down to Blue Garden to shop for their gifts.

“I apologize for not being able to go with you. Unfortunately, as you know, I cannot leave the ship.”

“Don’t worry, Miss Witch!” Pino said. “Miss Rebecca and I will help you get your present!”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. We’ll be in constant contact, it’ll be just like you’re there with us.”

Witch smiled, but Weisz could see that she was a little disappointed.

“In the meantime, I will plan out the decorations.”

Weisz put his new earbuds in to shut out his crewmates’ yammering. He’d taken to listening to music a bit more recently, even if the only songs he listened to were considered “old” by everyone else’s standards.

Though he’d never admit it, sometimes he did miss Norma. Even if it was only a longing for the simplicity of his time compared to the future he hadn’t quite gotten the hang of yet.

‘I still have no idea what Homura could possibly want as a present. I can’t remember her ever wanting anything since I met her, except..’

Weisz cracked his neck, shaking away the thought. ‘That’s not gonna help.’

~~~~~~~~

As soon as Rebecca led them to what had to be the biggest outdoor mall Weisz had ever seen in his life, everyone ran in different directions. Or in Shiki’s case, floated.

Weisz walked slowly, looking at all the shops around him. This part of the mall was mostly clothing stores, which would be useless, as he could make any kind of clothes he wanted in the Dress Factory on the ship.

One shop in particular caught his eye, however.

‘Heh. Christmas-themed lingerie? That’s worth buying.’

He was halfway across the court when he remembered that they’d be giving their presents in front of everyone else. And that Homura probably wasn’t one for lingerie in the first place.

‘I might be shameless, but even I’m not that shameless.’

He grumbled, but kept walking.

He passed by clothing stores, jewelry stores, and sports stores, all of which he doubted would carry anything that Homura could be remotely interested in owning. With each store he passed, his annoyance grew.

’What kind of gift do you give a swordswoman who says everything, but doesn’t seem to want anything material?’

His friends had long since ditched him, but even if he asked everyone on their crew, he doubted any of them could come up with a concrete answer as to what Homura would actually like. Though she said everything that came to her mind, she’d somehow never mentioned her interests, besides…

As Weisz rounded the corner, he finally saw a shop that he could work with.

‘What do you get a swordswoman? A decorative blade,’ he thought. ‘Even though her Ether Gear means she’s literally never without one, and I doubt she’d have a use for a blade that’s not meant to be, well, used, it’s as good a place as any to start.’

A bell rang as he walked into the shop, and almost immediately after stepping through the doorway, the noise from outside seemed impossibly distant. Weisz’s ears started to ring faintly in the sudden silence, one that even the dust seemed afraid to break.

The broad-shouldered clerk at the counter looked up, but didn’t say anything as Weisz began to wander around the shop. The sheer number of pointy-death-sticks hanging on the walls made him a little uneasy.

Guns have a safety function, after all, and knives and swords do not.

‘Zweihänder, Broadsword, Rapier, Dao, Katana, how many fucking ways can you make steel sharp enough to kill someone?’ he thought.

The man at the counter seemed to be the only employee in the shop, and he watched as Weisz navigated all the complicated classifications that he never even knew existed.

‘Well, a big sword is out of the question,’ he thought. ‘I don’t know if I can even lift it, let alone…’

He blanched as he noticed the price on a nearby Claymore.

‘..Afford it. A smaller knife will be fine. I think.’

The employee never spoke, but Weisz could feel his stare as he moved through the shop.

‘I know I’m a thief, but he can’t possibly know that, and I sure as hell can’t steal anything from here if I can’t even carry it.’

The silence was nearly unbearable, and as he came around to the back of the shop, Weisz was seriously tempted to just leave and get a generic Christmas gift that no one could dislike.

‘It’s not like someone who’s never celebrated Christmas before would know the difference, right?’

He shook his head. Homura couldn’t lie, and he- and everyone else- was sure to hear how much or how little she liked his gift. And he refused to be the only one unsuccessful in their Secret Santa charades.

Out of the corner of his eye, he just barely caught part of the description of a small dagger.

Valkyrie.

He nearly gave himself whiplash with his double-take.

Valkyrie Wingblade Dagger.

Even Weisz could admit that it was a beautiful work of art. The blade itself was somewhere around six to eight inches and two-pronged, but that wasn’t the most impressive thing about it.

Spreading out from the handle was a set of wings. Each individual feather had been meticulously crafted, and the wings formed a hand-guard of sorts. The handle itself was simple, yet elegant, and there were two little things jutting out from the bottom of it.

‘Maybe that’s for hanging it?’

“Find something that interests you?”

Weisz jumped as the employee’s deep voice boomed in the silent shop. He could hear his accelerated heartbeat in his ears.

“Uh.. yeah, maybe.”

“The Valkyrie dagger, huh? It’s a fine choice. Who’s it for?”

“A friend. She.. likes swords, and her teacher’s name was Valkyrie.”

“...Interestin’.  I heard stories about some warrior single-handedly changing the tide of the war on Odeo about ten years ago now. Some of ‘em put ‘er name as ‘Valkyrie,’ but I thought that was just hearsay. It is an ancient name, after all. Didn’t think anyone besides historians and sword experts knew about it.. Wonder if it’s the same person.”

Weisz blinked at the history lesson. “Valkyrie Yuna. That’s her name. And she’s definitely the same person as my friend’s teacher.”

“Yer friend must be one hell of a fighter, then.”

“Yeah..”

“You gonna get that one, or keep lookin’?”

Weisz glanced down at the dagger’s price tag, and breathed a quiet sigh of relief to find that it was reasonable.

“Sure, I’ll get this one.”

The clerk reached into the display case to grab it. “If you want, you can get it engraved. It’ll cost a little extra, and take a bit of time, but it’s a common option this time of year.”

“How much more?” Weisz asked hesitantly. “And how long will it take?”

~~~~~~~~

Edens Kitchen looked nearly unrecognizable. Witch had gone far beyond what Weisz had expected in turning it into a winter wonderland; Color-changing lights and garland criss-crossed the room, and fake snowflakes that he suspected Witch had cut out herself all hung from the ceiling. Christmas tree and gingerbread man cutouts decorated the bottom two feet of the walls, red and green ribbons were wrapped artfully around each of the tables and chairs, and fake snow covered the floor. There was even a real Christmas tree in the corner that was so picturesque, he vaguely wondered what movie it was stolen from.

Not to mention the mistletoe that was hanging in just about every doorway in and around the kitchen, which he took careful measures to avoid meeting anyone under.

Pino had frozen in excitement for a solid twenty seconds when she saw the decorations, to the point that Weisz was nearly concerned Hermit would have to reboot her. Shiki was equally excited, temporarily losing control over his Ether Gear in the process. Witch and Rebecca had to weigh him down so he wouldn’t ruin the decorations on the ceiling.

Weisz was impressed. Witch’s decorations almost put him in a festive mood, which was more than he could say for any other Christmas celebration he’d been to in his life. Even the food was festive, with holiday staples like mashed potatoes, turkey, and stuffing all decked out in red and green embellishments wherever possible. Even the eggnog and hot chocolate had red and green shavings in them, which Witch had assured all of them were just pieces of chocolate and sprinkles.

What she missed in Secret Santa shopping, she more than made up for with the decor.

“It’s beautiful, Miss Witch!” Pino’s antennae were nearly invisible with how fast they were wagging.

“Yeah, you really went all out! It looks amazing!” Rebecca said, trying to pull Shiki away from getting tangled in the lights.

“I must agree,” Homura said from behind her hand. “I feel as if I am in that Christmas-themed village from that movie Rebecca spoke of.”

“Thank you. I wanted to make our first Christmas together truly special,” Witch said, blushing. She’d replaced her sorceress hat with a Santa one, and her staff with a giant candy cane. “I even made everyone a Santa hat to really get in the spirit!”

“Everyone meaning everyone,” Ivry said, with a pointed look at Weisz. “And you gotta wear it. Ship rules.”

Weisz grumbled, but Witch looked so happy with herself and her efforts that he didn’t want to ruin it.

“Fine,” he said. “I’ll wear the damn hat.”

‘I guess it won’t kill me, it’ll just do significant psychological damage.’

After an hour of partying, eating, drinking eggnog, and watching Pino try to meet everyone, including him, under the mistletoe- which he reluctantly agreed to, letting her give him a cold kiss on the cheek, both because he feared he might be staring down Rebecca’s pistol again if he didn’t, and she was just too adorable for words while asking(though he’d never admit it)- it was time for Secret Santa.

“It’s time for presents!” Rebecca sang.

Everyone scrambled to the pile of presents under the tree, rushing to give theirs first.

“Here,” a dry voice spoke beside him.

He turned to find Hermit presenting him with a small box.

“Thanks,” he said, opening it slowly. He wouldn’t put it past the little troll of a Shining Star to give him a gag gift that would blow up in his face.

He was pleasantly surprised to find a real present in the box, but also a bit confused by it. “Is this just the Arsenal Suit?”

“More specifically, Arsenal Suit Mark One-Point-Five. I spent two days slaving over the formulas to make it more cost effective. Plus a couple of other special features. We can test it out tomorrow.”

He nodded. “Thanks, Hermit.”

“Of course,” she said coolly.

As he looked around, he saw Pino giving Witch a box that was bigger than the little bot was- or, more accurately, Pino was sitting on top of the box, and Rebecca was handing it over- Ivry standing behind them, a gift he assumed was for Rebecca in hand, and Shiki giving Happy a candy cane colored bag.

He found Homura standing in the doorway under the mistletoe. As Weisz walked over, he made sure not to step under it.

“Here,” he said, suddenly embarrassed as he handed the long box over to her.

“Thank you, Weisz.”

As she moved to open it, Weisz was struck with sudden anxiety.

‘If she doesn’t like it, no one will let me live it down for who knows how long,’ he thought. ‘And I actually tried with this. She has to like it.’

He briefly wondered why he was so concerned about her reaction now, when he hadn’t been before.

‘Is it really only because this is the first time I’m giving a gift to someone who’s opinion really matters to me? Or is it because this is the first swordmaster I’ve tried to give a gift to?’

She stared into the box silently. And somehow, her silence was worse than her outright saying that it was horrible. He’d never seen Homura speechless before.

Slowly, she reached in and pulled out the blade, examining it carefully.

“Valkyrie wings…” she said quietly.

“Yeah,” he said, unsure of what else he could say.

He watched as her eyes roamed over the dagger, taking in every detail. Her eyes widened when she noticed the engraving.

“So, what did you want the engraving to say?” the clerk asked.

“Valkyrie Homura.”

Finally, Homura looked up at him, her mouth slightly open and eyes widened a bit in shock. Then, she pressed her lips together as tears welled up in her eyes.

‘Son of a-’

“Thank you.” She interrupted his train of thought, a smile spreading across her face.

“Y- you like it?”

She nodded. “Yes.” She took a deep breath. “Immensely so.”

Putting the dagger back in the box and closing it, she looked back up at him and smiled again. A genuine smile, one that Weisz had never seen on her face before.

‘She looks really pretty smiling like that.’

His shoulders scrunched up in embarrassment as he realized what he was thinking, and he looked away in an attempt to hide the blush he was sure was spreading across his face, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Good.” He cleared his throat. “I’m glad you like it.”

“I would not have expected something so thoughtful from you,” she said, immediately covering her mouth as she realized what she said. “Oh, I hadn’t meant to say that aloud. My apologies.”

“No, I’m with you on this one. I wasn’t expecting it, either.”

She giggled behind her hand.

“So, why are you standing over here?”

“I was hoping to meet Shiki under the mistletoe.”

“I- a- .. oh. Really?” he asked, ten kinds of confused all at once.

“Yes, I was hoping to challenge him to a duel.”

“A- uh, what?”

“Ivry explained mistletoe to me. If two are caught under it, they must duel. She called it ‘mistlefoe.’ She said it was a time-honored tradition.”

Weisz burst out laughing so hard that he had to lean against the doorway so he didn’t fall over completely.

“What is so funny?” she asked, her hand coming back up to cover her mouth again, this time out of embarrassment.

“That’s not what mistletoe is for,” he said after he managed to calm down enough to be understood.

“Then what is it for?”

Now completely calm, he stood up straight. “The point of mistletoe is that you’re supposed to kiss whoever you meet under it.”

They both froze as they realized that Weisz had stepped underneath said mistletoe without realizing it. Matching blushes sprung up on their faces as they struggled to speak.

“W-well, I suppose I would not mind it so much,” Homura said, slapping both hands over her mouth with a high-pitched squeak.

His shoulders scrunched up even further at her confession.

“Y-... you wouldn’t?”

“I-... I, umm..” her voice was almost a full octave higher than normal. “Sister Ivry!”

“Oh, shit,” the wicked nun cackled, hiding behind Witch as Homura stormed over to her.

Weisz stayed frozen, staring at the now empty space in front of him, his heart racing.

~~~~~~~~

A few hours later, everyone was passed out in the game room. Rebecca demanded they have a “Christmas Movie Marathon” after their Secret Santa shenanigans, and of course Shiki agreed.

Now, both of them were asleep on top of each other, drunk off their asses from Ivry’s spiked eggnog. The nun in question was also drunk, sprawled out on the floor.

‘I didn’t know Ivry could get drunk, seeing as she drinks all the time. And she’s an android.’

Hermit was sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch, with Pino and Happy curled up in her lap, all of them asleep.

‘Apparently, androids sleep, too.’

Weisz shook his head, stretching his neck out and looking at the other side of the couch where Homura had been sitting. She left an hour ago, citing wanting to go to bed as the reason, but she left with both hands forcefully covering her mouth, and he had a sinking feeling it was because of him.

When they came in for the movie marathon, they sat on opposite sides of the couch and didn’t look at each other the entire time. Their earlier conversation crept, unbidden, into his mind again.

‘I wouldn’t mind kissing Homura, either, I guess. She’s beautiful, strong, kind-’

He considered it nothing short of a Christmas miracle that his stomach growled at that moment, interrupting his train of thought.

On his walk to the kitchen, he tried overthinking about what to eat, so as to keep thoughts of Homura and kissing out of his mind. It was easier to just brush off that conversation as the holiday spirit affecting her in an odd way than to think about wanting to kiss her and the ramifications of doing so.

‘For one, she can’t keep a secret to save her life, so everyone else would know within twenty-four hours,’ he thought. ‘She’s probably never even- Why am I still thinking about this?!’

He almost forgot about the decoration explosion in the kitchen. Walking into it was a decent enough distraction as he forced himself to change the subject in his mind.

The leftover food from their party hadn’t been put away yet; The bowl of mashed potatoes was nearly empty, both of the pies and the cheesecake were completely gone- most likely courtesy of Rebecca’s bottomless pit of a stomach- and the turkey was split down the middle almost perfectly, with one half picked at and the other untouched.

Weisz tore off a small piece of turkey and tossed it into his mouth. None of the party food really interested him, so he pulled up the holographic menu to skim through. But it didn’t do as much as he’d hoped in terms of distracting him. After five minutes of mindless scrolling where his mind wasn’t really on the food, he gave up and ordered a glass of water.

‘Do I really want to kiss Homura, or did that damn Santa hat do more damage than I thought it would?’

The kitchen slid his glass of water over to him, and he sipped on it slowly.

‘Is this what it’s like to doubt yourself? Have I really never doubted myself in my entire life? I probably should’ve.’

“Wow, I’m a selfish prick,” he muttered.

No longer hungry, he finished off his water, deciding to just go to bed.

‘Hopefully I’ll wake up and be able to convince myself that all of the “Kissing Homura” business was just a dream.’

As the kitchen door slid open, he ran into someone coming in. That someone being Homura.

‘Either the universe hates me, or it just likes laughing at me.’

“Weisz,” she said quietly.

“Homura,” he said, his mouth suddenly dry.

“I was just going to get some water.”

He nodded, unsure of what else to do.

They stared at each other for a few moments until Homura nodded and moved to walk past him. He was content to just let her pass him by- at least, he thought he was. But somehow, his mind and his arm weren’t on the same page, because he found himself reaching out to stop her walking away.

“Hey.”

She turned to face him, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. “Yes?”

‘Fuck it.’

“Did… did you mean it? What you said earlier?” he forced out.

“A-about.. kissing?” her voice was unnaturally high again.

He sighed heavily, suddenly very aware of his racing heartbeat. “Y- yeah.”

“I… yes,” she whispered, her cheeks a fiery red.

His shoulders scrunched up far enough that he felt like a turtle trying to retreat into its shell. His pulse pounded in his ears, and suddenly it seemed as though his entire torso was burning in embarrassment.

Of course it was only then that both of them looked up and noticed that they were right back where they were before: under the mistletoe.

Homura took a deep breath, straightening up. Her confident posture only lasted a couple of seconds before she spoke. “What about you?”

His eyes widened in shock. “Do I… wanna kiss you?”

She nodded, refusing to look at him.

“I, um… Well… You’re not drunk, are you?”

“W- what?” she asked, shocked. “No. In truth, I do not like alcohol. Not its taste, nor its effects.”

“...Okay.”

“Why?”

“It’s a weird day,” he said, shaking his head.

“Are you?”

“Stone cold sober,” he said. ‘Though this conversation is making me feel like I’m drunk,’ he thought. ‘Either that, or I’m in a fever dream.’

Homura paused, eyes darting back and forth. “You never answered my question.”

Weisz breathed in, then out slowly. “... Yeah,” he said, surprising both of them with his answer. “Yeah, I- I.. want to kiss you.”

Both of them were silent for a moment, uncertain of what to do.

“I have… never actually kissed anyone before. Is it like a battle?”

The noise he made was somewhere between a sigh and a chuckle. “No, it’s not that complicated. It’s pretty easy, actually. Haven’t you ever seen a movie or read a book with a kiss in it?”

“Well, yes, but how can I know how much of that is fiction, and how much is accurate to reality?”

Weisz tilted his head to the side. “Fair point. But it’s basically the same, for the most part. It’s, well.. I mean, it’s just something you learn by doing.”

“Then let me learn. Or teach me, rather.”

“O-okay.” For the first time ever, Weisz hesitated to kiss her. Not even his first kiss was this drawn out.

He rolled his shoulders, projecting a calm he didn’t feel, and brought his hand up to her cheek. Without giving himself time to overthink, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

The first couple of seconds were awkward. Homura stood still, not quite grasping how to respond. But she proved herself a quick learner when she started kissing back.

Weisz brought his other hand to her waist, pulling her closer. Homura covered his hand on her cheek with her own, resting the other on his arm.

He ended their kiss sooner than he would have liked, but he didn’t want to overstep with a too-intense one. Resting his forehead on hers, Weisz still kept close to her lips, torn between wanting another kiss and wondering if Homura did.

At this distance, it was hard to not look at each other, but they both tried.

“That… was nice.”

He nodded slightly. “Mhm.”

“Weisz,” she whispered, finally looking him in the eyes.

“Yeah?”

She gulped. “...Teach me again?”

The corner of his lips turned up in a small smile. “Okay,” he said, leaning in again.

“Wait.”

He stopped. “Hm?”

Homura moved the hand that was resting on his arm to instead lay on his cheek. Then, she leaned forward and reconnected their lips.

Weisz’s hand on her waist slid around to the small of her back, pulling her even closer than before. His hand resting on her cheek slid down to join the other. He allowed himself to kiss her a little harder, nearly losing himself in the moment.

When they pulled apart again, they were breathless.

“Well… You’re definitely a fast learner,” he said, clearing his throat.

“Thank you, I pride myself on it.”

Weisz chuckled, which set Homura off giggling before taking a step back. Neither of them took their hands off the other.

“Thank you… for teaching me.. about mistletoe. It was…-”

“Yeah, it was good for me, too.”

Homura nodded, a small smile growing on her face. She looked away from him.

“Well, it has certainly been… an interesting first Christmas,” she said, stepping away slowly. “Goodnight, Weisz.”

“Night.”

She turned her head away, hiding her smile as she walked past him.

Weisz touched his lips lightly. “Yeah,” he said to himself. “Maybe Christmas isn’t so bad.”

[i-write-fanfics-to-procrastinate]

Weicca: I’ll Be Home

This is for the Edens Zero Server Secret Santa Event! :D I wrote this for @awkwardauthorarianna​ !!! I’m your secret santa!!! I decided to just do something for the Holiday, something fluffy. I really hope you like it! :D 

Also, I couldn’t resist adding Pino as Shiki’s little sister! I needed Pino in this and since it’s kind of a modern/our world AU this seemed to work out. 

I’ll Be Home for Christmas

          “So, the fact is…” the same pause on the recording. “I won’t be home for Christmas.” Another deep breath. “My real home. With you…. And Shiki and Homura… I miss you, Princess. I know once we found out the project was ending soon we were hoping I’d make it home… But… I’m so sorry, Rebecca. I love you, and I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

          A soft click, and then a beep. “End of Message. Delete: press 7—” Rebecca tapped a button. “Saved.”

          She dropped her cellphone on the couch and turned towards the little Christmas tree she had set up by the front window. They had both been so excited. It was their first Christmas in the apartment they now shared together. They had come up with plan, late at night after he’d gotten home from the university.

          “We’ll wake up Christmas morning,” he had sighed, “And just stay in bed until we can’t stand it anymore.”

          “Dinner at Shiki and Homura’s,” Rebecca had reminded him.

          “So we’ll stay in bed until then.”

          But he had left to complete a project for the university all the way on the other side of the globe… all her dreams of having the perfect Christmas with him had been crushed. She remembered when she finally caved and bought a tree—under Shiki’s encouragement. “Come on, Rebecca! It might make you feel better to have some Christmas cheer!” She had been excited to decorate it with Weisz. But Christmas drew closer and closer… and Weisz still hadn’t come home.

          It wasn’t until two days ago she had pulled out the little ornaments and lights they had bought together to finally decorate. Shiki and Homura had told her it might be nice for Weisz to come home to things ready for the holiday festivities. But now—Christmas Eve—she wasn’t sure that he would come home at all.

          There was a knock on her door, startling her out of her thoughts. Someone this late on Christmas Eve? She moved away from the living room to the hall where another knock sounded from the front door.

          “I’m coming,” she sighed. She unlocked and swung open the front door. It was dumping snow outside. Shiki was standing on her doorstep wearing a santa hat.

          “Rebecca!” He laughed, holding out a plate, “I brought you some cookies! Merry Christmas!” For some reason… this was really what she needed. She took a deep breath, and threw her arms around her friend, holding him close. “Woah!” He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close with his free hand. “Are you alright, Becca?”

          “No,” she whispered, tears springing up in her eyes. “No… I… I miss him.”

          Shiki’s arm tightened around her, “I know. I know. I’m really sorry. Hey! I have an idea. Why don’t you come tomorrow morning to me and Homura’s? It might cheer you up! We can have a big brunch! And then we can open presents, and play party games!”

          “R-really?” She whispered, pulling away to wipe away tears.

          “Yeah! Come as soon as you wake up! I’m waking up super early!” He laughed.

          “Thanks, Shiki, that really means a lot to me,” she said.

          “Get some rest.” Shiki gently handed her the plate of Christmas cookies. “See you tomorrow morning!”

***

          It was snowing the next morning. Rebecca lay in bed for a little bit, blankets wrapped up to her shoulders. Her little cat, Happy was sleeping at her feet, chin resting on her leg. Weisz’s side of the bed was empty… cold… It’s not how I imagined waking up Christmas morning. She gently lifted her phone, tapping out a text—Weisz was probably busy, but at least she could send him a little message. Missing you. Merry Christmas!

          She gently set her phone aside, and stood to get dressed. Shiki and Homura’s house waited. The snow was thick on the ground—several inches. She put on her boots and trekked down the street. Shiki and Homura’s wasn’t far. She could see the lights from the outdoor decorations flashing bright colors against the white of the landscape. Before she even made it to yard, the front door swung open and Shiki’s little sister Pino rushed out—eyes wide and smile bright.

          “Rebecca!” She threw her arms around Rebecca’s waist, holding her close. “I’m glad you’re here! Shiki said you’d be coming!”

          “Hey!” Rebecca laughed, wrapping an arm around the girl. “It’s good to see you! Are you having a good Christmas morning?”

          “Better now that you’re here!” Pino giggled, excitement bubbling up in her laugh. “Come on inside, Shiki and Homura are making hot chocolate! And we’re going to open presents!!” Pino led the way inside, her hand warm in Rebecca’s. Shiki and Homura’s home was warm, the fireplace was roaring, the front room was decorated with lights and hanging snowflakes, and holly. Rebecca laughed a little to herself. Shiki loved the holidays.

          Last Christmas he had Weisz help him string up what seemed like a million lights across the roof of their home. Rebecca had been laughing down below with Pino, watching them struggle, Homura holding the ladder. I wish you were here now, Weisz. Somehow, even surrounded by her friends, Rebecca missed Weisz now more than ever…

          Shiki and Homura talked to her about their plans for New Year’s Eve. They all sat in the living room drinking their hot chocolate, watching the snow fall outside. Pino showed Rebecca the gifts she got for Christmas. And the hot chocolate slowly disappeared. Maybe Weisz will be home for New Years! Shiki had said, just as there was a rap at the front door.

          Homura blinked. “That’s very odd. Maybe it’s our strange next door neighbor.”

          “I’ll get it!” Pino leaped to her feet from where she had been sitting next to Rebecca. She practically danced to the front door, and swung it open.

          “Happy Holidays—oh!” Pino paused, eyes wide. “You’re here!!” She practically jumped into the arms of whoever was at the door.

          A familiar, warm laugh…

          “Who is it?” Shiki frowned, moved towards the doorway, but before he could come around the couch, Weisz stepped in, Pino’s arms still around his waist. Rebecca’s heart skipped a beat, and her chest tightened. Weisz. Weisz… was home.

          He was bundled up in a thick coat, his hair dusted with melting snow, his cheeks flushed from the cold. A purple scarf wrapped twice around his neck.

          Rebecca stood, and their eyes met across the room. Weisz offered her a bright grin. “Hey, Princess…” His voice was soft, his eyes shining. “I’m home.”

          She crossed the room in seconds, throwing her arms around his shoulders and pulling him in a tight hug. She couldn’t speak through tears, just clutched his coat as tight as she could. “Weisz… Weisz…”

          “Merry Christmas,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her temple. She just shook her head, holding him so tight.

          “I thought… I thought you weren’t going to come back… in time…?”

          “They released us two days ago, and I wanted to try my hardest to surprise you. I’m sorry I’m late—”

          But Rebecca kissed him before he could finish, hand pressed against his cold cheek. “You’re the best holiday gift a girl could ask for, Mr. Steiner.” He laughed a little, she rested her forehead against his. “I love you.”

          He beamed back at her… soft… just for her… “I love you too.”

[lilbotlilbreeze]

This is great, Kae! I love it!! You write their dynamic so well!

[indraaas-deactivated20200720]

for @awkwardauthorarianna for the ez fic exchange I am SO sorry this is late I’m big dumb with dates :’) hope you enjoy the pino and weisz and found family goodness!

Subject: Unknown

Physical analysis: round; white; colourful designs; wax sticks atop.

Preliminary chemical analysis: flour, cocoa, salt, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla extract, coffee, sour cream.

Detailed chemical analysis? YES / NO

“What are you doing?”

Subject: Weisz Steiner

Classification: EG user, crew member

Status: safe

Keep reading

[lilbotlilbreeze]

This is so cuuuute!! I love it!

[lblb-actuallywrites]

Over A Cherry Cosmos, Part 1

I wrote this as part of the Edens Zero Fic Exchange for @indraaas​. Hope you like it! (Part 1 of 3)

“Here,” the voice of Lieutenant Justice, Rebecca’s direct supervisor, spoke as a file smacked down on her desk.

“What’s this?” Rebecca asked, reaching for the file.

“Your next bounty. You said you wanted a challenge; Weisz Steiner, high-ranking member of Sibir’s gang, and a thief wanted across nearly half the country. Every bounty hunter that went looking for him couldn’t catch him.”

“Every bounty hunter so far,” she corrected. “I’m on it, sir.”

Lt. Justice only nodded and returned to his office.

Rebecca opened the file to see Weisz Steiner’s mugshot: blond hair coiffed to the side, a half-amused, half-annoyed smirk on his face, and a flirty glare thrown at the camera with steel gray eyes. From the angle of his head, she could just barely see enough to guess that he was leaning against the wall as if he were leaning against a tree in the park.

‘He’s pretty cute.’

Her eyes scrolled down to the section about his family background, muttering quietly to herself as she read.

“Mm.. Only child… Mom is.. Maria Steiner, deceased…”

When Rebecca first caught the father’s name out of the corner of her eye, she nearly gave herself whiplash with how fast she did a double take.

“Doctor… Weiss Steiner… No way...”

‘The old Doctor has a son?’ she thought.

Memories came flooding to the surface of her mind: running into the street after her little blue cat Happy, the swerving car with screeching tires that seemed to come out of nowhere just as she caught up to him. Then, she was weightless, flying through the air for what felt like forever.

She didn’t remember hitting the ground. Only waking up in the hospital the next day.

“Where’s Happy?” a seven-year-old Rebecca demanded of the old doctor in front of her.

“Happy?” Doctor Steiner asked.

“M-my kitty. We were playing and he ran away from me, so I chased him. And-” she paused, tearing up, though she pretended she wasn’t. “I-I don’t remember what happened after that.”

The look that came over Doctor Steiner’s face was one Rebecca had seen from a lot of adults: a tight smile, slight tilt to the head, squinted eyes. It usually meant something she couldn’t name, but definitely didn’t like. And it always left her feeling frustrated and small.

Except this time, Doctor Steiner looked sad, too.

But in a flash, that awful, hated, and now confusing look was gone, replaced with a wide smile.

“Well, I sure don’t know, little one, but I can ask the nice people that brought you in if you want?”

Rebecca blinked in shock as his offer sunk in. Then, grinning from ear to ear and practically vibrating in her hospital bed, she shouted, “Yes, please!”

She quickly covered her mouth when she realized how loud she’d been on accident. She looked at Doctor Steiner, eyes wide and half curled in a ball, waiting for him to scold her for yelling.

Instead, he gave her a kind smile, one she couldn’t remember ever seeing before, especially not from an adult.

“Sure thing, kiddo,” the Doctor said, patting her gently on the head.

Rebecca smiled at the memory.

‘How can I arrest the son of the man who saved my life?’ she thought, her smile faltering. ‘I know it’s my job, but…’

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, stretching her neck in the process.

‘First thing’s first. I need more information.’

Rebecca stood up, grabbing her messenger bag from the back of her chair. She slung it over her shoulder and tossed Weisz Steiner’s file inside as she left the precinct.

~~~~~~~~~~

“What’cha got for me, Quinn?” Rebecca asked her friend and professional hacker.

“Well, he’s old fashioned,” Quinn said without looking up from her deep dive into Weisz Steiner.

Rebecca shook her head in confusion. “What?”

“No social media whatsoever. Even eighty-year-olds have Twitter these days.”

Quinn turned her chair around to face Rebecca, grabbing a coffee mug as she spun. Rebecca could tell that it was the hacker’s “Special Hot Chocolate” by the smell, the secrets of which she kept hidden behind a firewall the NSA itself couldn’t crack.

“Seriously, who doesn’t use social media these days? Even if it’s for no other reason than to keep up with the news?” Quinn shook her head in disbelief as she sipped on her drink.

“Not important. What did you find?”

Quinn raised her eyebrows. “Mm! Right.” She spun back around to face her main monitor. “So, I think I found a place where he likes to hang out. Edens Bar. Only two of the multiple credit cards he’s stolen in the last six months have turned up charges there, as opposed to him crawling over half of the bars in Norma.”

“So what makes you think he’s there? Maybe he just got kicked out or something.”

Quinn shook her head. “Nah. I hacked into their security cameras and found footage of him at the bar.”

“Of course,” Rebecca sighed. “Look, I know it’s not a big deal to you, but can you at least not openly mention the illegal hacking you’re doing for me directly to me? I need plausible deniability!”

Quinn waved off her concerns. “Don’t worry. Even if they could catch me, I wouldn’t let anything happen to you from my new seat at the NSA. Anyway, he seems on good terms with the staff, so he wasn’t banned.”

Rebecca groaned, but let it slide. Even if she gave Quinn trouble for it, she knew that she’d never be caught.

“Plus, I found footage of him there that doesn’t line up with any cards he’s been linked to, so it’s more likely that he’s just trying to keep people from tracking him there. Which is backed up by the fact that I tracked him with traffic cams before he showed up to Edens Bar and he’s checking for tails two miles out. And he takes the scenic route there.”

“Pretty solid plan,” Rebecca admitted.

“Yeah, until someone smarter came along,” Quinn said smugly.

Rebecca laughed. “Thanks, Quinn. Can you keep an eye on the bar and let me know when Weisz shows up again?”

“Of course.”

“Awesome,” she said. “Oh, and can you do one more thing for me?”

~~~~~~~~~~

Rebecca flexed her fingers in an attempt to shake away the anxiety. ‘This is research,’ she told herself. ‘In order to find a wanted criminal… Who is the son of the doctor who saved my life..’

“Damn it,” she muttered to herself, dropping her head on her steering wheel. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of her car.

‘It’s not too late to turn around and drive away,’ her thoughts taunted her.

Chants of ‘it would be easy,’ ‘no one would ever know,’ and ‘Quinn can probably find out all you need’ stayed glued in Rebecca’s mind as she stalked forward. Instead, she tried to focus on anything else, her eyes fixating on the row of expensive houses in front of her.

They were all wide two-stories, mostly white or off-beige, occasionally lined with light hints of pastels for what Rebecca assumed these rich idiots called “flavor.” It was simultaneously extravagant and so boringly tasteless that she wondered how anyone could think it was nice to look at.

‘Exactly like the rich owners. All style, no substance. It feels like I’m looking at the wall of a padded cell.’

She finally reached the end of Doctor Steiner’s walkway and stopped, looking again at the house in front of her.

Compared to the rest of the nearly-identical houses on the street, his was easily the nicest to look at. The house itself was a very subtle off-yellow color, almost impossible to tell from a distance, accented with a light pastel baby blue color that outlined the windows and covered the pillars in the front. As she got closer, she noticed the front door was also the same shade of blue.

Rebecca tapped her leg as she stood in front of Doctor-turned-Professor Steiner’s door, working up the courage to knock. After nearly a minute of frantic leg-tapping, she finally forced herself to.

‘No backing out now,’ she thought. Her fingers were starting to get tired from tapping so much.

A few seconds later, the lock turned and the door opened.

“Can I help you, Miss?”

“Um, yeah,” she took a slow breath. “Are you Doctor Weiss Steiner?”

“Yes.” His eyes narrowed slightly, but didn’t say anything else.

“I’m Rebecca Blue-Garden. I’m a Bail Enforcer and I’m tracking your son, Weisz.” She had to fight to keep her voice even as she spoke. “I was hoping there might be something you could tell me about him.”

He blinked. “Such as?”

“Anything you think might be useful in bringing him in safely would be a good start.” Rebecca realized she’d been twisting her fingers together and forced herself to stop.

Doctor Steiner smiled kindly, and it matched up almost perfectly with the smile in her memory. “I don’t think I know anything that could help you.”

“A-are you sure? Nothing at all comes to mind?”

‘I read that Weisz ran away when he was fifteen in his file, but I thought that I’d at least get something useful from his dad.’

“I wish I could help you, Miss Blue-Garden, but I’m afraid not. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more use.”

He started to close the door. “G-”

“Wait!”

Doctor Steiner raised an eyebrow.

Rebecca sighed. “Y-you saved my life when I was a kid. And I’ve always wanted to thank you in some way, but I didn’t know how I could. I didn’t want or expect this..” She waved her hand around. “.. situation.”

“I.. operated on you?” he asked after a moment of silence.

“Yeah. I was playing with my little blue cat Happy when a drunk driver hit me. You even offered to ask the paramedics that brought me in if they saw him. Looking back now, it’s obvious that he… but it meant a lot to me back then.”

“You were the little girl with the blue cat? … Now that I think about it, your name does sound familiar..”

She tried to contain her rush of excitement.

“Come in,” he said, smiling with warmth and opening the door wider.

Rebecca blinked as she processed the offer. It’d been more or less what she wanted, but it surprised her that she actually got it. Then, she returned his smile and stepped through the door.

“So, you’re a Bail Enforcer?”

“Yep.”

Rebecca tried to calm her nerves. ‘What was my plan again?’ she thought, flexing her fingers at her sides. ‘Did I even have a plan?’

“And you’re looking for my son?”

“... Yep.”

‘This was a bad idea.’

Doctor Steiner chuckled sadly before speaking again. “Well, I wish I could help you, but I haven’t seen, much less spoken to my son in… almost ten years.”

“I see..”

‘He never once tried to contact his dad? I mean, I know I kinda assumed that was the case, but… hearing it confirmed makes me a little sad for the Doctor.’

“Weisz left when he was still a teenager, but even before then he wasn’t very talkative.”

Rebecca nodded slowly, following silently as he led the way to the living room. Doctor Steiner gestured to the couch as he sat down in a recliner chair a few feet away.

“So, how long have you been a Bail Enforcer?”

“Huh? Oh, about three years, now. Why do you ask?”

Doctor Steiner hesitated. “About how many of the people you’ve arrested ran away from home when they were younger?”

Rebecca paused. Broken homes weren’t exactly an uncommon denominator across all of the bounties she’s hunted down, but she didn’t want to sound like she was accusing the Doctor of being the reason his son ran away.

‘Maybe their relationship sucks and he doesn’t care about his son getting arrested.. That would make me feel less like a complete ass about doing my job…’

“Um.. Well, I don’t know numbers, but there’s been a few. It’s not rare.”

Doctor Steiner only hummed in response, eyes narrowed and slightly hunched over. Looking at him now, Rebecca could barely see the jovial doctor that saved her life; instead, all she saw was a worn down and sad old man.

‘Ugh, crap! I can’t do anything right today, can I?’

“Hm. I wonder why they felt the need to leave.”

The quiet, contemplative look on his face pulled at Rebecca’s heartstrings.

“Weisz was headstrong, stubborn… and full of hot air.”

She chuckled. “Aren’t all teenagers full of hot air?”

“Usually. But… I just wonder what was going through his head. I’ve always wondered why he left in the first place.” Doctor Steiner’s hard gaze at the floor became unfocused, distracted by his thoughts. “Or maybe I kind of already know. We couldn’t seem to see eye-to-eye. And I know that Maria’s family didn’t make it any easier. Maria was my wife, and Weisz’s mother,” he added.

Rebecca swallowed hard, nodding slowly. She didn’t know what she could say in response. Doctor Steiner’s entire being seemed steeped in sadness; the kind of bone-deep sadness that never truly goes away.

“Sorry, I’m not sure why I’m telling you this.”

She shook her head. “It’s okay.”

“You’re wondering what happened.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Well…” she trailed off. ‘Yeah, sort of.’

Doctor Steiner hummed. “Well, Weisz was always a troublemaker. He got into it a lot as a kid, and evidently, that’s never changed.. But Maria was always patient with him. Much more so than the rest of her family.”

Rebecca tried to hide her grimace, but the corner of her mouth still twitched.

“I don’t mean to sound like I’m judging. But they were… notoriously difficult to deal with. Any time Weisz got in a fight or let his grades slip, someone had something to say about it. Of course, never to us. But Weisz took notice.”

Doctor Steiner heaved a tired sigh.

“One day, he overheard a… particularly nasty comment from Maria’s sister. But before anyone could say anything else, he decided he’d finally had enough, I suppose, and he started yelling at them. When he finished, he said that… everyone would be happier if he left. And then he did.”

Rebecca bit the inside of her lip. She could practically hear him blaming himself.

‘People like that are impossible to please. They didn’t want Weisz to be a person, they wanted him to be a puppet.’

“I hoped he was just blowing off steam. He left before anyone could say anything to him. So I waited for him to come back, but… he didn’t,” Doctor Steiner sighed again. “And then, about eight months later… Maria died. I had hoped he’d go to the funeral, although it was probably for the best that he didn’t, in the end.”

She nodded. ‘His mom’s family are a bunch of judgmental dicks. I feel for him on that.’

A vibrating in her back pocket brought Rebecca to reality. Pulling out her phone, she saw Quinn’s name flash on the screen.

“My friend’s calling, I should take this,” she said, smiling politely as she stepped away. “Hello?”

“Hey, your criminal’s on his way to Edens.”

“Okay, thanks. Keep an eye on it.”

“I will. Want me to call Shiki and Homura?” Quinn offered, followed by the distant sound of her sipping on a drink.

“No, it’s fine,” Rebecca said, uttering a quick goodbye before hanging up. She walked back to the couch. “Okay,” she muttered. “Well, I should get going. It was nice talking to you.”

“Wait. Before you go,” Doctor Steiner said, standing quickly. “I was hoping you might be able to do me a small favor.” He walked to a nearby desk and pulled a pen and a pad of sticky notes from it, scribbling something.

“What is it?” she asked.

“If it’s at all possible, I was hoping…” he pulled the top sticky note off. “I might be able to see my son. I don’t know if you can do that, but I just want to talk to him again, and tell him something.”

Rebecca took the sticky note from him to see a phone number on it. She folded it carefully and stuck it in her phone case.

“I’ll do my best,” she said with a smile.

“Thank you, Miss Blue-Garden.” He walked with her back to the front door.

She nodded at him as she stepped outside.

‘Okay, Weisz Steiner. I am gonna get you into a conversation with your dad, even if I have to drag you by your pompous hair to do it.’

~~~~~~~~~~

Rebecca adjusted the rose barrette in her hair and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. Before going to Edens Bar, she changed into a black mini skirt, over the knee boots, and a blue halter top. Now, she made her final subtle adjustments before walking up to the empty seat next to her bounty.

“This seat taken?” she asked, with a sweet smile on her face. Rebecca made sure to throw a subtle, yet impossible-to-miss flirty glance his way.

“No. Go ahead.”

“Thanks,” she said as she slid into the bar chair. “What’s your name?”

“Weisz.”

“I’m Rebecca.”

Weisz flashed her a flirty smirk reminiscent of the one in his mugshot, and she had to correct an earlier thought.

‘Shit. He’s not cute, he’s hot.’

“Just a Cherry Cosmos, please.”

“So, what are you doing in this little bar?” Weisz asked, taking a sip of beer.

“I’m.. expanding my horizons. I’ve been in Norma for a while, but I haven’t really been a whole lot of places.”

Weisz leaned in. “If you want, I can give you a few places to check out.”

Rebecca mimicked him, leaning forward and slowly pulling her handcuffs out of her bag and under the bar. “Are you offering to show me these places yourself?” she flirted as she slid her hand closer to his.

“Well, if you want-”

The click of the cuffs closing around his wrist cut him off. Rebecca closed the other cuff around part of the underside of the bar.

“Well that’s not exactly how I prefer to be asked out on a date, but…”

Rebecca chuckled. “Funny.”

“I assume these aren’t for fun?” Weisz asked.

“Nope.”

“Too bad,” he sighed. “Will you at least let me finish my drink?”

Rebecca eyed the beer bottle in front of him. ‘Less than half full,’ she thought.

She sighed. “I guess.”

He sipped his beer calmly.

“Y’know, for someone who’s as high up in Sibir’s gang as you, I gotta say, you’re taking this whole ‘getting arrested’ thing pretty well.”

Weisz’s easy going smile faltered, fixing Rebecca with a cold stare. “I’m not with Sibir anymore.”

“Fine. You’re still under arrest,” she said flippantly. “I don’t know why so many other bounty hunters couldn’t catch you before, this was pretty easy.”

Weisz finished his beer, setting the empty bottle on the bar as he leaned towards her again. “If I may, Rebecca, I just have one question for you: how are you going to arrest me when you’re the one in handcuffs?”

Rebecca looked down at the space between them just in time to watch Weisz clasp the handcuff, previously on him, around her wrist.

“What-?”

She looked up at him, stunned. He winked at her, then leaned in.

“Drive safe, Rebecca.”

And then he was slipping out the door.

Rebecca sighed, turning back towards the bar to unlock herself when she noticed that Weisz had left enough money for both of their drinks.

‘He’s a thief, but he left money for the tab? A little “Robin Hood,” if you ask me.’

Her phone vibrated in her bag as she finished unlocking the handcuffs. Rebecca had barely put the phone up to her ear when Quinn started talking.

“Y’know, you never realize how much easier social media makes my job until you find that rare specimen without it and I have to actually try a little.”

“Meaning?” Rebecca asked, too annoyed for pleasantries as she stood and walked out of the bar.

“I was looking into Sibir’s gang, trying to see if there was something you might be able to use, and I just found out that-”

“That Weisz and Sibir aren’t ‘buddy-buddy’ anymore? Yeah, he just told me.”

“Okay, but did he say why?” Quinn asked.

Rebecca paused just outside the door. “No. Do you know?”

“Yeah. It’s messed up stuff, Becca. You know his mom died, right?”

“Yeah, but that’s all his file said about her.” She set out towards the small parking lot next to the bar.

“Well, I hacked the text messages of a few of Sibir’s guys and found out that, apparently, after Doc Junior joined up with Sibir, it was Sibir who did the hit and run that killed his mom, but he tagged the place with Rogue Out’s logo. Guess he wanted to cut off Weisz’s escape route. But when Weisz found out...”

“That’s… awful.” Rebecca’s hand hovered over her heart.

“Anyway, what’s happening at Edens?”

The hand over her heart tightened into a fist. “He got away,” Rebecca grumbled as she unlocked her car. “We’re gonna need to come up with a new plan.”