#I could answer 79 all day long

[lareynaderucorazon]

Sol x Reader, long post, Minors DNI

"I'm home"

You call out as you take off your shoes. Not even a moment later Sol greets you with a kiss.

"Hi babe, how was your day?"

"Mm nothing special. How was work?"

"Ugh don't even get me started. This new hire, Kevin." You rolled your eyes at the thought of that man.

"But I'm home here with you now so all of that doesn't matter." You put your shoes up and follow your wife into the kitchen.

"Endonde esta Sebastian?"

"He's upstairs finishing his homework."

"Hmm my baby's so studious."

Sol stands over the stove in his frilly green apron. You hug him from behind and peek over his shoulder.

"What gourmet dish did you cook up for us today?"

"Well you've been craving shrimp pasta so I made shrimp fettuccini and some garlic toast."

"So that was the heavenly smell I smelled as soon ans I walked through the door."

Sol slightly blushed. He knew he was married to the love of his life for seven years now but he still couldn't get over how she complemented his cooking. He felt a little embarrassed being put on the spot but, nonetheless, pride swelled in his heart at how he's able to take care of his wife.

"Dinner's ready."

"I'll go get Sebastian."

You walked away but not before you slyly groped his ass cheek. Sol's face turned red and he covered his ass with his hands before turning to softly glare at you. You only sent him a kiss before laughing and walking away.

As you walked up the stairs you could hear faint piano music coming from your son's room. You knocked and waited for him to say come in before you opened the door.

Your son looked up at you, tearing his attention away from his homework.

"Oh hey mom, when did you get back from work?"

"Just right now. I came to get you for dinner, dad made pasta."

"I'll be right there, I'm just trying to finish this last question but I can't get past it."

"Oh what class is it for?"

"Spanish."

"Hm let me see it."

Question: Maria compro ocho frutas. Tres naranjas, dos pinas, una sandia, y dos manzanas. Cada naranja cuesta veinte y ocho pesos y cuarenta y uno centavos. Cada pina cuesta cincuenta pesos y setenta y tres centavos. Una sandia cuesta sesenta y nueve pesos y ochenta y cinco centavos. Cada manzana cuesta veinte y tres pesos y sesenta y ocho centavos. Cuanto pago Maria en dollares?

"Ok wow, that's a lot of information."

"I know right."

"Ok so lets break it down in English first. The problem say, follow along with me, Maria bought 8 fruits. Write down the numbers on top of the words so you can visualize it better. Ok, she bought 3 oranges, 2 pineapples, one watermelon, and 2 apples. Each orange costs 28 pesos and 41 cents, Each pineapple costs 50 pesos and 73 cents. One watermelon costs 79 pesos and 85 cents. Each apple costs 23 pesos and 78 cents. Did you get all that?"

"Yeah."

"Is it easier to see all the numbers written down?"

"A lot easier."

"Now remember its asking for the total in dollars and they gave us the amounts is pesos. So add all of the numbers up and then we are gonna convert the total amount into dollars."

"But how are we going to do that if the teacher didn't give us the conversion rate?"

"The internet my son. What's the total amount?"

"314.1 pesos"

"Now, looking it up on yoogle, you get 1 dollar per every 16.91 pesos. So, you divide the total amount by 16.91 and then you get your answer, which is?"

"18.6 dollars!"

"That's my boy, now let's go down and eat dinner before it gets cold."

You and your son head down to the dinner table where your husband was patiently waiting for you to.

"What took so long?"

"Homework." You and your son said simultaneously. You both laughed before all three of you started to dig in.

🤎timeskip cuz im lazy + smut🤎

Your husband was now washing the dishes as you boxed up the leftovers for your lunch tomorrow. As soon you as you were done with that you were right back onto clinging to your husband. You started trailing kisses up and down his neck, leaving hickies in certain areas. Sol started to groan as you were caressing his hips, occasionally trailing over his hard on before going under his shirt to play with his nipples.

"Mmf."

You leaned into his ear while groping his bulge.

"Shh baby."

"Wha-haa. What abous Sebastian?"

"Taking a shower. Now let me take care of my sexy husband."

You decided you were done with the teasing, so your hands finally found their way under Sol's waistband and at the base of his cock.

"Hm? What's this? Basketball shorts and no draws? You wanted this to happen didn't you? You were fantasizing about this all day weren't you?"

You teased your husband, both with your words and with your hands, slowly traversing up and down his length while occasionally flicking his head.

"Tha-hah. That's not... true."

"It's not? You don't want this? Should I stop?"

"No! No please keep going." Sol could feel you smirk against his shoulder which caused shivers to run down his spine.

"That's my pretty husband. Look at your pretty pink cock in your wife's hands. You love this don't you?"

"Yess!"

"Sh!" You tugged on his dick a little harsher which caused him to bend over and for him to almost drop a plate.

You heard the water turn off upstairs so you knew you had to finish him off quick. You let go of Sol's dick which caused him to whine. You grabbed his hips before harshly turning him around and getting on your knees. Sol's breath hitched in his throat when he felt your warm wet mouth take him all in. He gripped onto the sink as you practically sucked the soul out of him.

"Y/nn. Fuck."

You knew he was about to come so you quickened your pace and started fondling his balls.

Sol's release came quick and powerfully. His eyes rolled to the back of his head while his body involuntarily jerked itself further into his wife's mouth. His hips sputtered for a few seconds before they eventually stopped.

Sol's body fell flaccid against the counter, so you picked up his shorts and gave him a kiss.

"Thanks for desert honey. Why don't you go get ready for bed while I finish up the rest of these dishes."

Sol could only nod and wobble away, the high still heavily weighing on his mind.

Finishing the dishes only took 10 minutes, and once you were done you walked up to your son's room to wish him goodnight. He looked around, trying to spot Sol.

"Where's dad?"

"Oh, he went to bed early. He was really tired today."

"Hm ok. Goodnight mom."

"Goodnight sweetie."

You turned off his lights and left your son's room. You walked down to the opposite end of the hallway to enter your room where you found Sol laying on the bed, staring up into the ceiling. He greeted you with a warm smile and love filled eyes. You smirked while closing and locking the door. You stripped out of your clothes and you could see excitement spark into your husband's eyes.

"Ready for round two?"

Sol belongs to @fantasia-kitt

[dronebiscuitbat]

Oil is Thicker Then Blood (Part 79)

Uzi was sitting on the couch, burying her face in an aeronautical engineering book for the umpteenth time. Sketching out ideas for heat shielding on a notepad, Tera on her lap, inquisitivly watching her mother draw and holding onto her bat plushie.

If she was being honest with herself (which, of course she wasn't) she would admit that it was somewhat difficult now for Tera to sit on her lap like she used to, her baby bump was now fairly obvious, she could still… somewhat, hide it underneath her hoodie, but even then if someone was paying close enough attention they would notice that something was different.

And it was of course at this moment, V crashed into her apartment. The door whipping open suddenly and startling both girls out of their shells. Tera chirped loudly and Uzi very nearly cursed.

“Back, took pictures.” V said bluntly, making Uzi take a deep breath to surpress the urge to beat her over the head with whatever she had in her hand. (A notebook, it wouldn't hurt, but still.)

“Okay. A. Thank you.” Uzi hummed, before her face fell “B. Bite me! You didn't have to scare the crap out of me!” She grumbled, standing up and resting Tera on her shoulder. V smirked, before her eyelights shifted down to Uzi's midsection.

“Huh. You can actually tell now.” She commented, which immediately made Uzi feel self conscious, she wouldn't lie and say that the visible change to her body wasn't off-putting.

“It hasn't been that long since you saw me.” Uzi pouted, turning slightly away from her ‘freind’. V clicked her tongue.

“How are you holding up?” V asked, ignoring her statement and tone much, much softer.

“Fine. Still don't know why you care so much.” Uzi replied, and V looked at the floor for a moment before Uzi got several pictures sent to her over short range, she filed them in a folder titled ‘MYSFLESH:/���

“’Fine’ isn't an answer.” V pointed out, crossing her arms, her attitude was normal grating on Uzi's nerves, but with everything else she had to stress about, it was genuinely beginning to piss her off.

“It's the only one you're getting. Now if you're finished doing everything in your power to make my day harder. I need to look over these pictures.” Uzi turned away, from the door, a sure way to tell V to fuck off, but unfortunately that did not happen.

“You're carrying, N can't be here all the time. It's… It's my responsibility to fill in when he's not here.” Uzi tensed up at V's words, hitting her like a sack of bricks.

“Your responsibility?” Uzi parroted back at her, whipping around to glare into V's visor. “Why is it your responsibility?”

V, for once, looked genuinely nervous about what she was about to say, her tail pressed flat against the floor.

“I don't-” She growled at herself, as if she was fighting her own programing. “It just is! I don't know how to explain it!” She finished, exasperated and throwing her clawed hands forward, showing more emotion then Uzi had ever seen.

“It's unbearable!” Her tail suddenly sprang up, kinking in several places before it went back into its default position. “I don't wanna be here either, but it's so much worse when I'm not!” She yelped, like a dam that had just cracked.

Uzi stepped back, alarmed at the sudden outburst. V began to pace back and forth.

“I-I think the worst part is that I don't entirely hate it! I want to! But you're not actually terrible, you're stubborn as hell and get on my nerves-” V grunted, whatever was making her agitated seemed to suddenly deflate, making her stop her pacing and rest her head within the palm of her clawed hand.

“Ugh. Freaking- God Dammit. I don't actually hate your guts, and I do actually care if you live or die. Happy?” V finished, a small golden blush displaying on her visor, crossing her arms.

Uzi took a moment to process, before snickering into her hand, making V blush harder and growl irritability.

“Do not.” V warned, but now her threats were empty, they always were, but now there was no pretending otherwise.

“Aww. V, that's like, the nicest thing you've ever said to me.” Uzi smirked, watching at V's tail thrashed like whip, displaying her discomfort.

“I don't know what you're talking about.” V replied, breifly looking away before her eyes came to glance at Uzi from the corner of her visor, Uzi was smiling.

And so was V.

-*-

“Alright. Alright. Settle Down!” Khan was standing up a stage set up in the WDF training course. The aforementioned equipment haven been deconstructed and put away, the rows of seating in it's ‘stadium-esque’ design being perfect for holding a bunker wide meeting.

Speaking of bunker-wide, every drone that made their home within the bunker was scattered throughout the seats, a rainbow of different eyelight colors staring back at him, even so seeing everyone in front of him made what he already knew more obvious.

There weren't a lot of them left…

The soft murmur of voices quieted, and Khan cleared his throat, looking back behind him to the other two drones with him. Uzi, sitting with her legs crossed and arms crossed, refusing to look ahead at their audience. And N, who was standing at stiff attention at her side, for once, Tera was not with them. Instead, V was looking after her, offering almost immediately.

He turned back to his audience, taking a deep breath.

“Thank you all for coming. I know everyone is curious on why I called this emergency meeting. So I won't waste time.”

He nodded to N, who nodded back and lifted his hand. A large yellow hologram of Copper-9 appeared above them, enough for everyone to see, it drew so much power from N's systems his eyelights and headband dimmed and he winced.

“This is our home, we've worked, fought, and made lives here for over a hundred years, not always independent, but always here.” Khan’s voice wavered.

“Right now, however, this is what our home looks like.”

With some effort on his part, N's hologram changed, one hole opening up, then another, and two more, until the surface of the planet was reminiscent of Swiss cheese, pockmarked full of holes. Images provided by V's scouting trip.

And out of each one, tentacles reached up out of them, pulsing and wiggling wildly, the audience gave a collective wince, several people gasped. And a few straight up burst into tears.

“After through study, it has been determined that twenty percent of the planet has already been consumed, the rest will follow within six months… give or take.” He continued, the waver in his voice was obvious now, but he powered through. N changed the hologram again, letting a fleshy substance cover the frozen surface of Copper-9.

“My daughter has come up with a plan; one that I will let her explain.” He suddenly turned to Uzi, N's hologram fading out and his glow returning to near normal, though an exhausted look flickered across his face.

Uzi took a deep breath, replacing her father's place on stage, feeling the mic attached to her shirt, heavy as lead.

“I know I don't have the best reputation.” She started, her voice croaking slightly. She balled up one of her hands, all the eyes boring into her as she felt her core speed up. “You all know me as Khan’s outcast, rebellious daughter, the one that brought the murder drones into the bunker.”

And so, so much more

She thought internally.

“But believe me when I tell you I want every single person here to make it out of this situation alive.” She nodded at N, who gave her a small smile before, with another wince, brought up another large hologram.

This one was of a shuttle, large enough to fit the entire bunker, though still very much only a concept.

“The cause of the infection is currently unknown, but the flesh that's spreading across the surface is deadly, contact with it causes rapid assimilation, and a loss of all bodily autonomy.” She paused for a moment, realizing she was speaking as if she was reading out of textbook.

“Zombification, in layman's terms.” She clarified, the audience was dead silent, but with another steadying breath and an even tighter grip on her own palm, she continued. “Our best option is complete planetary evacuation.”

There was a murmur through the crowd, one that Uzi was expecting.

“I hear you. This is our home, we've always lived here. And that kind of change is scary.” She was happy she had pre-written this speech with the help of her dad, otherwise, she would have definitely flubbed something up by now.

She had to give credit where credit was due, Khan knew how to write a speech.

“But leaving is a chance at survival, more then that, it's our chance to truly divorce ourselves from our past as nothing but tools for our creators.” At that she could hear several affirmative mumbles, she thought that might have been a good addition, there were many old drones that still remembered being slaves.

“From today, my plan is to build an escape shuttle, reverse engineering the landing pods already here to head to somewhere where we can start again.” N's hologram showed an image of a landing pod, before switching to a new planet, one covered in greenery instead of ice.

“Without all of us working together, this won't work, so I'm asking each and every one of you to pull together for this. Not for me, but for your family, your neighbors, your friends. And help make this a reality.”

She finished, finally, feeling satisfied with what she had said.

“Those in favor. Head down to the right of the stadium. Those opposed, to the left.”

Despite at this point needing to sleep for several sunlit days, N gave a last hologram, two arrows pointing left and right.

Uzi took the opportunity to check up on him, walking back towards him with a concerned frown.

“You okay? I know you haven't been sleeping well, and that took a lot of energy.” With everyone gathering below the stage, Uzi felt safe enough to place a hand on his chest. He gave a small smile.

“I'm good.” His hand came up into a thumbs up even as Uzi could see the ‘low charge’ symbol blinking at the corner of his visor. “You passed out this morning, I should be asking you.”

His hand came to rest on her baby bump, giving her a very tired grin as the hologram flickered slightly. “Baby has you exhausted too, I'm really proud of you for making this speech.”

She blushed, taking another glance around to insure no one was watching them.

“Let's just hope it was worth it..” Uzi blinked, did… did she just say that twice? Because it was either that or… the mic was still on.

She gasped, looking down at the mic attached to her, still blinking green, showing that it was indeed on. She looked back up at N, who looked equally as shocked. And she quickly turned it off, looking back at her dad, who had apparently been trying to get her attention this entire time, and now was just smiling sheepishly.

The stadium was dead silent.

Like a character in a horror movie, she slowly went to check on the rest of the stadium, the seats now all empty. She peered over the side and-

Not a single person was present on the left, every single drone voting in favor of Uzi's plan, when she was noticed back within view, she got cheers, she could hear congratulations mixed in with the “you go girl”s and straight cheers.

She began to tear up a moment of relief hitting her before the mortification she just announced her pregnancy in front of the entire bunker caught up.

She looked back at N, his hologram now gone, while he shrugged his shoulders with a smile, although a look on his face that was asking ‘are you alright’

No was the answer.

But even still, the plan was set in motion.

Next ->

[musicalmoritz]

terukane headcanons? (⁠゜⁠o⁠゜⁠;

I’ve been waiting to answer this one all day, I needed to give it all my brain power

• They met when Akane joined the Student Council in his first year of high school, meaning they haven’t known each other too long

• They were aware of each other before that, of course. Teru knows everybody, especially the Seven Mysteries. And it’s impossible NOT to know who Teru Minamoto is

• They actually met in passing before Akane joined the Student Council but Teru was in a rush so he brushed him off, with little concern for his manners since Akane is a Mystery. This gave Akane a pretty sour impression of Teru to begin with

• Their first proper encounter was rather hostile. As soon as Fuji was out of the Student Council room, Teru drew his sword and tied Akane up. He confronted him about his stance as a Clock Keeper and revealed himself as an exorcist. They agreed to work together so long as they kept an eye on each other, and neither of them broke the other’s trust. Another poor impression

• While Akane “hates” Teru, Teru doesn’t hate Akane. He wants to be his friend but he has no concept of social norms so he goes about it all wrong. There’s also the element of him hating supernaturals AND being a sadist so ofc when he has a supernatural on hand it’s easy for him to relieve stress via bullying and torture…somebody save Akane

• But Akane is really good at reading people, so he doesn’t hold it against Teru as much as he claims to. He recognizes that he is the only person Teru gets to be completely himself around, the good and the bad with no facade. So he complains, but he puts up with it

• We’re making this a mutual au because as we all know, one-sided ships are the only thing I’m too emotionally mature for

• Teru has liked Akane ever since he met him, although he repressed it. A cute boy with brown-blue eyes and auburn hair…then he turns out to be someone Teru can be completely comfortable around…an exception to his cruel lifestyle…someone he can trust…someone who puts up with all his worst flaws…it would be weird if he didn’t fall for him, tho Teru’s classic internalized homophobia won’t let him see it that way

• Akane’s moment was chapter 79. He’s pretty smart when it comes to love so he didn’t panic about it, but it did confuse him. He also felt guilty for it, he thought the only person he could fall for was Aoi. Falling for Teru felt like a betrayal to her, so he put those feelings on the back burner. He had to figure out what was going to happen with him and Aoi before he thought about Teru (let’s just say Aoi wasn’t ready for a relationship or smth, I don’t want to completely write her out I’ll put her in therapy instead)

• Before he got resolution with Aoi tho he had to get payback for all the torment Teru put him through. Duh. So he starts flirting with him when Teru least expects it. It’s funny to watch the way his brain short-circuits when he’s flattered by someone he’s actually interested in. He gets a good few laughs out of it but once Teru realizes what’s going on he adapts and starts flirting back. They’re both good at catching each other off-guard tho, making each other flustered is simply another part of their rivalry

• They both knew the other liked them long before they actually got together. They had multiple conversations about it but they both had their own hesitations. Teru was the last one to give in because once Akane realizes he wants something, he’ll stop at nothing to get it

• Their first kiss was very spontaneous and unconventional, it probably happened in the middle of a supermarket or smth. Fans tend to write it as a quiet, personal moment but nah, I think they both romanticized the hell out of something that was objectively awkward

• When Teru gets comfortable with his sexuality, there is no stopping him from the PDA. He makes a big scene out of greeting Akane every morning at school, and clings to him whenever Student Council meetings get boring. It’s partially to annoy him but he’s also Just That Clingy. Everyone knows they’re dating and while some students have a problem with it, Teru learns not to care

• They go on lots of “childish” dates so Teru can experience all the childhood things he missed out on. Playgrounds, arcades, amusement parks, Build-A-Bear, you name it. Remember when Kou took Mitsuba to a sandbox?? Yeah that’s an ideal date for Terukane. Though Akane doesn’t get as much out of it, he still enjoys himself. As long as he’s with Teru he doesn’t really care what he’s doing

• They plan their future together a lot so Akane can lecture Teru about retiring from exorcism. It’s an ongoing argument between them, but not in like an aggressive way. Teru knows that Akane just wants him to be happy, but he’s unwilling to open himself up to happiness

• Tiara calls them Mama and Papa. Teru is the mama (I am absolutely not trying to call him the girl in their relationship or feminize him, this is just a silly little joke pls don’t cancel me they’re both on the same level of masculinity; Teru just has big Mom Friend vibes to me)

• Most people were surprised when they got together because everyone assumed they hated each other (except Kou, who Teru told before they were official)

• They become a package deal, whenever one of them is alone someone will ask where the other is at

• My brain is too fried to continue but uhhhh yeah, they kiss

Hope you enjoyed these!! Thank you for the ask, I had fun making this <3

[cc--2224]

My Thoughts Will Echo Your Name...

Pairing: Echo x F!Reader (eventually)

Summary: After a recent breakup, Fives attempts to get you to leave your house to get yourself back out there, and to meet his closest brother before they ship out, and unfortunately it's very hard to say no to your best friend

Warnings: Drunk clones being jerks, mentions of cheating/gaslighting, alcohol mentions, mostly all fluff, until there's angst

Notes: Happy Echo day!! This will be a two-parter, I'm still working on the second part but my goal is to have it out before long

Word Count: 5.4k

Masterlist

"Fives, I'm serious, I don't feel like going out tonight." Your protests clearly meant nothing to your dear friend who showed up at your door while you were in your sleep clothes, half a bottle of wine deep.

"That's too bad." He said as he invited himself in. "Because you are." 

You glared at him as he walked past you. "I'm staying home." 

He sighed dramatically, "I barely have any off time, and you know we ship out tomorrow, will you please just come out with me while I have today?"

It was hard to say no to him, not that you'd ever tell him that, but after all that had happened, you had no energy to go out. "Why don't you just stay here? We can watch a movie, have another bottle of wine." You suggested.

"Well, normally I'd love that... but I kind of promised Echo I'd introduce you to him." He grinned, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

 "Fives..." You groaned. "I don't want to be introduced to anyone." 

"Isn't it time for you to get back out there? I mean, Echo is way better than that other guy, I know you'll love him. He's just like me, but not as handsome or funny." 

"He's like you? So I won't like him at all then," you deadpanned.

"You wound me." He said dramatically before miraculously changing his tone. "Now let's go."

"You aren't taking no for an answer, are you?"

"Nope." He grinned. "Tell you what, just come with me to 79's, if you don't like him, or if you're not having fun, I'll pay for your cab home."

"How generous." You rolled your eyes. "Fine. Only to shut you up, I will go with you. Just let me get changed."

"Wear something hot!" He yelled as you walked toward your room, a grin plastered on his face knowing that he won.

"Kriff off." You answered, slamming your door behind you.

You barely had the energy to go out, you definitely didn't feel like wearing something hot. But you also knew Fives was relentless and if you walked out wearing jeans and a simple shirt, he'd march you back into your room and pick something out for you.

But maybe it wasn't a bad idea to go all out. After all, you were certain your ex had immediately gotten back out there after your breakup, in fact you were certain he'd gotten back out there before your breakup.

You shook your head in anger, then rifled through your closet, trying to find something that remotely resembled a club outfit, before you stopped at a dress Fives had gotten you as a joke. It was a cocktail dress, a bit short for your tastes with a deep v-shaped neckline, and of course in "501st Blue" as he put it.

You held it up to yourself, looking at it in the mirror, debating if it was a good choice or not.

"Hey you still have it!" Fives said, standing in the doorway.

You startled at the sudden intrusion. "Privacy?"

"You're taking too long. That's perfect, now put it on and let's go!"

Before you could complain, he closed the door behind him as he went back to the front room to wait for you.

You sighed and quickly changed into the dress before brushing out your hair and wiping away any remnants of yesterday's eyeliner, foregoing a new layer of makeup.

As you walked out of your room, you tugged on the hem of the dress, definitely too short for you, but before you had a chance to regret your choice, you felt Fives' hand on your arm, dragging you to the door.

"Can I at least put shoes on?"

He rolled his eyes, "I guess."

After you had thrown on a pair of black strappy heels, he was once again dragging you by the arm. You didn't even have a chance to fasten the straps, but you resigned yourself to having to figure it out in the cab.

"What's the hurry anyway? It's not like you have to leave tonight."

"I know, but it's never a bad thing to give ourselves more time."

"It's barely even dark yet," You pointed out as you exited your apartment building.

"Well maybe I told Echo we'd get something to eat first."

"Fives!"

"What? We're still going to 79s, just before it gets crowded and too loud for you guys to speak."

"How do you even know Echo will like me?"

"I just know." He flashed you a grin before hailing a cab over to you.

Once inside, you got to work on buckling up your shoes.

"Look," Fives said, his tone more serious than before. "Echo's a good guy, I obviously would never force you to meet him if I thought he wasn't going to like you, or if I thought you wouldn't like him."

"I know that," You told him, looking down at your lap, "I just... With the breakup and everything–"

"It's hard to put yourself out there again. I get it, but just... humor me, okay? And I swear, the second you tell me you want to leave, I'll get you out of there."

When you didn't answer immediately, Fives turned to you. His eyes met yours, seeing your hesitation immediately.

"We can turn around, it's not too late." He offered, his voice gave away that it wasn't really what he wanted, but you knew he'd hold to his word if you asked.

"I'm already dressed." You said, rolling your eyes slightly.

He leaned over and wrapped his arms around you. "I love you, thank you!"

"I know, now get off me." You joked, despite sinking into the hug.

The taxi stopped at the landing pad in front of 79's. You had barely had enough time to scan the area before you heard someone calling Fives' name.

You looked in the direction the voice came from and you saw him bounding over to you. As expected, he looked exactly like Fives, aside from his clean-shaven, tattooless face, and the prominent blue handprint painted on his chest plate.

He stopped in front of you, greeting Fives with a firm hug before looking to you.

You had caught him subtly looking you over, and for a moment you began feeling self-conscious about your outfit choice once again, but that melted when he extended his hand to shake yours.

"You must be Fives' friend, I'm Echo."

You gave him your name with a polite smile, taking his hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise, Fives has told me a lot about you."

You turned to your friend as if to ask what exactly he had been saying about you, but he changed the subject.

"Let's go inside, I'm starving!" He announced as he began walking toward the bar, leaving you and Echo to follow him.

Fives led the two of you to a booth, and once he had slid in, he stretched obnoxiously, forcing you to slide in next to Echo.

You ensured to keep your distance, trying to avoid getting too close to him, but you also made sure to give Fives a quick glare. He shrugged and grinned in response.

Once your orders were placed, Echo glanced to you.

"Fives tells me that you're a writer?"

"Well, trying to be." You admit. "I'm a journalist, but I want to write more creatively."

"What would you write about?" His curiosity is genuine, he didn't think he had ever met someone who wanted to write books before.

"Me, obviously." Fives chimed in from across the table. "I'd make an excellent hero."

You rolled your eyes, it isn't the first time he has indicated being the protagonist in a story you wrote.

You looked back to Echo and shrugged slightly, "I haven't really decided yet."

"Well, I can't wait to read it, whatever it ends up being." His voice was soft, he seemed excited about the idea, which is more than you could say for others.

Feeling warmth spread across your face, you looked back to the table quickly, just in time for your food to arrive.

The conversations were on and off as the three of you ate. They were mostly between Echo and Fives and you observed the two of them together, but occasionally you joined in as well.

Before long, your meals were done, and drinks had begun to be delivered to your table.

After one or two, Echo looked back and forth between you and Fives, before his gaze rested on you.

"Fives always talks about how good of friends you two are, but I'm curious, you've never... gone beyond that?"

You coughed into your cup before your laughter mingled with your coughing from the drink you inhaled.

"No," Was all you could say, and even that was strained.

You looked to Fives, who was laughing too. "I mean, I can't lie, look at her; she's beautiful. But, not my type."

Shaking your head at his compliment, you had finally cleared the liquid from your windpipe.

You looked to Echo and clarified. "Fives and I have been friends since he came to Coruscant, he asked me out, yeah, but we learned very early on that we were compatible only as friends."

Fives took another swig of his drink before giving you a knowing look. You raised an eyebrow as his focus turned to Echo.

"She's a bit too serious for me, y'know? Like she's smart, maybe a bit of a bookworm, would rather stay in and watch a holofilm, maybe that's why we work as friends. But honestly, she's more the kind of girl you like, Echo."

And there it was.

Your eyes widen slightly at his comment, before you attempt to drown your embarrassment with the remainder of your drink.

You can feel Echo shift slightly in his seat, and you decide it's a great time to go track down refills for the three of you.

Quickly getting up from your seat, you made a bee-line for the bar counter. Pushing through the group of clones that had begun to amass there.

You could feel their gazes upon you but you ignored them as you ordered drinks for your table and waited patiently.

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see the same blue handprint you had noticed earlier, and you turned to face Echo. He looked just as embarrassed as you, but he gave you an apologetic smile.

"I'm... That was uncalled for. Sorry that Fives embarrassed you like that."

You shook your head, "No, it's okay. Truthfully I saw it coming. I'm sorry that he put you on the spot."

"Don't worry about it. I mean, if anything, he's right."

His words took a moment to sink in, and the realization became present on your face as soon as they had.

"What do you mean?" You asked, trying not to jump to conclusions.

"I mean that, if how he described you is accurate, which I suspect it is, I'm the same way. This kind of place, it's fun, and I like coming here with the boys after a mission, but I prefer relaxing in my barracks, catching up on some reading, that kind of thing."

Before you could respond, another clone sitting at the bar turned to the two of you.

"Get a load of this guy, spends his time reading!" He slurred. "What a loser, you could do way better, doll."

He wasn't subtle about the way his eyes trailed up your body. He paused, looking at the hem of your dress, then his eyes continued upward, stopping at the deep-v neckline as he stared pointedly at your breasts.

You immediately felt yourself shrink away from his gaze as you could see him ogling you, but before you could say anything, you felt yourself being pulled backwards.

Echo had grabbed your arm and pulled you into him, shielding you from view while stepping between you and the other clone. He gave him a glare, but said nothing.

"You can't be serious, all that eyecandy for you?" The clone complained loudly. "Whatever, take the dumb chaakar back to your bunk and read to her. I bet that's why she wore that outfit." His tone was laced with sarcasm, and it wasn't lost on you.

Before either of you could react, the bartender arrived with your drinks. Both of you visibly relaxed and brought them back to the table.

Fives could tell something was up when he saw you approach, but Echo just shook his head, knowing that if he knew, his brother would cause something he'd have to clean up.

Echo slid into the booth first, and you followed. Once you were seated, still maintaining some distance from him, he inched slightly closer to you, resting his thigh against yours as a way to comfort you.

You took a sip of your drink and looked away from the table, not sure what to say.

Fives looked between you and Echo before you felt him nudge your foot from under the table. When you met his eye, he subtly nudged his head toward the door, silently asking if you wanted to leave.

You shook your head with a genuine smile and he relaxed.

"So what'd you guys talk about?" Fives finally asked.

"Insulting you, mostly." You answered, not skipping a beat.

"Only mostly? I'm offended."

"Not everything is about you, believe it or not." You smirked.

Echo took another swig of his drink. "I keep telling him that."

"If I had known this night would end up with you two teaming up against me, I'd have never brought you." Fives says with fake indignance, crossing his arms.

"You couldn't have expected anything different," you pointed out. "The two people who know you best, I'd say we make a pretty good team, wouldn't you agree, Echo?"

You smiled at him and he shifted in his seat a bit. "Y-Yeah, we do!"

With the drinks flowing, the three of you were able to continue your conversation, opening up more and more as the night went on.

You learned more about Fives that you probably could have gone your whole life without learning, but you also slowly started to get to know Echo.

It was almost as if you were both working on chipping away each others' quiet, introverted demeanors, until eventually, Echo chipped a bit too much.

"Fives had mentioned you weren't seeing anyone, it's not really my business but is there a reason for that?"

Your stunned reaction made him start to regret his question and he quickly back-pedaled. "That was a dumb question, you don't have to answer that."

"No, no it's fine I just..." You looked at Fives for support then back at your drink, before looking to Echo again. "I guess to make a long story short, my last partner cheated on me."

"A lot." Fives added in, earning a glare from you.

"I caught him with someone else, he tried to tell me it was nothing, that I was crazy for being upset, that I should have seen it coming, and every excuse in the book. Even accused me of cheating with Fives. But then the truth came out about everyone else he had been with." Your finger circled idly around your glass as you stared at the remaining liquid.

Echo was silent. It took a minute of silence before you finally looked over at him. His expression was something between confusion and anger as he processed what you told him.

"I..." He looked at Fives, "Is this guy still living?"

"Unfortunately yes." Fives answered, "Though I did ask if I could do the honours and kill him myself, but she said no."

"He wasn't worth the jail time you would have gotten." You said, your tone indicating that this wasn't the first time you had said it.

"I'm sorry." Echo looked back at you. His hand reaching out, then hesitating, then finally resting it on your shoulder. "I may not know you well, but from what I've learned and seen, it truly is his loss. I couldn't even imagine anyone throwing away a relationship with you."

You could feel yourself blush at his words, his voice was so genuine, he meant what he was saying. The way he looked into your eyes; maybe Fives was right and you would end up with a crush.

Fives looked back and forth between the two of you before smirking to himself and drinking the last sip of his beverage.

"I'm gonna go get us some refills. Be back in a minute."

After a moment, Echo removed his hand from your shoulder, but you were very aware of how his fingertips brushed your arm when doing so.

"So, what about you?" You asked after a beat.

"What do you mean?"

"Why aren't you seeing anyone?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, well... it's kind of against regulation."

"So I've heard, but most of the people I've talked to seem to ignore that rule."

"Yeah, I guess I've just always been a stickler for the rules. And, I mean," a faint blush crept across his cheeks, "That clone at the bar wasn't wrong. Women aren't exactly lining up to spend time with me when there are more fun people out there."

"I'm here, aren't I?" You blurted out.

Once you realized what you said, your eyes widened and your gaze quickly turned back to your empty glass.

Echo chuckled quietly beside you. "Yeah, I guess you are."

You looked around nervously, not knowing what to say. You glanced toward the bar before looking back at Echo. "Fives has been gone a while, I think I'll go check that he can handle the drinks."

"You sure? I could go if you want, I don't want anyone to bother you again."

You smiled, appreciative of his concern.  "I'll be alright."

"If you say so," He shrugged, "I'll be here."

You gently rested your hand on his before you got up from the bench. As soon as he couldn't see your face, your eyes widened in panic wondering why you did that. Echo only stared after you, smiling.

When you approached the bar, you found Fives right away, leaning against the counter and talking to another clone as he waited on your drinks.

The other clone turned to you as soon as he noticed you approach.

Of course he was the same one as earlier.

"Back already?" He asked, "What, did he finally bore you?"

You rolled your eyes, and without looking at him, you replied flatly. "Quite the opposite."

Fives raised an eyebrow at your exhange, "Did I miss something?"

"Just glad I get to admire the scenery again."

You visibly cringed, but you did your best to ignore him as you focused on Fives. "I just came up to see if you needed help with the drinks."

Fives, still confused, nodded. "Yeah, sure. You gonna tell me what's going on?"

"Just some jagyc thinking he can take me home." You explained as if he wasn't right beside you. Your Mando'a wasn't great, but you'd heard quite a few insults in the time you've spent with Fives.

"What, you already get bored of Booksmart? Moved onto someone else? Or are you just some barrack bunny trying to get as many clones as possible?"

"Ease up, maybe you've had a bit too much to drink." Fives said with an uncharacteristically serious voice. "She's not interested, and the next time you insult her, you'll be doing so without teeth."

Before he could say anything else, the bartender arrived with your drinks. You took yours while Fives grabbed the other two, but you hesitated as you were walking away.

"Everything okay?" Fives was concerned when you suddenly stopped.

"Actually I–" You stared down at your feet.

"You want to go home? I'd understand, that clone was out of line."

"No it's not that... I just, need to talk to you."

He raised an eyebrow, "What's up?"

"There's not really an ideal time to say this, and as much as it pains me to admit... You were right. While you were up here, Echo and I started talking and... I don't know, he's sweet."

Fives' confused face turned into a grin as soon as you said he was right. "So what are you saying? You like him?"

"I don't know..." You could feel heat flooding your cheeks. "I won't make any guarantees, but I want to get to know him better."

"That could be arranged, leave it to me!"

Before you could say anything, Fives turned around and started walking back to your table.

"Wait, Fives, no!" You trailed behind him, terrified of what he meant. What was he going to do?

When you got back to the table and slid into the booth, you eyed Fives cautiously.

"So, Echo," Fives started and you felt a pit grow in your stomach. "Got any plans for after the mission?"

He shrugged, "Nothing out of the ordinary."

"I think you should change up your routine. Why don't you two go on a date?" Fives said, gesturing to both of you.

Your eyes widened and your knew your face had to be beet red by now. You couldn't even turn your head to look at Echo.

"Oh, really? Why us?" He asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.

"Well I mean, you seem to get along pretty well, you have stuff in common, I think you'd really hit it off without me sitting across from you."

Echo paused before answering again. He looked over at you and noticed you wouldn't meet his gaze. "What do you think?"

Slowly, you turned your head to face him. "I mean... if you want to, I wouldn't mind." Your voice was quiet as you desperately tried to hide your nerves.

He gave you a sweet smile, "Then I guess it's a date, as soon as we're back."

Fives smiled between the two of you then gave you a wink when you finally looked back at him.

"Where are you guys shipping off to, anyway?"

Fives shrugged, "Lola Sayu, some kind of fortress or something. Shouldn't be too long, it's just a retrieval mission."

"Do you want me to head to the landing dock tomorrow morning as usual?"

"Usual?" Echo repeated.

"Yeah she normally sends us off, maybe you've never noticed." He turned back to you, "I don't think you'll be able to this time, the general said we have to take an alternate means of transport."

Your shoulders sank slightly, "Oh, I see. That sounds interesting though. I'll just have to send you luck when we're done here."

Fives smiled, downing the last of his drink. "We should probably get going soon, early start and all."

You and Echo finished your respective drinks after him and nodded, slowly shuffling out of the booth, heading toward the exit.

There were more clones gathered outside now, and the cool nighttime air on your skin made you shiver.

Fives hailed a taxi as you and Echo hung back, not really sure what to say to each other now.

Once the cab arrived, Fives let you go in first, followed by Echo and then himself.

"Two stops," you told the droid before giving it your address, but you were cut off by Fives before you could tell it the second stop.

"Just the one stop."

You looked at him with an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"We won't see you tomorrow, I'm not accepting a half-assed goodbye from the cab."

You rolled your eyes, "Fine."

Once the taxi arrived at the landing dock outside of your apartment, the three of you left the vehicle, one after the other.

Fives scooped you up into a big hug as soon as you exited the cab, holding you tight against his chest. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders.

"Try not to miss us too much, got it?" He said into your shoulder. You smiled and tightened your side of the hug.

"Try not to get blown up." You joked.

You could feel him smile before he broke the hug, looking into your eyes. You rested a hand against his cheek gently.

"Comm me as soon as you can. And stay safe." You looked at Echo then back to Fives. "Keep each other safe."

"Of course," Fives replied before giving you a soft kiss on your forehead then stepping away so you could talk to Echo.

The two of you exchanged a slightly more awkward albeit friendly hug.

"You don't get blown up either." You told him with a half-smile.

"I'll try not to. We've got a date when I get back." He reminded you.

"It was nice meeting you. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better."

He smiled as his cheeks and ears flushed slightly pink. "Likewise."

You took a step toward him before kissing his cheek. "Stay safe."

"Of-of course." His hand rested against his cheek where you kissed him. "I'll let you know when I get back."

You smiled at him. Fives approached the two of you again.

"We should get back to the barracks, Rex won't be happy if we're too late."

"I don't want to keep you. Just, be careful. I'll see you both when you get back!"

You watched as they hailed another taxi and boarded. Once the transport was out of sight, you walked into your apartment building, already looking forward to the day they returned.

– – –

One night, a couple of weeks following your night at 79s, you were woken up to the sound of a fist slamming on your door. You jolted upright, hesitating if you should answer it or not.

You sat in your bed, trying to stop yourself from trembling as you waited with bated breath if whoever was at your door would knock again.

They did, only softer this time.

Slowly, you crept out of your bedroom, trying to make as little sound as possible before you finally made it to the front door. You pressed your ear against it, hoping to hear who was on the other side, but they didn't make a sound between knocks.

"Wh-who's there?" You asked, shakily.

"Please open the door, it's Fives." You visibly relaxed before unlocking and opening the door for your friend.

Before you could say anything, he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into his chest, just as he did the night before he left.

"I'm sorry." He said, barely a whisper.

You backed away from his embrace and you moved to close and lock your front door, turning the hall light on once it was closed.

"I didn't know you were back, you should have commed me!" You told him, assuming his apology was for his extended time away.

"We just got back, I sent you a message but I guess you were asleep. I..." He looked down and you could see his jaw clench as he balled his hands into fists. "I couldn't..."

He trailed off and your smile fell. "Is everything okay?"

He looked away, not meeting your gaze, until you placed your hand on his cheek, forcing him to look at you.

"Fives, what's wrong?"

"It's... it's Echo." His voice broke slightly and you could feel the pain in your chest caused by his sadness. "I tried to stop him but he–"

You could see his eyes start to water before he could get the words out, and he melted into your palm. You pulled him into another embrace, gently stroking his hair.

"Why don't you sit down and tell me what happened?" You suggested. It was strange to see Fives so upset, in all the time you've been friends, you couldn't think of a time where he's been angry in front of you, let alone crying. You took his hand and led him to the couch.

Once he was seated, he brought his hand to his face, trying to sneakily wipe away tears as if he didn't want you to see them.

"Echo's dead." He said after a long pause. "Droids blew up our ship, Echo tried to defend it."

"I see." You couldn't think of what to say.

Words of comfort usually came so naturally to you, but you were speechless. It's true you didn't know Echo very well, even after your night out, but the news made your heart ache. You had been looking forward to seeing him again, to going on your date, and all of that had been taken away, but more importantly, Fives just lost one of his brothers.

You looked over at Fives who was already looking at you. He didn't know how you'd take the news and he was worried.

"I'm sorry, Fives. I didn't know him well, but he didn't deserve that."

"Him and I were the last of our original squad and now I'm alone, I couldnt even retrieve his helmet." He sighed, "And you were supposed to go out with him after, I told you I'd keep him safe."

"Hey, don't worry about me. I'm sad that he's gone, believe me, but I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I've lost brothers before, it's what we were created for, but... It's not right. Echo deserved to live."

"You all do. Just because you were created for war doesn't mean you have to just accept your fate or anyone else's." You shook your head. "It's late, and I don't want you to be alone right now. Do you want to stay over?"

"Yeah, that would be nice. Thank you."

"Of course." You leaned over on the sofa, kissing his temple before wrapping your arms around him. "We can talk more about it in the morning, okay?"

"Sorry for waking you up."

"I'm glad you did."

You stood up from the couch to grabs Fives a pillow and some blankets you had stored nearby for this exact reason. 

"If you need anything, help yourself. Get some sleep, okay?"

"I'll do my best."

You walked back to your room and laid back down in your bed. Suddenly the full wave of everything he told you hit you and you could feel your eyes water.

You didn't feel it was right for you to cry over someone you barely knew, it felt selfish to mourn someone you wanted to get to know better. You couldn't shake the thought of what could have been.

Your chest ached with sadness and longing, wishing he could have made it through. Fives was right, Echo deserved to live.

While you were alone you allowed yourself to cry for him, but you knew you had to be strong for Fives. He wouldn't forgive himself if he saw you cry, and he didn't need that guilt. You could get through this. You just wished you could see him again.

As you lay, staring at the ceiling, you heard a gentle knock on your bedroom door. You hastily wiped any tears from your face and turned on the lamp beside your bed.

"Come in." You called out, before the door opened.

Fives looked as though he wanted to say something, but couldn't voice it. He shied away in embarrassment before you offered him a gentle smile.

"If you want to stay in here, that's okay."

"Thanks..." he muttered before walking around to the other side of your bed. "I'm sorry I just.."

"You don't want to be alone, I understand. Come here." You invited him toward you with open arms, and he moved closer to you, laying his head on your chest. You gently stroked his hair.

"I'm sorry."

"There's nothing you need to apologize for."

"I shouldn't have asked you to come out with us that night."

"I'm glad I did. It's true that I didn't get to know him well, but I'm glad that I met him. And I feel more equipped to help you now because I did."

"You're allowed to be upset too, you know. You don't have to comfort me. Echo wouldn't shut up about your date, it was actually getting pretty annoying, I'm just sorry he couldn't be here for it."

"Thank you for telling me that." In a weird way it did make you feel better, and it helped that Fives could still make fun of his brother despite the circumstances. "I'll be okay, though. And I'll be here for you whenever you need me."

Fives smiled slightly and closed his eyes, allowing himself to finally find sleep, and you followed shortly after.

[cookiescribble]

Something New

A/N: Someone asked me for a part two of this, and honestly? Don’t have to ask me twice, I’ve been thinking about it a lot 🫶🏻 sorry it took a little more time than I was expecting, we’re going on vacation soon so a lot of our time is being spent preparing for that :) - mod angel

Pairing: Spencer Reid x GN!Reader

Summary: Spencer has been spending a lot of time bonding with his new coworker, and they’re starting to realize that they might have more feelings than they were ready for.

~~~

     I was, admittedly, pretty nervous the first time I came over Spencer’s apartment.

     I’ve always been a really shy person, and new situations always seemed a little intimidating to me. But Spencer was… different, and that comforted me. 

     I walked up to his apartment that first day, fidgeting a little as I approached his door. I took a deep breath and knocked lightly. 

     He answered the door, smiling, gesturing for me to come in. 

     I smiled and looked around his apartment. I hadn’t known him very long but it seemed very… him. There was a bookshelf against one of the forest green walls that held a large amount of books; if it belonged to anyone besides Spencer, I would’ve doubted all the books had been read. But I guess if you can read as fast as he can, getting through all those books isn’t that big a deal. 

     He led me to the couch and motioned for me to sit down. He had taken out a DVD set of Star Trek: The Original Series that was sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch. 

     He took the DVDs and started speaking. “So, I know you said you’ve seen some of TOS, but I figured it would be better to watch it completely through from start to finish.”

     “Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve seen any of it,” I replied. “Plus, I always like to watch things fully in order. I can’t just pick up a show in the middle. I have to start at the beginning.”

     He nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, I feel the same way! People have told me it’s not a big deal to start watching a show in the middle, but I could never do that.”

     I smiled. “Plus, there’s only 3 seasons of TOS, right? It’s not that hard to get through.” I could feel myself calming down as the conversation seemed to flow easily between us. 

     “There’s only 79 episodes. It’s really short, considering how many other shows and movies came out of it.” He seemed to hesitate for a moment as he put the DVD in the player. “… I have all the other Star Trek shows and movies too, if you want to watch them.” He cleared his throat and quickly continued, “of course, for now we’ll just stick to this and, um, we don’t even have to finish if you end up changing your mind…”

     I shook my head. “No, I want to do this. I think it’ll be fun.” I smiled reassuringly. “Plus, what I have seen I’ve really liked, so I definitely want to watch the whole thing.”

     He smiled back at me and sat on the opposite end of the couch. “I just didn’t want you to feel like you had to agree to this. Most people don’t really take my interests seriously…” he admitted, sounding a little sad. 

     I just shrugged. “Well, I’m here, aren’t I? Why would I come here if I wasn’t interested?” 

     “I guess that’s true,” he said as he picked up the remote. “… So, are you ready to start?”

     I smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’m ready,” I responded before he started playing the first episode. 

…

     We fell into a regular routine after that first day. 

     I’d usually come over about once a week. We’d always start with Spencer recapping the last episodes we watched, recalling them in perfect detail so I could remember exactly what happened. 

     I really liked watching the show with him. A lot of times, he’d get really excited and talk during the episodes. He’d always apologize when I asked him to rewind so I could catch what I missed while he was talking, but I always told him I didn’t mind. And I really didn’t, I loved listening to him talk. He always had something interesting to say. 

     I found myself starting to watch him more than I watched the show. I was trying really hard not to admit it to myself, but I was really starting to feel something between us. I’d noticed the way we both started to get comfortable with each other as time went on, and how we started to sit closer to each other every time we hung out. I felt some kind of… spark, whenever I was with him. 

     I tried to ignore this feeling, but it was getting more and more difficult. I felt so happy to see him all the time; hanging out with him felt like the highlight of my week. I looked forward to it for days, and I couldn’t help but think of how much I wanted to be alone with him when I saw him at work. 

     But I kept this all to myself. It was just a silly crush, and I didn’t even know if he had feelings like that. Plus, there’s no way I could have a crush on a coworker. That could never work out well. 

     Right?

… (POV change)

Spencer wasn’t used to spending so much time with someone. Sure, he talked with his coworkers every day, but it wasn’t the same. No one shared interests with him like this. 

Since this was all new to him, he figured these feelings he was having were just normal when you made a new friend. This certain fondness he was feeling that he had never felt before now. 

But as time went on, and he kept spending more time with them, he was starting to suspect he was feeling a little more than friendly with them. He started spending a lot of time wishing they would hang out more. Eventually, he couldn’t help it, and asked them to come over even if he’d already seen them that week. He’d say it was because he wanted to keep watching the show, but really he was just excited to see them. 

Eventually, he couldn’t deny the feelings he had for them anymore. 

There was one day they came over, after there had been a particularly exhausting case. It just so happened to end on the day they had both been reserving to watch the show together. Spencer offered to switch the days and let them catch up on sleep, but they insisted that they still wanted to come over. 

It wasn’t a problem for a while, but eventually, as Spencer was talking, they stopped replying to him. He looked over to see they had fallen asleep curled up on the couch. 

He just stared at them for a few moments before pausing the show, not wanting them to miss what was happening. He wasn’t sure what to do; he didn’t want to wake them up because they looked so peaceful. They looked… really cute…

He shook his head as if trying to shake the thought out of his mind. He stood up, getting a throw blanket and gently placing it over them, careful to not wake them up. 

He walked to the kitchen, figuring he’d make something to eat in case they were hungry when they woke up. Really, he just needed an excuse to not be near them right now. It was taking every ounce of his willpower not to slip his arm around them and let them sleep on him.

He tried not to let his mind wander as he made dinner, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t stop thinking about them.

He kept trying to rationalize his thoughts, like he always did. It had never been a problem before; he had always been a logical person, so it had never been difficult to keep his thoughts in check. Until now.

He knew that he shouldn’t have feelings for a coworker. It just wasn’t professional. And besides, they probably didn’t feel the same way about him. No one ever had. It was new to him just to have someone willing to share his interests. Their feelings probably ended there: he was just a new friend to them.

Although… there have been multiple occasions where he thought he saw them sneaking glances at him. And the way they looked at him, he thought that maybe they were starting to have feelings for him too…

He was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice them waking up and walking into the kitchen until they spoke to him.

“Hey…” they started. “Sorry, I didn’t realize I was falling asleep.”

Spencer jumped a little before turning to look at them. They still had the blanket wrapped around their shoulders. They looked really comfortable that way. And the sleepy tone in their voice…

He cleared his throat. “That’s okay. We had a pretty tiring few days with that case, so I figured I’d just let you sleep. You seemed like you needed it.”

They smiled sleepily. “Yeah, I guess I did.” They turned their attention to the kitchen counter. “You made dinner? Was I asleep that long?”

He shook his head. “You weren’t out for too long, but I figured you might be hungry when you woke up, so…” He trailed off, blushing a bit.

They smiled. “Thank you. I am actually pretty hungry.” They hugged the blanket a little closer to them, rubbing their eyes a bit.

Spencer turned around and grabbed two plates, carrying them to the coffee table in the living room. They followed him and sat down on the couch, moving the blanket so it was laying across their lap.

They ate in silence, the show playing on the TV in front of them, though they both seemed to have trouble paying attention to it.

After a few more episodes, it was time to leave. Spencer took the blanket when they handed it to him, putting it back where it was before.

He walked to the door with them, like he always did. Today, though, they lingered in the doorway a little longer. Maybe it was the tiredness, or maybe they just finally found the courage they’d been looking for all this time.

“Um…” they started, looking a little nervous. “Thank you for making dinner tonight. That was really nice.”

He smiled warmly at them. “Oh, it was no problem, really. I was hungry too,” he laughed awkwardly.

They smiled a bit, but they had a concentrated look on their face. “Well, uh, I was wondering… Maybe one day you’d like to… go out to dinner?” They took a deep breath before continuing quietly. “Like��� as a date?”

He blushed and smiled, all the thoughts of doubt he’d been having earlier thrown out the window. “Yeah, I... I’d really like that.” He tried to sound calm, but it was clear he was really excited about it.

They smiled back at him, the nervousness gone as they realized he was just as happy about it as they were. “Okay. It’s a date, then.”

They said their goodbyes, both of them unable to stop smiling as they thought about what their future together would hold.

[multi-fan-dom-madness]

Hello! Spreading more asks around for the first kiss prompt!

I'd love to see the prompt - "don't you dare tell anyone about this." "wasn't planning on it." With Crosshair, but the second part being said by the reader possibly with a wink? If that's too specific just the prompt going either way. (The inner Crosshair simp must be fed!)

Love and Wrecker Hugs! ❤️🖤

ahhh!! this was the perfect prompt for Cross and I had a lot of fun writing it! thank you bb!! I fully intended to wait to answer all of these all at once but I'm too excited so, I present:

First Kiss - Crosshair

Summary: Exactly what it says on the tin, folks. Prompt in bold.

Warnings: some angst (because it's Crosshair), a little bit of a toxic relationship but it's fine, mention of my OC Captain Flare, medic!reader, gn!reader, fluff, confessions

Word Count: 1.4k woops

TBB divider by the wonderful @wizardofrozz, other divider by @dystopicjumpsuit

You’ve worked with Clone Force 99 now for nearly a full year, and while you could technically be reassigned at any moment, both Cody and your supervisor, a bitter old bat, assured you that the Republic had bigger fish to fry than the logistics of shuffling one nat-born medic every few campaigns. And so you’ve stayed with the outcasts. They’ve become something akin to family, at least to you. You know most of them feel the same—Wrecker never fails to express his brotherly affection for you, Tech continues to adjust the ship’s thermostat to a temperature that is best suited to you when you’re feeling off, and Hunter’s silent nod and smile tell you all you need to know. 

Crosshair, though, is a tough nut to crack. 

At first, you swore he hated you. Despite the rest of the squad’s assurances that he’d come around, you’d been skeptical. It wasn’t until several months into your assignment, on a mission you really shouldn’t have been on as the team’s medic, when you saved Crosshair from commando droids that something changed. He still snarked you, still flicked his used toothpicks at your face to bother you. But he slowly began to open up to you. He included you in inside jokes, actually listened to your medical advice, and even let you hold his Firepuncher once.

So despite the hospitality and friendliness of the rest of the squad, it’s Crosshair that your heart has chosen to love. You know he cares about you. You just don’t know to what extent. 

Because even though he still maintains an impenetrable wall around himself, he looks after you. On missions and otherwise. When you go out on shore leave as a squad, he glowers at anyone who dares even look in your direction. 

And that’s exactly the situation you find yourself in tonight. Planetside, on Triple Zero, you’d convinced the others to have a night out with you before you shipped back to the warzone in a few days. The missions have been nearly incessant, and you’re all starting to feel the strain. 

Leaning back against the sticky bartop, you survey the crowded dance floor. Hunter, Tech, and Wrecker lounge in one of the coveted corner booths, looking more relaxed than you’ve seen them in a long time, dressed in civvies and nursing the cheap booze served by the 79s management. A smile lifts your lips. They deserve this, just one night off, to remind them what the war is for.

But you came here wanting more than to drink weak, watery beer. Taking a swill, you glance sidelong at Crosshair perched on a barstool next to you. 

He hasn’t left your side since you walked in. Normally, his presence is comforting, especially in unfamiliar settings, on unfamiliar planets, around unfamiliar people. But 79s hosts none of those things. In fact, the way he’s ordained himself your personal shadow is beginning to grate. You know he’s scaring off any of the regs who might otherwise ask you to dance, or offer a drink, or even just a friendly hello. You know he’s hovering to protect you. 

You just don’t understand why.

Sighing, you take another swill of your drink. “Kark, what’s a person gotta do to get a dance around here?” 

Crosshair doesn’t answer, just shifts his toothpick to the other side of his mouth. 

You huff. “Cross, c’mon. I don’t need a babysitter. Go drink with the others. I’ll be fine.” 

“S’not you I’m worried about,” he mutters. “S’them.” He jerks his chin toward the dance floor, gesturing broadly to the gathering of regs. 

“I can handle them,” you say, an edge of ice to your voice. Frustration at his inability to actually say what he means boils below your skin. 

Crosshair, predictably, ignores the bite of your words. “Didn’t say you couldn’t.” 

“Great,” you say, pushing away from the bar, “glad we’re in agreement.” 

Shoving your half-empty bottle into his hands. He looks down at it with a bewildered expression, then up at you, his eyes narrowed into slits. You give him a sarcastic, two-finger salute before dipping into the crowd. 

You find a clone—Flare, you think he says his name is—who is more than willing to dance. His grasp on your body is unfamiliar but respectful. The pair of you sway and grind through several songs (you’re certainly not keeping track, too focused on trying to avoid the impulse to see if Crosshair is watching). When Flare whispers into your ear, his lips brushing your skin, your eyes slide shut, desperately wishing he were someone else.

A moment later, Flare yelps and his arms are ripped from around you. Eyes shooting open, you whip around to find Crosshair, every line of his body radiating anger, his fists clenched at his sides. Kriff. 

“Sorry,” you call to Flare as you grab Crosshair’s bicep and haul him through the crowd to the front door. “What the fuck are you doing!?” 

Scoffing, Cross yanks his arm free, though follows hot on your heels as you emerge into the cool night air. “Could ask you the same thing.” 

“I was dancing,” you say.

This is going to be an argument, you just know it, and you don’t want to subject all these strangers to the impending shitstorm. So you keep walking, leading Crosshair around the corner where it’s quieter. 

“Bantha-shit,” he hisses. His firm grip on your shoulder spins you around. “His hands were all over you.” 

“He wasn’t doing anything I didn’t want,” you say, glaring at him. “Maker, what is your issue? I can’t even have a fun night out without you stepping all over my plans, can I?” 

“No,” he spits. “Not if it means—” He cuts himself off and looks away, jaw clenching and unclenching. His chest heaves with emotion, two high spots of color on his cheeks. 

Something in you softens, anger cooling into confusion. “Not if it means what, Cross?” 

Nostrils flaring with every inhale, he shakes his head minutely, eyes pressing shut. 

You hesitate, but after a moment, you sigh. Reaching up, you gently cup his face to draw him back to you. His eyes flutter open to meet your own. This is the closest you’ve been to him, you realize, in your entire time with the squad. Besides his medical exams, this is the most you’ve touched him, too. The realization sets your heart pounding. 

“Don’t shut me out,” you say. “Please.” 

He studies you for a moment. Across his face flits several emotions, none of them identifiable, and you begin to grow worried that all the progress you’ve made with him is about to be tossed over the ledge of this Coruscanti sidewalk. 

A worry that is dashed as soon as he surges forward and kisses you, one hand cupping the back of your neck to steady you. A sound of surprise squeaks out of you. Then you’re melting against him. Tilting your head, you deepen the kiss, one hand settled over his heart. It beats hard and fast under your palm, nearly in tempo with your own racing pulse. His lips are chapped and rough against yours, but you don’t care, because it’s him, and this is all you’ve needed these past few months. 

When he pulls away, he doesn’t go far. His forehead pressed against yours, his eyes remain screwed shut. He releases a shaky exhale. 

“Cross, I—” 

He kisses you again. “Don’t. Don’t apologize.” 

“How did you—”

“Because I know you,” he says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

Warmth blooms deep in your chest, right where you’ve made space for him in your heart. “Y-Yeah. Alright. But—”

“No,” he grumbles. “You need to know that I- I’m sorry. For being a di’kut. I should have made a move sooner.” 

A soft chuckle spills from you. “Yeah, you should’ve.” 

At last, his warm, amber eyes flutter open to meet yours. Your breaths mingle in the small space between your faces, and the intensity of affection in his gaze nearly makes your knees collapse. Smiling up at him, you catch the barest hint of a smile in return. For a moment, it’s just you and Crosshair in one another’s embrace, the sounds and smells of the side alley of 79s fading away. 

The moment is shattered when he speaks again. “Don’t you dare tell anyone about this.” 

Laughing in earnest, you can’t help but shake your head. The others are going to find out about this new development sooner or later, but as you meet his gaze again, you realize he doesn’t mean the kiss. Sobering, you nod. “Wasn’t planning on it.”

You can’t resist winking, though. He rolls his eyes and grumbles, but tucks you against his side all the same to lead you back to the barracks.

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[dickarchivist]

BESTIEEEE could i trouble you for a kiss prompt of….

a hand (or both) placed gently on their cheeks!!!

With Banshee pleaseeee? 👉🏻👈🏻🥹

Banshee Babes I have a snack for you pspspspsps

Feels Like Home

Clone OC Banshee (pov) X gn!Reader

Word Count: 1324

Prompt: First Kiss prompt list: a hand (or both) placed gently on their cheeks

Rating: G, but minors DNI still 🔞

Contents and Warnings: none, it's really cute fluff ♡ there is a bloody nose from a punch at one point, but that's really the only thing.

Summary: Banshee loves you (that's it, that's the fic)

Author's Notes: Thank you @anxiouspineapple99 for asking for this fic!! Immediately when I read it I heard Banshee in my head go "Can I tell this one?" so it's written from Banshee's POV!! Kinda reads like a one-sided conversation in Ban's head, like he's thinking directly to you.

As always, Banshee mostly signs. All Sign will be in italics without quotation marks to show the difference between spoken word.

I miss you.

It's been... kriff I don't even know how long. I think last time I saw you, it was sunny... yeah, it was, I remember thinking how pretty you looked with light dancing in your eyes. I wish I'd kissed you then. Before that too, when we were at 79's and I heard you laugh at one of Phantom's shitty jokes.

You talk to him a lot. Makes sense, he's got a lot to say... I wish I could speak more to you. I just-- can't. I don't know why. My voice is fine, I remember you saying it was pretty once, when you heard me laugh. Made me blush. Kriff, Specs wouldn't let me live that down for weeks. "Sing us a song with your pretty voice, Banshee~"

He was just poking fun, I smiled at it, rolled my eyes, but I hated it. I hated that I couldn't sing like a bird right then and there. I flipped him one instead, we rough housed, and then before we knew it, we were on another battlefield.

I want to tell you everything. I hope it's enough just to want to. That when I put my arm around you, you know I'd do anything for you. That when I look in your eyes all I can think is how lucky I am to have been made, because I get to look at you even for a second. I get to hear your laugh, even if it's muffled it's still the prettiest laugh I know. Or your voice, ah kriff, I could listen to you talk all damn day.

I do, sometimes.

That message you left on my commlink, I saved it. Play it when I'm in the field so if I go, you're the last thing I hear.

"What'cha thinkin' about Ban? You've been staring off into space for like... twenty minutes. You okay?" Athena. She's small, I could throw her pretty far if we combined my strength and her force jump. I think General Valka would kill me if I launched her though.

Nothing, but that's a lie, I'm thinking about you.

"Somebody's lying~" I could punch Phantom right now, that sing-song jeering makes me so- ugh, "You're thinkin' about that babe, aren't you? Vod when ya gonna ask 'em out! Better do it before I do, I make em laugh you know, bet I could get em to make other noi-"

I punch Phantom. I don't even realize I did until Athena gasps at the blood running down Tommy's face. "Kriff I was joking Ban! Ah! What the hell!?"

I'm sorry, Tom, I didn't- he swats my hands, effectively shutting me up.

Ghost comes in later, he looks disappointed. I wish he'd look angry. "Anything to say for yourself?"

No. It was out of line.

"It was. So, why'd you do it? It's not like you to take a crack at Tom in earnest, lucky his nose didn't break." He chuckles, and I'm relieved at that. Didn't hurt him too badly after all.

But I can't answer Ghost... I don't want him to think less of me. Punching my brother just because I got jealous of even the thought of him taking you from me, and you're not even mine? Oh shit, why's he laughing? Hey, stop that, what's so funny?

Why are you laughing?

Ghost smiles, "You're in love huh? That person from 79's, the one you keep staring at? If Tom made a pass at them, I get why you punched him." He pats my shoulder, and I feel myself bristle, but he just shakes his head, "Look. Apologize to Tom, but between you and me, he deserved it. You should tell them when we get back, think you'll be happy with the answer."

I miss you more now. For three days, I miss you more and more. When The Crypt finally lands I can't get off the ship fast enough. "I'LL TELL THEM TO MEET YOU AT THEIR PLACE!" Ghost calls after me as I take a flying leap from The Crypt's still opening door.

I turn around, run backwards a click so I can sign my thank yous and wave. As I'm rushing through the crowds, the streets, you chime into my helmet. I can't pick up fast enough, I accidentally hang up on you in my excitement. Thankfully you call back immediately.

"Hey, I know you don't talk, so just listen! Ghost called, I'm headed home now, I'll be a few minutes but if you beat me home, just let yourself in okay? The code is your number! I'll see you soon, ahh I can't wait to see you I missed you!!! Bye Ban!"

You missed me... You missed me!! My legs carry me faster than before, I can't stop the smile on my face. It almost hurts my cheeks, I just want to see you already!! The streets here all look the same, where's your door? I know it, I know it, come on, which one-

"Ban!!" It's you. It's you! Where are you, from above? "Banshee look up! To the left, Ban!"

My head snaps around, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I get to see your smile. My heart beat pounds in my chest, my cheeks are hot, Maker you look so beautiful...

I rush the stairs like my life depends on it, feels like it almost might. My body knows the aches of battle well, but this ache is still new to me. The physical need to be close... I yank off my helmet and fling it to stop at your feet before I crash into you.

With your arms around my shoulders, your legs wrapping my waist, every part of me feels whole finally. You smell like sunshine in the cold, like fresh bread from a real bakery, you smell like you, and it's my favorite scent of all. You smell like home.

Once your legs are under you again, I still don't let go, I can't. I've waited too long to hold you, to see you, just be near. I'm not letting you go. Your hands are so soft...

I lean my cheek into your palm, smiling down at you as I continue to catch my breath. Stars I could look at you forever. The way you run your hands over my head, feeling my short hair. You'll come back with ink on you, I know it. The others just drew on me, I hope there's nothing bad up there... I love the way your thumb feels against my lips. The way you map out every part of me, like you're seeing my face for the first time all over again. I love you. Kriff I love you so much I can barely stand it, I--

"What are you thinking about?"

"I love you."

No. No no no. No I didn't-- I didn't mean to say it like that, I'm sorry, please stop looking at me like that, no, I'm sorry, p--

What was that? Do it again.

Your lips on mine... I move forward, careful, trying to mimic the same thing, but- oh... oh that's... you'd move your lips on mine, I move mine the same, slow, softer this time. Am I doing it right? You don't stop me, I think I am. You pull back, breathing hard as I am, smiling so brightly... you're everything to me. You feel like home.

"I love you too, Banshee." You giggle, and my heart sings. One hand leaves my face, I can see ink on your fingers, just like I thought. 1666, you really did use my number as your code... you love me.

As we move inside, you stop, gasping at a sudden realization, "Oh stars, that's the first time I've heard you speak! I didn't know you could!"

I can't help but laugh. Of course that's the first thing I say to you. Of course it is.

[clone-anon-after-dark]

Can I request a Fives x fem!reader where Fives is pursuing the reader, a master thief, across Coruscant after she stole Jedi artefacts from the temple?

Thrill

Fives x F!Reader

Word Count: 1102

Warnings: NSFW, minors DNI, dom Fives vibes, unprotected PiV sex, fingering, dirty talk, little bit of aftercare

A/N: You and Fives share an attraction and have met before. Reader steals but not compulsively. If anyone would like a m!reader version of this or my take on an aspec reader version of this, let me know!

You liked hanging out at 79's after a long day. Work was tiring, but you could always count on some troopers to distract you before you headed home alone. You didn't just bring anyone home, but you loved dancing with the handsome men and laughing at their antics. You met Fives when he joined the 501st and asked him to dance with you the first time after he made ARC trooper. A soft grin flashed every time he saw you, but you were careful not to get too close even though your heart wanted more.

Today, though, you were running through the streets of Coruscant and trying to get home following a route that always allowed for escape. You felt the kyber crystal through the fabric of your pocket. All this would be for nothing if you lost it along the way. The point was to get home safely with the crystal. Stealing from the Jedi temple was no easy feat, but you'd successfully stolen other artifacts before.

Troopers shouted behind you as you ran. You ducked behind another corner and behind a small apartment. You pulled away a crate covering a small doorway that led to the tunnels. Once there, you headed home. You always lost them at this spot. More troopers shouted above, trying to coordinate their search, and you could swear you recognized some of the voices as the same men you knew from the 501st. You kept running. It didn't matter. You turned another corner and climbed down a level before opening a hatch and reappearing on the street below. You took a breath, but Fives appeared.

"Fives! Uh, hi!" Playing it cool was not the easiest thing to do after running that long.

"Fancy meeting you here," he said. He took in your form and swallowed. His eyebrows narrowed as he noticed you were out of breath and appeared from the very tunnel his brothers were searching.

"Yes, and uh, why are you here? You looking for my apartment? Trying to visit?" Fives had never been to your home, but you knew he wanted to. Wanted to come home with you. Maybe playing this off like he was looking for you for other reasons would work.

"No," he replied, walking up to you and taking your hand. Your pulse was racing. "Someone keeps stealing artifacts from the Jedi temple. We're out looking for the thief."

"Interesting. Why would someone do that?"

Fives held your gaze and put his blaster away. His careful hands searched the pockets of your poncho.

"You hiding anything from me, cyar'ika?"

"I think you know the answer to that." You were caught. He found the crystal, but instead of taking it, it left it in your pocket.

"Someone's been naughty. Whatever am I going to do with you?"

Your heart started racing again for another reason and before you could stop yourself, you kissed him. He backed you to the door of your home, one hand resting on either side of you. You punched in the code without looking and nearly felt backwards into the main room. The door closed behind him and he started taking his armor off.

"Is this... I want you," was all he could say between kisses. You grinned and nodded as you led him to the bedroom, a trail of armor left down the hallway. You carefully took your poncho off so as not to knock the crystal out of it. Fives helped you out of your clothes and cupped your face. He placed little kisses all over it as if you were the most precious being he'd ever seen.

"I've wanted you ever since that first dance," he said. "Promise me this isn't just you trying to get out of trouble."

"It's not," you said before kissing his palm.

You both got on the bed, Fives hovering over your and lavishing your mouth and breasts with kisses. Each nibble on your sensitive skin pulled a moan from you. You only got louder when his hand made its way to your folds. He pressed two fingers inside you and gathered some slick to trace circles around your clit. You reached for his length but he stopped you.

"It's been a long time," he admitted. "Better to hold off for now. Let me just enjoy you."

He continued to draw moans from you and playfully grinned as your hips bucked into his hand. Between kisses he stole a look around the room and noticed all four of the other artifacts they'd been looking for.

"You have been a bad girl," he growled. Your eyes followed his, realizing what he had found. You looked back at him to find his expression stern, but eyes filled with desire. You felt heat overtake you as you came.

"You like that?" he asked.

"Uh huh," you squeaked.

"You ready for more?"

You nodded.

"Use your words, mesh'la."

"Yes."

He kissed you again and pinned your wrists above your head. Fives was never forceful, but you could feel the strength behind it. You let out a sinful moan as his cock entered you. He wiggled his hips a little as he filled you before fucking you at a steady pace.

"Good girl," he said, still holding your wrists in place. "You take me so well. My good little thief."

The air was a mix of moans, panting, and skin meeting skin. Your body wholly surrendered to him and you came again. Fives watched and licked his lips at the sight, but almost immediately he came buried inside you.

He let go of your wrists and laid next to you, holding you close. You weren't sure how long it took, but you were both able to catch your breath. You kissed his chest and inhaled his scent. It reminded you of those times you got a little sweaty on the dance floor. Just a little heat between you drawing you in for something more. You kissed him passionately and rested your face in the crook of his neck. Eventually, he broke the silence.

"I guess I should comm the team. They're probably still out looking for you. Or looking for me."

"What are you going to do?" you asked.

"We could just return these things to Master Yoda. Say I found them behind a crate somewhere so no one is implicated. Why do you steal these things anyway? Do you need money?"

"No, I don't sell them," you replied. "I just like the challenge and the chase."

"Perhaps I can provide you some challenge and chase instead then," he offered with a wink.

"I think I'd like that."

Tagging: @dukeoftheblackstar @staycalmandhugaclone

[arctrooper69]

Eyes Like Champagne

"I got a Girl in the War, Paul. Her eyes are like champagne. They sparkle, bubble over and in the morning all you got is rain."

~ "Girl in the War" - Josh Ritter

Warnings: Reader death. Mentions of blood and violence.

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

"I can't wait to see you!" You spoke softly into the flickering hologram. The blue light illuminated your smile. Jesse loved that smile.

"I know, me neither. Just a few more days though. I'll be back on base soon."

You shifted, settling into a more comfortable position. Jesse could see the shelves stocked full of medical supplies behind you.

"Are you hiding in the supply tent again?" He asked, unable to keep from cracking a grin.

The guilty smile on your face was all the answer he needed. He sighed and shook his head, still trying but failing to look stern. "You really shouldn't be in there, you know. Someone could see you."

It was your turn to roll your eyes. "Well, no one's here right now. And besides," You winked at him. "If anyone asks, I'm just taking inventory."

Jesse pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're impossible, you know that?"

"Yeah, but you love me anyway." Your breath hitched as you realized what you just said.

Jesse looked down. The dirt beneath his feet had suddenly become very interesting.

"Jesse?" You questioned, eyebrows pulled together in concern. "What's wrong?"

He looked back up at you, "It's nothing...it..." He paused and opened then closed his mouth as if he was going to say something but changed his mind. "It's been a long day for both of us. You should get some sleep."

You were quiet for a moment. Jesse mentally kicked himself. Say something! Tell her!

"Yeah." You replied softly and smiled at him. "See you when we get back? Drinks are on me."

"Same booth at 79s?"

"Of course." You nodded with a smile. "Stay safe till then."

"Yeah," Jesse replied. "You too."

The call ended and Jesse groaned. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid! Jesse cursed to himself quietly. Why hadn't he said anything? Maybe it was just playful banter between friends, but, maybe it was more. Maybe you actually meant it. Maybe you were actually in love with him. What if you felt the same way about him as he did about you?

"Next time." Jesse resolved quietly to himself. On Coruscant in the corner booth of 79s where he first met you. That's where he'd tell you.

***

Jesse sat beside you on the rooftop under the nighttime glow of the city planet. You were wearing the dress he liked - the red one that hugged you in all the right places. Jesse reached into his pack, procuring a small bottle of champagne. You laughed as he regaled to you what Kix had gone through to find it. That was the moment when he realized that he loved you. The bottle refracted the glow of the street lights, sending crystals of light that danced across your face, sparkling like the golden bubbles spilling from the glass.

Suddenly you sat up, lifting your head from his shoulder as if you'd heard something. Jesse's hair stood on edge. You turned to him slowly, face drawn in a sad smile as you placed a hand on his face.

The smooth fabric of the gloves felt cold on his skin. The drab grey of your surgeon's uniform replaced the crimson fabric you'd been wearing just moments ago. Had the dress just been a figment of his imagination?

He stared into your eyes - they still held that champagne sparkle that warmed his heart, but sorrow clouded the other features of your face.

"Jesse." You whispered, lips barely moving. He shivered as a breeze fluttered through the air and you laid you head on his chest.

"I'm scared Jesse, will you hold me?"

He held you tightly, feeling your body shiver against his own.

"Tell me it'll be okay." He looked down at you and nearly screamed. You lay there in his arms with a smouldering hole in the center of your chest. Blood trickled from so many different cuts and scrapes across your body, staining the grey uniform as red as the dress he'd imagined you wearing before. Terror rose in his chest as you grasped his fingers, but somehow you didn't seem to be afraid anymore. You didn't seem to notice how your blood spread across the floor, turning everything it touched into a heady crimson. You were wearing the dress again, but this time the fabric flowed around you, pooling like blood on the ground, dripping through his fingers.

"Tell me I'll be okay, Jesse."

***

Jesse woke with a start, heart thudding against his ribcage.

"Jesse get up! We're gonna be late!" Kix was suddenly beside him, shaking his shoulder. He looked around, the barracks were nearly empty. His best friend and brother frowned down at him, hand still resting on his shoulder as he slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"You okay?"

Jesse blinked and took a deep breath, trying to shrug off the cold, heavy feeling of terror that still gripped his waking body.

"Yeah. I - I think so." He stood up, rubbing a hand over his head.

"You sure?" Kix cocked his head at his brother's odd behavior.

"I'm sure, Kix. I just had a really weird dream."

Kix nodded in understanding. They all had odd dreams or even nightmares from time to time. "Well, we're still going to be late for roll call if you don't hurry up."

Jesse shoved a bite of a ration bar in his mouth as he hurriedly threw his armor on. "I'm coming, I'm coming."

***

It had been almost a full rotation since Jesse had woken up from the nightmare, yet he still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that something wasn't right.

He entered the small medbay looking around for his friend. "Kix?" Jesse called. "You wanted to see me?"

Kix sat silently on a stool in the corner taking stock of the medical supplies in front of him. Jesse frowned, "You ok, vod?"

Kix turned to face him, pulling his lips into a tight line across his face. He stood up, "Jesse, which Rimsoo is your girl stationed at?"

Jesse rolled his eyes. "She's not my girl, Kix. At least not yet." He paused, taking in Kix's serious demeanor. "Why?" He asked hesitantly, thinking of the dream he'd had the night before. "What's wrong?"

Kix shook his head. "Just answer the question."

"RMSU 14 on Scipio. Sector 1. Why?"

"Our troopers on Anaxes were overrun." Jesse jumped to attention as Captain Rex entered the room.

"At ease, soldier."

Jesse's posture relaxed but his mind still whirred about. Why had he been called here? Had he done something wrong? Both Kix and the Captain knew about the close relationship between the two of you, but had someone else seen something and assumed the worst?

"Captain," Jesse started, then paused when he saw the defeated frown on his face. "Rex, what's wrong? What happened?"

Rex shook his head. "The 401st Battalion was losing Anaxes so their general decided to cut their losses and retreat to Scipio. They took on reinforcements to cut off the supply lines running to Anaxes. In retaliation, the seppies bombed them. Specifically the rimsoo where they knew most of our wounded were being treated."

Jesse felt cold.

"I'm sorry, vod." Kix stepped up to him, "There were no survivors."

Jesse's heart dropped. He could almost hear it shatter. He'd lost brothers before. Hell, it was programmed into them to accept loss and move on. So why did this feel so different? Why did it feel like he'd been kicked in the chest? He stood stiffly, jaw clenched, desperately trying to channel whatever foreign emotion it was that he felt, into rage. Jesse could handle rage. Jesse knew anger. It was familiar. This pain - this kind of heavy grief wasn't something he could suppress and lock away, so he willed it to become something else.

Rex held out a datapad. "I received the message this morning. I assume she rigged it to send once the signal could reach. She recorded this for you, Jesse." Rex's voice sounded far away.

Kix put a hand on Jesse's shoulder. "It may be hard to watch, vod. These are probably her final moments."

Jesse held the datapad with shaking hands.

"Do you want me to stay?" Kix asked gently. Jesse shook his head. "No that's ok. I...I need to do this alone."

Kix nodded. "We'll be right outside."

Rex placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. "I can cover your absence for a few hours," he spoke hesitantly, "But then I need you back in the field."

Jesse could only nod his head as Rex left the room, numb to everything around him save for the datapad in his hands.

Jesse gripped the datapad until his fingers were white. What was so important that you'd send him a message with your last efforts? And why him? He stared at the screen for what seemed like hours until he finally drew up the strength to hit play.

"Hey Jesse." Your voice was weak as you took a shaky breath. "I hope you get this." The light from your headlamp dimly illuminated your face and Jesse could see the blood caked with dust smeared across your face. A tear escaped your eyes and you wiped it away quickly, leaving more blood smeared across your cheekbone. You sniffed, "S-sorry."

Jesse wanted to reach through the screen and tell you that there was no reason to be sorry, and that even the best soldiers cried sometimes.

The image shifted slightly as you gasped, letting out a barely audible whimper. Jesse felt his heart crack.

The screen centered back onto your face. You looked around you and then back at the screen.

"Everyone else is dead, I think." You paused and took a breath, wincing in pain from a wound that Jesse couldn't see. "I'm buried under two tons of rock. I'm not gonna make it outta here, Jess. I'm so sorry." You choked. Despite your attempts to remain strong, more tears flowed down your face carving paths through the bloodied grime.

"I...I dunno how long the charge'll last on this thing but I hope that if someone finds my body, they'll give this to you."

You paused to catch your breath, leaning back against a rock. "I guess you'll have to find someone else to share that drink with at 79s." You chuckled weakly, eyes fluttering closed for a moment. Jesse wanted to jump up and shake you. Yell at you. No, no no! Eyes open, Mesh'la. Stay with me. He begged silently.

You seemed to respond to his demands as you groaned and took a shuddering breath. Your eyes were glassy.

"Do you remember that night on the roof? When we got stupid drunk off that champagne that Kix smuggled out of Felucia for you?"

You smiled, closing your eyes again.

"I meant what I said by the way." You slurred drowsily. "I love you Jesse. I think....I think I was just too scared to say it before."

Your eyes screwed shut in pain as the screen shifted again. Jesse's heart thudded against his ribcage. He felt so helpless, watching the pain drain the life from your skin.

"I...I was gonna kiss you in 79s," you said with a quiet chuckle. Jesse almost couldn't make out your words. You raised your head, looking through the screen, and smiled. There it was - that bubbly sparkle in your eyes that Jesse knew so well. For one timeless moment, he could forget the current circumstances and lose himself in them just as he had so many times before. This time he knew you loved him. But this time he couldn't say it in return.

"You would've been my first kiss." The words came as a mournful whisper.

"I don't wanna die, Jesse." Your voice cracked. "But maybe it won't be so bad. It won't hurt anymore." You let out a shaky breath, fingertips brushing the screen. "I'll see you around, yeah?"

The holovid cut off and Jesse was left sitting alone in the dimly lit barracks, staring at the blank screen. He felt numb, watching as his own fingertips took on a life of their own, brushing the screen of the datapad where yours had been only a few seconds ago.

The door opened and Kix silently entered the room. Upon entering, he scanned his brothers face and knew that his worst fears had come to fruition. Sitting on the bunk beside Jesse, Kix could only muster a heartfelt apology. Not even the best medic could fix a shattered heart.

"I'm so sorry, Jesse."

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

@zoeykallus @ttzamara @nahoney22 @merkitty49 @viva-la-whump @agenteliix @dumpsters-little-matchbook @nekotaetae @ladykatakuri @loverofclones @heyitsaloy @padawancat97 @jambolska-grozdova @flyingkangaroo @melymigo @rain-on-kamino @jiabeewrites @my-own-oracle @dragonrider9905 @queenofspades6 @ordinarylokix @jupitersaturnapollo @queencousland101 @vampirerouge

If you want to be on my taglist, feel free to send me a message! Also, asks are open! Reblogging is very much encouraged and it makes me do a happy dance every time any of my writing gets reblogged 😂❤️

[freesia-writes]

Howzer + Aurelia Ch. 3

Beginning with his shiny days, this story follows Howzer's character arc through some heartwarming romance, action, adventure, yearning, angst, and growth.

Master List of Chapters

Content/Trigger Warnings for Entire Work (individual chapters not labeled): wartime peril, injury, and death; sexual assault up to kissing; relationship passion up to making out and heavy petting; sexual relationship alluded to (smut is posted separately); pregnancy, birthing trauma, and stillbirth (chapters 30-39, can be skipped and still keep up with the story).

Word Count: 925

.

3. Potential

Aurelia wiped the cloth across the bar counter mindlessly as she watched an hourglass-shaped BD-3000 luxury droid moving to the beat with a predictable series of motions, fully holding the clone captain's attention as he bopped along next to her. A smile crept onto Aurelia's face, accompanied by the mild fondness she always felt at the clones' behaviors.

She had worked at 79s for a few months, considering it a "place holder" while she figured out a more long-term career plan. She simultaneously had far too many aspirations at once while also feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed by all of them, settling instead to cater to the needs of a rowdy crowd most nights while she daydreamed about the possibilities.

"Whatcha thinkin about, beautiful?" came an exceedingly smooth clone voice, bringing her back to reality, and her eyes snapped into focus to see Pivot leaning on the bar across from her. She smiled, swatting her washcloth at him playfully.

"Just pining for your return, of course," Aurelia responded quickly, flipping the cloth over her shoulder and bending down to prepare his usual drink. He had been coming there long before she started, and he was as comforting as he was harmless. She had initially been put off by what seemed like advances, but when she realized there was nothing behind them other than flattery and fun, she relaxed and played along.

"Well, feast your eyes," Pivot answered, sliding some credits across the counter to her as she poured the drink from the shaker into a highball glass. She plopped a couple bright berries on the top and pushed it toward him.

"Consider them feasted."

Pivot laughed, giving her a playful salute as he scooped up his glass and made his way back to his squad in a corner booth.

***

"I mean, if you think about it, it seems like such a simple solution," Howzer said, gesturing abstractly with one hand. "I can't wait to show them what some real strategy looks like."

"I'm sure they'll be grateful," purred the Mirialan next to him, cupping her face in her hand and resting an elbow on the table, looking up at him with admiration.

"Well, it's what we were made for," he answered, puffing up a bit more. This had been going surprisingly well, and he fought to keep his composure. "So, any other plans tonight?"

She shook her head demurely, muttering something about unpacking some cargo crates.

"I've got a little something you can unpack," Howzer chortled, "If you need some practice."

"Ugh," came the reply, and she quickly excused herself without another word. He leaned back in the booth, allowing a brief sigh before regathering himself and rising to his feet. He ambled to the bar counter, scanning the room for any familiar faces long the way and seeing none. He missed Sprint, who was his usual companion when his romantic pursuits came up empty, and consoled himself by imagining what sort of missions his brother may have been enjoying.

"Can I get you anything?"

Howzer looked up, finding the bartender waiting patiently across from him, wiping a glass as she regarded him with a slightly tilted head. Now this he could work with. He leaned jauntily against the counter, flashing his roguish grin and turning on the charm.

"Listen, I know you probably have a lot of questions, but before we dive in, you can go ahead and take a moment to soak it all in. I'm sure you're wondering how you, of all people, managed to find the best-looking clone, right here in your own bar."

Aurelia smirked at the blatant irony of his phrase, fully prepared with a tongue-in-cheek response, "'Best-looking clone'? Did they teach you about irony on Kamino?"

"They taught us about everything," Howzer returned evenly, "So if you've got any questions, I'd be happy to let you in on all the mysteries of the galaxy." He raised one eyebrow with a distinctly fiendish air, eyes roving from her curly black hair to her full lips. Her nose was a bit beakish, but she had pretty eyes, dark and intelligent.

"Wow. What an offer," she marveled, pressing the back of a hand to her forehead as if about to faint. This came with the territory, sure, but could also become tiresome. She yearned for any conversation of substance, but was realizing more and more that this was not the atmosphere for that. "In the meantime... Can I get you anything?"

"I'll take a fizz, thanks, but what about you? What are your wildest dreams?" Howzer inquired, eager to continue their exchange.

"To sit under a tree on a cloudy day and read poetry from an actual book," Aurelia answered without missing a beat. She turned to get a bottle from the refrigerator behind her, missing the flash of surprise on Howzer's face. He looked serious for a moment, something working its way through his brain, but was back to his cocky little show when she turned back around.

"Wow," he bantered, "What refined taste you have. I'll get right on that." He exchanged his credits for the bottle, then offered a hand, "The name's Howzer."

"Aurelia," she responded, shaking his hand and secretly hoping his desire for attention had been satisfied.

"Aurelia," he echoed, trying it on for size, "Fancy name for a fancy lady. Alright, Aurelia. I'll be seeing you. Try to hold it together until we meet again." Howzer popped the cap from the bottle, flipped it toward her like a coin, gave her a wink, and sauntered off.

Next Chapter

[kaminocasey]

CASEY!! Congratulations on 700!! That’s incredible!! Your writing is amazing and you are so talented 💖 For your celebration, may I please request prompt #6 with my favorite boy Fox? 🥰🥰

Erin, my love. I'm sorry again this took like five months lmao. I hope you can forgive me! I hope you enjoy this, because let me tell you, domestic Fox is such a favorite of mine. Love him. 💖💖

Warnings: Smuty-ish. Sexual content. Insecure thoughts.

WC: 700+

“Do you think we’ll always be together?” You whisper into the quiet room as Fox runs his fingers up and down the bare skin of your back.

“Why would you ask such a thing?” His fingers suddenly stop.

You’re about to apologize, hoping you didn’t upset him, but he turns you over on your back, towering over you. You can’t help but swallow nervously.

“I don’t know…” You shrug, running your hand up into his curls.

Fox’s eyes close instinctively, leaning into your touch. 

“There must be a reason.” He chuckles. “What were you thinking about?” 

“I don’t know.” You lie again.

“Oh really?” He opens his eyes and they somehow seem darker as he travels down your body, nipping slightly as he goes, making you squirm. When he settles between your legs, pulling them over his shoulders, he smirks up at you. “Wanna try that again?”

The truth was that you saw all the women fawning over the commander earlier in the night as you’d walked into 79s. He hadn’t seen you, but you saw him. And the six different women who were doing their best to woo him. Obviously it didn’t work. But that rude little voice in the back of your head is always saying things like “When will Fox be done with you?” or “He could have any woman in that bar, why would he choose you?” and you hated it. You normally weren’t so insecure…

“I…” You struggle as his warm breath settles over your own warmth. 

“Tell me and I’ll reward you, cyar’ika.” He purrs. 

A soft whimper escapes your lips as your fingers make their way to his curls again. “I-it’s stupid…”

“I don’t care.” He runs his tongue up your folds, just teasing you, before pulling his mouth away again. “Tell me.”

It’s a demand, and you know it. You never could say no to him. From the moment you’d met him, you’d hardly ever said no. And it was the same way for him. Everything you asked, he answered. Everything you asked for, he gave it to you.

“Please, cyar’ika…” He whispers, softly.

“I… I don’t want this to ever end.” You murmur, sliding your hand from his hair to his warm cheek. “I don’t want us to end.” 

“Oh, pretty girl… that’s what you're worried about?” He looks up at you, resting his cheek against your thigh.

You nod. “I see the way those women all look at you and I wouldn’t blame you if you chose someone… better.”

He sits up right then, pulling you up with him. “Listen to me, and listen to me good. You are the only person I want. I will always choose you. Understand?” 

You nod, looking up at him through your lashes. He moves to the head of the bed, pulling you into his lap so that you’re straddling his lap. 

“I know I’ve not said this before… but please believe me when I say it. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I’d tear apart the entire galaxy before I let you slip away from me.” He tells you, fiercely, cupping your cheeks so that you’re forced to look at him. “I’m fucking in love with you and one day, after this stupid fucking war is over, I’m taking you somewhere safe and I’ll continue to give you everything. I’ll continue to give you myself. As long as you’ll have me.”

As words start to fail you and a lump starts to form in your throat, you crush your lips to his, fervently. His hands run up your back again and hold you against him as he flips you over on your back, kissing you harder, with more need. 

When his lips move to your neck, you let out a soft needy gasp. “I love you.” 

You believe every word he’s just told you and you know that he truly would rip apart the entire galaxy just for you. There’s not one doubt in your mind that you would do the same for him.

“Say it again.” He pulls away to look at you, grinning widely, watching your lips.

“I love you, Fox.” You promise him.

As he kisses you again, you think you feel that stupid little insecure voice finally fade away for good.

TAGS: @twistedstitcher27 @misogirl828 @rebel-finn @rexandechosandwich @madameminor @dumfanting @rain-on-kamino @corona-one @tecker @ladykatakuri @brynhildrmimi @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond @zoeykallus @maulslittlemeowmeow @littlemousedroid @arctrooper69 @rexxdjarin @agenteliix @padawancat97 @hated-by-me @sleepingsun501 @quigonswife8 @idlenesses @redheadgirl @themcuwriter @ashotofspotchka @sunshinesdaydream @crosshairsimp73 @ariadnes-red-thread @rosmariner @heyitsaloy @starstofillmydream @high-ct5555 @echos-girlfriend @sleepywych @nekotaetae @justanothersadperson93 @brownstalebread @aconstructofamind @book-of-baba-fett @chopper-base @palliateclaw @501st-rexster @dead-poolz @nahoney22 @where-is-my-mind-tho @jediknightjana @erishimoon @witching3 @queen-of-many-fandoms

[morganas-pendragons]

There Is Quiet | Kix and Starlight

UPDATE: This has been sitting in my drafts for over a year. I want to finish it.

This is before Starlight has their daughter (in the earliest weeks of pregnancy, post Ner Adika) after Kix has their wedding rings (spoilers.. they got married!) If you don't particularly enjoy reading things with a pregnancy theme in them, I recommend you skip this!

If this gets enough attention and the other parts are wanted, I'll do Rex and Wolffe to close this nicely. (Especially since we saw Wolffe in s3 of TBB!)

@snippy-tano / @social-mockingbird

***

He's different. You vividly remember the night Kix had come rushing across the street from 79's into your little hair salon, panic evident in those bright eyes as he hurriedly explained what he'd just encountered in the refresher with his brother, Fives.

Kix is never quite the same after that night. He knows too much. He always wears this expression when he's overburdened. It's almost like Kix has resorted to carrying the weight of his cross, unwilling to let anyone else bear it with him, for it is his to carry alone.

In this case, it is.

He leaves in a rush, all frantic and murmuring about how he needs to find Anakin Skywalker, leaving you with nothing but a kiss to the swell of your stomach and a promise to return before deployment.

You watch him go. Kix has always been good at coming home, so you have no worries about whether or not he'll return.

You should have.

Fives dies. Fives dies, and the world keeps turning, because there is no room for the galaxy to mourn the clones when their soul purpose is to be a means to an end. Why would you mourn a weapon when that weapon has outlived its purpose?

Fives dies, but his vode mourn him, and you're left with the aftermath when you catch your husband as he falls to his knees in surrender to his grief in the weeks that follow. He refuses to tell you what it is he knows - and maybe it's better to spare you, to keep you from all that pain and misery of the war - and instead uses the time to lose himself in you.

He always does. Your skin is stained with Kix's tears whether you like it or not. Your hips are branded by the bruises left behind from his fingerprints, and if you could let him consume you whole, you would.

Anything to give him the reprieve your husband is so clearly looking for.

"Kix," You breathe, hair fanned against the pillows as you allow yourself to be trapped in the cage of his body. Your fingertips ghost across the curve of his jaw as you peer up at him in the dimming sunlight of Coruscant's dusk. The impending darkness looms over the skyline. "Where are you?"

And you'll give him credit, Kix tries so hard to be in the present with you.

"Right here, Starlight." He murmurs, nuzzling the crook of your neck before settling himself at your side and resting his palm against your stomach. You're just over five months. It won't be long before you have to bring your little girl into the world, and you're desperately praying nearly every night that the war will be over by then so her father can be there to raise her, to love her. "Always right here."

You swallow the knot in your throat and nod. He says he's right there, but he's not. He's far away. Always far away.

Helpless to fight it, you hold him as he drifts off and you succumb to the tears blurring your eyes.

Your bed, stained with your tears and his tears alike, is a memorial to something you will never get to have again.

---

You see him one last time before Anaxes. Your husband returns to you in the golden hours of Coruscant's day. He's more somber then usual, reserved and quiet as he enters the apartment.

You know what it is. He's found the answer to whatever the burning question is that's haunted him since Fives died in that warehouse.

He's lost to you. He's lost to you, and the thing is.. You've never really had him.

"Kix."

"Not now, my light." You frown as Kix turns to peer at you over his shoulder from where he stands by the window. It may be the only instance in which you've seen those eyes so dark. "Please, not now."

You open your mouth to reply when your daughter gives a hard kick to your navel. Kix turns sharply at the sound of your sudden gasp, shaking fingertips spreading across your stomach as you press your palm deeper.

It always catches you off guard that she's so active.

"Kix," You hold your hand out. "Come here."

Something flickers back to life in his eyes as Kix approaches you with his hand outstretched. He slowly settles it onto your stomach, gasping as your daughter gives another hard kick in response.

"Oh," Kix whispers. Your grin widens as tears shine in your eyes. There he is. You've been wondering where he's been hiding for all these months, and you think your daughter may be just a little too intuitive. She's able to feel her father's despair even from the womb. That alone should speak volumes about Kix's spiral into darkness. "There's our girl."

He bends down low to whisper something to your daughter that you don't quite hear, but you bite your lip to staunch the flow of tears that threaten to fall again.

The moment is shattered by the beep of Kix's comm. It's Rex, as expected, and he's being called to Torrent's barracks for a briefing that will lead into their deployment to the next campaign.

Your heart sinks. You can't hide the disappointment in your face as Kix rises to his feet and cradles your face to bring his forehead to your own. It feels too final. Like it's the last time you'll ever do it.

This once, just this once, you wish you were a soldier trained to fight on the battlefield so you could be with him more. You would sacrifice all that's left of yourself to be able to be with Kix more. To help him, to spare him the pain, to be able to walk with him in the midst of his pain.

But then Kix may have never met you. Had you been bred into a soldier to be the hands of The Republic, you may not be where you are right now.

And you like where you are now.

"I love you, Kix'ika," You murmur against the seam of his lips. "Come home to us."

"I love you too." He nods. You can tell he's trying to convince himself that he will, inevitably, walk back through that door. You both know it's ending. "And I will."

It ends far too soon.

---

The last time anyone sees Kix is in the aftermath of Anaxes. One moment, he's there treating Echo's wounds and helping him recover from the effects of being a prisoner of war.

Torrent's departure several weeks later is what confirms Jesse's worst fear: His triplet is gone. He is the last one standing.

And now he has to return home to break the news to his brother's wife.

---

You give birth without Kix there. Your daughter's uncles are not able to be there to hold your hand, and the only comforts you have are their girlfriends. Dove and Phantom sit on either side of you and hold your hands while you weep.

Less then a week later, almost all the clones are dead or gone or traitors and you are unable to contact your friends. Your family.

All the girls are gone too.

It's just you. You and your little girl who looks exactly like you.

At the end of everything and everyone you have come to love since that boy - that beautiful, bright eyed boy - ran into your salon crumbles in an instant.

And you are left to pick up what remains, because you have to.

Kix would want you to do it for your daughter.

---

This is how it feels to be Kix, CT-6116, Chief Medical Officer of the 501st Legion. You are encased in a cold that settles deep into your bones and makes itself at home there. There is no escape. There is no hope.

You are cold, and you are alone, and you are helpless to stop the one thing that Fives had begged for your help to prevent. You dream about the Jedi. About the clones killing the Jedi, and about the aftermath. You dream about a world of fire and blood where everything burns and everyone must burn with it.

The world you wake up to is nothing like that.

When you wake, everyone and everything you have ever known is as it once was: From dust it came, and to dust it did return. The people who pull you from the wreckage of the ship are pirates who then transport you across the galaxy to sell you to a buyer: A buyer who looks a little too much like someone you'd once known. She's old. Most likely in her forties to fifties.

Your heart aches just looking at her. She's bright. Brighter then any sun, but tougher then any steel. You can tell she was raised during the rise of the Empire. She has to be tough to survive.

But that gentleness she hides beneath that steely aspect is what catches you.

When the pirates finally allow you to depart the ramp of their ship and fly away into the great unknown, the girl in front of you speaks up.

"You look exactly like you did in all your pictures," She whispers, removing her outer jacket to pull out a yellowed photo. It's you. You and Starlight, hidden in the back booth of Seventy Nines during your first date, with her head tipped back as she laughed at a joke you do not remember.

Your eyes slowly shift back to the woman. There are tears in her eyes, and you finally recognize why she looks so familiar.

"Hi Dad."

[iheartchv]

Can you do a vampire Donnie x F!Reader but in the 2012 series and with prompts and can you do a lemon for it too

89. Mating season 74. “Just relax.” 79. “Lay back and let me take care of you.” 58. Turtle bedroom 142. “Bite me.” 132. “Argue all you want, we both know you belong to me.” 123. “Don’t hold back.” 5. “MINE.” 32. “Do you trust me?” and Turning into a vampire

Could you add this to your Masterlist

// sorry if this seems rushed ;^_^7

//edit 1: I just realized that the full ending didnt save before I posted so.... I'll edit this very soon

//edit 2: I shortened the original ending because there is no way I was going to be able to write all of that again

Prompts©️ @turtle-babe83

Donnie and Reader are 18+; this was written by an adult for adults. No one under 18 please.

Donnie told you not to worry, but how could you not worry when he started looking a pale green while hunched over his lab table, working day in and day out to cure whatever "blood disease" he caught from being bitten by some sort of mutated bat. You don't know how much longer he could withstand this, because he was getting weaker. Standing beside him, you begged for him to get some rest.

"Please, Donnie, you've got to get some kind of rest or you won't get better."

"I can't. I got to find the cure before-"

He suddenly fainted. You caught him before he fell to the ground. You helped ease him back in his comfy computer chair.

“Just relax.”

You couldn't stop thinking about the feel of his reptilian skin just now, how cold it was. You took his hand to press onto your warm cheek. What kind of disease was this? And what did he mean? Before what?

Leo, Mikey, and Raph helped you carry Donnie to his room. You adjusted and tried your best to make the bed comfortable enough for him. His breathing was slow, shallow. You hated seeing him like this.

"I know. We're worried, too." Leo reassured you.

"We can keep an eye on him, and call ya if somethings up. Get some sleep." Raph told you.

"Yeah, we'll take your place." Mikey said as he gave you a hug. You hugged him back. You tried your best not to cry; you cared for the turtles but you cared a whole lot for Donnie, and if anything happened to him...

"Thanks, guys. I'll see you."

You left the lair, tears falling down your cheeks. The mental picture of Donnie's ill stricken face haunted your thoughts. It wasn't going to be easy to get any sleep at all.

💜💜💜💜💜

It's been a couple of days now (although he doesn't know yet its been that long). Donnie had long ago drifted into a long deep sleep and entered dream land. Y/N was there because she was the last thing he saw before blacking out from exhaustion. Then he remembered what he was going to say to her. Thoughts that he pushed to the back of his mind resurfaced. Thoughts of kissing her, tasting her lips, her skin... and her blood. No longer did he feel freezing cold, but felt a pain like fire and ice rushing through his veins, making him stir from his slumber.... He tried so hard to do something before mating season came... He was afraid this would happen. And try as he might, he couldnt stop thinking about wanting her, to make her his...

💜💜💜💜💜

Your tphone rung. You never rushed to answer it so quickly. "Hello?"

"Hey, Y/N."

"Donnie! You're okay."

"Well, sort of. I'm feeling much better than before. Anyway, I was wondering if you could come to the lair and let me run a test. Its just to see how this virus would infect humans. And don't worry, I'll just need a drop of... blood."

You heard him gulp before he said the word blood. There was something about the tone in his voice, like he was hiding something. But still you agreed to go to the lair and help Donnie out with whatever he needed.

"Yeah. I'll be there soon. I'm glad that you're alright."

Upon entering the lair you was met with silence. It was weird to not hear any noise. You went to Donnie's lab to find him sitting in his chair and looking into a microscope, just like a couple of days ago. He wasn't his usual green shade, but at least he was recovering.

"Y/n, please take a seat. I'll be right with you."

"Mhmm."

You sat in the chair next to his table, waiting. You expected him to hug you and felt saddened when he didn't. It made you wonder if he was really alright... After a minute or so, Donnie got up from his seat and made his way to you. You looked up at him from anxiously twiddling your fingers.

"So, what's with this test, exactly?"

"I've got a sample of my blood with this virus underneath the microscope. I'll just..." He gingerly took your hand and upturned it in his palm while with his other hand he grabbed a tiny needle to prick the pad of your finger.

"Ah~" you softly gasped and winced.

"Oh, sorry."

He grabbed a glass slide and scrapped the drop of blood that pooled at your fingertip. Then he gave a hesitant kiss on your finger and quickly went to work. You couldn't stop your heart from beating and your cheeks heating up from what just happened.

💜💜💜💜💜

When she walked through the door, her scent invaded his nostrils. He tried to keep his composure. He didn't want scare her with his sudden movements. As soon as her blood surfaced Donnie was met with an aroma so good it made his mouth water. He wanted a taste. A little wasn't going to hurt, was it?

Maybe he shouldn't have done that, because now thoughts of devouring her was stronger now than ever. He could hear her heart beating, which confirmed his assumptions.

💜💜💜💜💜

You wanted to break this uncomfortable silence. You racked your brain to come up with something, anything. "Uhm, what's up with everyone? I didn't see or hear anyone around."

"I told them to isolate themselves, in case this was contagious to mutants... and to not leave until I gave the okay..." He noticed your silence and read your mind, too.

"Oh..."

For some reason you felt like Donnie was hiding something or not speaking the whole truth. But he was studying the blood samples so maybe that's why his focus wasn't on you.

"Sooo... anything yet?"

"The virus is taking over your blood cells as well. It has vampire like characteristics. That means..." he trailed off as he stood from his seat. No, he couldn't let you suffer from this vampiric virus. However the urge to bite and drink your blood was almost overwhelming.

"It's also contagious to other living beings if bitten... and turns them into a vampire?" You pieced it all together. Donnie was bitten by a mutated vampire bat, turning him into a vampiric mutant turtle.

"Yes..." A looming silence fell in the room. "I will continue to work on an antidote, but I need to feed on... blood if I am to survive long enough to do that. I don't have enough time to create that and a substitute for blood at the same time." He was so hungry, so thirsty at the same time. He wouldn't even be able to concentrate.

“Bite me.”

Donnie whipped his around so fast to look at you with wide eyes. Did he hear you right? Did you just-?

"What?"

"Bite me. Feed off of me if you need to." you said, exposing the side of your neck.

His dark brown gaze eyed your smooth skin, hearing the blood that flowed underneath. His muscles quivered as he struggled to not lose control, to not grab you and have his way with you right then and there. Mind over instinct, mind over instinct.

“Do you trust me?”

"You've never hurt me, Donnie. Please, I just want to help you."

He let out a long exhale. He didn't realize he'd been holding his breath. "Well, if that's what you want to do, I can't stop you," he small smiled at you. "Let's take this to my room. You'll want to rest on a bed afterward."

In his room, you tried to mentally prepare yourself for what you were going to experience. Randomly you thought of what Donnie tried to tell you before he blacked out. You asked him.

"Uhm, what did you mean a couple of days ago by 'I got to find the cure before'? Before what?"

"The reason why I tried to hurry with this antitode is because mating seasons around the corner. Well, it's actually here, now. Aaand that's another reason why I told everyone to stay in their rooms." Donnie told you, scratching the back his head in embaressment. "That's what I tried to tell you before."

You knew about the mating season of turtles, and other animals, because of documentaries, but would there be any differences since Donnie is a humanoid turtle?

"Though we are mutated to be human like, we still have turtle characteristics, so no, we're no different than our non mutated kin." He answered.

You blushed. All this time while you've been alone with your thoughts since you came down here, he's known what was on your mind. "S-stop reading my mind, Don."

His mouth curved into a smirk. The way his eyes darkened made your heart pound harder. “Argue all you want, we both know you belong to me.” he softly chuckled. "I know you've got feelings for me. I... I do, too. I've been wanting to kiss you for some time."

Donnie titled your chin and he looked into your eyes. "Will you let me?" He must've noticed ( or read your mind again xD ) you looked still a little uncertain of how all of this is supposed to go. Then in an instant your train of thought was nothing but on Donnie. His gaze was just so... hypnotizing. They seemed to glow an unnatural color, but they were still so beautiful.

"Yes~" you softly replied.

He slowly and gently pressed his mouth to yours kissed you, a hand wrapping around your waist.“Lay back and let me take care of you.” You heard his voice in your mind; you knew it had to have been because his lips were still on yours.

As soon as your back touched the matress, you closed your eyes and immersed yourself in this moment. Piece by piece clothes were peeled away. He slowly played with your body, studying every curve, memorizing the places you liked being touched. "Let me make you feel good, my sweet," he'd said and you had surrendered yourself completely to him and the fire his touch left behind.

His hands cupped your breasts while his mouth took turns sucling on your pert nipples. "Donnie~~" you mewled as your body wriggled, being taken over by desire. You wanted more. You softly moaned as you arched your back, telling him you wanted more. You whimpered as he made his way to your clenched thighs that tried to ease the ache between them. "Please don't stop."

It took everything he had to not lose himself. He hungered for you in so many ways. Gently he slid your pants and underwear down and off your legs. He was met with a gorgeous sight. Your pink slit was already glossed with arousal. He could smell you. And as much as he really wanted a taste, he had to fulfill your wish. He lied beside you and then pulled your backside against him.

"I'm going to touch you, now, but I'll be gentle, okay?" he whispered near your ear. "I'm going to make you orgasm first before we go further."

"Okay" you breathlessly let out.

Donnie smoothly snaked his hand down your belly to your core. Your body shivered at the first touch on your bud. "You're wet, so soft..." Then his fingertip slid down to your opening, nudging it just a little. "And so warm..." he purred.

You couldn't help but to groan at the pleasure you were feeling now. Your body was confused as to where your hips should move: up into his hand or to arch your back and have your bottom grind against his lower plastron. You felt pressure building as he alrernated between playing with your nub and slide his finger inside you, brushing along your gspot.

"Donnie!~"

He knew you were close. His other arm looped under and up around you to cup your breast, his thumb twirling around the nipple, while his other hand pleasured you in unison. The sounds you made excited him. He could hear your heart beating and your blood rushing so fast.

"That's it, y/n, you can do it. I've got you. Don’t hold back.”

Lewd sounds escaped you as you neared your climax. Your hands held onto his arms as wave after wave of ecstasy washed over, until the final one. Your breath quickened, and you cried out as the knot that was wound up in your lower belly finally came unraveled. Your slick walls clenched around his digit.

"D-Don~ Donnie~"

"Yes, princess, you're mine. MINE.”

As you came, Donnie's fangs retracted and bit your neck, drinking your blood. The pain quickly became pleasure, melding into the bliss you were already feeling. Having his fill he licked the puncture wounds to try to close it. He felt better having blood in his system. You had blacked out from the intensity of the love making, but he held you, waiting for the process to be complete. The virus seemed to spread faster in nonmutated organisms, so maybe it wouldnt take you so long to become a vampire.

💜💜💜💜💜💜

You fluttered your eyes and found yourself in Donnie's arms. He smiled down at you, his fangs showing. You then felt to see if you had... yes, you had fangs, as well.

"How are feeling?"

"I'm a little... thirsty."

He gave you his wrist. "Here, I'll let you feed off me. Or..." He pointed to his neck. "You can bite me here, if you want." He blushed.

You giggled. "I'll just sink my fangs into your wrist. I don't want to accidently tear... anything..."

"Don't worry, I'll teach you where it'll be okay to feed from without worries."

He let out a gasp and then softly moaned when your new fangs pierced his flesh to draw blood. If this was even a fraction of what you felt, then he he wanted to experience the same pleasure he gave you.

When you were done, he rolled you over on your back. It took you by surprise but it kinda turned you on to see Donnie's smouldering gaze. He kissed you hard and you wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him closer into you.

Donnie's fingers and tongue touched and licked every inch of you. He was making sure you were more than ready for him. Because playtime was over. And he didn't waste no time getting you into position on your hands and knees. He spread you wide and started sliding inside your soaked pussy.

You moaned as he stretched you to your limits, probably past your limits. He didn't stop until he felt the start of your cervix, pulled back and slammed back inside. It took your breath away, but as soon as you took a breath Donnie started pounding away at you. His eyes glowed whitish blue and his fangs were bared. The grip on your hips was going to be left bruised, as well as your insides, but what you were feeling was beyond anything you could've imagined. All you could do was grip his sheets and hold on for the ride.

[substantial-exposure]

Codes

Part 1 || Part 2 ||

Summary: Dasibri starts to realize she has a crush and stalks out Crosshair after finding out he's back on Coruscant. She decides to pay him a visit at 79's and Cross ends up driving her home.

Warnings: feelings, religious guilt, alcohol, drunk Crosshair rizz,

Wc: 3.8k

(A/N): I never write anything besides angst this entire series is so fun

Dasibri had never done anything like this before. With every passing week she was straying further from her path. She was becoming more reckless. A Jedi in name, but in practice she was deviating. Skipping meditation retreats, running from planet to planet, neglecting her own sleep for late night holocalls.

The now usual pit of anxiety sat heavy in her stomach as she laid in her bed. How was she supposed to live like this? Night after night. She knew it would creep up on her sooner or later. After all, the last two hours had been spent tossing and turning under her blanket. Completely unable to relax and fall into a well deserved sleep. Dasibri had sensed it in herself weeks ago. And she'd felt it every night since. She had grown so attached. Something she swore she'd never do. The worst part, quite possibly, was that she tried to stop herself. She did so many things to try and distract herself, better herself and remind herself that this wasn't something she could do. It wasn't the Jedi way and she'd broken so many rules already. But what now? She knew she was forming an attachment. A severe one at that. Was she going to possibly ruin her entire life and her entire career on some clone she still barely knew? These thoughts began to plague her almost every night.

No matter how many times she meditated and tried to distance herself, she always came back. Whether it be a message on their channel, a furtive meeting behind closed doors, or a quick visit. She had to be crazy to think she could keep doing this. It had been another day of ignoring her datapad and ignoring the alerts of the incoming messages. She felt a cold shiver rake through her despite the warmth of the room. She'd been ignoring him all day, trying to ensure she didn't find herself awaiting every text and wishing to speak with him. She tried to distance her mind.

Her anxieties grew inside her, wondering what could happen to her if anyone found out. That she was growing feelings, real and true emotions towards someone. Dasibri was grappling with the thoughts of possible outcomes without even knowing how he truly felt about her. Crosshair was a man of very few words but she hung onto every single one. Would she be excommunicated for this? Stripped of all title, rank, and the only home and she'd ever known?

After hours of trying to quell the anxious fire in her belly she decided it wasn't worth ignoring anymore. There had to be a reason it was so bad tonight. Something had to be causing it. The only thing she could think of was him, that it almost felt like his familiar presence was occupying her mind and radiating around her. It was him. She knew it was.

Dasibri pushed the blankets off of herself and climbed out of bed. Her feet hit the floor with a soft thud. Standing in her nightwear she traveled to the other side of her bedroom with more energy than she wished she had. Grabbing her bag and digging through it till she found her datapad she turned it on. She wasn't surprised with what she found.

A transmission from Crosshair. It had come in mere minutes ago.

"Headed to Coruscant. See you in the morning."

That answered that then. He was here. She thought to herself, wracking her brain so much the tension almost hurt. Had this all started from the moment he breached the atmosphere? Was his presence on the planet alone enough to shake her to her core?

She'd already made up her mind. She was already planning on sneaking out of bed not so long after every Jedi on her floor fell asleep. It was simply a matter of waiting. She meditated quietly until everyone had officially retired for the night. It felt like hours she waited. Both trying to pass the time and calm herself down. Bring her own mind back into stasis and drag it away from the fervent craze it had been in. Dasibri bided her time until she felt the coast was clear.

It felt like ages that she stayed in her room, just waiting. But once she could sense her window of opportunity, she ceased all meditations. Her feet hit the floor once again as she came down from her dream like state. Dasibri had walked to her closet staring at the few different variations of her robes. She studied them intently, until she decided and picked out her newest addition and rid herself of her pajamas.

She crept through the Temple and made it down to the lower floors.

It had been a long while since she'd taken to driving through the city skies of Coruscant. She never really went anywhere on her own like that. She hadn't the time for such things, especially nowadays. She'd borrowed a speeder.

Despite spending the last week wrapped up inside her own head whenever she had a spare second to think, she locked herself away. It wasn't too out of the usual for Dasibri to disappear and come back after hours of isolated meditation but even she knew it was different now. Tensions were high with the Senate and with the Chancellor, but that was hardly anything new. Surely no one noticed or cared for her tardiness or slothfulness as of late. Instead of any real work, Dasibri had been locking herself away and meditating for days on end.

She knew what must become of all this. She couldn't do this. Dasibri knew what she had to do to make sure everything worked out the way she needed it to. It wasn't fair but they needed to stop this. Whatever they had, she needed it gone.

And yet she didn't turn around. Instead of doing what she had promised herself she would, Dasibri parked her speeder outside the building. With freezing hands, she shook and turned off the machine. She pulled the keys into her hand and placed them inside the pocket of her robes. Now starring up at the neon colors of the sign overhead she might have felt even more anxious than when she left. Dasibri stood before the doors of 79's and left the Coruscant skyline behind her as she entered the bar.

She passed through the doors. It was dark. Much darker than she thought it would be. Her eyes adjusted to the size and the lighting of the place. It was a Clone Bar. She wasn't sure what she expected. The entire place was littered with soldiers, some she knew, most she didn't. All she knew was that this place was packed.

Despite the capacity of the place, she assumed that she stuck out like a sore thumb. If her robes didn't separate her from the rest she was almost a full foot lower on the ground. Every clone was a standard six feet tall, and Dasibri definitely wasn't. She was looking up towards each clone, looking over armor, studying hair cuts, facial markings and the color of their armor plates.

It helped that Crosshair wasn't like the others. He should of been easier to find. She looked around, trying to find the man she came searching for. She kept her eyes peeled in the possibility she might see the other clones of Force 99. Dasibri only came to see one of them, but the others were definitely easier to find.

Dasibri narrowed her eyes and looked around for a bit. She knew he was here, she could feel it. She could sense it. The poor Jedi felt queasy as she looked around for him. She managed to figure out where he was all on her own, he had to be here somewhere. As more time passed she wondered what she was even doing here. She took a solemn step forward and her eyes shifted across the darkened room. She looked to the stairs. Maybe he was up there?

She took another step and a dark shroud seemed to creep up on her from behind. It hung over her head like dread. It was then that a cool low baritone seemed to reverberate in her ear. It was an immediate relief to her nerves.

"You look lost." Crosshair had said smirking. He was lent over, his lips just inches from her ear. "Did my little Jedi sneak out to see me?" He hummed, hands grasping her shoulders as he pulled back and stood at his full height. He looked down at her as she turned around to look at him quickly.

Dasibri felt like she was floating, his presence alone was enough to fluster her. She tried to remain at peace, in her usual state of tranquility, but the way he spoke left her blushing. His? She had thought to herself. The notion and the implications were enough to make her dizzy. She'd be thinking about this for hours. This was so wrong. She felt sick again in no time.

Only he could do this to her. Both ease and aggravate. Crosshair looked the most relaxed she'd ever seen him. He wasn't in uniform, not fully at least. He looked down at her, eyebrow raised in wait. He was still awaiting an answer.

"I didn't sneak out" she said, her voice wavering. "I just didn't tell anyone" she said trying to keep her voice even. She looked up at him, eyes looking over his face. From the looks of it, his last assignment hadn't been so kind to him. The bruise across his cheek bone looked a lot worse in person.

Crosshair chuckled slightly. Fingertips squeezing into her shoulders before one of them dropped. He casually slipped his arm around her, leaning down slightly to do it. Crosshair looked around for any more familiar Jedi, but he didn't find any. "Did you stalk me out all on your own?" His eyebrow raised in intrigue. "Are you keeping tabs on me?" He asked her seriously, his eyes staring into hers.

Dasibri tried to play it off as cool as she could. She looked up at him and met his stare. "What if I was?" She answered him back. The amusement in her voice was palpable.

A brief smile graced his face. The more Dasibri managed to draw out that scarce smile of his, the more she felt the butterflies in her stomach multiply. He held her close to his side. "Oh mesh'la" he said shaking his head whilst looking down. "What am I going to do with you?" Crosshair had asked her.

She was red in the face. She had to be. Dasibri could feel her cheeks burning. Her feelings for him were getting out of hand. A strange kind of contentment filled her, made her feel light and carefree. It was as soon as she enjoyed the moment, did she think about it. It sent her crashing back down. Her thoughts immediately resumed. They were getting too comfortable with each other. She had thought about him every night for the last week and when he acted like this...she was sure she was doomed.

It was the way he always stayed in contact. Whether it was a text or holocall every once in awhile, he would send a few transmissions here and there. Always making sure she knew he was only a few klicks away. It also certainly wasn't helping when he called her beautiful when he was intoxicated like this. How was she supposed to act exactly?

She knew it was against the rules and she knew it would end in heartbreak. Whether she had to leave him and stop this, or whether she left her order behind to peruse it. How could she not enjoy the happiness this brought? If attachments were forbidden, if they brought so much evil along with them...why did it feel so right? Why did his voice make her heart sing? There had to be a reason her hand fit so snugly in his. There had to be a reason. The tension inside her did little to dissipate. No matter how happy she was in her thoughts, the immediate realization of what it meant was enough to have her scared.

Crosshair was high in spirit that night. Yet another successful mission alongside his brothers was enough reason to celebrate and keep him moderately happy. But a call to report back to Coruscant in the morning? That was even better. That meant he'd be making a pitstop at the Jedi temple. And now it seemed that he didn't even have to. It seemed his sole reason to show up came right to him instead. All of that, mixed with the liquor in his system had him in quite the good mood.

He happily paraded the girl around on his arm as he made it back to the large booth his brothers were sat at. Each of them in their own various state of impaired. All minus Echo, he was the only one to fully keep his cognitive thinking skills intact. Despite being lost in the back rooms of 79's he still seemed on edge.

But Crosshair removed his arm from around the girl and stole a chair from the nearest table. He sat the stool down next to his and let her take her seat.

"So tell me, General." Crosshair said sarcastically, a wicked grin smothering his face. He knew how much she hated when he called her that. "Are you Jedi allowed to drink?" He asked her. His gaze flickered over her face, watching a sheepish and worried smile overtake her.

"I'd rather not.." she confessed. "Alcohol would impair my skills and my judgment. I'm afraid I don't drink" she told him. She sat down along with the others, her hands folded together tightly on her lap.

"I think it might already be impaired. You're sitting with us." Tech spoke up. His self deprecating joke didn't go unnoticed or unheard.

"Speak for yourself" Crosshair stated looking over to his brother who seemed happy enough nursing his third beer of the night. He picked up his own drink and look another sip. His eyes looked to the girl beside him. She was looking around the room, studying it and getting familiar with it. Her eyes were widened slightly, just absorbing the atmosphere around her. Crosshair found himself trying to hide a smile. His cheeks ached, he wasn't sure if he'd ever smiled this much in his life.

-

By the end of the night, Crosshair had more or less sobered up. The world was no longer blurred and his senses were just as sharp as ever. All that mattered to him was that he was capable of driving a speeder back to the Jedi Temple with a single passenger. In fact he was dead set on it. She may have drove herself but he was hellbent on making sure he took her home. He refused to let the girl drive, despite her being the sober one.

Maybe it was just an excuse to feel her arms wrap around his torso and hold on to him tightly. Or maybe it was his ego. Maybe it was even the fact that he felt the need to showcase his skills on a speeder? Neither of them would actually get an answer to that question.

It was like thousand thoughts ran through Dasibris head as she held onto him. Her grip tightened, her hands digging into the fabric of his clothes. She didn't want this night to end. Crosshair had just been so perfect that night. His hard exterior had dissipated for once and she was falling for him even worse than she originally thought.

She had learned quite early on that he had issues opening up to people. She'd gathered that much the first time she met him. From the way he treated her to the way he treated the world. She'd seen first hand how he treated the regular clones, he separated himself. Labeled them and himself as 'other'. Dasibri found herself lucky of gotten to know him so well. Or even to of seen him this many times. Her in-depth thoughts kept her occupied as Crosshair weaved through the traffic of landspeeders, shuttles, taxis, and the like. When she first met him she never thought she'd of ended up here. She squeezed onto him again and held onto him closely.

"You're alright, cyare" he spoke over his shoulder, making sure his voice carried. He could feel her grip tightening still. It was an attempt to sooth her worries. Although he didn't have a clue as to what she was actually worried about.

Dasibri felt her cheeks heat up again. He knew what he was doing. There was no way he didn't. She rested her head against the man's back. Once again sitting with her thoughts. She never would of thought that she would of enjoyed him this much. When she first met him, he set her alight with anger. His arrogance and his tough exterior, were now just a reason for a playful eye roll. She wondered if he felt the same. Had her own attitude off put him? What made him crack and come to her door? What made him keep coming back? At this point she wasn't sure why she kept coming back. She snuggled up against him as her mind replayed the events of the night. Every conversation, every smile, she wanted to remember everything.

Crosshair pulled up along the darkened landing pad connected to the Jedi temple. Due to the late hour, the lights were off and the entire strip was shrouded in darkness. The only light given came from the city and the beams of light from the speeder itself. Despite its artificial sky, the light pollution definitely dulled the space around them. As Dasibri hopped off the Speeder, Crosshair did the same. Standing up if just to talk to her properly a few minutes longer. As she turned to look at him he picked up his head and let out a content sigh.

When it came to his feelings for Dasibri, Crosshair had been anything but subtle. He was sweet on her and frankly he was just enjoying every moment he was lucky enough to share with her. Sometimes he wondered if this was a usual thing for her. Did she go out and see any regs like this? Was he the first clone to weasel his way into her life? As soon as his brothers weren't around, Crosshair didn't care to keep up the facade. Maybe he was growing soft but in this context, he didn't have a problem with it. When he was alone with his thoughts, alone with himself, he could just dare to venture down this path of thinking. He could dwell on these thoughts and think about these things for as long as he liked.

Of course, he never had the time to honestly sit and place his emotions. To wonder how far they could take this. Or if she even wanted to. Karking hell, he wasn't even sure what he wanted. But now, standing on the landing pad with only four moons as his witness Crosshair spoke up.

"I have a question for you." He said exhaling deeply. He leaning against the speeder, fearing his knees would give out other wise. As calm as he portrayed himself to be, he was worried about what was to come after. "I need to know.. what is this? Us, I mean. If there even is.." He asked her.

He didn't know what he was saying anymore, he was cringing in his mind. After so many nights losing himself in her, in her peace and drowning in the expanse of her. Crosshair needed an answer. It had been another night of him just listening to her talk and preach her philosophies. The hours of the night grew longer and he had never felt more at ease. This life that he lived was complicated but nothing was as complicated as the things he felt for her. He never knew how to express them. There had been so many things he had wanted to say. He just never could get them to come out in the way he wanted them to. In the way she deserved to hear them.

Dasibri felt her body go rigid. Every emotion and thought inside her body felt like it had shrunk to the most minuscule size. Leaving her stumbling over words and blinking dumbly. A Jedi Knight. One of the brightest of her time. How silly of a notion is that?

The silence spanned for what felt like decades. Giving Crosshair time and a half to think of every way he had ruined what he thought they could of had. He was practically already sitting back on the bike and ready to leave once she finally did speak.

Dasibri's voice came quiet. Soft and worried as she refused to meet his gaze. Her entire body felt red hot at her confession. "I cant." She told him. "I shouldn't... I'm not supposed to." The girl said holding her fists tightly at her sides. She had thought long and hard on the matter. Devoted days to the mere idea of it. Dasibri had studied it in her mind, looked at it from every angle, every turn. She had obsessed and pondered and now with the moment before her, she came up empty. "I cant hold attachments. I would love to, I have enjoyed every moment I've spent with you...but-"

Crosshair could see the blush overtake her face. He could hear the struggle in her words. He relaxed against the speeder and looked at her. He nodded and narrowed his brow in thought. As soon as the idea came to him he spoke aloud, accidentally cutting her off. "What if you don't have to? What if I'm holding an attachment, and you're just entertaining me?" He offered her, a self satisfied expression stretched over his face.

Dasibri blinked and thought on his words. She found herself smiling and almost laughing it off. He didn't seem to find it as funny. "I think that would hardly be fair" she said giving him a reluctant smile.

Crosshairs face was back to its stoic and stern blankness. It masked everything going on inside his head. "I suppose." He said squaring his shoulders and shifting his weight on the bike. "I wouldn't mind though." He had hesitated. The admission left him feeling cold, vulnerable. More vulnerable than he would ever like to feel.

Soft lips pressed against his if only for a moment. She tasted like the mocktail she'd been drinking back at the bar. She tasted sweet.

Dasibri pulled back and looked at him. Hoping her answer sufficed, he only stared at her. He was confused, more confused than anything. And yet, he didn't care. His hand lunged out, quickly grabbing ahold of her waist and pulling her close. Their lips met again.

Under the four moons of Corcusant, a catastrophic and irreversible decision was made. Dasibri Taraay and Crosshair locked lips with the understanding that their arrangement had shifted tones. If anyone caught them, it would mean their lives would be over. She would be expelled from the Jedi Order, and she would be outcasted. If it came out that Crosshair was in a relationship, with a Jedi no less, he'd be labeled a deserter. Who knew what would happen to him after that. But for the moment, neither of them cared.

That was the worst case scenario. Nothing else could possibly happen?

Right?

[just-dreaming-marvel]

The Bond Between Us ~ 79

THE BOND BETWEEN US MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 1,655ish

Summary: You meet up with Luke, Grogu, and Ahsoka.

Notes: The next chapter is hella long and going to deal with Ben’s training and his fall to the dark side.

It was a few days later when Luke reached out to tell you that he had run in with his father’s former Padawan, Ahsoka Tano. He also told you that he felt a being reaching out for a Jedi with the Force. You encouraged him to follow it, though you already had a good idea of where it would lead.

You were home helping with Ben when Luke reached out to you again, asking you to come to Ossus. Ben was not happy you were leaving again, but you promised that you wouldn’t be gone too long. You left him with a kiss on the head before flying off to meet Luke. R2 greeted you when you landed. You smiled at the droid as it beeped excitedly at you.

“Hello there, old friend,” you greeted, placing your hand on the top of R2. Your smile grew as you sensed another familiar presence. You looked over at the tree line to see Ahsoka leaning back against a tree with her arms folded over her chest. “Hello to you, too.”

“Long time, no see,” Ahsoka smiled, pushing herself off the tree to come over and hug you.

“I’m so glad to see you.” You pulled away. “How is he doing?”

“Which one?”

You laughed. “Either.”

“Luke is a natural at this, though he still has much to learn.”

“He still is young… though, I guess when I was his age Order 66 had been executed and I was a prisoner to the Empire…”

Ahsoka sent you a sympathetic smile. “Our lives have truly not been easy.”

“No, no they haven’t.”

~~~

You and Ahsoka watched as Luke trained Grogu. It was clear to you that Grogu had blocked out much of his past, trying to protect himself. During the less structured time, Grogu seemed to want to stay beside you. It was curious to all of you, though you had a sneaking suspicion as to why. 

One night, while the others were sleeping, you stayed up and watched the flames of the bright fire dance amidst the darkness. Looking past the fire, you so Grogu sitting on a rock staring at you.

“Can’t sleep?” You questioned. Grogu didn’t respond, only looking at you with his big eyes. “Come here.” 

You patted the spot beside you. Grogu took a moment before slowly making his way to sit beside you. Once there, he stared up at you. You reached out to him through the Force, grateful that he reached back. You could feel him asking for help with remembering his time at the Jedi Temple.

“Are you sure?” You asked aloud. Grogu nodded. You moved so that you were better facing him. “Okay. It might be hard.”

Grogu encouraged you to continue. Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes and used the Force to reach into Grogu’s mind. You could see faint images—memories—that Grogu had of the Jedi Temple. You gasped when one became clearer. 

Grogu had been in another room but was looking out at the hallway. Your gasped was caused when you saw you, Anakin, and Obi-Wan pass by. Snapping your eyes open, you looked down at Grogu. He looked up at you, almost like he knew you.

“You… How did I never know about you?” You breathed out. Grogu’s answer was easy. “Oh, yeah, the war… May I see what else we can find?” 

Grogu nodded, and quickly your eyes were closed and you were back to exploring his memories. It replayed the memory you had just witnessed, this time with more detail. You could see the glint of your necklace chain being hit by the sun. That meant that this memory was after the proposal. With the solemn looks on your face and Obi-Wan’s and the anger on Anakin’s, you could only assume that this was the conversation you all had when Anakin was asked to spy on Palpatine. 

The scene changed suddenly. It was nighttime at the Temple now and there were Jedi standing in front of where Grogu was with their lightsabers ignited. There were Clones shooting at the Jedi, successfully killing them. You gasped as you pulled out of the memory. You had experienced your own version of that terrible night, left to wonder what the experience at the Temple had been like. Now, you were just given a snapshot of it and it was making you sick.

As your heart rate sped up, you felt a tiny hand on your knee. You looked down to see that Grogu had a hand on you as he looked at you. You could feel him trying to do his best to calm you, though he was troubled with the memory himself.

“I’m sorry you had to experience that,” you told him as you calmed. Grogu looked away. “I understand some of your pain… Ahsoka and I might be the only ones left who truly do.”

~~~

The next day, Grogu went off to train more with Luke, leaving you and Ahsoka alone. The two of you found a clearing that you could duel in until you felt a familiar presence.

“The Mandalorian,” you said, putting your saber away, “he’s here to see Grogu.”

The two of you knew that R2 would have met the Mandalorian and guided him to where you were camped out. You went there and saw the Mandalorian laying on a bench. He sensed the two of you, drew his gun, and sat up.

“You two,” he said. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Ahsoka smirked as she leaned back against a tree. “I’m an old friend of the family,” she replied.

“I thought you weren’t going to help train Grogu.”

“We’re not. Master Luke is.”

“Then what are you doing here?”

“That is our question for you,” you said. You and Ahsoka headed toward the Mandalorian as he stood up.

“I’m here to see the kid.”

“And that’s why R2 brought you to us instead.” R2 beeped excitedly causing you and Ahsoka to laugh.

“What is this place?” The Mandalorian looked over at where droids were building a stone building.

“There’s nothing now,” Ahsoka said, “but will somebody be a great school. Grogu will be its first student.”

“I’d like to know how he’s doing.”

“He’s doing fine,” you replied.

“I wanna see him.”

Ahsoka sighed, giving you a look before answering, “we know you do. Let us take a walk.” Ahsoka led the way, with you and the Mandalorian following. “I warned you when we met that your attachment to Grogu would be difficult to let go of.”

“He was a Mandalorian foundling in my care. I just wanna make sure he’s safe.”

“There is no place in the galaxy more safe than here with Luke,” you told him.

“I don’t understand why you’re both alright with Skywalker’s decision to train the kid when neither of you would.”

Ahsoka exhaled sharply, causing all of us to come to a stop. “Because it was his choice,” she said. “I don’t control the wants of others.”

“Then, it’s my choice to go and see him.”

“Of course. If that is what you wish.” She looked up the hill where Luke and Grogu were sitting under a tree. The Mandalorian looked as well.

“Alright.” He started to head toward them.

“Are you doing this for Grogu, or are you doing this for yourself?”

The Mandalorian stopped and pulled something from his belt. “I just… I wanna give him this.”

“Why?” You questioned. “So he will remember you?”

“No. As a Mandalorian foundling, he should have this. It’s his right.”

“Foundling,” Ahsoka repeated. “Perhaps he is a Padawan now.”

“Well, either way, this armor will protect him.”

“If you are set on it, then allow us to deliver it.”

“I came all this way. He’s right there.”

“Grogu missed you a great deal,” you told him. “If he sees you, it will only make things more difficult for him.”

The Mandalorian thought about it as he stared at Luke and Grogu. He turned toward you and Ahsoka, holding out the gift. “Make sure he’s protected.”

“Of course,” you took the gift from him.

The Mandalorian looked back at Grogu before turning around and heading for his ship.

“I hate how I feel so hypocritical,” you admitted, looking down at the gift. “But I know that the Jedi way is to not have attachments, though Luke and I… Anakin… Obi-Wan…”

“It is better for Grogu this way if he is to continue his training,” Ahsoka told you.

~~~

You and Ahsoka met up with Luke and Grogu near the river, where Grogu was using the Force to hop from rock to rock to avoid getting hit by the blasts from the training remote. You watched as Grogu stopped the remote with the Force and broke it. Grogu looked over at the three of you and squealed.

“Good,” Luke said to him.

“You’ve taught him well,” Ahsoka said.

“It’s more like he’s remembering than I’m actually teaching him anything.”

“Sometimes the student guides the Master.”

“The Mandalorian was here.”

“As I told you, the two share a strong bond.”

“He brought him a gift,” you said, holding the gift out for Luke to take.

“Sometimes I wonder if his heart is in it.”

“So much like your father,” Ahsoka commented.

“What should I do about him?”

“Trust your instincts.” Ahsoka started walking away.

“Will we see you again?”

“Perhaps.” Ahsoka looked at the two of you, bowing her head slightly. “May the Force be with you.”

“May the Force be with you,” you repeated.

As Ahsoka walked away, you had a feeling that you would never see her again. It brought tears to your eyes at the thought of losing yet another family member. It had been a miracle that either of you survived Order 66 and the Empire to even see each other again. You would take these memories and treasure them, always.

next chapter >

TAGLIST IS CLOSED - Taglist Information

[eriquin]

Cat's in the Cradle, part 9

I haven't posted any of this in a while, but I'm hitting my WIP self-imposed limit, so here's the next part.

When we last left them, Eddie had been found hiding in Dustin's closet. They didn't believe who he was, so he ran for it.

(master post)

Steve caught Eddie in the living room. The kid couldn’t get all the locks on the front door undone fast enough before Steve wrapped him up in a bear hug, lifting him off the ground. “No, get off,” he said, kicking his feet as Steve carried him into the middle of the living room. He was scrawny but scrappy, and Steve made sure to keep him far enough away from anything breakable. 

“Calm down,” Steve said. He shifted his grip until he had Eddie hanging sideways under one arm. His legs swung out but couldn’t kick him, and his arms were still pinned to his sides. “We just need to figure this out. Dustin is overreacting.” 

Robin ran into the room a moment later, but quickly retreated to the doorway. “Oh, you got him,” she said. “Have you got him? I really don’t want to tie a preteen to a chair, no matter what Dustin says.”

Steve swung Eddie around as he kicked some more. “I’ve got him,” he said. “He doesn’t really weigh anything.”

“Fuck you,” Eddie spat out. 

“Language, you toddler,” Robin snapped back. “Now, explain yourself. If you really are Eddie, why do you look like this?”

Eddie stopped kicking and looked back and forth between the two of them. He was panting and straining against Steve’s arms, and Steve could feel the rapid patter of his heart against his chest. “Put me down first,” he said.

“Not until you calm down,” Steve said. He pulled Eddie back up from where he’d started to slip and turned him around so he was facing the ceiling instead of the floor. “Think you can do that?” 

Eddie stared at him, his face flushing from the blood rushing to his head. “Yes. Maybe. I’m freaking out over here. I really thought you’d all be happy to see me.” 

“And we are! Sort of,” Robin said. “But we also think you might be a trap, you know.” 

Steve signed. “What happened to you, dude?” 

“I don’t know!” Eddie yelped. He kicked his feet weakly. “I mean, I know, but I don’t know why. Or how.”

“Start with what you do know, then,” Dustin said as he turned the corner. He was limping more now, but brushed Robin off when she tried to help him. He took a seat in one of the armchairs. “I got on the walkies and called a code orange, but no one is answering.” 

“What, not a code red?” Robin asked.

Dustin shook his head. “He tried to run instead of attacking us.”

“He bit me!” Robin pointed at her arm, rolling up her shirt sleeve to show faint teeth marks. 

“Relax, you’re fine. He didn’t even break the skin.” Steve looked around the room. “Okay, how are we gonna play this? Am I just holding him like this while you two interrogate him?” 

“Can we not call it an interrogation?” Robin said. “Little too close to the Russians, you know?” 

“Please put me down,” Eddie said quietly. He looked like he’d calmed down but Steve could feel how fast his heart was still going. 

Dustin was shaking his head, but Steve lowered Eddie enough to let his feet touch the ground. The boy wasn’t heavy, but Steve was getting tired of holding him up. It had been a long day. He readjusted his grip to keep him still, though. Steve wrapped one hand around both of Eddie’s wrists and used them to keep him pinned to his chest. 

“Okay, explain now, then we’ll figure out what to do with you,” Dustin said. He met Steve’s eyes and tried to communicate something, but Steve didn’t understand what he was trying to say. 

Eddie huffed a few times. He twisted as much as he could to look around the room, but most of the fight had gone out of him. “I’ve done it before,” he said. “Changed age, I mean. It’s happened twice before.” 

“What?” Robin asked. “When?” 

Eddie chewed on his lip and looked up thoughtfully. “In, uh, ‘76 and ‘79.” He looked down at himself again and aimlessly scuffed his foot against the carpet. “I don’t know for sure, but I think I’ve gone back to being thirteen again.” 

“Wait, you got younger twice?” Steve said. “How old are you really? Like, thirty?” 

“No!” Eddie shook his head. “I’m nineteen. Twenty in June. I got younger the first time, then got older again the second time.” 

“Okay, but that’s before any of the Upside Down stuff started,” Dustin said. “Are you seriously trying to tell us this—” He gestured up and down at Eddie. “—is unrelated?” 

“Not... Exactly.” Eddie looked up at them and his chin quivered. “You’re gonna be mad.”

Dustin scoffed and held his hands out. “Breaking news! I’m already mad!” he said. “Just spit it out.” 

“I was in the lab,” Eddie said. He was shaking, and his heart started hammering again. “Hawkins Lab. I was there. Like your friend. Except I can’t—”

“Hah! No! That’s bullshit,” Dustin said, swinging himself to his feet. He hobbled forward looking furious. “See? He’s not really Eddie. If Eddie had been like El, he would have told us when we told him about El! Or Vecna! He would have said something.” 

Eddie squirmed, pressing his back into Steve as he faced an angry Dustin. Robin got between them, pushing Dustin back. “I can’t do anything!” he yelled, voice cracking a bit. “I didn’t tell you because it wouldn’t have mattered. This is the only thing I can do and I don’t even know how it works!”

“If you were in the lab, you would’ve had a number tattooed on you,” Robin said. 

“They disappear!” Eddie twisted around in Steve’s grip again, going nowhere. “They all disappear when I get younger, like injuries.”

“Isn’t that convenient,” Dustin said. He looked smug and angry. “You really have no proof, do you?”

“That’s why I didn’t tell you,” Eddie said, his voice rising in pitch as he struggled. Steve had to put his arm around his waist and pick him up again to keep him from falling down. “I can’t move things with my mind and I can’t make the bulbs light up and I can’t read minds and I can’t, I can’t...” He gasped and kicked his legs again. Steve braced himself to hold him up. Eddie wasn’t fighting to get free, but it felt like he was fighting just to breathe. 

“Eddie still would have told me,” Dustin said. His forehead wrinkled into a heavy frown. “Maybe he is one of the kids from the lab and he stole Eddie’s memories.”

“I’m not,” Eddie gasped, closing his eyes. He tried to curl up and Steve had to step back and balance against the edge of the couch to keep a hold on him. “I’m me. I’m me. Dustin, you know me.” 

“Dustin, you’re freaking him out,” Steve said. “Back off.” Dustin ignored him.

“We need to get in touch with El and have her check him,” Robin said. “She can do that, right?”

Dustin nodded and crossed his arms. “We have to tie him up in the meantime.”

“I’m not tying up a child, Dustin,” Robin said. 

“Guys!” Steve said. Eddie twisted his wrists out of Steve’s grip and covered his face. Steve put him down on the couch and sat down on the edge near him, keeping one hand on his back and bracing in case it was all a trick. Eddie curled up into as tight a ball as he could, tucking his face into his knees and covering his head with his arms. He was shaking. “Will you guys stop yelling for a minute, please?” 

“We’re barely yelling,” Dustin said. His face was pinched, and he took a step back when he saw the way Eddie was panicking. “He’s just trying to get your sympathy, Steve. It’s a trick.”

“And it’s working,” Steve said. “Dustin, if he is—”

“He’s not Eddie,” Dustin frowned deeply. It looked forced, and his voice wavered as he spoke. “Eddie is gone. You didn’t see him, Steve. You weren’t there.” 

“But if he is!” Steve said, snapping his fingers at Dustin. “If he is, and he came back and then you start treating him like this—” 

“Shut up,” Dustin said. He took another halting step back. Steve could see him starting to tear up. “Just... He’s not.” 

“Maybe we can just talk to him for now,” Robin said. “Ask him some easy questions. Calm him back down until we can reach El and find out for sure.” 

Dustin sat back down on the armchair. Robin sat on the other side of the couch from Eddie and Steve. “Fine,” Dustin said. His voice was laced with bitterness. “Fine. We can talk. Let’s talk.” 

Steve laid his hand on Eddie’s back. The boy was twitching slightly, like he was hiccuping or crying, but not letting any sound out. “Hey,” Steve said, rubbing a little circle on his back with his hand. “You all right in there?” 

Eddie picked his head up just enough to peek out from over his knees. His eyes were wet. “Y-yeah,” he mumbled, rubbing his snotty nose off on his pants. “‘M fine. Whattaya wanna know?” 

Dustin sat back and crossed his arms. “Your tattoo is gone, but you had one, right?” he asked. Eddie nodded slightly. “So what was your number?”

Eddie wrapped his arms around his knees and stared down at the seat of the couch. It took him a long time to answer, and when he did he said it so softly that Steve had to repeat it for Dustin and Robin to hear. “Seven.” 

“What does that mean?” Robin asked Dustin.

“No idea, but El will know. She can confirm it when we talk to her,” Dustin turned his attention back to Eddie. “When did you get out of the lab?” 

Eddie sucked on the cuff of his sleeve a bit before answering. “‘76,” he said. “I don’t remember a lot about it.” 

“Same year you first deaged?” Dustin asked.

Eddie nodded. 

“How did that happen? What caused it?”

Eddie shrugged. “I’unno.” 

“You don’t know?” Dustin leaned forward. “Or you don’t want to tell us?” 

“I don’t know,” Eddie said more clearly. “I was ten and brain dead and then I was three and fine and we went into hiding.” 

“Jesus,” Steve said softly. He paled a bit and covered his mouth with his hand.

Dustin looked a little contrite about asking, and then his brow furrowed in thought. “So now you’ve gone back to being that age, plus ten years?” 

“Makes sense,” Robin said. “Kind of? Obviously this time it happened because he was dying, right?”

Dustin gulped and covered his mouth. “Right. Obviously.”

“Wait,” Steve said, holding up his hand. “What do you mean, dying? Nancy said he was dead. She said you guys checked for a pulse.”

Dustin and Robin gave each other a look, something unspoken passing between them. Robin spoke up first. “She did say that, yes,” she said, fidgeting with the hem of her vest. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Steve asked. He rested his arm on Eddie’s back. The boy was watching everything but hadn’t uncurled from his protective little ball. “Did you not check? Why would you not have checked?”

Dustin was staring at a spot on the floor. “It’s not her fault,” he mumbled. “He was dead. I know he was.” 

“It’s not your fault either,” Robin said. She moved closer to Dustin and held her hands up like she couldn’t decide if she could touch him. “It was just a shitty situation, okay?” 

There was a crackling static sound from the back of the house as someone tried to get in contact over the radio. Dustin leapt to his feet, wincing as he put too much weight on his bad ankle. “I need to—” He cut himself off and started hobbling towards his bedroom. His voice was breaking. “Robin, you tell them.”

Robin shut her eyes and clenched her fists. “Right,” she said shakily. “I’ll just... Do that.”

“You guys didn’t come back,” Eddie said quietly. “You really did leave me there.” 

Robin looked up. “We didn’t mean to,” she said. Her voice was equally quiet. “It was just me and Nance. We had to leave Steve at the hospital, and we kept trying to radio you and Dustin but neither of you were answering—” 

“The hospital? Like, the real world hospital?” Eddie looked confused as he started to unfold himself. He turned to get a better look at Steve. “How did you get there?”

“We were at the Creel house when the earthquake hit,” Steve said. “So we knew something had happened to Max. We ran up to the attic and there was a gate there, so we went through it.”

“Max was there,” Robin said. “She was so hurt. Lucas said she’d died, but then her heart started beating again. We had to get her to the hospital, Eddie. We didn’t know...” 

“You were supposed to run if it got bad,” Steve said. “You and Dustin. You said you weren’t going to be a hero.” 

Eddie looked back and forth between the two of them. Steve was staring at one of the couch blankets like he was trying to see some kind of explanation in it and Robin had wrapped her arms around her middle protectively. He couldn’t tell if they were upset with him or with each other or just tense. “I didn’t plan it,” he whispered. “The bats... The bats started coming through the vents in the trailer. And Dustin was through the gate and you guys needed more time and they weren’t stopping and they were just going to fly through the gate after us if I didn’t—” He hiccuped and realized he was crying again. 

Robin flailed her hands out to grab a box of tissues off of the coffee table. She pushed it into his lap. “Here!” she said frantically. 

Steve rolled his eyes at her but Eddie grabbed a tissue and blew his nose. He gave her a grateful look as he did so and shuffled down the couch so he wasn’t tucked so tightly into the corner. “I just did it without thinking, is what I mean,” he said softly, and blew his nose again.

Robin was nodding now, and biting her lip. Steve pinched the bridge of his nose and spoke up. “I get it,” he said. “I’m not, like, happy about it, but... Jesus. Okay. I can’t even fault you on that, ‘cause I know I would’ve done the same thing.”

“Have done,” Robin said. Steve frowned as he looked up at her, and she shrugged. “Unthinkingly thrown yourself into danger so that Dustin would be spared? I was there, dingus. I did it, too.”

“Oh, the Russians. Right.” Steve took a breath and let it out slowly. “We didn’t die, though!”

“Almost did,” Robin said. “They were definitely going to kill us.”

Steve groaned and ran his hands through his hair. “Robin!” he hissed. He gestured with both hands at Eddie. “Eddie! Was he dead, or not? You said that you checked.” 

“We were going to! Me and Nancy went back to get Dustin through the gate and he was crying about... About Eddie and everything, you know? And we went out there to look and there were bats everywhere and there was so much blood and then N—” She flinched and bit down on her clenched fist. “I freaked out. I started, just, panicking about it all. You know how I get, right? It was bad. So bad. I can barely remember it. Nancy had to drag me back to the trailer.” 

Steve put his head in his hands. Eddie glanced at him briefly, but turned his attention back to Robin. She gave him a wide-eyed look and started babbling again.

“And then when we got back to the trailer, Dustin basically took pity on my traumatized state. Which is terrible, you know? Because it’s not like he wasn’t traumatized, too. But he told us that it was too late, and that he’d seen you die, and then I—” She bit her lip. “We had to get him to the hospital, right? For his ankle. So we—I pulled myself together and we piled up the furniture on the Upside Down side and got him across. He made us promise to go back for your body, and we did! But there were soldiers and—”

“Robin,” Steve said as he looked up from behind his fingers. 

“I’m sorry,” Robin said, ignoring him and turning to Eddie. “It’s my fault. If I hadn’t freaked out so bad, we would’ve checked. We wouldn’t have left you behind. Please don’t blame Dustin for this.”

Eddie continued to stare at her as Steve reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. “Robin,” he said again. This got her attention. “Go figure out what Dustin’s doing, will you?” 

“Sure,” she said, gingerly getting up. She gave them one more backwards glance before leaving the room.

After she left, Eddie pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on them. “I know I don’t know her that well, but she was lying, right?” 

Steve sighed and stretched out across the other side of the couch. “Yeah, no shit,” he muttered. 

“Why does she want me to blame her, though? I don’t get it.” Eddie sniffled again. “I mean, I don’t actually blame anybody. I was definitely dying. Just because I’m okay now—”

“That’s debatable,” Steve said with a snort. Eddie’s hand shot out and punched him in the arm. “Hey, watch it. Those tiny little fists hurt.”

Eddie wiped the tears away from his cheeks. “Asshole.” 

Steve looked up until the back of his head hit the back of the couch. “Do you, uh, want to know my theory?” 

“Sure, Harrington.”

He sucked on his teeth. “I know it’s only been a couple of days that you even got to know either Nancy or Robin... But can you imagine Nancy letting that happen? Letting any amount of Robin freaking out stop her from doing something she thought she needed to do?” As Eddie slowly shook his head, Steve continued. “I think the only thing that stops Nancy is, well, Nancy.” 

“You think Nancy is the one who freaked out?” 

“I think she’s been blaming herself for everything and trying to hold it together, but I’ve seen her fall apart.” Steve leaned back and rubbed his forehead. “I’m not sure why Robin’s trying to cover for her, though.”

“Maybe seeing Nancy breaking down really spooked her..” Eddie rubbed his runny nose against his knees, wiping it off on his pants. “I know it’d spook me. Like, she barely cried after Vecna cursed her and then five minutes later she was ready to kick his ass.”

“Yeah, she’s like that.”

“But she freaked out over me? Why? She barely even knows me.” Eddie wiped his face where the tears threatened to leak again. “Shit, and I thought it was just Dustin that I traumatized.” 

Steve reached over and smoothed his hair back. “I think we all got kind of attached to you,” he said. “You know, when Nancy and Robin had to leave me behind in the hospital, I gave them my house keys. I told them to hide you in my house until we could clear your name, ‘cause my parents are in Europe and no one would look for you there.” He sighed and stretched his legs out under the coffee table. “If my house is even still standing, I guess.”

“You haven’t been back?”

“Not yet,” Steve said. “They kept me in the hospital overnight. Gave me rabies shots, which hurt like a bitch by the way.” He poked Eddie in the side. “Be glad you don’t have to deal with those.”

“I don’t have to deal with any of it,” Eddie said. “I heal up completely when I change. Wish I had some control over it happening so I could change back, though.” He pulled the sleeves of his shirt over his hands and started chewing on the end of one. 

Across the house, Dustin’s door opened up and they heard him talking. He came limping down the hall with his walkie in his hand and Robin at his heels. “Okay, I have El here,” he said as he looked up at Steve and Eddie. “You’re not going to believe this.” 

Robin cut in. “Chief Hopper’s alive!”

“I was gonna tell them that!” Dustin yelled. “But yeah, the chief’s back. I don’t know what the story is there.”

“What, really?” Steve asked, sitting up straight. He grabbed Eddie gently by the scruff of his neck and gave him a little shake. “Holy shit. We’re gonna have a back-from-the-dead club in Hawkins.” 

“Maybe,” Dustin said. He sat back down in his chair with a tired sigh. “We still have to figure out if he’s in it, or if he’s something else entirely.” He clicked on the walkie and spoke into it. “El? You there? Over.”

The walkie buzzed and El’s voice came through. “I am here,” she said. “What is your question?”

“It’s about the other kids in the lab,” Dustin said. “Specifically number seven? Over.”

Eddie curled up and scooted back on the couch to hide behind Steve again. “I failed out,” he whispered. Steve might have been the only one who heard it, but he sounded terrified. “I don’t remember a lot about the last few months. They kept trying to do something to my brain to make it work.” 

Before Steve could ask Eddie what he meant, the walkie came back on. “Henry killed Seven,” Eleven said. “I remember that. Henry killed everyone there. But Eight, Kali, she had already escaped by then.” 

Dustin frowned and looked at Eddie. “When did that happen? Over.” 

“I do not know the date. I think it was three or four years before I escaped.” 

Without clicking the button on the remote, Dustin said, “El escaped in November, ‘83. So this would be 1980 or ‘79. You said you left in ‘76?” Eddie nodded, and Dustin shook his head and looked disappointed. “That doesn’t add up.” He clicked the button on the walkie. “Was Eight the only one to escape? None of the others did before her? Over.”

The walkie stayed silent for half a minute. “Kali was the only one that stayed gone,” she said. “But sometimes, my brothers and sisters would go away for a while and come back very different.”

“How different? Over.” Dustin asked. 

“Very, very different. Papa said they might not remember us, but they were still our brother or sister.” El paused again. “Papa did not always tell the truth.” 

There was another long pause. Dustin looked at the three of them on the couch and frowned deeply before sending another message. “Did Seven change like that?”

“You didn’t say ‘over’,” Robin said. Dustin made a face at her and flipped her off. “You also aren’t telling Eleven to say ‘over’ and you always tell me—” 

“Girls with super powers get to say whatever they want on the walkie talkie,” Dustin said. 

It wasn’t El that came back on the walkie, but Mike. “What is this about, Dustin?” he asked. “Why did you call this a code orange? We’re busy. Over.” 

Dustin let out another sigh. “I really need to talk to El about this, Mike. It’s really important. Over.”

“She says that yes, Seven did change. It was a long time ago, and she doesn’t remember it very well because she was small.” The walkie clicked out, but Mike’s voice came back a second later to say, “Over.” 

Dustin rubbed his forehead. He let the walkie drop to his side before he spoke again. “Yeah, if she’s our age, she would’ve only been three or four in ‘76. That is probably too small to remember.”

“I remember stuff from when I was three,” Robin said. “My mom used to sing me Puff the Magic Dragon while we made lunch.” 

“Thank you, Robin. Very helpful,” Dustin said. “Okay, so it’s possible, I guess, that there’s a lot more psychic kids out there.”

“He said he failed out,” Steve said. Eddie, still hiding behind him, grunted and poked him sharply in the back. “Well, you did. He said that they did something to his brain.” 

“Wait, when you said braindead you meant literally braindead?” Robin asked. Steve heard Eddie let out a little whine and curl up behind him. 

“But that doesn’t make sense,” Dustin said. “If he really has age-related shapeshifting powers, then he wouldn’t be a failure. Once they saw he could do that, the scientists would’ve run experiments on him to figure out how it worked.”

Steve turned around and saw that Eddie was shaking his head. His hands were still wrapped around his legs, and he had his eyes shut. “It happened after,” Eddie said. 

Steve got off the couch and squatted down on the floor in front of it. “After what?”

Eddie tried to steady his breathing. He kept his eyes shut. “After they got me out. I changed after. I don’t remember a lot until after I changed.” He put his hands over his ears and scrunched his face up.

The walkie crackled to life again. “Hey, butthead, you’re supposed to say over and out if you’re done,” Mike said. “Over!” 

Dustin whipped the walkie back up and yelled back, “I’m not done!” He took a breath. “But I need to talk to El, preferably alone. I need her to look for someone. Over.” 

“She’s tired,” Mike said. “It’s been a long fucking day.” In the background noise, they could hear someone protesting his language. “Just tell me what you need already. Over.”

“God damn Mike,” Dustin said without activating the walkie. “He’s going to hate this. He was so fucking mad that Eddie got involved in the first place, much less that he...” Dustin swallowed hard and limped over to sit down on the armchair. 

Robin held her hand out for the walkie. “I’ll ask,” she said. 

“He��s not going to listen to you any more than he will to me,” Dustin said. “And he’s already mad at me.” He clicked on the walkie. “Mike, we need El to look for Eddie. Over.” 

Mike screeched back in anger, as Dustin had predicted. “What the hell, Dustin?” The walkie speaker squealed with feedback. “You said he was dead. Are you telling me you think he’s alive? Did you assholes leave him there?” 

Robin reached over and snatched the walkie from Dustin’s hand. She grinned before clicking the button. “You didn’t say ‘over’, smartass,” she said. “Over.” 

“Put Dustin back on, Robin,” Mike said. “Over.”

“Put El back on, Michael,” Robin said. “Nobody wants to talk to you. Over.” 

The walkie went quiet again. Robin held it out of Dustin’s reach, and he quickly gave up and appealed to Steve. “Will you tell your girlfriend to give me my walkie back?” 

“I’m sorry, my what?” Steve asked. “I know you know better than that.”

Dustin rolled his eyes. “Please ask your platonic-with-a-capital-P-friend-who-is-also-a-girl to give me my walkie back?” 

The walkie crackled to life again. “Hello,” El said. “I will look for Eddie. Mike will relay what I see. Over.” 

Dustin smiled and took the walkie back from Robin. “I guess now we’ll see,” he said.