#bad day love ao3

[spn-fanfic-reblog-writes]

Pairing: Arthur Ketch/Dean Winchester

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 877

Summary: Arthur finds Dean has had a bad day and will do anything he can to make his partner feel loved and desired by him. ❤️

Dedicated to my wonderful @spnfanficpond Manta Ray , @heavenssexiestangel

Arthur Ketch and Dean Winchester were an unexpected couple when people met them. The Brit and the American tended to argue, even in public, but were quite affectionate with each other. When they spoke about the other, their eyes showed how much they adored one another.

When Arthur came home one evening to an empty kitchen, it was a surprise and worried him. Dean loved to cook and bake; he was quite the natural caretaker that seemed to enjoy it. Immediately, Arthur took off his shoes and suit jacket, putting them in their usual places before he went to search for his love throughout the penthouse.

Arthur found Dean on their bed, wrapped in his gray robe with at least two fingers of whiskey and binging Dr. Sexy.

“Dean,” Arthur called

Dean hummed, questioning.

Arthur walked over to Dean’s side of the bed and put his hand over Dean’s heart. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

Dean takes a swallow of the whiskey before replying. “Bad day.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“No,” Dean replied in a monotone voice.

“Have you eaten?”

“No.”

Arthur took a deep breath trying not to show his annoyance when Dean is drinking on an empty stomach and is probably drunk.

“I’m going to order out. Do you have a preference?”

“Not hungry,” Dean stated, never taking his eyes off the television.

“How about pizza? I’ll order your favorite.”

Dean shrugged, noncommittally.

Arthur quirked a brow at his partner. He started contemplating all of Dean’s favorite foods and activities that they could do at home. He patted Dean’s chest, gently, walked away and out of the room as he ordered Dean’s favorite pizza and his own separate one to be delivered. He opened a delivery app ordering an apple pie from Dean’s favorite bakery and went into their playroom looking for the hat and boots Dean just loves him to wear as he quietly practiced his (awful attempt at) Doc Holiday accent that Dean seemed to enjoy. Arthur began to wonder if he was going overboard but last time he had an awful day at work, Dean just went all out and made the evening about him. He remembered how loved and desired he felt. He wanted to do the same for Dean.

After gathering the two pieces, he realized he needed to wear more clothes so they could eat and cuddle before any undressing would occur. He beelined for the laundry room and grabbed a pair of blue jeans and his black button down he wore when they went out to the club last weekend.

He waited downstairs in his black button down and jeans with matching socks. He was putting on the belt buckle on his belt when the doorbell rang. With a smile, he greeted the pizza delivery man and took the pizzas and signed the receipt. “Thank you,” Arthur greeted and closed the door. He was getting his boots on when his doorbell rang again. He was greeted with the smell of pie. “That was quick,” he said to the delivery woman.

“You had great timing. They just came out of the oven.”

“Oh, thank you so much!”

“Of course, Sugar. G’night.”

Arthur made sure to tip her extra for getting a hot apple pie. He was so excited that he put the hat on and stacked everything up along with forks, napkins, and a few cold water bottles before headed back to their bedroom.

“Is ther’ a Dean Winchester her’?” Arthur greeted Dean, resting his hip against the doorframe. Instantly, Dean’s attention was on him, looking him over and the food.

“Is that pie?” Dean smiled, trying to not laugh at his boyfriend.

“Apple, righ’ outta the oven from your favorite bakery.”

Dean gasped and paused the show. He scooted up, back to the headboard. Arthur was so proud of himself. Dean looked so excited to him.

“I also have dinnuh.”

Dean laughed. “Ketch, babe, stop with the accent.”

Arthur rolled his eyes and huffed, “Fine.” He walked to his side of the bed and set down the pizzas and boxed pie in the center on top of the comforter before climbing up on the bed, making sure to sit on his hip with his knees bent to show the boots off.

Dean practically purred at Arthur’s display. “You’re really pulling out all the stops tonight.”

Arthur shrugged noncommittally. “I love you.”

Dean’s face softened. “I love you too.” He leaned over, placing his hand on his cheek and kissed Arthur with fervor. Arthur hummed his approval and pulled away. “Food, Dean. Then play.”

Dean playfully pouted before reaching for the pie and a fork.

Arthur laughed. “How predictable.”

“It’s pie, man.” Dean inhaled, loudly. “Oh, Apple, how I love thee.”

Arthur laughed again. “Dean, eat it, not attempt poor poetry.”

“Hey, I’ve read Shakespeare.”

“I remember reading it to you,” Arthur said, fondly.

Dean stuck his tongue out at the man who has his heart with a small smile. He opens the pie and digs in from the center.

Arthur smiled and placed his pizza box on his lap, leaning back against the headboard. He glanced at the tv. “Which episode?”

“Um, where he cheats on Piccolo.”

“Limey bastard.” Arthur took a piece and bit into it.

“Right?”

[sunnymainecoon]

I know damn well I misunderstood the assignment but we roll, I'll understand it some day

It's killer and dust btw. If you couldn't tell. Which you probably couldn't.. forgor to say but shhh 🤫 Killers having a convo with himself..

..I kinda wanna change my url but idk to what

[bluenightfm]

sqh raising luo binghe bc the wash lady never happened bc the timeline's altered and subsequently mbj finds out or qinghua tells him (pre-established moshang) and qinghua is hmmn . freaking the fuck out bc wdym his stallion protag is a colicky newborn baby that won't go to bed unless he's rocked, swaddled, and cuddled by sqh (mobei-jun's heart shattered when baby binghe cried when sqh handed him off for a second before putting him to bed, he's still nursing his bruised ego) . this is his beloved if bloodthirsty son who is 75% cheek and 25% baby fat, it is a miracle he ever goes to his jobs when his son is so cute and tiny and why did he not write cameras into PIDW !!! no amount of portraiture would capture his sweet boy looking up at him all cute and tiny and never to be captured on camera. moshang being dads co-parenting binghe and everyone being confused bc everyone thought mobei-jun would finally marry and make qinghua consort shang but to each their own . co-parenting and then oh my god they're not even together yet are they? posing for family portraits together with romantic tension thick enough to start choking everyone out of the room. qinghua and mobei-jun looking next to dead bc binghe has never slept thru the night and sqh feels like he hasn't had a good night's rest since he transmigrated into PIDW . also maybe make it omegaverse

@coastinglove

[kybercrystals94]

Sounds Like Him

Read on Ao3 here!

Angstpril 2024 | Day 24 | Prompt 24: Ghost of You

Rated: G | Words: 435 | Summary: Wrecker and Crosshair talk about their lost brother. | Character Focus: Wrecker, Crosshair 

Wrecker groggily wakes to the sound of sure fingers typing. “Go to sleep, Tech,” he grumbles, turning over in the pull down bunk to face the wall. 

The typing stops abruptly. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you.” Crosshair’s voice. Not Tech’s. Never Tech’s. 

Tech is dead. 

Wrecker rolls to his back, stares at the bunk above him. “Sorry,” he says. 

Crosshair makes a scoffing noise. “What for? I woke you up.”

“I thought you were Tech for a second,” Wrecker says. “It just sounded…like he was here. The way you were typing. Haven’t heard typing like that since before.”

Crosshair is quiet for a few moments, and Wrecker isn’t sure he’s going to answer, and then, “Hunter types like a newborn blurrg’s first steps.” 

Wrecker barks out a surprised laugh, turning his head to look at his brother. Crosshair smirks back at him. 

“I missed you, Cross,” Wrecker says. “A whole lot.” He isn’t sure why he’s suddenly feeling sentimental, but the words need to be said. 

He misses Tech. Every day. 

But he also missed Crosshair. 

Every day.  

Crosshair blinks at him, smile dropping. He glances away. “I missed you too.” 

Wrecker sits up, ducking his head so he doesn’t hit it on the upper bunk. He leans forward, propping his elbows on his knees. “Did Omega ever tell you about Tech winning a pod race?”

A half shrug and a nod. “A little. No details, but I got the gist of it.” 

“You should’ve seen him,” Wrecker says, becoming animated. “He was the craziest racer there.” 

Crosshair chuckles. “You sound surprised.” 

“Nah,” Wrecker says. “Just proud of him.” 

His little brother hums. “I would’ve liked to see that,” Crosshair mumbles, looking down at the data pad gone idle in his lap. He pecks one finger at the screen, igniting it to life, but he doesn’t do anything else with it. “There’s a lot of things I should’ve been here for.”

Wrecker swallows, but only lets his silence agree. 

“Maybe,” Crosshair continues once the quiet between them has settled, “you can tell me what happened…with the pod race.”

Wrecker grins so big it hurts. Until this moment, he hadn’t realized how badly he’d wanted to share this story with Crosshair. All the details, even the ones he and Tech and Omega had carefully left out when reporting to Hunter and Echo. 

“Well,” Wrecker says, swinging his legs over the side of the bunk. “I’ll have to start at the beginning.” 

Crosshair rolls his eyes good-naturedly. “Well, that’s obvious,” he snarks. 

And kriff, if he doesn’t sound just like Tech when he says it. 

@the-little-moment @just-here-with-my-thoughts, less than a week left of Angstpril! But that also means less than a week until the end of the Bad Batch 😭 I'm not ready!!

And I'm posting this story before the second to last episode airs just in case it ruins me emotionally....eeeeeep!

✨Let me know if you'd like to be added to my tag list!✨

Tag List: @followthepurrgil @isthereanechoinhere96 @amorfista @mooncommlink @arctrooper69 @nagyanna424 @proteatook @ezras-left-thumb @merkitty49

[fumifooms]

I think you made me start shipping Marchil

Your posts got me thinking about their dynamic then I wrote a fic that was supposed to be platonic but midway through I realized it could actually be interpreted as romantic too and now I'm just sad about how little time they'll have together

First of all, you have a lovely icon, second, I’m so honored… I finally read Not a bad way to go and it was soo so good like. My god!!! Pre-canon is underused and you did so many interesting things with it.

It sounded like a cruel joke, that the one who needed her concern the most was also the one least interested in it.

^^^ go read it go read it

Chilchuck was drunk enough that he needed to hold onto the walls not to fall, but apparently still sober enough to remember emotional vulnerability was his worst enemy, as he made sure to avert her eyes and said: “Namari made me come talk to you ” to make it clear he wasn't being nice voluntarily.

Yeah.

“Of course I'm scared of dying.” He scoffed. Did she really think so little of him? “But if I could choose, I would want to die doing something I love, like drinking. Or maybe fucking,”

Maybe you wish you didn’t know but my new favorite HC because of this is that Chil dies yes prematurely not of liver failure though but during coitus. Especially if marchil, the thought of him busting a nut and his heart giving out makes me laugh so hard. My god. Lmao. Oh god. Lmfao. Worst day of her life

Marcille knew Chilchuck wasn't a kid, but she often struggled to take him seriously as an adult because he was just so adorable and small. In this moment, however, she saw them exactly for what they were, even if it was just a glimpse. A sheltered, naive little girl trying to tell a tired, much more experienced man how to live the rest of his life.

Standing ovation

She tried to find an explanation to give him, but she couldn't even find one for herself. Why would she miss him? He was just Chilchuck, her coworker, Chilchuck who was cold, aloof, sometimes crass, evasive, and even outright mean. He who was level headed, reliable, trustworthy, perceptive and clever. He who had the least time left, even in a best case scenario. “I guess that despite your best efforts, there's still a lot to like about you.”

This fic goes so hard, standing ovation pt 2

“I just think it's better if we don't get too close. Don't you agree?” “I… maybe” she said, uncertain as he didn't know how to feel about that. Caring about people would only hurt her in the wrong run, she knew that, but unfortunately she couldn't help it.

I looove how they can be read to be similar on this aspect. My hand clenching around my phone as I rear up to rant about Marcille and the way she does keep people at an arm’s length subconsciously again my god my goood. Obsessed with this obsessed with this, underused for marchil. Terrified of loss through death vs rejection duo I love youuu

Brilliant ending I’m in shambles. I’m not gonna spoil it

You get marchil so much you truly do. The way they mesh, the way their views on mortality clash and both soothe & bruise… He doesn’t have much time left even in best case scenario (which Mr I won’t eat well I’ll drink and smoke a lot I’ll stress all day every day is determined to not make happen) which makes it all the more meaningful for Marcille’s arc when she learns from him to finally enjoy the present moments… It’ll only be a fraction of her life, but to him he’s giving her the rest of his life. What are some decades of love worth? Worth it, surely, if nothing else

[astro-nomaly]

Chapter 2 mood

[escespace]

Comment (possible spoilers though I don't really think there is one):

This was the real ride!

There were more ups and downs at some point the story took a nosedive and I was left not knowing if we were up or down.

The humor hit the spot. I was smiling throughout both because of the beauty of some moments, the care and support everyone showed in creating that network of care. And for the ridiculous situations too! I mean such chaos (maybe not so cute) would perfectly happen in the series. This whole series of events almost fell into the category of Murphy's law and isn't that the secret of comedy?

The way Merlin managed to get his vacation is the icing on the cake, I don't know how he didn't do it before but it would definitely work in all universes. 

I love that you can see not only everything Merlin does for Arthur but for everyone, that is the kind of heart that I attributed to him, he is not perfect but what does it matter, he deserves recognition even for achieving get out of bed

Now... Arthur went through so much. My goddess! Such heartbreaking moments of vulnerability, I didn't think I would feel so empathy reading it but you described the process so meticulously. And you don't even need to be crude, there is a subtlety between the contradictions Arthur's head made and the clues he threw at himself. He was definitely on the edge, he wanted to jump, He wanted to finally have the freedom (from himself and his imposed beliefs) to love whoever he wanted. And it is reflected even when it does not explicitly say that.

Gwen, Gaius, Morgana, The Knights and especially the castle staff oh my goddess! How wonderful that you gave them time in front of the spotlight. And not only a secondary time but it was the time for each one to develop his mini story or vision.

It was so important that moment when Morgana could finally be herself in front of her closest friend, Mentor and people who saw her grow up. Because there are so many emotions involved in that one little piece

And Gwaine talking about his own feelings not only contributed to Arthur's development, but it gives more dimension to Gwaine's character and to the story itself because it adds another principle To the love they try to gather (Merthur) and it is about loving by letting go

Gwen of course in her own love of letting go and the counterpart of still wanting to contribute to the development of Camelot for a better future because canonically her first love is the people of Camelot 

And many others. Really, the inclusion of the staff not only shows a side of Arthur that I would have liked to see in the series but it gives depth to life in Camelot because it does not end with Merlin y Arthur, But there are many lives that depend on them and on which they depend. A symbiotic relationship like a good kingdom should be

I applaud how beautiful and comfortable this story is, really suitable for my day, and I also applaud how well done it is.

Chapters: 18/18 Fandom: Merlin (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin) Characters: Merlin (Merlin), Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Leon (Merlin), Percival (Merlin), Elyan (Merlin), Gwaine (Merlin), Morgana (Merlin), Gaius (Merlin), George (Merlin), Original Characters Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Codependency, Arthur Pendragon is Bad at Feelings (Merlin), Idiots in Love, Repression, Denial of Feelings, Feelings Realization, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Oblivious Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Pining Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Getting Together, Bad Parent Uther Pendragon (Merlin), Touch-Starved, Arthur Pendragon Needs a Hug (Merlin), or a hundred, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Humor, Matchmaking, Everyone Loves Merlin (Merlin), Everyone Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), making up the Medieval Europe legislation process as I go, and hoping nobody will fact check me, Good Morgana (Merlin), morgana is not evil, the only things I know about BBC Merlin are through fanfiction, I have never seen the show, canon material is only approved if it fits my story, otherwise it didn't happen, Camelot would burn without Merlin to keep it running, Secrets, Revelations, Coming Out, Inspired by Tumblr, bitsandbobsofwriting Summary:

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, the rider was lost. For want of a rider, the message was lost. For want of a message, the battle was lost. For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

 Merlin manages to wrangle a visit back to Ealdor out of Arthur by telling Arthur that he will be unable to run his kingdom on his own. After Merlin leaves on his vacation, Camelot slowly but surely falls apart to Arthur’s horror and chagrin and he realizes just how much he has come to rely on Merlin’s help.

[wyverningx]

ayyy i posted more kandreil angst 

Chapters:  2/3 Fandom: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Kevin Day/Neil Josten, Kevin Day/Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Kevin Day/Andrew Minyard Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Pining, sleeping with your best friend so you can both forget the guy you're really pining after, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, also some dumb humor, Friends With Benefits, Loss of Virginity, Miscommunication, Kissing, Neck Kissing, Neil Josten Has a Neck Fetish, Blowjobs, Edging, Emotional Constipation, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Threesome - M/M/M, set sometime in the latter half of the raven king, Bottom Neil Josten, Top Kevin Day, two brats who really need a dom tbh, Explicit Sexual Content, Angst with a Happy Ending, undiagnosed exy fetish Summary:

Kevin knows that Neil is really Nathaniel, Neil knows that Kevin is in love with Andrew, and they both know that Andrew will never be romantically available to either of them. Clearly, the only possible solution to this equation is that Neil and Kevin should start hooking up so that they can forget about who they really want to be with. After all, what's one more secret between them?

Or,

Neil propositions Kevin: why don't they drown their emotional sorrows about Andrew together?

[heyitstaytay21]

Me: it's my brother's birthday and the fourth of July, I'm going to take a break from writing and enjoy my time with him.

Also me: *becomes so consumed by an idea for a future chapter that I need to type it up in the notes app on my phone in between rounds of Mario party*

[spiritsong]

day twenty-four: blood magic

#Veilguard30 by @pavus · writing prompt

wordcount: 4.3k lavellan and solas agree to try blood magic just the once.

The sound of the village — the music slipping out from the Singing Maiden, the clanging and clashing of swords and shields, the simple chatter of daily life — began to fade as they walked deeper into the wilderness of Haven.

When all that was left was the sound of their muffled footsteps and their breathing, coupled with the cracking of branches falling from the weight of snow and the scurrying of small creatures, they continued further still. 

They needed privacy. Sylathe could imagine little worse than being happened upon by the villagers, or by Inquisition soldiers, or worst of all, Cassandra Pentaghast.

Privately, she wondered at Solas’s willingness to go along with this at all. From what little she knew of him, he seemed a level-headed and cautious man — someone who carefully weighed the consequences of all possibilities. 

When one of those possibilities was the Seeker chancing upon the Elvhen apostates secretly practicing blood magic in the woods… well. 

continue on ao3.

[expectiations]

Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor, Chapter 10 - The Love of the Doctor:

"He smiled back at her, and leaned in to give her a peck on the cheek, before leaving as quickly as he was able to, a little under seven hours later."

[beedreamscape]

(I'm in some stage of dnd grief, I need to put this into words, sorry) (SPOILERS e93)

Ha, remember when we thought Bells Hells and Crown Keepers were going to meet... something tells me they were never going to. And not just because of table capacity alone or even DM juggling.

Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, it's how it had to play out without having a super deep meaning behind, but I don't think she was being cruel for the sake of it. Aabria had an objective and it was to break the party apart. Either in plot or real-life scheduling or public reception, they couldn't continue existing.

There's also a big overlap now with Dariax, Deni$e, and Deanna (I swear, how is this not a bit...) existing in the same universe where we need either DMs and we got Opal.

Sometimes I gotta remember these beats are not accidental, they weren't summoned randomly and these aren't unplanned games. I believe what happens in-game is her doing, she's just given a point A and point B and how she makes it there is her and the players' job to figure out.

And knowing the players she has and the very limited time they were given to tie this up, she couldn't allow dicking around or skirting past the consequences of their choices and they've been pretty big choices.

Like Calamity, there was an ending we needed to reach - Dorian was going back to BH and going back alone - we just happened to trail the most tragic path possible there.

[catboy-jupiter]

ioryuugero is like. "me and the two bad bitches i pulled by being insufferable"

[kybercrystals94]

The Last Time

Read here on Ao3!

Angstpril 2024 | Day 30 | Prompt 30: The Last Time

Rated: G | Words: 1562 | Summary: “...it was the last time…” | Character Focus: Hunter, Tech, Crosshair, Wrecker, Echo

“Are you awake?” Tech’s voice asks, right at the edge of Hunter’s bunk. 

Hunter doesn’t know how anyone can sleep with the hurricane raging outside the walls. It sounds like the entire city might topple under the weight of its rampant fury. Not that Hunter’s scared. His blanket is only pulled up over his head because the flashes of lightning burn his eyes. But the thin blanket does not protect his frayed senses from the bone rattling thunder and the constant barrage of torrential rain lashing against the walls and windows. 

“I’m awake,” Hunter says, voice muffled into his fabric sanctuary.

The edge of his mattress dips as Tech sits down next to him. “Excellent. Would you like to see the weather radar I have accessed?”

No, Hunter thinks, but he hears the slight tremble in his brother’s voice. With a sigh, he leaves the small comfort of his makeshift barrier and sits up. “Sure, Tech.” 

It is the middle of their sleep cycle. Their barracks should be dark, but the incessant lightning keeps the room lit with a flickering, white light. Tech does not wait for further invitation before he scrambles the rest of the way into Hunter’s bunk, putting himself between Hunter and the wall. He props his data pad between them, the screen a mass of twisting colors. “We are here,” Tech says, pointing to a tiny blip amongst the chaos.

“What do the different colors mean?” Hunter asks. He already knows. Reading weather maps is a basic part of their training; however, he also knows that Tech finds comfort in over-explaining even the most rudimentary facts. 

Hunter becomes so engrossed in the rambled explanation of weather patterns, that he doesn’t notice the shadow prowling across the room until it speaks almost directly into his ear.  “What are you doing?”

Hunter won’t admit if his nerves also leapt bodily in surprise, but Tech startles, the small jerk of motion jarring against Hunter’s side. 

Crosshair stands there, arms crossed tightly over his chest, shoulders hiked just a little towards his ears, waiting for an answer. 

“Tech’s showing me his weather map,” Hunter says. 

Crosshair shifts his weight, sharp eyes cutting away. “I want to see when this karking storm is gonna end,” he mumbles. Like Tech, he does not wait for an invitation to clamber into the bunk. Crosshair puts himself between Tech and the wall. Hunter shifts a little to make more room, Tech tucked snugly in the middle.

Tech starts his explanation all over again, moving the data pad to rest in his lap so that all three of them can see. 

“Hey!” an indignant shout comes from across the room. There’s a loud thump, the thudding of feet running across the room. Wrecker looms over Hunter’s crowded bunk, blanket wrapped around his shoulders like a cape. “No one told me we were sharing a bunk tonight. I don’t want to be alone either!” 

“We aren’t sharing a bunk,” Tech corrects him, “I am showing Hunter and Crosshair the storm’s progress on my radar.” 

Wrecker grins. “Then I want to see too!” 

He dives into the bunk amidst shouts of protest, wedging himself into the nonexistent space between Crosshair and the wall. Hunter is nearly shoved out of his own bed, clinging to Tech’s arm to keep himself from toppling to the floor. 

“We can’t all fit!” Crosshair squawks.

“Yes, we can!” Wrecker says, sounding all too pleased with himself.

“Wrecker,” Crosshair wheezes, “your elbow is digging into my ribs.” 

“Oh, sorry,” Wrecker says. 

Another pause. 

“Wrecker, your elbow is still digging into my ribs.”

“I know, but I’m really comfortable,” Wrecker sighs.

Tech huffs. “At least one of us is.” 

Hunter is halfway off the bunk. “We can make this work,” he says, “but not like this.” He drops to the floor and stands up. 

“How?” Crosshair asks. 

“Sideways,” Hunter says. “Now move.” 

“We’re too tall to fit sideways,” Tech points out. 

“Do you want to share my bunk or not?” Hunter asks. 

At that, his brothers don’t argue, quickly rearranging themselves. Sitting up as they had been, their feet - with the exception of Wrecker - come just to the edge of the thin mattress. They leave space for Hunter between the head of the bed and Tech. Hunter climbs into his allocated spot, and they situate his and Wrecker’s blankets over all four of them. 

“Now,” Tech says, taking out his data pad. “Shall I start again?” 

They listen to Tech talk about the storm, hardly noticing the stark flashes of lightning or the grumbling of the thunder or the endless onslaught of rain, until one by one they fall asleep. 

But it is the last time the four share a bunk. 

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

"Stop looking at my cards!” Wrecker cries, holding his splay of cards against his chest.  

Crosshair scoffs, sitting back. “I would if you’d stop waving them directly in my face.”  

“Maybe if you stayed on your side of the table...”  

“Can we play just one game without an argument?” Hunter asks, the patience in his voice becoming transparently thin. 

A brief moment of silence. Wrecker puts down a card. 

“Wrecker, that is an illegal play,” Tech says.  

“Is not,” Wrecker says. 

Crosshair picks up the card and flicks it back at Wrecker. “Is so. Take it back.” 

Wrecker grumbles, but puts the card back in his hand. 

The game continues without further incident until Crosshair wins the round. 

“How did you know I was bluffing?” Tech asks as Crosshair sweeps his winnings of spare bolts and screws into his pile. 

Crosshair grins. “You’ve got a tell.” 

“Really? What is it?” Wrecker asks eagerly, squinting at Tech. 

Tech rolls his eyes, gathering the cards to shuffle. “I do not have a tell.” 

“He does,” Crosshair says to Wrecker, ignoring Tech, “but I’m not going to give it away. It’s my strategy. He counts cards, and I read his tells.” 

Hunter groans. “Tech…” 

“That is not cheating!” Tech cries, indignant. 

“With your enhancement…” 

“Now wait a minute–” 

“Yeah! Using enhancements is cheating!” Wrecker declares. 

Tech huffs. “Then Crosshair shouldn’t be able to read my tells,” he says, then adds, glancing at Wrecker, “not that I have any.” 

“How the kark am I supposed to play then? Blindfolded?” Crosshair cries. 

Tech shrugs indifferently. “If necessary.” 

The table erupts in a tangle of arguments, rational and irrational alike. 

It is the last time they play cards before Echo joins the Batch. 

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

“Here we are,” Hunter says cheerfully, stepping into the clearing and removing his helmet. He takes a deep breath, enjoying the inhalation of pure air, rich with the scents of primitive wilderness. The only electromagnetic signals his senses can pick up are from the Marauder an hour’s march away, and the faint output of Tech’s data pad and their gear. 

“If by here you mean the middle of nowhere, then you are correct,” Tech grumbles, shrugging out of his pack and putting it against a tree. 

“It was Hunter’s turn to pick our shore leave,” Echo says diplomatically. “So middle of nowhere it is.” 

“I like it!” Wrecker booms, scaring away a bird that had been watching them from a nearby branch. “We haven’t been camping in ages!” 

Crosshair sighs. “What do you call what we just did on our last mission?”

“Just ‘cause we had to sleep outside doesn’t mean it was camping,” Wrecker says. “Camping means we have a campfire and don’t have to worry about getting our heads shot off by clankers.” 

“Now we just have to worry about our heads being bitten off by wild animals,” Crosshair retorts. 

Tech immediately cuts in. “There are no predators on this planet capable of such a feat. I made sure of it.” 

“See? I feel safer already.” Echo chuckles, pulling off his helmet and grinning at Hunter. “I think I’m gonna like this shore leave. We’ll have some peace and quiet if we can get these two to quit their whining,” he says, nodding at Crosshair and Tech. 

Echo receives twin expressions of indignation in response. 

However, that night, around the crackling warmth of the campfire, the complaints of the early afternoon are forgotten. The soft sounds of nighttime embrace them, soothing chaotic nature for something tranquil. They watch the stars overhead as things unreachable, winking pinpricks of light against a velvety, black canopy of sky. 

Hunter takes first watch, eager to enjoy the serenity they’ve found. Crosshair comes to sit next to him once their brothers have fallen asleep. He bumps his shoulder against the Sargeant’s, and Hunter nudges him back. They don’t speak for long, peaceful minutes, appreciating one another’s quiet company. 

“Do you think we could live like this? After the war?” Hunter asks at last, voice hushed. 

Crosshair doesn’t answer right away, leaning forward and bracing his forearms on his knees, watching the flames of the fire dance and spark. “We’re soldiers,” he says, “we don’t know anything but war.” 

“We could learn,” Hunter says. “Adapt.”

Crosshair chuckles. “I’m always up for a challenge.”

It is the last time they have shore leave before their mission to Kaller. 

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

Hunter tries to remember the last words he said to Omega.

The last meaningful words. 

The last words she might remember him by. 

In case this mission goes wrong.

In case it was the last time he ever saw her. 

But he can’t remember. 

END

That's a wrap! [[On the eve of the Bad Batch series finale too!! 🥲]] 30 angsty prompts fulfilled in 30 days! I am honored to have gotten to collaborate alongside the endlessly talented @the-little-moment and @just-here-with-my-thoughts this month!

A master list post is coming soon with links to all 30 stories/chapters completed this month! So keep an eye out for that ☺️

Happy last Bad Batch eve, my lovelies! **sob**

✨Let me know if you'd like to be added to my tag list!✨

Tag List: @followthepurrgil @isthereanechoinhere96 @amorfista @mooncommlink @arctrooper69 @nagyanna424 @proteatook @ezras-left-thumb @maeashryver @merkitty49

[spankysparkles]

Chapter 1 of: Iris Messaging = Dangerous-- A Solangelo Story OUT NOW!! 🚨 Trigger Warning: implied rape, non/con, underage. 🚨 Nico and Will realize the major downside of Iris-messaging; even when you don't want to be called or when you aren't expecting a call, anyone can call you and see you immediately. And, Nico starts having weird dreams, possibly related to the situations he's experienced or is experiencing in real life? Read it from me on Wattpad here:

Read it from my co-author emonemo on AO3 here:

[mkalodeas]

OLD BRAINROT ALERT BUT TECHNICALLY NEW BECAUSE I HAVEN'T POSTED ABOUT IT BEFORE!!!

CRI

THEY KISSED BUT AT WHAT COST

Everything

It cost everything

IvanTill my Roman Empire