#Also. Slightly messy corner of my desk reveal? Fun!

[residentialsinyomakai]

Hey. Mckraken dump + misc doodles part 50. Throws these at you

Starting w these two! The human design belongs to @analog-smiles and I love it sm btw. Might draw it again in the future i say menacingly. The one on the left is me trying to get the hang of coloring him on digital +drawing full body!!!

I drew this guy more upset than usual yesterday because it wouldn't be your favorite character without inflicting pain on them 💕😋

And then these ones!! Expect more hino art soon because MAN. I love that awful ceo <33

Thats all for now!! Ty for looking at my stuff btw (-u•)~☆

[crackedpumpkin]

ᴄʜᴇʀʀʏ ʙʟᴏꜱꜱᴏᴍꜱ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴅɪꜰꜰᴇʀᴇɴᴛ ᴅɪᴍᴇɴꜱɪᴏɴ || ᴘᴀʀᴛ ꜱɪxᴛᴇᴇɴ ||

2K12! Leonardo x Waterbender! Reader

a/n: if there's anything I love in this world, it's a good diet of foreboding and build up. tw: mentions of blood

Y/n’s bored.

She’s very, very bored.

“And this is how World War 1 started.” The teacher speaking snaps her out of her daydream, and she glances down at the messy notebook in front of her. She scrawled a few words on it, still trying to get used to the grip of a pen.

As soon as the bell rang (which apparently signals the start of school here, according to April), they made it to the first lesson of the day: History. 

It’s different from what she’s used to; most of her basic lessons have been taught by the private tutor her uncle had employed for both her and Yue. Most of the time, though, she was in the Healing Huts, learning from the older women of the Tribe.

Her aptitude for healing made her famous, though it was only momentary. She was often called over by the elders to help out with injuries caused by the waterbending school Master Pakku ran. 

Her smile falters momentarily when she recalls an old memory that remains stuck in her head to this day.

— — — —- —- — — — — —

"Does no one wanna play with me?" An eight-year-old Y/n mumbles with a pout, stacking the toy blocks absentmindedly. 

"I'm sure they're just shy!" Her cousin chirps from beside her, copying how she stacks the blocks. 

Y/n just shrugs from beside her, brightening up slightly when she sees a few kids her age making their way over. 

"Hi! Wanna play with us, Yue?" 

"Sure! What about Y/n?" 

"She can come too, I guess. But it'll be more fun without her!"

Y/n wilts at the comment, already looking away as her hair covers her face, acting as a shield for the saddened expression on her face. 

"Well, I won't go if she isn't coming either!"

— — — —- —- — — — — —

“You good?” She hears April whisper from the corner of her mouth, glancing over in worry. Her eyes widen when she sees the large blots of ink that stain the paper on Y/n’s desk, practically soaking through. 

Y/n grins sheepishly, holding her pinky to reveal a pigmented blue stain. “Still getting used to it. I much prefer brushes.”

They share a giggle, only for Y/n to sit upright when she hears the teacher clear her throat. “Is something funny, Miss O’Neil? And your friend as well, Miss…?”

“Beifong. Y/n Beifong of the Northern Water Tribe.” She supplies, wanting to be helpful to the teacher. 

“Miss Beifong of the…Northern Water Tribe. Is there something funny about the war?” 

“Kind of,” Y/n shrugs, not noticing how April desperately tries to signal her to stop talking. 

“Would you like to share your thoughts with the class?”

“It’s mainly just that it’s very different from where I’m from. There was a lot of Bending involved in the war.”

“Bending?” The teacher repeats, her brows furrowed in confusion.

Y/n nods, standing up and going over to the whiteboard. She picks up a tool that resembles a pen and starts to draw four separate circles on the whiteboard. 

“Air, Fire, Earth, and Water. These are the basic four elements. There’s also metal, but that’s more of Toph’s expertise.

“The four nations were once united in harmony. My uncle used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. 

But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed, and the Fire Nation neared Victory in the War.”

At this point, she realizes that everyone in the class has stopped talking, staring at her silently. Even the boys in the back who were joking were watching, the girls putting away their phones.

April has her head in her hands.

Y/n grins, happy that everyone is paying such rapt attention. “Here’s where it gets funny; my friends found the Avatar in an iceberg and broke him out! My friend Katara was the one that did so. She’s a fantastic waterbender. Sokka was there, too, I guess. 

We fought against Zuko, the exiled prince of the Fire Nation — now the Lord, though. At first, I thought he was just really depressed. And he was! But I’m pretty sure he’s alright now.”

She’s cut off by the bell ringing, setting down the pen with a massive smile.

“Well, that was…interesting. Maybe you should sign up for our school’s creative writing course.” The teacher forces a smile onto her lips, but Y/n beams at the compliment. 

“Thank you! I have gotten praise from my tutor that I have excellent storytelling skills. It came in handy while we were on the run and needed entertainment.” 

“Okay, we’re leaving.” Y/n’s arm is grabbed by April, who begins to drag her out of the classroom. 

“Wait! I was going to tell her about the time Sokka and Katara had to suck on frogs!” Y/n protests, but upon seeing April’s scarlet red cheeks, she falls silent and follows without complaint.

She spots a few people from the earlier classroom, waving a quick hello with a warm smile. It falters, however, when she spots them whispering to each other and eyeing her up and down. 

Y/n starts to feel uncomfortable. Maybe her outfit wasn’t appropriate enough? She glances down, trying to pinpoint precisely what looked so wrong.

“What’s wrong?” She leans on the sink, the two of them the only ones in the restroom. April sighs, running a hand through her hair.

“Look, Y/n. Stuff like waterbending and earthbending…It’s like a fairy tale to everyone here. If you continue to talk about it, they’ll think you’re crazy!” April tries to explain, Y/n tilting her head in thought.

“So, no waterbending?”

“And no frogs.”

“No frog talk??” She’s already devastated.

“Not in public. But you gotta tell me when we’re back home, it sounds like such a wild story.” April grins, feeling much more relieved with Y/n’s eager nod.

The bell rings, and they share a worried look. 

“Didn’t you say that the bell only rings when…?”

“Yeah. We’re late for class. Let’s go!” April grabs her hand, dragging the waterbender behind her as they rush to class.

“Sorry! My apologies!” Y/n winces when someone bumps against her shoulder roughly, the student sending her a glare until a flicker of recognition flashes across their face. 

“You’re that chick! The Elemental Bending girl!”

“I am!” She slows in her steps, pleasantly surprised that they knew who she was. 

“Your imagination’s rad. You should make that into a show!”

“Sorry, Casey. Y/n, let’s go!” April urges. Grabbing her wrist, they run to the next class. Y/n quickly waves to the boy in the hallway, shrugging off his remark about her imagination.

It stung, but it wasn’t as if she could waterbend in public here.

— — — —- —- — — — — —

Mutant Monsters and robot ninjas are taking over my city. How long before those freaks hurt somebody close to me? Like my dad, my little sister…

April.

Well, I’m not waiting around to find out. All my life, I knew I was meant for something greater. 

This is my calling, my destiny.

A true warrior’s gotta be prepared.

“Scum-sucking mutant freaks of the world, prepare to meet Casey Jones.”

— — — —- —- — — — — —

“My sons, you are truly becoming impressive warriors. But to grow as a team, you must know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”

Mikey swings his nunchucks threateningly, moving close to Donnie and burping in his face. Y/n groans, sticking out her tongue in disgust. He laughs obnoxiously at her reaction, proud of himself.

“Right in my face??” Donnie cries, outraged, as his eyes start to burn from the rancid smell.

“Garlic and clam pizzaaa,” Mikey says smugly.

“This competition is a free for all. Last turtle standing wins.” Master Splinter states firmly, “Hajime!”

Raph immediately runs towards Donnie, whose vision is still blurred from Mikey’s potent attack, kicking him in the side and instantly knocking him out of the competition. Donnie lands against the dojo wall, and she quickly gets up to help him sit upright.

“This might help.” She bends some water to cover her palm, holding it against his closed eyes as he slumps against her side in relief. 

“Thanks,” He mumbles gratefully. 

Y/n continues to watch the fight, Mikey already out of the battle while Leo and Raph square off. She’s not paying close attention, more focused on patting Mikey’s head when he leans on her with a happy hum and healing Donnie.

“Oooh! Look!” She glances over at where Mikey’s pointing, wincing as she watches Leo use the tree in the dojo to gain an advantage, kneeing Raph in the face. 

“That’s gotta hurt,” She mumbles, hiding the chuckle that almost slips past her lips at Leo’s smug grin. She couldn’t let Raph hear. If there's anything she learnt during her time spent with them, it's that they’re much more alike to her friends back at home than she initially thought.

Raph reminded her so much of Toph, his temperament practically mirroring hers. The only difference being that she was blind, of course. 

He lands face down on the Dojo mat, Leo clearing his throat and propping his katana behind his back as he sneaks a look from the corner of his eye to see if she’s watching. 

She is.

The corner of her lips tugs up slightly, making eye contact with Leo, who averts his gaze with a flush on his cheeks. He clears his throat, picks up his katana and sheathes them on his back. He takes a knee, sneaking yet another peek with a proud smile.

She’s again distracted when she feels the sudden flow of Raph’s blood speed up, practically sensing his heartbeat quicken as he grows angry with each passing second.

Her hands tingle, feeling her body still as everything else fades into white noise. Her heart slows, starting to see the flow of energy and life that surround her in the dojo.

Leo’s is a royal blue, Mikey’s a burnt orange, and Donnie’s is a warm brown. Raph’s is a scarlet red, burning brighter the more the blood rushes to his head in anger. It’s a stunning shade, one that catches her attention instantly. 

The color reminds her of something familiar. The answer’s on the tip of her tongue, a whisper encouraging her to remember it. 

Blood.

“Uh, Y/n?” Donnie voices out worryingly, the once cool sensation quickly turning into a rising temperature he can’t withstand. She doesn’t notice, eyes still trained on the movement of the two brother’s limbs with cold eyes. He shifts uncomfortably on her shoulder, scrunching his snout as the water continues to heat up.

“Dudette?” Mikey waves his hand in front of her face, and she snaps out of it, warmth flooding back into her body almost instantly. She blinks. 

What was that?

It felt as if the cold fingers of death itself had gripped its claws around her heart, slowly freezing it over. But as soon as she snaps out of it, it retreats back into the inky depths from where it came from inside her. 

Suddenly it’s hard to breathe. She pulls her hand away from Donnie’s closed eyes, staring at the rough calluses with tightness in her gaze. Something really wasn’t right with her.

“I…have to go.” She stands up abruptly, surprising everyone. Master Splinter merely nods in approval, and she turns, walking out of the dojo with hurried steps.

“I’m gonna go on a walk too.” Raph grunts with a roll of his eyes, shoving Leo’s shoulder and following the same path that Y//n took.

— — — —- —- — — — — —

My city is infested. A boil, a festering sore. It stinks with evil. 

Pure evil only Casey Jones can face.

— — — — — — — — — —

Y/n’s chest is tight, fists pressed against her heart and trying to regulate her breathing. 

Whatever that was back in the lair, it’s gone now. She looks up, the number of stars that dot the sky incredibly sparse compared to back in her world.

She turns to see the next rooftop, spotting Raph kicking a metal sheet. She takes a deep breath, calming herself down before bending water from a puddle beside her and creating a platform across.

“You good?” Y/n walks over to where he’s now sitting. She sits beside him, and he moves over to make space for her. 

“Yeah. I’m good.” His short answer didn’t deter her; she was already used to the occasional outbursts from Toph when she couldn’t control her anger. She grabs her water bag, offering him a sip. 

He hesitates but takes it and gulps down the refreshing liquid before clearing his throat and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He passes it back to her without a word of thanks, just a simple nod.

She places it back on her waist, sighing blissfully as the chilly breeze brushes against her ears. It isn’t as cold as the North Pole is, but the mornings feel close enough.

“When I first met Toph – Aang’s earthbending teacher, I thought she was cool but also a brat.” Raph glances over at Y/n who begins to absentmindedly tell him about her life. “She was born blind, her parents super overprotective and not letting her breathe. But wanna know how we found her?”

“How?”

“An underground fight. Toph was the reigning champion over all the other fighters in Ba Sing Se. Her stage name was The Blind Bandit.” Y/n chuckles fondly, recalling how surprised they were when Toph first walked into the arena.

“Sounds pretty cool to me.” Raph grins, leaning back as he continues to listen.

“She is! She’s incredibly talented but loses her temper easily and is incredibly stubborn. You kinda remind me of her.” Y/n pauses, seeing Raph frown.

“I don’t lose my temper easily,” Raph huffs, crossing his arms as he glares at her.

“Sure,” Y/n chuckles, unfazed. She’s dealt with Toph almost causing an earthquake once – nothing else would ever be that scary. “But the thing is, she just didn’t know how to process her emotions well. She’s just a kid. But there was one way we vented.”

“What is it?” Raph’s interest is now piqued, intrigue in his frustrated eyes. Y/n stands up, gesturing for him to do the same. She steps back, bending the water out of her water bag and sending a sharp disc flying right at him.

Raph yelps, barely dodging it as it leaves a small scratch against his cheeks. “What the heck??”

He grips his Sais, already irritated by the sudden attack. 

“What’s wrong? Are you scared?” She taunts with a smirk, already preparing for her next attack. She sends a stream of water to wrap around his legs as he charges at her, using his momentum to flip him on his back.

He growls, the smile on her face only angering him further. She draws back the water whip, holding her hand in a mocking ‘come here’ gesture. He runs towards her once again with an aggressive yell, dodging the stream of water she sends his way and doing a quick front flip when it gets close to his legs.

“And here I thought water’s just harmless to turtles,” She feigns a pout, a mischievous glint in her eyes as her words only fuel the burning fury in Raph’s eyes. It’s all too easy to get on his nerves, shifting and sweeping her leg in a semicircle to bring the water back and create a wall of ice to protect herself.

His weapon stabs into it, and he struggles to pull it out. Y/n peeks out from behind it, unable to resist yet another taunt. “Aww, do you need some help?” She offers with a chuckle, yelping when he almost punches her. 

“You little-!” Raph pants heavily, still trying to get his Sais out of where they’re stuck in the ice. “Whatever, I don’t need them to beat you!” He huffs angrily, changing tactics and charging straight at her instead.

Her eyes narrow, bringing her hands back and moving them forward quickly, bending the ice to change it back into its liquid state and sending it once more to creep up his leg and stop him from moving any closer to her. 

He didn’t expect it, the sudden chill that encompassed his leg a surprise. He grunts, trying to move his now frozen leg. He spots his Sais on the ground, lunging towards them and stretching his hands out, barely reaching the hilts. 

He grabs them, using all his strength to break the ice with the sharp prongs. It shatters, and he's in front of her in the blink of an eye. 

He raises his clenched fist, intending to use the back of his hilt to give her a good punch. However, a small stream of water snakes up his arm, and Y/n takes a small step around him, rolling off his back as she uses his momentum against him again. She guides the stream of water and yanks it to the right, using it to veer him off course and land on the ground instead.

He lands with a pained grunt, getting back up almost immediately. She pauses, spotting a few figures in the dark alleyway out of the corner of her eyes. “Wait,” She holds up a hand, eyes trained on the shadowed figures.

Raph doesn’t hear, too focused on winning the fight. 

She raises her hands, gripping them tightly to waterbend a ball of water around his face. His eyes widen almost comically, a bubble of air escaping past his lips as he tries to protest. “Cool off for a minute, okay? Something’s happening down there.”

He nods grumpily, glaring at her. She returns a sheepish grin, feeling bad about the sudden fight she started. She releases the water lock, and he drops to the ground, gasping for air.

She peeks over the edge of the building, overhearing one of the shadowed figures confronting the other three. They’re all dressed in black, so she’s unable to tell who they are. However, the one confronting them is shorter, so they were probably around her age.

“I’m the last guy you see before you wake up in the hospital.”

Y/n blinks. 

That was probably one of the weirdest catchphrases she’s ever heard.

Scratch that; nothing was worse than hearing Sokka go down swinging with his space sword, Sokka Style (also patented by him).

To her surprise, though, the boy down below fights well. He dodges harsh blows thrown his way by the Purple Dragons, fighting back with nothing but a wooden stick and little black discs. He uses the sticks to hit the discs, the amount of force behind it enough to cause enough pain to the attackers on impact.

She raises a brow when he uses the terrain to his advantage, kicking himself off the wall to hit one of the larger assailants. He lands perfectly, darting around and hitting them in the face with his stick.

“I give him 10 for the landing, 8 for the jump,” She murmurs jokingly, impressed.

“That guy’s outta control. Time for a little intervention.” Raph twirls his Sai, still heated from their earlier fight.

“Wait-!” 

Raph ignores her hushed protest, jumping straight down and grabbing the stick as the boy holds it above his head. Raph tosses it aside casually, doing a somersault over his head and landing in the shadows.

“This isn’t going to end well…” Y/n mutters under her breath, quickly making her way down the fire escape. She hurries, hearing their grunts as the both of them fight. She takes the last step down the fire escape, landing on the ground and looks up to see the boy shoving Raph back and running after the Purple Dragons that are getting away.

“You know, anger is a dangerous ally.”

Y/n snorts. She clears her throat when Raph shoots her an icy glare, hiding a smile and masking it with a blank expression. The boy glances behind him, eyes widening behind his mask, when he sees a civilian is in front of a clearly dangerous mutant turtle.

“Get behind me.” He runs in front of her, holding his stick out protectively. She peeks out from behind him, spotting Raph breathing heavily. 

He’s angry, she realizes.

“Stay away, you overgrown lizard!” 

The remark makes her wince. She taps the boy’s shoulder from behind him, and he looks at her questioningly. “I’ll be fine,” She tries to reassure him. 

“What’re you talking about? You’re just a girl.” His eyes are filled with confusion, wondering how on earth this frail-looking girl behind him could hold her own in front of the overgrown lizard threatening him. He blinks multiple times, his eyes dry from all the face paint. 

She looks familiar to him, but he can’t really place where he’s seen her before, especially not with the alleyway being this dimly lit. Plus, his mask made it a bit difficult to have good vision. But it looked cool, so he refused to take it off under any circumstance.

Rule 101 of vigilantism: Never reveal your identity.

“Okay,” Y/n raises her hands in mock surrender, stepping back. “Whatever you say, my saviour.” 

“Why don’t you go cool off for a while,” Raph’s lips are pressed tightly in a thin line, hands gripping his Sai. 

“That’s it, lizard, I’m done with you,” The boy pulls out not just one but two sticks from where they’re slung on his back. Now she’s amazed. 

Was he trying to get killed? She wonders, leaning against the wall.

She watches them charge at each other, Raph kicking the boy into the dumpster beside her. He twirls his Sai, sheathing them before walking towards her.

However, the boy stands up quickly, and she discreetly slides off a hamburger wrapper stuck to his shoulder. He climbs out of the dumpster, unknowingly swinging his stick back and hitting her right in her head.

“Ow!” She winces, holding her head as she stumbles back, hitting the wall behind her. The impact sends her reeling, practically seeing stars in her eyes. “That’s a concussion,” She groans.

“Oops, sorry!”

“Hey! Look what you did!” Raph gestures towards her in pain, about to take a step towards her, when the boy holds out his stick, preventing him from getting close. 

“Don’t put your gross hands on her, you lizard!” Casey threatens. It’s enough to set Raph off, and they continue to fight, forgetting about her.

Y/n slumps to the ground, moving her hand away to see blood staining her clear skin. She feels dizzy from the sight, lips tugging downwards in a frown when she processes the fact that she’s bleeding.

Huh.

This isn’t ideal.

Her eyes are fixed on the crimson red on her palms, dotted across her fingers. She almost can’t look away, seemingly hypnotized by the very substance. She feels something wet trickle down her forehead, snapping her out of her daze.

Right, she’s bleeding.

She should probably heal herself.

Holding an orb of water she bends out of her water bag, she uses the rest of the water to surround the injury, her vision slightly blurry. Everything keeps shifting in and out of focus, permanent spots of black in her eyes.

She frowns. 

Why did it look like they were connected to people?

She tries to brush it off, but the darkness unnerves her. Something about it is just so… inviting. But she shouldn’t. It looked dangerous.

Her brows furrow, resolve wavering. Part of her wants to reach out, to let it surround her. Besides, when has she ever stepped away from danger?

But Raph’s furious yell distracts her. 

She tears her gaze away, barely able to make out his eyes blazing with aggravation.

He’s lost in his rage, letting the emotion engulf him. He holds his Sai up, swinging it toward the boy’s face. She gasps, scrambling to her feet to take a step forward. Her hands flex, so close to grabbing the flow that connects his arm to his body. 

She can’t let Raph hurt someone. But she can control it, make it, so it doesn’t happen.

She has the power to.

But as soon as her fingertips brush against the swell of darkness in her vision, he stops. His Sai are inches away from the boy’s face, the blade's edge almost touching his skin.

In that split second, he regains control. His breaths come out in short pants, and she can almost see the condensation from how heated he is.

“What am I doing?” He puts away his weapons, looking down. At that moment, the boy pulls out a gadget that electrocutes the turtle, making his escape as Raph slumps to the ground with a pained groan. 

She looks away, blinking rapidly as she vaguely registers the graffiti before her. It’s as if she’s underwater, with all the muffled noise from the car horns that blare at night.

Use it. Control them. You can have the world in your grasp. You know that.

“It doesn’t mean I want that.”

You can make it, so they never leave you.

“They won’t. I know they won’t.” She states firmly, her eyes squeezed shut as sweat collects on her brow.

That’s what you thought about Yue.

“You don’t know anything. She had to.” Her teeth are gritted, the familiar yet painful memory rushing back.

— — — — — — — — — —

“You have been touched by the Moon Spirit. Some of its life is still in you.”

“Yes, you’re right. It gave me life.” Yue admits, head hanging in defeat before an idea takes root in her mind. She opens her eyes, standing back up.

“Maybe I can give it back.”

— — — — — — — — — —

He could’ve found another way. He could’ve stopped her.

“Stop.”

She didn’t have to sacrifice herself.

“There was no other way!”

Her breathing is shaky, and the water on her head drops to extreme temperatures. But she doesn’t notice, her grief flooding her in waves. She thought she had gotten over it - managed to accept what had happened.

Y/n can almost see the exact moment she returned from healing the waterbenders injured by the Fire Nation’s army, looking around for Yue, only to see everyone else’s sorrowful expressions. 

The realization had hit her then.

“-/n? Y/n! You okay?” She opens her eyes, her lashes wet with hot tears that have spilled over. Raph has his hand on her shoulder, shaking her in a desperate attempt to snap her out of whatever daze she’s in.

“I-I’m good. Don’t worry.” She rubs her eyes roughly with the back of her hand, trying to quell the raging emotions in her heart. Her wound is long gone, the voice receding to the back of her mind with a disgruntled hiss.

Raph raises a brow but doesn’t question her, noticing how her lips are drawn in a taut line. Her hands are shaky, and her eyes are rimmed with red. Instead, he helps her up, slowly returning to April’s place from the rooftops. They walk in silence, and he waits for her to calm down, his earlier anger forgotten.

GIF by verbile

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[gamerkats]

Beiges, browns, and blacks; exactly what she imagined when she’d loomed the street walk below. Sure, there was the odd accent of reds, or fleck of whites, the decorative splashing of art and ferns, but it was as basic a power play as ever. Granite, marbles, exposed steel beams in places for a show of strength, and being in touch with one’s blue-collar roots. Not that the hands that opened the double doors—with their elongated golden handles, and monogrammed etchings—had ever done a blue-collar’s work in a forebear’s age.

She was stories high now, with many NDAs to keep the tales to herself. An elevator had brought her to this towering floor, but it was the love of law that raised her. Pressing her hand upon her knee held her anxious foot still from tapping. This wasn’t the place to show any weakness. Any tell. Especially not before the king, himself, who read voraciously over the papers she’d given.

At first, it was a passing glance upon the long-dried ink. He’d thought she’d been playing. A child. Someone young and naïve enough to climb a jungle gym where giants swung the vines, and venom rivered slides. A few pleasant passive remarks, a practiced playboy’s laugh. He was content to push her swing; allowing her to go as high as she’d like with her initial presentation.

But now, he was gravely quiet.

Only the faintest of blue flicks, from a serious gaze, that she caught with a ghost of a smirk. It was no longer fun. No longer a game. Yes, she’d come to this meeting in a messy bun, large glasses, over a simple grey t-shirt and jeans. Not at all what the three-piece before her expected to see walking through his door. Her degree was from community colleges and state schools. Her practice was nonexistent, with a GPA and accolades worthy of a fridge. She was a nothing. A nobody.

But right now—in a room that was large enough for a single family, amid more money than the average person could fathom—she was everything.

Clearing his throat, he eased back within a leather chair slightly too big for him. “How did you get this information?”

“I’m not at liberty to reveal my sources.” She forced herself to keep from crossing her arms; presenting as confident and placid.

Another moment slid by as he eyed her careful. Oh, how he wanted to tear her apart. Each and every speck of her skin felt the chill of his ire. “What is it you want?”

Not the second question she was expecting, but it was on her practiced list. “Justice,” her answer was as cool as the ice that clicked within his octagonal introductory glass.

“This isn’t justice,” he bit like a cornered dog, “this is black mail.”

“No,” she shook her head, “this is a subpoena. Criminals use black mail—I’d think you were familiar with that, judging by your activities. I’m taking you, and all those you work with, to court. I wanted it to come from me directly; I’m slapping you with a legal gauntlet, as it were. And since you hold the most money and influence among your peers, I’m giving you a chance to warn them I'm coming.”

“This will never hold up,” he stated, leaning forward upon the polished, old wood of his large desk. It felt like the cement holding back a dam, and she but a simple town below. Too stupid to move, too knowledgeable to stay. “This will never see the inside of a court room. I’ll bury you under so much litigation, you’ll suffocate.”

“You really don’t understand the law, do you?” She stood now; it was the only way to keep from shaking under his iced wind. “You, and your colleagues, are not only working as an illegal corporation, but you’re also criminals feeding a system whose only function is recidivism. It’s time you paid for your crimes and true justice protects the streets.”

“You’re going to hear from every top law agency in the world,” he warned, “you should rethink this. You’re obviously smart, and more tenacious than you appear. You know what will happen if you proceed. People are going to get hurt. Innocent people.”

“Are they?” she almost laughed. If he was any more predictable, he’d be a clock. “Tell me, has crime gone up or down since—” Shaking her head a little, she spoke over her shoulder as she began to leave the room. Already she’d stayed too long, and didn’t want to be accused of badgering. “Never mind. You have the papers. When next we meet, it will be before a judge. You can tell them your worries, and how you think you should remain hidden and in operation. Thank you for your time; I know you’re a busy man.”

“You’re making a mistake,” he whipped upon her back, and she felt the sting of its weight in a small shudder, “Neither myself, nor those on this list, are criminals.”

The door was heavier than she remembered when first she’d entered the beast’s den. Yet, it gave way to her as all her future opponents would. “Yes, you are,” she gave him a gaze that turned him instantly to stone, “Vigilantism is a crime. And it’s high time that you, and your super colleagues, learned what due process and legal rights truly are. I’ll see you in court, Mr. Wayne. No litigation hail storm you send will stop that from happening. But if it makes you feel better, you can decide which costume you’ll wear.”

[shemarmooresfedora]

Rebuilding Family

Summary: Y/N and Spencer were college sweethearts at Cal-Tech but once Spencer got accepted to the FBI Academy, he ended things deciding it was not fair to make Y/N wait for him. When they meet again years later, he discovers something unexpected.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem! Reader

Warnings: allusions to sex, heavy making out and touching (i think that should cover it), swears

A/N: now back to your regularly scheduled fluff...

Masterlist

Chapter 17

“Alright, bye. Love you,” you laughed, hanging up the phone.

“Jo, Daddy already found a way to make it up to you for missing the museum,” you smiled.

“What?” she asked excitedly.

“Ah that would ruin the surprise. Wouldn’t it?” you grinned, “But we are leaving now.”

Jo slid her snow boots and jacket on as you sneakily packed her hat, mittens, and snow pants. You also grabbed snow stuff for Spencer because converse and a sweater vest would not keep him warm in 29 degree weather with 7 inches of snow on the ground.

-

Jo skipped out of the elevator, not even waiting for you to go to Spencer’s desk.

“Daddy!” she exclaimed like usual.

“Hi, Princess!” he lifted her up into his lap, “Are you excited?”

Jo nodded enthusiastically.

“Good because I got permission to go sledding on the HUGE hill right outside,” he smiled.

“But I don’t have a sled,” Jo frowned.

“I bought you one,” he grinned.

After Spencer had finished suiting Jo up in her snow gear, you slid a purple hat with a big white pom-pom on top over his head, a few of his messy curls still poking out.

“Can’t have you getting cold either, my dear,” you gave him a quick peck on the nose as he scrunched his face up in a smile.

“Oh chocolate thunder, get my coat please. We are going outside to watch this cuteness!” Penelope exclaimed.

“Of course, baby girl,” he replied, standing up from his desk.

You all piled into the elevator and headed outside. Jo stared down at the big hill in front of them. It seemed awfully scary to a little girl.

You grabbed her mitten-covered hand.

“How about I go down with you the first time and Daddy pushes us?” you suggested.

Jo nodded as you both climbed into the sled.

“Okay, ready? 1...2...3!” Spencer gently pushed you both down the hill.

Spencer was relieved when he heard the joyful giggles of Jo followed shortly by your laughter.

Jo ran back up the hill with you towing the sled behind her.

“Daddy! You go with me now!” she said.

You both took turns going down the hill with Jo even Auntie Penelope and Uncle Derek had their turns. Jo was even brave enough to go down by herself if Spencer waited at the bottom for her.

Much to everyone’s chagrin, you had to go home when it started to get dark and Jo’s cheeks were bright red from the cold.

-

You, Spencer, and Jo were driving over an hour out of the city to get a freshly cut Christmas tree from a tree farm.

Spencer packed you all thermoses with hot chocolate and mini marshmallows. His excitement may have actually exceeded Jo’s. He told you he never got to get a real Christmas tree when he was younger because the trees shipped to the middle of the hot Las Vegas desert wilted quickly. And, he had no room for a big tree in his old apartment.

It was cute seeing the both of them all bundled up in their matching purple scarves and big winter coats. Spencer brought the sled so he could pull Jo along since there was about a foot of snow on the ground that would make it very hard for her to walk.

Spencer had taken the exact measurements of the corner of the living room so the tree would fit perfectly.

“What about that one?” you asked, pointing to a tree farther back in the field.

“Let’s go check it out,” Spencer pulled a measuring tape from his pocket.

“Always prepared, Dr. Reid,” you laughed.

“They didn't give me a PhD in engineering for nothing,” he grinned.

“This is about the right size. What do you think, Princess? Is this a good tree for Santa to put presents under?” he asked.

Jo gave an approving nod after inspecting the tree.

“Alright, then it’s settled. Hand me the saw, love,” Spencer said.

“Please be careful,” you reminded him, slowly handing him the saw that the farm employees gave to you.

After multiple breaks and some encouragement from you and Jo, Spencer was finally able to saw through the tree’s stump completely.

He dragged it to the car as you pulled Jo in the sled. You both tied it to the top of the car using bungee cords.

Once you were home, you set the tree in its stand and gave it plenty of water. Spencer got the box of ornaments down from the attic.

You put Christmas music on and the three of you spent the rest of the day decorating the tree, baking cookies, and watching Home Alone.

-

Spencer had insisted on putting on a Santa suit in case Jo came down when you were putting the presents out.

Knowing this information, you decided to tease him by purchasing a tight elf dress that stopped right under your butt.

You smirked, looking at yourself one more time in the mirror before heading downstairs where Spencer was waiting.

Spencer ceased his movements as he saw you slowly descend down the stairs. He was practically drooling.

“What’s wrong? Have I been a naughty girl?” you asked, feigning innocence.

“Yes, baby, you have,” he whispered in your ear, roughly planting kisses along your jawline and down your neck.

Spencer cupped your ass with his hands.

You tugged on the hair at the nape of his neck and he let out a moan that vibrated against your skin.

“Shhhh, we can’t wake Jo up,” you reminded him.

He started to guide you over to the couch but you put your hand on his chest to stop him.

“We’ve got to put the presents under the tree first, babe.”

You broke from his grasp and Spencer let out a soft whine.

Deciding you weren’t done having your fun just yet, you picked up a present from the box where you had hidden them and slowly bent over to place it under the tree.

You felt a light smack against your ass that made you stand up quickly because you certainly hadn’t been expecting that.

You turned around to see Spencer with the biggest grin on his face and a devilish glint in his eyes.

“Don’t tease me, sweetheart,” he whispered in your ear, “Cause I have no problem with doing that again and again and again.”

-

Jo woke you both up by jumping on the bed.

“Santa came! Santa came! Santa came!”

“He sure did, baby,” you giggled, looking at Spencer.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go open some presents!” Spencer got out from underneath the covers, dressed in his flannel PJs.

Jo ran down the stairs with you and Spencer right behind.

“No opening any gifts until Mommy gets her camera!” you shouted out from the kitchen as Jo took her seat on the floor right in front of the tree.

You grabbed your camera, the box of donuts you got yesterday, and coffee for you and Spencer.

“Thanks, love,” Spencer gave you a quick kiss, accepting the mug and picking up a chocolate frosted donut with sprinkles as you joined him on the couch.

Jo opened up all of her presents from you and Spencer that consisted of a model plane that she could build herself with instructions, a set of washable watercolor paints, and of course more dinosaur memorabilia.

“Daddy’s turn!” you jumped up from the couch and grabbed a manila folder that had a huge bow on it under the tree.

Spencer looked at you curiously, opening the envelope and revealing a packet of forms that were half filled out.

“It’s the forms needed to update Jo’s birth certificate. Once you fill out your section, I can take it to city hall and your name will officially be added as the father on Jo’s birth certificate,” you smiled.

Spencer nodded softly, staring down at the document in awe.

“I love you so much,” he finally said, pulling you in for a hug.

“And I love you so much too,” he grabbed Jo to join the hug.

“We love you too,” you replied.

Spencer wiped the happy tears from his eyes.

“Okay,” he chuckled, “First, I have a gift for Jo and Mommy and then Mommy gets her gift.”

Spencer pulled out a bag from the back of the tree and handed it to Jo who was sitting in your lap.

Two sets of headbands with a pair of black round circles and a red bow were inside the bag. You both looked at Spencer for further explanation.

“We are going to Disneyworld,” he smiled.

Jo screamed in excitement, running over to hug Spencer’s legs. You laughed, putting the Minnie ears on you and Jo’s heads.

“Spence, that is so generous and thoughtful of you but how much did that cost,” you asked.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with, my dear. I had to make up for all the past Christmases and birthdays,” he kissed you before picking up the last item under the tree and handing it to you.

You opened the box to see two identical silver bands inside, one slightly bigger than the other. You looked up at Spencer skeptically.

“Not the ring yet. Just a ring…for each of us,” he picked up the smaller ring and slipped it onto your index finger, kissing your hand.

“I love it and I love you,” you smiled, looking at your hand and then taking the other ring and slipping it onto his index finger.

[7wanderingpaws]

Captain Bucheon 03

Warnings: strong language

Word count: 5.9K

story masterlist masterlist

tags: @wooya1224 @to-all-the-stories-i-love @jennxx3 @realllllrica​

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<-- Previous - Next -->

Third: Saving is Caring

“Lee Nari!”

Someone was shouting your name but you couldn't tell who exactly because the entire corridor you were residing on - the forsaken fifth floor, also the top floor of the building without an elevator - was flooded with girls. They were rushing to the opposite direction you were heading to, and you frowned deeply at anyone who made even the slightest brush against you - or your chest.

“Come to room number 501!” they shouted again.

“As if,” you scoffed to yourself and dodged one hand that was about to land on your breast.

“Aish, I was gonna try if they were actually real,” you heard the girl whine but her voice got quickly blocked out by exciting squeals.

Finally managing to land in your room, you basically kicked the door open, pissed, to find Yuyeon preparing in front of her make-up mirror. Her eyes were shining and she seemed way too happy.

“What the hell is happening out there?” you grumbled, slamming the door shut with your foot to isolate yourself from the annoying squeals. “It looks like a sect or something.” You dropped your bag in the corner and threw yourself on the bed, needing the relief in your tired muscles.

Running had been taking its toll on you the past weeks, let alone your job was tiring mentally, as well. There hadn't been any slip-ups or issues anymore like last time for which you were eternally thankful. That one time - yeah, you weren't sure you could deal with that again.

“You are coming toooo!” squealed Yuyeon as well and was fast to drop the blusher on her messy table before standing and jumping over to your bed, making you fly up on the mattress too.

You whined again and tried to kick her off your bed but she climbed over you and wiggled her eyebrows at you, a cheeky glint leaving an unease in your tummy.

“We-” she leaned into your ear, “are going to watch porn.”

You gasped and pushed her off of you, pink rising up to your cheeks. “What? Are you nuts? Why would you watch-”

“C'mon, Nari,” giggled Yuyeon, sitting up properly to let you sit up as well. Her shirt slid off her shoulder and her bra strap was showing which made you reach up to bring the shirt back to its original place. “I know you've already experienced it all but-”

This time, a horrified gasp left your mouth and you were fast to shut her up with a: “I haven't experienced those things at all!”

She frowned, pouting. “But you made out with Baekhyun and you said he touched you-”

Your head was starting to spin as you shook it so violently. “No, no, no, don't bring that up. He stopped when he found out I'm a virgin and it doesn't even matter!!”

“But Nari, he is a grown up male that knows eeeeeverything there is to know about, you know, sex, and he was hot and -”

“Yuyeon, please,” you begged, hiding your face behind your palms. You felt attacked at the memories of you and Baekhyun being all touchy. “It isn't that exciting,” you tried but you knew it was a terrible, terrible lie.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “You don't have to come if you don't want to but it will be fun with all the girls. We can talk about boys and men and, I dunno, just enjoy.”

You pursed your lips, not so sure. A good rest was what you needed, NOT temptation. Let alone, you wouldn't be able to get Baekhyun out of your mind were you to watch stuff like that. When you were about to speak up, Yuyeon added:

“You know, ever since stuff happened, we didn't really go out like that anymore… I kind of miss fooling around with you and just going against the rules - although now we can't do it since we are old enough to be naughty, but despite that I just miss doing cheeky stuff with my bestie.”

It was heart-warming to see Yuyeon be honest with you. Even the fact that she mentioned Baekhyun was a step forward for neither of you mentioned him unless necessary. Yuyeon was tiptoeing around you for one year in order to give you time to get over the mess that the mentioned male did to you and then she grew accustomed to your indifference towards your surroundings. You didn't talk about it and she didn't want to pry too much, always listening to bits of your thoughts here and there.

Yuyeon didn't feel guilty for mentioning Baekhyun's name; if anything, she hoped that you got over it and wouldn't react to him too much. For her, of course, Baekhyun was still on the “hated people” side like Chul. But he was also your ex and you were talking about girl stuff. Exciting stuff. Mature stuff. Baekhyun's name had to be mentioned for he was the whole package in the past.

“I know, and I'm sorry about that,” you murmured, averting your gaze. Her knees were bent, her skin showing as her shorts had ridden up. “We should start getting back on the track, right?”

The corners of Yuyeon's lip lifted in a small, encouraging smile. “Yes. So how about starting with the porn?”

You laughed out loud, smacking her thigh loudly, making her wince. “Okay, okay, just because it's you!”

“No, it's 'cause you are super curious as well!” she said, sticking her tongue out at you. “How it's all done and stuff.” She was growing red in her face, but her blush looked  pretty and made her even more youthful. It made you grin wider and you shook your head at her and also stuck your tongue out, playing the silly one.

“You talk too much! Go finish your make-up, you're friggin ugly,” you rolled your eyes in mock and climbed off your bed, ready to change into more comfortable clothes.

When her slap landed on your butt, you abruptly turned around, glaring at her but both of you eventually giggled. Yes, this will be the best way to get your mind off stuff and hopefully have a good girls' night.

><

The room 501 was crammed with girls and pink and magazines and make-up and perfumes and smartphones with instagrams open. They were all chatting excitedly while one of the girls, you presumed the person living in this room, was behind her laptop, searching the websites that already screamed porn.

Both you and Yuyeon plopped down on the bed, shimmying yourselves between two girls who immediately took you in, wanting to socialize. That part was a little painful on your side as you weren't looking for new friends; especially not the ones who kept commenting on your chest and choice of clothing.

“Isn't it hard to run for you?”

“Don't people stare a lot?”

“Has anyone touched without asking?”

“How do you buy your bras? Korea is full of A cups and B cups are already considered huge anyway!”

You sighed and ensured the very concerned girl that you were able to get the cup of your size just fine - though, only in a few shops that were designed for ladies that were more blessed. You definitely couldn't just walk into any shop of your liking.

“Okay, girls, it's about to start!” shouted one and smashed the space on her keyboard, starting the forsaken video.

Everyone went silent right away, almost waiting with bated breaths for what was about to go down. 

With a small frown, you were focusing on the small story they were trying to fool you with, immediately presenting a beautiful woman with blue eyes, of course. The man, though, wasn't a catch at all - not for you, at least. Some girls' eyes sparkled at the sight of the main male character and the way he was tanned and incredibly muscly.

“He looks like he could crash her bones,” whispered eagerly Yuyeon into your ear while not tearing her eyes away from the screen.

You hummed; the more it went on the more distrubed you started to feel. It was all incredibly bizarre and their love story was faced paced.

Founding yourself zoning out and blocking out the scenes that quickly grew heated and, well, disturbing to you, you spotted a calendar of models on the desk. It wasn't too far and you grabbed it quickly, not wanting to be in the line of vision of other girls who were literally drooling while hiding their faces behind their hands at the rated scenes.

Taking the calendar, you listed through what seemed like an endless amount of sexy pictures of firefighters in Bucheon. Just as expected, they were either shirtless or pants-less or both. Thank God they had underwear. You didn’t deny it; they were so handsome it almost seemed questionable. What were they like in real life? Were they really as passionate about their work as it said on the calendar? And, more importantly, were they really as handsome as the pictures were portraying them to be? 

You kept listing through the pages, sometimes stopping to read. When you spotted a familiar face though, you almost fainted. On it, the month of May, was none other than Baekhyun. A black leather jacket was on him, underneath he was shirtless with his dark blue ripped jeans low on his hips, red supreme underwear poking out to tease the eager eye. The way they were hugging his thighs had a strong effect on you. As he had his thumb (the one with the mole on it) causally hooked in the belt loop hole, it brought your attention to the thin, and what looked like very veiny, skin that disappeared in the underwear. He had lean muscle that wouldn’t intimidate a girl. In fact, it would affect her heavily. You noticed a few more moles on his abdomen, the ripped muscles making the skin on it exceptionally tight. Saliva collected in your mouth and you quickly swallowed, averting your gaze to the upper part of his face. His hair was styled like a rock star’s with a comma hanging over his forehead, his dark eyes glaring at the camera, charcoal black eyeliner making them seem deadly. His lips were parted ever so slightly, scarcely revealing his front teeth, and your gaze hooked on them just a little while longer than they should have. You remembered the moments he would bite them. When he would lick them. When he would smile with them; or kiss you with them. He looked stunningly hot and dangerous. You couldn’t believe you once had this man to yourself.

You had heart palpitations.

Slapping Yuyeon’s arm, you tried to get her attention. You needed to vent, otherwise you’d suffocate. Yuyeon was too preoccupied with the disturbing video playing which was why the girl sitting on your other side spoke up excitedly into your ear:

“Oh my god, that’s the captain of the police, Byun Baekhyun! My oldest brother went to the same school with him.” She stared at the picture. “He is so fucking hot.” She was basically salivating over the picture. With her words, you felt something move within you. What it was you weren’t sure, but you didn’t like it. It made your chest tighten up and your mood dampen. “There are many hot guys in that calendar but Baekhyun has his own charm. I’d go for him any minute.”

Not sparing any more time with the picture, you harshly turned over the page, revealing a mediocre looking police officer. He was very handsome, thanks to plastic surgery, but after seeing Baekhyun, all the males seemed dull and boring. Despite your wild thoughts, you muttered: “He’s okay, I guess.”

She nudged you with her elbow. “C‘mon, I can see the redness in your cheeks,” she giggled and just in that moment there was a loud moan coming from the laptop. You felt yourself burning up even more and you squirmed on the bed, warmth pooling in your belly. These feelings were so foreign to you.

“You’re friends with Oh Sehun, right?” She was adamant about talking to you. So you nodded in response. “Well, he is good friends with Baekhyun. Yeonhee, the one who lives in this room, got the calendar from him. She likes Sehun but I feel like she has secondary intentions. If she could get Baekhyun she would not hesitate to go after him,” she giggled into your ear just when another moan resembled the room.

You sighed. “Sehun is a good guy, you know?” you muttered to her and looked at her huge eyes, the way they seemed dilated. “I hope you can tell her not to toy with him.” You looked back down, now a doctor on the cover. A doctor?! “Or else she will deal with me and that won’t be nice.”

The girl went silent. Maybe you came off as rude but you didn’t have many friends; nor were you looking for more. So if someone played with someone that belonged to you, they could rest assured you wouldn’t let it slip. “Do you perhaps know Baekhyun?”

And there it went again. Silently, you cursed your luck. This man seemed to be everywhere you went and mentioned by anyone you talked to recently. You never realized just what power Baekhyun had over this city. Realizing you probably took more time to answer, you quickly shrugged your shoulders. “Just a little bit. He is quite older than us so I doubt he has interest in us, kids.” It hurt to say, but you knew it was the closest to the truth. Baekhyun made the age difference between him and you crystal clear and even used it as a barrier between the two of you. Even though he wanted you, it was a crucial reason for him to stop moving forward with you. Or more like, he wanted to take things slow. You scoffed out loud.

“Well, I guess he just hasn't met the right one. The young ones are always better than the older ones. The older guys are just too afraid to admit it,” she told you and leaned further away, most probably wanting to end the conversation. She must have noticed your defensive, indifferent position and figured she wouldn't get a juicy talk with you.

That was fine by you. Because right now your head was so full of him; you couldn’t produce a single comprehensive sentence without giving yourself away. You so wished to meet him again and talk to him. You so wished things would have gone differently between the two of you.

There were now harsh pantings in the background and you groaned inwardly. You slapped Yuyeon’s thigh to finally get her attention. At the impact, she jumped up and glared at you. “I’m leaving,” you mouthed, not wanting to wait for her reply, but she stopped you abruptly.

“Are you okay?” she whispered in your ear, but the disturbing noises were blocking out each of her words.

You only managed to nod quickly before scooting off the bed and, while ignoring the curious stares of the other girls, you quickly made your way out, desperately searching for fresh air that would hopefully help you clear your foggy mind.

Once out in the corridor, you inhaled deeply, trying to shake off the feelings in your body. How could you become so easily affected by a simple picture? It was the stupid background noise, added your brain and you rolled your eyes. You needed to let out your frustration and even though it was hard to believe, you decided you would make good use of it.

You would go running. For the first time. By yourself.

><

When you reached the running track, the main headlights of the field were already turned off, throwing the space into a darkness lit up by surrounding street lamps. That was good enough, as you seeked some kind of hiding. Deciding to pour your frustrations into your challenge in jogging, you padded over to the running field, feeling the ground softer under your running shoes. There was a group of boys wrapping up a football game while a lone man, a student, was making laps, unbothered by the minimal lighting.Without paying anymore attention to your surroundings, you slowly increased your walking into a light jog, not wanting to strain yourself too much. 

Your hair was flowing behind you in a high ponytail while the remnants of winter were biting into your skin, making your cheeks and nose red. You tried to focus on your breathing, wanting to make sure you wouldn't mess it up and therefore increase your stamina but it was fruitless as your mind immediately wandered off to the picture of Baekhyun in that calendar. It effectively quickened your heartbeat and you grew warm all over your body.

After two laps though, you became quickly tired and out of breath, your lungs on fire. There was an uncomfortable, sharp feeling in your side, the pain dull but making moving difficult nonetheless. The man who had been running the whole time without stopping didn't seem to break a single sweat the whole time.

“Oh, isn't that Lee?” you heard the boys talking to each other as they finally managed to clear up the field.

“The one with the boobs?”

You were fast to roll your eyes, angry tears burning up in your eyes at their careless words. Screw them all. Instead of staying on the field, you went inside the gym next to the field to get some water and try to calm down. Even though it was cold outside, a cold drink would hopefully help quieten the small rage inside of you. People like those were the ones you despised. They didn’t know anything about you and, naturally, you didn’t know anything about them. Yet, you were constantly under their scrutiny and sexualized in more than one way.

“Idiots,” you murmured to yourself, your skin heating up at the change of temperature once you entered the small building.

As you were filling up your bottle with the cold water, you heard the jerks entering the gym as well. They were laughing and joking amongst each other, their throaty laughs reaching your sensitive ears.

Cursing under your breath, you finished filling the bottle and turned to leave, just to stand face to face with all of them. They were grouped up on you, smirking.

Without sparing them another glance, you moved to walk around them but someone grabbed your arm, yanking you backwards, your back hitting the wall next to the water filter. It took you off guard and you managed to hit your head, too, and you scrunched up your face, hissing. “You piece of shit,” you spat angrily, your rage growing more when you noticed the dude’s hungry eyes on your chest.

“You surely are feisty! We heard so much from the seniors about you,” one of them spoke up, his eyes barely visible as they were shaped like slits, thin like pupils of a cat in broad daylight. “We all know you like to go against the rules.” A round of snickers resonated the otherwise empty space and you felt your heartbeat pick up in fear.

“Okay,” was your blunt answer and you once again wanted to step aside but the same jerk grabbed your arm, bringing you back. You gritted your teeth.

“You ain’t leaving just yet, little kitten,” he murmured darkly and this time, you felt like you wouldn’t be able to escape. “We won’t do anything bad. Just give us a little show of what you’re hiding underneath that hoodie of yours.”

If someone was living in your body right now, they’d know in an instant something terrible was happening, for your legs were shaking like a jelly, becoming one with the asphalt and therefore making you unable to move. Despite that, you scoffed, stubbornly insisting on showing your confident side. Those idiots wanted a reaction from you, but you wouldn’t give in. “Then turn on some porn. Though I’m not sure you’re ready to see that either with your tiny, premature, out-of-control dicks,” you said in a levelled voice, cutting each word off to emphasize the meaning so that their small brains would understand. “You ain’t shit,” you added when you saw some dudes growing red.

“You little bitch-“

There was an unexpected shadow that swooshed past and just in that second, too many things happened at the same time; a familiar scent hitting your nose; a sound of skin slapping skin reverberated the empty space followed by a groan. “She said to leave her, so respect a lady’s wish,” a low growl reached your ears and you almost fainted when you spotted short blonde hair and a handsome profile. Even from the side you could detect he was glaring, a stern gaze bringing out his authority and dominance that would make anyone quiver and render into submission. “Just a tip for the future if you want to get your dick wet,” added mockingly Baekhyun. He was staring down the group of young students for a little longer, surprisingly none of them making a fuss, before Baekhyun looked down at you, your shocked expression making your eyes much bigger than they usually were. “Let’s go.”

He didn’t wait as he started to walk ahead, only a couple of steps later looking behind his shoulder to double check whether you were following him or not.

Your legs had a mind on their own when they moved after Baekhyun, but your heart was beating crazily fast, the unexpected presence of the only male who was able to make you speechless and make you go crazy at the same time still stunning you. Why was he there? How did he know where you were? Oh, was it because you wished to meet him again? If so, then you wished all your wishes would become true this fast.

He led you outside of the gym, the annoyed voices of the boys barely reaching you now that they were out of ear shot. Cold air hit the dried sweat on your skin, making you shiver. Baekhyun stopped abruptly when he reached the track again and turned to look at you with an unreadable gaze. His heavy breathing was condensing into small puffs, his nose a little red. The chilly air biting his cheeks made his eyes water. You couldn’t stop staring at him and at the way he looked in that moment.

“You should-“

“Thank you,” you muttered at the same time as he spoke up.

Both of you went quiet right away and awkwardness creeped into the space between the two of you. Growing red, you averted your gaze, looking at the ground and hoping your wild heart beat would calm down.

“You should have been more careful,” he finally told you quietly, ignoring your word of gratefulness. There was a slight scolding undertone in his voice. “Those jerks are little kids who think with their dicks.”

You grew even more red at his words. Baekhyun must have heard their stupid request. Your throat restricted and your heart once again started to beat loudly. “I would have been okay,” you insisted. “But thank you anyway.” You meant it. You really did. 

Baekhyun saw you averting your gaze again and he took the time to observe you. You were still too young, but he definitely noted the way your facial features matured, with each passing year turning you into more of a grown woman while leaving the teen girl behind. Your hair was long and it seemed you lost some weight in your cheeks. He couldn’t imagine how much of a hard time you were having the whole time he wasn't by your side. And then you had perverts following you around. 

He cursed mentally, hating the simplest idea of anyone imaging you in a more mature way than you let on to a plain eye. Those bastards should have been thankful he didn’t actually use fists as he so wished. Because when they asked you to undress, he swore white spots of anger were blinding him, his emotions a wild hurricane of rage and hatred. The only thing moving him forward was to protect you even though you would have hated it.

“Just be careful next time,” he added gently, his features softening.

You looked up at him upon detecting the tone of his voice. “What are you even doing here?” Just then you took notice of his outfit and you recognized it. He was the person running when you arrived. He had been here the entire time, but you were swimming in sweet obliviousness. And just like that, the picture of him in the calendar popped up in your mind, making you avert your eyes right away. Heat pinked your cheeks which Baekhyun mistook for the coldness biting your cheeks.

“I come here to run,” he told you in a somber voice. “And we also work out here with Sehun so if you think I followed you here, you’re wrong.”

“I didn’t think you followed me here,” you retorted, wanting to roll your eyes.

“Well, on the contrary, I didn’t know you run too,” he said, a hint of tease present in his voice, though he didn’t smile. Showing his relief of you communicating with him could be a strategic bad step on his side.

You sighed at the mention of running and the reason behind it. “I’m doing a race at the festival so I have to practice. I’m not enjoying it and I’m not doing it out of my own will.”

“Then why would you do it if you don’t want to do it?” he asked, genuinely confused.

“Because I’m in the student council,” you replied almost in a whine. “They asked me and I couldn’t say no!” You threw your arms around, making it sound like a big deal. And for you, it was a big deal. You didn’t like how you were easily pushed around.

Baekhyun nodded, a small smile stretching his lips when he saw your comprehension. Sweet university life. “You must be very liked by everyone.”

You froze at that. That wasn’t true. How would you tell your ex the reason everyone was all over you was because you had huge tits and you were friends with Chul? “It’s not like that…”

Baekhyun nodded, noting your discomfort but deciding against questioning it. He didn’t think he was anywhere near the position to stick his nose into your business. For all he knew, he’d scare you away like that time in the bar but, frankly, he didn’t even utter a single word that night to give you a reason for your abrupt fleeing.

“So you run here often, huh,” he heard you say and then saw you shuffling your feet, the small stones of the track field rustling under them.

“Yeah, I do,” he replied almost breathily. There was an upcoming question hanging  in the air but he already forbade himself to hope.

You bit your lip harshly, bringing Baekhyun’s attention to the action. You were gnawing on it and you felt your body and mind betraying you. You were supposed to be mad at him. You despised this man standing in front of you so why was your heart beating frantically and, at his gentle tone, butterflies fluttering in your tummy? You felt warm just by his presence. He saved you. Yes, he didn’t even touch you, didn’t even take your hand like they do it in the movie. However, you witnessed the rage, the anger, the hatred, the need to fight but going against it so as not to cause problems. He cared about you, and he was still mature about it.

“Okay. Well, then, I guess I’ll see you around,” you muttered eventually, causing Baekhyun to deflate invisibly. An eager question cut through his mind: and when do you come to run here? I don’t like that you run here alone. 

“Where do you stay? I’ll take you home,” he spoke up casually.

“I live in the dorms, it’s no biggie,” you shrugged just when the group of boys flooded out of the gym, spotting you and Baekhyun. They were noisy once again and immediately took advantage of the situation when they shouted:

“If it isn’t the love birds! We thought you’d be home and fucking her by now but guess who didn’t get their dick wet now?” They laughed in unison, finding their words funny and mocking.

You pulled a disgusted face, though you reddened in embarrassment at their words, and looked up at Baekhyun who was glaring at them again. “Come, I’ll walk you to your dorms,” he muttered so that only you could hear and this time, he took a hold of your hand, his skin soft and a little dry in your sweaty palm. You were shocked at how quickly your hand clasped around his.

Cat calls reached the both of you as the boys approached you. “Woohoo, they are about to do it-“

Baekhyun was fast. Before you realized the warmth of his hand leaving yours, you heard a loud snap, his fist landing with the dude’s face. You squealed, covering your mouth in shock and just like that, Baekhyun had professionally put the lad down, having both his arms locked behind his back. It vastly made you remember when he did a similar move with your brother in his office at the police station, and chills ran down your spine.

Right. Baekhyun first arrested you, and then your brother who was still in jail until now. Baekhyun lied to you to get closer to you. Right. Right, right, right.

“Don’t ever even imagine her in your filthy mind,” Baekhyun’s voice thundered through the space. It kept growing more distant as you realized the hasty steps you were making backwards before you turned around and started speed walking out of the field and towards the dorms. Angry tears blocked out your vision and you quickly tried to rub your eyes, annoyed that you always let your tough stance sway whenever he was around. He dared to be kind to you. He dared to be soft to you. He dared to-

“Nari! Wait!”

Baekhyun was jogging towards you and your breath hitched in your throat, hearing his fast approaching steps. “Nari!”

Sooner than later he caught your wrist and wanted to stop you but you surprised him. You were now far off the field, not a single soul around. Your palm landed on his cheek and Baekhyun’s face snapped to his right side. “I hate you!” You shouted shakily, more tears spilling down your cheeks, the snot out of your nose. You were a mess. “I hate everything you put me through, Byun Baekhyun! You lied to me! Why did you lie to me?! I loved you!” You shouted again, and squeezed your eyes shut.

Baekhyun slowly turned his head back, your slap still stinging on his cheek. His eyes were wide but he knew exactly what was happening. “C’mon. Don’t hold back. Let it out. Hit me again,” he encouraged in a low tone that made you frustrated even more.

You were breathing raggedly and pushed him in the chest, making him stumble backwards. He could have easily fought you, he could easily stand still, not budging under you, but he let you. He knew you needed this to finally let go of your suppressed feelings and, hopefully, of the heavy past he made you go through. “You fucking liar! You fooled me, played with me, made me dream of something beautiful just for you to crash it! You ruined my family! I hate you! I hate you so much! You make me go crazy with hatred!!!”

Another strong push. He was surprised at how strong you actually were; when emotions spoke, people could be either extremely vulnerable or extremely strong. You seemed to be the opposite, for speaking up about your emotions made you scarily strong. “I hate that you made an idiot out of me! You fooled me and I trusted you the whole time! You locked up my brother! You did it in front of my eyes!! As if I didn’t matter shit to you! You were so fast to let me go when you thought I’m the criminal! That was all my worth to you!” you hiccuped, more cries taking over you as the painful memories kept swimming in front of your eyes, making you relive the emotions, the scenes. Those memories were blinding you and Baekhyun just let you open the Pandora box. You were breaking down.

It hit you too, that you never talked about your feelings. You couldn’t talk for a long while after being in shock at the events, and then you became one with ignorance towards your own emotions.

You took a deep breath and pushed him again just for you to lose your strength that was fueled by deep anger. Baekhyun couldn’t even pretend to step back. Your palms were still, pressing against his sturdy chest but you couldn’t make him move anymore. You were crying now, your voice shaking and your eyes still squeezed shut. “What did I do to deserve this… when all I did was love you honestly, purely,” you wailed, your voice sounding almost like a wolf’s howl in the empty streets of the campus. “I was just seventeen…”

Baekhyun was quiet the whole time, emotions of guilt eating him away just like they had been for the past year. His own heart was in pain and he knew how hurt you were but seeing you like this made his heart split into two. You were a complete, utter mess.

You didn’t know how much time passed without any of you speaking. The only thing you grew to realize was that you were in a tight embrace, the arms of your ex-lover protectively around you as his palm was drawing soothing circles into your back. His breathing seemed much more steady compared to yours, his scent filling your senses with comfort and familiarity you had been looking for ever since you met him a year ago. Your nose was on fire from crying, skin harshly clashing with the cold night air, but Baekhyun's presence made everything seem bearable. Even if it was just for a few minutes that you could pretend all was okay.

Squirming a bit, you moved away from him and he was fast to drop his arms, not wanting to upset you more. Your hand came up to wipe the tears and snot away, not caring you probably looked very un-ladylike in front of your eternal crush. “Leave.” You told him and turned around, heading towards the direction of your dorms. Your head was pounding, making you groan gently at the discomfort.

“Nari, wait,” he tried, making a step after you with a reached out hand but you turned your head as you walked, dismissing him with a single glance.

“I don’t want to listen right now.”

><><><><><><

A/N: sorry it took me a while to update. I hope some people were waiting and looking forward to this chapter even though it took me time ❤️ let me know your thoughts please? ^^

[earthboundscenarios]

♥ High school ♥

sc plot : 4 new students, attractive point of views

wc : 1694

add-on : basically you in my life without the kids from earthbound

Play song while reading for best experience!

Enjoy!

I sighed as I clutched my backpack. Another boring day

Is life always gonna be this boring?

I hopped off the school bus and made my way towards the giant public school with the crowd

" Where do you want me to set this Ms. Mills? " I looked over to my calculus teacher and she pointed towards her front desk. I nodded and got up. Earning a few snickers from the girls in the back.

" Put some pants on, girl. "

Maria said sarcastically.

I laughed.

I was wearing my favorite oversized black sweater on top of my shorts which aren't buttshorts. I hated the girls in the back.

Fucking assholes.

I heard some new students were coming today. I looked over to my best friend Neila , the desk beside mine. She just gave me a shrug and went back to work. I sighed and made my way to the front of the room, feeling some eyes on me, I dropped the work on Ms. Mills' s desk and returned to my desk at the corner of the room, leaning against the wall facing the whole class from the side.

I heard a scoff beside me so I turned. One of my friends named

RJ

had the desk in front of me, and held up his assignment in my face. 95%. I pushed it away and he looked at me with a smug grin. " What'd you get? " He asked with a mix of curiosity and assholism in his voice. I rolled my eyes, smiled, and pulled out my sketchbook. I opened it and looked at my anime sketches trying to ignore RJ laughing before turning back to the side of the room and return talking to his other friend Riley.

After a few minutes , I leant over my desk and tapped on RJ's shoulder. He turned halfway and replied with a half piercing glare in the corner of his eyes. I gasped exaggeratedly which made him turn all the way around facing me with a ' Really? How lame ' look. This time it was my turn to shove something in his face.

My sketchbook.

He grabbed it without actually looking at what was on the page and was about to get up and throw it out into the trash but as he was getting up

" Please RJ, please please please I'm serious just this onceeeee. " I said startling him and after a minute he sighed and mumbled something under his breath and sat back down bringing the sketchbook up near his face so he can actually examine it.

" What the fuck is this? " He looked up at me with the most pissed off look ever.

I grinned devilishly at him and pointed to the page that was being revealed. " You, getting bombed and shot by some mini guns in your favorite game warzone. Like it? " I asked raising my brows like a idiot trying to be funny.

He sighed, face palmed, set my sketchbook back on my desk and turned around pretending I didn't even exist.

Wow thanks, I mouthed and laughed to myself. Neila looked at me with a thumbs up and mouthed, "draw me and garmadon". Which made me nod historically thinking about the movie of her fictional 174 year old husbando from Ninjago.

Suddenly the door was met with a knock which caused some of us to be at ease and started instantly whisper-chatting as this gave us a chance to, while the teacher would go to the door and open it, expecting it to be a kid or a teacher I sighed and relaxed in my chair a little more putting one of my airpods in my ear again and hit play, starting to play my favorite playlist. The teacher did certainly open the door and I was correct.

Or was I

The teacher turned back to us,

" Alright everyone, these are going to be our new students. "

Everyone's attention glided back to the teacher and the door that was slightly opened.

4 kids walked in after a moment or two. 3 boys and 1 girl. They looked completely different then what I had pictured. The 3 guys looked very different compared to each other aswell. One was dressed very nice, another very casual, and one... genie styled...? The girl dressed very pretty though. Definitely got all the boys attention too. Some people snickered. Guessing it was the girls.

Assholes.

" Please introduce yourselves to the class " Ms. Mills nodded to the group of kids. The kid in the blue and red baseball cap looked really excited to, while the girl looked quite shy, so did the kid in the nerdish glasses, but the guy in the white robe looked very chill.

" Heyo! I'm Ness. A pleasure to be here! "

Ness said tilting his cap sideways like, as if he's greeting someone, which looked really cute.

I did hear some girls kya in the back. But I ignored them.

Ness was 5"8. He had black and short messy hair above it was a red and blue cap with a pin, he also wore a red and white high school sports like jacket, assuming that it was the schools jacket he went to before he came here, and underneath it was a blue and yellow shirt. A nice and tidy pair of jeans, white socks tucked in and his sport like jacket was matching with his sport like red and white shoes. He looked very casual but manly.

All this time I was thinking, he was scanning the room while some people asked some questions. But what I didn't notice is that he eventually laid his eyes on me. I felt my face heat up in a few seconds. He grinned at me widely.

He looks Fun.

Once Ness looked back to the class and finished answering some other random questions, he stepped aside and the next one stepped up,

The girl was up next.

" H-Hi! My name is Paula! I hope that we can all get along! " Paula exclaimed with a small curtsy holding the tips of each end of her skirt like dress. Some boys laughed and stared at her recent antics. Their was a audible whistle in the background which caused Paula to squirm a bit with her hands and shuffle her feet around. But people just laughed it off. Jeez, the pressure here.

Paula was 5"4. She had blueberry blue eyes, vibrant blonde hair, bangs that went to her eyebrows, her hair was wavy and tied in a long ponytail with a small red bow. She also had makeup on, not too much, just a bright red lipstick and mascara. She also wore a white turtle neck and over top was a strapped pink dress but the length was like a skirt. It also had a tiny teddy bear icon on it at the bottom. She wore knee high white socks and red low heels.

She nodded her head and then she quickly looked away and hid behind Ness, he obviously laughed, causing her to hide her eyes behind her bangs and a small but noticeable blushed crept on her face which was very cute. She looks adorable.

She peeked over his shoulder and watched as the next one stepped up.

The nerdish boy.

He stepped up very awkwardly which was hilariously cute.

" Uh, Hi. I'm Jeff... I u-uh.. like guns? " This caused the whole room to go quiet which turned to loud laughter erupting from everyone's mouths. I looked over to Neila , she looked like she felt bad for the poor guy. Then to Rj, who was laughing with the rest of them. I felt bad for Jeff

Jeff was 5"7. He wore his hair nice and neatly placed, he had a slightly visible mustache, his eyes covered by his glasses. He wore a long white collar top and over it a green woolen tank top sweater, a nice red bow aswell but placed in the middle of where the collar parts. He had navy blue jeans around his waist that held up tight with a plain black belt and brown classic shoes. He also had pink and blue socks you assumed his mother forced him to wear. He also had a brown backpack around his shoulders. In back which looked like a satellite.

Cool

He looked very shy but it was cute

Now it was the genies turn

He looked very chill, he lightly placed a hand on Jeff's right shoulder as if he was there to support him and they both nodded. Jeff shuffled behind the genie man and the genie man stepped up.

Hands was placed in his pockets he looked up to the classroom with a unreadable expression. The classroom was very quiet at times like these. Then he had a polite smile plastered on his face. " G'day to you all, The Name is Poo. "

was all Poo said with a nod and kept his mouth shut as if he didn't care. Some snickered at his name. Although his smile was still set on his face he didn't really care for it,

he was trying to be as polite as possible.

Poo was 6"1. He had jet black colored eyes, a slightly visible mustache like Jeff, and a tied mini black beard at the bottom of his chin. His hair was shaved off though it was a buzz cut and he had some hair in the front popping out and a tied ponytail in the back. He also had a single hoop on his left ear. He wore a sleeveless like, white body suit, type of robe and a black belt around it. He wore blue big but thin wristbands and white socks with black genie like shoes.

I smiled in enthusiasm which he had noticed and nodded to me before stepping back to join the others. He looks sexy.

I shook my head at those thoughts. Maybe I can go talk to them later I thought and smiled to myself before looking back to my sketchbook.

[maddiethebull]

Victor (MLQC) - Prompt #18 - “Here, like this.”

It was my birthday when I started writing this, so I thought it’d be fun to have it be the MC’s bday too! I included my great-grandfather Batuyong’s recipe for what Victor is cooking throughout the fic because I really like cooking and it’s what me and my mom made for my birthday dinner since we couldn’t go out this year, it was so fun making it that I thought I’d share it with anyone who’d like to try it :)

Thank you for making a request  <3 Hope you enjoy it! Victor prompt #1 will be coming also.

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Light from the rising sun shone through the slats in your window shades, waking you up once that golden light reached your peacefully closed eyes. You rubbed your eyes and stretched, releasing one of those weird noises that people make when they stretch in the morning. You sat up in your bed, excited to start the day because it was your birthday! You had plans with a certain stubborn CEO and as soon as you thought of him a smile crept up to your lips. Victor decided to treat you to a home cooked meal that night, and after a lot of begging, he even agreed to let you help him this time. You were so excited to see that hot CEO/chef at work and be able to help him prepare dinner for the two of you to share. You had a wide grin slapped on your face, it was practically cemented into your facial features for the entire morning. You assumed it would take place at Souvenir just like your last birthday, but that morning you got a text from Victor that read,

“You’ll be coming to my house around 3, don’t forget an apron.”

Hmm?? You texted back, 

“Your house?”

Within the minute Victor replied, 

“I don’t need you damaging the kitchen at Souvenir. Happy Bday, dummy.”

You rolled your eyes, of course he’d say something like that. 

After sending a thank you message you got ready for the day. It went by quick, you had breakfast and worked for an hour or two at your desk. You then had lunch with Anna, Minor, and Kiki, receiving some odd presents like the choker that matched Minor’s… a “best friend’s necklace” he told you. You had laughs and talked about your plans for later in the evening, Anna definitely hinting that you should make a move. Overall, a wonderful start and middle to the day which added to your excitement to see how the end of the day would go. 

When you got home, you rummaged through your closet, 

“Should I wear something fancy? But it's his house not a restaurant… Casual?” You said to yourself as you held some leggings up, “Hmm. That’s too casual. What do you even wear in a situation like this?” After pondering the etiquette of dinner parties and the casualty of one on one dinners at home, you decided on a good middle ground. You checked your phone and it was already 2:45. 

“Oh shit!” You hurriedly shoved the things you needed into a bag and perhaps took longer than you should’ve deciding what shoes to wear. You rushed out the door then right back in. You’d forgotten an apron! You grabbed the first apron you saw hanging and ran out the door yet again and flagged down a cab with more intensity than needed. Luckily, you made it just in time, only five minutes late. But to Victor, five minutes late meant a headache for you. Images of an angry little chibi Victor flashed in your mind as you walked up the pathway to his house, bringing a smile to your face. ‘That’s exactly what he’s gonna look like when he answers,’ you thought. You rang the doorbell to his intimidatingly fancy house and waited. And waited a little more? After two minutes passed you got sort of worried, Victor is Mr. Punctual afterall, even texting he answers back within the minute. After another minute passed by, you decided to ring the doorbell again but as soon as your finger pressed the button, the door swung open to reveal Victor, the black long sleeve button up he always wore had two buttons undone at the top and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair was a bit messy and the plain apron he wore had some stains on it as well as a bit of torn wrapping paper stuck to the string. 

“Sorry I’m a little late, I-”

“You get a pass today. But don’t think that’ll ever happen again.”

“Sassy as ever, Mr. Victor,” you said grinning at him. 

“A dummy as always,” he retorted at you, mirroring your grin “happy birthday,” he added on at the end. He showed you in and as you were putting your things on the couch he went to his room to retrieve a little something he wanted you to have. In his room, he finished wrapping a present that sat in a small box, hoping that you’d like it. He remembered that last year’s present didn’t go down as well as he thought it would, I mean, who wouldn’t like a fancy necklace? ‘You, I guess,’ he thought. In his defense, Victor grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth, and living in the business world for so long, he ended up equating the meaningfulness of presents to their dollar value. He never thought once that you’d have a problem with it, but now he knew better, you showed him better and he was thankful for it, though he was sure he’d die before saying such a cheesy line out loud. He quickly placed a bow on top and smiled at the gift he held before bringing it out to you. 

He presented you with the box and it was wrapped horrendously! You could see one corner of a box poking out, the paper was crumpled to hell and the bow was a stick on bow that was stuck slightly to the left. ‘Well, he can’t be good at everything, now can he?’

“Here, I got this for you.”

“Aw, thank you, Victor. I told you that you didn’t have to get me anything, though,” you said as you took the present from his outstretched hands. 

“I wanted to. So now it's yours and you can’t give it back like you tried to last year.”

“Well yeah that's because you got me a necklace that cost like a million dollars!”

“It was NOT a million dollars… it was only a thousand.”

“Victor!”

“Just open your gift,” he said as a laugh rolled off his tongue, you were far too cute when you acted like this. He watched eagerly, only a hint of it showing on his face, as usual, but eagerly nonetheless. You tore the paper from the box and as soon as you read the brand on the small box, you gasped. 

“I figured you’d like something tacky such as that,” the harshness of the comment diminished by the happy tone in his voice and the smug grin brightening his dark features. 

It was a small cup with a picture of the both of you printed on it. It had dog ears drawn on you and cat ears and whiskers on Victor. Was it kind of lame? Yes, but you couldn’t care less. And did he ban you from taking it out of your house after you took it to his office the next day as he got blushed in the face? Most definitely. 

With the goofiest grin, you thanked him again. 

“It’s nothing,” he said back, but you both knew that it wasn’t. Though, you couldn’t care less if Victor said it out loud because the tender tone in his voice told you it all. 

“You know, you’re rather handsome in this picture,” you told him while pointing to the cup, you added, “you should try cat ears more often,” as you let out a laugh. 

With a chuckle, “I’ll get Goldman on that,” he replied as turned away and felt a blush rise to his cheeks and ears, 

“We should get to the cooking now, I already began prior to your arrival.”

As the two of you walked to the kitchen you asked what was on the menu for tonight, 

“Filet mignon,” he told you as you instantly smelled the most delicious aroma, your tongue tingled just thinking about how good it would taste. 

You let out an involuntary “Mmmmm,” as you looked at the food around you with excitement in your eyes and a smug grin on the CEO’s lips. 

“Let’s get started, shall we? Where’s your apron?” he asked. 

“Oh, I forgot to grab it from the living room, I’ll go do that and you can start cooking again.”

“Hurry up, you’re the one who wanted to cook so badly.”

You went to grab your apron and when you picked it up, you realized you’d grabbed one that had ‘kiss the cook’ written on it in bold red letters. You mentally prepared yourself for some kind of sarcastic comment from Victor as you put it on and went towards the kitchen.

You donned your “kiss the cook” apron and as soon as Victor saw it he began laughing, his baritone voice echoing through the kitchen. 

“How very forward of you,” he said, not being able to stifle his laugh, and a sly look in his dark black eyes. 

“It’s the only one I had!” 

With a chuckle he looked away and to the food, 

“Okay, if you say so.”

You playfully hit him on the shoulder and he began to talk about what to do. 

You watched as he prepared the food and helped him do various things along the way, mostly, though, you washed and chopped vegetables and fixed your gaze on the man beside you. Oh lord, was he attractive when he was focused. He was all tall and dark haired with those steely eyes and- 

“Focus, don’t hurt yourself.”

Immediately pulled out of your daydreams by Mr. Punctual himself. You sighed and kept up chopping and helping him season and thensome. 

When Victor put the filet in the oven to bake for a while, he decided to open some wine. The both of you sipped and sipped till your glasses were empty and the scent of the cooking steak filled your senses. After about half an hour he took the tenderloin out and moved it to a chopping board, slicing into those familiar filet mignon steaks. You couldn’t help but get closer, it looked so delicious that your mouth was clearly watering. You poked your head by his bicep and he paused. 

“Do you want to try?” 

His deep voice took you back to reality. 

“Of course I do!” you said as you eagerly took the knife from him and lined yourself up with the cutting board. You sliced one, well, half of one before he had already stopped you, 

“Here, like this,” he said as he approached you from behind, the cedarwood scent of his cologne enveloping you along with the warmth from his body. He stood much taller than you as he put your hands into his, showing you how to hold the knife in a way you wouldn’t knick yourself by letting it slip. His hands were warm and soft as his slender fingers removed your pointer finger from the top of the knife’s handle and moved it to the side, leaving his hand on top of yours in that position. You could barely focus on the instructions he was giving you, not with the butterflies in your stomach making flight to crowd your mind. You couldn’t tell if it was the heat from the oven that had filled the room or heat from a blush that warmed your cheeks in that moment. He began cutting the meat, pressing his hand firmly into yours as he leaned his head beside your own so he could properly see what he was doing. You couldn’t help but take a peek at this incredibly handsome man whose face was now only inches from your own with his body pressed behind you. His black hair stuck to the light sweat forming on his temples and a small grin took place on his lips, he looked to you and in a light tone he asked, 

“Do you plan on looking at me the whole time?”

Flustered, you immediately took your eyes off him and continued slicing. With his opal eyes fixed on you there was only one thought on his mind, he was, in fact, rather very close to his rather, very attractive dummy. With his chest pressed against your back, you could feel his heartbeat speed up just before he backed away, saying, 

“Looks like you’ve got it now. I’ll get the pan ready next.”

He walked toward the cabinets and took out a frying pan. After he panfried it and took the sides from their pots, he plated it to look all perfect and beautiful like you were in a Michelin star restaurant, finally, it was ready to eat!

He poured some wine all handsomely and gentlemanly and finally sat down and you two began eating, you were excited and took a bite.

“How is it?” he asked as his dark eyes focused on you. 

You know how some people say that the right food tastes like home? That’s exactly what you tasted, it was only a bite of steak but it flooded your mind with memories of Victor, the times he’d cooked for you at Souvenir, the times that you saw him take lingering glances your way, the times that he made your heart flutter like a teenage girl’s; they all flashed in your mind, the times that had established such a feeling of home but not in a house, instead those feelings manifesting in the man who sat in front of you. Maybe it was the candlelight reflecting like a setting sun onto the table or perhaps you’d drunk more wine before dinner than you should’ve, but something filled your emotions to a tipping point and tears formed in the corners of your eyes. 

His face contorted to pure shock, 

“IS IT THAT BAD????”

Laughter fell off your lips to resonate off the walls in the dining room, 

“No, it's positively the best food I’ve ever had.”

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Hope you liked it! There’s more to come!

Recipe: Filet Mignon! (you can also just use the marinade for a cheaper cut of meat and make a different steak)

Ingredients Needed 

What Kind of Meat: A tenderloin is the cut for filet mignon, its expensive no matter what but buying it at a general ask the butcher if they can put the butcher’s twine on the meat for you (Butcher’s twine is so that the long cut of meat can cook evenly if cooked in the oven.) and if they can trim the fat for you if you don’t know how or you just don’t want to lol.

Marinade:

1 & ½ cups of olive oil

1 cup of soy sauce (I recommend the kikkoman brand.)

1 cup of Worcester sauce

1 head of thinly sliced garlic garlic

1 tablespoon of ground black pepper

1 tablespoon of oregano

1 tablespoon of basil (Full leaves are okay but it’s much easier to measure when it's crushed.)

1 tablespoon of lemon juice 

Let’s Cook! (if you’re inexperienced or younger, then please have an adult who is fit to help’s supervision, we don’t want anyone getting hurt afterall!)

*NOTE: Leave the butcher’s twine on until the tenderloin is fully cooked to your taste and out of the oven and has cooled down (please don’t burn yourselves!!)*

Mix the liquid Marinade ingredients into a bowl or pan large enough to fit the cut of tenderloin. 

Season the tenderloin with the non liquid ingredients (i.e. the basil and stuff, you can adjust the seasonings to your taste as well as the size of the cut of meat.)

Place the meat into the marinade and put in the fridge to let it marinate for at least 3-4 hours.

After marinating, preheat the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. 

Place the meat into a metal baking pan large enough to fit it without the edges of the meat touching the sides of the pan. Remember, that butcher’s twine should still be on the meat.

Place it in the oven (while wearing oven mitts) and cook until it fits your tastes. (The oven’s rack should be on the middle or one lower than the middle rung.)

For a small cut that’s about 2-3 pounds: 35 to 40 minutes in the oven should get it to medium rare, and 45 to 50 minutes to get it to medium.

For a larger cut that’s about 4-5 pounds: 50 to 60 minutes in the oven should get it to medium rare, and 60 to 70 minutes to get it to medium.

When your tenderloin is done cooking, turn the oven off and carefully take it out of the oven (Again, with oven mitts please don't get burned.) and place the pan on a heat safe surface (I always just put it on top of the oven.) and CAREFULLY put foil to cover the pan while the tenderloin cools down. Use your oven mitt to do this to ensure you don’t get burned. This step is to ensure a juicy steak, it traps the steam in the pan and thus doesn't let the meat dry out. 

Finally, when the meat has sufficiently cooled down, you can remove it from the pan and place onto a chopping board. 

Cut (with an adult who is fit to help, if you’re younger) the tenderloin with a large kitchen knife, into however many pieces you want, though cutting it into too thick pieces would make more of a building shape on your plate lol, we want to avoid that. 

At the end it should be circular cuts of steak. 

The Last Step:

To finish cooking the tops and bottoms of those circular cuts, get a cooking pan and turn on one of the stovetop burners to low.

Pour canola oil in the pan immediately (about enough to cover the bottom of the pan) and turn the heat to medium. When small bubbles form in the oil, then you’re ready to put the meat in. 

*NOTE: if the stove is too hot, the oil will start to burn, make sure that the oil is not excessively steaming because if it is, you’re burning it.*

Place each slice of the meat into your pan with tongs and sear it for around a minute or until it has browned to about the same color as the sides, then CAREFULLY flip the piece with your tongs and repeat on the other side until done. When each piece you cook is done, make sure to take it out of the pan and place it on a heat safe plate. 

If you have many pieces, you might have to add more oil in the pan. When you add more oil, make sure that A) there isn’t any meat in the pan and B) that you’ve turned the heat down in order to assure you don’t get splattered with hot oil. Pour the oil in when the pan is cooled down a little and then turn the heat back up and wait for the bubbles in the oil. Once the oil looks ready again, you can continue cooking. 

After you’re finished searing the pieces of meat, turn the stove top off and plate the steak with tongs and add whatever side dishes you like.

And voila! You have your fanfic filet mignon! You can thank my Great-Grandpa Batuyong and Grandma Batuyong as well as my Momma for the recipe. :)

[denqis]

anonymous ㅡ tadashi yamaguchi x reader

summary: in which the reader watches her uncle and a cute boy practice the flutter float serve for hours on end, slips and falls.

warnings: fluffy fluff, mention of alcohol maybe a bit of angst

word count: 2075

you pushed your glasses back up your nose, hindering them from slipping and falling to the ground.

you flopped back onto the sofa, a soft sigh leaving your lips and your hands settling atop your belly.

it was unusually flat and that's when you felt the pang of hunger in your body. the lack of energy floored you, limbs starting to shake, when you made your way down the staircase, into the small convenience store your uncle ran.

"please, teach me your jump float serve!"

you stopped, confused as to why there still seemed to be a customer at this late hour.

you peeked from behind the thin curtain and almost lost your footing. the way the dim lights in the store hit his face emphasized his freckles. your entire body heated up, he looked like a prince and judging by his tall stature and familiar black uniform he was a student at karasuno as well and a member of their volleyball club.

"y/n. it's rude to stalk."

your uncle laughed and pulled back the curtains, revealing you, hair up in a messy pony, pimple cream decorating your face, grey sweatpants and a loose cropped shirt framing your body and glasses crooked on your nose. you were in no shape whatsoever to meet the probable love of your life.

"i just came down because i was hungry."

you mumbled, staring at the floor. you couldn't possibly face the teen.

"well? we should still have some ramen in the cupboard, no? just suit yourself. i'll be out."

your uncle smiled, guiding the boy to the backyard.

you sat down at the window, looking down at the two males, practicing the same moves over and over. you almost forgot about the noodles on the stove, the hungriness replaced by a heavy, pulsing uncertainty.

cocoons that were about to burst with butterflies.

you woke up in the middle of the night, a cold bowl of ramen next to you on the windowsill and you still seated as you were when you watched your uncle and the boy last night.

the house was quiet and you decided that it was best to continue sleeping. your clock showed 3:46AM and you already cringed at the thought of getting up at 6.

but regardless of how much you wished for it not to creep into your consciousness, the time came and the sounds of your alarm slowly but surely seeped into your dreams.

"y/n! what happened to your face?!"

your only friend bursted, pointing at the dreamy smile and blush. but you were too busy staring out the window. this couldn't be a coincidence, the fact that you saw him right outside, down in the yard, it had to be fate.

"y/n? you there?"

you quickly composed yourself, straightening your back and going back to your usual, stoic expression.

but it was too late. your friend already had her nose flat against the window, following your stare.

"you like him, huh? you've got some weird taste. isn't he much shorter than you?"

she pointed to a guy with bright orange hair, skipping after the freckled boy, who had just turned the corner.

"how should i know? i don't know him and no, i don't like him. i don't like anyone."

weeks had passed and your crush had manifested deep within your heart. letting your hair down, you rested your chin on your hand and stared down into your home's backyard. he was getting better and better, at least from your amateur perspective. he hadn't noticed you and your friend at school stopped suspecting that you even had a crush in the first place. you were about to turn to your homework, when you suddenly caught his stare. his sparkling eyes and shy smile had you tumbling off your chair in surprise.

"whoa y/n! what happened to your eyebrow?"

she pointed at the swollen cut that you had gotten hitting the edge of your desk at home.

"i fell..."

you mumbled, embarrassed by the mere thought that he had noticed you staring. you were about to turn left into your classroom, when a guy flew towards you, coming to an abrupt halt in front you.

"you're shimada's daughter right? sorry for scaring you yesterday. i'll buy you lunch to make up for it?"

his voice. your face was on fire, knees starting to tremble.

"i'm his niece... not his daughter. it's not your fault that i'm so clumsy. you don't have to spend money on me."

you declined his offer and were about to turn on your heel when you felt hands on your shoulder and the hair of your best friend tickling your ear.

"she'll most definitely join you at lunch today!"

lunch was... awkward to say the least. he had tried to initiate a conversation at the very beginning, but after you almost died from a fit of coughs brought upon you from his heavenly voice, he decided silence would probably be best.

"i guess i'll see you around?"

he waved and took off, leaving you dazed and confused.

"y/n come down and help out please!"

your uncle called, sounding rushed and you could almost feel his knowing smile through his voice.

unsuspecting and unprepared you came down and settled behind the counter while your uncle rushed upstairs. not even a second after he had disappeared, the doors swung open and revealed him. the prince. you froze, heat rising up in your cheeks.

"oh, hello! isn't it mr, shimada's shift? i wanted to ask him something."

he leaned on the counter, staring down into your eyes, blush creeping down your neck and up your ears in no time.

"n-no.. he just left. maybe i can help you?"

he paused, before turning slightly pink and opening his mouth.

"join me at lunch again tomorrow."

well, that was unexpected.

"what?!"

you almost screeched, slamming your hands up to your cheeks a little too vigorously. the slap echoed loudly and time seemed to stop as he stared at you, shock filling his whole face.

"holy shit, are you okay?"

you slowly nodded, peeling your hands from your face slowly, revealing angry red patches that seemed to already turn into hematomas.

"if you don't want to, that's fine too. but now i feel like i owe you lunch again. you gotta stop hurting yourself because of me or i'll go broke in no time."

he chuckled, handing you a bottle which you eyed cautiously, extremely confused and your mind still a little hazy from the impact of your hands.

"use it to cool the swelling, it'll help."

he smiled, pushing it closer into your proximity.

"oh... sure, thank you."

"what's your name, by the way? i never got to ask."

his eyes scanned anything but you, was he being shy? that was your job, you couldn't both be shy or you wouldn't ever move on from acquaintances.

"y/n. you're tadashi, right? my uncle talked about you a few times."

that made him blush, how cute, you thought and leaned closer to him, the bottle still pressed tightly to your cheek.

"so, y/n, since when have you liked my best friend?"

the two of you snapped out of it, eyes wide at the tall blonde that stood between two shelves, a smirk on his lips.

"tsukki?! what are you doing here?"

tadashi jumped from his crouching position and straightened his posture, nervously fiddling with his fingers.

"rude. i stepped in here just minutes after you. you only had eyes for her, mh? i feel replaced!"

he let out a short laugh, before putting an arm around the shorter boy.

"sorry, y/n. i'll have to kidnap your boyfriend for a short while. see you at school."

he waved, sending you a smirk and a wink, before pulling tadashi out of the store, whose eyes were still wide in shock.

"boyfriend...? wait what?!"

you squealed, running after the two.

"we're not together!"

you yelled, before starting to run, panting once you reached them. damn you were out of shape.

"but tadashi likes you. isn't that obvious?"

"tsukki. stop it, please."

tadashi turned to you and shook his head, an apology as you were about to find out.

"i like someone else. tsukki just wants to tease you."

he shrugged and began walking again, leaving you a trembling mess, millimeters from breaking down in public.

"why'd you lie to her like that? she looked like she was going to cry."

tsukishima frowned, looking down at his best friend.

"her uncle scares me. he kept staring at us through the curtains.. plus, i don't even know her, there's nothing but physical attraction i guess."

tsukishima knew for how long tadashi had eyed you and he also knew why he kept coming back to shimada's shop. he had long mastered the serve, but every time he was in her proximity, he lost it.

tadashi slowly walked towards you, raising his hand to greet you, but you ducked and quickly turned a corner to escape. after that, weeks had flown by, weeks filled with nights filled with tears and days filled with lifeless stares out of the window. how stupid of you to even think that he liked you back..

"y/n?"

the tall blonde.

"huh? what is it?"

he sat down beside you, starting to talk immediately. something about tadashi being shy and stupid and about how he really liked you and was just overwhelmed at the time. but all that didn't get through to you. you really didn't care anymore.

you didn't know why you were here. in the middle of the night, in a skimpy dress, alcohol flooding your veins and your best friend giggling by your side.

"we're gonna have so much fun!"

it had been a while since you drank, you could hold your liquor well, but the long absence of the drug surely lowered your tolerance after all.

"y/n?"

a male voice almost got drowned out by the loud club music, the bass massaging your body. but when you finally came face to face with tadashi, whom you only barely recognized through your haze and the fog lamps, and simply wrapped your arms around his neck.

"tadashi.."

you said, face buried in his neck, breathing in his scent.

"y/n.. are you drunk?"

"am not."

you grunted, taking his large hands and placing them atop your hips.

"dance with me."

his digits ghosted over your lower body, trying to find a better, less risqué place to settle, but the liquor suddenly hit harder than expected, making him bury his long fingers in your plush flesh.

you jolted forward, into his wide chest, almost feeling his rapid heart beat.

"t-tadashi.."

you whined, his fingers on your body sending shocks through your body.

"look at me."

he whispered into your ear, making you tilt your head slightly.

a drunk blush decorated both of your faces, your fingers dancing across the nape of his neck, playing with the locks that adorned it.

"shit."

he cursed, taking your face in one of his hands, while the other slightly clawed into your waist.

"you're so beautiful."

liquid courage washed over him as he leaned down, only stopping millimeters before your lips met.

"i always wondered.. do glasses interfere while kissing?"

you swallowed thickly, before a crooked smile laced your lips. was he really always up a creek without paddle?

"you'll never know if you never try."

that's all it took. for him to close the tiny space between your lips and for you to melt into his embrace, tears prickling at the corners of your eyes.

"why were you crying? on friday? did i hurt you?"

his soft eyes met yours, the kiss from the club still sending chills down your back.

"you just don't know how long i've waited for this, do you?"

he grinned, hand buried in his hair.

"i'm sorry if i hurt you. but, y/n i really do like you."

he replied, and you just pushed him into a small hallway, unseen by the public eye.

"i like you as well. if that wasn't clear already. and... did you find the answer?"

he cocked his head, clearly confused and not catching on.

"to what?"

"if glasses interfere while kissing?"

there suddenly was a glint in his eyes as he leaned in closer.

"i think i'll have to do some more research on that."

[ryder-s-block]

Jaig Eyes (Ch 55)

Jaig Eyes (55/?)

Summary:

Kida, a former slave who now thrives as a bounty hunter, finds herself sucked into the war she advised Jango Fett against. Now that she’s involved, she has to finally mourn the loss of Jango, seeing his face in the clones that man the GAR. What happens when she allows herself to get attached to one, not for his resemblance to her former mentor, but for his heart?

————————-

Chapter Fifty-Five: Another One Bites the Dust

Padme watched me quietly as I finished catching her up on all she’d missed. I left very little out, trusting the woman with my life. Her lips were pursed with sadness, but determination as I finished, telling her about Echo and Piell.

“I’m so sorry,” she offered, finally getting up from her desk and moving to sit in the seat beside mine, her soft hand touching my pants. I’d chosen to take off my armor, having it put in a crate and returned to my shuttle. I was wearing civilian clothes, as the clones like to call them--black pants with my boots, and a soft leather jacket over my light green shirt. My hair, now washed after I took advantage of my private fresher on the Star Destroyer, was pulled back from my face in a messy ponytail.

I fidgeted under her affection, the woman leaving her hand on my knee stubbornly. She was going to show me love, whether I liked it or not.

“I’m glad you’re safe, though. And Anakin. And Ahsoka.”

I nodded. “I...I’m sad. But I also know there was nothing I could do. I could feel it. I knew we were going to lose him.”

Padme looked at me sadly, but said nothing more of it, choosing to change the subject. “Well? Let me see.”

I rolled my eyes, but pulled my lightsaber from inside my jacket. I’d elected not to leave it on my shuttle. Despite being on good terms with the Jedi now, I didn’t trust them to not have their suspicions and worries still. If my use of my lightsaber was something they disapproved of, they’d have to take it up with me directly, rather than swipe it from my things.

Padme accepted the lightsaber hilt hesitantly, examining the handiwork of the Armorer. “This craftsmanship is amazing. You did this yourself?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Who, then?” I gave her a look. “You won’t tell me?”

“More like, I can’t tell you,” I did my best to reason. “Go ahead. Turn it on.” The senator’s eyes widened with fright for a moment, but I only laughed. “Come on. Skywalker told me about how you had his lightsaber when Bane held you hostage.”

“For a moment,” she argued breathlessly. “And it was only to free Ani.” Her voice wavered slightly with uncertainty as she accidentally said Anakin’s nickname. I liked hearing her slip up and say it. Not only was it endearing to see their relationship work in trying times, but it also showed her easiness around me.

“Oh, come on,” I pushed gently, reaching over to guide her thumb over the ignition. The lightsaber hummed to life in her hand, her muscles tensing. I nudged her gently with my mind, easing her worries away. 

That was something I was finding easier--using the Force within my mind. I struggled projecting it in a physical way. But it helped me see and sense the world better...as well as into minds easier.

Maybe I’d bring it up to Obi-wan or Anakin sometime.

“It’s white,” she breathed. “I’ve never seen one like this before.”

I shrugged, smiling as she gave the saber an experimental swish through the air. “It was actually green, once, when it was first harvested by a Jedi Padawan.” Padme’s brows furrowed with worry, but I waved it off with a grin. “I didn’t steal it, I promise. It was my ancestor’s...the one that first mixed blood with Sith.”

“Oh,” was all she offered, shocked.

“I found the blade in my travels, and it was red. When a Force-wielder pours rage and hatred into their kyber, it breaks, and thus, bleeds. This makes it red.”

“So it was a Fallen Jedi’s?”

I nodded. “The crystal called to me. Over time, I was able to heal it, which makes it white. Because it isn’t perfect,” I explained as I took the lightsaber back, my kyber humming happily. “It still has scars, but it isn’t bleeding anymore.”

With a final spin, I disengaged the blade, tucking the hilt back under my jacket. Padme smiled at me. “You seem to have everything figured out.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I joked, but appreciated the compliment. We both chuckled as the doors hissed open, revealing Anakin.

“Ani,” Padme expressed happily as he entered. He gave her a genuine, but tired smile. When the senator hesitated for a moment, I rolled my eyes.

“Just go,” I offered with a laugh. “I won’t look.” I turned my face away as the senator ran across the room and threw herself into her husband’s embrace. I gave them a moment before looking back to Anakin, who was following Padme towards the couch opposite me. “So? Is the information all set and ready to use?”

A darkness rippled off of the young Jedi as he scowled. “No. Master Yoda is trying to figure things out with the chancellor now. But Ahsoka was instructed to tell the Council her information, whereas Tarkin will only bring it to the chancellor.”

I frowned, looking between them. “But...they’re on the same side. What should it matter?”

“One would think,” Padme sighed as she stood. “Come on, Anakin. We should see what we can do to help.”

I could feel Anakin’s weariness. His desperation to lay down and sleep, holding his wife beside him. To feel safe.

It was a feeling most warriors such as us experienced.

“Now what?” I asked, still lounging in my seat. “Where’s everyone else?”

Anakin cracked his neck tiredly as he stood. “Ahsoka is with the Council still, and I assume Tarkin is with the chancellor. The men have been given a temporary leave while this gets sorted out.” He paused, glancing back at me. “Technically, your contract has been filled. You’re free to leave any time, Kida. Credits will be wired to you.” 

He gave me a genuine, unjudging smile as he left the room, but I still couldn't help but feel guilty. I was being paid for a mission that might not even lead to anything. Not to mention, people I cared for died on that mission. Did I even really help at all?

A thought occurred to me at that moment. “Skywalker,” I called after him as I raced from the senator’s office. He turned in the hallway, raising his brow. “You have to convince them to come to an agreement. We can’t let Echo die for nothing.” His lips pressed into a line as he nodded before following his wife towards the chancellor’s study.

I watched them leave before heading towards the exit myself. If this turned out to be all for nothing, I didn’t want Fives to be sober when he heard it.

-------------------------------------

Commander Fox almost didn’t let me in. He stood in front of my shuttle as I descended the gangway, arms crossed. “Do you have orders to be here?”

“No,” I started, trying to explain. But I was cut off.

“Leave the premises immediately,” he ordered, his soldiers drawing their weapons. “All trespassers without clearance will be arrested.”

I growled lowly in my throat, popping my hip defiantly. “Come on, Fox. The GAR lost an ARC trooper on our mission. A friend of mine. One of your brothers.” He paused for a moment and I felt his mind shift slightly away from his training. Despite working as the leader of the Coruscant Guard, he had experienced losing his brothers, too.

“State your purpose.” He was curt, but he was letting me speak, at least.

“The soldiers I was fighting with have been given shore leave. To celebrate their fallen brothers, I’ve decided to take them out for a drink. Or two.”

Fox’s helmet hissed as he let out a long breath of air. “Fine.” His men dropped their weapons immediately, some of them seeming a bit surprised. “But no one better miss their orders and I better not find you here again after you all leave.” I knew what he was insinuating as he jutted his finger towards me.

“Relax, Commander,” I teased as I descended my gangway, tapping my mini wrist gauntlet to close it behind me. “I’ll take good care of them.” I knew I was only playing into a very twisted vision Fox had of me….but I couldn’t help it. Playing the part was a large portion of my work. And to be honest, it was pretty fun sometimes.

I strode past his squadron with playful purpose, following the mental map I’d retained from my last time there. It wasn’t long before I found the barracks for the 501st, most of which had been on leave for most, if not all, of the previous mission’s time. I leaned cockily against the metal doorframe as I gazed into the barracks, scanning for my friends.

I spotted them finally, sensing the despair Fives was feeling in the far corner of the barracks. Looks were cast my way as I walked through the rows of beds confidently. Some recognized me, some didn’t.

Most were just shocked to see a woman in their barracks. With no armor on, for that matter.

“Kida Fett,” a voice sounded, making me turn and see the tattooed face of Hardcase. I gave him a smile as he threw his arm around me. “I’m glad you’re here. We are trying to convince Fives over there to try and have a good time.”

“How convenient,” I projected, the room quieting slightly as I spoke. “I was here to do the very same thing.”

Hardcase let out a boisterous laugh, slapping me on the back as I pushed past him to stand behind Fives. The ARC trooper was hunched over on his bed, his back turned to me. He was only in his blacks.

“Trooper,” I said in my firmest tone. “What are you doing?” I could tell he wasn’t focused by how fast he leapt to his feet, immediately saluting as he turned. “Sir, I was--” he stopped when he saw it was me, rolling his eyes with a scoff. “Kida. Stop it.”

“Oh, I was just teasing,” I tried, but he turned away from me, sitting back down. I sighed, touching his shoulder gently. “Come on. Take it from me….it doesn’t do well to dwell on it. No more mourning.” I leaned down, squeezing his shoulder. “Let’s celebrate him, instead.”

Kix appeared at my side, offering me a cup filled with what smelled like rum. I took it, taking a long sip that burned my nose, before moving it into FIve’s field of vision. I nudged it towards his hand, smiling as he finally took it.

The trooper swallowed thickly before downing the entire cup in one go. He shook his head, coughing at the dry taste, before nodding. He stood and turned to me, wiping the sides of his mouth. “Alright. And I’m going to drink you under the table, just like I always did to Echo.”

I grinned. “I’d like to see you try.”

The clones around me cheered, everyone punching my shoulder playfully. I recognized most of the group that was currently gathered around us. Hardcase, Fives, and Kix, of course. But also Jesse, Tup, Appo, and Dogma. I gave them all smiles, accepting a cup of liquor from Jesse, who threw his arm around me.

“Your nose looks great,” I teased. “Almost like it was never broken.” 

He laughed heartily, before looking around at the group. “Alright, you sacks of osik!” he cried, obviously already a few drinks deep. “It’s time we took this celebration to 79’s!”

I scowled, throwing his arm off of me. “79’s? That’s where you guys think is a good time?”

“Oh, come on, Kida,” Kix teased. “It’s the only place we really have fun.” I knew what he meant--a lot of bar patrons weren’t too kind to clones. Especially when below the surface. 

I rolled my eyes playfully to avoid the subject. “Fine.” They cheered, the group practically carrying me from the barracks and onto a shuttle they hailed. It was a civilian shuttle, meaning we earned plenty of looks as a lone girl piled in with five clones, Dogma and Appo staying behind for duty that night.

The clones were shamelessly boisterous on the transport, making me smile easily. Despite the looks--ones I knew the clones were noticing--they kept on living as they deemed fit. They weren’t given a lot of time to experience life, after all. They were going to enjoy it while they could.

The transport stopped at 79’s quickly, much to the relief of the civilian passengers. I stuck my tongue out at one woman that was giving us a dirty look. “They die for your freedom, skanah,” I scowled. “Show some respect.”

My language earned a raised eyebrow from Kix and Fives, but neither said anything as we entered the clone bar. It was filled with drunken clones, all in various states of dress. Some were in their blacks. Some in their casuals. Some even had their armor still on.

“Come on, Kida!” Tup shouted, making me find him in the crowd at the bar. “Take a shot with us!”

I sighed inwardly, knowing I was in for a long night. We took the shot--something minty and tart--together, all of them cheering and immediately demanding another.

Three consecutive shots later, I was already wishing I’d eaten more of the food in Padme’s office than I had. Hardcase pushed an incredibly strong drink into my hand before herding me over to a booth with the others.

“Alright, alright,” he laughed as he shoved himself into the booth after me, his arm going over my shoulder. I rolled my eyes, not caring enough to stop him. “Jesse, you know the drill.” Said clone sat up straight in the booth, listening closely to his brother. “Senator Dio or Senator Amidala?”

My eyebrow raised immediately as Jesse rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Come now, that’s an easy one,” Hardcase laughed, leaning into me more.

“Oh?” Kix asked, taking a long drink. “If you know the answer, why’d you ask it?”

“I wanna know what he thinks!”

“I’m sorry,” I interrupted, putting up my hand. “What is the game here?”

“Who’d you rather,” Jesse answered matter-of-factly, giving me a look. I gaped, glancing between the men as it registered. It took only a second for me to bust out laughing. Oh….if Anakin only knew that his men were debating the sexiness of his wife.

“That’s easy,” a drunken clone proclaimed as he leaned over the back of the booth, breathing down my neck. I flinched, looking back at him with a crinkled nose. “Senator Amidala is a smoke show! Dio has nothing on her. Imagine her in a small, tight, little--”

“Okay!” I cried, roughly throwing off Hardcase as I forced my way out of the booth. “Next round of shots is on me!”

They cheered, none of them caring that I was dodging hearing more about Padme in some sexy getup for the clone’s entertainment. I couldn't really blame them, though. It wasn’t like the Republic let them have spouses or anything. What alternative did they have? Aside from--

A grin crept to my lips as I piled the next round of shots on a tray, carrying them to the table of clones.They had moved on from their game, all of their drinks already gone as they debated who would win the next podrace on the holonet.

“I have a proposition for a new plan,” I proclaimed as I set the tray down before them. We each lifted our individual shot glasses to our lips, downing them easily. I continued after we took them. “Instead of talking about girls and sitting here in a bar with, frankly,” I glanced around at the clone-filled bar, “A bit too much testosterone, let’s go somewhere more fun.”

“Kida, we already--” Kix started, but I held up my hand. 

After accepting the drink Jesse handed to me, I smiled at them. “I know you guys don’t have great experiences at bars outside of this one. But I know a pretty good club that won’t turn you away or treat you differently. If anything, you’ll be treated better, because I know the owner.”

They were interested. Fives knew what I meant, the ARC trooper giving me a smile. “Oh, do you?” he asked.

I smiled. “I do. Shall we?” I downed my drink quickly, feeling myself wobble just slightly. 

“I’d be willing,” Fives offered, leaning back in his seat. “If,” he stopped, looking me in the eye with a devilish twinkle. “The unstoppable Kida Fett can complete a task.”

I scowled at my friend, but accepted. “And what’s that?”

Fives’ smile should have warned me. His eyes shifted past me, looking towards a back booth. “I’ll go to your club, if you can convince our good captain to come along, too.”

My blood went cold as I realized what he meant. My senses prickled, notifying me of the familiar presences in the corner booth--Cody and Rex. I swallowed thickly before turning, spying them both still in their armor, each with a hand firmly wrapped around a drink.

Grinding my teeth together, I scowled back at my chuckling friends. “She’ll never be able to,” Hardcase determined, shaking his head. “There’s no way we can get our captain to a club, especially with it being on the lower levels.”

I pursed my lips, looking back at Rex, who had certainly seen us, but elected to stay away. “You actually want your commanding officer to party with you?” I asked over my shoulder.

“Of course we do,” Fives grinned back. “Or are you just asking because you’re afraid you can’t.”

“The captain doesn’t party like that,” Kix said with a shrug, giving me a defeated look. “Sorry, kid. I don’t think you have a chance on this one.”

“He doesn’t party,” I repeated in a mutter as I watched Rex down the rest of his drink. “Then what’s he doing here?” With a deviously confident look over my shoulder at my drinking pals, I strode across the bar, hearing them cheer drunkenly behind me.

It took a bit longer than I expected, since I didn’t want to be spotted as I approached and had to navigate the drunken crowd of clones. But, when I arrived, it was perfect.

“Your drink is looking a bit low, Captain,” I said formally, with a light tone to my words. Rex looked up with a start, Cody doing the same.

“Fett,” Cody greeted, surprised by my presence. “What are you doing here?”

I jutted my thumb back behind me towards the drunken group of 501st clones. “Celebrating Echo. You?”

Rex swallowed thickly, his fingers twisting his empty cup on the table endlessly. “Trying to relax,” Cody tried, heavily implying that I was impeding that attempt.

I let the hint slide off of me as if I never noticed it. “I have a wonderful plan for that. The guys and I are actually heading to a different bar, if you want to join.”

Cody cleared his throat, finishing off his drink. “As much as I’d love to, I have to get back. General Kenobi wanted my report by the morning.”

He rose from his seat, making me back up as he moved to leave. I shifted on my feet anxiously. “Okay, well then, Captain. It looks like you have no one to drink with.”

Rex offered me a gentle smile, but he looked tired. He tilted his empty cup upside down to show me. “And nothing to drink. Sorry, Kida. Maybe another time.”

He moved to walk after Cody, who has stopped near the door to wait for his friend. I stopped his with a hand on his elbow. “Rex,” I whispered. “Come on. Fives asked for you personally.”

His golden gaze turned to me seriously. “It’s more likely he wanted to put you in an uncomfortable situation. Or me.” He glanced over my shoulder, most likely to see his men grinning at us drunkenly.

“Who cares?” I asked suddenly, taking him by surprise. “Come on. I know you have leave time. Come with us. Please?” I gave him my best pouty face that I could muster--a symptom of the alcohol unfortunately.

Finally, Rex rolled his eyes, turning to wave Cody on. Cody gave Rex a rare smile before nodding and leaving the bar alone. Rex looked back at me seriously. “So what have I agreed to? Where are we going?”

I gave him a wide, devious smile, but didn’t answer, waving to my friends to come join us. “Let’s go!” I yelled over the din of the bar, pointing to my wrist comm. It was flashing with Apex’s message that our ride had arrived. 

I couldn’t help but smile as we left the bar together, Fives and Kix throwing their arms around Rex. I was going to give them the party of their lives. I would make them forget. 

Forget about the war. And the brothers they’ve lost. Forget about the certainty that they’d lose more. And the likelihood that it could be them. 

-------------------------------

The Fury Club was busy that night. Walking up to the door was out of the question--not because I had clones with me, but because I was not about to wait in line to get into my own damn club. I rolled my eyes, gesturing for the clones to follow me around the back alley. It stunk of trash and probably vomit, but it hid the back door to my club well. I pressed my thumb against the print lock, the door buzzing as it hissed open. I led them in, their faces blushing as we passed my workers.

The back door led to the service hallways--much of which were lined with costuming and makeup rooms for the performers. The girls were all sweet things, though many had their own run-ins with the law. Who was I to judge on that, anyways? They knew how to play their game and make their money, though.

In the back, they were sweet and goofy. On the floor, they were flirtatious and docile. Fierce and sexy. But I suppose that depended on the clientele. 

We were met with a chorus of giggles as the clones walked past the changing rooms. Their tan skin flushed darker with embarrassment, but I only laughed. “Relax,” I teased my friends. “They’re exotic dancers. They’re usually dressed like that,” I assured, referring to the skimpy clothing the girls were wearing.

I led them to the access door, gesturing them forward. “The main floor is in there. I’ll send one of the girls out to tell Merl your drinks are on the house tonight.” 

“You coming?” Fives asked as he walked past me into the flashing lights of my club. 

“Of course,” I assured him. “I just need to get the last of us club ready.” I glanced pointedly at Rex, who was still wearing his weapons and armor. Fives and Kix chuckled as they walked past me, my hand reaching out to press against the captain’s chest-plate.

“What?” he asked, glancing nervously between the clones and I.

“I don’t allow weapons in my club, Rex.”

He gave me an incredulous look. “As if you’re not carrying a weapon right now.”

“I own this club,” I argued, giving him a gentle shove as I closed the door, sealing us away from the club again. “Now come on.” I pushed past him, dragging him with me by his forearm.

Despite his hesitations, I felt his mind and body begin to relax. An easy smile fell on his lips, a small chuckle erupting from his throat as he let me pull him along. I dragged him into the my private lift, which wasn’t my brightest idea. It was rather small, since it was usually only used by me.

We were standing pretty close, his knuckles grazing my arm where they wrapped around his helmet at his side. The alcohol was making me….fuzzy. I shook myself mentally, forcing myself to focus as the hydraulic doors slid open.

Taking initiative, I stepped out first, moving immediately to the wardrobe door on the far side of my office. Rex was slower in his advance through the room, taking it in slowly. His golden eyes scanned over the case of weaponry I had on display--some I used and some I just found fascinating in my travels. I had trophies--things I’d taken from meaningful jobs. A piece of bloodied shrapnel that had been lodged in my thigh for hours during a stakeout mission that went south, forcing me to have to sit in pained silence until it was safe to move. A mask given to me by the witch doctor of a village I once helped protect from pirates. A small drum-like instrument from a revolutionary I protected from assassins. 

Next he turned to examine the empty metal figure that stood against the wall, devoid of the Mandalorian armor that usually sits on it. Alternative gadgets and ammunition was stocked neatly along the mannequin's base--it was a bounty hunter’s dream office.

“Here,” I said to get his attention as I reentered the room. “These should fit you.” I handed him the clothes I’d picked out from a stash I’d collected over time, whether from bar patrons, bounty hunting, or….visitors.

He looked around the room nervously, earning a pair of rolling eyes from me. I gestured to the wardrobe I’d emerged from, pointing him off to change. While he was in there, I drew out my spiced rum, pouring two decent sized shots. 

When he emerged, I went silent, my drunken mind slowing to a full stop. Rex seemed uncomfortable in the civilian attire. But man….did it look good on him. I’d chosen a pair of black pants with black boots, as well as a gray shirt. His jacket was a deep maroon color with a low collar.

“I feel ridiculous.”

I let out a laugh as he fidgeted under my appraising gaze. “You look great,” I assured, sitting on the desk and lifting the glasses. “Come on and take a shot with me.”

He didn’t argue, piling his neatly stacked armor and weapons on a table in the corner before approaching. His brow lifted as he accepted his glass touching the rim against mine. “How many of these have you had?” he asked, breathing past the sting of the liquor.

“Why? Trying to match me?”

Rex tried to give me a stern look, but failed, letting out a small laugh instead. He didn’t refuse as I poured him another shot. He still seemed uncomfortable, shifting in his jacket endlessly. “Rex,” I said, touching my fingers to the inside of his wrist, blocking him from taking the next shot. “Relax. Tonight is about celebrating. Besides, I would never let my guests look ridiculous while they’re in my care.” I paused for a moment. “Unless they’re an asshole and they deserve it.”

Rex chuckled easily, already loosening up. Whether it was from the alcohol or the gentle pressure of my hand on his pulse though, I couldn’t say. “I’m pretty sure you’ve called me an ass before.”

I wiggled my eyebrows at him teasingly before releasing my hold and downing my own shot. The captain dressed in civvies mimicked me, giving me an easy smile over the burn of the alcohol.

“Fives is going to tease me about this all night,” he commented, lifting the flap of the jacket to examine the stitched interior.

I couldn’t help but laughed. “Possibly, but he’s got no taste anyways.” I leaned closer to where he leaned against the desk, whispering comically, “He’s a clone, you know.”

“I knew that, oddly enough.”

“Don’t worry,” I assured, distancing myself from him again since he hadn’t reacted. “You’ll all have things to tease each other about tonight if everything goes as planned.” Rex lifted a weary eyebrow, to which I only responded to with a wry grin.

It was silent for a beat as we gazed at each other. We had never discussed...us...since our encounter after Mortis. The Citadel was a whirlwind of fighting and survival and loss. Aside from the small gestures of comfort and our short disagreement, we hadn’t talked. 

Yet despite the year of being apart, aside from the most recent meetings, it felt like nothing had changed….yet everything had. The air was charged with electricity as we smiled at each other. They were soft. Endearing. Genuine.

I’d found that Rex was rare to smile, but when he did, he meant it. It was always a pure look that crinkled the skin on his face and brought a light to his eyes. It would recede again swiftly after the moment, but I loved seeing him like that.

My smiles, however, were often forced. Or fake, altogether. Bounty hunting was an act as much as it was a skill set. Smiles and batting eyelashes were needed for certain jobs or clients. Deadly stares and intimidating snarls were needed for others.

But with Rex, in soft moments like these, where we could forget everything that had once, and continued to, hold us back….my smiles were always genuine. And they came with a flush of warmth through my body like a warm embrace, heating my chest as my heart fluttered against my ribs.

Rex was the first to snap out of it, clearing his throat as if experiencing an after effect of the alcohol. “We should probably join the men.”

I shifted uncomfortably on the desk, running my hair through the wisps of silvery hair that was falling from my ponytail. “Of course. We wouldn’t want to keep them waiting.” I felt like I covered the disappointment in my voice well, but even with the time apart, Rex was still able to read me. He gave me a small, contemplative frown as I hopped off the desk, filling a final hefty shot for us both.

Knocking mine back, I handed the bottle to Rex as I sauntered into the wardrobe. I was feeling the liquor. A lot. I could tell as I pulled out a silvery sleeved dress from my lines of clothes Rouva had collected for me over the years. I found sparkling heels to pair with it, pulling my hair from its tie and giving it a shake. Rouva had taught me to do simple makeout, my brushes running easily over my face to line my eyes and paint my lips.

I emerged, the shining fabric sliding over my thighs and tickling my knees where the hem rested. It was a plunging back, revealing my many criss-crossing scars, as well as my Jaig eye tattoos.

Rex seemed shocked, looking up from his glass of rum with wide eyes. He stood abruptly from where he leaned on the desk, his back straightening. “Kida. You look…” he cleared his throat, unsure what to say.

I let out an easy chuckle, amused by this game. If he wanted to avoid me while obviously avoiding the energy in the room….then fine. I’d play. But I was a competitive spirit.

And I wasn’t about to lose this game.

“Come on,” I said airily, taking his glass from him and downing the contents. He watched me, completely still aside for his chest rising. His gaze was intense as his eyes followed me, full lips parted slightly. I set the empty glass down beside him on the desk, flashing him what I knew was a dazzling smile--it was the one I used on targets I flirted into my grasp. “The show is about to start.”

Instead of taking the private lift, as tempting as the notion was to make Rex uncomfortable...I figured I could make it even worse. I exited through the main door--the one that opened above my club, descending a metal staircase that wrapped down the wall of the main floor.

Rex exited behind me, immediately flinching at the thumping music and flashing lights. And the plethora of eyes that lifted to look at us. There were snickers. Ones about the owner leaving her office with a dashing young man. Rex’s tan skin flushed with embarrassment, but it only encouraged my glee.

I strode across the floor, making sure to swing my hips as Rouva always told me I should do more often. She didn’t get it….Mandalorian armor just didn’t allow for an easy swing of the hips. And I wasn’t looking for sexy when I was sprinting for my life.

“Enjoying yourselves?” I asked loudly as I approached the clones, all of whom were piled into a long booth, their eyes scanning the crowds hungrily.

The nearly jumped at my words, looking away from my workers. I gave them all a look, crossing my arms as their gazes crawled over me. “Wow,” Hardcase mumbled against the rim of his cup.

“Kida,” Fives chuckled, raising his eyebrows teasingly. “Have I ever told you that your ass looks amazing in heels?”

I gave him a look, part angry, part shocked, and part amused. He was hammered. Even more amusing was the steaming expression on Rex, who was giving his brother a death glare. “You never have, actually,” I teased, trying to lighten Rex’s mood with my tone. “And you’ll never tell me it again,” I added sternly, giving the ARC trooper a look.

Fives sat up straight in his booth, giving me a mock salute with a lopsided grin. “Yes, sir!” he practically screamed across the club. Half my patrons looked our way, giving us scowls. But I only laughed. This was my bar. If they didn’t like it, they could get the hell out.

I gave Merl a wave, the elderly Weequay piling drinks onto a tray and sending one of my girls over. “Vamira,” I greeted the pale pink Twi’lek as she arrived with our drinks. Her smile was broad, showing off her sharp canines with pride. “Thank you.”

“It’s nice to see you’re back,” she said in her accented voice. “We were worried you were going to disappear again.”

I chuckled lowly, giving her a wave of dismissal. “I don’t plan on doing that again any time soon.”

She gave me a smile before casting her gaze over the clones. Her eyes settled on Tup, the soldier giving an uncomfortable cough. He was only doing it to hide his wide grin at her attention. 

I cleared my throat gently, giving the worker a teasing look. “Bye Vamira,” I said again, making her finally break her stare on Tup, giving me a final smile before she walked away. I looked back over the clones, noticing how quickly they seemed to look anywhere but at my girls whenever I turned to them.

A low sigh escaped my mouth as I rolled my eyes, sitting on a stool beside Rex at the head of the table, “Listen, these are my rules. My girls are dancers. Professionals. They are not for sale.” A few of the clones glanced down at the table, ashamed. “But,” I added, a few of them perking up. “If you genuinely earn her affection and she CONSENTS,” I stressed, tapping the table a few times to hammer in the point. “Then I’ll allow it.”

“Really?” Tup whispered, voice filled with child-like wonder.

I stood up, pointing at each one’s forehead. “But if any of you hurt, or Force forbid, force yourself on any of them, I promise you’ll regret the day you came out of your test tube.”

They all swallowed quickly, giving me quick nods. I sat back down, giving them all a final stare before lightening up and taking a long drink. Pale pink skin appeared beside me, holding something shiny. I glanced up, seeing Vamira’s smiling face again, her violet eyes on Tup again. He blushed under her gaze, glancing away shyly as he drank.

“Vamira,” I greeted again sweetly. “I thought you were on drink duty tonight.”

Her smile faltered for a moment as she set the metal object down on our table to wring her hands. “I am,” she tried. “They were just really overwhelmed so I offered to help.”

I turned in my seat, glancing around my bar to see two girls I knew were hookah attendants that night. They were lounging around a single hookah, flirting with the male patrons. “Busy, huh?” I teased lightly, giving her a look.

She knew I wasn’t bothered by her advances on the clone. I had no claim to any of them. Penari approached, draping herself against the wall between Rex and Fives. The ARC’s face cracked open with a wide smile as he turned in the booth to look at her.

But she was looking at Rex. She was a beautiful Twi’lek in her late twenties, her skin a soft turquoise color, her neck dripping in silver. Her eyes were like honey, taking in the planes of Rex’s face as she flashed him a bright smile, eyelashes fluttering. 

At first I merely lifted my brow in amusement, but then I heard Rex cough uncomfortably. My head whipped to the side to see him shifting, his face flushing under her gaze. I frowned, alcohol making my more jealous side rear its ugly head. Fives tried again to gain Penari’s attention, to no avail. 

“What’s your name, handsome?” she asked, her words as silvery as her jewelry. She ignored Fives altogether, her question directed at the captain. Her long fingers brushed over his jacket shoulder gently, as if brushing something off, before stealing a small glance over the sharp curve of his jaw.

“I-” Rex stuttered, making me smolder with annoyance at my employee. Then again, it wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t like she knew. “Rex,” the captain finally answered.

“Rex,” Penari purred. “That sounds like a good, strong name,” she stepped forward, her fingers crawling over the swell of his bicep. “For a good, strong man.”

Rex’s mouth was agape as he regarded the seductress. I pursed my lips, finally leaning forward with my hand clenched around my glass. “Ma’allesh,” I said in her native tongue.

She looked over at me in shock, taking in my folded arms and pursed lips. “I’m not doing--” she tried, but she had already put it together and was just trying to back out now.

“Sahak tuev san,” I said firmly, her mouth snapping closed. I cut my eyes to the side, the movement finally getting her to push off from the wall and stalk the crowd for some other prey she can convince to buy things.

Rex turned to me with a raised brow. “What was that about?” he asked, his brain already working to piece it together.

“Does it matter?” I asked, taking a long drink from my cup to finish it. I lifted the empty glass in the air, leaning my head back comically until Merl caught my gaze. He rolled his eyes at me as I shook the glass desperately, giving me a dismissive wave. I sat back up though, knowing he’d send more drinks in a minute, despite his mild annoyance at me.

“Kida,” Hardcase started, burping slightly around his words. “We were talking while you were disarming our good captain.” I tensed slightly at their choice of wording, swallowing past the lump forming in my throat. “And we think it’s only fair that you have to play a round if we did.”

“A round of?” I prodded, tilting my head.

The group chuckled as the clones peered around the hookah Vamira was setting up on the table. “Who’d you rather.” Hardcase gave me a slow grin.

“I never agreed to play the game.”

“Okay, but we answered in front of you,” Jesse argued teasingly, obviously just enjoying the time out with us.

“That was your own mistake,” I laughed, accepting the drinks Penari set down. She gave me a small nod of understanding and apologies before walking away. She was genuine, so I held no anger over it. 

Fives, however, was pissed at me. “You scared her off, Kida,” he gasped, throwing his hands up as he watched the Twi’lek disappear into the crowd. “What did you say to her? Was that Ryl?”

“Do you study languages, Fives?”

The ARC gave me a skeptical expression. “No. Why?”

“Then how would you know if I told you the truth about what I said?” 

The room was silent for a moment before Rex let out a low chuckle between sipping down the remains of his drink. He continued to laugh as he picked up his next. “Are you alright, Captain?” Fives asked, looking genuinely concerned.

I couldn’t help but laugh along with Rex as Vamira finished setting up the hookah, the tiny girl on her tip-toes to set the coals in place. I rolled my eyes in amusement at her efforts to talk to Tup. The young clone was staring at her with wide eyes, taking in the gentle womanly curve of her body and the soft bats of her lashes. 

“She has you cornered, Fives,” Rex finally said as he chuckled against the rim of his glass. “You have to admit it.”

“I told her that her bra was coming undone,” I said, earning surprised expressions from the group. They paused in confused silence before Vamira let out a small snort of laughter, knowing full well what I actually said.

“You didn’t say that,” Hardcase surmised, already slurring his words a bit. He looked up at Vamira. “Did she say that?”

The Twi’lek laughed as she collected her things, handing Hardcase the first hose to start the hookah. “My lips are sealed,” she smiled, casting an innocent look at Tup before leaning back and taking her leave.

“Thank you,” I called over my shoulder, smiling as I heard her faint, but cheery response. I leaned back on the bar chair, watching my friends as they puffed happily at the hookah, expressing how exciting it was that they knew a club owner. My eyes slid over each ot them, taking them all in. This was the family I had been seeking for most of my life. Of course, things would start to change again when Boba was out of prison. But until then….

As I took them in, I wished I could have taken them out sooner. There had already been losses to this group. Some I never even had the privilege of knowing. I wished I’d had Echo here so I could memorize the little differences in his face and stance and voice amongst all his brothers.

Amongst our family.

Rex’s shoulder nudged mine gently, the soldiers currently distracted by the arrival of shots and the swelling of music on the stage. “You alright?”

I nodded, blinking away the infernal tears that threatened to spill. “I know it’s selfish,” I whispered back under the thumping bass. “And I’m grateful for tonight. For being able to see them like this. But I wish….” My voice trailed off while I tried to find the words. “I want more, and I know it’s selfish. But I wish--”

“Wish we could have done this before the Citadel,” Rex completed for me, making me look up to examine his face. Turns out, he had been doing the same thing. His eyes were tracing the lines of each face around the table, memorizing each turn and curve.

“Yes.” We didn’t have to say more. We both understood. But Rex shifted just a bit closer in his seat, the outside of his leg brushing mine gently. It was a small thing, but it was comforting nonetheless.

We all turned, the contact cutting off, as the lights dimmed, the music fading to allow for Rouva to take the stage, mic in hand. “Welcome,” she practically sang into the microphone. “To The Fury Club!” She was met with a chorus of whistles, her lithe frame glistening in red satin. “Tonight is a very special night,” she announced, the stage lights turning and soaring over the crowds. I sat up a little straighter, knowing what she was about to pull. “Our lovely founder and owner, Kida Fett, has returned for the evening to celebrate with the boys in blue!”

The spotlight fell on us, my fake smile gracing my features easily. The crowd cheered, some of my familiar patrons standing to start approaching. I tilted my hand palm down at them, gesturing for them to sit. Tonight wasn’t a night for sweet talking.

Well….not for sweet-talking them, at least.

I glanced sideways at Rex, watching the lights of my club flicker against his skin, dyeing him hundreds of different colors at once. The light danced in his eyes like the viewport as I soared through hyperspace, blinding but mesmerizing. 

I drank steadily through the performance, having seen most of the dances through rehearsals numerous times. The clones were infatuated, watching the smokey eyes that peaked out behind decorated fans and ribbons, skirts and tassels whirling with a glitter of jewels. After a while, the clones felt less hesitant to cheer and yell along with the other party-goers. I sat back with a small grin, watching them finally enjoy themselves like a typical Coruscanti male. 

Finally, as the performance ended, the dance floor opened. A very eager young Twi’lek came bounding across the floor, stopping beside me in a soft black dress. She folded her hands before her, giving me a shy, doe-eyed look. “I’m off-duty and finished all my shift work already. Can I?”

Her voice was terribly sweet, but matched the eager nervousness of the clone she was smiling fondly at. I sighed, rolling my eyes at her. “Have at it.”

She giggled happily before leaning over the other clones, grabbing Tup’s hand from around his glass. “Dance with me?”

“Oh-” Tup cleared his throat nervously, his fingers tapping awkwardly in her hand. “I don’t know how to dance.”

“Who cares?” I asked, feeling my girl deflate a bit at his words. “You’re drunk!” I slid him a final shot as I leaned forward, freeing him from Vamira’s grasp only to yank him forward in mine. I practically dragged him from his place in the booth, shoving a shot into his hand. He downed it nervously, giving me a look. I smoothed back a portion of his hair before giving him a wink, tapping his shoulder to dismiss him. He followed Vamira eagerly now, taking her outstretched hand as she led him through the dance floor towards the speakers.

“Of course the kid gets one,” Hardcase groaned, hitting his forehead against the table. 

I laughed at him. “You don’t seem to be trying very hard,” I teased. “You’re just sitting drunkenly in a booth. Why don’t you put in the effort?”

Hardcase gave me a look for a moment before leaning forward with a grin. “Is that a challenge?”

“Is that the only way you’ll put effort in?” His brothers laughed at my words, but Hardcase only lunged up from his place in the booth, scooting out onto the floor beside me.

“Damn straight, it is,” he clarified with a drunken wink. He strode off towards the dance floor, stumbling only once against a high-top table.

Kix sighed as we watched his brother leave. “He’s going to piss someone off,” the medic groaned, standing as well. “I should keep an eye on him.”

“Hey now,” Jesse called, pushing Fives up as he stood. “I don’t want to miss out on the fun!” The clones jostled for a moment beside Rex before running off. I smiled after them, barely stifling a laugh as Fives stumbled back to bow lowly at me.

“My Lady,” he said, dramatically offering me his hand with a flourish of his fingers. I couldn’t help but laugh, finishing my drink quickly before standing. My dress was like silk against my skin, which was rough and tired from the mission on a hot lava planet. It was soothing, feeling it slide down my leg as I stood, the fabric fluttering.

I slid my fingers into Fives’ grasp, giving him a faux curtsy. “Good sir, you flatter me,” I teased, earning a wry grin from him. I gave Rex a shy smile before following his brother out onto the dance floor. He spun me as best he could, laughter pouring from our mouths as I mocked his terrible dancing skills.

“Oh, come on,” he scowled playfully, dipping his head down next to mine. “I know what game you’re playing with our good captain.”

Sober me would have panicked and dodged the subject easily with a smooth lie. But I was hammered….so I just giggled and pushed my face into Fives’ shoulder. Ugh. Giggling. What kind of bounty hunter was I?

I forced myself to sober slightly. “Well if you know the game, then help me win,” I stressed, pushing him away slightly to swat at his chest.

He released me immediately, a small wave of panic rushing over me. He stilled my worries easily, holding his hands up for me to manipulate. “Fine. If I’m so bad at dancing, teach me how.”

I chewed the inside of my painted lips as my cheeks puckered with a smile. “Sounds lovely.” I positioned his hands on my body in the way I’d watched people dance over my years as a slave. I’d seen many dances--some feral and wild and some angelic and calculated. The couple dances I’d seen on Naboo were some of my favorite, though.

I instructed Fives gently over the deep hum of the music, letting him get the rhythm before letting him take control. “You’re a fast learner,” I part teased, part praised. The clone gave me a cocky smile before pulling me in close.

We rocked back and forth, his head nuzzling into my shoulder. I smiled gently, closing my eyes. It was peaceful here, despite the rush of alcohol in my veins and the thumping of the music. He was like the older brother I never got to have. Protective. Loving. But also teasing and never held back from telling me his thoughts.

“Thank you,” the soldier whispered against the side of my head before pressing his lips to my hair experimentally. It took me by surprise, but I could sense his intentions and none of what he was doing was to make an advance. He loved me. I could feel it. But it wasn’t like how Rex felt around me. It was like family. He felt safe with me.

And I with him. “Of course,” I whispered back. 

He pulled back as the music faded, shifting into a more upbeat song. He gave me a wide, genuine smile. “Never feel like you aren’t one of us,” he reminded, giving my hands a squeeze. “I like this dance,” he added, shifting the subject.

“I have one you all might like better,” Vamira called from where she swayed with Tup, pulling from his grasp. She ran to the back, the music shifting again to one I knew.

And one all of my dancers had learned from the Twi’leks among them. The girls all squealed as the flutes and strings rose to the beat of their native drum, pulling patrons onto the dancefloor to fill it.

“Come on, Kida,” Vamira insisted, grabbing my hand as I tried to move into the outer circle like the clones were. “You know this dance.”

I cast a defeated look back at my chuckling friends, spying Rex as he moved closer to watch. There was a twinge of jealousy radiating from him as he stood next to Fives. The ARC, despite not being Force sensitive, could feel it from his captain. And he was smug about it.

As the drum intensified, I turned, focusing on the dance rather than the clones. I turned my hips in the way I’d been taught, stepping and leaping to the rhythm as we danced in practiced circles around the dance floor. Slowly, as was the Twi’lek custom, the women dancing began to drag others onto the floor, forcing them into the dance. It wasn’t difficult to follow, especially when surrounded by those that knew where to go.

I spun to the side, stopping my movements only for a moment to grab Tup’s arm and drag him into the dance. I spun with him only a few times before releasing him wildly while we danced. He flailed slightly as he stumbled, only to be swept up by the young Twi’lek I knew to be waiting for him. 

Vamira cast me a dazzling smile before spinning off with her new admirer. I ducked beneath the next pair of linked arms, spinning to rush back into a circle, hands grasping those next to me. 

My next dance partner swooped me up in a turn as we exited the center circle, my face breaking into a smile as Fives pulled me along. “This one is fun too,” he commented with an easy laugh.

“I see you’ve joined in easily,” I laughed as he spun me around, passing the clones again. All but Kix and Rex had joined. “I see we have party-poopers.”

“We DO have party poopers,” Fives repeated, loud enough for our friends to hear. He leaned down, whispering. “If you’re playing the jealousy card, now might be a good time.”

I grinned widely at my friend before looking back at the awkwardly standing captain. “No. I think he’s had enough.” I watched quietly as Kix kept tabs on his drunk brothers, Rex doing his best to avoid my gaze. 

Fives twirled me a final time before letting me go, spinning back into the crowded dance. I spun the other way, maneuvering my way through the dancers as I flowed with them. I stopped before Kix, giving him a smile. “Keeping the boys out of trouble?”

The medic gave me a grin, rolling his eyes. “As best I can.”

“Well,” I sighed teasingly. “Since you’re busy….” My gaze shifted to the captain, his golden eyes watching me carefully. “Care for a dance?”

Rex swallowed thickly. “I don’t know this one.”

I reached past Kix, offering my hand, palm up. It was a coax, rather than a force. “It isn’t hard. I’ll show you.”

He hesitated for only a moment, a small crinkle of Kix’s cheek telling me he was smiling. Rex took my hand and I pulled him to the front, leading him onto the dance floor. His men whooped and cheered as he joined us, following my movements stiffly.

“Loosen up,” I insisted, knowing he was feeling the alcohol. He nodded, but didn’t meet my eye. I squeezed his hand gently, easing him into letting me lead. He slowly relaxed to the beat of the drums and the flashing lights, his golden gaze meeting mine softly.

His grip tightened slightly as he pushed against me, taking the lead with more confidence as we turned. When we were supposed to release to switch partners, he refused, holding my waist firmly to keep me from spinning away. 

I only smiled at him as he kept us dancing, maneuvering us around the other couples easily now. “I’m getting thirsty,” he commented, some sweat beading on both our brows as we danced through our third song. “Can I get you a drink?” 

We slowed as we neared the edge of the dance floor, still holding each other. “Well since your drinks are on the house tonight, and it’s my house,” I reasoned, giving him a teasing grin. “I can get you a drink instead?”

He laughed, his throat bobbing as he slowly took his hands away from me, giving me space to lead us through the crowd. “That seems fair.”

I grabbed his hand easily, knowing the trust I had within that group of clones. And no one in my bar would dare cross me. They either respected me too much….or feared what I’d do to them too much.

Merl met us with drinks as we arrived at the bar, giving us both a once over. He gave me a smile. “Having fun?”

“Yes, actually,” I breathed, taking a greedy slurp of my drink.

“I’m assuming you already told them the rules?” he asked, looking over my shoulder at Hardcase, who was trying his best to drunkenly sweet talk one of my girls.

“She did,” Rex confirmed, giving me a grin before looking back at his men, rolling his eyes. I watched quietly as Vamira pulled Tup stealthily away from his brothers and towards the back rooms. She had her own room back there.

I rolled my eyes, looking away like I never saw it. “Another one bites the dust,” Merl laughed, pouring us each a shot, himself included. He lifted the glass and tapped it against mine, saying aloud, “One down,” before taking the shot.

Rex arched his brow but took his shot nonetheless. It wasn’t until after he breathed around the sting of the liquor that he asked, “What do you mean?”

“Your man,” Merl responded, matter-of-factly.

“Tup,” I whispered, nodding my head to where the young clone was slipping out the back door. Rex watched beside me, his face a mixture of sadness and amusement. “What?” 

“I’m happy for him. I just hope he doesn’t….get too attached.”

I raised my brow. “She’s a good girl. Genuine. She wouldn’t hurt him.”

“I was thinking the other way around.” Rex gave me a sad look. “He could visit, but he’d be gone a lot. And one day, he might not come back.” He was thinking about Echo. Contemplating it all. And the likelihood that it could be him next.

“Stop that,” I demanded, knocking back my shot and squeezing his shoulder. “I brought you all here to forget about all that.” I shook my head. “From this moment on...for the rest of the night…..all talk of war, loss, death, and consequences is suspended. Got it?”

Rex smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “No thinking of any consequences whatsoever?”

“None.”

“So I can light a fire over there?” he asked, pointing to a corner booth. His eyes were starting to glitter with amusement. He was trying to forget as best as he could.

“Rex, can I ask you something?” The clone seemed worried at my supposed dodging of the question, but nodded anyways. “Do you remember my office?”

His brow arched, but he answered. “Yes.”

“Do you remember all the weapons I had up there?”

“Yes,” he smiled, my questions making sense for him now.

“Do you know how many ways I could kill a man with those weapons?”

“I imagine you’d be creative, so more ways than their designed purpose, I’m sure.”

I nodded, giving him a closed-lipped smile. “Good. Remember that next time you even think about damaging my club.”

Rex laughed, as well as a few other patrons that lined the bar. Merl appeared, pouring another round of shots. “Another one bites the dust,” he chimed, taking the shot easily before pointing with his empty glass. Across the dance floor, Jesse was being led by a few of my dancers, all giggling and wide-eyed. They led his drunken ass to one of the private dance rooms to get him to give them every last credit he had to spend. I took the shot.

We let out a round of laughter as Fives was shuffled into the private room after Jesse, each apparently getting dances tonight. Another shot amidst the banter.

“And another,” Rex chuckled, gesturing for Merl to pour out more rum. His gaze cut to Hardcase, who was dancing rather pervertedly with a young woman, both looking drunker than all hell.

“I don’t really count that yet,” Merl noted, still pouring out the shots. “But I’ll take one for the halfway mark.” He threw back the shot before returning to work.

“You better not be drunk while on duty, Merl,” I called back, not really serious.

“As if you’ve ever followed that rule.”

That was fair. I let out a laugh, knocking back my shot easily. It was getting far less horrible to drink straight liquor. It didn’t really burn anymore.

That meant I was trashed. Great.

“You’ve done a job drunk?” Rex asked, arching a brow.

I let out a snort of laughter, covering my face as I blushed. “A few, actually.” The clone gave me a look, making me scowl. “Hey, sometimes a job calls for a party or some drinks with the right people. I’ve never been hammered.” I looked away. “Except that one time I was jumped on Tatooine. That wasn’t a job, though.”

“Jumped outside a bar on Tatooine?” Rex repeated. I nodded. “Why?”

I grinned at him over the rim of my glass. “I had just finished a job, where I got a very large sum of credits. I’d been dumb and bought a round for the bar with my incredible amount of cash. They knew what I had.”

“Did they get it?”

“No,” I sighed, chuckling. “But they got some good hits in.” I pointed to one of the scars that ran along my brow.

Rex’s thumb came up immediately to trace the thin line. There was no hesitation behind his movement, his actions encouraged by alcohol. “You should thank them, really. It looks good.”

I smirked, breathing laughter through my nose. “Having fun?” a voice asked, making me jump a mile, Rex’s hand flashing away from my face. I turned, seeing a smirking Kix.

“We are,” I replied smoothly, greeting him. “Are you?”

“Well Tup has come back looking…” Kix looked over his shoulder to see the bright eyed clone looking consumed with euphoria as he danced with Vamira. “Happy.”

“Happy isn’t what I’d call it,” I smirked. Rex looked sideways at me with a raised brow. “I’d call it post-”

“Alright, Kida,” Kix frowned, crossing his arms at me. I shrugged at him, taking a long drink of whatever Merl had made me this time.

“What are you all doing sitting around?” Jesse called as he approached, arms spread wide in greeting, Fives beside him.

I tilted my head at them. “That wasn’t a very long dance,” I questioned, giving him a look.

Jesse shrugged, but laughed nonetheless. Fives looked sheepish, scuffing his boot along the ground. “We ran out of credits,” he mumbled, looking at the floor.

I laughed, smiling widely. “Rough when that happens, huh?” The clones scowled at me, but that only made me laugh harder.

“Whatever, Kida,” Jesse dismissed, rolling his eyes as he grabbed my elbow. “Now get your lazy ass up and dance with us.” I laughed, but let him pull me up, my drink in my other hand. Rex needed no coaxing this time, rising with his own drink and following his brothers out. The music was shifting away from the ones meant for dancing. Now….it was music meant for partying.

The bass of the song rumbled the floor, the lights pulsing as the people bounced with the song. My dancers danced in the neon glow, credits transferring hands endlessly. The lights reflected off the smoke of the swirling hookahs, intensifying the effects of the alcohol. We danced as a group, each of us reaching our limit of drinks as we leapt to the beat.

And then suddenly Hardcase was too drunk, stumbling sideways as he jumped, slamming into Rex’s shoulder. Rex fell into me, our drinks flying from our hands as we fell to the ground.

The next thing I knew, my face and dress were covered in cherry-colored liquor, the glass shattered somewhere on the ground behind me. Oh, and Rex was on top of me.

He grunted slightly and I felt a twinge of his pain through the Force. He blocked it out of his mind easily, though, as the trained soldier he was. He mumbled a string of apologies as he struggled to get off me, my face turned to the side to see his hand lift past me as he finally got himself into a crouch beside me. The tan skin was stained with a thin stream of red that also speckled the floor around shards of glass from our drinks.

He was bleeding.

“Wait, Rex,” I said as I sat up, my head spinning from the quick motion and the liquor. Or maybe I hit my head when we fell….I wasn’t entirely sure. I caught Rex’s hand as he turned, sitting up fully in the puddle of alcohol. “You’re bleeding,” I announced.

He seemed shocked by that, turning to face me and his split palm again, just as I was looking up from it. His face turned into mine, my eyes flinching shut as our lips met. We both froze, unmoving for a single moment, before jerking away awkwardly. I released his hand like it was on fire, scooting backwards under the guise that I was trying to stand.

Tup was at my side in an instant, helping me to my feet in my heels and quaking knees. “That was cute,” Fives joked, crossing his arms as he looked between Rex and I. The captain was still crouching, rather dumbfounded. He had shifted enough to allow Kix to examine his bleeding palm, but hadn’t stopped looking at me.

“Ne’johaa,” I growled, accepting the towel Vamira had grabbed from the bar. I used it to wipe myself off as best I could while Kix helped Rex to his feet.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Hardcase apologized, keeping it together despite how drunk we all obviously were. “I think I might have had a bit too much.”

“We all have,” I allowed, stepping over to hand Rex the towel to wipe himself off. “Let’s get that patched up.”

“I can,” Kix offered, but I shook my head.

“I need to go change anyways. I have bandages up there, too,” I assured him, earning a look from the brothers, but it was one of teasing and approval, at least. I gestured for Rex to head towards my office, the clone obeying as he took the towel with him, wiping at his face and neck.

“That really was cute,” Jesse offered, giving me a nudge to my shoulder. 

I rolled my eyes, but didn’t yell at him. “You guys are never going to let him live that down, are you?” I asked the group.

“Never,” Fives assure, laughing. Hardcase looked a little worse for wear behind him, Kix already trying to feed him water. “Well, go tend to him so we can get out of here. I think we’ve all had a bit too much.”

“Agreed,” I groaned, as the thumping of the music returned, but it was annoying this time instead of fun. I needed some water. 

“Wait.” The ARC trooper looked around, counting the faces he knew so well. “Where’s Tup?”

I glanced around, chuckling when I realized he’d run off with Vamira after they helped me up from my fall. “Relax,” I soothed as the clones looked worried. “Let him have his fun. I have to patch Rex up anyways and get my clothes back, so he can bring Tup home.”

“I see,” Fives teased. “Trying to get us out of the way? Am I not good enough for you, Kida?”

I laughed at his teasing, rolling my eyes as I waved him goodbye. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure your brothers get home safe.”

“Kida?” I stopped, turning to see Jesse calling back to me. “Rex has a meeting tomorrow at midday. Make sure he’s back by then, at least.” He said nothing else aside from a small smile that was mixed with sadness--much like the way Rex’s had been before I scolded him to forget the war.

The very intoxicated clones left. I turned and entered the back corridors of my facility. “Jali,” I said, greeting the Zabrak female. “Have you seen Vamira?”

The girl lifted her brow at me. “Are you really asking that?”

I chuckled at her snark, having known her for years now, she being one of the first dancers to join my club and help build it from the roots. “Well, if you happen to see her again….tell her she has my permission for Tup to stay. He has his superior’s permission, as well.”

Jali crossed her arms, smirking. “Does this superior know he’s given his permission?”

“Just tell her,” I said as I walked past her, navigating the halls towards my private lift. I took it up, finding Rex waiting in my office. “The medicine box is in here,” I explained, drawing it from a drawer in my desk. He began cleaning his wound while I exited to the side room, where I had a bed and fresher. 

I showered quickly, taking off the makeup and alcohol that was beginning to get sticky. When I emerged again, now in stretching black pants and a baggy shirt, I found Rex struggling to place a bacta-patch over his wound. I stepped forward, my wet hair falling into my face as I focused on his hand, scooching up onto the desk beside him.

My fingers took the place of his, carefully guiding the patch into place over his marred palm. “You got all the glass out?” I asked, glancing up at him through my dripping locks.

“Every last piece,” Rex assured, giving me a smirk that crinkled the corners of his eyes. I returned the expression before glancing down at his palm that still rested in my lap. 

“I’m glad,” I whispered, the bass of the music from the club vibrating just slightly through the floor. “You know they’re going to tease you about this forever, right?”

Rex cocked his head at me as his brain mulled it all over. “Well, knowing you, you’ve already told them all to go home and have planned everything perfectly.” My brows rose at his bluntness. Drunk Rex was interesting. “And my men already teased me about you, especially Fives. Though now,” he added, “it will likely only be worse.”

I frowned slightly. “I’m sorry I gave them so much ammunition tonight.”

To my surprise, Rex shrugged. “There’s nothing I can do about what they say, and it brings up their spirits to tease me. But,” he tilted his head. “This will be harder for me now.”

“This? What do you mean?”

He looked up, his pupils blown out so far that they almost concealed the gold color of his irises. “It’s going to be even harder for me to pretend I don’t feel the way I feel.”

My lips parted slightly in the beginning of a gape before I stopped myself. I shook my head when I couldn’t find words. “I’m sorry. I’m not….good with these things.”

Rex smiled. “I’m the same. I’m better with a broken pistol than talking about...anything really. But I’m trying to be better.” He looked into my eyes again. “You make me want to be better.”

Every part of me leapt with joy, but there was that one bit of my brain that realized how long we’d been apart. And how much had changed.

“Rex,” I smiled sadly. “I feel this energy, too….but I am not the person I was when I left a year ago.”

“No,” he allowed. “But I still see parts of her in you. You’ve changed, but not for the worse, Kida.” His hand finally lifted to touch my cheek gently, my eyes sliding closed at the contact. “You said I wasn’t allowed to think about consequences, so I won’t.” 

My eyes flashed open only briefly before they closed again at the touch of lips against my own. His callused hands cupped my face with a gentleness I never imagined a trained soldier to have. It was like a drug, pulling me into his warmth like water washing away my worries and fears. There was nothing but him.

He pulled away, resting his forehead against my own so he could look at me. My eyes were closed for a moment longer while I did my best to memorize how it had felt for his mouth to move against mine. The tangy flavor of the rum on his breath. The slight chapping of his bottom lip from chewing at it beneath his helmet. The racing of his heart beneath the fingers I laid over the pulsing point of his neck.

When I opened my eyes, I saw only gold and the endless reflection of his dilated pupils. “Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum.” The words were barely above a whisper and in the rough dialect of the culture we were both trained under.

But they were enough. At one time, I’d wanted to hear him say those words in Basic, as if that were braver. But I’d come to realize that Mando’a was almost sacred to the clones. It was a language for them. It defined them. Gave them something that banded them together more than their training and DNA.

With a slow breath, I let myself think about my answer. And it dawned on me that I only had one answer for him, as all others would have been lies. I pulled back so I could look at Rex’s entire face. A smile graced my rosy lips. “Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum,” I replied quietly before leaning up again, using my toes to lift me to his height again.

His strong arms wrapped around me tightly, his head leaning in to deepen the kiss. “Another one bites the dust,” he whispered against my lips with a grin. I smiled against his lips as he pushed me further against my desk, eager. It was nice to see him like this--unreserved and daring. He was always brave, but he never acted by his heart. It was always his head.

Alcohol clearly brought his heart.

And I felt that his heart laid with me. I felt it in the delicate way he would learn more while kissing and alter his course to perfect it. I felt it in the way his arms clamped around me as if he was afraid I was going to be ripped away from him. I felt it in the quick fluttering of his heart. And in the peaceful oasis that was his mind.

And that night, when we finally put away the rum and went to sleep, I snuggled up against him, tucking my head under his chin. His arms encircled me, kisses skimming across my hair, I found peace.

In the same way I nestled into his chest, I nestled into the tranquility that was his mind. While it constantly raced, it was calculated and organized. Except the parts that focused around me. Those were more jumbled and confusing. But those were also where the warmest feelings stemmed from. It’s where his love stemmed from.

So I nestled my focus into his projected mental warmth, silencing everything else that usually sang to me through the Force at night. In that sweet silence, I heard only the beating of Rex’s heart and the soft breath moving through his open lips. I pressed a final kiss to his jawline, the man barely reacting aside from a sleepy smile he likely wouldn’t recall in the morning. In the peace of the man I now knew I loved, I found sweet, dreamless sleep.

------------------------------------

MANDO’A

Skanah --- very hated person (on the level of fucker)

Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum--- i love you

RYL

Ma’allesh---- goodbye

Sahak tuev san--- don’t push me

------------------------

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

Sorry for the long wait on chapters. I’m going to try to update more often so you guys have something to look forward to while quarantined! 

A longer chapter for you all! Hope you enjoy!

We move onto the Padawan Lost arc next!

As always, reviews/comments/likes/reposts/shares are always welcome!

-Ryder

[contrabandhothead]

Hello! I wonder if I can get a BoB ship? I'm 6'2 tall, with long, thick blonde hair and big blue eyes and strong arms. I'm a quiet person with a serious expression on my face, but also I'm a very stubborn, protective and friendly but I get pretty quickly angry and sometimes I'm too much teasing person. I like astronomy, history and discuss some interesting topics. I like to enjoying nights with good alcohol and friends. I never stop fighting and believing. I'm a loyal and strategical person.

- LEWIS NIXON -

- [ general ]

you made this one make TOO MUCH sense (and no, it’s not just because of your pfp)

Lewis and you appear to be quite the polar opposite couple when people first meet you, and that is such an incorrect assumption

you two said power couple and bitch i’m HERE FOR IT

Lewis has a knack for going after the quiet ones, so that’s why he took such an interest in you

he likes to see that smile reserved just for him break out over your normally stoic face, it boosts his ego like crazyyyy

Lew is just as stubborn, but he’s more likely to crack first after an argument

he claims he only apologizes because “the bed got cold”, but we all know it’s because he’s a wreck without you

he LOVES how protective you are, it makes him feel special and he probably goes out of his way to make you jealous sometimes-

it’s so easy for you guys to just let the hours pass by, especially when you’re talking

Lew could talk to you for hours on end and never get bored, there’s always a new topic

i don’t think you can be too teasing for Lew (maybe if you touch on his daddy issues) so i don’t think he’d really mind your teasing

in fact, he does it back, to the point where you both get into teasing wars

it’s quite entertaining, especially to Richard when he hangs out with you both

Lew is also a massive history geek, so he will talk with you for hours on end about anything from the Roman Empire to WWI

he thinks astronomy is interesting, but he doesn’t know nearly as much about it, so he likes it when you teach him

as we all know, Nix is always down for a good drink, but he’s no longer an alcoholic thanks to you and Winters

he only occasionally drinks with you, but most of the time he just lets you get drunk and then drives you home

Nix’s alcoholism was quite the issue in your relationship, especially since Nix didn’t want to give it up

you actually broke up for a short time period until he got it together, which thank god he did

- [ how you two got together ]

you were an officer, and a model one to be exact

you led another company, which constantly worked with Easy, so it was fair to say that you and Winters were quite close

you were also close with Lewis Nixon, although it definitely took him a while to get on your good side

it just seemed as though he was everything that could slightly irritate you, and he knew it

he spent most of his time trying to piss you off, especially when he drank heavily in your office

he would also constantly put his dirty shoes on your desk, which you learned to ignore

he pissed you off, but somehow you felt yourself becoming closer to him than ever before

there was something alluring about him, perhaps in the way that he spoke or the way that he smiled

you couldn’t quite put your finger on it, but you had begun to develop a small crush on the man

however, there were two factors that stood in the way of you asking him out

1. he was a fellow officer and 2. he was an alcoholic

you loved and cared for him, you really did, but you just couldn’t be with an alcoholic

you already know that his ex wife left him because of it, and you couldn’t bring yourself to go through what she had

so you left it alone

you slowly began to distance yourself from him, and Nix hated it

he tried to corner you everywhere, but you managed to narrowly escape his grasp every time

he was getting desperate

you looked up as your office door suddenly swung open, smacking into the wall

it revealed a disheveled looking Lewis with messy hair, a loose tie, and a crazed look in his eye

“Lewis? what’s wrong?”

you could tell he was drunk from the way he slurred his next sentence

“please stop avoiding me, i can’t take it anymore. what did i do wrong, i promise i’ll fix it! did i tell you i loved you when i was drunk last week? what did i do?”

you sighed, getting up from your desk and placing your hand on Lewis’s shoulder

“Lew, ask me out next time when you’re sober”

uhhhh i didn’t mean it to make it that angsty but fuck it we are here now- anyways, i hope you enjoyed this (i had wayyyy too much fun writing it). have a great week!!!! 💖

[luvleekaotix-imagines]

Lucky (Reader x John Wick [-ish])

a/n: I accidentally vomited 2500+ words for something I didn’t think I’d vom for.  Anyway, take this and tell me what you think! No spoilers for any of the movies. This just exists at some point in time. Who knows.  https://youtu.be/gHAgXJhG4-o

So there you were, tied to a chair.

You could have gone over all the actions that lead you to this point, but there was no point. If you lived in your head 100% of the time, you wouldn’t have been a very successful—mercenary. You didn’t like to be called gun-for-hire or assassin because it didn’t encompass what you did. You did a little bit of everything.

Anyway—tied to chair. You wriggled your fingers to try and keep some feeling in them. You had to give it to your captors, sometimes people were dumb and didn’t think things through to keep you trapped. This time you were preeetty stuck.

“Why the fuck do you still look so relaxed?” The typical big buff dude was ordered to watch over you. The weird, antsy kind. You would have liked it better if he just paced around the room without saying anything, but he just had to run his dumb as fuck mouth.

You shrugged at his question. “I’m gonna be okay. I feel it in my jellies.” You smiled. Your instinct said that you’d be fine. When you were in life-threatening positions, something within you flared up and you used it fight viciously. But when you were calm, you knew something was going to happen in your favour. You were Lucky. You were known as Lucky for a reason.

Suddenly there were faint shouts, hints of chaos past the door. Oh, the timing. Beautiful! You looked the guard dead in the eye and grinned. He seemed spooked and with one last look at you, he turned to open the door and check what was happening outside—

—just to get a bullet right through his head and then another two in his chest for good measure. The guard fell to the ground with a loud thump, blood pooling around him. The door was only slightly opened, so you couldn’t see who had killed him, but it was kicked open before long.

Then you found yourself at the end of the gun that had killed the guard.

“Ah—” Your eyes widened as you recognised the wielder. “John!”

There was a pause before the gun was very carefully—partly—lowered. “Lucky.”

“Ohh, jackpot!” You wiggled in your chair in excitement. “Saved by the John Wick! My luck today, wow—hey, can you do me a solid and untie me? Please?”

You wondered if he would ever change, but you supposed he wouldn’t be John Wick if he changed so much you’d actually see or feel it. He was still dressed in a slick black suit, still gave you that suspicious once over with his dark gaze, still kept that gun trained on you as he stepped forward to cut the ropes that had kept you bound—though it was lowered fully when you were free.

You gave him a bright smile. “Thanks! I owe you.” There was no instinct to fight, but it still put you on edge to be in the presence of Baba Yaga. No one in the business would be foolish enough to let down their guard 100% around anyone in the business, let alone the John Wick. “So… Are you here for work?” Why else would he be in the building though? You gently massaged your wrists as you looked at the dead guard’s body. Something told you that he had something you needed.

John watched you walked past him and crouch down to rummage around the guard’s pockets. You were the same as always. He had no idea you were going to be in the building too. It was often problematic when two people in the business were working the same or similar jobs. In John’s experience, it would end up in a conflict of some kind.

You, however, were always a wild card. John had come up against you before, but out of all the assassins he’s had conflicts with before, you were one of the easiest to have a conflict with. Not because you weren’t threatening or weren’t capable, just because you were very honest. Many times you’ve walked away from a job and just waved your hands and admitted it wasn’t worth it. He could appreciate that honesty. Other times you were willing to off-handedly help out if it didn’t mean going out of your way.

He realised he hadn’t answered your question and replied with a simple, “Yeah.” There was more to it, but he didn’t have to explain it to you. What good would that be? It wasn’t any of your business.

“Thought so. Me too—but not a conflicting job.” You were still busy looking for whatever it was you were looking for, but then, “Oh! Lucky!” You suddenly stood up and held something out. A keycard. “This’ll make things a lot easier for me. Top floor?” You pointed upwards as if your question really needed any clarification. John nodded and you winked, “Easier for you too then.”

Since John was the one who was armed, he exited the room first. Or maybe he could sense you really couldn’t be bothered with the whole fighting thing. Out of the two of you, that was his schtick. When you stepped outside you looked around and your eyebrows shot up.

“Oh.” There were bodies everywhere. Not unexpected if John was involved, but still kind of eyebrow-raising. John didn’t seem phased because of course, he wasn’t. He gave you a glance and you gestured down the end of the hall to where the elevator to the top floor would be. “You didn’t come prepared this time?” You asked sceptically. Most of the time he had floor plans memorised.

“Not as prepared.” There was a slight hint of a Wick-esque joke in there. Even if he went into a job completely unprepared he had a better chance than his enemies. The touch of playfulness also put you at ease a little bit. Okay, he was willing to work with you or at least not fight you right now. Lucky~

The commotion John had made must have pulled all the guards by the elevator away as the two of you had no encounters down the hall. You swiped the keycard and entered the number for the top floor, praying it would work—and it did. “Nice! I really didn’t want to have to run upstairs today. This job isn’t paying me enough for stairs.”

There was silence as the two of you waited for the elevator, but then, “I should charge extra for stairs.” John’s quip was very quiet, but you wheezed out a laugh before there was a ding from the elevator doors—

And a group of lackeys marched out, catching the two of you off guard for a moment—or at least you were caught off guard; you dived to the ground to avoid the ensuing gunfire. John was quick to empty the rest of his clip into two men, putting them down permanently. Their bodies slumped next to you and one of their jackets opened to reveal a fresh clip of ammo.

You could see that John was just about to yeet his goddamn pistol and you shrieked at him. “Nodon’tdothat! Take this!” You tossed him the clip so he could reload and use the gun for it’s intended purpose. After a few more precise shots, the lackeys were dead.

You stood up and dusted yourself off. John did his careful observation thing and then entered the elevator with you. The doors closed, the elevator music started and the two of you stood in silence. The air was tense. You chewed on the inside of your lip and glanced at John from the corner of your eye. John could see how antsy you were and sighed very lightly which was pretty much telling you to speak your mind. Which you did.

“You still throw your fucking empty gun at people? Really?” The words came out in an incredulous rush, but then you held up your hands in a defensive gesture. “That’s all I had to say. That’s it.”

“Are you sure?” John raised a brow at you and dared you to continue, though it wasn’t in that ‘I’ll kill you if you open your mouth again’ kind of way. It was just the normal fun banter.

The two of you fell back into a comfortable silence facing the elevator doors, tension gone. The doors chimed when you finally reached the top and they opened to wide office space because of course, it did. You’d love to see one messy as fuck office one time, but it seemed like open, shiny-tiled penthouse spaces were really in vogue. You know, the spaces with the one desk and throne-like chair and ceiling to floor windows? It was nothing you hadn’t seen before.

Your original plan was to empty out the office, make the head honcho leave his desk so you could take what you needed and leave, but after you got caught, that plan went out the window. John’s method of doing things wasn’t as stealthy as yours, but it would have to do in this case.

The head honcho was definitely still in his seat, as well as his personal bodyguard because of course there was someone there looking like a final boss, but that wasn’t a problem for you. That was a John Wick problem and he knew it. You eyed the room and found the door you needed. “I’m only here for some blueprints. Whatever else happens isn’t my business.” You stated quietly. You weren’t going to interfere no matter what and you were hoping that John would do the same.

John’s eyes never left his target. “Yeah.” He agreed. It was just one less problem if you were going to stay out of the way, so he was fine with it.

“Do your best, John.” You stepped back as the last boss looking fuck started to advance.

“Thanks, Lucky.” His tone of finality meant that that was where you were going to part ways.

When the fight started, you ducked away to the edges of the office and crept towards the door you needed to go through. The head honcho was too busy being a wimp to even care about what you were doing. John Wick always stole the show and that worked completely in your favour, to be honest. You hacked the electronic lock on the door—as planned—and went inside to do your thing. While the transfers were happening you sat quietly listening to sounds of an intense fight outside. You even checked your phone and some apps; there were a few hints of job listings you could take after this job.

With the transfer complete, you gathered your things and peeked outside just to witness John putting down the persistent guard. Nice. What wasn’t nice was the gun aimed at John while he was distracted. It looked like the head honcho had some guts after all. Without thinking too much, you reached into your boot to pull out one of your knives and threw it with absolute precision at the man’s wrist to force him to drop the gun.

There was a scream of pain and with John alerted to the danger, that was it. There was another dead body added to the list.

“You said you wouldn’t interfere.” It was a statement, but John wasn’t ungrateful at all. It was nice to have people help sometimes and you were one of those people he could mostly-trust not to use favours against him.

You looked around exaggeratedly. “Where did that knife come from? Wow, that’s like ultra lucky for you!” You did a 360 turn to really try and sell the idea that you had no idea that the knife came from your helping hand.

John stared at you, but then knelt down to pull the knife from the man’s wrist. As you approached, he wiped the knife on the man’s shirt and then offered it. “You know you shouldn’t brand your knives.” There was a stylish ‘lucky’ engraved into the blade.

Smartass! But you didn’t miss a beat. “I don’t want people claiming my useful shit as theirs, John.” You shot back before swiping the knife from him and sliding it back into your boot. Jerk. You couldn’t help the grin plastered on your face. John was impassive as always, but there was a warmth in his gaze.

The assassin turned to leave before you did. You thought to wait a bit so he could leave first. Maybe you could rifle through the office and find some other useful stuff in the meantime? But when he reached the elevator doors, John stopped and turned back to look at you in a silent question. Weren’t you coming?

You were sincerely surprised and kind of confused, but not when he carefully tilted his head towards the lift. He wanted you to follow. You realised he probably meant to help escort you safely out of the building in exchange for helping him earlier, even though you said you wouldn’t.

Not a moment later you were in the elevator on the way down with a beaming expression on your face. John looked professional as always, just a little more bloody and bruised than earlier. This would make you even. You supposed this was his way of making sure you couldn’t use anything against him. You could understand how it was more of a safety precaution more than something—friendly.

It was important not to misconstrue actions in this business. It was important to stay level-headed about everything to just stay alive. Then again, the knife flying out of your hand to save John wasn’t exactly a level-headed decision—you just kind of did it. However, it worked out in your favour. Lucky~

Leaving the building was a lot easier than entering it. The two of you pretty much just walked out. There weren’t any more bodies to throw at John Wick—at least for now. Maybe they’d use some people who were a little more expensive and therefore more skilled, but still just as useless.

You stood facing John in the quiet back alley. “Well, that was more fun than I anticipated.” You didn’t want to say thank you because it wasn’t appropriate, so you settled for that.

“You got lucky.” John bowed his head slightly and you did see a small smile then. You knew that having friends in this business wasn’t real, but this also wasn’t the first kind-of intimate moment you’ve had with John Wick. If friends were a thing, you wondered if maybe that’s what the two of you were. Maybe. “See you around.” He surprised you then by using your name instead of your callsign.

You watched him walk away leaving you to your own devices because he knew you would be okay. He always knew that you would be okay and that he really would see you around. Again and again.

Turning on your heel, you also left, still feeling pretty lucky.

[spongeekat]

The 6 Times Peter Wanted To Reveal his Identity (And the 1 Time He Did) Chapter 3

Masterlist Here

Day 3 - Tuesday

Peter’s hand rubbed against the zipper track beginning above the curve of his spine, fingertips again coming up empty. His arms dropped uselessly against his side, groaning to audibly show his disappointment.

His zipper was there somewhere. He heard it dinging against the metal teeth up the length of his back, and if he kept feeling for it he would find it.

Peter yawned, tears peeking out from the corners of his eyes, as his fingers continued to prod in the small of his back. He was completely and utterly exhausted. The night previous perusing the city had been brimming with robberies, car jackings, and muggings, as if the slight increase in temperature prompted every convict to crawl out of their hiding spots to wreak havoc. He’d clawed himself into his bed sometime around 5 AM, caught 2 hours of sleep, and was out the door sprinting to class by 7:00. He was looking for any reason not to go on patrol, even if it was as minor as an unlocatable zipper, to at least give him a chance to rest for a few seconds.

His gloves eventually brushed the pull tab, and he deflated. Guess he had to finish suiting up. He tugged the zipper up to his neck and fiddled with the spandex momentarily, pulling it snug in all the right places.

That was, until a knock on his window pane had the tired boy jumping 5 feet in the air and throwing himself backwards into a defensive position on his furthest wall. His toes firmly drug to a stop on the wallpaper, one arm shooting out with his fingers ready to tap his web-shooters if need be. There was a muted scuffling behind the glass, though his curtains were drawn so he couldn’t see who was there. It didn’t take long to figure out, however.

“ Petey, Petey, Petey, Petee-eee-ey ~” The intruder was caroling his name to the tune of Jolene , repeating his knuckle raps obnoxiously to the beat of the song. “ I’m begging of you please just let me in. ”

“Wade?” Peter snapped as realization sunk in to his chest. It took seconds to calm his adrenaline-ridden heartbeat, more relieved that he wasn’t about to face a criminal than he was mad Wade had nearly sent him into cardiac arrest. He peeled himself silently off the wall, taking short, but annoyed, steps to stand behind the curtains without drawing them. “What the hell, dude? You scared the pants off of me. Why are you on my fire escape? And singing Dolly Parton?”

Wade hummed the rest of the verse to himself, presumably out of parodying song lyrics, before he started to whisper-yell. “Ignoring the fact I should totally make fun of you for what you said, I’m here to check up on you! I said I was going to keep those sweet cheeks safe. Can I come in?”

“Into my bedroom?” Peter asked, weakly, swallowing the suggestive- but intrusive- thoughts that the question entailed. “Um, I’m kinda...preoccupied.”

“Ooo oooh ?”

“Not like that!” Peter groaned, smacking a hand to blanket the reddening of his cheeks. God, he had to change, and fast. He tore the zipper undone he had put in so much effort to find, shoving the suit off his shoulders and hips. “Give me a second!” He kicked the rest of fabric off and lodged it under his bed, using a pillow for extra cover to be safe. His web shooters clattered into the lockable drawer on his desk, the cartridges following them. Shutting the drawer so hard it shuddered, he located the first clothing options in sight; a pair of fluffy pajama pants and an Einstein shirt 2 sizes too big (which was totally a gag gift from MJ months ago that he’d never put  away), which he shimmied into. Confident that he had probablyconcealed every Spidey related item in his panic, he drew open the curtains and flashed Wade an unimpressed look. And there he was, in his full-suited glory, hanging upside down on the rail of Peter’s fire escape as if it was a playset.

“I have a few questions.” Peter said as he pushed the glass open, the screen absent due to years of him climbing out for his nightly routine. Wade didn’t seem to notice- or at least didn’t comment on the lack of one- looking ecstatic that he even answered. “First...why didn’t you call to check up on me? Or use the front door?” He gestured vaguely towards the direction of the living room to accentuate his point.

“You barely texted me today.” Wade answered, curling so he was sitting on top of the bar and facing Peter. The sit-up made his muscles bulge in the leather covering his thighs and abdomen and Peter inhaled carefully to maintain a level expression. “I wanted to make sure you weren’t lonely. Also, I missed you.”

“Good to know.” Peter rolled his eyes, watching Wade drop to hang upside-down childishly. “Just come in. You’re gonna break the rails.”

“Me? Getting on the VIP list to Peter’s bedroom? I feel like I got a golden ticket! Move aside, Willy Wonka!” Wade dropped himself to his hands, flipped ungracefully on his feet, and followed Peter’s lead to let him crawl inside the apartment. His muddy boots hit the carpet and he managed to pull his entire body inside the small opening. He paused upon straightening up, giving his bedroom the same scrutinizing examination he had to the living room his first time visiting. “Never mind. I wanna go outside again. You’re messy, and that’s something coming from me.”

Peter stared at him silently. The mercenary shrugged and half-lept to fall on top of his mattress. “Kidding. It’s cute. It fits you.”  

Peter did his best to ignore the creaking noise of his bed, making his way to his office chair to sit across the room. “I appreciate the housecall, but is that the only reason you came? I actually was kinda in the middle of something.”

“I’m hurt. I brought home-cooked meals and you already wanna kick me out?” Wade gasped in faux-pain, pulling off his pink Hello Kitty backpack. He drew out a grocery bag filled with containers, setting it beside the foot of the bed.

Peter was taken aback, a slightly stunned expression passing over his face. His outward appearance hardly changed, yet his stomach churned nervously at the thoughtful gesture. “You cook?”

“Nah, they’re frozen, but I make a mean pancake in case you’re ever interested. It’s the thought that counts though, right?”

“Thanks.” Peter rubbed his forearm, finding anywhere else to look to avoid staring at Wade.

“Soooo, what’s a kid like you busy doing tonight?” Wade asked as he stretched out across his comforter, propping his feet up on his mattress. “Playing games? Watching porn? Still wallowing about that ex-girlfriend that’s pregnant with someone else’s money-burner?”

“What? No, there’s no ex-girlfriend, dude, I already said that.” Peter muttered, struggling not to let his vision wander to his Spidey suit shoved  beneath Wade’s sitting place. “I have a lot of homework I have to catch up on.”

“Boooo-oring.” Wade kicked a few of his pillows aside, rolling onto his side as his bed squeaked again. Peter desperately needed that noise to stop if he was going to guard his sanity.

“Okay, well, this was a great visit and all, but you can text me next time you wanna play therapist, okay?” Peter pushed himself to his feet, walking over to offer his hand to Wade to help him up. He stood there a moment with no reaction, Wade seemingly refusing to accept it, instead sitting up on his own.

“Do you seriously want me to go?” Wade asked, a weird tone ebbing into his voice. Was he confused? Disappointed? Peter wasn’t .

“I-I mean, yeah, I already said I was busy.” He was trying to not sound as annoyed as he felt, but his throat was taut with irritation. It wasn’t quite with Wade, though, because he was trying to be nice. Mostly he was upset with himself; with his inability to execute with his plans that had landed him in a difficult situation he couldn’t imagine resolving without either or both of them ending up hurt; with his emotions that were so intense they were painful, only made worse by the fact Wade was acting so generous to him outside of his superhero identity; and with the fact Wade knew his name, his family situation, and where he lived. Yet he still wasn’t able to bring himself to say that simple sentence.

I’m Spider-Man.

He’d been ready to lay it all out on the line two days ago, albeit with hesitancy, but somehow he had convinced himself that Wade might actually start to reciprocate his feelings if he knew the man behind the mask. His gaze trailed to the plastic bag still resting on the mattress. He had gone out of his way to care for him multiple times. He might be a fun project for Wade to pass the time, but Peter didn’t think he would go this far for some kid he found fun to mess with.

Peter’s eyelids screwed shut, his mind piecing together a way to confront the issue. He could ask him why he was hanging around, and hopefully conversation would naturally circulate back to Sunday night. “H-Hey, Dea-”

“I’ll get out of your hair.” Peter suddenly felt the air change and Wade was towering him, his much larger frame barely an inch from his chest. He had to turn his head up at a steep angle to look at him. There wasn’t the usual humor in his words, and his body language was a lot more tense. Terrific. An upset Wade was never fun. He always had to dig to even get a hint of what was bothering him.

“What?” Peter blinked, watching as Wade shimmied passed him to grab his pack and sling it on his shoulder.

“You said you had stuff to do. I can tell when I’m a problem, Petey-Sweetie. Glad to see you didn’t off yourself today. Good job on that.” Wade shoved the window he had come in open, poking a leg out so that it connected with the grate of the fire escape. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”

Peter chewed on his lower lip, his confession filed away in a queue of things to tell Wade in the future. He gave a short nod, guilt immediately radiating in the pit of his abdomen. “Thanks...for this all. Sorry to cut this so short. I’ll text you tomorrow.”

“You better. I’ll be waiting.” Wade dropped his pack out the sill, waiting for it to clang against the metal, then ducked his body out of the small cavity. He grabbed his bag, moved to grip onto the ladder leading down into the darkness, then craned his neck to shout one last thing. “You  should get a window screen. You’ll get spiders or ants in your room if you leave it open like this.”

Peter suppressed a spurt of ironic laughter, settling for an amused half-smile instead. “I’ll remember that. Goodnight, Deadpool.”

His weight made the ladder rattle and bang on the poles obnoxiously, probably annoying every other neighbor underneath him, until the sound disappeared and Wade had run off. Once Peter wasn’t able hear his boots scraping the asphalt he pulled his curtains shut, finally feeling able to breathe.

He bent to grab the meal containers, to put them in the freezer before he left for his patrol. It was quite the stock of food, enough to stop him from starving for the rest of the week that Aunt May was absent, and his stomach growled in appreciation.

Maybe he’d see Wade on patrol as Spider-Man, and they’d converse with the comfortable familiarity that had developed naturally between them through years. Wade would make some flirtatious joke, along with one about the spider being his hero that had the strength punch him into another timeline, and they’d team up and be on their way. Peter would be able to feel like his strong, normal self. They’d be friends and superheroes, and not a weak kid and his supposed guardian angel. No lies hanging heavily between them.

He’d muse on Wade’s kindness, that he didn’t deserve, later. For now, he pulled his spidey suit out  and started dragging it up his legs. He had a city to protect, people to save, and his angst would have to be put on reserve for another day.

[gosecretscribbles]

MonthofMaybel2019 Week 4: Mabel’s Guide to Cryptid Families!

So I’ve never done this before, but I wrote it out like a transcript for an actual TV show.  Was kind of a fun experience?  (although formatting this thing was a nightmare and I couldn’t even copy over most of the formatting here @,@) Anyway I hope you like it!

Also these fics for the month of maybel are linked; it would help to read the one for week 2 about Anansi, but long story short, he’s a spider-person who wants to weave from a society where everybody’s a warrior.  He was an outcast, but helping his people win a series of contests against the Mantises meant that he’s not completely shunned anymore. 

Okay.  *Now* enjoy! INT. DIPPER AND MABEL'S ROOM – DAY

MABEL WEARS A HAND-KNITTED PINK SWEATER WITH FOUR HEARTS ON THE FRONT, EACH WITHIN ANOTHER.  MABEL STANDS IN FRONT OF A WALL PAPERED WITH BOY BANDZ POSTERS, PIG PICTURES, AND POSTERS FROM ANTARCTICA.  THE CORNER OF A MESSY DRESSER IS ON HER RIGHT, THE EDGE OF A WINDOW ON HER LEFT. 

MABEL Families come in many shapes and sizes, sometimes as small as Nana and Liro in Liro and Pugface, sometimes so big you have second-cousins you didn't even know about until you got your inheritance! 

Today we're going to take a closer look at some particularly unusual families – CRYPTIDS!!!

SWISH PAN – WINDOW ON MABEL'S LEFT

ANANSI STANDS ON THE WINDOWSILL FACING THE CAMERA.  THE BACKYARD IS VISIBLE THROUGH THE WINDOW.   A TERMITE MOUND STRUCTURE RISES IN THE FAR CORNER OF THE YARD, TEEMING WITH SPIDER-PEOPLE.

MABEL Please welcome our first guest, a seriously cute member of the Spider-People living in our backyard!  And ladies, he's single!

ANANSI (looking nervously at camera) Are you sure that's not an insect?  It has a very large black eye.

MABEL So, Anansi!  Tell us about your brother!

ANANSI (brightening) Oh! He's one of my people's finest warriors.  He can lift over a hundred times his own weight, run for hours without getting tired, and adjust his strategy in the middle of a battle.  Even after his legs were injured in the Challenge, many young warriors were seeking him out as a trainer – I could see him teaching them from here. 

MABEL What did you guys like to do together?

ANANSI Sparring, mostly!  Not that I was ever any good, but he was very patient and kept encouraging me to try again no matter how many times I fell down.  And I fell down a lot.  He always said that every warrior mattered.  But, well...I'm clearly never going to be a warrior now, with the Weaving, so I don't know, but he might be – oh!

SWISH PAN – WINDOW ON WALL TO RIGHT

A SLIGHTLY LARGER SPIDER-PERSON IS CLIMBING OVER THE SILL OF THE WINDOW.  HALFWAY UP HIS BODY TENSES THE MOMENT HE NOTICES THE CAMERA.

BROTHER An enemy insect!  Hya!

BROTHER HURLS A SLIM OBJECT STRAIGHT AT THE CAMERA LENS.  THE BEGINNING OF MABEL'S SHRIEK IS HEARD AS WHAT IS CLEARLY A SPEAR STRIKES THE LENS.

STATIC

CUT TO FIRST WINDOW

ANANSI AND BROTHER STAND ON THE FIRST WINDOW SILL, MOUND STILL IN THE BACKGROUND.  ANANSI IS ON THE LEFT AND BROTHER IS ON THE RIGHT.  THEY STAND SEVERAL INCHES APART, BOTH SQUARELY FACING THE CAMERA.  THERE IS A SLIGHT CRACK IN THE UPPER LEFT CORNER OF THE LENS.  ANANSI'S ARMS ARE PULLED IN AND HE FIDGETS SLIGHTLY, CLEARLY NERVOUS.  HIS EYES MEET THE CAMERA BUT KEEP FLICKERING AWAY.  BROTHER'S ARMS ARE RELAXED, YET HIS POSTURE CONVEYS PREDATORY STRENGTH AND GRACE.  HIS GAZE IS STEADY.

BROTHER Are you sure that is not an insect?

MABEL Anansi was just telling us about how you two spent time together!  Do you have any embarrassing spiderbro stories to share with us?

BROTHER (stoically) My brother is not an embarrassment.  His Weaving allowed us to win back a large portion of our land from the conniving Mantises.  Word of his deed has already been sent out to the rest of our people.  He will teach a new generation of Weavers and spearhead our victory in reclaiming our ancestral lands. I believe he is a greatly valued and talented Weaver.

MABEL (squeals) AWWWWWW! Anansi is there anything you want to say?!

ANANSI (mumbling) Th-thank you.

BROTHER (grunts)

ANANSI'S FACE IS BRIGHT RED AND HE STARES DOWN AND TO THE SIDE, EQUALLY STUNNED, EMBARRASSED, AND TOUCHED.  BROTHER IS STOIC, STILL SQUARELY FACING THE CAMERA.  THE TWO STAND SILENTLY FOR SEVERAL SECONDS. SLOWLY BROTHER'S RIGHT ARM STARTS TO RISE.  A SPEAR COMES INTO VIEW.

MABEL Wai–

STATIC

EXT. ROOF OF SHACK – DAY

SOOS'S FACE FILLS THE SCREEN, SMILING HAPPILY AGAINST A BACKGROUND OF REDWOOD TREETOPS AND BRIGHT BLUE SKY.  SOOS'S FACE IS TOO CLOSE AND HIS ARMS ARE EXTENDED; HE IS HOLDING THE CAMERA.  STRANGE CHIRPING NOISES COME FROM OFF SCREEN ON THE LEFT.  

MABEL Our second guest comes to us from a certain roof in Gravity Falls, Oregon.  Please welcome – Soos!

SOOS Hi, Mr. Pineses!  Can I give shoutouts?  Is that allowed?  

MABEL Absolutely! Can you tell us about the new addition to your family?

SOOS Oh, sure!

CAMERA SWINGS ERRATICALLY AND STOPS ON A MASSIVE NEST SITTING ON THE ROOF. IN THE CENTER OF THE NEST IS A YOUNG PTERODACTYL THE SIZE OF A SEMI TRUCK, CURLED UP AND FAST ASLEEP.

SOOS Tada! We named him Kitten because he chases that little red laser around just like a quarter-ton kitten.  Aw, look –

ZOOM IN, FOCUS BLURS, THEN CLEARS ON A CLOSE-UP OF KITTEN'S FACE.  ITS FRONT CLAWS SCRABBLE LIGHTLY AGAINST THE NEST.  ITS UPPER LIP IS TWITCHING, REVEALING SHARP WHITE TEETH GLISTENING WITH SALIVA, AND ITS EYELIDS OPEN SLIGHTLY TO REVEAL GROTESQUELY ROLLING EYES.   

SOOS (Abnormally Loud Stage Whisper) He's dreaming!

MABEL (Abnormally Loud Stage Whisper) How did he end up on the roof?

SOOSOh –

SWISH PAN ERRATICALLY BACK TO CLOSE-UP OF SOOS

SOOS So we think he was learning to fly and crash-landed on the lawn.  I got him to hold still long enough to fix his wing, and then we bonded over a housewarming barbeque, and by the time his mom showed up we were basically like brothers!  So he sleeps here during the day while his mom hunts and then they go home to the dino mines at night.  At least until his wing heals up.

MELODY (Off Screen) Soos! Don't forget to wake up Kitten for his three o' clock snack.  And no more gingerbread men!  We don't want him getting ideas about the tourists!

SOOS You got it, honey!

LOUD SCREECHING FROM OFF SCREEN

SOOS(grinning)Uh-oh! Sounds like someone heard the word 'snack'!  He's so smart.

PAN TO KITTEN, WHO IS CRAWLING AWKWARDLY BUT RAPIDLY OUT OF HIS NEST.

KITTEN SCREECHES AND BITS OFF THE TOP HALF OF THE CHIMNEY.

SOOS Whoops! Those can't be good for his teeth.  Put it down, Kitten, go on...

KITTEN (Chirps without letting go of chimney)

MABEL He's like a puppy!  ...A really scaly one.

SOOS Doooown...

KITTEN PAUSES.

KITTEN DROPS CHIMNEY.

CHIMNEY CRASHES THROUGH ROOF.

SOOS Good boy, Kitten!

CAMERA ANGLES DOWN TO A MASSIVE PILE OF TURKEY LEGS AT SOOS'S FEET.  HIS ARM ENTERS THE SCREEN'S FIELD OF VISION.  HE GRABS A CHICKEN LEG AND THROWS IT AT KITTEN WITH A GRUNT.  KITTEN'S HEAD SHOOTS OUT TEN FEET AND HE SNAPS IT UP IN ON GULP.  KITTEN CHIRPS FOR MORE, THEN SNEEZES SO HARD IT BLOWS THE REST OF THE CHIMNEY AWAY.

ABUELITA (Distant, rapid Spanish)

MELODY Soos!

SOOS I can fix it!

CUT TO INT. DIPPER AND MABEL'S BEDROOM – DAY MABEL IS NOW SITTING ON A ROLLING CHAIR AT A DESK.  A CORKBOARD OVER THE DESK IS COVERED IN NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS, MORE POSTCARDS, POST-IT NOTES, AND STRINGS OF RED YARN.  

MABEL (Squeezing her cheeks) Aw, that was adorable!  Guess I can't say Dipper sneezes like a 'Kitten' anymore!  HEY-OOOO!  

MABEL STANDS AND MOVES SLIGHTLY TO HER RIGHT, THE CAMERA FOLLOWING HER MOVEMENT.

MABEL And now for the final portion of the episode, please welcome Grunkle Ford, and his extensive knowledge of all things ocean and occult!

A LAPTOP RESTS ON THE DESK.  THE SCREEN IS FILLED WITH GREAT-UNCLE FORD'S FACE.  THE SLIVERS OF BACKGROUND ON EITHER SIDE SHOW BOAT RAILINGS AGAINST AN AZURE SEA AND SLIGHTLY CLOUDY SKY.  A SMALL DARK THREAD OF LAND TRACES THE HORIZON.  FORD IS WEARING A LIFE JACKET OVER A RED TURTLENECK AND LOOKS SLIGHTLY SUNBURNED, SMILING DIRECTLY AT THE CAMERA.

FORD Greetings, future scientists!

MABEL Grunkle Ford, what can you tell us about the supernatural families you've found in the Arctic Circle? 

FORD Actually most of the cryptids we've discovered on the ocean are solitary by virtue of their size alone.  A giant squid, for example, typically requires a hunting ground of one to two thousand square miles of open ocean just to sate its voracious appetite.  It's quite rare for them to engage in anything we might call “socializing.”

STAN (Off Screen) Oi!

STAN ENTERS FROM THE LEFT, BENDING OVER TO SQUINT AT THE SCREEN.  FORD LEANS BACK SLIGHTLY, ANNOYED.

STAN Did I hear that right?  Is my irredeemable nerdbro actually talking about socializing?

FORD It's science, Stanley!

STAN Whatever, this I gotta see.

MABEL We're doing a segment on cryptid families!  Got anything to add?

STAN You tell 'em about the ghosts yet?

FORD (Looking uncomfortable) Not yet, but –

MABEL (excitedly) I wanna hear!  GHOST, GHOST, GHOST, GHOST –

LOUD BANGING SOUNDS FROM OFF SCREEN.  AFTER A CRASH, AN ELBOW AND A PARTIAL VIEW OF AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE APPEARS ON THE SCREEN.

DIPPER I'm here where's the ghost?!

FORD(annoyed)Stan claims to have seen two of them on our visit to Vik i Myrdal.

DIPPER (confused) Huh? Vik what?

FORD A beach on the coast of Iceland, famous for its basaltic sand.  We were visiting primarily to study the petrified troll bodies just off the shore –

STAN Yeah yeah with the weird rocks, Ford was doing his science doodles or whatever, but that wasn't the important part.  See, there was this massive cave in the cliffs that looked exactly like the place a pirate would hide his treasure –

FORD Not at high tide!

DIPPER What happened?

STAN Uh, turns out the waves around there get really bad.

FORD As in twenty feet high. I turned around, there was no Stan in sight, and cave was already half-flooded with water.  Luckily one of us followed the rule about wearing our scuba gear under our clothes.  I immediately dropped my equipment and dove in after him. I found him pinned under a pile of rocks several dozen meters into the cave.

MABEL Whoa, are you okay?

STAN (smirking) Fine, I'm not the one who got knocked out.

FORD You shoved me!

STAN The water shoved you!  Accidentally!  To keep falling rocks from hitting you!

DIPPER But what about the ghosts?

STAN So we're stuck in the cave, right, and I'm trying to hold my breath, swim, and drag Sixer with me all at the same time, and the water's smashing us around so much Ford's underwater flashlight cracks and I'm thinking the next light I'm gonna see is the pearly gates.  And then I do see a light, and I swim toward it thinking it's gotta be daylight, but it's not getting any closer and all this fat was not helping me float.  And then a second light shows up and takes Sixer's other arm and practically drags us outta there, and next thing you know we were back on the beach, and I look back just in time to see an outline of this guy and his wife watching us from the middle of the air next to the cave.  

MABEL Wow, they stuck together and not even death could part them.  That is so romantic!  

STAN Sure. Woulda grabbed a photo but there was a little matter of Sixer not breathin' at the time.

FORD You should have taken the picture!  Thanks to the rocks falling, the end of the tunnel was completely blocked, and I was almost sure I saw fossilized cryptid bones inside.  Now we don't have anything at all to prove supernatural activity occurred in the cave!

STAN The words you want are 'Thank you, Stanley, you're the best brother ever.'

FORD Of course you are, that's not the point!

STAN What? Wait –

DIPPER Why were there ghosts there in the first place?

FORD I didn't know enough of the local language to inquire, but I suspect it may have something to do with the cryptid bones I glimpsed.  I suspect the couple's death was somehow caused by the cryptid, but Stan's account suggests that they're poltergeists, and poltergeists generally don't die violent deaths.

DIPPER What if the couple was keeping it as a pet?  Or maybe they could turn into the cryptid, like selkies?  The ghosts Stan saw might just have been their human versions!

FORD Brilliant hypothesis, Dipper!  Perhaps I was merely asking the wrong questions! Stan, quick, turn the boat around!

STAN No way, no, you literally died in that cave –

FORD Not permanently!  Besides, you'd have my back!

STAN That is so below the belt!

DIPPER Stan, are you crying?

STAN I got sea salt in my eye!

CAMERA PANS TO A CLOSE-UP OF MABEL, WHO IS LOOKING TO THE SIDE, BACK TOWARD THE COMPUTER SCREEN.  THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES IN THE BACKGROUND.  

MABEL We'll leave them to their nerdery.   (Looks directly at camera.)   Families don't have to be related, and they don't even have to be the same species.  What's important is that you show how much you care for each other, and spend time doing the same things, like getting thrown in a county jail or treating flamingopher bites.

BOTH STANS (Off Screen) That was ONE TIME!

MABELYour family might include close friends, dogs, pet rocks, or that one crow who brings you shiny pennies and half-eaten lollipops.  Whatever your family, take a minute today to let them know how much they matter. Thanks for watching Mabel's Guide to Cryptid Families.  See you next time! A/N: To my friends on Deep Woods, and a good friend on tumblr...thank you ^u^

[shironekooo]

Art in it’s truest form

Chp. 7 - What’s behind a mask

Kamski x Reader

Words: 1975

Tag: @tallfrenchgirl

For the New Years celebration Elijah was asked to attend the social event at the town’s hall. There were no plans between you two for that night, so being a public figure he graciously accepted the invitation also adding a plus one – you.

So now you’re wearing your third dress in a month and it’s even more captivating than previous two. The theme of the ball is Maquerade, so Chloe put you in a puffed and lacy black dress decorated with crimson red flower patterns and pearls going down your bare back. More than that, you had your hair and makeup professionally done, tuning you into a high class attendant. You didn’t actually think, that Elijah will take you with him. It’s not like he has to. He could have gone alone and you wouldn’t mind, especially since the trick you pulled on him during Christmas. It was all in good fun, but Elijah took it a little too seriously. You didn’t apologize and apparently there’s no need to, as he’s taking you out on a social event anyway. Not that you would. That man needs to taste his own medicine and perk up a little. Sitting comfortably on his throne he got a little soft… Looking at the mirror you understood why though. Who could keep up their guard when this gorgeous fox is wiggling its tail. Though now you were radiating threat more than anything else. Black and red colors were too much in a vampire style. You guess Elijah likes to stand out and make himself center of “unwanted” attention. Typical from a man with this big of an ego. You chuckle putting on couple of drops of perfume onto your skin and then get ready to meet Elijah at the front door.

As always he’s already waiting, wearing a suit that matches a color scheme of your dress, which turns him into a vampire too. A tasteful crimson scarf fastened with antique looking brooch and carefully tucked under the vest only amplifies that look. It’s like you were aristocrats that had the pleasure of living for a thousand years yet stuck with Victorian London style. Not that you complained. You were ready to spill some blood and dance under the moonlight with your immortal lover.

***

The place is full with the most elaborate costumes worn by men and women both. It’s hard to recognize anyone around, but that also works in their favor. Elijah takes off his mask so he could say his “hello” to some important people and you follow behind, being all mysterious and none talkative. Elijah enjoys the attention you two get and introduces you as so many different personas, simply making fun of others and creating elaborate lies for your own amusement. His good mood gets you excited too, so after a while you sneak away to have your own little fun.

You scan the crowd looking for someone interesting to talk to, when a waiter approaches offering a refreshing drink. You take it and after a single sip feel soft bubbles tickling the back of your tongue. That is the most delicious and probably expensive champagne you ever tried. You could easily spend the night just drinking, dancing and trying all the different foods. Sometimes even an expensive dress can’t hide your comfort loving side. Instead, you decide to strike a conversation with a young looking gentleman. He introduces as an heir to the biggest pharmaceutical company in Detroit, yet his manners and intellect are very much of a spoiled rich young man making it easy for you to smile and laugh at his attempt to woo you. He seems pleased with himself though. Poor soul. But you play along, mainly because you can see Elijah out of the corner of your eye. He’s also chatting up some ladies and politely smiles at their flirtatious laughs and subtle touches, but you know that expression way too well. He’s bored and you make it your job to entertain him. You theatrically laugh at something your companion says holding up a hand to hide your smile, after flip your hair and finally put your hand on his. Since the live orchestra is filling the air with their melodies, not too loud, but just enough, you also lean in closer to say some nonsense into the guys ear, still touching his hand in a more than a friendly manner. He’s charmed, but you know that this is just a child’s play. Still, isn’t that a little entertaining to watch? Unexpectedly the young man puts his hand on your waist and also gets closer to answer your flirting. You can feel his breath hitting your neck as he speaks near your ear. He’s suggesting to find a more quiet and private place and your eyes light up. You can see Elijah looking in your direction and it makes it even more exciting. You agree to take a walk, but not before giving a cheeky smile to your audience.

You think his name is something like Ron…Ronald? Doesn’t really matter, but he’s taking you to what looks like an office. Seems right, knowing that this is town hall. A remote place where no one should wonder in. Couple of doors should be opened so you could end up here.

Ronald closes the one behind him and pushes you onto the desk. He acts impatiently: starts groping and kissing you wherever. You roll your eyes and turn the head to the side, so he wouldn’t try to eat your make up off. It grosses you out, but you still answer to his actions with silent moans and passionate movements, so he would be occupied long enough. Long enough for the door to silently open.

Elijah leans on the doorpost, crossing his arms on a chest and watches your little performance. He seems slightly amused and intrigued, waiting for whatever you’re going to do next. The fact that Ron’s hands roam under your dress and he’s deeply buried into your neck and breasts doesn’t concern him. You also grin putting on fake expressions of pleasure. But this is not the true reason you brought these boy here. You seductively touch your leg and slowly lift the skirt up revealing over knee socks attached to lacy strings. Around the thigh there’s also a sheath and you take a knife out of it. Elijah fidgets in place sending you a questionable look. You simply wink and raise the knife behind poor Ron’s back, carefully moving it closer with a sharp pointy end almost touching his nape. You can see that Elijah tries to hide his disapproval as he finally decides to approach. You keep your victim closer as you wait for your partner’s signal on how this all should end. Very easily a blood could flow. Elijah stops right behind Ron, who is enjoying this opportunity a little bit too much, and takes the knife from you. He shakes his head and you pout. Elijah hides the murder weapon before drawing Ron’s attention to himself. Poor soul jumps in place getting scared shitless.

-What the hell, man? – he gets all worked up before recognizing who’s standing in front of him. Face drops.

-I’m afraid this is my companion you’re trying to fuck, - Elijah smiles, but he’s very much ready to murder the guy with eyes only.

-Shit, - he murmurs to himself and dashes out not even looking back. Smart move.

-Official waltz is about to begin, – Elijah doesn’t say anything about your misdemeanor, which is completely different reaction from that evening at the restaurant. His growing trust in you is arousing. You grab him by the jacket and pull closer.

-Do we have to be present? – you wrap your legs around him leaning in for a kiss, but he turns away. Silently he takes out a handkerchief and wipes away the traces of other man’s presence from your body. This very much melts your heart.

- I guess we should go, - you say standing up and fixing your dress. He smiles being pleased with your answer and holds out his hand. You take it and you both return to the main hall.

People already started to move to the sides, clearing out the floor on which the main event is about to take place. It is Viennese waltz. Selected couples take their respectable places while orchestra slowly introduces the melody. You and Elijah join them. Bow to each other, stand into joined position and in a couple more moments slowly start moving to the melody. Neither you nor Elijah practiced dancing together, but to know how to dance Viennese waltz is considered a requirement in your life, so just with the first step you synch and deliver a perfect performance. You can feel your dress floating around with every single turn, the grip with which Elijah is holding your hand and waist is electrifying. All the colors flashing around merge together putting you in a dreamy state and only you two are present in this moment. If you were to describe how falling in love feels, this would be it.

Out of nowhere a strong cough disturbs the atmosphere. It’s slightly annoying, but things happen. Except that cough repeats and gets only worse. Couples are forced to slow down and stop, to look at the person in question. It’s the same young man, Ron or whatever. He’s holding onto his chest with pale face, not able to catch a breath. People get worried and approach him, but none of them are fast enough to ask or do anything as he collapses with even more dreadful look on his face. You and Elijah are watching from farther away.

-Who could have thought that poison kills people…, - you sigh putting on a sad expression as people rush in to check on a dying man, shouting for help and whirling around not knowing what else there is to do.

Elijah’s face lights up. He looks at you in disbelief, but also pleasantly surprised.

-You weren’t going to use the knife, were you?

-Well of course not! I’m not that stupid. That would have been so messy…  I used a peculiar mix of perfume, - you grin. - Don’t kiss me below lips tho...

Elijah lets out a silent chuckle and turns back at the unfolding tragedy. After giving it a little thought he gets genuinely concerned:

-Why do this though? It’s dangerous. Risky. You could get caught.

-Because it’s boring your way, - you lay it down as it is. -  It’s too quiet and too comfortable. This rush and exposure makes you feel more alive. Can’t you see? The chaos that’s going on right now - it’s our doing. We can literally set the world on fire and watch it burn while we stand in the middle of the blaze. And it’s just you and me. This is our moment.

You speak with so much emotion, your true colors spill out in the open. You devote this evening to your partner. This is your confession. And Elijah responds with a very loving gaze.

As the time around you slows down, you two kiss. No need for the fireworks and champagne. No celebrations or congratulations. This is how you start the New Year.

 Couple of days later –

It’s an early morning, but both of you are up and in the kitchen, playfully making breakfast while blasting some fun tunes to which you’re dancing to. Mood is delightful. Everything’s just peachy. Elijah holds you in his arms planting ticklish kisses on your neck as you giggle and try not to burn food in the pan.

Chloe also joins, but her expression isn’t so carefree. She very seriously announces:

-Detroit police is here. They want to see you, Elijah.

[simkaswriting]

Arrangement pt.3-(Kylo Ren)

Characters: Leia Organa, Supreme Leader Snoke, Han Solo, Kylo Ren and (Y/N).

Pairing: Kylo Ren x Queen!Reader

Word Count: 4123

Warnings: some fluff

Summary: Will Kylo let his future wife, the Queen of Nibiri, in on his past and into his future?

A/N- Here’s part 3, it did take longer to write because I was absolutely swamped during the holidays, but I hope this makes up for it! There will be two other parts, maybe three at a push!

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

(Y/N) lightly taps her manicured nails on the marble table full of various papers, her brows knitted together as she reads through the list of guests to attend the wedding of the century. Behind her, Kylo lays on their bed, reading the same list and sporting the same expression as his fiancee.

“I know we agreed on a grand wedding, but isn’t 163 people a little… excessive?” Kylo mumbles from his position on the bed. He lazily rolls over onto his side and looks over at (Y/N), who’s wearing one of his shirts which makes him sigh in content.

With two days to the wedding, Kylo’s noticed just how stressed the Queen’s gotten, to the point where he woke up in the middle of the night to her grumbling about flower arrangements from her sleep. The Commander himself has been feeling the weight of all the planning and organising for the wedding, despite not actually having to do much, so just imagining how his fiancee must feel pains him. But hey, at least we only have to sort out this mess of a guest list before everything’s ready, Kylo thinks to himself.

Indeed, the wedding that will surely top all royal weddings has been planned out, from the decorations, to the venue and even various alcoholic drinks that Kylo got to pick were all ready to go, and all that was left to do was to sort out the guests.

(Y/N) runs a hand through her hair in frustration. “It is, I didn’t think there were so many royal families under the First Order. Or so many high-ranking officers. Do you reckon we can pull it off?”

Kylo sets down the list and gets up from the bed, his limbs slightly protesting due to the lack of movement they’ve had lately, and walks over to his fiancee. He squats in front of her and reaches to take her hand. (Y/N) smiles lightly at him, already feeling less of a weight on her shoulders just by that simple contact.

“I know we can pull it off. Stop worrying, you’ll get grey hairs. And we’re both aware that you’re too young for that.” Kylo looks at (Y/N), a smile playing on his lips as a smile of her own appears. Over the last week, the Commander’s become quite fond of the Queen, something he didn’t think would happen when he first got told of the marriage that Supreme Leader Snoke organised. He didn’t think he would learn to love the sight of the woman with messy hair, who’s sporting bags underneath her eyes like it’s the latest fashion trend and wears his oversized shirts like she couldn’t care less for her royal status. The thought of ever liking, or possibly loving, the woman he’s being forced to marry didn’t seem likely to him at first, though now he’s thinking that perhaps he shouldn’t have been so quick to reject it.

“Well, that’s the planning for the wedding officially done. It feels strange, I’ve barely had to time to sit down and relax over the past few days.” (Y/N) shakes her head a little, still not believing the fact that she’s due to marry the man in front of her in less than 48 hours. But to be fair, she’d rather it be him than someone like General Hux.

Kylo stand up and leans against the marble table, still holding onto his fiancee’s hand, and cocks his head to the side. “Why don’t we do something fun?”

The Queen bites her lip in contemplation, an action that makes Kylo stare at her in bewilderment, as she tries to think of something fun that would entertain them both and possibly bring them closer. As she glances down, her eyes catch an object hidden almost out of sight under her marble desk, and with curiosity she bends down to pick it up.

(Y/N)s hand wraps around Kylo’s lightsaber tentatively as she looks at her fiance with a raised brow. A look of worry flashes across Kylo’s at how dangerously close the Queen’s hand is to the activation stud, but if she were to accidentally activate it, at least it’s pointing away from her face.

“Can you teach me how to use this?” (Y/N) suggests with a small smile, knowing exactly how deadly the weapon in her hand is, and just how much she would love to use it at least once. And the immense power that she feels radiating from the lightsaber makes her fingers tingle, because she knows that just by pushing a single button she’ll become deadly.

Kylo’s instinct is to take his weapon and not let her touch it, partially because it’s his but also because he doesn’t want to risk her getting hurt. But when he looks at the hope and excitement in (Y/N)s eyes, he can’t help but feel as if denying her request would be equal to committing the worst crime in the Galaxy. So, reluctantly, he nods.

An enormous smile spreads across (Y/N)s face at his agreement and before she can stop herself, she throws her arms around Kylo’s neck and pulls him into a tight hug. 

For a split second, Kylo freezes. (Y/N)s arms around his neck feel so right, like they were made just for that one purpose. Her subtle perfume penetrates his nose, leaving him crazy and craving more, her body against his feels so good that if he got the choice he would never let her leave. But then as suddenly as the hug came, he realises he’s just standing there like an idiot. So without further thought, he wraps his arms around (Y/N) and rests his head on top of hers.

A warmth that (Y/N)s gotten used to in the recent days floods her system, filling every empty space and filling her to the brim as Kylo wraps his strong arms around her. He brings a sense of security and affection with him, but also threat due to his nature. However, the Queen has gotten used to the fact that Kylo has some evil in him, just as she’s gotten used to calming him down when he’s on the verge of throwing a tantrum. Though (Y/N) can also sense good in him, an unmistakable kindness and love that just needs to be brought up to the surface. And as she stands in his arms, her fingers playing with the collar of his shirt, she promises herself that she will do whatever it takes to pry that part of him out,

(Y/N) pulls back from Kylo, quickly turning around and walking into the middle of the room so he can’t see the ridiculously red blush spreading fast across her cheeks. Keep it together, she tells herself desperately. She holds the lightsaber in both hands, something she knows how to do from the datapads she’s read, and waits. Because despite her wanting to learn how to use it, she needs help from the owner of the death stick. And she also needs him to make sure she doesn’t accidentally cut her hand off.

With a small smile, Kylo walks behind (Y/N) and wraps his hands around her ones, their bodies once again so close it leaves him partially breathless and stunned. 

Kylo squeezes his eyes shut, thankful his fiancee can’t see, before kicking (Y/N)s feet apart lightly so her stance is correct.

“Can you feel the little activation button? Lightly tap it.”

(Y/N) nods her head before doing as she’s told. The deadly red glow appears before her out of seemingly nowhere, accompanied by a dull buzz which makes the handle of the lightsaber slightly vibrate. A delightful smile spreads across the Queens face, a similar one appearing on Kylo’s one.

“Great, now can you see that vase in the corner of the room?” Kylo asks (Y/N) in a hushed voice, his lips nearly brushing against her ear, which sends bolts of shivers up her spine. Oh stars, oh stars, oh stars… 

“Yes Kylo, I’m not blind, my eyesight is perfectly fine.” (Y/N) rolls her eyes, her voice almost cracking to reveal just how much of an effect her fiance is having on her. If the Queen could, if she was sure that it wouldn’t make Kylo uncomfortable or turn things awkward, she would kissing his plump lips right about now until they turned a shade of purple.

“You’re feeling awfully feisty today, my Queen. First, you imply that I would be a lousy lover purely because I stole your covers during the night, then you throw your shoe at me for laughing at you smudging your lipstick, and now this.” Kylo chuckles, his mind briefly wandering to earlier in the morning, his seemingly-always present smile widening. If Supreme Leader Snoke told him how amusing his future wife is, and how much he would end up liking just being in her presence, he wouldn’t have been so hesitant.

(Y/N) chuckles along with her fiance, also recalling earlier events with a fond smile. A smile that’s loving the way ‘my Queen’ sounds coming from Kylo’s lips.

“I’m not even sorry.” the Queen says with a cheeky smile. 

Kylo looks down at the woman in his arms, holding his lightsaber, with awe. If it weren’t (Y/N), the Queen whom he shares a Force bond with, she would have been dead by now just for daring to speak to him with that tone of voice. But instead she makes him feel like he has no troubles in the world, like as long as she’s by his side everything will be okay.

“Awe, is the Commander going soft on me?” (Y/N) lowers the lightsaber and turns around to face her fiance with a teasing smile, careful that the death stick in her hands doesn’t cause any harm to either of them.

Kylo’s stomach flares up, white-hot flames of passion and admiration and stars know what else clawing their way up his throat, begging to be released, begging to be said. He feels control slipping from his grip faster than Hux jumps to conclusions, and for a second it terrifies him. 

“I-I’m n-not, what? I’m not going soft.” Kylo scoffs before grabbing a hold of (Y/N)s shoulders suddenly, spinning her around and once again enclosing his hands around hers. It takes her by surprise, to the point where she almost falls over her feet as he abruptly takes a few steps forward. With a quick flick of his wrist, the lightsaber cuts diagonally through the vase. 

(Y/N) stands in shock, mouth agape as she watches the blue vase crash to the floor. The shattered pieces litter the floor, sunlight displaying millions of small rainbows all over the wooden floor. She lightly taps the activator button to switch the lightsaber off and bends down to gently place it on the floor between the shards of glass. 

Without thinking of the consequences, she turns around, places her hands gently on Kylo’s chest and reaches up to press a kiss to his lips.

A warm feeling, almost obsessive, spreads through (Y/N)s stomach. Kylo’s lips, intoxicating like whisky, feel like home to her, so warm and welcoming it makes her heart ache. 

Kylo stands stock still, eyes wide like saucers as he feels the warm lips of the Queen against his own ones. A tingle of electricity passes from his lips to the tips of his fingers, a sensation that makes him almost choke as he realises he needs more. No, Craves more. Despite the nagging feeling at the back of his head, the Dark Side of the Force, telling him to immediately distance himself, he does the exact opposite. Gently, like he’s afraid of breaking (Y/N), he captures her face in his hands and leans down to envelope her lips in a hungry kiss. 

The kiss is full of passion and longing, both of which Kylo’s been trying to suppress ever since he started getting closer to the Queen. The Commander grazes his teeth across (Y/N)s bottom lip, causing the Queen to involuntarily moan in delight. Her arms pull Kylo further down as they wrap around his neck, the Queens fingers tangling themselves in Kylo’s hair. 

A thought that makes (Y/N) grin into the kiss passes through her head. So this is what his hair feels like, she thinks to herself with a feeling of satisfaction.

All too soon, Kylo forces himself to let go of his Queen and break off the kiss so he can catch his breath. He stares into (Y/N)s crazed eyes, adrenaline coursing through his every vein. His breathing is ragged, like he just finished yelling at Hux, but he doesn’t care much. What he cares about is protecting the woman in front of him, even if it puts his own life at risk. All Kylo cares about is making sure that he will never be apart from his Queen for too long, he cares about her. And when he cares about something, which is extremely rare, he doesn’t give up on it.

“I liked that vase.” (Y/N) smiles, her own breath laboured and her heart beating like crazy from the thrill of the kiss.

Kylo chuckles, a deep throaty sound that makes his fiancee weak at the knees, as he looks down at the glass scattered all over the floor. It was a nice vase, but was simply mundane compared to the beauty of the woman standing in front of him.

“I’m not even sorry.”

(Y/N)s eyes widen as she realises her fiance’s teasing her with one of her own lines, and as a reflex she lightly hits the side of his arm with a shocked expression. But right now, Kylo could murder all of her assistants and she wouldn’t bat an eye, if it meant he would be happy.

“Hey, not fair!” (Y/N) goes to take a step forward, but before she can playfully hit Kylo again, he sweeps her up in his arms effortlessly. The Commander gestures down at the shard of glass that the Queen would have stepped on, before carrying her to their shared bed. 

Kylo gently places the Queen down onto the soft bed, his hands briefly lingering on her waist. As he looks down at his future wife, hair dishevelled and a crazed smile on her lips, he can’t help but feel immensely lucky. How could a man like him deserve to be with a woman like (Y/N)?

“Kylo? What’s wrong?” (Y/N) asks, noticing how quiet the Commander’s gone all of a sudden. She gently takes a hold of his hand and intertwines their fingers, before looking up at the raven-haired man in confusion. Her lips, still tingling from the passionate kiss, already longing after Kylo’s lips.

Kylo stares at the Queen for a few seconds, trying to collect the mess that are his thoughts. The tug of the Light side is more prominent now, more obvious, yet he knows it won’t win him over. Despite Force bonds belonging to the Light side, the Commander is sure that the Dark side only makes his and (Y/N)s Force bond stronger and more resistant. His feelings towards the Queen, albeit at first ones of carelessness and malevolence, are now ones of adoration and benevolence. All his heart seems to desire is to be in the presence of (Y/N), to have his hand in hers and to stand by her. The feelings are all overwhelming, but one stands clear above all others. Love.

“Nothing, (Y/N). Right now, absolutely nothing.” Kylo smiles, before once again leaning down to capture his Queen’s lips in a sweet and loving kiss, reassuring her that in this moment, all that matters is her.

Happiness floods through the Queen’s system as she hears her name come out of Kylo’s mouth, something that he hasn’t yet said. It sounds so heavenly, so nice. 

Kylo pushes himself off the bed, leaving (Y/N) temporarily stunned at the sudden empty feeling that surrounds her. She watches him kick his shoes off and tip-toe around the broken vase with a small smile before he gets back on the bed. 

(Y/N) watches her fiance with curious eyes, wondering what he’s doing and what he’ll do next. I’ll have to clean up the pieces of glass soon, I don’t want it to cause an injury, the Queen thinks to herself. The thought of seeing her future husband hurt makes her blood boil with rage.

Kylo leans back on his heels and bites his bottom lip as he looks at (Y/N), a look of contemplation on his features. 

“Do you mind if I… If I try something?” He asks, hesitant, not knowing whether he’s about to overstep some line with the Queen or perhaps if he’s already overstepped one by kissing her. But his gut feeling, along with the Force, know that’s not the case.

The Queen nods and cocks her head to the side with a small, encouraging smile. 

Kylo takes a small breath before lightly taking a hold of (Y/N)s arm so to not hurt her and bringing her further up the bed. The smile stays present on her lips, as slow realisation of what her fiance is doing dawns on her. He then lays down next to her, chest up, before wrapping his right arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him with furrowed brows. As his fiancee sets her head on his chest and intertwines her bare legs with his, the feeling of adoration and love almost makes him choke and tear up.

He has never felt like this before, or had ever done this before. He has never had someone that he felt such strong feelings for, that he harboured a deep connection with. A person he knew would sacrifice their own life if it meant he would be safe, a person who made him think he was the luckiest man in the Galaxy. A person whom he shared a Force bond with.

(Y/N) wraps her arm around Kylo’s clothed stomach and listens to his erratic heartbeat which shows no signs of slowing down. Her fingers absentmindedly trace small circles on his side, which unbeknown to her calms him down immensely. 

For a few minutes, it’s quiet, just their small breaths of content filling up the comfortable silence. But then a question begins to prod at (Y/N), one she’s been meaning to ask for a few days now but wasn’t sure if it would mean stepping over a line that she’s not aware of. Though Kylo’s thumb brushing against her shoulder reassuringly gives her the needed courage to ask anyway.

“Please do tell me if I’m in the wrong for asking, but it’s been driving me insane and I just have to ask. Why haven’t your parents been invited to our wedding? I don’t think I’ve ever even heard you mention them.”

At the sound of his parents, Kylo stiffens and clenches his jaw, a sense of loss and regret, but also anger washing over him. Why doesn’t he invite them? Because Han is dead and Leia is the First Order’s enemy. It’s that simple, isn’t it? But even now as he thinks over how to answer his fiancee’s question, he knows that’s not true. And he is aware that lying to her, or simply brushing the question off isn’t right. It’s not how he was raised.

(Y/N) shifts so she’s looking at Kylo now, a look of worry on her features. Her fingers continue to draw random shapes on his sides, but she’s now propped up on her elbow so she can see the Commander, and the face of the man that’s lived through too much sorrow.

Kylo clears his throat before glancing at the Queen. Slowly, as if approaching a deer which is easily frightened, he leans over to place a small kiss on her cheek. 

“My father is dead, has been for a few years now. His name was Han Solo, a smuggler in his prime. Leia Organa, former Princess of Alderaan, is my mother. She’s with the Resistance, so it wouldn’t be fitting if she were to be invited.”

A look of recognition flashes over (Y/N)s face, one which Kylo picks up on. She has heard of Leia Organa, the daughter of the infamous Darth Vader, though that part is lesser known. The Queen is aware of the extent of her power, and her role in the Resistance, but she never would have thought that General Organa is Kylo’s mother. She’s a true role model for those who favour the Light side of the Force, and even if (Y/N) doesn’t favour it, the sheer determination and fiery attitude of the woman demands respect.

“Well stars, I had no idea General Leia Organa is your mother.” The Queen swears, something Kylo finds extremely appealing. 

The Commander bites his bottom lip in contemplation, wondering whether or not he should tell his future wife more about his parents, even if it does cause a stinging sensation to rack his body, the ever-present guilt for what he did to his father gnawing at him. But in the end, after a minute or so, he decides there’s nothing he wants to hide from the Queen.

“It’s not something I try to hide, but it is not something I boast about either. It’s admirable, what she does, and the grace and amount of effort that go into her actions.” The top of Kylo’s lip twitches, a smile trying to appear but being restrained by the Commander’s sheer will. He hasn’t thought of his mother, Leia, in a fond manner in a long time.

“What about your father? What was he like? I don’t think I’ve heard of a Han Solo.” (Y/N) asks as she once again places her head on Kylo’s chest, immediately being overcome by an odd feeling. A feeling that tells her just how lonely Kylo is, just how desperate he is for love. It’s like it was projected into her heart, but she doesn’t know how. And quite frankly, it sends chills through her very bones.

Kylo runs a soothing hand through the Queens hair, fingers capturing a few stray strands and twisting them a little.

“He was a smuggler, there Is nothing honourable in that. And how my mother fell in love with him I will never understand. But he was driven and he seldom didn’t get what he set out for. So one could say that’s admirable.” 

Kylo considers telling (Y/N) that he was the one who caused his fathers death, that he murdered him with the same lightsaber that she was holding half an hour ago. But that’s a story for another time, one he isn’t willing to share just yet.

“You talk of not understanding their love, but out circumstances are not usual either.” (Y/N) chuckles, causing Kylo to mirror her actions, the vibrations from his chest shaking her head slightly. He mutters a soft ‘true’, one which the Queen would have barely heard if her head wasn’t so close to his.

(Y/N) once again props herself up on her elbows, this time knitting her brows together in deep thought. She knows Kylo’s father is dead, but his mother isn’t, which means that if she could somehow get her to attend the wedding, there may be a chance to mend the disaster of a relationship her and her son seem to have. And not to mention it’s every women’s dream that she will be liked by her husbands mother.

“Would you mind if I sent an invite to General Organa?” The Queen asks slowly, as if testing the waters to see if she’s not provoked a shark within her fiance.

Once again, Kylo’s own face mirrors hers. The idea of seeing his mother attend his wedding seems absurd, like it doesn’t even deserve to be thought about, let alone mentioned out loud. He hasn’t seen his mother in a long time, and since then he’s aware she views him as her greatest disappointment. However, he would be willing to get over the hatred and pain for a few hours if it made his fiancee happy. And in this moment, Kylo realises that he must truly care for (Y/N) if he’s willing to put aside his feud with his mother just to make her happy.

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up high that she would ever accept. But if your heart desires it, then I won’t stop you.” 

Upon hearing those words, (Y/N) swings her leg over Kylo’s waist so she’s straddling him, and begins to place quick kisses all over his face, now full of glee and excitement at the thought of meeting his mother, General Leia Organa. But also as his words register in her mind. ‘if your heart desires it, then I won’t stop you’ keeps running through her mind as she feels his hands on either side of her waist. 

For a few minutes, all the Queen does is litter her fiance’s face with feather-like kisses, thankful for being forced into an arranged marriage with the man. The man she hopes she’ll make happy for the rest of their shared days.

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[gingerxtrash]

As the years go on/3

Hey so I’m going to switch Lucy’s last name to Heartfilia for story purposes so please forgive me y’all ;-;  And I’m also sorry for taking so long to update but I have been busy trying to find a job because I need money lol -Author’s note

---Third Person---

In the halls of Magnolia Academy it was crowded with people talking to each other and sharing  their weekends activities. The halls filled with the innocent and not so innocent kids who use their lives to party or stay stuck in a house. Some of them complaining, and some of them gloating of their supposedly “fun” lives. In this school the kids are either the hunters or the prey to all sorts of abuse. Students that reside in gangs are the most dangerous kids in the school and no one dares to defy them. Even some teachers will let them get away with certain things because they fear those students. Every inch of Magnolia is a part of a battlefield of rival gangs who fight for what they want.

While the students are spread out through the hallway, everyone’s voices came to a stop once the front doors opened and revealed the ten kid gang members of Fairy Tail. Walking down the halls they all separated into pairs except for the leader of the group, Natsu Dragneel which is the future leader of Fairy Tail. The current leader is his father Igneel Dragneel, known as the “King of Dragons” and most scariest man in Matnolia. This makes Natsu the most feared student in the school, also known as the bad boy that every girl wants. He has salmon colored hair and black onyx eyes that any girl will fall for. A bonus to his physical figure is that he has the muscles of a god. Except for his murderous look, he is perfect.

Natsu’s P.O.V.

After opening the doors to this boring hell on earth, every head in the spacious room is focused towards me and my comrades. If someone was to drop a pen everybody would hear it with no doubt. People look at us either in fear or look as if they praise the ground we are walking on.

After a minute everybody goes back to their conversations about what they did during the weekend. I ignore the people (mainly girls) who are walking to me and finally approached my locker to get my books for the day. I open the small little metal door and see a necklace that has a small key with the sign ‘cancer’ engraved on it. I slightly furrow my eyebrows knowing that I can never give this to her. ‘Damn, why did she have to leave? Is she safe? I would do anything to see her again, to see those eyes.’ Natsu thought to himself but pushes away those memories. I close my locker to see a girl standing there who was wearing a very revealing outfit with a decent amount of cleavage showing and short shorts. This girl had silver hair and it was topped off with a cow lick on the top of her head. Most guys would jump to the opportunity to flirt with this girl who dresses to seduce, but that doesn’t work on me.

“What do you want Angel?” I said with a look of disgust on my face. “Oh wow Mr. Bad Boy you’re so scary” Angel said with a smirk spread on her face. “Well I don’t have time for girls who try to get guys from looking like a hoe” I said while walking away to my English class. Over my shoulder I see her mouth in the of the ‘o’, surprised by my comment.

I walk up to my friends/comrades and start walking together and had small talk to occupy the time while we all walk into a boring 45-minute class. “Yo Salamander, we saw you with that silver-haired weirdo just now, was she just tryin to flirt with ya?” Gajeel yelling over the voices of the students passing by. This boy has long spiky black hair and piercings all over his face and arms, in other words, “metal head”. Next to him is Levy and she has short blue hair, although she is pretty short so Gajeel never stops calling her shrimp. “Oh yeah, that whore is tryna add me to her sex list, hah pathetic right?” I said and earned a laugh from Gajeel. I look forward and see Erza and Jellal, the two that are never apart, always staying by one another’s side as if it’s their last day together. My best friend/rival Gray is with his semi-girlfriend (Juvia claims so but Gray won’t admit his feelings for her yet. But we all know he likes her back so we just say their dating already). Next up is Laxus, people consider him to be even more scary than Erza by a long shot, if someone messes with him they will most likely end up badly bruised or dead. He is accompanied by Mira who is considered scary and nice, which is probably a reason why her and Laxus get along so well. Lastly there is Cana and she is currently holding a bottle of apple juice, although it’s a disguise bottle for her booze. Well, she did make a goal of drinking the most “apple juice” in the world so she sure does not disappoint, although she is still drinking rivals with a “wild” man named Bacchus.

“Hey leader! We all know you don’t wanna go for any other girl because you’re saving yourself for Lucy “Cana said giving me a sarcastic wink while drinking from her “apple juice”. Everyone was a bit surprised to hear that name and looked a bit sad but quickly shrugged the thought aside and laughed at the joke, knowing that she didn’t mean it as an insult to Lucy. I proceeded to go into class to get to my desk in the back corner of the class next to the window. All my friends are sitting around me while everyone else is sitting next to me. On the other side of the room is Minerva, Angel, Jenny, Midnight, Racer, and Cobra. They call themselves the neo-seis and they are those one of the groups who oppose Fairy Tail. They call themselves that name because that gang was found from six people 50 years ago from some people who are long dead now. Minerva, Angel, and Jenny haven’t changed much over the years except having their tits and butt grow bigger like all other girls, well except for Levy. I don’t pay attention to Levy like that but Gajeel always fawns over her butt and makes fun of her boobs to annoy her. With those three girls I still consider them some hoes because all they do is find a cute guy with money and take them to bed. That is one of the only reasons why they have their little ‘boy toys’ defending them all the time.

Midnight has black messy hair and while long hairs on the front of his face, he also wears lipstick which makes him look a bit like a draq queen. Although, Cobra is a bit different. He also has chestnut brown messy hair and the tan skin every woman would want. ‘Dang, I sound really gay when I say that’ I thought to myself kind of shocked by that happening. He lost his eye a few years ago so that makes me slightly respect the guy, but never a comrade.

Once we all get settled into our seats the teacher, Mr. Bob starts the lesson assigned for today. Mr. Bob is a very fat, very bald, and a very ugly man. I don’t know why but this school has the weirdest teachers ever. “Okay class, we are going to learn about Roman Mythology, so I expect you guys to listen to this unit because it is something you all will br intere-“Mr. Bob was interrupted when the door slowly creaked open. All the heads in the room started to turn their heads towards the door including my friends. They had a scared and surprised face which made me a bit curious. I slowly turn my head to the direction of the door and I don’t believe my eyes…the first thing I see are the most beautiful chestnut colored eyes, ‘Lu…cy?’

---4 years ago---

Natsu’s P.O.V.

“I already have everything I want, but my goal is to never lose you guys as my dearest friends!” Lucy said with a big smile on her face. When I hear Lucy’s laugh my mood lightens up, when I see her smile I want stay with her, but the eyes are the most dangerous part of her. Her eyes will enchant anybody who looks at them. Out of everyone, I know Lucy the best because she is my best friend. And because of that, I know when she is sad when others can’t, I see through her fake smiles. I know that she has been bullied, abused, hurt mentally and physically but she refuses to have me help her. I don’t want to ignore the fact that she is hurting but she is very stubborn when it comes to the topic. She made me promise not to tell anybody and to not bring it up because it makes it sad for others to worry for her. Although, if I had a choice I would kill each one of them for even laying a finger on her. I don’t care that I’m only a 13-year-old, anyone who hurts my Luce will get hurt in return. That is why my goal is to become the strongest person, so I can protect her.

After everyone was done playing at the tree we all started to go in separate directions to go home. “Hey everyone, we should hang out tomorrow at the usual place” I yell out to everybody and they all cheered about that. I started to walk home and immediately was wishing that tomorrow would come so I can see my friends.

…time skip to the next day…

I get to the tree to see that everyone is there except for one little blonde girl, Lucy. “Hey where is Luce?” I said out loud. “I don’t know but she must be on her way right now” Levy said. I just nod, a little sad that she isn’t here yet, but I’ll just shrug it off for now. “Hey flamebrain, when are you gonna admit to Lucy that you’re uncontrollably in love with her?” Gray said smirking because he knows that it will get to my soft spot. “I’ll tell her when you use your head to tell Juvia you like her, Ice Princess” I say back and just turn away from him. Although he annoys me, I just don’t feel like fighting today.

After an hour Lucy still hasn’t arrived and I’m getting worried about her. “Hey guys I’m going to go to Lucy’s house to see where she is” I said to everyone. “Oi, we’re tagging along with you. If you haven’t noticed yet, we are friends with Lucy too.” Gray said with a side smile. “Yea, and I still need to see how you two interact so I can make the perfect plan to get you two together!” Mira said with a devilish face but let out a giggle. ‘Wow, I really don’t understand Mira at times because she is like a devil in the disguise of an angel’ I laugh nervously to myself. “Natsu, Lucy and Jellal are mine and I don’t like it when people take what’s mine so I will take the honors of leading the way.” Erza said with a scary look on her face causing me to step back with a sweat drop above my head, Jellal was blushing a little bit from the what Erza said. Levy looked angry at Erza’s comment but decided not to join in because she didn’t want to be scolded by Erza. “Hehe, Juvia thinks it is a great idea to see Lucy!” she said to calm down Erza and Natsu from starting conflict. I just look at Erza and then look towards the direction of Lucy’s house and my legs immediately started to walk there. *Sigh* “okay fine, I guess you guys can come” I said jokingly to my friends.

Once we got to the Heartfilia mansion all our hearts immediately dropped in immediate confusion, ‘What happened, where’s Luce?’. I’m too shocked to move at this point and I feel as if my heart was shattering. I see trucks parked at the sidewalk with people coming in and out of the house carrying the furniture. There is no sold sign, so these people are not taking all this stuff with the Heartfilia’s. Without thinking I run up to one of the men and asked where Luce was. “Sorry kid, they just left out of nowhere and left everything behind, so we were told we can keep anything we wanted. If I say so that is generous of such a wealthy family, although it was surprising that they went bankrupt out of nowhere. Well, things always can go downhill in life so it’s none of my business to pry into their problems.” Hearing this from the random man made my heart drop and I am slowly starting to become numb. Tears slowly started to form in my eye’s, but I refuse to let them fall in front of everybody. I look back to see my friends all upset just as I am. Gajeel and Laxus always hid their emotions but you could tell that they were sad because they stood still and looked down to the floor. Gajeel was also holding Levy in a hug to comfort her sobbing figure. The great and strong Erza looked down to the floor to hide the tears that are slowly falling from her eyes. Juvia had her hands over her mouth and tried not to cry. Gray and Mira just stood frozen with the look of sadness in their eyes. Cana didn’t drink her apple juice because she did not have the desire to take a sip because of the sadness of Lucy’s disappearance.

Levy surprisingly spoke up, “guys, Lu must have a good reason for leaving, she is not the type to just leave without saying goodbye.” We all knew Levy was right but didn’t want to admit that our Lucy is gone. No, I didn’t want to admit my Luce is gone so I will wait for her, even if it means I must wait for the rest of my life. That is a promise and I never break my promises.

---Present day---

“Lu…cy?’ I whisper to myself making sure no one heard me. She shared the same expression I have now, but it was mixed with an expression of sadness. She had on an oversized sweater and wore jeans that were a little over-sized for her. She was probably the same height as Juvia and topped off her appearance with glasses. With her ensemble someone could barely recognize that it was her, but I know it’s her because of that blonde hair that shine’s like the sun and those chestnut eyes that I have been yearning to see for the past five years.

The look she had on her face absolutely killed me and caused me to stay frozen in my chair. She looked so different from the last time I saw her and she quickly looked down to avoid eye contact with me, like she was hiding from me. My friends were in total shock and some of the girls were holding back their tears, as a gang member we should show little to no emotion. “Dear, what is your name and are you a new student here?” Mr. Bob said, excited to have a new student in his class. “Yes, my name is Lucy Hearfilia” Lucy said in a soft voice but was loud enough to be heard by the teacher. “Well it’s lovely to have you, can you sit next to the big, scary pinky boy in the back?” Mr. Bob said and returned to the lesson he was giving.

Lucy slowly started to walk up to us to take her seat and turned her head to look at the wall. Once she sat down in her seat she turned to look at all of us, “I am so sorry to all of you guys for leaving without a word, and I will understand if you guys hate me” she said with a blank face, but I saw the message she was giving me “Things can’t go back to what they once were, so please just forget about me”.

Chapter 1- https://gingerxtrash.tumblr.com/post/173317577354/as-the-years-go-on

Chapter 2- https://gingerxtrash.tumblr.com/post/173429902759/as-the-years-go-onch2