I had the pleasure to collab with my dear friend Mari for this week. Mari, thank you for your endless patience and for the amazing art that inspired each of these drabbles, and all the dumb stuff we did on google docs trying to figure out where the story was going

You can find the picture for these drabbles on mahreemari's tumblr!

i. lazy sunday

Things are different when Murdoc isn't around and Ace is here to replace him. For instance, there are less disagreements and fights, and for the first time in forever they all agreed to spend a few days away in a camping site. Well, it's not really camping. It's more like a small cabin far enough from the city that the sky is clearer and dotted with stars, with electricity and signal for phone calls because their lawyer calls them on a daily basis to talk about their friend in prison - but it's good. They get a fire going outside and Russel toasts marshmallows as they laugh to a tune Ace is playing.

He isn't so bad to have around after all. Somewhat like Murdoc, but with more limits to his recklessness. He's the first to head inside for the night, to one of the three air mattress set around the living room so Noodle could keep the only room to herself. Russel is the second to go when his bag of marshmallows is half empty, leaving 2D and Noodle outside, sandwiched between two blankets to keep the chill of the night at bay.

They look up at the stars. He finds them pretty and Noodle likes them enough to know stories and facts about them, but not enough to be able to tell constellations apart. Besides, there are so many glowing spots she doesn't even know where to look.

She curls into his side, head on his bicep, one of his arms curled around her frame, keeping her close. They don't talk much, only listen to the sound of crickets and the cracking of the fire, and let the peacefulness wash over them until years worth of accumulated stress melts away from their shoulders, through the wool of the blanket and into the earth below.

"There's this story from back home," she says when prompted by his inquiries. "That says two lovers are separated by a river, only allowed to meet once a year when crows and magpies flock together and form a bridge over this river." Her eyes search the sky, but she's not putting effort into it. "These lovers are actually two stars, Altair and Vega, and the river is the Milky Way."

"That's very sappy."

Noodle rolls her eyes at his complaint, but he can't see it. "It's supposed to be tragic, 2D."

He shrugs, dislodging her head from where it rests on his arms and she pokes his side, a warning. 2D squirms. "I know, but isn't there like… A more interesting story?"

"What? You want some kind of epic, action-packed story involving stars?" She asks dryly. "I can recite a few plots from movies and cartoons."

"You can name them so we can watch later." He grins at her, lips touching her forehead when his head tilts to the side. "Or you can just tell me another story."

Her arm settles on his stomach. He's so warm she wants to curl around him. "Fine. How about some deities from Shinto?" 2D nods. He probably doesn't know what she's talking about, but he's bent on simply listening to her talk. Noodle could read aloud a cake recipe and he would be happy, but luckily for the both of them, she knows a lot more interesting stuff.

So she launches into a story of Izanagi and Izanami, how she died during childbirth and he travelled to the underworld to get her back. He later purified himself upon escaping his dead wife and her ire, and from the cleansing of his sins came the Three Noble Children: the God of the Moon Tsukuyomi, the Goddess of the Sun Amaterasu, and the God of Storms and the Seas Susanoo. Amaterasu used to share the veanes with Tsukuyomi until he killed another goddess. Horrified, she split from him, separating day from night.

Noodle is in the middle of telling him the rivalry between Amaterasu and Susanoo when she catches the pensive look on 2D's face, the furrow of his brow as he stares at no star in particular. She shakes him lightly and looks back down at her, wide eyed. "What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking…" He touches a hand to his chin. "Where have I heard these names before?"

She watches him, waiting, and by the time realization dawns on him, she remembers it as well. Her fingers curl around the fabric of his shirt. "2D, I swear, if you say anything-"

He grins widely. "Isn't it from that anim-"

He jolts, an ugly sound ripping from his lips when her fingers begin dancing against his sides, under his shirt for maximum effect. 2D twists his body until the blankets are in a heap, curls around the grass, stains his clothes green, rolls around until she's the one on the ground, but she's relentless, using her strength and agility to climb over him and attack his ribs until tears gather at the corner of his eyes. Noodle stops when his face is flushed a vibrant red, warm, sits back and lets him fight to catch his breath, a chuckle escaping every few seconds like he can still feel her hands over his ticklish spots.

2D opens his eyes, blinks until he can see clearly, wipes at his damp lashes and huffs one last laugh. He reaches up, plucks leaves away from her hair and tosses them aside, not bothering to watch as they float downwards. She removes a few twigs from his hair, sweeps down low to kiss the tip of his nose, and rises to her feet, hand out for him to take. They should go to bed before Russel and Ace wake up and ask why they were rolling around the grass in the middle of the night.