#there are more smiles and laughs in this chapter than the entire previous 12 chapters

[feelbokkie]

Sorry, Right Number | Chapter 20 (end)

pairing: idol!Chan x fem reader

genre: smau, crack, angst, fluff,strangers to lovers, pen pals/hidden identity, forbidden love, celebrity romance

pov: 1st/2nd person (depending on how you view it)

warnings: swearing, sex joke, mention of death

summary: Being an idol can be lonely and isolating. After one fun and adventurous night at a bar, Chan decides to text the girl he met the night before. Except, she gave him the the wrong number?

word count: 3,740

screenshot count: 12

taglist: closed

previous | masterlist

Bonus content unlocked: Memes

©feelbokkie (2023) — all rights reserved. reposting/modification of any kind is not tolerated.

You squeeze your eyes shut in pain as you quickly wake up. The pain medication the nurse administered hours ago wearing off again, shocking your system awake. You can hear the once gentle rhythmic beeping of your heart rate speed up ever so slightly, a tale-tell sign that you’re still in the hospital. You hear some shuffling around beside you. 

“Topher, if you use that call button again, I will hurt you.” Your voice croaks. You’ve barely used it the entire time you’ve been in the hospital. 

“You’re in pain, Y/n,” He says softly, hovering his hand over the call button. 

“I want to be awake for more than 20 minutes, Chan. That car didn’t kill me, being in pain for an hour surely won’t.” You groan, trying to slightly adjust your position in your hospital bed. 

“That’s not funny,” He says seriously. You crack your left eye open to find Chan pouting while leaning back in his chair. 

“Damn, guess I broke my funny bone in the accident,” You laugh, immediately wincing in pain. Chan sits up quickly, just watching you, not sure how to help. He’d take your pain away from you if he could.

But he can’t do anything, no matter how much he wants to. He can't say anything publically no matter how much he wants to in regards to your relationship and what happened to you. He can't get the people who are saying nasty things about you online to stop. He can't find Hana and make her hurt as much as you are right now. And because of all that, he feels guilty.

"Why do you keep making jokes?." He asks calmly, confused about how you could be joking around like your life wasn't turned upside down.

"Because I want to see you smile," You shut your eyes in pain again as you try to adjust your body, "And if I don't joke, I will cry and get so fucking angry." Chan gets up from his seat and helps you sit up, using the remote to move the bed for you.

"I'm not smiling while you're laid up in a hospital bed because of me." He says quietly as he helps you with your pillows.

"How about a quickie?" You joke.

"What is wrong with you?" You watch as Chan's ears turn red before he quickly finishes and retreats to his chair.

"Really? Not even the sex joke gets you? What happened to my To-To?"

"You nearly died," He mumbles under his breath. You're sure he said it quietly so he wouldn't hear you, so for his sake, you drop it.

The two of you sit in silence for a moment, not sure what to say. Now in your upright position, you open your eyes and look around the room. You have a private room, probably thanks to Chan. It's bright, the midday sun shining through the hospital room. A small pile of stuff sits in the corner of the room. Chan's things, he's practically lived with you in the hospital since you were moved out of the ICU. Before that, you overheard some of the boys talk about how he slept in the hotel lobby. His makeshift bed sits neatly by the window. He moves it closer when it's time for him to sleep so he can be close enough to you yet far enough away in case the nurses or doctors need to visit.

"Where's my mom?" You ask suddenly, remembering that Chan wasn't the only one staying with you.

"Oh, now you worry about your mom? Not when you were offering a quicky?" He cracks a small smile, but only briefly. You nearly missed it.

"I would have blamed it on the drugs." You smirk.

"She went with Jae to Daegu to get him settled at his new school and to look for a new place for all of you to live." He explains, sadness in his voice as his sentence ends.

"I don't want to live in Daegu." You whine.

"Daegu is nice. You'll like it there."

"You're not in Daegu. Neither is Sun Hee."

"I can be. I was thinking and--Hold on," You watch as Chan pulls out his phone from his pocket.

"Hey, what's up...What...What...When--Where...Did you call the police...Yeah, she's awake right now...Yeah, I'll tell her in a second...Okay, yeah thank you. Stay safe. Call me later." Chan hangs up and just stares at his phone, staring in disbelief. Smiling.

"What happened?" You ask, curious to know what could make your boyfriend so happy.

"They got her," He breathes, almost like a sigh of relief.

"Got who?" You furrow your eyebrows.

"Hana," He smiles, looking up at you now. Relieved tears in his eyes.

Hana. Your former best friend and roommate. The sole reason why you're in this situation. The reason why you've been stuck in a hospital bed for nearly a month with a cast up to your upper left thigh. The reason why you have a cast on your dominant hand. The reason why your ribs and lungs hurt every time you breathe or laugh or talk. The reason why you now have a scar on your abdomen where doctors had to stop you from bleeping out internally. The reason why your boyfriend is in so much pain right now.

When you first were admitted to the hospital and could receive visitors, two police officers came to try to get the full story of what happened. You told them repeatedly that you didn't walk into oncoming traffic. You were depressed, sure, but not enough to hurt yourself. You were adamant that you felt something, maybe a hand, push you but they never believed you. It wasn't until people somehow found out it was you in the accident and several videos of your accident surfaced online. And in the chaos, someone, a fan or maybe someone who was going to use the video to make fun of you, found a clip that shows you were clearly pushed. After a brief investigation, it was discovered that Hana pushed you. But she seemingly disappeared. You honestly thought she was somewhere in Japan with her mom's side of the family.

"What?"

"I don't know. I know the boys were with Sun Hee when it happened. And they're calling the police right now." He bounces in his seat.

"I'm going to need more context," You say, not sure if you're you're hearing correctly or not.

"Okay, give me a second," He says quickly, pulling out his phone again.

You sit in your hospital bed, scrolling through Twitter on your phone. Sun Hee sits at the foot of your bed, drawing on your cast. Despite not talking or hanging out for weeks, the two of you could do nothing but sit in silence. Everything had been so crazy and now, for the first time in your lives, you were going to live in different cities. The silence tells you everything you need to know. How much you two love each other and how much you'd miss each other.

"Wait, what the fuck is he doing?" You mumble to yourself when you get a notification for a Channie's Room.

"What happened?" Sun Hee asks, looking up from her handiwork on your cast to see what you're talking about.

"Get my laptop, Chan's gone live." You say as you quickly send Chan a text asking him what he's doing.

"He wouldn't...would he?" Sun Hee asks, wasting no time getting your laptop from your bag.

Chan finally listened to you and went home yesterday to get some rest, but only because Sun Hee agreed to stay in his place. You were happy that he’d finally get a decent sleep, but watching him start a live scares you.

Sun Hee brings the laptop to the TV tray and logs in for you. But by the time she gets to YouTube, Chan is looking down at his phone. A few seconds later you get a text from simply saying that he loves you before he turns his screen to the camera and shows that he's turning off the camera.

"Hello everyone," You watch as Chan puts his phone down on the table, "I'm not going to read any comments today because I'm not here for a conversation. Which I know is a bit unordinary for me. But I really need you guys to listen." Chan speaks into the camera. He's currently sitting in his room at the dorm, the LED wolf ears lit up behind him.

"I'm going to kill him," You mutter under your breath as Sun Hee climbs into the hospital bed with you.

"While you hobble around?" She jokes.

"I'm going to kill you first." You glare at her.

"I know I've been really quiet about everything going on, but honestly, I had better things going on. Like taking care of my girlfriend."

"Oh my god, he just mentioned you on live as his girlfriend." Sun Hee bounces up and down, gently hitting your good arm in response, causing you to wince in pain. Your eyes shift over to the livestream comments, curious what everyone is saying. Sun Hee picks up on your silent panic and makes the video full-screen so you can't read anything.

"To be honest, I'm probably going to get in trouble for doing this, but I really don't care anymore. A lot of you are taking my silence as compliance and using it as a go-ahead to continue to be nasty. And all of you know pretty damn well that I don't let anyone get away with talking about my loved ones."

"Oh he's getting fired for sure," Sun Hee mutters under her breath.

"Sunnie," You warn, your anxiety already spiking because of the sudden Channie's room. The fact that he's going drastically off-script isn't helping.

"Sorry, babe," She mutters.

"We met before she even knew who I was so the rumors about her using me for my money and her being a sasaeng aren't anywhere near the truth. If you guys knew the full story you'd feel bad. But I'm not going to tell you the full story because I do deserve some privacy in my life."

You watch from the corner of your eye as Sun Hee quickly pulls your phone out of your hand and sits on it. Probably to prevent you from going online to read comments about what's going on. She knows you so well.

"I'm just going to read you guys something that I found the other day," Chan clears his throat as he grabs something from his desk. Your blood freezes as you recognize the purple paper.

"I'm actually going to murder him," You say seriously. You're not mad, you're mortified. Mortified that you might be the downfall of his career.

"Dear Stray Kids, I’ve been a fan of you for a while. The first song I heard from you was Hero’s Soup. I know it’s only a B-side but I heard it first on ‘A Song for You’ when I was on my way home from cram school. I don’t know if it’s because the lyrics hit deep or because I was exhausted from school, but I cried. Maybe it was a combination of the two. But whatever it was, you made a devoted fan of me since 2018.

Not only have the eight of you gotten me through some rough times, you gave me a community that I love. A second family if you will. I showed you to my best friend and it made our relationship stronger. I live with both of my best friends. The first one I mentioned earlier and the other I met online in an online forum. I’ve made so many friends online and I no longer feel alone in the world. I even made an unlikely friend, Topher, who gave me this opportunity to meet you and give you this letter in person.

I’m trying to keep this letter short, and failing miserably to do so. I know you all are busy working hard for your stay but I do have one more message for all of you before I go: 

I.N, you’re doing so well. We’re all so proud of you.

Seungmin, your smile makes all of us so happy. You don’t have to hide it from us.

Felix, our sunshine boy, we love you so much.

Han, keep working hard but remember to take breaks.

Hyunjin, we see how hard you work.

Changbin, keep making us laugh

Lee Know, we see that you’re not cold and how much you love your members. We love you. 

Bang Chan, make sure you’re getting rest. You deserve it.

"Thank you for making the world a little brighter. Continue to do well. Love, Y/n." Chan stares at the paper in silence for a moment.

"When did you write that?" Sun Hee asks.

"Right before the meet and greet. Gave it to Chan before I knew he was Topher."

Chan finally looks up from the camera, his eyes glossy. Despite the sad looks you saw on his face the entire time he's been with you in the hospital. But seeing him actually about to cry might break you.

"Y/n is so kind and funny and caring--A lot of you judged her and treated her horribly just because she's dating me. Because she was rumored to be dating me. Before there was any statement from my company, a lot of you attacked her. She's one of you, a Stay and she viewed you as family and so many of you, whom she considered family, turned your backs on her for what? Because she's with me?"

"Oh wow, he's actually going off. Should we try to call one of the boys to stop him?" Sun Hee asks.

"He wouldn't be doing all this, risking putting the entire group at risk if he didn't talk to them first." You say quietly. You know he wouldn't there's too much at stake for all of them.

"That's not fair to her. That's not fair to me. Hell, it's not fair to any idol," Chan adjusts himself in his chair, "Here's the thing. When we sign up to become idols, we quite literally sign away our lives. Which is nobody's fault, we know this going in and do it by choice. We can leave any time. But this life, as fun as it seems is incredibly lonely. And it's because we're in this bubble where we can't share our lives with someone else, even someone in the industry because a lot of you love us a little too much."

"Shit," You sigh.

"I almost lost Y/n, and that scared the crap out of me. And it's my fault. I pushed this relationship. The second she found out who I was, she tried to push me away because she knew that just being friends with me would get this type of reaction. And I promised her that I would protect her. A promise I clearly wasn't able to keep. I'm lucky she's still here with me, but it could have ended so differently."

You watch from the corner of your eye as Sun Hee pulls out her phone, scrolling through Twitter. You roll your eyes at the fact that she took your phone away for the exact reason.

"I've heard my members--hell, I've heard so many other idols--talk about how they never want to fall in love because being with them is a safety hazard. I want better for my members. I want better for other idols, current and future. We give up so much to be who we are and where we are but what's the point if we can't share all this success with someone we love?"

"Damn, I'm surprised JYPE hasn't cut the feed yet." Sun Hee says suddenly.

"If they do, everyone will know that they're trying to shut him up." You explain.

"Just one thing before I go. Something for you all to consider: Idols are people too. Don't we deserve to love the same way everyone else loves without fear of our loved one getting attacked? I also want to say thank you to all of you who have been supportive and sent kind messages. See you guys if I'm allowed to do another live one day. No hug today, I'm sorry." Chan gives a sad smile as he waves goodbye.

***

"No," say firmly, doing your best to cross your arms with one arm being fixed in one position with a cast.

"Y/n, just listen to me for one second--" Chan pleads.

"Why would I listen when all you're doing is being unbelievably insane?" You say simply.

"It's perfectly reasonable, Y/n!" He throws his hands up in the air as he sits firmly on the ground.

You and Chan currently packing up your stuff from the hospital. Well, Chan is packing up your stuff while you sit in bed, unable to do much. You're set to finally be discharged tomorrow. Everything was going well until Chan dropped a bombshell randomly while you were busy choosing the next song to play while he worked.

"You're not moving with me to Daegu." You say firmly.

"You said that the only reason why you don't want to move is because I'm not there. So problem solved." He says as if it's a simple fix.

"Problem not solved," You slowly sit up in bed, "Problem even more fucked."

"So then, what? Do you want to break up? Because I'm going to go crazy if you're all the way over there and I'm stuck here."

"I don't want to break up, idiot. I nearly died, and that only made me realize that I love you so much. I don't ever want to let you go." You sniffle, tears welling up in your eyes.

"You didn't nearly die, Y/n. You did die. Your heart stopped for four whole fucking minutes. They almost couldn't bring you back. And that made me realize that I don't ever want to let you go. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you had--if you--"

"This wasn't your fault. You keep saying that it was your fault. It's not like you doxxed me and pushed me into oncoming traffic."

"Yeah, but it's because of me that--"

"Shut the fuck up, I'm so serious. None of this is your fault and if you're trying to punish yourself because you feel guilty by mov--"

"Moving with you isn't punishment. Being with you will never be a punishment."

"Why are you trying to move to Daegu when your life is here?"

"Because you're also my life. And I don't want to be away from you. I want to take care of you, help you get better."

"You can't do that," You sigh, leaning back into your bed.

"Why not?"

"You know why not."

"Because...I'm an idol?" He asks quietly.

"Yes,"

"What if I--"

"If you quit because of me, I will actually break up with you." You say firmly.

"I wasn't going to say quit." He says suddenly.

"What were you going to say?" You quirk your eyebrow up at him.

"I was going to say, what if I took a hiatus?"

"No," You sit up quickly, instantly regretting it as pain rips through your body. Chan rushes over to you and rubs soothing circles on your back.

"Just until you get better and can move back."

"You're lucky JYPE didn't put you on indefinite hiatus after that little stunt you pulled with Channie's Room the other day. I'm not letting you go on hiatus."

"You're not in a position to let me do anything. I'm an adult, it's my decision. If I want to take time off work to take care of my girlfriend, I'll do it. Thank you very much." He says quietly, sending chills down your spine. It's innocent, he meant it innocently. You're sure of it. But something about his tone of voice is making you realize how real your relationship is becoming. And for once, it doesn't scare you.

"Topher,"

"I'm only asking because I don't want to force you. But if you actually think about it and still say 'no,' I'll respect your decision. But you keep shutting me down so I'm going to keep pushing."

"Why? Why me? Why risk all you worked for, for me?" Your voice cracks, on the verge of tears.

"Because I love you. Actually...no, scratch that. I don't love you. I'm in love with you. Like so deeply, madly, deeply in love with you that I will do anything to make you feel that love and to see you smile."

"But--"

"I don't want to hear a but, because you're just deflecting. You're scared because of how serious this is getting, understandably, and you want to make sure I'm not going to hurt you more than I already have. And if you say this isn't my fault again, I'm going to get annoyed because, in some way, this is my fault. But I'm so in love with you that I will call Park Jin-Young Pdnim himself and tell him that I quit if you ask me to. No regrets. But I know you're not going to. Just tell me what you want. Be selfish for once and tell me what you want and I'll make it happen."

He's right. You are scared. Scared of being found again. Scared of what the more unhinged 'fans' will do if they find you again. Scared of the future with Chan. Of what would happen if you ever got married. If you ever had kids. Scared of loving him so deeply with your whole heart that he'll just rip it apart if he ever opens his eyes and realizes that he could have anyone else if he wanted. You weren't entirely sure if you'd be able to walk again properly without the aid of a cane yet. You were scared of becoming dependent on him. But most importantly, you are scared of losing him.

"I want," You swallow hard, wetting the lump in your throat, "I want you to move with me to Daegu."

"As you wish," He kisses the top of your head before placing a finger under your chin and pressing a soft kiss into your lips.

—

Buy me a coffee?

—

Taglist; closed

Red means that it wouldn't let me tag you (either at all or properly)

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[fortheloveofwonderland]

Me & You & Everyone We Know | 12 | S.R

Not my gif

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter Summary - Spencer and Maeve get into a heated argument moments before Daisy’s birthday party in which Spencer is finally forced to face his real feelings over his ex. You overhear more than you bargained for.

A/N - I don’t know if it was ever stated how old the Simmons kids were, if it was I certainly wasn’t paying attention. This was a guess.

Pairing - Single Dad! Spencer Reid / Fem! Reader

Category - hurt/comfort, angst with happy ending, smut minors DNI.

Warnings - swearing, drinking, talk of cheating, arguing, confessed feelings, overheard conversations, tears, drunk Spencer, vomit, mommy JJ to the rescue.

WC - 5.8k

Chapter 12 - Let it Hurt

Seven forty two in the morning,

Eight seconds before it all sinks in.

Put your best face on for the world,

Fake another smile and just pretend.

But you're just puttin' off the pain,

Nothing's ever really gonna change.

Spencer arrived at Rossi’s early and spent the entire morning slaving over decorations and readying the house for the onslaught of teenagers due to descend upon Rossi’s pristine mansion this afternoon. 

He was exhausted before the party even started. 

He hung banners and streamers from almost every inch of the ceiling. He set up a large table that took up most of his yard with food and paper plates. 

Rossi restocked his fridge with soda bottles from the garage and beers and wine for the adults. 

Spencer wrapped a ridiculous amount of presents, the divorced parent guilt making him spend an exuberant amount of money on his eldest daughter. 

JJ arrived a few hours before the party and rewrapped them all as she told him they looked like the dog had done it. 

They had around a half hour to spare once the house was set up. Rossi had retreated to his study to recoup before his house was flooded with teens. 

Spencer and JJ sat in his backyard, JJ indulging in a glass of wine while he had one small scotch just to take the edge off. 

He could see her staring at the side of his face while he sipped from the tumbler and eventually he sighed and turned to look at her.

“What?”

“You’re nervous.” She had that knowing glint in her eye. 

“You becoming a profiler was the worst thing that ever happened to me, do you know that?” His words caused her to laugh. 

“And now you’re deflecting.” She smugly sipped her wine. 

“My ex-wife and her boyfriend are going to be here today. My ex-wife who I haven’t spent more than a few minutes with since she moved out of our home. Of course I’m nervous. I’m kinda glad we decided to do it here actually, I couldn’t imagine her spending that much time in my house. The house she destroyed with her betrayal.” He finished his scotch but it didn’t help the way he’d hoped. 

“Has it ever occurred to you to move?” She cocked an eyebrow at him, regarding him curiously.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately.” He confessed with another sigh. “I thought painting would help. I thought about asking Morgan to help me just gut the place. But changing the facade isn’t going to erase the memories that house holds.” 

“A fresh start would be good for you all. Especially with your blossoming new relationship.” JJ wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, leaning over and nudging his shoulder with her own.

“I don’t know about that.” He shook his head. “I don’t think it’s going to last with Y/N.”

“But she’s coming to the party? She’s going to meet your kids?” 

“Yeah that might have been an error in judgement.” He scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t want it to end, it’s not like I actively want this to fall apart.” 

“So why do you think it's going to?” She frowned at him. 

“I’ve done the family thing. I don’t want to do it again.” He sighed deeply. “I told her I wasn’t sure if I’d ever want anymore kids but that wasn’t true. Jennifer, I don’t want more kids. Not now, not ever. I love Daisy and Lily with all my heart but I don’t want anymore. I don’t want to get married again, I don’t want any of it. I am crazy about her and I would happily spend the rest of my life with her. But marriage and more kids aren’t in my future. But they are in hers.” 

“Shit,” she sipped her wine. “Shit.” 

“Yeah.” He groaned, reaching across and grabbing her glass from her hand. 

She let him take it and watched him down the entire glass in one. 

“You don’t like white wine.” She rolled her eyes. 

“I do not.” He pulled a face as he swallowed. “That was disgusting.” 

“You’ve gotta talk to her, you know? Probably before she meets your daughters.” 

“That’s gonna be kinda hard don’t you think? What am I meant to do just wait by the door for her to arrive and turn her away? God I’ve fucked up, I need another drink.” He pushed himself up and JJ was quick to do the same. 

Before he could pass her towards the kitchen she grabbed his arm. 

“That is not a good idea.” She tugged him back. “You’re about to host a birthday party for your daughter, do you really want to be drunk for that?” 

“Yes?” He pulled a face with a shrug. 

“Trust me when I say you don’t.” She chuckled. “Maybe once the party is over and the kids have gone back to Maeve’s, but not right now.” 

He heaved a large sigh which told her he conceded even if he wasn’t happy about it. 

“Will you get drunk with me after the party?” He asked a little meekly. 

“Sounds like a date.” She smiled at him. “I’m sure we can even get the others on board.” 

“That would be good, I need that.” He nodded just as the doorbell rang. 

He checked his watch and frowned as he still had fifteen minutes until people were supposed to show up. 

“Why are people always early?” He grumbled, heading to the back door but once again JJ stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. 

When he turned back to her she was proffering a packet of mints his way with a small smile.

“You don’t want Maeve or the kids smelling wine on your breath.” She deposited one in his hand.

He nodded his thanks and popped the mint in his mouth as he continued through the back door and towards the front. 

When he opened the door she was smiling at him over a cake which was at least four times the size of his head. 

“You’re early.” He grumbled, stepping aside to let his ex in Rossi’s house. 

“I wanted to see what you’d done before the party kicked off.” Maeve followed him inside. 

“Didn’t trust me to throw my own kid a birthday party?” He huffed as they headed to the kitchen where JJ was fussing over some food in the oven. 

“Can we not do this today?” Maeve sighed as she set the cake on the counter. 

“Do what?” 

“The passive aggressiveness. Can you just take one day off from hating me so we can celebrate our daughter's birthday?” 

Spencer was going to argue, Maeve knew it and JJ knew it too. JJ came around the kitchen island and stood between the two of them. 

“Where is the birthday girl?” JJ intervened before Spencer could say anything. “Spence, take the cake out to the yard.” 

Spencer huffed like a child, JJ half expected him to stamp his foot. But he did as he was told and picked up the cake, retreating back outside. 

“Bobby took the girls for ice cream. They're going to head over in a bit. She actually believes we aren’t doing anything for her on her birthday.” Maeve giggled. JJ did not.

JJ not so secretly harboured a lot of ill will towards Maeve for the pain she’d caused her best friend. She didn’t try to hide it, didn’t try to pretend to like her. 

Even if Spencer wouldn’t admit how much Maeve’s infidelity had hurt him JJ could see right through him. And so she didn’t try to make a habit of hiding her disdain towards the other woman. 

“Ok.” She replied, heading back towards the oven to put another batch of party food inside. 

Maeve looked around uncomfortably, half wishing she’d come with Bobby and the girls and not on her own. Perhaps this whole party had been a terrible idea. 

Nonetheless she found herself gravitating towards the yard where Spencer was straightening place settings that didn’t need straightening just to avoid going back in the house and talking to her. 

He heard her step out onto the deck but refused to look up, instead kept focused on the table.

“The place looks great, Daisy is really going to love it.” She didn’t dare come closer, staying firmly on the decking.

“Glad you approve.” He scoffed. 

“Spencer,” Maeve sighed. “Is it too much to ask for you to be civil for one day?” 

His eyes suddenly snapped up at her, his movements halting. 

“Was it too much to ask my wife not to cheat on me?” He bit back. 

“I don’t know what else I can say for you to see how sorry I am. I tried to fix things, you’re the one who kicked me out. You’re the one who didn’t want to work on things.” 

“What was there to work on?” He raised his voice. “You were fucking another man behind my back for three years, Maeve! You really think we could have come back from that?” 

“I hurt you, I get it. And I am sorry for that, but at some point you have to get over it, Spencer!” 

“You didn’t hurt me.” He rolled his eyes. “You hurt Daisy. You hurt Lily. You didn’t hurt me.” 

The raised voices caught JJ’s attention. She sighed to herself as she set the oven timer, rounded the island once more and headed for the back door ready to break this up before the kids arrived. 

She got halfway across the kitchen when she heard a tentative knock at the front door. She glanced back towards it before looking back at Spencer and Maeve. 

Hopefully they could refrain from murdering each other while she answered the door. 

With any luck it would be Will and the boys and hopefully Henry and Michael could cheer up their uncle Spencer. 

She padded through the house towards the door as another gentle knock sounded. She unlocked it and opened it to see a slightly frightened young woman on the front porch. 

You rolled your lip between your teeth as you took in the stunning blonde opening David Rossi’s front door. 

Oh jeez, is that his ex? He never mentioned her being so pretty, you mentally cringed. 

She smiled a beautiful and heart stopping smile at you as she held the door open. 

“You must be Y/N?” She beamed, stepping aside. “Come in, please. Spence is in the backyard.” 

Your stomach was coiling into knots as you entered the house, feeling sick about this whole situation. Your hands shook at your sides. 

“It’s so nice to meet you, I’ve heard so much about you.” Her bright blue eyes sparkled and you felt utterly intimidated.

“You…you have?” 

“Of course! Spencer can’t stop talking about you.” She laughed. “I’m JJ by the way.” 

You felt the lead weight in your chest loosen, like you could breathe freely again. 

JJ, she’s JJ. His friend from the BAU, not his ex-wife. Thank god.

“JJ! Sorry yes, Spencer has told me about you too. I’m sorry I thought you were his ex and it threw me a little.” You laughed too. “It’s so nice to…”

You trailed off when the sound of a woman yelling filtered through the house from the backyard. You and JJ exchanged a look as the shouting continued. 

“Uh, that’s his ex.” JJ sighed. “Excuse me, I should see what’s going on.” 

You watched JJ flee towards the back of the house and without really meaning to you followed her. Through the large open back doors you could see Spencer and his ex-wife in mid standoff. 

His back was rigid, his face was bright red, the vein in his forehead pushing wildly and he had his hands clenched into fists. 

Maeve didn’t look any more composed than he did, steam practically coming out of her ears. 

“I swear to god, Spencer, you are such a child sometimes!” Maeve yelled, throwing her arms in the air. 

“I’m a child? I’m a child?” He spat. 

You and JJ stayed in the kitchen, JJ not wanting to get in the middle of this but also not wanting things to get any worse. 

“Yes! You act like you’re fine and that my affair meant nothing to you but then you can’t be civil towards me for even a second. If it really meant so little to you then why do you have to behave like this?” 

“Fine,” he snapped like a frayed cord. “You hurt me, is that what you want to hear?”

“I didn’t say that.” Maeve sighed loudly. “I just wish you would-” 

“I would what? You wish I would, what? You hurt me, ok? You really fucking hurt me.” He cut her off, the pain she’d caused evident in his voice to all three of you. 

Your stomach tightened again, not wanting to be privy to this conversation and clearly neither did JJ. 

Maeve looked away from him, somewhere across the garden and her shoulders slumped. 

“I…I’m sorry Spencer.” She lowered her voice. 

“It’s too late for that. I loved what we had, I loved you! And you hurt me more than I ever thought it possible to be hurt. Are you happy now?” He shook his head angrily. “I wanted to pretend that you didn’t cut me up inside with what you did because it was easier to deal with. I act like I only care that you hurt the girls because if I have to dwell on the fact the love of my life was cheating on me for three years I may never make it out of bed in the morning! 

Goddamnit Maeve, you fucking broke me. You broke me, ok? I will never be the same because of what you did to me. So I’m passive aggressive towards you because if I’m not I might just break down every time I have to look at you. You broke me. You broke my heart.” 

As he said that you felt your own heart breaking. In your peripheral vision you saw JJ looking at you but you were staring right at the side of Spencer’s face. 

And when his first tear escaped, so did your own. 

“Y/N, I-” 

“It’s fine. I’m fine.” You cut JJ off. “I should go.” 

You turned on your heels away from the back door the second Spencer glanced away from Maeve. He saw JJ staring at him in disbelief first and then he saw the back of your retreating head. 

“Y/N?” He wiped his eyes. “Y/N!” 

He started after you and you quickened your pace through the house, desperate to get out of here before having him confront you. 

But of course he caught up with you, just before you reached the front door you felt his hand around your wrist. 

When he tugged you back to face him it was impossible to hide the fact you were crying. 

“Y/N I…I didn’t mean for you to hear that.” He rolled his lip between his teeth guiltily.

“But I did hear it.” You sniffed. “I’m never going to be her am I?” 

“It’s not like that.” He shook his head. “My feelings towards her are complicated. This whole thing is complicated.” 

“Let me uncomplicate it then Spencer. I’m taking myself out of this equation. I’m walking away.” You wiped your eyes on the back of your hand. 

“Please don’t do that. Let’s just talk about this, please?”

“There’s nothing to talk about. We want different things and you have very unresolved feelings for your ex. There is nothing left to say, Spencer. We don’t have the same idea of the future and maybe that’s because you can’t see yourself being with anyone but Maeve and I get it, you were together a long time. I just wish you’d been honest with me from the start. I wish I hadn’t had to witness the love of my life telling another woman she was his.” You turned away from him again to the door and threw it open. 

“Y/N, just wait please I can…” he trailed off seeing a gaggle of teenagers skulking up Rossi’s driveway towards the house.

With everything going on he had almost forgotten about the party. 

It allowed you to make a break, weaving between the kids on the driveway and Spencer couldn’t stop you. 

He plastered on a smile and welcomed Daisy’s school friends to Rossi’s home whilst watching you disappear. 

And there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. 

***

He watched Daisy and the beautiful, bright smile on her face from the kitchen window, arms folded across his chest and just trying to drink it all in. 

The teens had the run of Rossi’s backyard, the adults relegated to the house to allow them some freedom. Music blared from a series of smart speakers which Spencer had no idea how they worked. 

But the kids seemed to enjoy it. 

Daisy was sitting on the edge of the pool, a blonde girl sitting by her side as they chatted and the smile that encompassed his daughter's face told him that girl was Meredith aka the most popular girl at Daisy’s school.

He tried to ignore the way his blood froze in his veins due to the fact his fourteen year old little girl was wearing a bathing suit with teenage boys in the vicinity. 

Her cast had been removed a few days ago, just in time for the party. He was glad she’d healed but also kind of wished she’d had it in a little longer and then at least she might not have been able to swim and therefore wouldn’t be in a damn bathing suit. 

It only really occurred to him as he watched her how grown up she had become. In his mind's eye she was still a little girl, the same little girl who loved ponies and came running to her dad when she was hurt. 

Lily still did, still looked at him like he hung the moon. But it wouldn’t be long before she was a teenager too and pushing her dad away. 

He still remembered the day Daisy was born as though it could have only been yesterday and now she was turning fourteen. She’d be going off to college in the blink of an eye, moving out and forging her own life. And surely it wouldn’t be all that long before Lily was doing the same.

He’d been a father for so long now he didn’t know what he would do with himself when they grew up and he became obsolete. Who was Spencer Reid without his girls? 

He continued watching his eldest daughter, partly because he wanted to feel included in her life and partly because he was avoiding Maeve like the plague. 

He felt a presence enter the kitchen and he prayed that it wasn’t his ex. His company sidled up next to him and he glanced at them, breathing a sigh of relief that it wasn’t Maeve. 

“Is it too much to ask to keep them young forever?” Spencer spoke wistfully, looking back at his daughter.

“Tell me about it,” Matt chuckled dryly. “My eldest is twelve now and I just can’t comprehend how that happened.” 

“I swear it was just yesterday I was bringing her home from the hospital.” 

“Yeah I know that feeling.” Matt patted Spencer’s shoulder. “Just be grateful for the time you still have with Lily before she becomes a teenager too.” 

The tone in Matt’s voice was almost pitiful and Spencer turned away from the window to look at him. 

“You spoke to JJ.” He frowned at the older man. 

“She might have mentioned an altercation.” Matt shrugged. “I assume that’s why you’re avoiding Maeve more than usual.” 

“My daughter's birthday was not the place I imagined my repressed feelings coming to the surface.” He sighed. “Not that I imagined them ever doing so.”

“And in front of your girlfriend too. That’s rough.” Matt offered him a sympathetic smile. 

“I’m almost positive she’s not going to be my girlfriend after today.” 

“Oh man, I’m sure you’ll-”

“Dad!” Daisy’s slightly frustrated voice cut Matt off. 

Spencer spun around to face his daughter who was now in the kitchen, hands on her hips and glaring at her father.

“What is it, pumpkin?” 

Daisy’s cheeks flushed pink and she glanced to her side where the blonde girl was standing, giggling under her breath. 

“Gross, don’t call me that.” Daisy rolled her eyes. 

Spencer pouted, her harsh tone hitting him straight in the chest. He’d called both of his girls pumpkin since they were babies and Daisy had never minded before. 

“Uh…what’s up, Daisy?” He tried again. 

“Can you change the music? My friends don’t want to listen to this old man stuff.” She huffed in such a sassy way Spencer wasn’t even sure he recognised this girl as his daughter. 

He frowned, tuning his ears into the music and noting a Frank Sinatra classic was playing through the speakers. 

It was a great song, but probably not to a fourteen year old. 

“I’ll sort it.” Matt spoke with a smile. 

“Thanks uncle Matt.” Daisy smiled at him before the two girls turned and started back towards the yard.

Spencer watched the blonde link her arm through Daisy’s as they walked.

“Your uncle is so hot.” Meredith’s voice carried towards them. 

Spencer grimaced and Matt chuckled. Spencer shot him a look. 

“What?” Matt shrugged. “I can’t help it.” 

As the two girls headed into the yard, Meredith’s voice met their ears again.

“Your dads kinda creepy though. He’s been watching us through the window for ages.” 

“I know right.” Daisy replied. 

Spencer slapped the palm of his hand against his forehead and grumbled under his breath. 

“This is the worst goddamn day of my life.” Spencer groaned. 

Matt laughed again and clapped a hand on his shoulder. 

“No one ever said raising a teenager was easy.” 

“No kidding.” Spencer mumbled, following on Matt’s heels as he went to change the music. 

***

Two hours passed and the teens had well and truly taken over Rossi’s yard. The older man spent most of the day in the armchair in the corner of the grand living room sipping scotch and trying to pretend the kids weren’t going to destroy his house. 

Spencer kept himself out of the kitchen, not wanting his daughter or her friends to see him as creepy as Meredith had so kindly labelled him. 

Instead every fifteen minutes he sent another member of the BAU to the kitchen for something innocuous so they could subtly check on the teens.

Maeve kept her distant but he still caught her looking his way every so often. He tried to ignore her the best he could, knowing no good could come of talking to her. 

Lily flitted about the room, dividing her time between her parents and all her aunts and uncles as Daisy had strictly told her mother that Lily was not allowed anywhere near her party. 

He excused himself from the room after a while and headed upstairs to make a call. He knew you wouldn’t answer but it didn’t stop him trying.

As expected he got your voicemail and left a long rambling message about how sorry he was for what you’d overheard and how he wanted to explain. He begged you to call him back but wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t. 

When he was about to head back downstairs, he saw her heading his way and he honestly wanted to throw himself over the railing and straight into Rossi’s marbled floor below. 

Anything was better than talking to her. 

“Daisy wants her cake and I knew you wouldn’t want to miss it.” Maeve had her hands in the pockets of her summer dress and she shrugged her shoulders.

“Ok, thanks. I was just coming.” He nodded. 

“No sarcastic response? No passive aggressive comment?” Maeve frowned. 

Spencer sighed loudly, shaking his head. 

“I’m so tired, Maeve.” He ran his tongue along his bottom lip. “I am exhausted with it all. I can’t keep fighting all the time.” 

Her frown deepened. She was fairly sceptical, and with good reason. For the last year all Spencer had wanted to do was fight, he almost seemed to enjoy it. 

“You don’t want to fight?” 

“I don’t have the energy to fight.” He shrugged. “We’re never going to be friends or anything like that, but I’m not fighting anymore. It takes too much out of me. You’re the mother of my children, you’re always going to be a part of my life whether I like it or not.” 

“I appreciate that.” Maeve softened, smiling gently. 

“It’s not for your benefit.” He scoffed. 

“Well that was short lived.” Maeve rolled her eyes, turning away from him and heading towards the staircase. 

“I’m trying.” He called after her, stopping her in her tracks. “I’m not saying it’s going to change overnight but I am trying.” 

She didn’t turn back to him, but she nodded her head as she started down the stairs. 

***

“This has honestly been the worst day ever.” Spencer slurred slightly, waving his glass around and spilling some of the contents over his shirt sleeve. 

“Should we cut him off?” Luke whispered to Penelope who was sitting on his left. 

The party had been over hours ago and all the children had since left, leaving Spencer and his old BAU team to drink in Rossi’s trashed yard. 

Daisy had a wonderful birthday and that was the most important thing to Spencer. The second most important thing was the fact he had royally messed things up with you. 

The moment he’d seen Daisy and Lily off with their mother he’d poured himself a giant glass of scotch in lieu of going home alone. Taco was at the kennel for the night so he had no need to go home.  

At this point he was well over half way through the bottle.

“I think he needs this.” Garcia shrugged sadly. 

“I fucked up with Y/N. She’s never going to talk to me again! What the fuck was I thinking?” He groaned loudly, splashing more alcohol down himself as he gesticulated. 

“It was probably time you finally faced your feelings over your divorce, kid.” Rossi sipped his drink. “Divorce is hard, it’s a shit thing to go through. Trust me, I would know.” 

“You know what’s dumb though? Really fucking dumb considering I’m supposed to be a genius?” He paused to sip his drink. “I honestly didn’t think I was in love with Maeve. Not until she told me she’d cheated. And it felt like my whole fucking world crumbled around me.” 

At least he had stopped crying. For at least an hour he’d sobbed and JJ, Garcia, Emily and Tara took turns holding him while he wept. 

They would all take him angrily ranting over crying any day. 

“Have you considered seeing a therapist?” Tara threw out the question on everyone’s lips. 

“What would I do that for?” He frowned, trying to focus on her but his eyes were misty from the alcohol. 

“Clearly you have a lot of unresolved issues.” Tara replied and that was putting it nicely. “I think talking to a therapist will really help.” 

“No, not gonna happen.” He was scrambling to get out of the lawn chair and failing miserably. 

JJ rolled her eyes and got up, wrapping her arm around his waist and helping him to his feet. 

“Where are you trying to go?” She asked, keeping an arm around him in case he fell over. 

“I…I don’t know.” He pouted. 

“May I suggest bed?” Emily piped up. “Sleep it off Reid.” 

“Yeah I’ve got plenty of room.” Rossi waved a hand in the general direction of the house. 

“Hmm good idea.” He nodded, leaning his weight against JJ. Seconds later he pulled away, his face drained of colour. “Oh fuck…gonna puke.” 

Maybe it was her mothering instinct but JJ jumped into action and managed to speedily help Spencer inside to the kitchen sink, just in time for him to violently spill his guts. 

The sounds emanating from him echoed around the room and into the yard. JJ stroked his back soothingly while he vomited profusely. 

“I think that’s my cue to leave.” Matt downed his drink and stood up.

The rest of the team silently agreed, finishing their own drinks and meandering into the house. 

Rossi saw them off, Matt and Tara who had only indulged in one drink each got in their cars while Garcia, Luke and Emily shared a cab toward their own homes. 

Spencer spent a long time being sick in the sink before he finally stood back and JJ handed him a glass of water. He leant against the counter and sipped it slowly. 

Rossi had taken his leave to bed, not much wanting to clean up after Spencer. 

“I’m sorry. You really don’t have to look after me.” He grumbled. 

“But I’m gonna do it anyway.” She smiled at him. “Let me help you upstairs. I think I’ll stay the night too. I don’t feel comfortable leaving you like this.” 

She thought he might argue but he honestly didn’t have the strength to. Instead he heaved a sigh and nodded. 

He finished the water and JJ aided him to one of Rossi’s guest rooms with an arm around his waist. He flopped to the bed fully dressed and on top of the covers. 

He was asleep within seconds. 

JJ quietly retreated from the room and made her way to the other guest bedroom whilst sending Will a text to let him know she wouldn’t be home. 

She got into bed, her heart aching for her best friend. She’d never seen him like this before, not even in the aftermath of Maeve’s affair. 

She’d always known it would come bubbling to the surface one day, pain needed to be felt one way or another. But now he’d unlocked that particular box she feared he may never come back from it. 

The beast had been unleashed and if Spencer didn’t find a healthy way to cope with his demons, she knew it would ultimately be his demise.

***

When Spencer finally surfaced around midday he looked about as bad as JJ expected him to. He still wore yesterday's clothes, now wrinkled from being slept in. 

She’d spent the morning helping Rossi clean his house of the mess from the party and both of them were sipping coffee at the kitchen island when Spencer emerged.

“Morning, how are you feeling?” JJ asked. 

He went straight to the sink, poured a glass of water and downed it in one before he could speak. 

“Like I drank an entire brewery, screamed at my ex-wife and destroyed my relationship.” He croaked. “Pretty impressive for one night.” 

“I know this isn’t what you’re gonna want to hear but you’ve been bottling up your feelings for Maeve for over a year, it was bound to come out.” Rossi shrugged. 

Spencer grumbled a little, padding to the chair on the other side of the counter and slumping into it. 

“You know I sometimes still picture her at the house.” He sighed deeply. “Like I close my eyes and I can sense her you know? Hear her in the kitchen when I come home from work, hear her reading to the girls, taking a shower or whatever. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night because I swear I can smell her shampoo on the pillow.” 

JJ reached across the counter and placed her hand on top of his as his eyes glazed over with tears. She didn’t talk and so he continued. 

“I did love her, I still do. I don’t want to be with her anymore, not after what she did. But I miss her. I miss the life we used to have. But it makes me feel so stupid admitting as much when she made me feel like our life together meant nothing.” He dislodged his hand from under JJ’s and raked his fingers through his knotted hair. “I really messed up with Y/N. There’s no coming back from this.” 

“You’ll figure it out. You’re a genius after all.” She smiled softly at him. “You ok to drive home?” 

“Yeah I’ll be fine. Thanks for letting me throw the party here Dave and for letting me crash.” 

“No problem, kid. Get home safe.” 

JJ and Spencer got to their feet and said their goodbyes to Rossi. They headed to their cars but before they went their separate ways he threw his arms around her. 

He held her for a long few minutes, trying to communicate without the use of words just how much her friendship meant to him. 

Eventually he let go and they got into their respective cars. 

Spencer drove out and collected Taco from the kennel before making the pilgrimage out to his home in the suburbs. 

Once he got home he forced himself to shower and change even though his head was pounding from last night's alcohol. Something had to give. He couldn’t keep living like this. 

His alcohol use was becoming unhealthy and it was a slippery slope into addiction, as he knew all too well. 

After he was dressed he collected every single bottle of alcohol in his house and without a second thought he poured it all down the drain. Out of sight, out of mind. 

He fed Taco and let him play in the yard while he sat in his office with a large mug of coffee. He switched on his computer and started Googling realtors in the area. 

He knew he’d never be able to move on whilst living in this house. He didn’t want to go far, didn’t want to pull his girls out of their school and away from their friends but he couldn’t stay in this place any longer. 

He sent off some emails enquiring about having his home valued and specifications of what he was looking for in a new house. 

He knew he needed to go out but he was purposefully putting it off, finding anything to distract himself from what he needed to do. 

He even sat and watched Taco roam the yard for at least half an hour, just to avoid the inevitable. 

But he needed to do this. He needed to face this. 

Eventually, several hours after he arrived home, he forced his feet in his shoes and grabbed his car keys. Hopefully Taco wouldn’t cause too much of a nuisance while he was gone. 

He jumped in his car and started his journey into DC, knowing full well that nothing he could say would make this better. 

It was time to face the music. 

@andiebeaword @dreatine @matthew-gray-gubler-lover @people-whatabunchofbastards @justreadingficsdontmindme @spencer-reid-wonderland @thebloomingeagle @foxy-eva @kbakery @simxican @aysixdy @givemeth @loonalockley @shamelessfangirl-3 @redbulldinner @derekm24 @pinkiceee-prose @werewolfbansheelove @mindbelova @angelicasworld

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid smut #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x fem! reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x y/n #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction

[mikhailwrites]

Waiting for Connection 12 / Ghost x Soap

Ghost is retired and plays milsim videogame. Soap is still in the force and sometimes plays that same videogame...

Sorry, I forgot to upload it here, too! On the other hand, that means less waiting time for another chapter for you!

Previous chapter | AO3

Ghost returns home, but it’s different now. Too quiet.  Too barren. He’s never noticed before. Didn’t have any point of reference. He does now. Stripey brushes against Simon’s legs, and the man bends down to scratch the cat behind the ear. “You liked him, mate?”

“Meow!”

Ghost has no idea what that means. Simply takes it as ‘yes’ and smiles.

He takes out his phone, an old, cheap thing he barely ever uses. Hits the redial. There’s only a handful of numbers on the phone, even less so in the call history.

He hears the phone ring, and then there’s a click. “Simon?” It sounds a little confused, which is hardly surprising. Ghost is very much not the bloke that would simply call to ask how’s life.

“Gaz… What am I doing?” Simon crosses the room slowly, sinking on the futon he hasn’t yet bothered to magick back into the sofa.

“Have I ever seemed clairvoyant to you, mate?” Gaz chuckles. There’s some rustling in the background. Presumably, Gaz is moving into some more private space.

Ghost chuckles back. “Guess not.”

“Guess again,” Gaz deadpans, “how were the pints with MacTavish yesterday?”

“What? How the fuck…?” Ghost frowns, not even trying to hide his surprise.

“I can’t answer that question,” Kyle utters the line that all SAS know better than their own names. Burned on the back of their minds, etched in their muscles. Tattooed with invisible ink all over their bodies.

It’s an answer and not an answer at the same time. With a single line, Kyle has confirmed that he’s close to Soap without betraying anything. His commanding officer, most likely, and isn’t that hilarious?

“It was fine. I’ve let him crash at my place,” Simon volunteers a bit of intel in exchange.

“Really? Just like that? Back when you still served, nobody except Price even knew where you were living.”

“I didn’t want any bloody Christmas cards,” Simon tries to deflect with a joke.

Gaz lets it go. It’s an ancient history by now, and there are more pressing matters he’s interested in, anyway. “I hope you haven’t crashed him on the first date; that would be ruthless even for you,” Kyle’s smirk can be heard in his voice, but there’s an underlying tone of seriousness, too.

Ghost groans, frustrated. With himself, mostly. “No, of course not. I’m not an idiot. But…”

“But you thought about it, haven’t you?”

That man knows him way too well. Dangerously so. Of course, he thought about it. The face, the body, the way John moved, self-assured, a little cocky, not bothering to conceal what he is. And then the talking, the flirting. Especially the flirting. Without that, Simon would’ve been fine. Mates. Friends. Whatever. Simple, safe. Well, think again. Fuck! “Yeah, I did. And I feel like a bloody cradle-snatcher for it.”

Gaz snorts. “He ain’t that young, and you ain’t that old, Ghost. You know what he does for a living and how it is, so I’m gonna save my breath and spare you the lectures. Have fun, Simon.”

As if he needs the lectures. “That’s all?”

“Does it even matter what I say, Ghost? It’s not life or death business. You’re both adults, if not entirely reasonable. As long as your thing doesn’t fuck up my thing, we’re good.”

“You didn’t really help me, you know,” Simon notes bemusedly.

“If you wanted a voice of reason, I’m afraid you didn’t call the right number. I guess Laswell’s would be what, two numbers down?”

“One.”

“Well, there you go.”

“Thank you, Kyle,” Simon sighs.

“Anytime, mate. And show the kid some neat tricks while you’re at it, will you?”

“I have no idea what kept Price from strangling you,” Simon huffs a laugh.

“My charming personality, obviously,” there are some muffled voices in the background then. “Gotta run, duty calls and all that. Just… enjoy the life a little, old man.”

“Is that an order?”

“Might as well make it one. Cheers, Ghost.”

Ghost lets himself fall back, sprawling on the futon. Stripey is with him and subsequently on him the next second, stepping on Simon’s chest before he lies down. Kyle was right. If Ghost wanted a voice of reason, Gaz wasn’t exactly the right person to call.

So, if he’s read the situation right, and would like to take it further, what would the next step be?

#Kyle is master enabler #Ghost has it bad #But he doesn't yet fully realise #His cat does #call of duty #john soap mactavish #simon ghost riley #ghostsoap #soapghost #ghost x soap #ghoap #ghost mw2 #soap mw2 #kyle gaz garrick

[roxygen22]

Still Here (Chapter 12)

Summary: Timothée spends Christmas with you and your family. A happier chapter than the last two.

C/W: Brief mention of parent's death

Catch up on previous chapters here.

Both you and your mother insisted that Timothée come over and spend the night on Christmas Eve so he would not wake up alone Christmas Day. It had only been three weeks since his father passed, and you knew the holiday was going to be hard for him.

Timothée showed up as you and Madison were making cookies in the kitchen. Long past the days of knocking, he let himself in. "Where are my favorite girls?" he called out in a sing-song voice as he made his way through the house. "Aha! Found you!" he shouted when he popped his head into the doorway, sending Madison into a fit of giggles.

He gave her a side hug and a kiss on the top of her head, then walked around to your side of the island counter. "You, uh, got a little something right...there," he said as he swiped the dot of flour on your nose with his index finger.

"Oh yeah?" You grabbed his face with your flour-coated hands and pulled him in for a kiss. "You have something - there," you snickered as you gestured to his entire face. Madison's laughter continued to fill the air.

"And what are you laughing at, missy?" You turned to her. "Seems like you are the only one with no flour on them. I think we should fix that, Timmy."

Timothée grinned ear to ear. "Seems only fair." You each grabbed a handful of flour and playfully stalked toward her. It turned into a messy game of tag as you all chased each other around the kitchen island.

You skidded to a stop when you spotted your mother standing in the kitchen doorway. She stood with her hands on her hips, just shaking her head.

"Oh, uh, hey Mom."

"We'll get this cleaned up, Mrs. [Y/N]," Timothée added, ducking his head in embarrassment.

"Where's the fun in that?" She quick-stepped to the flour jar to grab a handful herself and dumped it on your head.

Madison gasped, "Nana!"

"What? She was the cleanest of all of you. Figured she needed to be brought down a peg or two." She looked at you and winked.

You narrowed your eyes playfully. "By that logic, you're next!" You and your mom stalked each other around the island until until you caught her in a big hug and patted flour all over her back. You both could barely breathe from laughing so hard. The two of you had gotten much closer since you moved back in, and after Timothée lost his dad, you were determined to make the most of the time you had left with your parents.

<><><><><>

After you got yourselves and the kitchen cleaned up, it was time for Madison to get ready for bed. She came prancing out of her room in her footie pajamas to give goodnight hugs to her grandparents. She stopped at Timothée.

"Will you be here in the morning?" she asked.

"Of course! There's no place I'd rather be."

The girl smiled. "Good." She hugged him and headed toward her room. You started to follow when she turned back. "Can Timothée come, too?"

You looked at him and shrugged. "If he wants to." You held out your hand to help him up from the couch, knowing he wouldn't turn her down. He was wrapped around her little finger.

The two of you followed Madison to her room and flanked each side of her bed. You tucked her in as Timothée sat on the edge of the bed. She held out her arms for one more hug from each of you, to which you gladly obliged.

"Now, you better go to sleep or Santa won't bring your presents," Timothée said cheekily.

"Silly. Santa's not real," she stated.

He faked a gasp and pulled a horrified face. "He's not?! Hmm, I guess that means I can have the cookies you left out for him."

Her hand shot out from under the covers. "NO! No. Please don't, just in case I'm wrong."

"Uh huh, that's what I thought," he said as he booped her nose. "Good night, kiddo." He leaned down for one more hug, then stepped out of the room. You kissed her forehead, turned off her lamp, and followed suit.

You spotted Timothée at the end of the hallway where apparently your mother had sneakily hung some mistletoe while the two of you were occupied. He pointed upward and smiled at you. "Join me under the mistletoe?" You sauntered up to him, not expecting him to spin and dip you before kissing you yearningly. "Our first Christmas together. Again."

"Merry Christmas, love," you replied as he stood you upright again and nuzzled his nose against yours.

<><><><><>

The next morning, Timothée sat next to you on the floor by the couch, coffee in hand, taking in the scene as Madison dove into her stocking and the first of her presents. He leaned over and whispered to you, "I never quite understood why my parents got so excited about Christmas morning, even more excited than me, until now. All that joy on her little face. It's addicting." You squeezed his hand and leaned your head on his shoulder.

After a bit, once everyone had opened at least one gift, Timothée brought out a package that he had been hiding behind the couch and set it in front of the girl. "Don't try to pick it up. It's heavy. This one...," he paused to clear his throat, "is from my dad." She looked at him, then you, puzzled. "He was going through some boxes in the shed a couple of months ago and came across something of mine from when I was a boy that he thought you might like to have. He...he asked me to set it aside for Christmas."

Madison gingerly opened the wrapping paper to find a round brown leather bag.

"Go on, unzip it," Timothée encouraged her. She slowly unzipped the bag to reveal a blue bowling ball. "You'll need to grow into it a little, but it's yours if you want it."

Madison's lip wobbled as she wiped her tears with her sleeve. "This...this is perfect." She launched herself into Timothée's lap for a hug. When she pulled away, her face lit up as she looked at you. "Mom, help me find my present for Timothée! Please!"

"That's okay, kiddo, it can wait until we get down to it."

"No, it can't. You'll see." You and she dug through the piles of presents until she spotted what she was looking for - a rectangular present haphazardly wrapped in shiny blue paper and three different colored bows on top.

"I wrapped it myself," she said proudly.

Timothée carefully slid his finger under an edge of the paper in an effort not to rip it. Once he opened one side, he gently slid the gift out. It was a picture of him and Madison together at the bowling alley in a frame that she decorated herself. On the back was a short, handwritten note:

Dear Timothée,

I'm glad we found you at the grocery store. Merry Christmas!

Love, Maddy

Timothée wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "I love it, and I love you, too, kiddo." He pulled her in for a hug and buried his nose in her hair. "So, so much."

<><><><><>

Chapter 13

FYI: I am expecting for Chapter 13 to be the last one.

Masterlist

Tag List: @croatianprincess, @bluizh, @jindongdongie, @groovyqueer

#timothée chalamet #timothee chalamet #timothee chalamet x reader #timothée chalamet x reader #timothee chalamet x you #Timothée chalamet x you #Timothée x you #Timothée x reader #timothee x you #timothee x reader #high school sweethearts #single mom #single parent #single parenting #divorce #angst #whump #eventual happy ending #dad timothée chalamet #dad coded #mistletoe #romance #dad timothee #dad Timothée

[sinkingteethinwhitenoise]

Limoncello - Chapter 12

Pairings: Nick Folio x OFC, Bad Omens x OFC

Warnings: Talk of injuries, tears, fluff

Word Count: 1.6k

Series Masterlist

A/N: Hello! Thank you so much for reading Limoncello! This is the last chapter and it means so much to me that you've stuck through this whole thing! If you enjoyed this story, keep an eye out for an announcement coming soon.

“I want to find your smile in the epilogue.” - Ghost Atlas, Tomato Red

For two weeks after the attack, Nick and Maeve were inseparable. Thankfully, Maeve was able to get someone out to fix her window the day after it had been shattered. Nick stayed by her side the entire day as it was repaired. She didn’t speak much that day, exhausted and shocked from the events the night before. Throughout the day, they occasionally talked to the window repair team as needed. When they weren’t doing that, Nick was watching Maeve as she tried to figure out the most efficient way to cover the large bruise spanning across her neck. She tried for hours to cover it with makeup, Nick around for support and encouragement. She ended up crying in Nick’s arms when she couldn’t cover it fully with makeup. Nick held her as she sobbed into his chest, rubbing her back and kissing her head. When she stopped crying, she was able to find a white linen scarf buried deep in her closet that she ended up wearing around her neck for a week until the bruise faded. 

They slept at Maeve’s house that night. No funny business. They just talked about anything that would distract her from the soreness of the knot on her head and the bruise on her neck; anything to distract from thinking about the previous day’s events. They spent every night together, switching between her house and his house with the guys depending on when the band had practice. When they did have practice, Maeve sat in the garage, perched pretty on a stool with earplugs in, watching and listening, with her delicate linen scarf tied loosely around her neck. 

By the second week, the bruise on her neck had faded into nothing and the knot on her head was no longer. It was a celebratory occasion in Maeve’s eyes when she didn’t have to put the scarf on. She walked out of the bathroom after getting ready for the day to see Nick sitting on the bed, on his phone, waiting patiently for her. “Hey,” she said softly, holding back a smile. 

“Hey,” he chirped, looking up from his phone. “No scarf today?” he asked, an eyebrow raised as he smiled at her. 

She allowed herself to smile. “No scarf!” She beamed. She strode over to him and plopped down onto his lap. “The bruise is, like, gone.” 

He instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist and his small smile turned into his signature, goofy grin. “I think that calls for a celebration, don’t you?”

“You read my mind,” she giggled. She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips. She laughed a bit when she pulled back and noticed the shiny, slightly glittery, pink tint from her lip gloss had transferred onto his lips.

“Let me take you to breakfast,” Nick murmured, pecking her lips again. 

And that’s what they did. They had a date every day that week, even on the days when the band had practice. He made the time. By the end of that second week, he’d fallen even more for Maeve than he thought possible. He was happy. He wanted to hold onto that happiness for as long as possible.

“I’m gonna ask her if we can make it official,” Nick said to Noah as he watched Maeve tend to her flower beds through the kitchen window. 

Noah chuckled, “You aren’t already?”

Nick glanced over at Noah and shrugged. “I mean, no? Not technically,” he sighed. “I just- I want to be with her. She makes me really happy. I hope I do that for her too.” 

Noah clapped Nick on the back. “Folio, if you’re worried she’s gonna say no, I don't think you have anything to worry about.” 

“I hope you’re right,” Nick stared out the window once more. 

“I know I’m right,” Noah said, following Nick’s gaze. “How are you gonna ask her?”

Nick shrugged once more. “I’m not sure,” he hummed. “I just know it has to be special, though. She deserves that.” 

“If you need help coming up with something, I’ll call a band meeting,” Noah suggested. “We’d be happy to help. I mean, we’ve been routing for you two since you two shook hands when she came over to introduce herself.” 

Nick furrowed his eyebrows and glanced over at him, “Really?”

“Yup,” Noah nodded. “Love at first sight if I’ve ever seen it.”

Nick suppressed a smile as he looked back out the window. “Right, okay.” 

“Dude you’ve literally got heart eyes watching her pull fuckin’ weeds,” Noah laughed and rolled his eyes. “Want me to call that meeting?”

“Yeah,” Nick murmured. “Please do.” 

A plan was in place after a quick band meeting. Nick wanted to carry it out as soon as he possibly could. He couldn’t wait. Immediately after the meeting he got ready and left to go run some errands, while the guys kept an eye on Maeve. It took Nick until the late afternoon to get back with everything he needed. Nicholas walked outside after hearing his truck pull in. 

��Need help with anything?” He asked, walking over to Nick as he stepped out of the truck. 

“Yeah, just grab some bags and help me take them to the backyard,” Nick said. “Where is everyone?”

“Jolly and Noah are learning how to make limoncello across the street,” Nicholas chuckled.

“Perfect,” He breathed. 

They unloaded the truck pretty quickly and got to work decorating the backyard. When they got done it looked like something straight out of a disney movie. There were soft, glowy fairy lights on every surface they could put them on. There were flower petals scattered all over the patio floor. A beautiful bouquet of sunflowers and greenery wrapped in brown paper sat on the patio table.

“Yo, what’s this?” Nicholas questioned, picking up a small, dark green, velvet jewelry box. “You’re not fuckin’ proposing already, are you?”

Nick turned to him with wide eyes. “Oh, no way dude,” he said quickly. “It’s a necklace.”

Nicholas let out a sigh of relief as he opened it. It was a thin gold chain with a dainty letter ‘F’ hanging from it. “F for Folio?” he asked, glancing up again. 

“F for Folio,” Nick repeated in confirmation. “I’ve heard that some girls dig wearing their guy’s initials. Let’s hope I got that right.” He let out a shaky sigh. 

Nicholas set the box down next to the bouquet where it had previously been. “Hey man,” he clapped his shoulder. “You’ve got this.”

“Thanks,” he sighed. 

Jolly and Noah were helping Maeve clean up the kitchen when Jolly’s phone pinged. He dried his hands to check it and then cleared his throat. “Maeve,” he said looking up from his phone. “Folio’s home if you wanna go see him.”

She set down the cutting board that she had been washing and quickly dried her hands. “Let’s go, then. These can wait,” she motioned to the dishes in the sink. She quickly made her way to the front door, Noah and Jolly close behind. When they were all outside, she locked the door and they all went across the street. Maeve was the first one inside. She hadn’t seen Nick all day, and to say she was excited to see him was an understatement. 

“Hey,” Nicholas greeted from the couch upon seeing her. “Folio’s in the backyard.” 

“Thanks!” She chirped before walking to the back door. 

She opened the back door and stepped outside. Her eyes widened and her jaw went slack when she processed the scene around her. Her eyes finally landed on Nick, holding the bouquet of sunflowers. “What’s all this?” she asked, her voice quiet and awe stricken. 

He walked up to her and handed her the flowers. “These are for you.” 

She took them from him and smiled. “They’re beautiful,” she whispered. “But really, what’s all this for?”

He reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I wanted to ask you something.”

Her breath hitched as she stared at him. “Ask away.”

He took a deep breath, looking into her eyes. “Can I be your boyfriend?”

Maeve’s smile grew to the point where her cheeks started to hurt and her eyes crinkled. “Um, absolutely,” she giggled, it was nearly a squeal. She threw her arms around his neck, still holding the flowers, and pressed her lips to his. 

Nick couldn’t help but smile into the kiss. In fact, he kept breaking the kiss because he couldn’t stop smiling. The kiss was slow, sweet, joyful, and so loving. 

“I have one more thing for you,” Nick grinned when they finally pulled away from each other. He reached into his back pocket, pulled out the green box, and flipped it open to show her. 

Maeve felt her eyes well up with tears. “Nick, that’s beautiful,” she whispered. She looked up at him, “F for Folio?”

He nodded, that huge goofy grin adorning his face. “Yeah, doll. Do you like it?”

“I love it,” she sniffled. “Will you put it on me?”

He chuckled, “Of course, baby.” He lifted the necklace out of the box and set the box to the side. He walked behind her and moved her hair to the side so that he could put the necklace on her. Once he fastened the clasp, he stepped back in front of her. “Wow,” he whispered. “That sits perfectly.” 

Maeve set the flowers down and wrapped her arms around Nick, hugging him tightly. “This is the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me,” she sniffled into his chest. “Thank you.” 

Nick hugged her tightly, as if she would disappear if he didn’t keep hold of her. “You’re worth it,” he murmured into her hair. And he meant it. She was so fucking worth it. 

#bad omens fanfiction #bad omens fanfic #nick folio fanfiction #nick folio fanfic #bad omens fan fic #bad omens fan fiction #nick folio fan fic #nick folio fan fiction #nick folio x ofc #bad omens x ofc #sinkingteethinwhitenoise #limoncello series

[first-edition]

Fox and the Hound

Sum-Joffrey wants to send a message to your family after your brother embarrasses him, so he marries you off to his most unwanted man in his court, the hound. But will this marriage truly be a statement for an eyesore, or will it grow into something more. 

Cw for chapter- mention of animal death (horse), mention of pregnancy, 18+ words and themes overall. Slight angst.

// A/N: just wanted to apologize for the broken links since i changed my username they haven’t been working but i assure you ill get to fixing them so you all can access all of the chapters i will also end up making a goggle docs with the entire book for downloading when this series ends//

Previous chapter here

Chapter 14

“Sandor!” Beric speaks holding the reins of the largest horse leading it through the many other men who saddle up their horses with gear for trip. 

Sandor turns to see beric with the horse looking normal sized next to himself. Sandor takes the reins of the stroking its muzzle and nods. 

“Why don't you join us for the whole trip then, to lys and back?” Barrack asks. 

“I told you dondarrion I'm parting my ways at lys.” Sandor gruffly speaks as he tightens up the straps on the horse that are supporting the saddle bags. 

“Yes you did…but there is much more than a woman and squire is there not? A man so brute as you couldn't be bothered with little things such as that no can you..” Beric speaks again, getting back on sandors nerves.

“Keep talking and rip off your lips.” Sandor barks at the other man. 

“Right then…heading east to lys it is…” Beric says finally dropping the subject only to plan to revisit later in the journey. 

“Lets go!” Beric yells everyone mounts their horse before taking formation and doing last check overs of their horse and gear including Sandor whose mind now runs wild the thought of you and the babe that resides in your belly. He wonders of the names you've thought about, if you've even thought of any. He wonders if he had made the right choice in sending you off with the horse and not letting the other men capture you as well, maybe, just maybe, you'd still be by his side. He’d still be able to hold you in his arms right now as you both rode to the edge of the sands to acquire on to lys. Sandor mounts his horse and kicks it up to the front next to Beric as they begin the journey. 

—-----

Riding next to Beric isn't the worst of the trip nor is the fact that the horse keeps spooking at every rustle of a tumbleweed. But thoros singing the shitty off key tavern songs is the worst. 

“Will you shut the fuck up! You've been singing for 12 bloody miles, if you can even call that pig squealing singing." Sandor retorts at thoros who rides just a few men behind him. 

“Come on now clegane a song cannot hurt on a journey.” thoros chuckles leading other men to have a laugh as well. 

“It is when it's 12. FUCKING. MILES OF IT!” Sandor yells out causing them all to wipe the smile off their faces. 

“Come on thoros as much as i enjoy the voice the lord has given you cease it for now a bit of quiet to listen to nature with do us some good.” barrack says. ‘There's not an ounce of much nature around. Sand and more sand’ sandor thinks. Finally some quiet. Until Beric begins speaking again. 

“Your girl then clegane? The princess of volantis, i have only heard stories mere tales of her beauty, kindness. Of course they say the same of Joffrey's handsomeness and courage but he's quite average and weak-” Beric goes to speak but Sandor cuts him off before he can continue what will be a monologue. 

“Do you really want to know why so badly!?” Sandor snaps at the barrack who just nods. Sandor scoffs, tightening his hold on the reins before continuing. 

“A babe.” Sandor speaks. 

“Ah…yours then?” Beric asks, Sandor nods in return. 

“An heir to the Volantian throne with veins surging with Clegane blood. A boy?” Beric asks 

“Don't know. When your band of hogs ambushed us we got separated.” Sandor says. Beric stops his horse leading Sandor to do so as well. 

“You want to get back to your family..I understand that. I never had any family but these men who follow me are as close as it gets.” Beric says. 

“If you want them to stay that way, you’ll get me to sunspear.” Sandor replies. Beric nods as he dismounts his horse. 

“We camp here for the night.” Beric speaks, holding the reins to the horse.

“What are you doing?” Sandor asks. 

“Resting.” beric answers as he ties the horses reigns up on a near by dead tree. 

“We can do well now and make it to the vaith in the morning.” Beric says. 

“We can very well make it to vaith now!” sandor barks out at beric.

“Have you got any coin, Clegane? We’d need a pretty penny to give away to the innkeeper to house us all. Especially your large self.” Beric speaks. Sandor Huffs getting off the horse and heading for Beric. 

“You said-” he began but Beric put his hand on his chest. 

“-and I'm keeping my promise. I will get you to your wife and child. I'm keeping my word.” Beric replies. 

“Come now clega-” thoros begins but before he can continue sandor pulls himself back up on the horse and kicks off forcing the horse to run and leave the others behind. Thoros is about to draw his bow and arrow when beric holds up his hand. 

“Let him go. I think it’ll be best." Beric says and shakes his head. 

“WE SHALL MEET AGAIN CLEGANE!” Beric yells his word barley notable as the horses hooves are heavy in the mountains dusted pas

Sandor rides through the mountain pass to the vaith annoyed with beric delaying his journey even further. He had a plan, and he intends to stick to it. The sound of screeching overhead stops him as he looks up, slowing down the horse. Vultures circling above he moves the horse over down the rock patch to see the cumulative birds feasting on a dead horse. A glint of something hits his eyes as he gets off the horse and bends down seeing the emblem on the horse's reins. A king's landing horse..your horse. Or at least the one he stole when you both left. 

“Fuck!” he huffs looking around seeing a cloth that has been dirtied. He picks it up, seeing it's a part of your dress. 

“Shit! Fuck!” he stands and gets back on the horse riding down the rest of the way and finding his way to the vaith.

His mind runs wild with the scenarios of why your horse is dead on the mountain pass. Robbers, the kinglanding raiding party caught up to you and joss, anything and everything worries him. His mind only running with thought of you and your safety his only hope to know if you're okay is too skip sleep in the vaith and head straight for sunspear. 

Next chapter here

+++

ALSO I will be updating every other week so if you want special treatment I now have a patreon. Just for 2 dollars a month you can access drafts, unfinished and unposted works, ideas, blurbs, inspirational scenes and pictures, and early releases of the chapters all for Fox and the hound as well as a newer series that will be in the works after this one! My patreon will also be open for free on easter Sunday! March 31st!

Tag list- if you want to be added comment below!

@stephyshadows@germansarechill@urfavbiscuit@daphneyblue@takemeaemond@holb32@allison-119@pxstelink@imsolonelyimissyou@myshitaccount@broadsdrinkwhisky@@evie-beanie@eulysa23-2@greeknymph18@rudiruds@ex160-blog1@im-an-assho1e@chompwoman@heartb8k2@lovely--lover

#sandor x reader #sandorclegane #sandor the hound clegane #fox and the hound #sandor clegane x reader fic #sandor clegane #sandor clegane x you

[idontknowreallywhy]

Estera - Ch 17 - Haunted

Oops. It all went a bit pear shaped didn’t it?

John&Virgil discuss bagels, EOS goes loopy and Scott fails to enjoy his whisky.

Another long one, but a lot had to happen before I could tag @sofasurf back in for the next chapter so… buckle up ;)

(Previous… Prologue - Stars are Only Visible in Darkness, Estera - 1 - Colour, 2 - Dinosaur, 3 - Shoes, 4 - Thunderbird, 5 - Lesson, 6 - Safe, 7 - Gull, 8 - Deliver, 9 - Coffee, 10 - Flight, 11 - Run, 12 - Fall, 13 - Trying, 14 - Hide, 15 - Wait, 16 - Distraction)

(Sofasurf’s Recrudescence which is the foundation for all of this)

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

“Hey Johnny what’s up?”

“Don’t call me Johnny.”

“Sure.” Virgil squinted as he rubbed out a middle C on the score he was drafting and replaced it with the Ab. Ah, perfect. He smiled to himself, he was nearly there with this one.

“Scott sent bagels to the girl.”

“He… bagels?”

“Yes. Bagels.”

Virgil frowned and scrubbed out 4 bars of the bass line. Too derivative.

“Bagels, Virgil.”

“You can’t have every bagel on the planet John, got to let us earthbound types have a few of them.”

“What? That’s not… Virgil! Pay attention this is important!”

Virgil sighed and closed the manuscript. “What are you concerned about John?”

“It’s HER. He’s… getting too… involved. What if…? Look what happened before.”

If he couldn’t already tell from the furrowed brow, John’s uncharacteristic incoherence would speak volumes about how worried he was. And Virgil sympathised, he really did. Worried-about-Scott was a fairly constant state of mind for him too. But this time… he just didn’t see it.

“John, he’s… happy. He’s on form, he’s fit, he’s enjoying himself - that rescue yesterday? He was on fire, honestly. I thought Allie might ask for his autograph at some point. He’s relaxed. He’s laughing again. I think he might actually be sleeping occasionally.” Virgil paused for a moment and experienced a rush of thankfulness as he processed exactly how relieved he was by how things had changed in recent weeks.

“EXACTLY Virgil. We’ve only just got him back! What if she… triggers something? Or… or breaks his heart? What if next time we don’t get him back?”

“I don’t think she’s any more likely to break his heart than anyone else. Remember the Ruby Summers debacle?”

John cringed. That had been a difficult month for anyone within a 2 mile radius of their eldest brother.

“If he’s interested in her romantically he’s moving unusually slowly for him. You know what he’s like. It’s entirely possible he’s just trying to be supportive - they clearly have something in common. He told me she understands things he can’t explain. Don’t you think it’s good for him to have a friend who does?”

“But…”

“Either something will come of it or it won’t, John. And if he gets hurt we’ll be here. Like we would for any of us.”

Holographic shoulders slumped.

“He won’t thank you for interfering, John.”

“I’m not going to!”

“Good.”

His brother’s image winked out while still muttering and Virgil turned back to his manuscript. He chuckled to himself

“Bagels eh? That’s a new one, Scotty.”

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Can I ask you something?

Of course!

Fire away

How do you know my address?

Scott?

Ok, I was hoping that wouldn’t be a complicated question.

Please answer the question.

You can’t, can you?

You see I’m ex-directory, always have been. I opted out.

To stop creepy people looking me up, actually.

My name and address isn’t anywhere public.

Have you had me followed?

Is it the young guy with the ridiculous beard and the labradoodle Bez has befriended on the beach?

It is isn’t it?

I knew there was something odd about him. He was too friendly.

I can’t believe this.

Please stop. I don’t know what kind of person you think I am, but I am not that kind of person.

Ok? I’m not interested in… whatever it is you want.

Please leave me alone.

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

8 hours of mudslide hell and Scott was ready to drop. Debrief was postponed until they’d all got some sleep and he hastened to the privacy of his room, opening up the messages app on his comm as he did so. A notification popped up - 15 unread messages.

A little warm glow nestled at the base of his rib cage and he smiled, deciding to go and sit on the balcony under the stars to read them. Maybe with a small measure of whisky. As he poured it he remembered she’d been about to ask him something.

He sat back and toasted the moon then opened the chat as he took a sip.

His blood ran cold.

He put the glass down with a shaking hand and sank his teeth into his fist, desperately trying not to panic. He needed to react calmly and slowly and not like the psychopath she clearly thought he was.

He scanned the messages again and they were even worse on second reading.

Slow be damned. He’d already apparently ignored her for hours. He fired back a message.

Estera I promise this isn’t what you think it is.

I understand why you think it is but it isn’t.

Please let me explain.

He downed the whisky and started pacing the balcony.

I haven’t had you followed.

I don’t ‘want anything’ from you.

Please believe me.

The messages remained unread.

“EOS!!”

“Hello Scott”

“EOS which directory did you use to look up Estera’s address?”

“I didn’t use a directory, Scott. I already knew the address.”

Scott closed his eyes. The school staff records. Of course she didn’t need to look it up.

He hadn’t considered EOS would even need to do anything… EOS-ey. It hadn’t occurred to him Estera wouldn’t be in the public directory, most people were these days. Those who weren’t… there was usually a reason.

And now he’d scared her. Which was categorically the last thing on the planet he wanted to do.

He checked again and the messages were still unread. He resisted the urge to throw his comm into the pool and walked quietly back into his room to place it on the bedside table. And then very calmly sat on the side of the bed, picked up the fluffiest cushion in his arsenal and screamed a string of curses into it.

“Scott you are distressed? I am sorry I didn’t mean to upset you. What did I do wrong? Can I fix it please?”

She actually sounded upset. He’d somehow managed to upset the emotionless AI. At what point had John programmed ‘shaky tearful voice’ into his robot friend?

He placed the cushion carefully on his knees, pressed his lips together and shook his head. He opened the message app again. Still nothing.

“No, EOS, you can’t fix it. Please leave me alone now. I need to think.”

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Alan slid across the kitchen floor in his socked feet, cracking the seal on the instant noodles and popping the microwave door in one slick movement. Nice. He put them inside and set the timer before stretching with a loud yawn and a satisfied grin. It wasn’t gourmet but fast food was food and it was fast. 13 seconds later he leapt backwards in surprise as with a loud POOF the packet exploded into flames.

Huh. Maybe the microwaveable noodles weren’t microwaveable after all. He must have messed up and put the wrong kind in. Oops.

Ok, fine. He grabbed one of the slower, ‘just add boiling water’ type instead and flicked the switch on the kettle. The fuse blew immediately. He pouted. Why wouldn’t the universe let him have noodles tonight?

The cleaning bot whirred into life and threw itself down the stairs with a clatter.

Then all the lightbulbs went out one by one.

He stood in the dark, trying not to freak out when he heard a faint, almost childish sob from the lounge and did his best not to whimper as he backed into the corner.

He opened his comm and whispered in a definitely calm and not at all terrified way:

“John… John…? I think we got a haunting situation going on. Please help.”

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John answered his little brother’s call whilst dodging flying bagels and consequently he didn’t entirely understand Alan’s whispered SOS the first time.

Taking cover in the shower cubicle, he asked him to repeat it. The shower switched on at full power and minimum temperature.

“EOS! Please! Can we talk about this?”

There was silence and the lights flickered.

“Alan, I think I know what’s happened. There’s no ghost, I promise. I’ll call you back ok?”

There was a whimper from the other end of the line and an eerily similar one from out in the gravity ring. He poked his head around the door and hoped that this time around he wasn’t about to be crushed to death.

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Scott typed and deleted messages over and over.

What was the point if she wasn’t picking them up?

Why didn’t she have her phone? Had something happened?

She’d been ill… what if it had been more serious than she thought? What if… what if she needed help and nobody was there?

He itched to jump into One and to just go and CHECK. But that would obviously be a terrible idea in the current circumstances.

He glared at his comm, willing the ticks to turn green. And then startled as they did.

Nothing happened for what felt like hours but might have been only moments. Then

✨Estera✨ is typing…

He waited, hardly daring to breathe.

I’m listening.

Right. You’ve got one shot at this, Tracy.

Ok… first I’m so sorry for going quiet, we had a long rescue and there just wasn’t chance to check messages. I wasn’t deliberately ignoring you. I hadn’t actually read your question as it popped up just before we launched, if I had I would have answered it as it’s a good question.

Ok.

I messed up. A call came in yesterday as I was putting the order through and I had to launch One to rescue some climbers but I didn’t know how long it would take.

I just wanted to make sure you had something you could eat when you woke up. That’s all it was. I was worried I’d miss the delivery slot if I waited so

We have this new PA who is…

She’s great but she takes things very literally and I did not explain adequately. It was my fault.

I asked her to look up your address and add it to the order. She has access to non-public information for some of the stuff we have to do with work and I didn’t think to tell her to restrict her search when it was a personal matter.

I’m sorry, it was a breach of your privacy and I will have words with her on the topic.

I don’t know your address.

And I won’t ever know it unless you tell it to me.

I see.

And if anything else I’ve said or done has made you uncomfortable, I apologise.

Honestly I have no ulterior motive here.

I’d like to be friends if you wanted that and I’m here for you if you ever need anything but otherwise…

I just want you to be ok. But I understand if it’s too much

I know I can be too much

I can back off.

I’m rambling and will shut up now. 😏

Ok. Thank you for explaining.

I’m going to need to think for a while.

Sure, whatever you need. No rush from me.

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John’s hologram popped up looking concerned. Scott sighed and bit back an impatient comment.

“I’m fine, John.”

“EOS…”

“Is tattling on me again I assume?”

“No… she’s having some kind of breakdown about upsetting you.”

“Oh. Perfect.”

“What’s up?”

“Personal thing. It’s ok. Don’t worry about it.”

John looked like he was going to argue.

“Please? Just… let me deal with my own stuff ok? I will ask if I need anything. What’s up with EOS? Tell her it’s ok - the misunderstanding was my fault not hers.”

John looked over his shoulder and dropped his voice such that Scott had to stop pacing to hear properly.

“She had a small… tantrum, in the kitchen. I believe Alan is hiding in the cupboard under the sink, could you go and rescue him?”

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He’d like to say he hadn’t been checking for new messages on a 3 minutely basis but it wouldn’t be strictly accurate.

He’d achieved a lot in between the compulsive refreshing though. First he got his big brother face on and coaxed Alan out of the cupboard. Following a brief conversation with John about toning down the “Do Not Upset Scott” aspect of her programming, he reassured EOS she was still his favourite niece and set about replacing the fuse in the kettle. He powered through the GDF paperwork then made precisely 74 chocolate chip pancakes because pancakes were definitely an acceptable substitute for sleep.

3 hours and 26 minutes later there was a soft ping from his comm.

Hello Scott

A soft voice in the back of his mind that sounded a lot like Virgil murmured “wait…” so he bit his lip and sat on his hands. The “is typing” symbol pulsed at him maddeningly.

I don’t know what you meant by having “words” but please don’t sack your PA or anything.

Hi Estera

Oh, no, I wouldn’t do that. It’s a training issue and thus my responsibility to sort out.

Ok.

Another pause.

I’m sorry I overreacted.

I don’t know that you did - it was a reasonable reaction to what you thought had happened.

Hmm.

And I’m sorry you were left thinking it so long. I should have said I had to go.

I should have guessed really. With your job being what it is.

Maybe. But you were also understandably freaked out so…

You’re quite an intimidating family you know.

We are?

Err yes?!!!!

The thought of being on the wrong side of you guys is… worrying.

When I thought… well. I didn’t know how I could escape. I was scared.

I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say really except we aren’t exactly the vengeful type.

But I don’t want you to think you have to be on any side of us… or of me.

If you want I can just say it was good to meet you, I’m glad that we both survived and wish you well.

Hmm would be kind of sad though.

Why is that?

I guess I’d miss the awful jokes…

Well fortunately I have an almost infinite supply of them.

I suspect I will live to regret saying that

Ha! 🤣

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Why could nobody see the seagull?

Because it was in da skies!

I hereby award you Level 1 Dad Jokes.

Is there a badge?

I’ll look into it.

Scott grinned to himself and opened up a comm channel.

“EOS?”

“Yes Scott?”

“You’ll like this one…”

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#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #tb estera #estera #scott tracy #virgil tracy #john tracy #EOS (thunderbirds) #idontknowreallywhy fanfic

[ak-vintage]

Quarry - Chapter 12

Pairing: Din Djarin (The Mandalorian) x f!reader

Summary: Din Djarin is on what he expects to be his last bounty hunt for Greef Karga. After all, Nevarro is swiftly moving away from its previous reputation as a Guild member’s paradise, and Din has more important concerns now, like finding a Jedi to train his mysterious foundling. However, after capturing a wanted starship engineer who would rather go anywhere other than “home,” the Mandalorian is forced to reassess his priorities.

Your taste of freedom had been brief but glorious. Now you are a prisoner of the most infamous bounty hunter in the Outer Rim – it’s only a matter of time before he turns you in. There isn’t much you would not do to keep from being sent home, but as you find yourself growing closer to your captor and his strange little companion, you start to wonder whether escape is really what you want.

Set after Chapter 13: The Jedi but before Chapter 14: The Tragedy.

Chapter Tags & Warnings: 18+ MDNI! Reader is Mando's live-in starship engineer, second-person POV, Din Djarin POV, no use of Y/N, minimal descriptors of reader character, unresolved sexual tension, pining, canon-typical violence, peril, angst, mild possessive language, Din speaks Mando'a

Series Masterlist | Read on AO3

A couple hours after sunset in the Karthakk system, Din Djarin settled himself into a booth in the back corner of a cantina. It was a dingy spot – its hard-packed dirt floors ensured that everything was coated in a fine layer of dust, cloudy liquor bottles and seedy patrons included – but that was to be expected on a backwater planet like Lok. A remote, desert planet infested with all manner of underworld scum and not much else, the fact that there were actual tables at which to sit was about the best he could have hoped for.

His quarry was one of those underworld scum, a notable Weequay smuggler called Kevok Toklelq. Over the last several days, Din had managed to narrow down his location to this district of Nym’s Stronghold, and all of the local intelligence he had gathered indicated that this nameless cantina was a popular place to do business, that anyone with any kind of pull on this world could be found exchanging credits and trading merchandise while bellied up to the bar. To the bounty hunter, it sounded like precisely the place he needed to be if he wanted to put eyes on his target.

Din had stopped in earlier to scope out the place and get a lay of the land before he made his move, and the booth he had selected was perfectly situated for his needs. From his corner, he could easily observe both the door and the bar, and the ambient orange lighting from the back bar left the edges of the establishment almost entirely in shadow, lending him an air of anonymity that otherwise might have been difficult to achieve in head-to-toe beskar’gam. As it was, all that was left for him to do was melt into those shadows and watch as the cantina filled up around him.

As he had expected, the crowd grew as the night deepened. To anyone who might have glanced his way, the Mandalorian was the picture of nonchalance, but behind the impenetrable surface of his helmet, he was focused, vigilant, intent only on finding his quarry. The crush of bodies was loud now, laughing and shouting and slinging insults over the sound of music pouring from a jukebox in the corner, but somehow Din cut through all of it. He held the image of the Weequay’s leathery, hard-eyed visage in his mind, and he waited.

So absorbed was he in this task, scanning the faces of each and every patron as they entered the bar, that he almost didn’t notice the young Twi’lek waitress approach his table.

“Evening, honey. Anything I can get for you?” she prompted. Her pale blue skin shone faintly in the dim lighting, and a warm, flirtatious smile quirked the corners of her lips.

The Mandalorian drew his head back, startled, before schooling his body language back into something closer to indifference. Leaning back into the cushion of the booth casually, he replied, “No, thank you. I’m fine.”

The girl arched an eyebrow at him. “You’ve been here a while. You sure there’s…nothing you need?”

He watched as her dark, hooded eyes traced over his form, her gaze settling on his black visor, then his shoulders, then his chest in quick succession. Her cheeks flushed in poorly-concealed interest, and Din fought the urge to fidget under her gaze.

This sort of thing happened occasionally. He knew that others found his stature appealing, that the bulk of his armor, the mystery of his helmet, and the legends of Mandalorian ferocity sometimes inspired intrigue rather than intimidation. As a younger man, he had found the attention flattering. Puzzling at times, but flattering. He certainly had been guilty of taking advantage of that interest on more than one occasion – a man had needs. But that had been years ago. It felt like a different lifetime since he last had felt the urge to indulge in that way.

It had been a life before he had anyone other than himself to consider, a life before his commitment to the Nevarro covert. A life before Grogu.  

You, of course, were the glaring exception.

The bounty hunter burned for you, fierce and desperate, with an intensity that he might have found embarrassing if it weren’t so all-consuming. His control dangling by a thread that grew thinner with each passing day, there was no room left in him for shame. Even in the aftermath of your argument, the days spent in hyperspace traveling from Trevi IV to Lok had been torturous. He could hardly bear the proximity, the nearness of you – always within reach and yet never touching. Not how he wanted, how he needed. It was driving him mad.

No. If he were to have you, it would not be an indulgence. It would be…cataclysmic.

Before his thoughts could travel too far down that path, however, Din wrenched his attention back to the matter at hand. He had promised himself that he would keep you as far from his mind as possible while on this hunt. His quarry was a dangerous man. Toklelq was well-connected in the Outer Rim smuggling networks, a friend of the Pirate Nation, and a skilled fighter. It had been some time since Din had faced an opponent of this caliber; he refused to allow himself any distractions.

“Nothing, thank you. I’m waiting for a friend,” he said. The half-truth came easily, and he watched as something like disappointment colored the Twi’s expression. However, she recovered quickly and instead offered him a coy, practiced smile.

“All right, honey,” she demurred, heavy-lidded eyes giving him a final once-over. “Well, if you change your mind, you can find me at the bar. I’ll be here all night.” She slipped into the crowd then, and the bounty hunter caught himself smirking behind his visor in return. The girl’s choice of target had been off tonight, but he appreciated the tenacity.

It reminded him of you.

___

Just before midnight, Kevok Toklelq entered the cantina.

From his dim corner booth, Din watched as he swaggered through the door, a female Theelin on his arm and two other male Weequay close on his heels. He was precisely as his bounty puck had depicted him – his long hair tied back in a series of ponytails wrapped in dusky red fabric, his sharp eyes partially visible through a pair of yellow-tinted glasses, his expression cool and arrogant. With how frequently the Mandalorian had studied it over the last several days, he would recognize that face anywhere.

The group approached the bar first, appearing to order a round of drinks before seeking out a table right in the center of the venue, but their progress to their seats was slowed multiple times by Toklelq stopping to converse with other patrons. His reception, however, was mixed. Some appeared uncomfortable at the smuggler’s attention, their bodies stiff and their laughter forced as though they had hoped not to see him that night. Others, however, greeted him warmly, clasping his forearm or cuffing him on the shoulder in comradery. Din made note of each of them regardless, mentally cataloging them in his mind.

If a fight broke out while attempting to take his quarry into custody, it might be useful to know just how many enemies he would be up against.

The bounty hunter hoped that could be avoided. Teklolq, according to his research, was a known tabac smoker. At some point during the night, he would need to step outside with his pack of cigarras, and Din would follow so that any confrontation might happen outside the crowded cantina. It was possible that some of his companions might accompany him, of course, but even if he didn’t go alone, Din was confident that he could handle a handful of drunken smugglers. Now that he had eyes on his target, he needed only to wait for the right window of opportunity to strike.

Of course, nothing was ever quite so simple.

About an hour after the group in question arrived, something in the air…shifted. As though they had been waiting for some cue that only they could perceive, the Mandalorian watched with apprehension as his quarry’s companions one by one began to drift away from the table.

One of the other male Weequay was the first to leave, offering Teklolq something like a salute before ducking into the press of the surrounding crowd. He looked to be heading toward the exit, but when Din attempted to track his movements, he lost him almost immediately to the faceless mob of bodies that seemed to pack every square inch of the cantina. He never appeared by the exit, seemingly having vanished into thin air somewhere between the table and the door.

Then the Theelin woman rose from her seat. She pressed a lingering kiss to one of the many horns jutting from Teklolq’s lower jaw, and a moment later, she was gone, melting into the throng just as stealthily as her companion but in the opposite direction. Din cursed under his breath as he watched her bright orange hair be swallowed in the masses, the heat of her biosignature becoming instantly indistinguishable from the rest. Like her companion, she never reappeared.

It was only when the last of his target’s escort, the other Weequay male, kicked back from the table and rose to his feet that the bounty hunter felt a sinking sensation in his gut – the tug of his intuition, an undefinable feeling that something had truly gone awry.

On instinct alone, Din’s gaze snapped to Teklolq. If he had managed to sneak away while Din was too preoccupied with his colleagues…

But no, the smuggler had not escaped. Instead, he was staring directly back at him, meeting the Mandalorian’s eyes through the milling crowd, the dusty haze, the long, dark shadows. And he was smiling.  

___

Through dimly-lit streets, down grimy alleyways, past cantinas and brothels and abandoned warehouses, Din Djarin ran.

“Razor Crest! Come in, Razor Crest!”

Streaks of blue blaster fire zinged past, lighting up the night in flashes of cold flame and splitting the atmosphere around him with the reek of ozone and carbon. One round ricocheted off his breastplate, sparking and skittering away harmlessly, barely a blip on the surface of his armor. Another flew ineffectually past the left side of his helmet, mere centimeters away from hitting its mark, but the Mandalorian didn’t so much as flinch. Yet another arced wildly and collided with a pile of crates stacked high against the side of a building, blasting it to smithereens. Scraps of wood and metal shrapnel flung into his path, crunching under the heavy pounding of his boots, pinging off his beskar.  

His quarry’s aim was getting worse. And Din was gaining on him.

“Razor Crest! Come in!”

The moment he had locked eyes with Teklolq, Din had known that whatever plan he might have had to bring him in without any casualties had suddenly become obsolete. He had watched with senses on high alert as his target stood from the table and downed the remainder of his drink, and he could have sworn he saw the smuggler wink at him from behind his thick-framed, yellow-tinted glasses before making his way toward the door.

It had felt like an invitation, like a dare, and the Mandalorian felt his hackles rise instantly.

He had never backed down from a challenge in his life. He certainly wasn’t about to start now.

The night beyond the cantina was deep and dark, the streetlights in his part of Nym’s Stronghold few and far between. Din had taken one step, then two beyond the little pool of light cast by the cantina’s open doorway, and as though he had summoned them from the shadows themselves, he immediately had been met with the business end of four blasters all trained in his direction.

A Weequay thug had stared him down from each side, their bony chins jutted out in defiance, ice in their eyes. Behind him, the Theelin woman had slinked forward and waved the barrel of her compact blaster pistol inches from his shoulder blades. And with a smile still twisting his thin, hard lips, his target had emerged directly in front of him.

“I’m here for Kevok Teklolq,” the bounty hunter had said, neither raising his hands in surrender nor reaching for his blaster. “I have no quarrel with the rest of you. Lower your weapons and stand aside, and no harm will come to you.”

He hadn’t truly expected them to surrender, but he couldn’t imagine not offering the small mercy. As long as he got his quarry in the end.  

As it was, three corpses lay crumpled outside the cantina now, smoking in the aftermath of his whistling birds, leaking blood into the dirt. And his quarry was several meters ahead of him, running at full tilt, dangerously close to getting away.

“Razor Crest reads you, Mando – what’s going on?”

Stars, it was good to hear your voice. You sounded groggy, as though he had pulled you from sleep, and for a reckless moment, Din allowed himself to picture you. He could see it so clearly – your cheeks flushed and your clothes mussed, your hair loose around your shoulders as you pushed it out of your face and tried to wake up enough to concentrate. The image buried itself in his chest, warm and bright, easing his breath, soothing his racing heart.

“Quarry gave me the slip. I’m in pursuit,” he panted in reply. He clutched his comm link in one hand and his blaster in the other as he returned fire, legs pumping all the harder as he tried desperately to close the distance between him and Teklolq even further. “He’s headed for the yards – he’s going to run.”

“We going after him?” you asked after a beat. The warm fuzz of sleep coloring your voice had evaporated.

He fired again at the smuggler’s retreating form, and his shot seemed to graze the outside of the other man’s thigh. Teklolq howled in pain and stumbled, but in an instant, he was on his feet again. The fumble didn’t last long enough for the Mandalorian to catch up, and still, he remained just out of range for Din to use his grappling wire or his flamethrower. Loosing a colorful curse in Mando’a, the bounty hunter jammed his thumb down on the comm link’s sending button once more.

“Absolutely.”

Your reply was quicker this time, curt and efficient. “Understood. One second – let me get to the helm…” A handful of seconds passed, and then, “Okay. Deactivating ground defenses, starting preflight checks, extending the port gangplank.”

A thrill of pride shot through him at that, making the ache in his muscles and the burn in his lungs all but disappear. Even if Teklolq made it to the shipyards, even if he somehow managed to get in the air without Din taking him out, he wouldn’t be getting away. Because Din had back-up. Din had you.

“That’s my girl.”

___

It took every ounce of strength at your disposal to keep your eyes on the flight controls, to keep your mind on the engine read-outs and your ears tuned into the sound of the port-side ramp dropping. Those words, spoken in that deep, warm voice, strained and breathless, throat tight with exertion… Those words would be your undoing if you allowed yourself even a moment to think about them.

His girl. He had called you his girl.

Goosebumps broke out across your body at how perfectly, undeniably right that felt. You were still clad in your sleep clothes, your feet bare and cold on the metal deck plating, but you had never been more awake. Your very cells responded to the phrase – the fondness, the intimacy, the possessiveness of it. You couldn’t deny that it frightened you; the idea of belonging to anyone was a tender topic. But something about it, something about the fact that it was Mando and not anyone else…

It felt safe. Natural. As easy as breathing. You were his girl, and you were so tired of pretending like you weren’t.

Before you could allow the realization to sit with you any further, however, your comm link sputtered back to life once more.

“Haar’chak!” Mando swore. Grogu, still half asleep but now strapped into one of the co-pilot chairs, whined at the sound of his guardian’s voice in distress, and you reached behind you to pat him comfortingly on the head.

“What’s your status, Mando?”

When he replied, his words came in short bursts, sharp and strained. “I have a visual on the bounty’s ship. He’s taking off. Now.”

Your hands had already found their way to the scanner controls before he had finished speaking. “What’s he flying?” you asked, taking broad readings of the entire spaceport, small though it was.

A pause, and then, “An A-24 Sleuth.”

You adjusted the scanners in response. “Dank farrik,” you murmured to yourself, this time not bothering to broadcast your concern over the comm link. You had worked on a handful of Sleuths in your career, and there were few vessels that could match them for speed and stealth. If the quarry managed to get it out of the atmosphere, the Razor Crest would have a difficult time keeping pace with it. If he made it out of the Karthakk system, Mando’s hunt would need to begin again from scratch.

As though the Crest had heard your apprehension, the scanners beeped at you, and you watched as the monitor before you shifted from a view of the surrounding spaceport to one of a long, narrow vessel about 150 meters away rising slowly into the air.

“I’ve got him on scanners,” you said into the comm link’s receiver. “How far out are you?”

A gruff, modulated exhale crackled through the connection. “…about 30 seconds.”

Even though you knew he couldn’t see you, you nodded to yourself as you ran through your mental checklist one final time. Everything was in place for a quick take-off, and you had locked the scanners onto the Sleuth so it would remain in your sights even as it began its ascent through the arid atmosphere.

“Acknowledged, we’re ready to pursue once you’re inside.”

You sat in silence for those 30 seconds, Grogu keeping vigil with you, your hand hovering anxiously over the switch that would retract the landing gear. Taking a deep breath to center yourself, you realized that you had never been in a chase like this before. Although it had barely begun, you already found it oddly exhilarating. You had never thought of yourself as someone who might enjoy being under this particular kind of pressure, but that didn’t change the fact that the racing heart behind your ribcage wasn’t unwelcome.

Did you find Mando’s job…exciting?

The sound of heavy boots thundering up the durasteel ramp and rocketing into the cargo hold interrupted that train of thought. Mando had flung himself onboard at top speed.

“I’m good, get us in the air!” he shouted from the base of the ladder – unnecessarily, as you already had it in progress. In the span of about three seconds, the twin engines turned over with a rumble, the landing gear lifted back up into the ship’s underbelly, and by the time the port gangplank had folded back into place, the Razor Crest was already making its ascent.

Mando, also, was still moving quickly. One moment, you heard him panting against the rungs of the ladder, as though he had paused to lean there for a moment and collect himself. The next, you felt his looming presence behind you, the breadth of his shoulders suddenly taking up a ridiculous amount of space in the cockpit.

You threw a glance at him over your shoulder from your perch in his pilot’s chair, your gaze tracking up and down his form, assessing, scanning for injuries. “The Sleuth just broke the atmosphere, we’re right behind him.”

Thankfully, he didn’t appear harmed, just a bit winded.

The bounty hunter nodded once, letting out a rather vocal sigh. “Well done. Keep on him,” he replied, pointing out the transparisteel viewport to where you could just barely make out the glow of the quarry’s engines against the blackness of space, growing closer by the second as the Crest followed him into orbit.

You felt your eyebrows raise in surprise. “You don’t want the helm?” you asked, gesturing vaguely to the controls spread out before you in your current seat.

“No. I think you’ve got it handled.” He dropped heavily into the other copilot chair – your favorite chair, you noticed with a thrill – and turned slightly to face his own set of knobs and switches. “Give me weapons control.”

You couldn’t fight the grin that bloomed across your face at that. “Yes, sir.”

Unfortunately, your good humor ended almost as soon as it had begun. As you began to chart a course in pursuit of the Sleuth, a glaring warning appeared on your navigational readout – an asteroid belt, stretching dense and wide across the star system, wrapping itself around the yellow sun almost exactly halfway between the system’s two habitable planets, Lok and Maramere.

In any other situation, you would have taken the Razor Crest out of its way to circumvent it. As it was, you doubted the quarry was going to take the extra time. If either of your two ships wanted to get out into open space, you were going to have go through it.

If your read-outs were correct, the quarry had come to the same conclusion. He was headed straight for the heart of the asteroid belt.

And he was powering up his weapons.

“Mando?” Apprehension colored your voice as your deflector readings spiked, dust and debris from merely the outer edges of the thing already making navigation a challenge.

“I know, I see it,” he acknowledged. “Charging blaster cannons. Follow him in.”

Your heartrate spiked at the instruction, but you obeyed all the same. You were a good pilot, you told yourself as you poured on the sublight power, closing the distance between the Crest and the Sleuth as fast as you dared. You could chase a dangerous smuggler flying one of the nimblest ships in existence through an asteroid belt and not end up splattered across the surface of a spinning hunk of rock.

Right?

You cursed colorfully as a bolt of energy exploded from the Sleuth’s aft laser cannons, missing the belly your gunship by a hairsbreadth.

“Returning fire,” Mando called out, and the Razor Crest’s twin heavy repeating blaster cannons roared to life, loosing a volley across the smuggler’s tail just as both ships breeched the asteroid belt.  

And just like that, you had no more space in your mind for trepidation. There was only the Crest, the quarry, and the twisting, lurching lumps of space rock through which both of you wove.

Keep the Sleuth in sight. Don’t crash. Dodge that attack. Don’t crash. Get closer. Help Mando line up his shots. Give him a nice, wide window. Don’t crash.

Don’t. Crash.

You felt yourself sink into your body, your grip firm and sure on the joysticks, controlling your pitch and your altitude and your speed through intuition and muscle memory. You blocked out everything else, allowing all other thoughts and sensations to roll off of you like rainwater on a leaf. A part of you wondered if this was how Mando felt when he was in combat – if he could feel all his other thoughts vacating his brain and leaving him only with what he needed in that exact moment, what had been trained into him since he was a child. Just him and his weapons, an extension of his body, doing what they were best at.

In that moment, the Razor Crest was an extension of your body. And it was beautiful.

The Sleuth careened through the slalom at breakneck speeds, firing round after round, landing some, missing others. You kept the Razor Crest on its tail as though the two ships were connected by a wire, following every arc, every dive, every spin. From his position behind you, Mando gave as good as he got – firing the blaster cannons at every opportunity, wearing down the quarry’s shields blow by blow – and Grogu simply giggled, his hands in the air as though enjoying the dips and banks like an amusement park ride.

It seemed to you that you might be evenly matched, that this battle might be decided not by skill or agility or firepower but by one party simply waiting for the other to make a mistake. But as the density of the asteroids around you started to thin, as both ships drew closer to coming out on the other side, it became apparent that the quarry had been holding out on you. The moment it was not quite so taxed by its own maneuvering, the Sleuth released a deluge of laser fire.

The Razor Crest shook with the impact, nearly sending you out of your chair and throwing Grogu against his seatbelts before the artificial gravity could compensate for the disruption, and an alarm sounded on the console to your left.

Your deflector shields had suffered heavy damage. The ones mounted to the front of your port engine had been completely knocked out. One more shot and –

The Sleuth fired again, and you banked the ship sharply to the right to try to avoid it, but it wasn’t enough. The shot landed, and your felt the Crest shudder and seize.

“Direct hit to the port engine,” Mando warned, his voice tight. Grogu cooed worriedly in response.

“Shit,” you swore. Something not unlike rage burned in your chest at the sight of smoke streaming behind the ship – your ship – as you banked again to avoid another volley, this time to the left.

“How’s she looking?”

Your attention darted briefly to the engine readouts, the ones you knew like you knew the veins on the back of your hand, the ones you had worked so hard during your first weeks aboard the Razor Crest to optimize. It had been damn fine work. And now it was smoking.

You wanted to punch someone.

“Output is down 47 percent,” you replied after a moment. “I can compensate, but if we take another hit like that, I’ll have to take it offline or risk overloading the reactor.”

The Crest wasn’t designed to run on one engine. Redirecting power from other systems to the reactor was a stop-gap measure. It might be what you needed to give Mando enough time to take out the Sleuth, but…

“Bring us in closer,” the Mandalorian ordered. “I have an idea.”

Your eyes widened, and you fought the urge to glare over your shoulder at him incredulously. Getting much closer to the other ship than you already were was a risky move. One erratic choice, one unpredictable dive or spin by the Sleuth could mean a collision. The margin for error was miniscule. Did he know what he was asking? Did he know just how much he was gambling?

Even in the fraction of a second that it took you to process that thought, it was as though Mando could sense your indecision. “Just trust me, cyare,” he added, his words curt but not unkind.

Of course, you did, and he knew it. Just like he knew that saying so would spur you forward. Banishing your worries from your mind, you poured on the power, and the Razor Crest shot forward. The aft end of the Sleuth dominated the view out of the cockpit, drowning out the surrounding blackness of space. You squinted against the glare of its engines, suddenly so close you swore you could almost see inside them.

“Be ready,” Mando quipped, and before you could ask what for, the twin blaster cannons flared to life, and a thick, black plume of smoke exploded from the Sleuth’s engines.

You didn’t think – you simply reacted. White-knuckle gripping the joystick controls, you pulled back hard, effectively throwing on the brakes and sending the Crest careening upward before it could run right into the quarry’s now-limping vessel.

“Direct hit,” you confirmed, bringing the ship back around again. Satisfaction had a smirk tugging at the corners of your lips as you skimmed through the scanner readings displayed in front of you. “His engine nacelles are ruptured. He’s lost light speed capabilities, and he’s leaking coolant. He’s going down.”

You felt Mando’s sharp nod behind you. “He’ll try for an emergency landing on Maramere.”

Your eyes skipped to your navigational readouts, doing a few quick calculations in your head. “…Confirmed, Sleuth is adjusting course for Maramere. He’s coming in hot.”

“Follow him down,” the bounty hunter ordered. “If he somehow manages to touch down on a land mass, I want to be right behind him.”

Quirking your brow, you risked a glance at him, meeting his glinting black visor with your gaze. “A land mass?” you echoed.

“Maramere is almost completely aquatic.”

You swallowed thickly at the thought. How terrifying that would be – to evade capture only then to crash land into a never-ending ocean, your ship helpless against the crush of the waves as you sank beneath the surface.

You couldn’t lie to yourself. You had found the chase thrilling, and the surge of gratification you had felt at the sight of the Sleuth diving hard toward Maramere, belching black smoke and glowing with the unforgiving friction of the planet’s atmosphere, had been almost addictive. It was an incredible rush, escaping your own destruction, watching someone else’s.

You didn’t want this man to die…did you?

A wave of nausea rolled over you, but you tamped it down, forcing those thoughts as far away as you could manage. The Razor Crest. That was where your focus was needed now. You could reckon with your own morality later.

You plotted a descent pattern just behind the Sleuth’s, modulating your angle just enough to reduce the drag from the atmosphere without widening the gap between the two ships. As the old gunship dropped into the mesosphere, you turned your attention to the navigational computer.

“Based on his current approach speed and trajectory, he’s going to crash…here,” you said, gesturing for Mando to peek over your shoulder at the monitor before you. “On land, but barely. It looks like an archipelago in the northern hemisphere.” On the topographical map the ship’s computer had generated, a sparse chain of islands freckled the surface of the never-ending sea.

The bounty hunter studied the readout for a moment then nodded once. “When he does, see if you can put us down about 100 meters from the crash site. I’ll need to go see if I can pull anything from the wreckage as proof of death.”

“You think…” The words caught in your throat, and you coughed into your fist to clear it. “You think the impact will kill him, then? Even if he doesn’t land in the water?”

He seemed to weigh his response carefully before he spoke, but when he did, his voice was calm, matter-of-fact. “With the speed he’s dropping in at, I think he’d be lucky to make it to the surface in one piece, let alone when he hits the ground.” He met your gaze then, really looking at you for the first time since he came barreling back onto the ship. “This will be the first time I’ve brought in a dead quarry since you’ve been with me. You doing okay?”

The unexpected question made you smile faintly, and your heart throbbed in your chest with fondness for this man, somehow continuing to surprise you with his kindness even all these months later. “Honestly, I’m not sure,” you replied. “I think I am okay. Which admittedly is freaking me out a little. I’m trying not to think about it too hard.”

A breathy, rasping sound, unmistakably a laugh, filtered through Mando’s helmet at that. “I appreciate the honesty,” he chuckled.

Before you could speak on it any further, however, an alarm blared from the console to your right, and the monitor for the navigational computer switched from a birds-eye view of the archipelago to a live feed of the Sleuth. It had lost several panels of its hull on the way down through the atmosphere, its engine chassis were still spewing black filth in a stream behind it, and its thrusters were coughing and sputtering as the quarry tried to keep it in the air as long as possible.

The island chain was in view now, but only barely. It was the middle of the night on Maramere, the ocean waves were high and wild, and it was pouring rain. The only thing that indicated that you were anywhere near land was the silhouette of tall, dense trees against the black sky, outlined in cloudy moonlight, and they were getting bigger with every moment that passed.

“30 seconds to impact,” you said, your eyes jumping between the scanner readouts and viewport.

The Sleuth wobbled dangerously, its underbelly dragging along the tops of the trees of one island, sending splinters of wood and vegetation spraying everywhere, overshooting its first landing attempt, heading for the next island over.

“20 seconds. 10.”

Durasteel scraps and engine oil poured into the choppy water, and just as it passed over the rocky shoreline of the next closest island, the Sleuth’s thrusters flickered out one final time.

Your heart in your throat, you watched through the rain-streaked cockpit window as the quarry’s vessel dropped the final few feet out of the sky and burst into flames.

Behind you, you heard Mando release a breath. Grogu, however, was silent. “100 meters from the crash site,” the bounty hunter reiterated. His tone was inscrutable, somewhere between relief and resignation. “See if you can keep us upwind of the fire.”

You nodded once in acknowledgement and adjusted your grip on the flight controls, throwing on the reverse thrusters to bring the Crest into a gentle drop. The ship’s headlights combined with the column of flame rising from the remains of the Sleuth illuminated the island’s coastline enough that you were able to make the landing by sight even with the rain, and suddenly, what had begun as one of the more thrilling experiences of your life had come to a rather somber ending.

However, as the Razor Crest’s landing gear finally touched down on the jagged, rocky surface of the shoreline, a flash of movement from the decimated vessel caught your eye.

“Wait. Mando, is that – ” You gestured for the Mandalorian to follow your gaze, pointing emphatically out the viewport.

And it was. The dark silhouette of a man – hunched over oddly and limping but very much alive, tumbling from the flames onto the gravel below.

“He survived,” Mando breathed, seemingly unable to look away, his gaze locked forward as he watched the injured quarry stagger to his feet, tamp out a fire on the shoulder of his flight jacket, and begin stumbling toward the tree line. “The skanah is still fucking running.”

The bounty hunter lurched to his feet then, moving out of the cockpit and down the ladder with a swiftness that made him almost impossible to follow. You tried anyway, and although Grogu squealed from his seat strapped into the copilot’s chair, you paid him no heed. You would come right back for him. And if you didn’t, at least you knew he would be safe there until either you or Mando made it back –

By the time you made it down into the cargo hold, Mando had already flung open his weapons cabinet and was arming himself to the teeth – additional blaster cartridges threaded into his bandolier, thermal detonators added to his utility belt. Once he was satisfied with his load-out, he gave his blaster a quick once-over and brought his fist down on the control panel next to the rear exit, bringing out the gangplank.

You didn’t wait for his request or his approval. Instead, you simply darted over to the bunk where you had left your brown cargo pants in a crumpled pile on the floor. You roughly tugged them up over your hips, zipping them closed over your sleep shorts and shoving your bare feet into your boots as quickly as you could manage. When you reached into the weapons cabinet to grab your own blaster, however, you felt a gloved hand clamp around your wrist.

“No. Stay on the ship,” the Mandalorian commanded, and you felt your eyebrows fly to meet your hairline.

“What if you need back-up?” you replied, refusing to drop your hand. “This guy is slippery, Mando, maybe if there’s two of us – ”

“What? You’ll shoot him, gotabor’ika? Hm?”

Your cheeks burned at the not-so-subtle taunt, and you yanked your wrist out of his grip. “Look, as far as I’m concerned, we’re in this one together now, and that man is dangerous. You can’t just go out there in the dark on your own – ”

“I don’t have time to argue with you,” he growled, crowding into  your space, forcing you to tilt your chin up if you wanted to keep your eyes on his visor. “You will stay. On. The. Ship. That’s how this works. I capture the bounties. You protect my kid.”

You faltered a bit at the mention of Grogu, who you could still hear whining in the cockpit, and it was as though the bounty hunter could see your resolve beginning to buckle. You might have begun to protest again, but it hardly mattered. Holding your eye contact with an intensity that ought to have been intimidating, Mando closed the remaining distance between you and brought his hand to the side of your neck, and with demanding force, he tucked his orange-tipped thumb under your jaw and angled your face to up his. You felt your breath leave your lungs at the contact, but before you could even begin to process it, he was resting the forehead of his helmet against yours.

The beskar was cold against your heated skin. Your eyelids fluttered of their own accord, almost closing completely as your heartrate spiked. The warmth of his body bled into yours, and you found yourself bringing your own hands up to clutch at his breastplate lest your knees suddenly give out from under you. He’d never touched you like this before – with intention, with such single-minded focus and something not unlike desperation boiling under the surface.

“Please. Promise me,” Mando whispered, and you swore that you could hear not only the modulated version of his voice through his helmet but also his real voice, his natural voice, like an echo that would have been lost had you not been so impossibly close. “Keep yourself safe. Keep Grogu safe. My sweet, fierce girl.”

You swallowed heavily and fought the urge to allow your eyes slide closed, to permit yourself to simply savor this moment for as long as he would allow it. Instead, you brought your fingers up to his neck, threading them through the folds of his cape, the high neck of his cowl. Stars, he was so warm there – so vital and real and alive.

You wondered then if he knew what this did to you. If he knew you would do anything he asked if only he asked you like this, with this body pressed against yours, his hands on your skin.

A moment of silence stretched between you, marked only by the sound of your breaths and his, both heavy and labored.

“Fine,” you said, digging your fingers into the back of his neck with an urgency you couldn’t disguise. “But you have to keep yourself safe, too. Keep yourself safe…for me.”

You felt him gulp beneath your touch, his throat working against your fingertips in a way that made you blush. “I’ll do everything I can, cyare.” He took a deep breath, his chest expanding against yours, and then, “If I’m not back by sunrise – ”

“Don’t,” you murmured, biting back a whimper at the thought. You knew he couldn’t promise you anything. You knew every time he walked out the door, he took his life into his own hands. But you couldn’t bear the thought…

“It’s all right,” you said. “Go. We’ll be here when you get back.”

Maker, how many times had you watched this man leave you? How many times had you prayed to every deity ever imagined in the cosmos that he would return to you, safe?

Why was this time so much harder?

You couldn’t make your hands release him. He had to take the first step back.

Releasing his grip on your neck, he almost threw his body away from yours, increasing the space between you like he was ripping off a bandage. You stayed rooted to the spot as he backed out of the cargo hold, as he retreated into the pouring rain and the blackness beyond, and giving you one last, long look, the Mandalorian drew his blaster from the holster at his hip and ran off, disappearing into the forest beyond the shoreline.

___

Mando'a Translations:

beskar'gam - armor haar'chak - damn it! cyare - beloved skanah - a very hated person, on the same level as calling someone a "fucker"

#din djarin #the mandalorian #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #din djarin x f!reader #din djarin fanfiction #the mandalorian fanfiction #pedro pascal #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal characters fanfiction

[raquellemonsta]

kiss me more (bokuto x reader)

previous || next

chapter 8: the match

You cursed yourself for taking a little too long in the shower this morning, causing you to now be running behind on this important day. Readjusting your sunglasses, you looked down at your navigation which dinged to single the end of your journey. You had finally reached it: the home of the Schweiden Adlers.

Outside of the arena, to the right half of the building, the giant banners that you had created with the team hung down and covered the exterior. You admired them for a second before making your way inside. You used the ticket that had been provided to you and found your way to the stands.

The gym was filled by the time (Y/N) got there. The Black Jackals and Adlers alike had huge fan sections touting noisemakers and signs. Cheerleaders for both sides were lined up in the stands and spirits were high. The sound in the arena was deafening even though both teams were merely warming up. That made sense though, this was a huge game between two amazing teams and it was hard to say who would win. The marketing effort had definitely worked.

As you walked through the crowd, you saw and heard Yachi waving and shouting your name. You made your way over to her and gave a quick greeting to her and the two men sitting next to her. She had talked about them before, Yamaguchi Tadashi and Tsukishima Kei, you remembered. Yamaguchi was her ex-boyfriend, but she told you that they were still on good terms (and to you it even seemed that there might still be some chemistry there). She also raved about Tsukishima's fiancée, who had been one of her fellow managers in high school. Yachi had told you before that if she had to pick a best friend other than you, it would be her.

The entire team stood on the endline with their hands behind their backs. You gazed at #12, as he searched the crowd around you looking for someone. His eyes finally stopped when he found who he was looking for: you. He grinned brightly and you smiled and waved excitedly at him.

He winked at you and you felt your heart start beating faster. The three sitting behind you gave you funny looks, before Yachi quietly laughed and Yamaguchi joined in. Tsukishima couldn't really judge this time, since his girlfriend acted somewhat similarly. The upref blew his whistle, and the starters walked onto the court. Bokuto was already full of energy, seemingly infectious for the rest of the team. It would be an interesting game to be sure.

---

The Black Jackals had emerged victorious over the Adlers and you were on top of the world. Plenty of other MSBY fans were just as excited as you. Tsukishima made a comment about 'how pissed Kageyama was going to be'. Yachi laughed at your excitement and the other two men were giving you looks again (not bad I promise), but you didn't care.  

This match has been anticipated for weeks and your boys came out on top.

As both teams shook hands at the end of the game, you made your way down the stairs to wait outside of the visiting team locker room. You were excited to see the whole team, but of course most excited for one in particular. You nearly tripped down the stairs as you got distracted by the huge smile that was bound to be on his face, his perfect hair and honestly perfect body that was definitely going to be sweaty (though you didn't really mind). Just a turn down another hallway and the sight would be yours.

Something you probably should've anticipated was the crowd of people, fans and reporters already standing outside of the door waiting for the winners to exit. Several people with notepads were looking to get comments from the starters to

Some of the people actually seemed to recognize you, likely as the girl seen on the news sites with Bokuto. Osamu was there too, likely waiting for his brother. You gave him a kind wave before gluing your eyes back to the locker room door.

The door finally opened, and Sakusa was the first one out. When he noticed the crowd of people, his eyes immediately widened before he opens the door again and heads back in. He clearly wanted no part in any of it, and you felt bad for him. Atsumu was the next player out, and he was immediately swarmed with girls and people asking him questions.

"Atsumu I love you!" one girl yelled.

"How do you develop such trust with your hitters?", which he tried to respond to, before Osamu cut in, "you don't even know how, shut yer trap", and they quickly shifted to insulting each other.

Bokuto came out next, with a big grin on his face upon seeing all of the people excited to see him.

"Hey hey hey!" he shouted, causing the people in the hall to cheer (seriously, anything he did amazed them). You smiled brightly at his energy even after an exhausting game. He was always so positive. The people closer to the front tried to talk to him first, you saw some girls around him as he enthusiastically answered the question of how he was feeling after such a big win.

"Koutaro!" you jumped to try and get his attention. He looked around hearing the familiar voice and his eyes found yours, quickly lighting up. He excused himself from the reporters and fans and excitedly made his way through the crowd to you. It was difficult for him to maneuver through everyone, but they finally let him through. He quickly embraced you in a very sweaty, very tight hug, but you loved everything about it.

"You were amazing" you whispered to him. He squeezed you a little bit tighter before pulling back and giving you a genuine, appreciative smile. Your sweet moment was quickly interrupted by the same reporters he had just been talking to.

"What's your name miss?"

"Mr. Bokuto, is this your girlfriend?" one of them asked. Your eyes widened as you looked from Bokuto, to the reporters, to the several girls standing behind them. It was one thing to have people talk about you on the internet, it was a whole new beast to see their stares and glares in real life. Some were glaring daggers at you and the arm around your shoulder. Others looked at you in interest more than with malicious intent. It seemed Bokuto noticed your discomfort, as he spoke a quick 'no comment please' before leading you away into a separate area.

Atsumu and Osamu were there too, as well as some of the other players. You were just happy to finally find some peace.

"Say Osamu, you got any snacks?" Bokuto asked.

Where did you find this guy again?

#haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #msby #bokuto #bokuto x reader #tsukishima kei #yamaguchi #hq yachi #schweiden adlers #osamu miya #atsumu miya

[evieismol]

Big Bend Chapter 12

Previous Chapter

Word count: 1135

Warnings: mentions of people being scared of giants I guess? Otherwise nothing really for this chapter

“Hannah’s niece was excited to meet you,” John said as he stepped out of the elevator and onto Easton’s desk. The giant was presently eating a bowl of oatmeal. He straightened up upon seeing John, taking a moment to swallow before answering. He pushed the bowl away from both of them.

“She seems like a sweet kid,” Easton said.

“You don’t have to stop eating,” John said, glancing over towards the bowl.

“I was getting full anyways,” Easton said with a small shrug. John raised his eyebrow at that. There were two reasons behind that. First, he’d noticed that Easton never ate around people - John had thought it might have been a coincidence the first few times, but by now was fairly sure it was a purposeful choice to not alarm the humans. The same way he tended to always smile with his mouth closed.

“I appreciate the gesture, but I’m really not scared of you,” John said. Easton looked down, giving an awkward laugh.

“Was I that obvious?” He asked after a moment.

“A little,” John said. “And I’m sure some of the other humans would appreciate the thoughtfulness, but you’re not the first non-human being I’ve worked with. Or the scariest.”

“Well, that’s a refreshing change of pace,” Easton said.

“Seriously, just eat the oatmeal,” John said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Thanks,” Easton said gratefully, pulling the bowl of oatmeal back over towards him. “Abbey didn’t seem scared of me either. I love that about kids,” he said after taking another bite of oatmeal. “I mean, I totally get why people are, generally. It’s still nice when they’re not, though.”

“I think that’s understandable,” John said.

“This is entirely unrelated, but I was talking to my friends from New York earlier, and they mentioned coming to visit possibly,” Easton said.

“Your human friends?” John asked. Easton nodded. “I’m still dying to know the story behind that one.”

“It’s a long one,” Easton said. “I mean, I don’t mind telling it, though.”

“I have nowhere to be,” John said with a shrug. “Besides, curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.”

“I almost never hear the entire quote,” Easton mused. “Well, anyways, we met, I think six years ago in human years. Like two on Aphiria? I’m bad at math, there’s a reason I studied flowers. Anyways, they were in some trouble on Earth and ended up jumping through a portal they found.”

“Jumping through a random portal. Must have been some trouble,” John said.

“Yeah, that’s what I said too,” Easton said. “It’s more their story to tell than mine, but basically they were in a bad financial spot, and ended up falling in debt with some bad people. Like, seriously bad people. Jumping through the portal was a last resort after one of them was injured. I was out for a walk along a trail near the portal and thought I heard voices, and obviously I offered to help them.”

“I guess they’re lucky you came along,” John said. “How’d the other Aphirials take their presence?”

Easton looked down. “We didn’t tell anyone for a while. I wasn’t…sure how people would respond to them. We ended up telling my sister eventually, and she helped them get back to earth.”

“Your sister’s on the Earth-Aphirial committee that recommended you, isn’t she?” John asked.

Easton gave an awkward laugh. “Yeah…go nepotism, I guess. I really didn’t ask her to do that, I swear.”

“Well, it doesn’t seem like an undeserved recommendation, at least,” John offered. “You seem to do a good job interacting with humans.”

“I really try,” Easton said. “I always wanted to see Earth, ever since we learned about it in school when I was a kid. I mean, you guys have such a diverse planet. Like, this park alone…it’s gorgeous. Not to mention the people. There’s so many of you, and so many different countries and languages and cultures…it’s incredible.”

“That’s why you took the job, then?” John asked.

“I guess so. It’s kind of why I wanted to be a park ranger to start with,” Easton said. “Getting to see new things, getting to share them with people. Seeing the same wonder I felt the first time I learned something…I love it. Why’d you decide to work for the IMA, if you don’t mind me asking?”

John chuckled. “Well, I don’t have nearly as touching an answer. Joined the marines to afford college, and after multiple tours overseas, ended up being recommended for recruitment for the IMA. I like the job, though. Like you said, there’s always something new.”

“Like a giant alien park ranger?” Easton asked, amusement in his voice.

“Among other things,” John said with a smile. “So, what was that about your friends coming to visit, before we got sidetracked?”

“Hm? Oh, right! They were saying they might come visit for the Fourth of July. That’s another thing I love about Earth - all the new holidays.”

“Does Aphiria have holidays?” John asked.

Easton nodded. “We do. Not as many, though. At least the main ones. They’re based on the solstices there.”

“That sounds interesting. You know, I think you know far more about Earth than I do Aphiria,” John said.

“Well, I’m always happy to ramble about it anytime you’re curious,” Easton said. “I feel like that’s probably the case for most humans. There’s not a lot of like, academic or historical research. The only reason I know most of what I know is the friends I mentioned.”

“Suppose that’s true. I don’t think most humans have even met an Aphirial. Though, that mightbbe changing if they’ve come to the park recently,” John said.

“Likewise with Aphirials and humans. I think all we really learned in school was like, ‘mysterious tiny planet’,” Easton said.

“Well, there might be a bit more lore about Aphiria floating around on this end, but I wouldn’t assume any of it was particularly truthful.”

“Yeah…I’ve heard some of those stories,” Easton said. “And seen how people generally react to me at first. Not that I can blame them - I mean, there is some truth to the whole carnivorous giant alien thing. I’m sure I’d be a little freaked out too if I was on the other end of things. If anything I appreciate the effort to not just like, run away screaming.”

“Fair enough,” John said.

#g/t #giant/tiny #sfw g/t #gt #gt sfw #g/t community #g/t oc #gt writing

[anerdinallherglory]

Approaching Sun (32)

Author’s Note: Dear readers, I am terribly sorry for how delayed this chapter has been. If you follow me on social media or have read my other Tumblr posts, I have explained my situation briefly, but will explain again here. My baby was born with Laryngomalacia and my life has become a crazy rollercoaster ride of doctor’s visits and sleepless nights. I couldn’t return to my job because of his health issue and had to give up the only job I’ve ever wanted. The last two years of my life has been dedicated to getting my Masters for this job, and just like that, it’s no longer mine. This has been a hard season for me, but I am thankful for my sweet baby and the time I get to be with him. In short, I will be a stay at home Mom until his health issue has resolved, so I am hoping to get an opportunity to write more. However, he is a pretty high-maintenance baby who only sleeps for 10 minutes at a time, so finding the extra time has been difficult. This chapter took an entire month worth of naps, even though it is shorter than my other chapters (sorry, but I have to submit as much as I can get done, and I’m sure you all want something instead of waiting longer). In addition, I am also hoping to use some of this time writing my own book, BTHG, which I hope to publish one day. Again, I want to thank you all so much for your dedication to this story and for continuing to support it through all seasons of these last several years. Let me know your thoughts about this chapter! Stay happy, stay healthy readers. Until next time.  

Pairing: SasuSaku

Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

Chapter 32: An Approaching Sun

In the moment that Sakura had asked him directly in the desert: “Is it enough for you?” Sasuke had known his answer in his heart. And when she turned away from him in the presence of Kankuro after their return hours earlier, the sight of her angry back made Sasuke realize it was the first time that he had ever seen it. Sasuke had practically begged for that confession, pleading for her to tell him how they could be together so he could justify the choice he had already made some time ago, justify choosing this despite all his many worries. Those words sung to his heart and caressed his concerns lovingly. He still gave her an out, asking “Is all of that true?” and when she said “yes,” it was Sasuke’s final unraveling. Th be at “yes” was the final reassurance that his stubbornness needed before he took hold of her chin.

Unlike the kiss of his dream in the desert, Sasuke was careful—so careful when placing his mouth on hers. His fingers held her chin firmly while he took time to unite their mouths. As he did so, he braced himself despite his nerves and deepened the kiss. Sakura responded carefully as well, and Sasuke lifted his hand to touch her cheek in reassurance. To say, I want this. I’ve wanted this. But his fingers brushed wetness and Sasuke instantly broke away, startled at the tears he found running down Sakura’s face.

He searched her eyes with worry, immediately apologizing. “Sorry—”

“No,” she smiled, grabbing hold of his receding face with her fingertips, and whispering, “—just happy.” Sasuke wanted to sigh in relief because those tears had always been a sign that he had hurt her, but this time she was happy. She brought his mouth back to hers, not wanting it to be over, and Sasuke let her lead for just a moment. He forced himself to pull back despite the fire rising in his stomach.  

“Maybe we should discuss—” he began, anxiety creeping into his heart about what she was thinking, but Sakura’s brightly lit face, that growing smile that spread to her eyes, stopped him.

The laugh that came from Sakura sounded so sweet that Sasuke couldn’t help but blushing. “You want to talk?” And she was right, Sasuke was a terrible talker. But when it came to this choice, he wanted to make sure they were on the same page—would be on the same page always. Sasuke and Sakura both knew Sakura would be making a lot of sacrifices by accepting this relationship between them. The least he could do was attempt to communicate his concerns, clarify their steps, ask questions and more. He couldn’t afford to be reckless, not with her.

“Sasuke,” Sakura whispered, leaning forward into him. He stiffened instinctually at her nearness but softened when her arms wound softly around his neck in a tearful hug. He accepted the embrace. “Thank you,” she whispered again, “for giving us a chance. I promise I’ll do everything to make you happy.”

He buried his face into her shoulder, his heart simultaneously full and broken by those familiar words. And for a moment, Sasuke forgot all his previous reasons and wondered why he had waited all of this time. If he had only held her sooner. “Thank you,” he repeated, as she pulled back to look at him “for everything.”

Sasuke decided not to waste any more time or words. They would find time to talk about this later. And for a second time, they came together hesitantly, each finding one another’s lips with their own in the growing darkness of a moonless night. Sasuke didn’t retreat again when she whispered his name against his own mouth. Just as much as he wanted to convince Sakura that he meant this, he also wanted to convince himself that this wasn’t a reckless mistake he was making. Brazenly, even foolishly, he wanted to commit to it.

And then a knock came at the door. And they both practically flew away from each other to opposite sides of the room.

A smooth and uncomfortably familiar voice had both ninja blushing. “Just letting the two of you know that me…and Naruto… will arrive first thing in the morning. The Kazekage requested a meeting a couple days ago and we were supposed to be there tonight, but as always, I will most likely be late. Thought it would be proper to give you two a heads up.”

There was an audible poof as the clone of their former sensei evaporated just beyond the door.

Sakura raised her hand to cover her mouth, touch her lips, and gasp. Sasuke blushed and turned his back to her, contorting all emotions back into his controlled mask, embarrassed not only to be caught in such an act, but to have allowed them to be snuck up on by that old pervert of a ninja. And another thing, Kakashi hadn’t even made the slightest effort in disguising his intentional warning. Even Sakura knew it. How did Kakashi guess that such a thing might be occurring between them if Sasuke, himself, hadn’t planned for it to happen until just moments ago?

“How is he late,” Sakura started to grin sheepishly, “if his clone made it here at the designated time?”

Sasuke quickly glanced around at their location, noting the clothes on the floor, the shared room, themselvesacting appropriately guilty. Sasuke didn’t state the obvious: The Sixth Hokage was stalling for them so they could do some rearranging. To keep Naruto in the dark for now.

Sasuke walked quickly to the door, opened it, and scanned down the deserted hallway. There was nobody there. The Uchiha contemplated his next move. Should he leave? Go into Kaguya’s dimensions and wait until tomorrow? Perhaps he should meet the Hokage and Naruto halfway, that way he and Sakura weren’t seen together. Or should he toss all concern to the wind and just tell Naruto the truth? His former teammate had as much said they should be together, right? He had wished Sasuke that happiness verbally several weeks ago. Then why was this such a big deal?

Two soft hands rested on the top of Sasuke’s shoulders. “You’re overthinking this, aren’t you?” Sakura asked, leading Sasuke back away from the door and towards his bed. “We are what we have always been, Sasuke. Friends on a mission together.”

Sasuke scoffed at her lack of worry about Naruto—and through Naruto—the whole Leaf Village finding out about this.

He sat as she pressed down the front of his shoulders, gesturing for him to relax. “You’re not going anywhere tonight, so there’s no use in worrying. Focus on resting and regaining your strength.”

“Sakura—”

“Rest,” she shook her head. “Doctor’s orders.”

She retreated to her own sleeping spot without another word, settling down to rest. But Sasuke was certain she spent the rest of her night thinking about them, about the kissing and confessions, just as he did.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sakura had indeed spent the majority of the night in typical giddy fashion, replaying every second that she had only ever held in her desperate dreams. It had finally happened: them. Sasuke had chosen them. Sakura wasn’t foolish enough to allow her fantasies to run away with the images of a home that they shared, a family that they raised, the friends that surrounded them as they grew old together. Sakura knew exactly what would come as a result of their choice: a lonely and longing road. And Sakura was okay with that road because it was Sasuke and the world needed him. With her back to the Uchiha across the room, she touched her lips once more and felt the smile beneath her fingers. Eventually, she focused her chakra on her heart rate and induced her own slumber.

A few hours before sunrise, Sakura’s internal clock awakened her. She was far too conditioned by the relentless routine of the hospital back in Konoha to trick her body into sleeping longer, even after it still bore the extra lethargy of yesterday’s events. Her left hand was still stiff and sore from the damage to her tissue, and she instinctively channeled her chakra to it, keeping a consistent stream traveling to the limb until it healed completely. Sakura was relieved that she had this healing ability because the type of destruction done to her skin would be irreversible for others.  As she readied herself, wrapping the hand delicately in thick bandage, she snuck a shy glimpse over in the sleeping Uchiha’s direction.

Sasuke slept soundly, a possibility that she thought would not likely happen due to his constant tossing and turning of wakefulness. At least one of them was now getting some decent sleep. It was still too early to wake him, but Sakura had been reprimanded more than once now for taking advantage of his sleep to pursue other matters. Retrieving a small blank scroll from one of the many shelves in the room, Sakura wrote the sign for “hospital” on the inner flap. She placed it visibly on her bed before quietly slipping from the room. He needed rest, and she wasn’t going to wake him.

When she arrived at the hospital, all of her overnight patients were still fast asleep. A blurry eyed medic greeted her warmly, expressing thankfulness for Sakura’s safety as well as her shock about Hisa and Mako. Sakura exchanged pleasantries, not too keen to talk about the topic of either of those two traitors. Her mind wandered to someone else, a child she desperately wanted to see.

When Sakura reached Isao’s mental health ward, she gently peeked through the crack. To her surprise, Isao was wide awake, sitting cross-legged in the dark of his room. “Miss Haruno?!” he whispered loudly, immediately recognizing her.

“Isao,” Sakura questioned as she stepped through the door, “Did your night terrors keep you from sleeping again? Did you not take your medicine?”

But the child didn’t answer her. Instead, he bolted off the bed and grabbed her around the waist. He cried into her stomach, sobs shaking his injured body. “I thought you might be dead!” he whimpered, “I thought you were gone…like her, like my mom.”

Sakura fell to her knees and embraced the child carefully, cursing herself for not checking in on him sooner despite Kankuro’s assurances. With her trained medical eye, Sakura immediately noticed the thick bandages that encompassed his ribs. She didn’t realize that Sasuke was the only one she needed to reassure about her position in the world. “You don’t have to worry about me, Isao. Nothing can take me away from this life. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You promise?” he wailed, his voice muffled in the space between Sakura’s shoulder and neck.  

“Yes,” she assured, holding him out at arm’s length to assess him more carefully. Besides a wound to his arm and a broken rib or two, it seemed he was going to be all right. “You should be proud of yourself,” Sakura lifted his chin. “You fought by my side. You made it back. You did it with injuries, too. I think you have what it takes to be a great ninja.”

“Really?” he asked, wiping the streams of liquid from his eyes.

“Yes,” she assured him. “And I have great news.”

He smiled up at her in excited anticipation. “What news?”

“My friends are on their way. They’ll escort you back to the Leaf Village.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

After Sakura rewrote the two letters addressed to the Kazekage and Hokage that Mako had confiscated after drugging her, Sakura made her way towards the Kazekage’s central tower. The sun began to rise in the east, mixing with the night to create that beautiful ombre sunrise of orange-blue-pink that belonged to this desert. In her current state of high spirits, Sakura thought that maybe the sun had gotten closer, warming the day and her skin like the sunrays after a long and laborious winter. But she knew it wasn’t really the sun approaching closer and closer every day, but instead, it was a person who had finally reached the season of spring in his life and opened his heart to a summer. Sakura beamed and took a moment to appreciate this monumental sunrise.

“SAKURA-CHAN!”

It was also special because it was the sunrise that would accompany the rest of Team 7’s arrival.

Sakura turned to see the orange and black-clad figure of that heartwarming voice barreling towards her, a grin that occupied half of his face, and a hand that waved back and forth. He ran and ran until he was just before her, leaning forward over his knees. Sakura had developed a habit of hugging her blond friend recently, and she didn’t hesitate to do so again this time, squeezing him so tightly that her blond shinobi’s face turned blue from her super-human strength of a hug.

“I’m—so glad—to see that—you’re safe! Can’t—breathe, Sakura…” Naruto choked out.

Sakura couldn’t help herself. Pinpricks of tears accompanied her smile. She had loved her time traveling with Sasuke, but apart from Sasuke, Naruto was one of the only people in this world that made her feel like home away from home, and she had missed him. And then Kakashi was there, raising his own familiar “yo” hand sign, dragging along an equally disinterested Shikamaru, whose attitude was the complete opposite than it was when Tamari usually led him through the adobe buildings of Suna.

After releasing Naruto, Kakashi was there placing a compassionate hand on her shoulder, a gesture that he used to do regularly when she was a Genin. “I’m proud of you.”

And those words meant the entire world.

“Gaara!” Naruto yelled to the person who had come up behind her. “Long time no see!”

And the warm expression that the Kazekage returned to his friend from another village, revealed to Sakura that Naruto was that person for others, too.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kakashi had had a rather amusing night, devising a plan to keep both Shikamaru and Naruto delayed in their journey. All it took was a stall in the form of a competition, which was really simple to do actually. Kakashi had jokingly remarked that out of the three of them, he could outsleep both lazy ninja because he, of course, was the Hokage and the laziest among the three. The rules were simple: During their hour break of rest, Kakashi would summon a clone to supervise them while they rested, monitoring who would naturally wake up first. Naruto yelled “you’re on!” and ran 10 miles at his highest speed to tire himself out enough that he would sleep soundly through the hour. Whether or not Shikamaru was smart enough to see through Kakashi’s plan, he didn’t argue, lounging backward in the sand on the border of the Country of Wind, and crossing an arm lazily over his eyes. If Kakashi had a large sum of money, he would make a bet here and now that Shikamaru would win this.

After his two counterparts were open mouthed, and drool bubbling, Kakashi sent away his clone with a head nod. It disappeared into the setting sun toward the Sand Village. Then Kakashi waited, enjoying a night of stars while reading his beloved Icha Icha Paradise by firelight. This was more like it, he thought to himself, glad to be unburdened by the demanding lifestyle of the Hokage.

When Gaara had requested a meeting via carrier bird, Kakashi’s brow had furrowed at first to learn about Sakura’s situation, along with the enemy she and Sasuke had encountered on their journey. The Kazekage requested that he or someone close to him report to Sunagakure. And then Kakashi had pinched his chin in careful thought as he admired the surmounting pile of paperwork on his desk.

“Want to go on a trip?” he had asked Shikamaru, who nodded off at his position.

“Not really,” Shikamaru responded disinterestedly.

Kakashi baited, “I guess I could take Naruto with me to meet with the Kazekage, instead.”

“The Kazekage?” he probed, “A trip to Sunagakure?”

“Yes,” he stretched, unfurling the scroll he received from Gaara, so that Shikamaru could take a better look from afar. “It seems there are some foreign shinobi causing problems for Sakura.”

“Hmmm…” Shikamaru pondered, coming to read the offered scroll over Kakashi’s shoulder. “It’ll be a drag, but I guess I can go. Don’t want anything to happen to Sakura.”

Mhm, Kakashi thought to himself. Because of Sakura. That wasn’t the kunoichi on Shikamaru’s mind. Kakashi realized suddenly that he was too involved in all the lives of this young generation. How did he always find himself knowing too much?

“Then it’s settled,” Kakashi nodded, snapping the scroll back into it’s rolled-up position.

And then the door of his office was practically kicked through. “I’m still going,” Naruto announced, startling both Kakashi and Shikamaru as he announced his obvious eavesdropping.

“If Sakura is in danger, then I’d better be there.”

And that’s how Kakashi ended up with two knuckleheads on a week vacation to the Sand Village. And then Kakashi’s logical next thought had been of the other two members of Team 7. He had been ecstatic when he learned that Sakura had temporarily accompanied the Uchiha on his life-long mission and that Sasuke had let her. Years of reading Makeout Tactics informed Kakashi of what was to become between the pair, a natural progression of suppressed feelings over the course of many years. Most of the time, there was only one outcome if a male and female shinobi embarked on a long journey together. Sending the clone was a precaution, just in case his suspicions were correct, and their unexpected drop-in might cause a stir.

But Kakashi had never expected to walk in on that…When the clone disappeared and the events that his clone just witnessed dropped into his memory, Kakashi laughed quietly to himself under the stars. He grinned up at those same luminaries for a moment, grateful that both of his ninja pupils had finally navigated their way to one another through the murk of life and had decided to take on that life together. Sasuke had finally, finally let her in, and the knowledge felt like the Uchiha had come home again.

Well done, Sakura. Naruto may have brought him home, but what you have done, is shown him a path to his own special happiness.

The Sixth Hokage had lounged back into the grass, placing his open book over his eyes. He didn’t wake Shikamaru and Naruto, when the hour expired, after all. And to his surprise, when the other two ninja woke him the next morning, Kakashi had won the competition.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sasuke stepped out of his portal just in front of the Kazekage’s building, anticipating the cringey reception he would receive from Kakashi and Naruto once he reached Gaara’s office. He took his time climbing the steps. When he entered the room, the Uchiha quietly leaned back against the far wall to avoid interrupting the conversation that was already occurring.

“Essentially, we are asking for the Leaf’s cooperation with us as we search Tanigakure for the enemy’s whereabouts,” The Kazekage announced from behind his desk. “It is a territory between our villages, and it would be best if both village personnel were present during searches, so it seems more diplomatic to the citizens of Tanigakure.”

The white-haired ninja nodded, Naruto voicing his sensei’s unspoken response. “Of course, The Leaf will work with you Gaara. Isn’t that right Kakashi-sensei?!”

Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “Can’t you at least call me ‘Lord Hokage’ when we are on official business?”

Naruto ignored him and announced. “If they’re going after Sakura, then of course we will help. I’ll go find them myself!”

Sasuke shook his head in withdrawn amusement at his teammate’s old habits of needing to be the center of attention in literally every setting. Sasuke’s eyes also found Sakura, who stood at the front of the party, tapping her foot impatiently. She clutched two letters to her chest and Sasuke sensed that she was waiting for an opportunity to interject, little to no concern about this topic. Sasuke smirked. She couldn’t care less about some target on her back by shinobi that belonged to the same group she had already gone head-to-head with.  

“If they can’t be found,” a spikey ponytailed ninja remarked, and Sasuke quickly identified his childhood classmate, Shikamaru. “Then wouldn’t it be better to draw them out? They are after Sakura after all. We could just wait for them to strike again.”

Sasuke frowned. He didn’t like that idea. Shikamaru had never been one of Sasuke’s favorites, and the Uchiha liked him considerably less whenever he made suggestions about using his friends as bait. Genius he may be, but Sasuke didn’t have to like him or his ideas.

“I’m sure we can think of something…” Kakashi thought out loud, drawing the eyes of the room in his direction.

“While you’re thinking about it,” Sakura finally spoke, handing both Kakashi and Gaara each one of the letters she held. “I would like to request both of your considerations regarding a matter concerning a young boy here in Sunagakure. He’s been through a lot, and he expresses interest toward starting anew in the Leaf Village.”

Kakashi and Gaara both surveyed the letters in their hands, and Sasuke could see even from where he stood that the reports were extensively detailed. Once again, Sasuke found himself admiring his teammate’s professional persona who seemed like a different person altogether.

“He has expressed the desire to train as a shinobi, but I also want him to continue treatment at the Children’s health clinic in Konoha. I am requesting that he be released by Sunagakure into Konoha’s care until the child decides he’s ready to return.”

“I’ll talk with my council, but I approve as long as the Leaf is willing,” Gaara agreed, glancing over at Kakashi to assess his reaction.

“Of course, that’s okay,” said Kakashi, beaming over at Sakura. “However, some people in the Leaf might harbor negative sentiments toward the youth for various, equally ridiculous reasons. He might be accused of things like being a spy, might be shunned, and more. Can he handle situations like this?”

Sasuke watched Sakura carefully weigh Kakashi’s words. There was a shadow of worry that crossed her face for just a second and then Naruto was elbowing her. “I’ll keep an eye on him!”

“How can you be in Tanigakure looking for Sakura’s aggressors and be in Konoha to…” Shikamaru began but then trailed off as he held everyone’s dumbfounded gazes, “…never mind. I’m not on my game today. I’m obviously overworked.” They all let out a laugh because everyone knew exactly how Naruto would do it with his infamous shadow clone jutsu.

“I’m certain Isao will be okay, but any time you can spare him, would be great, Naruto. Being around you would do him some good,” Sakura said and everyone around the room nodded in agreement. Even Sasuke agreed silently to himself in the back. Being around Naruto had changed each and every person in this room, including himself.

“He can travel back with us when we leave,” Kakashi announced, and Sakura grinned in success.

Gaara quickly changed the topic back to the most pressing matter at hand. “We have Sakura’s assailants in custody. I’d like all your personal evaluations of them as shinobi.”

Everyone in the room nodded, and the Kazekage turned to Kankuro. “Take them to the prison. Sakura, if you don’t mind, I’d like to discuss something with you in more detail.” Sasuke’s ears pricked at the mention of her staying behind. But his rational self reasoned that it was likely just to talk about the events of yesterday.

“Uchiha can further explain who they are while Sakura and I finish up, right Sasuke?” Gaara asked toward Sasuke’s direction without even looking up from the paperwork on his desk, both revealing Sasuke’s presence to his fellow Leaf-shinobi and volunteering him to work. Annoying sand guy.

Of course, they all spun at the mention of his name, locating him against the far wall. He didn’t wave or smile, but just crossed his arms in typical Uchiha fashion.

While Naruto was practically leaping toward him, shouting “There you are Sasuke!” Sasuke couldn’t help but catch Sakura’s eye and the Uchiha stiffened at the obvious embarrassment that flashed across her face for the briefest of seconds before she shyly looked away. And even when his loser of a best friend was wrapping his arm around Sasuke’s neck in an annoying way of showing affection, Sasuke didn’t miss the fact that Kakashi also noticed Sakura’s display, and Sasuke caught his sensei’s knowing expression as the Hokage looked back and forth between the two with one smiling eye. Sasuke sighed. They were screwed.

.

.

.

#sasusaku #ssfanfiction #ss fanfiction #sasusakufanfiction #naruto fanfiction #approachingsun #approaching sun #sasuke and sakura #Sakura Haruno #sasukeshinden #sakura hiden #Sasuke Uchiha #sakura uchiha #sakura #sasusakumonth

[prince-rowan-of-the-forest]

Crown Princes and Butterfly Wings (12/?)

Chapter 11 : Festival Dance

—-

Roman and Virgil drank some of the faerie wine, they're having a great time at the festival, but what questions will arise when it's time for the group to travel on from Miera?

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@cutebisexualmess :)

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TWs for this chapter

-Drunk characters (nothing bad happens)

-Hangovers :)

Otherwise, enjoy reading! I really like this chapter, and next time we get to Lymaine, which... we've been trying to get to since chapter four...

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Roman was dizzy.

Dizzy and bright and he felt like he was flying even though his wings were still hidden.

He felt like he was full of bubbles and clouds and light, warm and safe and happy. He was giggling and laughing so freely, spinning and moving in circles round and round whilst he held on tight to Virgil.

And there was Virgil smiling up at him, his lovely purple hair blowing in the wind, lit up by the bonfire, Virgil’s who’s steps were so nimble and precise despite how they must be just as intoxicated by the dancing and the wine as Roman. Virgil whose arm was hooked around his own as they spun around each other. They split for a moment, spinning to swap partners, but Virgil found him again after just a moment apart.

Neither of them knew the dance, the steps, they surely weren’t doing this properly, but it was easy to pick up, the beat of the music guided them into stomping their feet and twirling and spinning, it was easy and free, nothing like the stiff dances at the royal galas and parties, nothing like the waltzes in ballrooms. This was a revel, a fae dance, and it was just as wonderful as Patton had said it would be. 

When finally they spun together out of the circle both of them were dizzy and out of breath, exhausted in a way that felt so, so good. Virgil leaned into him, burying their face in Roman’s shoulder as they both tried to catch their breaths. Roman wrapped an arm around him, giggling helplessly as Virgil’s wings rustled in response. 

“That wine was a mistake,” Virgil grumbled into Roman’s shoulder, who threw his head back and laughed, maybe Virgil was right. Logan would definitely have advised against them drinking the fae wine if he had been there, but he hadn’t and the wine had tasted like strawberries and autumn flowers, it had made him feel like he was free and floating and so very safe. 

But it was true that Roman wouldn’t be acting like this without it, and he doubted Virgil would either. It didn’t matter to him right now, though, as he nuzzled Virgil’s hair with his nose, making him squeak. 

“Roman!” Virgil giggled, swatting at him with a hand without moving his face from Roman’s shoulder, “Stop it.”

“Never!” Roman cried, “I will never stop!”

Virgil kept giggling, softly whacking his chest repeatedly until Roman grabbed his hand to stop him.

“Come on,” Roman said as they heard a bell chime somewhere in the distance, “It’s midnight, the others’ll be waiting for us.”

“Oh who cares,” Virgil groaned, “We should stay here, no walking!”

“C’mon Virgil,” Roman said, squeezing their hand, “We gotta go-,”

“Not being left again.” Virgil huffed, gripping onto Roman tighter, he knew he’d drunk less wine than Virgil, he also seemed to be a little more immune to it - considering Virgil was entirely loopy at the moment - “Stay.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Roman reassured, “Well, not without you, I won’t leave you.”

“Good, so we’re staying here.” Virgil said.

“No- no!” Roman cried, “We have to find Patton and Logan, remember? We agreed to meet them.”

“Don’t want to, though,” Virgil huffed, knocking his head against Roman’s chin.

“I could carry you, if you don’t want to walk?” Roman offered, because they really did need to find the others before they started to get worried. Logan especially would begin freaking out if they didn’t arrive at the meeting spot when they had agreed.

Virgil seemed to consider his offer for a moment, before nodding slowly and letting him go. He turned, crouching down so that Virgil could jump up onto his back, which he did after looping his arms around Roman’s neck, leaning heavily against his back as Roman picked him up.

“Alright,” Roman said, taking a deep breath to steady himself, Virgil was far lighter than he had expected, but it was still a task to carry someone on your back in such a way. “Which way was the wagon?”

“Dunno,” Virgil mumbled into the back of Roman’s neck, he sounded half asleep already and Roman was more than certainly blushing.

“Thank you, Virgil,” Roman sighed, “For being so incredibly helpful.”

“Y’r welcome.” Virgil mumbled, Roman sighed and started walking.

As he searched for their meeting place, Roman couldn’t help but think about tonight. Neither he nor Virgil were acting like their normal selves, and he was fairly certain that was the wine more than anything else. Soon after they had drank it Virgil had become incredibly affectionate and Roman couldn’t help how he found it so cute to see. The dancing had been brilliant, even more so doing it with Virgil, just like the rest of the festival. Now they were both tired, if Virgil being half asleep on his back and his own aching feet was anything to go by, he was certain he would sleep well tonight. 

—-

When Roman finally found the wagon half an hour later he quickly realised he needn’t have been worried about Logan and Patton missing him and Virgil because they seemed to be quite happy occupying the time together now that they had seemingly come to their senses about their feelings.

At least Roman hoped they’d discussed it before making out in front of half the population of Miera. 

Roman decided he’d get a snack from the wagon, because watching them felt far too invasive and interrupting them felt just as rude, so he’d gently nudged Virgil awake and bought them both something to eat. 

By the time they had finished eating, Roman decided there was nothing else to do but interrupt their… to be honest, Roman wasn’t exactly sure what to call what his friends were doing.

He was slightly worried now that they were going to be worse now that they’d talked about it than when they had been pining, actually.

“So,” Roman said, shifting the once again half asleep Virgil on his back. Logan and Patton sprung apart as though they had been burned, “I take it you two talked about your feelings?”

“What- what time is it?” Logan asked, a blatant redirection that was as good as a yes in Roman’s experience, especially paired with Patton’s giggling. Both of their faces were flushed and Logan’s stars were glowing brighter than Roman thought possible.

“Almost one in the morning.” Roman answered, “Virgil and I got food whilst you two were… busy.”

“I- see,” Logan said, looking more and more embarrassed by the second. Patton smiled and grabbed his hands. 

“It’s ok!” Patton said, “No-one’s expecting us to be back at a certain time, so we can just walk back now! Are uh- are you good carrying Virgil there kiddo?”

“Perfectly fine,” Roman nodded, “They're light as a feather really, and half asleep, the wine hit them hard.”

“You two drank the wine?” Logan asked, glaring at him.

“Not much,” Roman waved him off, “And it’s basically worn off for me now, Virgil drank more though, which is why he’s like this, I think.”

“It’s also highly likely that Virgil hasn’t had alcohol before.” Logan reminded him, “Let alone fae drinks, he’s going to be in pain tomorrow morning.”

Roman rolled his eyes, “It’s fine, we’re not leaving tomorrow anyway, you wanted to do your reconnaissance, so he can recover.”

“Oh good,” Logan said, “And you’ll be there to nurse him back to health, I’m sure.”

“Of course,” Roman nodded with a smile, Logan just rolled his eyes, “We should get going, though, I’m exhausted.”

“I saw you dancing,” Patton said as they began to walk, “Did you enjoy it?”

“It was wondrous!” Roman said, smiling widely at the memories, “I’ve really never experienced anything quite like it.”

“Told you,” Patton said, shooting him a grin before sidestepping to reach for Logan’s hand. Logan took it, twining their fingers together. Yes, Roman thought, it would definitely be worse now they were actually aware of themselves. 

At least he’d won his bet with Virigl.

—-

Logan had been right, of course. Roman woke up with a minor headache, just a little annoying and really nothing he couldn’t manage. Virgil, however, had woken up and immediately pulled a pillow over their face, murmuring something about the light being too bright despite it being a fairly dark morning. 

Dot and Larry had allowed the four of them to camp out in the family room. They had no spare bedrooms, Remy and Eliott already shared and Missy- Patton’s younger sister- had moved into Patton’s old room since he’d left. When they returned the night before they found that Dot had pulled all the blankets and cushions the family seemed to have into the family room and left them to their own devices. 

They’d let Virgil have the sofa (because of his inevitable impending suffering) and Roman had taken the spot on the floor right next to it, curled up amongst a blanket and pillow hoard. Patton and Logan had been sound of mind enough to actually collect their bedrolls from their packs and lay them out over the rug before the fireplace before gathering any blankets Roman hadn’t stolen for his pile for extra comfort. 

Roman had slept far better that night than he had in a long while now. 

True to his word Roman stayed in the house and looked after Virgil all morning while Logan and Patton went out to visit the village library for the day. He’d brought his fellow prince water and food, closed the curtains in the living room to make sure it was dark and sat with him and listened to his seemingly endless number of complaints about how awfully horrible life was at the moment without laughing once, which he would count as fairly impressive, actually.

They didn’t return to the festival again that night, though it was still going on. It had been an easy decision to make, they needed to move on to Lymaine tomorrow and they couldn’t risk being so utterly exhausted as they had been this morning. Instead Dot had cooked them a feast and Roman, Logan and Virgil had eaten with the family as though they had always been part of it. 

When they left the next day, Roman promised to return next year, already upset he would be leaving. Larry nudged his arm and told him that the spring revels hosted by the fae in the neighbouring forests were just as much a must attend as the autumn festivals hosted in the village, if they needed an excuse to return sooner.

Back on the road again, it should only take them about three more days to get to Lymane at the pace they were going. Logan and Patton’s trip to the Miera Library had actually proven useful (unlike all their other library excursions) and they’d managed to find a spell that Logan could potentially alter slightly to work for tracking. 

Unfortunately they needed magical ingredients that Miera had not been able to supply them, so they would have to wait to reach Lymaine until they could even think about preforming the spell itself. Nevertheless Roman still felt that spark of joy shoot through him at the idea that they were finally one step closer to finding his brother instead of constantly falling behind at every turn. But with that joy also came a stabbing sense of panic, because that really did bring back the question he had almost forgotten about.

What would they do when they found him?

Of course, Roman had a duty to his fathers, the Kings, and his kingdom to bring his brother home, they needed their crown prince. Then again, he also had a duty to his brother, his twin nonetheless, who wanted nothing less than to go back and be dressed up in the stuffy clothes he didn’t like and forced to rule a kingdom he knew hated him. Roman didn’t want that for Remus, duty be damned.

But they were going to find him eventually, they had to, and what on earth were they supposed to do when they did?

“You look like you’re worried,” Virgil said to him, interrupting his mental spiral, Roman looked over at Virgil, taller than him by just a few inches and yet Roman had still never seen his eyes. Roman sighed, glancing back to Patton and Logan, walking far enough ahead of them to be out of earshot so long as he spoke quietly. 

“It’s- well,” Roman huffed, “I suppose I am worried.”

“About?” Virgil asked, nudging his arm a little with their own. 

“Just… we’re closer to finding Remus now than we have been this whole journey, now that Logan’s found that spell,” Roman said, “And I suppose I’m just- worried about what might happen when we find him.”

“Surely you’ll bring him home and everything will be fine again, won’t it?” Virgil said, frowning, Roman groaned.

“That’s just it, he left because he doesn’t want to come home, and I don’t want to have to force him,” Roman covered his face with his hands, “He was so unhappy, Virgil, as Crown Prince, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it, and- not to mention that I don’t want to have to leave behind you and Patton when we go back, I don’t want you to have to go back to your own kingdom- I know how much you hate the idea- and I don’t want Patton to have to leave Logan, it’s all just… a lot.”

Virgil didn't say anything for a moment, before he sighed and put a hand on Roman's arm, "That is a lot, and- to be honest, not something you need to worry about right now." 

Roman looked at him for a long moment, "I don't- it’s just that- well I love being a Prince, I care so much about my dads and my people and my kingdom, but- I also care about my brother and you and Patton and Logan and this time we've spent travelling and I just- I don't think I can face giving one up for the other." 

“You won’t,” Virgil said, his hand now gripping Roman’s arm in a way that sent warm sparks flowing through him, already he felt as though he was relaxing, “You won’t because I don’t think I could lose you three either and I highly doubt Logan is about to give Patton up, we’ll find a way, I think that we will have to.”

“Thank you, Virgil,” Roman said, hoping his sincerity would show through in his voice, because he really did feel so much better now.

“And hey, if it makes you feel better,” Virgil smirked, “I’m technically higher ranking than you, so you’re never getting rid of me, at the least.”

Roman chuckled as Virgil hooked his arm around Roman’s properly as if to emphasise his point. 

“Think about it later,” Roman said, mostly to himself, Virgil nodded with a smile.

“Yeah, think about it later.”

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#sanders sides #sanders sides fanfiction #tss fanfic #roman sanders #prinxiety #catboy virgil sanders #logicality #logan sanders #patton sanders

[im-no-jedi]

MLWTBB: First Time For Everything

aka the (continued) journey into my self insert nonsense✨

chapter summary: the eventful night is over, and Hannah and Hunter are ready to go home, but neither of them are finished confessing to each other quite yet...

notes: this is a continuation of my story, “My Life With The Bad Batch”; I highly recommend reading that first before this one! I created a few new planets for this story. I’m also not 100% versed in SW terminology, so forgive me if some things are labeled incorrectly! each chapter will be rated accordingly, as opposed to the overall fic. lastly, there is romance in this story. hope you enjoy! 💙

add. notes: this chapter was edited and proofread by my sis @jam-n-ham! thanks sis!! 😋💙

closing message: and here we are, the end of yet another long, multi-chapter fic. it was a huge deal for me when I finished MLWTBB earlier this year, and although I said I planned on continuing the series, I honestly was unsure if I would make it this far. but I did! and I have a LOT more to come! so thank you everyone who took time to read this (as well as all of my other stories!), and I hope you all look forward to the further adventures of me and TBB! 💙💙💙

Chapter 19 (Final), 3200+ words, rated T (mostly just for smooching and a smidge of suggestive things 😋)

previous chapters: Prologue - Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 - Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18

✨MLWTBB masterlist✨

______________________________________________________________

The walk back to Hannah’s apartment wasn’t going to be quick, by any means. Even if there had been no threat of danger, it was still quite a distance between the watchtower and the apartment building. It was already quite late as well, and Hannah had definitely begun feeling the effects of physically exerting herself for most of the night. But as to be expected, Hunter took the lead and held Hannah by the hand, guiding her back through the dark streets of Ord Mantell with an air of caution and care.

Unsurprisingly, the trip was quiet for the most part. Even if they didn’t both enjoy the silence so much, Hannah’s fatigue made her even less talkative than normal. They didn’t go entirely without speaking to each other though. Hannah still had some questions she wanted answered.

“So, be honest,” Hannah began. “What was the first thing that attracted you to me? Physical or not, doesn’t matter, just the first thing that, like, made your heart flutter or whatever.”

“Oh man,” Hunter replied, scratching the back of his neck. “Uhh... probably your smile, I think.”

“Aww, really?”

“Yeah, you have a cute smile. And believe it or not, as sensitive as I am to sound, I really love hearin’ you laugh.”

Almost like she wanted to prove it, Hannah broke out into a fit of laughter. She covered her mouth to soften the loudness of it, but like usual, her laugh was almost too much to muffle.

“Dare I ask what part of me you were most attracted to first?” Hunter asked once Hannah’s laughter had died down.

“Oh gosh, I mean, I was pretty smitten with you right away. Even through the armor. Your body is... fantastic.” Hannah bit her lip and ran a hand along the back of Hunter’s shoulders, causing him to shiver a bit. “But also, like... you are stupidly handsome, dude. Tattoo or not.”

A flustered blush broke out on Hunter’s face and he cleared his throat. “You think so, huh?”

“Oh absolutely. I’m genuinely shocked you haven’t had girls flocking to you up until now.”

Hunter looked torn. Clearly, he wasn’t used to hearing such things. “Well, lucky you, I guess.”

There was no way he could fully hide anything from Hannah anymore, and her eyes squinted a bit as she studied Hunter’s face. “You don’t believe me, do you? Or should I say, you don’t agree with me?”  

“I mean... not really,” Hunter replied with a shrug.

Hannah scoffed. “And you get on my case all the time about disliking my own appearance?”

“Hey, isn’t it a good thing that we find each other attractive? Can’t that be enough?” Hunter’s tone was borderline irritated, and it both saddened and frustrated Hannah to hear.

A moment of silence went by before Hannah said anything else. “Have you always thought that way about yourself? Or was it because... others told you that?”

Hunter kept his face turned away from her as he spoke. “Bit of both, I guess... I try to not let other’s opinions of me affect me too much, but... I dunno, it’s a bit harder hearin’ it when you’re a kid...”

Immediately, Hannah wrapped her arms around Hunter’s waist and snuggled her face into his shoulder. “I’m sorry, babe...”

Hunter said nothing and just wrapped an arm around her, keeping her close as they continued to walk.

After another short period of silence, Hannah asked if she could ask another question. Hunter didn’t mind at all; he was still happy to answer her questions.

“Alright, so...” Hannah sighed and laughed a bit. “I’m probably the most curious about this above everything else. But it’s ok if you don’t have an answer for it.”

Now Hunter was genuinely curious to know what the question was.

“Do you... do you remember... or do you know in general...” Hannah sighed again. “Sorry, lemme start over. Do you know... hmm... no...” She cleared her throat. “What... what was the moment where you... where you knew... you know?”

Hunter had been holding back a snicker and finally let it out. “I don’t... Knew what?”

Redness began to show on Hannah’s cheeks, and she bit her lip in contemplation while looking down at the ground. “You know... when you fell in love with me?”

Hunter’s face immediately softened. “Oh... umm...” He went quiet for a moment to ponder the question. “I think I do, yeah. It was a while ago, actually.”

“Yeah?” Hannah’s face lit up. “Me too.”

“Oh yeah? How long?”

Hannah chuckled a bit out of embarrassment. “Since... Volruna...”

Hunter’s eyes went wide. “Really?”

“Yeah...”

“Oh... well... me too.”

Now Hannah’s eyes went wide. “Oh my gosh, seriously?”

“Thinkin’ about it... yeah. I’ve been in love with you since Volruna.”

If Hannah’s heart could’ve burst out of her chest, it would have. She clutched Hunter’s hand to her chest and looked at him adoringly. “I’ve loved you since Volruna too...”

For a moment, they just stared at each other lovingly, with Hannah keeping Hunter’s hand close to her chest. He could feel her heartbeat and it gave him a sense of calm he’d never experienced before.

“What was the moment?” Hannah eventually asked. “The moment where... you just knew.”

Hunter took in a breath through his nose and thought for a moment. “The Prism Palace... it was at the Prism Palace.”

Hannah blinked in surprise. “Really? Oh... was it when I gave you that little...” She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the side of his mouth, and he chuckled.

“No, but that was nice, thanks.” Hunter gave Hannah a little squeeze, which made her giggle. “Nah, it was... it was right before that actually.”

Now Hannah was even more curious and watched Hunter intently as he spoke.

“Everything that had happened up until then was... a lot. I wasn’t even sure exactly how I felt about you. I knew I liked you and I was definitely attracted to you. But... there was somethin’ else. Something I’d never felt before. And then when we got to the Prism Palace and you spilled your heart out to me –tellin’ me about your family and all that – I figured it out. I loved you. And you choosin’ to stay so that I could leave... kriff, it broke my heart. I knew after that, I was gonna do whatever it took to keep you safe. To not lose you again.”

Unsurprisingly, Hannah had been brought to tears by his words. She had already figured out the last part a while ago. But hearing him say it out loud, hearing the inflection of pure love in his tone... she could’ve melted. His hand was still clutched between both of hers, and she brought it up to her face to nuzzle into it, placing a few gentle kisses just above his knuckles.

“Well gee, mine’s nowhere near as emotional as that,” Hannah eventually joked with a chuckle.

“That’s fine,” Hunter reassured her. “Wait, hang on, lemme try and guess it. Just tell me: was it before or after mine?”

“Before,” Hannah answered, sounding almost ashamed.

The signature thoughtful pose of Hunter clutching the base of his chin reappeared as he pondered the answer. This time, Hannah finally admitted how cute she thought it was, which prompted Hunter to teasingly tell her to not distract him.  

After another moment of thought, Hunter grimaced a bit. “Don’t tell me it was the Loth Cat toy...”

Hannah threw her head back with a hardy laugh. “Why do you hate Grumpy Pants so much? But no, that wasn’t it. You’re close though...”

Hunter’s eyes squinted and he studied her face to try and ascertain the answer from her. “Wait... the sugar sticks?”

Hannah’s lips tightly pursed together. “It was during that moment, yes.”  

A puzzled look crossed Hunter’s face, and it made Hannah giggle.

“Let me just tell you,” Hannah said, letting out a small sigh. “So, it started before we even left together. I had... made this sort of bet with Omega – more like a promise, really. Cause I had gotten a glimpse of your softer side earlier, and I was so determined to see more of it. So, I told Omega that I wasn’t planning on even coming back until I’d gotten a laugh out of you. I knew it was gonna be near impossible, buuuuut I was up for the challenge.” She started laughing as she recalled the moment. “It was so stupid. Possibly the stupidest joke I’ve ever made in my entire life. But I said it, right after we’d gotten those sugar sticks, and well...” The memory made her break out into a fit of giggles. “You let out the most genuine laugh I’ve ever heard. At my stupid little joke. And I guess it touched me enough to realize that... that it wasn’t just a fleeting thing. I had strong feelings for you, and I could finally put a word to it. I was in love with you. And I haven’t questioned that for a single second.”

The touched expression on Hunter’s face spoke volumes. He felt the same way of course, never once questioning his own feelings for her. It made him even more regretful that he’d ever tried to stifle a relationship with Hannah. There was nothing that was going to separate them from that point forward though. Not if he could help it.

Hunter didn’t ponder these thoughts for long, as the context of Hannah’s confession was too silly to ignore. He couldn’t help himself and broke out into a fit of snickers. “I wish I could be more surprised by that, but I’m not. Your sense of humor is so weird; it’s adorable. Just like you.” He pulled Hannah in closer and gave her a big smooch on the side of her face, causing her to break out into giggles again.

“We’re both just a couple of weirdos, trying to make our way through the galaxy,” Hannah joked.

“That’s for sure. With emphasis on the couple now.”

“And don’t you forget it!” Hannah pulled Hunter’s face down to kiss him on the lips, making an audible smacking noise for emphasis.

The rest of the trip was spent recalling some of their favorite memories of each other. Since Hunter was so well-known for keeping an eye on things, it wasn’t surprising that he’d noticed so many things about Hannah. Brief little things that seemed so mundane to her were treasured moments to Hunter. And to his surprise, it was the same way with Hannah towards him. He wasn’t the only one who liked to take note of other people, and all things considered, the fact that she prioritized him so highly shouldn’t have been so surprising. Neither of them liked being in the spotlight for very long, but when it came to each other, the attention was a welcome act.

By the time they made it back to Hannah’s apartment, it was well into the night. The moon was high in the sky and already starting its descent down again. And yet, it still hadn’t felt long enough, and they both regretted having to end their time together. But it wasn’t really an end. If anything, their time together was just getting started.

Unsurprisingly though, Hannah wanted to use any excuse possible to not have to go the long stair-filled journey up to her apartment. “If I have to see one more step today, I’m going to explode,” she lamented.

Lucky for her, her newly acquired lover still had enough energy for both of them and practically dragged her all the way up the stairs. “See? That wasn’t so bad,” Hunter said once they’d made it to the apartment. “Easier than the watchtower, right?”

Hannah looked at him with half-lidded eyes. “Babe, you literally had to carry me up the last flight.”

“And?” Hunter teased as he carefully set Hannah down on her feet again. “Worked out great for me.” He got a playful bop on the arm and snickered.

“So how much you wanna bet they’re still up?” Hannah asked, keeping a hand hovered over the door panel.

“All of ‘em? Nah. Tech, maybe. You know how late he likes to stay up.”

“True... usually not this late though. If any of them are still up, it’s probably Echo. Call it a bestie feeling.”

Their predictions set in place, Hannah motioned for them to be quiet and then finally opened the door. As expected, the room was dark inside except for the small bit of light coming through the open door. The curtains hanging over the back door were slightly cracked, which allowed a sliver of light to cascade into the sitting area. Snoring could easily be heard and was immediately recognized as Wrecker and Tech, who were spotted sleeping on the couch together. Another figure was nearby, sitting up awake and reading a datapad on a pile of pillows made into a makeshift seat.

“Well,” came the instantly recognizable voice of Echo. “Look who finally decided to come back.”

“Told ya,” Hannah smugly said, playfully conking Hunter in the chest.

Echo sat his datapad down and walked over to them as they came further into the room. “So, how was it?” he teasingly asked.

Hannah and Hunter both looked at each other, then back at Echo again.

“Oh, it was terrible,” Hannah blatantly replied.

“The worst,” Hunter added, acting completely serious.

“Absolutely awful.”

“Hated every second of it.”

The unamused face Echo gave them broke Hannah enough to make her sputter and start snickering. “You know what,” Echo said, his tone as unamused as his expression. “It’s probably better that I not know what you two were doing. You can just keep that information to yourselves; I’m good.”

“Oh, come oooon, Echo,” Hannah said with a fake whine. “Don’t you wanna hear in detail about all the times we--”

“Nope!” Echo quickly retorted. “No thank you!”

Hannah began snickering again while covering her mouth to not be too loud. Wrecker stirred a bit in his sleep, which prompted everyone to keep their voices down.

“Well, I’m gonna get some much-needed sleep now,” Echo said in a quieter voice. “You two do whatever you’re gonna do. Just remember there’s other people in the room now.” He was playfully poked by Hannah before going back to his pillow seat, now with the intent of snuggling up into his signature blanket burrito.

“Guess that means it’s time for us to head to bed too,” Hunter said with a sigh.

“Yeah...” Hannah also sighed, but hers morphed into a yawn. “Wish we didn’t have to though.”

“I know...” Hunter grabbed both of Hannah’s hands and held them gently. “Just remember: this wasn’t our last night together. Not by a long shot.”

A soft smile spread on Hannah’s face. She already knew it in her heart, but hearing it out loud was still reassuring.

Per the norm, the two of them took some time to just stare into each other’s eyes and hold hands in silence. If they could’ve stayed that way forever, they would have. But Hannah felt herself physically unable to stay awake for much longer and was the one to eventually break the silence.

“Goodnight, handsome,” she softly said, giving Hunter’s hands a little squeeze.

Hunter ran his thumbs across the back of Hannah’s hands and held them just a bit tighter. “Goodnight... my love.”

The smile on Hannah’s face grew, and within seconds, her lips were on his, giving him a loving and tender kiss. They held the kiss much longer than necessary and were slow to part. Their clasped hands and gazes on each other remained as Hannah slowly walked backwards into her room. The last thing Hannah did was give Hunter an adoring smile before shutting the door for the night.

Hunter let out a wistful sigh once she was gone. He looked down at his own hands, still feeling the warmth of Hannah’s touch on them. They still had her scent as well, and he brought his hands up to his face to take a deep inhale in ecstasy. Even though he was tired, it was probably going to be a bit before he could fall asleep for the night.  

Regardless, he walked over to the sitting area and plopped down on the other makeshift seat of pillows across from Echo. Maybe it was the events of the night that had gotten him so pensive, but Hunter looked between each of his sleeping brothers fondly. He was so grateful for them, and especially grateful that Hannah had welcomed them all in as her own. She truly was everything he’d dreamed of having as a partner. Reaching into one of his pockets, Hunter pulled out the good-luck charm he’d been gifted, and he mindlessly began fiddling with it as he replayed the events of the night in his mind.

Meanwhile, Hannah was having a time of her own in her room. Right after she’d shut the door, she practically collapsed against the wall and let out a long, dreamy sigh. Her hands clasped tightly to her chest and her eyes shut as she reminisced on everything that had happened. She truly felt like the luckiest woman in the whole galaxy and had never been so happy in her entire life.  

Her eyes eventually opened again, and she was met with the sight of a small figure curled up asleep in her bed, surrounded by pillows and plushies. Hannah took a moment to fondly watch her sweet little sister, almost lamenting the fact that she couldn’t gush about the night to her right away.

After changing out of her clothes and into some comfy pajamas, Hannah slowly and carefully crawled into the bed, next to Omega. She tried her best to not wake the little girl, but to no avail as Omega began to stir once Hannah tried to lay down on her pillow. Omega’s eyes slowly blinked open to the sight of Hannah smiling down at her, and immediately she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up.

“You’re back!” Omega exclaimed, prompting Hannah to shush her. In a quieter tone, she began bombarding Hannah with questions. “How was it? Did you have fun? What did you do? Where did you go?” She covered her mouth and let out a small gasp. “Did he kiss you?”

The smile on Hannah’s face spread into a wide, cheesy grin. “Uhh, what do you think, sis?”

Immediately, Omega broke out into a flurry of happy squeals and practically tackled her big sister, causing her to go into her own fit of happy laughter. It was all over after that, as Hannah began going into detail about the night while Omega sat and listened intently.

They had no idea they could be heard from the other room. Even though they weren’t being that loud, Hunter could still hear them through the walls, and a delighted smile never left his face until their voices finally died down, signaling that they’d gone to bed for the night.

The last thing Hunter saw before falling asleep that night was the bouquet of fake flowers Hannah kept on her kitchen counter. From the small amount of light feeding in through the back door, he could see another small object sitting next to the vase: a small cup with a single blue-green flower in it.  

A perfect sight to end a perfect night.

TO BE CONTINUED...

#the bad batch #star wars the bad batch #and that's a wrap!! #wanted the end of this story to be super mushy so here it is LOL #I'm SO relieved it's done OMG #finally I don't have to feel weird making OTP art anymore ROFL #star warz #my storiez

[moonstrider9904]

The Trial

Chapter 12 of Moonlight

{series masterlist} | {next chapter} {previous chapter}

{crossposted to AO3}

Chapter summary: Things are going perfectly well, but Clair and Crosshair both have to deal with a few things from their own past before their own happily ever after can become a reality.

Warnings/tags: Mature. Some angst. Some mentions of war and death, separation (implied divorce). But worry not, there's also fluff!

Word count: 8k

Playlist: evensong, green fog

Waking up before the sunrise to the chirping of birds rather than the rushes of battle was still somewhat alien to Crosshair. At times, he still had to spend a few moments convincing himself he was in the cottage, in his bed with Clair lying beside him instead of crouched on some cliff waiting for a target to go by. Her scent would help him ground himself, and sometimes a hugging her in her slumber would be more than enough to remind him who he was now, where he was, what he wanted to do.

Despite his embracing her, Clair never woke up to him. Her sleeping had improved drastically ever since the first night she began to doze off in Crosshair’s arms; he granted her the warmth and stability she’d longed for all along. Every morning, save for a few in which Crosshair would be really tired and sleep in or just lie in bed with her until she woke up, he’d tuck her back in after getting off the bed to keep her warm. He’d head downstairs to the cozy kitchen of his cottage, brew caf for himself and tea for Clair as well as eat a muffin or a biscuit Clair would have in the pantry from her usual baking.

Yes, mornings held a peace Crosshair had never known. It baffled him so much, at times he even wanted to bring his brothers to the cottage in the morning for them to have a taste of such peace as well, as if doing that would fully make it real. It was odd to not wake up to Wrecker’s loud laughing or Tech’s lecturing on any subject, or even Hunter’s crankiness from still being tired, but it hadn’t taken Crosshair long to realize what he had at the moment was much better.

He stood in front of the sink, placed right up to the window with a view of the garden outside, the lavender plant growing only meters away from him. He could easily read the letters of the sign with his perfect eyesight as well as notice a few of the baby plants that had begun to sprout in the past days. The morning sunlight peered in through the window, warming his skin and making the garden and the inside of the cottage have a heavenly glow, warm like a fairy tale. Crosshair brought the cup he held to his mouth, inhaling the rich scent of the caf.

He truly wouldn’t change this for the entire galaxy.

Right after setting the cup down on the counter, he felt the touch of a warm, soft hand on the back of his palm and heading up his forearm. The smile instantly lit up his face as he felt her press her body up behind him while her other arm slid around his torso, her face nuzzling his back as she inhaled his scent, the scent of love and home.

“Good morning, Berry Pie,” Clair whispered into his shirt.

Crosshair chuckled. “You’re up early today, Dumpling.” He turned around to face her and held her waist carefully, examining her as if he were afraid she’d be hurt for some reason. “Did you sleep well?”

“I slept fine,” she smiled. “Just wanted to come down here as soon as I could smell the caf. I’m fine, really.”

Convinced, Crosshair tightened his embrace around her. She was wearing her white night gown covered by a lavender-colored scarf Mora had gifted her not long before that, her hair was still messy, her eyes gleamed with that sleepy smile of hers. She was the very definition of everything Crosshair could ever desire.

With a soft touch, Crosshair cupped her cheeks. “You’re so beautiful.” He leaned down to kiss her as her arms wrapped around his shoulders, the kiss almost as soft and warm as the aura of the morning itself.

Clair smiled into the kiss. “How many muffins have you eaten today?”

“If I tell you, you might scold me,” Crosshair answered.

She raised an eyebrow at him with a suspicious smile which Crosshair couldn’t resist, ultimately making him answer her.

“Two,” he said.

Clair playfully rolled her eyes. “Okay, two isn’t that many. But don’t you dare finish them all without me again.”

“It’s your fault for making them so good,” he chuckled only to earn a playful slap from Clair, after which the two sunk back into a loving kiss. Crosshair hugged her, merely holding her in his arms as he took in her scent, finding peace all over again with the woman he loved in his arms.

Their moment was interrupted as the sound of Crosshair’s comm beeping broke through the silence, drawing their attention to the tiny device that rested on top of the chimney. Needless to say, they were both caught off guard. It had been a very long time since it had sounded; usually, if someone wanted to pay them a visit, they’d just walk themselves over to the cottage (unannounced, much to Crosshair’s annoyance).

“It better not be Wrecker,” Crosshair grumbled as he walked over to pick up his comm. “I haven’t forgiven him for the last time he was here.”

“We fixed the table and he said he was sorry,” Clair laughed. “Cut the guy some slack.”

Only Clair could willingly forgive a 7-ft man who walked into her house, ate her entire batch of biscuits and accidentally broke a table whilst slamming it when he complimented her baking. Crosshair laughed at the thought, surprised at the amount of times Clair could amaze him in just once morning, and with that, he picked up his comm.

“What is it?” He asked into the device, his tone softer than usual but embellished with a subtle dash of annoyance in case it happened to be Wrecker.

“Crosshair,” it was Hunter on the other end, sounding dark and ominous, more than the usual. “Um… I really hate to interrupt.”

“What’s going on?” Crosshair instantly caught onto his eldest brother’s worry.

“You’d best head to the Marauder,” Hunter said. “Clair should probably come too.”

“What’s happening?” Crosshair insisted.

“I’ll explain here,” Hunter replied. “It’s nothing too bad, but we do need you both here soon.”

“We’re on our way,” Crosshair said and hung up only to look at Clair with concern flooding his gaze.

“I heard,” she said before Crosshair could struggle with finding a way to tell her. “I’ll get dressed.”

Clair walked up to him and brushed his bicep with her hand, a small gesture of comfort before they faced whatever waited for them back in the Marauder. The two of them got ready to leave fairly quickly, and Clair even bundled up the remaining muffins in a basket. She figured the boys would probably want them for comfort.

Hand in hand, the couple walked down the forest they were now familiar with. The road to the lake was one they loved, but Hunter’s call inevitably cast a shadow over the perfect morning. Eventually, they could see the lake and the Marauder in the distance, the ship with its platform set down ready for any moment in which they arrived.

Before walking into the ship, Clair and Crosshair exchanged a look and squeezed the other’s hand. They walked up to the cockpit to find the other three clones standing, backs turned on them, covering most of their view of the cockpit.

“Want to tell me what’s happening?” Crosshair said.

His brothers cleared the way upon hearing his voice, all of them looking at him and Clair with dismay as they revealed a holoprojection in the center. In it was and armored clone trooper, one whose armor Clair didn’t recognize. Unlike her, Crosshair knew perfectly who it was, but in view of what had happened and how he felt about regs in the first place, as well as the fact that he’d decided not to be a soldier anymore, Crosshair did nothing close to a salute or even a greeting.

Even so, he knew what that holoprojection meant, and so did Clair.

“Crosshair,” said the clone from the hologram. “It’s been a while.”

“Absolutely not,” Crosshair said before the commander could even continue and looked at Hunter with sour eyes. “Why are you still projecting it?”

“It isn’t as easy as that,” Hunter explained. “Just hear him out.”

Crosshair snarled at the projection of commander Cody, a face he’d rather not have seen again. Despite the time gap, Cody remembered well how to deal with Crosshair and looked upon him almost expressionless, knowing patronizing the marksman was never the way to go.

“I’ve already told your brothers, so I’ll make it short,” Cody began. “The Republic knows you’re on Répit.”

Clair’s heart sank, and every one of Crosshair’s senses stood on alert. His soldier instincts were returning, though not in the way Cody might have hoped. Crosshair knew what he’d resort to if Cody so much as insinuated the Republic was on its way to Répit; he’d make sure to put a stop to that.

“How did you find us?” Crosshair snarled. “Why even look for us?”

Cody sighed, sincerity ruling his gaze. “Because you and your brothers are too much of an asset to the Republic. You of all squadrons make a difference in the front between victory and defeat. We need you.”

“You need us to do your dirty work,” Crosshair glared. “We’re not going to do that anymore, and especially not after the way Clair was treated.”

“All I’m asking is you think about it,” Cody said. “I really suggest you boys make your way over here to Coruscant; because of the tremendous asset you represent, the Republic is willing to grant you full pardon for your desertion.”

“Provided we keep fighting,” Crosshair assumed.

Cody nodded. “Those are the terms.”

“Forget it,” Crosshair said. “I’m not leaving.”

“We’re making this really easy for you,” Cody said, his tone darkening only a tad. “If you can’t comply, I’m afraid the Republic’s going to want to take more action. I personally don’t want to it to get to that point, but there’s not much I’ll be able to do if that happens.”

“You know better than to threaten us,” Crosshair bared his teeth.

“And you know better than to threaten me back,” to everyone’s surprise, Cody matched Crosshair’s tone.

A dark silence fell over the cockpit of the Marauder, and in that lapse, Crosshair looked down at Clair. She returned his gaze with pained eyes, and all Crosshair could do was stare at her. Her soft hair, her flower-printed dress she loved so much, the basket of muffins she was carrying. He knew not doing anything would only bring the Republic to Répit and unleash another world of problems, but the thought of dragging Clair back to Coruscant, or even leaving here there while he left, it split his heart.

“I’ll expect your arrival,” Cody dismissed himself, and soon the projection was cut off.

Looks were exchanged along the Marauder’s cockpit, each grim in their own way.

“What are we going to do?” Wrecker broke the silence.

Hunter looked over at Crosshair. “We have to go.”

Crosshair shook his head absently. “Wait.”

“We could hide somewhere else,” Clair said, the heartbreak evident in her voice. “Go to another planet.”

“No,” Crosshair held her. “We’ve built too much, we’re not going to let them chase us out of here.”

“I agree,” Hunter said. “Which is why I think we should go to Coruscant.”

“Are you out of your fucking mind?!” Crosshair raised his voice for the first time in a long while, catching everyone off guard.

Hunter sighed and rested a hand on Crosshair’s shoulder, gesturing the hall of the Marauder. The two walked in there, away from the rest; Crosshair warily looked at Clair over his shoulder, still fuming at everything.

“Crosshair,” Hunter got his attention. “Trust me.”

“I am not taking Clair to Coruscant,” Crosshair stated.

“I agree,” Hunter said. “She can stay here, alright? She’ll be safe. The Republic’s after us, not her. There’s no reason anything should happen to her.”

“What about us?” Crosshair glared. “What if something happens to us? You think they’re going to let us walk out of there freely after we just tell them we don’t want to be soldiers anymore?”

“Look, Cross, this is either going to go one of two ways,” Hunter grasped Crosshair’s shoulders intently, forcing the sniper to look him in the eyes. “We’ll either do what we usually do, put on some crazy show as a statement to be left the hell alone, or we come to an agreement with them.”

Crosshair didn’t entirely like the sound of that, but before protesting, he noticed the pleading look in Hunter’s eyes, which just wanted to get through to his brother.

“Clair doesn’t need the Republic anymore,” Hunter continued. “If we don’t need to get the Republic to help her, we can can demand that they help all the other refugees in need. That, and we have them recognize Répit as our home. That way we go on missions, do what we do, but we always come back here.”

Though Hunter’s idea made sense, all Crosshair could do was shake his head in denial.

“Hunter, I am not leaving,” Crosshair said. “I can’t do that to Clair, I won’t leave her.”

“Crosshair…” Hunter sighed.

“Remember what I told you all that time ago?” Crosshair lowered his voice. “Why I didn’t want to make a move on her in the first place? I can’t that to her. If something goes wrong, if we don’t come back for whatever reason. She doesn’t deserve that.”

“Listen to me,” Hunter’s grip squeezed on Crosshair’s shoulders. “You and Clair have something we all want. Alright, we’re all amazed at you two. And while we’re on that subject, this just might be the perfect opportunity for me to go back for Scarlett.”

Crosshair’s eyes met Hunter’s again; the mention of Scarlett sparked a sort of sympathy for Hunter. If he’d been able to build all he had with Clair, to the point where it terrified him to so much as leave the planet, he figured Hunter deserved that too.

“Look how far you’ve both come, everything you’ve built,” Hunter continued. “You’re both too strong to let that crumble down. As for the other thing, it’s us four. If there’s any squadron I trust will be okay in the battlefield, it’s us.”

Crosshair averted his gaze, still unsure of the whole situation. He knew Hunter had a point, but in his mind, he still had trouble locking down on a solution.

“Crosshair?”

Her voice. Her voice always solved everything.

When Hunter released him, Crosshair faced Clair. Her eyes were wide, bleak but desperately trying to show some optimism, if only for Crosshair’s sake. With two reassuring pats on Crosshair’s back, Hunter made his way back into the cockpit, directing a soft smile at Clair before leaving her alone with her man.

“Where are the muffins?” Crosshair dolefully asked the lighthearted question.

“I gave them to Tech,” she answered. “I figured Wrecker would stress-eat them all, that’s not good for him. But—”

“Don’t,” Crosshair said.

Clair approached him and took his hands, looking him intently in the eyes. “Crosshair. We both know ignoring this call is going to bring more trouble.”

All he could do was pull her closer into an embrace and rest his forehead on hers, hoping at least staring in her eyes could return the peace from that morning.

“I don’t want to leave you,” he said.

Clair caressed his cheek. “Let me come with you, then.”

Crosshair shook his head. “No. I don’t want you to go back to Coruscant either, I just don’t want to leave you.”

Clair picked up on the shaking in his voice and she tightened her hold on him, stroking his cheek a bit more to bring his attention back to her. “Shh, Crosshair… It’s okay.”

His chest heaved up and down as the thoughts swarmed across her, his hands fisting the fabric of her dress as though something were to imminently rip her away from him.

“Clair, do you know why I took so long to admit how I felt for you?” His voice broke. “Because I never wanted this for you. I’ve seen it before, and I never wanted you to have the life of being a soldier’s girlfriend,” he spat those last words out. “Clair, I never wanted this for you.”

“I understand,” her fingers stroked his silver curls. Looking in his eyes, Clair somehow managed to calm him down. He stopped panting and now merely looked at her, expecting the next thing she had to say.

And then, Clair sighed. “Thank you for telling me that, Crosshair. Now I want to tell you that there is nothing I’m more grateful for than having met you.”

Crosshair grimaced as he tried to suppress a sob, after which Clair had to do the same, except she smiled into his eyes, if only for a moment.

“You and I have been through so much together, Berry Pie,” she continued. “With effort, because I know it’s going to be hard on us, we’ll get through this too.”

At that point, Crosshair couldn’t handle it anymore. He locked his arms around Clair, pressing her body onto his as he switched between nuzzling her neck and kissing her lips, reciting a series of declarations of love to her. Clair reciprocated, kissing his lips, only for him to gently cup her face and kiss every one of her features in gratitude.

“I won’t let them keep me there,” Crosshair swore to her. “Whatever it takes, I will find my way back to you.”

Clair smiled through her tears. “I know you will.”

Crosshair then hugged her again, this time far calmer than the one before, burying his head in the crook of her neck feeling her hair act as a soft blanket on his skin.

“I love you, Clair…” he whispered into her skin. “My moonlight…”

“I love you so much, Crosshair,” she replied.

The two of them remained in silence, foreheads resting on one another as they looked into each other’s eyes. When they both knew it was time to let go, they returned to the cockpit to meet with the other three. Wrecker was in the middle of eating a muffin in front of a distasteful-looking Tech, and Hunter merely looked at Crosshair, communicating telepathically with his brother.

“I’ll stay here,” Clair said.

“We figured,” Tech answered. “I am very sorry things are turning out this way, but please know that we will try to get the best outcome possible and return here soon.”

Clair nodded at him with a smile. “Do what you have to do.”

Wrecker then took the basket of muffins and handed it back to Clair, to which she denied with a gentle wave of her hand.

“Take them,” she said. “It’s why I brought them here anyway.”

Wrecker smiled softly at her, and then she looked over at Hunter and Crosshair, who both remained silent. It broke her heart to see the underlying dread, and even pain, in Crosshair’s eyes. To help him, she smiled at him.

“It’s going to be fine,” she promised. “Be careful, okay?”

Her eyes met Crosshair’s for another while; all that needed to be said had already been spoken back at the hall. With another subtle smile, Clair turned around, even though it took all of her might not to go back and cling to Crosshair, and she marched herself down the stairs and outside the Marauder.

The Marauder’s door sealed and soon it was lifting off from the ground. Clair watched as it left, thinking back to all the times she’d seen someone fly away from her, praying to all the stars this wouldn’t be the same case, even though deep down she knew there wasn’t much to fear. She still couldn’t allow herself to take anything for granted.

In the silence after that, Clair remained alone next to the lake.

*

Clair sat on the boat the way she once did all that time ago, the first time she was on Répit. Things had just gotten started with Crosshair, she was hopeful that maybe the Republic would help get her on a better track of recovery, everything was still new. So much had happened since then.

As she watched the water ripple underneath the boat, the events of the past few months replayed in her head. Among them, her almost first kiss with Crosshair stood out, after which every memory relevant to her relationship with him came to mind. Their first kiss on Bespin, their first night together on the Marauder, the first time they had sex on Coruscant followed by an entire day of just being together. Getting their cottage, rebuilding it, making it theirs. Crosshair’s presence had become so prominent in her life that it felt awkward in a way to be alone, like Crosshair would simply show up behind her any minute now. Except he wouldn’t, and by that moment, he was probably already in hyperspace. Clair just hoped he wasn’t losing his mind.

But deep in another corner, Clair felt it was also right for her to be alone for a while. She hadn’t been in a long time, and before any of the current events had begun happening, she always found solace in solitude. It was easy to do it at that time too, so long as she distracted herself from the nature of Crosshair’s need to leave all of a sudden. Only then, it dawned on her she didn’t know exactly how long Crosshair would be gone, and deep inside she began to shudder. Her front had been strong when Crosshair had left, but the truth was Clair was afraid of his absence being prolonged. She knew she’d miss the hell out of him.

In a way, she knew this wasn’t a coincidence. Clair was convinced she wanted to grow old with Crosshair. It was as if this was that final test, that final trial with herself before she shared the rest of her life with the man she loved. Despite missing Crosshair deeply, longing for his eyes and his scent, Clair closed her eyes and listened to the wind blow, felt it between her hair, and convinced herself—no, rather manifested everything would be alright and that it would all be worth it.

“Aren’t you going to take her out for a spin?”

The voice of the old man brought her back to the present moment. She turned around on the boat only to see Iroh standing on the shore, not far from her, gazing upon her with a kind smile.

“I’m not the best rower,” Clair admitted. “I think I don’t want to try my luck.”

Iroh returned the smile, convinced by her response. “It provides a good spot to just sit and enjoy nature for a while, doesn’t it?”

“It does,” she answered. “In fact, this isn’t the first time I’ve done this.”

“I believe you,” Iroh spoke as he took a few steps closer to the boat, gazing out at the lake. “You seem like the type of person who’s close to nature. No wonder Mora keeps saying there’s old magick in you.”

“Is that all old magick’s about?” Clair asked with a tinge of curiosity. “Just being close to nature?”

“Being close to it, learning to give and take from it, thanking it,” he then turned to Clair. “Manifesting.”

Clair said nothing, and her smile turned a bit sadder; by that point, she didn’t bother trying to hide any of her emotions, and besides, she figured Iroh wasn’t there just by coincidence either.

“I saw the ship leaving,” he said. “What’s happened?”

Clair’s smile turned gray. “They were called back to Coruscant. The Republic knows where we are, and… well, basically they want them back, but they don’t want to go back, so they’re going to see what they can do about it.”

“And why are you here?” Iroh asked her.

“We agreed it wouldn’t be safe in case they have to make a run for it again,” she explained. “Last time we all had the element of surprise and barely made it out. It won’t be any easier this time. Besides, I also didn’t really want to show my face in Coruscant, not after everything that’s happened. I have some really good memories of the place, but still. Something tells me this is something they have to do.”

Iroh smiled at her subtly, as though everything she’d said had been exactly what he was hoping to hear. It only dawned on Clair until then that she’d taken most of the conversation, and she suddenly felt embarrassed for not having been more polite.

“I’m sorry, do you want to sit down?” Clair chuckled.

“That’s fine, don’t you worry,” Iroh said, approaching the boat more. Sitting down was never his style unless he was enjoying a cup of tea, but outside of that he loved to be standing, alert, in tune with nature. One more time, he scanned the scenery of the lake, the place so vast and serene, the place that had been his home since birth. Thinking about it, he noticed even more similarities between Clair and Mora. The thought made him smile, and finally after that, his gaze landed back on Clair. “How’s the cottage doing?”

“Oh, it’s so wonderful,” Clair’s usual charming demeanor replaced the dismay that had been brought up by everything else. “It’s fully restored, the gardens are wonderful, it’s quiet, cozy. I’m so in love with it. It even has this sort of glow, like if we were straight inside a romantic story book when we’re in it.”

Iroh’s smile widened. “That makes me glad to hear. Yes, I know the glow you’re talking about. It’s like Mora said, that cottage needed a couple to make it shine again.”

“I still can’t thank you both enough for it,” Clair grinned. “I’ll be making another deposit for it next week.”

“Clair, dear, you know the money isn’t important to us,” Iroh laughed. “We’re old villagers, what are we going to do with it?”

“Treat yourselves to some pies at my future bakery,” Clair grinned.

“Oh, we sure will.”

The silence fell above them again, only broken by the delightful sounds of nature. A wonder lingered inside Clair as she stared at Iroh while he stared out at the lake, and though she didn’t want to meddle, she figured she might as well know.

“May I ask you a question?” Clair spoke. “If it isn’t too personal.”

“Go ahead,” he replied with a smile.

“Why did you and Mora split up?” There was a hint of sadness in her voice, but Iroh reassured her by chuckling with his usual warm kindness.

“Before I answer, I want to make it clear I do love Mora, and she loves me,” Iroh said. “In fact, we love each other the same way, but that happens to not be a romantic way. We just took too long to realize that, and the passing of our daughter made it clear. We’re both grateful for it, though. Had we clung to a romance that wasn’t there, we would have started to hate each other.”

“I suppose it makes sense,” Clair said. “But it’s good that you both get along well.”

“That right there is the key,” Iroh said. “Not all love is essentially romantic. We might not be spouses anymore, but we are companions. We all find our companion in life eventually, and in different forms. Some of us find it in a friend, others, like you, in a lover, others in a pet!”

Iroh then kneeled down beside the boat, catching Clair’s gaze again, which had drifted out to the lake. Clair looked into Iroh’s warm brown eyes.

“But the important thing is that we find the companion in ourselves in order to accept a companion outside of ourselves,” Iroh said. “Does that make sense?”

Clair smiled. “Now more than ever.”

“Exactly,” he said. “Use this time. Be in tune with you, and welcome your ram’ser back with open arms when he returns.”

Clair’s smile widened. She figured it must have been some of that magick Mora had spoken of so many times, but she was grateful Iroh had come and told her those words. It gave her that final nudge of peace she was looking for; as much as she knew she’d still miss Crosshair until he returned, she now felt like she could go about it well.

“Thank you for this, Iroh,” Clair told him.

“Any time, Clair,” he answered as he got up. “Well, I should return to the village. It’ll be time to prepare for business soon.”

“Yeah, I should probably head there too,” Clair got up from the boat. Iroh held her hand to help her out of it until she was finally on firm soil. She and Iroh walked into the forest making small chatter until they had to part ways, and Clair went back to the cottage to get a few things and freshen up before heading back into the village.

In the shop, Mora had noticed Clair had a different outlook. Not drastically different, there was just a different glow to her. She was working well, though it seemed like she was also in a reflective state. The way she worked that afternoon looked meditative from Mora’s perspective, and from the context Iroh had given her, Mora felt nothing short of proud.

The old woman approached Clair as she filled out the inventory’s status, a rutinary activity she’d do even back when she had her restaurant. Not her favorite thing to do, but for the time being, someone had to do it. Mora extended a hand and landed it gently on her pupil’s shoulder, only to be met by Clair’s kind gaze.

“How are you feeling, me’suum’ika?” Mora asked. “Iroh told me about the boys leaving.”

“I figured he would,” Clair answered. “Sorry I didn’t mention it sooner.”

“Oh, Little Moon, don’t apologize,” Mora said with sympathy. “It is a big event, to have the four of them leaving, if only temporarily. I do hope they’re being safe.”

“They’re safe in their own way,” Clair thought back to all the stories they’d told her about their signature recklessness. “I hope.”

“Have you heard from them?” Mora asked.

“Not yet, but I also haven’t checked my comm much,” Clair replied. “I want to try to reach out but I don’t know if it will hinder them.”

“In any case, the Republic already knows where you’ve made your shelter. You won’t be revealing any new locations and there is nothing wrong with you trying to check in on them.” Mora squeezed Clair’s shoulder in a gesture of comfort. “You know, if you happen to feel alone, my home is always open for you.”

“I really appreciate it,” Clair smiled. “But I think maybe spending this time alone will be healthy.”

Mora chuckled musically. “You see, my dear, a part of me was hoping you would say that. Only if you were ready, of course, but I am glad to hear you are.”

“I’m still kind of figuring it out, but I’m glad too.”

With another kind gesture, Mora made her way back to the cash register. “By the way, business registries are opening up again this season in case you want to start up with the bakery.”

Clair stopped what she was doing for a moment, eyes scanning down the ground as Mora’s words sank into her. She then looked at the kind old woman, determined.

“I’ll look into it,” Clair said. “Thanks for letting me know, I sure hope I don’t have much trouble with it.”

“Well, you have the installment ready, so that’s a big step.”

“Yet another thing I have to thank you for,” Clair smiled at Mora.

“Gratitude is as wonderful as a virtue can be, but please know I did it from the love in the deepest corner of my heart.”

At Mora’s comment, Clair smiled with the most sincere gratitude. She couldn’t help it, she really wanted to know Mora how much it meant to her that she’d helped her so much. Mora picked up on the unsaid words and walked up to Clair once more, giving her a tight, motherly hug.

“You’re welcome any time, dear daughter,” Mora said, letting go of Clair. “Now, let’s get down to business, customers will be arriving soon.”

“Right,” Clair got back into the swing of things and helped Mora prepare the shop for the upcoming night of business.

*

That first night without Crosshair was quiet. Clair would normally hear his heartbeat as she dozed off; it acted as a sort of lullaby for her, helped her feel be at peace as she drifted off to her dreamland. She had to hug a pillow and sleep with the curtains pulled open to catch a glimpse of the pale moonlight, remembering how beautiful and ethereal the word had sounded in Crosshair’s voice when he’d said it to her, that one time he’d said it to her before leaving. It made her understand a lot of things now, and it at least provided her with a smile as she fell asleep.

The following days were all a matter of getting through them. At times, missing Crosshair was rough, but getting things started with the bakery and continuing with work at the shop managed to keep her distracted from everything else, particularly the worry of something going wrong on Coruscant. In any case, she reminded herself she should be more trusting of her boys. No army was going go be able to hurt them, not when they were the ones who could do what armies couldn’t.

On one morning on one of her days off, Clair took a walk around the meadow, treading through the forest. The sunlight peered through the trees; the cottage had that same glow Clair loved whenever she turned to look at it. Birds were chirping, bunnies and squirrels hopped nearby, the air smelled of the lavender plants that were growing. The scenery truly was heavenly, and Clair momentarily longed for Crosshair harder than she usually would. She made a mental note to herself to take him on a walk like that when he returned.

Behind the cottage, not too far away, she stumbled upon a tiny bulb in the middle of the trees. The air there was warm and humid, and upon treading there, she knew there was something special about it. She had the sudden urge to do something there, though she hadn’t yet decided what. Her mind wandered to the garden in front of the cottage, which was now a swarming lavender field and even comprised of other flowers, rich and flowing with life. The sign in front of their cottage came to her mind as well, as she replayed the words in her mind.

To build a garden is to believe in the future.

Well, the place wasn’t exactly lacking in gardens, as much as Clair wanted to do something along those lines. Feeling the warm air around her suddenly made the idea hit her like a pebble, and it all became clear. Her heart fluttered and she even gasped, feeling proud of herself for the idea, and after memorizing the spot, Clair ran down the forest, down the road she’d already memorized that led to Iroh’s place.

She didn’t waste any time and got straight to telling Iroh of the idea she’d had, and it didn’t come as a surprise when his entire face lit up and he instantly agreed to help her out.

“Lucky for you, I have most of the materials here,” he said. “Wood and glass are what you’ll need, let me load up the wagon with some to get started and I’ll even get Mora and some of the villagers.”

“Excellent,” Clair said happily. “Yeah, I was just about to ask you if maybe we could get some more help. I don’t know when they’ll be back, but I’d love to have it finished before they do.”

“Is that so?” Iroh raised a brow.

“Well, I want it to be a surprise for Crosshair,” Clair blushed. “He does so much for me already.”

“Oh, dear Clair, you do so much for him too,” Iroh comforted. “Make all the gestures you want, but give yourself the credit as well. Got it?”

“Got it,” Clair smiled at him. “I’ll help you load the wagon.”

“That’s the spirit!” Iroh exclaimed happily as he led Clair into his warehouse. He let Mora and other villagers he trusted know of the new project, and while Clair loaded the wagon and took it back to the cottage, several others were already waiting there.

It took them five days to get the structure up after cutting wood and adjusting glass to then put it all together in a sturdy structure. It was fairly sized, roughly half the size of the cottage’s expansion, and it would certainly be able to fit a lot of plants inside, maybe even a bench. Clair thanked everyone for helping her, knowing that she’d rather take up the task of the inner layout by herself. Aside from that, Clair made another mental note to bake a pie for everyone who had helped.

Clair was approached by Mora, who gave her a warm hug and stroked her cheek softly with happiness bursting in her kind eyes.

“I am proud of you, Little Moon,” Mora said before retiring for the night. Clair watched as she made her way into the forest, walking next to Iroh, and she thought back to what he’d told her about companionship back at the lake. With that in mind, Clair then turned around and faced the newly built structure in front of her, but all she saw was Crosshair. It felt right, like a warmth in her chest, and she grinned at the hope of seeing his reaction to it. She just couldn’t wait to share it all with him.

The sun had begun to set by the time everyone left. She could have gone inside to rest at that time, but Clair already had the available seeds she’d need to plant inside. She went into the cottage to get them and then made her way back outside, staring with hope at the structure before her as she finally opened the door and stepped into the future greenhouse.

Crosshair’s future greenhouse.

Clair planted a series of berries, vegetables, even a couple fruit trees outside of it, just to see if they grew correctly. In one of the corners, she designated an area for a variety of herbs she could use for cooking and even for medicinal purposes; though she’d learned it on Coruscant to help her soldier clones, she was confident it wouldn’t go to waste. Maybe one day Wrecker would eat too much and get a belly ache, or perhaps, somewhere along the future, a small child would catch a cold and need a warm pine needle and thyme tea…

Clair smiled and resorted to planting before she got too ahead of herself. She covered each seed with the amount it would need, watered it, and left them to rest for the night. She could only imagine how happy she would be when the little plant babies begun to sprout.

She walked out of the greenhouse and closed it well to then head back into her cottage. The hard day’s work left her tired and sweaty, so she took a relaxing bath before bed, happy with all she’d been able to do in the past days. Crosshair and the others had been gone a while, so she assumed that probably they’d tried to reach some sort of agreement with the Republic. All she could do was hope that it had gone well, and although she hadn’t heard back anything significant, she figured no news were good news.

That night, Clair had a peaceful sleep, and the following days were highlighted by a hope that had been caused by building the greenhouse. The progress with the bakery was going well, so was business with the shop, which helped the days go by even faster until one day when Clair was just about to enter the shop to set up business for the night, when she heard the familiar roaring of engines which she could recognize anywhere.

Her wide eyes found Mora inside the shop, who’d also picked up on the sound. Mora’s face instantly lit up with happiness, and she rushed to take the things Clair was holding.

“What are you waiting for? Go see them!” Mora beamed.

“Thanks!” Clair returned her excitement. “I won’t take long.”

“You will take long, you’ll take as long as you need, now go!”

Giggling, Clair hugged Mora out of sheer happiness before rushing out of the shop. She ran down the streets of the village and into the forest path that led to the lake, knowing it would be just where they’d land. And just as Clair suspected, upon arriving to the lake’s shore where the boat was still secured, the Marauder’s distinctive figure descended, and its engines powered down.

The door opened and a million thoughts swarmed through Clair’s mind—would Crosshair be the first one down? Were they all okay? Should she just run over there and get in the ship? She didn’t have the time to settle in on anything when the Marauder’s main platform lowered.

And Clair was only slightly taken aback when she didn’t see any of her familiar boys, but rather a young woman, about her age and size, with long, curly red hair and expressive brown eyes. She already seemed pretty happy, but her face lit up even more when her eyes landed on Clair, after which she yelped of excitement and ran over to Clair, instantly wrapping her in a hug.

“Oh my stars, it’s you! They’ve told me all about you, I’m so happy to finally meet you!” She practically spun Clair around and leapt up and down joyfully, and when Hunter appeared at the doorway of the Marauder looking at the scene with a loving smile, it began to hit Clair.

“Oh,” Clair realized. “You’re Scarlett!”

“And you’re my new bestie!” Scarlett tightly hugged Clair.

On instant, Clair hugged Scarlett back and let out a giggle of her own as Hunter came down from the Marauder, followed by Wrecker and Tech. Clair’s eyes then wandered over to the Marauder where, out of the shadows, Crosshair’s figure finally showed up beneath the doorframe, eyes instantly finding Clair.

It was all she could do not to break down. Relief, love, excitement, hope. Those were just a few emotions that hit her upon seeing him again. She smiled as joyful tears began pooling in her eyes, not quite able to move her legs until Scarlett gave her a little nudge to finally make Clair run to Crosshair. Crosshair jogged over het and met her halfway, taking her in his arms and sweeping her off the floor to spin her around as the two sobbed and kissed, swearing to each other how much they loved each other and how much they’d missed the other.

He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her lips; he held her tighter in his arms than ever before as he buried his face in her hair, inhaling all he could of her scent before setting her feet carefully back down on the ground.

“Crosshair,” Clair sighed, tears running down her cheeks. “Oh, Berry Pie, I missed you so much!”

“Oh, Clair,” Crosshair whispered. “My princess, my Dumpling, I missed you too.”

They planted several kisses on each other’s lips, smiling at one another while they did as the rest tried not to be too awkward of the scene in front of them.

“You owe me fifteen credits,” Wrecker nudged Tech. “They’re so gooey and romantic, they’re going to make me barf.”

Still embracing Clair, Crosshair only lifted a hand to flip Wrecker off before getting back to hugging his Moonlight. During that time, Hunter walked up to Scarlett and wrapped an arm around her, kissing her forehead and whispering something in her ear no one else could hear, only for Scarlett to giggle in response.

“Great,” Tech rolled his eyes. “Now there’s two of them.”

Clair couldn’t help but laugh at Tech’s comment, after which she slightly parted from Crosshair and looked him in his beautiful eyes.

“What happened out there?” Clair asked as she stroked his cheek. “Are you okay?”

Crosshair grinned at her and leaned into her palm. “Yeah, we’re okay.”

“Well, what did it come to?”

Hunter cut in with a chuckle. “We’re free. The Republic won’t be bothering us anymore.”

“What?” Clair questioned. “How?”

“The news of our case got so big it reached Jedi outside of the council and several senators, including Senator Amidala herself,” Hunter cooed.

“Who also happens to be suspiciously close to Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker,” Tech adjusted his goggles. “Anyone could tell.”

“And he helped too!” Wrecker said. “Yeah, the two of them barged in and really put Palps in his place!”

“Senator Amidala was outraged by hearing the Republic purposefully chose not to aid the refugees from the attacks,” Hunter continued. “She proposed a bill in the Senate specifically to aid them, which we heard on the news on the way here had been approved. Every refugee affected by the pirate attacks across the galaxy will get special aid.”

“That’s amazing,” Clair exclaimed.

“And it is not all,” Tech continued. “Because she was so touched by your story, and ours in refusing to leave you to your luck, she demanded we be granted full pardon without having to rejoin the army. She believes that the war should end soon and all clones must have an opportunity at a decent life, starting with us.”

“And since she and General Skywalker are most likely doing it, and General Skywalker is a huge friend of the Chancellor, he helped in our case and got the Chancellor to agree to the terms,” Hunter finished.

“So really, we have our girl Padmé Amidala to thank,” Wrecker smirked. “Ah, our girl. Takes me back to the early days of the war when we had her painted on the nose of the Marauder.”

“A painting which we had to have taken down by General Skywalker’s orders,” Tech said. “Further evidence to prove my theory.”

Clair raised an eyebrow at Crosshair. “She’s not still your girl, is she?”

Crosshair nonchalantly chewed on a toothpick. “I’m out of her league.”

Clair chuckled and stroked Crosshair’s abdomen, hugging him tightly afterwards.

In front of them, Hunter then turned to Scarlett. “And of course, I couldn’t just leave her there on Coruscant.”

“Oh, Sergeant,” she cooed, blushing a deep red.

“I really hope these four didn’t drive you mad on the way here,” Clair chuckled.

“Are you kidding? They’re a blast!” Scarlett said.

As Clair laughed, Hunter took both of Scarlett's hands and looked lovingly at her.

“I want to show you the rest of the village,” he told her with a smile Clair had never seen before.

“I’d love that,” Scarlett linked her arm with his. “Lead the way, sergeant.”

The two walked off in the direction of the village followed by Tech and Wrecker, who went on chattering about how maybe they should get partners too. Clair and Crosshair were left in front of the Marauder, staring at each other, Crosshair’s gaze unimaginably soft as he looked at her.

“I hope you didn’t miss me too much,” his words were sincere.

Clair smiled and hugged him tightly, no longer feeling the need to cling to his warmth, just being happy he was there and that they could finally continue with the rest of their life. Crosshair flicked the toothpick away and held her back, kissing the top of her head. He then backed away and took her hand, leading her to the village.

“Come on, I want to say hi to Mora,” he said.

“Great minds think alike,” Clair smiled at him.

The two exchanged a tender kiss on the lips before walking off into the village as well.

#moonstrider writes #moonlight series #tbb crosshair #tbb crosshair fluff #tbb fanfic #tbb fanfiction #the bad batch fanfic

[aneenasevla]

Devil's Food - Chapter 12

MasterList /Ayami’s Profile / Previous

Chapter 12 - Attack

“And one, two, three” Youko teaches the students “come on, guys, more concentration. Except you, Ayami” she joked to her friend, who was practicing Kenjutsu in a corner, and received a smile in return.

“And why do we have to make an effort and this fattie doesn't?” a teenager Kure glares at Ayami. Youko smiles adorably.

“Because my dear, if she concentrates, she can go into a Frenzy and probably you will all come out with bruises and concussions” her smile turns cruel, and some of them widen their eyes, others are confused.

“Oh, not that I want to do that, of course” Ayami waves her hand, smiling embarrassed “I'd rather leave it to real danger, if you don't mind…”

“What do you mean, a real danger?!” the hot-headed student gets excited “We are Kure! We are the danger!”

“I meant that I don't want to attack you” Ayami tries to explain “and no unnecessary fights either.”

“Guys, please, let's not provoke our guest” Youko sighs “it was a joke, calm down…”

“But, Miss. Youko…” the boy says “who is this girl to have priority? She's not even a Kure…”

“But she's promised to be” Youko puts her hands on her hips “She's Raian's fiancée, idiot.”

A buzz rippled through the dojo. Ayami suddenly felt small, threatened by the amount of dark sclera and bright irises staring at her.

“Oh please, it's no big deal” she blushes, waving her hand “I have no intention of causing this…”

“Ah, so you must be strong” the hothead smiles cruelly “I Challenge you!”

“Mako…’ Youko warns “I only give this chance to give it up.”

“Oh come on Ms. Youko, if she's the Devil's bride, then she must be as badass as he is!” a girl said in the background.

“Or at least be tough, to put up with that guy…” another said.

Laughter by the Dojo. Ayami's cheeks get redder.

“Guys, please” Ayami clears her throat “Despite my…” she took a deep breath “Despite my fiancé being well-liked, or said to be some kind of prodigy among the clan, it's not my wish to brag about it. And as for my abilities, neither do I…”

“Stop talking!” the Mako guy interrupted her “and draw your sword!”

Ayami looked at Youko, who sighed.

“No, Mako, you don't want that” the assassin warns.

“I want it! If she doesn't prove strong to us, to Raian this outsider must be worth no more than a fat mouse!”

The boy's comment made the other teenagers in the room start to laugh and agree, the buzz increased and soon they were yelling things like “go, Fat Mouse, go! we want to see”.

Ayami almost went into shock. Being called Mouse by Raian she could put up with, but from a nosy brat… in fact, from an entire room full of students, it was a little too much. She saw no other way to defend herself at the moment.

“Youko…” Ayami says, seriously, without looking at her “is that allowed?”

“Well… not normally, they're completely undisciplined, but they don't seem like they won't listen to me if you don't try…” She crosses her arms. The lawyer sighs.

“Right. No grudges then, right, boy?” She stands in position, drawing her wooden sword “I won't take it easy.”

“It's better not to take it!” he smiles, drawing his sword too “because I won’t!”

The other students arranged the circle better, standing around the two of them, prompting words of encouragement for both of them, mostly Mako. This was indeed a close knit family until…

Youko, for some reason, was the match referee.

“You two, I want a fair fight,” she announces. “This is not a serious fight, so please, no exaggeration” the assassin looked at Ayami “I will take the necessary measures in case it gets out of control. Understood?!”

“Yes” the two say at the same time.

“Right. Begin!” she drops her hand, and the crowd swells. Ayami only sees the blur almost hitting her in the side if she hadn't dodged.

“Come on, you’re too slow” Mako already starts a series of attacks that Ayami barely defends, her worried expression, defensive.

“Please don't” Ayami asks, one last time, in a calm tone “I don't want to fight with you.”

"Then admit you're a Mouse!" Mako exclaims, and the others start screaming “Mouse! Mouse! Fat Mouse! Go back to the sewer!”. Ayami grits her teeth, taking a step back.

Youko looks worried, but there's nothing she can do. The lawyer takes a deep breath.

“Very well.” She assumes the position. Until I win, she thought to herself, until I win, and nothing else, please…

Mako assumed the pose and already started to attack with the sword when the mouse dodged in a step, and counterattacked with a blow to the side. The boy opened his eyes, surprised.

“Hhahaa, so you were hiding it all along!” he smiles, wielding his sword again “let's see how this continues!”

Right, left, up, right. Right, top right. Right, left, right. All the blows the boy threw at her, she could see. He'd certainly started training this not long ago, she knew. Ayami didn't have much practice anymore, but she needed to win.

For the sake of my honor, for the sake of my family.

Mako delivered more blows, being stopped by Ayami's blade. She didn't attack, but she wasn't hit either, her light feet moved across the floor, with sure movements.

The boy started to get angry “Come on! You do not do anything? Just defending yourself, Mousie?!”

“Mousie! Mousie! Mousie!” the others teased, raising their fists, swearing and booing “Finish her, Mako!”

Ayami didn't listen to the provocations anymore, didn't listen to the boy. She only saw him, saw his movements, his vital points, where to hit. There was nothing else in the world, just the two of them and a decision.

Mako attacks again, using a different footwork, and managed to hit Ayami in the shoulder. She felt the pain but stood her ground, looking at him. He laughed, starting to relax and lift his head.

That was his mistake.

Youko almost couldn't believe what he saw, when Ayami ran and hit him from the bottom up, hitting Mako's rib and part of his left armpit, and then in a quick downward movement, moving to his legs and making him spin in the air before to fall with a thud to the ground. The boy groaned, getting to his feet, shivering but growling, surprised and angry.

“Youuu…” He took the sword and got back up, but Ayami didn't let up, hitting him in the arm, making him drop the sword, and whack, on the side. From there, it was blows and more blows, up, down, legs, torso, rib, arm… the boy didn't know where else to aim, and then she stopped, pointing her sword at his neck, looking at him.

The boy looked at her, wide-eyed now, and then at the sword, hands raised. Ayami blinks and backs away, lowering her sword. She panted, tired, takes out a strand of her hair, adjusting her gi.

Youko announces “The winner is Yamagami Ayami.”

Silence in the dojo. None of them dared.

“And now…? Do I still look like a mouse, boy?” She smiles, happy to have made it. The boy frowns, his jaw quivering a little.

“Of Course you are!” he shouts “It's not because you can defeat me in a match that you win them all! Look, you're so tired! My grandmother has more stamina than that!”

“I'm working on it” Ayami tries to say with a calmer voice “it's been a while since I've practiced, yes, but…”

“We train all our lives! You may have talent, but we have the rest!” he opens his arms, showing other teenagers with their swords “I want to see if you can deal with us all!”

“Hey, wait!” Youko tries to scream, but it was too late.

…

“Oh, so she really has the Frenzy?” Fusui asks, as she walks to the Dojos. She had the briefcase she used to carry her rifle, returning from a mission.

“Yeeeeep”

“Wow, that's great! So my future sister-in-law finally showed you something nice.”

“No, she's still a mouse” Raian grunted “but the two assholes that are managing this goddamn village saw something in her, so I'm forced to at least look for something I can manage…”

“Well, at least that…” Fusui pouted “but seriously, she's a fine girl, Raian, please give it a chance. You will spend your life with her, at least try to find something you like together…”

“I already know what we can do together” he smiles mischievously and Fusui punches him in the arm. He looked where she hit. He didn't even tickle his older brother, but she scolded him.

“Not only that, you pervert! I'm talking about topics to talk about, things to do, even something like a movie, for you two to enjoy! An unhappy woman raises weak and screwed up children! I'm a woman and I've seen this happen to many, so don't even think about letting her wither, you asshole!”

“Hnf…” he grunts, rolling his eyes. He couldn't disagree or she was going to be talking this nonsense all day. “Yea, yea, whatever.”

“And it's a good thing that doesn't happen, Raian, or else.” She breaks off. Raian stops too “Are you hearing that?”

“Yes. It comes from the Dojo” he starts to walk quickly there, Fusui follows him.

“Oh my God is this a class or is it a mob?” she mutters while the two listen to the noises of the confusion.

When they opened the door, the two were practically greeted with a boy rolling out, with a long red mark on his face, almost bumping into the two brothers if they hadn't dodged in time. The boy groaned in pain.

“Wow” Fusui observes, and looks inside the building “what kind of class is this…?” and she gasps in surprise to see the scene.

Several students from Kenjutsu's class, all Kure, faced a pair in the middle, all coming in a group and in cowardice with sword in hand. A handful of them were on the floor, some knocked out, others moaning. Fusui had to take her jaw off the ground, while Raian stood there, watching the situation.

“Stop, all of you! This is no longer a fair contest!” Youko tried to scream, but the brats were so furious that they couldn't hear anymore. She looked at her combat partner, who was concentrating on the Frenzy, but probably wouldn't last much longer “what's up with you guys?!”

“But… but This is a massacre! Raian…” Fusui looks at his brother.

But he was no longer on her side. She just looks straight ahead and sees the Devil going up to the little demons and taking them down one by one. One of them took a punch that sent him flying and landing on a wall. Another got kicked and landed on the opposite wall.

But it was enough for those shitty teenagers to see who was boss. Several of them backed away, others raised their hands in surrender, and the rest were already on the ground.

“R-raian” Youko mumbles, sighing in relief.

“How come there's a party and no one calls me?! Especially when it's the kind of carnival I like! Carnage!” he turns around and is almost hit by a wooden stick in the face. He holds the wooden sword, practically growling at whoever made it, and stops when he realizes it was Ayami, her face expressionless, staring at him, lost in fury.

Taking advantage of the cue, Youko immediately immobilizes her and makes her wake up again. Raian looks at the situation, seeing Ayami disoriented and scared, and faces the others.

“But okay, who started the party?” He asks, looking at the others.

A lot of students immediately pointed to a boy “it's his fault!” They said in unison.

The boy looked around, panicked at being ratted out, and gave a little cry of fear when Raian suddenly lifted him by the shirt collar without any effort.

“So… you low-class demons really like to attack in group, don't you?” His smile was cruel, malicious “Even more so when the target is precisely my fiancée… reaching her to get to me? Well then, you got it!” he presses the boy to a wall, and approaches his face to the boy, who was sweating cold, his dark eyes wide and just two bright dots against the elder's crazed “Are you happy now, you prick? Did you enjoy teasing the Devil?”

“I just wanted to know if she was strong!” the boy screams, in panic “She has to be strong to be a Kure! You can't just get anyone and leave it at that…”

“And who are you, you little shit, to give a shit about what's mine?!” he yells in the boy's face “It's none of your business if she's strong or not, learn it at once!”

And the Devil threw the demon to the ground. Everyone heard a crack, especially when the teenager screams in pain. Raian turns to the others.

“Class closed. Or does anyone else here want to question my life or who I mess with?” he cracks his fingers, and several of them run away in a stampede. Fusui had to get out of the way to avoid being run over by the fifteen students. Another seven were on the floor, including Mako, who was holding his arm at an awkward angle.

Youko was holding Ayami in her arms, the girl was shivering uncontrollably, coughing a little breathlessly, her eyes wide and curled up. That first time, she didn't look the least bit bad compared to this one.

“We really have to take her to the infirmary” Youko starts to lift her up “this is not good…”

“This is a nervous breakdown” Fusui appears to help her “let's get her out of here, immediately.”

Raian watches them leave with the woman. He went along but heard the same teenager whimper in the back “damn… Mouse…”

The devil looked at the boy's face, who flinched.

“Her name is not Mouse, kid” he approaches, stomping hard on the ground, with blood in his eyes “It's Mrs. Ayami, for you.”

Next Chapter Here

#kengan ashura #kengan omega #kenganverse #heavybakery #devilsfood #kengan oc #fanfiction #raian kure #kure raian

[lythea-creation]

Broken Toys - Johanna Mason x fem reader (Chapter 7)

Chapter 1

Previous Chapter

word count: 2.253

----------

Relief filled my entire being when I spotted the giant forest.

As soon as the countdown was over, Rue grabbed a bag laying near her and escaped into the forest and then onto a tree.

The main screen was showing the blood bath. Cannon sound after cannon sound was drowning the battle cries of the tributes. It seemed like it would never stop.

After last year's almost non-existent bloodbath, this year's appeared to be even more brutal.

I concentrated back on Rue who was checking out the items of her bag: a water skin and an additional pair of socks. That would be extremely useful!

Rue's strategy was to stay off the ground as much as possible. Hence being able to carry water with her was a huge help.

Rue put the items back into the bag and explored the rest of the forest. Of course she stayed on the trees to prevent anyone from noticing her. She was even more silent than me as she was lighter. No one should be able to spot her up there.

After a short while she picked something up from the ground, but I could not detect what it was.

She built herself a slingshot and now I could finally identify the item she had picked up. It was a sharp rock she could use like a knife.

Pride filled me to have such a smart and skilled younger sister.

She went on jumping from tree to tree until she found a small lake at which she filled her water skin, drank everything up and refilled it before climbing back up.

While she had been at it, she had also picked some of the berries. They were very sweet and delicious. We had a lot of them back home, but had just really been able to eat them since we moved to victor's village.

The first night settled in and I noticed that Rue was freezing. She used the extra pair of socks to warm her hands.

Soon later the hymn announced the fallen tributes.

The girl from district 3, the boy of 4 and 5, both tributes from district 6, both from 7, the boy of 8, both of 9 and the girl from 10. A lot of deaths for the first day, but nothing surprising. The first day usually brought the most victims with it.

“Not bad”, Johanna startled me. She was standing right behind me.

“Since when are you standing there?”, I questioned, my heart rate way too fast.

“Since my tributes died. So a few hours”, she replied casually.

“Why didn't you say anything?”

“I did. More than once, but you didn't notice. You were too concentrated on your sister.”

Johanna sat down beside me.

Chaff had chosen to use an armchair. Somehow we did not come along that well or rather we never tried to.

“You should sleep. It's unlikely that something happens during the first night after the bloodbath and you need your rest for looking out for her”, Johanna advised me.

I wanted to protest, but she was faster: “I promise you to wake you up if there is even the slightest danger in sight.”

Johanna did not wake me up as I did not even sleep a lot. The worry was too insistent.

I looked up at Johanna as my head was resting on her lap. Nice picture to help with our fake relationship.

She was absentmindedly stroking my head while attentively watching over Rue's screen, although Rue was asleep and nothing was happening.

I smiled softly at that. It felt great to know that I could trust Johanna.

On the next day Rue carefully observed the other tributes from above. It was quite amusing as they did not even realize that they were being watched.

At night a cannon sound signaled the death of another tribute, which happened to be the girl from district 8.

“How dense can someone be to make a fire at night?!” Johanna laughed irritated.

It really was stupid, especially with the careers hunting down other tributes.

What surprised me about the careers this year though, was the fact that they had a tribute of district 12 with them. At least until I remembered that Rue had told me about Katniss, the district 12 female, who had gotten the highest score, an 11. They probably thought the other tribute of 12 could help them find her.

Ironically Rue was the one who found Katniss on day three, before the careers.

She silently watched the girl on fire, how everyone called Katniss thanks to her brilliant stylist.

Unfortunately the gamemakers were bored by the fact that no one had died on day three. Large flames woke Rue up as Johanna did the same with me.

Rue jumped as fast as she could, but still got some burn wounds, luckily nothing severe.

After she had escaped the fire, she eased the burning with some herbs.

Katniss had not been that lucky.

Rue watched from above as the careers approached Katniss, who had been resting inside a pond.

Katniss escaped onto a tree, but one of the careers climbed after her.

It was funny to see the girl struggling to get onto the tree. None of them had the skills to climb up. Therefore the careers decided to camp under Katniss' tree to wait for her to come down.

How long did they plan to stay there and wait?

After Katniss got an ointment from her sponsors to treat her burn wound, Rue got out of her hiding place and made Katniss aware of her presence.

The anxiety inside of me grew again.

What was Rue doing? That Katniss had volunteered for her little sister did not mean that she would spare Rue. After all I would have also volunteered for Rue, but had killed two children.

Rue pointed at the tracker jacker nest above Katniss' head. I hated those insects.

When the anthem resounded announcing no death, Katniss' began sewing the branch of the nest, but stopped together with the hymn.

A few hours later when everyone was fast asleep, Katniss made some quiet sounds to alert Rue. She put across that she was about to cut down the branch of the tracker jacker nest, giving Rue the chance to build up a distance between her and the dangerous wasps.

My sister silently moved through the trees until screams and loud buzzing cut the silence of the night.

I could see the careers struggling on the main screen until two cannon sounds erupted.

Later Rue searched for Katniss and found her unconscious.

She treated Katniss stings with special leaves. We were used to it in district 11.

“Hey, how is it going?” Finnick joined Johanna and me.

It was a rhetorical question.

He sat down beside Johanna and continued watching the Games together with us as the other tribute of his district had died due to the tracker jackers.

Katniss slept for two nights, although it was not looking peaceful at all.

Many people had told me how horrible the hallucinations from the tracker jacker stings were and I was glad that I could not assess it.

Rue hid behind a tree when Katniss came back to her senses.

The latter immediately realized that someone had been helping her with her stings and looked at the tree Rue was hiding behind.

Rue had stepped onto a branch creating a cracking sound.

“The career's aren't the only ones who can form an alliance”, Katniss alluded, luring Rue out of her 'hiding place'.

“I can treat your wounds with leaves”, Rue offered.

Katniss accepted and shared the burn ointment with Rue.

I was feeling ambivalent. On the one hand I was grateful for Katniss' help and glad that Rue had not had to fight on her own anymore. But on the other hand there could only be one victor and Katniss would definitely not sacrifice herself to let Rue win.

The duo started talking about their districts and even about me.

“Sounds similar to the relationship I have with Prim. I'm sure she's a great sister”, Katniss noted smiling.

Rue nodded. “She's the best. I want to return to her like she did for me.”

“Therefore we have to beat the careers”, Katniss remarked.

“That could turn out difficult. They have a lot of supplies, all piled up”, Rue declared.

“That's it! We have to destroy their supplies. Without them they will be helpless. Unlike us, they have few survival skills”, Katniss realized.

“But how?”, Rue wondered.

“I will find a way. You just have to distract them somehow. Let's make several big fires to lure them away.”

“Great idea!”, Rue agreed.

That settled it.

The next day the duo prepared three fire places.

Then they decided to use the tunes of the mockingjays to communicate with each other.

When they parted ways Katniss disappeared out of my sight.

My full attention was turned toward Rue.

She lit the first and the second fire, but stumbled into a trap imprisoning her inside a net.

My heart rate increased as an immense fear seemed to swallow my entire being.

My eyes were glued to the screen as I watched her resisting, desperately trying to free herself from the net, to no avail.

Katniss' tunes moved through the forest via the mockingjays.

“Katniss!”, Rue called out.

But before Katniss could reach her, a spear pierced Rue's stomach.

Katniss furiously shot an arrow at Rue's murderer, but the damage could not be undone.

The blood was streaming out of Rue's body, tainting the green grass red.

No. It could not be real. I prayed for Johanna or Rue or anyone to wake me up from this seemingly never ending nightmare.

My hand automatically moved to my necklace. “Please, help her”, I pleaded in my mind.

I did not even know whom I was addressing. It did not matter as long as anyone saved her. But no one did.

Katniss had not managed to. But I was the person who had failed Rue the most.

She had always made sure to make me feel better. She had always been at my side and helped me moving forward. She had given me hope, no matter how unbearable life had appeared to be.

Katniss' singing rang inside my ears.

I did not want to hear it. I did not want to perceive anything. It was not true, just a nightmare. Soon I would wake up, Rue sleeping peacefully beside me.

The cannon sound brought me back to reality. The reality I had not wanted to return to.

I watched Katniss arranging beautiful white flowers around Rue's body and laying some of them into Rue's hands. Now she looked like she was sleeping on a bed out of flowers.

Katniss saluted into the camera as a farewell to Rue. She had shown that Rue's death had not just been a part of the Capitol's games.

After Katniss had left, Rue's screen turned black.

I was overwhelmed by painful numbness. My head was refusing to process what had happened.

I could feel Finnick and Johanna staring at me, but I did not do anything, except staring onto the other two screens.

The next few days passed by in a daze.

Honestly I felt like I was just existing.

Emotionless, I watched the 'love story' between Peeta and Katniss, though I did not really pay attention. I just made sure that she and Thresh were still alive.

From the corner of my eyes, I had glimpsed at Thresh's screen from time to time to make sure he was alright.

I just seemed to wake up when I saw Katniss' getting attacked by Clove.

Clove was holding her down and mocking her about being in love with Peeta.

Anger boiled up inside of me when Clove mentioned how Katniss had not been able to save Rue.

I barely noticed my hands bleeding thanks to my nails.

Suddenly Thresh arrived and clashed Clove's skull with a stone. He looked down at Katniss and said: “Just this one time, I let you go. For the little girl. You and me, we're even then. No more owed. You understand?”

Then he grabbed the bag and fled.

Two days later I had to watch my other tribute die thanks to a storm that had begun the day before. He was buried under an avalanche. The cannon sound did not even drown out the rain.

Now all screens in front of me were black. That was pretty exactly how I felt. Like I was trapped in eternal darkness.

I had not eaten anything since Rue's death, but did not care. I did not even know how long it had been since then.

Mechanically I stood up and sat down next to Haymitch. He looked at me for a moment, but did not question my behavior.

For the next two days Finnick tried to get me to eat, fruitlessly.

Johanna had reached her patience limit long ago and was cursing most of the time.

Haymitch just stared at us from time to time, but did not complain once for annoying him.

I was staring blankly at the screen as Peeta and Katniss got some poisonous nightlock berries out of their bag and intended to eat them.

Just a glimpse before they actually swallowed them they were announced as the victor's of the 74th Hunger Games.

Next Chapter

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