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hugmekenobi · 4 months

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Return to the Light

A Bad Batch Post S2 Oneshot

Gif by @spacemagicandlaserswords

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Summary: Being separated from one another had taken it's toll and the search had been hard but in all the darkness, a glimmer of hope remains

Warnings: Mentioned canon-typical violence, swearing, my made-up timeline, limited use of y/n, some choice interrogation techniques, sad flashbacks, mentions/descriptions of torture, mentions of death, mentions/descriptions of injury and sickness, reader is not in the greatest of headspaces and takes it out on Lyra, talks of self-sabotage/sacrifice and self-loathing, my interpretation of all things Force, dodgy Star Wars medical techniques, slight manipulation/miscommunication, kissing, overall a pretty angsty time but there's some fluff sprinkled in

Masterlist for S1 and S2

Word Count: 18.2K (don't look at me, idk what happened lol)

Rating: 18+

Author's note: Huge shoutout and thanks to my friend @burningfieldof-clover who supported and provided many helpful tips as I struggled though this!! And its finally here! I am so sorry it took so long but I hope you all enjoy it despite the wait! I have another one planned to follow that hopefully will not take as long haha so I'm excited to get to work on that too! Also praying that by posting this, I can manifest a S3 trailer haha

Nelvaan

Ever since the disaster of Ord Mantell and from the second they’d managed to flee; Hunter had been doing everything he could to find you and Omega again. He’d tormented himself with the various possibilities of what could be happening to the two of you. Every day he’d been apart from you both had seen him fighting with himself. Possible informants and Imperial soldiers he could cope with just fine, what had been proving to be a struggle was fighting the complete hopelessness that had overwhelmed him as the weeks dragged on with no sign or information on the whereabouts of either of you. Every failed lead had left the bitter taste of disappointment and there were times when he felt like he would be crushed by the weight each defeat brought.

Things had started to shift however when they came across the various wanted posters and holoimages of you that were strewn across the galaxy, particularly in the Outer Rim. So, when Echo had decided to do some work on his own and went back to working with his contacts within the Empire and reported back that you hadn’t actually been taken, he’d felt that flicker of hope he hadn’t been able to find for a long time and the plan changed. Echo would continue to utilise his allies in the search for Omega whilst he and Wrecker looked for you. Once Hunter had you back, the four of you would reconvene and find Omega.

To get to Omega, they needed your skills and… and Hunter just needed you but there were moments in the early stages of the search where it seemed impossible. Knowing you were out on your own helped with finding his way out of the darkness but knowing you were alive and finding you alive were very different things, the latter was proving to be incredibly challenging.

You may had stopped hiding what you were, but you were remarkably good at making an impression somewhere but still finding a way to go unseen. Every location they’d gone to, they’d been too late, and you appeared to have moved on. You never stuck around anywhere for too long and it was making things a lot harder.

The most recent trail of half-baked information he and Wrecker had followed had led them to this pawn shop- ‘Hidden Gems’. According to rumour, you’d been in asking about them, yet another piece of knowledge that only added to his frustration that they always seemed to miss you by a matter of weeks. Hunter opened the door, but the owner’s back was still turned to them as they pashed the threshold.

Kedrin heard the bell clang as the door opened and shut. “I’ll be with you in a flash.” He said as he finished writing up the recent sales. He closed the book and turned around with a salesman smile on his face, but that and his words of welcome instantly died on his lips as he saw who had walked in.

Immediately upon seeing these men, Kedrin was reminded of a description given to him a while ago by the Jedi everyone had been talking about and he did not want them here. He did not want to deal with this anymore. “Ah, well actually gentlemen, I was just closing up for the afternoon. You’ll have to come back.” He said, wringing his hands nervously as the bigger one split off and began wandering the shop whilst the one with the bandana stayed where he was.

Hunter leaned his back against the door and lazily played with his vibroblade. He knew by the beads of sweat on the owner’s brow and the anxious pounding of his heart that they were in the right place. “Where is she?” He asked, his voice low and hostile as he turned the sign from open to closed, his eyes never leaving the owner.

Kedrin retreated to behind the counter. “I um…” His throat was as dry as sand and he swallowed to get some moisture back so he could speak properly. “I don’t know who-” He cleared his throat again. “Who you are referring to. Perhaps-”

“There’s not point in lying to him. If I can tell you are, he definitely can.”

Kedrin’s eyes darted to the bigger one who had offered the advice, but he had to bring his attention back to the tattooed soldier who was staring at him with such cold and dark eyes that fear creeped up his spine, making his hair stand on end and goosebumps rise on his flesh.

“Where is she?” Hunter asked again as he pushed off the door and steadily walked towards the man.

“I’m- I’m afraid I don’t- don’t have the answer you seek.” Kedrin stuttered. As the soldier drew closer, Kedrin reached under the table and grabbed the blaster he kept concealed there. But, as he lifted it out, in the blink of an eye, the weapon was shot out of his hand and his head was smacked down and being pressed harshly into the countertop- a strong hand on the back of his neck reducing his struggles to break free to be no more than a pitiful effort. His resistance ceased altogether when he felt the sharp tip of a blade being pushed into the back of his hand and he cried out in discomfort as the metal broke the skin and blood began to spill from the cut but there would be no respite for him.

“Try again.” Hunter hissed as he brought his head down to the man’s level.

But all Kedrin could do was whimper in pain.

“She was here. We know she was here. Where did she go?” Hunter growled into his ear, applying more pressure to the point of the blade, ignoring the agonised yelp.

“I don’t know!” Kedrin protested in distress, his voice slightly muffled as his lips touched the cold material of the counter. He hated this part of the job, it wasn’t his fault he had access to other ports of information, it just worked out that way and for the most part he hadn’t gotten into too much bother. But ever since that Jedi woman had come to him with her threats, he’d vowed to himself that he would turn over a new leaf. He’d leave this element of his work behind, and he wouldn’t just be a pushover to whatever or whoever came in demanding his extra services. He felt the hand leave the back of his neck. He uneasily straightened up and tenderly analysed his injury on his hand but was grateful to see that it had felt and looked worse than it was. He took out a handkerchief from the lapel of his jacket and wrapped it up before he tidied his hair in an attempt to regain some calm and control over the situation. “Now, I ask that you leave this instance before I call the proper authorities.” He demanded, but he couldn’t shake the quiver in his speech which removed any forcefulness. He walked around the counter and gestured to the door.

Hunter ignored his requested. He simply took a step back and nodded sharply to Wrecker who cracked his knuckles and neck in intimidation.

Well, he could always start next week. “Wait wait wait! I actually might have something!” Kedrin back peddled fearfully as the larger one stalked towards him and grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket, raising him to his tiptoes. “My brother runs our partner pawn shop on Christophsis and he’s said there’s been Jedi activity there. Apparently, it’s been going on for a while now. Could be who you’re looking for?”

Wrecker glanced back at Hunter who signalled to him to drop the man.

Hunter silently turned on his heels and led the way out of the shop and back to the Marauder. He’d been powerless for far too long and had failed one too many times but that wasn’t going to happen anymore.

This time they weren’t going to miss you.

Christophsis

When the hour had finally got late enough, you grabbed your blaster and sheathed your vibroblade and made the final adjustments to your armour before you sneakily opened your door to dark and empty main room of the run-down apartment. You pulled your hood and mask up as you stepped out and headed for the exit.

You got as far as activating the panel for the door to open before the lights turned on.

“You’re going out again.”

You closed the door and huffed out an irritated breath. You swivelled on your heels to see Lyra standing in the doorway of her room. You tugged down your mask. “Yeah… and?”

“And I thought after the last time, you were going to take some time and-”

“You know I can’t do that.” You interrupted icily.

“You’ve barely recovered. I just think-”

“I’ve recovered enough.”

“It’s just one more night. If not for your sake, then do it for mine… please.”

“We’ve already settled here for you, didn’t we?” You retorted.

“After I begged you too! If it were up to you, we’d still be living on that hellhole of a ship and never staying anywhere for more than two weeks! And I don’t know if what we have right now is all that better!”

“I gave you an out months ago! Back on Ord Mantell and again on Corellia! You didn’t have to follow me!” You snapped angrily.

Lyra scoffed. “Corellia was when you finally deemed it fit to fill me in on the whole story after I saw you choke the life out of a man without laying a hand on him. I had known something was off in the weeks since Ord Mantell and then Corellia told me you needed someone. Forgive me if I wanted to stick around to try to help you!”

“I don’t need saving.” You said tightly. “And anyway, he got what was coming to him.” You said utterly uncaring with a simple shrug of your shoulders. “Now, can I go now? Are you done scolding me?”

Lyra looked at you imploringly. “Don’t you see what this is doing to you? You’re losing who you are and it’s-”

You couldn’t listen to the speech again. “I’m not doing this with you again, Lyra. Just go back to bed and I’ll be back later.”

Lyra looked at you in disbelief. “Later? Last time you said that I didn’t see you for three weeks and you came back tortured and half-dead! You’re no good to them if you die in the process of finding them!”

You just shook your head and lifted your mask and turned to open the door again.

“I can’t watch you kill yourself for this anymore.” Lyra said quietly to your back, her words laced with pity and sadness.

“Then don’t look.” With that, you stepped outside into the night.

Kirion stepped into the small kitchen in the back of his shop and sifted through the second cupboard. Instinct meant he didn’t need the light and he found what he was looking for.

“Trouble sleeping?”

Kirion yelped and dropped his mug. It smashed to the ground but that was not his concern anymore. The dark outline by the window was. “I don’t want any trouble.” His voice trembling.

“Do you know what they say about people who can’t sleep at night, Kirion?” You asked as you hopped off the counter, the yellow hue of the streetlights coming through the window illuminating your figure.

“N- no.”

“Plagued by a guilty conscience. The crushing weight of knowing you’re not doing enough, or you’ve gone too far can get to you. Or say, being a pawn shop owner intent on ripping everyone off for that extra bit of profit.”

Kirion cleared his throat nervously. He didn’t know how you knew that, but you’d gathered quite the reputation in the time you’d lived here, and he didn’t want you around. “Why are you here then?” He asked shakily. “Guilty conscience too?”

You laughed humourlessly. “You get the pleasure of my company because you have something for me.” Somewhere deep down, you had a different answer, but you wouldn’t allow yourself to bring that to the surface. It would get you nowhere.

“I don’t. I swear I-”

“Oh, this’ll go a lot better if you don’t lie to me.” You said, your voice hardening. You patted him roughly on the shoulder as you stepped past him.

“I don’t know if I have the information you’re looking for.”

“You know who I am?” You flicked the light on and waltzed into the storefront filled with clear glass cases with various pawned off items. Heirlooms, artifacts, jewellery, random items- all seemed to have a place here, whether they were genuine or not. You beckoned him to come in.

“It’s um kind of hard not to.” He wringed his hands anxiously as he followed you in and signalled to the front of the store. He took that opportunity to press the button under the table by the credit register.

You followed his stare and chuckled as you saw the backs of the posters in the front window. “I can sign one for you later.” You started scanning variety of items he possessed. “Quite the business you’ve got here.”

“Keeps-” He swallowed nervously. “Keeps the credits coming in.”

“Shame a lot of it is all garbage.” You smashed your elbow against one of the glass panels. “Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber?” You snickered as you picked up the item and sure enough, you got nothing from it. “Please. Nothing here but a bunch of dressed up metal material and a design anyone with access to an old holonet could copy. Then again, you probably knew that, but it doesn’t stop you underpaying for it and then charging a steep fee for the poor sucker that falls for it.”

Kirion gulped as he watched you continue your assault on his store.

You shattered a few more glass panes with claims of ‘Jedi artifacts’ in them. “Some of this is just embarrassing. You actual convince people that this stuff is worth the price?”

“What do you want?” Kirion interjected swiftly as he saw you getting ready to break another one.

You paused your movement and angled yourself to face him. You mimed applause. “That’s the right question. See, you gave yourself away earlier, Kirion. I’d expect you to know who I am, but to know that I’m after information? You had no way of knowing that, not officially and it’s the fact that you do know, that makes you of use to me.”

“Of use?” Kirion repeated fretfully.

You stalked closer to the desk register, the broken glass crunching beneath your feet. “You run this place in a back alley and get everyone from all walks of life coming in here pawning off their shit that you then rip off, but I really don’t give a fuck about that. What I do give a fuck about is that you hear things. People will tell you their stories, the things they’ve seen and overheard in the streets or on their travels. You are a fountain of knowledge of the underground happenings in this galaxy. Or, at the very least, you know people that run in the circles that have what I’m searching for.

“I-”

You placed a finger on his lips to shush him. “Here’s how this will work: So long as you don’t lie to me, and you don’t call the Empire, I won’t hurt you and you get to keep your life. Are we clear?” You removed your finger.

“C-crystal.” Kirion stuttered, very much regretting what he’d done in the beginning of this meeting.

“Good.” You released a short breath. “Now, I’m looking for a group of clones. They don’t look like the ones you may come across these days, rare as that seems to be now. One wears a red bandana and has a tattoo on the left-side of his face. Looks like this.” You pointed to the white insignia on your top. “But it’s black. The other is tall and bald with a scar on his left temple and he’s blind in his left eye. Heard of anyone like that?”

“I don’t know. No one like that’s come here.” Kirion shifted his feet awkwardly.

You tossed your head back in aggravation. “I really don’t have time for this.” You summoned the Force and lifted him against the wall and started to compress his airway. “I told you; I don’t like liars.” You gave him a pitying stare as he couldn’t help but clutch desperately at his throat. “Wanna try again?” You relaxed your hold slightly to give him the chance to speak.

“Okay- they- they- could be- be- coming here.” He gasped.

“They’re coming here?” You double checked as you eased your grip and let him get his feet back on the ground.

Kirion panted as he felt the invisible hold around his neck loosen. “Yes, my other store got a visit from some men that match what you’re saying. The manager there told them there was a Jedi here and called me earlier to let me know they might pass this way. That’s all I know, please, get out!”

You narrowed your eyes at him because despite his now honest words, you could tell he was getting anxious, and it wasn’t all because of you now. It was then that you heard the familiar pounding footsteps grow closer and halt outside the front door. You released an exasperated sigh and tutted. “Kirion… I thought we had an understanding.”

“No- wait! I-”

You called on the Force and snapped his neck before he had a chance to finish his plea and a second later, you heard the door crash open.

“You’re-”

“Under arrest?” You finished as you watched Kirion’s limp body slide to the floor. You heaved a sigh and turned to face the squad of ten stormtroopers that were lining the rows and blocking the path between you and the door.

“Get-”

“On my knees? Place my hands behind my head?” You interrupted, boredom evident in your tone as you crossed your arms and leaned against the till counter.

The troopers faltered slightly at your blatant dismissiveness of them.

You pretended to look confused for a moment. “Now, I can never keep track of where the Empire is in that whole phasing out thing so I always gotta ask this- any of you got a CT number?” You straightened up and hovered your hand over your blaster. “It’s always much simpler when none of you do.”

“Last chance, Jedi!” One of them called out as they readjusted their stances.

You scoffed and rolled your eyes. “Yeah… you all say the same thing.”

You quietly walked into your place and pulled your hood and mask down, ignoring the sting of pain as the material caught on the cuts on the bridge of your nose and your lip. You ran your tongue along your mouth and could still taste the harsh metallic taste of blood as it continued to ooze from the wound. Your nose was also still bleeding so you turned on the dim kitchen light to find something to stop it.

“Thought you’d be outta here by now.” You commented cooly without looking up as you heard her door open, and the soft padding of footsteps walk towards you. You fished out a cloth and ran it under some cold water and wiped away the congealed blood on your face before you held it to your nose.

“We don’t have a ship anymore, remember?” Lyra reminded you as she sat by the small kitchen table.

You’d forgotten about that. After the two of you had found this place, you’d sold it to someone who claimed to have word from Hunter. Unfortunately, that had turned out to be a rather bad deal and it was your first experience of dealing with the Imperials stationed here. “There are transports.”

Lyra just shook her head at you. “You still don’t get it.”

“Don’t really see what there is to get. Just hop on the next ship outta here, I won’t stop you.”

“I care about you, dumbass. Whatever is happening to you, I can’t just leave you alone in it.” Lyra replied wearily. Part of her wanted to, she’d even started packing a bag this time, but after these months spent with you and especially after what you went through recently told her you were one step away from a full-on breakdown and whether you would admit it or not, you still needed someone.

You ground out a sigh and stared down at the floor. She kept doing this. She kept having that faith in you that you couldn’t see but you didn’t deserve it. She should leave, she’d be better off without you but you didn’t have it in you to give her that final push. So, you worked on freezing her out, pushing her away until she realised you weren’t good for her or anyone else. But she refused, she was still here with you, and you couldn’t fathom why.

“Did you get what you were looking for?” Lyra asked, deliberately avoiding asking the state of the people that had clearly got in your way tonight. She’d seen what you were capable of but found that living in as much ignorance as she could saved her a lot of trouble. That and reminding herself you were not yourself right now.

“Yup.” You rinsed out the cloth and got ready to move into your room.

“I need to check your stitches. You weren’t ready for a fight yet.”

You knew what she would find if she looked. “No, you don’t.”

“(Y/N), let me see.” Lyra caught your arm as you went to move past her.

You huffed out another irritated breath but took your armour off before you lifted your first layer over your head. “Knock yourself out.”

She pushed up your vest top. “Yeah, you ripped a few open.” Lyra winced as she saw the lines of blood secreting from the sore and irritated looking now open wounds on your back.

“It’s fine.” You said dismissively. The pain wasn’t bothering you. You needed to come up with a plan of how to know when they got here.

“It’s not. Sit down.” She insisted as she went for the medkit. She had gotten well-acquainted with the item over the months, the most recent incident in particular had really tested her skills.

You released a resigned sigh and sat across from her and let her start cleaning them and closing them up again.

“They’re coming here, Lyra.” You found yourself whispering into the silence.

Lyra paused her process. “You’ve been told that before. The same thing happened on Cermau a couple months ago and it didn’t pan out. You-”

“I know what happened on Cermau. This isn’t like that.” You said defensively. It had to be different. You thought to yourself. You weren’t sure how many more dead ends you could take.

Lyra finished up the last few stitches. “You can’t know that.”

As soon as you felt her complete that last stitch, you stood. “Yes, I can.” You grabbed your armour and strode had over to your room without another word and shut the door.

You braced your hands against it and took a few deep breaths. You did have a way you could do but it had been so long since you’d gone near it, and you didn’t know if you could cope with the failure it might bring.

You settled in the middle of your crappy bed, the mattress sinking to the bedframe beneath as you shifted around to attempt to find some level of comfort. When you had found what you figured would be the ‘best’ spot, you crossed your legs and placed your hands on your knees.

You inhaled slowly, deeply, blocking out all the distractions of your mind and the sounds of the late-night life outside, and closed your eyes. You reached into the Force but what met you wasn’t any familiar signature. It was scenes and voices that you had tried so hard to forget.

Flashes of the people you’d hurt… you’d killed.

All that happened to you a week ago.

Tech hanging below the rail car.

Plan 99.

Omega, unconscious and injured on the ground.

Such an exquisite creature.

The torture he made you go through... and enjoyed.

His words to Hunter- To lose one of your own, it must weigh heavily on you as their leader.

Omega being carried off.

Hemlock letting you and Hunter have one last goodbye before you were taken away.

I love you.

No, it was too much. You couldn’t do it. Your breathing was shaky as you tore yourself out. You wiped the cold sweat from your palms. “Come on, get it together.” You told yourself as you took a long calming breath. You needed to do this right.

You centred yourself and went again. Except this time, all you could see was a vast space of darkness. No light, no hope, only darkness. Was this to be your fate? To be tormented by the fact you had let yourself fall and there was nothing left for you. How could you find them in this? You had no light left in you to give.

Spark.

You felt yourself twitch in discomfort. You knew that voice. That name. Only one person ever called you that.

Spark, you’re still not focused.

Let go of your anger. You’re not as lost as you view yourself to be.

No, no it couldn’t be. How could it be? No, this wasn’t right. You pulled yourself out and you looked around your room in a blind panic as you fought to get your distressed breathing back under control.

But it was only you in there. How could you hear him? It had to be some trick your mind was playing on you. Payback for all you’d done.

You exhaled heavily and braced your hands behind your neck as you looked to the ceiling. You stood and paced the confined space, shaking your hands as if you could shake away the bad feeling sitting on your chest.

You sat back on the bed and rolled your shoulders as you found your focus again. Faint rays of sun now came through the cracks in your window along with the sound of rain pattering against the fractured glass, but the new time meant nothing to you.

You didn’t care how long it would take; you were going to find them.

Hunter and Wrecker walked out of the ship and departed the bay to enter the streets of Christophsis- the rain sliding down their armour as they moved between the crowds.

“Well, we’re in the right place.” Wrecker commented as he nudged Hunter in the direction of the first holoscreen that had your image appear and a quick look at the immediate buildings followed that theme since they all had multiple paper posters in their windows and on their doors.

Hunter swallowed tightly as he saw holographic picture of you. There’d been one too many ‘right places’ in his search for you. He wasn’t going to accept that philosophy until he had something more than a wanted sign for you. “Come on. We’ll start with Kendrin’s brother.”

“So, you’re saying you saw a figure head in that direction after the disturbance last night?” A trooper pointed in said direction as she questioned the current resident on her list whilst the rest of her squad proceeded to clear the pawnshop.

“This looks like her handiwork, Sarge.” Wrecker uttered from the corner of the street they were observing from as he studied the scene ahead. Squads of troopers had cornered off the street and where questioning the civilians that appeared to live in the neighbourhood. And being carried out on stretchers were the dead bodies of troopers, but not all had blaster burns on their armour.

Hunter nodded his agreement and felt his heart beat that little bit faster with the flutter of hope. “Come on, we can’t stay here too long.” He directed as he and Wrecker turned away from the pawnshop.

As Hunter began to track your movements based on what he’d heard the trooper say, this finally being the right location was starting to feel a lot more plausible now.

There it was! You saw that faint glimmer of light in all the dark. It had to be them! You could feel it!

You jumped from your bed and grabbed your top and armour, hastily putting them on as you opened your door and bolted for the exit.

The weather had taken a turn for the worst, but you barely registered the pouring rain as you left the building. Your clothes were already soaked but it didn’t matter, you were too focused on holding onto that feeling of them.

“You’re the Jedi everyone is searching for.”

You whipped out your blaster and turned in the direction of the voice.

“No, wait! I don’t mean you any harm!” She came out from behind the skip with her hands in the air. “My name is-”

“Don’t tell me.” You interrupted sharply as you studied the Twilek before you. “How’d you find me?” You asked coldly. You didn’t lower your blaster either.

“It wasn’t easy. I’ve been following you since I knew of your arrival here. I thought I’d lost you when you disappeared for those three weeks.”

The fact you hadn’t sensed her presence at all told you that you were not what you used to be. You never used to be so sloppy. “I can’t have you knowing where I am.” You rested your hand over the trigger.

“Wait!” She reached a hand out to you. “I haven’t told anyone, and I won’t. I just need your help!”

“My help?” You repeated. “I can’t help you and I’ve got somewhere to be so-”

“Please.” She begged. “My sister, she’s sick and we barely have enough credits to feed ourselves, let alone get medicine.”

“Not my problem, I’m sorry.” Satisfied though that she wasn’t a true threat, you put your blaster away and got ready to leave.

“It wasn’t my sister’s problem that she got caught in a blaster fight and her wound got infected! No one asks for that!”

That made you pause. You’d had your fair share of shootouts in this place but you’d also you’re your best to minimise the damage to outsiders. “Where was the fight?” You found yourself asking quietly.

“About a month ago by the old shipyard on the outskirts of the city. We’d been told we could find some cheap transport off world, but something went down with the Imperials stationed there and my sister… I didn’t tug her down fast enough. I didn’t know what to do and then I heard of the Jedi that had landed in Christophsis and I knew I had to find you.”

A month ago… but that was where and when you’d gone to sell the ship… where’d you’d first been ambushed by the Imperials… no, there wasn’t meant to be anyone else there. Maybe you could… no, you didn’t have the time. Your aim was always good, it wouldn’t have been your shot that hit her. “I can’t.” You said dismissively, but there was a fading sense of conviction in your voice. Some part of you wanted to do the right thing by her. But it wasn’t enough to stop you pushing past her.

“I thought Jedi helped people!”

You stopped in your tracks and made a noise of resigned frustration as you turned around to face the young Twilek. “Wait here.”

You hastily ran back into your building, silently entered, and grabbed a few spare medical supplies from your kit before you ran back out to meet her again. “Alright, show me.”

Your place looked like a luxurious penthouse compared to where this young twilek and her sister were staying. It was virtually a single room with cracks in the walls and ceiling and there was a distinct damp aroma in the air. It was no wonder that they wanted to leave this place.

You then saw the smaller and younger twilek lying on a small mattress in the middle of the floor. There were drops of sweat dotted across her brow and she was shivering uncontrollably.

You’d never wanted anyone innocent to be affected by what you were doing yet it had happened with Lyra and now this child. “I’m sorry.” You whispered to her as you kneeled down beside her. You saw the bloodstain on her clothing and delicately lifted the end of her shirt to see the wound on her hip being covered by nothing more than a ripped piece of a shirt.

“Can you help her?”

You half- turned to face the sister who was looking on fretfully. “I can clean the wound and reclose it. After that, it’ll be down to her. But the fact that she’d held on for so long is a good sign. She’s strong, she should be okay.”

The sister sighed in relief.

You brought out the supplies and recleaned and applied to bacta before you re-dressed the wound. “Do you have water?” You asked.

The sister nodded and dashed over to grab a cannister. She passed it to you.

“Lift her head.” You instructed gently.

She murmured words of comfort to her sister as she propped up her head.

As tenderly but as effectively as you could, you pushed the pill past her lips and got her to swallow it down with some water.

When her breathing had grown more controlled and her shivering had subsided, you go to your feet. “I’m leaving you some bacta and wound dressings along with some pills that’ll help with the fever. That’s all I can do now.”

“Thank you.” She clasped your hand tightly. “I won’t forget this.”

“It’s better that you do.” You said grimly. “And once she’s better, if you still need a way out of here, use the actual transports off this planet.” You chucked a bag of credits on the ground before you walked out of the room.

You rounded the corner but swiftly pressed your back against the wall since there was a group of stormtroopers directly in your path. You would have no chance of finding them with those soldiers in your way. You needed to find a way around them and what better way to do that than going from roof to roof. You summoned the Force and jumped to the top of the building and got moving.

You would get a better view from above anyway.

When another small squad of troopers made their presence known ahead, Hunter signalled him and Wrecker to an alleyway out of the line of their sight. He knew they were close to you, but the Imperial presence was making it hard to track you effectively.

“We can’t keep hiding like this, Hunter.” Wrecker grunted in frustration.

“I know, Wrecker.” Hunter agreed, equally as irritated. “If I could just-” He stopped suddenly.

“Hunter?”

“Someone’s here.” Hunter muttered quietly as his hand fell over his blaster.

“You’re getting sloppy, Sergeant. I’ve been following you the past 3 blocks.”

The voice that he’d been longing to hear and that was so familiar, he’d recognise it anywhere. His breath hitched with the realisation at what this finally meant. Hunter took off his helmet and turned around to the distant sound of feet hitting a puddle in the ground. And it was you. Standing there before him. It was finally you.

“Hello, Hunter.” You said softly, so softly you could barely hear the words themselves due to the sound of your own heart thundering in your ears. If it wasn’t for the flash of recognition in his eyes or the way Wrecker’s jaw dropped as he propped his helmet atop his head, you wouldn’t have been certain that you’d said anything at all. You tugged down your coverings and let yourself be unprotected to the rain.

He felt like the air had been punched out of his lungs. Hunter dropped his helmet and something akin to a choked gasp fell from his mouth as he could at long last lay his eyes on you. He started to slowly walk towards you but that soon became a run, water kicking up against him, but he didn’t care.

Your feet slapped against the wet ground as you met him halfway and crashed into his arms with a thankful sigh and buried your face in his neck. Even as you held him tightly to you, part of you still couldn’t believe that it was him. You felt something swell in your heart, a feeling you couldn’t place but knew you hadn’t felt in a long time.

Did you deserve this? Did you deserve to have him back after all you’d done? Pushing the thought away, you readjusted your embrace as if you could somehow hold him even closer.

He twisted his hands in your clothing and breathed you in. He’d imagined this moment for so long. When things seemed too dark and hopeless, he’d clung on to this. To think about how it would feel to finally see you again. To hold you again. And imagination couldn’t compare to the utter joy in his heart that reality brought him. He almost didn’t want to let you go for fear that you could be taken away again but practicality took precedence, the two of you couldn’t stay this way forever, as much as he might want to.

Tears mixed with rain streamed down both your cheeks as you parted from one another.

You cupped his face in your hands. “You’re here? You’re actually here?” You murmured, your voice cracking with emotion. You’d driven yourself crazy with picturing this moment, you needed to make sure this wasn’t your brain’s idea of a cruel joke.

Hunter removed your hands from his face and kissed your gloved knuckles. “I’m here.” He whispered back, his breathing still shaky as he pressed pressing his forehead into yours.

“You’re here.” You repeated as you looked into his soft brown eyes.

Hunter’s thumb gently caressed the cut on your lip, and he noticed the other wound on your nose. “Did they-”

You pulled his hand away. “Doesn’t matter. This is all I care about right now.”

Before Hunter could push the matter, he felt his brother approach.

“And what about me?”

You glanced past Hunter to the indignant but affectionate voice. “Hi, Wrecker.” You met his open armed invitation and let him swing your around as he hugged you.

“Good to see you, (Y/N)!”

“How’d you find me?” You asked as he placed you back down.

“You didn’t make it easy.” Wrecker griped. “We always seemed to be two steps behind you.”

“I haven’t exactly been hiding though.” You disputed as you pointed to a discarded wanted poster on the ground beside you.

“Between the Imperials and dead end leads and your rather annoying ability to hide in plain sight, it was tough. We got a lucky break with a guy whose brother owned another pawn shop here. Saw the results of a fight and figured we’d finally caught up with you.” Hunter explained as he came to stand in front of you and took his helmet from his brother.

You gulped. You’d be careful to make sure the people you’d gone after had no one they’d be leaving behind. You didn’t realise you’d messed up with that this time. “He- he had a brother?”

Hunter tilted his head at the unusually emotive response. “Apparently but I’m assuming you had a good reason for ending it the way you did.”

You coughed. “Yeah, totally.” You straightened your back and changed the subject. “Where’s Echo?”

“Using his contact to try to get more intel on Hemlock. We still don’t know where he’s holding Omega.” Hunter kicked the ground. “Don’t suppose you have anything?”

“I wish I did but everything I gathered was either old or what we knew already. He’s good at laying low.” You seethed.

“We’ll get him, though. We have too.” Wrecker stated firmly.

“How soon can you leave?” Hunter asked.

“Um, well-” You cut yourself off as your sight drifted past Hunter’s shoulder to the end of the alley at the lone trooper that had a blaster pointed at Hunter’s back.

“Watch out!” You yelled as you pushed Hunter out the way of the incoming blaster bolt. You drew your blaster and fired a shot that landed in the centre of the trooper’s chest, and he dropped to the ground. But you knew, where there was one stormtrooper, there would be at least five more behind them.

“We need to move out.” Hunter urged as he got back to his feet and put his helmet on. “A firefight will draw too much attention.”

“No time.” You stated simply as you pulled your hood and mask back up.

“We’ve got more incoming!” Wrecker confirmed as he lowered his helmet and opened fire on the small squad of troopers that had arrived.

The three of you took cover behind a skip, only firing defensive shots back. You needed to draw the soldiers closer before going on the offensive.

When they had gotten close enough, Hunter threw a smoke bomb, the action allowing the three of you to advance and take out the troopers one shot at a time.

As the firefight continued, however, you began to feel unsteady on your feet and your movements felt unbalanced. Your tingling limbs ensured that your aim was skewed too. All that, combined with the wetness you felt pooling from your stomach meant the trooper had better aim than you credited them for- you’d been hit. You couldn’t afford to think about what this meant, right now, you needed to get outta here.

But you’d been distracted long enough for one downed soldier you’d dismissed as being a threat to come around and jab their blaster against your knee. You grunted with the impact but turned your blaster on him and he lay limp on the ground.

Hunter and Wrecker tidied off the few retreating stragglers. They could deal with this small group but anything more would prove difficult.

With the last trooper taken care of, you braced yourself against the wet wall. The fading adrenaline in your system now being replaced by agony and you ripped your mask down and took deep but laboured breaths.

“Their reinforcements won’t be long. We made a bit of noise.” Wrecker said as he holstered his blaster.

But Hunter wasn’t paying attention to what Wrecker was saying. His gaze was fixed on you and the way you were struggling to hold yourself up against the wall. “(Y/N), what-” He stopped as he saw the crimson drops that mixed with the rainwater drip from the hand pressed to your stomach onto the ground. No, no, no. He thought to himself. This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t lose you when he’d only just found you again.

Your knees buckled and you fell to the ground, Hunter catching your shoulder was the only reason you were able to stay sitting up but without the distraction of the fight, the pain was overwhelming. Black spots danced in the corners of your vision, but you couldn’t succumb to them, not now. Not after all this. You tried to lift your head to speak but all that left your mouth was a tortured groan.

As collected as he wanted to be to deal with this, he couldn’t totally keep his panic at bay. His hands trembled as he attempted to get you to look at him. He delicately brushed some loose strands of hair from your face. “Sshh, I’ve got you.” He whispered tenderly, fighting to keep the worry out of his voice. What made it all the worse was that he knew this wound didn’t occur through the fight they’d just seen out, you’d been hurt shoving him out the way of that first shot that drew the rest of the stormtroopers in.

How could he have allowed this to happen? What good were his enhanced senses if he couldn’t protect the people he loved. You shouldn’t have needed to push him out the way of that blaster bolt, he should’ve known the trooper was there and now you were paying the price for his mistake.

“What can we do?” Wrecker asked quickly.

You winced and tried for words again. “Medical centres are a no. Where’s- where’s the ship?”

“Landing bay 6.” Wrecker replied.

You inhaled sharply. Your current state made things all too easy for the Imperials to catch you making your way there. “Too far. We- we gotta get to my place. She- she might kill me but- argh!” You broke off with a cry of pain as you reached a hand up to Hunter. “But it’s safe there and- and she’ll know what to do.”

“Hold on.” Hunter rasped as he took a grip of your forearm and signalled to Wrecker to keep an eye out as he pulled you to your feet.

You pressed your hand into your side with a pained gasp as Hunter put his arm around you and supported most of your weight and the three of you got on the move.

“This is it?” Wrecker asked- his scepticism evident despite the pressing matter at hand- as he stared at the condemned building.

“All the regular penthouses were taken.” You kidded before you swayed on your feet as a wave of dizziness struck.

“Woah, easy.” Hunter cautioned as he strengthened his grip.

“Second floor.” You hissed. “And mind the fourth step on the second staircase. Half of it is missing.”

“It can never just be simple.” Hunter grumbled anxiously as Wrecker opened the decrepit door to the building.

“Would it really be a reunion if everything went well?” You joked deliriously.

“Right now, yes I would definitely prefer it.” Hunter fretted as he saw your head dip. You were losing the battle of staying conscious with each passing second. The next time it happened, he wasn’t sure you would be able to lift your head again.

Lyra had barely any time to process the familiar people standing in her doorway as she answered the pounding knock. All she could do was stare at you, half collapsed against Hunter’s side, your hand cradling your stomach, and then her eyes caught sight of the trail of blood that had followed your path up. “What-”

“Hey, girl. Remember- remember how I promised I wouldn’t put you through something like this again? Turns out, I shouldn’t- shouldn’t have done that.” You said through gritted teeth before you stumbled as you tried to take a step forward, prompting Hunter to lift you up.

“Please.” The hoarse plea was all Hunter managed to say.

“Lay her here.” Lyra quickly stepped aside to let the three of you in and pointed to the couch.

Hunter hustled inside and delicately placed you on the worn soft. He took off his helmet and kneeled by your head and stroked your hair back from your forehead. “You’re going to be alright. You need to hold on for me, okay? I’m not losing you again.” He whispered against your temple before he left a light kiss on your brow.

“Good news, it’s not as bad as last time.” Lyra said as she examined the wound before getting up to go gather the medical supplies.

“The bar is rather low on that front, Lyra.” You moaned.

“Last time?” Hunter found himself asking as he tore his stare from your bloody injury to Lyra.

Lyra didn’t respond, she was too busy staring at the depleted supply of medical care. She took a deep breath and braced her hands against the countertop. “(Y/N)… what happened to the bacta?”

Seemingly forgetting that you were currently in severe pain and bleeding out, you went to prop yourself up but Hunter’s hand gently pushing against your shoulder stopped you. “Hey.” You protested wearily.

“You can answer the question like that.” Hunter chastised.

“The bacta?” Lyra pressed as she rifled through the other cupboards in case it had somehow been misplaced.

No, not yet. You told yourself as the black dots returned. You blinked them away and took a strained breath before you answered. “I- I may have given it away…”

“You-” Lyra had to take a deep, calming breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. “You gave it away? What in all the galaxy would possess you to do that?”

“Well, I saw someone in need and decided-” You broke off with another pained wince. “Decided to finally be a good citizen.”

Lyra released an exasperated sigh. “Do I need to remind you of your track record? You need bacta like the rest of us need water.”

“In my defence, I wasn’t planning on needing it anymore. This- this time really wasn’t my fault.”

“I quite frankly don’t give a fuck! You can’t just-”

“Can we do this later?” Hunter interrupted as he saw your face contort in discomfort. “Preferably when she’s able to hold a conversation without convulsing in pain?”

“I can run back to our ship and get some.” Wrecker offered as he lifted his helmet.

“Go.” Hunter said with a nod, but Lyra held out a hand to stop the bigger clone from going.

“She doesn’t have that kinda time. I can cauterise it the old-fashioned way, but it’ll just hurt like hell.” Lyra said with a grimace.

“That’s fine because I don’t think I’m going to be conscious for much longer.” The darkness encroaching on your vision was all too tempting and you were completely exhausted.

“No, you stay awake.” Lyra ordered sternly.

Hunter and Wrecker turned their attention sharply to you.

“Come on, (Y/N). You gotta hang in there.” Wrecker urged as he reached over the back of the couch and placed a large hand on your shoulder.

“Sweetheart, keep your eyes on me.” Hunter begged as he saw them flicker open and shut but it was a battle that he knew you were going to lose.

You wanted to; you really did but you just couldn’t. You shut your eyes and embraced the peace of the darkness.

“Hunter, she’s still breathing right?” Lyra asked as she picked up the last few things she needed.

“Shallowly but yes.” Hunter said with a thankful sigh.

“That’s good enough.” Lyra ran back to the couch and began to start to process of stabilising you.

You were in a dim corridor. The only light seemed to at the end of the long passageway. You made to walk towards it, hoping it would show you a way out but as you walked, it seemed to move away from you. You broke into a run but the distance between you and the light only grew. You paused your run as you thought about what this could mean. It was then though that a voice spoke up and a figure appeared next to you.

You won’t get to it.

You faced the figure. It almost sounded and looked like you but there was something off about it. There was a yellow shimmer in the eyes and the face was gaunt and mean-looking, with lips that seemed to be in a permanent sneer. The voice carried a cruel, sinister overtone that made your blood run cold and the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

It’ll keep staying away from you.

But why? You studied whatever it was before you as they circled you. When it walked, it was cast in constant shadow.

You think after all you’ve done; you can have that light back? You think you deserve it?

Before you could form a reply, your attention was drawn to a scene unfolding to your right.

Aww this was your first failure. But it brought me to the surface, so I remain pretty grateful.

Your breath caught in your throat as you recognised the moment. You saw your master completely surrounded by battle droids, taking hit after hit. And you saw yourself as a Jedi Knight sprinting to reach him. You went to turn away, but a strong hand grabbed the back of your neck, forcing you to keep looking.

There’s you. Being too late to save him. Do you remember the last words you said to him?

You did and they were words you had regretted ever since.

‘Stubborn, foolish, out of touch, old timer whose only purpose was to be a pawn for the orders of the Jedi Council’ I believe they were.

Stop it.

He died knowing you failed him.

You squeezed your eyes shut as you heard the final shot that sent your master crumbling to the ground.

You got a taste for it then.

Despite the fact you wanted to refuse, you found yourself opening your eyes to seeing yourself utterly decimate the remaining droids by your master’s dead body. You saw the merciless gleam in your eyes and the callous smile that graced your face as you destroyed them. You had enjoyed that. The scene finished with you repeatedly bringing your lightsaber down on the final droid, the blue blade moving in unrestrained fury. Why did you show me that? You asked bleakly.

But the darkness didn’t give you a proper answer. It only pushed an icy finger on your lips. Pay attention, we’re not done yet. It took you a while to accept that this was always in you. You worked on shutting me out. You managed for a while… but then she left.

You wanted nothing more than to leave this place and this darkness before you, but all control had been taken from your body. Your feet began moving of their own accord and you were directed to another moment on your left this time. You were stopped and the hand took a harsh grip of your neck again. You were forced to watch Ahsoka walk out the Council Chamber doors, with Anakin following her and then you viewed yourself in horror as you saw the rage written across your face and heard the venom in your words as you yelled at the Council. Had you really been that uncontrolled? That angry?

Even though you finally left those uptight pricks, you still insisted on keeping me hidden though. Rather irritating I must say. I wondered what it would take for you to accept me. And then he came into your life.

You were pushed along the hall again to the next part which was replaying your first interaction with Hunter and your chest felt tight. Leave him out of this.

Oh, but he’s the best part. Your figure taunted nastily.

The scene switched and were now being greeted with flashes of your intimate moments with Hunter. Enough.

The only reply came in the form was an unkind laugh.

Giving into that lust felt good, didn’t it? The possessiveness, the selfishness that came with having someone just for you was too enticing to pass up.

No, that wasn’t what it was at all. Stop.

You liked the feeling of knowing you could use that attachment to excuse any darker actions. You would be doing it for him, so it made it okay. It wasn’t love for him you were feeling, it was a love for the freedom to channel me that you craved. He was merely a convenient vessel.

No, you’re wrong! You insisted but your voice lacked conviction, everything was getting so twisted that you were now doubting the feelings you thought you never would.

The darkness just gave you a pitying look. Just keep watching and you’ll see I’m right.

So, you did. You were shoved further up the corridor to see you and the Batch together. Memories that you once would’ve looked back on in fondness were now tainted by pain and disappointment that you’d dragged them into your mess. The darkness took no notice of your distress, it just continued talking.

Much to my delight, you grew to care for all of that group. I knew that attachment would lead to something marvellous for us and then it finally happened.

You moved along to the next scene and your breathing grew uneven as the image of Eriadu appeared. You couldn’t bear seeing this again but once more, you were left with no choice but to hear Tech say that dreaded plan and watch him fall to his death.

Of course, he was another one you were too slow to save but-

You wouldn’t hear this. No, we didn’t have the time. There was nothing I could’ve done. What happened was-

Oh, I know you tried telling yourself that, but my very existence tells me that you know if you’d allowed me in earlier, the situation itself wouldn’t have happened. You’d have killed Gerrera before he even had a chance to set those explosives off.

No, you’re wrong. You said through a shaken whisper, but you didn’t believe the words you were saying anymore.

Although I must say, I’m glad you didn’t quite give in then since I am rather pleased with how it all turned out. His death was the catalyst to a glorious chain of events. So much loss and broken trust. Finally, you had the reason to welcome me without restraint or regret.

You felt your anger rise as the voice kept talking whilst the scene changed from his death to Cid’s betrayal and Omega being captured and you being separated from Hunter. Nothing about that had been a blessing. It couldn’t have been. Shut up. You snarled. But the figure only smugly beamed.

There it is. There’s that power. You can deny it all you want but that was the best thing that happened to you. You let me in and from that point on, nothing stopped you getting what you wanted. And it felt divine. You know it did. Look at how formidable you are with me being a part of things.

You were dragged along the hall and all that appeared around you were the people in the galaxy you’d threatened, brutalised, and murdered. You had no other option but to watch and hear their tortured pleas and screams. You didn’t need the darkness to talk you through these this time, you recalled very clearly that during all of this, you’d felt not one bit of remorse. You’d thought they deserved it. You’d fallen so far, and a way back now seemed impossible.

The darkness commented on a particular time where you were torturing a woman who’d been very difficult to track and get information from. Even when you did find her, she’d been loyal to the Empire, insisting you should’ve died with the rest of the Jedi traitors. You’d responded by cracking the individual bones in her fingers and hands before moving up to the bones in her arm. You’d broken her right clavicle before she’d finally told you what you needed to know. I particularly liked this moment. Do you remember how she couldn’t stand afterwards? All she could do was writhe on the floor in agony. Quite a humorous sight.

You remembered them all and it made you feel sick to your stomach now as you watched the endless stream of tormented and pained faces of people you had tortured and killed in your quest for information.

The last scene disappeared and despite the fact you had been walking along the corridor that whole time, the light had still remained far out of reach.

See? No matter how far you go, you’ll never reach that light. Why bother searching for it anymore? You know you’re better off alone. All you need is this power and you’ll be unstoppable. But since I know some part of you still cares for your clones, don’t trouble them with this. It’s not something that can be shared or fixed.

The figure faded and you collapsed to your knees in defeat. You had succumbed to that darkness and hurt and killed too many people. You’d crossed that line, and you weren’t sure there was a way back for you and you wouldn’t take Hunter down with you. Or Wrecker and Echo. They deserved a chance to rescue Omega and set things right, and if being with Hunter meant that chance would be at risk, you wouldn’t take that from them. Even if it would kill you, it would be the last thing you did to protect your family. ‘No attachments. There is no emotion, there is peace.’ You had to finally listen to that part of the Jedi Code that you had fought against for years and… and you would let them go.

Once it seemed things were more under control, Wrecker broke the quiet. “I’m going to go keep watch.” He said before walking out.

There were a few minutes of silence, the only noise being the quiet hiss of Lyra sealing shut your injury now that she’d cleaned it.

“Didn’t know you had this skill set.” Hunter said into the quiet as he watched Lyra.

“I tell myself it’s not so different from stitching and making clothes. Plus, she kinda made it that I had to learn quick. There were just some things she couldn’t handle on her own.”

There was a dip in conversation again.

“I was sorry to hear about your kid... and Tech.” Lyra said quietly as she worked on you. She placed a bandage over your now closed injury and started to put away the medical supplies.

The mention of his brother’s name had him stiffening his posture. “Yeah, well, we’re going to find her.”

Lyra nodded understandingly before she indicated to you. “She’s been non-stop since Ord Mantell. She wouldn’t rest until she found you. Didn’t matter how dangerous things got, she wouldn’t stop.”

Hunter continued to stroke your brow. “She’s not the only one.”

“I almost wished she would. I thought the search was going to kill her. Especially after what happened last time.”

This wasn’t the first time she’d mentioned this now. And from the dynamic between the two of you since arriving here, he figured there was key subtext he was missing. He glanced over to Lyra. “What are you talking about?”

Lyra took a short breath. “It was a few weeks ago. She-” Lyra stopped as she heard you let out a soft groan.

“Hey you.” Hunter said softly as you slowly opened your eyes. “How are you feeling?”

You didn’t answer him. Whatever soreness you were experiencing wouldn’t come close to the misery your next course of action would cause you. “Thank you. Again.” You said to Lyra instead.

Lyra nodded. “I’ll go keep Wrecker company.” She said before grabbing her sniper rifle and making her exit.

Hunter brought his focus back to you and provided a supportive hand on your back as you sat up. “Take as long as you need. I figured once you’re feeling more up to it, you can say your goodbyes and leave with us. After-”

“You have to go.”

“Yes, I know…” Hunter said, tilting his head at you. “But you need a bit of time and-”

“No, you need to leave without me.”

Without you? No, you couldn’t mean that. “What’s-” He stopped for a moment to try and recover from the confusion your statement caused him. “What’s changed between that alleyway and now?”

You knew he wasn’t going to make this easy but every minute you had to do this was tearing you apart. “Everything has. The Empire knows what I am. It’ll add unnecessary heat.”

“We’ll cope.”

You swallowed harshly and grimaced as you readjusted your sitting position. “It’s not just that. Things changed when we got separated. I changed.”

“That doesn’t scare me.”

“It should. All I’ve done…” You trailed off and gulped. “I’m not who I used to be.”

“I’ve done things I’m not proud of too. But we can-”

“Hunter, I don’t belong with you anymore.”

Hunter couldn’t accept that. “You’re one of us. You always have been. Since the first moment you stepped in front of those droids on Devaron, you were one of us. I don’t understand why-”

“There’s someone else.” You blurted out and fuck you hated yourself for it. You knew by the way he recoiled from you and from deep hurt and betrayal that flashed across his face, you would’ve been better off hitting him. You knew you had to hurt him. Even if he left hating you, you could find a way to let him go. But you hated that you had to do it.

“There’s someone else.” Hunter repeated quietly, his throat bobbing as he kept his voice tight.

You had to push it. It was the only way, but it felt like your heart was being ripped out of your chest as you said the next words. You forced yourself to keep your voice cold and level. “I’ve moved on. I only needed to know that you were alive. And now I do. You can go now. Just leave and don’t think about me again. It’ll save us all a lot of bother.” You couldn’t face the wounded look in his eyes and you turned your own away from him and had to blink away the tears that threatened to fall.

Hunter clenched his jaw and swallowed thickly. “Look me in the eye and tell me that again.” He implored.

He knew you too well. You wouldn’t do it. If you did, he would know you were lying. So, you opted for something worse- you would manipulate his heart. “If any part of you still cares about me, you will go. That’s all I want now. I need you to leave. You’ll only be hurting me more if you stay.” You said firmly as you faced him again.

You sounded so sure, and even if he thought he could see something in your eyes that took the conviction out of your words, he’d never want to cause you pain, he wouldn’t be able to stand it. Better him be the one to take the hurt, no matter how unnatural it felt, no matter how much every fibre of his being yearned to stay by your side and work this out. So, Hunter got to his feet and walked over to the door. “Every part of me still cares about you.” He murmured back to you before the door opened and he walked out. He was walking out on you- something he thought he’d never do- and it left him feeling like he had a gaping hole in his chest.

As you heard the door shut, a broken sob left your lips and you let the tears fall.

“Where is she?” Lyra asked as Hunter came out from the door behind them.

“Keep her alive.” Hunter said numbly to Lyra before he walked away.

“Hunter-” Lyra started to say but the clone wasn’t stopping.

“Eh, well, I guess it was nice to see you.” Wrecker said hurriedly before he darted after his brother.

“Bye.” Lyra said with confusion as she watched the two clones go. She turned to go back inside and hopefully knock some sense into you.

You’d managed to drag yourself into the sanctity of your room, but the isolation wasn’t helping things. The regret you were feeling was overwhelming but what was done was done. You needed to stand by your choice, it was what was best for them, you just needed to learn how to cope. You needed something, anything, to distract your brain from the self-doubt running rampant in your head so, staying mindful of your wound, you tentatively sat back on your bed and closed your eyes, drowned out the pouring rain smacking against the glass, and found your centre again.

Not to your surprise, you were only surrounded by darkness. You’d let the last light in your life go, there was nothing left for you now.

Spark.

Not that voice. Not again, you couldn’t handle that. “No, I’m not doing this.”

Yes, you are. You need to listen to me, Spark.

You sighed and saw the figure of your old master appear in the vast space before you. “So, either I somehow took a turn and I’m dead or I’m hallucinating.”

Your master simply chuckled. Must it always be extremes with you?

“You taught me what I know, you tell me.”

Well, based off your past choices, I would say you’ve forgotten much of what I taught you.

“This is why you’re in my head? To lecture me about my choices? Yes, I broke the code, big whoop. I never liked it anyway. And now I’ve given into the dark side, sorry to have disappointed you.” You grumbled as you looked down at your feet.

He sighed. It hurt him to see you look so defeated, this wasn’t the young Jedi he’d raised. Evidently, you were going to need more help than he expected. This isn’t some meditative trick. I’ve always been with you, Spark, and now I’m with you because you need help. You’ve strayed from your path, and you need guidance.

“You’re a few months too late, Master.” The title came back into your vocabulary so naturally, you’d nearly missed the fact that you’d reverted back to your student/teacher dynamic so quickly.

That defeat you’re feeling is exactly why I’m here now. This dark side you seem to think is your destiny is not decided, but if you continue to stand by the decision that you just made, it will be. There’s a chance for you, Spark, don’t throw it away.

You couldn’t bring yourself to believe him. “If you’ve truly been around for all of this, you’ll know what I’ve done. You’ve seen what I’ve become. I wasn’t as strong I thought I was.”

You haven’t fallen yet. He reiterated. What you’ve gone through would wreck most people, the fact that you’ve only strayed from the light now is a credit to you. But this choice you’ve made to let them go is what will seal your fate.

“What are you talking about? I was on this path long before what happened on Ord Mantell. I saw it!” You said, your voice rising in frustration and distress. Why was everyone around you so insistent that you could heal from this? You’d shown your true colours years ago, you were only doing what you were obviously meant for.

He raised his hands to calm you. Spark, listen to me. You’re not-

“I had to let him go! I had to let them all go! You should be glad, Master! I’m finally following the teaching you worked so hard on getting through to me!” Your breathing grew more uneven and the word that left your mouth were filled with self-loathing, but you couldn’t stop them. “I’m damaged goods, I have been from the beginning, and I couldn’t bring him down with me! I couldn’t bring any of them down with me!” You felt tears slide down your cheeks as the emotion you had been trying to hard to push down came crashing to the surface.

And is letting attachments go part of the Jedi or Sith philosophy? He asked gently.

His genteel manner caught you off guard. You huffed out a quick breath. “Why does that matter?”

Answer the question, please.

You released an agitated sigh. “Jedi, I guess but-”

And let me ask you this, you said you saw what you’ve done? How?

You regained some composure. “I don’t know how to describe what it was I saw, but whatever it was took me down a lovely stroll through memory lane and I saw what I was. There’s no denying it now.”

It was starting to make sense to him now and with this new understanding, he finally knew the best way to help you. Yes, the dark side can be very manipulative that way. Especially when it knows there’s been pain plenty of pain and sorrow. It preys upon that and I’m just sorry it got to you before I could.

“What are you talking about?”

What you saw, it wasn’t the whole truth.

Not the whole truth? “What do you mean?”

He looked at you with intrigue. What do you think I mean?

You inhaled deeply to find some patience. “Master, please. I’m not your padawan anymore.”

He bowed his head in acknowledgement. You’ll always be my padawan, Spark. But I understand this may not be the best time for one of my lessons.

Despite everything, the nostalgia his teaching persona brought you had you humming out a quiet laugh. “I guess working together on whatever cryptic lesson you’re going to impart on me will be fine, for old times sake if nothing else. Just don’t leave it all to me. I’m not clear-headed enough to do all the thinking.”

He nodded and smiled knowingly at you. It will be less cryptic that the lessons I used to give you. Let us begin.

You knew that gleam in his eye and you forgot that no matter how agitated or frustrated you’d been growing up as his pupil, he’d always found a way to put you at ease and you’d been more open to learning again. Even dead, he still seemed to possess that ability. And it was because of that, you found yourself getting ready to welcome whatever wisdom he felt could get you out of this hell you’d put yourself in.

Now, I understand that you are feeling a lot of guilt and self-loathing, correct?

Feeling it? You felt like you were drowning in it.

And you have convinced yourself that your clones, particularly… Hunter, isn’t it? He waited for your nod before continuing, are better off without you because you’ve done too much. Stepped over that line one too many times? A lost cause, yes?

“I guess you could say that.” You mumbled.

He hummed in thought before he spoke again. You mentioned something about you were this way from the beginning. Can you tell me to which beginning you are referring to?

You inhaled shakily. “I- I saw you die again. I watched myself destroy the rest of those droids in undisciplined rage and- and I was reminded of what I’d said to you.”

Ah yes, that was quite the day. Rather humiliating on my part, I must say. I should’ve just listened to you from the start. My we exchanged some choice words. He ruminated with a small chuckle.

You remembered him having a rather dry sense of humour, but this just seemed absurd. You’re laughing about this?! I was awful to you! I saw you die and all I could do was wreak havoc on a group of droids and I enjoyed it! I held your dead body in my arms and the last thing I had done was insult you and forget everything you’d taught me for some fucking battle droids!”

He held up his hands to appease you. You’re right, I shouldn’t have laughed but that wasn’t quite how it went.

You furrowed your brow. “What? I saw it! I remember it pretty clearly, even without the reminder. I’m haunted by it and you’re telling me that wasn’t what happened?!”

He shook his head. Not quite. Remember, the dark side has a remarkable ability to alter events to fit its needs. It only picks out the moments necessary to draw out those darker emotions. What you saw was true, from a certain point of view, but it didn’t show you everything.

“Then what am I missing?” You asked, desperation in your voice because if there was anything that could help ease the ache from that day, you needed it.

I wasn’t dead when I hit the ground. Fret not, no amount of medical attention would’ve saved me. He interjected hastily as he saw the panic that graced your face. Although the sadder truth is I did in fact die in your arms but… He angled his head to catch your eye again as you had shied away from him upon hearing that. He started again, but your last words to me were not fuelled by irritation or cruelty, you apologised for what you said as well as how you handled those droids. You told me that I was the best teacher you’d ever had, and you promised you would continue to work on what I taught you and to make me proud. That was the last thing you said to me before I passed on. And I can honestly say, Spark, that you kept your promise, despite how it might seem currently.

You went to speak but found that you didn’t have the words. All these years spent being tormented by a memory that in fact had another side to it, could that be right? Seeing it again had made it seem all the more true but there was nothing but sincerity in his face and voice as he told you this. He wasn’t looking to feed you a false narrative, there was no vindictiveness in his tone.

You don’t have to believe me immediately, I know things have been tough but we’re going to go through this and I’m going to help you see the truth, okay? He said tenderly.

You could only nod.

Okay. He straightened up. I’m going to make an educated guess and say that if that incident was the starting point, the next situation would’ve been that unfortunate time with Ahsoka and the Jedi Council and also the day you decided to leave?

You gulped and found your voice again. “Um, yeah.”

And I expect you were shown yourself in an untamed rage with little concern over the words you used?

You gave a stiff nod of your head.

Uh huh, well, once again, you were shown a manipulated memory created from shame. You were unhappy, and I can’t say I blame you, they really fucked that up if you pardon the phrase.

You couldn’t help but snort at his gentlemanly manner and you were reminded of the many telling offs for language you’d received growing up.

And while you were disappointed in them and frustrated, you never lost control of yourself. Your voice was raised but level. You were clear in your points, and you never said anything untoward save for some unsavoury language sprinkled in. He watched you impart the familiar eye roll as he said that last statement, but he took that as a positive sign. Your attachment to Ahsoka didn’t cloud your judgment, your decision to leave was made with a steady heart and a focused head. And I watched you do it and I knew it was the best decision for you. It did set things in motion, but they were good things for you, Spark, and it’s important that you realise that again. He looked at you earnestly.

You held his gaze, and, in his eyes, you saw the master that had been with you through thick and thin. The master that had put up with your questions and doubts about the Jedi Order that the Jedi Council could hardly tolerate. You saw the master that had mentored you and fought by your side for years. He was one of the people that had known you best. He wouldn’t lie to you, and you felt your heart opening up to what he was saying to you.

Shall we continue? He asked after giving you a minute to process.

You shook your shoulders and exhaled heavily before you looked at him and give him a single, firm nod.

He had taken you through various events bit by bit. Pointing out that elements that demonstrated you were still being pulled towards the light. Things like you would’ve either left or killed Lyra the second she’d gotten you out of Ord Mantell and her use was over. Things like you wouldn’t have offered so many opportunities for people to talk to you before you injured or killed them, you would have hurt them first and asked questions later- killing and pain had never been your first port of call. And any firefight that ensued, when possible, you made sure you remained the primary target and civilians would be out of harms way.

Concern for others and worry about the consequences of your actions… Sith and dark side users tend not to feel or allow for these things. He surmised.

Even if what he was revealing to you was the whole picture, there was still the pressing matter of how you’d been in the recent months. “But Eriadu and everything that followed after… I let something in, what was it if not the dark side?”

He gave you a sympathetic smile. You had never experienced loss and betrayal in such quick succession before. What you let in was the anger and anguish you were feeling which you weren’t trained to handle properly. The more you went on, the more those emotions twisted your brain which allowed the darkness to creep in and make it more effortless to act on said emotions. It was easier for you to get what you needed with your emotions being what they were, and you didn’t have to think about who was getting hurt. You got a rather bad case of tunnel vision- you were doing bad things for good reasons, but they were not senseless acts of violence.

“But I have done so many bad things.” You said with self-directed disgust.

Yes, but what you can do now is work towards finding that line again. To finding that control you had in the past. You’ve been on that path since this morning, the self-awareness of what you’ve been doing wasn’t present in the months before today. However, you cannot get back to that place alone anymore, you’ve changed since you left the Order and most of it was for the better, but more attachment means more support. You will not be able to find that balance if you let your family go. He said with a sense of urgency. He needed you to grasp what he was telling you, no matter how unnatural it might feel.

Your pulse quickened. Surely, he wasn’t suggesting what you thought he was? “What are you saying, Master?”

Do you know where your nickname originated?

Confused as you why this was suddenly relevant, you angled your head at him. “I always figured it was because word spread that I made my lightsaber slightly wrong the first time and nearly set it on fire when I first ignited it.”

He chortled. That acted more as a visual aid and a helpful addition to the true origin.

“Then where did it come from?”

He took a deep breath. In the weeks leading up to the time for us to choose a youngling to take under our wing, you caught my eye from the start. It wasn’t just your natural ability with a lightsaber or your quick grasp of the Force, it was how you interacted with the people around you. During the trials, you had a heightened care for how the others were performing and you aided them whenever you could without a second thought. It made you more focused, more effective. You were unique from your peers in that sense and in a way that I’d never seen before, and I knew I had to get to know you more to understand what it was I was picking up on.

“Yeah, I remember. I’d never expected someone to choose me so eagerly, especially since my disciplinary record was far from perfect, even at that age.” Youreminisced with a sigh.

Yes, my fellow Jedi were surprised at my decision, but there was just something within you I had to see for myself. As we got to understand each other and I could officially begin your training, I watched you continue to demonstrate this quality and I could feel it residing in the Force within you. You had this spark, this fire that drove you which would worry even the most disciplined Jedi Masters but with you, it was as much a part of you as the Force was with the rest of us. You were completely at peace with it, and it was something you probably didn’t realise was so rare. You could feel attachment without rejecting the light side of the Force to do so.

So, the name made a bit more sense after all these years, but you still couldn’t see why this was being brought up. “Okay…”

He could tell you were still hesitant to all this. Do you know which General had the most victories with the fewest casualty numbers? Quite a feat to have during war time I might add.

You huffed a heavy breath from your lips. “I have no idea. The war was such a mess and there were so many of us that it was hard to keep up with the results of each battle.”

Fair point. He conceded, but that doesn’t change the answer which is that it was you.

You were taken aback for a moment before you thought back to that period and part of it did make sense. Many of your strategies had seen you take on the most dangerous elements for the sake of the clones in your battalion despite protests from them, your master and pretty much everyone that was involved, but all that mattered to you was that they worked, and you did what you could to protect everyone else.

He knew you enough to recognise that face and he figured whatever it was you were thinking about would relate to his next question. And which General had the most visits to the medical wing? Another impressive award. He added with a hint of disapproval, his mask of control slipping slightly as he frowned at the memories of the countless notifications he’d receive of your admittance to the healing wards of the Jedi Temple.

You cringed as you remembered the fact you had been on a first name basis with all the medical personnel. “I did.”

He nodded. Attachments didn’t bring you down, they lifted you up. Their most negative consequence in that period seemed to be the recklessness they gave you- and my hair greying faster than I would’ve liked. He couldn’t help but say before he continued, but they didn’t unbalance you like they did most of us. And it is on that point my dear Spark, that I failed you.

“Failed me?” In what galaxy could he have possibly failed you when you were the one that had forgone all you stood for and was one slip away from total self-destruction.

When it became clear to me that this was indeed one of your best qualities and strengths, I was thrilled! It presented a challenge for me as you Master that I was looking forward to exploring! Your emotional attachment to people and causes was one I wanted to teach you to manage, not forbid. Your love and care didn’t make you more susceptible to the dark side and its dangers, it drew you closer to the light. That fire that burns within you isn’t a threat, it’s your way to become something greater. But the Council… He trailed off with a regretful sigh. They rejected my proposal that I mentor you in this way. So instead, as you got older, I worked on forcing you to dampen that flame within you but- He stopped for a moment and chuckled wryly. As you may remember, that was when the root of our conflicts started. Foolishly and rather selfishly-and this is an example of how even those of us that followed the Jedi Code to the letter slip from time to time- you passing your trials into Knighthood gave me profound relief. Not only did it mean I could see you become the Jedi you were always meant to be, but it meant my duty as your teacher was over and I could stop doing something I was against. But I shied away too much and stopped teaching you altogether, had I just been less of a ‘pawn of the Council’ as you quite rightly put it, what you’re experiencing now could have been avoided.

You took a moment to let his words sink in, but you wouldn’t let him blame himself for how you’d behaved in recent times. “I still made the choices to hurt those people, Master. You’re not responsible for my actions.”

Perhaps not, but I could’ve done more to make sure you were better equipped to deal with the loss attachment could bring rather than just tell you to stop feeling it altogether. Not that you listened to that anyway. He added with a slight grin.

You allowed yourself half a smile at that before his face turned sombre again.

But I should’ve stood up for you and for that I’m sorry.

You bowed your head in acceptance of his apology. “But what does all of what we’ve talked about have to do with where I am now?”

Everything I’ve shown you, everything you’ve felt in these recent months illustrates someone who had to cope with a tremendous amount of grief when they had been told their whole life to not feel or get attached. Even with your strength and abilities, Spark, that was a big ask, your actions, and the internal conflict you’re going through is an understandable outcome. But even in dealing with that struggle, you were never purely evil or sought to abandon your Jedi teachings. The only time I grew truly worried before now was whatever you did a few weeks ago. Even I couldn’t see you; it was like the very light around you was getting snuffed out. Care to tell me what you did?

You shook your head adamantly.

Very well. As I was saying, all you’ve learned, all you’ve done and means you can heal from this. You are not a lost cause, not a source of darkness and despair. You are good at heart, Spark!

But Master, I-

No, don’t talk yourself out of this. Really think about what I’m telling you. You never abandoned Lyra, you did your best to ensure no civilian would be caught up in your fights, you offered chances to those people before you hurt them. And you were able to sense Hunter and Wrecker arrive. That source of light wouldn’t have shown itself if you were too far down that dark path.

Maybe so but-

He wouldn’t let you second guess yourself anymore. And when you realised that they were indeed on this planet… what did you do first?

You pondered for a moment before you remembered. I helped those sisters.

And when you found one another, you felt alive and hopeful again but because you’d been lost and confused for so long, it got manipulated into that guilt and regret and hurt you are experiencing right now that has left you exposed to this darkness. But before that, you were ready to free yourself of it, whether you truly realised it or not.

“Right…” You said distantly as you were slowly starting to understand what revelation he was guiding you towards.

I can see you working it out, you’re almost there. He encouraged.

Each lesson and aspect of this entire conversation began to click into place. “So, you’re saying that Hunter’s my light? He’s my way out of this?” You uttered quietly.

Isn’t he? He challenged with a supportive smile. And I believe he too made that fact very clear before you sent him away.

“I thought that was what I was supposed to do.” You said in dismay as your mind finally began to listen to what your Master had been telling you and you gained some proper clarity. What had you done?

He looked at you fondly. You were always a bad student when it came to applying and learning the history of our Code, it would fit that the first time you apply the philosophy to your life would be the poorer choice. They never unbalanced you, Spark. At the very least, they’re your way of staying true to the light side and your dark side knew that, hence it’s enthusiastic efforts to turn you.

You hid you head in your hands in embarrassment. You wouldn’t know a right decision if it smacked you in the face.

Oh, and with regards to Cid and Hemlock, I leave that side of things entirely up to you, with your family by your side, I know punishing them however you like won’t ruin you.

“Thanks, Master.” You replied, a smile in your voice.

Not every Jedi gets the chance at a family, Spark, don’t throw it away now.

You glanced up in time to see him fade away but what was around you wasn’t pure darkness anymore; rays of light had broken into the gloomy space, with more fighting to get through.

You opened your eyes sharply and wiped away the damp residue of the tears that had escaped your eyes from your cheeks. He was right, they were the light in your life, and you’d been so stupid to let them go.

Ignoring the lingering pain of your injury, you hastily got to your feet, grabbed a couple bags of credits, and left your room only to be greeted by the disappointed and unhappy face of Lyra. “Hey, I was just-”

“You need to go after them. I’m sorry but I’m drawing the line here. I have not watched you put yourself through hell and risk your life month after month to find your family again only for you to throw it away for some stupid, fucked up, self-sabotaging reason! If you let them go, it will destroy you and as someone else who cares about you, I cannot allow you to do that! They’re your family, you need them, and they need you. And your kid needs you, you can’t just stop! And Hunter… that man is so in love with you it’s sickening, and you are as equally disgustingly in love with him! Whatever is holding you back, the two of you can get through together!”

“Lyra-” But she held up a finger to stop you.

“And you don’t need to worry about me, I will be fine. I’ll get a job and might even find a place that’s not a condemned building to live. You have to go!” She finished with a nervous exhale as she awaited your reaction.

“You’re right.” You agreed.

“Yeah, I am and- wait… what?” Lyra stared at you, shocked.

“I’m going after them.”

“You are?” She double checked.

“Yup.”

“Oh, thank fuck!” Lyra exclaimed before she darted forward and wrapped you up in her arms.

“How long were you coming up with that speech?” You kidded as the two of you hugged.

“For however long you were holed up in your room.” Lyra said with a laugh. “And in case you didn’t listen to that, I had my rifle set to stun and was fully prepared to drag you.”

“Glad we could avoid that.” You replied drily. “Also, ‘sickeningly in love?’” You quoted.

“I meant that as a compliment. Most people can only dream of that.”

You managed a short laugh. “I was an ass to you.” You mumbled shamefully.

“You were, but you were going through a lot.” Lyra said kindly as she removed herself from your hold.

“I was broken and hurting but that wasn’t an excuse to treat you how I did and I’m so sorry. I’m truly grateful for you and your friendship and well, just everything you’ve done for me. I won’t ever forget it. There are some spare bags of credits from those jobs I pulled whilst we were on the move in my bedside drawer, take them. And if there’s anything, and I mean anything you need, I will be there. You only have to get in touch.” You passed her the details of the Marauder’s comm channel.

“Go get ‘em.” Lyra said with a grin.

You gave her one last quick hug before you ran out the door, concern for your injury was pushed far to the back of your mind. You only prayed to the Force that you hadn’t left it too late.

“But I still don’t understand why we’re going without her. What you’ve said makes no sense.” Wrecker questioned as he followed Hunter up and down the Marauder as he got stuff ready for take-off.

“Not my problem, Wrecker. I don’t really want to relive it all again so that it makes sense to you.” Hunter said gruffly as he avoided making eye-contact with his brother and instead focused on keeping himself busy.

“She met someone else and you’re basically doing the whole ‘if you love someone you let them go?’”

“I guess that about sums it up.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“Wrecker-”

“I’m sorry, Sarge, but it’s true.”

“You weren’t there. You didn’t hear her.”

“She can’t have meant it! She still has your insignia, if there was someone else, why would she keep that?!”

“Wrecker, drop it.” Hunter said sharply. His brother’s insistence that you were making all this up was only rubbing salt in the wound.

“We’re really just going to leave and forget about her?”

“Yup.”

Wrecker just couldn’t accept that. “If you love someone, you fight for them! Otherwise, what’s the point in what we’re doing right now, why should we bother going after Omega?”

Hunter paused his pacing by the doorway and released an exasperated sigh. “What do you expect me to do?”

Wrecker went to speak but changed his mind as to what he was going to say as he saw the figure in the background. “Actually, I don’t think you’ll have to do anything.” Wrecker said, looking past Hunter’s shoulder.

Hunter turned to follow his gaze and that was when he saw you. Standing in the torrential rain a few feet away from the steps to the Marauder, was you and you were obviously trying to catch your breath.

You started to speak before you caught your breath, so your words were leaving you in a desperate and winded manner. “I was always a bad student.” You raised your voice over the sound of the pouring way. You wiped some drops away from your face, a futile gesture given the intensity of the downpour, but the motion assisted in grounding you for this moment.

Hunter studied you from afar for a second, unsure as to why you’d started this way.

Sensing his uncertainty, you cleared your throat and started again but your words still spilled from your lips in a nervous ramble. “So, it turns out I was always a Jedi who developed attachments and love for people, but apparently that’s a pretty strong and unique quality and applying the Jedi philosophy of ‘letting attachment go’ is a mistake and- and it felt like one. I have such a poor grasp of that concept that even when I went to use it properly, I got it all wrong. I was always a terrible student but for once, for once in my life, I have never been more grateful for it.” Your voice quivered as you said these next words. “I love you! I love you so much it hurts but it’s the kind of hurt that I can’t imagine not having in my life. You, this team, are what keep me balanced and alive, and I was stupid to think letting you go was the solution to everything I have done!”

Hunter could feel his heart thundering in his chest as he listened to what you were saying.

“Finally seeing you again made me feel hope and brought a newfound sense of purpose in my life I didn’t think I’d have again but it got all twisted, I let it get all messed up! I saw you and Wrecker, and I felt that love again and it terrified me at first! I had been acting out and miserable for so long that I didn’t think I deserved to feel this way again or that I should burden you all with my past. I needed to be punished and this was the best way I could think of. I allowed whatever darkness that had been driving me for that period we were apart to convince me that you were better of alone and I had to say whatever I could to get that to happen and for that, I am sorry!” You were in full flow now, all the emotions you’d been supressing came crashing to the surface and for once, it actually felt good. You weren’t existing as a husk of armour anymore.

Hunter couldn’t stand the gap between you anymore and he got his feet in motion. He needed to be near you, he needed to hold you again. You didn’t seem to notice his movement though because you carried on talking.

“There was never anyone else, there could never be anyone else! You’re it for me and this-” You stopped and gestured to the half white skull insignia on your top layer. “When I had this and said that you were a part of me, I truly meant it! Even when we weren’t together, that feeling never faltered. Half my heart beats for myself and this family I was fortunate enough to find. The other half beats for you! You are so deeply engrained in my very being that when I didn’t have you, I could hardly call it living! And then I got you back, and I was flooded with all the emotions I’d been missing since that day we were separated, and they collided with everything I’d done wrong, and I just panicked! I entered self-sabotage mode and thought letting you out of my life was what I had to do! I ruined one of the few remaining good things in my life and was preparing myself to let it be so. Thankfully, it was pointed out to me just how incorrect I was and I’m sorry!”

Hunter kept slowly walking down the steps towards you, the heavy rain instantly cascading down his face and body, but he didn’t care. His sole focus was on you now and the words you were saying. The words that were now healing the open wound he’d had since leaving you in that run down apartment.

“I need to come back. I need to be with you and I’m sorry I got everything so wrong! I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you, but you have to let me come back!”

“Yes.” He said as he continued to shorten the distance between you both.

“This family is the light of my life. You are the light of my life. So, either, let me come with you or just shoot me because without you, without this squad, I am just a shell of a human being and I’m done feeling like that now! You have to let me come back!”

“Yes.” Hunter said again as he stopped in front of you.

“And I-” You cut yourself off as you finally registered what he was saying and that the space between you both was now only a matter of inches. “Really?”

Hunter nodded and his hand fell to your waist whilst the other cradled the side of your face.

“I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry.” You whispered softly as your hand rested on his now unarmoured chest and you got utterly absorbed in the feeling of his heart pounding beneath your fingertips- each beat emphasising that this was real, you were actually with him now- and you had no doubt that he could pick up on the way your own pulse was racing.

“It’s okay.” He breathed. “I love you too.”

“I love you.” You croaked out again as you felt the emotions rise in the back of your throat.

“You never stopped being a part of me either.” He murmured, his breathing heavy as his self-restraint was hanging by a thread, but he needed you to be sure. “Can I-” Hunter started to ask as he angled his head and slowly brought his lips closer to yours.

“Yes.” You cut him off. If he didn’t kiss you now, you felt as though you might stop breathing.

Hunter swiftly bridged the remaining distance and the dread he’d been experiencing at the idea of never finding you, at the idea of leaving you behind instantly evaporated in this moment as he finally placed his lips on yours.

You sighed into the sensation of experiencing this again and what began as hesitant and careful, soon became a kiss between two people fuelled by passion who had been apart for far too long and who would never be apart again. You wrapped your arms around him and pressed yourself against him.

Hunter first made sure he held you securely in his arms but as the kiss progressed and both of you became more immersed in feeling each other once more, his hands started caressing everything he could find. The actions elicited a small but desperate noise from you which he already felt drunk off of and he needed to hear more of you. The rain that had once felt like a harsh cascade of cold, damp water now felt gentle and tepid. He got utterly absorbed in your warmth and he tasted the water on your lips, but the interference didn’t bother him, he just relished the feeling of having you back in his embrace again.

You faintly registered the sun breaking through and the rain lightened in its deluge as you kissed him. If it wasn’t such a perfect moment, you might’ve laughed at the cliched nature of it all, but you were too caught up in this feeling that you ignored it. You threaded your fingers in his hair and lightly tugged, soliciting that raspy and familiar groan from him and your stomach fluttered at the feeling.

Unfortunately, you couldn’t ignore your current injury any longer and you felt it strain as Hunter held you tighter to him in response to your actions.

Hunter forced himself to pull away upon feeling your wince, his chest heaving as he worked on getting oxygen back into his lungs, but you interrupted his incoming question by continuing to plant light, affectionate kisses on the rest of his face and he couldn’t help the low but happy laugh that he let out. He lightly grabbed your shoulders and took a slight step back to take you in. The way the sun fell across your face had his breath catching in his throat. Your eyes were bright and looking at him with an adoration that he knew was reflected in his own gaze and the blissful smile on your lips beautifully captured the feelings of this moment. He rested a hand on the side of your face.

You looked into his own shining dark brown eyes and leaned into his touch with a soft and content sigh.

Hunter continued to slowly caress your cheek. “Not to disrupt your healing journey, but I have to ask… where do you stand on Cid and Hemlock?”

“Oh, don’t worry, they’re getting fucked up. I have permission on that front.” You said with a decisive nod. “I just have to watch the line with those that aren’t exactly personally involved.”

Not going to question where this permission came from exactly, he was just grateful whatever had happened, had brought you back to him so he just focused on the last part. “I can help with that. And you can look out for me too. We don’t have to do this alone anymore.”

You gave him an agreeing and grateful smile before you planted another tender kiss to his lips and grabbed his hand as the two of you walked back to the ship.

“This you officially back with us now?” Wrecker asked with a grin as you stepped aboard.

“You won’t be able to get rid of me.” You replied with a small smile as you gazed around you. There were times where you had felt uncertain as to whether you would stand amongst these comforting and familiar walls again, and your senses were flooded with the memories you had created and shared here. You swallowed harshly as you saw Omega’s and Tech’s spaces, but you regained your composure as you walked along the hallway. Your hand traced along the bunk you shared with Hunter and a soft sigh left your lips as you were instantly reminded of the slightly more personal moments you had experienced there.

It felt good to be home.

“Ready?” Hunter asked as you finished in the cockpit. He came beside you and wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you tight to him as Wrecker put the ship in hyperspace.

You nodded. “Let’s go get our girl.”

Next Oneshot>

Tagging: @noeasyisnoisy, @fuckoffthanos, @tpwkcalli, @graciexmarvel, @arctrooper69, @nightmonkeysstuff, @brujaporfavor, @starwarsnerd111, @flyingkangaroo, @sunkissedclones, @ladytano420, @keep-calm-and-drink-caf, @yyourmotherr, @xxeiraxx, @dragonrider9905, @skellymom, @lokigirlszendaya

#the bad batch #the bad batch season 2 #the bad batch s2 #hunter x reader #hunter x female!jedireader #hunter x fem!reader #hunter x female!reader #sergeant hunter x reader #sergeant hunter #hunter tbb #hunter the bad batch #the bad batch hunter x you #hunter x y/n #tbb hunter x reader #the bad batch fanfiction #star wars #angst #fluff #friends to lovers

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luminoustarlight · 6 months

Note

OH MY GOSH I SAW UR POST ABOUT WANTING ANI FLUFF REQUESTS so i’m gonna just spit shit out into your inbox okay anyways

playing with his hair and he’s like all in love and he’s like laying on you right and then he like flips his body over and starts kissing you and saying how much he loves you and shit OHBMYFUCKINGGOD

thats like so basic but

Sweet Everythings | Anakin Skywalker (x gn!reader)

Admissions, cuddles, and kisses.

On the rare occasion that Anakin has a day off, he is absolutely spending it with you. He sneaks over to your apartment early, as quietly as he can manage but his arrivals always stir you out of your sleep.

When you groggily call out to him with tired eyes, his reply is always the same. "It's just me, angel. Go back to sleep." Anakin slips himself beneath your sheets, sidling up to you on the warm side of the bed. He drops a soft kiss to your shoulder while wrapping his arms around you and bringing your back to his firm chest. "My love," he whispers.

"Mmm," is all your foggy mind can conjure.

"You are my everything," Anakin says. "Every day I don't see you, I am yearning for you. I think about you on the battlefields, the promise of your love is what gets me through even the toughest of missions. I would leave it all for you, my angel. I think about it often..." Anakin's voice trails off.

You let him lull you back to sleep with sweet nothings. Or rather, sweet everythings. When he expresses how much he loves you, how much you mean to him, it is not nothing.

"I would leave the Order if you asked me to," is the last thing you remember Anakin saying before fully falling asleep.

You would never ask him to do such a thing— leave the Order. You know he is conflicted about many aspects of the War, the Jedi Way, the Prophesy, the attachment to you he's not supposed to have. But Anakin is a good Jedi. He is a good Master to Ahsoka and he is a good commander to the 501st. You would never ask him to leave the Order for you and you hate that he thinks you want him to.

Or perhaps it is what he really wants... and he needs you to be the reason for him to finally walk away.

When you awake up, Anakin's legs are tangled with yours. His head is on your chest, rising and falling as you breathe. You comb your fingers through his bed-head, detangling the knots in his dirty blonde waves. A rather firm pull awakes him up.

"Ow," he mumbles.

You grin. "Sorry, Ani."

"S'okay," he sighs. He lays his arm over your tummy while peppering kisses above the seam of your bed shirt. Warm lips against warm skin, your calming scent of Lavandula infiltrating his senses. "I love you, anyway." Anakin traces his lips over your clavicle and the early intimacy makes your whole nervous system send shocks to your nerve endings. Every little touch is heightened. You feel every kiss deep in your bones, his hands feel impossibly large on your hips as he crawls on top of you.

Anakin lays his full weight on you which makes you wheeze out a puff of air. "You're crushing me!"

"Nuh uh," Anakin replies. "If I was crushing you, you wouldn't be able to talk."

You roll your eyes, playfully hitting his shoulder. "Get off of me, you oaf!"

That gets him sitting up. Anakin's pretty face is contorted into a not so pretty face as he exclaims, "Oaf?!"

"I said what I said."

"Take it back."

"No," you jut your chin up in protest.

Anakin frowns. "Take it back or no kisses."

Oh, now that is something you simply cannot gamble. To not kiss Anakin is like Tatooine with only one sun— unimaginable. It's only a joke, but a knot of sadness forms in your throat. There are many rotations in which you can't kiss Anakin. Weeks upon weeks when he is away on a mission and you have little communication with him.

Those bouts are the toughest— when you are missing Anakin with your entire being and you can't be consoled by even your closest friend because not even she knows of your relationship.

Anakin can sense the uneasiness in you. Plus, the way your face falls is a clear indication that you are upset. "Hey," Anakin shifts off of you and props himself on his elbow. He runs the back of his fingers over your cheek as he wonders what he said wrong. "You know I was only joking, right?"

"I know," you sniffle. "It's dumb."

"It's not dumb, my love. What is bothering you?"

"Oh, Ani," you tuck his hair behind his ear with a smile. "You know I would never ask you to leave the Order for me."

The crease between Anakin's eyebrows deepens. "What are you..."

"It's hard to be away from you sometimes," you bite the inside of your cheek. Anakin absently draws on your skin with his mechanical limb. "Okay, all of the time. It's hard to be away from you every time we are apart. Encrypted files are never enough. Our stolen moments in the Temple are never enough."

Where you're going with this starts to terrify Anakin. Anxiety creeps into his bloodstream, heart rate ticking up as he fears he's about to lose the greatest, most wonderful thing in his life.

"But this," you say, grabbing Anakin's hands. "Ani... we are enough. It is the most sweetest thing to be loved by you, Anakin Skywalker. And I would go through hell or high water to keep you in my life. But I will never take you away from the Order if that is not what you truly want."

"I- I didn't realize you were awake when I said that. It's just something I have been meditating over. Do you know how happy you make me? I didn't know love until I met you." Anakin has somehow maneuvered himself on top of you once again. His nose brushes yours as your breath becomes one in the space between you. "If I were to leave the Order, it would be so that I could love you freely. Because you, my love, are all I ever want."

Anakin lowers his lips over yours, nothing over the top or too intense. It's just pure love. Poetry in motion as your lips move against each other. Anakin wraps his arms around your back and rolls you over so you're sitting on top of him. You cup his cheeks to press yourself even closer to him. There is nowhere else either of you would rather be.

anakin masterlist

#anakin skywalker x reader #anakin skywalker fluff #anakin skywalker one shot #anakin skywalker blurb #anakin skywalker fanfiction #anakin skywalker imagine #anakin skywalker fan fiction #anakin skywalker x you #anakin skywalker x gn!reader #mae's mail 💌

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nosesitter · 11 months

Text

So helpful ! Joel miller

1.4k words

Warning: Dark and perv! joel miller, AFAB!reader, male and female masturbation, dub con, drug use, male voyeuristic, light stalking, breaking and entering lmao, Joel is 55, reader is 24, somewhat established relationship (she be in his apartment), my punctuation (sorry I’m a American and texan)

Gif not mine!

A/N: first public drabble to post in quite a while. Getting thoughts onto here are harder than it sounds be patient I do a lot of drugs but have lots of ideas. So yeah enjoy!

Helpful neighbor!Joel miller installed your rings cameras for you. How sweet! When he tested them he connected his phone up to it. Now he has access to your house inside and out but you don’t know that.

Since moving into your apartment things have been great! The area is perfect you’re not too close to town but if you need anything it’s not a long drive. The neighbors are also great! There’s Martha who lives across your apartment, there’s Josh and Cathy who live to the right of you, and then to the left is Joel Miller, 55 years old and utterly attractive. Joel wasn’t a man of many words but he was very helpful, especially whenever you needed help.

It started off small at first a few stolen Amazon packages, your plants outside your door knocked over, but what finally pushed you into getting the cameras was when you came home one night and your apartment was broken into. Nothing was stolen thank god and your cat didn’t run too far, Joel was able to catch her and keep her at his place.

Too scared to sleep at your place for the night Joel offered his apartment for you until you felt safe. That night you ordered the cameras.

“How come none of these cameras are easy install? I have to have some sort of power tool.” You say to Joel as you sit as his breakfast bar scrolling Amazon. He’s currently in the kitchen making something to eat for you, his way of apologizing cause he wasn’t there to stop the break in.

“I could install them for you, I do have the power tools for it.” He says turning around pan in hand as he scoops out the pasta he made onto your plate.

“I’m gonna be busy this week, it’s okay I’ll just wait till I-“

“I can install them it won’t be a problem, I can come early in the morning.” Joel goes running in the morning and when you’re leaving for work he’s coming back from his run.

“Thank you Joel, for everything.” Reaching over you grab his hand and for a moment no one says anything and it’s quiet besides your cats collar making noise. Him making dinner and you just sitting there. It’s domestic, something Joel didn’t think he’d have after Sarah left for college 2 years ago.

He can’t help but kinda feel bad for breaking into your apartment. He just wanted to have something from you. His thick fingers trailing over your pillow, leaning over his nose fills with your scent, the scent of your vanilla shampoo lingers. Joels slowly walking around seeing fragments of your life scattered around the small apartment, clothes pouring out the closet, your bong on the living room table that’s half smoked, your cat curled up on your side of the bed. Before he leaves he passes your laundry room, right on top of the laundry basket there’s a black lace thong. Joel pockets it.

🫶🏻

By the time you get out the shower Joel is knocking at the door. You stand there and think get dressed or open it. Latching your towel around you tightly you rush to the front door. “I’m sorry Joel but I’m running late.” Joel stands their tool bag in hand as you rush back into the bathroom. Droplets of water trailing on the floor behind you.

“The box is on the counter! Just put a camera in each room please!” Joel stands there for a moment as his gaze fixes to the cracked bathroom door, steam coming from the room, your cat poking it’s head in to see you, and your shadow moving against the door showing you beginning to dress.

Twenty minutes later you emerge from the bathroom hair dry, makeup done, and clothed. You come out to see Joel standing on a step ladder in the corner of your living room. He’s drilling the camera into the wall, flannel tied around his waist as his back and arm muscles contract under his gray shirt. He stops and then turns to see you and he smiles.

“Good morning sunshine, are you about to leave?” You nod your head at him as you gather your bags together. “I’ll try to finish up quick-“

“It’s all good, here you can leave whenever.” You hold out your hand and in it is a little silver key. It’s quite a big step in Joel’s eyes but to you he’s someone you can trust. He takes the key, smiles and as he slips it in his pocket his fingers rub against your thong that’s also in there.

“I’ll see you later Joel, thanks again.” And with that you’re out the door.

An hour later and Joel’s done. He sits on your couch and pulls your bong you tried to “hide” behind the couch and hits it as the ring app loads up. As he’s connecting his phone to the cameras, and looking at the angles he can see you at he notices the little blue light in the corner. Reaching into his tool bag he digs around grabbing a sharpie and starts coloring over the blue dot.

🫶🏻

It’s late by the time you come back home but Joel is still awake waiting just for you. He gets up from his couch and heads to his bedroom where yours is adjacent just on the other side of the thin wall. He decides to use the cameras. Pulling out his phone his finger hesitates over the app he thinks about it for a second. Thinks about how you’ve been so nice to him, it’s under false pretense of course but it’s still genuine niceness.

The thought doesn’t last long cause Joel can hear your shower turn on so he presses on the camera app and opens the one in your room.

He can see you sitting on your bed rolling a joint in nothing but your panties. He swallows hard as you nod your head along to the music softly playing. He wishes he could be over there to greet you everyday to run your shower and cook dinner, to fuck you stupid till you’re not thinking anymore.

His cock starts to press against the lining of his pajama pants. He rubs his hand over the clothed erection as he watches you more. You finish rolling and begin your search for a lighter. Prancing around in your panties Joel’s mind goes dark. He thinks about how you’re just freely out here. He knows that you don’t know he’s watching you but he can’t help but think that this is a show you’re putting on for him. His own personal show. Just. For. Him

His fingers are yanking down his waistband and pulling them over his balls. He’s really hard now. Opening up his hand he spits into it and then lubes himself up. Starting out slow, his pointer finger and thumb squeezing the tip as he begins to jerk himself. You’re laying on your stomach, legs kicking behind you as you smoke your joint. Joel doesn’t mind the smell honestly he might buy weed from you later.

“Fucking tease.” He hisses out as he begins to make his grip tighter and pace faster. He’s not looking at the cameras anymore as he strokes himself only thinking of you and how you’d be such a sweet girl for him. Reaching down to cup his balls Joel is punched back to reality when he hears his name just slightly.

Ripping one of his hands away from himself he grabs his phone and sees you. Fucking slut, hands between your legs, joint between your lips chanting his name low. He came right then and there, massaging the cum all over his dick in his hand as he moans at the sight of you. A few minutes later of watching you, your hands slips away and you lay there catching your breath. Swinging your legs over the bed you hop up, smush the joint in the ash tray and then kick the bathroom door close.

Joel saw that he able to save that whole video. He did and he rewatched it 2 more times. Hearing your sweet voice whimper his name as you play with your clit. Unknowingly you just got Joel addicted. He needed you bad.

———————🪻🧺🫐

Reblog, comment, validate me 🫶🏻

0627

#joel miller one shot #pervy!joel miller #joel miller smut #pedro pascal smut #the last of us #dark joel miller #joel miller #joel x female reader

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milfjuulpod · 6 months

Text

Guidance, Ch III

A/N: hiii sorry this took so long, all the chapters are posted on my AO3, same username. hopefully the next update will be better, i’m not too proud of this one :,(

previous chapters are on AO3 and my master list, here

You and Melissa had agreed on meeting after school for coffee on Thursday, giving you each time to prepare some work. One of her students was showing signs of dyslexia, and after a one-on-one meeting with the student, the redhead decided to take action. Via email, she gave you some information to get started and make an IEP for her. It was quite early in the year, and with it being your first year doing this job, you were quite nervous. Nonetheless, you put your best foot forward and got to work nearly immediately.

Of course, your habit of drowning yourself in work caught the attention of others. A knock at your door pulled you away from the research in front of you. “Hey you! I feel like you’ve been here for weeks and we’ve barely bonded,” Janine announced herself, entering the room. The younger teacher was sweet, and even though her overzealous personality could be a bit much, you knew it was coming from a good heart.

“Sorry, Janine. I get wrapped up in work pretty easily. How’s your Tuesday going? Kids treating you right?” You asked, minimizing the tabs on your computer.

“Oh my students are great, right now we’re working on fractions and it’s actually going good!” She said enthusiastically. “I’m glad to hear, can I help you with anything?” You continued.

“Uh, yeah! Jacob and I are going out for trivia on Thursday, you should totally join us! I heard you went to a great university and we would love to spend some time together after school. Have you met Jacob? He’s so sweet you’ll love him, you know actually-” You cut off Janine before she could start one of her infamous rants, which you heard lots about and we’re lucky to avoid until this point.

“Actually, I can’t Thursday. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to get to know you guys but, I’m actually meeting with Ms. Schemmenti to help one of her students out.”

Janine’s face dropped, and just as quick as it did, she returned to her peppy demeanor. It reminded you of what she previously said about Melissa, and you silently wondered if there was any truth to it. “Oh, no worries. I’m sure we’ll figure something out soon,” Seemingly wanting to avoid more rejection, Janine gathered her things. “Wait, Friday is our half day, right? Maybe we could go grab lunch or something after school? Make up for me missing trivia?” You offered, not wanting to make her feel bad.

It seemed like you made the right choice, as Janine immediately bounced back. “That would be awesome! I’ll tell Jacob right now, see you around!”

The rest of the week passed by rather quickly, filled with new paperwork and projects that you continued to work on. Thursday came before you knew it, and with the final bell, the plans you had put most of your attention to were gathered, on their way with you to meet Melissa for coffee.

Opus was gorgeous inside, filled with neutral colors and artwork from the team and local artists. Plants covered the walls and even decorated some tables. It was nice, you were happy to meet the redhead in a place like this. Upon seeing her, you felt your breath catch and couldn’t take your eyes away. Sure, it was right after school so she was wearing the same pink sweater and tight jeans, but something about seeing her more relaxed, outside of the school walls, it made your heart beat a little bit faster.

“Hey hon, thanks for meeting with me after school. I brought some stuff to brainstorm with…” She trailed off, picking a table for the two of you and immediately covering it with papers and binders. Janine’s voice rang in your head again, and you began to feel insecure about where you stood with Melissa. Maybe even stupid, for thinking she would find a friend in you.

“That’s fine, I’m gonna grab our coffees, macchiato?” You asked, but Melissa was quick to turn down the offer. “Absolutely not, you buy me coffee all the time. It’s my turn,” she walked past you, gently pushing you to the side with a hand on your back. Just as quickly as you remembered the infamous words about the older teacher, you forgot them.

The rest of the afternoon was that way. One moment, completely entranced by the woman across the table from you, unable to pull your attention away. The next, avoiding eye contact and feeling uncomfortable and used. Something told you Melissa noticed your switch in behaviors almost every time, the way she would mimic your actions. It was impossible to read her. Maybe she wanted it that way, maybe you just couldn’t read her.

After a couple of hours of this back and forth, the two of you decided to call it. “Thank you, again, for helping me. It means a lot,” Melissa said outside of the cafe, wind blowing her hair ever so slightly. “Oh…It’s no problem, I’ll see you tomorrow,” You smiled and turned to take your leave, anxiety bubbling at the surface, until a hand grabbed your wrist to face its owner yet again. “Hey, what’s goin’ on with you today? Usually you’re more…I don’t know…upbeat and engaged. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, sorry. I just…I mentioned to Janine the lunch you shared with me earlier and she said something that made me a little nervous,” You answered. As much as you didn’t want to tell the truth, you figured lying would be even worse. Instead of replying, Melissa motioned for you to continue. “She said she hoped you weren’t buttering me up for something and why else would you be nice to me?”

Wrong choice. Melissa’s eyes widened and you could see all the rage she had in her expression. “Oh, so I can’t be nice to the newbie for one day? I gotta get somethin’ out of it? And you believed her…This whole time? Whole time you’ve been buying me coffee and offering to help, what are you trying to get out of it?” She yelled, and didn’t give you any time to retaliate as she got in her car and left you on the steps.

Defeated, you stood alone for a moment, trying to collect your thoughts. You felt like an idiot, again. For believing what Janine said, and for treating Melissa poorly. You threw your work into the passenger seat of the car and drove to trivia.

“Oh my god! I thought you weren’t coming? Weren’t you going to meet Melissa today?” Janine nearly yelled as she ran from her booth of friends up to you. “Yeah…I did. It didn’t go too well actually so I wanted to come here and at least have a good night. I hope that’s okay?”

“Of course it is, here come sit with all of us.” Janine led you back to the booth with Jacob and Gregory, happy to be in the company of new friends. “Alright, trivia doesn’t start for another thirty minutes, what happened?” Janine asked, which was followed by Jacob interrogating you as well, and Gregory listening attentively. You explained the entire afternoon to the three of them, hoping to at least get it out of your system. All three of them had something different to say, but you took Gregory’s advice to heart.

“Listen, Melissa’s a bit tough on the outside, but she always means well. Just apologize to her for reacting that way and, with time, I’m sure things will be fine.”

Thankfully, trivia started shortly after the advice dump you received, and you were happy to be done talking about it. Hopefully tomorrow morning, with a macchiato and an apology, you could make it up to Melissa.

#abbott elementary fics #abbott elementary #lisa ann walter #wlw #melissa schemmenti x reader #melissa schemmenti x you #melissa schemmenti

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multi-fxndom446 · 3 months

Text

Beg

Scenario: Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley, Alex Keller, Kyle ‘Gaz’ Garrick

Summary: the thought of being able to bring a strong man to his knees and beg for you. (Not in the good way. This will hurt.)

Truthfully I was not gonna post part one to this yet but I feel I should give you guys something since it’s been so long.

There will be more the one part to this series because unlike the ‘you came? You called.’ Series this one will only have three characters for each part only because some of them got a little lengthy.

Simon ‘ghost’ Riley

Warning: fighting, established relationship. Simon’s bad at feelings.

You’d been at it for what felt like hours and simon was getting fed up.

This was your fifth fight in just two weeks and he couldn’t even remember what this one was about all he knew was he said some hurtful things to you.

Some things he wished with every fibre of his being that he could take back. Some things he could see cut deeply into old wounds you were working on healing.

Some things so harsh you were now moving around the shared apartment at lightening speed, packing your bag.

But being the idiot he was he never could show the emotions he wanted to show you. So it was making you angrier to see he didn’t seem as affected as you even though he was, if not more.

“What do you need me to do to prove I’m sorry?” He was calm. Calmer then you were that was for sure. Tears were still running down your cheeks as you threw all your clothes onto the bed to start packing. “What do I need to do to prove I love you?”

“Nothing Simon.” You grumbled shoving past him. He was just watching you. Watching you completely break down in front of him and asking you How to fix his mistake. “You should know how to fix your mistakes.”

“What do you want me to do y/n?!” Finally he was getting angry.

You threw a shirt you were holding down on the bed and turned to him sharply. “I just don’t want to feel so meaningless to you!” You shouted at him and his eyes widened in shock.

“Meaningless? Is that how I make you feel?” You turned away from him when he took a few steps closer. When he went to grab your wrist you yanked yourself free and went back to packing and he was starting to grow desperate. “I never meant to.” He trailed trying to get you to look at him. “What do you need me to do? Do you want me to beg for you? I will if that’s what it takes.”

You scoffed. “I don’t need you to beg.” You hissed, shoving another shirt into your bag. “I just wish I knew how to read you. How to tell if you actually love me or even care for me.” Your movements started to slow down as the emotions finally wore you down.

You felt him caustiously take one of your hands in his and you didn’t fight him this time. “I love you more than words can explain.” He all but whispered and you felt a slight shift on your hand, making you turn to see what he was doing.

Your eyes widened. “Simon-“

There he was, kneeling in front of you. His eyes pleading with yours as he slipped his mask off all while holding your hand. “Please don’t go. I know I’m an idiot and I don’t deserve you but please..don’t leave me. I worship the ground you walk on. My day starts with you and ends with you and I’d rather die than have that ever change.”

—

Alex Keller

Warning: angst..so much angst. I wanna say I feel bad but this was honestly the first one I wrote and I regret nothing

It was his fault.

He let his guard down to early, he let his shoulders loose when he saw your carefree smile making its way to him from across the street.

By all accounts it should have been clear. His team cleared the streets and buildings on his side while yours did the same on the other. Neither he or you were aware the team in the building ahead had accidentally left a straggler.

His mouth opened to call your name when the shot pierced the air and suddenly he felt his world stop entirely when he saw you fall to the ground.

He couldn’t hear anything over the roar in his ears and the unmistakable sound of his voice shouting your name in panic before he was tackled to the ground by another soldier.

“Y/n!” He called again struggling against the man holding him down who kept yelling sniper in his ear but he didn’t care. He somehow managed to push off the soldier and crawl to where you were sprawled on the ground wheezing for breathe.

“Hey hey, I’m here.” He soothed immediately as he got to you. His hands coming to smooth across your face while you looked at him with something he recognized to be acceptance. “No dont do that. I need you to breathe. I need you to fight, if not for you for me.” He was still laying on the ground so he was basically nose to nose.

He was waiting for it to be clear so he could address your wounds better. “A-Alex.” Your voice was hoarse and it hurt him to see how much the one word hurt you.

Faintly in the background he could hear someone yell clear and faster then even he could comprehend he got to his knees so he could press on your wound with as much strength as he could muster.

You winced and clutched onto his arm tightly. “I know it hurts but I need you to stay with me okay?” He wiped his cheek against the rough fabric of his shirt to try and stop the tears from falling before you saw them. “There’s something I need to tell you when this is over remember?”

You nodded softly at him but your grip on his arm was getting lighter and he could tell the pain was starting to fade when he saw the light in your eyes start to fade. “Stay with me. Please..I’m begging you.” His voice cracked before he looked up to call for a medic.

“Alex..” you whispered when more gunshots rang through the sky, closer to where the two of you were and Alex was quick to stand and wrap his arms under your armpits to drag you off the street and closer to cover.

When he went to move back to his original position on his knees, you grabbed his hand weakly. “Stop.” You whispered and he stared at you for a moment before he fell to the ground in defeat.

You were still in his arms, one of his legs on each side of you while your head rested on his lap and his fingers ran soothing patterns on your cheek. One of your hands was holding loosely onto his wrist while the other pressed weakly onto your own wound if only to appease Alex.

“Tell me..” you whispered to him quietly but he only ran his fingers through your hair and shook his head. “Alex.” You cried, “please.”

“I’ll tell you when you’re better.” He tried to smile but it fell as soon as it reached his face. He waited for some kind of miracle, for the medics to reach you in time, for something!

But then he felt your hand lose grip on his wrist and fall. “Y/n?” He looked down at you. Your eyes had gone dull, your chest was no longer rising and falling in shallow breathes. He pressed his fingers to your neck, trying to find a pulse but there was none. You were gone.

He was supposed to tell you today. He was going to confess to you today. After years of holding onto it, today was the day. But now as you lay in his arms unmoving his own heart no longer beating, he knew he was to late.

“Please don’t take her from me.” He begged, his face held up to the sky hoping anyone would answer and wake him up from this nightmare but minutes passed and he was still there holding you.

Five minutes later he could hear footsteps approaching but he couldn’t bring himself to care if it was the enemy. But as they rounded the corner he was met with familiar faces.

“Alex..” Farahs voice was soft but it might as well have been a bomb going off in the silence in his head.

He looked up at them, his eyes far away while they took in the scene. “She’s dead.” He announced. His words tasting sour on his tongue as price turned to speak into his comms and the words KIA floated towards him.

—

Kyle ‘Gaz’ Garrick

Warning: hurt, fighting, angst…

“Are you out of your mind?!”

You sighed as Gaz burst into your room, his eyebrows pinched in annoyance and his chest heaving like he ran all the way to your room. Which honestly didn’t sound to far off track.

“Hello to you too Gaz.” You say while adding another folded shirt to your pile of clothes you were packing. “Something I can help you with?”

“Don’t give me that.” The door clicked shut behind him and then the sound of his boots hitting to floor heavily as he took a few steps towards you. “You can’t go on this mission.”

“Not like I have a choice in the matter.” You muttered, back still turned to him.

“Y/n!” His voice raised slightly, making you halt your movements. “This is a suicide mission, please back out.” Your eyes fell to your bed when you heard the crack in his voice.

“I don’t recall you having any say in this Kyle. Last I heard I take instructions from Captain price.” You sighed again and glanced at him from over your shoulder. “I’m not backing out.”

He let out a breathe, his heart feeling like it was going to beat out of his chest. He couldn’t for the life of him understand why you were being so cold to him right now. “Then let me come with you.”

You zipped up your bag and pushed it to the side so you could sit down. “It’s not up to me.” You moved past him to grab your shoes that were by the door before going back to your bed.

“Then I’ll go talk to him again. Convince him.” At this you paused and finally, finally Made eye contact with him.

“What are you talking about Kyle?” Your eyes narrowed. “Did you go to the Captain about this already?”

His silence was all you needed and you shook your head as you broke eye contact, muttering a soft ‘unbelievable’ under your breathe.

He stared down at you as you unlaced your shoes. You were leaving soon and he didn’t know why you were spending these last moments being cold to him.

It didn’t make sense to him, you guys were fine this morning. It was like..suddenly his mind came to a screeching hault. It was like you knew this mission could very well be your last and you were trying to push him away before you left so you could spare his feelings.

That was the only explanation that made sense to him. “Why are you being like this?” You didn’t respond to him just put your shoe on. “You’re doing this to protect me aren’t you? You’re trying to push me away because you know you could die.”

His words had you pausing as you started tightening the laces. You couldn’t meet his gaze and it only solidified his theory.

After a moment you resumed your movements and finished lacing up one shoe just to move on to the next.

Gaz watched you for a second longer before moving so he was standing just an inch in front of you, then, when you wouldn’t look at him, he fell to his knees.

His hands rested on your knees as he forced you to look him in the eye. “Please Y/n. Don’t go on this mission.”

He watched the tears start to build in your eyes while you were forced to stop lacing up your shoes. He could feel his own tears threaten to fall when he saw your facade crumble.

He rested his chin on one knee as he looked up at you, pleadingly. “Please Y/n.” He whispered and one of your hands came to stroke his cheek.

“Kyle.” You whispered back and his name alone had his eyes closing, his tears falling because he knew with just the one word that he couldn’t convince you to stay. “I have to.”

Don’t hate me to much😭

#call of duty x reader #call of duty imagine #cod x reader #alex keller x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #simon riley x reader #kyle gaz garrick x reader #kyle garrick x reader #kyle garrick imagine #alex keller imagine #simon riley imagine

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aphroditeslover11 · 7 months

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Hi what do you think about a Neil Lewis with a actress reader? Like they met before and he has already a crush on her and then he watch movie and see her ?

Another tought (not q request just something in my head) so I'm from Göttingen, an we have here q tradition if someone has his PhD they have to kiss the Statue of the goose Maid ( "Gänseliesel") he is not common with this tradition and so when reader ask him when he is planning do the kiss he assumed she wanna that he kiss her

I hope this is something along the lines of what you were thinking of. I’m not at my best at the moment so I’m sorry if there are any glaring errors. I hadn’t written for Neil before, but he’s actually very fun! Thanks for your request. Also, that is a fabulous tradition, it might get slotted into one of my other Oppie requests, I’m not sure yet though as it’s in the idea phase at the moment.

A Surprise Encounter

A/N: the classic films mentioned are all free on BBC iPlayer, go and give them a watch! I also have no idea where the store is, so I made it up.

Neil was absolutely beside himself when the invite arrived in the post. A new film that he couldn’t wait to see was premiering soon, it was low budget but contained a few big names who had decided that they wanted to promote the more independent side of the industry. He had been asked to attend an event aiming to promote smaller video shops like his rather than the huge, commercial ones that were taking over. When he read that you and the director alone were going to be on the panel he felt like he had never been luckier, finally a chance to meet his favourite actress in the flesh. Although he did admire your talents, he’d be lying if he didn’t admit that he also found you wildly attractive.

The next few weeks were spent planning everything. He rewatched a few of your films so that he could ask some decent questions of you at the press event and reading every article that he could on the making of your new one, a biopic of Julie d’Aubigny. He went out and bought a new suit for the occasion, had his hair cut. As far as he was concerned, there were going to be no disasters, not when he was going to meet one of his idols.

The day of the event had finally come. All of the invitees, including Neil, had been piled into an auditorium where they had been given an early viewing of the film, then being moved into a press room with rows of chairs set out in front of a platform. He was happy with his seat, about half way back in the crowd, not too conspicuous but with a good view of the stage. The previous hubbub died down as soon as the panel made their way up, the director taking his place, yet Neil’s eyes were fixed on you. Your hair was down and curly, framing your face, and that smile that everyone always talked about. You were wearing black heels a red dress that dipped down just enough to give a small view of your cleavage. He was transfixed.

Questions started being asked, the general types of how you had enjoyed working with the rest of the cast and what you had taken away from playing your character, some conversations were had about wanting to make sure that the smaller side of the film and cinema industry wasn’t dwarfed in the future. For some reason, all of the eyes in the room suddenly focused on Neil, it was only then that he realised that he had drifted off, his arm leaned on the armrest of his chair in such a way that you had thought he was asking a question.

“Uh, the gentleman in the blue suit there, do you have a question?” The sentence was coming from you, quickly drawing him out of his reverie.

“Um.. yes,” he never was much good at thinking on his feet. “I know that you’re promoting this film today, but do you feel as if classic cinema has been forgotten. My shop specialises in older, more hard to find movies and… well, yeah,” he trailed off. He was like a deer in the headlights, speaking as if he was full of terror. A few people around him were scoffing and hiding their laughter. Great, he had embarrassed himself in front of you.

“Actually, I do think that we’ve forgotten about classic cinema. Not only the thrillers and comedies, but for me the least talked about are the romance films. I grew up on Astaire and Rogers musicals, I know some people don’t like them and find them a bit politically incorrect know, but they still have a special place in my heart. If you think about their influence on modern cinema, we wouldn’t have ‘Sleepless In Seattle’ if it hadn’t been for a 1939 film ‘Love Affair”. What was your name?” Why the hell did you want to know who he was?

“Neil Lewis.”

“And where’s your shop?”

“California, its called Gumshoe Video.”

“I’ll pop in next time I’m in town, maybe you could give me some recommendations.” And that was the end of that conversation.

About three weeks later everything had returned to normal. Neil was back to running the store and the gang were still practically living there. It was a completely normal day when Lucien, who had been manning the counter, came around to the back to find him.

“Neil, you might want to come inside, there’s a customer asking for you.”

“Can’t you handle it?” He just wanted a bit of time to himself, making is response more huffy than he had intended.

“Trust me, you want to come and see this.”

He followed Lucien back into the shop, only to be caught in shock as he saw you standing there in front of him, dressed a lot more casually than the last time he saw you, but still with your hair down in its beautiful curls. He never thought that you would actually make true on what you had said, but here you were.

“Is there anything that I can help you with Miss y/l/n?” “I came by to see if you had any suggestions for me, you know, classic films like you said you specialised in.” You actually seemed a bit nervous, though he had no idea why. “And please, call me y/n.”

“Right, y/n,” it just felt so right when he said it. “What kind of thing are you looking for, any genres in mind?”

“I always love a romance movie, the press don’t know yet but I left my boyfriend last month after he cheated on me. I’m down here to get away from it all, so a romance to take my mind off everything would be good, yeah.” He could see the sadness behind your eyes as you explained.

“He must have been an idiot then,” he said, immediately regretting it and walking past the stunned Lucien towards the romance section, beckoning for you to follow.

“So, you said that you liked Astaire and Rogers, but have you ever seen ‘The Sky’s The Limit’?”

“I don’t think I have, no.” He reached out for the dvd, showing you the front of the case.

“It’s Fred Astaire and Joan Leslie, came out in 1943. A musical about a fighter pilot who falls in love with a girl who wants to make it as a journalist, sounds like the sort of thing you might be looking for.”

“I think I’ll take that then, sounds perfect.” Something lit up inside him, you were smiling and it was because of something that he had done.

“Right, I’ll go and sort out a membership card so that you can rent it then, do you have any ID on you. Driver’s licence or something?” You followed him over to the till, rooting around in your bag to find what he had asked for. He busied himself, quickly handing over the card and the movie.

“What do I owe you?” you asked, reaching for your purse.

“Nothing, it’s on the house.”

“Are you sure, because…”

“Yeah, in return for having me at that panel a few weeks back. It was amazing.” “Well, in that case can I pay you back in another way?”

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe we could watch the film together?”

“That sounds like a fair means of payment, I think I’ll accept.” You slipped him your number, telling him to call when he was free before walking out of the store, Neil wondering what the fuck had just happened.

#cillian murphy #cillian murphy x reader #tommy shelby #peaky blinders #neil lewis x reader #neil lewis #watching the detectives #fanfic #requests #classic films

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rhoorl · 6 months

Text

Are You On Mute | Part Two

Pairing: Benny Miller x Female Reader

Word Count: 3k Part 1 | Part 2 AO3 Link

Benny Miller Masterlist

Summary: These two are back again but this time the tables are turned.

Warning: Smut, with some plot? Established relationship. Oral (m receiving), unprotected P in V (practice safe sex IRL), Benny Miller comes with his own warning. Blink and you'll miss a Papi reference (I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me). A/N: I had thots, this is what came from them. I have also only read through this once and am deciding to post it so I’m going to go crawl in a hole and hope it sounds coherent. K love you byeeee

“Babe, I’m going to be late,” you giggle as Benny comes up behind you, pressing you into the bathroom counter. He wraps his arms around your waist and nibbles your ear, his stubble lightly scratching against your skin. You tilt your head exposing more of your neck, inviting him to trail kisses down, which he eagerly does.

“Say there’s traffic,” his mouth barely leaves your throat as he starts to snake his hand up to pull on the zipper at the front of your blouse.

“Uh uh,” you grab his hand, turning around in his arms. “We can’t babe, I can’t be late today, I have to interview someone first thing.”

Today was one of your most dreaded days of the week, an in-office day. Although most days were busy, the days you were in the office were ratcheted up a level. Everyone wanted to take advantage of being in person to meet or chit-chat. And today was no exception with several people from your New York office in town for the week. On top of that, you were interviewing for an assistant. After several rounds, you think you finally found the one. You blocked off your calendar first thing so you had time to review their resume once.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, your menace of a boyfriend had caused you to run behind and rush through getting ready this morning. You already knew he would be in a mood to see you all dressed up for work, so you set your alarm a little extra early to account for some morning activities – which took place on your bed and on the bathroom counter. Now, as you’re putting on the final touches of your makeup, it appears he’s trying for round three.

“You’re in super boss lady mode today, babe, I can’t help myself,” he pushes out his bottom lip in a pout and lays it on thick with some puppy dog eyes to boot.

You playfully roll your eyes and pop up on your tip toes to give him a kiss, “I have to finish getting ready, you’ve distracted me enough.” You give one more kiss and turn on your heels to grab your blazer out of the closet along with your heels. His breath hitches when he sees the heels you picked out, remembering the last time you wore them … for him.

“Fuck. You're wearing those?” He follows you down the hall.

“Oh, these?” You innocently dangle them in front of you. “I think they match my outfit, don't you think?” You give a little wiggle as you do a turn for him.

He closes the distance between you, walking you against the wall, pressing himself against you. “You know what you're fuck me heels do to me,” he growls in your ear, sending a delicious tingle down your spine.

“I know, Papi, that's why I'm wearing them,” you whisper in his ear, biting it, before moving out of his grasp and down to the kitchen with a smirk.

He's left there resting his head against the wall, “Goddamn, I’m marrying her,” he says to himself before pushing himself off the wall. He trails you like a lost puppy, while you skitter about getting your bag together and packing a few snacks.

“You gonna be home today?” You look over your shoulder as you pour some coffee into a travel mug.

He sighs, realizing you’re very much serious about having to leave. “Uh, yeah. I’m gonna go to the gym soon after you leave and then we have a couple of calls for some new clients.”

“Oh yeah, you all have that big one today, right?” You turn to see him nod as he throws his hair in a bun, that menace. “That would be so awesome if you guys got it, babe.”

“Yeah, it’d be the biggest yet for sure.”

“What time’s your call?”

“Uh, not sure, Will has it all on his calendar, he just tells me when to dial in,” he smiles as you shake your head.

“You have a shitty memory, Benny Miller.” You wrap your arms around his waist and give him another kiss.

“Except about you, I remember everything about my girl.” His kiss is more urgent, his grip on your waist tightening as you open your mouth and let his tongue start to explore. You can’t help the moan that comes out as you press yourself closer to him.

Behind you, Will clears his throat, causing you to jump a bit. You laugh into Benny’s chest as he brings one of his large hands to cup the back of your head, cradling you against him. You're embarrassed that his brother has once again caught you two.

“Sorry to interrupt.” You can hear the smirk in Will’s voice as he walks into the kitchen.

“H-hey, Will, I was ah just about to go,” you secure the lid of your travel mug and slip on your heels, seeing Benny tense up a bit at the sight of you all dressed up.

“Have a good day! Love you, baby,” Benny calls after you as you hurry out the door.

“Love you too!” you yell back as you close the door. “Good luck today!”

_____________________

The morning has gone by painfully slow. Your interview, however, was the one bright spot. The candidate was amazing and you already told HR to make the offer quickly so you don't lose them. You're checking emails before heading to your next meeting when your phone buzzes.

Benny: I miss you

You: Aw bun, I miss you too. How was the gym?

Benny: Pretty good, my second favorite way to get sweaty 😉

You bite your lower lip, shaking your head. He knows what he's doing. As you try and think of a witty response you get another text. A mirror selfie from the gym locker room. He’s got his black basketball shorts on with no shirt and his sweaty hair half up in a bun. You press your thighs together, remembering how it felt to run your hands through his hair this morning.

You: It’s not fair to send me that while I’m at work.

Benny: I don’t know what you mean. 😇

You roll your eyes when an idea pops into your head. Well, two can play that game.

You quickly get up to close your office door, locking it for good measure, and head back to your desk. You undo the zipper at the front of your blouse down to where your bra is visible – the lacy blue one that Benny loves so much.

Swallowing hard and taking a deep breath you lean back in your chair, propping your legs up on your desk and crossing your ankles. You hitch your skirt up a little bit too. It was tricky to try and angle it so he could see both your chest and your legs but you managed.

You take a few shots and look through them, trying to not nitpick how you look. You know Benny is going to be beside himself when he gets this photo since it’s your first time doing something like this from the office. It was easier to surprise him with a sexy photo or video when you were working from home. Zipping your blouse back up and straightening your skirt, you pick a photo and send it to him and then put your phone face down on your desk and head out.

_______________________

You come back from your meeting and smile when you see you have several texts from Benny.

Benny: Holy shit. What did I do to deserve that?

Benny: You look sexy as fuck. Can’t I be your assistant?

Benny: How am I supposed to concentrate now?

Then, your mouth goes dry when the latest one comes in.

Benny: Fuck, look what you did. Wish you were here to take care of me…

He sends you a photo of himself sitting on the couch, and you let out a shaky breath seeing how hard his dick is through his shorts.

“Hey, we're all going to T Flats for lunch, wanna come?” Renee pops into your office startling you.

“Ah, n-no, I gotta run home real quick. Family stuff, something ah, came up,” you let out a nervous laugh. “But, next week I'll definitely go with you all!”

“Suit yourself, more tacos for the rest of us!��

As soon as she leaves you grab your purse and rush out.

_______________________

Will’s Jeep is gone when you arrive at the house, but Benny’s car is there. You can only assume Will decided to go into the office for these calls. Well, you know why he takes every opportunity to be there, it was a day Miranda was in the office. You make a point to ask Benny about that later, but for now, you are on a mission and he is your target.

You hear his low voice coming from the bedroom as soon as you walk in. Since he left the door open, he can see you coming down the hallway. He sits up with a smirk, tilting his head and arching his eyebrows as you take off your blazer and leave it in the hallway.

You run your tongue along your bottom lip as you undo the zipper of your blouse stopping just under your bra as you lean against the door frame. He looks a bit dumbfounded to see you and fumbles with his phone, putting it on speaker before placing it on the nightstand and rushing over to you

“Are you on mute?” you raise your eyebrows, hands on your hips.

“Yes ma’am, I am,” he kisses you, one hand reaching for your ass and the other cupping your face. It's urgent but soft and caring at the same time.

You pull back, “Well, I don’t want to distract you while you’re on your call,” you tut, feigning an innocent look.

“Please fucking distract me, babe. Fuck you look so good…so beautiful,” he kisses you again, running his hand down your side.

“Who’s this call with?”

“Just the guys, we got the job, babe!” He smiles into your kiss.

You pull back, beaming, “What? That’s awesome!”

“Yeah, they loved my idea and they want us to start as soon as we can, so Will is trying to sort out the schedule.”

“Mmm, well, I think some congratulations are in order then,” you wink, taking him by the hand and leading him back towards the bed. “Sit down.”

He swallows hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he nods and gets on the bed. From the phone on the nightstand, you hear Santiago going on and on about who knows what, with Will chiming in occasionally.

You go to slip your shoes off and he stops you. “I don't know what you've got planned in that pretty head of yours, but the heels stay on,” he says a bit more firmly, causing the slick to start to pool between your legs.

The bed dips as you rest on your knee next to Benny’s hip before swinging your other leg over to straddle him. He’s grinning ear to ear and you can start to feel him get hard.

You lean forward, kissing along his chin over to his ear where you whisper, “I’ve been thinking about you all morning.”

His grip on your thighs tightens as you move down to his neck, sucking lightly against where his neck meets his shoulder. You press against his chest so he lays all the way down as you trail kisses down over his T-shirt until you reach his waist, pausing to look up at him through your eyelashes. He smirks and lets out a shaky breath as you start to move his shirt up with your teeth.

“S-shit, baby.” He whimpers as you run your tongue up his abs, tracing the ridges of his lean stomach muscles. “What’d I do you deserve this?”

You move further up towards his chest and start to swirl around his nipple just as you hear, “Ben? Ben you there?”

“Fuck,” he says, scrambling to get the phone from the nightstand and flipping himself off mute. “Ah, s-sorry, yea, ha sorry, I couldn’t find the damn mute button,” he winks at you.

It’s Frankie asking him something but you aren’t paying attention. Benny responds to Frankie’s question and you hesitate about whether or not to stop, you’re looking at him with a soft smile. He gets so excited and so passionate talking about this stuff, and it frankly turns you on more than it should given the topic.

He’s trying to avoid your gaze as he talks, but he can’t stop touching you. He runs his hand up and down your thigh, before stopping to thread his fingers through yours. He pulls your hand up to his face, placing a gentle kiss on the inside of your wrist as Santiago asks a question.

You decide to tease him a little by starting to slowly grind against him. It feels good, but you know it’s going to feel a lot better once you can get his pants off. Remembering how he’s distracted you at work before too, you decide to give him a little payback. You lay him back on the bed, undo the rest of your zipper, and take off your shirt, throwing it on the side of the bed.

His breath hitches as he sees your bra. Your skirt has bunched up at this point and you move off the bed to slip it off. His eyes follow you as you get up and slowly let the skirt fall to the floor. His eyes bulge as he sees the matching panties you have on. You do a little turn just to make sure he gets a full view of everything.

“Baby, Jesus Christ, you’re killing me,” he laughs.

“Babe, are you muted?”

“Yeah, look,” he shows you the phone, the mute button turned on.

“Good,” you give him a devilish smirk before you climb back on top of him. “How much longer do you have for your call?”

“Fuck, I don’t know, hopin’ Pope shuts up soon so I can fuck my girl,” he laughs, his hands coming back to your waist, moving down to feel the silk of your panties as you straddle him again. He closes his eyes, steadying his breath as he clears his throat hearing his name called again to answer a question.

As he’s talking, you tease him again, bringing your hands behind your back to undo the clasp of your bra. You hold the material in front of you, looking down at Benny who’s biting his lip. He takes a deep breath and continues talking so you decide to slowly move your bra down your front. He goes to sit up and you push his chest back down shaking your head.

You can tell he’s getting frustrated by the incessant follow-ups, all he wants to do is end this call. He’s balling up his fist, bucking up against you out of instinct which makes a giggle escape as you cover your mouth, your eyes going wide.

“What was that?” You hear Will ask.

“No-nothing, I didn’t hear anything,” Benny manages to say as he covers his mouth, trying not to laugh.

Pope chimes in with another question and you move off the bed onto your knees so you can pull Benny’s shorts down. He springs free and your mouth starts to water as you kiss up his thigh.

The conversation on the phone has moved on to something about scheduling or invoices or something, you hear Will dominating the conversation. Benny puts the phone back on mute, tosses it somewhere on the bed, and pushes himself up on his elbows to look at you.

“You look so pretty,” he presses up further, cupping your face and bringing you up to kiss him.

“Lay back, Ben. Let me take care of you.”

He does as you say and you lightly use your thumb and forefinger to grasp around his length as you take his head in your mouth, swirling your tongue over the slit, collecting what’s waiting for you. Benny lets out a shaky breath and you look up at him as you relax your throat and take him all the way down to the base which elicits a groan. You guide him in and out of your mouth, your hand there to help give a little extra pressure just the way he likes it.

His hips buck up into your mouth and you hear his whimpers as he tells you how beautiful you look and praises you for how good you’re making him feel. You smile as you continue taking him in and out, moans coming out from the depths of your throat.

“I need to feel you, baby,” he rasps.

You pull him all the way out with a loud pop and shuffle up to take your underwear off. He grabs your wrists and shakes his head, “No time, just here,” he pulls you up, moving your underwear to the side and guiding you down onto him. You both let out groans that sound sinful as he rests his head back on the bed.

You start to grind, leaning forward over him, an angle you preferred because not only did his dick feel amazing, but he was able to play with your breasts too. He takes one in his mouth, teasing your nipple with the flick of his tongue as the other alternates between gentle kneading and a more forceful grasp.

“I’m not going to last long baby, you’re so fucking hot,” he manages despite his labored breathing. “You close?”

You bring your forehead against his and nod, “Yeah, I, ah, yeah.”

In a move that happens quickly, he flips you onto your back and starts to thrust harder.

“Ben? Goddammit, what the fuck is up with you?” Pope chastizes.

The phone is just above your head and you grab it and unmute.

“Sorry, B-Ben, is a little busy right now boys. I’m sure you’ll understand.”

You hang up the phone and Benny stills, his mouth hanging open wide in shock at what you did. “Holy fucking shit, that was amazing.”

“Where were we? I need to get back to work.”

“Yes ma’am.”

#benny miller x female reader #benny miller smut #benny miller fanfiction #benny miller #the thots thotted and this is what happened

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monstersandmaw · 5 months

Text

Changing Tides - human prince 'cursed' into merfolk body (sfw)

Hello! This has been up on my Patreon for my $3 and $5 tiers to read for a week now. If you want to get early access to stuff, and to access my entire back catalogue, here's a link.

Disclaimer which I’m including in all my works after plagiarism and theft has taken place: I do not give my consent for my works to be used, copied, published, or posted anywhere. They are copyrighted and belong to me.

Anon sent me this message and I responded with almost 8000 words:

"human prince who got cursed and turned into a merman, and while his family and the royal court struggle to find a way to break the curse he finds he's actually happier as a merman"

It's 3rd person, sfw, and features an orca clan who adopts our frightened prince, and there's a hint of mlm romance for one of the orcas with a human in the future... Anyway, I hope you like something a little different.

Content: some mild elements of body horror during the curse/turning scene, brief but not gory/too explicit mention of marine animal death, some implied trauma resulting from a transformation against his will/separation from family and previous existence at a young age, brief description of blood/injury from a harpoon to another character

Wordcount: 7965

Dusk gathered over the gentle swells of the open ocean, gilding the new yardarms and painting the perfectly crisp, white sails of the Royal Navy’s flagship with a pink and orange watercolour glow. The ship’s guests drank and laughed, and celebrated The Sea Rose’s maiden voyage, utterly unaware that they were enjoying their final few moments of life as they knew it.

Unremarkable in almost every way, a small porpoise had been playing in the bow wave, its small, dark body darting mere inches from the stem each time it plunged in and out of the spray and waves.

It didn’t hear the warning from the sea witch racing to catch up with it, and when the young porpoise’s concentration slipped and the black-painted stem of ‘The Sea Rose’ collided with its solid little body, no one on board noticed the tragedy of its passing. Even if the guests hadn’t been half drunk on the heady mix of wine and their own self-importance, there was no one on lookout in the crow’s nest that day; the new ship was flanked for her safety by two frigates a little way off, both crewed with the Navy’s finest and bristling to the gunwales with cannon and ammunition. There was no need to keep a watch this time.

There was, after all, no danger.

And yet, the animal’s accidental death would not go unmarked, unmourned, or unpunished.

Heedless of the vengeful danger rising swiftly from beneath the ship, the king himself strode along the main deck in his white and gold finery, leaving his guests for a moment as he spotted his thirteen year old son standing at the taffrail on the afterdeck and staring out at the ship’s trailing wake.

He slapped the skinny boy on his shoulders by way of a greeting, and nearly sent him toppling over into the sea from the force of his jovial blow. Hauling him upright again with a meaty fist at the scruff of his velvet doublet, the king laughed, cheeks red with drink and the bracing sea air, and he grinned down at his second eldest son.

“What’s got into you, lad?” he asked, his words a little thick and his green eyes a little glassy. “You’ve begged me for years to be allowed to go to sea, and now you’re here, you look like you’d rather be anywhere else! You’re not seasick, are you, lad? You’re going to be Admiral of the Fleet when your brother ascends the throne — can’t have you turning green at the slightest bit of swell!”

“It’s not that, father,” he said, mustering a smile for the king. “I’m sorry. I was just… thinking.”

Down below on the deck, the little prince’s older brother was talking with a few of the captains and admirals, and the boy felt suddenly every bit as young as he was. ‘King’ Eolan was a title that would suit his brother one day, with his regal bearing and his noble features, while the younger boy was gangly and too skinny to fill out the doublet he wore or the fine leather boots on his small feet.

He didn’t get the chance to observe the Crown Prince in action for much longer though, because a shudder ran the length of the new ship, and conversation sputtered and died.

The sails quivered and the rigging shook like spiderwebs before a coming storm. All the hands looked to their stations while the royal guests shifted uneasily and someone dropped a wine flute into the silence of the swelling sea. The Crown Prince scuttled up the stairs to the afterdeck and joined his father, tense and alert, though not before laying a hand on his little brother’s shoulder and offering a reassuring smile.

While the ship sailed past the stricken porpoise in a foaming, heedless rush, the creature bobbed past with its back broken, dead on impact, and the sea darkened around it and then began to boil and churn along the sides of the ship.

Finally, a shout went up and someone standing by the rail on the port side pointed and then reeled back in alarm. They were joined by more guests and sailors until half the ship’s company was hanging off the side and staring into the water that had turned an inky black around the corpse of the sea creature.

The thirteen year old prince followed his father to the railing of the high afterdeck and peered over in time to see a humanoid figure rise from the water. Her long, wet hair hung around her shoulders like a veil of moonlight, and her eyes flashed the colour of the ocean on a summer’s day. Her skin was freckled and oddly iridescent and the air around her seemed to shimmer like the road on a summer’s day. In her right hand she held a staff that was the silvery brown of old driftwood, wrapped around with seaweed like the leather on the grip of a quarterstaff, and her lower body appeared to be that of a leopard seal.

The prince’s breath caught and he stared, slack jawed down at her, forgetting to be afraid.

At the sight of her though, the guests recoiled and grabbed at the charms and holy pendants they wore around their necks, but it would do them no good. The witch raised her staff and let out a wordless scream of grief. As if whisked by a winter squall, the sea rose up around her at her call and a huge wave sloshed against the side of the ship, rocking it and sending a wall of spray and foam across the main deck.

Wherever the droplets of water touched, a flurry of white feathers appeared, and from the afterdeck, the king and the two princes watched a flock of startled seabirds flounder upwards into the sky. In their wake, the main deck lay completely deserted.

The king swore and unsheathed the steel sword at his hip but the young prince simply clung to the wooden railing and continued to stare down at the sea witch.

All his life, he’d heard tales of merfolk and of the magic they wielded, but he’d never dared dream they might be real. He’d spent hours begging the merchants who came to the castle for stories from the fish markets, since every sailor claimed to have fallen in love with a selkie or kissed a mermaid on one of their voyages, but he’d never truly believed that merfolk really did exist.

“What is the meaning of this?” the king bellowed down at her over the sound of the settling sea. “Return this ship’s crew and my guests to me at once, witch!”

“Never!” she snarled. “They’ve flown far away now, oh great king,” she added sarcastically, still sneering, “Your pretty birds won’t return to you now!”

“Why? What prompted such an act?” he barked. To his younger son, he suddenly gestured and added, “Come away from there!” With a desperate look over his shoulder, he hissed at the Crown Prince, “Eolan, protect your brother!”

The witch smiled and the younger prince saw tears tracking down around the corners of her smile as it turned from malice to grief. “Father…” he breathed, wanting to warn the king, but not knowing quite why or of what.

“Quiet!” the king hissed with a sharp motion of his hand. “Eolan, fetch a harpoon. I will have her hide on my wall!”

The Crown Prince snuck away down the stairs, out of sight of the sea witch, and then disappeared below decks. As he left, the younger boy finally let go of the railings and came to stand behind his father.

“Your ship,” the witch called above the wash of water against the sides of the vessel, “Is an abomination! You toss your refuse into the sea to choke the life from those who live there, tangle us in your nets, capture us… skin us!”

She paused and choked something raw and visceral and far beyond articulation. Drawing energy into the staff in a swirl of mist, she came to the real crux of her grievance.

“Your ship took my familiar from me and you didn’t even care to notice!”

“Your what?”

“Shadow!” she wailed, and that sorrow finally crystallised into rage. She pointed as the body of the dead porpoise floated over towards her and then with another heartbroken shriek, she raised the staff not at the king, but at his son. “I curse you!” she spat at him. “I curse you! May your son’s frail human legs fail him and may he know the plight of our people first hand! May the air choke him and the water you disdain be his only solace!”

A bolt of lightning seared down out of a clear sky and struck the deck of The Sea Rose behind the king in a spray of splinters. Ozone and singed wood filled the air as he turned around at the wheezing gulp that left his son’s throat. At the sight that greeted him, the gilt steel sword dropped from his fingers to clatter across the deck at his feet.

The boy’s legs had gone completely limp and he hit the deck hard, eyes wide with terror.

“Father,” he tried to choke in panic, but the sound lodged in his throat.

He brought one hand up instinctively to claw at his neck as he failed to breathe, suffocating in the ordinary sea air, and a moment later his fingers found the three slits of gills in his skin that had not been there before the lightning of the witch’s curse had struck him.

Before the true terror of his discovery could sink in, however, a blinding pain erupted in his chest and his hips, and his legs began to spasm.

The boy tore at the trousers which were suddenly constricting and strangling him, cutting into his legs, and he rolled on the deck as he ripped them off to reveal the distinctive opal-green and black pattern of a mackerel’s skin beginning at his hips. He clawed wildly at his skin in horror trying to halt the change, and his father dragged the fabric away just as the transformation ran its course, and his son arched his back and writhed on the deck like a landed catch, unable to breathe and blind with terror.

Footsteps on the stairs announced Eolan’s return and when he saw his brother lying on the deck with the barbed tail of a mackerel, he crashed to his knees beside them, the harpoon forgotten.

Not knowing what to do, the king knelt at his son’s side and stroked his curly, black hair out of his eyes which were bulging as he failed to breathe.

“Father,” he mouthed, chest spasming.

The skin of his remaining human body turned a grayish silver, like tarnished pewter, and between his fingers as they scrabbled at the deck the king could see a thin webbing stretching and flexing. Black, wickedly sharp claws raked the wood of the deck to splintered furrows as the boy twisted and panicked.

“What do we do?” Eolan whispered, tears filling his eyes. “Father? He’s dying… He can’t breathe!”

Acting on the most fragile of hopes, the king picked his son up in his arms and held him briefly, kissing his forehead. “I love you,” he said. “I will find a way to reverse this.”

Before the cursed prince could work out what was happening, he had been flung over the side of the ship and hit the water with a heavy smack.

The rush of cold seawater across his new gills was a relief beyond anything he’d ever felt. Instinctively, he drew in water through them and let his body start to sink.

Above, the shadow of a second ship, the frigate ‘Persistence’, announced itself with a volley of musket fire, and the sea witch dived out of sight, dragging the body of her slain familiar with her into the depths, the young prince forgotten entirely.

In all the commotion, the prince disappeared into the depths of the coastal waters, alone and afraid for the first time in his life.

The clan of orca-folk cautiously breached the surface and paused to watch the selkie on the shore light the driftwood pyre with the tip of her staff, and dipped their heads as one in respect. The creature at the heart of the kindling blaze was most likely her familiar, and they decided not to trouble the witch in her grief.

Leaving her, they swam in silence out of the cove and moved along the rocky shore, casting uneasy glances at each other. Magic was rare among the merfolk, but those who changed their shape at will, like the selkie folk and their distant, inland relatives, the kelpies, had it more strongly. There had been turmoil on the sea that day, and even now that the stars had blinked to life in the sky above, the waters still churned with unease.

A younger member of the clan swam on ahead, not quite understanding the wary reverence her relatives had for the sea witch, and, distracted by the passing of a very ordinary but still very quick seal, she raced off in a stream of bubbles to play with it. Yes, her kind hunted seals, but when they were being that obvious about their pursuit, the seal was in no danger.

She blasted around the rocky promontory but splayed her wide flippers to bring herself to an abrupt halt when she spotted a boy about her own age lying curled on the sandy bed of the next cove’s floor. He was hunched in on himself and seemed to be in some kind of distress, so she swam slowly over to him. He had the dizzying markings of a mackerel — black lines and opal shimmers like summer sunlight on the sea’s surface — and she wondered if perhaps he’d been left behind on the annual migration.

As she approached, he raised his head and his mouth opened in a soft ‘o’ of surprise, gills flaring.

“Hi,” she grinned. “I didn’t mean to startle you,” she said. “You alright?”

He shook his head.

“Pearl?” Her older brother’s voice sounded from close behind her, wary and warning, and she glanced back over her bare shoulder at him. “What is it?”

“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “I just found him.”

Hook swam past her, pushing her roughly to one side, and he loomed over the terrified stranger and bared all his sharp teeth at him. Hook was only a year older than Pearl, but he liked to play the grown up with her, and it irritated her no end. She grabbed the wide flat of his tail as it wafted past and yanked him sharply backwards. It wasn’t enough to move him much, but it brought his long, black and white hair drifting into his face and undermined his attempt at a tough persona a little.

The strange boy cringed away, hands above his head, and Hook relented when he saw he was no threat, and clearly terrified.

“You hurt?” he asked, though he could taste no blood in the water. “Where’s your shoal?”

In no time, they were joined by the whole orca-folk clan, and it was decided that the stranded boy would swim with them for the winter until his people returned to these waters to claim him. The boy didn’t speak, but he seemed able to understand them, and something told Pearl he’d been through something more awful even than being abandoned by his shoal.

Over the next few weeks, she first coaxed some tentative smiles from him, and then, when they had stopped to rest one night in another rocky cove further to the south, he laughed.

It happened when Hook got his finger clamped by a massive lobster and he swore and flung the thing away before washing it further from him with a great sweep of his tail, scowling. He was growing into his body and would one day outgrow even their father, and the motion sent the offending crustacean spiralling away on the temporary current.

When the wash of water in their ears had settled, they heard a quiet giggling and looked around to see him sitting near a bed of kelp, one hand over his mouth, and laughing softly. His eyes were the most beautiful brown, like a seal’s, and when Hook saw who was laughing, his indignation at the incident melted away like the ice in the spring, and his whole body softened.

Pearl watched as Hook swam over to the strange boy, the one they’d taken to calling Mackerel for the beautiful patterns on his tail, but the boy stopped laughing almost immediately. Hook’s shoulders dropped and he looked mortified when he saw unease and uncertainty in the boy’s eyes.

“It’s alright,” Hook said with a half-smile. “I deserved to get pinched the way I picked her up,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking. You want to see if we can find another one and I’ll show you the right way to do it?”

Tentatively, the boy nodded, and Pearl watched as the boy swam off at Hook’s side. He didn’t swim like normal merfolk, but more like a newborn still getting used to his tail. Sometimes he started to sink and panicked, and the first few times it had happened, Hook had actually had to lift him up to keep him from sinking completely. Unlike them, he was a piscine merfolk, meaning he could breathe water and not air, while they were mammalian and needed to surface. When Hook went up to gulp fresh air those first few times, Pearl would watch the boy and make sure he didn’t sink until Hook returned.

He seemed to grow in confidence though over the winter, and by the time of that first laugh, he was just a bit awkward in the water. He couldn’t hope to keep up with Hook, but her brother had a kind streak to him for all his brash bravado, and he kept pace with Mackerel. Slowly, the boy began to talk with them, but he never spoke of what had happened to him, and any time they asked him where his shoal was or where he’d grown up, he shut up tighter than a clam and refused to talk. Eventually, they stopped asking.

He did till them his name though, and they were surprised to learn it was a human name. Pearl had been named for the lightness of her irises — such a pale blue it was almost silver — and Hook had been named because the patch of white under his tall dorsal fin looked like one of the barbed devices that humans used to catch fish. Mackerel, however, turned out to be named Theo, and when asked why he had that name, he just shrugged and said his parents must have liked it. They stuck to calling him Mackerel, or Macks, and he didn’t object in the slightest, only smiling shyly the first time Hook used his new name.

When spring came to the waters where Pearl’s clan hunted, no piscine merfolk came looking for Mackerel, so he simply stayed with the orca folk.

One year became two, became three, became five.

Hook grew into a monster of a merman, with muscles rippling over his body and a reputation for taking on anything he deemed a threat to his clan, from great white sharks to fishing boats. Mackerel grew as well. Gone was that awkward, faltering motion as he swam — he could out pace any of them in a race and he was lithe and graceful and elegant when he moved. He laughed a lot too.

Pearl noticed how he would watch her swim past and then look away, and when Hook caught him staring at her like that, he washed him playfully away with a wave of his massive tail and sent him spiralling off into the murky depths with a laugh and told him to come back when he could win against Pearl in arm-wrestling.

Then, one summer evening, Mackerel disappeared.

They’d been swimming nearer to the shore than was wise in the warmer months, when humans often gathered on the shore with their fires to dance and sing and make a strange music of their own. Hook and Pearl’s mother called the clan back from the shallows and led them away when they heard the strange notes of human song and saw the orange lights dancing on the shore like strange, swirling blooms of plankton that spat sparks into the sky, but when Hook turned to Pearl to ask her something, he tensed and looked around.

“What?”

“Where’s Macks?” he asked, his hold tightening on the driftwood spear he usually carried in his right hand. Its ghostly-white blade was made of honed whalebone, and it had gutted a great white from nose to tail only the week before. The colour had drained from Hook’s usually tanned face, and he looked around frantically in the gloom that night had cast on the sea.

“Maybe he didn’t hear mother calling?” Pearl whispered.

“Stay here. I’ll go back for him.”

“Careful!” Pearl hissed, but he was already sliding away like a shadow, consumed by the growing darkness.

Hook searched the cove where they’d been intending to rest until they’d discovered the humans too close for comfort, but found nothing. Panic began to rise as he looked further along the dark, jagged rocks of the shoreline.

Eventually he started to run out of air, and surfaced carefully, mindful of the massive dorsal fin that stuck up like a sail behind him now that he was full-grown. If the humans spotted it glinting in the dark, they’d hurl harpoons at him or try to snatch him for a trophy. Merfolk — both saltwater and freshwater — didn’t last long in captivity, and he had no intention of being taken.

Then, at the far end of the sweeping cove, he spotted the opalescent glimmer of Mackerel’s scales and saw his greyish body draped over a rock. He was leaning on it, staring at the humans. His black hair, which, in the water, was flat, had started to curl, and Hook couldn’t believe he was out of the water at all. He was going to asphyxiate if he stayed up there too long, but the orca kept watching him a little longer. He liked Mackerel’s body; how it was different from the powerful orca folk. He was built for speed and agility where Hook was built for a combination of wild bursts of power and slower endurance. He might have begun courting him, bringing him gifts of carved whalebone and rare trinkets from the seabed, if Mackerel hadn’t clearly been attracted only to his sister or her female friends. So, he’d kept his affection for him chaste, and now as he watched, he realised with a jolt that Mackerel was crying.

Slowly, he swam over to him, keeping in Mackerel’s line of sight, and when his best friend turned to look at him, Hook’s heart cracked and sheared apart at the look on his face.

“What?” Hook asked, pausing and bringing his hands up to speak in the Hunter’s Tongue they used with each other when they needed to be silent in the water. He’d taught Mackerel himself, and he’d soon picked it up like he’d been speaking it all his life.

Mackerel only shook his head though and then dipped his neck below the waterline to breathe before rising up and staring again at the humans.

Hook turned to watch, but didn’t he understand. Humans were fascinating, sure, but they weren’t beautiful enough to make grown merfolk cry, surely?

Strange structures had been erected on the soft, pale sand, which looked like they were made of the same material that humans used to catch the wind and drive their boats and ships. These though were coloured the same shade as the urchins and starfish that hunkered down in rock pools at high tide, and whatever they were made of glittered occasionally like the sun on the water. The humans were laughing and moving around in odd patterns around their fires.

“What is it?” Hook whispered when he was close enough to Mackerel that their bodies touched all along one side.

“I miss them,” Mackerel rasped back. His voice didn’t work very well above the water, needing the cool caress of the waves to make it audible.

“Miss who?”

“My family.”

Hook went still. Macks had never talked about his family in all the years he’d lived with Hook’s clan. He looked from Mackerel to the humans and back again. “What do you mean?”

Mackerel bit his lip. “These people…” he said. “I know them. Hook, I was —”

A shout went up and something lanced down out of the dark, piercing the water and glancing off Hook’s large, rounded flipper. He cried out in shock at the sting of it as blood blossomed in the dark water, and he yanked Mackerel down into the waves just as another spear flew into the waves like a diving bird.

This one landed in Hook’s flat tail, and it wasn’t a spear. It was a harpoon.

Thick and barbed, the weapon lodged itself in his tail and he found himself hauled up the beach by a small party of humans before he could even flounder or lash out. His own spear had been dropped when he’d reached for Mackerel and he only prayed that his friend had the sense to swim for the depths. Not that he was about to go down without a fight, he thought as he readied himself to lash out with his fists, and even his teeth if he had to.

Of course, Mackerel had the self-preservation instincts of a piece of seaweed in a Spring Tide, however, and he breached the water a second later with a screech of distress that made even Hook’s eardrums hurt. For an instant, the tearing pressure on his tail was relaxed and he heaved his body with all his might, knocking the shadowed figures aside and sending them tumbling into the sand.

Then he saw Mackerel hauling himself up the beach, and the men started to run for him too.

Panic set in to Hook until he heard Mackerel yelling at them. He was yelling a name. A human name.

The figure at the front of the group skidded to a halt in the wet sand and stood there in shock while a wave washed up the shore to him and sloshed over his boots. “Theo?”

“Eolan…” Mackerel wheezed. “Please… Let him go…”

The figure crashed to his knees in front of Mackerel and tilted his face up to look him in the eye.

Hook seized the opportunity and swung his tail again, scattering the last of the humans tugging fruitlessly on his line now that there were too few of them. The barb of the harpoon was right through the meat of his tail and it was bleeding everywhere, turning the sand a nasty dark hue.

“Let… him go… Eolan. For me.”

“Brother? Little brother?” the human choked, bowing over him.

“Yes. It’s me. Let. Him. Go.”

The human turned his face to look at Hook then, and Hook recoiled. He looked like Mackerel, just… older. And harder too.

“Get back into the water,” Hook growled at Mackerel. “You’ll choke up here.”

That made the human — his brother? — look sharply back at him, and when Mackerel nodded and his lungs started to seize, the human dragged him unceremoniously into the water himself by the tail.

Hook meanwhile clawed his own way back down the beach, dragging the harpoon with him. If it ripped out of his tail, he’d bleed to death, but if he didn’t get away from these humans, they’d hang him up like the sharks and the tuna they took great pride in catching, and they’d wait til he bled out or died from the stress of it.

He yanked at Mackerel’s tail and dragged him the last way into the water too, then half-swam and half-sank down into the safety of deeper water. Pearl was waiting for them with Hook’s spear in her hand and swam at him, crying out when she saw the harpoon in his tail.

“It’s bad, Hook. We have to take you to the sea witch,” she said. “Mackerel, what in the name of the Deep were you thinking?”

“I…” he croaked. Like a piece of flotsam caught in the grip of the tide, he didn’t know whether to return to the beach or follow them into the sea. Hook didn’t have time to wait though, and he let his clan bear him away, looking back over his shoulder at Mackerel in disbelief and confusion.

Pearl drew Mackerel after them, and he followed in mute shock.

The sea witch’s lair was somewhere most merfolk avoided, mostly because magic was as unnerving to them as human fire, and the sea witch was powerful. She had never been known to turn away anyone in distress however, and when she scented blood in the water and saw Hook being borne into the protective ring of rocks around her home by two of his kind, weak from blood-loss and pain, she darted over immediately and hissed a curse.

“Humans,” she said through gritted teeth as she instructed the orca folk where to leave Hook. He found himself drifting in and out of consciousness on a soft bed of woven kelp, and when he looked up she smiled at him. “Easy, sweetheart. We’ll get you taken care of. I’ll need you to be brave, and you might need to hold onto someone while I take it out. There’s no easy way to do it, but my magic will patch you up afterwards. It’ll scar, but at least you’ll have your tail, eh?”

He nodded. “M… Mack…” he moaned, but Mackerel didn’t appear. When he cracked his eyes open again, he saw Mackerel staring at the witch with abject terror in his big brown eyes.

“It’s alright, lad,” she laughed, waving him over. “Come. Your friend needs you now.”

But Mackerel didn’t move.

When he remained, drifting on the currents like a mindless jellyfish, the witch tutted and gestured more impatiently, until she went still and really looked at him. “You’re… You can’t be… By the Deep, you’re him, aren’t you?”

Slowly, he nodded.

When Hook let out a groan as the water drifted over his injury and moved the harpoon, the witch focused again and said, “No time for that now. Someone hold him while I heal him up.”

Mackerel did move then, and he swam right around her and came to hold Hook’s hand in a firm grip. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“Not your fault. Humans are awful. I hate them,” Hook spat. “I hate them all, I —” He cut off as the witch yanked the harpoon out and immediately began to heal it. Hook’s eyes rolled and he lost consciousness at last.

When he came to, he found Pearl at his side, curled up asleep the way she had done when they were really young. He stroked his hand over her hair and she stirred, blinking and rolling over.

“You’re alright?” she asked and he nodded.

Moving his tail experimentally up and down, he found that the pain had gone, and the wound had been mended to leave a silvery scar in the top and a pink one in the white of the flesh underneath. “Where’s Macks?” he asked and she swallowed and looked away. “Pearl?”

“He’s gone.”

“Gone?” Hook jerked upright and glared at her. “Gone where?”

“He talked with the sea witch for ages and she gave him something, and then… he just left.”

“Without saying where he was going?”

“He swam to the surface like he was one of us running out of air. I don’t know what happened.”

“Where is she? Where’s the witch? I want to ask —”

“I’m here,” came the witch’s harsh voice from nearby. “Don’t get your flippers in a flap,” she added, rolling her eyes. “And something tells me your boy will be back…”

“He’s not my boy,” Hook growled.

The witch just rolled her eyes. “Maybe not in the way you wish, but he’s not for you anyway. Your blood told me an interesting story when I drank half of it in by accident earlier. How are you feeling?”

She moved her seal’s lower body from side to side in a sinuous sweep and lifted up his enormous fluke, nodding with a satisfied grunt when she inspected the scar.

“I’m fine. Tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s not really my story to tell, if he’s not told you already,” she said carefully, “But I lashed out a long time ago when humans took my familiar from me, and I took it out on the wrong person. I wanted the humans to know what it was like to suffer at the hands of someone you feared, so I gave one of them a tail and gills in a fit of pique to make his father pay. I was so wrapped up in my grief at Shadow’s death that I clean forgot about the lad when the humans opened fire on me, and I’ve not thought about him from that day to this.”

“Mackerel…” Hook exhaled, his blue eyes wide. “He… He was human, once, wasn’t he?”

The witch nodded. “Pampered little princeling out on his father’s brand new ship. Shadow got too close and the ship hit my familiar. The shock of it broke something inside me that day, but I never should have taken it out on an innocent child.”

“Where is he now?”

“I gave him the means to return to his people. If he stays on land for longer than a single cycle of the sun and moon, he’ll stay there and never return. If he returns to the sea within that time, he’ll never be able to return to his human form again.”

“Why would you make him choose like that?” Hook demanded, face like a thunderhead.

“My magic isn’t infinite, boy,” she scoffed. “I can’t give him a shifters gift. He must choose, his family in the water or his family on land. By all accounts, the humans have scoured the land looking for a way to get their cursed prince back, but no witch has been willing or able to help them.”

Pearl shook her head. “Probably no one wanted to go against the Sea Witch…”

The witch blew a stream of bubbles from her mouth and shrugged. “If they had, I might have heard about the situation and remembered the poor boy I tossed into the ocean like a piece of discarded bait. Your clan shamed me with your honour in taking in the boy as your own.”

Hook swam out of the witch’s lair not long after that and made straight for the cove where the humans had been frolicking on the shore like spinner dolphins in the surf before they’d spotted him and Mackerel.

There, sitting close together on the beach by the dying embers of the fire, he saw his best friend and the human who’d called him ‘little brother’.

For a long time, he watched, transfixed.

Mackerel was wrapped in a piece of fabric that looked like a small, patterned sail, only it fell softly around him, and from under it, Hook could just see a pair of feet. His gaze snagged on them, and he wasn’t sure how long he stared. He wondered what it was like to have two limbs instead of one — perhaps it was like controlling his flippers and his tail separately…?

Suddenly, on the rocks above him and to his right, a male voice cleared his throat, and Hook jumped, lurching away with a snarl.

“Sorry,” the man said with an earthy chuckle. “Didn’t want to spook you, but I figured you should know I was here, and that you’d better not try anything either,” he warned.

Hook’s upper lip peeled back to show his row of sharp teeth. “If he wants to be there, I won’t stop him,” he growled. “Who are you?”

“Crown Prince’s bodyguard. You?”

“His friend.”

Hook eyed the man up and down and found he didn’t dislike him, physically. Like Hook, he was clearly a warrior, since he had what the humans called a ‘sword’ belted to his hip, and he carried a long spear in his right hand. His clothes looked like they’d been made of fish scales though, and Hook immediately wanted to touch. The fabric shimmered in the torch light and clinked softly, almost musically.

When he saw where Hook was staring, the man chuckled. “Yeah, mail’s a bit like fish skin, I suppose.”

“Mail?”

“This,” he said, plucking at the shirt that ended halfway down his thighs.

He crouched down, leaning on the spear for balance, and at the sight of the dark, soft fabric underneath the mail and covering his legs, Hook’s curiosity surged and he swam a little closer.

“Fuck,” the man breathed when he saw the way Hook moved.

“What?”

“Never been this close to one of your kind.”

“Without hurling a harpoon at us, you mean?” Hook growled, gripping the rock at the man’s boots and raising himself up out of the water enough to reveal his entire torso. Then, with one hand, he grabbed at the man’s mail shirt near his neck and hauled him close.

The spear dropped from his hand and clattered onto the rocks, but the human didn’t resist him.

“Holy shit,” he exhaled instead.

Hook snarled, lip rising again on one side, and he heard a shout of alarm from the beach.

Flinging the man aside so that he toppled and landed hard on his backside on the rock behind him, Hook looked over to find Mackerel standing shakily and staggering on the sand. The ‘sail cloth that wasn’t sail cloth’ fell to his waist and he grabbed at it, just as his brother lurched to his feet and helped to steady him.

Together they walked shakily around the cove and over to the rocks that jutted out into the sea like a dock, but the shore was too jagged for Mackerel’s bare, human feet, and besides, he was too unsteady on his unfamiliar legs.

He beckoned Hook over though, and Hook glanced back at the Crown Prince’s bodyguard, then sloshed into the water and drove himself at the shore with a few powerful sweeps of his tail. There, he half-beached himself, looking up at Macks.

Mackerel crouched, keeping the soft fabric around himself and half hiding his strange limbs from Hook’s view for some reason, and the older man stepped back when Mackerel nodded at him. “You’re human?” Hook croaked, looking up at him.

Mackerel made a little sideways motion with his head. “For now. I’m sorry I never told you what happened. I… I was afraid you’d… that you wouldn’t want me in your family anymore if you knew the truth. I know how you talk about humans…”

Shame twisted in his gut and he looked back at the man on the rocks who was standing up at the approach of Mackerel’s brother.

“You going to stay with them?” Hook asked.

“I’m not sure. I want to talk with my brother a bit longer. While I can. We’ve got a lot to catch up on.”

Hook nodded. “I understand.”

“Hook…?”

He met Hook’s blue eyes with his brown and reached for him. His skin was warm and soft in the firelight, and Hook found he missed the stony grey it had been before. Being human didn’t suit him, but he didn’t feel it was his place to say that, so he just swallowed and nodded. “Take your time. You know where we’ll be.”

“Hook, whatever I decide, you're family too. All of you. Pearl and you and the whole clan. You took me in and cared for me in a way my family on land never really did. They sheltered me and they loved me, but… not the way you did. I’ll always love you all for that. You know that, right?”

Hook nodded once and shoved his weight backwards in the sand, awkwardly carving a channel in the wet shoreline with his massive body. He glared as Mackerel’s older brother strode back across to join them, and he helped Mackerel to stand. His legs trembled and wobbled, and he laughed and leaned into his brother, and the two retreated up the beach to talk some more.

At the whispering of metal rings sliding like scales across one another, Hook glanced to his right and saw the guardsman approaching along the sand. He set down his spear and held up his hands, laughing softly. It was a warm, chuffing sound, and it stirred something in Hook’s gut that he’d thought only awakened for Mackerel.

“What do you want?” he asked, though it came out more petulant than threatening, and it only made the human warrior snort another little laugh. “You sound like a seal with a cold, making that noise.”

That made the man’s laughter grow and he shook his head. Hook saw that his hair was wavy and dark brown, and it looked impossibly soft. A shiver ran down his whole body and he felt a spark of arousal thrum through him. He was glad he was lying on his front, for one.

The two princes talked long into the night, and Hook stayed with the guardsman.

Slowly, he got over his hostility and started to ask questions about the humans’ world, and once he’d started, he couldn’t stop. The guardsman had plenty of his own questions too, and by the time the sun was well up into the sky and hammering down on them, Hook’s deep voice was hoarse and his golden-brown skin was dry and prickling.

“I should…” he rasped, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at the water behind him. “I’m going to turn into one of your baked fish soon.”

“Shit, I’m sorry,” the guardsman said. His name was Kit, it turned out, which Hook thought was a very funny sounding name. “You need a hand getting back in the water?”

He didn’t, but the thought of having this human’s hands on him sounded suddenly and bizarrely appealing, so he shrugged. “You strong enough to actually help me, or are you just looking for an excuse to get your hands on a merman?” he said, raising an eyebrow.

Again, Kit laughed. It seemed so easy, so natural for him to laugh, but Hook felt a little flicker of pride all the same at having made him do it.

“With all that muscle you’re packing? Probably not,” Kit admitted. “Seemed polite to ask though.”

Hook snorted too, and shook his head. His hair had dried while they’d been talking and it was tickling his face. The guard surprised him by reaching out and tucking it behind his ear with a smile. “I’m glad I met you, Hook,” Kit said. “Maybe… no matter what His Highness decides, you’ll meet me here again some time?”

“His… Highness?”

“The one you call Mackerel. He’s a prince, you know?”

“He’s just… Macks,” Hook scowled.

“Yeah.”

Kit straightened with a grunt and dusted the sand off his legs, and Hook used his forearms to back himself back out into the surf, tail lifted so it didn’t drag like an anchor.

His back was burned, and the saltwater was agony to start with, but it had been worth it to spend so long in the company of the strange human. He ducked beneath the water without a word and vanished, deciding to wait out the rest of the time until Macks’ spell conditions were met in the solitude of a nearby kelp bed.

Occasionally he surfaced, but he didn’t go back to the shore, and finally, when the moon was starting to rise again, he breached the water one last time and looked to the beach. There was no sign of Macks this time, and he realised he’d probably made his choice.

Grief struck him a worse blow than even the harpoon, and he curled inwards with a grunt as saltwater leaked from his eyes and he realised he was crying. He doubled over and turned towards the open ocean. His scarred tail gave a throb of pain as he pushed himself to the limit and blew past his clan who had been waiting nervously out in the open water all day.

Pearl yelled after him but he ignored her. He wasn’t sure how far along the coast he swam but eventually he doubled back to familiar waters and located his clan.

And there, in the middle of all of them, was Mackerel.

Hook halted and stared, and the motion of his black and white tail attracted his best friend’s attention enough that he stopped mid-sentence and darted away from the girls, his body flashing like a minnow between the figures of orca merfolk. He shot out and blasted over to him at a pace even Hook hadn’t known he was capable of, and collided with him with the speed of a racing tuna fish. He gave a soft ‘oof’, a cloud of bubbles rising up to the surface in a foam as the air was knocked from his lungs and he started to cough. Mackerel tugged him up to the surface and made sure he got a good gulp of air before hugging him again.

“I know you don’t see me as your brother,” he said, “And I’m sorry I can’t give you what you wanted, but… I hope you’ll accept me back into the clan all the same.”

“I love you,” Hook said, “No matter what, or how. I can’t believe you stayed though. I thought… I thought…” He squeezed him tightly, using his flippers as well as his arms, and Mackerel laughed.

“Turns out I actually prefer being a merman,” Mackerel laughed. “I was always out of place on dry land, but here… I think I’m meant to be here.” He waited a beat and then said, “My brother’s guardsman seemed quite taken with you. Maybe you can keep flirting with him when I go and visit my brother?”

Hook shoved him away and then used his trademark tail-wipe to wash him even further away, and the two of them laughed.

“Race you?” Macks asked.

Mackerel did an easy back-flip in the water, rolling gracefully and then twisting like a strand of kelp in the current. When Hook thought back to how he’d been in those first few weeks — when, he now knew, he’d only just acquired a tail instead of legs — he realised how Mackerel had really grown into that pretty tail of his.

As pretty as it was though, it somehow wasn’t as appealing as Kit’s legs anymore, and Hook hid a secret smile as he let his slippery friend scoot away from him before setting the muscle of his tail to good use and powering after him like an incoming breaker.

Relations with the humans changed after that. The old king died some years later, though not before he got to see his lost son one last time, and over the course of the next year, trade and new laws governing fishing rights and shipping lanes were established for the safety and benefit of the merfolk.

And if Hook disappeared from the clan for extended periods of time, and if those periods happened to overlap with Kit’s time off duty, well, it was only a sign of better things for both worlds, surely?

I really hope you enjoyed this. If you did, please consider showing your support by reblogging. It really is the best (and totally free!) way to help the artists and writers whose work you enjoy.

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#merman #merfolk #cursed prince #curse #orca merfolk #3rd person #exophilia #fairy tale

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mayhem-neverending · 6 months

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The Big Bad Wolf

Part V

Word count: 3,854

Warnings: some language, name calling

Note: Please Read.

This chapter is more for the development of Y/n as a character and focuses more on her other relationships so that you can get to know her better. There's going to be another part to continue this, posted either tonight or tomorrow, but that part will include Obito rather than just discussion about him.

Your weekend started with doing the chores you had neglected during the week in between bouts of entertaining your son. Early Saturday evening you were whipping up dinner while he ran around with a wooden toy kunai and a handful of squashed grapes. You were getting ready to tell him to throw the grapes away when a loud knock sounded at your door.

Puzzled, you turned your stove on low and went to answer. In front of your door, slouching and with his hands tucked in his pockets, was one Kakashi Hatake. He pulled a hand from his pocket and gave a short wave. “Yo,”

“Uh, hi..” You looked behind him as if expecting other people to pop out of the woodwork.

Your son, curious by nature, ran up behind you to get a peek. He poked his little head out from behind your leg and stared up at Kakashi. He waved at the little boy, who tucked his face behind your leg.

“I’m sorry, what’s his name again?”

“Hikaru,”

He poked his little head back out at the sound of his name, his hand holding the grapes further squashing them into your leg. He pointed his toy kunai at Kakashi and looked up at you. You ruffled a hand through his hair.

“He’s okay, buddy,”

You pulled him into your arms and stepped aside to let Kakashi in. You shut the door behind him, and caught him observing your home with his keen eyes. He took his shoes off while you moved around him, placing your son back down. He hurtled out of your arms like he had been a caged animal, dropping the grapes and running off to where his toys resided in the living room.

“Quite the handful, huh?” Kakashi flicked his amused eyes to yours.

“Wouldn’t trade it for the world,” You picked up the grapes.

“So, how have you been?” He asked.

“Not too bad; currently curious as to why you’re here,”

“Straight to the point, I see,”

You raised a brow, amused. “I’m not one to dawdle,”

HIs eyes crinkled in a smile. “Of course not,”

He didn’t say anything beyond that, just stood there by your door, watching you with twinkling eyes. You waited a moment, but when he just looked around to take a second look at his surroundings, you huffed. You motioned for him to follow you and threw the grapes away before taking your place by the stove, him slowly trailing behind you. He took up residence at the counter near you, lounging against it and tilting his head to look at you as if he had done it a hundred times.

"So," you prodded.

"So," he repeated cheerily.

You sighed through your nose. "Are you here for any particular reason?"

"Or have you decided to invite yourself for dinner?

“Maa, can’t a man do both?”

He looked terribly relaxed leaning heavily against the counter with his arms crossed. You looked at him sharply for not answering your question, and he finally relented. “The plan is for us to go shopping,”

You stared blankly for a moment before your brain caught up. “For Obito,”

He nodded his confirmation. “And I haven’t eaten all day, and this smells awfully good,”

Hikaru came bounding around the corner straight towards you, to which you automatically bent down to scoop him up. Upon noticing Kakashi’s eyes on him, he tucked his face away into your shoulder. You pressed your cheek to the top of his head and frowned.

“He ususally doesn’t have a problem with new people,”

“I’m sure he’ll come around.” He waved a dismissive hand.

You went back to stirring and adding cheese to your pot, your son stealing glances at Kakashi over your shoulder. You could tell because he ducked his head back down every time he was caught. You smiled at his silliness.

Turning the heating ingredient off, you instructed Kakashi to take three terracotta colored bowls out and filled them with your prepared chicken, noodles, and sauce. You took the forks out and the three of you sat at your round table. Hikaru was to your left, and Kakashi to your right.

You dug in, and were pleased that it was just as good as always. Your son ate noodles out of his hand, as always the one with the most proper table ettiquite. Kakashi made a noise and you glanced over at him.

“What is this?”

“Chicken Alfredo,” you replied slowly, unsure of his reaction.

“One of your western foods?”

You nodded, having taken another bite. He gave a slight shake of his head and pointed to his plate. “Are you cooking like this for Obito?”

Again, you nodded. “I should have hired you to be my caretaker instead,”

You laughed at how earnest he sounded. “I’m glad you like it.”

After a moment of silence while he at at a concerning speed, you added, “I can bring by some of what I make for Obito after work, if you really aren’t eating. I ususally end up cooking enough to feed a family.. an old habit I haven’t quite kicked,”

“If it isn’t too much to ask,”

“Sure,”

He cleared his bowl with speed, and did not deny you when you offered to refill it. He stretched his arms over his head and sighed lowly. Your son watched him carefully from his seat - as carefully as a toddler could with a noodle plastered to their forehead. You really couldn’t pinpoint what his issue with the man was. Never had he acted wary of essentially anyone after being around them for more than half an hour.

Kakashi thanked you for his second helping. You went back to the kitchen to wet a washcloth and cleaned off Hikaru's face while he adamantly refused your help. While you were struggling to get the last bits off his cheek, a phone started ringing.

Kakashi pulled his phone from one of his many pants pockets and answered without excusing himself from the table. He answered by stating, "Guy,"

You smiled to yourself. It had been a long while since you had seen or spoken to Might Guy. You wondered if he would remember you given you would meet again. You glanced at Kakashi as you heard loud, unintelligible talking from the other end. He mouthed 'sorry' at you.

“Maybe later,”

There was a pause. “Guy- I’ll let you - yes, I’ll let you know,”

Another brief pause, and you saw Kakashi’s ears tint red. He cleared his throat. “Goodbye,”

He sighed through his nose while running his fingers through his already messy white hair. Your interest was piqued, but you elected to keep any questions to yourself. He again apologized for the interruption and went back to eating, slower this time than the first.

You brought your and Hikaru’s bowls to the sink and carried him to his room to get changed into unsoiled clothes. Kakashi was just finishing washing his dishes as you were coming back out.

“Ready?” You asked.

He nodded and the three of you were on your way.

To start, you visited a shop that sold all things fabrics, including bedding and towels. Hikaru, always the little helper, unfolded any displayed fabric he could reach and handed it to you with a sweet smile. You would then hand it to Kakashi who would put it away for you.

You settled on a deep blue set and a forest green one, and a set of matching green towels that were on sale. At check-out, the clerk couldn’t keep their wide eyes from darting back and forth between you and him. They even looked shocked when he pulled out his wallet to pay for everything.

After that interaction, you noticed that they weren’t the only person to give you odd looks. You pointed it out to Kakashi while you were deciding between two sets of tupperware containers.

“There’ll probably be wild rumors circulating by the time I go back to work on Monday,” he shrugged, but his eyes held a mischievous glint.

You couldn’t help but giggle at the ridiculousness of people. Jokingly, you commented, “I’m sure the people will be thrilled about your secret wife and son,”

He raised a teasing brow. “Do you think? I thought the ladies preferred the ‘lone wolf’ thing I’ve been working on,”

You snorted. “I guess it depends who you ask,”

“I’m asking you,” he replied with a grin.

You picked up the tupperware you had decided on and placed it in the back of the cart with your son. You gestured at Hikaru and placed a hand on your hip.

“Family man, obviously. Liking kids is a prerequisite for anyone I date in the future, if I ever decide to again. But, on the other hand, I know plenty of kunoichi who like your loner vibe,”

“Oh?” he prodded as you pushed your cart forward.

You smirked and nodded, not giving him the satisfaction of continuing. You turned to another aisle for pots and pans and left Kakashi with the cart so you could pick out a few of the cheaper ones that were still decent quality.

“Hey, do you have any suggestions for food Obito likes?”

Kakashi looked at you blankly, seeming to have forgotten the entire reason you were shopping together. “I would say… sweet things?”

You filed that away for later so that the rush of dessert ideas wouldn’t distract you and cause you to buy things he didn’t need. You were trying to be selective so as to not waste Kakashi’s money. He hadn’t actually given you a budget for the trip and it made you more anxious to not know your parameters.

“That’s good to know, but I meant more like, actual food?”

Guilt appeared in his dark eyes. “I-I don’t really know. He liked dango and lollipops when we were kids, but…”

He looked at you apologetically. You pat the back of his arm in understanding. While putting a pot in the cart you couldn’t help but let a little jab slip to lighten the mood.

“You were a prick as a kid, so I shouldn’t have expected you to know,” you sniggered.

He chuckled. “Just because you’re right doesn’t mean you have to say it,”

You sighed playfully and shook your head. “Advice your younger self would have benefitted from,”

He gasped and put a hand on his chest. “You’re mean,”

You shrugged, grinning brightly at him. His eyes were nearly closed with how wide he was smiling. Suddenly, a voice called out to Kakashi. You both turned to see Genma Shiranui lightly jogging up to you two. He was in civilian clothes, a red bandana keeping his hair back.

His eyes had been on Kakashi, but he came to a full stop upon seeing you. He looked like he had seen a ghost, which you couldn’t blame him for. It had been over three years since the last time you had spoken to him. The two of you were close friends and used to train together, before your son’s father, Toma, came into the picture with his overly jealous nature.

He looked between you and Kakashi, finally spotted Hikaru, who was partially hidden behind you, and then between the two of you before settling on your face. You smiled shyly and did a little awkward wave.

“Long time no see,”

He stared at you a moment longer while Kakashi observed the interaction with interest. He hadn’t been aware the two of you knew each other. You were a few years younger than him and all of his friends, after all.

“Y/n,” he breathed.

He shook his head slightly, coming back to himself and replacing his shock with a thousand-watt smile. He took the last few steps towards you and pulled you up into a bone-crushing hug.

“Genma! You’re gonna squeeze the life outta me,”

You giggled as he twirled you around once before setting you down. He kept his hands on your arms and inspected you.

“Where the hell have you been? When did you come back to the village?!” he exclaimed.

You blushed at his intensity and felt a wave of embarrassment wash over you. Where you had been was a long, complicated story. Why you hadn’t been in contact with your old friends was a result of it.

“Oh, you know, I was busy with -” you used your thumb to gesture at your son behind you, who was standing in the cart watching you.

Genma let go of you and took a look at your toddler. He smiled at the little boy and you told him to say “hello”. He followed instructions with a little smile. Genma “awwwed” at him. You pulled him from the cart and into your arms.

"I won't lie, that's one cute fucking kid," he grinned.

"Well duh, he's mine,"

“Yeah, that dickhead’s his father though,” he said bitterly.

You sighed through your nose. Defeatedly, you just said, “Yeah,”

“Are you guys still together?” His tone remained bitter, though you could tell he tried to reel it in.

You smiled excitedly. “Fuck no! I can’t tell you how happy I am to be free of him,”

Genma seemed beyond relieved, and released a breath he had been holding in while awaiting your response. “Good riddance! I hate that guy,”

“I know,” you laughed.

“Me too,”

You just looked at each other for a few moments while your good memories with him flooded back to you. You were interrupted by the clearing of a throat as Kakashi stepped into the bubble the two of you had created.

“Oh,” Genma said, looking away from you.

He shoved a hand into his pocket. “You’re coming to our hangout tonight, right?”

Kakashi’s eyes flashed to you and back to Genma. “Well.. I don’t know, I’m a little busy,”

Genma cast a suspicious glance between the two of you, and settled it on Kakashi. You made a noise that drew their attention back to you. “We can cut this short, don’t let me hold you back from your friends,”

You placed your son back in the cart, when Genma looked at you like he had some sort of epiphany. “Actually, you should come too! It’s at my place and it’ll be a lot of fun,”

You frowned. “I wasn’t invited, and besides, I have Hikaru,”

Genma rolled his eyes. “I literally just invited you, and I’m sure you can find a babysitter,”

You thought for a moment, before slowly pulling your phone from the bag that hung on your shoulder. You unlocked it and held your finger up to Genma as you put it up to your ear for a call.

It would be a lot of fun to go to a little party, even if you didn’t really know who would be there. You hadn’t gone out more than a handful of times since you had gotten pregnant, almost all of which had been after the breakup. You deserved a night out, right?

“Hello?” Toma answered on the other end.

“Hello,” you replied in a clipped tone; never speaking to him in anything other than your business voice these days.

“What do you want?”

“Would you like to have your son tonight?”

He sighed on the other end, and you felt a pinch of frustration. “Why?”

“I have some business to attend to,” you replied seamlessly.

He scoffed into the receiver. “On a Saturday night? What business could you possibly have?”

You glared at nothing in particular, your eyes avoiding the two men in front of you. You readjusted Hikaru on your hip. “The Hokage has requested me,”

You smiled at Genma and Kakashi. Genma stifled a laugh while Kakashi looked out of place, his ears tinted pink. Your smile somewhat reassured him, though his ears didn't lose their color.

Toma laughed sharply from the other end. “You’re so full of shit. Why would the Hokage want to see you? If you want to go be a whore, ask someone else to watch him,”

Your expression soured. “How about this, I’ll bring him with me when I drop Hikaru off,”

“Whatever, if he’s not there I’m not taking him so you can whore yourself out,”

In a customer service tone, you replied, “Great, we’ll be there soon. Bye!”

“They way you talked to him kinda freaked me out,” Genma said the second you put your phone down.

You shrugged. “If I’m reasonable with him he stops acting like a dick and thinks he has a chance to get back with me,”

He responded with a look of disgust. “Did I ever tell you I hate him?”

“It is what it is,”

You turned to Kakashi. “I’m really sorry to waste your time, but I need you to come with me to drop him off,”

He shrugged. “You aren’t wasting my time. Should we get going?”

You nodded. You smiled at Genma, “I guess I’ll see you later,”

He came in for another hug but your son put his little hand out and said, “No!”

Genma put his hands out in front of him, a laugh escaping him. “Sorry bud,”

You pressed a kiss to your son’s forehead. Always protective of his mom. “I’ll see you later,”

He turned to Kakashi, shooting him a look that was returned with one of warning. “I’ll let Guy know you’ll be there,”

The three of you checked out and dropped everything off at your apartment, where you picked up Hikaru’s diaper bag. Toma lived across the village so you spent a good half an hour traveling there.

You knocked loudly on the door of the small house Toma shared with his mother. Kakashi stood behind you with his arms across his chest.

The door opened a moment later to a Toma, who was sneering at you before it was even fully opened. It completely dropped into a look of shock when he saw Kakashi glaring coldly at him from over your shoulder. Kakashi stepped closer to you and Toma stepped back.

“What the fuck?” He growled.

You looked at him innocently. “What? You told me to bring him,”

He clenched his jaw and grit his teeth, thinking better than to lash out at you in front of the Hokage. He held out his hand and you slipped the diaper bag off your back to hand it to him. You let Hikaru down who went and hugged his father’s legs.

Toma turned his attention to his son, his glare disappearing for a moment while he said hello and took him into his arms. But it returned the second he looked back at you. You noticed that he chose not to look at Kakashi at all.

You smiled sweetly at your son. “Bye sweetie, Mommy loves you!” You blew him a kiss and he returned the gesture.

You turned around and walked away without saying anything to Toma. You could feel him glaring daggers in your back as Kakashi fell into step beside you.

He sat on your couch while you got changed into something nicer than your cleaning clothes that you had been in all day. You had told him he could go home and that you were fine to meet him at Genma’s, but he chose to ignore you. He didn’t give an excuse, he just straight up ignored you and followed you in. He sat silently the whole time, lost in his own world.

When you were finished changing and the two of you were heading out the door, he asked, “How do you like working with Obito?”

So that’s what you were brooding on the couch about.

You considered him before responding. “I like it enough. I think.. I think that he needs someone there with him,”

Kakashi ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, me too,”

“I would visit more often, but I’m always so far behind on work, and then I forget,”

You nodded sympathetically. He continued, “I’m glad you took the job. Obito is… complicated, but what he really needs is care.”

You gave him your full attention as you walked ahead in the dimming light. The streetlamps were sure to be turned on before you arrived.

“He’s been given a bad hand in life. Started as an orphan, struggled academically when we were in the academy, and fell in love with our teammate who only loved him as a friend.”

“Why are you telling me this?” You questioned during a pause, genuinely curious.

He ran a hand again through his already messy hair. He sighed through his nose. “It’s just... important to me that you understand where he’s coming from.”

You remained quiet so he carried on. “Everyone thought he was dead, after the battle of Kannabi Bridge, and I mourned him every single day. He’s one of the biggest reasons I changed for the better.”

He inhaled deeply. “But he wasn’t. He was captured by Madara, and Madara used his Uchiha blood against him. You see, the Uchiha’s love deeper than should be possible, and Obito was that way, even after being the underdog his whole life.”

He kicked a rock as he walked, pausing his speech for a moment. “So, Madara orchestrated the whole.. event that killed Rin, and made him watch. His love for this world turned to brutal hatred.”

He huffed what sounded like a half hearted laugh. “But here’s the thing - with the Eye of the Moon plan, he was still trying to save the world, in his own twisted way,”

His expression was somber as your eyes connected. You both stopped in the street. “Obito desperately wants to be a good man. He deserves to have the happiness Madara stole from him; deserves to be the best man he can be.”

“I’m trying to give him that chance, but I’ve failed by leaving him alone... Again. I know I can’t ask you to be anything other than his caretaker, but please, please understand that he’s not a bad person.”

Your eyes watered at his plea. You could feel the love and anguish radiating off of him as his chakra signature came into contact and mingled with yours. You searched his dark eyes.

“Why me?” you asked softly.

He didn’t miss a beat. “You’re a good person, and I trust you,”

You were taken aback by his admission. Sure, the two of you had spent some time together on missions - mostly when you were sent as back-up to save him, or when you had accompanied him and his genin on missions, but you weren’t close. You considered him somewhat of a friend back then, in the way someone is more than an acquaintance but you wouldn’t go out of your way to see.

“But-”

He interrupted you, his expression earnest. “The fact that you denied the promotion to jounin time and time again to keep yourself from killing as much as you could says a lot about you, Y/n,”

You opened your mouth but no words came out. The streetlamps flickered to life, reflecting in his eyes and illuminating his wild hair. You stared in silence, your heart thumping at his words. At some point, the two of you started walking again, and you reached your destination with your mind spinning.

Part VI

#x y/n #obito x you #kakashi hatake #Obito #Kakashi #genma shiranui #au #obito uchiha #obito uchiha x reader #Naruto #Naruto x reader

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gurugirl · 2 years

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Smutty One Shot

In celebration of 100 followers (my blog has only been up a little over a week) I’m posting my first quick smutty Harry one shot! Thanks for all the love ❤️

Summary: Harry, a stranger to you, wants to buy the albums you’ve put on Facebook marketplace. Once he’s in your apartment you wind up giving him more than your albums. 3.5k words

Warning: NSFW, SMUT

NOTE: This was written in the early days of my fic writing stage and it's not my best work!! You've been warned 😬 xoxo

You were moving out of state and needed to get rid of some stuff. You posted some furniture and odds & ends on Facebook Marketplace and sifted through all the scammers and weird requests that came in the days to follow. There were a few with genuine questions and interest but for the most part you had no-shows or they’d just stop contact with you completely out of the blue.

That is until he showed up at the time he said he would and kept in contact with you throughout the entire process. You couldn’t believe your luck! You waited for him in front of your condo when he messaged you saying he was just around the corner. You really needed to start selling your stuff or it’d all just be going to the thrift store for donation and you sure could use the money before you moved away.

Harry parked his car in front of your building and when you saw what looked like the description of the car he gave, you watched closely as the man climbed out and stood upright as he closed his door. He was quite attractive, you couldn’t lie. He was tall and broad, with curly brown hair and tattoos covering an arm.

When he spotted you wearing your yellow linen dress (as you told him you’d be wearing) he smiled brightly with a row of healthy teeth and a deep dimple. The closer he got you could see his eyes and he really just was the whole package. But then when he spoke to you…

“Hi. I’m Harry.” He held his hand out to you but all you could focus on was how handsome he was combined with a deep voice that was lined with a British accent.

You only reached out to shake his hand when he chuckled at the state you were in. His light laugh brought you back enough to remember to compose yourself.

“I’m sorry! I’m… uh. Well, it’s this way! Follow me!”

You really needed to calm down. He was only here to pick up your collection of albums after all. It’s not like you were inviting him up so he could fuck your brains out or anything. That kinda stuff only happens in the smut fics you read. Definitely not in real life.

You lead the way to the elevators and find yourself talking his ear off about your albums and how you also have a turn table and console that you’d like to get rid of. You laugh uncomfortably when he only hums in response.

“So, anyway. I don’t know if you want to try out the albums. Ya know… like test them out on my turntable to make sure you’re getting good quality vinyl. So, like, if something was scratched I could, ya know…”

You trailed off and didn’t finish your sentence when you looked up at Harry and he was just grinning down at you.

Why was he looking at you like that? You’d probably been rambling and now he thought you were a complete ditz. Or he found you annoying.

When the elevator finally made it to your floor you exited quickly, glad for the change in atmosphere. Harry followed you down the hallway to your apartment and you both entered your little space where you silently led him to the albums.

“So, you can look through them or whatever. I won’t hover.” You turn to look back to Harry and he’s got his eyes on you, his head cocked slightly and a smirk on his pink lips.

“You okay, pet? Seem a little nervous. I’m not going to bite ya. Unless you’re into that.”

His eyes stayed glued to you and you watched as he not-so-subtly dragged his gaze down over your figure. Was he hitting on you?! There was no way. He was far too attractive to be truly flirting with you. Nah…

You open your mouth to respond but you aren’t quite sure how to. If he were actually serious you’d tell him that, yeah, you are into that and you’d let him bite you if that’s what he wanted. You’d let him pull your panties down over your thighs and fuck you against your couch or the kitchen table even. Instead you just laugh and feel your face grow hot at the image that had just filled your dirty mind.

“Cat got your tongue? You seem flustered.” Harry reaches a hand up and gently squeezes at the back of your neck. His hand at your neck has you nearly purring as you close your eyes for just a second. It’s been some time since you’d been with anyone and Harry’s overwhelming presence and attractiveness were really doing something to you.

You nod and force yourself to speak, “I am a little flustered. Yes. Sorry.”

Harry keeps his hand at your neck, gently squeezing and massaging and you wouldn’t normally let a stranger touch you but somehow this was different. Harry was different.

“Now why’s that? Are you flustered because of me? Y’got nothing to be worried about. Not gonna hurt you. I promise.” His eye contact is intense and he’s so attractive that it almost hurts.

All you can manage to squeak out is a tiny okay.

He’s not here to hurt you or fuck you.

When Harry releases your neck and moves to the albums to look through them you step away to let yourself breathe. You lean against your kitchen counter and close your eyes. It helps make you feel more grounded.

When you’ve calmed down a little you peek around the corner to see Harry holding up an album. You decide to turn on your turntable so he can test what he wanted.

You click the button on for the sound, turn on the receiver and lift the lid for him.

“If you want to try any of them just flip this switch and it’ll start spinning and play the record.” You speak softly, not looking at him in the eye as you give the instructions on how to use your turntable. You move away from the space so you aren’t hovering but before you can get far Harry’s gripping your elbow to hold you in place.

“Look at me. There we go,” Harry says and as soon as you look up at him you are caught once again by his presence and those mesmerizing eyes.

He chuckles at the state you’re in, “I think I have a good idea of what you need to help you calm down. Want me to tell you what I think?”

You nod your head, eyes still on the tall man. He moves so his grip on your elbow has pulled you into him and his other hand is on your hip. You’re going to burst if you don’t peel your gaze away from him but you can’t seem to.

“I think you want me to help you. You’re all worked up and you need a release. I could use one too if I’m honest. Pretty girl like you could really do the trick.”

You swallowed the lump in your throat and just kept nodding your head. Yes. You needed a release and Harry was so attractive you’d let him be the one to do it with no questions asked.

“Yeah? You want that? How do you want it?” He dips his mouth down close to your ear and it makes you keen at the feeling of his breath on your skin.

“I want… however you do it. Anything.” You are feeling desperate in his close presence.

“Anything? So no preferences? I’ll tell what I like. I like to touch a little first. Kiss.” He speaks against your ear and it’s getting you hot and you just know your panties are evidence to how hot you really are. “Really let you get into it, ya know? I want to feel you get nice and wet and then I can taste a little if you’re up for it. Maybe we can both taste and leave it at that. But if you really mean it that you want anything then I’d like to fuck you until you’re all relaxed and calmed.”

“God…” you breathe out. You wanted that. You begin to nod and Harry moves the hand at your elbow up to cup your face and his eyes remain solid on you.

“Does that sound okay?” You continue nodding and squeak out an affirmative yes. That’s all he needs to hear to bring his lips down to yours.

His lips are warm and he quickly licks at the seem of your lips so you open up for him and you feel his tongue inside of you mouth. Suddenly you are being moved in the direction of your couch but Harry never removes his lips from yours. When he’s pulled you to the intended destination he lets go of you for a second so he can bring you to sitting with him. Once you’re both seated you resume making out. It’s hot and wet and Harry even lets out a small moan from deep in his chest and it makes you aware that he’s enjoying this too.

In a moment of sudden braveness (or horniness most likely) you place your hand over his thigh and slide it up toward his crotch, but you stop before getting all the way there. Harry pulls at your waste to draw you in closer and then parts his lips from yours.

He looks down to where your hand is and places his own over the top of yours and gently pulls your hand to over his clothed erection.

“Feel that, pet? I’m already hard for you. Your lips are so sweet. Makes me want to just eat you up.”

You look down at your hand and the thick lump underneath his pants and give him a firm squeeze and he groans.

“Mmm… yes. Wanna help me undo my pants, pet?”

You quickly get to work unbuttoning and unzipping him. His grey briefs under are now visible, along with the prominent erection tenting them.

Harry grabs at your hand again and places it over him. He’s so hard and thick under your hand. You’re curios to see him with out the briefs but you’ll be patient. He brings his lips back to yours again and you two start up right where you left off.

It soon turns into Harry bringing his own hand onto your thigh. Your dress has ridden up just a bit and so your thigh is bare to him. He lightly caresses your skin as he continues kissing you. You’ve kept your hand over his covered dick and have begun rubbing at him.

“Can I?” He says breathlessly as he smooths his hand further up your thigh to just under the bottom hem of your dress.

You nod, “Yes.” He presses his lips back to yours as he slowly moves his hand up your dress and makes contact with the edge of your panties. He backs away from the kiss and you see the aroused look in his eyes.

“Can I move these to the side? Feel you?” He asks as his fingers tap over the fabric of your panties.

You look down at his hard cock and then return your gaze to him, “Yes. But can I pull you out too? Want to feel you.”

Once he’s got your panties pulled to the side and you’ve lowered his briefs it feels like chaos. It’s wonderful chaos though. His lips on yours, his fingers gliding over your slick center and your hand strokes over his thick shaft gently. It’s all moans and saliva and rushed kisses with hands exploring and feeling.

Harry smells so good, you find yourself thinking. Nice and clean with a hint of something sweet. It somehow makes you feel better about this whole ordeal. You’re probably about to have a one night stand with a stranger you’ll never see again so at least you know he’s showered and smells nice.

When he removes his fingers from you he takes the arousal drenched hand and dips a finger into his mouth.

“Mmmm… mind if I get you to lay down? Get a better taste?” He slurs his words. Your heart is pounding in your chest and you are in a state of yes when it comes to Harry right now so you immediately scoot yourself around to lay flat onto your back with Harry moved in between your bare legs.

He gently pushes your dress up to your hips and moves your panties to the side again, wasting no time in diving his mouth right onto your wet cunt.

Harry eats you like you’ve never experienced before. He’s all in. He uses his hands and his mouth and his tongue and his nose. It feels so incredible along with the occasional eye contact he gives you and the moans that spill from his mouth vibrating into your core.

Harry lifts his head up and keeps his index and middle finger working your dripping hole as he speaks, “You’re so wet for me, pet. Bet I could just fill you up with my cock right now, huh?”

You look down at him between your thighs and he’s gorgeous with his hair wild from your fingers running through it. He’s watching you to determine if you’re ready for him or not and you’re still in a state of yes.

“Please. Yes!” You wiggle your hips and Harry grins at you with his dimple making an appearance. He removes his fingers from you and sits up. You can see his dick is still hard and begging for relief.

“Do you have condoms?” He asks. In your haze of lust you’d forgotten that vital part. You search your mind for where your condoms would be. It’s been a while but you know you’ve got them somewhere.

“I think… yeah just let me go find them.” You sit up and your panties snap back over your center and you hate the feeling because you’re so wet. As soon as you enter your bedroom you pull your panties off completely to rid yourself of the drenched material.

Searching through your dresser you come up empty but then you try your side table next to your bed and there they are. Your 10 pack has 7 condoms left inside and you check the expiration and thank the higher powers they are still usable.

Grabbing the whole box you quickly re enter the living room to see Harry waiting patiently on your couch where you left him. Cock still out, smirk still present.

“Probably only need one, pet.” He jokes when he sees you’ve carried the whole box to the couch.

You laugh, “I know but I was just hurrying.” You remove one of the wrapped condoms and place the box onto your coffee table. Handing Harry the condom you sit next to him and watch as he removes the rubber from the package and rolls it down over his impressive length. You can’t wait to get him inside you.

“How do you want me?” Harry asks as he climbs over you and presses his lips back to yours. It’s a searing kiss and you don’t know how you’re supposed to answer him when he’s kissing you the way he is. It’s hot and sloppy and he’s got your head spinning.

When he finally parts from you there’s a gasp that falls from your lips. He’s pressing his tip against your wet pussy and you can’t think straight.

“Fuck, just fuck me. Please. Want…” you’re words are cut off as he begins to push inside of you at your pleading.

He slowly enters you with his lips over yours and when he’s bottomed out you both moan at the relief. He feels incredible inside of your hot cunt. He helps spread your legs for him so he can rock into you and when he angles his hips upward you feel him gliding over your sensitive g-spot and then he pushes into you over and over again.

Harry’s keeping himself hovering as he gets into a hearty pace and you feel the material of his jeans rubbing in between your thighs at each thrust. You’re both still clothed minus the panties you removed and it’s so hot having a stranger as sexy as Harry is, over you and pounding away into you while he’s still got his jeans most of the way on. It feels desperate and dirty, because it is.

Harry leans back further to make his thick strokes even deeper and you see stars when he does this. He’s fucking into you so deeply and deliciously that you are making all kinds of noises and moans at each dip of his cock. Harry’s also being a little more vocal than he normally is. He’s so gone in this moment and can’t believe his luck that the gorgeous Facebook marketplace girl (yeah, he checked out your profile before he contacted you about your albums) is letting him fuck her.

You reach down to rub over your clit because you’re so close but not quite there. You need a little something extra and as soon as your fingers make contact you feel how quickly your orgasm is approaching you.

“Oh god. Yes! Fuck, Harry!” It’s so warm and wet and it feels so good in every way. Never in a million years would you have thought you’d be letting a stranger into your home and let him fuck you but how could you deny Harry? He was probably the most attractive man you’d ever met. And he was so good at what he was doing you really couldn’t regret anything.

“That feel good, pet? You feel so good around my cock. How’d I get so lucky? Fuck you’re so pretty.”

Harry was losing his even pace with his own orgasm coming to a head quickly. He increased the rhythm a bit when he noticed your thighs were beginning to shake. You were rubbing at your little clit with fast movements and his yummy dick was filling you so good. Your mouth was hung open and your face hot. Harry kept his eyes on you, waiting to see you fall apart on his cock. He wanted to be sure you came before him.

“M’gonna come. Oh my god! Fuuuuu…” you choked out a strangled moan as your body began to tingle and your orgasm washed away all of your thoughts and worries. Harry pumped into you a handful of times as he watched you come on his cock before he let himself go. Harry groaned deeply and threw his head back when he felt the wave of euphoria hit.

Once you’d both come down Harry leaned over you and kissed you hard.

“Mmm… that was exactly what I needed. You feel a little better now, pet?”

You are still breathing a little hard when you nod and respond, “God yes. Thank you.”

Harry laughs at your repones and slowly pulls himself out. When you’ve both cleaned up Harry goes back to your album collection and decides he’ll take them all.

“So, are you moving or? S’that why you’ve got all your stuff on marketplace?” Harry asks you as he boxes up the albums.

“Ugh, yeah. Got a job in another state and I have too much stuff to bring with me so I’m trying to get rid of what I can before the move.”

“No shit? Wow. Congrats. When, uh…” Harry scratches at the back of his neck, “…when do you move away officially?” He asks the last part as he looks directly at you.

You feel your face getting hot again. “Two weeks from today.” You smile at him sheepishly. You don’t know if he would want to see you again before you left but you certainly wouldn’t be against it.

“Ahh. Okay. Well, uhm, if you wanted to like hang out before you leave or something… like this weekend my band is playing at Piper’s bar. Be nice to see you again. If you wanted…”

You smile at him and nod, “Yes. I’d really like that. Uh, do you want my number?”

You both exchange numbers and make plans to see each other Saturday night. When he drives off you feel totally relaxed and de stressed. There’s no telling what the future looks like and it’s doubtful Harry is part of that as you’re moving soon, but you sure have no problem enjoying what you can while you’re still here.

Check out my masterlist if you enjoyed this! 😘

Xoxo

#harry styles #harry fic #harry smut #harry styles smut #harry styles fan fiction #harry styles fanfic

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chaotic-on-main · 1 year

Note

Hey sky! I know I made the post but I’ll request anyway 🥰🤣

How about #4??? :)

Hi hi!! Gonna be honest, I went through the 5 stages of grief trying to come up with an idea for this one, and what I came up with was not my first plan. I didn't intend for it to come out like this, I'm so sorry! Shckshdkjd, I hope it's okay regardless. MDNI.

☾ word count ➼ 573

☾ content/warning ➼ modernAU, gn!Reader, implied sexual content, established relationship

Edit: inspired by these songs:

Levi awoke on his stomach to the rustling of sheets next to him. He lazily cracks an eye open to the sight of you stretching your arms above your head with a grunt, his shirt from the night before pulling up ever so slightly so that the little dimples on your back peeked through. The early morning sun rays flit through the curtains, signifying yet another start of the work week. And he hated it.

His gaze follows your movements as you stand up from the side of the bed. At full height, the cloth that already hugged your torso rises up even more so that your ass is on full display, covered just barely by your very provocative underwear. The sight of a bite mark on one of your cheeks results in a smirk from Levi.

Memories of last night's adventures come flooding back to him and he has to shift his hips slightly due to oncoming discomfort between his body and the bed that came with those thoughts. He can't keep his eyes from traveling over your curves, visualizing where his hands and mouth were just hours before. Every part of you intoxicated his brain so much that it made him stupid.

"Hey." Levi calls out softly, voice husky from sleep. The sudden break in silence makes you jump. When you turn to face him, his heart does a somersault as you give him what he considered the best smile in the world. It's one of those smiles that reaches your eyes and lights up your whole face. One that seems like you save specifically for him.

"Hi." You whisper back with a playful lilt.

"Where are you going?" Levi asks. If you didn't know better, his voice almost sounded whiney. He twists his body so that he is on his side facing you, propped up on one arm. He doesn't miss how your eyes trail down his muscular body, kept fit from his regular gym sessions.

"It's Monday, silly. I need to get ready for work." You chuckle at the pout that you're given in return. He doesn't respond with anything else so you turn back around and head for the door to the rest of the apartment, planning to start the kettle for a morning tea. The cold floor against your bare feet sends a shiver up your spine. The door is already half open, hand on the knob, when you hear your fiancé pipe up from behind you finally.

"Or... you could call out and come back to bed with me." When you spin back around, he's sitting up and staring at you. You notice a soft pink flush across his cheeks.

"I don’t know, Levi... With this deadline coming up, it’s all hands on deck at the office." You mutter as you rock on the balls of your feet anxiously. His transfixed gaze on your chest as you speak goes unnoticed.

"They can survive one day without you. I can’t."

"Levi, I can't ju-"

"Please… come back to bed with me." There's a slight shift in his tone that you hadn't noticed before. You suddenly realize that the huskiness isn't from sleep, it's neediness. You can't keep your eyes from flicking down to his lap currently covered by the comforter and no doubt still devoid of any boxers.

"Oh."

"Just close the door."

His shirt barely hits the floor by the time you're on top of him.

@humanitys-strongest-bamf thanks for supporting me through my struggles of attempting to write smut lmao

Drabble challenge

#levi ackerman #attack on titan #aot #shingeki no kyojin #snk #moots #ask game #drabble challenge #romantichomicide95 #oh wow and somehow its 2am #levi ackerman x gn!reader #levi ackerman x reader #levi ackerman smut #kinda?#levi x reader

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potofstewie · 1 year

Text

Lazy Sunday

A/N: Lmao I apologize for the lack of decor on this post, this is just a short self indulgent fic that literally describes what the past week has been for me, i didn't proof read this shit i just wrote based on good vibes and didn't look back + im too lazy to be more proper with this. shit is rengoku x reader fluff btw anyway enjoy

Soft rain sprinkled the gloomy world outside, soft plops resounding from the roof as the tv played a movie you didn’t care for. You sighed softly and shifted slightly on the couch you laid on as you gave all your attention to your switch, trying your best to not disturb the sleeping 5’10 cargo that was sprawled on top of you, muscular arms wrapped around your torso and legs intertwined with yours.

You stifled a yawn as you focused on the switch you held above your lover’s head that resided on your chest, rapidly pressing A to speed up the conversation between you and a Pokémon gym leader as blond strands tickled your wrists with each button press. A content sigh left your body as you basked in the peaceful moment. You loved days like this, days where you and ever so energetic Kyojuro silently agreed that you two couldn’t be bothered with things to do. Days where you both opted for takeout rather than the usual cooking. Days where instead of rising early and being productive, Kyojuro would stay in bed an hour longer with you. Days where he allowed himself to take naps on the couch and be the small spoon.

You gently ran your fingers through his hair as you watched your Flamingo defeat a Psyduck, a slight groan interrupting the soft snores that came from your lover. Kyojuro began to stir from his slumber, a tired grunt erupting from his throat as his sleep heavy eyes blinked themselves slowly. “What..time is it?” He muttered softly, husky voice causing your heart to skip a beat.

“I dunno, it’s probably two.” You answered nonchalantly, raising your switch a bit higher as Kyojuro shifted his head, moving the bangs that stuck to the side of his face. With an “mhm” he relaxed once more, trying his hardest to meld his body with yours. You placed your hand under his shirt, running your hand over his shoulder blade. Another hum left his body as he slowly brought himself back to sleep, arms gently squeezing your torso.

After a minute or two, the soft snores once more filled the living room, intermingling with the tv noise. As another yawn ripped from your mouth, you raised your arm up high, shaking from the intensity of it. As tears pricked the corners of your eyes, your fingers loosened your grip on the switch. With a harsh exhale, you watched in what felt like slow motion as the switch made hard contact with your boyfriend’s head, a loud clank and pained grunt disrupting the once peaceful room.

“Oh, shit!” you said choking back a giggle. “I’m so sorry, Kyo!” You frantically rubbed and planted small kisses on his head. You truly didn’t mean to laugh at your boyfriend’s pain but the accident caught you off guard. Kyojuro lazily rubbed his head as a sigh left his nose.

“That really hurt..” He trailed off, finally facing you with his bottom lip sticking out; unruly eyebrows creating a deep crease. You let out a giggle as your mind compared him to that of a kicked puppy. You craned your head and placed a kiss on his forehead, his sour expression instantly changing to a more upbeat one.

“I’m sorry baby, honest. Forgive me?” You asked softly, a small smile gracing your lips. Kyojuro beamed at you, a hearty chuckle erupting from his chest.

“It was an accident! Of course I forgive you, my flame!” He reassured before returning his head back to his original position, handing you back your switch.

With another kiss to his head, you took the switch and settled it on the floor before wrapping your arms around him. “I think I’ll join you in dream world.” You declared, eliciting a pleased hum from Kyojuro.

“About time, I was all by my lonesome eating a bunch of sweet potatoes.”

(Lmao I literally dunno how to end this properly.)

ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴛʀᴀɴꜱʟᴀᴛᴇ, ꜱᴛᴇᴀʟ, ʙɪɴᴅ ᴏʀ ʀᴇᴘᴏꜱᴛ ᴀꜱ ʏᴏᴜʀꜱ. ᴀʟʟ ʀɪɢʜᴛꜱ ɢᴏ ᴛᴏ ᴘᴏᴛᴏꜰꜱᴛᴇᴡɪᴇ™ 2023

#rengoku x black reader #rengoku x reader #rengoku fluff #demon slayer fluff #does anyone play pokemon viloet/scarlet btw?#or animal crossing?#original stew

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neptunes-curse · 2 years

Text

Competitive || FW

even though Fred loves you, that doesn’t stop him from trying his hardest to beat you in quidditch.

pairings: fem!hufflepuff!chaser!reader

warnings: cussing, meantions of eating/food, mentions of anxiety, mention of death, friendly competition, very bad injury, blood, concussions, and passing out

authors note: Cedric’s not dead, because i said so. I know it’s been forever since i posted but y’know, life gets in the way. Also, I know nothing about palm reading so if i’m wrong/something is inaccurate, i’m really sorry. I edited this, so hopefully it’s better 👍

(gif not mine)

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・

You were sitting in the great hall for breakfast, next to all of the Hufflepuff quidditch team. Cedric was making sure everyone knew the strategies, which he had already done 3 times this morning alone. But all you could think about was the semi-finals game tonight against Gryffindor. It felt like your team had been preparing for this since the beginning of time. You were ready, but it didn’t stop your stomach from being tied in a knot. Especially since you were going to play against your very competitive boyfriend, Fred Weasley. By no means would he go easy on you, gosh, probably harder on you since you were dating. He’d been teasing you about it for weeks.

“Y/n, are you even listening?” a very annoyed Cedric complained from across the table, snapping his fingers.

“What- yes, of course I am. It’s not like I’ve heard it a million bloody times already.” You replied with an eye roll, wanting this to be over so you could go back to enjoying your meal.

“So, as I was saying, I’m at right, Y/n is at left…” He trailed off about our starting positions, and you went back to daydreaming before your friend told you it was time for class.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・

“Nervous, darling?” Fred teased from the other side of the table during divination.

“Me, Nervous? No, never-“ You said with sarcasm in your voice as you started writing down your results from the palm reading you did on him earlier. “And,” you continued, “Your palm reading says you’ll have great misfortune later, so who knows, maybe Hufflepuff will win.”

“Aw, this is all bull shit anyway.” Fred said rolling his eyes and looking up at you.

You say, laughing, “Now you’re just scared, Freddie-“ Which is true, because you could tell he was nervous too. He always picked at his nails when he was nervous. It was a bad habit, but still was something you picked up on.

“Whatever you say, Hufflepuff” He winked at you then seemingly went in for a kiss, before pulling his head back and ruffling you hair.

“Heyyyyyy~” you whined sarcastically

Fred chuckles in response “No kissing until the game tonight, when I win.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・

40 minuetes until the game. You were shaking, the butterflies in your stomach wilder then ever. Walking down the hallways was a task in itself, the heavy broom in your hand and your quidditch robes waying you down. Not to mention your knees trembling with every step. You were naturally a anxious person, but the semi-finals of the quidditch season was stressful. Cedric had requested you get there 30 minutes early, preferably earlier than that, but nobody was listening at that point after he’d gone over our strategy for scoring on Oliver Wood for the millionth time.

When you finally made it to the pitch, you were fifteen minuetes late. Cedric automatically flew down to you, shaking his head.

“Y/N, where we’re you? You’re the last one here.”

“I can tell, Cedric. Someone had to do it though.” You laughed and hopped up on your broom, quickly flying past to him and up to your starting position.

“C’mon Cedric, we’re waiting!” Everyone around you laughed, but the captain didn’t look too amused.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・

You couldn’t belive it. The game was about to start. Oliver and Cedric were doing the coin toss, and if you thought your nerves were something before, everything was 10 times worse now. Your heart was pounding, limbs shaking, and frankly, you thought it was a heart attack. Fred was sitting on his broom across from you, and right when the whistle blew, He winked and flew off. You had barely any time to recover from the wink or the chills, and swiftly flew off to your teammate who had acquired the quaffle.

Flying behind your teammate, Heidi Macavoy, was not easy. The Gryffindor team was being very aggressive, and bludgers were flying right past your head with very little warning. You and Heidi were nearing the goal, and Oliver looked at you two as if he had fire in his eyes. You started trying out Cedric’s strategy, flying all over the right end of the pitch to distract the beater. It didn’t seem to be working though. He was very focused, and when Heidi threw the quaffle, it barely got anywhere before Oliver deflected it with his broom. It was going to be a long match.

45 minutes later, neither team had scored and many injuries had been sustained. Cedric had nearly fallen to his death 3 times, Angelina Johnson took a quaffle to her now-very-crooked nose, and you have had over 20 bludgers come into contact with your head. All sent at you by the one and only, Fred Weasley. He wasn’t trying to hurt you, just teasing really. After the 21st time he’d done it, you looked over at him and gave him a very mean stare. A warning, that he better stop or you know, something bad would happen. And just when you were done with your stare, a fast flying bludger hit your boyfriend smack in the head. Next thing you know, Fred was off his broom, and falling down towards the ground. It seemed like nobody noticed but you. You sat there, watching your boyfriend fall down bascially at the speed of light. You were frozen. And just like that, Madam Hooch blew the whistle.

Fred’s body stopped right above the ground, the wound on his head very prominent.

“Everyone get down. The game will finish when each team has fully conscious players.” Madam Hooch yelled out loud enough for everyone to hear. There were groans from all around, the stands full of people looking very disappointed. Oliver Wood looked near tears, and ran off to the locker rooms.

“Someone is butt hurt.” Anthony Rickett muttered.

“With our luck this means 50 more hours of practice.” Katie Bell chuckled.

You weren’t worried about their sly comments though, only yor boyfriend. He was being taken to the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・

When Fred woke up, He found a half-asleep Y/N by his side. He had a wrap around his head, and his legs felt rather weak.

“W-what happened?” Fred blinked hard and stretched his arms out.

“Fred! Finally, you’ve been out forever. You took a bludger to the head.” You turned to him and placed a hand on his forehead.

“Did we win? Is Gryffindor going to the championship?” He quickly said sitting up and looked at you eagerly.

“They called the game off. We’re continuing next week when everyone recovers.” Shrugging, you continued to check on him and handed Fred his glass of water

“Oi, what rubbish.” He looked over at you and smirked. “We’ll still win.”

“Oh, we’ll see…” you looked back down at him. “I know neither team has won yet, but could I still get that kiss?”

He smirked and moved closer to you. “Gonna make out with an injured man, eh? Sounds dangerous.”

“Fred Gideon Weasley, when have you ever done anything safe?” You say, giggling and moving a hair out of his face.

“Hm, good point love.” Fred shrugs, leaning into you and placing a soft kiss on your lips.

It was heavenly, as all of your kisses with Fred were. But, you two were soon interrupted.

“Ooooo, what do we have here?” Fred’s twin brother, George, teased in a sing-song tone

“Piss off you-“ Fred said, pulling away.

“Afraid i can’t, Oliver’s right behind me. Wants to have a stern word with you for passing out. Going on and on about how ‘they can’t cancel quidditch’ whatever that means.” George said walking over. “Hate to ruin your love fest though, really.”

“Oh shut up, George!” You laughs and wack his shoulder

“Voilence will not be tolerated, Y/N.” The younger twin said jokingly.

“Rubbish, you big git- call me when you survive Oliver, Freddie.” You smiles at your boyfriend and gave him one last kiss on the cheek, and one more wack for his brother.

Fred laughs and smiles, “This isn’t over though, i’m still gonna make fun of you!”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・

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snowbellewells · 2 months

Text

Self Promo Sunday: "Carolina Moon"

First off, let me say that I know it has been ages, and I am really sorry for that. I sort of lost my muse and my energy - as well as my time to write - there for a bit. I am grateful if you have stuck with me and are ready to see where else this story goes. Finally, FINALLY, I have a new chapter almost edited and proofed and ready to go in the next couple of days, so I thought this week's self-promo might serve as a recap for the story so far to refresh everyone's memory (mine included!) The new chapter should be up in just a day or two, and if all goes well, another by Friday, to then return to my weekly (or closer to it) posting schedule.

In the meantime, I do hope you enjoy this little look back, and I'd love to hear what you think.

Thank you SO MUCH to @eastwesthomeisbest for the gorgeous cover art, and to @xarandomdreamx for being my beta. I am very grateful to you both.

Can be read from the beginning HERE on Tumblr or HERE on AO3

Summary: Emma Swan has returned to the town she grew up in, and the past that has haunted her no matter where she has run. She seeks answers and peace at last. Despite the years that have passed, some things haven't changed very much in Storybrooke, South Carolina, and one of those things is Killian Jones. He never forgot the gangly girl with the world on her shoulders and pain in her eyes, but will he finally be able to slip past her defenses and help her find the answers she seeks?

Chapter Three: Fresh Starts and Stumbling Blocks

The following morning, Emma rose early to the sun on her face, streaming in warm and bright through the windows where she hadn’t yet hung curtains. A noisy mockingbird called brashly to his mate in the trees outside as she sat up, rubbing her eyes and pushing back the rumpled covers, resolving to go ahead and get an early start on the day. Though her body might still be weary, her mind already seemed fully aware and was running through all that needed doing before Saturday’s anticipated grand opening.

Standing and stretching out the cricks and aches, Emma sighed, shaking her head while she straightened the bed clothes as best she could over her mattress on the floor. It had arrived on time, with the other household items she’d sent with the movers from her apartment in Boston. But the antique brass bedframe she had ordered had yet to arrive. Still, she’d slept in the end, and she had spent so many nights in much worse discomfort, she could make do for the time being with an accepting shrug.

Trailing into the kitchen while yawning, Emma pulled an old terrycloth bathrobe over her oversize tee and shorts, threadbare and comfortably soft with years of washings, as she went. She reached up into the cabinet for her coffee, opened it and took a grateful whiff, before she grabbed a measuring spoon from the drainer to fill the coffeemaker. It was only as the life-giving brew began to percolate that she was startled by the sound of three crisp knocks on her front door, making her jump and jerk her robe more tightly closed as she spun to face it.

Not sure who would be calling on her so early in the morning - and when she had barely been back in town three days - Emma almost didn’t answer the summons at all. Still, she couldn’t help both her curiosity and the concern that someone could genuinely need her. She crossed the worn wooden floor of the simple kitchen and unlocked the door, pulling it open only to catch her breath in surprise at who stood on her porch. Emma couldn’t help stumbling back a step and unconsciously running a hand through her still sleep-rumpled hair, for what little good it did.

What was Cora Jones doing there?!? She cursed herself fruitlessly for wearing her most comfortable, but rattiest, pajamas and robe, and she floundered for something to say. Cora, meanwhile, seemed to only stand taller, an eyebrow arched as she looked down her nose at Emma much like she would something rotten which had been smashed on the bottom of her designer shoes. “Might I come in, Ms. Swan?” the older woman finally deigned to speak in frosty tones. “Unlike some people, I have numerous things to do this morning, and cannot afford to lounge around until noon.”

Emma caught a defensive retort on her tongue, biting it back with painful effort. If it were anyone else, she would have given them a piece of her mind, but this was Rose’s mother. Some small part of her, a skinny, lonely pre-teen who had never known a mother other than the proper Jones matriarch, still ached to prove herself to this woman. Oh, she knew it was impossible. It always had been, even before the awful day that forever altered her world. But deep within, that needy child wanted to please her best friend’s parent, to feel some semblance of a parent’s love for herself, and it would not be completely buried. So she held back speaking at all and simply opened the screen door still separating them, motioning Cora through.

Moving toward the kitchen table, Emma offered coffee and a seat, grateful that though the small piece of furniture was chipped and rickety, it was at least cleared and clean. Looking as if she would rather do almost anything else instead, Cora declined abruptly. “I’ll stand, thank you.”

Emma shrugged wordlessly, trying not to let the clear derision make her shrink. She was right where she was meant to be, intending to lay old demons to rest once and for all. She’d like to make peace with Mrs. Jones as well, but she also knew it wasn’t meant to be, and was not about to be run off. Not now, not after she had waited so long. Instead, she reached up into her cabinet again for a mug for herself, poured coffee into it with as steady a hand as she could manage, and forced herself to wait. Let Cora broach the topic Emma knew she’d come to discuss; she didn’t need to make the woman’s job any easier.

Much as though she had read Emma’s thoughts, the Jones matriarch’s eyes narrowed, and she raised her chin haughtily when she spoke, her voice a whip crack in the taut air of the quiet kitchen. “Let’s not pretend this is a social call. I’m sure you know quite well what I have in mind. It is merely a matter of how difficult you wish to make things.”

Emma merely hummed low in her throat, the slightest nod allowing that she had heard and understood Cora’s words, but still not answering aloud. Inside, she ranted, ‘Me?!? You’re the one making things harder than they have to be!’ But she didn’t give Mrs. Jones the satisfaction of needlessly protesting or taking the bait. She simply met the older woman’s stare head-on and held her tongue, biding her time.

“I do not want you here. Not on our family’s property, not in this town, nowhere near us. I trust you understand that much? Neither my children, nor I, want you around, unearthing painful memories again after all these years. I realize you have already leased space in town for your little shop, ordered merchandise and so forth…. So, Ms. Swan, what will it take?” As calmly as if she were discussing the weather or ordering a latte, Cora Jones withdrew a fine leather checkbook from her designer purse, poised with pen in hand. “Tell me what you need to pack up again and clear out of here, to start over elsewhere, and I’ll make out a check here and now.”

Unbidden temper flared in Emma’s gut suddenly, no matter how she tried to remain unaffected. No matter how far she had come or what she had made of herself, to people like this woman she would never be anything but poor white trash - a mess to be cleared away out of sight. Her presence made them uncomfortable or guilty or angry - she’d never quite decided which. And she was tired of it. She might not have come from anything, and she might not possess some fancy pedigree stretching back generations, but Emma was not nothing; she never had been. Pure, unbreakable steel seemed to fuse her backbone, bringing her voice and fighting spirit to the fore. She wasn’t for sale - not at any price - and it was time that “Her Highness” learned that fact.

“You must be mistaken, Mrs. Jones,” Emma replied, slow and plain, each syllable as intentional and measured as any of her adversary’s had been. “You seem to think I would consider relocating. Let me be clear: I’m not on the market. You can’t buy me out. You can’t run me off. Not this time. I’m staying.”

If she’d been at all in the mood to laugh, Cora’s perfectly painted mouth gaping open, then snapping shut in stunned disbelief would have been comical. As it was, Emma just kept staring her down, holding firm until the oldest money in Storybrooke had nothing left to do but withdraw. “This isn’t finished, Ms. Swan,” she hissed, her stare sparking dangerously like a match against flint. “You would be better off to take my money and make your way more easily elsewhere.”

Emma followed her to the door, arms crossed tightly over her chest as she watched those classy heels cross the warped board threshold. Anger had restored her nerve and then some as she clipped out, “Well, nothing’s ever been easy in my life. Why should it start now?” Facing off stonily with the woman she had finally, once and for all, given up trying to impress, Emma was determined that this time she would not be the one to crack.

Then, just as Cora stepped off the porch, Emma couldn’t help adding, “And, in case you haven’t noticed, both of your children are grown now. Maybe you should find out what they actually think before trying to speak for them.”

The older woman whirled, but Emma had slammed her door closed, ensuring the final word on the matter. She deflated quickly, falling back against the solid barrier bonelessly and trying to catch her breath, but it felt good to stand up to the woman at long last rather than taking any more judgment she didn’t deserve. She was sure Cora Jones wasn’t finished yet, but she had made up her mind. She was through running.

*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*

Despite the upsetting and inauspicious start to her day, by the time early afternoon rolled around, Emma found herself pleasantly puttering about it her shop, humming to herself as she hung pictures in just the right place for best appreciation and then stepping back to take in the overall effect. Things were coming together nicely, and somewhere beneath the anxious concern she wouldn’t be ready in time and the only half-buried dread that no one would come to the opening because it was hers, Emma was beginning to feel proud excitement. She had found a real outlet upon discovering photography in college and had kept it up ever since, developing and honing her knowledge and skill in the art. In the quiet of the dark room and the simple, calm repetition of the developing process, Emma often found the whirling thoughts and visions that screamed inside her head went silent, a rare moment of peace as she worked alone to bring to light the images she had captured. Just as she had told Killian the previous evening, it was the one time she actually found a benefit in her ability to see more beyond the obvious existence on the surface. That she could bring out some aspect or nuance of her subject because of the burden she’d borne all her life was not really any sort of relief, but it felt like some tiny bit of restitution to make up for her trials as she looked around the gallery she was slowly forming, full of moments worth remembering, caught for as long as the pictures might last. She was gradually daring to hope that others as well would wish to glimpse the images she’d brought to life, ones which otherwise might have remained unseen.

She was turning to the back where she kept a small refrigerator to get a pop and take a breather when the bell over her door announced the arrival of a newcomer at her store front. Emma paused at the end of the long counter, turning to look over her shoulder curiously and prepared to greet the guest, but explain that she wasn’t open to customers quite yet. However, something about the young woman she saw standing just inside the door anxiously shuffling her feet and offering Emma a nervous but hopeful smile told her this one wasn’t there to buy framed photographs or picture-taking equipment, but had something else entirely on her mind.

Rephrasing the speech she’d had ready to deliver, Emma instead offered an encouraging smile of her own and inquired curiously, “Hello, I’m Emma Swan, the owner. How can I help you?”

Upon closer inspection, Emma could see the visitor was quite young, and clearly rather shy as well. She couldn’t be long out of high school, or college at the latest, and she blushed with another quick smile before looking down at her hands, then back up at her to answer. “Hi, I’m Violet Clemens. Fresh out of college actually,” she added with a self-conscious little giggle, “and new in town. I’ll start teaching art at the middle school here in a week or so, but I was wondering if you might need any part-time help here in the meantime. What with moving and student loans and all, I could do with a little extra income.”

Understanding dawned on Emma as the girl continued, and she seemed so genuinely sweet that it was impossible not to grin right back at Violet in welcome as she came forward to shake hands. It would really come in handy to have someone who could focus on manning the register and wrapping up purchases for customers while she focused on book work, restocking, and troubleshooting. Unfortunately, Emma had sunk nearly all she possessed in the move, leasing the space, and procuring the merchandise she hadn’t created herself; it might not be possible to hire on any help until she saw if she could start making back some of her investment.

She told Violet as much gently, making clear that she truly did regret having to be so cautious, but the younger woman easily understood. Nodding sagely, Violet took the disappointment in stride. Glancing out the large front window to the sidewalk, she shrugged good naturedly and gestured toward the large, rather scruffy, dog Emma just then noticed, tied by the leash to the bike rack and lounging on the cement with its tongue lolling contentedly. “It’s alright. Honestly,” she piped up, cheer still evident in her voice. “I knew it was a longshot, dropping in unannounced and all. But Norman and I,” here she beamed at the dog who seemed to sense her affection through the glass as his tail began slapping the sidewalk and his ears perked up, “were taking an afternoon walk, and I couldn’t help but notice your lovely store front - it’s really coming together, you know that, right? And I had to try. I’d love to work somewhere like this.”

As an afterthought, Emma quickly asked before Violet could leave, “I wish I could say for sure I could hire you. You seem like a wonderful fit, and I could use the help. I just need to see how things progress on the business side. Might you have a resume or a card you could leave? Then, if I’m able to hire later, I can call and find out if you’re still interested.”

Violet’s head was already nodding enthusiastically, even before Emma could finish speaking. “Yes, I do! Right here,” she chirped triumphantly, pulling it out of the shoulder bag she carried and then flushing slightly as she smoothed the proffered resume against her leg before handing it over. “I’m glad you’re willing to take a look at it. This will be such an intriguing gallery, and I need something that can fit around my hours at the school once classes are in session. Between you and me, it took nearly every cent I had to get me and Norman here, and it was worth a try to make a little money until my paychecks start coming regularly. But I apologize if it’s a bit rumpled - my partner out there can be a bit of a handful.”

Emma waved off the concern, not in the least bothered about slightly bent paper, and wishing even more that she had a definite opening. She remembered all too well just the spot this young woman was in - and she wasn’t that far removed from her situation even now. Instead, she grinned as they both looked out toward the irresistibly floppy-eared dog who absolutely knew he was being watched and leapt to his feet, tail wagging in excitement.

“He looks like a sweetie though, all the same,” Emma smiled indulgently, feeling a pang in her heart at the memory of all the times she had wished as a kid that she could have a pet of her own, particularly a dog that would have been by her side when she was alone and in need of someone to understand her and lend her comfort.

Violet nodded readily in confirmation, grinning at her dog as if he was hearing and comprehending every word. “Yeah, he really is,” she agreed, turning back to Emma once more. “Sad as it might sound, he’s probably my best friend.”

“It doesn’t sound sad at all to me,” Emma assured, thinking to herself that choosing to depend on such an inherently loyal and devoted creature made perfect sense - especially if one were alone in the world otherwise. Giving Violet Clemens one more hopeful promise that she would call if she was able, Emma began walking with her back to the door, before adding as the girl turned the doorknob and moved to step out. “Thanks again for your interest. If things go well, maybe we’ll see each other again soon.”

She stepped outside into the mild sunshine, turning her face upwards for a moment to drink in its gentle warmth. Then, with a curious nod toward Norman, who was wriggling and writhing with enthusiasm at both his mistress’ return and the proximity of a new friend, Emma hesitated only until the expected indication that it would be just fine before squatting to the dog’s eye level to scratch him behind the soft, velvety ears and accept a sloppy lick across her cheek.

“Norman!” Violet chided, even while giggling at the same time. “Really! You’ve no manners at all, bud. Sorry about that, Ms. Swan.”

Emma chuckled too, not at all put off, and the simple affection that flooded her at the dog’s sweet, uncomplicated reception made her want to wrap her arms around his neck and bury her fingers in his thick ruff of gray fur. “Don’t worry about it,” she assured, stroking the dog’s back and chest several more times before standing again at the protest of her knees and calves. “I pretty much asked for it,” she added good naturedly. “He’s a handsome dog, but unusual looking. What breed is he?”

Violet shrugged unconcernedly, stroking along the top of his head as Norman came to lean against her side, his head nearly even with her hip, and gazed at her with the sort of obvious and complete devotion that only a good dog could muster. “The people I adopted him from had an Irish Wolfhound that guarded their sheep, but they didn’t really know about the father - it wasn’t an intentional litter of puppies.” She gave a playful little “oops” sort of grimace to Emma before gently rubbing under Norman’s furrily bearded chin for a moment, crooning, “You were a bit of a surprise there, weren’t you, Normie?” to the dog. “Anyway, best the vet back home could figure, he’s some sort of wolfhound-shepherd mix. And he may be huge, but I’m pretty glad of it. He’s all bark, but it’s an intimidating one if someone is around who shouldn’t be. I feel a lot safer having him with me, that’s for sure.”

“I’d imagine so,” Emma agreed, nodding her head in easy agreement.

“Well, we’ll let you go for now,” Violet said, unlooping Norman’s leash from the bench and readying to lead the two of them off down the street. “Thank you for your time, and I’ll hope to hear from you, but I’m sure I’ll stop in again once you’re open, either way.” She gave an easy wave, which Emma returned, and then started away along the sidewalk.

Emma turned to reopen the shop’s door and get back to work inside when a strange movement caught her eye, seemingly in the alley between the law offices and the jeweler’s on the opposite side of the street. Squinting in concentration, she tried to focus on the dark blur she was certain had slipped through her peripheral vision mere moments ago, but without any luck. Whoever or whatever she had seen was gone, vanished into the shadow of the narrow space between the buildings, or - more likely - never there at all. Shaking her head, Emma re-entered her own building and returned to her unpacking, pricing, and display efforts, doing her best to put the strange sense of having been watched out of her mind, and to ignore the nervous energy crawling along her skin. There was nothing there, and she was being ridiculous.

Soon, she was swept up in her work again, and the pleasure at seeing the pictures all side by side and ready for viewing at last, the way the whole thing was taking shape, had shoved the anxiety from her gut, letting the warmth of pride and accomplishment take its place. She’d slipped into her own little world to such a degree that when David Nolan charged in a couple hours later, followed by Killian Jones, both of them projecting a sort of restless upset and overflow of adrenaline, she was startled enough to whip around with a surprised exclamation from where she was perched atop a ladder, hanging a large landscape she’d captured. She wobbled slightly at the sudden movement, and Killian was across the room in a blink, steadying the ladder with one hand, the other at the back of her calf - warm, strong fingers clamped around her leg impossible to ignore, and sending all breath whooshing from her lungs even as it restored her balance. The heat and pressure ran tingling all the way up her legs to the juncture of her thighs, feeling like a bubbling of molten lava at her core. Even when she had been deeply committed in a years-long relationship with Neal back in Boston, she’d never felt anything like the burning intensity that gripped her with the mere touch of Killian’s hand.

If the breath of shock that escaped him, his widened blue eyes meeting hers before they darted away, and how he withdrew several steps promptly when she moved to shakily descend the ladder, were any indication, he had felt it too. Emma could feel his gaze still flickering over her back as she turned to David with hands crossed over her chest, trying to gather enough air to speak normally, and asked, “What is going on? You two charged in here like the place was on fire and scared me half to death!”

That was a bit of an exaggeration, but she was trying to lighten the moment and deflect attention from her churning insides and the fact that her body’s reaction to Killian Jones was what truly frightened her most.

David bobbed his head in a sheepish nod of acknowledgement, his tense shoulders dropping only a bit, though he did have the decency to look apologetic. “Sorry about that, Emma. It wasn’t our intention at all. Just wanted to make sure you were alright.”

Emma immediately caught his tone and the concerned, nervous energy radiating from both of them, even as they saw she was just fine and seemed to try to reel themselves back in. Tilting her head to study David’s face more carefully, she pressed warily, “Alright? Why wouldn’t I be?”

Killian stepped up closer to her side again, clearing his throat as he did, immediately upping Emma’s awareness further with his nearness, though he didn’t speak. David, meanwhile, shifted from one foot to the other restlessly, glancing away from her to meet his friend’s eyes before drawing in a deep breath and answering her question as calmly and succinctly as possible.

“I was notified an hour ago by one of my contacts in the city that Vic Franken - your former foster parent - has broken parole. He was facing five years for possession and reckless endangerment, but plea bargaining and so-called ‘good behavior’ have him up for parole sooner.” David’s tone and the practically audible air quotes in his voice made the huffs of disbelief and derision from both Emma and Killian seem all the more justified. “At any rate,” David continued, leveling his gaze on Emma seriously after a long-suffering sigh, “he’s in the wind, and it’s more than likely he would head this way. He might have been arrested elsewhere, but his last known address was here in Storybrooke, and he tends to return to what he knows. We’ve all borne witness to that pattern over the years.”

The sheriff paused there to both catch his breath and gather his thoughts. His well-muscled arms were crossed over his broad chest, almost looking as if he planned to plant himself right in front of her like some sort of stubborn protective barrier for the foreseeable future. The frown of consternation that marred his naturally open and amiable face completed the look all too well. Emma felt a surge of affection for Nolan at his obvious show of concern, and found herself wanting to ease his worry - even if the idea of her former abuser being on the loose and nearby had made a quivering fear run through her. She wasn’t trapped in a house with Franken anymore, didn’t have to deal with his presence any longer, and she was not about to let the idea of him reappearing rule her mind or emotions.

She gave a cool, measured nod, standing to her full height and making certain to look David right in the eye as well, not flinching for a second, no matter how much she wanted to. Waiting until she was sure there would be no tremor in her voice, Emma offered, “Thank you for letting me know so quickly, David. Truly. Being prepared is about the best defense I can have, as far as I’m concerned. Turning around to find him standing right there would be a hell of an awful shock to the system, but at least now I know to be on my guard.”

She wasn’t oblivious to Killian’s coming to stand just behind her, as if slightly flanking her against an attack, but she resolutely ignored it for the moment, determined to show she could face down the threat before her, regardless of the scars and horrific memories just the mention of Franken’s name brought flooding back. Facing David with fire in her eyes, she added reluctantly, “If he’s smart, he’ll run somewhere other than directly back here where he’s expected and bound to get caught. Still, we all know sensible, intelligent behavior is not the man’s leading characteristic, so I’ll be keeping a wary eye out. It won’t be the first time I’ve had to face him since I ran anyway.”

“What?!” David burst out incredulously.

Just as Killian swung around to face her with a hotly uttered, “Emma, what are you talking about?”

“He found me in Boston,” she shrugged, fighting to hang onto her calm air of nonchalance, even in the face of their volatile emotions. “Several years ago now. Startled me right in the street outside my apartment building - wanting money to stay out of my way and keep leaving me alone, essentially. It wasn’t a hard choice to pay it and have him gone. I was rattled that he was able to track me down, but he left, thankfully… and that was the end of it.”

Killian’s dark brows furrowed intently over his eyes that had grown stormy like a squall amidst the pretty ocean blue. Gently taking her arm to turn her to face him fully, his voice was quietly intense when he argued, “The end of it?! Are you serious, Emma? What are you thinking? He’s a dangerous man, particularly toward you, and you’re acting as though we’ve just told you something as minor as the weather for this evening.”

Emma gave him a cool look, not about to back down or fall apart in front of either of these men who were clearly concerned for her and expecting just that. She might feel as if her stomach was suddenly sloshing around like a sickening bowl of jelly, but she wouldn’t let Vic Franken take any more time from her or waste any of her concern. He’d made her early life a living hell - much more than Killian or David could imagine, whatever they thought they knew. It had taken years for her to stop biting back anything she might have noticed or seen for fear of being punished for her “unholy visions”. She’d looked over her shoulder, jumped at the slightest touch, been unwilling to accept the simplest compliment, continually unable to fathom that others might find her interesting, worthwhile, or important. It was still a work in progress, but she wasn’t moving backwards or scuttling to hide like some crawfish beneath its rock at the first hint of the man’s existence or mention of his name. She’d face it without flinching; he had no power over her now.

“I understand,” she finally gritted out as steadily as possible, eyeing Killian and David in turn, seeing that they took in her resolve. “I’ll keep my guard up, and I’ll call you the moment I see him - if I see him - but I’m not cowering or letting him ruin what I’ve worked toward. I have a store to open the day after tomorrow, and I’m not stopping for him or anyone else.”

David was already shaking his head, not liking her stubborn response, but being wise enough to recognize a battle he couldn’t win. “Well, see that you do. Keep your phone on you at all times. Try not to be alone any more than you have to. Call me anytime - day or night, whether I’m officially on duty or not, I mean that. We can’t ignore the facts. We may not have been able to do much to help when we were kids, but I’m not giving him a chance to lay a hand on you again, not on my watch.”

“Nor mine,” Killian echoed gravely, his voice a low rumble that shuddered through her pleasantly, no matter how she tried to ignore the effect. He was right there at her elbow, radiating anger, protectiveness, and something else delicious and unspoken which she didn’t dare put a name to. Even in the nightmare situation being threatened, a small, neglected corner of her thrilled at the sensation, savoring it for all it was worth.

“What? Nolan’s deputized you, and I haven’t heard about it?” she queried sarcastically, arching a sardonic brow at him in effort to hide just how touched she was by the care they both showed and the amount of comfort it lent her. Shaking her head, Emma regarded both men with knowing resignation, shrugging her shoulders helplessly. “Look, I appreciate the thought, but do you really think I don’t understand the danger here? Or that I plan to leave myself vulnerable again? I don’t. But I won’t stop living my life either. It’s finally mine, to live as I choose.”

“But Emma…” David began again, seeming to forget his earlier decision to abandon a futile struggle - at least until she sent a quelling look his way to freeze the words on his tongue.

Killian was undaunted though, and picked up where the Sheriff had left off. “At least don’t allow him to catch you all alone, Swan. You shouldn’t go anywhere by yourself until Franken is back in custody.”

She’d placed her hands on her hips then, facing off against him squarely, even as he stepped closer too, moving to cradle her elbow in his large, calloused hand, much as he would aim to soothe a skittish animal. That still didn’t keep her from countering frustratedly, “And just how long might that take? Who’s planning on uprooting his life to follow me around like a babysitter, you?” She shook her head wildly, seeing that he looked every bit as stubborn as she did. “You don’t have time for that - no one does. It’s not practical.”

“I’ll make time,” he shot right back, without so much as a blink or a moment’s pause. “Practical or not, it’s necessary, and you’re stuck with me.”

She huffed in dissatisfaction, but turned from him to plant her hands on the counter and force several deep breaths rather than continuing to fight - in front of David, no less - when they were both so riled up.

“Well, glad that’s settled,” David breathed out with a brisk energy, pointedly ignoring the obvious tension in the room and smacking his hands together loudly, as if to accentuate the issue being resolved. He tapped a hand twice on the sturdy counter in farewell. “Everyone’s looking for him; he won’t be loose for very long,” he predicted, giving Emma a bolstering smile. “Until then, you’ve got a little extra insurance, right? Just to be safe.”

Emma only offered a half-hearted grumble and roll of her eyes, but David unaffectedly allowed that to roll right off his back with typical good humor, slapping Killian’s shoulder on his way to the door.

Once they were alone, Killian turned to her with an exaggerated sort of leer and waggling brow, as if knowing she needed to lessen the anxiety surrounding them. “So, Swan, it would seem I am at your service. What would you have me do?” He leaned closer to her with the words, lending them a hint of temptation, especially when she could see his tongue swipe along his bottom lip seductively.

She had to tease him back; there was simply no other way her pounding heart and heated blood would allow her to respond. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” she purred with a salacious wink, batting her lashes for added effect.

If possible, the heated expression on Killian’s face grew more scorching, little flames of awareness licking up and down her arms and all across her skin. Emma flushed involuntarily, knowing her response showed, and that realization only making her embarrassment and arousal climb all the higher. Her gaze fell to the counter in an attempt to escape his intense regard; eyes following her fingers as they fumbled over odds and ends lying about, scrambling to look busy.

Still, her head jerked back up at his response, unable to avoid eye contact when the warmth of his words washed over her, still lightly flirtatious, but no less sincere, as he answered, “Perhaps I would.”

There was no way she could question that he meant it honestly. Along with the ability to see things average eyes could not, Emma could also sense when someone spoke the truth, and knew most usually when the truth was withheld. She might have lost her faith in that skill for awhile; her emotions too involved where Neal was concerned to see he had not meant all he had promised, and her ability to interpret her visions compromised by heartbreak in the case that sent her city life and purpose crumbling down. But, for all of that, she could still read Killian with absolute certainty, like the printed font on the page of a book. In fact, he was the most unmistakably clear, open person she could remember facing since Rose herself. It was impossible to misread him, and more than that - though it set her heart to fluttering at triple speed - not only does she trust him, but she finds that she wants to.

Humming softly under her breath, she accepted his admission without further comment, and with a cryptic, quiet smile she turned to find something she could have him do to help if he was determined to stay.

Once started, Emma was pleasantly surprised to find that they settle into an easy rhythm working side by side. She carried on unpacking, but could direct Killian up on the ladder with hammer and nails to hang various canvasses and frames for display, rather than having to do it all herself. As the afternoon sun crossed the sky and began to lower toward the evening, they shared various stories from the years between since they had seen each other last. Emma spoke warmly of the professor who took her under her wing, a Professor Ingersoll, who showed her all she could about camera, angles, light and shadow, and taking a shot which could truly speak to the viewer once captured. The older woman had also given Emma a place to visit for a homecooked meal some evenings, shared her secret of topping cocoa with whipped cream and cinnamon to make it even more decadent, and had become almost a surrogate older sister in Emma’s eyes, beyond being a brilliant mentor.

Meanwhile, Killian spoke less often, but with a wistful fondness that drew Emma nearer, allowing her to see that though he had possessed the money, fine home, seemingly perfect family, and advantages she had not known, he still had pains and regrets, wishes and hopes he had not yet been able to make come true. As strange as it might once have seemed to her barely teenaged self, they had much more in common than what held them apart.

He spoke in easy, rolling vowels and smooth, deep rumblings of learning all that he knew at his father’s side, and of how much he had looked up to Brennan - practically idolized the man - until tragedy had brought him low and he had seen his hero crumble in his grief and vices. He even spoke falteringly of how he had blamed himself for not telling on Rose the evening before she had snuck out to her death. He had seen her bike - the one he then hated himself for teaching her to ride - hidden in the bushes at the end of the long drive, and had known she planned to slip away to some childish mischief after dinner. He hadn’t told, and it had eaten at him a long time, until he finally accepted that his inaction may or may not have changed anything, and that what happened to his sister was not his fault.

Emma had to press her hands between her knees to keep from reaching out to cradle his tormented face between her palms at that confession. Her heart ached for him; she knew all too well what it was to dwell on might have beens and take on portions of the blame not meant to be her own. She might have never planned to meet Rose in their spot that night. She might have made it there to face down the killer with her friend or fall beside her. But she was not the one who had taken Rose’s life, and whatever others thought, she had finally come to see that her actions had not made the horror come to pass.

At some point they had ceased working, settling together at tall stools behind the counter and talking as evening shadows stretched and darkened the burnished shades of a Carolina sunset. Still, neither was ready to bring an end to the gentle comfort between them; the chance to speak of things long bottled up inside and receive understanding rather than judgement in return. It was only when Emma’s stomach growled so loudly that they both stopped speaking, wide-eyed before dissolving into laughter, that they finally gathered up their things and left, locking up the shop and driving off in search of some dinner.

She still didn’t think it was truly necessary for Killian to shadow her everywhere she went like some unofficial bodyguard. Yet, she also couldn’t deny feeling safer in the knowledge that he was there beside her and watching her back. Once they had decided to take his truck and leave her VW there on Main Street for the night, they headed for one of the local drive-thrus. She would be right back at work tomorrow, after all, and the car would probably be safer there in the middle of town under streetlights and regular patrols of the local police than it would be at her rented cabin.

Clambering up into the passenger seat of his tall pickup truck, Emma still felt she ought to protest once more, just at the upset to Killian’s schedule, the inconvenience of leaving behind his routine and all the chores of his own he no doubt had to do, not to mention the awkwardness of spending so much time - and overnight, at that - alone together, no more than they really knew each other. As expected though, Killian would hear no further argument, resolved that making sure she was safe was the most important thing to him. Then he deftly shifted the conversation with a wink and easy grin, asking where she wanted to eat.

It wasn’t until they were traveling along the rutted back road well outside the Storybrooke limits, along the edge of the wooded marsh near the place she was renting, that the peaceful companionship of the past few hours was harshly shattered. They had been rolling along under the deep midnight-purple sky sprinkled with stars, Emma savoring the last few salty French fries in her packet from the local diner and Killian slurping the last dregs of his milkshake from his cup, when her world suddenly swirled away from her; disjointed scenes from somewhere else flashing and pulsing wildly behind her eyes and the sight she both dreaded and couldn’t ignore swept her up more violently than it had done in years.

Gasping in shock, Emma bent forward over her knees, screwing her eyes shut even as the images playing behind her eyes invaded her head, growing ever more loud and vivid. “Wait, stop!” she rasped desperately, one hand clenched in her lap as the other fumbled blindly for the door handle as if to escape. Her voice scratched out ragged and plaintive as she begged Killian, “Please, stop! Right here, please!”

Alarmed, Killian pulled the truck over to the shoulder and threw it in park. He moved to reached across and take the hand she had reflexively balled into a fist, but even as they had barely come to a stop, Emma was out the door, stumbling sightlessly into the overgrown ditch. Hurrying after her, Killian called Emma’s name futilely while rounding the back bumper and plunging after her, but it was as though he were somewhere else from her entirely, unseen or heard as her arms flailed wildly while she climbed out on the other side of the ditch and into the field beyond, weaving unsteadily toward the treeline.

“Emma, hold up!” he called, trying to make it sound like a command, though his concern for her and confusion at what was happening overrode his intentions, making his voice echo shakily in the still night air. He jogged to catch up with her, abandoning any further entreaties that she was clearly past hearing.

Just as he reached her, Emma fell to her knees, hands on the hard-packed earth barely stopping her from falling flat on her face. Heaving, she seemed to be either struggling to catch her breath, or trying to purge nausea at whatever she saw that was invisible to Killian. She shook her head violently, almost clawing at the earth as she rocked back and forth on her knees. Not knowing what else to do, Killian reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder, then when no protest came, to rub it up and down her back soothingly.

Some minutes passed, minutes that felt like excruciating hours to Killian as he waited, not certain but hoping she would come back to him. At long last, Emma seemed to still, her rocking motion calming until she nearly slumped against his side, drained. For several interminable seconds neither spoke, until Emma suck in a harsh, rattling breath and jerked upright, her eyes popping open as she finally came back to herself fully.

“Shh, shhh, Love… take it easy,” Killian crooned, trying to pull her back to his side and smooth her hair back from her face as she scrambled backwards and began anxiously trying to regain her bearings. “I know you’ve seen something awful… but you’re back now, aye? You’re going to be alright.”

But Emma’s eyes were wide as they focused on him, finally seeing him there before her. “No,” she mumbled, her voice struggling back to life. “No, it won’t be alright at all.” Grabbing his hand and holding on tightly, she stared at him as if pleading for him to believe her and beggin his forgiveness at the same time. “I saw her, Killian. Some poor young girl… hitchhiking on this same stretch of road. He pulled over, gave her a smile… She didn’t know anything was wrong…” Emma’s breath hitched, but she pressed on. “She fought, but…but she couldn’t get away. I was seeing it t-through his eyes…” She shuddered before her voice dropped even lower, “No feelings, no remorse, just drinking in her terror… like it was before. That monster killed her. I saw it.”

The green of her gaze pierced his chest, causing Killian to struggle to breathe as well when she finally managed to tell him, “He killed her just the way he killed Rose.” Emma trembled all over as she finally let Killian gather her in his arms, though he was shaking now as well. “Rose wasn’t the only one. She was just the beginning.”

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#self promo sunday #carolina moon #chapters so far recap #cs modern au ff #cssns23 mc ff #new chapters coming soon

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