If you think I have reached peak polyamorous dumbassery with Keg/Calianna/Reani/Calliope you thought wrong, because my brain has arrived at the wonderful possibilities of Caduceus being surrounded by paladins, aka Eodwulf/Caduceus/Fjord/Darrow.
Have some sketches. I hope Darrow and Fjord eventually go on that corndog date.
[ID: digital sketches of Essek, Fjord, and Darrow from Critical Role. Bust of Essek is the first image. The second image has Fjord and Darrow looking like they're talking and both have arms crossed.]
,,,, i just really like the idea that Darrow keeps showing up and doing shit with Fjord like ‘hey we could go get corndogs’ and ‘oh yeah ill come to the spa with you’ but it goes on for like 50 episodes and one day Darrow introduces Fjord to someone as his boyfriend and Fjord is just like ?????? whAT
and the rest of the squad is like,,,, dude you’ve been dating for like a year
Darrow asking fjord out and casually talking about spending most of his time on the menagerie coast why is Matt throwing this ship in my face I already have so many ships Matthew
Hey I saw from your beaujes ao3 fic (which was incredible I already left a comment there but) that you're taking requests and uhhhh I have one: ANYTHING darrow x fjord literally anything. Beaujes is welcome as well. Maybe comphet discovery like the beaujes fic? That would be nice. Just anything fjarrow and fluffy and no content warnings and a happy ending haha
“Hey, mind if I get you a coffee?”
Fjord blinks at Darrow’s proffered hand. “Uh.”
When Darrow smiles, it’s wide and bright, his eyes sparkling in the midmorning sun, glinting off of his shiny armor. It’s almost a little blinding, to be honest, and Fjord has to squint a little to see past the glare.
“Hm… You know -“ Beau elbows him. Fjord whips around to see her raising her eyebrows very pointedly as if to say do it. Behind her, Jester and Nott nod enthusiastically along with matching smiles, while Yasha very unsubtly slides a gold coin over the table.
What? He mouths to her.
Beau points at Darrow. Then sighs at Fjord confused look and points again, gesturing from Fjord to Darrow and back, like that’ll help clear up any confusion.
It doesn’t really, but if they want Fjord to hang out with him there’s no real reason to not go. So, why not?
“Sure,” Fjord replies, side-eyeing Beau for a second more before turning back to Darrow, who’s grinning even wider now, all shiny teeth and bright eyes. Fjord grins back, albeit a little more hesitant as he places his hand in Darrow’s outstretched palm.
With a gentle but strong tug, Darrow pulls Fjord up to standing. “Perfect! I know just the place.”
“Lead the way,” Fjord says, ignoring the snickering of his friends behind him as his ears suddenly warm.
Darrow’s eyes are sparkling as he pulls Fjord through the door of the bakery and out into the open street, their hands still palm to palm, even when Darrow stops pulling and just starts ambling along the road. His hand is warm, the weight of it easing something in Fjord that he can’t quite explain. Probably just the sun feeling so nice on his skin after a while spent in the sun-less Xhorhas. Or maybe it’s a paladin thing. Maybe. Probably.
“How’ve you been, Fjord? Haven’t seen you much since the fight down in Rexxentrum - what brings you to the coast?” Darrow swings their hands lightly between them.
Fjord runs a hand through his hair, averts his gaze from Darrow’s intense eyes. “Oh, you know. Been great, actually, adventuring with my friends and slaying monsters and all that.” When he looks back, Darrow is still staring at him, which is kind of a lot to take in and a bit confusing, if Fjord’s being perfectly honest. He clears his throat. “I’m actually from the coast. Port Damali. We wanted to come back to Nicodranis though, for a little vacation. It gets tiring after a while - we wanted to see something beautiful for once, you know?”
“I do know.” Darrow smiles, and there’s a certain lilt to his mouth as he regards Fjord with a heavy gaze. Briefly, Fjord wonders if all paladins are like this, or if it’s just Darrow. Maybe he should try being more intense like him? “Ah, we’re here.”
‘Here’ is a large wooden building, a small little boutique on the wharf that’s a little worn with age. There’s two large windows that take up practically the whole front of the shop, and flowers grow brightly from the windowsill. It’s a nice place, probably somewhere Cad or Yasha would go, just because of the aesthetic.
Darrow lets go of Fjord’s hand to hold open the door, and Fjord doesn’t examine why his hand feels so empty afterwards. “After you.”
How is his smile so charming? Is that a paladin thing too? “Thanks.”
The inside of the shop is just as quaint and flowery as the outside. Streaming rays of sunlight hit beautiful potted plants sitting on the tables and countertops, which are all a nice birch wood and treated with some sort of shiny blue wax. It’s a nice place - aromatic too, with coffee and light menagerie coast specialty spices in the air. It reminds Fjord a lot of the little places by the beach in Port Damali, the ones he’d go to when they were docked after weeks on the open sea.
A man with long red hair peeks up from under the bar counter, his face lighting up with a grin as soon as he sees Darrow walking in.
“Hey, long time no see!”
Darrow spreads his arms wide, his ever-present grin glowing as he hugs the man from across the long countertop. “Fenriel! It’s been awhile man, how’s everything going?”
“Pretty good, pretty good! Been missing my favorite customer, though.” The man, Fenriel, begins to make a drink, pouring liquids and syrups into a decently sized mug - even though neither of them gave their order yet. “Hey, who’s your friend?”
“This is Fjord.” Darrow turns, and his wide grin softens a bit around the edges. Fjord tries to mimic it.
“Hello. Nice to meet you.”
Fenriel takes one good long look at Fjord, not bothering to hide the way his eyes sweep up and down his body. He turns to Darrow with a smirk. “Handsome.” Then, almost like it never happened, he turns back to Fjord and sticks his hand out. “Nice to meet you Fjord. I’m Fenriel, keeper of the Coffeebean Corner.”
Reaching over the counter to shake Fenriel’s hand, Fjord glances over at Darrow to find his cheeks somewhat red and splotchy. Before he can ask why, Fenriel breaks their handshake to sweep both arms over the countertop grandly.
“Welcome to Coffebean Corner!” He smiles, rapping his knuckles against the grain of the wooden countertop. “What can I get ya?”
“Uh.” Fjord looks to Darrow, who nods encouragingly. “You know what? Surprise me.”
A cheshire cat grin crawls across Fenriel’s face. “That’s what we like to hear. You two can take a table and I’ll bring it over.”
“Thank you. How much -“
Darrow places his hand over Fjord’s, stopping him from reaching into his bag. Fjord looks up and Darrow is smiling kindly at him, eyes still sparkling in that weird charming way of his. “I got it.” With his other hand, Darrow reaches into his pocket and takes out two silver and slides them over the countertop.
Fenriel’s eyes have a glint in them that Fjord can’t parse out, but he takes the coin with a smile and waves over to a table near the window.
Still holding Fjord’s hand, Darrow leads them to the white and blue wood table. He drops Fjord’s hand to pull out their chairs with a flourish and a kind smile. Seriously, is this a paladin thing? The kind smile and nice eyes and handsome face and chivalrous attitude? Fjord should ask sometime. Maybe later, after the blush is down from his cheeks. If it’s a paladin thing, then Darrow’s seriously mastered the art of it.
Fjord clears his throat, rubs the back of his neck to avoid looking at Darrow straight in the eye across the table. “So. This is your favorite coffee place?”
“Mhm. Only place I know that sells Spiced Ginger Coffee.”
“… Spiced Ginger Coffee.”
“Trust me,” Darrow says, smiling at Fjord’s dubious expression. Fenriel walks over then, carrying two large mugs - including the mug he filled earlier when they were talking at the bar.
“Your usual and today’s special for Fjord.” With a wink, Fenriel slides a coffee and a plate full of steaming something in front of Fjord. “Enjoy.”
“Thanks.” Fjord squints down at the plate, which is a cookie shaped like a heart. “I didn’t order this…?”
“On the house.” Taking one long last look at Darrow, Fenriel steps away, back behind the counter to leave the two of them alone with their food and drinks.
The drink in his mug is steaming, and the liquid inside is a pale cream. It’s topped with what looks like shredded nutmeg and… cinnamon? Some other spice that smells nutty and cozy. Very Nicodranis. Fjord takes a cautious sip. Then instantly takes another.
“Good?” Darrow laughs a bit at Fjord’s enthusiasm.
A thumbs up in response as Fjord swallows another big gulp. “Amazing.”
“Wanna try mine?”
Fjord eyes his mug - it certainly looks like a light coffee, but the smell of spices is so present that it’s nearly overpowering. “Hm.” He looks up at Darrow, whose eyes are so soft and open in the sun. “Ah, sure.”
Their fingers brush lightly as Darrow passes his mug over, and Fjord coughs away the blush that rises high on his cheeks. It’s probably just a side effect of the whole paladin thing that he really should ask Darrow about. With one last dubious glance at the drink, Fjord takes a sip.
“What do you think?”
It’s surprisingly rich, creamy, and light all at the same time. The ginger is present enough to taste but not overpowering the drink - it’s honestly amazing. Maybe even better than the other drink. Fjord blinks. “Best drink I’ve ever had.”
“Next time we come here, we can both buy.” Darrow’s smile is nearly as blinding as the sun streaming in through the window. Fjord stares at it, wonders why gold looks so good on him, the soft colors painting his strong jaw so nicely. It’s a warm feeling coming through his chest as he looks at Darrow, who’s still waiting for some sort of response -
Wait.
“Next time?”
Darrow blushes, a beautiful red on his handsome face. “I mean, if you’d like to go on another date.” He rubs at the back of his neck and glances away.
Oh.
Not a paladin thing.
Just a Darrow thing. Which, surprisingly, makes it better. Or maybe not surprisingly. Because Darrow’s handsome, kind, and very charming, and Fjord’s hand is still tingling from where Darrow pressed his palm to it. Warmth fills Fjord’s chest tenfold as he fondly looks at Darrow’s bashful face, who’s looking at the floor.
Fjord smiles and places his hand over Darrow’s, fingers gently intertwining. “I’d like that very much.”
~~~
☕️ also on AO3! kofi link in bio and prompts are open ☕️
