#swrite

pairing: spike spiegel/faye valentine

word count: 7.3k

rating: m (graphic depictions of violence)

tags: canon universe, canon-typical violence, action, light angst, angst with a happy ending, bets & wagers, car chases, banter

notes: completed for @bebopcrew's birthday celebration 2026. this is me fulfilling my own wish of having more episodes of just spike & faye doing jobs together.

summary: another mysterious delivery comes in for faye. this time it's a record player. listening to it on a constant loop around the bebop while pondering how it connects to her past begins to drive spike up the wall. they settle it the only way they know how: with a bounty hunt and a bet.

“first the betamax tape, now this?”

“stop complaining. at least i was here to sign for it this time.”

jet sighed. “one of these days it’s gonna be a bomb.”

judging by the package that sat on the table between them, today just might be the day. there was something menacing about the rectangular, leather case inside the cardboard box. its stark black color stood out against the sea of white packing peanuts. digging a little deeper, faye found that it had a single handle and each corner was reinforced with metal. she reached for the clasp to open it up, but jet caught her by the wrist.

“whoa, let me get out of the blast zone if you’re gonna do that.”

faye rolled her eyes. before jet could say anything else, she snatched her wrist away. grabbing the cardboard box, faye headed to her room. once the door slid shut behind her, she set the package gently on top of her unmade bed.

faye stood there for a moment, hands on her hips, staring down at the case. every fiber of her being was willing her to open it. the betamax tape had been her first glimpse into the past. surely this was the same. faye lifted the case out, placing it in front of her as she sat cross-legged on the floor. as she pressed her fingers to the clasp, she felt her resolve waver.

it was that feeling she got whenever she watched the betamax tape that held her back. the disconnect. despite knowing she was watching herself, faye couldn’t remember any of it. it was like watching a stranger, but that stranger had her face. so many nights were spent staring at the tv screen, waiting for something to click. it wasn’t until she felt the prickle at the corners of her eyes that she turned it off. she’d lie down and try to sleep, only to see a different frame of the betamax tape seared into the back of her eyelids.

faye wasn’t sure how much more of that she could take.

there was a quiet click.

ed was sitting beside her. faye hadn’t even heard her come in, but there were bigger things to worry about. one of those things was the fact that the case was now open.

pairing; vex/rafa

word count; 3.7k

rating; m

tags; canon universe, canon-typical violence, romance, action, rivalry, car chases, alcohol, drunk kisses

notes; i really really wanted to try writing a chase scene & i couldn't think of a more perfect pairing to try it with

summary; the crimson resistance's morale is in the gutter. as the new bosses of the pit, vex and rafa are asked to trade vault hunting for party hosting in hopes of lifting some spirits. but when the rippers steal their alcohol supply, vex and rafa find out that the two roles aren't so different.

“come again?”

“we need your help to throw a rager,” tipsy olivia repeated.

vex and rafa exchanged a confused look. while helping out in terminus range, the vault hunters decided it was best to divide and conquer. harlowe and amon stayed at belton’s bore to assist defiant calder and the augers, while vex and rafa responded to a call from the pit. they weren’t sure what to expect, but it definitely wasn’t to party.

“i’m sure i like to party as much as the next person, but now really doesn’t seem like the time, no?” rafa asked.

vex was inclined to agree. they were still picking up the pieces after discovering vile lictor had been using eridium to experiment on everything ranging from rippers to the native wildlife. there were more pressing matters to attend to.

“that’s exactly why we need to party,” tipsy olivia sighed. “i probably don’t need to tell you this, but morale has been down. like, really down.”

she was right, they didn’t need to be told. as soon as they entered the dance club, they were hit in the face with stagnant air. members of the crimson resistance were slumped over on the bar or splayed out on the various couches. the dancers moved halfheartedly to faint music. even the bouncers were practically asleep standing up. the whole place looked like what depression felt like.

“terminus range isn’t a stranger to dark times. when it got really bad, the boss would throw these crazy parties. booze. music. a kickass lightshow. all of it just to distract everyone for a night. well, usually it was more than one night since the hangovers were killer,” tipsy olivia chuckled as she reminisced. “as the new bosses, i thought you could continue the tradition.”

it was hard to argue with that. since being recruited to the crimson resistance, the vault hunters had made it their mission to empower the people of kairos and give them a reason to fight. if a rager helped fulfill that mission, then a rager they would get.

pairing; yumi ishiyama/ulrich stern

word count; 6.3k

rating; g

tags; canon universe, school dances, romance, friendship

notes; if you saw this took me two years to update, no you didn't (i'm so sorry)

summary; kadic academy is preparing for the next school dance and yumi and ulrich are selected as unwilling committee members tasked with making it happen. while this makes sneaking out to the factory even more of a headache than it usually is, yumi finds herself growing closer to ulrich throughout the many afternoons spent together planning and decorating. yumi is careful not to ruin the "just friends" relationship they've got going, but xana's latest attack throws all of her hard work out the window.

today was her last chance.

yumi sat on the bench outside of the dorms while she waited for her friends to come down. she was a few minutes earlier than usual. it wasn’t because she got a good night’s sleep and woke up ready to take on the day. really, it was the opposite. she didn’t fall asleep until well past midnight and she was wide awake again before the sun even peeked over the horizon. when staring at the ceiling in complete silence became unbearable, yumi rolled out of bed and started getting ready.

that’s when she knew it was official: this dance was driving her crazy.

pairing; vex/rafa

word count; 3.2k

rating; t

tags; canon universe, canon-typical violence, romance, action, teasing, flirting

notes; been playing borderlands 4 with my bf (i've been playing rafa, he's been playing vex) & thought these two would be cute together

summary; vex can't help but feel like she's being watched. she's considered a variety of explanations: a) the mounting stress of staying one step ahead of the order and holding a very fragile crimson resistance together, b) the timekeeper trying to get the upper hand through her bolt, c) a strange side effect of her siren powers. she's surprised to learn that the answer is d) none of the above.

vex had a feeling she was being watched.

she knew by the chill that ran down her spine, the prickling of her skin. these weren’t unfamiliar sensations. it came with the territory, that is, the territory of being a siren with powers that summoned a variety of spectral familiars.

but this was different.

this feeling was unpredictable. she’d be lazing around with trouble or sorting through her arsenal of weapons when suddenly she felt it. she’d spin around, her phase daggers at the ready. but all that would be there were the rest of the vault hunters, flinching in surprise.

“woah!” harlowe exclaimed, fumbling with the grenade she had been tinkering with before securing it with both hands. “girl, you need to chill with the jump scares. it was funny the first time. it’s a lot less funny when there’s the possibility of us getting blown to smithereens.”

vex sighed, her daggers dissipating into purple smoke. “sorry…i’ve just been, uh, on edge recently.”

pairing; momo ayase/ken "okarun" takakura

word count; 10.7k

rating; t

tags; canon universe, romance, mystery, memory loss, angst, pov alternating, canon-typical violence

notes; chapters 1 to 5 of this fic were published before chapter 210 of the dandadan manga was released. this fic has no relation to the events of the manga. it's just a wild coincidence.

summary; when momo wakes up with a few of her memories missing, she doesn't think it's a big deal. however, as the day goes on, it becomes clear that she's forgetting something very important. she begins to retrace her steps with the help of her classmate who claims to know what happened. it isn't until they're in the middle of hunting down a dangerous cryptid that momo begins to realize that her classmate knows a lot more than he's letting on.

“when i tell you the plan, you follow it.”

“i couldn’t let you–”

“bullshit! i do the thinking, you do the listening. that’s what’s kept us alive so far. don’t switch it up on me now.”

“you call that ‘thinking’? can’t you get it through that thick skull of yours that you almost died tonight? what more does it take? more injuries? more blood? you go rushing into every fight like you’re invincible. the moment you realize you’re not, it’ll be too late. i’m there to make sure that doesn’t happen. sometimes running is our only option!”

“running is all you're good at. that’s why you’re so weak.”

momo opened her eyes. the voices were still echoing in her head as she sat up. the morning light leaked in through the slit of her curtains. she grabbed the clock off her headboard. awake before her alarm went off? now that was a miracle.

as momo got dressed for school, she caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror. there was a bandage on her cheek, and she had no idea how it got there. she peeled it up a bit, wincing at the sharp pain as the adhesive tugged at her skin, and revealed a fresh cut. she realized she must’ve given it to herself while she was sleeping. she knew she moved a lot in her sleep, often waking up in wild positions in different parts of the bed. sometimes even on the floor. it wouldn’t be the first time she injured herself. she must’ve applied the bandage half asleep in the middle of the night.

while she reapplied a new bandage, her mind drifted back to the dream. despite only being awake for a few minutes, she had already forgotten the words. all she remembered was the tone of the voices. angry, afraid…hurt? for a moment, momo wondered if it was some kind of premonition. after a few seconds, she shrugged. she’d leave any dream divinations to her grandma.

pairing; ladybug/cat noir, marinette dupain-cheng/adrien agreste

word count; 10.2k

rating; g

tags; canon universe, fortune telling, tarot, angst, hurt/comfort, pov alternating

notes; got a tarot deck for my bday a while back and fell down a rabbit hole learning how to do readings. my advice is to never learn how so ur friends and family don’t harass u every time they see u but that’s just me.

summary; françoise dupont middle school is abuzz with excitement when juleka starts reading her classmates' fortunes with almost scary accuracy. after a week of bad luck, marinette is hoping that the future has something good in store for her, especially if it has to do with adrien. what she gets instead is a reading that reveals a little too much.

“she’s alive!”

marinette swatted away alya’s playful poking. “yeah, yeah, just barely.”

it’d been a rough few days for marinette to put it lightly. she came down with a fever on monday and missed school. unfortunately for her, hawk moth didn’t do sick days. with cat noir out of town, she had no choice but to haul herself out of bed every time an akumatized villain appeared. the constant back-and-forth ended up doubling her recovery time. before she knew it, it was monday again and she was a week behind on homework and class rep duties.

the school courtyard was completely packed. excited whispers filled the air as marinette tried to weave her way between groups of students. she was only able to catch her breath once she made it into the safety of the locker room.

“what in the world is going on?”

“have you checked your texts?” alya asked.

she had a vague memory of checking her phone and being overwhelmed by the hundred or so unread messages. she’d add that to the ever-growing list of things she needed to catch up on. “uh, i was about to, but then–”

“save it,” alya rolled her eyes. “the short version of it is juleka’s been reading everyone’s fortunes with the tarot deck rose got her for her birthday. and they’ve been accurate. like, scary accurate.”

pairing; cat noir/ladybug, adrien agreste/marinette dupain-cheng

word count; 5.1k

rating; t

tags; canon universe, alternate universe, time travel, implied/referenced character death

notes; saw that shadybug & claw noir is gonna be about alternate universes and wanted to have some fun with it.

summary; cat noir is getting nowhere with ladybug romantically and doesn't know what to do next. his soul-searching is interrupted when his future self drops in needing help returning to his time. cat noir is happy to help, especially if that means getting a peek at how his and ladybug's relationship turns out. the only problem is that his future self isn't who he says he is.

“another purrfect job, m’lady. pound it!”

cat noir waited for the familiar brush of ladybug’s knuckles against his, but it never came. he looked over to see her leaning against a nearby railing. instead of taking in the dazzling city lights that illuminated the streets below, she seemed distracted.

“are you alright?”

ladybug jumped, spinning to face him a bit too quickly. “oh, yes, i’m alright. it’s just been a long day.”

“c’mon, bugaboo. you know this cat’s got sharper eyes than that,” he said, moving to stand beside her. “what’s on your mind? you can tell me anything.”

pushing like this always resulted in cat noir getting scolded. ‘keeping their identities secret’ and all that. but he couldn’t help himself. if there was even the smallest chance of getting a glimpse of who was under that spotted mask, he’d take it every single time.

to his surprise, he wasn’t immediately shut down. silence hung between them as ladybug wrung her hands. eventually, she spoke.

“when i’m ladybug, i feel like i can see everything clearly. i have a mission. i have a plan for my lucky charm. i have you. because of that, i can be confident, brave. i wish that translated to my everyday life.”

cat noir was too busy processing the fact that ladybug had willingly shared information about her secret identity to register what she was saying. once the realization set in, it hit him like a sucker punch.

“this is about the guy you like, isn’t it?”

pairing; ladybug/cat noir, marinette dupain-cheng/adrien agreste

word count; 3.5k

rating; g

tags; canon universe, fluff, language of flowers

notes; helped a friend pick out flowers for her wedding and this idea popped into my head.

summary; marinette is paired up with adrien on career day which lands them in the local flower shop. while it should be the perfect setup for a confession, everything just seems to go wrong. there must be a way to tell him how she feels without relying on words, right? cue the bouquets and a quick lesson in the language of flowers.

“c’mon, marinette, you’ve got this.”

she’d been repeating the same self-affirmation to herself all morning. while she got ready, throughout breakfast, and even now as she walked to the flower shop.

when ms. bustier announced career day, marinette couldn’t help the way her gaze wandered over to adrien in the row in front of her. there was a one-in-fourteen chance that they’d get paired up together. it’d be the perfect opportunity to get to know each other. not that she didn’t already know him–the journals full of his personal information and daily schedules stashed in her room were proof of that–but it’d be a chance for her to prove she was more than just the class rep and resident klutz.