A/N: What started off as a slight crack pairing idea turned into not just a fully developed crossover, but a rewrite of an older story of mine that I'm a bit sad that I didn't put in as much effort as I could have. The reason I'm including this little prequel is because I want the story to more or less stay in someone's POV that isn't who you'd expect me to follow.
This should be a fun reboot, if nothing else! But don't expect to see this one for a while since I committed to a few other stories first.
Birthday Bash 2022
20th Anniversary!
Prompt 5
Librarian AU
xxXxx
'Firefighter?' Baron mused from his normal place in the Bureau's window long after dark. His body was currently wood so he could rest, but even in 'sleep mode', his thoughts could come and go as they please. 'It might be nice to overcome that fear, and it's not like I'm a stranger to danger.'
If he was currently in the flesh, he would have smirked at that. If not for Haru, he wouldn't have had a chance to prove so since before he managed to make it to the Refuge.
No, he owed it to her to pick a safer occupation. He'd still help if the call came, but so would she without a thought. Actor, perhaps? He certainly had the flair, and he could quote any of Shakespeare's work thanks to the library he had copied into books small enough for him to comfortably peruse.
No, actors attracted too much attention, and the last thing he wanted was for anyone to start poking into a childhood that had never existed, never mind birth certificates or anything else to prove he didn't come out of thin air. He needed something quieter for him to achieve his goal.
Wait. Haru wanted to be a librarian. Helping the Bureau with the upcoming crisis was honing her research skills if nothing else. What if Baron became a librarian, too?
He began dreamily imagining going to college with her, studying together, even getting jobs at the same library. It would be wonderful to read something new, although he appreciated that Haru would always check out extra books for him other than what they were studying together for fun. He loved the idea of watching Haru doing Story Time with the children and organizing little events for them to try new crafts, new ideas. Maybe even roleplaying so that he could still act.
… Would he be able to have children, if his plan worked? He wasn't completely certain that he was sterile now, but the only way to be certain was to literally flirt with death as well as Haru. He wasn't even certain that his plan would work, or if he'd be forced to ask if Haru would mind permanently changing for him instead of a Cat Prince or King. Learning to read cat would be a challenge for her, but she was frankly already on it for Lune and Yuki's sake, as was himself.
His name may have been Baron, and if pressed, he could probably do the work of one if Lune and Yuki agreed to take them on as citizens of their kingdom if it came to that. It wasn't likely that they'd settle for Baron and Haru to only be residents when granting a title could easily make it so that they could spend as much time together as they pleased. Maybe even have their children grow up together.
Haru would make a good mother. He just couldn't stand the idea of her taking that step with anyone else.
He was startled out of his thoughts at the soft creaking of a door in the Refuge, one that had only recently gained an occupant.
He mentally gave a sigh and hoped that his door wasn't the one she was… no. She was definitely coming to see him.
The cat figurine did his best to work through his aggravation before shifting into flesh, creating a brief flash of light in the process. Even as he turned to hop off the windowsill, he could hear his, frankly, unwanted guest scratch at the front door to his home.
'Let's see if she has anything new to say this time,' the Creation thought in resignation as he took the few needed steps and opened the door.
As expected, it was a black dog only a bit bigger than him, sleek like obsidian with a gold collar that featured a scarab beetle and her name in hieroglyphics.
"Hello, Baron," she greeted him with a warm smile while sitting on her haunches since her physique exactly matched that of a dog. Her tail began wagging happily at the sight of him.
He intentionally leaned against the doorframe with a deadpan expression, not granting her access to his home. "Let's hear it."
She blinked in surprise. "What?"
"The only things you have ever wanted to speak to me about are our appointment in a month, or why I need to discontinue my friendship with Haru. Out with it."
She flinched but glared defensively. "This is a legitimate concern since you are so attached to that human! Have you considered that our enemy will make her the first course in his feast if he finds out what she's doing?!"
"If that thing succeeds, Haru and everyone she knows will eventually be one of the courses, we both know that," Baron countered with a glare. "That's one of the reasons she volunteered to help. On top of that, how much success have you had in locating the others?"
"It's not her fight," the dog insisted as she tried to step around him and into his home, but Baron half closed it to deny her entry. "I can find the others, just give me time!"
"That's the problem, Nefertia; we're running out of time. Finding them is only the first part, we'd still have to run and fetch them if they can't get out on their own. Thanks to this time period, Haru has the knowledge of centuries at her fingertips. Even if she hasn't found anything yet, her method is still narrowing down the places we need to look. This is a big world, you know, and just because a Creation is born in a certain continent doesn't mean that it stays there. We are both proof of that," he reminded her while trying to fight back darker memories.
She glared at him tightly, since she was still sore about the reasons she had been carried out of her beloved Egypt. "That doesn't change the fact that you are setting yourself up for heartbreak, Baron. Or have you forgotten that she's mortal, and you're not?"
'For now,' Baron fought back the urge to reply. He wasn't up to hearing her nag him about 'forbidden' this and 'you'll regret mating with her even if you figure out how!' that until after everything was decided.
Besides, whether she liked it or not, this decision was not hers to make.
"Nefertia, I grow tired of repeating myself. Haru is not the burden you desperately wish she was, and I intend to stay in her life until she wearies of me." 'Which I intend to delay as long as possible.' "Also, would you mind keeping your voice down? Muta, the mortal that actually lives with me and you don't seem to mind that much, is sleeping, and I'd rather not wake him up so late. He grows irritable at this hour."
"So how is that different from any other hour?" Nefertia demanded, making Toto up on his stone perch also turn to flesh in a small flash of light.
"Hey, insulting Muta is my territory," the crow defended in faux anger.
"You don't seem to mind when Haru encroaches on that territory," Nefertia pointed out with a glare, clearly not happy that the talk was no longer between only two Creations.
"Well, she's been part of the gang for over a year now," Toto countered while preening one wing. "You only arrived two months ago. If you stop trying to act like we elected you leader and can boot out whoever you want, you might make some progress."
'Thank you, Toto!' Baron wanted to cheer out loud but managed to rein in his emotions enough to give his oldest friend a smile that conveyed the message anyway, thanks to their decades together.
Nefertia growled deep in her throat that this latest attempt made about as much progress as any of the other times she tried to talk reason into the Cat Creation. "Don't say I didn't warn you about letting Haru so close to us. This will only lead to trouble, mark my words."
"Consider them-" Baron paused halfway through one of his favorite movie quotes to look toward the entrance of the Refuge with delight as blue light briefly lit up the miniature town square.
The black dog wheeled around with a snarl, only to see a familiar portal open up at the entrance long enough to let a human girl through.
Thanks to the enchantments Lune had embedded into a goldfish necklace, Baron's beloved human came out into the square a head shorter than him as opposed to her normal height.
"Baron! Toto, Tia, guess what?!" Haru called out with an ecstatic grin, keeping a laptop in one arm as she ran toward the Bureau. "I think I found one!"
The Cat Creation smirked at his canine counterpart before closing his door behind him. "That's wonderful, but Muta's sleeping."
"Oh, right," Haru apologized much more softly, abruptly turning to Toto's stone pillar instead. She sat at the base of it while the Bird Creation flew down to nestle comfortably next to her.
Baron was quick to take possession of her left side, sitting next to her with an internal sigh of bliss. He would have rather died than admit it to her now, but it was always a treat to discover how her personal scent worked with whatever new type of shampoo or body wash she could find. Almost like his or her own tea blends, it was a little different each time, but a bit like a tiny adventure since he always liked how she smelled. Her hair was the same way anymore; ever since it started growing back after her haircut last year, she had been experimenting with different ways to wear it. Tonight's style was a strange twisted bun that reminded him of a yarn skein, but regardless still looked lovely on her.
Her face was glowing when she opened up the laptop and tapped in the password. "I made sure to have windows open to everything we need to know first since Wi-Fi is a little sketchy here. The Salamander of the Yangtze River," she introduced with a dramatic tap of her finger.
As soon as the picture appeared, Baron grinned almost wickedly. "Good work, Haru!" he praised while taking the excuse to wrap an arm around her shoulders for a quick embrace. "Where is it?" He phrased it as such since he couldn't tell if their future ally was male or female.
She blushed crimson at his praise and affection, but still managed to scroll down the page. "That's the good news; it's in a museum in South Dakota, and in a city Mom's tour is visiting!"
"You said 'good news'," Nefertia picked up immediately, standing in front of the human in order to crane her elegant neck over the screen to see what was going on. 'What's the bad news?"
"Let me finish telling the good news, please," Haru asked while attempting to push her head out of the way so she could see.
"Nefertia," Baron growled in warning, which made the Dog Creation remove her head with a small smirk, but as soon as she was no longer in the way, his attention was back on Haru's computer screen and secretly enjoying her scent and strength of spirit.
"Because it's in a town I'll be visiting with Mom in three days, I'll ask that all of you hold off on a daring rescue until then. It's great that Tia got out-"
"My real name, if you don't mind," Nefertia insisted with a glare.
Haru sighed in resignation. "Fine, that you could get out without help, but you were still caught on camera. We're lucky that no one seems to be looking too deep into how a piece of art got out and an identical dog got in before breaking that window without getting laughed at."
The Dog Creation glared and growled again, making Baron give her another warning glare while tightening his grip on her shoulders.
The love of his life began talking a little faster as he heard her heart rate increase. "So before all of you risk getting caught on camera, or worse, becoming public knowledge so that humans can complicate things because that's what they do best-"
"-Which you are excellent proof of," Toto teased while running his beak over her long brown hair affectionately.
She looked up at him just as much warmth. "Let me scout out the place first. I can try to take pictures of displays close to security cameras and try to get a good guess on where the breaker box is so that you can shut off the power at least long enough to bypass security footage this time. I don't know, maybe I can even drop a hint in front of the Salamander of the upcoming jailbreak that none of the humans will understand."
"That is an excellent idea, Haru!" Baron approved while patting his own fish necklace, which was safely tucked under his shirt so that no one would see it since the last thing he needed was an enemy that knew it could make portals to anywhere in the Cat or Human Kingdoms. Then he frowned. "Now might be a good time for the bad news."
She gave him an apologetic smile. "I don't know if it's bad, per say, but it's something we should be aware of. This city in particular's been named the Ghost Capital of the United States thanks to all the supernatural incidences that have been happening, and there's plenty of ghost sightings, even in broad daylight. Despite the dangers, Amity Park's become a bit of a tourist destination."
Toto made a sound of surprise. "Really? I wonder if it has anything to do with our business."
Baron shook his head firmly. "As Creations, the other side of mortality is blocked to us. Whatever the reason for ghosts to gather there, it's not likely to be part of our business."
"It will be if a ghost catches all of you in the act," Haru disagreed. "Not to mention how many of them are violent. Fights between them and sometimes ghost hunters are common enough that people apparently do little more than just get out of the way anymore, but it's still good to know. Also," Haru added a bit uncomfortably before tapping on another window.
Baron started at first at the image, but then forced his heart rate to go down enough for a closer look. "That's not the one we're after," he decided after a minute. "He's too stereotypical, and our adversary is too cunning to let himself be out in the open like that."
"I thought so too," Haru agreed with a happy sigh. "I'm banking on Mom being disappointed if she ever meets the real thing. Reports keep calling this guy a ghost, so I guess that's just how he dresses."
"I can see why you wanted to run him past us though," Toto observed while taking careful inventory of the man in white. "If we didn't know for a fact that the real one's been spending the last few millennia spreading false information on his kind, I'd have thought the same thing."
Nefertia must have been getting annoyed at being ignored again, because she put one paw on the laptop to force the screen to lay flat enough for her to see the image as well. "Definitely not," she agreed with a disdainful sniff. "He looks like he could be on a children's show."
"Maybe a macabre one," Haru half-agreed, gently pushing the dog's paw off her screen so she could close her laptop. "So what about you? Any luck finding the Human Creation?"
The Dog Creation filled her lungs to full capacity and took one step closer to emphasize how much taller she was over the human girl at the moment. "I don't have to answer to you."
"But what about us?" Toto snapped back with a flat glare. "You're not the leader, but you do need to tell Baron and I at least if you have any leads."
"Indeed," Baron agreed, his glare just as heated as his friend's.
Nefertia flinched back from the cat's disapproval and turned back to the home she had claimed for her own. "I will, mark my words!"
"Consider them marked," Haru whispered with a childlike grin that dissolved Baron's displeasure.
"I heard that!" the dog snapped over her shoulder just before slamming her door shut.
Haru let out an explosive sigh as her shoulders sagged. "I really don't know what more I can do about her."
"Don't worry about it," Baron assured her while standing up and offering her his hand. "As Toto said, she is not our leader, so we don't have to appease her if she doesn't like friends who were here before her."
"Still," Haru fretted as she got to her feet with his help. "You're going to be stuck with her a lot longer than you're going to be stuck with me, all things considered."
'Don't count on it,' Baron was aching to say, but managed to just bite it down. As little as he liked it, it would be wiser to begin his plan after next month's business was settled. "Personally, I won't complain if you keep up the search for our fifth player anyway. Perhaps she'd learn a little respect if you found both while she only brought herself."
"I had no intentions to stop looking," she promised, stealing a hug around his chest while she had the chance. "Even if I end up killed by that thing, I want to make sure my death counted for something."
His blood ran cold at the thought. "I would regard it as a personal favor if you refrained from the experience," the Cat Creation informed her while trying not to get jealous when she also collected a hug from Toto, who was more than happy to wrap both of his large wings around her.
"Also, it wouldn't hurt to stay away from that ghost," the Bird Creation told the girl seriously. "He might not suck blood, but the fangs seem to say he sucks something, and I don't want him getting anything from you."
Haru nodded without argument. "We'll only be in that city for three days, and if things get heated, I'll bring Mom here and… tell her the truth, I guess," she sighed while smiling at them. "It's not that I'm ashamed of any of you, I swear."
"We've been over this," Baron assured her, taking one more opportunity to be sure that he got the lion's share of her warm arms. "But maybe we can after the crisis is averted, and you're both legally back in Japan."
His beloved made a small gasp of surprise. "Really? You mean it?!" she asked eagerly.
"Baron?" Toto asked with surprise.
"I mean it," Baron assured her with a warm smile. "We've been able to hold her off with the phone calls, but this has gone on too long. She's too dear to you for me to want nothing to do with her."
Haru beamed like the sun and jumped up enough to press a kiss to his furry cheek which nearly brought him to his knees while giving him one more hug around the neck. "I'll call when it's nighttime for me," she promised before concentrating.
That had been something she and Baron had agreed on learning soon after Lune and Yuki presented them with the amulets. Activating the portal fish without laying a hand on them in case anyone caught onto how they did it. It helped that she kept it against her skin and he against his fur. Within seconds, she was gone; likely back to the hotel room she had just slipped out of.
Baron slowly raised one hand to his furry cheek as a ridiculous grin claimed his face. He was somehow certain that this was going to be his expression when he switched back to wood to rest.
"So. You're going to do it?" Toto asked softly, perhaps to avoid alerting Nefertia.
"Yes. Objections?" Baron challenged with a smirk and speaking just as softly.
The crow sighed. "Just that you found someone first. Nefertia can have eternity if she wants it so bad, but I'm tired of it. I rather like the idea of finding a mate myself after the world has no need of us like this."
The Cat Creation gave his friend a sad smile. "Besides. I never liked continually saying goodbye to friends."
His mind was made up. He was going to be a librarian, just so that he and his future wife could crack 'checking out the librarian' jokes at each other for however long they lived.
He could hardly wait.
xxXxx
Everyone catch the Pirates of the Caribbean reference? Good.