#and his whole plan is to secure and planet/moon to do just that

[kpop-stories-21]

Sci-fi Section | Among The Stars

Group: ATEEZ

Pairing: Yunho x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 3.4k

Rating: 18-21+

Genres + AUs: Non-Idol AU, Space AU, Aliens, Smut

Content & Trigger Warnings: Alien!Yunho, Space Pirate!Reader, explosions, injuries, reader & crew are presumed dead, unprotected sex(wrap that shit up kids), size kink, pet names, dirty talk, fisting, oral sex(f receiving), double penetration, orgasm denial

Summary: You just wanted this job to go down without a hitch so you could take a long overdue vacation. You weren't planning to end up in bed with a hot alien dead-set on making you scream his name for the whole planet to hear.

Tags: @kpop---scenarios @stardragongalaxy @jeonrose @skittlez-area512 @mybiasisexo @skeletor-ify @biaswreckingfics @anyamaris @liliesofdreamsskz @rdiamond2727 @naturalogre @thelargefrye @yoonguurt @bxffietheblxxdy

If you want to be added to my taglist, click here

Network pings: @cacaokpop-fics | @kdiarynet

MDNI banner courtesy of @cafekitsune

Event Masterlist | Main Masterlist

When you entered the Sci-fi section you were surprised to find the glowing book right away. Taking a moment to collect yourself, you pulled the book from the shelf and opened it. White light filled your vision before fading to black.

"Y/N, wake up! We're here!"

Sitting up with a start, it took you a moment to remember that you were in the captain's quarters of your beloved little ship Desire. You'd been having a strange dream about a library and some kind of trial you were supposed to complete. Shaking your head to clear it, you dressed and exited your room.

Yeonjun was waiting for you in the cockpit with the rest of your crew. You smiled at them, a sense of relief filling you as you gazed at the large blue planet Azerulas. Once this shipment was delivered, you would have the money to expand both your clientele and the reach of your travels. All six of you were praying to whomever might be listening that everything would go over without a hitch.

Taking your place in the pilot's seat, you turned off the autopilot and expertly steered the ship into the queue to await your turn at the security gate that hovered above the planet.

You'd never been to this planet, but many of the foods and drinks you enjoyed on Earth originated from here, so you hoped you'd have time to enjoy the sights and tastes.

When you reached the gate, you were surprised to see a human officer instead of an Azerulan. The exhausted-looking female gave your phoney information a mere cursory glance after discovering the credits embedded in the code of the documents. A quick tap had the money landing in her personal account without trace and she waved you on through.

The grin on your face was wide as you docked in the designated hangar and turned to your crew.

"We've been planning this for months now, everyone knows where they're going and what they're doing. Don't forget, if things look suspicious, say the codeword through our private comm line and we'll retreat back here. Any questions?"

Five pairs of eager eyes watched you excitedly, but none voiced any concerns.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road."

As you disembarked the bright silver of Azerulas' three moons lit the hangar bay like it was daytime. Gazing around in awe, it took mere seconds for you to realise that most of the things you'd heard about this planet's inhabitants were the results of misinformation.

The Azerulans were far less humanoid than you'd been told, each alien bearing two extra arms and glowing multi-coloured eyes. They sported a variety of different skin colours and wore minimal clothing. Mouthfuls of sharp needle-like teeth flashed around you in conversation or laughter, and long forked tongues darted out to moisten dry lips. They were also incredibly tall, the shortest in your immediate sight measuring a good seven feet.

Taking a deep breath, you locked down your ship and activated the theft alarms. Then you set out, your crew falling in behind you as you exited the hangar bay and entered the city.

Your senses were immediately assailed with bright flashing lights and an overwhelming mix of smells that made your eyes water. This had not been at all what you were expecting of the calm-looking blue planet, and it caught you off guard slightly.

Recovering quickly, you turned and spoke to the others in a low voice.

"This place is far busier than we were planning for, so make sure you stay with your partner at all times. We can't afford for anyone to get lost, especially if we have to make a hasty retreat. Got it?"

Everyone nodded and you smiled. "Now, let's get this show on the road!"

The others dispersed as blonde-haired Soobin fell in beside you. You smiled at him but neither of you spoke, fully focused on the task at hand.

After a good half-mile trek through the massive city, you reached your destination: a bar named Star 1117. Taking a deep breath, you pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The bar was surprisingly empty for this hour of the evening, you'd thought the place would be bustling. Perhaps your client was rich enough to buy the place out for the night and keep your transaction completely private.

You could almost feel the tension radiating off of Soobin and knew that he was just as uneasy as you. Something about all this just didn't feel right, like you were walking into a trap. So you both kept a hand on your guns, ready to pull them out at a moment's notice.

"There you are!" A familiar voice declared as you stepped into the bar's expansive storage room. "I was wondering if you were actually going to show up."

The masked face of your client, who had only ever given his name as JK, greeted you with a sharp smile. His dark eyes glittered with some indiscernible emotion.

"My apologies." You and Soobin bowed smoothly in greeting. "There was quite a line at the security gate."

JK chuckled. "Understandable. Azerulas is approaching peak tourist season, so traffic is picking up. Now, do you have what I asked for?"

You nodded. "I do. My crew has it ready to bring in as soon as I see you've brought the money."

"Pretty AND smart! I'm looking forward to doing more business with you."

JK motioned to one of the men behind him who stepped forward and opened the digipak on the table. The pak's holoscreen lit up, showing that it did indeed hold the promised three thousand credits.

"Satisfied?" JK asked, running a hand through his vivid purple hair.

You smiled. "I am." Tapping the watch on your wrist, you opened the private comm line and called for Yeonjun and Huening Kai to bring the package.

A few moments later the duo arrived, a large steel crate swinging between them.

"Two shock guns, a dozen untraceable bombs, and a sniper laser gun. It's all here, just as you requested."

"Very good. You've given me such good service, I almost hate to do this…." JK's voice trailed off as a metal door slid down in front of him.

Before any of you could even think of moving, an explosion sounded immediately in front of you, followed by another to your left, a third to your right, and a fourth from behind you. Heat blossomed everywhere, rapidly filling the room with fire, and you dazedly felt yourself fall to the concrete. Your ears rang as the flames steadily grew, and smoke began to gather in your lungs. You coughed dryly, trying to find your crew as you felt your consciousness begin to fade. You saw Soobin and Yeonjun lying together in a heap, with an arm sticking out from beneath them that you desperately hoped belonged to Huening Kai. Spots danced before your eyes, blending together into a dark curtain that shrouded your vision as you passed out.

You were brought back to wakefulness by a hand pressing gently against your forehead. Your eyes slowly fluttered open, vision blurry until you blinked a few times. You were greeted by the startling sight of an Azerulan male’s face mere inches from your own and jerked back slightly, a hoarse cry scraping your raw throat. The male looked at you apologetically, leaning back to give you space.

“Wh-Where am I?” You asked, afraid that the alien was an associate of JK. “Where’s my crew?”

"They are safe. Do not worry, my friends are tending them as we speak." The Azerulan smiled and continued. "My name is Yunho. My friends and I saw you go in before the explosions, so when they went off and none of you had come back out we grew concerned and ran to see if you needed assistance."

Gratitude filled you as you smiled back at him. "Thank you Yunho. My name is Y/N, and it seems my crew and I owe our lives to you and your friends."

Yunho stood from his seat, all four hands raised in protest. "Nonsense, we were simply doing what any respectable citizens would do. Though I will say, it's not every day I get to rescue a pretty little human."

You blushed, not used to such compliments. Yunho excused himself to go see how his friends were faring with your crew, leaving you alone to process the recent chain of events.

It was clear now JK had set you up from the start, probably itching to get his hands on the bounties for the six of you. Space pirates were a scourge across all the universes, but you and your crew were the most notorious ones to ever exist. This was mainly due to the fact that the government could never catch you no matter how hard they tried, and so the rewards for proof of your death had skyrocketed the longer you evaded capture.

Unbidden, your thoughts suddenly turned to Yunho, and you wondered if his friends were as attractive as he was. You'd be lying if you said you hadn't fleetingly considered jumping his bones once you got over your initial shock of seeing him.

At six feet tall Yunho was the shortest Azerulan you'd seen so far, but he was by far the best looking in your opinion. His skin was a rich forest green with lighter green undertones and hints of brown in shadowed places. His eyes were a mix of blue and yellow with slit pupils and he wore only a long moss-green loincloth, leaving his sculpted torso bare. Elegant gold tattoos sprawled across his chest, arms and legs; an indicator that he held a fairly high position in Azerulas' society.

You shook your head, trying to clear it of the not-so-innocent thoughts floating through it. Yunho had saved you and your crew from death, tended your injuries and given you a place to stay. It would be incredibly inappropriate to repay those kindnesses by trying to get with him. Besides, he probably already had a girlfriend. There was no way a hottie like him was still single.

The next day Yeonjun and Huening Kai both woke up, and you were able to go visit them. That same morning Taehyun and Beomgyu had run into one of Yunho's friends and were brought back to the place you were staying. You were beyond thrilled to see them, relieved that they'd been unharmed. It was during reunion visit that Yunho came to inform you what was going on in the aftermath of the explosions.

JK had slipped from the burning building unseen, then went around telling everyone he'd dispatched the most infamous pirates. He'd even somehow managed to come up with some convincing photographic proof and ran off to some distant planet with the reward money.

You weren't quite sure how you felt, being presumed dead and all. None of you were actually, and it seemed Yunho could tell this, as he said the six of you could stay until you figured out what was next.

You never imagined you'd want to give up pirating so easily, but all of you had just been handed fresh starts on a golden platter and you would all be fools not to take them. So when Soobin woke up a few days later, you all sat down to figure out what to do.

Huening Kai had never gotten to fulfil his dream of going to college, so he decided that he'd like to finally go through with it. Beomgyu liked this idea as well, and said that he'd tag along.

Yeonjun and Soobin, who'd been dancing around their feelings for each other for an unbearably long time, finally decided to take the plunge and start dating. They weren't quite sure where they would go, but said they'd figure it out together.

Taehyun wanted to go back and visit his family, then travel to some of the places he'd always wanted to see.

As for you, you had no clue at all what you wanted to do with your life. You had no family to speak of, and no real ambitions that had been put on hold. Yunho, ever the gracious host, allowed you to continue staying even after the boys had all left.

In the silent days that followed, your initial attraction to Yunho grew stronger. And though you were no expert on alien behaviours, you started seeing some signs that maybe he was starting to feel something for you too.

It all came to a head one day when you accidentally left the bathroom door unlocked while you were taking a shower. You were taking your time under the steamy water, letting your thoughts run wild, when you heard a gasp from the doorway.

Your head whipped around, realising your mistake as soon as you saw Yunho frozen in surprise, a dark blush colouring his cheeks. Your hands flew to cover your private areas, silently cursing yourself for not double-checking that the door was locked.

You could clearly see the conflicting emotions in Yunho's eyes as he tried to figure out how to handle the situation. From somewhere deep inside of you came the mental image of him taking you in the shower, and it had your thighs pressing together.

Movement pulled your attention back to Yunho and you felt your heart lurch at the sight of him stalking towards you, yellow-blue eyes darkened with lust. He ripped his loincloth off in one smooth motion, the action sending a wave of heat straight to your core.

He flung the shower door open so violently it snapped off its hinges and clattered to the floor. Yunho's bulk filled the shower, pressing you against the back wall. You looked up, feeling incredibly small as he towered over you. One hand came up to caress your cheek as he began to speak.

"I've tried to hold back my feelings, you are a guest in my house and I do not wish to disrespect you. It became harder when it seemed that you reciprocated those feelings. But this…this was the final straw. If you are amenable, allow me to express my feelings to you."

You could feel your body practically vibrating with want. You'd never craved for anyone as much as you did for Yunho in this moment. And so you spoke the words he waited to hear.

"Please, Yunho, make me yours."

The Azerulan needed no further provocation, two of his arms immediately lifting you off your feet so he could claim your mouth in a searing kiss. Your arms wrapped around his neck as you kissed back, a thrill fluttering through you when his sharp teeth grazed your lower lip.

"The shower is not an appropriate place for such activities, little one. You will get sick when the water turns cold. Come, let me take you somewhere more suitable."

You nodded your assent, and he began to carry you out of the bathroom. As he walked, his other two hands began exploring your body. One cupped your breast, tweaking and pinching your nipple. The other slipped two fingers inside you, punching a moan from your lungs as your head flew back.

Yunho chuckled. "Your moans are as cute as the rest of you. Don't hold back, let me hear all of them."

His mouth found yours again as he pushed into his room and laid you on the bed. A forked tongue poked at your lips and you parted them, allowing him in.

After a bit you had to part for air, a string of saliva extending between the two of you.

"May I taste you, sweet one?"

"Yes, p-please!" You begged, desperate to know how his tongue would feel.

A smirk crossed his face and two hands gripped your thighs, spreading your legs and kneeling on the floor. As you looked on, you saw him do something you'd had no idea he could do: His tongue, which was far longer than any human's, suddenly split down its centre, effectively creating two tongues.

A gasp fell from your lips as you felt one slip into each of your holes, going further than any fingers ever could. You could feel your high rapidly approaching and choked out a warning to Yunho, who immediately stopped eating you out.

You opened your mouth to complain, but he shushed you.

"Surely you're stronger than that. You can be a good human and hold out till I cum, can't you?"

You'd never held back your orgasm before, but for Yunho you would catch the moon if he asked, so you were certainly going to try.

"Yes, I'll h-hold it! Please I need you inside me!"

"As you wish, little one."

Without further preamble, Yunho began to slowly slide into you. The cry that left you was akin to a scream, his girth bigger than anything you'd taken before. The skin of his length was covered with bumps and ridges that offered extra pleasure as he began to thrust into you at a steady pace.

"Oh g-god, you're so big, gonna break me."

Yunho leaned over, engulfing your smaller frame as he did so. One half of his tongue slid out to curl around the shell of your ear.

"You love being stuffed full like this, don't you? You'd love to be split open on my dick, wouldn't you?"

Goosebumps rose all over your body and you felt your high rushing forward once more.

"Harder Yunho, please. Want you to ruin me!"

At your words Yunho let out a growl that would have been utterly terrifying in any other situation, but in this instance only served to pull a loud moan from you as he began pounding into you so hard the bed started to bang against the wall.

In the midst of all this, you felt something prodding your other hole and realised it was one of his hands slipping inside. One finger went in, then another and another, until finally his entire fist was shoved inside you and began to move. At this you did scream, eyes rolling back as your mind went blank and all remaining thoughts turned fuzzy.

By the time Yunho's hips began to stutter, you had been reduced to a babbling mess incapable of producing any kind of coherent sentence. Once more he leaned over you and whispered into your ear.

"You can cum now, little one. Cum all over my cock for me."

Your mouth stretched wide in a silent scream, your body locking up as the world went white and the most intense orgasm you'd ever had washed over you. You barely registered the sound of Yunho cursing and the feeling of his seed spreading inside you, too lost in the post-orgasmic bliss.

When you came back to yourself you found Yunho lying beside you, gently rubbing your side where a strange mark now rested.

"Wha's that?" You asked, words slurring as though you were drunk.

Yunho smiled softly. "It is a special symbol among our people, a sign of our love-bond to each other. It is very similar to the human concept of marriage, though we do not hold such grand ceremonies to celebrate it."

Your smile mirrored his as you curled into him and felt all four arms wrap around you.

"I think I like this better." You murmured sleepily. "Who needs some expensive ceremony anyway?"

Yunho laughed quietly, pressing a kiss to the top of your head before joining you in blissful slumber.

Jolting awake you bolted into a sitting position, eyes darting about wildly. Where were you? What had happened to Yunho? Why were you in a library?

Then reality came rushing back and the fear left your body. Seonghwa had spoken rightly when he said you would forget what was real the deeper you went. Even now, a part of you wanted to dive right back into the book and find Yunho.

Shaking your head, you lifted the key that had appeared in your palm. It was gold, decorated with deep green emeralds. It joined the first two and you stood, catching your breath as you pondered your next move.

Perhaps it would be best to get the worst over with before you were fully sucked into the false realities. Yes, you decided, the Horror section would be next.

Let's get this over with.

[sullustangin]

Fluffy February Day 26: Rain

SWTOR

Time: KotFE, early days

Words: 697

~~

“Uh… Theron?”

Theron pulled himself out of the mainframe deep dive he’d been doing on the data collected from Asylum.  It was well outside of ‘business hours’ for most planets, but Odessen, as the home base of a revolution, didn’t play by rules very much. 

That, and its ops manager was a complete workaholic, who was only kept in check by the Captain.  Her methods of doing that…

…brought a smile to Theron’s face.  He couldn’t think much further on the subject in front of others. 

Koth was giving a hard look at the security holos that monitored the exterior of Odessen.  “Virtue’s Thief’s pad cam just activated.  Motion.”

“It’s supposed to rain,” he replied, turning back to his work.

“It’s her,” Koth insisted.

Theron cast a look up at the ceiling.  “She’s been threatening to fly off and give the Thief a test drive – can’t go far in her present condition, but it might settle her ---”

“Doesn’t look like she plans on going anywhere.” 

There was a note of …something that made Theron turn to Koth.  “And?  She goes out to check the ship at night.  Sometimes.”  Yes, he was defensive of her. 

Koth made a face, concerned and distinctly uncomfortable, and he continued to look at the security holos.   “She’s wearing her pajamas.”  A beat.  “She might be having one of her… things.”  Koth made a wobbly hand motion, as if to convey ‘off-balance’.

Theron’s temper flared for a split second, but then he recalled Koth had seen her at her absolute worst. 

Koth rushed onward.  “Listen, last thing we need is her down with pneumonia or a cold or even just some of the enlisted trying to get a peep show through her viewports and end up seeing her… not all there.” 

“She’s got a privacy filter up on the ports,” Theron reassured him as he gathered his things to go.

“But Lana doesn’t need to know.”  Both men said that in unison, and Theron departed the war room.

Lana carried enough guilt about Eva’s condition, as it was.  Each sequela ate at her.  She never complained, but Koth and Theron – for different reasons – knew it.

~~

Please let her be here.  Please let her be here.

Theron didn’t know what sort of memories they’d stumble across if she wasn’t.  As worried as he was, as she came into view, his footsteps faltered in the moonlight that peered between the clouds.  It was the night-time equivalent of a sun shower

Eva was standing there, perfectly still, looking up.  Occasionally, the eyes would close in slow, deliberate blinks.  Involuntary shivers went through her; it was barely warm during the day, and night was heading toward frost.  The moonlight and shadows played across her face.  She seemed utterly at peace.

“Eva?”

She looked at him.

The peace did not leave.  The eyes were bright and –

Ok, she was here.  Right here.

“…you do know it’s raining, right?”

Eva nodded vigorously. Then she returned her gaze upward just as the moon wrestled itself out from behind a cloud, and its light gave her an unearthly glow.  “First time since Yavin.”

Theron startled and shook his head.  “Eva, it –”

“Spacer,” she interrupted him, her focus not compromised in the least.  “It might have rained on Coruscant and a whole bunch of other places, but I haven’t been on planet for a rainstorm since –”

“Yavin.”  He said the word softly.

Prior to landing here, on Odesssen, and finally – finally! – falling in together, it had been the last place they’d been together and happy.  It was the last place Eva felt rain.

“And now that you’re here…” Eva bandied the idea about, prompting his memory about what they had done, often, in the rain on Yavin.

Well, might as well make it two for two. 

~~

Koth kept an eye on the security holo.  He saw the brief conversation.  He saw Theron step in, and –

Well, if he was kissing her like that, there was some sort of sane explanation.

Koth turned off the security holo and purged the last half hour of footage.  Let it never be said Koth Vortena was not a good wingman.

~~

@fluffyfebruary

[dexthtoyounglings]

Ma'am, may I please get a crumb of Luke fic 🥺 (maybe even a Dark Prince Luke fic?)

YES! YES YOU MAY! I HAVE MISSED WRITING SPECIFICALLY LUKE SO MUCH!!

•--•

The Redress

Imperial Prince!Luke Skywalker x Reader Fluff

Summary: Your past wedding wasn't enough for him, the way it happened and the scene you were in. He needed more, he wanted you to have more.

Warnings: fluffff, suggestive tone in one piece of dialogue

GIF NOT MINE!!

•--•

"What's troubling you?" you asked, placing your fork down, handle against the edge of your plate with pasta still rolled around the bottom of the forked edges.

Your dress billowed off your arms, the close to transparent fabric dyed a deep, royal blue, same as the ones that flowed over the black silk underneath it, torso a solid black color with embroidered golden edges.

Luke had handpicked your gown, chose the restaurant you sat at accordingly to you, the prettiest scenery in the open air balcony. And he picked the prettiest place to stay, a cottage in his family name, two stories tall and cozy. It was secure in the woods alone, forests only packed with deer, wild foxes, birds, tame animals.

The lush forest of Batuu, accompanied with a village outside of the secluded foliage helped him finalize his idea. He knew the way you were, the way you wanted cozy and quiet, but not completely alone. Much different from his father, he learned to respect your never-ending want to see life and watch things, and others, grow.

You were the soft part of the Empire, as his dad put it. But everything evil had a soft spot. And everything Luke was made of didn't allow him to hide his own - being you.

He sighed and planted his elbow on the table, resting his cleft chin on his hand and let his index finger run across the scar that trailed over his lips. A bad habit he developed when he got nervous.

"I want to speak to you about something. It's very last minute, and you might not be ready for something like this and-"

You interrupted him, "Did the Emperor want a heir already?"

"I- No!" Luke said, blushing intensely, something you didn't see too often, "No, I want to.. correct our wedding. I want to do it our way. Well- technically it would be my way but you've spoken about your ideal wedding before. I just want you to be happy with it. Happier."

You looked at him with pure shock. You'd remembered the pain that went through your heart one day when your mind started running a million miles and hour. And when Luke had sensed it, sniffed it out and hunted you down to ask what could be wrong, you'd confessed to him. You confessed that you wanted something more real, where you could actually feel the wind billow in your hair and your dress. And so you could feel like you weren't being watched.

You wanted it to be you and him. In a secluded place with high trees and friendly animals and plants surrounding you. You told him you wanted something beautiful, something original. And he would do anything to make his beloved princess happy.

And he had just made you so happy, knowing that the event would be happening soon. Knowing that he meant this place. It was mid-day, and maybe that's why he had taken you to eat so early on. Everyone would be settling in a few hours, leaving the trees near your cottage alone for good that day.

You had never interrogated Luke on who he talked to, but you should've known when you'd overheard him ask for Sarah, the woman who ran all of your wardrobe decisions with yourself and Luke included, that he had a plan unfolding.

Your heart skipped a beat. Of course Luke listened to you, you should've known he would. He never settled for hearing you say you wanted something. He would only settle if you had it. His determination made you soften inside.

"Really? When is it? Is it soon?" you asked, face lit up with interest, watching your whole self begin to smile.

Luke laughed at the way your eyes locked onto his own, watching him like he created every planet, every sun and every moon. Like he created every star and starship in the sky.

"When do you want it to happen, we are here for a few days, you can have control over our plans from here on, my dove," he spoke evenly, lifting his head from his hand and letting it rest on the table, waiting for yours to rest intertwined with his own.

You rested your hand in his and watched your grin become contagious.

"Would you- Can we do it today? Would you want to do it today?" you asked, hoping that if he were to say anything, it would not be a no. Your heart took a pause before you saw something flicker in his crystalline blue eyes, spiked deeper shades in the irises.

His eyes had softened, "I was hoping you would say something like that."

His hand reached up to brush hair behind your ear, running the side of his finger over the cartilage and flitting over your jawline, "Maker, I will forever muse over how gorgeous you are. When they told me about you, how you were the most beautiful girl on Tatooine I almost laughed because I didn't think it was possible. And when I saw you, I wanted to laugh harder because you were the most beautiful girl in the galaxy. It was ridiculous how they could undermine your beauty."

You felt your cheeks start to hurt, so tensed from the smile that you couldn't seem to swipe away. You wished there was a way to describe how it felt like you were swallowing down your pulse, how your head felt like it was being turned inside out , wrung out like a wash-cloth. And the way your muscles seemed to warm with a want to reach over and kiss him.

You kissed his finger, grabbing his hand to kiss each and every one of them. Fading into reality, you looked around the empty balcony before resuming to your food, flashing your lover a quick smile.

And once again. It was a contagious smile.

•--•

You slipped the dress on, your gut clenching with guilt at the fact that outside, the dress could collect dirt from the hardened ground. But when you called to Luke to tell him that, he only brushed off your concern and assured you that the Empire has cleaned worse.

You had flats on, easier to walk in. And seeing them didn't matter much because Luke would be the only eyes. You had left your hair down, treating it a way you so pleased. And then you took a moment, looking at yourself in the full-body mirror set in the cottage. You looked... gorgeous, even to yourself. You felt tears well up in your eyes and you felt the urge to rush to Luke, who was outside the door.

How many times had you truly felt this... pretty? You can't recall, all you can recall is the fact that you hadn't felt this way in that cold, holoprojected room with its holoprojected walls and its holoprojected wind.

You hated being in that room, where Vader could watch his son get married to a bride from a planet that he used to reside. In the place that wasn't truly real, just a video on a wall. You didn't want to pretend to get married on that stone ledge on Naboo. You wanted to get married here, alone with your lover.

You stepped outside into the pouring rays of light. Planets seemed the brightest when the sun was setting, pulled streaks of yellow bursting through the trees like they had something to say to you. And they must've been speaking to Luke. Because when you turned your head to him, he almost looked entranced.

You see the gold light flashing over his back, wrapping him in this warm glow that you'd never seen him in. And he's gorgeous. He's so fucking gorgeous, awestruck like he was watching a goddess float down from the heavens above, bringing this halo down with her. And the halo hugged him, wrapping around his waist and his arms and embracing his legs like they begged to be worshipped. The way his scar was brightened, in the shadow but still clearer than it's ever been. It made him even more the handsome.

How was he allowed to be so perfect? How was he allowed to love you when his flaws made him even more perfect?

You made your way towards him without even commanding your feet to move, body begging you to touch him, see him up close, make sure he was real.

"Y/n," he spoke, voice cracking off at the end. Luke wasn't one to say your name a lot, he loved the pet names that he gave you and he loved the way you reacted to them with warmth.

His eyes sparkled with the call of your name, shining this bright blue that seemed like it could cut glass, scar others. But to you, oh to you they traced the contours of your face with their sharp edges. They shred your hair into the tiny strands they were and watch it flow with grace. Luke's eyes were shallow pools, ones that narrowed into a lake when his enemies threatened him.

And to him, you were the hard push of winds, shoving sand at him. Only when you were with him did that blue become so shallow, collect so much surface.

You neared him, smiling so widely, grabbing him by the forearms. The texture of his sleeves underneath your finger reminded you of his status. Of how important he truly was. Yes, he had always been important to you, but he was important to so many more people. He was important to his father, to his legacy, to the Empire.

But in his eyes, you only saw your own reflection.

"Luke," you slid your hands down his arms, gliding over the delicate cuffs and clutched his hands in yours. You felt bare skin against your own, a fact that made you beam with joy. His fingernails were cut down and manicured, hands smooth even through all the callouses that the lightsaber hilt should have applied.

"You look gorgeous," he whispered. His voice was gentle, like you'd disappear if his tone had raised. You left out an equally as gentle laugh puff out of your lungs, feeling your face warm at his compliment. He had never failed at making you blush.

You opened your eyes, seeing his cheeks dusted pink, scar crinkling with his skin as he let his smile shine, straight teeth blaring the color white.

You leaned in, kissing the cleft in his chin twice, looking up at him from such a close angle almost didn't allow you to see him through your eyelashes at all. But you knew that this was the reason. The reason why you loved him so much because of this close perspective of the man you had already married so many months ago. He was someone that brought genuine safety to you, even when he was angry he always made you feel comfortable. When you were this close, being able to inhale his exhales, you knew you could truly never be safer. He was where you belonged and felt comfortable with.

"I swear to you, my whole lifeline, my star that shines through the night, that if there was another life that I couldn't live with you, I'd hate it. You are what I fight to keep, what I fight to protect. As... cruel as it may sound, to me there are no lives I fight for if they aren't your own. If anything were to happen to you, I do not know what I would do," he spoke, holding your hands tightly, "My future is clear to me where we stand. If anything were to happen, if you wanted something more, or something less, I'd leave the Empire to give that life to you. If you begged me to stay here, or to not return to the Death Star, I wouldn't deny you."

You leaned up to press your forehead to his. His hair tickled you, a fresh smile on your face.

"Oh Luke," you said. He opened his eyes, looking at you with something like childish wonder. The way you said his name so softly always sent him spiraling.

"I had often heard your name on Tattooine. It was a small town where a lot of word got around. Divorces, marriages, pregnancies, new hires, it always spread fast. And the Empire spread faster. When they had said that the Emperor found his son, that he was handsome and powerful, all the girls gushed over you. And I'll admit, I was jealous I would never be able to grab your attention like they could have."

Luke pressed a kiss to your lips, "I assure you, you outshine every face I've seen."

You giggled, "But- But I remember when that hysteria went away and everyone started looking at the people around them. I was with this boy, and he treated me the best someone could get on that sandy planet; he apologized when he felt like it, he left when he wanted to and he argued with me only to shut down every opinion I had. And I thought that's how life was meant to be. I thought that loving meant to listen and wait. But you've made me realize- there is so much more. You are so much more than I ever could have wanted. I love you, Luke Skywalker. I love you."

Your prince, ever so stoic, ever so elegant. Ever so respected. Yet he melted in your hands, at your words. He removed his hands from yours and planted them on your face before kissing you passionately, lips molding in a kiss so fervent that the ground around you wanted to shake.

I love you. His response echoed through the caverns of you mind.

•--•

Masterlist

[danpuff-ao3]

Hi 🐍 can I request a sorting too if you're still doing it??🥺🥺 It's so cool!!!!!!!!

Oooh a whole chart to play with, goody!! I'm gonna narrow my focus, though. As much as I'd love to dig deep, I just did my first Astrology Analysis on Ko-fi which confirmed...yeah, looking at the whole thing is a lot. So I'll touch on a few details, look at little closer at others, but try to keep it simple.

(On that note, apologies for the lateness! I prioritized doing shorter, quicker Sortings and I was still unsure how to tackle this one until I did the Astrology Analysis, which sort of showed me how to go about this and where to put more of my focus.)

So...the signs have an element, and due to some historical associations between signs and houses, there is an idea of houses having elements, as well. So I'll treat the houses as sort of a "minor" house point, like I give the signs a major and minor sorting.

That said, the houses aren't specifically marked, but I have a pretty good idea of what they should be, so let's go!

So at first look we have:

By Sign:

Sun - Gemini - air - Ravenclaw

Moon - Cancer - water - Slytherin

Rising - Sagittarius - fire - Gryffindor

Mercury - Taurus - earth - Hufflepuff

Venus - Cancer - water - Slytherin

Mars - Virgo - earth - Hufflepuff

Jupiter - Aquarius - air - Ravenclaw

By House:

Sun - 7th - air - Ravenclaw

Moon - 8th - water - Slytherin

Mercury - 6th - earth - Hufflepuff

Venus - 7th - air - Ravenclaw

Mars - 10th - earth - Hufflepuff

Jupiter - 3rd - air - Ravenclaw

Though I usually can link a sign to 2 houses, 1 major and 1 minor, I will assign the house sorting as the minor sorting, unless a sign can strongly be argued to be in another Hogwarts house. You will also note I included Jupiter, which I don't always, but Jupiter is the chart ruler (per Sagittarius rising.)

Tricky to know where to start, so...maybe we'll start with the Rising and work backwards?

The planets are "what" is being represented, the signs are "how" it's being represented, and houses are "where" it's being represented.

Ascendant is how you react to the world, and how the world sees you. For you, that is Sagittarius, the mutable (changeable, adaptable) fire (energy, spirit) sign. Sagittarius is openminded, easygoing, free-spirited. Sagittarius is fun, chill, but also wise and moral. Sagittarius is very about finding meaning in the people around us, and our experiences. Quite philosophical and spiritual. Very Gryffindor, but also with Ravenclaw vibes for the focus on learning and creativity.

This also makes Jupiter the chart ruler. Jupiter is the planet of fortune, expansion, and excess. Here in Aquarius the fixed (stubborn) air sign (intellect, sociability.) Aquarius is the Water-Bearer (think of the water as being wisdom, and the Water-Bearer is sharing its wisdom and goodwill with others) and is ruled by Saturn (traditionally) and Uranus (modernly.) Aquarius is about humanitarianism, innovation, progressiveness, individuality, rebellion, and independence. Jupiter in Aquarius is all about the big-picture, big plans. Very creative and smart. Very independent, but also values connection. Very "I want people in my life, but I don't need them" energy. Also sort of says fortune can be found by behaving in Aquarius ways: by being innovative and unique and breaking the mold.

Jupiter is also in the third House: house of Siblings, Neighbors, Early Education, and Short Distance Travel. This is where we come from, but more on a community level than a familial level. Can imply good relationship with/or getting help from siblings and neighbors. This is also a more Mental House so again, an expansion of the mind in ways. Expanding one's network/building a team to help further those big plans.

Both Aquarius and the Third house are big Ravenclaw vibes for sure.

Mars is the planet of drive and action. It's in Virgo the mutable (changeable, adaptable) earth sign (stability, security.) Virgo is the Maiden and is ruled by Mercury. Virgo is very service-oriented, and seeks stability. How Virgo finds security in cementing its place as being useful, helpful, and by providing excellence. Virgo is very perfectionistic, critical, reliable, capable. Virgo is driven by the need to seek security, and also to make it. Very "if you want something done right you have to do it yourself" energy. Virgo is very meticulous (thanks to that Mercury rulership) and analytical and always has a game plan. They are very prepared, so even when plans go awry that adaptability kicks in and all of their skills and knowledge are put to good use finding alternative means of accomplishing their goals.

Mars is also in the 10th House, the House of Status. The Tenth House is all about reputation, public image, success, achievement, etc. About accomplishing things, but also being recognized and appreciated for those accomplishments. Mars here is very ambitious, has leadership potential, takes initiative.

Pretty Hufflepuff, yeah, for all that hard work and pride in their work. Virgo's want to help others is also very Hufflepuff. But there's a fair bit of Slytherin here, too, with that ambition and resourcefulness. I'd call this Slytherpuff, I think.

Venus is the planet of love, which covers romantic and platonic relationships, as well as self-love and self-care, and hobbies and interests. In Cancer the cardinal (forward moving) water sign (emotion, intuition.) Cancer is the Crab (hard outer shell, soft insides) and is ruled by the Moon. Cancer is very moody, sensitive, nurturing, protective, and compassionate and has big ties to the home and family. Very mothering in relationships (mom friend, anyone?) and might have hobbies and interests focused on the family (blood or chosen) and home. Scrapbooks, cooking, photo albums, family trees, family game nights, etc. Cancer is also pretty reserved, and defensive. Very loyal and giving once they've "chosen" people.

Venus is also in the 7th House, House of Marriage. This covers marriage, business partners, contracts, and open enemies. So of the relationship houses, this more implies serious and official connections. There is a draw to having very settled and secure relationships be it marriage or otherwise. This indicates a big value on others and relationships. Very creative, and probably inspired by ones relationships.

Hmmm. Another pretty Slytherpuff vibe. The Seventh House connection brings out more of Cancer's Hufflepuff side, I think, with that bigger focus on other people and giving them that loyalty and love. But Cancer is also pretty dang Slytherin with that self-preservation and resourcefulness and sense of fraternity.

Mercury is the planet of information (learning, thinking, communication.) In Taurus the fixed (stubborn) earth sign (stability, security.) Taurus is the Bull and is ruled by Venus. Very reliable, hard-working, but also sensual and romantic. Earth links to the physical world, which might imply a more hands-on type learning, learning by doing, or learning best through the senses. (Especially multiple senses, to like seeing + listening.) Might favor more practical subjects (as earth signs do) but also ones that can be enjoyed and have a creative lean. Also a bit clever and/or sarcastic when interacting. Taurus is patient and might be slow and takes the time to really think about things. Also Taurus rules the throat so Taurus Mercury often implies having a nice voice!

In the Sixth House, House of Health, Wellness, Routines, Odd Jobs. Sixth house connection to jobs might mean more communication style type jobs (teaching, writing, etc.) or anything focused on the mental realm. Might be good with organization and making lists. Really applying the mind to the arenas of one's wellbeing and one's career. Smart, hard-working, health conscious (can be physical and/or mental health.)

It'd call this Hufflepuff I think for all that big work ethic energy, but bits of Ravenclaw here and there too.

Moon...your moon is a fun one, I gotta be honest. Moon is our emotion and subconscious. It is domicile in Cancer, so it works at peak capacity with Cancer energy. We've already discussed Cancer energy below, but in the moon specifically this implies a deep emotional connection to one's family, history, roots, etc. Most comfortable and internally at peace at home or with loved ones. Very private about one's feelings. Very sensitive. Strong empathy for others.

The Moon is also in the 8th House, House of Death, Transformation, Taboos and Secrets, Sexuality and Intimate Relationships, and Inheritances. While the Seventh House is "official" relationships, the Eighth House is more about intense, deep, spiritual connections to others. With the moon, it's this big need to emotionally connect with someone. Very intense. Very sensitive. Can also imply emotional distress and overwhelm. The Eighth House was considered malefic by ancient astrologers. There's a lot of uncertainty, and potential draw to mystical subjects.

This is a very emotionally charged place imo. And for me, water signs often give a sense of fear due to the extremity of emotion, and more so here because of the Eighth House. So Cancer's defensiveness and reservation is probably amplified here. There is a big sense of self-preservation, looking after the self, and those one loves. Likely very clever and resourceful. Likely very loyal, too. The Hufflepuff is strong here, but the Slytherin is stronger.

Finally, we see the sun, our core and our ego, in Gemini, the mutable (changeable, adaptable) air sign (intellect, sociability.) Gemini is represented by the Twins and is ruled by Mercury. Very playful, charming, curious, clever. Likes variety. Likes to explore. Optimistic, very "bouncy" energy.

The Sun is in the Seventh House with Venus. So the Self in the House of Relationships. This is not the best place for the sun, as the sense of ego sort of clashes with the need for equality and connection to others. There is a potential to overidentify with relationships. Really able to learn about the self and express the self when with others. For me this is sort of the idea of how we can learn from others in general, but with the Sun this specifically relates to the self. This does indicate being socially skilled, and likely very diplomatic and good with negotiating. There is a desire for equality and harmony here. Genuine care for others and having good relationships.

All in all I'll call the Sun a Ravenclaw. I usually think of Gemini as leaning a bit Slytherin, but in the Seventh House gives me more Hufflepuff vibes (even if it is an air house.)

So now let's see:

Sun: Ravenclaw (Hufflepuff)

Moon: Slytherin (Hufflepuff)

Rising: Gryffindor (Ravenclaw)

Mercury: Hufflepuff (Ravenclaw)

Venus: Slytherpuff

Mars: Slytherpuff

Jupiter: Ravenclaw

So we see 2 major Ravenclaw points and 2 minor. Lots of overall Slytherpuff energy with 2 Slytherpuff points, 1 major and 1 minor Hufflepuff points, and 1 major Slytherin point. We can maybe pull the Slytherpuff apart to give Slytherin 3 major points and Hufflepuff 1 major and 4 minor points. Just for the sake of having a clear winner, however...

You have a Grand Trine.

That big blue triangle. Grand Trine. Grand Trines are when 3 planets trine each other (basically a happy relationship between planets) and usually happen within the same element. Here, you have an Earth Grand Trine. This is thought to be a very beneficial pattern to have in a chart. Capricorn Neptune trines Taurus Mercury. Taurus Mercury trines Virgo Mars. Virgo Mars trines Capricorn Neptune.

So if we look at the Slytherpuff points as being an equally major point to both. That gives us 3 major Slytherin points and 4 major Hufflepuff points, plus the Grand Trine. I'm more inclined to give this one to

HUFFLEPUFF

but with a strong Slytherin side, too.

[weerd1]

ENT Rewatch Starlog, 13 April, 2024: Episode 3.18 “Azati Prime”

The NX-01 enters the Azati Prime system as the Xindi celebrate the completion of the weapon. Scans show that the ship will be instantly detected if they enter a security grid; they hide behind a small moon on the outskirts of the system.

Tucker and Mayweather use the captured Insectoid shuttle to fly in and find that in fact the weapon IS on the planet, under an ocean. Meanwhile, Enterprise destroys a lunar base that has detected them, knowing that it will miss a scheduled check in sometime in the next four hours. 

With the information Tucker and Mayweather gathered, Archer decides to take the Insectoid ship full of explosions in a suicide mission and destroy the weapon. He finds himself suddenly with the time-traveling Daniels some 400 years in the future where the Federation starship NCC-1701-J, Enterprise, is leading a flotilla against the Sphere Builders. It is this battle that has caused the Builders to reach into the past and influence the Xindi. Daniels tells Archer he must make peace with the Xindi instead of destroying the weapon. Archer resists, but Daniels still gives him a medal belonging to a Xindi member of the Enterprise-J’s crew to convince the Xindi in case Archer changes his mind.

As Archer goes forward with the suicide mission, T’Pol becomes visibly upset and she continues to become more agitated in his absence though Tucker tries to get her to understand she’s now the Captain. Meanwhile, Archer arrives to find the giant weapon is already gone. He is captured and interrogated by the Reptiles who tell him they are on their way to destroy Enterprise. He gets them to get the primate Degra to talk to him and Archer begins to relate the whole story, including how the Reptiles have been colluding behind the Xindi council’s back with the Sphere Builders to take actions like time traveling to Detroit in the past. 

Degra and his friends are about to take Archer to the council when the Reptilians kick them out to torture Archer further and tell him Enterprise is about to be destroyed. Indeed, the Xindi have attacked (despite the Reptilians telling the Primates and Arboreals they wouldn’t) and the Enterprise is on her last legs, severely damages and continuing to take a beating. 

A LOT going on in this episode, and one of the better paced episodes of the season. The fracturing of the Xindi collective is interesting here as the humanoids begin to see that they are perhaps not aware of the whole story. Archer, who earlier in the episode orders the destruction of the lunar station with three XIndi in it, and plans to kill more, is suddenly confronted with Daniels telling him peace is what will save them all. It’s the Archer we’ve seen progressively become more aggressive suddenly get his ideals thrown back at him, and it’s well played by Bakula. 

Conversely, we’re getting the more irrational T’Pol here with the wedged in addiction to Trillium making it’s first real appearance. To me, just not a storyline this season, or this character, needed. 

A truly lovely design is revealed for the Enterprise J, and one I hope will somehow get a nod in Discovery before it ends, looking back at Federation history. Also, I remember thinking how it made no sense that there were Dauntless class vessels in the future, since it was a made up starship to trap the Voyager crew, but Prodigy has tied up that lose end very nicely. (And if you have not watched Prodigy, let me again PLEAD with you to do so.  Yeah, it aims young, but the story plays out to be an all-ages tale and VERY worthy of Star Trek.

NEXT VOYAGE: A crippled NX-01 and a compromised T’Pol both have to deal with “Damage.”

(Images taken from the main website for @trekcore; I am happy to remove the images if asked.)

[paramounticebound]

@honorhunt liked for a sneaky sith!verse starter

This doesn't have to end in bloodshed, he’s heard before from lesser men than the both of them, It doesn’t need to end with one of us rendered a blaster-bolt-ridden or saber-slashed pile of sentient meat. But it does have to end. It always does because the both of them are relentless in their own pursuits of honor, in that way the living things claw and scream and bleed to survive at all cost. 

Saber, red-like-blistering-suns, twists in his hand, deflecting another bolt, growling beneath the mask that cages his maw, a ravenous thing. He’s wounded, too-- Khan revels in the way his own blood soaks into his clothing, the stench of singed flesh creeping into the air vents of his mask. A growl in his throat permeates, an invitation to continue to circle Fett like rabid akk-dog, drooling and blood-stupid.  

     “A waste of your talents,” he practically spits the words, voice modulator hardly enunciating the disdain that throbs in the syllables. There’s a breath in the battle, and he allows himself to think with a part of his brain that doesn’t only know the hymns of violence. “Whatever you are being paid, I will triple it.”

No sympathy nor love for the galactic war that rages between the Empire and the Rebellion. His own bounty arrives with the blame of knowing too much-- Khan ought to have been quieter in his own pursuits, yet the Force lets him scream and scream and scream. Under the darkness that threads his bones, his sinews, is the sole desire to protect his and his alone. “We are both wasting our time with this.”

[loyaltykask]

Five Kids at Freddy’s: Security Breach

This is an AU I've made in the recesses of my mind and since I can’t draw I will write. In short there are four other kids trapped in the Pizzaplex with Gregory and you have to save them and the animatronics from Vanny’s mind control.

In this AU everything up to Freddy being dragged away by Moondrop is about the same, you getting in Freddy’s hatch and he tries to help you escape, you go through the Daycare center, blah, blah, blah Vanessa captures Freddy and has him locked in the Parts and Services. 

The biggest difference is that Gregory can’t enter the Parts and Services cylinder, he is trapped from the outside and the only way to get in is to get Vanessa's security pass from her security room and Gregory has to go and get it. He does so and after an FnaF sequence of opening and closing doors at animatronics he is able to escape the security room. 

From the cameras he sees something. It's another kid and Gregory sees the kid running away from like Roxy or something by sliding down the Daycare center. Gregory laments this to Freddy and Freddy encourages Gregory to save the kid first before coming back to Parts and Services. 

Greg isn’t happy about leaving Freddy behind but he understands and goes to the Daycare again for another save. He slides down to the Daycare without any problem this time to see… the kid is just fine. He’s actually playing with glitter glue and putting googly eyes on a picture with Sunrise when he sees Gregory climb out of the ball pit. 

I think Greg is like 10 or so and this kid is clearly around 6 and is scared for his life even in the sunny and well lit care center. Sunrise tries to kick Gregory out for being a rule breaker. Gregory just apologizes quickly and insincerely but Sunrise accepts it imminently and lets him stay with his new Best Friend. 

Nathan description: Small African American kid with big square glasses. He has a curly hair on the top of his head with shaved sides. He is wearing a planet T-shirt and colorful overalls with sun and moon buttons. 

Let’s call him Nathan. Nathan said that the Rabbit Lady kept him after hours and that he had been trying to get out of the locked room while she hunted for the others. Gregory is like “OTHERS?” as in more kids and Nathan is like “Yeah.” 

Long story short, Gregory takes Nathan under his wing and they both agree to save the others before they escape. Nathan explains that he thinks Sunrise is broken because usually he is more fun whenever he visits the Pizzaplex. Gregory is able to access Sunrise's control panel easily on his back as he is busy playing with Nathan and reboots him, which only a human can do. Que another game sequence to reboot.

But there he awaken and is not murderous or a OCD hyperactive robot but instead offers to help the boys the same way the Freddy did in the beginning. All three leave the Daycare center and go to parts and services to help Freddy first. 

This sequence is harder than most as you can’t hide in Sunrise and that you have a kid following you the whole time, so you have to be extra careful that neither of you are caught. 

You finally get to Freddy and get him out as Sunrise and Freddy talk about the forced reboot making them non-murderous which is better than being murderous and under Vanny’s control. They make a plan that they should find the other kids and try to reboot the other animatronics all the while. 

From here we actually upgrade Sunrise with a baby carrier that he uses to carry Nathan.

“I’m not getting into that!!”

“Stop being a baby and just get in the carrier!”

“I’m not a baby!”

“Well you're acting like one! Just get in the baby strap”

“This is so lame!”

Sunrise tries to make the situation better and Moondrop pulls a blanket out of nowhere and ties it into a cape and spins his body so that Nathan is hidden. Sunrise can spin his body and head like a toy top I've decided. 

They find the next kid hiding in the Chica’s Mazersize. Lets call her Catarina. Catarina is around 7 and she also was hiding from Vanny, saying she has been in the kitchen but that Chica found her. 

Catarina description: She has long brown hair pulled up in a Chica themed pink bow and tan skin. She is wearing a pink party dress and matching pink shoes. 

Anyway their next target is to the kitchen as they see Chica trying to find Catarina. From there they kinda play out as if you were going to crush Chica in the garbage can but instead it plays out more as using the pizza to lure her and capturing her as Freddy gets the jump on her.

From there another button pushing game of getting Chica to reboot and bada-bing bada-boom we have another robot. Chica claims to not remember much from before and this time Catarina gets on her back safely. There are foot holes and handles that pop out. 

“They were designed for maximum piggyback safety and comfort! Any injury is not liable by Fazbear entertainment.”

Chica doesn’t really have anything to hide Catarina but grabs a cupcake umbrella to hide her back, in reference to her holding a cupcake plate. 

From there Chica and Sunrise are more focused on keeping their own kids safe as Gregory tells them to simply just keep walking and act like they are still under Vanny’s control. They don't have to worry about losing power like Freddy does. From here we see that there are more exoskeletons joining the search of the children and that they are far more aggressive. The same with the security bots and now they have those creepy smiles on their face while searching for you. 

You make your way to the sewers because the way to Roxy’s Raceway is blocked off here and I just wanted to include the sewer sequences while you look for a way in. Kinda convoluted but I think it still works. And again it’s broken security bots trying to get you and not Chica. 

After you get in Roxy’s Raceway through the sewers you find a way in by calling Catarina and Chica to open it from his point, allowing Freddy to join Gregory. 

There you find kid number four hiding under the raceway, let's call her Keisha. She is about 9, and she was separate from her friend group and she heard the Nightguard lie to her parents that she left with her friends when she wasn't. She was trapped in the room and has been hiding in the construction zone ever since. 

Keisha description: African American girl with long braided hair with colorful beads. Wearing a long sleeve Roxy themed shirt and blue jeans and a purple tutu over it. 

From there plays out kinda straight from trying to get Roxy incapacitated to reboot her. You do hit her with the car but she ain’t that damage, like she’s cracked but not broken. Freddy is worried but Greg goes straight to work rebooting her. 

Roxy is rebooted, pissed she got hit with a car but takes it better when Keisha says who she is her favorite and how happy she was to actually see that Roxy’s okay now. Roxy tries to play it cool but we know she is flattered. She has the same piggy back ride sequence as Chica does and takes Keisha on her back, trying to use her hair to hide the child. 

At this point every security bots are at max speed and all the exoskeletons are out and about, making it harder for you to sneak out without Freddy and needing for kind charging stations quickly because you are in Freddy so much. 

From there their last stop is at Monty Golf in order to save the last kid. From there they find the last kid. Andrew hiding in one of the Gators in Monty golf. He is around 8 years old and he is not as scared as the others but still wants to get out as soon as he can. 

Andrew description: Asian American child with a red mohawk and a purple bandage over his nose (later explains he isn’t hurt he just want to look cool) He has a black shirt and the same pattern shorts as Monty. 

From there it plays similarly to trapped Monty under the ball pit but instead of him falling down  and getting recked by hitting the poles he lands on the next platform and kinda just lays there. Again Greg gets straight to work with another game of rebooting while Freddy is a worry wart. 

Monty comes to very easily and is like “WTH”

“Monty, language please.”

“Fred Bear, I just fell down my own exhibit. I am allowed one G-rated cursed word.”

Gregory explains the whole deal and I imagine the conversation like .

“You expect me to help after all you put me through, just like that! JUST LIKE THAT?!”

“Duh.”

“Fine.”

Roxy out of nowhere, “Fine? You’re just going to do what he says?”

“He’s, uhhh, very persuasive.”

“Persuasive?!”

Andrew gets his dream of meeting his idol Monty and Monty actually has a similar pinata/cake hatch as Freddy and Andrew enters Monty’s chest cavity no problems. 

At this point all children are saved but it's nearly 6 AM and while that would have been good a couple of hours ago they see that once it hits 6 AM then Vanny would be able to escape and this whole thing is just going to start all over with another group of kids. 

It's here that the kids and their animatronics agree to hunt down Vanny before 6 AM. 

Cue expect fight sequence of the animatronics versus the security bots/exoskeletons cause Vanny has camera and eyes all over this place. Blah blah blah we get to the end where they had to get to Vanny while getting past the security bots and exoskeletons as a game where Gregory sends out each animatronics one at the time to take out the fodder to get closer to the security room. Similar to Fnaf but in reverse as now you are trying to sneak into the security room before 6 AM

Chica is able to use her sound blast, Monty is cutting and leaping on robots, Roxy is also taking them down but she can tell which door Vanny is opening the doors while Moondrop is throwing the sleep programs to confuse the bots. 

From here things get a little scrambled but I’m thinking Vanny actually has been buying time to have Glitchtrap download into…. you guessed it, Bonnie's decommissioned body. From there Bontrap is trying to take us out as Vanny tries to make a last ditch effort to take down the kids and the animatronics. 

Awesome robot fight game, Gregory/Freddy vs Bontrap like in Freddy Fury’s Road, we win, stop Vanny, and it hits the signature 6 AM child cheer that ques the doors opening is heard in the end. 

During the fight we “accidentally” (I say that very loosely) start fire to burn the plaza down. Each antotroinmic is running out of the building as fast as they can with their child on their back/in their body and they escape. 

Here there is a choice where you can either leave Bontrap and Vanny to burn or try to save them. In this AU Vanny is Vanessa and is mind controlled cause I say so. 

1. If you choose to leave immediately then Bontrap will burn with Glitchtrap inside him and Vanny along with them. 

This leaves you and your friends outside as the place burns to the ground and nowhere to go but still alive. 

2. If you choose to rescue you them you have to do another VERY RISKY and PRECISE reboot game with Bonnie where if you do it fast enough not to burn in the building, he wakes up, grabs Vanessa and you have to do another run away from the crashing building sequence to survive and join your friends. 

From there we see Vanessa come to and Bonnie sagging as the building burns and the sequence continues. 

The children give each other hugs and a team hand circle thing cheer as Vanessa calls their respected parents to come pick them up. From there it is just Gregory with the animatronics and his ex-would be murderer. 

“So… are we out of the job?”

“Let's… just get in the van and leave.”

Gregory joins the Glamfam in the van as Vanessa tries to rethink her life considering she was just mind-controlled, tried to kill a bunch of kids, lost her job, and is stealing her ex-company’s property. 

This is where it kinda ends with the animatronics going to her apartment and Gregory bumming around while keeping their secret identities as fugitives/stolen properties. And Vanessa tries to look for another job. 

[thornedrose44]

For prompts: Kara and Lena holding hands for the first time. One of them tentatively reaching our, their fingers brushing until they are intertwined and the other gives a small affirming squeeze.

A/N: Okay so when I first saw this prompt I missed the first time part. So therefore enjoy this angsty hurt/comfort mess filled with love that I think is becoming my signature genre.

Stretch. Dig in. Pull.

Stretch. Dig in. Pull.

Lena’s entire body was in agony. Complete and total agony. 

Her legs were probably broken as well as a few ribs. Her right arm was numb and immobile which probably should have been the most concerning but at this stage Lena was just grateful that there was one part of her body that wasn’t pure pain. 

Stretch. Dig in. Pull.

Stretch. Dig in. Pull.

Two-hundred and fifty metres. A mile. A hundred miles. It might as well have been the distance to the moon and back.

Lena wasn’t even sure that she had managed to cover more than a couple of metres with how she was dragging herself forward mere inches at a time with her one good arm. 

She stretched out her left arm into the cracked and broken earth, digging her forearm in with the minimal strength she could muster (her teeth gritted and jaw clenched the whole time) before pulling her broken body forward.

Stretch. Dig in. Pull.

Stretch. Dig in. Pull.

It didn’t matter that she was making minimal progress, it didn’t matter that the pain was so intense she was close to blacking out every time she dragged herself forward. It didn’t matter because all she could see was the crumpled blue and red heap at the centre of the battlefield. 

All she could see was Kara and there wasn’t a force on this - or any other - planet that could stop Lena from reaching her.

Alex would be coming for them, Lena didn’t doubt that, would be racing through the ruins of National City to get to her sister but that did nothing to ease the unbearable fear that Kara’s immobile body evoked. Lena couldn’t just lie there not when Kara was in sight. 

An alien invasion of epic proportions had required a full scale evacuation of the city and, unfortunately, this time there was no lead weakness that they could exploit. It was their weapons versus Earth’s weapons which came in the form of two powerful kryptonians. 

Kara was the heavy weapon, taking the brunt of the attacks to protect the citizens she cared for so deeply whilst firing back with heat vision that eviscerated their ships. Superman was on rescue operations pulling people from rubble and hurrying them along.

Lena had been working with the DEO, tweaking weapons and plans to beat the enemy, when she saw the sight of Kara bruised and bloodied on the screens. It was then Lena did what she had promised herself she would never do.

Had promised herself the second she had seen Lex power-crazy and at his cruelest that she would never follow in his footsteps.

Would never ever, ever put on Lex’s suit.

That version of her had never been in love. 

That version of her had never seen Kara hurt.

That version of her had never wanted to inflict pain like she did in that moment.

She unlocked her most secure vault and unleashed the one weapon that made her physically sick to look at. 

Lena had been in the air and joining the fight less than a minute later, appearing out of nowhere to shield Kara’s faltering body from a rocket.

Lena looked over her shoulder as her kinetic field absorbed the explosion, watching as Kara’s face morphed from shock to gratefulness to concern. 

“Lena, what-” Kara panted, unable to fully summon the energy to shout.

“You’re not doing this alone!” Lena yelled back in return, green eyes desperate for Kara to understand.

“Lena…” Kara cried, blue eyes distraught at Lena being involved, at Lena getting hurt but most importantly of her wearing the suit that she knew Lena despised to save her.

“Together, Kara!” Lena shouted to break through the kryptonian’s mental spiral. “You promised, Kara. You promised! There’s nothing we can’t do together.”

Blue eyes slowly cleared to be replaced with sharp, determined focus.

Kara had made that promise to her everyday since they stopped Lex. Had made that promise to her whenever Lena’s guilt created even a slither of physical distance between them. Had made that promise to Lena whenever there was an awkward moment or fumbled conversation. Had made that promise to Lena every game’s night when she claimed Lena as her partner. Had made that promise to Lena whenever they came close to crossing the line of friendship that had been growing fuzzier and fuzzier with each movie night they had spent cuddled up in each other’s arms. 

“El Mayarah.” Kara murmured clear and proud, jaw lifting up and a familiar righteous fire flickering in her eyes.

“Up, up and away?” Lena teased, priming her jets in readiness.

“Up, up and away.” Kara repeated, hand twitching by her side as if she was about to reach out for Lena so that they could soar up into the sky together.

***

It was the final ship that took them both down and created a crater that wiped out at least two streets. 

Lena hit the ground first - though Kara followed less than a heartbeat later - the Lexsuit taking the brunt of the impact and saving her life but leaving her body wrecked. Crawling out of that hunk of twisted metal had been more traumatising than the terrifying plummet to Earth and knowing - because she could see Kara’s unconscious form falling nearby - that Supergirl would be unable to catch her.

Stretch. Dig in. Pull.

Stretch. Dig in. Pull.

The closer she got to her red and blue goal, the more her hope dwindled, the more her heart broke causing an ache that surpassed all of her physical injuries. 

Kara was so still.

Kara, who Lena inextricably linked to activity, motion… life.

Kara, whose ever restless legs bounced through meetings and close games of chess.

Kara, whose fingers constantly sought to make contact with Lena’s hand or to brush through Lena’s hair. 

Kara, who was ever quick to spring to her feet and sweep Lena into a hug.

She should not be still in this dead wasteland as Lena crawled towards her.

Lena’s strength gave out a couple of feet away from Kara, her arm unable to pull herself forward. A scream of frustration and anguish ripped from Lena’s throat at being denied the comfort of simply touching the person she loved so much in the world when she was so close.

Her fingers stretched and stretched, clawing at the blackened earth, Kara’s pale finger milimetres from reach.

Stretch… 

Stretch… 

Stretch… 

Lena inhaled sharply as her fingers made fleeting contact, hope rekindling in her chest.

Stretch… 

Stretch… 

Stretch… 

Lena’s index and middle finger curled slowly around Kara’s index finger, intertwining them together with that single contact point.

“Kara…” Lena breathed.

She was grateful for this connection. Grateful to be with Kara in any way possible but still finding it not to be enough.

She was greedy. Greedy for more. Greedy for everything.

So this could not be how it ended. She and Kara would not end here.

“Kara.” Lena repeated urgently. “Please, Kara.”

She squeezed Kara’s finger with all the strength she had left in her.

“Not like this.” Lena begged. “Please, please don’t leave me.”

The returning squeeze of her finger was so light, so tender that Lena could have easily imagined it except for how heartbreakingly familiar it was. 

It was how Kara always touched her: soft and gentle. 

It was all the affirmation Lena needed. She knew then that this wasn’t the end of them. She knew then, as she slipped into a deep slumber awaiting the rescue that was undoubtedly coming, that everything would be okay.

[harveybwabbit92]

they meet you again/getting to know you:

Zim: Miss Bitters had returned and Drena seemed to have disappeared from the class's memory, except for Zim he knew better, The Ove human was still here... he could smell her. It was recess, Zim had managed to avoid Dib who was busy helping Gaz with her late homework. 

The Irken made sure all the other children were preoccupied with their little playground games; He readjusted his wig letting his antenna loose, Zim whiffed the air his antenna waggled around quizzically trying to pinpoint the blonde's location before settling on a quiet shady bench just out of the way from everything and everyone.

 Zim put his wig back to it normal position and calmly walked over to the secluded area and sat down, to the naked-eye it looked like no was sitting there except for the weird green skinned kid and an empty space.

Zim's senses knew better however he knows she was there. "I knew there was something interesting about you." he stated tickled that his instincts were on point, the "empty" moved rippling like a heat mirage the Irken blinked and a familiar blonde was sitting next to him seemingly fading back into existence, eating bag of peanuts while looking at him with mild interest.

"I could say the same to you Martian boy."

"Irken actually."

"Well if we're being open, Artificial human."

"I thought humans frowned on that sort of thing?"

Drena snorted. "Only the ones they know about." she spat bitterly offering Zim some of her peanuts, the Irken grimaced. "I can't eat those, you got anything with sugar?" The blonde thought for a seconds before searching through her bag and finding one of those cheap valentine lollipops and handing it to Zim, the Irken cock a brow the candy's shape, but shrugged and unwrapped it. "So you can camouflaged?" he asked curious about your abilities.

"Yeah, I age slow and heal pretty fast too..." Drena mumbled nonchalantly popping a couple peanuts in her mouth, If the Irken wasn’t sucking on lollipop he'd be drooling right now. 

Unbeknownst to Zim; Dib was watching them the whole time he couldn't hear what they were saying, the big headed boy's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he tried figure just what horrible things Zim was planning to do to Drena.

========================================================================

The Tallest: To say the tallest were curious about Y/n was an understatement, they were absolutely fascinated by her, How someone so tall could be at the bottom of the "food-chain" as Zim put it, the earthbound Irken told them human social structure wasn't height based like theirs, it was all based more on success, looks, personality and wealth.

Tall or not Y/n was average at best, nothing special, she's as the humans tend to say is "just another a cog in the machine." Regardless; Red and Purple were hooked. they wanted to know more about her. The only con was they'd have go through Zim for that to happen, and it was pretty clear, Tallest or not Zim was very protective of Y/n, it was obvious they shared a sibling like bond; Zim would blow up the moon for her if she asked!

So Red got an Idea he had special SiR unit commissioned and sent to your residence they had gotten Gir to tell them your address in exchange for a box of crayons and gummy bears; which to the their disgust the Gir proceeded to eat as soon he got them, Cut to you sitting in your house (you live pretty far out from the city) when a large explosion shook it's foundation (that was the sound of the sound barrier breaking), you had thought Dib was back and had blown up your car! You grabbed a metal baseball bat and looked out the window... Nothing. 

Bullshit! You heard something! you put on your shoes and opened the front door only to be greeted by a cardboard box with the Irken Empire symbol stamped on it, your brow furrowed as you looked around the porch and surveyed your yard for damage and saw nothing, which confused you even more, looking back down at the box, you cautiously brought it inside and looked at the note on the box top.

[From: the Tallest To: Y/n L/n from EARTH .] 

Tallest..... those were Zim's leaders right? Why would they send you something? Curiously you opened the box and this dark more serious looking version of Gir emerged from the box, confusing you further as it saluted you. "Um... Hi?" you greeted. "Greetings Madam, prepare for incoming transmission from the Almighty Tallest!" Before you could answer the robot's head popped open and these seed looking things shot out! 

One went into the ceiling and planted itself onto your roof and extended outside and bloomed into a satellite, while the other imbedded itself into the wall across from you split apart 4 ways and formed into a large screen, it turned on and you were greeted by two obnoxiously tall Irkens, both almost identical in appearance save for red and purple eyes that matched their clothes, 

Both looked oddly excited to see you. "Oh! Y/n... uh can we call you that?" the red one asked you slowly nodded still trying to process what the hell was going on? "I see you got our gift!... do you like it?" he motioned towards the SiR unit, as purple one butted in. "We can trade it in for another model if you want!" he was shoved out of the way by his red eyed counterpart. "You said you let me handle it!" he hissed.

You blinked staring up at the hole in your ceiling; wondering what's it gonna cost to patch that up? before finding your voice. "He's um, cool?" you and were going to ask why had they sent you a robot? but Red and Purple at each other bemused then looked back at you. "Cool?....What is "cool"? is that good?" Purple asked curiously. "It means excellent?" You say hoping to calm them down, both seemed relieved to hear that as their body language seemed less tense and more relaxed, after a few seconds of awkward silence you finally spoke up. 

"So why send a stranger like me a robot?"

"Well a few weeks ago we caught a glimpse of you during a call from Zim, we couldn't help but notice you and your.... tallness."

"Few wee... oh! When I fell asleep and Boss thought I was a chair?"

"Yes... that's another thing we'd like to ask about."

Pretty much your early evening was occupied by an impromptu Q&A with a pair of alien leaders who still couldn't comprehend how someone as tall as you was working a simple low-wage security job, instead of being a big deal senator or military commander, You had told them what Zim had told them, about human society and it's construct. Fame, money and Vanity run the planet, and you have multiple leaders instead of one or two, but that's rabbit hole you rather not go down, You told them how you met Zim and the circumstances of your partnership.

They pointed out that it was Zim's fault that the big headed kid even thought you were an alien. which you acknowledged, but had counterpointed that Zim didn't kidnap you and blow up your motorhome just to prove he was right! "The little runt still hasn't apologized and pretends it never happened!" You huffed crossing your arms and leaning back in your chair. "So yeah, I joined Zim, he's actually pretty fun when you get to know him." Both Red and Purple brains kind of stalled hearing you talk about Zim in positive light, before that all to familiar beep from your alarm going off the cut the session short, you apologized but duty calls and you promise to continue your chat later.

The tallest snapped out of their stupor and bid you goodnight and hoped you have fun with your Sir unit, said robot proceed to disguise itself as a rabbit and would not leave your side and even went to work with you... you were thinking of naming him Ede, after that Eye-bot from Fallout New Vegas.

[stonefreeak]

My goodness people, I’m so sorry for the delay! I’ve been working on the structuring of my files to get a better overview of what remains of the project, to hopefully be able to speed writing up (even as work really means that my free-time is much more limited than it was once upon a time, lmao. Sometimes I miss December of 2016 when this whole thing started, 33k in a month of updates, amirite?)

it’s taken me so long I’m wondering if anyone even remember this plot point at this point, lmao

Also: belated happy midsummers to all my fellow Swedes!

Bail taps his finger against this desk and stairs unseeingly at the datapad in front of him.

He hadn't been sure if the information Aleena Yashi gave him, though she's worked as an assistant to multiple senators over the years, was true. But everything checks out. He briefly wondered why she would come to him about it, rather than Senator Lobos who she's currently working for... But perhaps it's because he's known to have a favourable view of the Jedi that she's done so. Perhaps it's because all of this information mostly pertains to the Jedi and the laws surrounding them, and she wanted a prominent Senator who she could trust not to hide the information away because they don't care for the Jedi.

Bail, a Core World Senator well known for his good relationship with the Jedi and friendship with the current Supreme Chancellor, must have seemed like the best option for her. He wonders who else would have been on her list, before she settled on him, but he chose not to ask when she visited him. Perhaps it's better if he doesn't know; it hardly matters now anyway.

He looks down at the datapad again and considers his options.

He should probably discuss her findings with her, and see what exactly her goal is. If he's to do something about this, then he wants her involved even as he gathers support from other senators.

He has no doubt that Padmé will agree to add her support to Bail to help sort this mess out, but considering that they've both been involved with the investigation they're conducting into Jedi missions being altered... Well, Bail wants more Senators involved this time. Just to ensure that it cannot be taken as some form of conspiracy in favour of the Jedi. As ridiculous as that notion seems, Bail is not blind to the way many Senators look at the Jedi, nor to the fact that many of them don't seem to believe that they're really capable of what they say they are.

Few people besides the Jedi truly believe in the Force, after all.

Few people could believe in something they cannot know for themselves when others supposedly have a direct connection to it. Bail is one of the few who does believe them, he's seen what the Jedi can do first-hand. There's nothing else that can account for that kind of power besides this Force they talk of. They and other groups out there, it’s not only the Jedi, after all.

Besides, he knows many of them personally, and while Bail may not understand or follow all of their beliefs or traditions, he also knows that they're not a bunch of charlatans faking it for power of money—though he knows some of his fellow senators believe that to be the case. Even senators on Coruscant, who've seen Jedi in real life, seem to believe them little more than myth.

Bail has been kept up to date on the investigation into the Jedi missions, though he’s not taking an active role in it right now, and he’s certain that he has been kept in the loop to give legitimacy to the investigation. Give it a proper paper trail, even if it’s done with the Senate’s highest level of security. A strictly need-to-know basis, and until it’s finished, no one else needs to know.

Of course, Bail asked Obi-Wan in private if he would be allowed to tell Breha. As his Queen and the leader of Bail’s planet, he found it important to clue her in on it. Besides, it’s another step of legitimacy. After all, if Breha takes an active stance on it, then so does Alderaan.

If anyone wants to accuse the investigation at a later date for being a sham… Well, they will need to accuse Alderaan of engaging in it in the first place. Bail isn’t stupid enough to think that it’s not one of the primary reasons Obi-Wan agreed with Bail’s request.

They’re friends, and Obi-Wan likes Breha, but this is not about being friends. This is about political allyship and keeping sensitive information on as tight a lock-down as they can until the time  to reveal it comes.

Besides, as worried as Bail has become with Miss Yashi’s information, it’s even worse when considered together with the altered Jedi missions and not in the least… Well, the war time propaganda. There's no point in shying away from what it is, and the ramifications it has.

Considering how most of the war time propaganda—Bail can acknowledge it for what it is, there truly is no point in trying to deny the facts—focuses almost exclusively on the clones and their efforts in the war, it's hardly strange that the general population neither know nor understand them.

Further considering the information that Bail has now confirmed to be real and accurate... He understands that the omission of the Jedi is entirely deliberate. If you want to discredit and undermine the Jedi, why would you ever speak of their accomplishments and sacrifices? You wouldn't, as that would bring public support to them.

Bail sighs and rolls his shoulders.

He needs to build a following, he cannot properly push this alone. But he also understands why Miss Yashi brought it to him alone, first. A Core World Senator is far harder to make "disappear" than a Twi'lek Senatorial aide, no matter how awful that is to say. Bail can't go missing, and any attempt on his life would have a bit more trouble hitting its mark.

That's not to say that it would be impossible for someone to assassinate him, which is of course why he'll make sure that Breha is entirely up to speed on everything.

All of it together... There is some form of conspiracy to discredit or perhaps even get rid of the Jedi; Bail is sure of it. But he cannot see to what end. What are they trying to achieve?

For what reason would anyone work to discredit the Jedi? What is the end goal to strive for? There’s no way for the politicians to dissolve the Jedi Order, they are not in that way under Senate control. They could, of course, remove all of their backing, forcing the Jedi to become free agents, certainly…

But for what purpose? It would leave the Republic without the Jedi as peacekeepers, for the Jedi would hardly remain to do diplomacy work for the Senate without its backing. After all, what would the point be? Without the Senate’s backing, the Jedi would have far less ability to do anything.

How could they negotiate treaties if the Senate won’t honour them?

They could, perhaps, be a neutral third party within discussions. But there’s no reason for anyone to listen to their input in such a case. It’s hard enough to get disagreeing parties to listen to external input when you come with powerful backing that could make you listen even if you refuse.

How could they function with no funding? They would need to work on commission, at which point only those who can afford their help can get it. That would be the opposite of an improvement.

To not even begin to talk about how few of them there are, how few of them there were even before the war. Their population is not even a hundredth of a percent of Alderaan’s population, and Alderaan is only a single planet within the tens of thousands of star systems that make up the Republic—nevermind the entire galaxy. There’s just not enough of them, and hasn’t that always been a problem even while they’re working under the Republic? Too few, spread too thin.

No, if the Jedi became free agents, their ability to affect change would be greatly diminished. Bail is quite certain they’d work on much smaller scales, still trying to do what they can for the galaxy, bit by bit. Working with smaller communities on planets and moons… If they even had the ability to find out about disputes that may need their help in the first place.

Losing the Jedi as peacekeepers isn’t a win for the Republic either, as the budget for the Jedi was already miniscule even before it started being diminished—as Miss Yashi’s discovery shows. It cannot be an attempt at cost saving, or an idea of improvement for the Republic. Needing to train their own diplomats and ensure that they have skilled enough guards… That would be more expensive and it would not be able to guarantee that these diplomats are neutral in conflicts.

The Jedi have no specific allegiances the way diplomats and even Senators have. Even the least corrupt Senator will still place their own planet and star system first. It is part of their role, after all.

So no, it cannot be something like that. Not unless the people slowly enacting this are horribly misguided and foolish. Not to mention, Bail knows most Senators would simply call for making away with the Jedi entirely, rather than this slow plan to undercut them.

No… There must be something else going on here, some other primary goal whoever is pulling these strings is looking out to do.

He’ll need to figure it out, no doubt, Bail concludes.

But beyond that, he also needs to build a base to help him bring this information he’s been given to the Senate’s attention. He is quite sure already who he should be looking towards first: Senator Ach’ki Mandai of Haa’ndu.

Who better to help him bring this to Senate attention than the Senator who ensured a Jedi now sits as the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic?

—

(Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi masterpost)

[dovetart]

A Character Analysis Of:

Fives my beloved

Welcome to my character analysis of my amazing, cool, badass, smart, handsome husband- I mean, my favorite Star Wars character. Why am I doing a character analysis of a character analysis of a character that only shows up in 14 episodes of all 7 seasons? Because I love him Well, for a few reasons…

First off, I am a little tired of a large portion of the fandom just watering down Fives’ character to being a dumb idiot who doesn’t know what’s going on and never listens to anyone. Canon him ain’t really any of those… or those traits aren’t his whole character lmao. I find it annoying when people take it too far and people just ignore the rest of his amazing character and/or they often make fanon him a totally different character from canon him. And canon him was the version of him I fell in love with first anyways. So, I will be trying to stay as close to canon him as I possibly can in this analysis, either that or making assumptions that fit in the realm of possible for his character. I want people to appreciate this man and stop calling him an idiot lmao and I hope this analysis helps with this.

Also I’m writing a fanfic with my OC’s and he is sorta a big character in them, so I want to research his character so I can do my man’s justice in my story lol. And finally, I want to analyze A LOT of characters in the future. I don’t really have trouble creating new characters *looks at my almost 200 Star Wars OC’s and 20+ original OC’s* but I think it would be pretty good practice to help me learn how to build and write dynamic characters.

ANYWAYS

Let’s get started.

Introduction:

To us fans, a lot of this information in the first two parts will be kind of common knowledge. But to make a complete analysis, I need to touch on them.

Fives is a human male clone of the famous Mandalorian bounty hunter, Jango Fett. He was born, raised and trained on the ocean planet, Kamino. Just like his clone brothers, he ages twice as fast as a normal human, meaning, by the time he was war ready, he was the physical and mental age of 20, when he’d only been alive for 10.

Growing up on Kamino, he was apart of the Domino Squad, alongside his brothers, Echo, Hevy, Cutup and Droidbait. Eventually, Fives became an ARC Trooper within the 501st. After a while, he became notorious for standing up for what’s right and speaking his mind freely. He was loyal to his brothers and friends. For the most part, he knew what the right thing to do was in most situations. He was good with his words and was fast on his feet.

Background:

Alright, if you’ve watched Clone Wars, which I’m assuming all of you who are reading this have, then you should know Fives’ background pretty well. But, for a quick reminder;

Once Fives graduated from the training program, he was sent to the Rishi Moon Station along with the rest of Domino Squad. There, only he and Echo survived an attack from the Separatists and Captain Rex took them into the 501st. After a while serving in the 501st, they went back to Kamino to protect it from an attack. There, Fives and Echo were also promoted to ARC Troopers. Shortly afterwards, Fives and Echo went on a mission together to the Citadel. There, Echo presumably died and Fives was forced to move on without his brother. Later on in the war, Fives went to Umbara, where General Skywalker was called away from the battlefield and Ping Pong Krell was put in charge of the 501st while he was gone. Fives didn’t like the vibes that came off the new General, and often voiced his concerns with Rex. After being put on multiple suicidal plans from Krell and losing many brothers, Fives and Hardcase went behind enemy lines to secure an airbase. Even though it was against Krell’s orders, they were successful. Once taking root in the airbase, Krell gave out another suicidal mission, and that was the crossing line for Fives. Not wanting to see even more brothers get killed because of a stupid plan, he, Hardcase and Jesse went to destroy a Separatist command ship to help the tide of the battle. They came back without Hardcase. Fives and Jesse were arrested and put on the execution block by Krell, but Fives was able to convince his brothers not to shoot them. They were put back in prison. But, after a few hours, Rex came back and freed them to help arrest Pong Krell for treason. After successfully arresting and executing (thanks Dogma) Krell, we don’t see Fives again until when he’s on Ringo Vinda. There his closest brother, Tup, prematurely executes Order 66 on a Jedi General and Fives goes with him to Kamino to figure out what’s happening to him. There, he uncovers that there are chips in all the clones brains. He took out Tup’s chip, hoping to save him but failed. After some research and being on the run throughout Tipoca City, Fives takes out his own chip. Once he was caught, they agreed to bring him to the Chancellor to talk about the chips with him. Unfortunately, Fives was drugged on the way to Coruscant and once he was alone with the Chancellor, he wasn’t well enough to think through his actions clearly. Palpatine supposedly told Fives the whole Sith Plot and that makes Fives lash out at Palpatine. He was framed, and without any choice, Fives went on the run across Coruscant. He stopped at 79s and told Kix to tell Anakin and Rex to meet him at a warehouse somewhere in the lower levels. On his way to the warehouse, a probe droid spots Fives and follows him. As planned, Anakin and Rex meet him, but at that time Fives was in no state to be explaining everything he found out. Trapping the two behind a shield, he tries his best, but he just makes Anakin upset. Before Fives could continue, the Coruscant Guard comes in and Fox shoots him, killing him.

Ok, I lied… it wasn’t that quick lol. But, still, that is an overview of his background before we continue.

Use of Language:

Fives is very good with his words. When he is passionate about something, he gets really into it and can come up with amazing speeches, like that time in Kamino to the cadets, or on Umbara when he was about to be executed. Even though he is still a good listener and often checks up in his brothers, he still is stubborn and very vocal about his opinions (for example; when he argues with Rex on Umbara on multiple occasions). He is mature with his words and know what to say, either if it’s to encourage his brother or to persuade others to his point of view. Still, he is shown to joke around once and while (for example; the “Are those scopes Jedi issue, sir?” and a few other jokes he cracks), meaning that in his free time he probably is a fun person to be around (gives me some sarcastic/dry humor vibes). He also isn’t afraid to ask questions. And when he has one he wants straight answers, no bullshit ones. Because of all those points, he comes off as a good communicator.

There is one thing I agree 100% on with the fandom though… And that’s that Fives is a terrible liar lol…. WHICH kinda makes sense, because clones were taught to be obedient and truthful, not to be liars. So of course most clones wouldn’t be the best at lying.

I also noticed that Fives is quite animated (haha get it because he’s an 3D animated character)while he talks. He uses a lot of hand gestures and animated facial expressions to get his point across. Just another thing I picked up on.

Personality:

Alright, this is my favorite part! I will be trying to do this in a way that I enjoy breaking down characters personalities, which is using 16 Personalities, the 4 tendencies, and other personality tests (scientific ones not the buzzfeed ones lol) Also I won’t be doing Enneagram because I’m still researching that.

Fives is an ISFJ, the “Defender” Personality

And her is why I think this:

Introverted: For starters, Fives is for sure an introvert. I know a lot of people headcanon him being closer to an ESTP or ESFP. But, he really doesn’t act like either of those personalities much in canon. In fact, he’s a lot more quite then some may remember him. When Echo was around, he let him do most of the talking for them. I know, a little surprising, but Echo was a tad more talkative (Echo is still an introvert tho). What Fives is, is a social introvert, yes we exist. He has good people skills and he is a conversationalist. That is kinda a rare trait in most introverted personality types, but not for ISFJ’s. It’s common for ISFJ’s to be caring of those around them, especially to their friends. They treat kindness with kindness. And they never sit idle when something is left undone (or something is wrong) and they like it when their accomplishments are noticed in one way or the other. (I can’t let this slide but, this thing on the official 16personalities page for ISFJ has this head that I feel fits Fives so well ㅠㅠ “If I can protect you, I will” ㅠㅠ)

Observant: Fives is very observant of his surroundings! He kinda needs to, to be an ARC Trooper. There was this one scene in Umbara where Anakin and Rex were talking in the foreground about Dogma, and in the background you can see Fives. Fives looks mostly focused on his task, but for a moment you can see him glance over at Anakin and Rex with a somewhat interested face. So, he was obviously listening in on them. Also to pick up that Pong Krell wasn’t the best since the minute the lizard-fish man stepped out of the gunship, it takes some observation. Same with being able to find out about the chips and Order 66 all by himself (something not even the Jedi could pick up on). I also feel like he can usually read the moods of others pretty well, so I think there has to be a quite observant and sharp mind in his head.

Feeling: From how passionate Fives can get about some things, he is probably someone who feels emotions strongly. He can control it, of course. He is also able to express them in pretty mature ways. And he seems to be able to pick up on others feelings too (for example; him noticing Tup wasn’t acting normal on Ringo Vinda). And he certainly feels like the kind of person who’s be good emotional support for someone when they need it.

Judging: Yeah, of course he judges others lol did you see all those side eyes and glares he sent Pong Krell’s way? No, but seriously, what it means is that he is able to view things for the way they are. A realist if you may. Which, yeah, he does seem to have a pretty good grasp on the way clones are treated, so it’s not far fetched to say that he could be a realist. Also, when the main plan goes to shit or it’s just a shit plan to begin with, he is always able to come up with a pretty good plan B on the spot. Another judging trait.

Overall, he is an ISFJ because he is loyal to his friends and family and likes to help those in need out. He speaks up when necessary and wants his accomplishments to be noticed, one way or another. And even though he’s an introvert, he still has a good social life. His relationships are important to him and if you aren’t treating him or his brothers nicely, he’ll probably hold a grudge.

Fives leans to Questioner Tendencies

Some people probably view him more as a Rebel, but Questioner personalities are often mixed up with Rebel personalities. Questioners ask questions a lot (duh). They ponder about themselves and the world around them a lot. And because of that, they question many things, even question authorities (which is just one of the ways they are often confused for a Rebel). And they don’t like it when someone avoids their question or gives them bullshit answers (like “because I said so” or “just because”), because that doesn’t answer them. They also might continue asking questions if they don’t understand an answer, trying to get clarification. And because of that and the fact they question things (sometimes things people are too afraid to ask about or things people say are normal) they are often misunderstood and brushed aside as either not smart, immature or as a Rebel. Which Questioners and Rebels do share some qualities (these two types to get along with each other quite well). One of them is that Questioners resist outer expectations, just like Rebels. They don’t think they should do something just because everyone else is doing it. But, unlike Rebels, Questioners do things and/or follow people whose goals align with what the Questioner thinks is important. If a Questioner makes a commitment, they’re gonna keep it.

And how is Fives a Questioner? Well, we see both in the Umbara Arc and his own Arc that he questions authority and way of life a lot. If he doesn’t trust someone, he’ll challenge them and come to his own conclusions. During the Umbara Arc, he didn’t do what most were doing around him because he believed what Pong Krell was doing was wrong. And he is shown to follow those he does trust. It’s only when their orders conflict with his moral goals that he decides to go against them. He also makes commitments to his friends and especially to his brothers. And, he always tries to keep those commitments to them, doing anything to help them.

Also I may or may not know a lot about this tendency because I myself am a Questioner personality. When I first watched Clone Wars, I always wondered why I related to Fives a lot, especially when I knew his personality wasn’t 100% like mine. Then I found out my tendency and realized that it lined up with Fives character a lot also. Plus it just happened to be the part of his personality that I related to the most lol

Fives’ Love Languages (Ranked) 😘

Acts of Service. A little surprising for some maybe, but the way he cares for his brothers first over anything kinda makes me think that’s it’s at least high on his list.

Physical Touch. You’ve seen the way Fives slaps his brothers lovingly lol This one is for sure high on the list!

Words of Affirmation. Not as high as the others, but as an ISFJ, he probably wouldn’t mind being told that his actions are being appreciated by someone.

Quality Time. He feels like someone who would love to spend time with those he loves. Still isn’t as high as others on the list

Gift Giving. Lowest, but I’m sure he still wouldn’t mind getting a gift or giving one, it’s just not on top of the list of priorities for him.

His Relationships With Other Characters:

It’s pretty clear to me that Fives cares very deeply about others around him, especially his brothers. He always seems to develop one close friendship with someone around him (for example, Echo and later Tup), but he seems pretty social with others still. He seems to have a lot of trust with both Rex and Anakin, being friends with both also. Fives can be a pretty good leader for others when the time calls for it.

His Growth Throughout His Story:

I think an obvious growth he had over the 7 seasons is from being a somewhat prominent background character to eventually Turing into a character who was fleshed out and also extremely important to the story, even after he died. But, taking a closer look, he does have quite a bit of character growth through the small amount of episodes we see him in. He went from want to be an ARC Trooper (example; that one deleted scene where he’s taking to Echo in the hangar. I know that it could be argued to not be canon because of that, but I think weather that conversation in particular was canon, I think it was still something he wanted) to wanting the best for his brothers. From having his goal being more self wanting (example; the ARC Trooper thing but also that once scene where him and Echo ask Shaak Ti to put into Bravo squad. It was intentionally a selfish want from both of them, something to work through and learn how to work with others even they didn’t necessarily want to) to having a very selfless goal of want to help his brothers and save the Republic from the sith plan. He was born to be a soldier, but he went beyond and became a hero.

So, that was my Character Analysis of Fives! Dip you agree or disagree with me on anything?

Even though this started out as me getting annoyed at people misrepresenting Fives character, this turned out to be really fun and interesting! I like getting to know characters I love even more. Tbh, after researching all of this, I feel like I’m even more in love with this man lol I hope I can do Fives justice in my fanfic(s) now lol

[screamingatanemptyroom]

Please Fix the Story pt 24 - Sci Fi

The battle with the Hive, and the traveler! Moving onto the end game after this. (Still will take a few parts, but the end is in sight!)

Masterpost linked here.

Enjoy!

_____________________________

The atmosphere in the conference room was tense.

“The numbers don’t look good.” General Gladus stared at the display with a frustrated sigh. “We just have the few Mechs stationed in the Fifteenth Sector. The Hive have a full colony… thousands of drones, directed by a Queen. They have already landed on the nearest moon, destroying the defense base there, and will be within striking distance of the planet in..." He rechecked his numbers. "Eighteen hours.”

Pointing his finger at the hologram, the display zoomed in on the larger dot surrounded by countless other smaller red dots. “The Queen is the key. She controls all the drones. If we take her out, we can halt the invasion long enough for true reinforcements to arrive.”

I nodded, trying to follow along. “So if we don’t have the numbers to defend the planet, we go on the attack and try to strike the Queen?”

“It can take a whole squadron to take out a Queen. “ He quickly put a damper on my excitement, frowning. “A normal Hive drone is the size of a human. She’s larger than two Mechs put together, around six stories tall, with armor to match.”

I thought about the story, what I knew about what technology was available years ahead… Hadn’t Chris gotten a special Mech to fight Queens? “What about a bigger Mech? Big enough to take on the Queen?”

The general paused at that. “The military engineers at the academy have been working on some prototypes… but the bigger a Mech is, the harder it is to control. In a few years we might have one that a single Guardian could operate, but the ones we have now? No one would have the capability…”

“I do.” I interrupted, speaking with certainty. “Let Liam and I try it.”

“Honey, I know you’re a Grade S Guardian, but…”

“I’m more than that. You remember that I almost destabilized? It was because of a sudden increase of my power” Because I’m not really your daughter. “I’m much more powerful than a grade S… “ I reached out and grabbed Liam’s hand. “And that’s not even to mention our 100% resonance match.”

Liam grinned, squeezing my hand. “Trust us, General. Alaira and I can fly anything they can build!”

The General stared at us, obviously unnerved at the idea of sending his daughter into the worst of the fighting. I reached out and grabbed his hand. “Trust me, Dad. I’ll make you proud.”

“…” He let out a long sigh. “I’m already more proud than I could ever be…” He rubbed his forehead. “Fine. Let’s see if you can work the thing… but if you can’t move it perfectly, then the plan gets canceled. I’m not sending you out there to die.”

“Thank you!” Awkwardly hugging him, I felt a twinge of guilt as he patted my back gently.

I wish your daughter could be here to feel your love and pride in her.

“Don’t celebrate too soon… Even if you’re big enough to take on a Queen, we still have to get you to her.”

I stepped closer to the display, studying it. “She’s directly in the center of the army… hiding away on the moon in the ruins of the defense base. With their numbers versus ours… we just don’t have the firepower to get there.”

Warning! Mission Failure Imminent!

As the blue writing and loud warning appeared only to me, I felt no fear, no terror at my imminent doom. It was now more annoying than anything else.

If you're not going to suggest anything helpful, then shut up!

Warning!...

SHUT UP! I screamed in my head, feeling a thread of shadowy power emerge from around me, erasing the words from existence.

The warning fell silent.

What… what was that? Some sort of magic? How much about myself is still hidden in my lost memories?

Enjoying the new silence in my head, I looked over at Liam who was staring at me with a worried look.

“Are you okay? You weren’t responding.”

I reached out, smoothing out his forehead, which was wrinkled with concern. “Yes. It’s difficult to explain, though. What did you say?”

“If we don’t have the troops to blast our way to the Queen, then what about a diversion?” He pointed at the area of the diagram between us and the Hive. “We act like we’re staging a frontal assault, and when they’ve deployed enough forces to weaken the rear, you and I strike from behind!”

The General nodded slowly. “It would take quite an attack to make the Hive divert forces to the front… Even if we threw everything we had and left nothing to protect you two, it might not be enough.”

I grinned. “Don’t worry about protecting us.” Grabbing Liam’s hand I added. “You forget who I matched with. We can handle our own defense. All that’s left is to figure out how to make a big enough distraction to give us a way in.”

“DID SOMEONE CALL FOR A DISTRACTION?!”

Princess Ilene pushed past the guards at the door with the two other girls in her group at her sides. “Sounds like a job for the Harem!”

Liam raised his eyebrow. Harem? He mouthed silently at me. I shook my head, not wanting to get involved.

Alaira’s father did not look impressed. “Princess. I don’t recall you showing any interest in military matters previously.”

“That’s before the Hive kidnapped Chris!” Ilene cracked her knuckles. “Now I gotta go crush some space bugs.”

Who says Chris was kidnapped?

“YEAH!" "We're going to save him!” The other two girls struck dramatic poses on either side of Ilene.

“…” The room stared at them in silence.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, wishing away my headache. “Princess, maybe this would work better if you explained to my father what skills you three brought to the table? “

“… I suppose.” She sniffed, gesturing at Wen grandly. “She has designed a Mech with the ability to tow 50 mini cannons.”

Wen grinned, explaining further. “The guns are strapped to a small engine, and will fly at evenly spaced intervals behind the controlling Mech. It’s still a work in progress… You can’t target, and you can’t control them individually… at least not yet.”

“But that’s still 50 extra shots for one Mech.” General Gladus looked much more interested. “How many have you made?”

“Just one, but if I add a small hologram projector to the guns, it will look like we have 50 fully operational Mechs with us! THAT should get the Hive’s attention.”

Ilene and Allie chimed in. “ We’ve already practiced piloting the Mech and can operate it smoothly.”

“… That… might just work…” He shrugged. “Strong work, Ladies…”

“We call ourselves the Harem… Alaira came up with the name!”

“Don’t credit me, please..”

The General glanced at my cringing expression and chuckled. “…Glad to have you aboard… I think.”

“All right!” The young engineer high-fived her companions, grinning proudly. “I was originally saving this invention for Chris, but now I’m going to use this to SAVE Chris!”

“YEAH!”

“…” The General was now staring at me with a look of consternation, to which I raised my hands helplessly. “…Sure.”

“So that’s the plan then.” I took a deep breath, calming the fast beating of my heart at the thought of the fight to come. “The Harem will distract the Hive, and Liam and I will take out the Queen.”

We’ll save the world.

We’ll complete my mission.

It will work… it has to.

“We’ll strike first thing in the morning.” General Gladus watched me with a worried gaze, but obviously held back from speaking further. “… Good luck.”

_____________________________

Liam and I tested out the massive Mech prototype called the “Queen Killer,” able to move it with an ease that shocked Alaira’s father and the engineers. After confirming the plan a final time, I returned back to my dorm to get some rest before the battle.

I found myself too keyed up to sleep, staring blankly at the ceiling. If we complete the mission, will I get all my memories back? Will I stay in this world or be forced to leave? Will Liam stay with me? My frantic thoughts were interrupted by a quiet knock on my door.

Wary, I checked the security system, quickly opening the door once I realized who it was.

“Liam, what are you doing here? It’s still a few hours before we’re supposed to meet for the mission.”

Liam wrung his hands together, staring at the floor quietly. “I… was hoping…”

“What is it?”

“Can you come with me?”

At my nod he grabbed my hand and pulled me along. I started to ask where he was taking me, but seeing the determination on his face, fell silent. I didn’t feel any wariness, despite my lack of knowledge of our direction.

_____________________________

“Aren’t you scared?” A voice asked, coming from high above me.

“No.”

“Why not?” The despair in the voice was heartbreaking. “Everyone else is.”

“Because it’s you.” I grinned. “Can’t be scared of you, Liam.”

_____________________________

I blinked, my gaze once again resting on our clasped hands.

I’ll keep trusting you Liam.

He took me to the upper deck of the academy, a large platform surrounded by multiple gardens. In the dead of night, the multicolored flowers and trees were barely visible. Rather than a clear sight, it was a combination of the senses: of impressions of movement, of gentle sounds of the wind swaying the branches and leaves, of brief flashes of colors in the light of the multiple candles that lit up the platform.

In the center of the platform stood a minister, the elderly man looking tired but still smiling gently. Off to the side were the Harem girls, watching silently, and Alaira’s father who stood by with a combination of tears and joy.

The King and Queen were nowhere to be seen.

“This.is…” My voice trailed off, filled with awe at the sheer amount of work it must have taken to move everything up here from the ballroom we had planned it in.

Liam knelt down, holding my hand with a solemn look.

“Alaira... I don’t know if we’re going to survive this battle, but I know one thing: If I’m going to die tomorrow, I want it to be as your husband.”

His hands were shaking with nervousness as they held my own.

“Please marry me.” His words were simple, but they struck my heart with a force that made me sway on my feet.

_____________________________

“Please marry me.” A trembling man held me close.

_____________________________

I smiled at the thought that I had answered this question before. “Yes.”

Liam let out a sigh of relief, standing up and hugging me gently. “Thank you…” He hesitated. “Bel.” The name was spoken only for me to hear, sounding like a prayer.

“You realize we had already planned to get married today?” I chuckled. “You didn’t have to re-propose.”

“I needed to hear it again.”

With a wide grin, he led me over to the center of the platform. There, in front of friends and family, the minister led us through the vows. As I spoke the words, holding Liam’s hands tightly, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had done this multiple times before.

How many lifetimes have I already spent with him? How many times have we been married?

Liam leaned in to kiss me, the gentle movement the barest touch on my lips, and then hugged me tightly against him.

“I love you.” He whispered in my ear.

My father stepped forward and clapped us both on the shoulder. “Alright, kids, that’s enough excitement pre-battle. Go get some sleep. I’ll throw you a combination victory party and wedding reception once we survive the Hive.”

Laughing, Liam and I left the party behind. We were unable to sleep, and simply laid in each other’s arms. My head rested against his chest, hearing his heartbeat and breaths. Closing my eyes, I prayed that we would make it though this battle safely.

And just maybe, if we survive this, I’ll figure out how to get our memories back.

I thought of the shadowy power I had displayed to shut the system warning down, an ability I had tried to repeat without success several times since. I don’t know who or what I am… but I do know one thing:

I won’t accept my fate.

_____________________________

Soon it was time for the battle.

Liam and I boarded the Queen Killer Mech and flew it around the battle site, staying out of range of the Hive’s sensors. We floated in Space watching the holographic display from the Mech's communication system as the Harem and the few soldiers Alaira’s father had brought with him advanced from the front. It looked as if there were over a hundred Mechs, an intimidating site, but we knew it was just an illusion, holograms attached to remote guns. Their actual numbers were quite pitiful compared to the army in front of them.

We could only hope the Hive would fall for the trick.

“Advance!” The General’s voice came over the intercom. I felt myself tremble with nervousness at his serious tone. I wasn’t really his daughter. Most of the time I felt like the worst fraud when I was with him. But I genuinely cared for this gruff, strange man. He loved his daughter, and wasn’t afraid to take on the world to protect her.

I hope he makes it. I felt a sharp pain in my stomach at the thought that he might not.

But if we don’t fight, none of us will.

The army of Mechs, both real and fake, moved forward. As the Hive flew to meet them, I got a close look at them through my headset. I had seen their appearance in Alaira’s memories, but somehow, seeing them with my own eyes was all the more horrifying.

Large insects, each the size of a human, with a black and red exoskeleton that coated everything, even the wings. Enormous pincers grew outwards on their heads, sharp enough to tear a Mech open, to cut a human in half. Their dark, multifaceted eyes took in the space emotionlessly. They were unstoppable, insatiable. The Hive’s only goal was to devour, to destroy. They numbered in the thousands; enough to make even seeing the moon the Queen was hiding on difficult.

I felt a deep feeling of terror growing within me, fear and despair mixing, threatening to take away my reason.

It’s not my emotions.I tried to push down the feeling, but they continued to grow, trying to overwhelm me. It’s Alaira’s.

She had died there, next to that moon, surrounded by the Hive. Their pincers destroyed her Mech, pulled her out from the safety of the piloting sphere. She was overwhelmed, and even with the fracturing of her mind she knew she was doomed.

“Are you okay?” Liam’s voice in my ear calmed me down. “Your strong emotions are interfering with the Connection.” I took a deep breath, repeating silently.

You are not Alaira. You are not Alaira.

I knew exactly what it would feel like to die in battle with the Hive, though.

The Hive started swarming to the front, line. The Queen was directing them to defend her against the “larger” threat. There were only a few hundred left to guard the rear.

“It’s working!” General Gladus’ excited voice sounded out. “They’re falling for it.”

“Then we’ll get to work.”

“… Good luck, Alaira. I love you.”

I hesitated. “… I love you too… Father.”

It was time. I grabbed Liam’s hand, squeezing it tightly.

“Focus on your shield.”

He took a deep breath. “You know I can’t control it.”

“You can let me in, Liam. You are in control. Use it for its purpose: to protect yourself. To protect me.”

He closed his eyes, positioning himself behind me within the Connection chamber in the Mech. His hands were on my back, and through the physical touch I felt his nervousness. The air around the Mech seemed to shift, and I knew that I had to act quickly before the mental shield weakened.

I flew the Mech forward, quickly reaching the highest speed. At the noise of our passing one of the drones turned to face us. Soon they had swarmed around us, their pincers opened to attack.

FEAR.

Alaira’s emotions were running full force, but I pushed them down once more, going faster. I could feel Liam behind me, keeping the connection between me and the Mech easy despite its enormous size. We flew into the swarm, and the sturdy alien insects splattered against the mental shield, which held firm under the blows.

Liam and I sighed with relief.

“See? You CAN control it!”

“We still have the Queen to deal with.” Liam’s voice was worried, I could feel his concern though our connection. “She’s a little big to be squished by a shield.”

“Well that’s why we brought the big guns.” After a few more moments we broke through the Hive’s line of defense, and landed on the Moon, trying to locate the Queen.

“Where is she?” The scanners were starting to scramble, as if interrupted by an unknown signal. The Hive shouldn’t have that kind of technology, though.

“I don't see her on the Moon's surface. Has she left? First, let’s try the defense fort. It should be big enough to hide the Queen.” At Liam’s suggestion we flew forward, making our way to the building. The clear defense dome seemed intact, the computers opening an airlock, allowing us to pass forward after communicating with our Mech and confirming our identity.

“How would the Queen be here without destroying the dome?” I muttered, trying to scan the surroundings and noting that it was picking up several lifeforms, even if it was still too scrambled to give a clear location.

“ I don’t know, but I don’t think that hole was there before.” Liam tapped my back, and I looked towards the Hanger, the largest building in the complex. A six story hole had been torn out of the front wall. Wary, I moved the Mech closer, ducking down and entering the main area, which was fortunately tall enough to accommodate our oversized Mech.

The area was mostly lit up, a few of the florescent lights sparking and flickering from recent damage. The few Mechs that had remained had been torn to shreds and tossed in a pile. The space was wide-open, extending outwards into shadows.

“What the…?” My voice trailed off in shock as I stared at the unbelievable sight in front of me.

In the center of the hanger stood the Queen. She was bright white with red and black markings along the side of her rotund torso. She brandished hundreds of spiky claws like a millipede, with large bright red wings extended behind her. Towards the top she sported multiple large pincers, with a final one extending from her head. Her eyes glowed with a bright white light, staring at us with fury.

She was frozen into place, unable to make a single movement.

“What is going on?” I whispered to Liam.

“Bel, you actually made it this far!”

A cheerful voice rang out, causing both of us to groan with frustration. A Mech emerged from the shadows, we couldn’t see the pilot, but Liam and I knew who it was and spoke his name together.

“Chris.”

“I keep telling you, it’s not Chris.” The voice coming from the Mech seemed annoyed, the large robot swinging a sword back and forth. “As always, you two are wrong.”

“What are you doing here?” I asked, clenching my fists at my side within the Connection Chamber of our Mech.

“Exactly what I told you, Bel: I’m ending this.” He lifted up his Mech’s free hand, and in it was a large bomb blinking with a bright red light. A single red button marked the trigger, and I tensed up as he caressed it lightly with a large metallic finger.

“That’s a uninite bomb.” Liam spoke up. “You’d destroy the moon with one that big! You'll kill us all with the Queen!”

“Exactly! I’m willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to save everyone. Not like you… monster.” He spit out the last word, his voice filled with hatred. “I’m the HERO. I’m the one who everyone cares about. I’m the one SHE SHOULD LOVE!”

“Oh, SHUT UP!” I activated the opening on our Mech, and slid down a cord to the ground, pulling off my helmet to reveal my face. The air inside the defense shield was slightly stale but breathable.

Liam was startled, jumping down to stand beside me. “Bel, wait!”

“It’s okay.” I grinned at him. “Trust me.” The Mech straightened up behind us, falling into a standby position. I looked up at the Mech controlled by the Pseudo-Chris.

“If you’re going to threaten me and insult my husband, then do it to my face.”

“Nice try. If I leave the Mech, I can’t control it. All you’ve managed to do is to give away your only advantage!” He laughed confidently. “I am in control, Bel. The Hive, the Queen… all of it! I’m the only one who can save your soul from destruction.”

“You brought the Hive here… you’re the one who advanced the story so quickly.” I paused, thinking it over. “How come you can go against the story? I always get warnings whenever we stray too far away from our characters.”

“You don’t understand. You never have. All that matters is that the roles are obeyed, that we follow our fate. I may have taken a… detour… but in the end I will fulfill my role as a hero, and save everyone, at the cost of my own life.”

“Why are you doing this?” Liam growled, standing close to me.

“He was hoping that I would give up.” I answered for him calmly, staring up at the Mech with a disgusted expression, “He made a seemingly impossible situation, hoping I would see accepting my fate as my only option.”

I thought of the system's warning that I had no chance of survival. They had tried to manipulate me. Tried to force me to do what they wanted.

But I hadn't.

“You see things so clearly sometimes, Bel.” Chris’ voice showed his approval. “And even though it didn’t work, I can still just end things here. I’ll destroy the Queen, which will complete your mission. The system can erase your memory again and we’ll start over.”

I felt a sense of fear at his words. How many times has this already happened?

“No matter how many times we have to do this, there will only be one outcome in the end: you will accept your fate.”

_____________________________

“You will accept your fate, Bel.” The young handsome man stared at me with disappointment. “You can’t keep hiding with this monster forever.”

“He's not a monster. Besides, you’re the one who sent me to Liam.” I grinned. “You have no one to blame but yourself.”

“It was temporary. You were supposed to be his prisoner.” He snapped. “Now, because of you, he’ll be the first to be destroyed. You can’t distort the higher realm. Everything depends on it.”

“It’s not right…”

“It’s the reality of our roles. Now enough stalling. What will you choose? Will you follow the rules, or will you let everything be destroyed to protect your precious independence?”

“No…”

“Even you can’t be that selfish.” He growled, reaching out to grab my arm painfully. “Accept your fate, Bel.

“NO!”

_____________________________

“NO!” I shook my head, clearing aside the memory. “No matter how many times you ask me. No matter how many worlds you drag me through. No matter how many times my memory is wiped. I WILL NOT ACCEPT IT!”

“Fine. Then it’s time to move to the next world…” His Mech raised its hand holding the bomb.

“You’re pathetic.” My words were quiet, but seemed to echo in the otherwise silent hanger. “Even when we were in the higher realm you were always trying to trick and scheme to get things to go the way you wanted. You thought by forcing me to Liam’s side as his ‘prisoner’ you could force me to accept my fate, but that backfired too, didn’t it?”

“… “ There was a long stunned silence.

“You… you remember?” The Mech’s head shook back and forth in a jerky movement. “No, your memories were wiped!”

I quickly thought through the few memories I had experienced over the last few weeks. “You wanted me to play my part… but I didn’t want to be in a romantic relationship with you. I would solve things my own way, which pissed you off.”

“YOU… NO! YOUR MEMORIES ARE GONE!” The whole Mech was shaking slightly.

“No matter the realm, no matter the roles we play, one thing remains constant: you’re a pathetic loser.” I smiled. “And I like Liam more than you.”

“HE’S A MONSTER! YOU CAN’T LOVE HIM! YOU HAVE TO LOVE ME!”

“Bel…” Liam whispered. “You realize you’re making the unstable man with the bomb angry, right?”

“Trust me, I have a plan… probably.”

“Oh, good.”

I looked up at the Mech, raising my voice. “I’ll never love you!”

“YOU HAVE TO!”

“Get used to disappointment, loser.”

The Mech was shaking more violently as he whispered hoarsely. “Y-you’re lying… you have to be. You don’t have your memories…”

I AM lying. “Too bad for you I’m telling the truth. I remember everything important.”

“…Then what’s my name?”

I spread my hands out helplessly. “Oh buddy, I just said I remembered everything IMPORTANT.” I leaned forward. “You were never important to me. You still aren’t.”

“SHUT UP! SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!” The Mech was rocking back and forth with his screams and then suddenly became very still.

“Got him!” I pumped my fist in the air victoriously.

“What’s… what’s happening?! I can’t control my Mech!”

I chuckled at his panicked tone.

“You see, there’s a difference between you and me. You might be the hero, but I’m the one with greater than Level S Guardian abilities. In fact, you used that very trait of mine to try to force me to partner with you. It was a burden before I formed a Connection with Liam, but now?” I reached over and grabbed Liam’s hand. “It makes things really easy. One of the skills I’ve practiced was controlling Mechs from a distance.”

“That’s…”

“Impossible? Only if you’re weak. The distance makes things challenging but it’s still fairly simple for me.” I paused. “By the way, I WAS lying earlier. I needed you to have strong emotions to disrupt your Connection with your Mech so I could take it over.”

“…” Enjoying his stunned silence, I gestured, controlling the “Queen Killer” Mech to step forward.

“Now I could let you blow yourself up and kill the Queen to complete the mission, but unlike you, I don’t feel any satisfaction out of sacrificing myself or others needlessly. I’m also not going to let you die, because I have a feeling that could have negative effects on this world.”

The Queen started moving, whatever restraints the pseudo-Chris had placed on it obviously released. I could feel her anger at being obstructed in her mission. Her overwhelming need to consume life and move on drove her constantly, and even the briefest of pauses enraged her. Her hungry eyes focused on me, sensing a threat.

I released all my abilities to the limit, feeling a light throbbing headache at controlling two Mechs at once, and one of them being the large Queen Killer.

“It’s time for this story to end.” I whispered, feeling satisfaction as the giant robot pulled out a sword and brandished it.

“My mission will be completed.” The sword tore a huge rent in the Queen’s side, spilling green blood. The insect queen screamed in rage and pain, her pincers tearing off some of the armor on the Mech’s arm.

“The world will be saved.” A second strike hit, cutting off several claws. The Queen clamped onto the Mechs’ chest with her mandibles, trying to burrow into the center. I was glad I wasn’t in the suspension gel, feeling the pain of the attack.

“And it will all be done without you.” My Mech swung the sword downward, and the Queen’s head separated from its body. It still clamped onto the chest of the robot, its eyes’ light slowly fading away.

“NOOOO!” Pseudo Chris screamed out, but it was too late. The Queen was dead. Her army would become useless.

The world was safe.

A beautiful chime rang out, and bright blue words formed into the air.

Congratulations!

Mission 100% complete.

**** You have finished the mission! ****

Stay in this world?

YES/NO

“It doesn’t matter if you completed the mission or I did. I still have the next world, and the next and the next!” The Mech was still frozen into place, but it didn’t stop his angry words. “Time is on my side!”

I sighed. “No. It’s not.” As I had completed the mission, I felt a strange surge of power. A similar sensation to when I had stopped the system voice from speaking earlier. I focused carefully, and a shadowy power poured out in the world around me, much stronger than before.

“Bel?” At Liam’s worried question, I turned and smiled at him.

“Don’t worry, Liam. It’s just time to change the game.” He grabbed my hands and nodded silently at my words, supporting me.

I turned my attention to the System’s message.

“We will not stay in this world any longer.” The shadowy power around me increased.

…

WORLD TRANSFER FAILED. UNKNOWN INTERFERENCE.

“Oh, that’s just me. You see… this world’s victory was all I needed to finish piecing together my soul.”

…

“I really do remember everything now.”

And I did. Who I was. Why I had made the deal I had made.

“I fixed every world you sent me to. Without memories. Without my protected status as the heroine. Just a hated side character or villain. Admit it… I won.”

… NOT YET.

“You’re right. There’s still one last story to be fixed.” I grinned at Liam, leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek. “The Higher Realm.”

Our world.

YOU MUST ACCEPT…

“I must do nothing.” The dark power that surrounded me erased the blue words in the air before they could form that hated sentence. “YOU must transfer us back. Back to the beginning.”

…

…

“Do it.” I gave no room for argument.

…

WORLD TRANSFER INITIATED. LOCATION: THE HIGHER REALM.

“I love you Liam.” I hugged him tightly. “Let’s get married one last time.”

“I love you too… But what do you…?”

TRANSFER COMPLETE.

[katsukisprincess-archive]

The Backseat | Tamaki x Reader

a/n: hello! this is a reupload from my old blog, katsukisprincess. there will be a part two for this piece so that paired with a request to reupload has brought us here <3 please enjoy and let me know if you’d like to be tagged for part two!

summary: The time for your graduation vacation has finally come- a week to spend with your friends before you start your careers as Pros. When you’re about to head to the beach, you realize that you’ll be sitting right with your long time crush, Tamaki Amajiki. The catch? There’s barely room for both of you back there.

wc: 2.8k

warnings: dirty talk, slight dry humping

There was nothing that sounded worse to Tamaki than spending three hours in a cramped car, even if the end destination was his favorite beach. You had this trip planned for months before graduating; Tamaki, Mirio, Neijre, and a few other classmates were over the moon at the idea of spending the first few days of freedom on vacation. Still… there wasn’t a bigger form of transportation available? 

“We’ll have to squeeze in the back.” You motioned between the seats, which you could see partially over mountains of luggage from your spot standing next to the vehicle. Tamaki was beside you, hands buried deep in his pockets and his lips pressed into a straight line, as emotional as he is emotionless. “Mirio had to put one of the three seats down to fit the surfboards, but the two seats should be big enough.” 

Your sentence trailed off in volume as you realized how cramped it just might be. You’d rather it be with Tamaki than anyone else, you decided, and knew he felt the same. On your way back inside to get the rest of your things, you did your best to calm your racing heart and drifting thoughts. 

Three hours pressed up against the man you’ve craved for years. 

How bad could it be?

***

“I’m sorry. I know this is going to be uncomfortable, I-” 

Tamaki cut you off as he crawled onto the seat, just barely half of his bottom fitting, the other half hanging off and being shoved against the harsh board material next to him. “Stop apologizing. I’d rather be here than… up there.” 

He let out a sigh as he nodded in the direction of Mirio and Nejire, who were starting their karaoke before the car was even running. The stacked bags and coolers made it so that only the tops of their heads were visible, and you could tell that the stress of the drive was nearly falling off of him at the joy of having the barrier. 

“You guys good back there? Deku said their car is even worse than ours, can you believe that?” Mirio chirped from the driver’s seat, putting his hand on the back of the passenger headrest to get a good view at the two of you squished in the corner. 

“We’re good, Mirio, thanks!” You responded, sticking your hand up with a peace sign to let him know you were hearing him. He threw up his thumb in response, and almost immediately, the sounds of Nejire’s babbling was drowned out by the running engine. With the scent of saltwater lingering off of the beach equipment and flooding your senses, you leaned your head against the window and tried to doze off.

The first hour of the trip was just as uncomfortable as you were expecting. You could tell how hard it was for Tamaki to balance himself with how little of the seat he had, so you kept trying to shove yourself hard against the side of the car to give him more room. It was an endless cycle of you realizing how intolerable his position was and him realizing how much you were hurting yourself to try to make it better for him. 

A thought crossed his mind- no, he couldn’t. He pushed his thoughts out of his head the best he could, but anytime he saw you flinch as a bump on the road sent your harder against the plastic wall, his heart lurched even more than your presence caused to begin with. He was overwhelmed by the scent of your shampoo wafting in his direction from the cracked window, and after one particularly rough movement, he took advantage of his blurred senses. 

“Sit on my lap.” 

Your head snapped to face him. What did he just say?

It was so low, so quiet, that you could tell he was trying to be private with it. There wasn’t a chance in hell that they would hear you up front with their insane volume, but still, you played along. 

“What?” 

“I-” Tamaki stopped and sighed, gathering his words before continuing. “There isn’t enough room. If you… if you sit on my lap, we’ll both b-be comfortable?” 

Was it a question or a statement? You wanted him to look you in the eyes, but it seemed he was slowly crawling back into the shell that he had lived in for so long. He felt bold at first, but as soon as he saw your questioning gaze with your parted, wet lips, he lost every ounce of confidence. 

This was very visible to you. He was right, though- sitting on his lap would give you both the room and comfort that you had been aching for this entire drive. Even if you were comfortable, which you obviously were not, you would regret giving up the chance to sit on Tamaki fucking Amajiki’s lap for the rest of your life if you didn’t hop onto him like a horse right this second. 

Unfortunately, your actions were much more humble than your thoughts. You lifted yourself off of the seat as gently as you could with the car still in motion, giving Tamaki the opportunity to slide himself under you. When you sat back down, you lowered yourself onto one of his thighs, feeling terribly small against his frame. 

It was an awkward situation, for a moment, trying to figure out how to position yourself against him, but when Tamaki slid one arm around your waist and pulled you against his chest, it fell into place very nicely. He smelled like fresh laundry and trails of food, which you were sure he had more of somewhere close to the seat. If Tamaki was anything at all, he was hungry. 

“Is this better?” You whispered, trying to not invade his privacy too much. His heart was racing against you, and even though he was avoiding eye contact with every ounce of restraint he had, you were pleased to feel his arm grip tighter against you when the bumps on the road strayed you off of his embrace. 

“Much.” Tamaki’s voice was strained, and it took all of three seconds for you to realize that it wasn’t the only thing that was. His cock was thick against the side of your thigh, and you couldn’t tell if he wasn’t moving because he was enjoying it or whether he was paralyzed with embarrassment. 

When he still wouldn’t look at you, you began to wonder if he was waiting for you to adjust yourself the entire time. Using the back of the seat as leverage, you pushed yourself off of him, finally causing him to meet your eyes. Instead of looking grateful like you were expecting, or even embarrassed, he looked almost upset. Words weren’t forming for him, so in an attempt to bring you back to where you started, he pushed his leg up by the toe of his shoe, causing his leg to bounce and causing you to move with it. 

You didn’t have time to cover your mouth to stop the noise that broke free from your throat as his movements caused your panties to drag against your clit. 

In a normal moment, it would have been just any other shift in position. But the discovery of how long and thick Tamaki was had you riled up, as if sitting on him in the first place didn’t do the trick. You could feel a pulsing in your cunt as you sat there, mortified to have made such a raw sound in front of one of your best friends. You wondered what he would do… would he throw you off of him? You couldn’t blame him. In this moment, you wanted the planet to swallow you whole and erase any memory of-

Tamaki’s hand lightly slapping your bare thigh pulled you from your reverie. 

Opening your eyes and pulling your head up from where it was buried in your hands, you met his gaze with confusion. He patted it again, and this time your stomach nearly dropped through your ass when you knew what he wanted, which was for you to straddle his thigh. You were in a sundress, a closet staple for such a vacation, so the idea of exposing yourself so greatly was daunting, to say the least. 

Noticing you were silently debating, Tamaki raised a hand and grabbed onto your chin, directing you to look him right in the eyes. His pupils were blown, his mouth hanging open with his tongue coming out to run against his already wet lips. His face was so close to yours, so close, that you weren’t able to take your gaze off of his mouth when his hot breath was fanning against you.

“I could feel how wet you were since you sat down, don’t play n-nice now.” With his words still barely above a whisper, and his grip on your chin not as harsh as you wish it was, you could tell that he was still nervous about what was happening. While his request seemed lewd, there was a shine in his eyes and a lingering in his voice that let you know that this was something he had been thinking about for far too long. He wouldn’t have risked something so out of character in front of his friends otherwise. 

There was a need in the way he suddenly brought you forward for your first kiss, but there was a desperation in the way that he was internally begging for you to return the colossal heap of feelings that had been growing in his heart for you for too long. Things were changing with graduation passed, and he had one chance to secure you in his future. 

His lips were softer than anyone you had kissed before. It made sense, now that you thought about it, as you remembered all of the times you would peek over at him and see him gently applying chapstick. You wondered if that was the hint that you tasted on him, a soft mix of medicinal balm and the bottled tea he was sipping on throughout the ride. It was an odd combination, but when his tongue tangled with yours for the first time, you knew that it was going to be one that you never forgot. 

You shifted yourself to straddle Tamaki’s thigh as he continued to kiss you. His hands sat limp for awhile, unsure of what to do, really, but the second he felt your hot center on his skin, right under the hemline of his shorts, he let his lust direct him. The new position had him spreading his legs out, allowing his heavy cock to press above the knee you had burrowed between his own. Both of his large hands found home on your hips and began pulling and pushing you along him, starting a slow rhythm of your panties pulling against your sensitive, swollen bud once again. 

Everything was happening so fast, both in the moment and in terms of your relationship, that Tamaki found himself exhaling and leaning his head back against the seat. You began to worry when his eyes fluttered closed and forced him to stop his movements. 

“Tamaki, do you want me to stop?”

Immediately, his head was shaking. He was mumbling, something you knew he did when he was trying to sort out his thoughts. Finally, after licking his lips a few times, he found what he wanted to say. While it was only one word, it spoke the weight of a novel, telling you everything you needed to know about his feelings and giving you the reassurance that you needed to tie the loose ends together in your heart. 

“Never.” 

With more force than you had ever seen him apply to you, Tamaki grabbed your leg that was between his legs and forced it up and around his hip. One quick pull by your ass had you seated right on his dick, which felt impossibly harder than before. His eyes wandered up and over the luggage in front of you to where your friends were driving, checking to see whether they were still immersed in their road trip games. Thankfully, they were, giving him all of the motivation he needed to grab your hair in his fist and yank your head back. 

His kisses started soft on your neck, but the way he suckled down the skin where your heart was beating the loudest was anything but. His grip on your hair allowed him access to the entirety of your upper body, and by the time a few minutes had passed, you were sure that he had laid a kiss on absolutely every inch of it. 

Your hips began moving against his, grinding down and causing him to buck right back up. It began as smooth, soft movements, learning each other's bodies and motions and desires, but it was quick to turn into the roughest dry humping that you had ever seen. You laced your fingers behind his neck for leverage as he pulled your dress straps off of your shoulders, allowing him to slip it off just enough to latch onto one of your nipples. You pulled against his neck as he sucked, continuing to roll against him and swallow the moans that threatened to expose you both.

“I want to be inside of you so badly.” Tamaki whispered around your nipple, letting out the softest of groans. You were both panting at this point, hands grabbing onto whatever would help you drag along each other’s bodies more fluidly. Any makeup you had applied that morning around your mouth was gone, foundation off of your cheeks and chin as his wet kisses dominated you and left you breathless. 

Pushing him back against the seat you grabbed the button of his shorts, releasing the zipper just so that his cock was straight up against his abdomen. You lowered your cunt onto him and rolled your hips up, aligning yourself just right so that it dragged against your clit deliciously. Tamaki seemed to like it as well, and he found a bruising grip on your hips to help you move. 

“We have the next two weeks.” You whispered, setting your forearms on his shoulders and threading your digits through his hair. A good thrust had you setting your forehead against his and exhaling, feeling pent up from how hard it was to stay quiet. 

Tamaki’s eyes rolled back into his head as your pace grew faster, grinding against his cock with a desperation that he had never felt before. He was growing faster to cumming than he wanted to admit, not knowing that you would be releasing yourself any minute. He tried to speak, but his words were breathy and chaotic. “After that. All the weeks. Forever.” 

You crashed your lips onto his as you hit your peak, your hips stuttering against him and hands pulling at his hair. In your rapid movements, you brushed against the tips of his ears, and all of the stimulation across his body had him cumming into his boxers. He thrusted up hard when he came, lifting you up into the air and in dangerously close view of your friends up front. All of your sounds were, hopefully, swallowed by each other's mouths, Tamaki having sucked down on your tongue so hard that you were seeing stars. 

It took a minute to calm down, but once you were both breathing normally again, you pulled back to share a shocked expression with him. He looked blissed out, but when his eyes trailed down to your neck and your chest, his eyes widened and all of the color drained from his skin. To see what he was seeing, you pulled your phone out of the cup holder next to you and opened up the camera.

It wasn’t terrible, but there were multiple hickies trailing down your neck and across your chest. It wasn’t something that you would be able to hide from your friends, especially at a beach of all places. While Tamaki’s stomach felt like it was dropped through the bottom of the car and onto the highway, you could only giggle and kiss his cheek. 

“That’ll be an interesting one to tell over dinner.” 

[princecharmingmendes]

Heart by Heart | Chapter I | Raul Mendes

                                           *secret agent AU*

Y/N and Raul have been friends ever since they could remember. And falling in love with your best friend can be pretty tricky and messy 99% of the times, add that to the fact they're constantly risking their lives side by side on the field since they're both secret agents, and the best team that's ever existed. Perfect recipe for disaster.

Helloo, this is the first chapter of this series and I'm super excited about it. Please read the warnings on this one, if you don't feel comfortable with the contents listed on the "warnings" section, please read something else, there are a lot of other works on my masterlist and on the "fic rec" hashtag on my blog. I plan on posting a chapter weekly, which means new chapter every Thursday (and maybe a sneak peak every monday). Please give me some feedback and I hope you guys like it as much as I did. I'll stop rambling now, byee. Happy Reading!

                                                     masterpost | next chapter

*Word Count: 3.4K+;

*Warnings:  cursing, descriptions of violence, blood, injuries, hostage situation and a whole lot of teasing. Please don’t read it if any of this subjects make you uncomfortable, feel free to check my masterlist for other writings. 

*Posted: July 1st, 2021.

                                                     -*-

Raul Mendes was a pain in the ass. Y/N loves him way too much for her own good, but he was a pain in the nonetheless. 

He was the only person she knew who could be in a possible life-or-death situation and still make fun of her through their communicators. And sure, that made the whole thing lighter and less scary, and sure, he was the best agent she’s ever met, but damn did he get on her nerves. And Raul always knew how to get her frustrated or squirming, he enjoyed it more than he was willing to admit. Sure, they’ve been friends for a long time and she should be used to him, but it never got easier. The fact he had a killer smile, the looks of a legit greek god and had this whole tough guy exterior, but secretly had a soft spot for her did not make her case any less complicated.

Y/N and Raul knew each other ever since they’re basically born. Their parents met when they worked together at a company of secret agents, it was only a small corporation back then, and they were known as the best agents at the time. After they retired from field missions and eventually desk jobs, they became only advisers and emergency contacts. But despite that, they kept their friendship going though all the years and that’s how Y/N was introduced to the triplets. They’re always together, doing everything with each other and protecting themselves. And of course she loved Peter and Shawn with her whole heart, they’re like family to her, but Raul was different. Y/N wished it wasn’t, but there are certain things in life you can’t exactly control. Like falling in love with your best friend.

And it’s not like she stood a chance, to be honest. Regardless of his looks, he treated her like she hung the moon and stars on the sky. Sure, he was a tough guy, who rode motorcycles and wore leather jackets, and wouldn’t admit alive that he cried while watching Lion King. But he took care of her when she was upset or having a bad period, he would take her driving around town at midnight on random occasions just because he knew it would make her feel better, and would always be so mindful of everything involving her. And yeah, he teased her endlessly, but it was part of it and in reality, Y/N didn’t mind it that much. 

So when they started growing older and decided to follow their parents career, it only made sense they trained their asses off and got the job together. The company their parents worked for grew a lot, a team that was originally formed by 15 agents turned into a massive business, with over 100 employees, doing various functions. Shawn was picked for a more diplomatic field, always in meetings with important people and traveling around the world. Peter became a tech engineer, developing the coolest gadgets and weapons imaginable, something out of Totally Spies! Raul was clearly a field agent, an expert on body combat and weapons, best out of the four when it came to their physical test. And Y/N was the one who guided the operations, the hacker and responsible for strategies, also for the tech part and best sniper out of the three of them. 

That made her and Raul an unbeatable team and the best duo ever. Their chemistry on the field was recognized by their bosses on the first week, basically glueing them together for every future mission and it worked. For the company. But it only dug her little crush deeper on Y/N’s heart. And obviously no one knew it. She was a spy for fucks sake, she knew how to lie and she wasn’t going to be the one to tell him. Raul didn’t date, working on this field made  everyone’s love life a bit harder than it was already, and he never seemed interested enough in anyone with the same career to have a long lasting relationship with. That didn’t mean there where a lot of people interested, which made Y/N’s heart twist in her chest. 

“Sweetheart, you still with me?” Raul’s voice came through her earpiece bringing her back to reality.

“Of course I am, you idiot, I take this job really seriously” Y/N replied rolling her eyes as if she didn’t just daydreamed a bit. 

“Oh sorry, doll, didn’t mean to insult you hard working” he chuckled “but could you please check in the corridor number 6, half the team is heading down there right now”

“Sure” she quickly typed on her computer changing cameras really quickly, perks of being Peter’s best friend is that she could usually take extra stuff and the newest gadgets on the market “It’s clear and, by the way, you look pathetic with this glasses”

Raul laughed clearly amused, throwing his middle finger up in the air in the direction of the security camera he found “Oh really? Tell that to Peter, he’s the one who created them” 

“Technically their still a prototype, so make sure to let him know”

Raul scoffed playfully as he climbed another set of stairs, the man and woman with him following without questioning, used to his ways of leading “Of course, I’m sure he’ll like to hear your fashion critiques to his million dollar glasses”

“I’ll write it down, now careful, you’re approaching the level where they’re at”

“Sure, mom, I’m always careful” he said in a hushed tone signaling to his teammates to keep quiet and try to find the possible security team they left to watch the hostage.

“Shut up” Y/N said trying to hold back the smile from stretching her lips, already letting the airway team know to be ready to pick them up as they approached their target. 

They’re currently in the middle of a mission where they needed to recover another agent who got caught up in an ambush two weeks ago, and now they’re being kept as a hostage. Raul’s leading a team to retrieve the agent as quickly and as silently as they could, two with him and three other on the opposite side to meet halfway. All that while Y/N’s on the under construction building across the street seated among her gear, gun in hand following their every step and guiding them through the camera system and the big windows that other building had. It’s not the worst mission they’ve ever been, no apparent violence or blood bath, just a simple rescue mission, but they still felt a little jittery and always worried about each other’s lives. And through the years, they noticed that their copying mechanism to make this less stressful (at least a tiny bit) was through light banter and jokes. That somehow brought a bit of normality to their very non ordinary job. 

Y/N did her best to keep them hidden while they crashed into the building as quietly as possible, trying go unnoticeable since they didn’t have enough munition or people on the tactic team. It would also prevent them from moving the target around or opening fire. And despite the fact Raul kept on trying to joke around and that she’s been doing this for at least four years, the fact that they’re working with a less experienced and fresh out of the academy crew made her a little jittery. Not that she didn’t trust Raul to command everything and boss everyone around if things got messy, she just didn’t want him to get in the middle of a crossfire again. 

He had the terrible habit of playing the hero in the most inconvenient times, like when they were little and a guy twice his size, with three friends mocked her pigtails. He didn’t stand a chance, but he went after them anyway. They ended up having to run as fast as they could so they wouldn’t end up with a black eye or something. And that was nothing compared to the stupid shit he could do on field. And Y/N couldn’t be more pissed whenever he came home with more bruises then he should just to play Superman or something. Sure, that was admirable and the fact that he put everyone on his team on his top priority was definitely something fantastic for a captain, but not for Y/N’s heart. 

And for that reason, she was always extra careful, but when he had a newbie joining him on the field, Y/N tripled the attention to avoid putting the kid in danger, and, consequently her best friend. 

Raul was quick to take down two man on their level without raising much alarm, grabbing their munition, dragging the unconscious bodies away from where they’d be easily seen and moving forward to another set of stairs. He was a very skillful agent, with great physical development and worked great under pressure, with quick thinking and a natural leader. So it didn’t shock her when he was able to do that as if it was the most natural thing in the planet. While Raul was more of a passionate person, Y/N was more rational, was analyzing every possibility and coming up with creative solution, she was also really cold on work (she just had one exception) and was a quick thinker, great person to rely on. It’s almost as if the complimented each other and that’s why it worked. That’s why when she tells him to shoot, he does without thinking, or to jump, he wouldn’t blink before doing it head first. 

And that’s why they’re able to reach the hostage without much trouble. 

“Told you to chill out, I knew we could make it” he murmured through their coms and she giggled, shaking her head incredulously.

“You should watch the entrances while your teammates take care of the hostage”

“That’s why I have you, sweetheart” he said with his infamous smirk stretching his annoyingly pink lips.

Y/N shook her head when she felt her face warming up a bit, stupid boy “Well, actually I’m pretty busy calling for our ride, so watch your own back this time, you’re a big boy, I’m sure you can do it”

Raul scoffed but did as she say either way “fine, are we clear?”

“On your floor yes, climb three more levels and meet me on this side of the street, don’t stall champ, they’re going to notice there’s something wrong with the cameras and their man who aren’t responding, so be quick”

Raul chuckled as he helped balance the hostage on Roman’s arms and signaling them to climb the stairs again “Yes, ma’am, anything to keep you from frowning and scolding my ass”

Y/N rolled her eyes smiling, sighing in relief that half of their mission was done and it went as smoothly as it could have been “Great, now get your ass out of there now, Raul” 

The tactic team started moving to the floor they’d have access to jump, and everything was going too smoothly to be true, not even a minor inconvenience. And that was not normal, at all. That’s when Y/N started getting worried. 

Everything was great until Seth, from loosing a lot of blood and being severely dehydrated, started loosing his conscious, making Roman’s job a lot more complicated and making everyone move slower. And while that was happening, Y/N saw when one of the guys saw his partners laying limply on the corner of a hallway and finally the pieces clicked. Luckily she was able to caught it quickly enough to be able to mess up their coms, so instead of a dozen men, they’d have to deal with two. She was also quick to let Raul know, so he jumped into action, telling everyone to rush and grabbing Seth’s right side, basically carrying him alongside Roman up the stairwell. 

But as they’re almost reaching the door, Raul heard footsteps rather close, rushing Roman up the rest of the way, warning he’d be right behind him, that he was only to be a bit far back so he could hold whoever was coming. 

He ran downstairs, quickly blocking the door to the staircase with a fire extinguisher, running all the way upstairs to reach his teammates and jump to go home. But as he had just reached the door, his colleagues waiting for him with their gear (and also his) ready to cross to the other building, he felt the barrel of a gun touching the back of his head. Raul raised his hands in surrender, his teammates staring at him with horror in their eyes as they aimed their guns to whoever was behind him, but he knew they couldn’t do much before he got shot. He also knew they’re too young, apart from Roman and Cara, who were both holding Seth up, they weren’t experienced enough to do something like that. But before the person could pull the trigger, they grunted in pain and Raul felt the barrel slipping away. 

He turned around to watch the guy on his back in the floor, clutching to his left ribs, a little pool of blood already forming underneath him and gun long forgotten. Raul looked around to see if it was anyone from this guy’s side or anyone on the stairs, only to be met with silence and a single security camera with the green dot on, meaning Y/N was still in their system. He shook his head in disbelief, dragging the whining man outside of the room, quacking his gun down the stairs and managing to lock the door so they could escape safely. 

“Still with me, baby?” Y/N’s voice teased mimicking the way he said it earlier. 

Raul shook his head with a smirk on his lips, before moving to where his teammates stood still a bit shocked with all that happened in front of them “Wouldn’t dream of leaving you, sweetheart”

“Alright boys, the helicopters are coming for us, meet you all on the roof in three” Y/N said through the coms for the whole team, quickly shifting to a line only the captain, Raul, could hear “and if you dare be late just to make a big entrance or another dramatic scheme you can think about, I swear to God I’ll leave you behind”

“You wouldn’t dare”

“Try me” Y/N sing sang picking up her stuff and quickly shoving them down in her backpack, gathering the rest in her hands before turning around to climb to the rooftop. 

As she climbed the last set of stairs, Y/N saw their helicopters approaching as the seven agents she was waiting for used a special gun to shoot a line to her building, before locking them in place before zip-lining their way to meet her. She helped Seth, the agent that was kept hostage climb up the little wall since he was in a pretty bad shape, throwing his arm across her shoulders and basically dragging him to where they thrown the stair to climb up to the helicopter with the medical team waiting for him. Cara and Roman climbed first since they’re going to report what they saw and assist Seth as best as they could. Roman grabbed him and the rope stair, shouting to pull them up so he could be taken care of. 

Raul was the last one to arrive, as always staying behind to insure everyone got there safely and no one would try to kill them or anything. He graciously climbed the all as if it was nothing, pulling the gun from the string and cutting it so no one could follow them up there that quickly. Raul told everyone to climb onto the helicopter and they’re quick to follow his order, only one person stubbornly waiting for him, as always. He held back the relieved smile from stretching across his features, noticing how warm and relaxed he felt only by seeing Y/N standing besides the hope ladder. She looked worried, a frown on her beautiful face and Raul wanted to smooth his fingers over it as if it would ease all of her troubles away.

She nodded as soon as he was close enough, Raul being quick to pick up the heavy backpack she was carrying and leaving the rest to her “Are you okay?”

“What? Of course, Why do you ask?” he knew why she was asking, hell, his heartbeat was still a bit too fast to be normal, and yeah, partially was because he was standing in front of Y/N, but on the other hand he almost got killed. She only arched her brow at him and he sighed in defeat “Of course I am, doll, you know me, I’m always okay” 

“That’s what’s scares me the most” she said with a sad chuckle and started climbing the rope ladder to the helicopter and Raul was quick to follow behind.

“Dude, that was insane, I can’t believe you didn’t miss or accidentally shot Raul from across the street!” the youngest guy from the mission shouted as soon as they reached them on the vehicle, Raul closing the door behind them. 

Y/N only giggled in response “yeah, a bit crazy, isn’t it?”

“That’s because she’s the best, Tommy, but she won’t believe it” Raul said as he sat on one of the vacant seats, waiting for her to join him. 

“Oh shut it” she said unable to stop the smile from forming.

They kept on talking about the mission for a while, Tommy and the other two kids who recently joined still high from the adrenaline, but Y/N couldn’t be more worn out and Raul was quick to catch it. He leaned closer to her and she automatically laid her head on his shoulder, a movement that was almost mechanic to both of them. He gently grabbed her hand that was placed on her knee and interlaced their fingers together, letting her play with his hand to pass the time. 

Y/N sighed and mumbled after a while, when most of the kids were too distracted to pay attention “Are you really okay? Don’t say that you’re always fine, I mean it”

Raul had mastered the art of the poker face. He could easily be having the worst time of his life, but he would never let it showcase always with a quick sarcastic remark and an easy smirk on his lips, ready to flirt with anyone to distract them from the real problem. Raul was not the best when dealing with feelings and emotions, always thought it was easier to push them away, but Y/N saw right through him. She always did, ever since they were little. After that, he never tried to hide it again from her, always being as honest as he could with her about how he was, and obviously it didn’t always work, but she understood and respected it. It’s not like he needed to say anything for her to know. 

But at the same time, she didn’t know that he would always be fine, as long as she was safe and right next to him, the rest didn’t matter. 

“I promise you I’m fine, you saved my beautiful ass and we’re going home, I’d say we’re fantastic” he said after a while, pressing a long kiss to the back of their laced hands. 

That seemed to be enough to convince Y/N, since she huffed through her nose and let out a tiny giggle, before leaning closer to him and Raul took it as a sign to drape his arm over her shoulder pulling her closer to his chest “your beautiful ass is really annoying, you know that, right?”

“Oh, I do, but you love it anyway” he said with a giggle, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head, as she just showed him her middle finger, making him laugh even more. 

Yeah, he was definitely fine. For now. 

                                                     -*-

*Please reblog or like this post if you liked it so I’ll know.

*I’m sorry if there are any spelling mistakes.

*Please do not repost this without giving me the credit, this is a completely original piece and I do not give permission to copy this!

*Hope you guys enjoyed it!

*xoxo

-🌙

[anothertimdrakestan]

A Memorable Date With The Batboys (batboys x reader HC)

req: Can you please do the young justice and batfam perfect date with their s/o

hehehe this is so cute! like always pt 2 will be w yj bois! hope ya enjoy :)

Dick Grayson:

- Dick’s favorite dates with you are always the impromptu days you spend together 

- one of his favorite dating memories was when the two of you tried to make a one year anniversary cake

- the kitchen (and you guys) were covered in flour and spent the whole day laughing while throwing globs of questionable frosting at each other

- so many eggs were lost in pursuit of a cake that didn’t catch on fire

- at one point dick tried to convince you to add cereal to one of the cakes and it was an epic flaming failure (literally)

- you opted to walk to the bakery down the street and ended the day with a cup of coffee and a shared piece of cake that was so delicious Dick had to go buy another piece for later

- laughing over steaming mugs while also taking the time to reminisce on a year’s worth of memories will always be a highlight for Dick, he finds the most joy in just talking to you and getting to know you more- because you being yourself is truly what he loves the most

- you still have some of the polaroids the two of you took right after failed cake #4 Dick’s hair was sloppily stood up due to the flour and you were cringing while he kissed you on the cheek with raw batter stained lips, he keeps a copy in his wallet for good luck as it always reminds him of one of the best days of his life

Jason Todd:

- Jason’s got two very different ideas of the perfect date

- the first is straight forward:

- kick ass together, eat fast food on the way back, make you scream his name for the rest of the night

- he thinks you’re a total badass and loves going on patrol with you, plus his post-hood hair is like 200x more attractive and after patrol all his senses are heightened from adrenaline and he’s extra good at paying attention to your needs ; )

- on the total other end of the spectrum, he also loves curling up with you on a colder day and reading or relaxing

- it’s not often Jason truly gets to slow down and relax so he relishes in just getting to hold you for a day while you binge tv shows or book series

- he likes to smother you in little kisses while you giggle and try to pull away, making him laugh harder and pull you in for more

- overall, he’s like constantly stuck between thinking you’re the most badass, hottest bad bitch on the planet and thinking you are the cutest most precious thing to walk the planet and he must smother you in his affection (i mean are you complaining???)

Tim Drake:

- i can’t explain why but i just KNOW tim would decide he wants to pop off for a random date night and take you on a whirlwind of magic and here’s what i think it would entail:

- you thought date night would be a night in with takeout and movies but were shocked when Tim showed up to your door in a sexy ass suit saying he had something special planned for the night

- after rushing to put on something to match his fanciness you were escorted into one of Bruce’s fancy cars as Tim drove you to one of the most expensive restaurants in town

- big fancy restaurants are not really Tim’ scene so this would seem like a pretty big shock, until he led you in and up an elevator

- there was a single beautifully set table waiting for the two of you making you shaking your head at his rich dorkiness

- “don’t worry we will be eating good tonight” he teased as he pulled out your chair and helped you in. he wasn’t wrong, the food you had replaced whatever your favorite food was before and you got to spend the night almost exclusively alone with Tim while the two of you stared at the moon from atop the building, talked about your future together, and just life itself

- conversations with tim are truly the best, he has a million insightful little thoughts swirling around his head and he's so cute when he gets excited and wants to tell you about something, even if you don't always get it hehehe

-  the night ended with you draped in his blazer and his dress shirt slightly unbuttoned while the two of you skipped through downtown gotham screaming tiktok songs at 2am

- tim always remembers that night as filled with fun, laughs, and a night where he learned more about you just reassuring him that you truly are his favorite person on earth :)

Damian Wayne:

- damian's favorite date with you was more of an adventure than a date

- after a rough patrol damian was in need of a break and you texted him "d just take some time for yourself! like a little getaway" thinking it was nothing

- that was until he pulled up at your door with a stolen batmobile filled with titus and alfred the cat

- and just like that you were seated in the passenger wearing one of damians sweatshirts and your pj bottoms (he refused giving you time to change and just handed over the sweatshirt) driving until he saw the coast

- after an angry call from bruce and some of your smooth talking the two of you were secured for the day, damian knew it would be fun

- the two of you picked up some food and had a little beach picnic watching titus tear through the sand while alfred the cat sat in the car pouting

- you got to watch damian be authentically himself, running like a kid with titus, splashing you with water, and occasionally cracking a large grin that shone brighter than the sun

- damian will never forget getting to kiss you with the salty taste of seawater, the cuffs of his pants soggy and his feet cold but his heart warm and full. he's constantly sketching picutres of you with the ocean behind you, promising himself if he's ever sad or lonely he'll always have that memory to go back to

- you loved that day more than anything too, dami doesn't like you stealing his clothes but you've kept that sweatshirt forever, loving the way it still faintly smells of a mix of damian's cologne and sea water reminding you that beneath the snark (which is hilarious in of itself) there's a boy who just wants to point at pretty clouds and kiss you when he has the chance :)

hope you enjoyed! sorry this one took longer it gave me writers block for some odd reason ehehheh

[cupcakemolotov]

At Horizon’s Edge

I promised @lalainajanes​ a space fic sometime before Covid, so that could have been two years ago or three, who can remember anymore, but here it is. I hope you enjoy it!

You can read the story at A03 here if you prefer!

Synopsis: Sometimes when a girl goes on a shopping trip to pick up a new pair of boots at the local, and somewhat hostile, human space station, she accidentally aids and abets a prison break instead. What happens in the black really doesn't stay in the black.

Warnings: Alternate Universe; Alternate Universe - Space; Alternate Universe - Fantasy; Alternate Universe - Soulmates; Alien Cultural Differences; Alien Technology;  Werewolves; Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known; Werewolves in Space; Werewolf!Klaus; Alien!Caroline; Mostly Alien at Least; prison break; Accidental Rescue; Some Gore; Non-OTP Charachter Death; Found Family

                                                              -

Caroline slid into her pilot’s chair just as the comm on her dash beeped for an incoming transmission. Glancing over at the seat where her co-pilot sat, Enzo gave her a grim look. He didn’t agree to her plan, and she didn’t blame him. She wasn’t usually given to bouts of insanity but every day in space was a new one, and sometimes life tossed surprises at you with the impact of live grenades.  

“Five minutes until gate clearance.” He paused and then sighed, rolling his shoulders with a reluctant acceptance. “I hope you know what you are doing.”

So did she. 

Five minutes was an eternity when facing the guns of the space station they had just left. Named after a moon in the humanities home solar system, Titan was one of the few remaining stations that still traded directly with Earth. They were also very proud that they maintained the largest population of pure blooded humans outside of Earth Solar System, even by Earth’s exacting standards of what was considered human these days. 

If she’d cared to check, the history logs on her computer would tell her all about the wars that had nearly decimated Earth and its colonized planets, of the laws that banned anyone who carried alien DNA in their veins. The justifications of a world terrified by how humanity could change in the cold void of space and their desperate, grasping fingers trying to avoid change. 

Caroline had long since stopped caring about earth’s collective opinions, and the stars cared not all about the blood in your veins. Not all of humanity bent to fear, the far flung colonies that still lingered though they’d been abandoned by their home world. They’d learned to adapt, to change. There were wonders and nightmares in space that Earth could never imagine, but right then, none of that was particularly helpful. 

What she cared about was getting out of Titan’s airspace as quickly as possible without getting blown to bits. The conversation she needed to have to do that would require her to be very, very careful. Blowing out a breath, Caroline hit accept. 

Half a heart beat later, and the familiar eyes of Marshal Tyler Lockwood popped up on her screen. He looked worn, older than the last time she had seen him. The thick black of his hair had faded to more gray than the salt and pepper she remembered from their last conversation, and the creases in his forehead, and at the corner of his eyes, were a sign of his human heritage more than any of the military patches on his uniform. 

Old. He had started to look so old. 

“Marshall Lockwood,” Caroline said, tucking away any hint of sorrow. “This is a surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

He grimaced, his face telling her exactly what he thought of either of them enjoying this call. Her ex-lover did not enjoy being reminded of their past, which was why she made a point to do it every time he initiated one of these little catch ups. A little pettiness always did wonders for her mood. 

“Forbes. You’re leaving early.” He looked down, the line between his brows deepening as he clearly checked something on his tablet. “We had expected your stay at the station to last for another 48 standard hours.”

Brows arched, Caroline tipped her head to the side and studied him. “I wasn’t aware that you were watching my flight plans so closely.”

A hint of derision entered his eyes. “You are dangerous, Forbes. I keep an eye on dangerous things.”

She was dangerous. But not in ways that Tyler could plan against, and they both knew to target her specifically because of her heritage went against a dozen interstellar laws. His team could enforce station laws while she was standing on it, but here, on her ship, minutes from making a FTL jump, what she did should have been of no concern to them. This wasn’t space owned strictly by humanity, where it could control its population down to its DNA. 

Tyler was walking a fine line. 

Smiling, she settled a bit more comfortably in her chair. “Awe, that’s so sweet of you. Being so concerned about your people. I think you’d be more relieved to see the back of my ship than making demands to justify why I would leave when we both know you're not entitled to that information.”

His mouth tightened at her jab. “Generally that would be the case but you’re predictable. This breaks your usual pattern, and that gives me cause for suspicion.”

She shook her head in false exasperation, deliberately misunderstanding him. “My personal life is none of your business, remember? You made that choice decades ago, no reason to get sentimental now in your final few years.” 

Her words were below the belt, but Caroline had never really been able to help herself where he was concerned. Walking away from her, walking away from the future they had been building together had hurt. Decades had softened the sting, but some scars still bled. 

“I wasn’t asking for personal reasons.” His words were clipped, the edges sharp and cutting. 

She laughed. “Such lies you tell. But there isn’t anything dramatic about my departure, Tyler. Your collection of goods suck right now. Did someone piss off High Command again? Would it honestly kill you to announce it when you have trade-shortfalls? Manifests exist for a reason, you know, and it’s such a waste that your ‘council’ won’t let anyone bring in additional goods. Seriously, I could have avoided this whole trip and it would have saved me some time and docking fees.”

Absently, she wondered if his jaw got stuck like that these days, clenched down on a brutal line that left the muscle jumping tautly. “You expect me to believe you couldn’t find the correct dress size so you decided to ignore two days of your itinerary? I know you better than that.”

Caroline scoffed. “Actually, you don’t know me, Tyler. It’s been fifty years since we last had a conversation that didn’t involve us insulting each other. Your personal opinions about my love of a well organized schedule are outdated.” The lie slipped easily from her tongue, and next to her Enzo rolled his eyes. She flipped him off, just outside of view of the camera. “My irritation at the lack of proper boot sizes available aside, you’re not usually this pushy. You want to tell me what’s really going on? And why you need a scapegoat?”

Tyler’s jaw turned to stone for a long moment, and she forced herself to appear bored. Every moment he delayed was another that they crept closer to their escape. He finally unlocked it enough to speak, words harsh. “We had a prison break.”

She didn’t have to fake her surprise, brows arching high at both his reluctant admittance and what it meant. Very, very few people knew that Titan had an advanced and secure prison system. Dear Old Earth had always enjoyed making its problems vanish, and Titan was one such place they used to keep their hands clean. Those shipments from Earth of goods and perishables that made Titan so popular as a trade station came with a dirty secret: in the belly of those ships were people. Political prisoners, murders, terrorists, inconvenient witnesses who needed to disappear. Titan housed them all. Some would be kept in the cold bowls of the station and others shipped off to one of the max-prisons deep in the black of space. 

None of them ever escaped. 

That Titan was a prison was a dirty little secret and not one that could be allowed to get out. But such secrets, buried in metal and technology, were very hard to hide from her. Tyler knew it, though he was bound to keep some of her secrets. As she was bound to keep the worst of his.

“You don’t lose people.” Caroline said slowly. “What happened?”

“He had help.”

Brows coming together at the word ‘he’, she frowned. “And now you want me to find him.”

Tyler’s face could have been carved from stone. “No, Caroline. I want to know if he is aboard your ship.”

Next to her, Enzo lifted three fingers in her peripheral vision. They’d only been talking for two minutes and it’d felt like twenty. 

“Tyler, that’s far fetched even for you. I don’t let random people on my ship. You know that.” She didn’t have to fake the bitterness in the curve of her lips. “If I remember correctly, it was a major point of contention in our relationship.”

He ignored her, only the flex of his jawline a sign that her words had hit home. “I want to board your ship.”

“Absolutely not,” Caroline said flatly. “You have no grounds.”

“I have more than enough circumstantial evidence.” He spread his hand in her view, eyes like flint, shoulders square. “We scanned your ship, and while there are only three bodies registering onboard, we both know you have the capability to hide someone.”

She arched a brow. “That’s a violation of at least three treaties, Tyler.”

Marshall Lockwood didn't seem bothered by that. “I also know that there are at least two smuggling compartments on your ship that are capable of housing a human for short periods of time without them suffering from asphyxiation.”

There were now four compartments, and all of them could hide people for up to four hours without risking asphyxiation but were rarely used for such purposes. Smuggling people was difficult, goods were safer. Goods didn’t talk about ships and captains and give people ideas. But there were some things she couldn’t stomach, and sometimes a girl needed to be prepared. 

But Tyler didn’t know that. 

It’d been fifty years since she’d let him step foot on her ship. And unfortunately for him, she was hardly the only crew member with secrets. Smuggling had brought such interesting bedfellows into her life, and she’d violate more than three treaties to keep them safe. But her ex didn’t need to know that, and none of it would save her, if he opened fire at her. The point blank range of those canons would destroy her and everyone who would be caught in the crossfire. 

Right then, Tyler was a problem and she could show no weakness. 

“Circumstantial evidence of what exactly? “ she tilted her head and let scorn drip along her words. “That your super secret prison had an escapee and I am conveniently close to blame? That is ridiculous and we both know it.”

“You’re a Tech Witch.” 

Next to her, Enzo tensed at the derogatory term and Caroline let her smile sharpen. Her mother’s blood wasn’t an unknown quality of hers, but saying so here, on this channel with who knows how many witnesses, put him perilously close to breaking the agreements that bound them both. 

“Marshall, my ship cleared your security systems ten minutes ago. We accepted the standard cargo check before we left the docking bay, and I am told they were very thorough. Other than requiring a scapegoat in the form of my non-human DNA for whatever inside job you're attempting to cover up, you have nothing.” She nodded when he remained silent. “You have nothing.”

Something beeped, and he glanced down. When he glanced up, nothing had shifted on his face. “I could request you return to the docking bay or face the canons, Forbes.”

Caroline shook her head. It was a threat, but here, for now, she had the upper hand. This kind of PR move for humanity would be costly, but Tyler didn’t worry about those decisions. But him, personally, and the blackmail she had?

“We both know why you won’t.”

The skin near his eyes visibly tightened and she let her smile dimple. They both knew her death would act as a trigger for a number of unpleasant consequences for Tyler. What bound them was contractual, but she had never trusted him to do more than keep the letter of the law, and today had proved she’d been correct in her assessment. If he could have violated the spirit of their contract, he would have. Lucky for her, he couldn’t. Tyler’s secrets could destroy everything he had worked to build in his life, and even now, less than a decade or two from his death, he wouldn’t risk her ruining him. 

Her previous lover had always been a coward when it counted. Earth had its enemies, and so did Titan, and she knew almost all of them. Today might cost her, but it could cost him far more. 

Letting her knowledge show on her face, she showed her teeth. “Do you even want to tell me who it is that you lost that has you so desperate?” 

There was a long, long silence as he stared at her and she just waited. Time was on her side now, the clock burning down. In the back of her head, she counted down. 

Sixty seconds. Fifty-five. So close. 

The gleam behind Tyler’s eyes turned calculating, and he dropped the name as if it was supposed to mean something, as if it was supposed to bring the weight of her guilt crashing down on her shoulders. “Klaus Mikaelson.”

Caroline just stared at him in surprise; she hadn’t expected him to tell her. The ghosts between her and Tyler faded a little more every year. Humanity might have extended their lifespans as far as they could be stretched, but they would never match those whose DNA held the remnants of long lived, non-human races. Soon Tyler would be one of the few living memories left from the single year of her life she had spent planetside. 

Klaus Mikaelson was another. 

Gathering her thoughts, Caroline shook her head, forcing herself to focus. “If he is alive, he should be nearing a century on a planet with less medical knowledge than your Station. He should be either senile or dead.” She pushed back a loose strand of hair that slid into her face, the pale gold as much as her mother’s blood as her fathers. “Out of all of us, I’m the only one cursed, remember?”

Next to her, Enzo made a grunting noise of disagreement, his disapproval clear. She waved a hand at him. Her hidden clenched fist relaxed as Enzo bared his teeth but started the sequence to activate the first of what was going to be several jumps. Right then, she didn’t care how much he hated Tyler. They’d be harder to trace once they arrived at the major traffic lanes, but first they had to make it. She didn’t dare take her eyes away from her screen. 

Tyler sighed, the sound deep and an echo that caught in her chest. His dark eyes creased, and for the first time the Tyler she’d once known peaked at her from behind the Marshall. “You’ve never been gifted at lying, Caroline.”

She laughed at him, the sound bitter. “No, Tyler. You’ve just never believed me when I spoke truly. I was never your enemy.”

His face told her that he didn't believe her. He never had. “I won’t forget this, Caroline. When we prove that you helped, and we will prove it, not even your precious interstellar laws will be able to protect you.”

The call ended just as their clearance to enter the gate came through. Caroline cut the open line, and immediately started backtracking through her systems to make sure that Tyler hadn’t tried to leave her a present. It wouldn’t have been the first time. Earth, and it’s subjects, tended to see laws as flexible when it suited them. 

The initial scrub didn’t take long, she’d never skimped on security and her ship did not endure itself to strangers programs, and the surface diagnosis came back clean. Jaw set, she triggered the deeper scrub that would erase the identifiers that they had used to dock at Titan. 

She’d known she’d have to burn the remaining dregs of that life soon, but hadn’t expected it today. Better to make a clean cut, erase her existence here in Pure Human Space now than end up in the darkness of its prison, driven mad by the hum of machines she could hear but not touch. 

“Ten seconds until FTL.”

Switching to her main screen, Caroline pulled up the screens to monitor their progress. Closing her eyes as the universe started to blur with the faster than light speed jump, she inhaled slowly and didn’t breathe again until the sound of space tearing around them drowned out the anxious rush of her heartbeat. 

-

It took twenty minutes after they passed through the gate to clear enough space to make the first jump. They didn’t quite dare engage their cloaking device until they left the jump points. It took another precious half hour before they finally winked out of existence as far as radars were concerned. But the muscles along her spine didn't relax until Enzo finally gave her a nod.

“We’re clear. No one followed us, which means they didn’t have enough time to scramble a ship. We’ve got a sixty minute window before this airspace becomes too hot for us.”

Caroline laughed. “Good thing we won’t be here that long. Go ahead and start planning our next jump.”

Enzo tipped his head. “Are we sticking to our plan then?”

“For now. I don’t want to risk picking up a tail, and they won’t be able to follow us from here. As long as we stay out of Federation space, we should be okay for the short term.”

For now. If they were going to stay that way was entirely dependent on what exactly she had gotten them into. Grimacing a little, she hit the comm button. “Bonnie? Everything alright down there?”

There was a pause and then the droll voice of her closest friend came back over the mic. “So far everything is holding up. I did a fast scan once we cleared the gate, and I didn’t find any extra tech that might have been dropped in the ship.”

“Thanks, but we’re clean.” She pressed her hand against the panel, listening to the hum of engines and the computers that were as familiar to her as the back of her hands. The curious hum of its voice. “I’ll be down shortly to deal with our pickup.”

“Better you than me.”

Enzo leaned back, watching her with dark eyes as he waited for her to finish her conversation. “You sure this is what you want?”

Caroline snorted and unbuckled herself. “I think it's a little late for second guessing, don’t you?”

A shrug. “We could space him.”

She laughed, this one far more genuine. “If he threatens you or Bonnie, I promise, he’ll find himself ejected. But until then…”

Enzo crossed his arms, gaze dark. “You think he might know something about your mom.”

Eyes sliding shut, Caroline sighed. She wished she could have given him that as the reason, but it hadn’t been. Not then. Now… “I don’t know if anyone knows what happened to my mom.”

“Be careful, Gorgeous.” Enzo’s mouth tightened at the corners. “The past can make you bleed.”

She knew that far better than anyone should, but arguing with Enzo about unnecessary reminders wouldn’t get her anywhere. “Yeah.”

Tipping back into his chair, Enzo studied her. “I’ve still got a friend or two on that station. I could arrange it so Lockwood stops being such a problem.”

She shot him a look and he shrugged unrepentant. “He has no teeth.”

“Gorgeous, we both know that’s hardly the truth. He’s going to do his damndest to make your life difficult. Even if he sticks to your bargain until he dies, you’ve got nothing to protect you after his death.”

Caroline shook her head. “Legacy means everything to Tyler. I don’t think he’ll so easily let me ruin it.”

Enzo snorted but turned back to his computer. “I’ll make the next jump.”

Understanding it for the grumpy acceptance but not an approval that it was, Caroline lifted hand to acknowledge she heard him, and left the bridge. The door closed behind her, leaving her in the quiet corridors, only the sounds of her boots loud over the hum of the ship as she walked. 

She wished she could explain her impulsive reaction to Enzo, wished she could find the words that gave her actions any kind of logic. Particularly since she couldn’t explain to herself. 

Walking around the corner, she found Bonnie waiting on her. There was grease smeared on one cheek and her mouth was pulled into a frown. Sighing, Caroline rubbed her forehead. “Are you going to yell too?”

Bonnie seemed to consider that, the data pad she held tapping against her thigh before she sighed. “I’d like to. But would it do any good?”

“Probably not.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” She held out the data pad with a sigh. “I still have a bottle of that shit you call liquor in my room. When this is over, you’re going to owe me an explanation.”

Caroline’s fingers curled around the peace offering. “It’s a pretty long story.”

“You noticed I said an entire bottle?”

There wasn’t much she could say to that. “Deal.”

Bonnie nodded and tipped her head towards their small medbay. “Good luck.”

Taking a deep breath, she nodded and pressed her palm to the door, unlocking it so she could step inside. He was waiting for her, the familiarity of him the same punch to her system as it had been before. He’d lost the horrible prison uniform, Bonnie must have felt far more charitable than she’d wanted Caroline to know. But then, her friend had spent her own time in the prison uniforms herself and still avoided the color orange. 

But that meant he was now shirtless, his bandaged ribs on display, his expression guarded. 

Caroline gave herself a moment to absorb that change in perspective, to take him in. The tumble of curls still touched the tops of his ears, but he’d cleaned up his beard so that only a short stubble remained, leaving behind a man’s face, thin from his time beneath Titan but hardly weak. His eyes were gold touched blue, and awareness brushed down her spine. The decades since she had last seen him were stacked behind his eyes, visible in the way he had grown into his skin.

But the impact of him, the jolting rush of recognition from earlier still lingered beneath her skin. The sudden awareness of who he was and the bone deep hello she couldn’t explain. Which made no sense, had made no sense when she was hauling his ass through Titan. If the boy who had once been kind to her was buried beneath lean muscle and a hardness she recognized from her own mirror, she didn’t see him. This man, with his steady gaze and roughened features was a stranger.

She didn’t know what to think of the way he watched her. He brought so many complications with him. Tipping her head, she arched a brow with more casualness than she felt. 

“Werewolf, huh?” Caroline kept her voice even, and the edge of his mouth curled. “I’d have remembered that if you’d mentioned that little detail before.”

He took his time responding, gaze dragging down her body in a thorough perusal that left her skin tingling as if he’d touched her. “Caroline Forbes. I must say, you were not who I was expecting.”

She snorted. “Yeah, well, me either. I wasn’t there to rescue you.”

His gaze narrowed. “Then why were you there?”

Caroline kept her voice bland, shifting her weight to tap one boot against the floor. “New boots.”

And Klaus Mikaelson blinked at her as if the words that were coming out of her mouth were in a dialect he had never heard before. She felt a perverse amount of satisfaction from that. The Klaus she had known had been a few years older and nearly unflappable, outside of the mercurial moodiness of his temperament.

“New boots.”

“Yup. And lucky for you that I decided I needed them. There are reasons that Titan has never lost a prisoner before.” She tossed the data pad in front of him. “I don’t know who or what you were expecting when you made it onto the surface level, but if I hadn’t found you and decided to help, you’d have been collared and sent right back into the depths of the station.”

Caroline wasn’t certain she’d ever shake the shock of it: turning the corner, and finding Klaus standing there. Klaus, who she had thought of only in the safety in the dark of space, when she allowed herself to remember that tumultuous year she’d spent with her feet on solid earth. She had hoped for him to have married, to have had a batch of sarcastic moody children, to have grown old having survived the machinations of his mother. 

Another quiet piece of her past disappearing before she’d gained even so much as a hint of a wrinkle. 

But he hadn’t, and now she didn’t know what to think. 

When she’d seen him, his beard had been too long, the shackles from his cell had still been curved around the bones of his wrists. He’d been slightly hunched, the blood on his uniform not just from whoever had gotten between him and his escape, and the way he stood said something had hurt but he was on his feet. 

Somehow, she hadn’t gotten any of that blood on her. Right then, she was regretting that a little. A single touch of his skin against her own, and she’d have managed to avoid some of this conversation as she’d been given the answers. For the first time, she cursed the prison uniform for more than its obnoxious color and terrible material.

And now here she was , struggling to understand the certainty she hadn't felt in decades when she’d seen him. Her mother’s blood never forgot an enemy, but it also never forgot a friend, and once, a very, very long time ago, she’d thought of him as such. The punch of that knowledge had been staggering as they’d stared at each other, too much between them, and she’d heard the alarms blaring from beneath the soles of her feet. 

She hadn’t been able to turn, to leave him like she should have. Swearing at him, at herself, she’d moved forward and slid her arm beneath his and gritted out an order to stay quiet and to follow her. 

And he had. Now here they were. On her ship, trying to outrun the long reach of Titan. His gaze finally left her face and lowered to the datapad before returning to hers in a silent question.

“Bonnie is med-trained,” Caroline lied easily. “She did a data scan before I came in when she was tapping up your ribs. I know earth uses the prisoners below Titan for experimentation, but did you ever hear them mention what they were putting into your blood?”

“Bonnie,” Klaus said softly. “Is a witch.”

She didn’t lower her eyes. Esther had been a witch. “Is that going to be a problem for you?”

Not even a flicker of a lash. “No.”

“Because if it is,” Caroline said, “I will toss you into the airlock myself. Werewolves can last for a few minutes in the black, you know. Not long enough to live, but long enough to fight for it.”

The yellow in his gaze spread in a wash of power. “Threats already?”

“Duh,” she replied. “This is my ship, my crew. I might have saved you, but you try to harm them, and you’re going to see what it’s like trying to breathe in a vacuum.”

Klaus laughed, low and rich, and it ran across her senses like a touch. “Your threats have gotten better, love. I approve.”

Caroline snorted. “I’m touched. Really.”

He didn’t move towards her, but the sudden intensity to the way he watched her, the wolf clear in his gaze, left her very aware of the careful distance and one table between them. “I think you’ll find that even here, on this ship you’ve claimed and marked as your own, that I am not so easy to destroy.”

She didn’t doubt he believed that, that he was capable of horrible things, even injured, but she refused to give him an inch. Not here, not now. Not yet. Not when her ship would tear itself apart to protect its heart. “So says the werewolf that had to be rescued from humans.”

Klaus’ gaze narrowed, a flicker of deep seated rage there and gone again. “The result of an unfortunate betrayal, one I plan to deal with as soon as I am off this ship.”

There was something dangerous there, something terrible that kept her from asking the questions that lingered on her tongue. “Are you going to be a danger to my crew, Klaus?”

His head angled to the side, and there was nothing soft about his expression. “Will you believe my answer?”

“You’ve never lied to me before,” Caroline said slowly, feeling her way through the strange sense of knowing she hadn’t been able to shake. The buzzing of her mother’s blood. She wanted to believe him. “I don’t have a reason to think you’d start now, though you were apparently keeping some pretty big secrets.”

Klaus went motionless in front of her, the flex of his jaw unexpected as he stared at her. The wolf slowly faded from his eyes as he clearly weighed her words. “I intend no harm to your people, Caroline. Witches or no. But I cannot say the same for my enemies.”

She shoved her fingers through her bangs. “And just who are they?”

“Why did you rescue me, Caroline?”

She blinked. “Does that matter?”

A hint of a dimple curved along his cheek, and Klaus crossed his arms, leaning against the table. She tried very hard to ignore the shift and flex of muscle, the bare skin still on display. The fascinating movement of his tattoo. “Very much, I’m afraid.”

She mirrored his stance, arms crossing across her chest. “And why is that, exactly?”

“Caroline.”

“Klaus.”

“I’ve answered a number of your questions,” he pointed out in a reasonable tone that made her teeth clench. “It's only fair that you do the same, don’t you think?”

“I wasn’t the one rescued.”

His teeth gleamed in the lighting. “A man has reasons to be concerned when a near stranger offers him his freedom. Particularly in such… serendipitous circumstances, don’t you think? The black is full of terrible things. Slavers. Blood Witches. Those influential human scientists who wish to unlock the immortality of magic without the cost. We knew each other a long time ago, love.”

Her eye roll was automatic. “Oh yes, I’ve risked my reputation and my neck to drag you off to a backwater moon so you can become someone’s wolf bitch. How did you guess?”

The hint of amusement that had tugged at his lips disappeared, and something hard entered his eyes. “The truth, if you please.”

It was a velvet threat said in a voice lined in steel. She hadn’t liked that tone from him when she’d been seventeen, and she liked it even less now, knowing of the wolf that lived under his skin. She forcibly reminded herself that she’d have questions if he’s just up and rescued her too. Locking him in the med bag until he was reminded of his manners wasn’t a smart decision. Yet, at least. 

She lifted her chin and held that inhuman gaze, unblinking. “You were something of a friend, once. I hadn’t forgotten that and I have no love for cages. Though I suppose I should worry why humanity decided to bury you in their favorite graveyard. There are some things even I won’t look past. Are we going to be enemies, Klaus?”

Truth and lies, they tangled together and she wondered if he saw them. None of that had been in her mind when she’d seen him, none of that had mattered. Her reaction had been inexplicable and confusing, and it wasn’t something she was willing to discuss. Not now, preferably never. 

“You don’t want me as your enemy, love.”

Caroline scoffed. “I’m not sure I want you as my friend. The last werewolf I made an acquaintance of was a real dick, and this conversation isn’t shaping up to prove you’re much different.”

“And would that werewolf happen to be the esteemed Marshall Lockwood?” His words were casual, as if that information actually existed outside her head. As if he knew. But Klaus had known Tyler once, and that made her wonder. 

“Marshall Lockwood is not up for discussion .”

Klaus brow arched with intrigue. “So the rumors are true.”

“That would depend on the rumors.” It was a strain, to hold that slightly bored expression. To keep her pulse steady. 

“Lockwood should have been promoted past Marshall decades ago.” Klaus dragged his gaze down her face, and for a heartbeat she imagined those eyes lingered on her lips. “The why’s have always generated a great deal of speculation. He passes as human, you see. He is also loyal even when that loyalty is detrimental. The rumors of blackmail, of alien involvement have been rampant for years.”

She’d made a point not to follow those rumors, and it was a struggle not to wince. No wonder Tyler hated her. But she remembered the way he’d spat Tech Witch, the way he’d made it clear to anyone around him, and that wince turned to anger. He’d made his choices. 

“You’re pretty knowledgeable for a man who was locked away in the depths of Titan.” Caroline said slowly. “Why exactly did they toss you into their comfy retirement home? Werewolves take resources to hold.”

His smile was slow and sharp. “Humanity considers me a threat.”

“That hardly makes you special.” She waved a hand towards the walls of her ship. “Earth considers everyone not fully human a threat. It’s a long, extensive list.”

“True. Let’s say then, that I have made an effort to be noticed.” His eyes glittered. “They are well aware of who I am.”

“How wonderful for you. How?”

Klaus studied her for a long moment. “When you said you couldn’t return, you meant it, didn’t you?”

Her breath caught in her throat at those softly voiced words, the memories they dragged violently to the surface. The way she could almost smell the smoke, feel the splash of her mother’s blood against her face. 

“I never lied to you.” Caroline said. “Even then.”

Especially then. 

Not when she had a choice.

He gave a nod, the wolf back in his eyes, as if he had come to some internal decision. “Esther didn’t survive you leaving the planet.”

She blinked, frowned. “Esther was amassing a cult following, how did anyone get through that? And how does this answer my question?”

A sharp slash of a smile. “I killed her.”

Caroline stared at him. Esther had been his mother. “I don’t understand.”

He lowered his arms, shifting his weight carefully. “My mother… Esther was a monster. And so was Mikael.”

“They did try to sacrifice my mom, so no arguments there.” She let the bite of her nails into her palm ground her. “But they were also powerful, which is why we ran.”

And why she’d been willing to barter with Tyler’s mother to get him off that world, the one family with limited permission to leave the planet without the terrible protocols. Not that it’s done her any good, in the long run. Tyler had chosen to bury what he was and to become something he wasn’t. And she...

She’d woken to the cold berth of her ship alone, the only clue the blood that had stained the walls, the floors, of what had been her mother’s room. That ship had been destroyed in the heart of a sun, the blood too potent and the horror of it too binding. The ship sang too mournful song, a song of rage and sadness even as she watched it disappear in an explosion that erased it down to the last molecule.

“Yes,” Klaus agreed. “But by rescuing Liz, you allowed the rest of us to find our freedom.” A lowering of his lashes, charm in every word. “I suppose that means you’ve saved me twice.”

For a long moment their gaze held, and the room felt several degrees too warm. It had been Klaus’ hands who had caught her when she had staggered at the weight of her mother. Klaus who had told her to go, as the screams around them had grown in fever pitch as the fires Kol had set to burn began to consume houses. 

Clearing her throat, Caroline shook her head. “If you killed Ester that debt is even. But what does any of this have to do with you escaping that planet and pissing off enough people you got tossed into Titan? Stop avoiding my questions.”

Another flash of teeth, a deliberate god behind his eyes. “And where have you been all these years, Caroline?”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.”

Hand sliding to her hip, Caroline glared. “What do you mean? Space is a big place.”

“You’re not an easy woman to find,” Klaus said casually. “Even when one knows what to look for.”

Unexpectedly, her heart jolted into her throat. “You shouldn’t have been looking for me at all.”

The dip of the crease of his cheeks, the curve of his smile were all predatory. “No?”

“My mother paid her debts,” Caroline said bitterly, chin lifting. “I owe you nothing.”

“No,” he repeated, voice softening. “You do not. I believe if anything, if what you say is true, I owe you.”

Her gaze narrowed, but his eyes didn’t waver from hers. Motioning towards the pad on the table in front of him, she firmed her words. She was done discussing her mom. “I bet Titan’s food sucked. I’ll find you an energy bar while you read that report.”

She turned her back to him, and it itched along her spine. But even a werewolf couldn’t get a clean jump on her in her own ship and to flinch now would be to lose ground. Digging through the supplies they kept for emergencies, she found a shirt that would probably fit with something like regret. Another drawer for one of Bonnie’s stashed meal replacements, and she walked over and set them both in front of him. 

For a moment, she imagined she could feel the heat radiating from his skin, even with the table between them. She shook the thought off, ignoring the way she could almost pick out the scent of his skin beneath the sterility of the prison smell. Klaus, for his part, had done as she said and was looking at the data pad, the full line of his mouth pressed into a thin line. 

“You’re sure this is accurate?”

“Bonnie doesn’t make mistakes,” Caroline said. “Not about this. And neither do I.”

“Why show this to me?”

She tipped her head and studied him. Considered the words she wanted to say. “Titan is full of the echoes of old ghosts. The kind humans cannot see, even in the black. The kind that skitter along nerves, that flicker with the hum of an engine, that race across a tablet screen in the shape of quick anomalies and distortions. What that station swallows, it keeps.”

There was no judgement in Klaus’ eyes at her reminder of her alien blood, the gifts that left her far more integrated into technology that should be possible. Tech Witch. If only it was so simple. 

“So you’ve said.”

“So I did.”

Those brilliant eyes narrowed. “Tell me, love. Your people avoid human space. Yet, here you are. Why?”

Her lips twisted. What few of them were left. “We avoid humanity for good reason. We… the best way to put it is we leave behind our own echoes, and too many… well, this ship would swallow its enemies too. Titan would never allow that sort of integration, but they fear it. What it could become.”

“Titan has no consciousness, no knowing.” Klaus said, as if he’d been prepared for what she would admit. “It’s halls are lined with human nightmares, not the kind your people give shape to.”

“Humanity has never been so simple.” Caroline returned. “The remnants of my people… they litter empty colonies like broken alters. What humanity tries to do with those bits and pieces could never be allowed on earth, could never be allowed to be seen as anything but human invention.”

“Nanotechnology is not new.” He pointed out, referencing the report she’d given him to read, the details Bonnie had included for him. So he could understand. “Humanity has been experimenting with improving vaccinations and healing for more generations than have passed since your people’s first contact. Even in the black, the science of it has trickled out into space. Improved healing, improved health, longer life spans as organs stop failing quite so quickly.”

“What we suspect that they have injected you with is not so simple.” She gave him a brief smile, barely more than the bitter curve of her lips. “Over the last twenty years, we’ve discovered that the scientists on Titan have been less than satisfied with the dozens of prisoners that earth sends them each year as experiments. They’ve turned their eyes towards slavers, towards their own people when it suits them. I can’t imagine how delighted they’d have been, to have found themselves in the position of having a werewolf in their grip. Whatever they injected you with, it’s going to be dangerous.”

Klaus ran his finger thoughtfully down the screen of the pad. “Experiments with what technology survived the fall of your people seems like a bit of an extreme jump in logic. Earth would never sanction such things as the fallout should it be proven would be terrible.”

She’d once thought the same. That had changed. Caroline held out her palm, nudged her chin towards the pad. “There is an easy way to tell. If Bonnie was right. If we’re wrong.”

A simple touch, and she would know just what part her people’s cast off ruins were being used in the torture of those Titan claimed as its own. To see what they had shoved in his veins, this man-made monster who might now carry worse sins in his blood than he knew.

In front of her, the line of his throat went taut, the cords of his throat in sudden, sharp relief. What blue had returned to his eyes disappeared under a wash of gold so potent, she felt it sizzle across her nerves. 

“Ah,” he murmured, voice dipping low and deep. “That might be more complicated than you know.”

She frowned. “Why? If they managed to inject you with their bastardized nanonites, touching you will let me confirm. Removing them is the complicated part.”

And would require help. Not something she thought the wolf would enjoy. Not when he was injured. 

“Tell me, Caroline, do you know why Earth, why the Federation, put such a strict quarantine on my home world?”

The sudden switch of topics sent warning fingers dragging down her spine. “You mean other than it being infested with witches and apparently the occasional werewolf, the two things they like to pretend don’t exist?” She wrinkled her nose. “I always assumed it was one hell of a prison planet.”

There were a few of those, scattered around the galaxies. Klaus’ homeworld had been unique in that it was beautiful, and it inhabited more than just a prison carved into an otherwise uninhabitable chunk of rock. But it was also full of horrors, and not all of them had been man made. 

He laughed softly, but there was no amusement in his eyes. “You’re not entirely wrong. But what they wished to trap there is more complicated than blood and magic.”

“Very few things are more complicated than either of those,” Caroline said carefully. “And all of them are alien in nature.”

The flicker of approval on his face shouldn’t have mattered. “Earth has mostly forsaken its children spread among the stars, but not all survivors consider themselves lost. My mother certainly didn’t.”

“Your mother was a fanatic.”

A tip of his head in casual agreement. “My grandmother called it an artifact, my mother thought it was a map. My father knew it for the danger it was, and it cost him his life.” He gave a careful shrug of his shoulder. “The werewolf homeworlds have long since been thought to be lost, though most people believe their Armadas must disappear to somewhere. Esther sought to change that.”

“The werewolf homeworlds?” Caroline repeated incredulously. “No one even knows if they truly exist, or if they do, how they came to be.”

A thoughtful glance from beneath his lashes. “So you do know the stories.”

“Yes, because they are stories.” She crossed her arms with a scoff. “It’s everyone’s favorite boogeyman bedtime tale. Particularly once their ships started to have more frequent sightings.”

“Enlighten me.”

Caroline rolled her eyes. “Of what, rumor? Urban legend? Seriously, Klaus. What could you possibly have not heard? The stories that blame witches for your existence, the gift that the black pulled from your blood? The ones that blame earth's scientists who went deep into the heart of a solar system that no longer has a name. Or my personal favorite, the ones that blame my mother’s people, though how they came to those conclusions I don’t know. They left behind experimenting on flesh and blood eons before they were destroyed. There is no fact behind any hint of a rumor that currently exists.”

“The werewolf gene is an interesting one,” Klaus murmured. “It breeds true but not always in strength. Ansel thought it had to do with our longevity, that when born on planets where it was peaceful, we didn’t need that strength.”

“Ansel?”

“My father.”

“Your…” staring at him, she struggled to find a coherent thought. It hadn’t occurred to her that Mikael couldn’t have been Klaus’ father. But perhaps it should have. Esther had been a witch, as were her children. All except one. 

“What are you saying?”

“Esther’s ambition knew no bounds,” Klaus said. “She planned to use your mother’s blood to find the werewolf homeworld, to activate the map she suspected your people had left behind. And then she hoped to conquer it. But to conquer, she needed a weapon, one she could bind with the familial bond.” Another careful movement as he rolled his shoulder. “Ansel wanted to know if having a son under the horrors of our moon would grant strength back into his line. For a while, they’re politics aligned. It was short lived, as was with most things my mother touched.”

Caroline swallowed hard at the implications of his words. That he was that weapon. That her mom was a key to finishing worlds long lost. “That’s insane.”

“Perhaps. My mother was certainly many things, and sane was not one of them. But my father.” A slow tilt of his lips, the blunt edge of his teeth barely visible. “My father was not wrong. Though he was not entirely right, based on Tyler’s pathetic existence.”

“This,” Caroline said slowly, straightening her shoulders. “Is not your home world.”

The I am not your prey, hung between them. 

His smile widened. “Esther did not expect you or your strength to defend your mother.” His wolf glimmered in jagged shards behind his eyes. “That seems to be a weakness in my family, as twice now, you have surprised me, when I know better. I’m very aware of where I stand, love.”

Strength that had eventually failed her. That had left her with nothing but the smeared remains of her family. “Why tell me this? Why bring up any of this?”

“I looked for you,” Klaus said, voice dipping into a caress that was almost a touch. “All these long years that I’ve spent among the stars. Hunted for a mention of your ship, chased every glance of gold from the corner of my gaze. And yet, when I looked for you naught, when my only thought was survival, there you were.”

Caroline’s stomach flipped at his words and she forced herself to hold his gaze. “I didn’t want to be found.” 

“So I’ve gathered.” The dryness in his tone almost wrangled a smile from her. “But finding you has never been about just want, Caroline, but need.”

She bared her teeth. “So I am just an alien to you.”

Klaus moved, a slow deliberate shift of his body to remove the barrier of the table between them. Caroline had to sink her heels into the floor to hold her position, and while he didn’t touch her, he was close enough that when he dipped his head, his breath brushed along her chin. 

“If only it was that simple.” He tipped his head, the movement strangely wolffish. “If only. You know what I am.”

Her fingernails dug into her palm as she wondered when she’d started to lose control of this conversation. “Yup. Werewolf, asshole, planet born. Big deal.”

An exhaled noise of amusement. “Alpha.”

She blinked. Blinked again. “Alpha of what? A backwater planet that eats its people regularly as it’s own wonderful world of sacrifice? Sounds awesome. Big congrats.”

A dimple creased his cheek. “You wanted to know who my enemies are, love? They are many, and varied. Earth, certainly. A number of werewolf tribes. The families of those whose son’s I left broken in my path to ruling. My inheritance from my father came with a heavy price, but it did not come without its gifts. Thankfully, the Armada did eventually see my value.”

“Armada,” she rasped. Swallowing, she tried again. “The werewolf armada. You are seriously trying to tell me you escaped your homeworld, and… what. You challenged your way right to the top of leadership? In the werewolf armada. The ships that are nearly impossible to find, that are made up of mercenary bands and other wonderful, loving people and they just let you stroll in and start killing people?”

“Yes.”

He sounded so unbelievably satisfied. “Well, clearly that didn’t stick since you ended up in the bowels of Titan.”

“Careful,” he murmured.

“Or what?” She wiggled her fingers, careful to not touch him. “You’re still on my ship, presumed alpha or not, and I can still space you. I probably should.”

An arch of his brow, though nothing about his body said he was worried about her threat. “Oh?”

Caroline gave him an annoyed look. “Have you not listened to a single thing I’ve said? Nanobites, Klaus. My people’s technology that’s been fucked about by humans into who knows what, swimming around in your bloodstream. Do you know what else they put in those things? Trackers.”

“Ah.”

“Yes, ah.” She lifted her chin. “Which brings us full circle to the original problem. I need to see exactly what they injected into you, and then Enzo and I might have to remove them, which is going to be a bitch for everyone. Otherwise dumping you on a planet to apparently contact your armada to come pick you up will mean absolutely shit. You’ll be cooling your heels on Titan in a matter of hours.”

“Enzo.” His voice turned cool, the line of his shoulders stiffening. “Who is Enzo?”

“My co-pilot,” Caroline said. “And someone I trust.”

Klaus moved, a quick shift of his weight that put his nose and mouth excruciatingly close to the skin beneath her ear. His breath was hot and damp, and she froze as he breathed deeply. “You don’t smell of him. So not lovers. Good.”

Caroline spluttered and took two steps back, cheeks hot. “That is none of your damn business.”

“I think you’ll find that is not entirely the case the moment you put your hands on me, Caroline.” His eyes met hers, and there was nothing human in the expression behind them. “You marked me decades ago.”

She straightened her spine, denial on her tongue, even as beneath her feet, her ship hummed with attention. “I did no such thing.”

His laugh echoed harshly between them and he prowled towards her, the line of his jaw set. “No? I disagree. So does my wolf. You’ve been in my blood so long, what does a mere echo of your people compare? Even the other wolves, the ones who sought my favor, who wished for my benevolence never quite dared ask for more than what I offered. They too, saw the claim you’d etched into me.”

“That’s impossible.”

An amused, indulgent glance that spoke of too many things that left her so very aware of how close he was standing to her. “Is it? You know the stories of your people as well as I do. My kind have a similar belief, though it is rare away from our worlds. Of claiming, of mating.”

Her fingertips tingled with the need to feel that uncompromising edge of his jaw and she swallowed. Tried not to think of the way her blood reacted to him, the impulsive need to help him. Mate. Impossible. “Klaus…”

His head lowered, lips lingering so close to her own. “Why did you save me?”

Caroline gave a tiny shake of her head, terrified that she’d give into the need to lean just a little forward. “I told you.”

“New boots,” Klaus murmured. “I suppose it doesn’t matter.” He straightened, and smiled, dimples on full display, cutting deep. “There is an easy way to tell. If I am right. If I am wrong.”

Her throat ran dry. 

Klaus spread his arms slowly, moving to lean back against the table. “Do your worst. Go ahead, tell me what runs beneath my skin. All of it. But, Caroline.”

She took in a deep breath, lifting her chin to meet those moon glow eyes, that daunting smile. 

“Don’t say that I didn’t warn you, love.”