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wild-karrde · 9 months

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In Command - Part 16

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A/N: I HAVE BEEN SO HYPED ABOUT THIS CHAPTER, AND NOW IT'S HERE, SO BUCKLE UP. As always, thank you to the wonderful @teletraan-meets-jarvis for beta-reading for me and mutually screeching with excitement with me!

Chapter Rating: E (18+ MINORS SKEEDADDLE)

Warnings: canon-typical violence, graphic description of injury, language, explicit sexual content (PiV sex)

Word Count: 7.7k words

The sun’s rays were just starting to creep over the horizon when Senna finally slowed the speeder bike near one of the small outcroppings of mountains that peppered Lothal’s grassy plains. She had no idea how long they’d been going or even how far they were from the city, but the sound of the pursuing speeders had faded hours ago. Still, she’d kept going, trying to put as much distance as she could between the two of them and the Imperials. Her body ached from stiffness and cold and injuries that she had yet to tally, but she hardly noticed as she maintained her connection to Rex through the Force. His life signs were fading, and she was frantic to find shelter.

Several cave entrances loomed in front of her at the base of the cliffs as she slowed the bike to a stop. Climbing down, she took her lightsaber from her belt, and stepped inside the nearest cavern, choosing proximity and convenience above all other factors. Every second that passed felt like a significant loss, and her fear was spiking as Rex’s life signs continued to weaken. She did not sense any life forms within the cave, but wanted to ensure they weren’t about to walk into some creature’s nest while it was out. Finding the cave entirely deserted with nothing but a shallow deposit of water and a handful of rock formations, she jogged back to the entrance and pulled the bike and Rex inside.

As soon as they were far enough in for her to feel safe and hidden, she illuminated a glow rod and set out her bedroll from her pack before pulling Rex from the bike, nearly collapsing under his weight and her own exhaustion. After a good amount of shuffling and swearing, she managed to gently lay him on the bedroll in the corner of the cavern, pulling the bedroll’s thin blanket up to cover his lower half as she tucked a bag under his head to serve as a makeshift pillow. Her breath caught in her throat as she finally surveyed the extent of his injuries.

His face was alarmingly pale and his skin felt clammy. Several trickles of blood had dried on his temple and across the bridge of his nose from his forehead wound, but that was superficial, much to her relief. It was nothing compared to the burn mark in the middle of his chest that had left a hole large enough to turn her stomach. The wound had mostly cauterized from the bolt, but some parts of the charred flesh had reopened, likely from being jostled on the bike, and Rex’s shirt and cloak were soaked with blood.

Senna fought the urge to burst into tears.

There’s no way that missed all of his organs.

She closed her eyes and took a deep steadying breath.

He’s survived a shot in almost the exact same spot before.

But that was with a smaller caliber weapon. And he had immediate care from an actual medic.

Digging her teeth into her lip hard enough to draw blood, she opened her eyes.

He’s dying. I can’t let that happen. There’s got to be a way.

As quickly as her shaking hands would allow, Senna ripped open Rex’s go-bag, which had somehow managed to stay fastened on the back of the speeder bike, and fished out the meager medpack. Her heart sank as she took stock of the inventory. There wasn’t much inside, certainly not enough to heal him fully. She felt a sob tighten her chest, but she swallowed hard as she tried to think.

“Calm your mind. Only through calm will you find your way.”

Her master’s words echoed in her mind as she grasped for solutions, doing her best to keep the chilling feeling of despair at bay.

You’ve got to save him. You can’t let him die.

Senna could contain the sob no longer, and she finally allowed her fear to burst through in a shuddering exhale as tears began to leak from her eyes. Her mind continued to race, trying to find any possibility of how to save Rex.

It’s not enough.

Her hands trembled as she started to consider even the most implausible solutions.

What if I went back? Turned myself in and bargained for his safety? His life for my surrender?

She almost laughed aloud at the ridiculousness of it all.

It’s the fucking Empire. They won’t bargain. Especially not Fisk.

She glanced over at Rex.

He’d tear me a new one if he knew I was even considering this, even as a last option.

Senna buried her face in her hands, letting the tears flow freely.

What the fuck do I do?

She wasn’t sure how long she sat like that, but suddenly, a brief memory from her time as a youngling surfaced, a story that they’d been told of a Jedi knight who had healed his padawan by channeling his life force into him, a tale to teach the Jedi way of self-sacrifice in the service of others, particularly future generations.

Is it even true?

It was barely a glimpse of a memory and, as with many of the Jedi stories, it had never been made clear to them if the story was real or just a fable meant for a moral lesson.

I have to try.

Senna stared down at her trembling, bloody hands. She shuddered as she remembered how she’d allowed the cold to seep into her again the night before, how angry and vengeful she’d felt as she’d charged those two stormtroopers. It had been an act of desperation, her reaching for the only reliable source of power she could tap into. She was ashamed of how she’d done it, but she couldn’t find it within herself to fully regret it, not with Rex here, alive at least for now.

It got us out of it, even if it was wrong. And now you can still do some good. The right way.

Closing her eyes, Senna steadied her breathing, trying to reach for the warmth of the Force again, focusing on Rex’s dwindling signature.

You can do this.

She rubbed her hands nervously together, trying to center herself.

I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me.

Gently, she undid Rex’s cloak and peeled back what remained of his shirt so that she would be able to place her hands on his bare skin. The sight of the exposed wound marring his chest, the skin that her fingers had traced so intimately less than a week ago, made her stifle another sob.

Stay focused. Breathe.

She gave him one of the few injections of pain killer she had in his neck and placed her shaking hands on the skin on either side of the wound. She tried to not think about how cold he felt.

I am one with the Force and the Force is with me. My life for his. Please let me be able to keep him alive.

She felt nothing happening, so she reached deeper, furrowing her brows in concentration.

Breathe. You can do this. You have to do this.

Sweat broke out across the back of Senna’s neck. She pictured Rex’s eyes opening, looking into hers. She thought of his smile, of his laugh and how she had come to treasure that sound.

I love him.

The thought came unbidden, but she couldn’t stop it, nor did she want to.

I love him.

It was as if her internal admission chipped away further at the barriers she’d put in place between herself and the Force. Suddenly, she felt awash with the familiar warmth, her fingertips growing warmer. Her heart began to race.

I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me. My life for his. I am one with the Force.

She felt the warmth tingle at the points where her fingertips and palms were placed against Rex’s skin, and she desperately wanted to open her eyes to see if anything was happening, but she restrained herself, fighting the surge of hopefulness welling up within her to maintain her concentration.

NOT YET. FOCUS. YOU HAVE TO FOCUS.

I AM ONE WITH THE FORCE AND THE FORCE IS WITH ME.

“Come on, Rex. Don’t leave me.” She didn’t realize she was whispering to herself immediately, but her pleas grew louder, echoing in the quiet cavern. “Please don’t leave me.”

Sweat trickled down Senna’s brow as she resumed her silent vigil, repeating the mantra in her mind as she anchored her thoughts on Rex. She wasn’t sure whether seconds or minutes or even hours had passed, but finally, she felt him shift underneath her hands. Her concentration shattered, and her eyes snapped open to see him mouthing the mantra with her, his eyes still closed.

“Rex?” she choked.

There was no answer, but when she placed her fingers against the pulse point on his throat, she thought she felt his heartbeat grow ever so slightly stronger. Squeezing her eyes shut, she reached out through the Force and found him once more. His signature seemed to shimmer a little brighter. Her breath caught in her throat.

Please don’t be wishful thinking.

Her eyes fluttered open again, watching him carefully for any apparent sign of improvement. Of course she didn’t expect him to open his eyes and suddenly start speaking to her, but that didn’t stop a small part of her from hoping for it. She stared at him a moment longer, barely daring to breathe.

The wound doesn’t look any better, but his pulse was definitely a bit stronger, and he seems a little less pale.

I have to try again.

Her hope renewed, Senna calmed her mind, her determination hardening her against distractions.

I can do this. I have to do this.

Hours passed. Senna kept trying, straining and focusing as hard as she could. It was clear her connection still wasn’t completely unhindered, sputtering and slipping through her fingers at times, but her resolve was unshakeable. She was too stubborn to consider any alternatives but success, denying all outcomes where Rex didn’t survive.

As the sun was sinking back below the horizon and the shadows in the cave were growing longer, Senna managed to get a bacta patch placed over Rex’s chest wound before she finally collapsed from exhaustion. She’d never spent so long attempting to channel the Force, and had never tried to do so in this way. Her connection still wasn’t fully repaired, and she suspected that made things even more physically taxing. Every cell of her body felt heavy, and she could barely keep her eyes open. The hard, coolness of the cave’s floor hardly phased her as she allowed herself to relax against it.

Please let it be enough.

She managed to open her eyes one more time to look at Rex and saw his chest rising and falling evenly, his breathing more steady and deeper. Some of the color had returned to his cheeks, the ashen pallor returning more to the warm brown tones she was used to. Despite her fatigue, she was certain the edges of the wound had been looking less angry and red as she’d bandaged it, that it appeared as if it was starting to heal. It wasn’t perfect, but it seemed to be enough for now. He’d still need medical attention beyond what she was capable of performing, but death at least seemed to be off the table for the immediate future.

Senna knew she should stay awake to keep watch, but she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. Making sure her lightsaber was within reach, she scooted closer to Rex and curled her knees into her torso, resting one hand on his chest so she could feel the rise and fall as he breathed. His heartbeat felt stronger under her fingertips, and as she drifted off, her final thoughts brought a slight smile to her lips.

He’s going to live.

—

Senna awoke with a start, struggling to remember where she was. Her scraped knees were stiff and stinging as she straightened her legs, and her back and shoulders ached from the hardness of the stone she was lying on. The glow rod she’d illuminated had faded, but the cave entrance was bathed in moonlight, cascading across the shallow pool and sending light dancing over the walls. As her mind fully awoke, the memory of the last rotation slammed into her at full speed.

Rex.

She whirled to find him looking at her, his warm, brown eyes piercing her in the dim light.

“Rex!” she gasped, scrambling closer to him. “Are you alright? How do you feel?”

He gave her a tight smile, failing to hide a wince. His voice sounded raw and gravelly from lack of use, but just hearing him speak was enough to almost make her cry. “I’ve had better days, and a few that have been worse I suppose.” He propped himself up on his elbows, and Senna carefully helped him sit up against the wall, pulling the blanket up further. Rex slowly turned his head, grimacing at the stiffness in his neck.

“How long have we been here?”

Senna’s mind was still foggy from sleep, but she managed to croak out an answer around the emotion that was threatening to overwhelm her. “Assuming I haven’t been asleep for more than a few hours, it’s been a full day. We got here just before the sun came up this morning.”

“And the Imperials?”

“Lost them for now. We drove all night to find this place.”

Confusion rippled across his features. “How…how did you…how are we alive?”

She laughed a little as her voice cracked. “You almost weren’t. I managed to handle the other two speeder bikes after you were shot.” She swallowed hard, pushing away the memories of how Rex had looked only a few hours ago.

Rex glanced down at the wound in his chest, carefully prodding at the bacta patch on it experimentally. He sucked a sharp breath in when he hit a painful spot before looking at her again.

“I thought I was a goner for sure. That bolt hit me square in the chest.”

“Yes, it did.” She couldn’t think of what else to say. The memory of Rex’s grip loosening around her waist as he’d lost consciousness sent a chill down her spine. She clenched her fists to hide the tremble in her hands.

“Senna, then how-“

“I’m not sure,” she said slowly, “but I think I was able to heal you a bit. With the Force.”

“With the Force? I didn’t think it had healing properties? That would have been handy during the war,” he joked dryly.

“No, no. I think…”

Oh, he’s gonna hate this.

She gave him a small, somewhat sheepish smile. “I think I transferred some of my life force to you. Using the Force.”

It took a moment for Rex to realize what she was saying, and when he did, his eyes widened in horror. “Senna, you can’t do that anymore.”

“Rex, it’s fine.”

“No, absolutely not,” he insisted.

“I didn’t transfer that much. You’ll still need to heal.”

“I’ll do it the old-fashioned way then.” He tried to sit up straighter, sucking a sharp breath in as the pain from his chest and leg shot through his body. He reached down to check the damage on his thigh and knee.

Senna’s face burned with embarrassment. “Oh, your leg! I completely forgot about that.” She realized she hadn’t even wiped the blood from his face before she’d passed out earlier.

You’re not a medic, but you could have at least cleaned his face off before taking a nap.

“Yeah, well I didn’t, somehow,” he said flatly as he shot her a pained smirk to let her know he was teasing.

She returned the snark reflexively. “I’m sorry. I was a little more concerned with the gaping hole in your chest.”

He nodded in concession. “I can see why that’d be the priority.”

She noticed he was shivering, and she chided herself even more harshly internally.

Karking hells, Aven.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t set up camp or anything. I just… I’m sorry.”

Rex didn’t say anything as she hurriedly pushed herself to her feet, but she could feel his eyes on her. She tried to ignore the protest of her joints as she strode over to her retrieve pack, which she’d left next to the bike with Rex’s. Limping back to him, she set both packs down and began digging through them for rations and water. Of course, Rex had packed more than she had, and it was much more organized. She quickly found two ration bars and water packets, handing one of each to Rex and setting the other set aside for herself. Rex was still watching her as she shifted uncomfortably, his eyes flicking down to the bloodied and torn knees of her trousers.

“Your knees–” he tried to protest.

“Are in better shape than you are,” she cut him off, gingerly squatting down to get more med supplies out of the medpack. Rex apparently saw no point in arguing with her. He drained the water she’d handed him in seconds, tearing into the ration bar with a hunger that made her gut twist with guilt.

How long was he lying there awake, hungry, and cold while I slept?

Senna prompted Rex to sit forward, grabbing the other bedroll’s blanket and wrapping it around his shoulders and across his chest to keep him warmer. It seemed to help a little. She’d found a few sterilization wipes and another bacta patch in the medpack, and she tore one of the wipes open with her teeth as she tilted Rex’s face towards her. The moonlight reflecting off the shallow pool flickered across his face, illuminating his eyes as he watched her. She tried to ignore the heat rising to her cheeks again as she carefully cleaned the blood off of his face. He winced when she swiped over the cut.

“Sorry,” she said softly.

“S’alright,” he chuckled. “Told you you’d get the opportunity to patch me up before this was all said and done.”

Senna’s chest clenched at the memory of the two of them sitting across the kitchen table from one another, Rex gently examining the wounds on her wrists that Fisk had left. Meeting Rex’s eyes briefly, she could see he was thinking of that moment too, of a time where they hadn’t been at odds.

Are we still though?

She’d kissed him.

She didn’t regret it. She’d thought they were probably going to die. But she still hadn’t torn that barrier down between them, not fully. There was a lingering awkwardness, some lingering doubts as to where they stood with each other that hung in the air like a thick fog.

He said we’d talk about it later. Not sure when later is.

She moved to crouch next to Rex, taking out a penlight to examine the injuries on his leg. The wound in his thigh was more of a graze, and the hit to his knee hadn’t landed as directly as she’d thought, skimming along the joint, but mercifully leaving it intact.

He may need to surgically repair any tendons or ligaments that were damaged from the bolt or the fall, but he’s incredibly lucky.

Working quickly, she cleaned both wounds, cauterizing where she needed to before smoothing bacta patches over both of them.

“Would you be alright if I checked your chest wound?” she asked.

Rex nodded at her, still chewing at his ration bar. He turned his head away as she moved closer to him, not looking as she opened the blanket and braced one hand against his skin while she peeled the patch away as gingerly as she could. Senna could still see Rex’s face twitch slightly from the pain out of the corner of her eye, but overall, he remained silent as she pulled the bandage the rest of the way off. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of the wound before her.

It was definitely starting to heal. The redness had faded completely from the edges, and scar tissue was already visible around the outside, pink and shiny. The inner portion was still angry-looking, but compared to how it had looked when they’d first arrived, anyone would have thought he’d have been soaking in a bacta tank for a day.

Rex shared her look of awe as he carefully examined the wound.

“Sen,” he said softly. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t let you die,” she replied, her voice breaking slightly. “I-I couldn’t.”

The silence stretched out between them, all of the implications and questions that simple statement raised waiting to be reached for. After a few moments, Senna wet her lips.

“So what do we do now?”

Rex’s brow furrowed as he thought. After a few moments, he shifted awkwardly, trying to reach for something in one of his pockets.

“What are you looking for?” Senna asked. “Can I get it for you?”

“No,” Rex grunted before he finally managed to get his hand into his pocket. “I just… ah good, didn’t drop it.” He pulled out a small device and immediately began fiddling with it.

“What’s that for?” Senna watched as he punched a button on the side. A bright red light illuminated, blinking steadily, and the sound of static filled the cave followed by a regular beeping.

“It’s the emergency beacon I mentioned,” Rex replied. “Was worried I might have dropped it in the fray, but looks like our luck held for once. This is our ticket out of here.”

The static and beeping ping suddenly ceased, replaced by a brief crackling and a familiar voice. “Rex? That you?”

Relief spread across Rex’s face, and Senna couldn’t help but smile to see him finally relax a little. “Yeah, it is. Glad to hear your voice, Echo,” he chuckled. “Listen, we’re in a bind on Lothal and need a pick-up. Are you able to home in on my beacon’s signal?”

Echo paused, and Senna could hear the distinct clicking of control console buttons being punched in the background. “It’s pretty weak, but once we get into your system, I should be able to pinpoint your location. How fast do you need us there?”

Rex looked at Senna and she shrugged. “Not sure, but sooner rather than later. The Imps raided our dwelling last night, but we managed to get out and blow the place up. We’re a good distance out from the city, holed up in a cave somewhere out in the grasslands. Haven’t heard any patrols passing by yet, but I have to imagine they’ll make their way out here eventually. I’m pretty banged up, so I don’t think we’ll be moving anywhere new soon without help.”

“Understood.” Senna could hear Echo speaking to someone briefly, a man with a matter-of-fact tone that she didn’t recognize. Echo replied with something unintelligible that sounded like an affirmative before returning to the line. “We can be there in a rotation, two at most. Can you hold out that long?”

Rex’s eyes met Senna’s, and she nodded in confirmation. “Sounds like we’ll manage.”

“Roger that. I’ll get the boys spun up and we’ll head your way ASAP. Keep the beacon on and stay safe.”

“Will do.” Rex clicked off the comm and set the blinking beacon next to him. “Well, that’s one thing sorted. You really think we can do a day or two?”

She poked through their bags, mentally inventorying their supplies. “Yeah, we’ve got enough rations in here for that I think. Might have to go hunting if we get too hungry, but we won’t starve to death. The water in here is pretty convenient, although it’ll need sterilization. I think I’ve got enough tabs for two rotations. Overall, I think we’ll be fine.” She shivered. “I’ll go find something to make us a fire with. It’s cold in here.”

“You don’t think that’ll let the Imperials know we’re here?”

“I’m more concerned about keeping predatory animals away that might want to sleep here and keeping us warm. Let’s worry about the immediate threats, and then when the Imperials become one, we’ll worry about them. Plus, there are plenty of hunters and nomads out here. I don’t think campfires are anything out of the ordinary.”

“Maybe not, but they’re not always looking for someone.”

“We’re so far from where we started, Rex. And you and I both know they didn’t have many vehicles good for a large search in the city. If it was me, knowing you were hit in the escape, I’d assume we’d have stopped much sooner to try and fix you up or rest. I’d start the search in a much smaller area as I waited for additional resources and troops to arrive. Then I’d expand the circle methodically.”

She expected more pushback, more arguing, but instead, Rex shrugged, seemingly accepting her logic. Doing her best to hide her surprise, Senna ventured out to find something to make a fire with.

An hour later, they had a small fire burning towards the back of the cave. With the better illumination, Senna went to work on re-patching Rex’s chest wound. Even with its apparent improvement, Rex still swore loudly when she cauterized the few spots that still needed it.

“Is this payback for when you were shot?” he hissed as she examined her work.

“Now, Rex, I’m hurt that you think I would be that petty,” she teased. Even with her joking, she still took extra care to be gentle when placing the bacta patch over the wound, and soon she could see the tension in his shoulders easing as the pain began to subside.

“You need another injection?” she asked. “We’ve got three more.”

“Nah. I’d like to keep my head about me.”

She nodded, packing the supplies back into the medkit. “I’ll take first watch then.”

“You’ve done enough,” he grunted as he shifted himself around to get more comfortable. “I’ll do it. I’ll need your blaster since I dropped mine.” He held out his hand for the weapon. When she hesitated, he waved his hand at her insistently. “Rest a while. I’ve got this.”

Senna shook her head, pulling out the other bedroll and placing it on the ground a respectable distance from Rex. She saw his eyes note the space between them as well. “Thanks, but I don’t think I’ll be sleeping much more tonight,” she said quietly, unable to meet his eyes. “I’ll watch.”

“Senna.”

Her breath hitched in her throat as his warm hand closed around hers.

“Senna, look at me.”

She finally raised her eyes to meet his. He was silently pleading with her, wanting to comfort her, but not wanting to push her. He wanted to help her, but he didn’t know how.

“I thought you were dead,” she whispered, her voice quivering. “And then I was so sure you were going to die, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.” Emotion was beginning to overwhelm her again, and she swallowed hard, sitting down on the mat next to him. Rex released her hand, but he stayed quiet, clearly wanting to allow her to speak her piece. “I… I thought I’d lost you, Rex.”

“I’m right here, Sen.” The nickname shattered her, and she unleashed a shuddering sob, covering her face with her hands.

What do I even say?

She heard Rex take a deep breath, sighing gently.

“You didn’t lose me,” he said quietly. “You won’t ever lose me, Senna. Regardless of where we stand with each other. I won’t leave you. Even if we’re not…” his voice trailed off.

“You can’t make that promise,” she rasped.

“You’re right,” he conceded. “I can’t, not with what we do. But what I can promise is that I will do everything in my power to try. Just to try, Sen. That’s all I can do.”

Senna let her hands drop away from her face, meeting Rex’s gaze again. He gave her a gentle, sad smile. The firelight flickered across his warm brown irises, still so comforting to her even though he was the injured one. He loved her, it was so obvious now when she saw the way he was looking at her. Of course, he’d said as much, but the way he was looking at her was such a resounding confirmation that he’d meant it.

Even now, he’s giving me an out. He’s not pressing me. Even after I kissed him. Even though he feels that way.

It was as if someone threw a switch in Senna’s brain, and suddenly everything was so clear.

I don’t know if I’ll endanger him more being what I am, but I can’t be without him anymore. I can’t. I almost lost him tonight. And if I had without telling him, without him knowing… I’d have never forgiven myself.

Rex was still watching her, clearly trying to gauge her reaction.

What we do always will be dangerous, with or without each other. And there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep him safe. But maybe I can do that better with him. Maybe we do things better together.

Maybe it’s worth the risk.

“Senna.”

Don’t we deserve this? her mind whispered.

The question was apparent in his gaze.

Where do we go from here? Tell me what you want.

Slowly, she crawled over to him, kneeling next to him and ignoring the stinging of her bloodied kneecaps. She stared at him for another few moments as the last holdout in her mind finally surrendered to her heart. Rex was quiet, but she could feel the nerves rolling off of him, the concern, the love, and suddenly she realized how she was feeling those emotions from him.

She closed her eyes and reached out through the Force.

He’s warm, like sand on a beach when the sun’s starting to finally set. He’s solid, unwavering, so sure of himself. I can feel it all.

A warm, calloused hand rested against her cheek and she let out a stuttering breath, bringing her hand up to interlace her fingers in his. “You were right, you know,” she whispered, her voice quivering.

“About what?” He sounded devastatingly hopeful, but also reserved, as though he was still trying to withhold every emotion until she was certain.

And she loved him more for it.

Her eyes fluttered open as she took a deep, shaky breath. “I do love you, Rex.”

Saying the words felt like a weight had lifted from her. It felt right. The last day had served as a violent reminder that tomorrow wasn’t guaranteed, and she wasn’t going to waste another moment fighting the way she felt. Not when Rex, the man she loved, was staring at her like that. Not when she’d been lucky enough to have another opportunity to tell him exactly how she felt.

He studied her, his eyes searching hers as if he wanted to be absolutely sure he understood what she was saying.

“Yeah?” he rasped.

She leaned closer, pressing her forehead to his, giggling softly. “Yeah.”

“Do… do you want…” He wasn’t sure how to ask the question, but she understood anyway. She stroked his cheek reassuringly.

“I almost lost you last night, and in that moment, all I could think of was how much time I’ve wasted over the last year. I didn’t feel like I was allowed to be happy or want for anything because I survived when so many did not. This felt like penance, and if I allowed myself joy or any other emotion that wasn’t tied to the rebellion’s success, I wasn’t doing that penance correctly.” She chewed her lip, searching for the right words. “But you were right, Rex. We do deserve happiness, and I didn’t realize how much I was going to regret not having you until I almost didn’t. So, yes. I want this. I want you.”

His breath was warm against her lips.

“Say it again, Senna. Only if you mean it.”

“I love you, Rex. I love-”

He cut her off, crashing his lips against hers and kissing her hard. Those three words had been all the confirmation he needed.

She surrendered to him.

Rex’s hands wrapped around her thighs, pulling her on top of him to straddle his hips. The blanket slipped from his shoulders, pooling on the cave’s floor.

“You’re hurt,” she tried to protest.

“Don’t care,” he insisted, pulling her mouth back to his. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer against him. She felt his hands slide under the edge of her shirt, pressing against her spine with enough force that she was forced to rest her hands against his chest.

“It’s fine,” he muttered against her lips. “Stop worrying about me.” His fingers tangled in her hair as he kissed her desperately. Senna let him take the lead, shrugging out of her jacket and flinging it off to the side. Her fingers wrapped around the back of Rex’s neck as she began to grind her core against him. She needed him, needed reassurance that this was real, that he was here with her and safe and that they loved one another. Rex was giving her all of the permission she could ask for to do so. She ran her hands down the side of his neck, one hand wrapping around the back of his head while the other one trailed down his chest. She felt him shudder under her touch.

“I love you,” she breathed. Now that she’d finally said the words, she wasn’t sure she could stop. Every time she said them, she felt Rex’s heart rate leap beneath her fingers, felt his mouth draw into a smile against hers. It was intoxicating.

Rex’s lips worked along her jaw to her neck, and Senna granted him access, arching into his touch and letting her head fall to the side so he could nuzzle at the tendons of her throat. He pushed the neck of her tunic aside to expose the scar on her collarbone, gently placing a kiss on it. Senna let out a small gasp at the intimacy of it, remembering how he’d kissed the same place that night in the inn.

“You survived for a reason,” he whispered against her skin. “You’re going to do so much good in this fight, I truly believe that. But I also have to believe you survived so that you could help me. So that you could show me how to love someone in a way I never thought I would.” He cradled her face, pressing his forehead to hers again, his breath stuttering against her lips. “You deserve the galaxy, Senna. The least I can do is offer you myself. All of me for as long as you could possibly want me. I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I want to find out. With you.”

“I love you, Rex,” she whispered again, quivering in his grasp. “I love you so much.”

“I know. And I love you too.”

Heat raced through her, pooling between her legs. His hands were on her skin, holding her firmly and yet so gently, and electricity licked up her spine as he lifted her shirt over her head. She allowed him to fumble with the bindings on her breastband for a few seconds before she swatted his hands away and removed it herself.

“Can I have you again?” he rasped, and the words sent arousal coursing through her like lightning searching for the ground.

“Are you… sure you’re up for it?” she panted, already awkwardly wriggling out of her pants.

“I’ll manage,” he muttered, shimmying his own trousers down just far enough to free his cock before pulling her back into his lap.

“I’ll be gentle,” she whispered teasingly in between panted breaths.

“I can’t guarantee I will be,” he rumbled, winking up at her.

Senna felt the head of his cock notch against her entrance easily, and another shiver rippled through her. Rex threw his discarded blanket around her shoulders before resting his hands on her hips, slowly guiding her down onto him with a groan.

Senna’s head rolled back and her eyes fluttered closed as she felt her walls stretch around Rex’s thick cock once more. Every cell of her body was screaming at her to go faster, to bury him as far inside of her as he could go, to let him claim her in whatever way he desired. She needed to feel every inch of him, needed to be coupled with him like this. The sex they’d already had paled in comparison to this. Every barrier she’d put in place between her and Rex, between her and the Force was gone, and she felt him, every piece of him, physical and otherwise. She was vulnerable, but she was with him, the person she trusted more than anyone else. She was safe. The connection was unlike anything she’d ever experienced, overwhelming her in every way. She didn’t realize she was crying until she felt Rex’s thumbs swiping against her cheeks.

“Sen, we can stop.”

“No. Please don’t,” she whispered. “I need this. I need you.”

“You have me,” he said softly, kissing her cheek. His voice was taut, and it was clear he was holding back, waiting for Senna to adjust to him. “All of me, Sen. I’m yours.”

Her hips finally rested against his, his thighs warm underneath her. She ground against him experimentally, and they both moaned quietly. Her clit dragged through the dark curls that haloed his base, and she clenched, ripping another gasp from Rex. His hands found her breasts, cupping them gently as his thumb brushed over her nipple. Senna whined, pressing against Rex more insistently, and he pulled her closer with one hand splayed against her back.

“Tell me what you want,” he asked, just like he had at the inn.

Senna was ready this time, her misgivings and worries abandoned as she relinquished herself to him fully. “You,” she gasped. “Only you.”

“You have me.” He tugged at her nipple experimentally, and her nails dug into the back of his neck, drawing a grunt from him. “Now, tell me what you want, pretty girl. I’ll give you anything.”

“P-put your mouth on me,” she begged.

“Atta girl,” Rex praised, pulling her breast to his lips and sucking her nipple lightly, flicking his tongue over the hardening bud. His hand cupped her other one, squeezing gently and massaging her other nipple. It was ecstasy when his teeth gently scraped against her flesh.

Senna picked up her pace, pressing herself closer to him as she rode him. “Maker, Rex. More.”

His lips trailed across her chest, sucking marks into her skin as his hands guided her hips against him. Desperation took over, a need that made the world around them disappear into a muted, out of focus afterthought. All she could see was Rex, brow furrowed as he watched her, lips slightly parted in pleasure. She was acutely aware of every place their bodies touched, the way his fingertips were digging into her skin, the way his chest heaved against hers, the way his cock twitched inside of her, the feeling of his lips against hers and the taste of his tongue. It was all so much and not enough at the same time.

Senna almost laughed to herself, remembering the club in the capital and how she’d been warring with herself then, how she’d denied what was so clearly there. This time, she let herself go, whispering Rex’s name and spurring him on with whimpered pleas. Despite his injuries, Rex was persistent and attentive, studying her every reaction, searching for the places that made her moan and the touches that made her come undone.

This was so different from any other time that they’d been together. The club had been rushed, desperate, frantic. Even back at the inn, there had been space between them, unspoken concerns and worries that kept them at a distance even while they were coupled. None of that existed now. There was no hesitation, no fears, nothing stopping the two of them from giving themselves to the other as fully as possible. The intimacy was staggering to Senna, and looking at the way Rex was watching her, she could tell he felt the same.

She’d never get enough of him. She was certain of it.

Her knees were screaming in protest as the wounds rubbed against the bedroll beneath Rex, barely cushioned from the hard stone of the cave floor, but she didn’t care. Not as Rex coaxed an orgasm from her and then another, pulling her close and kissing her sweaty skin until she recovered enough to keep going, silencing any of her worries or protests with insistent kisses. It was awkward at times, Rex trying to find ways to meet Senna with his bad leg and failing, the two of them falling into one another in fits of giggles and apologies before one of them would pull the other back under.

It wasn’t flawless, but it was perfect.

The fire had died down to glowing embers by the time Senna felt her final climax starting to edge forward. Her fingers dug into Rex’s shoulders as she felt her body beginning to tighten once more, signaling her impending orgasm. It was going to be devastating, she could tell by the rate at which the coil within her was tightening, the way her head was swimming as though she was drunk on him. She was almost sad, knowing she wouldn’t have another in her, understanding that her exhaustion was going to claim her once they were done.

She never wanted to stop.

But he’s yours. There’s more time. You have time.

“Rex, I-” A gasp cut off her whimper as the head of Rex’s cock brushed the perfect place inside of her again.

“I know. I can feel it,” he rasped. “I’m close too.”

“Cum with me,” she pleaded. Her vision was blurring with tears as he nudged her closer to the precipice, his cock striking the same place inside of her with every stroke. “Please.”

“Anything for you,” he groaned, his voice taut again as he dangled over the edge with her. She could feel the muscles in his thighs tightening as he chased his own orgasm. She allowed her forehead to rest against his again, staring into his eyes. His fingers dug into her hips as he increased their pace, thrusting up into her with grunts caught somewhere between pain and pleasure. Like her, he couldn’t be bothered to stop, no matter how much his body ached.

“I-I love you, Senna Aven,” he stuttered.

“I’m yours, Rex.”

One of Rex’s hands slipped around the back of her head, keeping her face pressed to his as he finished with a punctured gasp. Senna felt his cock twitch within her as his warmth flooded her, dribbling out between her legs. That sensation alone sent her hurtling over the edge after him, and she buried her face in his neck, crying out as the waves of her orgasm crashed over her.

Senna had no idea how long they sat like that, molded against one another with Rex’s softening cock still nestled inside of her. Finally, Rex wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her firmly as he leaned over and grabbed the other bedroll, yanking it closer with a grunt. Sitting back up, he brushed the hair that had come loose from her braid out of her face. His fingers lingered against her skin, and Senna turned to press a kiss to the inside of his palm.

“Still love me?” he asked quietly, the beginnings of a grin tugging at the corner of his lips.

“After that, how could I not?” she joked, kissing him gently. “Yes. I do.”

Rex finally allowed himself a full smile, one that nearly split his face in two. “Good.”

Maker, he’s handsome, Senna thought with wonder. And he wants me.

She finally slid off of him, taking care to mind his injuries. She didn’t bother to put her clothes back on, finding the blanket surprisingly warm as she wrapped it around herself.

“Will you let me fix your knees?” Rex prompted.

Senna giggled. “Yes.”

Even with his injuries, Rex was quick, pulling her legs across his lap and cleaning the abrasions thoroughly before smearing bacta over them. Senna winced at the sting, but Rex leaned down to gently blow on the damaged skin, soothing it with cool air before he gently bandaged each knee. When he was finished, he met her eyes, placing a light kiss to each bandage.

“Better?” he asked.

“Much.” They’d just made love, but she couldn’t stop herself from blushing at the tenderness of the act.

This is what we do, she thought as Rex wriggled down to lay next to her. We fix each other up. We take care of one another.

Because we love each other.

Senna noticed Rex was holding out his arm in invitation. She took it, snuggling into the crook of his shoulder as he pulled her close.

“Is this alright?” she whispered.

“It’s perfect,” Rex replied, playing with her hair. “When I wake in the morning, you won’t be gone this time, right?”

Senna’s heart clenched with guilt. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “But yeah, I’ll be here.” She snuggled closer, listening to the rhythmic beat of Rex’s heart as her cheek pressed against his chest. Her eyelids were already fluttering closed with a sudden drowsiness that she hadn’t felt in a long time, one that came with relief and allowing herself to not be on guard constantly. The voice in the back of her mind that usually would have been screaming at her to keep watch was silent. Just this once, she tossed caution to the wind.

Just for tonight.

I don’t think either of us could stay awake if we tried anyway.

Just this once.

She smiled as she inhaled deeply, smelling Rex’s skin.

“You’re stuck with me, Rex. Hope you know what you’re signing yourself up for.”

He interlaced his fingers with hers, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. “Oh believe me, I know exactly what I’m getting myself into.” She was already snoring softly against his chest, so Senna never saw the way he looked at her in that moment, hardly felt the kiss he pressed to her forehead.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Rex said quietly before drifting off himself.

Tag List: @seriowan @partoftheeternalsoul @rosmariner @misogirl828 @ellichonkasaurusrex @zoeykallus @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond @staycalmandhugaclone @redheadgirl @fordo-kixed-rex @wizardofrozz @ariadnes-red-thread @justanothersadperson93 @leftealeaf @kaminocasey @echos-girlfriend @lucyysthings @obihiddlenox @merkitty49 @littlemissmanga @clonecyaree @baba-fett @sleepingsun501 @rexxdjarin @samspenandsword @babygirlrex0504 @ladytano420 @fxlsealarm @runforrestr @djarrex @corrieguards @the-cantina @witchklng @wolffegirlsunite @fives-lover @rain-on-kamino @ladykatakuri @ladykagewaki @arctrooper69 @hidden-behind-the-fourth-wall

#karrde writes #in command #star wars #the clone wars #tcw #post order 66 #captain rex #captain rex x oc #captain rex x ofc #captain rex x original female character #OC Senna Aven #slow burn #romance #friends to lovers #angst #whump

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heatherwitch · 4 months

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Uric acid bubble + Cliff Swallow nests

Cliff Swallow nests + Raccoon tracks

Snake shed + Beaver tracks

Porcupine scat and feeding sign + Pigeon feather

Wild Turkey + Muskrat

#wildlife tracks #wildlife tracking #animal tracks #animal tracking #track and sign #I know 2/10 of these aren’t tracks or sign but sometimes it’s fun to see the actual critters!

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travlersjoy444 · 1 year

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Nature, Human or Otherwise

2012 Raph x Reader

You and Raph find a baby alien-turtle. Alternate title: The Epic Highs and Lows of Co Pet Ownership.

'Tis a loose sequel to my fic 'Human Nature', but you can easily read it on it's own. Could be read as platonic/queerplatonic, but the romance vibes are stronger here than in the last one.

Word count: 3k

***

“Hey, is that some sorta egg?” Raph asked, somewhere behind me.

I shrugged, not really in the mood for that considering we were on a tiny ledge hanging over a pit of lava.

“I think it is.” He mumbled, and I heard him move closer to it.

“Okay…” I grunted, fiddling with my dumb high-tech grappling hook. “Who computerizes grappling hooks, anyways?!” I hissed. “This is so stupid-”

“(Y/N), look!”

“Oh look, whaddaya know. It just had to be turned off and on again, apparently.” I scoffed, hitting the hook against a rock. “Stupid thing…me and Donnie’s mechanical design works way better. Alas, they’re all back on Earth, our dear home that we have left in favor of pursuing the stars…” I lamented, but Raph grabbed my shoulder pauldron and spun me around instead of listening to my monologue.

“Hm?” I asked, tilting my head at him.

He pointed at whatever it was that he’d been talking about. I blinked, taking in the object’s round shape and spotted pattern…

“Oh my god, is that an egg?” I gasped, whipping out my blaster. “Are we in an alien nest like in Mikey’s comic?!”

“Hey- watch where ya aim that thing!” Raph yelped, shoving it away from the egg. “We don’t know what’s in there!”

“Exactly! It could be Squirrelnoids again, or something even more freaky and unsettling!” I said, but I lowered my blaster anyway.

“Well…I still don’t want us to kill it until we’re sure it’s terrifying. I really don’t need to have killed two innocent creatures within a year.” Raph said, crossing his arms, and I remembered how this was a slightly touchy subject for him.

“Ah…okay. Fine.” I sighed, shoving my blaster back into its holster. “But if it tries to asexually reproduce inside of your digestive system again, I ain’t helping.”

Raph rolled his eyes. “Ew. Ya just had to mention that, didn’t ya.”

“Look, it may have mildly traumatized me-” I began to admit, but Raph cut me off.

“Lookit, it’s hatching!” He whispered, pointing at the egg.

I swallowed. “Radical.” I muttered sarcastically, but my curiosity grew as the creature began to poke its head out of the eggshell.

It was little, and…purple, with big purple eyes and…was that a shell?

Yeah, that was definitely a shell…it was a…turtle?

“Aw, it’s kinda cute!” Raph said, beaming as he scooped it up.

“Alien turtles, eh?” I said, leaning over his shoulder. “...Huh, weird coincidence. And…yeah. That’s pretty adorable.” I smiled, and the turtle gave a happy squeak.

“Where��s your mama, little guy?” Raph cooed, which was also pretty adorable, though he’d probably kill me for saying so.

The alien turtle smiled up at us, and Raph petted its head before handing it to me. “It’s soft!” He breathed, grinning.

I held it gently, stroking its head too, although I couldn’t feel the texture through my gloves.

“Aww! It’s makin’ that sound you make when you’re happy!” I said, grinning as the turtle began to…purr? No…churr was the word Donnie used. “He’s churring!”

“Shut up, I don’t do that.” Raph scoffed, failing to hide a blush behind his hand.

“Well regardless of whether or not you do that -which you do- it’s fucking adorable! Aww, I am so glad I didn’t shoot you, little guy!” I giggled.

“See? Told ya.” Raph said smugly.

“Well it coulda been Squirrelnoids or Squirrelanoid-adjacent, Raphael. We’re just lucky this time.” I said, sticking out my tongue.

Raph sighed. “...I guess.”

I smiled and set the turtle down. “Where’s your nest, little guy?”

It squeaked and took a few steps forward.

“Woah, careful…” I frowned as it tottered towards the cliff edge.

Raph panickedly jumped over, blocking it off. “Woah- you’re too close to the bad lava, lil’ fella! …Better stay with Uncle Raph for now.” He smiled, setting it on his shoulder.

“Uncle Raph?” I beamed. “This is so fucking cute.”

He rolled his eyes, but smiled. “Hey, we can’t have him just wander into the lava, can we?”

“No, you’re right, you’re just also adorable.” I smirked.

Raph blushed. “Shut up, (Y/N), I am not.”

I shrugged. “Sure, and I’m a Sqirrelnoid.”

“...You are not letting that one go, are ya?”

“Look, I’m not kidding when I say that that was traumatizing. And I wasn’t even the one who had to eat squirrel…eugh…bleh.” I winced at the memory…ugh.

“...Just use your grappling hook an’ get us outta here, okay?” Raph sighed.

“Okay, okay.”

***

“Hey guys, look!” Raph grinned as we reached the top of the wall.

“Seriously, check this out!” I smiled, patting the little turtle’s head as it sat on Raph’s shoulder.

“Woaaah.” Mikey said, staring wide eyed as he helped me up.

“A baby turtle?” Casey said, bounding over to take a look. “What’d you do, lay an egg down there?!” He added, prodding Raph. Raph rolled his eyes.

“Hilarious, Jonsey.” I said, snorting. “Obviously that isn’t how it would work, biologically speaking, considering Raphael is-”

Raph punched me in the arm, and I grinned. “What, not in the mood for some sweet sweet science, Rafa?” I said, wigging my eyebrows.

“You know, sometimes I really like you, (Y/N)...And then you do this and we go back to square one.” Raph deadpanned.

“Hey- this is not a good time to adopt an alien pet, guys.” Donnie scowled, but he was interrupted by Mikey swooping in and snatching the turtle.

“Aw, loooook! He’s almost as cute as me!” Mikey grinned, spinning it around. Raph clenched his fists, and swiped the turtle back.

“Hey! We found him first.” He said with a scowl.

“Yeah, this is our adorable alien turtle, hands off!” I said, crossing my arms.

“Ouch!” Raph yelped behind me.

“Oh jeez, you good?!” I said, spinning around, but by then he was already smiling again. In fact, he almost looked proud.

“M’ fine, he just bit me.”

“Aww, is chompy here learnin’ violence? I’m so proud!” I cooed, patting its head.

Raph snapped his fingers. “(Y/N), that’s it! We’ll call you Chompy Picasso, little guy!” He exclaimed, nuzzling the baby turtle that was now named Chompy.

“Ohmigosh, it got cuter.” I all but squealed.

“What, the alien or Raph?” Casey teased, leaning on my shoulder.

“Both.” I grinned, not even making the effort to act embarrassed.

“Well what you guys need to do is find out who his mom is and give him back.” April pointed out.

“Forget it! We’re on a mission to save Earth, not alien turtles!” Leo protested, somehow looking even more done with our shit than usual.

“Hey, hold up, we gotta-”

But Raph was cut off by the sight in the distance.

Triceraton ships.

Shit.

***

Still reeling from everything that’d happened in trying to retrieve the generator piece, I stared out the window of the ship.

I swallowed thickly as we catapulted away from the supernova, away from Tokka, and away from…

Away from Chompy.

Raph grimaced, coming to the same realization. “Chompy was with her.” He said softly, his voice coming out broken, not unlike the time I’d found him crying over a baby turtle back on Earth.

I rose from my station and stood by him, and he wordlessly pulled me into a rare side hug.

“Now he’s gone.” He whispered into my shoulder, putting words to the truth that we wished wasn’t true.

“I’m so sorry, Raph.” I murmured, squeezing him slightly.

“Uh…dudes? What about the lil’ guy hitchin’ a ride on your shell?” Mikey interrupted, and sure enough, something crawled onto my hand where it rested on Raph’s back.

I jumped and pulled away…only to see Chompy happily perched on my hand. “Omigosh! Raph!”

Raph’s eyes widened, and his sad expression fell into a grin. “Chompy!” He exclaimed, snatching the turtle from me to give him a hug. “You’re okay!”

Chompy churred, nuzzling my hand as I petted him. “He made it!” I beamed.

Raph paused, a flicker of remorse flashing across his face. “But what about Tokka? …She was just trying to protect the fragment…and Chompy…”

“I mean…I guess sacrifices have to be made, or something like that, but still…” I trailed off, sighing. “Poor Tokka.”

“What about Earth?” Leo challenged, ever the beacon of hope and joy as he so often was (n’t).

But he was right, aside from my attitude.

Earth easily took priority over alien turtles.

***

“Got the stuff?”

I smiled proudly, taking the bag off my back. I’d just returned from a chaotic shopping trip with the Professor, and I’d managed to find the supplies we needed.

“So I found a fabric merchant. Also may have gotten into a knife fight, but who’s to say- that’s unimportant at the moment, though, because I do indeed have the goods.”

Raph grinned, opening the bag. “Chompy is gonna have the coolest space turtle bed.”

“Right? I found so many cool fabrics!” I beamed. “Like lookit, this one is so freaking soft!”

“This is perfect- hey wait you got in a knife fight?” Raph said, pausing.

“Yeah, it was both fantastically invigorating and completely terrifying. Did you know alien knives sometimes have blasters in them? Because I did not until very recently. Apparently alien knives sometimes have blasters in them.” I shrugged. “I’ve got my armor though, so everything was mostly fine.”

“‘Mostly’?!” He exclaimed, eyes wide.

I nodded. “Don’t worry, the worst injury is this friction burn on my fist from punching some idiot whose entire outfit was made of sand paper for some reason. I’m good, Raphael.”

“Good, ya better be. The med bay here is really depressing, I’d hate having to go there more than I have to.” He said, seemingly trying to sound gruff.

“Awww, so that means you’d visit me Red?” I teased, leaning on him dramatically.

“No.” He grunted, shoving me off. “Chompy would miss you, that’s all.”

“Ah, of course.” I nodded, playing along. “Well please inform Chompy that I’d love for him to visit me during my theoretical trip to the infirmary, as his company is truly delightful.”

“Maybe you should tell him so yourself.” Raph smirked, petting Chompy as he sat on Raph’s pillow, sleeping.

“Oh beloved Chompy-” I began dramatically, “It’s been so long since I’ve seen thine adorable face…”

“Shh, don’t wake him up!” Raph nudged me.

I held my hands up in defeat, and whispered “Thou hast no taste for the dramatics, dearest Raphael.”

He scoffed and rolled his eyes good naturedly. “You’re a nerd, you know that?”

“Having an extensive knowledge of the arts does not make me a nerd.” I grinned.

“No, but writing your own grappling hook blueprints when you already have a grappling hook totally does. Who does math on purpose?!”

“Creative people who have limitless access to a mechanics genius. I probably wouldn’t be doin’ anything like this if Donnie didn’t help me out as often as he does.” I said, smiling fondly.

“Plus- I’m sorry, but Fugatoid’s computerized grappling hooks are unreliable and frustrating to deal with. I can’t not build my own when faced with such inefficiency, it’d be a safety hazard.” I rambled, clenching my hands into fists at the thought.

Raph shook his head, coughing something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Nerd’.

“You’re a nerd, you read vegetable comics!” I retaliated.

“Shut up! You gave me those vegetable comics!” He snapped.

“Yeah well you read them, Mr. Tough Guy-” I egged him on.

“They were good! The characters were really deep and shockingly relatable despite the ridiculous premise!” He yelled, flinging a fabric roll at me.

I caught it, eyes narrowed. “Hey. Don’t.”

Raph’s eyes widened for some reason. “Oh- shit, (Y/N), I- I’m so sorry-”

I tossed the fabric back at him, raising an eyebrow. “Dude if we’re gonna spar we gotta not wake up Chompy.”

“Oh- we’re gonna spar?” He stuttered.

“Yeah? That’s what we do?” I grinned, hopping off the bed.

He relaxed a bit. “Okay, usual rules?”

“Mild contact, no weapons or excessive strikes…but I guess fabric as a weapon is fair game this time?” I offered, balling up my fists and bouncing on my feet as I settled into my fighting stance.

“First one to hit the ground loses?” Raph smiled, slipping into his own fighting stance.

“You’re goin’ down, Rafa.” I grinned.

“Not if you do first!” He exclaimed, lunging at me.

I smirked and tossed a ball of blue fabric at his face, and as he stumbled, I jumped behind him.

He tore the fabric off and caught my wrist, but I twisted his arm until I was the one holding his wrist. He tried to shove me off, but I pulled him towards me as hard as I could.

Sadly, he took advantage of the proximity and used his free hand to grab my ankle, pushing both of us off balance, and we fell to the floor with a loud THUD.

I sighed as I realized I was at the bottom of our tangle of limbs. I’d hit the ground first.

That meant another heartbreaking tally on the ‘Times Raph beat (Y/N) at sparring’ scorecard.

Raph grinned at me, apparently realizing the same thing as he propped his head up on his elbow.

“How’s the weather down there?” He said smugly.

I rolled my eyes good naturedly, smiling back. “Heavy?” I grunted, sticking my tongue out.

He smiled fondly. “Hm. That sucks for you, I guess, loser.” He said with an exaggerated yawn as he spread himself out.

“You know- relaxing your body- just- makes you- feel heavier?” I hissed.

“Hm? Can’t hear you from all the way up here.” Raph said.

I shook my head. “You’re an arse, y’know that?”

“Ew! What the- guys, you can’t do that in front of Chompy!” Said a voice at the door, and Raph stiffened.

“Mikey- Shut up!” He said, voice cracking. “We’re sparrin’!”

I nodded, feeling heat rise to my face as I imagined what this looked like. Raph was on top of me, his plastron spread diagonally across my stomach, and he had been resting his head on his hand as I glared at him across the floor…which could easily be misread, especially at Mikey’s angle from the door…

But instead of voicing my understanding, I replied in a monotone voice “Can confirm- we sparred.”

“Yeah I know that!” Mikey exclaimed.

I raised an eyebrow. “Then wha-”

“Parents shouldn’t fight in front of their kids, imagine how poor lil’ Chompy must feel!” He said sadly.

Raph’s face went as red as his mask. “MIKEY- (Y/N) and I aren’t- shut up!”

I nodded again. “We're co-pet owners, not co-parents. Chompy ain’t a kid, really, he’s a baby alien who has mannerisms similarly aligned with those of a dog or cat or other domestic mammals and…whatever.”

“...Well I still got my eyes on you. This is mighty suspicious.” Mikey hissed.

“No it’s not! We spar all the time, Michelangelo!” Raph yelled. “Now get outta my room before we both decide we wanna spar you!”

“Okay okay okay!” Mikey squeaked, ducking out of the room.

Raph sighed as his footsteps finally faded, relaxing onto me again. “What a doofus.”

“Yeah…” I agreed, smiling a bit. “You’re still on top of me.” I noted. I was pretty sure my limbs were close to falling asleep.

“And you still-” He paused to yawn for real this time, “-lost.” He smiled, and something about the way he was looking at me felt…softer than usual. Gentler…

A weird feeling on my stomach broke me out of my thoughts though. It was like…a hum…and it was coming from Raph? After a second the purr-like noise followed it, and I grinned. He was churring again.

But Raph’s eyes widened in surprise and mortification. He rolled off me and stood straight up at record speed, blushing even redder than he had earlier, but the churring continued.

He slammed his hand over his mouth then, only somewhat managing to muffle the sound. He blushed harder, cringing.

I clambered up after him, and fell back onto the bed next to Chompy.

Chompy blinked an eye open, and I took his apparent consciousness as a cue to hug the little turtle.

“...You know, when Chompy purrs, I think it’s sweet, not freaky or embarrassing…” I said casually as the churring stopped, stroking Chompy’s head.

Raph mumbled something that was rendered unintelligible by his hand, but his eyes softened.

I patted the spot on the bed next to me, smiling as encouragingly as I could.

He sighed and sat awkwardly next to me, staring at the floor in embarrassment.

“So…” I said, trying to sound gentle. “So I’m assuming you don’t...like it when that happens?”

“….I can’t control it.” He finally said, petting Chompy as the little turtle churred in my arms.

“Neither can he,” I pointed out.

Raph rolled his eyes. “He’s a turtle turtle, not a mutant turtle. Like you said to Mikey, he’s like a cat or something. I mean… it’s cute when he does it, but…”

“You do it around your brothers too, you seem fine when that happens?”

He shrugged. “That’s different, they get it. They do it too, they don’t think it’s weird.”

“Well I like it. It’s sweet, Rafa.” I smiled.

He blushed, finally looking up at me. “...really?”

“Yeah. So does he.” I grinned, smushing Chompy into his face.

“Aw, Chompy!” He laughed, pulling both of us into a hug.

“Hey- hey dude, I appreciate the affection, but you’re screwin’ up my hair-” I laughed, my face pressed into his plastron.

“Oh no, this is a chokehold, actually.” He grinned, and set Chompy on my head. Chompy chewed on a strand of my hair. “See?”

“Dammit you two! This is a betrayal!” I giggled, but didn’t make any effort to get out of it.

Raph’s churring started up again, but this time he just shot me an embarrassed shrug and pulled me and Chompy closer. I smiled.

I missed Earth a lot, but at least I had my weird little family here with me, right?

And maybe that family is a disgruntled mutant teenager with anger issues and our pet space turtle…and maybe I missed my Earth family too, but either way, at the end of the day, I was happy.

Y’know. So long as we managed to successfully save Earth…but that was a worry for another day.

***

Author's note: Can you tell how much the Squirrelnoids episode freaked me out? :')

#tmnt x reader #tmnt 2012 x reader #reader insert #gender neutral reader #gn!reader #tmnt raph x reader #tmnt 2012 raph x reader #raph x reader #tmnt 2012 raph #2k12 raph x reader #2k12 raph

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aurumacadicus · 1 year

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*surprised pikachu* Oh no. Content warning character death.

—

“What are you doing?” Steve asked, reaching out to grab the back of Peter’s jacket and reel him away from the edge of the crow’s nest. He’d almost slipped once and hadn’t trusted him since.

Peter pointed toward the cliffs. “I’m trying to see if the ghost is there this time! Uncle Ben mentioned seeing it. I think he was just pulling my leg,” Peter added ruefully. “But I check every time anyway.”

Steve’s face did something strange—surprise, and joy, and agony, all at once, Peter would figure out later. “What ghost?”

Peter blinked at him in surprise. Steve had mentioned he was going home, which happened to be the same town Peter hailed from. ‘I haven’t been back in a long time,’ he’d said, but Peter knew for a fact the rumors of a ghost on the cliffs had been around for decades, maybe even centuries. Aunt May had said she’d seen the ghost too, when she’d gone to see Uncle Ben’s ship coming in and later learned he’d died at sea.

“Um,” Peter said, wondering if Steve was pulling his leg now too. But Steve looked earnest, and he’d been so kind, so he sighed and shrugged. “A long time ago, before the lighthouse was built, there used to be someone who lived on the cliffs and waved a lantern so that ships would see how close they were to shore. He had a friend who went off to sea again, even though he promised he was finished with that life.”

“A friend,” Steve repeated, and there was a ghost of amusement in his face.

Peter blinked again, but Steve said nothing more, so he continued, “Well, the man with the lantern was so angry about his friend leaving again that he didn’t go out to wave a lantern when his friend was due home. Luckily there was a full moon, so the ship could navigate the cliffs,” Peter added when Steve frowned in concern. “But his friend wasn’t on the ship anyway. They’d been attacked by pirates. He’d died under a sword.”

“I see,” Steve said sadly. “It must have been very hard on him, to have lost his… friend. Without being able to mend things between them.”

Peter shrugged, turning his gaze back on the cliffs, where there were dozens of lanterns blinking through the mist. “I guess. People say he went kind of crazy from it, started going to the cliffs every night with a lantern thinking his friend would be on the next ship.”

Steve’s expression somehow fell further. “Every night?”

“Until he died,” Peter confirmed, and Steve made a noise like he’d just punched the air out of him. Maybe Steve had lived in a rural area so far out he never had a chance to hear the story. “Some say he threw himself from one of the cliffs from guilt, others that he’d gotten so old and frail his fall had been an accident. They never found a body. Just a lantern smashed on the rocks.”

“Oh,” Steve said, voice cracking. He swallowed once, twice, then covered his mouth, turning to look at the cliffs as well.

Peter frowned at him. “Not much for sad stories, are you?”

“I prefer happy endings,” Steve managed to say.

“…Hmm,” Peter acknowledged. He looked at the cliffs again. “Anyway, people started greeting loved ones with lanterns in honor of him. They say if you see a cold blue light among them, that’s the ghost, although I think it’s just a prank.”

“It could be both,” Steve said, amusement back in his tone, and Peter frowned at him again, but Steve said nothing else.

—

“Here,” Steve said, dumping his sack of gold coins into Peter’s hand. “I won’t need this.”

Peter yelped and flailed, sending coins flying. “Steve, of course you’re going to—hey!” he shouted when he realized Steve had already turned his back on him, each stride sure and steady, as if the money really did mean nothing to him. He collected as many coins as he could find, then hastily tied the bag back up, rushing to follow him. “Steve! Hey! Steve!”

Steve took no note of him. He didn’t even slow down, as if now that he was back on dry land, going home was his only focus. Peter was still several yards behind him when he watched Steve stagger, fumbling a few steps to the left, hand coming around to clutch at his side. The pain he’d complained about during cold weather, Peter figured. Aunt May had it sometimes, too. He put on another burst of speed to catch up to him—

Then he stopped, stunned, when he saw a puddle of blood on the ground. It ripped and waved in his vision, like one of the ocean mirages, then slid across the ground, shining between silver and wine red. A blood trail. It was becoming a blood trail that disappeared as quickly as he saw it. He blinked once, hard, deciding it was a trick of the mind. The transition from sea back to land played horrible tricks, after all.

Peter looked up and found that Steve had increased the distance between them, somehow managing to keep his steady pace even as his legs wobbled and his body weaved back and forth. His other hand came up to his side to clutch at whatever wound was there.

“Steve!” Peter cried out, horrified, and renewed his chase. It looked like Steve was headed for the path up the cliff. He’d never make it. He needed to take him to a doctor.

But Steve somehow made it anyway, and Peter was getting the sneaking suspicion he wasn’t even breathing hard, when he himself was huffing and puffing so hard he was afraid he might keel over. He took a breath to call after Steve again, then decided it was no use. Steve hadn’t turned once the entire journey. He redoubled his efforts climbing the path instead, determined to catch up to him.

Peter froze in his tracks when he saw a pale blue orb of light floating down the path to meet them, hair raising on his arms and the back of his neck. He suddenly got the feeling he shouldn’t be there. Immediately after felt some unseen reassurance that it didn’t matter. Or maybe it was better he did.

Steve stumbled to a stop, breathing finally going ragged. “Sweetheart.”

“Beloved,” the light whimpered, and then suddenly it was melting, dripping like a candle into the form of a man, small and bony with wide, disbelieving eyes and trembling lips. “You came.”

“I said I’d be back,” Steve said, reaching out, but the man flinched away, pulling his hands to his chest as if to fight from reaching back.

“And I was so sure you would that I punished you,” the man whispered, shaking his head. “But you never came.”

“I’m here now,” Steve said, and there was something painfully earnest in his voice. “I’m here now, sweetheart.”

“You’re never here,” the man continued faintly, dropping his eyes to the ground. “I dream about it. But it’s never true.”

Steve’s left leg gave out, and he began to topple to the side. Peter was about to lunge for him, but the other man beat him to it, as if even if he truly believed Steve wasn’t real, it still couldn’t beat out his hope that he was.

“They say you haunted the cliffs for me,” Steve said quietly, not making a motion to take his own weight back. “Me, your friend.”

The man looked up at him, tears sparkling in the moonlight. “Is that what they call it now?”

“No,” Steve said, with that same amusement from when he’d repeated ‘friend’ back to Peter earlier, and then carefully cradled the man’s face in his hands, pulling him down for what was obviously a kiss.

Peter looked away, suddenly aware that he was definitely intruding. But he also got the sense it needed to be witnessed, at least partially. He swallowed thickly, embarrassed, then jumped when he suddenly heard a clatter. Turned back to them.

There was nothing on the ground but an old, cracked lantern. He approached it, goosebumps rising across his arms, and carefully took it into his hands. It was surprisingly heavy, for all that it was delicate. He recognized it from the little shop that held antiques. It had been crafted by one of the greatest metal smiths in town, long ago, someone named Anthony Stark. He remembered the cracked lantern at the shop, how it had a little plaque that said it would never be sold without its partner.

Peter looked at the second bag of coins, the one that had belonged to Steve. Hefted the lamp up on his shoulder. Promised himself he’d stop by the shop at first light so that the lanterns could finally be together again.

“Friends,” Peter scoffed, shaking his head, and began back down the path to town.

#ideas #stony #tw: character death

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wifiwulf04 · 2 years

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FNAF DCA Slime Rancher AU

*cracks knuckles, squints at my dashboard and blows*

*hacks up half a lung at the sheer volume of dust flying in my face*

SO, we live :3 and have been watering the brain worm garden, writing… elsewhere that isn’t here and is our Ao3 as well as the uh, *glances at pileup of unfinished works in Google Docs* … actually, ignore that.

At the request of the lovely @sinnabee after watching her stream Slime Rancher 2, here is our list of I guess headcanons that we’ll more than likely end up writing at least a few scenes for :p

Also, Sun and Moon slimes from Sinna!!

Sun slimes:

Has lil nubbin hands to wave and pat things and hold on to Moony fins

Is friendly and vegetarian, fav foods are either heart beets cause they’re full of love or pogofruit cause in the wild they’re the most unproblematic things next to Pink slimes

Has gummy teeth that couldn’t even bruise you if they tried, they just end up harmlessly nomming away

Their rays are soft and very bendy

Will get along with any slime except Ringtails (they turn to stone in the sun and Sun is sad about their very presence freezing their new friends, so they try to bring apology snacks to the statues but as soon as they hop away, the Ringtails make a swift exit-stage-right)

Is infatuated with chickadees (cause Babey Birbs) and will protect them from Tarrs by swallowing as many of them as possible and regurgitating them in a safe place when the coast is clear

Will use their friendliness to their advantage if their Moon is hurt e.g. is so friendly that they can roll up and swallow a hen or two without scaring the rest of the nest, then bring them back to feed their Moon, wherever they’re hiding

Will also protect their Moon by luring threats away and close to a cliff before knocking them off and into the blimey deep (ehehe the slimey deep of the Slime Sea, ahem anyway) below, has absolutely no morality issue with doing this even to another slime or a human they’ve never met before

Suns are usually harmless, but if they're particularly excited or angry, their touch will burn

Their slime is also flammable and can stick to other slimes, but slides right off Moons

Moon slimes:

Have fins and a light like Anglers, slightly more dexterous front fins to hold on to Sun nubbins

Eats meat, but will help their Sun get food, even scaring off other slimes when their Sun isn’t looking to secure food (and only when their Sun isn’t looking cause otherwise they would get an earful to “be nice”. Pft, like being nice gets their Sunny the best food like they deserve)

Also brings their Sun wild honey as a treat

Does not get along with Anglers (they get jealous if their Sun interacts with an Angler, also the Angler's light hurts their eyes), Ringtails or Hunters (because they’re cheeky little sh-)

They have Teeth™ and will use them to protect themselves and their Sun

Their light also hypnotises other slimes and chickens, but Suns are immune to it. It makes a little jingling sound when the hypnosis is in effect

Will go toe to toe (or blob to blob I guess-) with Tarrs, especially if their Sun is in danger with them

Are extremely stealthy, especially at night.

Is it part of their hypnotism or do they have something in common with Hunters? Viktor would like to know, but when he caught a pair, they were gone the next morning with a note in the corral that just said “better luck next time :p”

He spent the day hypothesising (read: having a minor mental breakdown scientific thought block) how in the hell they 1. managed to escape without breaking anything or setting off his alarms and 2. wrote. In readable English. Even BOb’s communications weren’t nearly as neat.

Facts about both:

They spawn together in pairs and only have the one pairing their entire lives

Rarely spotted, they seem to come and go and at most two pairs have ever been spotted at any one time, always in Starlight Strand

If you catch one but not the other, they will cry constantly (think sadge hungry boi and 'oshit there's a Tarr' sounds) and try to escape until they’re reunited in the same pen or free roam, not just adjacent pens. They will always be drawn to each other, so to find/lure their other half, just walk away with one in the Vacpack and the other will follow

Moon would try to free Sun by biting you and Sun will burn you if they bounce into you, so keep enough Vacpack space free for both

If an unpaired Moon is in a pen, they will start chewing through the corral walls. They’re smart enough to figure out that going for the barrier directly like other slimes do is much more difficult than attacking the barrier generator pillars which are much more solid than straining against a slippery forcefield

If an unpaired Sun is in a pen, a good chunk of your ranch may start to burn. I hope you have fire suppression and a good stain cleaner cause those burn marks aren’t coming out easy. Anything a distressed Sun touches will burn and the metal of your corral wall pillars is not heat proof

Even though Suns are so trusting and friendly, Moons are a lot less so, especially towards ranchers

They're smart enough to figure out that slimes disappearing into the suction tube and seldom being spit back out is Bad

Meanwhile Suns just want affection, trying to boop the rancher as soon as their Moon looks away cause Moon would try to nudge them away and scare/bite the rancher

Ogden swore he once saw a sick Sun, Viktor corroborated his account when he went to investigate and was attacked by an unnaturally dull and dark Sun. Unfortunately, he failed to capture it and when he returned with better equipment, it was gone. No one has seen it since, although Viktor hypothesised that it was a virus that could potentially spread to its Moon counterpart

What he actually saw was a Solar, a Sun which had forever lost its Moon for some unknown reason

Lunars are Moons that have lost their Suns, but no one in the community on the Range has ever seen one

If one is fired into the other with a Vacpack, they will form an Eclipse largo

(from left to right: Moon slime, Sun slime, Eclipse largo)

Eclipse largos:

Because of the velocity requirement (aka basically has to be yeeted together with considerable force, there's no need for them to combine in the wild), Eclipse largos are considered rancher-made instead of naturally-transforming by eating plorts like other largos

As a fusion of the two, they have the combined memories and personalities of Sun and Moon. As such, it is recommended to first gain the trust of and build a relationship with both slimes before fusing them or the resultant Eclipse may be difficult to manage

It’s not hard to have a decent relationship with Sun, but if you didn’t have one with Moon before fusion, you might find yourself nursing your wounds post-spontaneous bite in the middle of pets. Eclipse’s teeth are much, much worse than a cat’s nibblers

They hate being confined to a corral, much preferring to patrol the ranch instead

If the ranch is safe and nothing escaped, there is a chance they will unfuse at dawn and dusk. The chance that they unfuse is much higher if they leave the ranch at these times

They will herd loose slimes into the nearest corral, although occasionally this results in them getting themself stuck until the rancher frees them or they wreck the corral, whichever comes first

If they spot a Tarr, they will fight it by dragging it around with their teeth until it beats a hasty retreat or using its tentacles to throw it into the nearest body of (unoccupied by Puddles) water

They are also sometimes seen just staring into the distance at or near the edge of the ranch, always towards the East

You are not going to be able to force them to go anywhere, they are large and in charge. If you try to, you’re at a high risk of getting yourself or your Vacpack crushed between those dagger teeth

Luring them back to the ranch with the promise of cuddles, a honey-baked hen, cubed cubefruit and a water lettuce salad to wash it all down hasn’t failed yet

They will eat anything, including other slimes although genus cannibalism isn't going to be their first choice

Has there been recorded history of an Eclipse eating tech or a rancher? Viktor might have the answer to the former, but as for the latter… there are no living witnesses. Key word, living. And if the Far Far Range saw one unnamed rancher with a bad reputation gradually lose his slimes and disappear, no one saw anything

Eclipses may not have nubbins, but they can produce long tentacles that appear dark orange in the day and dark blue at night

Those tentacles would be warm or cool to the touch depending on Eclipse’s mood

Overall, not much is really known about them within the community of the Far, Far Range besides for rare sightings, but every time someone manages to capture a Sun or Moon, they escape the next day with an unsigned note left in the corral. Even Viktor’s surveillance tech hadn’t managed to catch the intruder’s identity, but he has footage of a tall figure in a dark cloak walking into his lab in the middle of the night and hacking into the containment unit he had the Sun and Moon in. The slimes hopped out of the open door and the figure looked straight at the camera, holding up a slim finger to their face with the faint glint of teeth and a glowing red eye in the shadow of their cloak as they held up the note, dropping it on the ground before the camera feed got corrupted.

#fnaf #fnaf daycare attendant #slime rancher au #sun #moon #as slimey bois #but also mystical slime ranchers somewhere out in the ether #oh don’t worry we will be addressing that #although whether in thought dump format or Ao3 scenes/oneshots/series remains to be seen #thought dump #have fun sinna :3 #Wilderness brain worm garden

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