Chapters 29 and 30 - Behind the mask part 1 and 2 (link to part 1)
"Anakin, forgive me for my bluntness… I don't think you can expect to remain at the Temple. I am sure that the other Masters and Knights will learn to forgive you in time, but—”
“But you can't ask the Padawans to grow up in a place where they can meet Darth Vader on their way to breakfast on a random Taungsday. I get it.”
“I wouldn't have put it in quite those terms, but yes, that's the gist of it.”
“But why do you have to leave?” Anakin asked, frowning. “I think the Council will do anything to keep what you've done behind red tape. They won't cast you out.”
“It doesn't matter,” Obi-Wan said lightly, but it sounded so fake it was jarring. “I'm going with you, of course.”
“What?”
Anakin got to his feet, staring at Obi-Wan, who was looking up at him with a quizzical frown.
“Anakin, of course I am going to resign as soon as the matter is settled.”
Anakin let out a startled gasp. “What — no, you can’t.”
“I can. I will. I won’t leave you alone.”
“And then what, Obi-Wan?” Anakin spat. “After you’ve left the Order for me, what are we going to do? Get married and go live on a farm, have my kids over for Life Day? Or we could open a cantina — come to Darth Vader’s, the best bantha ribs this side of the Core! And you can run your necromancy gig on the side.”
Obi-Wan flinched. “That was beneath you, Anakin.”
Chapters: 28/31
Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker
Characters: Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé Amidala, Darth Maul, Ahsoka Tano
Additional Tags: Canon Divergence - Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Pre-Mustafar AU, Suitless Darth Vader, Slow Burn (Sort Of), It takes a lot of words to get there, not a lot of time, The Dark Side of the Force (Star Wars), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Redemption, Developing Relationship, Angst, Explicit Sexual Content, Canon-Typical Violence
Summary:
When two neutron stars orbit each other closely, they spiral inward as time passes due to gravitational radiation. When the two neutron stars meet, their merger leads to the formation of either a more massive neutron star, or a black hole.
Anakin Skywalker died during Order 66; this is all Obi-Wan Kenobi knows until a gravely wounded Anakin lands on the ship where the survivors are trying to regroup.
The dark side clings to his former Padawan, and what happened in the Temple remains uncertain. When faced with a truth more terrible than he could have ever imagined, Obi-Wan chooses Anakin, even in his darkness. He cannot lose him twice.
But darkness is generous, and it is patient.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
~*~
“They were right. You look amazing.”
“So do you.” Azula touched his face. “Like a true warrior.”
They leaned closer mesmerized by each other’s’ eyes. A loud gong sounded causing them to jerk apart.
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! CHILDREN OF ALL AGES! WELCOME TO THE GREATEST SHOW ON IN THE FIRE NATION!!!”
“Hey t-the show is starting.” Sokka chuckled nervously.
Azula stroked her tail. “Yes it is.”
“D-Do you…”
Azula perked up.
“Want to watch it? With me?”
“Oh.” Azula’s ears drooped. She was hoping they picked up from where they left off.
“I-I mean if you want privacy that’s fine. I just thought you were excited to watch it with me but it’s cool if you don’t! I should probably go practice anyway. It’s been a while since I performed this dance and Master says I have a tendency to lose focus on-“
Azula covered his mouth. “Yes I want to watch the circus with you. That’s why we came here isn’t it?”
Sokka blinked a couple of times then smiled with his eyes. Azula shook her head as she released him. This idiot. Still, she was glad to watch the show with him.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 3/?
Fandom: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Link/Midna (Legend of Zelda), Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Midna & Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Characters: Link (Legend of Zelda), Midna (Legend of Zelda), Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Zant (Legend of Zelda), Ilia (Legend of Zelda)
Additional Tags: Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Political Alliances, Political Intrigue, Asexual Character, Asexual Link (Legend of Zelda), I guess this counts as a slowburn?, You're Welcome, Mild Blood, semi-verbal link, semi-verbal character, Elements of Horror
Summary:
The Queen of the Twilight seeks an alliance with the light world. The Hylian royal court seeks to get an embarrassment of a Hero out of the way, despite the Queen's approval of him. The Hero of Hyrule only wants peace, but peace on a personal level seems unlikely when fate is at work.
Midna was not expecting to find steel at the heart of the quiet young man she married to seal the alliance.
[6:26 p.m.] ‘for i saw us dancing through sunshine and rain, and i saw us laughing through joy and through pain. and i saw time passing but we did not change, and i saw us together at the end of every day’ - i choose you; mario
~ na jaemin was an affectionate man. and though he could sometimes be over affectionate, you appreciated every single moment you spent with him. jaemin was a cheesy fluff ball, but you loved him with all of your heart.
there were times when things didn’t go as planned, though. but you knew that your relationship was strong. your relationship with jaemin never failed and you were thankful that fate played its role so nicely. because you couldn’t imagine yourself with any other person than jaemin himself.
“i love you,” he whispered against your shoulder as the two of you were being silly and dancing in your living room. and none of this was new to you, he confessed that he loved you all the time. but for some reason, this moment felt special. you knew this was going to be one of the moments you would forever cherish with na jaemin. you peered up and sweetly smiled to the love of your life, “i love you too. so much.”
you and jaemin were now sat on the bed, tangled in each other’s embrace surrounded by such tranquil and comfortable silence.
“i’m so glad we’ve made it this far, my love. through thick and thin we’ve stuck with each other from the dawn of time. thank you, i appreciate you all too much,” he kissed the top of your head as a single tear cascaded down his face. and though it was a happy tear, nothing made you feel more overwhelmed in that moment.
“aww baby. don’t cry, my love. we have been keeping each other happy all of these years. through sunshine and rain, we danced the night away. through joy and pain, we kept each other content,” you leaned up and placed your head in the crook of his neck before giving him a loving kiss.
he smiled a jovial smile, “we haven’t changed a bit, baby. i’m so damn happy we decided to stay. i’m so fucking happy that i had the option to choose you. i’ll choose you every day. through all our previous lives together.”
There had never been a worse time to be a Praxic Warlock.
Aunor seethed. Seethed when she read the reports, seethed observing Guardians hurling icy walls around the Crucible like kids playing snowball fight, seethed when she overheard people throwing stones at Zavala for his so-called cowardice and close-mindedness. She had to take a break from work to go to the gym and punch some stuff after spotting the Drifter in the Tower for the first time since his return from Europa; he had flashed her the most shameless grin and she was within an inch of knocking all his teeth out.
She used to revere Eris Morn. Both for her knowledge and bravery, as well as out of compassion for what she had been through. But the further she pushed the line between Light and Darkness, the more doubts popped up in Aunor’s head. She knew Eris was strong; balancing on the edge of the sword, tapping her fingers in Hive magic to rip them right into the Hive’s heart, she had touched the evil and tamed it long before Aunor even came to be. But not everyone was Eris Morn. Each day brought another Guardian who had dared too close, coming back dark-eyed and wild, their Ghost shuddering or weeping or, worse, corrupted as they were. Apocalyptic thoughts plagued Aunor as she sat by hospital beds, watching them bleed out the corruption through eyes and mouth, some screaming in horror as nightmares were twisting their brain. Each day was another record in the notebook, another Guardian gone dark or missing, another team sent out to keep an eye on Crucible matches or track the spoor of corruption leading out into the wild.
It was a beautiful morning, the sun hanging low over the horizon and shining through the skeletal branches of trees shedding their last leaves. The woods were within half an hour’s walk from the City walls, and Aunor enjoyed the autumn breeze on her face chasing away the frown she had been unknowingly wearing. She made her way to a clearing, now almost indistinguishable amongst the barren trees hadn’t it been for the hunched figure of Shin Malphur. Sunlight reflected off his helmet, making him seem strangely radiant even without the flames of his Golden Gun. She stopped a few meters away, and acknowledged him with a nod.
“Someone’s coming home.”
“The City has never been my home.” He took the helmet off and ran a hand through the auburn mess that was his hair, not smoothing them down in the slightest. Aunor had not seen him for only a few months, but it seemed during this time he’d grown even frailer. Sunken cheeks and circles under the eyes, cape tattered at the edges and stitched clumsily around the shoulder blades, lips dry and chapped; he was shaved clean, though, a detail clashing with his haggard appearance like diamonds with a tracksuit.
“Sightseeing, then?” She put her arms on her hips.
“Lately the Crucible is a sight to behold.” Malphur was examining one of his gloves; eventually he squinted, took out a knife and snipped a loose thread. “I heard you’re running out of bed space.”
Aunor scoffed, “Are you here to free some of it?”
“If it’s necessary.”
Malphur was still looking at his gloves with feigned interest, and she stretched the silence long enough for him to finally turn his eyes to her.
“I’m not gonna pretend I could outrun you. But if your final goal has not changed, then it aligns with ours.” She nodded slightly as if to stress the words. “I propose… cooperation.”
Malphur shoot an eyebrow up but held her gaze.
“Meaning?”
“No one can chase the Dark so well without falling themself. And we need eyes in the wild. You’ll be free to hunt the corrupted as long as you spare the Ghosts, and we will make sure these Guardians can’t endanger anyone. Including themselves.”
“You’re sticking to ineffective methods.”
Aunor clenched her fists, lighting fizzling on the tips of her fingers.
“Sometimes I wonder if you’re simply killing for the fun of it.”
He glared at her, weary eyes behind the unruly mass of hair.
“What makes you think you can save them?”
“We already are.” She stared into these weary eyes boldly, her voice sharp. “We both know the situation is getting out of control. The enemy is infecting our ranks and soon will tear us apart from the inside. You’ll never hunt them all down alone, and we’re not gonna make it any easier for you. If you’re true to your cause… we need each other’s help.”
Malphur’s lips quirked ever so slightly, “Is the Praxic Order compromising?”
Aunor crossed her arms, shooing away the sudden thought of compromising his face. “The rules haven’t changed.”
“The rules mean nothing in a lawless world.”
“Oddly, you sound like the Drifter.”
She revelled in the grimace that twisted Malphur’s features at the words. “Hire him to hunt down problematic cases if you’re so keen on extending your contact list,” he sneered, sheathing the knife still in his hand. Sunlight flickered on the blade. “Come to think of it, when he was herding them into a neat little paddock, I recall you tried to take him out.”
“If all you’ve got are condescending remarks, I’m going back to the City. I’ve wasted enough time.”
“Not that much in need of eyes in the wild now?” He called after her when she started to turn away.
“What a jerk,” Bahaghari murmured in the comms, and Aunor held back a smirk. Oh, he was. But try as he might, in his stupid, douchy core he was still a Hunter; and by the rules of Darwinian evolution, the one trait all Hunters shared was their wild hatred of being ignored.
She walked away, leaving Malphur alone in the clearing just as a stray leaf landed atop the bulk of his stupid hair, then plopped to the ground.
*
Ten hours later a letter was already sitting on her desk, neatly folded in four and unsigned. Aunor supposed physical messages were much harder to track, but she would gladly appreciate them typed rather than scrawled in inscrutable handwriting.
“Fine, have it your way. Disastrous effects are bound to surface after a month, but have it your way. 7000 Glimmer a head.”
Well, can’t have everything, she thought, blessing the eternal vulnerability of a Hunter’s pride, and folded the note.
