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rolandtowen · 13 days ago

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A Winter Soldier / Avengers Tower Recovery fic in the year of our lord 2024?

It's more likely than you think!

Read the first chapter on Ao3 or under the cut!

Tony Stark was not ready to be housing a recovering assassin, but here he was.

The fearsome Winter Soldier had passed out beside Steve on the bank of the Potomac – and Maria Hill brought him straight to Avengers Tower.

“Why me?” Tony griped. “Why do I have to save this guy? He’s killed dozens of people, maybe more. Whoever he used to be, he’s not Barnes anymore.”

Maria turned on her heel. “Because you have an apartment built to hold the Hulk, which should hold him. Because SHIELD just imploded and we need to keep him out of HYDRA’s hands. And,” she paused to take a cookie Pepper offered her, “because he’s the longest-held prisoner of war in global history.” She throws a stack of folders down on Tony’s desk. “Even if he’s not Barnes anymore, he’s not responsible for what he did. Read those.”

Tony did. And he threw up in the nearest trash can.

Pepper set up an Avengers meeting for the next morning.

Steve, Sam, and Natasha had all spent the night in the Tower, Sam staying in the guest room on Steve's floor and Natasha on her own floor. Bruce and Helen had already been living in the Tower, and both responded immediately when Pepper asked if they could provide medical attention to the Soldier.

No one got much sleep that night. The files made it from Tony, to Steve, to Natasha, and to Sam. Steve makes it through one folder before having to excuse himself. Sam doesn’t know where he goes.

They start the next morning with copious amounts of coffee in the conference room.

“We finally got a sedative to work on him around three a.m.,” Bruce explains. “He's so underweight, it's a miracle he's still functional.”

Natasha lifts an eyebrow at him. “The man who attacked me on the highway was not underweight.”

“For a normal guy, he's got a lot of muscle mass, but for an enhanced person? He's underweight compared to Steve at least. He's got almost zero body fat.”

“And that's a problem because?” Tony drawls.

Bruce takes a gulp of his coffee, exasperated. “Well, for one thing, his temperature regulation has got to be screwed. Humans also need body fat to regulate hormone production and nutrient absorption. No unenhanced person could be at this body fat percentage and live. Their brain would stop functioning.”

“Oh.” Tony shuts his mouth.

A silence falls over the table as they consider the mess they’ve gotten into. SHIELD has just been exposed as a fraud, and the Avengers find themselves in possession of the most effective assassin in the world, who happens to be a starving, brainwashed POW.

"We need to designate one person for him to interact with. Build a routine." Sam's been delving into the files they'd recovered from the HYDRA vault, and has the bags under his eyes to prove it. “HYDRA designated one person to give him orders. They called them his ‘handler’.”

"I can do it," Steve offers immediately, even as he winces at the way his ribs complain. "He recognized me on the Helicarrier."

"He also broke nineteen of your bones," Tony deadpans. "One moment of lucidity does not a Bucky make."

"Tony, seriously? He pulled me from the river." Tony opens his mouth for another retort, but falls silent when Natasha stands.

"I can do it. He was wiped after the highway, yeah?"

Tony nods. They'd captured a HYDRA technician who was singing like a canary. Incredible what secrets people will reveal to avoid going to the Raft forever.

"Then he doesn't remember me as a target. He'll remember Sam or Steve from the Helicarriers. I'm our best bet." She pauses. Her face remains neutral but Steve can tell she's fighting to calm herself. "And I had to deprogram after the Red Room. It's not the same, but..." She trails off.

"It's the closest experience that any of us have about what he's gone through," Bruce offers. "And it might not be a bad idea to limit his contact with men for now. When I was working on him, his vitals were off the charts, but he seemed much calmer when Helen took over."

Steve nods and Tony claps his hands together. "Alright then, how do we start?"

Natasha gives him a weak smile. "Very, very slowly."

***

The Soldier is warm. They had given it new clothes, ones not sopping wet from the river. The Soldier likes being dry.

The technician, a woman with black hair pulled back into a bun, had brought the Soldier to its holding cell. She had set its flesh arm and placed it in a sling. Inexperienced, certainly. The Soldier will not need a sling in a few hours.

The holding cell is...odd.

It is not the Soldier's place to question its handlers. But why the carpet? There are no obvious drains on the floor. The carpet will only get soiled when they hose it down.

There's furniture too. A room with a couch and a TV, a kitchen area with a table. There's two closed doors across the room. The Soldier considers these. Maintenance was performed on another floor, and the Soldier has never had weapons storage in its holding cell.

The Soldier turns abruptly when it hears the door to the cell open. Another woman, one with red hair, strides into the room. She is wearing a black tactical uniform, her hair just brushing the shoulders of her leather jacket. This must be his handler. He's never had a woman handler before though.

"Soldier," the woman says, a voice oddly absent of a distinct accent. "Status update."

The Soldier stands at attention as best it can with the sling on its arm. "Bodily function: 75 percent. Mission: none. Awaiting further instructions."

The woman eyes the Soldier for a moment, then orders: "Injury report."

"Right arm, fractured, five hours until operational. Torso, three broken ribs, not impeding function. Hydration level, 50 percent, not impeding function. Calorie intake, 25 percent of optimal, not impeding function."

The handler looks at the technician, who nods, saying: "that's everything we saw in the lab." The handler nods. "Thank you, Helen, you may go."

The technician retreats from the cell, and the Soldier is left alone with its handler.

"Soldier, describe your method of caloric intake."

"Liquid. Through feeding tube or drinking. Optimal intake is 5,000 calories a day. Minimum required is 500." The Soldier isn't sure if it is correct to address the handler as "ma'am", so it refrains. The handler doesn't seem to notice the lack of title.

"Thank you, Soldier. We will feed you at optimum intake. Come with me." The Soldier follows the handler as she moves through the cell. She opens the first door, a bathroom. "You may use these facilities at any time, without permission. Do you understand?" The Soldier nods. “This floor is also equipped with a computer called JARVIS. JARVIS, can you say hello?”

“Hello, Soldier,” a soothing male voice responds. “If you have any questions, you can speak my name and I can try to help.”

“Thank you, JARVIS.” The handler continues her tour as if nothing was strange about a man’s voice coming through the walls. The Soldier shakes its head. JARVIS must just be a highly advanced surveillance system. Its new buyers are clearly very powerful.

The handler leads the Soldier to the second room. This room is larger, with a bed, a desk, and a bookshelf. The Soldier hesitates in the threshold. Are these...handler quarters? Is the Soldier going to live with its handler?

"This room is yours," the handler says softly. "You may come in here without permission. You may sleep either on the bed or the floor. No one will sleep here but you."

The Soldier stutters forward, placing its metal hand upon the bedsheets. "Permission to speak," it croaks.

"Granted." The handler holds its gaze.

"What...what is my mission?"

The handler considers for a moment, then: "Effective immediately, your mission is to obtain optimal levels of hydration, caloric intake, and sleep for at least seven continuous days. Understood?"

The Soldier nods. This is a test of its self-sufficiency. Its new owners want to know what it functions like at peak performance. Furthermore, the Soldier suspects that its owners want it to acclimate to these luxuries.

So they can take them all away again.

***

Steve has a sour look on his face when Natasha enters the surveillance room.

"Spit it out, Rogers."

Steve glares at her. "I get that we have to go slowly, but did you really have to order him around so much?"

She sits beside him, staring at the many camera angles of the apartment holding Bucky. "To you, I'm sure it looked like a lot of orders, but to him?" She points at one feed, showing Bucky seated on the floor next to his bed, running his metal fingers over the blanket again and again. "I barely gave him any. He's had his every action controlled for seventy years. He's probably had to ask permission every time he needs to eat, sleep, and piss." She folds her arms. "Ordering him to use the bathroom and bedroom without permission? That's like giving him the fruit of Eden, Steve."

"Free will," Steve murmurs. His eyes are locked on Bucky's prone form. “I’m sorry, I know you know what you’re doing, but it’s just awful seeing him like this.”

Natasha rests a warm hand over his. “I know, Steve. But for what it’s worth, I think he’s still in there.”

“What was it like,” Steve asks suddenly, “Clint deprogramming you?”

“He had to gain my trust. Show me that he wasn’t going to hurt me or turn me back over to the Red Room when I fucked up. And like what Sam said earlier – I needed routine in order to feel safe.”

Steve swallows. “How long did it take?”

Natasha hums. “The better part of a year, I would say. Just to deprogram. But still, after all these years…” her eyes look suddenly very far away. “I still get nightmares. I’m hypervigilant, which is great for superhero work, not so great for normal life.”

Steve nods in understanding. They sit in silence together for the better part of an hour, watching Bucky slowly fall asleep leaning against his bed. "What will you set the next mission as?" Steve asks finally. “You know, once he gets past the seven days.”

Natasha considers this. "Maybe getting him onto solid food? I know he needs a shit ton of therapy, but he's fucking emaciated. He needs to stay alive, first and foremost."

Steve nods. "Heal the body, then the mind," he agrees. “That's why you have JARVIS addressing him as ‘Soldier”, yeah?”

“Yep. He can have an identity crisis after he puts on some weight.”

"The kitchen has a protein shake Tony formulated for me. Should have all the stuff he needs. Three a day should get him pretty close to 5,000 calories too." Steve thinks 5,000 is pretty low for an enhanced individual too.

Natasha stands. "I'm going to have sealed water bottles delivered to him as well. I didn't trust water out of a tap for almost three months after Clint found me." She suppresses a shudder. "I'll let the kitchen know to send him the shakes. You gonna stay here for a bit?"

Steve nods, his eyes never leaving the camera feed showing Bucky.

***

The Soldier must have fallen asleep leaning against the bed, because it startles at a soft noise from the kitchen. “There has been a food and water delivery, Soldier,” the computer in the walls tells it.

Clambering to its feet, the Soldier finds a bottle filled with a thick shake sitting on the kitchen counter, alongside a case of bottled water. A note has been left under the shake.

Three shakes a day for optimal nutrition. Three waters a day for optimal hydration. More of both are in the fridge. Seven days starts tomorrow. Sleep well, Soldier.

The Soldier takes a sip of the shake. It had expected a foul flavor, like the meals from its previous handlers, but this one...is almost sweet.

Vanilla, a voice in its head supplies. This flavor is called vanilla.

The Soldier does not know what time it is, but it feels tired. It drinks, first one of the shakes, then two of the bottles of water. It does not know where the trash is, so it rinses the shake bottle and places all three of them on the counter by the sink. Perhaps the handler wants evidence of how many of each it has consumed. It could ask the computer in the walls, but it does not want to earn a punishment yet.

Questions always earned punishment.

It returns to the bedroom and the blanket on the bed. It cannot feel anything more than pressure with its metal hand, but something about the repetitive motion of running its fingers over the soft material is…calming. That’s the word. The Soldier does not dare to sleep on the bed. The handler said it could sleep on the floor or the bed. The Soldier knows its place.

It sleeps on the floor, its metal hand holding the corner of the blanket like a lifeline.

***

The first of the seven days begins with another shake and bottle of water. Its flesh arm is fully operational, and the sling comes off, neatly folded on the kitchen table. The Soldier does not know how long it slept last night. It hadn’t wanted to ask a question so soon, but its sleep is also paramount to mission success.

“JARVIS,” it speaks into the empty air.

“Yes, Soldier?”

“How many hours of sleep were obtained last night?”

“Six hours, Soldier. The minimum amount of sleep for optimal functioning is seven hours.”

The Soldiers’ lip trembles. It had failed. “Thank you, sir,” it says to JARVIS. Surely the computer will report its failure to the handler, and the handler will punish it. The shake that had settled so nicely in its stomach now turns sour, and the Soldier fights the urge to vomit. That will only make its punishment worse.

“If I may, Soldier,” the computer continues to speak. “I have been programmed with several ways to help individuals relax at nighttime. You are more than welcome to explore these this evening. Or I could tell you more about them now.”

“You are…programmed to help me?” Fuck it, the Soldier had already asked one question. It may as well ask some more.

“That is correct. Would you like further explanation?”

“Yes, please, sir.”

JARVIS demonstrates several noises for the Soldier, which he claims are relaxing. The Soldier feels a panic rise in its throat at the sound of rushing water and fire crackling, but it enjoys the rain sounds. “I can play the rain sounds while you sleep. It is a form of white noise that may help you sleep more deeply.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“It is still early morning, Soldier. You could go to sleep for another hour without disturbing your circadian rhythm.”

“The handler has…no other tasks for me today?”

“That is correct. Your only tasks are to maintain optimal levels of hydration, calorie intake, and sleep.”

The Soldier breathes out shakily. It had not failed completely. It could still maintain optimal sleep levels. “Could – could you play the rain, please, sir?”

“Of course, Soldier.”

The Soldier returns to the floor of the bedroom. This time, it feels bold enough to pull the blanket off the bed.

It sleeps.

***

“Captain Rogers, Agent Romanoff, Sergeant Wilson,” JARVIS greets the three of them, still curled up in the surveillance room. “I would like to report that Sergeant Barnes is now sleeping. I project he will reach nine hours of sleep today. He has also consumed one food shake and one bottle of water.”

“Thank you, JARVIS.” Steve stands, wincing a bit at the tug on his ribs. “That was well done, having him go back to sleep.��

“Thank you, Captain. I must report as well that Sergeant Barnes appeared quite distressed when I relayed his less than optimal sleep from last night.”

Sam shoots Natasha a look. “He was expecting to be punished.” Sam shudders as he thinks back to the folder labeled “correction methods.”

“But he wasn't.” Natasha sighs. “We just keep doing this, setting healthy goals, refusing to punish him, until we can figure out the next step. But I don't know who we could trust to even attempt to tackle his mental state.” Natasha waves her fingers at her head.

“We get him through this week, and I can make some calls,” Sam offers. “This is so out of my depth, but I worked with a guy in Afghanistan who specialized in reintegration for captured soldiers. We can start there.”

Steve nods. “As long as it's better than the shitshow Fury put on for me, I say we give it a shot.” His gaze turns back to the camera feed, where Bucky's stirring after his morning nap. “JARVIS,” Steve calls out. “Can you have some new clothes ordered for Bucky?”

“Of course, sir. Any colors that Sergeant Barnes prefers?”

“Blue.”

#bucky barnes #the winter soldier #captain america: the winter soldier #steve rogers #sam wilson #natasha romanov #the falcon #black widow #tony stark #iron man #the avengers #bucky barnes recovering #angst #hurt/comfort #ao3 #bucky barnes whump #inspired by rudyard kipling

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siblingshuffle · 4 months ago

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Sibling Shuffle: Roll With The Punches

Hey guys! Sorry for the wait!

Context: this takes place a little bit after Megaman 7. Roll’s home, now, and since Piano at most messed up the organization on their computer and/or toppled a chair (just to appease Bass), they didn’t have to do much in the way of cleanup at the lab.

LORE: Roll, like Rock, doesn’t want to hurt anyone. That said, Roll does threaten Wily at Buster-Point, much like Rock in the original.

To be fair, Roll had had a REALLY rough day. I mean, first Wily attacked the city again, forcing her to fight again. Then, she met someone she thought was her friend, and, while it was a little bit annoying that Blues and Dr. Light didn’t seem to trust her, she could understand their concerns to some extent. Then Piano got hurt, so, because of course she does, Roll sends Piano to Dr. Light - her dad had always fixed her when she needed fixing; he could help Piano! But then, all of a sudden, no one is answering when she calls. Roll returns home in a panic, and while (thankfully) her family is okay, just locked out of the computer room - and Piano turns out to have been a Wilybot with intentions to infiltrate Light Labs, steal some blueprints, and use them to destroy her.

Roll had thought at least she and Rock wouldn’t be fighting alone this time. Instead, it was another trick, and Roll kinda rapid-fire cycled through the stages of grief over her & Piano’s (now former) friendship. With Wily gleefully rubbing salt in that fresh wound, after everything he did - to the city, to her friends, her brothers, her father, and everything and everyone she cared about - she hit her breaking point.

Anger can be pretty dangerous. It can make you want, do, or say things you wouldn’t usually want, do, or say. And in that moment, Roll didn’t just want Wily to stop.

She wanted him to never put anyone through that all again.

Once Roll had calmed down a bit, though, her earlier dark desire to pull the trigger scared her a bit. I mean, she doesn’t want to hurt people. She’s not malicious. Why had she gotten so mad? What if she had pulled the trigger? Was it even possible for her to, under those circumstances?

The other Lights could tell that she was bothered by what happened, but they were letting her come to them. Though Rock started doing things that comforted him in hopes that Roll would receive that feeling, Dr. Light let her know that she could talk to him a few times, and Blues gave her space (because he would want space if something happened that left him that shaken).

When Roll eventually did seek one of them out, it was Blues. His function of just "being himself" implies (at least to him) “make your own choices,” because you can’t be your own person of you’re not making your own choices. For this reason, he is well-versed in loopholes. (He sees them as him fulfilling his purpose by doing what he wants despite what he is told to do). If anyone could reassure her about whether or not she could’ve actually done it, it would probably be him.

————— Additional Trivia (& Details):

I was on Pinterest for some pose references and I saw this cute skirt with a kinda overalls build and heart-shaped pockets. I thought it was adorable and immediately wanted to draw Roll wearing something similar. And, like I said I might, I gave her the scarf to match her brothers!

I looked at the events of game 7 and asked what could’ve possibly driven someone - especially someone like Roll (or Rock) - to the point where they are actively threatening this man’s life when they have never done so before. The TLDR of what I came up with? Roll was trying to scare him, but also wanted to fire because of all the accumulated stress. However, the fact that he wasn’t putting a human in immediate life-threatening danger meant that she couldn’t fire no matter how much she wanted to in that moment.

Blues’s alternate outfit is inspired by his other 2 canon-to-something casual outfits. Mostly the one from Rockman: Yomigaeru Blues, but also a bit the Megamix one. (Not that much of his Megamix one, but kinda.)

Blues isn’t lying. The first law (or, the way they were programmed with it at least) requires the human to be putting another human in active life-threatening danger in order to justify breaking it. It’s the strictest of the 3 laws.

Roll’s nickname. One thing I noticed I kept doing when thinking up scenes was Blues occasionally nicknaming friends & family members. So far, I’ve come up with “Rolly-Poly” for Roll, “Rocky Road” for Rock, and the much-less-creative “Tem/Temp” for Tempo.

(To note is the fact that Rhythm does the same thing when I am thinking of interactions with her, but her nicknames are more poking fun at someone. Like in my head, she calls Rock “Blue” and Blues “Red” just because she is an instigator of chaos and thinks it’s funny.)

You guys have to tell me whether or not you like the alt outfits or not.

#sibling shuffle au #mega man au #mega man classic #megaman #my art #roll light #blues light #lore #Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics #Loopholes #Roll and Piano end up visiting the Robot Museum on a day off at the same time a while after this #After that Roll thinks maybe Piano just didn’t have a choice in everything that happened #and Piano (definitely didn’t) miss hanging out with her nooo #Which later led to the friendship bracelet from Us Against The World

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bettysupremacy · 1 year ago

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oh my god i have a request. are you comfortable with writing our boy stevie dating an anxious reader? for example she gets an anxiety attack in the upside down or with the kids and steve calms here down and holds her??

LOVE YOUU ❤️❤️

hey babe!! sorry this took me so long to get to i hope this is alright! I feel like it’s not as good as it could be

Being a mother of 6 was never easy. Especially at 20.

The volume gnaws at you, blooming panic in your chest. It’s loud. You need to leave. But you can’t bring yourself to ruin the rarity of this moment he and the kids have going currently.

Rowdy and wild, they’ve made camp in Steve’s living room for the last 6 hours on their annual campaign. Their intensity startles you. Loud and vivacious, they don’t tone down their theatrics in Steve’s home. They’ve even roped him into joining.

“Jesus Christ almighty!” Dustin booms. “All you had to do was roll a fucking two!”

Mike snaps back, quick banter that seems to echo in the large home. Your ears can’t take it, you step out front.

Steve notices immediately, of course.

Where his girl goes, follows his attention. He watches it open the front door and leave after you, imagining how far it has to follow you before you stop.

He tears his eyes from the door. Mike slams his pencil down. “Guys.. I’ll be right back.”

“No, dude!”

“Just like.. skip my turn.” Steve shrugs, getting up to leave.

“That’s not how this works!”

“Make it work.” His head shakes. “You literally make the rules of this game, dude.”

Outside is warm. His sleeves flutter deliciously in the breeze, melting the AC off his hairy arms. He wants to find you not only to make sure you’re okay, but to show off his growing muscles. To flex, and smirk, and ask if you want to take a photo, cause it’ll last longer you know?

Though, when he does find you, he seizes. Passenger side of the 733i, you curl in on yourself, hiding your panicked face. It startles him, watching tears roll, hot and quick, down your summertime warm cheeks.

“I can’t breathe.” Shaky hands press into your eyes, calming the staggered and quick tears. Rough on the lungs, your breathing tears apart your chest. “I can’t breathe.”

He squeezes himself into the seat you’ve taken up, pulling most of your weight onto his lap. Your legs dangle out the door. Pulling your hair from your sticky neck, he gathers it into the rubber band he keeps on his wrist.

Your assault on your lungs doesn’t decelerate. “Can’t feel my fingers,” you panic. “They’re tingly.”

“I know,” he whispers. He wish he could tell you something smart like you’re lowering your CO2 levels breathing like this. “You gotta stop breathing like that for me.”

You shake your head, palms digging further into your wet eyes.

“I’m serious, babe,” his mouth is so close to your ear, his hot breath tingles. “Follow me.”

He breathes in, long and exaggerated for you to imitate. He holds, hand on your back, slow and meticulous. He breathes out, extended and loud.

He doesn’t mind that you don’t join him the first time.

“Can you do that for me?” He asks, nosing against your head. He breathes in again.

You follow and though your breathes don’t match his,

“It’s okay.” He whispers. You shake your head, abashed in the worst way. “It’s not?”

Ragged hiccups tear through your chest. “So embarrassing.”

“It’s not embarrassing.”

You don’t seem convinced, pushing further into the safety of his arms. He doesn’t mind, adjusting his grip to hold you closer. “It was too loud.”

“Dustin was really pushing the theatrics wasn’t he?” His smile is warm, genuine, and concerned. His nose scrunches up. You nod.

“I’m sorry.” You shake your head profusely. “I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for, baby.”

“I didn’t wanna ruin your fun time.” Your breathing grows more distressed. “But now you’re stuck out here with me.”

“Stuck?” He appalls. “I’d rather be out here with you.”

“No, you wouldn’t.”

“Are you kidding me?” His grips loosens, your beautiful face now in view. “You think I’d rather be in there with those nerds?”

“You love them.”

He nods, letting you crawl back into his arms. “I do, but no more than you.”

“I won’t tell.”

“I know, my secrets safe with you.” His arms squeeze your frame three times in quick succession.

“I’m sorry” you sniffle.

It’s the most pathetic thing he’s ever heard, and he’s not sure where the apology is coming from.

“Oh, my girl, what’s the apology for?”

You shrug.

“You never need to apologize,” his head shakes seriously. “never to me.”

“I will, though.”

“And I’ll turn you down.” He laughs, shaking your figure in his arms.

“Stop,” you paw at his strong hold, breathless from crying, trying not to laugh. “Can feel my brain moving.”

“I’m shaking the apology from your head.”

“So stupid.” You giggle, stilling his face in your hands long enough to pull a kiss from him.

“I may be stupid,” he’s serious. “but I’m even more stupid for you.”

He revels in the way your nose scrunches. “That was so corny I feel my chest contracting.”

“That’s love.”

“It’s cringe,” you correct. “and it’s killing me.”

“Sorry.” He smiles down at you. “For killing you ‘n all.”

“It’s okay,” Your breathing has slowed down to a comfortable pace. “You’re not all that stupid.”

“Really?” He starts. “I-“

“Hey stupid!” Dustin yells, too loud for the gated neighborhood. “We’re waiting on you!”

He’d be mad if it weren’t for your giggles. “Wait a damn second!” His head dips to you. “You want a minute?”

“No,” you sigh. “Can I go up to your bedroom?”

He rolls his eyes. “Duh.” Popping out the car door, he holds his hand for you. “Look pretty for me when I get back?”

“I always look pretty,” you scoff. “stupid.”

#steve harrington #steve harrington x y/n fluff #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x fem! reader #steve harrington x reader fluff #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x you #steve harrington blurb #steve harrington x fem

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fuckmeyer · 1 year ago

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timewarp!twilight: a time travel au

[throughout the series, Bella Swan has prophetic dreams that reveal her future (or present predicament) in cryptic ways. but tho Bella can peek forward in time, her true power lies in the past.]

time first unzips when James sinks his teeth into Bella at the ballet studio.

the burning in her veins overwhelms her. for a delirious moment she seizes from venom & bleeds out on a hospital room's tile floor where her mother is giving birth. to her.

the Cullens barge into the studio. Bella's writhing on the ground. they never see the warp. a stunned James is defeated.

Bella says nothing, chalking it up to a near-death experience. ofc she can't unravel the fabric of time lol like what?? who does that???

over summer, night terrors haunt her when Edward is away.

the "good" dreams give her flashes of the future. wolves. light. cliffs. a stone antechamber. red hair. a casket.

it's the nightmares she fears the most.

her PTSD-fueled flashbacks feel so real, she unzips time to escape James's attack & wakes up in random places as if sleepwalking.

at first they're tiny jumps. a few minutes back. then several months before she meets Edward. then the day Renee leaves Charlie with Bella in tow.

the night after her disastrous birthday party, her nightmare dumps her in the back alley of a neon-lit diner.

this isn't home. not 2006, not 1996, not 1986, even...

disoriented, she stumbles in and sits at the counter. the folded newspaper by the napkin dispenser, the Philadelphia Herald, reads March 3rd, 1950.

oh god.

when she looks up, a familiar pixie-haired vampire stares back at her with moony gold eyes.

"you've kept me waiting a long time," says Alice, pushing a plate of pancakes toward her.

time zips. back in bed. morning. 2006. Bella scrambles to school to tell Edward about the time skips.

ofc, it's hard to speak when you're being sucker-punched in the gut by your first love's painful breakup monologue.

instead of confessing, Bella says goodbye.

October. November. December. January.

as the wolves shift and Laurent stops in for a visit snack, Forks gets all gunked up with paranormal vibes. Bella warps further back for longer periods. 1935. 1933. 1911. 1863.

luckily, she often crosses paths with the Cullens. as humans, she knows, they won't remember her. it's cathartic to see them, if only for a few moments...but it's never enough.

she pulls increasingly dangerous stunts to keep traveling. motorcycling. chasing wolves. stalking vampires. on & on.

Bella dives off a cliff to chase the visions.

she smacks the water & warps to 1918.

human Edward Masen immediately falls in love with a drenched & shivering Bella Swan. over the evening, she falls in love with him. again. ugh.

but was it a time skip, or a near-death experience? she wakes up coughing water, Jake breathing life into her on the beach.

Alice returns. with a renewed love for Edward (ugh), Bella jets off to Italy to save him & meet the Volturi.

back in forks, the vote ignites a fiery rage she'd buried for months.

how could they do this to her? how could they break her heart & leave her behind when she needed them?? did they even stop to think about Laurent??? the wolves?! VICTORIA?!!

just as she lunges for Edward to rip his stupid face off, time unzips in front of them & she vanishes.

further back than she's ever gone.

London. 1640s.

human Carlisle tries using a silver cross to defend himself against a starving vampire while Bella looks on.

when the vampire's eyes find hers, the horror of what Bella has been doing settles in like a dense fog.

with each time skip, Bella seals their fate.

not only is Bella the thread that ties the Cullens together in time, but Bella aligns the stars for every member to become a vampire.

in the 1640s, she is the scent that pulls the starving vampire away from Carlisle.

in 1863, María sees Bella's warp & pursues her until she finds confederate Jasper Hale on his way to Galveston.

in 1911, her time skip startles 16 y.o. Esme out of a tree, breaking the girl's leg. she is treated by Dr. Cullen.

in 1918, a cold & wet Bella gives Edward the flu.

in 1933, Carlisle spots Bella on his way home from the hospital & finds her so eerily familiar he calls out & rushes to catch up. frightened by the commotion, Royce et al leave a dying Rosalie in the street.

in 1935, warping into a forest pisses off a huge black bear. Emmett saves her & subsequently gets mauled.

in 1950, she listens to Alice tell the story of her only human memory: prophesizing as a little girl about the "lady in the blue jeans" who comes to visit, to the horror & disgust of her superstitious parents. they throw her in an insane asylum.

now, in 2006, she reappears & falls at the Cullens' feet. her face reflects their looks of shock.

it was her. it was always her.

& all because she ditched Alice & Jasper to confront James at the ballet studio.

"oh god," she whispers from the floor in a broken voice. tears blur her vision. Bella looks up at the family of vampires. "i think i've made a terrible mistake."

#fuckmeyer legacy post #twilight #twilight fanfiction #twilight renaissance #bella swan #edward cullen #GUESS WHAT I FOUND IT'S MY FIC I FOUND IT AYAYAYAYA #so UFCKING HAPPY I FOUND THIS #this & In the Afterlight & the jasper/maria prequel are literally the only longfics i will/would ever write for this fandom #i dream about writing this fic OFTEN #any interest?#i know time travel fics can be kinda meh so genuinely asking. im not into the time travel au genre so not sure what's been done

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midnightshard06 · 8 days ago

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Rings and White Space

Summary: Shadow investigates an odd anomaly in the white space despite his rush to stop Black Doom. He ends up in an alternate dimension, and unbeknownst to him his counterpart gets sent to the white space.

Warnings: Mild panic attack

Word Count: ~4800 words

You can check it out on ao3 here if you prefer.

"What can you tell me about it Omega?" Shadow eyed the small anomaly that had shown up in the white space randomly. While he really didn't have time to deviate from his mission he couldn't rule out that this was some doing of Black Doom too. Thus why he was here to investigate in the first place.

"INITIAL SCANS INDICATE IT IS UNRELATED TO THE TEMPORAL ANOMALY OF THIS PLACE." Omega looked over at him.

Shadow sighed. "I find that hard to believe. How else would it have gotten here?" He crossed his arms.

"THE ANOMALY IS MORE SPATIAL IN ORIGIN THAN TEMPORAL BASED ON COMPARISON TO PREVIOUS DATA. THEREFORE IT SEEMS DISCONNECTED FROM BLACK DOOM OR THE TIME EATER'S INFLUENCE." Omega continued.

"That time monster clearly has some sort of control over space as well." Shadow gestured to the structures of the Ark not far from them. "Places that most certainly should not be in this odd white space clearly moved here in some fashion or at least replicated."

"DATA INCONCLUSIVE THEN. FURTHER INVESTIGATION IS REQUIRED." Omega sounded oddly miffed.

"Fine then." Shadow started walking towards the anomaly. "We'll gather further data for you." As Shadow approached the odd floating ball of some sort he heard Omega's heavy footsteps behind him. Once he was practically below it, the anomaly shifted and collapsed in on itself. A small, golden ring dropped to the ground. Shadow furrowed his brow in confusion. That was not what he'd been expecting, but this white space already held plenty of oddities. Perhaps a ring falling out of a spatial anomaly wasn't out of the question.

Before Shadow could even take a step forward to investigate the ring it began to move. It rattled on the ground before shooting into the air and growing in size significantly. Some sort of unfamiliar city landscape appeared in the center of the ring. Though Shadow didn't have much time to ponder that as he felt himself being sucked into the ring. As much as he tried to resist the force he found himself unable to stop, eventually being pulled into the ring.

An odd energy seemed to spread over his body for a moment, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. He landed as gracefully as he could with no warning and looked around. It seemed to be the landscape he'd seen in the ring. Around him were several destroyed vehicles. Both normal civilian ones and more militaristic. G.U.N. maybe? The symbols were damaged but they certainly seemed to be G.U.N.’s logo. His visual investigation was paused when he was blinded by a light shone on him and he heard the sound of a helicopter overhead. His eyes weren't drawn to it though. No, his eyes were drawn to a large screen nearby which seemed to be showing him. "What..?" Shadow let the word out quietly. It was unmistakably him but... different. "A new form..?" He pulled his hand away from his face and clenched his fists. "I need to figure out what's going on." He glanced up to where he'd come through the ring. It was gone now. "And find a way back to finish my mission." With his current goal in mind he sped off down the slightly destroyed streets.

"Omega? What's going on?" Rouge landed next to the robot. She'd come right over after the bot had gotten in contact with her. Apparently Shadow had been looking into another anomaly in the white space and had vanished through a ring portal. Sort of. She glanced down at the collapsed form of Shadow on the ground. As it stood, it seemed that the hedgehog was still here.

Omega pointed to Shadow. "THIS SHADOW DOES NOT MATCH THE LIFE DATA I HAVE ON FILE. THEY CAME THROUGH IMMEDIATELY AFTER SHADOW WAS PULLED IN AND HAVE NOT WOKEN UP YET."

"Hmmmm." Rouge walked over to the hedgehog. Carefully she turned them over. Well they certainly looked like Shadow. Exactly like him in fact. "Are you sure this isn't him?" She looked at Omega. "Certainly looks like him. Although..." She put a hand on her chin. "The doctor has made pretty much perfect looking copies of Shadow before. Is this one an android?" She gestured to the still passed out hedgehog.

"NEGATIVE. SCANS INDICATE THEY ARE ORGANIC." Omega reported.

Rouge squatted down near the Shadow look-alike. "Well, guess we'll just have to wait until they wake up hm? Maybe we can get some answers out of them directly..." She stood up and glanced at the Black Moon. "This better not take too long though. Sonic's going to notice that emerald is a fake sooner rather than later, and Shadow still has things to clean up here..."

Thus far skating through the city had yielded no answers as to what was going on. The place had seemingly been attacked and G.U.N. was all over, but Shadow still had no idea where he was or how he was going to get back. This whole situation was just getting more and more frustrating. He had no time for this. He needed to be stopping Black Doom, not running around in some random city without any sort of direction. This city did in some ways feel like how Maria had described certain places on earth but it still felt... wrong somehow.

He shook his head as he came to a sudden stop. Running around like this was yielding nothing and he needed a plan. As he caught sight of a flash of familiar blue in the distance he realized what that plan might need to involve. Painful as it was to admit it, Sonic did have a lot of experience with odd things happening to him, as well as traveling to other worlds. Something Shadow was beginning to believe had happened to him. Hopefully the Sonic of this world was as... experienced as the one he was familiar with.

It wasn't hard to catch up to Sonic, it was clear the other hedgehog wasn't moving at top speeds. As Shadow pulled alongside him and gestured for him to stop, Sonic watched him with wide eyes. With a sigh of annoyance Shadow just stopped and hoped Sonic got the message. Thankfully the other hedgehog did, as he stopped a few feet away. He was eying Shadow warily, bouncing from foot to foot. Overall he looked ready to either bolt or fight at a moment's notice. Just... fantastic.

"Sonic." Shadow dutifully ignored the fact that his voice also sounded different. There wasn't time for that right now.

Sonic's defensive looked changed into one of surprise. "Wait." He held up a hand. " Now you wanna talk?"

Well, given the current state of the city and how this Sonic was acting things were beginning to become clearer to Shadow. He might be at a time where his own counterpart and this Sonic had just met. If it was anything like the first time he'd met his own Sonic well... Shadow supposed he could understand how this Sonic was acting. Even if the whole situation was less than helpful for him.

Shadow drug a hand down his face and sighed. After taking a moment to compose himself he looked back at Sonic. "While I have no idea how, I am not the Shadow you know. I would appreciate if you could temporarily set whatever thoughts you have about my counterpart aside as I require... assistance." Shadow felt his ear twitch. As much as he didn't want to admit that out loud to a stranger, he didn't have time to beat around the bush. He needed to be direct.

Sonic's face went through so many emotions that Shadow gave up on deciphering them all. "So... you're from a different universe or something? Then why do you sound and look like the same guy?" Sonic put a hand on his chin as he considered Shadow. "In the movies there's always some sort of difference."

"I assure you I typically look and sound differently. Whatever anomaly brought me here must have also changed those things about me." Shadow fought the urge to just drop this conversation and continue trying to figure this out on his own. The whole conversation was quickly beginning to feel like a waste of time. Something he couldn't afford.

What seemed like chaos energy sparked over Sonic's quills. Interesting. "I don't know..." Sonic hummed. Shadow really took in this version of his... rival. It was plain to see now that he was younger, more inexperienced. Not the same as he'd been when Shadow had first met his own Sonic even. There were scuffs and what looked like small wounds over Sonic's body; something Shadow hadn't noticed before. Something must have just happened involving his counterpart, and now this Sonic wasn't inclined to believe him. Shadow's own... inadequacies when it came to speaking with others might prove to be his downfall. He'd expected this Sonic to act like the one he was familiar with. He had clearly misjudged.

Well he had one idea to perhaps prove he wasn't the same. It meant relying on assumptions again but Shadow had the feeling that even if he ran off now Sonic would chase him. "Then let me show you." Shadow focused. At first he couldn't feel the still new feeling of his doom abilities, but after a moment it felt almost as if a dam broke. The odd, yet familiar feeling of his new abilities returned to him. He'd go for something Sonic couldn't ignore. Pure chaos flooded his body as it quickly shifted into a more squid-like form. Sonic went wide eyed and backed up. Shadow looked down at him, form fully transitioned by doom morph. "Does this evidence suffice?" Shadow narrowed several sets of eyes.

"You know... I think I'm starting to believe you. If the guy I met can do that uh... I didn't see him do it." Sonic looked a mix of intimidated and intrigued. "There's also the fact you haven't tried to fight me yet either so..." He shrugged.

Shadow huffed and allowed the morph to drop. The transition both ways felt a great deal more awkward in this form, but it was manageable. "Good."

"How did you get here anyway?" Sonic tilted his head, his foot started tapping impatiently.

Shadow eyed the offending foot. Clearly this Sonic was on a time crunch much like he was. "A ring portal of some kind pulled me in when I was investigating some sort of spatial anomaly."

Sonic perked up. "Ring huh? Small and gold? Got bigger before you went through it?"

"Precisely." Shadow nodded. The fact that this Sonic was familiar with them was a good sign.

"Well if you came here through a ring you should be able to use it to get back to wherever you came from. Probably." Sonic rubbed the back of his head. "Tails is the one who'd know better... But! Lucky for you I should be able to get you a ring." He glanced around. "I just need to meet back up with Tails and Knuckles." He eyed Shadow.

"What?" Shadow crossed his arms.

"Well... it's just gonna be hard to explain to them that the guy who just beat us into the pavement a few minutes ago needs a ring." Sonic sighed. "Might need to do the creepy squid thing again."

Shadow drug a hand down his face again. "If necessary I will handle the convincing. Now I believe we're both on a time crunch." He gestured for Sonic to get a move on.

"Oh right." Sonic chuckled. "Follow me?" Shadow waved him off and Sonic took off. With a deep breath to calm himself, Shadow took off after him.

Shadow bolted up, his eyes darted around. The area around him was unfamiliar, though the overwhelming white did remind him of some of the rooms on the Ark. This place was nothing like those though. It was open and there were all sorts of odd structures littered throughout. "Well look who's up." An unfamiliar female voice said. He turned his head to the sound and saw a white bat. Behind her was a hefty looking robot. Both were watching him.

Chaos energy sparked over his quills as he glared. "Who are you?" He was brought out of his own threat by the sound of his voice. It was... different.

"Well, that's what we'd like to know." The bat hummed. "You see you came out of some portal right after our friend went in." Her eyes hardened a little. "We need to get him back."

Shadow regained his composure and narrowed his eyes at the bat. "I don't owe you any sort of explanation." Mostly because he didn't have one. He had no idea how he'd ended up here. In fact he didn't even recall passing out, but clearly he'd been out for a short time. His eyes darted around the area, quickly taking in anything that could help him. There was plenty around he could use to maneuver with though it felt like his most viable option was to simply take out the two in front of him and go from there. He could easily pick up on the hostility from the bat, and he assumed the robot followed her orders.

The bat's eyes widened as he shot towards her. Surprisingly she seemed at least mildly prepared for the attack, but it didn't save her from the brunt of the force of him slamming into her. The moment she was clear of him though the robot made its threat known. A barrage of weapons unloaded on him. He used chaos control to dodge most of them before trying to get in close. The robot proved to be adaptable though as it stood its ground and took the blow Shadow landed before forcing him back.

By then the bat had recovered and managed to land a surprise hit on his back. The strike stung but Shadow ignored the pain. These two would clearly not be as easy as that other hedgehog and his friends. These two seemed prepared for him. "SURRENDER OR BE DESTROYED." The robot aimed its weapons at him again as the bat stood at its side, watching him with a shut off expression.

His head felt oddly fuzzy the longer he stood there. Perhaps it would be wiser to retreat for the time being. His eyes darted around, trying to get a better feel for the layout of this place. It was probably the strangest place Shadow had ever seen, but there were plenty of ways to get around. He warped to a nearby platform and simply began putting distance between himself and the two. He needed to figure out how to get back, not mess around with those two.

The more he traversed the area the less he understood it. There seemed to be some areas which held more color, but they all seemed so different. The whole area itself just seemed like a bunch of places mashed together. There was some sort of cohesion to the whole thing but trying to understand everything was just giving him a headache. He paused in his searching though when he caught sight of who seemed to be a familiar face. Was that the professor? It was relieving to see a familiar face. Perhaps he would know what was going on. Clearly whatever odd force had brought Shadow here had brought the professor as well.

"Professor!" Shadow called out but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the person standing at the professor's side. His eyes widened. "Maria..?"

"Should be around here..." Sonic trailed off.

Shadow mentally sighed. It was clear this Sonic was distracted, but if he was dealing with Shadow's counterpart perhaps some distraction was to be expected. Thankfully though it wasn't long before Shadow noticed two familiar figures in the distance. What must be this world's Tails and Knuckles. Sonic enthusiastically waved to them as they turned to look. Both of their eyes widened simultaneously and Shadow only had a moment to realize this was going to go south before Knuckles was in his face, chaos energy crackling over his body and eyes glowing red.

A punch flew over Shadow's head as he dropped down. A quick chaos control had him on his feet again, several feet away. As much as he wanted to defend himself more directly, he knew that would only make it harder to convince them to assist him. Sonic ran to be between the two of them, holding up his hands in a placating manor towards Knuckles. "Whoa there, this guy's ok."

Knuckles gave Sonic a disbelieving look. "Is that not the same hedgehog we engaged in battle before? Why do you defend him now?" Shadow felt a little taken aback by this Knuckles' demeanor. It was jarring when compared to the one he was familiar with, but perhaps that would make this easier.

"Cause he's not... the same guy?" Sonic sounded unsure. Clearly Shadow would need to speak for himself.

"Although I look the same as the Shadow you're familiar with, I am not. I arrived here through a ring portal of some sort and am only trying to return to where I came from." Shadow crossed his arms. "I assume the oddity of the place I came from may have an influence on my own appearance here. Causing me to take on the same form as my counterpart."

"I think he's telling the truth." Tails spoke up as he held up a device with a small screen on it. "He may look like the Shadow we encountered but nothing else seems to match up."

Knuckles eyed Shadow suspiciously before backing off. "Very well. I will choose to believe both of you."

"Great." Sonic sighed in relief. "Now then, all we need is a ring and we should be able to get this guy back to where he came from." He glanced over at Tails. "Since he came here through one... right?"

"Theoretically if he got here through a ring portal he should be able to get back yeah." Tails nodded before pulling a small gold ring out and tossing it to Sonic.

Sonic grinned as he caught it. "One ring, just as requested." He tossed the ring to Shadow. "Should be all you need to get home."

"I see." Shadow turned the ring over in his hand. "How does it function?"

Sonic seemed to falter for a moment in surprise. "You just throw it and think about where you want to go." He shrugged. Shadow nodded and threw the ring as he thought of the white space. The ring sparked briefly. That hadn't happened before. He was relieved when it flared to life just as the other one had though. This time the image was of the white space. "That's where you come from?" Sonic's ears drooped as he looked through the portal. "I wouldn't blame you for wanting to come here instead. Earth's way cooler than... that."

"I don't live there." Shadow huffed. "I simply have some business to attend to there."

"Huh." Sonic seemed more interested. "Good luck with that."

"Interesting..." Tails stepped a little closer. "Interdimensional travel via the rings..." He put a hand on his chin. "I knew there was weight to the theory of alternate dimensions. I just had no idea they could be so easy to access."

"The space beyond that portal is far from natural where I come from." Shadow shook his head. "It's likely the ease is only because of the oddity of the place."

"Still." Tails hummed. "Interesting."

"Good luck in your mission." Knuckles nodded. Shadow nodded back.

"Well even if it was weird..." Sonic trailed off, but there was a smile on his face. "Was cool to meet you. Gives me some hope I guess. Even if the squid thing was super weird." He chuckled.

"What is this squid thing you speak of?" Knuckles' face scrunched up in confusion.

Sonic patted his arm. "Don't worry about it."

Shadow walked up to the ring but hesitated. He turned back to Sonic and the others. "My counterpart..." He started. For some reason he felt compelled to say something. If his counterpart was anything like he'd been after first waking up then he could use a nudge in the right direction. "There is more to him than he may let on." Before any of them could ask any questions though Shadow hopped through the ring portal. They would figure it out.

Shadow stumbled away from what must be a trick. Maria was standing there next to Professor Gerald. The two had noticed him by now and were looking at him with concern. It all felt wrong. He felt his breath beginning to pick up. Despite his best efforts his thoughts seemed to spiral and his breathing came in short gasps. Then suddenly he felt grounded. A set of arms were around him and he clung onto their owners for dear life. The whole thing was a shameful display, especially to have in front of the professor, but in that moment he allowed himself to indulge. Everything else temporarily put to the side as he sunk into the arms around him and shut his eyes to block out the world. It was Maria, he belatedly realized. At least his brain made him think it was. There was no way it was actually her. He bathed in the comfort of her embrace regardless. For now it didn't matter if she was real or not. It felt real enough to him.

"What do you think happened?" Maria asked. Shadow could feel her shift slightly.

"I'm not sure...." Gerald sounded perplexed. "Last I heard Shadow was going to investigate that anomaly. I suspect something must have happened there."

"It's ok Shadow." Maria's voice was soft, calming. "Whatever happened it's ok." She started to gently stroke his quills.

Shadow wanted to say something. Mostly how it wasn't ok. None of what happened was. His voice seemed stuck in his throat though, so instead he just gripped Maria tighter. Being careful to not hurt her. "Thought this might be where you'd go." The bat's voice was there. Shadow fought the urge to raise his quills. He didn't want to hurt Maria.

"Ah, Rouge right?" Gerald asked. "Do you know what's going on?"

"Well..." The newly identified Rouge hummed. "Something happened when Shadow went to investigate that ring. He got pulled through and right after that this Shadow came out. Omega says he's not the one we know." Shadow's ear twitched as he took in the information. A different Shadow to the one they knew? There were other hims?

"I see." Gerald hummed. "Perhaps the instability of this place allowed contact with an alternate reality? One that forced the two to swap places when our Shadow was forced to investigate."

"You'd know more about the sciencey stuff than me." Rouge said. "I'd go ask Sonic's little fox friend about it but I don't think getting blue and his friends involved is a good idea."

"I'll trust your judgment on that." Gerald seemed to walk a few steps.

"Can we get him back home?" Maria asked, concern tinting her voice.

"Presumably yes." Gerald answered. "If the two were forced to swap when our Shadow entered this Shadow's world it reasons to stand that if one of them is sent back to their native dimension the other will be sent back as well."

"So if we manage to get this Shadow back home we get our Shadow back?" Rouge asked. "You make it sound so simple." She huffed.

Shadow tuned out the conversation that started after that. He didn't care to hear their ideas of how to send him back right now. There was a part of him that didn't want to go back. Part of him that wanted to stay here where Maria was still alive. "Shadow." Maria's voice was soft. "I don't know what happened where you came from but it's going to be ok. Whatever happened or is happening you'll get through it." She gently managed to dislodge him from her. Her face was reassuring, and that broke Shadow's heart a little. "If you're anything like the Shadow I know, you're strong. You'll be ok."

"Thank you." Shadow muttered quietly. He took a deep breath to get his emotions back under control. His chest ached with a sense of loss but he needed to push forward. He allowed anger to settle back over him to block out the pain. An anger built up by the time he'd been imprisoned. As he looked Maria in the eyes though he began to doubt. Doubt if she really would have wanted this anger for him. He looked away and banished the thought. No. The anger wouldn't just go away so quickly. He needed to do something with it.

There was suddenly a gentle tugging in his chest. He looked down in confusion before he understood. "I think your theory is right professor." He said quietly. Both Professor Gerald and Rouge turned to look at him. "I think your Shadow found a way back."

"Guess I had nothing to worry about." Rouge chuckled. "Should have known that getting sent to another dimension wouldn't have slowed him down for long."

Maria took Shadow's hands. He felt light headed, but he managed to focus on her anyway. "Good luck Shadow." Maria smiled at him. His focus began to slip but he managed a nod. The smallest of smiles pulled at his lips before he felt himself pitch forward and black out.

Shadow sighed in relief as he stepped back into the white space. The ring portal he came through collapsed behind him. Though the ring itself, now the same size as it was originally, fell to the ground. He picked it up and put it away safely. It would be a poor idea to leave something like that out in the open. He looked over to see Omega aiming weapons at him. For a moment the two stared each other down. "SCANS INDICATE YOU ARE THE SHADOW I KNOW." Omega lowered his weapons.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Shadow furrowed his brow in confusion.

"WHEN YOU WERE PULLED INTO THE PORTAL AN IMPOSTER CAME THROUGH. THEY DID NOT COOPERATE WITH QUESTIONING." Omega explained. “NOR DID THEY COOPERATE WITH MY ATTEMPTS TO DESTROY THEM.”

Shadow hummed. Perhaps his counterpart had been sent here then. "Where is he now?"

"HE FLED. ROUGE WENT IN PURSUIT. SHE STATED SHE PLANNED TO CHECK WITH GERALD AND MARIA BEFORE EXPANDING HER SEARCH." Omega pointed in the direction of where the two were.

Shadow sucked in a breath through his nose. "Understood. I'll go check in with her."

"AFFIRMATIVE. INFORM ME OF THE SITUATION WHEN ABLE." Omega put his arm down.

Shadow nodded before taking off in the direction Omega had indicated. As he approached the water and activated doom surf he felt relieved that the powers felt more natural again. Even if the idea of them in general still unnerved him some. Once he was close enough Maria began to wave at him. Gerald and Rouge seemed to have been talking. He landed on the shore and approached them. "Where's my counterpart?" Shadow asked, glancing between the three of them.

"Back to his native dimension I'd assume." Gerald stroked his moustache. "Disappeared a few moments ago."

Well at least that was set straight. "Good." Shadow nodded.

"What happened?" Rouge was suddenly in his face.

Shadow grimaced and backed up a step. "I went to investigate the anomaly and was pulled through. I was taken to an alternate dimension of some sort. I located versions of Sonic and a couple of his friends and got their assistance returning."

“Interesting.” Gerald hummed.

“I hope he’ll be ok.” Maria frowned. “That Shadow seemed so upset when he saw us.”

Shadow fought to keep his expression neutral. He couldn’t risk hinting to their fates any more than he already had. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Admittedly he couldn’t completely shake his concern for his counterpart, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"Well you're back now." Rouge patted him on the arm. "Ready to finish things?"

Shadow glanced up to where the last sealing device was waiting for him. Despite his own circumstances he mentally wished good luck to his counterpart. It would have been nice to perhaps be able to have a brief chat with him, but he was confident that it would all work out. If there was one constant he was sure about, it was how stubborn Sonic could be. No doubt the hedgehog's counterpart would manage to get through to Shadow's counterpart. At the very least another of Sonic's friends, like Amy had done for him. He gave Rouge a confident look. "As I'll ever be." Thoughts of alternate worlds and alternate versions of people had to be pushed to the side for now. Right now he had a mission to finish.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic au #sonic fandom #shadow the hedgehog #sonic movie #sonic movie 3 #fanfiction #shadow swap au

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noturlondonboy · 8 months ago

Text

No More Excuses//Katelena

Chapter 7: Vodka Will Fix Us

Pairing: Kate Bishop x Yelena Belova

Chapter Summary: Yelena arrives back at Kate’s apartment to find the woman a depressed puddle. They get dressed up, and Yelena does Kate’s makeup for a girl’s night out on the town.

A/N: I think this is one of my favorite chapters, they’re just the cutest and most fun to write I can’t

Chapter Warnings: talk of alcohol, depression, almost panic attack

It took Yelena a moment to even realize that the apartment wasn't empty when she ducked in through the window. But she spotted Kate's combat boots and purple flannel dumped by the door, and Lucky's head appeared by the stairs. She smiled softly at him and continued to scan the open space for the archer.

"Kate Bishop?" Yelena called out softly, a little apprehensive about the silence. In the brief time she had known her, Yelena realized that Kate loved to talk. Not in a bad way, per se, but she always had a lot to say and a lot to feel about everything. And if she wasn't talking, she was humming, or laughing, or making strange little noises with her mouth. The quiet was strange. Yelena knew Kate wasn't always in the best headspace, of course, as she had found the woman's medications and a few notes about therapy and some other sensitive topics (which Yelena put away immediately once she realized how personal it was).

"Kate Bishop!" Yelena walked further into the apartment, greeting Lucky with a pat on his head. There was a grumble from Kate's loft bedroom, and Yelena headed up the stairs. "You better not be naked, Kate Bishop, because I'm coming up and Lucky doesn't need to be scarred so early into his life."

Kate didn't respond, and when Yelena got to her bed, the archer didn't move from where she lay face down in her pillows, completely prone.

"Are you dead, Kate Bishop?"

"I wish I was," came a garbled voice, her fingers twitching.

Yelena's brow furrowed, and she stopped from where she had been about to turn Kate over onto her back to poke at her cheeks and make her stand up. Something was clearly wrong with the archer, who looked more bedraggled the longer she looked.

"Kate Bishop," Yelena said softly, letting her mother shine through as she carefully sat on the bed, "are you alright?" She dared to rest a hand on Kate's back, her fingers pressing softly into the nook of her shoulder blade.

Kate jolted at the contact, her head flying up to look at Yelena. Her dark hair fell over her face in a messy wave, and Yelena brushed it away with her free hand, concern pursing her lips. Kate's eyes were large and watery, the blue shining with tears both unshed and not. They stuck to her thick eyelashes and she almost seemed to glow, and Yelena thought it was very strange to think that when her friend (they were friends, right?) was clearly upset.

"Kate, what happened?" she asked gently, her thumb rubbing a gentle circle into the nape of her neck. Yelena could feel something strong bubbling in her stomach. She didn't know how to comfort. No one ever taught her, and the only person who could've was gone. And yet here she was, trying anyway.

Kate stared at her, her bottom lip stuck out in an almost pout that Yelena was tempted to poke at. She didn't realize that her fingers were still hooked behind Kate's ear to keep her hair out of her face until she leaned into her palm, eyes closing as a fresh wave of tears overtook her.

This was where Yelena's limited capabilities fell short.

Kate seemed to notice Yelena's hesitant expression, because she pulled away and pressed her face back into her pillows. "Sorry," she mumbled, voice wobbly and borderline sobbing. It was clear she was making an effort to calm herself, but her shoulders quivered and the tautness of her muscles told Yelena just how much she was struggling.

The assassin may not be good at girls, but she was good at alcohol.

"Let's go get those drinks, Kate Bishop. I do not know what ails you, but a good beer or two and plenty of vodka will help you feel better."

"It's only 3 in the afternoon," Kate whined, head twisting to show half her face so she could see Yelena.

The Russian barked a deep laugh. "Ha! Kate Bishop, don't be silly! It's every time of the day somewhere else. In Russia we drink as we please and no one has say over us."

The archer only screwed her eyes shut and frowned, tears still pricking her eyes. The crying had flushed her cheeks and her ears, and Yelena found a sense of something very alluring in the rosy tint to her tan skin, even if Kate being upset made her upset too. For some reason.

She sucked in a breath and brushed her knuckles under one of Kate's eyes, catching a tear before it could slide down the bridge of her nose. "Come on, Kate Bishop," she said softly. "Let's get you all dressed up and enjoy ourselves in the city. Girl's night out. Dinner and drinks and movie on me."

Kate seemed to quiet a bit at this prospect, opening her eyes again to look at Yelena. "Girl's Night Out?" she repeated back meekly.

Yelena nodded, wondering what on Earth she was getting herself into. "You owe me that drink, Kate Bishop. And I am remembering you mentioned ice-skating. Show me your corner of New York. Take your mind off of what bothers you."

Kate had absolutely not said a single word about ice-skating, but Yelena wasn't about to take it back.

"I'm terrible at ice-skating," Kate whispered, but Yelena grinned, knowing the archer had given in to her whims. (What whims, Yelena?)

Lucky barked excitedly as Kate slowly dragged herself out of bed, and Yelena couldn't help but agree.

————

"Kate Bishop, why do you Americans take so long to get ready?!"

"I've only been in here for ten minutes, Yelena!"

The blonde groaned amicably and bonked her head on Kate's bathroom door, silently urging her friend to hurry up. Yelena had already rummaged through her own stash of clothes and found an outfit she deemed more than appropriate for a night on the town, PLUS a full face of makeup. As always, she was flawless.

"Ten minutes is so longgggggg, Kate Bishoooooop," she groaned loudly, popping the 'p'. Kate laughed inside the bathroom, her voice already lighter than it was when Yelena had first gotten back.

"Entertain Lucky until I'm done."

"Ugh. Fineeeeeee."

Yelena knelt on the floor and beckoned Lucky over to her, cooing and rubbing his ears softly while letting him smother her in kisses, still careful of her makeup. "Your mama is very slow," she murmured to him, scrunching his face up in her palms and staring very seriously into his eye. He grinned, licking at her chin.

"Okay, I'm done!" Kate called out, a moment before she opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

"About time, Kate Bish- oh." Yelena blinked and stood up in one swift motion, looking Kate up and down. The archer was in form fitting black slacks, white DM platforms with embroidered roses, and a puffy black turtleneck sweater underneath her purple flannel. It was a rather simple ensemble of clothes, but Yelena couldn't help but remember how striking Kate had looked in her glittery black dress at Eleanor Bishop's charity gala, the night everything seemed to go to shit.

Normally, Kate would've noticed Yelena's silence, her heated stare, how it took her just a little longer than normal to gather her composure- but she was having similar thoughts as well. The assassin had donned a blood red dress with a knee length ruffled skirt and beaded sleeves that reached her wrists, and a buttoned up high collar accentuated her sharp jawline. Black thermal tights covered her legs, and her tall black platforms put her only about two inches shorter than Kate, as opposed to the usual five.

"You're slaying," Kate said stupidly, her jaw feeling a little too slack and cheeks a little too warm.

Yelena tilted her head and graciously ignored her fumbling, seemingly completely unfased. "You clean up nicely, Kate Bishop."

They both kind of just stand there and look at each other for a moment, neither willing to break the spell they had fallen into. Lucky is the one to shatter it, of course, as always, but both women are too flustered to even know what to think, and instead they busy themselves with separate tasks. Kate refills Lucky's food and water while the pup watches on eagerly, and Yelena steps back with a cough and excuses herself to get some water. She disappears into the kitchen, and Kate can hear the tap running and some splashing, like Yelena is washing her face.

"Be careful with your makeup, it's too good to ruin this soon!" Kate calls out to her, daring to speak after giving the moment a second to air out. The blonde looks up from where she's leaning over the sink when the archer follows her into the kitchen, and Kate's mood immediately flips when she notices how sick Yelena looks.

"Yelena? Are you okay? What's wrong?" She rushed to her friend, letting her hand hover over her back for a moment before gently rubbing in between her shoulder blades. Yelena's arms are quivering as she leans her weight into them to keep her propped up, but she draws her ruby painted lips into a thin line and shakes her head. Drops of cold water slide off her nose and her chin, but her immaculate makeup doesn't budge.

"I'm fine, Kate," she chokes out, her voice throaty and low like she's holding back tears, and Kate's worry only grows when the woman presses a hand to her stomach.

"Yelena, if you're feeling sick, it's probably best if you just stay in-"

"No, Kate Bishop." She sucks in a deep breath and squats down, keeping her hands on the counter and leaning her head against the cupboard to breathe and get away from Kate. She was so distracting. What was wrong with her? "I am fine. Just a-" She almost says it's 'just cramps', because Kate doesn't know that Yelena didn't have a uterus (not that she ever really wanted one anyway) but she clamps that down. It felt silly and childish.

How did she explain herself? Hi Kate Bishop, I'm feeling warm and safe and almost happy for the first time in a while and I'm not even drunk and I think it might be because of you and it's making me nauseous in a scared of good things kind of way. No. What the hell even...?

"I just need a minute," she eventually managed to get out, once the bile and taste of blood on her tongue had sunk away. Kate didn't press, which she was immensely grateful for, and she could make out the woman retreating to tend to Lucky as he promptly tipped his water bowl all over the floor.

A minute or so later, Yelena manages to stand without the thought of Kate's smile sending her into a guilt-ridden spiral, and she joins her at the table where Kate is trying to teach Lucky how to gently take a treat from her hand. She glances up and sees the blonde, and gives a soft, hesitant grin, the tilt of her eyebrows soft in a way that melts something in Yelena.

"Are you alright?" she asks again, ever so aware and considerate. Yelena can only nod against the archer's almost cloying sweetness. "Can I do anything to help you feel better?"

Normally, Yelena would completely brush that question off, but there's something nagging at her.

"Would you let me do your makeup, Kate Bishop?"

This takes her by surprise, and Kate sits up taller. She usually opted for minimal makeup when she went out, if any at all, because mascara could make her eyes feel too thick when she needed to see where she was shooting and archery practice always had her sweating it all off, anyway. "Um- yeah, sure! Why not?" She internally grimaces at herself, but something heavy slips away from Yelena's expression at her permission and Kate feels a little fuzzy.

Yelena directs Kate to the couch and rummages around in a closet that Kate was only partially aware of, coming back out with a makeup bag and small mirror. An almost girlish grin curls her mouth rather prettily, and Kate melts at the sight of it.

The assassin indicates for Kate to scoot closer to the arm of the couch to give her more wiggle room, and Yelena sink into the cushions on her knees next to her, makeup palette and brush already up and ready. The archer gulps at the devious glint in her eye. Yelena was definitely feeling better, that's for sure.

A few minutes in, Kate is just grateful that Yelena hasn't killed her out of impatience. The archer had never been good to put makeup on, much to the chagrin of both her mother and her college friends. (Where were they now?) She always tended to blink at the wrong time and scrunch up her eyes and sneeze directly in the poor victim's face. Luckily, she's able to help that last one, and Yelena seems to always know when she's about to sneeze anyway, because they've avoided catastrophe three times due to her perceptiveness and quick reflexes.

"Sorry," Kate mutters sheepishly after one such occurrence, her nose still tickling and her eyes threatening to water, ruining whatever Yelena had been meticulously applying. The look on Yelena's face told her that she was annoyed, but her voice held a very different message.

"Oh, Kate Bishop. You are hopeless," she muttered good naturedly, a fondness in the words that had Kate glowing. Surprising the both of them, Yelena shifts around and straddles her darker counterpart's lap in one fluid motion, the strength and warmth of her thighs settling into Kate.

Kate, predictably, is losing it.

Yelena's blood red dress hitches up and pools around her waist, and even though her legs are covered, Kate tears her eyes away with burning cheeks and meets an inquisitive gaze.

"Everything alright, Kate Bishop?" Yelena mutters, a smirk tugging at her lips.

Kate nods her head in what she hopes is a calm matter, and Yelena giggles softly, shrugging and getting back to work. Kate is so busy keeping her eyes up (which is a completely different problem, because Yelena is stunning) and her hands as far away from Yelena's hips as possible that her brain doesn't even remember to sneeze or flinch at the cold eyeliner and dusty powder.

"Aha! I have done it again!" Yelena cries out victoriously, her eyes glowing as she surveys her work. It's a simpler look, only made tedious by Kate's constant fidgeting, but it was effective nonetheless. A deep purple smokey eye, thick lashes, sharp winged eyeliner, some contour and blush to make her cheekbones pop, and silver glitter along her eyes, nose, and jaw to draw attention to the angles of her face.

Maybe Yelena was a little too good.

She scrambles off of Kate hurriedly, the other woman immediately missing the warmth, and hands the small mirror over so they can both appreciate her work. Kate whistles slowly and turns this way and that, admiring herself for a moment before looking back to Yelena. The dark makeup made the blue of her eyes pop, the color sharp and exciting.

She smiled brightly. "Thank you. Feel better?"

Yelena took a moment to realize what Kate was even talking about, but she eventually nodded and headed to the door in a daze, grabbing her coat.

"Let's get going, Kate Bishop." She managed a grin. "Ice-skating, and then dinner, and then I will show you the proper way to drink vodka."

"Sounds like a plan."

Translations: none

Kate Bishop counter: 17

This chapter's meme(s):

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#Katelena #bishova #wlw #sapphic #marvel #Kate bishop #Yelena belova #fanfiction #fanfic #no more excuses #Kate x Yelena #Yelena x Kate #that one makeup trope

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atxxzist · 2 years ago

Text

broken | c.s (09)

prev // next // series m.list

pairing: choi san x reader

word count: 11.4k

warning: brief smut scene, shitty writing here & there, pls stop reading immediately if anything makes u uncomfortable!

summer isn't anything like your school experience so far, which is a good thing.

instead of sticking to your dorm room or the cafe nearby all day, you at least went out; to lotte world when both of your friends wanted some thrills and proceeded to drag you through a near hell experience where you almost fainted from a ride and stayed beside mingi to nurture him after because he's still the same 'ole scaredy cat you know him to be, who gets easily nauseous.

they also took you to your first ever bar and ordered you a cocktail drink named after something you cannot remember, but it was all super extra and too sophisticated for your taste.

you might've gotten a tad drunk; the experience not at all like you imagined, and attacked mingi with a few kisses, though you have suspicions it wasn't all your doing considering mingi had been eyeing someone across the bar all night who was giving him the same coy look back.

but if you're to ask him, he'd probably just tell you it was nothing serious; just a one night thing. and maybe not exactly sexual but a couple flirty exchanges, that's it. you know how he is.

but the first few weeks of you guys running around like bachelors not tied to anything but just having fun comes to an end when minji called, finally able to free up some time to pay a visit to her boyfriend and friends she hasn't seen in a while.

yunho was the most happy and excited you've seen him ever since stepping on seoul's soils, when minji arrived at the dormitory and ran into his arms so fast, it made you sick to the stomach at how sweet the scene was.

she had planned an entire list of her own of things to do together and was elevated to reveal the first activity on that list much to your dismay, because you guys had already done something similar a couple weeks before.

"come on, guys! it's gonna be fun!" she cheers, arms wrapped around one of yunho's and jumping on the way to the lobby as both you and mingi trail from behind just a good amount of distance because the matching shirts the two has on makes you guys not want to associate yourselves.

"i could think of a million other things to do than go to another amusement park," mingi comments; his snarky tone causing minji to stop as she pulls yunho along, her head turning and shooting lasers toward said boy.

"you didn't even have to come!" she rolls her eyes.

"well, i wouldn't want y/n over here to be third wheeling the whole time."

it's your turn to roll your eyes, not at all fazed by the banter because you know it won't be the last one of the day, just wishing it will pass soon enough so you guys can make it there before the sun sets.

"pfft," minji brushes off, tugging you by the hand and making you stumble a few steps forward until you're pulled right next to her, shoulders touching.

"we are very inclusive!" she adds, and you shoot a rather simple smile in return, knowing the minute yunho does something cute or vice versa, you will be long forgotten.

"yeah, sure, whatever," mingi dismisses, reaching out for your wrist as you're thrown back next to him like a tossed ball. "but she's gonna need me if you're going to be dragging her through those scary rides."

minji scoffs. "i think you're the one that needs her."

for a moment, it looks like mingi's about to say something back, until his eyes fleet to something else in front of him; his towering height allowing him to see over the two.

"hey, yeosang!" yunho's the one to start, his attention on the boy long before any of you caught notice.

it's the way you snap your head so fast, only able to see half of his body as yunho's figure covers the other, but you don't miss the way his gaze skips over to meet yours, conjuring up a knot in your throat as you swallow it down.

you haven't seen him since that night, whether your schedules just differs now, or that you pretty much went out of your way to avoid him, it feels weirdly nostalgic and wrong seeing him again.

"hey!" he waves a bit awkwardly, but genuine in the sense he looks happy by the coincidence.

he has a bag over one shoulder and his hair is a little disheveled; skin also glistening that tells you he just came back from a pretty tough day at work.

"you came at the perfect timing."

"looks like it." he chuckles, and oh... you hate how deep and melodic it sounds. "you guys can go ahead. i'm just gonna put my things back and i'll catch up soon."

one of your eyebrows raise immediately at that.

"oh, it's fine. we can wait."

yeosang hesitates but eventually give in. "alright then, i'll be quick."

you wait until he's out of sight to say something, eager to confirm the suspicion.

"you invited yeosang?" you don't sound hostile or aggravated, just in complete awe.

"yes, just thought you'd enjoy some company. mingi's probably going to run off on you sooner or later."

mingi's face twist, offended at the accusation. you on the other hand, is completely cornered in this situation with no other way out, knowing you're going to have to be in kang yeosang's presence for the rest of the day.

unbelievable.

it takes two rides for mingi to decide he's had enough, and another one for you to follow in his footsteps, situating yourself next to him before stealing a quick gulp from the water bottle.

"hey, want to go into one of those mirror house? whoever makes it out last has to pay for cotton candy," he proposes.

"you are so childish," you wave off, holding in a tiny giggle. "i'm sure they have a height limit for those things."

"that's so fucking whack. they should have one for adults, cause maybe then we could actually be having some fun on the ground," he says, eyeing the gigantic and quite horrific ride in front of you guys.

"weren't you the one hauling ass about going to lotte world a few weeks ago?"

"well, yes, but that was before i threw up all over my fucking shoes."

you chuckle lightly, scoffing before rolling your eyes.

"over there," you say, nodding your head off to one of the booths. "go play a game or something. win yourself a stuffed animal, and maybe you can give it to the hottie that was at the bar."

he shoots you an unamused reaction.

"bitch, i literally told you it was nothing. and those things are hella rigged."

you don't retaliate with anything; only smile to yourself as you move your focus back to watch the movements in front, gaze trained on the way it swings back and forth, erupting sounds of muffled screams that could belong to either one of the three or maybe all.

it's when you feel mingi shifting in his spot that you turn to him, but his attention already on someone else: a new arrival whose face you've never seen before.

"ayyy, man!" says the stranger, hand colliding with mingi's for some bro handshake.

"hey! didn't think i'd run into you here," mingi replies, laughing off the chance of seeing a friend from school.

"how can i not? entrance is only a dollar today!"

mingi's laughter intensifies at the comment, nodding understandably. that was also the reason minji wanted to come. the park had the special deal only once a month during summer.

"want to tag along? me and some of the guys are just gonna be walking around, checking out some stuff and whatnot." he shrugs.

"ohh..." mingi lets out loosely, neck snapping to you with a delay in his expression. "actually, i came with my friend here and a few others."

he talks like he's informing his friend about why he cannot accept the offer, but it sounds a lot more like he's trying to save face because you're right next to him.

"oh, hey!" his friend suddenly bringing a hand forward to greet, finally grasping your presence all this time and realizing you're not just some random who happens to share a seat with mingi.

"mark. mark lee," he says; your eyes roaming his boyish features that makes him look rather cute.

"y/n," you reply simply with the smallest smile.

"i'm sorry. i didn't realize he's with you." mark rubs his neck awkwardly and even bows a little as an apology.

"oh no." you shake your head. "you two go ahead."

mingi exaggerates the pout on his lips. "aww, i wouldn't want to--"

"--go," you cut him off. "i'll tell the rest when they get back."

"well, if you insist..." he mumbles, standing up and flashing you that goofy smile of his, taking the empty bottle with him. "i'll see you later then."

"yeah, see you later."

"thanks, y/n," mark's the last to speak of the two, both bidding you a goodbye before disappearing into the crowd.

you could never be mad at mingi for simply being a social butterfly, reminiscing all the times in the high school he'd go off with his other group of friends because he made them easily.

whereas you're content only being around people you're very familiar with, mingi enjoys getting to know new individuals; expand his pool beyond just the small circle he's accustomed to.

he can't always be with you and yunho. you guys are a bit boring sometimes. but at the end of the day, he will always return, and the label "best friends" is reserved for none other than you two.

the ride finally comes to a stop shortly after; people getting off at the side and you search until you recognize the three of them, minji signaling with one of her hands up until something else pulls her attention away, fast to drag yunho along to one of the stalls selling some sparkling merchandise.

yeosang is stranded, unsure who to follow, eventually settling on you when he meets your eyes, his hands in his pockets as he make his way over.

"hey," he mumbles the greeting.

"hey," you reply back as casually as possible, like you weren't just dodging him earlier like he's the plague, sticking to mingi the entire time and avoiding any scenarios that would call for an interaction.

"mind if i sit down?"

you shake your head, scooting over to make some space.

he takes the seat, a small grunt leaving his lips as he does so, and both of you don't say anything, the silence consuming for at least a moment; eyes only observing the events happening around you guys.

"so... how was it? the ride," you ask, hesitant at first but feeling like you should try at least. that would only be the right thing to do considering the progress made before.

but it seems like every time you talk to him again, it's always a little awkward at first. you don't know if it's just a quirk that comes when you go from hating each other's guts to being able to somewhat stand the other's presence, or if it's just an effect yeosang has.

"not too bad. i expected more, honestly," he answers, tone lighthearted and a bit amused; just the right direction in order to get you out of your shell again.

"tskk." you hide a tiny smile, scanning over the ride just one more time. "good to hear, i guess."

"yeah. i think you would've enjoyed it, though. too bad you gave up after the third one," he teases, eyes straight forward and all casual as if he isn't trying to poke something.

"at least i made it to the third one. mingi gave up after the second."

he shrugs. "to be fair, it was a spinning teacup."

"we were barely even steering the wheel."

"the third one was a carousel, y/n."

"it was going in circle and making me dizzy!"

he chuckles, shaking his head along.

"you two really are one and the same."

you retract momentarily, not sure how to feel about the comparison to your best friend, but as different as you two are, you're also more alike than you'd think.

"speaking of mingi, where is he?" he searches the area before his gaze falls on you; the swell in them incredibly endearing.

"he went off with some of his friends from campus... the usual."

"and you didn't want to go along?"

"well, i couldn't just leave yunho."

you both immediately shoot to yunho and minji still by the merchandise stall as minji holds up a shirt to yunho's chest for sizing before she picks up a smaller one for herself.

"i think yunho's good," yeosang states the obvious, biting back the amused tone.

you sigh, cranking your neck to admire the night sky with yeosang imitating your posture before he looks at you, a question on the tip of his tongue.

"how's summer so far?"

you pry away to level his gaze, your eyelashes fluttering in motions staring into his own to what seems like forever until you can think of what to say back.

"very good. did you know that you can get a month's supply of free drinks if you complete a rather bizarre challenge?"

he laughs, eyebrows pinched together in confusion.

"i definitely did not. which place?"

"mhmm," you hum, trying to recall the memory of when you read the sign before going in, but unable to remember anything about the place other than it looked like every generic bar you've ever seen on the web but with red lightings.

"i'd have to ask yunho or mingi again, if you're interested."

"doesn't sound like my kind of thing, but i'd be down to see someone else do it."

you smirk, pulling away to inspect the sparks decorating the nightly sky once again, muttering a simple, "we'll see."

minji and yunho have moved to a different stall--one that looks like it sells jewelries; minji catching you in the mass when she turns back to check, waving the bracelet in her hold, and you react with a thumbs up before turning to yeosang's side profile in your view.

"have you visited your parents, yet?"

he nods, eyes lingering on yours and full of confidence as he holds the eye contact as if he plans to do it all night.

"yeah. the first week of break. how about you? thinking of paying your hometown a visit?"

you shake your head in response to the question, the more you think about it, the more you just feel sad. guilty.

you would honestly love to see your hometown again, why wouldn't you? it's where you grew up; lived your whole life, met your friends, and made so many memories.

but where and who would you go back to? your aunt and uncle aren't gonna be exactly excited to see you back, and you don't want to bother mingi's or yunho's family more than you already did.

there's nothing left there for you.

this is your home now; in the comfort of your two best friends who you hope will stick around long enough because you don't have anyone else.

"not any time soon, i don't think. mingi and yunho have other ideas, and then minji has a list of her own."

"i see," he acknowledges. "there's just never a dull moment with those guys, huh?"

"well, to start it off, we haven't even been here that long and i'm already stuck with you. make of that what you will."

"is that a bad thing?" he raises his pitch, but the delivery is playful.

"not at all," you assure.

the assumption that you need someone else by your side in case your best friends run off was ridiculous at first (though not out of reach), but now seeing for yourself that's exactly what happened, it's almost like they knew that would eventually be the case.

but at least yunho was considerate enough and had you in mind when inviting his roommate.

"okay, cool. you made it sound like being with me is some sort of punishment."

you snicker lightly.

"maybe. maybe not," you tease, quick to act aloof and shift your focus to yunho and minji as they grow farther away, completely forgetting the fact they didn't come alone.

but yeosang does a good job of keeping you occupied the way he always does. small comments, a few bickering here and there, and eventually playing catchup again, pouring in your curiosities about each other.

the night starts looking optimistic again just like that; together and carrying on conversations and exchanging gestures effortlessly, you realize there's two things you have forgot.

one being how easy talking to him is, and two being you're not suppose to be talking to him or even interacting by any means.

san only came because wooyoung wouldn't shut up about the once a month deal at an amusement park they have to go to.

after annoying each and every one he considers close to him, he gets san and seonghwa to show; hongjoong too busy even during summer to spare a day to spend with his friends.

he isn't on board at first, really would rather just be home and sleeping the night away, still able to feel some symptoms of his hangover from the day before.

but once they get past the entrance, he notices just how many familiar faces there are, it seems like this summer deal went around fast and just about everyone and their mothers are here.

the guy over there sitting down at one of gaming booths with red veins decorating his forehead, san knows him from biology. and just another couple steps forward that has already taken him to a completely different scene, is the redhead he got to know from one of wooyoung's parties.

then a left turn and three or four bodies pushing past him later, is you and yeosang seated at one of the bench, a bit shielded behind the railing of a ride and the walking of people, but he knows it's you.

that long, straightened hair that falls over your shoulders nicely onto your chest, and a pretty smile on your face while you chat with the boy next to you like you've known him forever.

he sees red; heels digging into the ground and stopping to watch the scene as his knuckles curl together.

"hey, man. you good?" seonghwa's voice take his attention briefly; san's eyes fleeting to meet his and nodding.

"yeah. just looking around for a restroom. hey, look, you two go ahead. i'll call or text after i'm done."

"alright..." seonghwa complies. wooyoung is behind him and skeptical about it all but nods nonetheless, watching as san walks away and pulls out his phone promptly.

you kick the air under the seat, swaying your feet back and forth, indulging in the hot summer breeze that glides past your skin; yeosang taking note of the act and once again mimicking you until one of his feet accidentally brushes against yours that earns him a glare, but he laughs it off.

yunho and minji came back once to ask if you guys wanted to look around the shops, but you kindly turned down the offer in order to recover from the dizziness that's still mildly present.

and for yeosang, sitting down and relaxing was a lot more appealing than following behind his friend and his girlfriend.

it's only a few seconds later that you let out a silent snicker, thinking back to the dinner where you guys played footsie under the table; the dynamic you guys had then entirely something else that it brings a subtle smile onto your lips when you think about where you two stands now.

the laspe of comfortable silence is broken when a buzz goes off in the beige crossbody bag you brought along, pulling it into view and grabbing for your phone. the drop in your expression would have yeosang believing you saw a ghost; the manner in which you pale instantly and a nervous gulp travels down your throat.

🟣: hey beautiful. is it okay if i come over tonight? miss you 💕

after you were told to stay away from san, and you, well... didn't, it's just too risky keeping his name even if the chance of mingi or yunho snooping your phone is low, you're not about to test your luck.

so you changed it, to something as simple as his favorite color. quite uncreative but that's the least of your worries.

"what's wrong?" yeosang's concerned tone brings you back, your head whipping up and thrusting the phone back into your bag.

if there's one thing (among others) you're awful at, it's being discreet and not being more incriminating than you already gave away.

"nothing," you reply, faking a faint smile but it's ineffective when yeosang raises a brow in turn, his body language questioning the authencity of your answer, but then who is he to interrogate?

"alright. well, you want to go look for yunho and minji? or is there something else you have in mind?"

"we can go look for them," you tell him, in which he nods, standing up to wait for you.

he leads the way and you trail just a little behind him, trying to shake the text out of your thoughts. you're here with your friends and you're suppose to be having fun. surely, you can answer san later and tell him you were busy.

but another part of you (the one that will truly be your demise) has an itch to answer him; tell him, yes, he can come over tonight. and though you saw him just yesterday, you already miss him as well.

because actually getting out of the comfort of your dorm and bubble you're used to isn't the only thing that has made your summer experience all more different than the school semester.

san has been so good to you lately. he doesn't leave right after sex nor tries to rid of you if it's at his place. he stays and lets you sleep on his chest; listening to the sound of his heart beating--such an intimate act that isn't sexual pricks your own heart in an entirely different way.

he'd tuck you in his arms and allow your head to rest on his shoulder when you're both watching a movie picked by him because you'd always let him choose, so eager to just know more about him and the things he like.

he'd even listen to you when you'd tell him about your day with your friends, and he'd nod and hum like he's digesting each of your words, it made you feel so happy, wishing he wasn't a secret you're keeping to yourself because you two only meet when no one else is around.

seeing yeosang is busy trying to spot the two, you take the chance to rummage for your phone, thumbs pressing the letters as fast as you can and shoving it back, catching yeosang at the perfect time when he whips his head around.

"found them," he announce, and you just nod, attempting to rid the apprehension on your face and hoping he doesn't take notice.

yunho and minji sees the two of you before you fully arrive, smiling warmly and ushering their hands to welcome.

"okay, good. we were just thinking about looking for you guys," says yunho.

the trip is over a lot faster than you had expected, unsure if it was because your brain was on autopilot for the remaining duration, or the fact the carousel once again brought upon a slight headache that probably messed up your sense of time.

being the only one of the bunch to live in the other building, you walk to your room after departing from everyone else, replaying the last conversation you had with yeosang about him going in to take his things and sleeping at another classmate's room for the night since yunho has minji over.

yuna isn't around, not for the usual reasons, but because she left for jeju only a week into summer break, having told you her family's also flying out to kyoto after.

you wished her a good time and joked about getting you a souvenir, but knowing how yuna is, there's a chance she's gonna do it.

feeling dirty and sweaty from the day, you grab a towel to go wash up at the shared shower room, drying your hair once you get back and putting on a pair of shorts and an oversized t-shirt.

you busy yourself with your phone, even going back to the message you sent san, which he only hearted but didn't reply to.

y/n: you can 😊 i'm just out rn but i will be back later

you wait and wait, eyelids falling more heavy and your blanket turning softer, you almost cave into sleep until a knock at the door gets you up so fast; an adrenaline that courses your body because it can only be one person.

"hi," you greet in a soft voice, growing shy at the man before you.

the quilt stitch sweater and jeans he has on make him look so handsome. but someone like san will always look good regardless of what he wears.

even his slightly messy hair as if he just woke up from a nap can't hide that; especially when he's bareface and flushed in the cheeks.

san gets red easily, and it's something you've noticed and absolutely adore; the color painting him as more pure and innocent.

"hey," he says smoothly, walking in as you back up for some space and waits for him to shut the door behind.

he does a once-over of your current state before one of his hands caresses at your moist hair.

"already showered?"

you nod.

"and you couldn't wait until we get it over with?" he tease with a sly tone, a smirk on his lips.

"you were taking too long."

he chuckles at your answer, expression eventually dwindling down to just a smile.

"it's okay. we can do something else tonight," he says, pausing slightly to think before continuing on. "how about a movie again? you up for that?"

"anything's fine," you agree, really just glad you're able to be with him.

"cool. well, i should probably take a shower first." his eyes bat away suddenly, landing on something else behind you.

"one of those towels yours?"

you confirm with a nod, turning around to retrieve it and handing it to over, a warm smile on him when he accepts.

"okay. you can pick what to watch. i'll be back."

he places a peck to your cheek before sliding himself out the door.

you felt awful about it at first, and you still feel awful about it to an extent--seeing san behind your friends' back when they warned you about just how awful the outcome of it will be, and you even gave them your words.

but after the first week or two of sneaking around with him, some of that feeling kind of just dissipated, replaced by the fear and anxiety of getting caught because you always had trouble lying to mingi and yunho. it just isn't you.

well... it wasn't you before san came into the picture.

but this lie, if it is to ever be discovered, you will not only be risking the friendship, but it will be near impossible to ever gain their trusts again.

for now at least, it won't hurt them if they don't know; though, you're not sure how long you can keep running around like this, but you figure you might as well go the full mile until you can't anymore.

from the previous movie nights you two shared, you learned that san likes a lot of superhero movies--something you didn't expect but intrigued you greatly, you even took time to learn their names and origins so you could talk with him about it and not be in utter confusion when he'd refer to someone or something.

you want to pick something he likes; something you know he'll be into, but worrying that you'll wind up picking such an incredibly lame superhero movie since you're not that knowledgeable about the genre, you decide to choose something you're more familiar with.

and because you're a bit of a hopeless romantic, you just have to settle for a romance flick.

"so, what is this film about?" san asks, still damped from the shower, sitting next to you and smelling of soap and shampoo.

you bite the side of your lips and hum out the thinking process.

"i'm not too familiar with the plot either, but i heard it's good."

he simply nods. "let's do it, then."

the movie plays on the laptop situated on both of your laps, and you nuzzle your head on his shoulder; the movie definitely is interesting and one you'd find yourself enjoying if you weren't so tired, still managing to process what's on the screen but not what's happening.

you don't even respond to some of san's comments because they completely fly over your head, but he doesn't seem to care, rather opting to laugh at your state.

but it's not his laughter or the loud fan overworking to rid the summer heat that jolts you awake. it's when you realize a quite explicit sex scene is happening--one you have no clues or ideas of how it came to be.

just that you're flustered in the face because this is the movie you chose to watch with san, and he has noticed your reaction immediately, unable to help the smirk that crawls out.

"if you wanted to do it, you could've just asked."

you release your head from his shoulder at that and scoff it off.

"i didn't even know the movie had one."

because no matter how many times you sleep with him, the subject will always catch you a little offguard; and especially when you weren't even thinking about it.

it's still san and he still makes you feel like a giddy school girl.

but although he enjoys the reaction, the one thing hanging on his mind ever since he saw you back at the park still hasn't left: yeosang.

why were you talking to him again, and why did you look so happy doing so? of course, the request was in the moment; him too jealous and taking his anger out on you, but so far, you seemed to have complied.

he don't think you saw anyone else besides him but your friends, because between the trip to his house and the nights he'd spend in your room, that was all you had to talk about.

he's not cruel enough (give or take) to keep tabs on you, and you also don't come off as someone who would lie to him because he knows you're always too sweet and too easy to persuade.

"where did you go earlier?" he asks, the abrupt question throwing you off as he just switches the topic of conversation like it's his nature. as if he doesn't know where you were, but he couldn't think of any other way to bring it up.

"i was with mingi and yunho, at that amusement park that had the summer deal everyone kept talking about."

your response is surprisingly relaxed, totally unprepared for the next question that leaves his mouth because after all, you have no idea he was there himself and saw you with his own eyes.

"just them?" he tries to keep from letting the bitterness slip, the image of you and yeosang once again consuming his thoughts.

"well, and yunho's girlfriend. she came to visit."

"hmm," he hums an unsatisfied tone and nods his head, not a single words uttered after, probably because he has a feeling sooner or later, you will slip up from the guilt--which is very much sooner.

"y-yeosang was there, too," you admit, maybe feeling slightly guilty but not to an extensive point because you didn't do anything wrong. not with yeosang. "yunho invited him along."

"oh..." san almost sang, mirth dancing in his eyes.

"yeah... we just talked and stuff."

and stuff. san would've laugh if not for the pang of jealousy that runs through his system at how vague you're being. if you're quite literally trying to protect whatever you have with this guy.

"and what do you think about him?" he lets the envy talk, not sure anymore about being discreet but just that he wants to know what you and yeosang have.

the fact you actually ponder the question for longer than you should is concerning, because the truth is, you have really warmed up to him, always skeptical at first but finding out there was nothing to worry about.

you feel comfortable being with him just as you'd feel being with mingi or yunho. in short, yeosang is a friend. yeah... he's like a friend to you at this point... you think.

"mingi and yunho really likes him, and he's been pretty good to me so far," you tell san, looking up at him and trying if you can read into his reaction but he just gives you those stiff eyes before following it with faint smirk.

"you like him?" one of his eyebrows quirk up, anticipation written all over them because he finds enjoyment in how you recoil immediately before shaking your head.

"not like that," you almost hissed, flustered san even asked.

and it may have sound a bit ridiculous to you, but for someone like san who has been around, he will say he has a pretty good grasp on what exactly girls find attractive, and he can say yeosang is a good looking guy.

he's just a tinier bit bulkier than him and definitely looks a lot more approachable with his softer features and probably nerd tendencies, because san is more of a one time thing, and yeosang is likely someone you'll be tied to for life. girls love that.

well... girls like you. which is why he won't be surprise if you have some kind of hots for yeosang with the amount of times you've been spending with him.

"he looks like he definitely has a crush on you." his gaze peers into yours for a stare down, because he's willing to bet yeosang shares some of the same sentiment back.

you're just way too sweet, soft-spoken, nice, pretty--

"not true," you deny. "we didn't start on good terms and had a lot of misunderstanding. we barely just started talking to each other normally not that long ago."

"so you don't like him at all? not even in a i-kind-of-wanna-kiss-you way?"

you shake your head, this time more aggressive than the one before.

"no. why? you sound like you want me to like him."

he chuckles, the utter puzzlement on your face too cute for its own good, the jealousy and bitterness from before dissolving at that.

"just want to make sure, baby," he coos, pulling you into his arms and wrapping them around your body warmly, the side of your face hitting against his chest; the thump of his heartbeat in your ear.

"want to make sure i'm the only one on your mind," he repeats as you draw back to gawk at him, tracing the innocent smile decorating his lips.

"i'm sorry that i didn't tell you sooner about yeosang," you apologize, your eyes so pure and full of sincerity--such a contrast to his that holds a million other intentions behind them.

"it's fine. i know now," he affirms, and you're just glad it's over with, because though you can't really understand why he doesn't like yeosang (also because there's nothing to worry about when it comes to your feelings for him), you wouldn't want to upset san.

a silence sit between you two after, a stare off ensuing as you keep your gaze up and sniff the freshly showered scent from him that sneaks past your nose again.

"would you like to go on a trip?" he asks, snapping you out of the trance.

"a trip?"

he confirms with a nod.

"a trip out of the city."

the excuse you managed to come up with was that the school you're working for has a summer program and you're gonna be away for a while; the lie slipping out of your mouth so fast, it's sickening how it's almost a habit at this point.

having told them you will be gone for a week (because that's how long san said the trip is gonna be), you encouraged them to carry out the rest of the plans on minji's list without you.

it was hard to look them in the eye when they cheered you on and wished you the best because you won't be taking a cab to the school but to the boy who promised you a week of fun somewhere out of the city he still hasn't told you the name of.

he only brought a lone duffel bag, throwing it into the back of his car before helping you with your rusty suitcase that is rather light since you figured you can just recycle a few outfits. it's not like you have much to choose from.

even when you're sitting right next to him in his car, eyes sticking to his side profile as he starts driving, it still feels like a very vivid dream--being with him in a place that isn't your dorm or his apartment.

the very fact he asked you to come is mind-boggling as it is, but it's no use to linger on the thought; just be happy for the opportunity and enjoy the moment while it lasts.

he warns you ahead of time that it's going to be a long drive; no words on how long exactly, but long.

the conversation is tame, a few comments from him here and there as he passes a couple places he frequents before turning the music on. and you would be lying to yourself if you haven't thought of it before--what kind of music does choi san like and listens to?

it's not much and is very bland in comparison to the backlog of questions you wish you could ask him, but you believe someone's music taste can tell a lot about a person, their preferences, and even your compatibility.

it's not a secret you look at san through a rose-coloured glass and still do, wondering to yourself if he listens to some exquisite genre you've never heard of before just because he's choi san and anything in relation to him will always amaze you.

but after all, he's still just a guy. a really hot and attractive guy who is somehow giving you the time of his day, but knowing he doesn't listen to some hidden genre only people like him would know makes him a little more reachable, relatable; that in some ways, he's also like you.

it's a mix of trendy pop and ballad songs that you know the lyrics to if you're to sing along. but when san said it's going to be a long drive, he wasn't kidding.

you knock out halfway, the memory of mumbling the lyrics to a girl group song the last thing you remember before it goes black.

when san wakes you up later, you have no idea where you are. just that the sky is turning dark and you're parked at what looks to be a small neighborhood, able to spot about three houses down the street.

"you good?" san speaks, your head snapping to him before nodding, at the same time attempting to fight the tiredness.

he smiles at your exhausted state, unbuckling himself from the seat.

"we can start heading out and get our things," he tells you before opening the door and you follow behind shortly after, unable to help the awe that leaves you when observing the surrounding now that you're not just seeing it through the window of the car.

a clear street in the middle of a couple houses that are all white but has slight brown roofings; the style and the trees in the area makes you feel as if you've entered an enchanted forest that holds a series of cottages.

it's only when san unlocks the back that you finally pry away from the scenery, walking over to where he is to get your suitcase.

"where are we?" you ask.

"namhae," he answers with a proud smile on his face, shutting the trunk.

"namhae?" you repeat, having heard of the place before somewhere in one of your classes in high school or something. it's a coastal region, you also remember that.

"yes," he confirms as you follow behind him to the door, watching as he pulls out a few keys that's stringed together. "my dad was born here."

you twitch in interest at the revelation, following him into the inside of the house that is a bit misleading and not at all decorated like a fairytale, but in rather simple and clean white. from the walls to the marble flooring, and even the ceiling fan hanging above the big open space.

"you can put your things upstairs. the bedroom should be to the right. i'm just gonna check the back real quick."

you follow what he tells you to, trailing up the spiral staircase into the small indoor balcony overlooking the living room protected by a white railing.

the bedroom is also simple and follows a similar color scheme, two nightstands on each side and a medium-sized dresser right across the bed.

a window with curtains is the only other thing in the room, and everything looks entirely new, not a single sheet wrinkled, as if the place has never been used before. you think about how san even got the place, if it's an airbnb though you don't see a host around. but then, you've never had an experience with an airbnb so how would you know.

by the time you're done unpacking and stuffing your clothes into the dresser, you still haven't heard anything from san.

you go back down the stairs and head for the sliding glass door, a stylistic choice that is completely different from the front, taking yourself out into the air of the evening, amazement befalling you once again just at the new sight.

san is leaning on the fence overlooking the view ahead of him, and you start making way over, stepping around the pool because he seems to have already taken notice of you the second you closed the door.

once you settle next to him, your breath is taken away instantly. you can see the ocean from here; the waves hitting against each other and producing a sound surprisingly soothing to the ear. it's beautiful.

it just hits you the house is built on a hill, the way it looms over the landscape and looks at it from above.

"i haven't been here in such a long time," he says, your eyes batting to him.

"it's really beautiful," you add.

"it is."

you both admire the sight for a few seconds too long, the cool air from the ocean flowing to mix with the warmer one, creating a sea breeze that sweeps your hair away and make you shiver with how the cold pricks your skin.

"we should probably head back inside. i still have some unpacking to do."

you nod, taking note of the orange tone painting the sky along with a deeper blue as everything falls into an ambient darkness.

the first day in namhae spent settling in and familiarizing yourselves with the environment (even san because he hasn't been here in a while), wandering the interior of the house while he sorts out his things upstairs.

when finished, he urges you to wash yourself and go to bed early, informing you of the day waiting ahead tomorrow.

and after he's done following the routine as well, plopping down on the bed as you observe his movements, it comes so naturally that he sleeps facing you, a smile on his lips that makes something deep in your stomach sink.

if this is okay--being with san like this and in such a way that's different from any others--yet, you still can't help but to also feel a small amount of happiness from it all.

"goodnight," he whispers, lounging forward to set a kiss on your forehead.

"goodnight," you reply, a small smile on that dims along with the nightlight he turns off.

you're alone when you wake up; san isn't next to you and it's quiet, no other signs that he could be downstairs or in another part of the house.

the sun peeks through the blinds and hurts your eyes, having to squint the brightness away before you head with soft steps out into the small space that is barely a hallway and into the bathroom to make yourself more presentable for this fine morning.

you thought he might be out in the back but he's also not there, deciding to busy yourself with preparation for breakfast instead, but only met with disappointment when you open the fridge to nothing; a deep sigh leaving you followed by the creak of the front door.

"hey," he greets in a high-pitched voice, delighted by your figure standing in the kitchen.

"good morning," you say in a sweet tone, doing a once-over of him in his usual casual wear with dark parted hair, face bare and skin flaming that red tint that makes him so cute.

"i just went for my morning jog and talked to a couple neighbors from around the block. they seem nice."

you smile and nod.

"i see. i was just about to make breakfast but there isn't anything in the fridge, it looks like."

is it weird to assume a place you just checked into last night would have all kinds of fresh ingredients layed out for you? you have no idea.

"oh, yeah," he exclaim, "i haven't stocked up on it, yet. was planning on doing it today. we can hit the store after i change out of my clothes?"

you nod again, almost too eagerly.

"yes, we can do that."

it might just be your infatuation and lovesick mind speaking, but san even makes such a mundane task like shopping for grocery, enjoyable.

watching as he just so casually strolls into one of the aisles and pick up something from the shelves, you wonder how it's possible someone like him just walk around breathing and looking like that everyday.

"do you like rolled omelette?" he asks.

"i love rolled ommelete."

it was pretty much a staple for you back then. didn't require much and was fast and simple to make, though you did went through a period of withdrawal from it because sometimes, that would be the only thing you ate for days.

"cool."

he grabs a few other essentials but tells you if there's anything missing, you guys can just order delivery or maybe visit a nearby restaurant. it's only when he already finished paying for everything that you realize all this time, you haven't done jackshit to help him.

"how much was it? we can split the bills," you offer on the way to the car.

he chuckles, almost laughing loudly.

"my treat, y/n. don't worry about it."

but all this time, he's been doing and paying for everything, the guilt is not easy to shake off.

"but i feel bad." you frown, and he smirks at the adorable act that just comes so effortlessly to you, he don't even think you're aware of the possible hold you have on him.

"then you cook," he says with something mischievous and playful but also flirty, "i know you're probably good at it."

you take up the alternative, making yourself comfortable in the kitchen while he goes in and out of it, always spewing comments that would make your heart leap inside your chest with his flirty smiles and hands that find its way around your waist and every other parts of your body like it was made to be there.

he eats with you at the counters and won't stop gushing out compliments as if you just made the most complex dish out there and absolutely nailed it.

your reaction is a combination of rolling your eyes, telling him he's being dramatic, and battling the shy smile at his words that truly makes you feel so giddy on the inside.

you're absolutely adorable, he thinks. it's a bit crazy how long he's gone without touching you when he's had every chance to; when you're laying yourself out like this, he just wants to make you feel good the best way he knows how to.

which is why the following day, after walking around the neighborhood together and watching a couple older films, he suddenly suggests the idea of going to the pool.

"i don't know how to swim," you confess, which he just chuckles in return.

"i'll teach you. it's humid as fuck, we might as well put the thing to use."

"i didn't bring anything to wear for the occasion, though."

"what you're wearing is fine," he alludes to the crop top and shorts you have on. "unless you want to change into something even more revealing?" he smirks, not the slightest doubt that you'll look sexy as fuck in a bikini or swimsuit. but this will do, considering how hard you made him this morning just seeing your top ride up to display your stomach.

"i'm good," you say, even giggling a little before he sweeps you away by the wrist out into the back, the temperature a lot cooler due to the ocean breeze but that still doesn't mean you can't dip your toes into the pool. and that isn't going to stop san, either.

the dark hour is lit up by the hanging outdoor lights and the inground ones close to the fences.

"come on." he rips his shirt away while you gawk, jumping into the pool and making splashes, the sound of his body plunging into the pressure loud against the quiet night.

a smile tugs on your lips at the sight and you settle for sitting down on the edge instead, sinking half of your legs into the water that is surprisingly a lot warmer than you had expected.

you watch him go a few rounds across the pool before he lands right back to where he was, hair and face now wet, facing you.

"you can do more than that." he swipes a handful of hair back while saying so, proceeding to stare at your feet underwater kicking only slightly.

he's hot as fuck and his body will always amaze you no matter how many times you see it.

"i'll just watch," you say.

he pouts and tilts his head to the side, in hope you'll feel guilty enough to give in.

"it's not that deep," he adds onto the convincing.

but seeing how the water stops just short of his shoulders, there's a good chance you'll be spending your time in there choking because you're so much shorter than he is.

you're just about to say something when the sudden wetness felt on your face and drenching your clothes stop you. san is smirking as one of his hands continue to flick the water at you, and you pause momentarily before kicking the water under your feet at a much harsher speed towards him.

he's the one to laugh first and you follow after, your laughters bunching together to create a heartfelt moment that warms you unlike any other interactions you've ever had with him.

"alright alright. i'll come in," you give in, sending just one last kick of water to his face that makes him giggle.

you spring in carefully until almost your entire body is wet, and well, you were right. it comes up to just a little above your chin, treading carefully until san finally takes the initiative, both his grip on your hips and helping you withstand the possibility of swallowing a few drips.

"you good?" he asks.

"yeah," you reply, but you hold onto his shoulders just in case, checking the area around, grunting when he pulls you into his chest that gets you to blink up.

he looks unreal in this lighting that only makes his skin glow more from the pool water.

"how about now?" he whispers, that seductive and teasing color in his voice that always make you shutter in excitement.

"good," you answer all innocent eyes and with a sweet tone but you've been wanting him as much as he's been wanting you.

the days and times of being with each other, doing everyday tasks and even sleeping side by side at night, and it's now that choi san is half naked and in a pool that you think you're ready to have sex with him again.

it's a short stare off until his hands creep to the sides of your face and he takes your lips in for a deep kiss, the grip you have on his shoulders tightening along with the intimate act.

he kisses you like it's going to be the last time, like he's trying to savor the taste so he can remember it for the rest of his life.

your hands fall from his shoulders to his bare chest, your fingers drawing messy patterns on it, and he removes one hand to circle your waist in order to pull you up when he feels you faltering into the water.

he draws back after a few more seconds and looks you in the eyes.

"do you want to?" the question always foreign to his tongue, having never asked anyone but you before.

"yes."

"then i should probably head back to get a condom."

you shake your head and prevent him from going, the itch between your legs now speaking.

"you can pull out?"

ever since the first time you guys had unprotected sex, there's been two or three other similar instances--san having told you how much better it feels, but condoms is still a priority.

the topic of birth controls come and go. he didn't pressure you or anything, just subtly suggested it, but that's still just a consideration for now.

he can't help but to smirk, not at all going to resist because there's absolutely no way he will let up the offer of fucking you raw.

"you asked for it, baby," he leans to whisper into your ear, pulling back in amusement at the light tint across your cheeks, growing hard from thinking about sex in the pool--one of the places he haven't done the deed in--yet. and the rest of the night is history.

he fucks you in the pool, your hands hanging onto the edge as he takes it from behind, and he fucks you one more time in the shower when you two go to wash off the chemical.

it's by far one of the most amazing sex you've ever had with him; if not, the most amazing for sure.

by the end of the night when you're both trying to sleep away the exhaustion, a dull pain resides in the deep of your chest staring at his closed eyes and unmoved lips.

the glass of wine in your hand looks like it's on the verge of spilling from how loose you're holding onto it while laughing at something san said.

he's laughing too, but you can't see his expression well due to the darkness; the only source of lights being the two scented candles he had lit up standing on the coffee table.

there's a jazz song playing quietly in the background, and everything about the scene and situation feels like it was taken straight out of a romance film.

you're mostly just tipsy while san is probably drunk, having drank more than you and is a lot more bubbly than he usually is, recounting stories he most likely wouldn't tell you if he was sober.

"that's crazy," you comment.

"it is," he says, taking another sip from his glass.

but whether he's more drunk than you or not, the alcohol is doing a good job of loosening the both of you up; questions running rounds in your head again that you might act upon.

"hey, san..." you mumble.

"yes?"

"were you born here?"

he shakes his head.

"my parents moved to seoul before i was born."

and because san is most definitely drunk, he's also more willing to answer them.

"do you have any siblings?"

"i have an older sister, but she's now living in the states. no longer here in korea."

"oooh," you sing, afraid you might be pushing the boundaries but your tipsy mouth a lot bolder and less fearful of the consequences.

"what do you like to do? what are your passions?"

you've thought about it before, and you still do. aside from being a walking wet dream, who is choi san? what does he like to do, what are his fears, his dreams, things he likes or dislikes? what makes him the person that he is?

it's like you know him, but you also don't, since most of the things you do know are very surface level.

"i'm not sure," is all he says, a small sigh of disappointment escaping from you that goes unheard. "i wanted to major in dance and performance, but..."

"but?"

"but i can't make a living or lifestyle out of it. so i didn't."

you frown at the pessimism.

"but you should still do what you enjoy, no?"

and he just laughs, downing another sip as you stare at him, the light in your eyes slowly dying. being drunk means he's also going to be a lot more honest; blunt.

"i just don't see the point in doing so if it isn't going to be worth it. i'm not gonna spend four years only to get a useless degree, no matter how passionate i am about the hobby."

you can't help the dejection that possesses you at his words.

“even if i answer, it won’t matter.”

you wonder if this is how he views the world--brushing aside things he sees that has little importance, and not trying when the outcome isn't going to benefit him.

you can be a bit of a pessimist at times, but if there's an opportunity, you think it's always worth trying. life is so much more than running away and not taking chances, but that could also just be you clinging onto anything because you've had nothing for so long.

"don't let it bother you too much," he snaps you out of your thoughts after the sadness that pierced your eyes become overwhelming.

he puts the glass that is now empty onto the table.

"i'm gonna go wash up."

along the things you brought on the trip, you also managed to squeeze in your notebook, taking it out silently under the clothes where you have buried it when you see san is fast asleep.

you take the chance to use your phone as lighting, jotting down an entry before sliding the book back to where you got it from.

entry #7

talking with san today made me really think... is it hopeless and not worth it if you can't be sure of the result? i don't know. i was definitely scared when i finally took up on yeosang's suggestion and talked to a counselor, opting out of a major i'm no longer passionate about in order to go into creative writing. maybe that's cowardice of me to not give it another chance, but i'd like to think i'm trying, by exploring my interests and opening the door to something i might enjoy doing.

san wanted to take you out to the local market after having spent most of your time indoor.

there's many vendors all around, some kids running through the streets and parents behind shouting their names. it's very lively that it's quite pressuring because you're not sure where to start.

"we can shop for something to cook for dinner?" he asks, glancing back at your figure behind him.

"yes, we can do that."

you follow him the entire time, going from vendor to vendor and letting him do his thing since he's more familiar with the place and people--of which there's a lot, some even brushing past your shoulders due to how crowded it is (also doesn't help that the place is quite small).

san tells you it's unusually busy today although the traffic is moderate every other day.

he takes the lead as you both stroll in a straight line to a vendor all the way at the far corner because he saw something he wants to purchase. then it happens so fast.

one minute you were still right behind him, and another--you're gone. san only realizing he's lost you when he swings his head back to do a quick check and you're nowhere to be found.

a sense of panic surges through his body, his eyes batting left and right to search for you but it's nearly impossible with this many people, he's not even sure how long you've been gone exactly.

he thinks about calling you, only to curse internally when he remember that you decided to leave your phone back at the house.

turning his feet back around, he goes to search for you, no idea whose shoulders he's knocking into or which direction the curses at him are coming from. just that he needs to find you.

it takes him at least five minutes of shoving through the crowd until he spots that familiar head of hair and outfit, your body bending forward and picking at something on your leg.

"y/n!" he shouts, grabbing your attention as you pick your head up to look at him, your eyes swelling with hope.

but his face twists instead when he sees what you were picking at. a fresh bruise on your right knee that's starting to bleed, he runs to you so fast until he's only inches away, anxiety all over his face.

"what happened?" he asks, volume high like he wants the answer right this instant.

"i was looking for you and i just fell. that's it."

he sighs and shake his head.

"can you walk?"

you try by taking just a step forward, only to whimper in pain.

he seizes the bag you were holding and turns his back to face you, lowering his height and ushering you to get on.

you're hesitant at first but you don't think you can win san, so you hop on and circle your arms around his neck as he moves through the tight open spaces to an area near the entrance where there's less people, setting you down on the edge of an old fountain.

he places the bags on the side of you and gets down on his knees to get a better look at the injury.

"it looks bad," he says, looking up at you. "we can return to the house. i can treat you there."

"you sure you don't want to buy anything else?"

"i'm good. it's too packed here anyways."

the drive back to the house is quiet, you have never seen san so serious like this before. it's only when you're almost there that he finally speaks.

"i'm sorry. i should've held your hand or something. or even let you walk first."

"it's fine, san. we both wouldn't have been able to see it coming."

he piggyback you inside the house again, completely forgetting about the bags still inside the car.

settling you gently onto the couch, you watch as he speeds upstairs into the bathroom before coming back with a first aid kit, bending in front of you.

"just letting you know ahead of time, i've never used this thing before."

you chuckle and assure him it's okay, staying still so obediently while he dabs some of the blood off and wraps the bruised area with elastic bandages.

"your friends are going to kill me once they find out not only did i take you somewhere four hours away, but i also hurt you during the process."

you chuckle again at the comment, though a lot quieter this time, staring down at him with a question that's been hanging at the edge of your lips ever since he brought you here.

"san," you call out sweetly, making him pull away from the injury and to your eyes instead.

"may i ask why you decided to bring me?" out of eveyone else.

your question must've snapped him back pretty hard; from how the tiny smile on his lips falter and he just stares at you dumbfoundedly, because even he's not sure about a definite answer.

it could be that he likes being with you since you're so sweet and nice, or that he's selfish and wanted you all to himself--away from your friends, and especially away from yeosang.

"because i'm comfortable around you," he simply says, a lazy answer that he knows you're most definitely not convinced by although you're smiling in return.

"i-uh... i gotta go back to get the bags inside the car." he awkwardly points behind him to the door, and you just nod, so conflicted by what just happened.

choi san being so tender and caring is dangerous and not good. especially when you live in your head so much--detaching yourself from reality and dreaming of another one where things go how you want.

you can blame yuna's stupidly good arts that watches you through the nights more often than not; that painting of love displayed in front of a castle feeding ridiculous ideas into your head. but it's how you deal with all the traumas and hurts in your life.

by detaching, distracting, and hoping.

hoping that the look in san's eyes that were filled with concerns and worries mean he's starting to feel something because that's the way you see it.

the past couple of days being tucked in his arms and spoken to with sweet words even though you know it shouldn't be taken seriously, you can't help the story that builds itself in your mind--especially when he says one thing and then does another.

san's been trying to sleep for hours now, but he's unable to, the image of you so haunting whenever you'd look at him in a way he doesn't like at all.

even right now--your arms that are wrapped around his waist, he wants to pull them off--and your face that is in his chest, he wants to push you away; distance himself--because he's starting to get used to your touch.

to how natural you fit in his arms and how easy everything is with you; the passion to learn more about him irritating his nerves to no end but also warms his heart in a weird way.

he had slipped up earlier when you got hurt, he must've looked so insane because even he caught himself offguard with how worried he was.

one more day alone with you is already too many; these past couple of nights already overstayed their welcome, and so he does the only thing he knows how to: he runs away.

the sun is blinding the curtains when you're awake, getting up to lean against the headboard but groaning out when the pain from your leg reminds you of yesterday's event.

everything about san's appearance in front of you brings another series of questions.

he's properly dressed so early in the morning, folding his clothes and packing them into his bag.

"hey," you greet, unsure if he knows you've already woke up.

"hey."

"going somewhere?"

there's a quick silence that gauges the air before he answers you.

"we're going to be returning back to seoul."

"oh?" you raise an eyebrow. "i thought we still have two more days left, no?"

he tries to think of a lie, the first thing to pop in his mind is the one to leave his mouth.

"just got an emergency family call and they need me there by today."

"oh, okay." you just lightly nod. "i'll start packing too, then."

"yeah."

because one more day alone with you is already too many.

next // series m.list

taglist: @sorryimananti-romantic @revehosh @cookiechristie @avantalem @atiny68 @belletiny @shibera @mochibabycakes @justineasian @eastleighsblog @baguette-atiny @crimson-mia @yeosxxx @m4rsluv @sleepychimm @atz-diary @diorwoo @naiify @becauseiloveyunho @damagelove @softie00 @s-nsanshine @atinytinaa @moonseonghwa @lemontreefantasy @wooyoung4eva @yeosangsbiceps @likexaxdaydream @knucklesdeepmingi @barbielibra @tmtxtf @brown88 @harusoraa @frankenstein852 @yujispinkhair @mermaid17venus @nolxverlikeme @writersun @kkayfan @wooyoungjpg

#rushed the shit out of proofreading #so #ateez angst #ateez x reader #san x reader #yeosang x reader #choi san x reader #san angst #ateez series #fic: broken

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rose-sophia-isabella-rogers · 2 months ago

Text

Written in the Stars: Chapter VII - A Tragedy

Chapter Summary: You're happy and sometimes forget the war rages on in the galaxy. Until it comes knocking on your door. An attack on your planet takes a lot from it… and you. You will need all the support you can get and your husband is there to provide it. What will you lose and what will you gain? And is the sun going to shine on you again?

Pairing: Anakin Skywalker/Reader

Characters: Anakin Skywalker, Reader, C-3PO, Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Rex, Fives, Jesse, R2-D2, Mace Windu, Sheev Palpatine

Word Count: 8232

A/N: Warning: this chapter has heavy angst at the beginning. And smut at the end. Again, if you're underage or don't like reading such scenes, skip from: "He carries you to the bed and lays you down." to: "He kisses your forehead and pulls out.". Gif is not mine. The words of an oath are inspired by a real one. Enjoy!

Tag list (let me know if you want to be added or removed):

@intothesoul

@mizelophsun11

@pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy

@zeeader

@marrymonrich

@wonderland2425

@chelseyyouraverageluigi

@thehufflepuffavenger1

@drinix

@astro-kitty-launch

@nikiloveshayden

It's been almost three years since the Clone Wars have started. It seems odd to you. So many things have happened in such a short time. You fell in love (although you suspect your feelings for Anakin started blooming around the time you first met), got into a secret relationship and then got married. It seems it happened so fast to you. But you don't regret it. You've never been happier. But every once in a while, clouds cover the sun…

The day starts normally, innocently. You join your father and mother for meetings, work in your room, spend time with your family, go visit the people… Same day as every day.

But it changes when you take a walk. You do it because you're tired after having a difficult conversation with the Chancellor Palpatine over the holocoms. You need to clear your head, so you go with Lanash and C-3PO to the woods outside of the palace walls. It does relax you and allows you to find a peace of mind. Until there's an explosion behind your back.

'What on the gods?!' your maid shouts, holding to C-3PO to regain her balance, as the ground shakes from the impact. You turn around and your eyes go wide. There's smoke over the city. But what's even more horrifying, ships show up on the sky. So many of them.

'Oh no,' the droid gasps. 'Are we being invaded?'

'How they were not spotted?' Lanash asks with wide eyes. 'They shouldn't have entered the atmosphere if they have hostile intentions.'

You agree with her, so you immediately dial spaceships on guard duty. All lines are dead. You look with dread at your companions.

'I fear our atmosphere guard was either taken hostage… or they're all dead,' you say.

'What are we going to do?' Threepio asks. Instead of answering, you call someone else. You know your father is too busy at the moment. You have to call for help.

'Princess [Y/N], something the matter is?' Yoda's hologram asks.

'Master Yoda, our planet is under attack,' you say quickly. 'I don't know yet by whom. But our sky is dark from their ships. I fear our ships in the space that were supposed to protect and warn us are… gone. There's too many of them. I don't think we can battle them on our own.'

'Hold your ground, you must,' the Jedi says. 'Send help immediately, I will.'

'Thank you, Master Yoda,' you say, relieved.

'May the Force be with you, Your Highness.'

'And with you.'

You end the call. You look up. You hear and see more explosions.

'We should be safe here,' Lanash speaks up after a moment.

'I'm not going to hide,' you say, straightening your back. Before they can stop you, you dash toward the palace, knowing very well that's where your enemies will be heading. They scream after you but you ignore them. Your heart is beating fast. You have to be with your people. With your family.

By the time you get to the palace, the fights are all over the city, maybe even the planet. The enemy is already inside your home. Before you get into a secret passage, you notice what armors they're wearing. It causes you to stop in shock. Jantoth. They're Jantothains.

You will regret this. This isn't over.

'No…' you whisper, horrified, and dash into the secret passage. A moment later Lanash and C-3PO (who was almost carried by your maid) rush in after you. They managed to catch up to you when you stopped.

'Please, tell me I saw wrong,' she whispers. 'They can't be-'

'They are,' you answer grimly. 'Come on. We must get into the Throne Room.'

You sneak quietly through the secret corridors. You wince at the screams and sounds of battle. Your heart is beating fast. For the first time in your life, you're not sure if you're going to make it out alive.

'My lady, I think we should stay here,' Lanash whispers. 'We should keep you safe. If something happens to you-'

'I don't care,' you interrupt her. 'I must be with my family.'

You reach the hidden door to the throne room a moment later. You open it and sneak inside, your friends behind you. You're behind many pillars, hidden from everyone that doesn't know about this place. You freeze when you hear a voice that doesn't belong to anyone from your family. Your friends drag you back into the shadows. But you still can see what's happening in the room.

To your horror your family is kneeling on the floor, their wrists tied behind their backs. They're surrounded by soldiers. And around the room is pacing… Jordari.

'My patience is running out, Your Majesty,' he says, irritated. 'I'll ask one more time. Where is [Y/N]?'

'Even if I knew I wouldn't tell you,' your father responds. 'You'd be wise to get off of my planet.'

'Why would I do that?' the Prince laughs. 'You have no chance with my army.'

'It won't be long before the Republic comes to our aid,' the King explains. 'Your army and the droids the Separatists lent you are going to be in a deep trouble then. I'd reconsider your moves if I were you.'

Your eyes go wide. Separatists? Jantoth has joined the Alliance? When did this happen?

'I wouldn't be so sure they're going to be here so fast,' Jordari snorts. 'They never are.'

'You're in for a surprise then,' Andrrei says. You admire him for being so calm and collected in this situation. Would you be if it was you?

'I don't think so,' the Prince says, stopping in front of your father. 'And since you're so against collaborating, I think you need a little encouragement.'

He nods at one guard. He walks to Astrariel and yanks her up by her hair. She yelps and you make a move toward her, but C-3PO and Lanash quickly stop you. Your sister is brought to Jordari, who turns her so she'd be facing the King and presses a knife to her throat. Your heart is beating fast.

'Where is [Y/N]?' the Prince asks and smirks. 'Or is your older daughter worth more to you than your younger one?'

'They both mean the world to me and I value them equally,' Andrrei says, barely restraining himself. 'So, I won't trade one for the other. Let her go. Now.'

'You see, the mistake you keep making is that you believe you have any power here,' Jordari says and swiftly slices Astrariel's throat. 'While you don't.'

Your maid quickly puts her hand on your mouth. But you're too shocked to make any sound. Contrary to your mother, who screams in pain. Your father stares into your sister's eyes, watching as the life slowly leaves them. Before it happens, she's dropped on the floor.

'No… help her,' the King demands. 'Help her!'

'It's okay… daddy…' Astrariel says and takes in her last breath. You cry as you stare into your sister's lifeless eyes.

'Where is [Y/N]?' Jordari asks. 'Tell me or your wife is next.'

'You're a monster,' Lyra says between sobs. She's slapped immediately. The Prince walks to her and grabs her face with one hand.

'Anything you'd like to add, Your Majesty?' he says through gritted teeth. Your mother stares fearlessly into his eyes.

'You will never accomplish anything in your life, because you don't have a heart,' she says. 'Nothing makes me so glad as the fact my daughter is not and never will be your wife.'

She spats at him. He roars in anger… and plunges the knife in her heart.

'LYRA!' Andrrei yells in agony, drowning out the whimper you make this time. Your mother looks at him with love and smiles. Jordari lets go of her and she falls on the floor. You're all forced to watch her die.

'I didn't want to do that,' the Prince says once her chest stops moving. 'I believe you wouldn't let her die.'

'That's why she provoked you,' your father says, his voice croaked. 'She preferred to die than to endanger her daughter.'

'I will find her anyway,' Jordari says, walking to the King.

'Oh, I don't doubt it,' Andrrei says and smiles. 'Or maybe she'll find you. And then you'll understand why I told you to run.'

They stare at each other for a moment. You struggle against Lanash and C-3PO, knowing what will happen in a moment.

'I really didn't want this to happen,' the Prince finally says. 'But you brought this on yourself.'

He stabs your father in the stomach and twists the knife. The King doesn't make a sound and keeps staring into his murderer's eyes. You cry and shake in your friends arms.

'Find the Princess!' Jordari orders, pulling the knife out, making Andrrei fall. 'I want her alive!'

One by one, your enemies leave the room. Once they're sure they're gone, your maid and droid let go of you. You run to your father and take him in your arms. He's still alive, but he's nearly there.

'Dad…' you whisper, caressing his face. 'Daddy…'

He opens his eyes and smiles. He tries to lift his hand. You take it and press it against your cheek.

'I'm glad… you stayed there…' he wheezes. 'You have… a chance now… You'll be… an amazing queen… You'll make me… proud… You already do… sunshine…'

'No, don't leave me!' you beg, sobbing. 'Please, don't go… I'm not ready… Please…'

'You are…' your father whispers, closing his eyes. 'You've been… for a long time… I love you… Don't blame yourself… for this…'

'I love you too,' you cry. 'So much…'

Your father smiles… and his hand goes limp in your hold. His chest is not moving anymore.

'No… no, no, no…' you sob and press your face to his chest. You allow yourself to cry for a bit. But then, you press a kiss to your father's forehead and stand up. You say your goodbyes to your mother and sister and kiss their foreheads, ignoring how their blood stains your dress. Then, you head to the throne.

'Your Highness?' you hear a voice. You whirl around. You see soldiers gathered at the threshold, staring with shock at the massacre. Your eyes land on Lanash and C-3PO.

'They were in the dungeons,' your maid explains. 'We thought… I mean, they wouldn't look for you here…'

You understand. Not only did they allow you to say goodbye in peace, but they found the soldiers as well. But they feel guilty for leaving you alone. Your look softens.

'You did well,' you assure them.

'What's our next move, Your Hi- Your Majesty?' Hawk asks, his voice cracking at the end. You turn around and walk to the throne. You pull out your father's sword, the sword of the kings and queens, and turn back.

'Let's take back our planet,' you say, your voice determined and cold. 'And make them pay for what they did.'

Anakin slays another droid and glares at Obi-Wan. Beside him Ahsoka does her best to watch his back. They're advancing toward the palace.

'How come we weren't informed Jantoth has joined the Separatists?' Skywalker asks and continues fighting.

'I think we didn't know,' Kenobi answers solemnly.

'How is that possible?' Tano asks.

'I wish I knew,' the oldest Jedi sighs. They continue forward. Anakin scoffs and his face twists into a scowl when he sees Jordari in front of them, on the courtyard in front of the palace.

'I'm calling dibs on the little prince,' he says.

'I'm afraid no harm can come to him,' his former master reminds him.

'Oh, and they can do harm to all these people?!' his friend asks, furious.

'No, but we're better than them,' Obi-Wan reminds him. His former padawan scoffs but continues onward in silence. The Jedi and Clones beside him to the same.

Suddenly, the door to the palace bang open. You stand in the threshold, your clothes and body covered in blood even more.

'[Y/N],' Skywalker sighs with relief. He's terrified to see so much blood on you, but you're standing straight so he assumes it's not yours. At least not most of it.

You are surrounded by your soldiers. With them you slowly descend the stairs, your eyes fixed on Jordari. He sees you as well and smirks. Oh, you can't wait to wipe that smirk off of his face.

'Princess! How nice of you to join us!' he calls and shoots another of your people. Your nostrils flare. Your grip on your sword tightens.

'You're going to pay for what you did,' you say, your voice strangely calm. 'All of it.'

'No, Princess, you're the one that's paying,' he snorts. 'I told you this wasn't over. You should have just agreed to marry me.'

'After what you've done, I'm even more glad I hadn't,' you say, seething. 'You don't deserve to be the king of people of this planet.'

He shakes, enraged. Before he can say another word, you take off your bracelet and throw it at his feet. He stares at it, stunned.

'We'll settle this with a duel,' you demand. 'If you win, you will be the king of Luth. I win, you and your people leave for good. I don't want to see any of you here ever again. Agreed?'

'Very well,' the Prince snorts. He puts away his blaster and takes out his sword. You start circling each other, both angry, both determined.

Anakin, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan dart to you. But Juando extends a hand, stopping them.

'No,' he says. 'She has to do it alone.'

'Are you crazy?!' Skywalker growls. 'She needs help!'

'She can manage,' Juando says and stares at you sadly. 'She must.'

'But… why?' Tano asks. 'We can help her.'

'Because her taking up that sword can mean only one thing,' the General says with sorrow.

'Which is?' Kenobi asks, frowning. The man who fought many battles with your father gulps.

'The King is dead,' he answers. The Jedi stare at him with horror. In the meantime, you and Jordari start your duel. It is watched by everyone in silence.

'Right now, she has to prove to everyone she can protect this planet,' Juando says. 'She must win this alone.'

Obi-Wan nods gravely. Ahsoka bites her lips, nervous. Anakin looks at you with despair.

The duel continues. It is hard to determine who will win. But then you catch the glimpse of the Jedi. Seeing your husband here and your friends gives you a needed boost. You block the next move of your opponent and attack him without letting him to give you a blow. His eyes become wide with fear.

At last, you disarm him and make him fall on his bottom. You press the tip of your sword to his chest. He stares at you with terror in his eyes. You stare at him with hatred in yours. You raise your weapon to strike… when you remember a memory from when you were seven years old and your father started to teach you how to be a good queen…

'A good ruler doesn't allow anger, hate nor sorrow to control their actions and decisions,' he said to you, as you were strolling through garden. 'Mercy, compassion, kindness… these are the qualities of a good king or queen. You should follow your heart but also keep a level head to control it.'

'But what if someone does something bad?' you asked then, frowning. 'Like, murdering a lot of people?'

'Let them stand trial,' he answered. 'And if they can't be put to one for some reason, don't rush your decision. Think what would be best for our planet. Even if it breaks your heart.'

'It's not easy being a ruler,' you sighed. He chuckled. He looked up at the setting sun.

'No, it is not,' he agreed and put a hand on your head with a kind smile. 'But I have no doubt in my mind that you're going to be a very wise and good one…'

You swallow down your tears. You want to kill him. But that won't be the best option in this situation. So, you crush your hate and lower your sword to the side. Jordari stares at you in bewilderment.

'Leave and never return,' you say, your voice cold. 'If I ever see you again… if you ever dare to attack my planet again… there will be no mercy for you. Now go. Go!'

His soldiers hurry to his side and help him up. They drag him away to his ship. You stare at it and all other ones until they rise up to the sky and disappear. Then, you look at your soldiers.

'Long live the Queen!' Juando shouts and falls on his knee.

'Long live the Queen!' soldiers and other subjects shout, kneeling as well. 'Long live the Queen! Long live the Queen!'

You stare at them for a long moment, your expression unreadable. When the chant stops, your eyes fall on the figure of your father's friend.

'General, with me,' you order. He gets up and heads your way. You cast one glance at the Jedi and turn on your heal. You hurry back to the palace, the sword still clutched in your hands.

When Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka manage to finally catch up to you, you're standing in the middle of the throne room. Tano gasps at the sight of the bodies of your family that are being examined now. Her companions stare at them in shock as well.

'What a monster…' Skywalker says, enraged, clenching his fist. 'The Queen and Astrariel as well? Why?'

'He wanted to know where Princess [Y/N] was,' they hear. They turn their heads and see Lanash coming their way. Her clothes are bloodied as well but she doesn't look injured. But she looks very tired and stricken with grief.

'He used them as leverage,' she explains. 'When threatening Princess Astrariel didn't work, he did the same with the Queen. But she provoked him into killing her. With no other leverage… he killed the King.'

'You saw that?' Kenobi asks, stunned. Your maid nods.

'We were outside,' she says. 'Me, my lady and C-3PO. We got back by a secret passage. We stayed hidden until they left. The Princess… she wanted to rush in and save her family. But Threepio and I held her back… There were too many of them…'

'You did well,' Obi-Wan praises her. 'You saved her life. And yours. You couldn't have helped them. You'd only end up dead yourself or…'

'Sell our planet to them,' she finishes in a whisper when he cuts himself off. He nods gravely. They all look at you. You look so small and lost…

'What now?' Ahsoka asks quietly.

'Now… we must keep to every formality,' Lanash says and exhales shakily. 'Examine the bodies to confirm our version, so no one has any doubts. Then… we bury our dead. After that the coronation. And then… we grief and rebuild.'

'It won't be easy,' Kenobi says quietly, staring at you sadly.

'No,' your maid agrees and forces a smile. 'But we'll get through it. She will get through it. With the help of friends.'

She gives Anakin a pointed look. He nods, letting her know he understands what she tries to say. He looks back at you. He sees Juando and Hawk walking to you and talking to you quietly. You nod numbly and go toward a private door.

'Excuse me, I must see to her,' Lanash says and hurries after you. The Jedi stare after you two sadly. Rex enters the room, his expression grim.

'Orders, sir?' he asks.

'Help wherever you can,' Anakin answers. The Clone nods and walks away. Ahsoka follows him. Kenobi grabs Skywalker's shoulder.

'Give her a moment to gather herself… and go to her,' he says, surprising his friend. 'You're her best friend, she needs you at the moment.'

The younger Jedi nods, looking at his former master with gratitude. His companion pats him on the back and then they go to help.

Anakin knocks on the door softly. It opens after a moment and he sees C-3PO, who somehow also looks as if filled with sorrow.

'Oh, Master Anakin!' he says and lets the Jedi in. 'How good you're here. Please, she's in the bedroom.'

Skywalker hurries after the droid to the pointed room. He stops in the threshold. His heart breaks at the sight of you.

You're in your nightgown, your hair is loose. Your face is white, your eyes red and puffy. You look so fragile, so broken…

'[Y/N]…' he says softly, his voice breaking. You look up and he's relieved to see a spark of light returning to your eyes.

'Anakin…' you whisper and stand up. He hurries to your side and takes you in his arms. You clench your fists in his robes and soon your body is shaking from the sobs. C-3PO quietly closes the door, leaving the two of you alone.

'I'm so sorry,' your husband says, crying as well. 'I should have been there. Or at least I should have arrived faster. I'm so, so sorry…'

'You didn't know this was going to happen,' you say, your voice muffled by his chest. 'You were needed elsewhere. And you arrived as fast as you could, I know it. I don't blame you. The only ones to blame are Jantoths.'

He holds you tighter, closing his eyes. You stand like that for a long time, grieving together. His presence gives you a lot of strength.

Some time later, you're sitting on your bed. He's leaning on the headboard and you on him, closed in his arms. You don't speak for a bit.

'I hate to ask it… but what now?' he breaks the silence at last. 'With us, I mean?'

'… Since my people know about us, we both should be crowned as king and queen,' you respond after a beat. 'But given the circumstances… I think they would understand if you… if we… wait a bit.'

'What about you?' he asks quietly. 'What do you want?'

You mull the question for a moment. You want him by your side. But that would be selfish of you. Still, you don't want to lie to him. He'd know if you did anyway.

'I would love to be crowned with you by my side,' you answer. 'Of course, I understand if you-'

'How are we going to do it?' he interrupts you. 'I don't think the rest of the world should know about it and I imagine the coronation is going to be quite public.'

Warmth feels your chest. He doesn't ask how would you do it, he asks how will you do it. There's no hesitation, no pondering. He wants to be by your side as he should. Or at least as much as he can.

'The coronation is taking place in the Temple of All Gods,' you start. 'We must invite our friends, allies, senators, kings, queens… Chancellor Palpatine. But they will only observe my journey from the palace to the temple and then attend the feast. The most important part, the coronation, is an intimate act. I will enter the temple alone and there the priests will crown me as the queen. You will observe the "parade" with other Jedi and then you will sneak inside the temple. Lanash can show you a secret entrance. Inside, a priest will wait for you to take you to me and we'll be crowned together.'

'That… is a very good plan,' he says and grins. 'It can work.'

'At least it should,' you say. 'People of Luth should know of course about it. They will demand to know if you are/were crowned with me. They expect it. About 501st and Ahsoka-'

'They must know as well,' he puts in. You nod, agreeing to it. You sigh and close your eyes.

'I'm scared…' you whisper after some time. Anakin pulls slightly away and cups your face. You look at him with sad eyes.

'Whatever comes next, we will face it together,' he promises you. 'You're going to be a wonderful, kind, strong queen. And I will do anything I can to support you. We can do this.'

You smile at him and he smiles back. He kisses your forehead and pulls you back into the hug. He comforts you like that for a really long time. When he has to go, he does it reluctantly. If it were up to him, he would stay at least for the next few days.

The day after is very hard for you. You get a lot of calls with condolences. Some more honest (Padmé, Bail), some less (Palpatine). At the same time, you must plan your coronation, prepare the funeral for the dead and govern your country. You want to scream at the end of the day. And it continues for the next few.

Finally, the Jedi receive an invitation for the coronation. The funeral of your family has already been held. It was a private ceremony, no one from the outside was invited. But the coronation is supposed to be grand and very public, so the most of the most important people in the galaxy are here.

'It looks like a perfect opportunity for a terrorist attack,' Fives says grumpily. Some Clones were invited as well.

'Who would be stupid to attack in this weather?' Jesse asks, staring at the gray clouds. It's pouring which adds to the already grim atmosphere.

'Some may think it's a perfect cover,' Rex puts in.

'Can you stop?' Anakin sighs.

'Apologies, sir,' Fives says. 'But you must admit that so many politicians, Jedi, soldiers in one place is asking for trouble.'

'Oh, he already discussed it with his wife,' Ahsoka says.

'Shh! Keep it down, Snips!' Skywalker hushes her, looking around nervously. Tano rolls her eyes.

'Relax, SkyGuy,' she says. 'If anyone had heard me, they will just think I'm teasing you. Most of the people jokingly calls you a "married couple".'

'It doesn't mean someone can't understand it in another way,' her master hisses. She just sighs and doesn't say anything more.

'So, about that conversation with your not-wife, General?' Jesse asks. Anakin glares at him. Others try not to snicker.

'There is no danger,' Skywalker says. 'The security is very high. Plus… among the guests are some really important Separatists leaders.'

'What?!' his companions ask at the same time, surprised. He sighs.

'She used to be friends with them before they left the Republic,' he explains. 'She felt she has to invite them. Plus, it makes the risk of our enemies attacking smaller, since they're here.'

'But there are still things that can go wrong,' Fives points out.

'Guys… please, stop,' the Jedi Knight sighs. 'I'm already nervous as it is.'

Others exchange a look. Ahsoka smiles and puts a hand on his shoulder.

'It's gonna be okay,' she assures him. 'And you're going to be great.'

'I won't be able to properly be their king,' he says quietly after a beat. 'To properly support her. Help her.'

'There's no "proper" way for this, sir,' Rex says. 'You just have to do the best you can with the means you have. And we know you will. Not only because you love your wife. But also because you care.'

'That's why we all admire you, sir,' Jesse says. 'Because you actually care. More than you should as a Jedi.'

Skywalker looks at them with wide eyes, moved. He smiles.

'Thanks, guys,' he says and quickly becomes serious, because other Jedi that are present join them. It's time. And true enough, soon they hear drums.

What seems like a long time after, as a tradition commands, you show on the street in a chariot. Anakin's breath hitches. You look spectacular in your white and golden dress. He can't wait to take a closer look at it. And maybe take it off.

Because the Jedi are your close friends, they have one of the best views. Thanks to that, they clearly see the moment the chariot stops in front of the temple and you step out of it. The guards stay outside, as the priests lead you inside. The huge doors close loudly and silence falls.

'It's… terribly grim for a coronation, isn't it?' Ahsoka asks hesitantly. 'I thought they're going to be more cheerful.'

'We may be crowning a new ruler, but that means we had to bury our previous ones,' a new voice suddenly speak. 'We're still grieving. It doesn't feel right for us to cheer just yet.'

Everyone turns and sees Lanash joining them. C-3PO shows up a second later.

'You're right, of course,' Obi-Wan says, nodding solemnly, then looks at her with curiosity. 'To be honest, I thought at least you're going to be with [Y/N].'

'No one is allowed inside,' she denies, shaking her head. She gives Anakin a look. He nods and turns slightly to his troopers.

'I need you to distract others and keep them occupied,' he murmurs. His soldiers and padawan nod.

'You can count on us, sir,' Rex says quietly. Tano steps up first.

'Master Yoda, were you present on the coronation of King Andrrei?' she asks.

'Yes,' the old Jedi master confirms. 'Beautiful, it was. Sad, but touching. Married to his wife, he already was. Both crowned, they were. A sight to behold, it was. Although, nicer, the weather was.'

'Yes, that makes everyone worried,' Threepio says, troubled. Everyone looks at him.

'According to a superstition, the weather on the coronation reflects how the reign of the ruler is going to go,' the droid explains. 'The rain doesn't bode well.'

'That sounds interesting,' Five says. 'Please, tell us more about it.'

C-3PO is startled by it, but seeing Skywalker sneaking off with Lanash, he understands his role. So, he begins the tale of this superstition and how many times it actually came true. In the meantime, your maid takes your husband away.

Anakin and Lanash reach a secret entrance. Your maid activates it and a door in a wall slides open. A dark corridor looms ahead. She reaches for a torch, lights it and hands it to Skywalker with a smile.

'Good luck,' she whispers.

'Thanks,' he murmurs and steps inside. The moment he does, the door closes. Feeling claustrophobic, he hurries forward. A few minutes later he sees a light. He rushes toward it and finds himself at the exit. Behind it stands a priest.

'Welcome, Anakin Skywalker,' he says, raising his hands. 'We are glad you've decided to do this.'

'I knew what I was getting into when I proposed to [Y/N],' the Jedi says, putting away the torch. 'It may have come sooner than I thought and hoped, but I'm not going to back down. I'm just sorry it can't be in the way you deserve.'

'We're satisfied with you being here for now,' the priest says and leads him down another corridor, this one lighted. 'But be aware, that sooner or later the people of Luth will demand for you to take more active part in our affairs.'

'I understand,' your husband says. A few minutes later they enter a chamber. Anakin's heart skips a beat when he sees you waiting on a chair. You smile and the priest bows to you both.

'We'll start in a few minutes,' he says and leaves you. You stand up and meet Skywalker halfway. You embrace.

'Thank you,' you say quietly.

'Of course,' he murmurs. You wait in silence. Finally, the large doors open and you hear singing. You pull away and stand shoulder to shoulder.

'Ready?' he asks, nervous.

'I was born for it,' you answer calmly and squeeze his hand for a second. 'And you?'

'With you by my side?' he asks. 'I'm ready for anything.'

You smile and you two start walking. You enter the main chamber. It's full of statues of the gods. On both your sides there are rows of singing priests, each of them holding a candle. At the end, there's a statue of the first recorded king and queen of Luth. Beneath it, stand two priests – one male, one female. You reach them and fall on your knees. Silence falls.

'We lost so much recently,' the female priestess – Ayla – says. 'But we must not allow our grief to consume us. A new dawn has risen. And with it we're getting a new queen and a new king. Today, in front of the gods and with us as the witnesses, they will make their oaths to lead this planet justly and kindly. And then, by the power the gods have vested in us, we will crown them.'

Two other priests walk to you and put cloaks on your shoulders. The male priest – Korg – walks down to you with the Book of the Laws. He offers it to you.

'Princess [Y/N], place your right hand on the book and the left one on your heart,' he asks, You do as he says, your heart beating fast.

'Do you swear,' he starts, 'to be the protector and defender of the planet Luth and its people in all ways that you can be of help so far as you shall he supported by the gods' aid, according to your knowledge and ability?'

'I swear,' you answer.

'Do you swear,' he asks, 'to your power cause law and justice, in mercy, to be executed in all your judgements?'

'I swear,' you confirm and look him in the eyes. 'The things which I have here before promised, I will perform and keep. So help me gods.'

'So be it,' he says seriously. You drop your hands. Korg turns to Anakin.

'General Skywalker, place your right hand on the book and the left one on your heart,' he says. Skywalker does so, trying to remain calm.

'Do you swear,' the priest starts, 'to be the protector and defender of the planet Luth and its people in all ways that you can be of help so far as you shall he supported by the gods' aid, according to your knowledge and ability?'

'I swear,' the Jedi answers.

'Do you swear,' Korg asks, 'to your power cause law and justice, in mercy, to be executed in all your judgements?'

'I swear,' your husband confirms.

'And do you swear,' the priest asks for the last time, 'to support your wife, our queen, and help her rule this planet rightfully, wisely and with heart?'

'I swear,' Anakin says and looks him in the eyes. 'The things which I have here before promised, I will perform and keep. So help me the Force.'

'So be it,' Korg says. Skywalker drops his hands. You watch the priest walk back up the stairs. He passes the book to another priestess. He and Ayla spread their arms.

'In the presence of gods and with us as witnesses, they made their oaths,' the priestess declares. 'Let us now crown them, so they could rule this planet rightfully and protect its people.'

They now descent the stairs to you. Two priests with two bowls approach you. Ayla and Korg put their fingers in the bowls and then they stand in front of you.

'The crown from the gods,' they say at the same time. The priestess draws a symbol on your forehead, while the priest does the same for Skywalker.

The priests with bowls walk away. In their place priestesses with crowns show up. Ayla and Korg take the crowns and approach you again.

'The crown from the people,' they say together. The priest puts the crown on your head and priestess does the same for the Jedi. All at once it feels real. It's not the dream. You're the queen now.

'It is done!' Ayla says. '[Y/N] [L/N], Anakin Skywalker, you've been crowned as the queen and king of Luth. Live true to the oaths you said today, follow your hearts and be wise in your rule. And you'll make your ancestors proud. Now rise… and go to your people.'

You and your husband stand up. The cloaks are taken from your shoulders. You turn around and leave the main chamber. The doors close behind you. You both exhale shakily.

'So… no turning back now,' the Jedi breaks the silence. You smile slightly and reach for him. He takes your hand in his. You look at each other.

'We can do this,' you say. 'Together.'

'Together,' he confirms and walks to you. You kiss softly, wanting this moment to never end. But it's not over. You pull away with regret.

'You should return to others now,' you say. 'And I'll… present myself to the people.'

'I love you,' he says and kisses your forehead.

'And I love you,' you respond. He leaves the room. Outside the priest from before is already waiting. You give him a minute, then leave as well. Other priests are already waiting for you.

Outside the temple, 501st, Ahsoka, R2-D2 and C-3PO are doing their best to make sure no one notices Skywalker's absence. But no one can fool Obi-Wan forever.

'Wait a minute,' he interrupts Jesse's story, frowning. 'Where is Anakin?'

Everyone looks around. Tano desperately tries to think of something. Threepio looks up.

'Oh, well, at least it stopped raining,' he says. 'And I think the sun is trying to shine through.'

Kenobi opens his mouth to say something, but at that moment the doors to the temple open. At the same time what the droid said tuns out to be true, because the sun comes out from behind the clouds. At once, the city is covered with rainbows. People gasp and cheer.

You come into the sun beams and look up. You smile, unaware that your husband is doing exactly the same thing by the secret entrance, as he exited it the moment you left the temple.

'What do rainbows mean?' Rex asks C-3PO, smiling.

'Oh, honestly, it's the best that could have happened,' the droid answers, excited. 'Rainbows mean prosperity, peace, joy and justice.'

'Peace and justice, huh?' Windu asks, staring at the rainbows. 'It would be good if it was a prophecy for the whole galaxy.'

'Who knows, maybe it is?' Skywalker, who's just showed up along with Lanash, asks. At once everyone looks at him.

'Anakin, where have you been?' Obi-Wan asks.

'We've tried to look inside the temple,' your maid lies to everyone's horror. 'Oh, don't worry. It's a tradition. During every coronation someone tries to look in. I was nervous about my lady, so I tried to take a peek. Luckily, General Skywalker noticed and followed me. He made sure I didn't do something stupid like storming through the window.'

'Well, she almost did that,' your husband lies, earning a glare from her. His former master shakes a head at him, but his eyes tell he's amused.

'Wow, that dress looks so pretty now,' Ahsoka says. Everyone follows her gaze and see you descending the stairs, waving at clapping and cheering people. Turns out there are crystals on your dress that are now shining and glistening in the sun.

'Did she know it's going to be sun after all?' Fives asks.

'No, but she hoped for it,' Lanash explains and smiles. 'She's always an optimist.'

You get on the chariot. You're now to take a ride along the capital to see your people and let them see you. Then, you will go back to the palace for the feast.

'They seem more cheerful now,' Ahsoka says, looking at the crowd below.

'Mostly because of the rainbows, I guess,' Lanash says. 'But yes. We're happy.'

'Good queen, she's going to be,' Yoda says and everyone turns to him. 'Feel it, I do.'

Your maid smiles and excuses herself. She must come back to you. Others return their gazes to you. Anakin does it just in time to see you looking up. You smile at each other. Whatever happens now, neither of you has fear. Because you have each other.

The feast is loud and messy. Very quickly you want to throw all the guests out. Lanash and Obi-Wan barely manage to stop you from doing that. Mostly by directing you to people you actually like and want here when someone annoys you too much.

'Difficult times are ahead of you, dear [Y/N],' Palpatine says when, unfortunately, you have to stop to chat to him. 'You have to show strength but also not too much. And, of course, make people to trust you, while your government to listen to you.'

'I've been schooled for this since I was seven years old, Chancellor,' you say, annoyed he's so forward with you. 'And I'm not alone in it. I have faith I'll manage.'

'Of course, of course,' he chuckles. 'But if you ever need an advice, I'm only a call away.'

'I'll remember that,' you respond, forcing a smile. 'Now, excuse me, I've just noticed Padmé and I haven't talked to her yet.'

Without waiting for a response, you hurry away. You maneuver your way to Amidala and link your arms with her.

'Save me and walk with me,' you beg.

'Who are we running from?' she laughs. But she obliges and walks with you.

'Palpatine,' you say through gritted teeth. Her smile falls.

'I wish you two would get along,' she sighs.

'Oh, no problem,' you snort. 'He just has to stop being so fake and condescending.'

'He's not fake-' she starts to argue.

'Pad, we've argued about it a lot of times,' you interrupt her. 'Let's not do this again. Not today.'

She sighs but nods. For a moment you stroll in silence. You nod your head politely at everyone who bows to you.

'How are you holding up?' the Senator asks at some point, worried. 'Really.'

'It's hard,' you answer after a moment. 'I keep expecting to wake up… and see them. Alive.'

'If you ever need to talk…' your friend says with sorrow. You smile at her and squeeze her arm.

'I know,' you say. 'Thank you. I hope it also means I can call you when I'm going to need an advice on ruling?'

'Of course,' she confirms. 'But I don't think you're going to need it.'

You smile at each other. You open your mouth to say something, but just then Ahsoka joins you. She shoots a look at the door.

'Senator, I was hoping for a moment of your time,' she says. You look at the door and see your husband hiding in the shadows.

'Of course,' Padmé says and unlinks your arms. 'Unless, you-'

'Go, I need some time alone anyway,' you say. You share a brief hug and two women walk away. You quickly hurry toward the door, avoiding any conversations that people try to start with you.

'Anakin?' you call in a hushed voice. Suddenly, a hand grabs your wrist and you're pulled into the shadows.

'It's me,' Skywalker quickly whispers and pecks your lips. 'Maker, I wanted to do that for the whole evening.'

'Why did you decide now?' you ask quietly. He sighs.

'We're going to leave soon,' he explains. 'I wanted to say goodbye.'

'Then let's do it properly,' you say and take his hand. Quickly, you guide him through the corridors to your bedroom. You barely close the door when his lips are on yours again. You sigh and answer the kiss hungrily.

'I need you…' you whisper. He growls and picks you up. He carries you to the bed and lays you down. You undress each other. He starts peppering your face with kisses until he starts going lower with them.

'Oh… have mercy on me tonight,' you gasp as he sucks on your breast. 'Please…'

'Your wish is my command, my Queen,' he murmurs, his eyes locked on you. You shiver under his gaze and then moan when his fingers start pleasuring you down there. You grab his hair and bring him up for a kiss, as your other hand finds his manhood and starts stroking. He groans and heats up the kiss.

'And what does my King wish for?' you whisper. He freezes and looks at you.

'I wish… for you to tell me how much you need me,' he answers.

'As you command,' you say and move your mouth to his ear. 'I need you as much as I need air to breathe…'

He gasps and his fingers speed up. You take in a shaky breath.

'You complete me,' you go on, going faster with your hand as well. 'I am not fully myself unless I have you by my side. My heart longs for you all the time when we're apart.'

He groans and twitches in your hand. He adds more fingers. You continue whispering sweet things into his ear, your voice quickly turning to pants. He finally can't take it anymore and pulls away. You look at each other softly and with lust.

'I love you,' you say at the same time and chuckle. You kiss gently, lovingly. You gasp when he suddenly enters you. You look up at him and see him smirking at you. You scowl at him but then he moves. You moan and your face relaxes.

'Look at me, my star,' he says quietly. You open your eyes and see him gazing at you with love. You smile and cup his cheek.

'Make love to me, Anakin,' you say. His eyes light up and he starts moving. You embrace him and pull him closer to you. You both moan and groan, as he speeds up every few moments.

'[Y/N]… my star… my life… my amazing wife…' he murmurs into your ear and kisses your neck. You moan and move your hips against his hips. He groans and goes harder.

'Anakin… oh, Anakin…' you pant and tug on his hair. Your eyes lock. You kiss once more. You love doing that. You can't get enough of it.

You make love to each other for long minutes. You want to prolong it as long as you can. Feel each other as long as you can. But finally, you both can't take it and come undone almost at the same time.

A few moments pass before your husband lifts himself up, panting. He kisses your forehead and pulls out. You whimper at the loss.

'I know,' he murmurs against your hair and falls on the bed next to you. 'I know…'

You turn and snuggle into him. He puts his arms around you at once. You lay in silence like that for a bit.

'Obi-Wan will be looking for me,' he speaks up at one point. You don't respond.

'I'm scared,' you say instead after a moment. He frowns and looks at you.

'Of what?' he asks. 'Of Jantoths? They won't attack you again, I'm sure of it.'

'Oh, I'm not worried about it,' you dismiss it. 'I know they won't.'

'Then what is it?' he asks.

'I'm afraid of failing,' you whisper. Skywalker thinks carefully over his answer.

'It's understandable,' he finally says. 'You didn't expect to become a queen so soon. But you are ready. You're going be amazing. Do you know why?'

'Why?' you ask, looking up at him. He smiles down at you.

'Because you care,' he answers. 'You care about your people so much. That means you're going to be a wonderful queen. And I'm going to be by your side. Remember, even if I'm not here, I'm just a call away.'

You smile at him, actually feeling better. You lift yourself up slightly and kiss him. The kiss is long, sweet and tender.

But all good things come to an end. You get up and get dressed. You don't even realize when you're on the platform, saying your goodbyes to the Jedi.

'Remember, always help in us, you have,' Yoda says as you shake his hand.

'Thank you,' you say with a smile. 'It's mutual. Nothing has changed. And thank you for arriving so quickly that day and helping.'

'Still fast enough, we were not,' he says, hanging his head. You smile sadly.

'It was meant to be,' you say. 'There's no point in dwelling on it and wishing on doing something differently. It is done. Let's focus on our future now.'

'Wise words,' Windu praises you, nodding his head seriously. 'The people of Luth are going to have a really good queen in you.'

'Thank you for your kind words,' you say and bow slightly. 'I wish you a safe journey.'

You go to others. You hug Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, as well as talk to them for a moment. Then you wish farewells to the Clones. And at last, you walk to Anakin. You stare at each other sadly, then hug tightly.

'I leave my heart with you,' he murmurs. 'Take a good care of it.'

'Only if you take mine with yours and hold it close,' you respond, smiling.

'It's a deal,' he agrees and pulls away, just to grab your hand and kiss it, while looking into your eyes. 'Until next time… Your Majesty.'

'Farewell, General,' you say, your voice breaking. He nods at you and reluctantly lets go. He joins others and soon enough you watch how their ship rise in the air. There are tears in your eyes.

Thank you for reading! I'm sorry for the angst, I hope you don't hate me and enjoyed this chapter at least a bit. Let me know your thoughts! Reblog, like and comment if you could. Seriously, even if it's just to leave a thumb up. Every bit of feedback keeps me motivated. Until next time!

This can also be found on Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60214684/chapters/154926283

#anakin skywalker #reader #anakin x reader #anakin x you #anakin & reader #anakin & you #anakin/reader #anakin/you #star wars

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