houseofmcallister presents... Do or Drown
Pairing: Crow x Young Wolf Category: Oneshot Genre: Fluff Rating: 13+ Warnings: Jokingly threatening to drown Word Count: 1.2k Summary: Please don't make this awkard or I will throw myself into the sea.
a/n: good for them. THIS FIC WENT LIVE WITH THE WRONG BANNER FORGIVE ME
I love you baby, and if it's quite alright, I need you baby.
They sit there, in pale moonlight, reflections of firelight dancing on their armor, and look like an angel. No, a god. Ethereal, celestial, and oh-so beautiful.
And he sits beside them, a respectable distance away, trying very hard not to think about how pretty they look like this.
It's hard, it's hard not to admire something so clearly divine when it is placed so close to you. A divine being, a god, in their sacred, glorious power and majesty, is sitting next to you, drinking bottom shelf stolen whiskey straight from the bottle and throwing stones at the water, smiling when they skip.
These moments, however small and stolen, these moments of celebration between battles, when they slip into the field to "shoot the shit and take the piss" as the Guardian puts it. Hanging out, as Crow would put it.
Since that first night, together in the woods, drinking cheap wine, he's learned well against taking any of the alcohol they offer. Evidently, their tolerance is much higher than his, and the idea of being well and truly drunk in their presence, saying something he may regret… is not one he's fond of.
But still, he takes a slow sip from the bottle he brought and drags his gaze to the lake before them.
"You know, skipping stones is an art. Takes lots of time to be good at," they say, picking up and inspecting a small, flat rock.
"Oh, really?" He asks, not really taking them seriously.
"It is! Seriously. There's a lot that goes into it. The stone itself, the way you throw it, it's all in the wrist."
"Whatever you say."
They roll their eyes and toss a stone. It skips twice and sinks.
"You admitting I'm correct, as I always am?"
He rolls his eyes. "I am not."
"Ah, you know I am." They toss a stone again. Skips twice and sinks.
"Repeated results. Proof of perfection, I'd say."
"Proof you're not as good at this as you think you are, more likely."
They look over at him, teeth bared in a wolfish grin. "Is that a challenge, Crow?"
He shrugs, taking a long swig from his bottle, trying to distract himself from that look in their eye. They're gorgeous like this. They're gorgeous all the time, but that playfulness they get about them when with friends, that arrogant, if well deserved, confidence they carry. That willingness to take any challenge. It's intoxicating, their surety. Their confidence. It's the kind of thing that makes you feel safe, that you can't help but love, however cocky it may come across.
"Maybe it is, old light."
They bark a laugh, standing up. "Oh you are ON, new light!" They say, glaring playfully at him.
The Guardian throws a stone again. It skips three, four, five- seven times. Seven times before sinking.
"Wow! Look at that," they say, with exaggerated excitement. "Seven skips! Beat that," the Guardian turns to him, teeth bared in a grin.
He smiles. He always smiles when they smile. How could he not? Their smile is always so genuine.
"Alright, watch this!" He grabs a flat stone, tosses it on the water. Once. Twice. Sinks.
"Haha!" The Guardian cackles, leaning forward to watch it drop. "Womp-womp. I win," they smile.
"Of course, you win. You always win." He says, rolling his eyes.
They lean back, offering him an exaggerated smirk. "Of course I do! I'm me. And I'm incredible. And everyone loves me."
Crow shakes his head. "I wouldn't go that far."
“I would! I'm the best, plain and simple and everyone knows it!" They laugh. They're taking the piss, he can tell. "And everyone loves me for that. As we know!"
"Whatever, you're delusional," he chuckles.
"Ah, don't act like that. You know you love me!" They tease. They don't know how true those words are. They mean it joking, friendly, but he does. With every beat of his heart, every breath he takes, every part of him, he adores them.
But he won't let that slip here. So he just rolls his eyes. "Keep telling yourself that."
“I will!" They laugh. "I will keep telling myself that because it's true, and you know it, and I know it." They turn to face him, hand right below their face, the other beside it, "voguing" they called it. An old pre-Golden Age joke. "And who could blame you. I'm the best. Greatest of all time, and I'm so pretty."
"And humble," Crow teases.
They drop their hands laughing.
They sit together, drinking in silence for a few minutes after that.
"I love you too, by the way.
"Crow nearly chokes on his beer. "What?"
"Wow wow, don't die on me," the Guardian chuckles. Their eyes are softer than normal. Not the confident gleaming mischief he's used to. They're being genuine. "I- Traveler above this is embarrassing to say out loud." They pause, take in a breath. "I love you. I have for a while. You're my friend, and I care about you, and I would never let anything happen to you, but more than that, I- I fucking adore you. You're funny and you're kind and god you are handsome- like you're fucking gorgeous. And- I, I just needed to say that. Cause, if I face the Witness and somehow I don't come back I just, I would regret leaving without you knowing that. So, there. I said it. And, I feel very awkward but it had to be said. So, there we go. I love you. I am in love with you," they look anywhere but at him. "So. Yeah. And please, if you do not feel the same be nice about it because the sea is right there and I WILL throw myself directly into it if this gets even a little more awkward."
Crow is quiet for a long moment, just processing. "Ok first off, I don't think walking into the sea is the solution to... anything."
"I disagree but contiune."
"Ok. That's- whatever. Second. You- you love me?"
"Yes."
He isn't sure what to say. He dreamed of a moment like this. He looks at them. The light dances around them, shadows cast back by their mere presence, they are gorgeous. Ethereal, even when they're half-jokingly threatening to throw themself into the merciful embrace of oceanic death. He can't look away, because this moment, this confession, this feeling, love returned. It's here, and he isn't sure what to say.
"I- I love you too."
"Yeah, how could you not?"
"Oh my god. Shut up, do not act confident, you just said you would drown yourself if this got awkward.
They laugh, and scoot towards him. "And I didn't have too, so look at that, we're all happy and I get to continue being a jackass."
He looks at them. "Whatever. You're lucky you're incredible, otherwise you'd be intolerable."
"Oh please, I'm intolerable anyways. But look at this," they lace their hand into his. "I still managed to make you fall in love with me, so I can't be that bad."
"Yeah, you're not. You're.. quite frankly, you're too good to be true."
They laugh. "Yeah, you are too. I love you, man. God- I have been wanting to say that for so long."
He laughs. They smile.
"I love you too."
this is for @arcaneglitch and @astral-runic.
ao3: houseofmcallister main account: houseofmcallister buy me a coffee!
Don’t repost my work or I’ll eat your shoulder blades! I do not consent to my works being used for AI training purposes.
