Fifty Blackbirds
A/N: Welcome, one and all, to me shipping my Blackbird (CardinxMelanie) pairing! The various AUs and genres present here lead me to give you the obligatory 'possibly non-canon to the Reactsverse' warning. Some things here will be canon to the Reactsverse, some won't be, and obviously none of this canon to RWBY as, sadly, Cardin and Melanie have yet to meet in canon and Cardin is still a douche. :|
Be warned for crossovers and stuff. Without further ado, if you haven't left already, have fun reading this crappy drabble of mine!
DISCLAIMER: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, otherwise MelaniexCardin would be canon.
All mentioned franchises and characters belong to their respective owners.
1. Soft
The toys Cardin made for her were always so soft- he made sure that he saved the best material and took painstaking effort to make one, all for her.
2. Pale
She was always so pale and frail-looking; she was a Huntress whose job took her everywhere, yet she had skin as white as snow- and now she looked much like the sheets of that bed she was lying in- and had been lying in for months on end.
3. Discover
They went everywhere together and discovered everything together- the cave behind Cardin's house, the old games in Melanie's basement, everything- and now they were about to discover the next stage in their lives- Beacon, and the life of a Hunter.
4. Brave
Cardin was brave, for daring to love the Lady Melanie when none did; she was brave, for falling in love with a mere Faunus.
5. Hold
He held her hand when they first kissed, he held her hand when they got married, he held her hand when their child was born- and now he held her hand, at her side, when it was her time to go.
6. Shadow
Cardin clenched his fist and stared down the golden-eyed mockery of an imitation that called itself Melanie; no matter how much it said that it and Melanie were one and the same, he didn't care- nobody, NOBODY hurt her.
7. Chain
He kept her in binds to make sure she never left him; a caged bird, only to sing to its owner and never to bring its melody to anyone- yet he couldn't understand why her songs of late sounded so mournful.
8. Rose
Her favourite flowers- she and Ruby shared that in common- and Cardin thought that they fit her; a beautiful, elegant girl, with sharp, piercing thorns that always caught you by surprise.
9. Eternity
Cradling him in her hands, Melanie promised she'd never leave Cardin behind, ever again- she promised to be at his side, to be with him, to spend eternity with him.
10. Contrast
She was small and lithe, he was large and bulky; she was elegant, he was clumsy; she was kind and soft spoken, he was brash and rude- but Cardin could never understand why Melanie loved him.
11. Protect
Cardin was always the one who promised to protect her from the bullies, from the Grimm, from the White Fang- but now, it was her turn, she reflected, as she stood between his unconscious form and Cinder.
12. Betray
She was risking everything; her job, her standing, her life- to do this, and she hoped that he was truly worth double-crossing Ozpin.
13. Anguish
"Goddammit, Melanie, listen to me- there isn't one person who can replace you in my heart, not one girl who can make me turn my head like you, and not one person, anywhere, who I care about more than anyone, so don't leave me like this!"
14. Overcome
No obstacle was too hard for them to plow through; whether it was a Deathstalker, the White Fang, Melanie's parents, the pair thought, and even with the dead piling up around them, Cinder was only one more block to remove, one more obstacle to overcome.
15. Blessing
She had taken him out of the dark place he was in- the place he'd been left in after what he was pressured to do- and so it was only right, in his opinion, that he called her a blessing.
16. Understand
He didn't, he truly couldn't understand why she wanted him so much; there was nothing on Remnant she could do to make him change his ways- he would always be that bully Cardin, he had no time to care...and yet why his heart fluttering at her very sight?
17. Bliss
They lay in bed, giggling happily at each other; they had spent the last hour or so connected together in unimaginable bliss, and even now, it didn't wear off.
18. Denial
"He isn't dead," Melanie murmured, clutching his lifeless body to her chest dearly. "He CAN'T be dead! He promised me he'd come back!"
19. Servant
Melanie watched the tall, muscular, armored boy with fascination, his form illuminated by the streaming moonlight, and watched him utter 'I must ask of you; are you my Master?'
20. Serenade
He was fairly good with guitars, surprisingly, despite his big, clumsy looking fingers, and he put that to use when he'd snuck past guards- human, robotic and canine- to sing to her at her balcony- she said yes.
21. Scent
His blood smelt sweet to her- so sweet and so alluring- as Melanie stared hungrily at the unwary boy in front of her; and yet...and yet she couldn't- no, wouldn't, drain him. Why?
22. Terror
"What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare, Cardin?" "I dreamt...I dreamt that something...that somebody took you away- but I swear, I'm not letting that happen, dammit, I swear!"
23. Sunset
He watched her hair flutter behind her in the wind as they stood on the roof of their building; it seemed to catch the light just right to make it shimmer and gleam like fine, polished metal
24. Kiss
"...Cardin, you suck at kissing." "Hey, it's my first time, cut me some slack, alright?" "Doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, don't worry..."
25. Instinct
"Like breathing, blinking and flinching, it was just plain instinct for him to jump in front of that spear headed for Melanie- even as it thrust through him, he regretted nothing.
26. Reflection
Melanie was as fragile as the glass it stared at her from- one simple push and she broke, and now Cardin had to pick up the pieces.
27. Dice
"Dammit. You're too damn good at this, Mel." "Luck of the dice, Cardin. Now, pass me Vale Shopping Center, I think I owe you sixteen hundred Lien."
28. Grace
She spun across the stage, shimmering in the bright light of the stage, dressed in a simple blue dress- and yet to Cardin, no other girl could catch his eye like her.
29. Old
They sat outside their farmhouse, their Hunting days long behind them, and watched their children and grandchildren picnic on the sun-baked ground, holding each other's hands lovingly.
30. Lucky
Cardin reflected, one night, while he had Melanie asleep on his shoulder, that there were two empty seats in the cafeteria that fateful day, one next to Jaune- was it coincidence that Melanie sat next to him, and could this all never have happened had she chosen elsewhere to sit?
31. Pleasure
At first it was awkward, doing such indecent things in the weirdest places; the backseat of a car, behind the door of the girl's restroom, the infirmary- but he was up for it if she enjoyed it as much as she did.
32. Song
His voice was utterly beautiful- Melanie couldn't understand what made it so, but his voice was enthralling, so much so that she spent hours listening to his albums, leaving her sister to wonder what was so fascinating about Cardie's Best Hits from fifty years ago.
33. Gift
A word that meant poison in so many languages, Melanie recounted, as she clutched his last such gift to her; a half-finished doll of her, with unfinished stitching resembling tears.
34. Forget
"I'm sorry, who are you again?" "Cardin..." Melanie pleaded tearfully. "Don't you remember me? I'm Melanie...Melanie Malachite...you loved me..."
35. Ambush
Cardin quivered under the tower, his vitality low, watching Weiss advance upon him to finish him off- and yet suddenly there was no Weiss and only a mechanical floating ball, belonging only to that robotic maiden, Melanie, who gave him what he could only imagine to be a smile.
36. Back
"I got yours, if you got mine, Melanie." "Let's do this, Cardin. Nora, bring on the pancakes."
37. Knife
It tore through her very heart, the rejection- it truly hurt, Melanie reflected, sobbing her eyes out in the comforting embrace of Miltiades, it hurt like a knife to the heart.
38. Fist
"Get away from her, you pervert! Get fuckin' bent!" And thus were Cardin's clenched fists forever known as the most lethal weapons known to Huntresses and Huntsmen everywhere- to everyone but Melanie, at least.
39. Food
Melanie could never cook-they always came out resembling, and sometimes moving like, monsters from bad horror films- but Cardin's cooking was like having a gourmet chef at her beck and call; and she loved every minute of it.
40. Schadenfreude
"You're so mean, Cardin..." "I can't help it! You look adorable when you fall over like that!"
41. Frontier
Cardin and Melanie lay back in their rugged spacecraft, patting yet another successfully stolen shipment of Dust- for every trader that was smart enough to bring a convoy, there were ten idiots flying off-routes to find shortcuts, shortcuts that the couple were only happy to exploit.
42. Answer
With a simple 'Yes', the world changed for Melanie- she had sworn herself to the man she loved, and she regretted it not.
43. Rewind
Every day, he relived the moment he lost her in his head- in his idle daydreams, in his fitful sleep, in his troubled mind- and always he wished for a chance to change it all, to go back, to rewind.
44. Hug
When Cardin came to the dorm, beaten to a pulp, Melanie knew what needed to be done, and did so comfortingly, letting him cry into her shoulder, as he had done for her so many times.
45. Key
"I want to see him!" Melanie pleaded, trying to wrench the key out of Yang's hands. "I just want to see him again..."
46. Star
Miltiades loved using metaphors to compare her friends to, and so she imagined Cardin to be the night- dark, brooding and troubled, and Melanie to be his star; a calming, bright light, illuminating the darkness.
47. Fool
Melanie crushed the phone under her boot, sobbing- forced into an arranged marriage with that Arc boy- who was utterly deluded that she loved him, forced to give herself away, unable to give herself to the man she wanted.
48. Blackbird
"Why do you like blackbirds so much, Cardin?" "They're her favourite animal, Ruby, and I'm trying to knit her a plushie of one- y'know, for her birthday, and n-not because I like her, o-or anything!"
49. Knight
Some girls wanted a knight in shining armor; a charming, handsome man who would sweep them off their feet and into a fairy tale romance, but Melanie liked her rough, brash, rugged Cardin just fine.
50. End
They thought that leaving Beacon was the end of their relationship- but as they lay in bed, barely ten hours after rekindling their relationship at the reunion, they decided that 'end' was just another word for 'beginning'.
END
A/N: Well, hope you enjoyed that crappy drabble, leave your reviews, comments, ideas, thoughts and suggestions and I hope you have a great day!