#ben protection squad

[ginerva-mollyweasley]

benny protection squad 🥰🥹

why is this somehow so cute?

[asexual-squidward]

Just saw a post claiming Ben was abusive to Alex and treated her like a possession he owned and ooooooh the self-restraint-

He wasn’t the greatest father to her as a rebellious teenager (they clashed heads a lot), but you can tear my headcanon of devoted single-father Ben from my cold dead hands.

That deleted scene where he switches from scary Others boss to ‘please don’t call me that’ diplomatic parent is so funny but also says a lot about his parenting style.

[dark-elf-writes]

Pretty sure the first got eaten by tumblr, cuz of course, but I absolutely adore Gai being Mr. Turtle!!!

It immediately made me think of Kakashi dropping by the protection squad with a new Jonin vest, which looks bigger and bulkier since he hasn’t broken it in yet. But before he could even say anything, naruto whispers Mrs. Turtle and Kakashi’s will to live abandons him faster than his family could die.

Better yet he’s out with the other Jonin when Naruto spots him.

Guy is right behind him and hears Naruto say it. Kakashi just kind of lays in the dirt and waits to die while Guy screams about youth and his desire to make an honest man out of Kakashi even though they had 100% not been dating before this very moment. (Is this how people started dating? This kind of dramatic reveal of feelings was pretty popular in the books. And if he was entirely honest with himself, Guy wasn’t that bad to be around.)

Genma is laughing so hard Kakashi is pretty sure he’s going to crack a rib. It would serve the bastard right. Asuma, recently returned to village, is right next to him, cigarette forgotten as he howls with laughter. Kakashi just wished one of them had been kind enough to murder him before they started delighting in his pain.

Fucking sadistic Shinobi

[intimidating-fettuccine]

I love ur teen reader content and since reqs are open, I’d like to ask if we could get Jeff, Liu and Ben being big brother figures to a teen reader who’s struggling with depression/taking care of themselves? I love ur blog and I hope you have a great timezone :p

I always love writing big brother content <3 I hope you also have a great timezone! I did combine Jeff and Liu since they themselves are brothers and they would definitely work together, I hope that's okay

Jeff/Liu:

The super protection squad. Jeff and Liu are very caring and understanding of both depression and not being able to take care of themselves sometimes, so they're honestly quite helpful as older brother figures for you. They sort of work as a tag team, where they alternate having one of them helping you with day to day things and the other one just spending time with you to try and cheer you up and do things with you to take your mind off of things. Jeff is the best at helping you care for yourself, as he's really good at cooking good food and making sure that you're eating it, he makes sure you're drinking water, he does his best to help you make sure you're showering (but if that is something that is a big struggle, he also helps with getting you cleaning wipes and making sure you're using them). He's used to not being able to take care of himself at certain periods, so he uses all of the various things that were helpful for him to try and be helpful with you. Liu is generally the best at being a comforting presence and getting a smile onto your face. He'll sit outside with you or go for walks when it's nice out so you can get fresh air, he'll watch things you enjoy with you so you can still enjoy those things, or he'll take you out to eat some yummy foods, and he always stops and gets ice cream with you because ice cream is awesome. Liu has a very comforting and calming presence, and it's hard to feel stressed when you're around him, he's very good at giving advice and helping you talk through things, so he makes a very good brother figure and is very helpful when you're going through things and need some help. It's funny to try and watch them both help you at the same time because Liu will intentionally tease Jeff the whole time and do the opposite of what Jeff says to make you laugh, and Jeff will play along at first but then they end up actually bickering which is even more humorous, and it always halts their disagreements when they finally get a laugh out of you. They both take very good care of you and do a lot to help get you out of any very big depressive ruts.

BEN:

BEN....... BEN is good at giving people advice and a comforting presence, helping them through depression, which is a little ironic in his mind because BEN's solutions to his own depression are to slap a lid on it and pretend it's not actually happening so he doesn't have to worry about it. With you, though, he tries his best. I know I mentioned that Jeff is pretty good at helping with cleanliness, but BEN is even better at it. With BEN's extreme fear of water, he struggles to take showers even when he isn't depressed, so he has mastered low-effort showers and cleanliness, and he's a very good help in that department, whether it's helpful tips for washing your hair or products that are best for when you just can't take a shower. If he can help you actually get into the shower, BEN will just chill in your phone and talk to you through it while you're in there so you don't have to be alone and it's easier for you to do things when you have his company. BEN is not good at cooking, but he is good at pestering others to cook for you, so you don't have to worry about not having food to eat, and he always makes sure you're drinking water and probably does silly little check ins to make sure you're drinking it by calling himself the water police or something. I can see him getting you a bunch of soft blankets and plushies so you can always be very comfortable if you're in a depression nest era, and he'll get you good snacks to keep on your dresser so if you just really can't get out of bed to eat you can have something right there to make sure you're eating something at all. He'll send you silly little memes and encouragements throughout the day when you're apart so he can try and cheer you up in any way, and he's good at keeping your mind off of anything that's been bugging you. He's also your best gamer buddy and will play games with you so you can spend time together and have something to look forward to every day. I feel like he'd make a Minecraft world with you so both of you can play it together and have a world to progress in every day so you're still able to feel like you're accomplishing things when it feels like you're unable to accomplish anything in real life. BEN is very good at looking out for you throughout the day and reminding you that you're still making improvements every single day.

[cheruv-ii]

Spoilers under cut again

Thisthis, I don't think they'll straight up run INTO Brooklynn until at LEAD home run of the season, if not a possible s3, they're most likely gonna find out through an outside source.

As for Ben, I feel like a lot of people are treating him like he wasn't??? Also mourning a friend???? Like he's in SHOCK more than likely, like ANYONE would be after finding out their dead friend is actually alive and in some creepy organization. They're putting SO MUCH on Ben's shoulders just because he happened to see a TINY glimpse of her in a video, like thats a HUGE emotional burden.

As I said, to be making harsh judgements on characters before we even have the season out is crazy, just wait til oct 17th guys 😭

My thought's on the "Ben Situation"

(Obvious spoilers for the trailer below the cut)

Okay, the Ben situation, with him knowing about Brooklynnn being alive, I think y'all are going a LIIITTLE too hard on him rn, like I've seen people saying they're gonna drop him as a fave character and I'm like??? We only have the trailer kets breathe for a moment.

Anyways, based on clothing, it looks like it's going to be in the first few episodes, I'm kinda betting second or third, and with him only finding out at the END of episode 1, that doesn't leave a lot of time between things, unless they do a pretty major timeskip, which I doubt. It doesn't seem like it's going to be a conscious decision where he just- chooses not to tell them because why not, it feels like it'll be a very stress/fear based decision, which is fair!

Think about it, your friend has been dead for 6-9 months, you just found out they were targetted due to possible illegal activity, and now you're in an unknown area to find out/fix what happened, then you find out they're actually alive and in some dino ecoterrorism group, that's not gonna be easy to tell people! Especially with having no proof thanks to the phone being dead, he has no way to ACTUALLY show Brooklynn is alive, honestly I feel like either way someone would've been mad at him, it honestly would've made sense if Kenji straight up didn't believe him and got mad at him for "making shit up".

Overall, it just seems like an overall garbage situation for Ben, on one hand he could tell everyone without proof and risk being seen as literally insane, and on the other hand he could not tell them and let them find out themselves, but not be trusted by them for who knows how long, neither situation is good. Ntm just the mental block of telling people things like that, like y'all cannot tell me you haven't had moments where logically you SHOULD be telling someone something but fear stops you.

I just think we should let the season come out before we make any major judgments on characters, and that goes for ALL of them (I'm looking directly at Brooklynn)

(Also, it looks like Ben and Kenji seem to be somewhat okay after the fight, so I don't think Kenji is just gonna straight up hate Ben the whole season)

[falling-star-cygnus]

Hiiiiiiii, do you have any hc about the cunning hares interactig with other factions?? Ö (btw I do have like, 3 pages done of the comic-thing I asked permission about, would you like to see them :3? I know It's been a while since then, but I'm a slow artist tbh xD)

AHDJSBEHABWBA FUCK YES I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THEM OML [formatting’s gonna be a wee bit different bc my trusty computer will be unavailable to me until wednesday]

i’m a slow artist too dw dw, i bet these pages are amazing

As for Hare Headcanons pt.4~ it’s definitely something i’ve thought about. sooo just for u, here it is <3 <3 <3 -> Masterlist

Victoria Housekeeping:

Corin’s an Honorary Hare [post here]

Rina’s bangboos absolutely LOVE Billy, and they hover over his shoulders whenever the two team up to give him a little power boost [the android gets really tired afterwards though, bc they end up kinda subconsciously feeding off his energy in return]

Lycaon teaches Nekomata how to get more power behind her kicks

Belobog Heavy Industries:

Anton and Billy are BESTIES [like the kind you’d look at and raise an 🏳️‍🌈? eyebrow at] Grace is insanely jealous that the mechanical wonder that is Billy prefers to hang out with her coworker instead of her [but she’s happy Anton has a friend outside of work more than anything else]

Ben Bigger lets Anby and Nekomata hang and swing from his arms whenever they come by

Koleda and Nicole bond over their teams being full of reckless and eccentric dum dums [and duly ignore their own reckless dum dum habits]

PubSec:

They run.

Section 6:

It’s rare that they cross paths in the Hollows, but when it DOES happen: Miyabi is Anby and Nekomata’s favorite [they bombard her with questions and praise]

Nicole bribes Yanagi into not reporting the Hares’…. less than legal activities..

Billy carries Soukaku on his shoulders and runs her around whatever area the two factions meet in [they’re truly terrifying when they team up in battle though]

Sons of Calydon:

The Cunning Hare dames are very protective of their resident android when it comes to these guys [they’re quietly worried that Billy will leave them to rejoin his old team]

Burnice and Lighter have hoards of pictures of every little thing Billy did when he was a Son and they show them off like embarrassing grandparents at EVERY opportunity [Billy is MORTIFIED]

Caesar makes sure to let Nicole know she’s doing a great of leading the Hares

Random Play:

BESTIE SQUADDDDD

They have movie nights every few weeks when their schedules align

If you ever see a Hare out and about, chances are they dragged one of the siblings out with them

and i’ll throw this one in since she’s all by her lonesome in the Obol Squad: Soldier 11 is like that cryptid you see in the middle of the night -> no Hare knows where she’ll show up, or when, but it’s become habit to just- toss her a snack and continue on their way

[agendabymooner]

✦ 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 !!! 𝐥𝐧𝟒 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 ✦

summary: hannah-sue ‘honey’ lewis is so much like her sideman brother with the exception of the fact that she didn’t watch formula one as much as she used to back when she had her crush on mercedes driver michael schumacher in 2010.

lando norris never considered anything a miracle, but when he found out that his youtuber crush was somewhere in his party on the verge of passing out, he couldn’t help but label this unfortunate event as a work of an angel.

content warning: social anxiety, mentions of alcohol + nicotine consumption, use of explicit language, humour (possibly more mature), formula one x sidemen content (HEAVY ON FORMULA ONE THAN YOUTUBE UK), chatfic + social media post. more content warning to be added.

(SET ON 2022)

masterlist

note: lemme cook for a little 😮‍💨 i watch a lot of sidemen and the fact that they know a lot of f1 (and willne’s literally friends with lando) just gave me hopes on a crossover

⎯ 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓 (𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰)

●•●•● 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐀𝐇-𝐒𝐔𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐖𝐈𝐒 aka honey-sue: DISASTER SISTER. youtuber (50 million views in her crossbar challenge video against her brother — who had a 71 million views on his sidemen one) known for being the less problematic and funniest counterpart of wroetoshaw. had the fattest crush on michael schumacher back when he drove for mercedes now she has her eyes on his carbon copy (only for a short while). despite being funny and foul mouthed on her videos, she can’t help but dislike socializing and attending parties.

●•●•● 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐎 𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐒 ⁴: DISASTER SIMP. has had a crush on honey sue since she started doing some youtube videos in 2018 with the sidemen. he isn’t being nice to get closer — he just didn’t want her to be uncomfortable around him and his friends. he should’ve ended the party as soon as the disaster happened.

●•●•● 𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐃𝐒: DISASTER PROTECTIVE MEN. all of them have collaborated with honey-sue one way or another — but mostly under the main channel of sidemen.

●•●•● 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍

𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐋𝐄𝐖𝐈𝐒 aka wroetoshaw: only a year older than honey-sue. no, he loves him not in a guernsey way. stop making those jokes about them. he only means well.

𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐉𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐍𝐉𝐈 aka ksi: has made it a mission to buy honey-sue anything she wants after she confronted him about being called a sket in the wroetoshaw diss track. doesn’t even bother to fuck around and find out with her anymore.

●•●•● 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐅 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅: british youtubers willne, theburntchip, calfreezy, beta squad, yung filly, quadrant (ria bish + max fewtrell), nella rose, harry pinero, johnny carey

●•●•● 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐔𝐋𝐀 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒: DISASTER GRID AND SEBASTIAN VETTEL (SOME HAVE DISASTER STRATEGIES). everyone are set on making the girl feel welcomed and comfortable as they found out that lando is set on winning her heart. alex albon definitely knows who she is as he found a storage box full of her merch once in lando’s bedroom. lando just hopes they don’t fuck things up for him.

⎯ 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 (𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨)

every summertime ; niki

crush ; tessa violet

striptease ; carwash

late night talking ; harry styles

pretty lips ; winehouse

honey ; samia ft. maya hawke

you don’t have to be alone ; summerdrive

she way out ; the 1975

i’m in love with you ; the 1975

when i met you ; apo hiking society

loverboy ; a-wall

leaves ; ben&ben

bad texter ; ryan woods

last friday night (tgif) ; katy perry

why can’t we be friends ; the academic

hey barbara ; iv of spades

take a chance on me ; abba

she’s so high ; tal bachman

flight ; postcard boy

fall ; ben&ben

i broke my neck when i fell for you ; remy

sunkissed ; khai dreams

4ever ; lany

maybe the night ; ben&ben

[planetcleer]

anyway regarding modern day losers club and friday nights!!!!

mike and ben both play football and are, respectively, derry high's star quarterback and best offensive lineman (and help lead the varsity team to three state championships!!!) and are super tight w the rest of the team

eddie obviously joins the cheer squad freshman year, the first boy in derry high history, after being dared on a whim by richie, and is instantly like?? REALLY into it, so he sticks with it all four years and eventually becomes co-captain. he's also fucking adored by the girls on the squad and is one of the flyers lmao

the rest of the losers have their own resident spot in the student section of the bleachers that no one dares touch, and they all pile into richie’s or bill’s car to travel to away games

stan pretends not to be into it at first but he rivals richie in sheer volume every time the beavers score. he also crochets matching scarves and hats for everyone, and is always loaded with snacks and hand warmers

richie doesn't actually sit in the bleachers, like, 98% of the time. you can find him hanging off the railing flirting with eddie at almost any given moment, and standing on the middle rung leading the student section in cheers, which is wild bc he generally has zero school pride

bev gets really into face painting and sits all of them down before games to cover them in paint and glitter. sometimes she ropes bill in to paint remarkably intricate cartoon beavers on their cheeks (richie makes jokes about it being the closest he’ll ever get to one to which no one high fives him)

bill is generally pretty quiet and attentive during the games, bc he writes for the school paper and also does sketches (think courtroom sketches lmao) for it, but he and bev will fully scream at the top of their at the refs for letting shit slide w the other team or calling stupid penalties

eddie is super protective over ben and mike. he's prone to stomping out to the field in the middle of the game to chew tf out of a rival player for tackling mike too roughly or trying to talk shit/start a fight w ben between plays. richie LIVES for this (“rock his shit eds!!!! get his ass!!!!!!!”) and mike & ben have learned by now just to let it happen but do always post up and have his back. one of the guys does shove eddie once and eddie makes a show of falling down and screaming his head off until he’s benched, and when he sees him again after the game he just winks and blows a kiss at him

the losers will make an appearance at the house party of choice after every game w the rest of the team/squad but they have their own tradition of going to the 24hr diner in town and cramming into the corner booth in the back and then all sleeping over at one of their houses

bonus unrelated headcanons:

richie is a drama/theater kid and literally ROCKS it, isn’t as big a fan of the musicals but still does really well, prefers the straight plays and improv club (same loser energy brought to his shows)

stan is either a mathlete or on the debate team and also is on the swim team!! (same loser energy brought to his meets)

bill runs track and cross country (same loser energy brought to his meets)

mike also writes for the school paper, he does a weekly history column, he and bill spend a lottt of time together working on their articles

eddie starts wearing makeup to games freshman year for fun but ends up really loving it, bev buys him his first palette, brush set, etc etc that christmas and they practice together, and eventually he starts leaning into a more fully femme style. he also stops gelling his hair (bless)

[poison-marshmellow]

Loui doesn’t need any more trauma-

Hey WTTTblr :)

Yes I’m making y’all choose I’m so nice :>

[cipheress-to-k-pop]

Yin and Yang Pt. 3

Pairing: Ben Tennyson x Reader

Warnings: Torture

Word Count: 3.0k words

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 Part 5

A/N: If I'm being completely honest, I'm not feeling that satisfied with this oneshot but it's completely fine. Part 1 of Y&Y was a oneshot that I really put a lot of effort into writing but part 2 and 3 were kind of just self-indulgent strike of the moment passion fics which I shouldn't be finding guilty about. But anyway I still hope you guys enjoy it. Hopefully I will be writing a part 4 because I just love their dynamic so much in this series even though Ben is very OOC lmao.

You crouched down behind a stack of crates, plasma gun clutched tightly in your hand and ducked your head forward, only to be met with a wall directly in your line of vision.

Turning your neck, you made eye contact with the plumber across from you, hidden behind a pillar and held out your hand, asking him in sign if he was able to count the number of victims and criminals.

This mission was one that your squad had been working on for 4 months. A huge trafficking ring that you had managed to track onto their Megacruiser Spaceship.

Most of your squad had been caught up in the hull, fighting off soldiers and freeing the victims while you and another proctor made your way to the front of the ship.

You had already disabled the escape pods on the ship so if they wanted to escape they'd be heading for the docking bay to find a small ship to board.

Proctor Drax held 5 fingers up and then 8 and you sighed; 5 hostages and 8 captors. There was no way the two of you would be able to take all of them down while protecting the hostages.

You pressed down on your plumbers badge, signaling the rest of your squad that you'd require some backup.

You lost hope however, when they began to approach the ship. If you didn't do something to take them down now, there's no telling what they would do to the hostages.

Drax nodded at you and you ran out from behind the crates. Aiming the gun for the ships propulsion jets, you tried to damage them as much as you could to prevent them from attempting to take off.

You were able to damage 3 out of 4 ships before your opponents began charging for you. Your partner and you fought hard, keeping the fight away from the victims.

"Keep back! There are other agents coming, they'll help you!" You shouted, ushering them toward the door but you froze when one of them pulled out a weapon.

They were hostages. Why weren't their hands bound?"

"It's an ambush!" You cried, just in time for them to swing and land a hit against your skull. You gasped, feeling excruciating pain explode through your head, the taste of blood invading your mouth when you bit down on your tongue.

The world began leaning and you hit the ground, vision going black.

***

You grunted in pain as he grabbed your hair, punching you so hard you felt blood crawl up your throat. You panted in exhaustion. Your body was so weak, you could feel it going limp but every time your neck went slack, the painful grip on your hair would give you just enough stimulation to keep from going unconscious.

"Aw, looks like she's going to faint again. Can't have that." The man smirked before dunking your head into a barrel of cold water.

You gasped at the temperature shock, water invading your nostrils and throat until you were yanked out. You spluttered and coughed violently until your stomach squeezed painfully and you threw up.

Proctor Drax had gone unconscious, taking his fair share of beatings like you had. They kept you awake, on the edge between consciousness and exhaustion, thinking a woman would bend to their whims faster.

"I'm getting tired of asking. Tell us the codes now." He punctuated the sentence with another punch to the stomach and you gasped for air, yelping in pain when he grabbed your hair again to keep you from going unconscious.

They wanted to codes to enter a highly classified part of the plumber's database, the codes of which were only shared with Proctor's or higher for security reasons.

It was highly protected, any hacking attempts were met with layers and layers of firewall while a program tracked their address and they were meant with squads of plumbers. If you gave them the codes, it wouldn't alert anyone, leaving them to get the information they required with no one the wiser.

You couldn't give them what they wanted. You wouldn't. Which meant when they got sick of asking, you'd be killed. Your hands were bound, you were beaten black and blue and there was no possible way for you to escape. At this point, death was a better option than the painful misery they were putting you through.

Your eyes fluttered shut, pain ripping through every muscle in your body. Your mind drifted to Ben and you felt your heart squeeze in your chest at the thought of him finding out he lost you.

Sure, your parents would miss you and mourn the loss of their only daughter but you knew the utter despair and grief that would go through Ben when he found out you were captured and killed.

You had only ever seen him get angry once, when his grandfather was threatened and it was like he was a completely different person. Was that version of Ben what awaited the world? Would he go mad trying to find who did it?

Your bottom lip quivered. You missed him.

You gritted your teeth, groaning as another punch was landed, "The codes, bitch!"

"Over my dead body." You growled.

He smirked, "I was hoping you'd say that."

***

"Is she still not answering?" Gwen asked, trying to focus on the mana surrounding your jacket. She had been trying for days now but couldn't track you down. You were way too far from her range.

"No! And I'm really starting to get worried. She said she'd be home 3 days ago." Ben panicked, ringing up your cell again while trying to track your Plumber's badge with his Omnitrix simultaneously. But he was disappointed twice when the Omnitrix gave no results and your phone went straight to voicemail.

This wasn't like you. You were ordered and punctual. If you said you were going to be there at a certain time you'd always be there 5 minutes early. And if on the off chance during a blue moon, you managed to be late, Ben always received a text explaining why.

But they had been unable to contact you for days and it was stressing him out.

"You don't even know what the mission was about?" Kevin asked and Ben sighed in frustration.

"No, she said it was confidential and that I wasn't allowed to know anything. All I know was she was supposed to be back 3 days ago!" He was pacing back and forth, biting on his thumb in nervousness.

He didn't know what to do, this was the first time someone was too far out of Gwen's range. He knew absolutely nothing about the mission and he didn't even know who to contact.

He heard the sound of rings in the background and thought Gwen was trying to call her again when he heard someone pick up.

"Hey grandpa have you heard anything from (Y/N)? She was supposed to be home 3 days ago and we're not able to reach her." Gwen asked and Ben felt his stomach sink in slight disappointment. He thought you had been the one to pick up.

"Uh, kids you might want to sit down. You're not going to like this."

The three of them shared a glance and Ben felt his stomach fall farther.

"The Plumbers have an extremely fortified database that contains a lot of sensitive information. Information that's so sensitive it would mean chaos if anyone ever got their hands on. It's so classified that no one other than Proctors or higher are able to access it."

His brows furrowed. What the hell was he talking about?

"Thing is, this database is so fortified and protected that, as a failsafe, the plumber's created a decoy and decoy codes have been given to every proctor in case of a hostage situation. And, the thing is, (Y/N)'s code was activated 4 days ago."

He stood up so quickly that his knees hit the table with a loud smack, "(Y/N)'s been taken hostage?! We have to find her!"

"Not just her, kid. Another proctor has also been abducted along with her."

"Then we have to go after them! Who was it?! Who took her?!"

There was a deep sigh on the other side, "Ben, I'm sorry but I don't know and if I did I'm not at liberty to tell you."

"What do you mean?"

"The protocol is: if the decoy codes are ever activated, the agent is abandoned. The plumbers are not allowed to go after them."

His heart felt like it had stopped in his chest and his throat closed so painfully that he felt tears bubble in the corner of his eyes. He stared at the phone sitting on the counter for a few moments, trying to understand just what his grandfather told him and wondering if he had heard him wrong.

This couldn't be happening. It was supposed to be an easy mission. You had assured him of that before you left, squashing his worries with a few reassuring words and kisses. How could this be happening?

You were taken hostage for god knows how many days and now his Grandfather was saying that he would never see you again? And that he wasn't even allowed to try looking?

It felt like the world around him was crumbling to pieces, the ground beneath him shaking as tremors went through his body.

Finally, he choked out, "W-What?"

A small nagging voice began poking the back of his head, eventually making it's way to the forefront. Gwen's magic; the magic that flowed through every living being in the universe, couldn't track you.

What if you weren't out range? But you were--?

It felt like he had gotten punched in the stomach.

"I'm sorry, kid. (Y/N) knew what she was getting into. She's on her own."

***

The floor was in absolute chaos. The members of your squad were running back and forth like headless chickens that were caught on fire. Ever since you and Proctor Drax had been captured, they had been trying to track you.

A couple of magisters had attempted to follow when you were taken but they shot them down and then lost them in an asteroid belt. Since returning back to plumber base, they were going crazy trying to track you, process the criminals that they did manage to catch and try to find the families of the victims they had rescued.

Not to mention that they were down a couple magisters since they got injured during the fight.

It was hard though, the ships that were used to abduct you and Proctor Drax were the most common in the universe, which made them impossible to track. It would be even more difficult to track you if your captors dumped the ship at any rest stop and stole another.

Which was most likely what happened.

They were stretched thin as it was but then something worse happened.

Your decoy code was activated and they were told to give up on the search for the both of you. A lot of them protested, they didn't want to give up on the search for their commanding officer but they were shut down.

They had to give up and abandon you and Proctor Drax.

Then, something even worse happened.

Legendary Ben Tennyson, the wielder of the most powerful weapon in the entire universe, came storming into their office and grabbed the closest Magister by the collar.

Ben gritted his teeth, "Where is she?! Where is (Y/N)?!"

"We're not at liberty to divulge that information, Mister Tennyson." The magister stuttered, trying to squirm out of his grip. They had all heard the stories of what he was capable of and they did not want to be on the receiving end of it.

"You're going to tell me, or I'm going to beat it out of you."

"Ben, stop!" He was pulled back by his cousin, pink threads wrapping around his body and yanking him away from the magister. He struggled in her grip, reaching for the his wrist when his hands were pinned down.

"Gwen, let go!"

"Calm down! You can't threaten them into telling you where she is!" She yelled, pulling him back into an empty room so they could talk. She still didn't let up with the restraints, keeping him firm in her constraint.

"So, what? You want me to just give up on her?! Like hell!"

"No one's saying you have to give up! But this isn't the right way!"

He snarled, gritting his teeth and thrashing in her grip, feeling part alien even though he hadn't transformed yet. This emotion was new, he had never felt anything like this before.

Pain that was so intense, so overwhelming, so painful, that he couldn't do anything other than scream and get angry. Because he knew that if he broke down, he'd never be able to put himself back together again.

"Let go, Gwen. I have to find her." He said, calming down.

"I know you do. But it's been over a week since she was taken. Her code was activated 4 days ago and we haven't heard anything from her yet. What do you think these crooks are going to do with their hostage, who is a highly deputized agent of the plumbers after they got what they wanted? Let her go?

His lip quivered and he squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head. Ben wanted to cover his ears, not wanting to listen to the cold slap of reality that Gwen was determined to give him.

"I don't want to believe it either, but we might have to come to terms that (Y/N) is de--"

"NO! SHE'S NOT DEAD!" He screamed, finally letting the tears he was holding at bay go. Once the dam had been broken, he couldn't keep it all in anymore, grief rushing out of him like tsunami waves.

The restraints holding him let go and he was reduced to a sobbing pile on the floor, holding onto his cousin in a death grip as he wept and wailed into her shoulder. She cried too, hugging him close and running her fingers through his hair to calm him down.

"I can't lose her." He whispered in between gasps but Gwen didn't reply and instead rubbed circles on his back, coaxing him to let it all out.

***

Two hours later, Gwen sat on the floor of the Plumber's satellite, Ben sleeping soundly in her lap after crying himself to a point of exhaustion. She watched him carefully, using her powers to manifest positive emotions for him, hoping he wouldn't have any nightmares.

She was just about to wake him up so they could go home when alarms starting blaring and red lights began flashing. Ben, now startled awake, and her immediately ran to the other room.

"What happened? What's going on?" Gwen asked the Magister that had previously been threatened by Ben.

"As if this day couldn't get any worse! We have an unauthorized ship flying toward us." He groaned, typing in something before he pressed and held down on the intermission button.

"Unauthorized vehicle, you are approaching Plumber's Base 2. You are not authorized to land here. Turn back now or be arrested upon landing for trespassing on restricted grounds." He spoke, voice so commanding that it was a stark contrast from the pitiful whimpers he had let out when Ben had his collar.

There was a beat of static before they received the vehicles transmission, "Don't engage. This is Proctor Drax. Have a couple officers ready to process the arrested criminals."

He didn't have to say anything else, they were all marching out of the room and toward the docking bay, with Ben following close behind them

Time seemed to slow down to a stop as he watched the ship land and his heart beating was the only sound he could hear. There was a cruel voice telling him not to get his hopes up. The fall from that much higher would only hurt more.

He swallowed painfully, watching the hatch of the door finally open and then came Proctor Drax, looking severely injured but Ben couldn't let his gaze linger on him, eyes darting instead to the figure behind him.

He waited for the figure to come out of the shadows and was once again disappointed when a handcuffed criminal made his way out of the ship. And another one in handcuffs followed him. And another.

13 criminals. All there are accounted for stalked out of the ship and towards the barrage of plumbers that were there to receive them.

And then nothing.

Ben clenched his jaw shut. Trying hard to keep himself from shedding anymore tears. He'd do that when he was in the comfort of his bedroom. He turned to leave when another figure finally limped out of the shuttle.

You looked like you had been put through hell and back, sporting a black eye and split lip, paired with a stream of blood that ran down the side of your face and then over the handprints on your neck.

You limped down the stairway, grimacing it every step you took when you froze, red-rimmed eyes meeting his own teary green.

"Ben." You breathed, your body so broken and bruised that you couldn't tell whether you were moving toward him or if he was moving closer to you.

But then it was all okay because you were caught in his arms and finally smelling the comforting scent of his deodorant. You were in so much pain, you had constantly been in so much pain for so many days that now that you were finally safe and in his grasp, you allowed yourself to shed a couple tears, burying your face into his shirt.

"Missed you. So much." You whispered shakily. He was holding you too tight, you could feel numbing pain go through your broken ribs but even then you stayed in his embrace as you heard him sob softly. He needed this just as much as you did.

"I missed you too."

You were together. Everything was in balance. Everything was okay.

Forever Taglist:

@simonsbluee

@haniscrying

@superheroesaremyjam113263

@writers-whirlwind

[inkformyblood]

celebrate the sunrise and set (CWFKB #19)

Celebratory kiss @codywanfirstkissbingo Canon Divergence - Rebel Cody, Obi-Wan doesn't die

Ben Kenobi tucks himself away, creases the name he has worn for decades along barely-there folds and places it in the bottom of the pack that he had somehow managed to keep with him from Tatooine to a rebel base. There’s a flurry of activity spilling out from the corridors, rushed footsteps heading everywhere at once, and Obi-Wan sets his back against a sturdy looking pile of crates and watches them move. The Force bleeds through his veins, warmth spiralling down his spine like a caress and he’s home and has never been further from it in the same breath. Obi-Wan looks to his left, the gesture ingrained into him and reinforced from a lifetime of expectation and disappointment when he is alone, and returns his careful sentry to the mismatched collections of ships spilling across the hangar bay. 

Some are more organised than others, spaced the regulation distance apart and Obi-Wan knows without needing to walk it heel-to-toe the exact dimensions of the bay marked out onto the floor by nothing more than a handful of stern words and a glare. Someone in this base has been trained by a clone. He won’t tear his heart into shreds anymore by thinking that the clone could be one of his men, that they could have escaped the whispered commands of the chip implanted in their head and somehow found their way here. The universe is too big to consider and his men deserve some peace after everything Obi-Wan could have protected them from. Another glance at the empty space at his side. Another breath that catches on every barely-healed wound in his soul. 

There is a group moving towards the hangar. Their footsteps echo and, for a moment, they’re in perfect unison, a wall of sound that carries as much of a presence as the men wearing the armour. Obi-Wan closes his eyes, he is old and he can be foolish for a moment, and listens to the sound of an army mobilising. Not as organised as his men but he can pretend.

“Should have let me reorganise the ships.”

That voice. 

“I know it’s an older system but it works. Less of this unorganised milling about like a group of lothcats let out into a solarium. Alpha-17 would have beaten me over the head with my own vambrace if I let my squad run around like that.”

Obi-Wan looks. He couldn’t stop himself if he tried. 

Cody looks like how Obi-Wan remembers. He’s aged, silver overrunning the black in his curls and fresh lines at the corners of his eyes and his mouth. More from sorrow than joy, Obi-Wan thinks, and likely matches the passage of time imprinted on his own features. His scar is still striking, dark despite the decades it had been since he had first received it, and there is a fresher tattoo covering his other eye, a broken red line from his scalp to his chin. His armour is piecemeal, some painted plastoid over his chest and the sheen of beskar on his vambraces, and his clothes beneath it are equally mismatched in various shades of dark brown. He’s breathtakingly beautiful even so.

“Disgraceful,” Cody continues, settling his hands on his hips before they slide down to his sides. His back is perfectly straight, the posture that Obi-Wan couldn’t believe he had forgotten about burning bright across his thoughts. How could he have forgotten anything about Cody? He loves him more than anything else in the universe and he had left him behind because of his duty. They had both known it would be a possibility, but that hadn’t made it hurt any less. 

He doesn’t know what to say.

He doesn’t know if he should say anything.

Cody seems happy here, balanced enough to grin at a teasing remark one of the pilots call over to him, to swipe at the back of another’s head as they pass in a gesture that is all showmanship and no substance, and Obi-Wan wouldn’t take this piece of stability away from him. He begins to back away, attempting to circle the edge of the crates so he would be hidden from Cody’s gaze, and his heel catches the side of the crate. It’s loud, far louder than it should be and it is just another sign that the universe wants to see him suffer that Cody looks over at him. Recognition is a quick-moving thing and Cody has always been exceptional in every regard. His eyes widen and his mouth moves in a soundless whisper of Obi-Wan’s name before he begins to move forward. Straight line, direct, and Obi-Wan braces himself for a blow. 

He isn’t expecting Cody to crash into him, wrapping his arm around Obi-Wan’s torso tight enough to break and secure enough to put him back together. For a moment, everything is right in the universe and Obi-Wan could tear the fabric of existence open and weave something new from the tattered shreds, then Cody steps away. He doesn’t move far, his palms remaining pressed to Obi-Wan’s elbows as he looks him over from head to foot before Cody glances down at his own torso. 

“I am surprised to not be stabbed,” Cody says as easily as he would comment on the weather, it looks like it will rain later, I expected you to kill me. 

Obi-Wan flexes his fingers, feeling the absence of anything in his hold, the light void of any kind of blade or a saber. He tucks his fingers beneath the curve of Cody’s vambraces, the first joints digging into the rumpled fabric and luxuriating in the warmth emitting from his skin. “I wouldn’t do that to you, love.”

“I would have.” Cody’s mouth twitches into a grimace, his lips drawn tight, and he blinks up at Obi-Wan. His brow is furrowed like he’s trying to stare into the sun, determined to push back such a fragile thing like human limitations. “Well, before. Do you— Do you know?”

“I do.” It is such a small phrase to try and encompass the forgiveness of a lifetime for his mistake, swearing himself to Cody as if he is pledging himself to the other man forever. Cody’s vambrace bites into his fingers but he doesn’t pull away, instead tucking his fingers further beneath the curved metal. It is a disadvantageous position with his hands occupied and he wouldn’t be able to defend himself if the same blank look would descend over Cody’s features again. He wouldn’t want to. 

Cody hums a noncommittal sound, shuffling closer until the tips of his boots press against Obi-Wan’s. His thumbs smooth over the sharp topography of Obi-Wan’s elbows, hollows exposed just as easily as the desert would strip flesh from bone. “I can’t believe you’re here,” Cody murmurs, his eyes dark and wavering with tears. “We should celebrate.”

“This isn’t something I wish to celebrate,” Obi-Wan answers. He should step away, stop intruding on the peace that Cody has managed to find for himself but Obi-Wan wants. He craves in a way he isn’t sure he has experienced before and he knows like he knows the twin suns will rise over Tatooine tomorrow that when he walks away from Cody again, he is going to die. His body will continue walking, his mind will continue thinking, but he will be dead. 

“Obi-Wan.” Cody moves impossibly closer, knocking Obi-Wan’s feet further apart with own, making a space for Cody to step into. “I should have died decades ago. If not from a Seppie, then from the Empire, a stray shot in a firefight, or just sheer bad luck. I should have aged into obsolescence and died like I was planned to, but I’m still here. We are still here. So I am going to celebrate every morning when I wake up and every evening when I go to sleep, every meal, and every breath because I am still here. So, please, Obi-Wan, let me celebrate with you.”

Obi-Wan swallows against the grief wrapped around his throat like a noose and nods, unable to speak. Cody raises a hand, Obi-Wan’s desperate grip moving with him, not to stop but only to hold, and cups Obi-Wan’s jaw. 

“Kiss me?” Obi-Wan murmurs, his voice ragged and ruined and so full of tentative hope. Cody nods and leans in. It’s gentle, the cautious press of his lips against Obi-Wan’s, his stubble a dull rasp against Obi-Wan’s skin, before he draws back just enough to breathe. Obi-Wan follows him, kissing him again and again and again until they’re laughing into each others embrace, tears streaming down their cheeks. 

[rose-of-oz]

𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗦 𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦

So, after some consideration, I have decided to create another new Descendants fic! This one, called Fly to Your Heart, will feature OCs who are the children of the Pixie Hollow gang from the Tinkerbell movies, who are originally meant to go to school in Pixie Hollow because it’s far away from the mainland, but wind up coming to Auradon Prep shortly before Ben’s proclamation on an outreach program set up by King Beast because he wants to improve relations with the fairies, along with one daughter of Anna and Kristoff, because I really loved those movies as a kid and I feel like they’re kind of underrated. Anyways, meet the new babies, hope you all love them as much as I do!!

(Tagging the Descendants gang: @auxiliarydetective, @ginger-grimm,

@dancingsunflowers-ocs, @ginevrastilinski-ocs, @welcometotheocverse,

and @manyfandomocs. <3)

Tiffany Bell, she/her, daughter of Tinkerbell and Terence, Uma ship, Josefine Frida Pettersen FC. A dust talent fairy, taking after her father, but definitely takes after Tink in personality - stubborn and fierce and curious, and would do anything for the people she cares about. Super excited to be able to visit Auradon with her friend group and her cousin and in full support of the VKs coming from the Isle, and is one of the first people to try and befriend the Sea Three when they also arrive. A big fat lesbian who winds up with a sort of insta-crush on Uma, and although it does take them a bit to get together they’re super cute when they do.

Priscilla “Cilla” Frost, she/her, daughter of Periwinkle, Gil ship, Sabrina Carpenter FC. A snowflake talent fairy who’s always been quieter and more withdrawn than her mom, aunt, and cousin, but is willing to go to Auradon with Tiffany because she being with her cousin makes her braver. Pretty shy and awkward and prefers to spend her time perfecting her powers and learning how to make the best snowflakes, but eventually becomes part of Tiffany’s friend group with the other Pixie Hollow kids and some of the other Auradon and villain kids. Becomes Gil’s tutor when the Sea Three first come to Auradon, and eventually falls in love with him through that.

Virgil Swift, he/him, son of Vidia, OC ship, Mark McKenna FC. A fast-flying talent like his mom, and very good at it, but not nearly as arrogant about it as her. However, he still has her intensity and absolute determination to be the best at what he does; he’s just more content to work hard and earn it. Can be a bit singleminded and too intense for some people, but also always ready to apply that to caring for and protecting his friends. First became part of the Pixie Squad through being friends with Freddie as toddlers, and though he doesn’t care much about whether he goes to Auradon or stays in Pixie Hollow he’s content to follow his friends wherever - and is especially glad about his decision when he winds up falling in love with a princess.

Rainbow “Rain” Desrosiers, she/they, daughter of Rosetta, Jane ship, Abigail Cowen FC. A fruit talent fairy with severe social anxiety who prefers to spend most of her time tucked away in a corner of their mother’s garden, tinkering with different ways to grow fruit. Not so much shy as standoffish and a bit off-putting due to her anxiety, and has a bit of a quick temper, but still has a good heart and is intensely loyal to the people they care about. Tends to be a bit awkward when interacting with the whole friend group, and only really agrees to go to Auradon because her brother is going too, but winds up becoming really good friends with Lonnie, Doug, and Jordan, and eventually becomes cool opposites attract partners with a certain fellow awkward fairy.

Ryan Desrosiers, he/him, son of Rosetta, poly Ben/Mal ship, Froy Gutierrez FC. A harvest talent who loves spending time in the fields during harvest season, but is also much more outspoken and a social butterfly than his sibling, taking more after their mom. The main hangout organizer and resident hype man of the Pixie Squad, and absolutely excited for the chance to go to Auradon and meet a bunch of new people, only to promptly get a crush on Mal when the VKs arrive. Kind of sad when she and Ben get together after the coronation, but very happy when he discovers that they both like him and want him to join their relationship. Also forms Auradon Prep’s first agricultural club, and along with Rain manages to teach all the preppy students who join a lot about harvesting and gardening.

Iris Lux, she/her, daughter of Iridessa, Doug ship, Sofia Bryant FC. A star-counting talent who, of course, is very interested in and knowledgeable about astronomy, and as a result is largely nocturnal so she can better practice her duties. The first one to start the Pixie Squad by making friends with Ryan when they were little kids, and though she enjoys living in Pixie Hollow with her mom is happy to follow her friends to Auradon. Never really gets over being sleepy during the day and energetic at night, and ends up having a lot of late-night conversations with Doug, since she gets up to count the stars and he has insomnia, and they fall in love over the course of that. A totally sweet and loyal girl who’s dedicated to her duties and works really hard to improve her talent and be a great friend, but also has a great sense of humour and isn’t afraid to be silly.

Sally Pond, she/her, daughter of Silvermist, OC ship, Lana Condor FC. Turns out to be a baking talent and not any kind of water talent like her mama, and though Silvermist loves her daughter dearly she doesn’t always know how to interact with someone so different from her. Sally is your classic bakercore girl, soft and sweet and with a love for sweets and pretty things, and above all she loves her friends and wants to make them, her mama, and her aunts proud, even if that can sometimes make her a bit of a pushover. Doesn’t love leaving her mama to go to Auradon, but is happy to if that’s what her friends want, and eventually becomes a student teacher in Auradon Prep’s home ec class because she’s the best baker in school, and also eventually falls in love with one of her best friends.

Freddie Animus, they/them, child of Fawn, OC ship (Sally’s partner), Brigette Lundy-Paine FC. An animal talent like their mom and adores conversing and playing with all the animals in Pixie Hollow, but also wants to make new animal friends beyond the ones they already have, so they jump at the chance to go to Auradon with their friends. Has been in love with Sally since they were young teenagers, but doesn’t find the strength to confess until after Maleficent’s attack at the coronation, after which they do become a really cute couple. Sarcastic and quick-witted, has a tendency to maybe not take some things as seriously as they should, but does know to take anything that concerns the people they care about. Develops a bond with Dude and becomes gossip buddies with him before he even gets spelled to be able to talk, and is honestly not super happy that they’re not the only one who can talk to him anymore.

Zane Flyer, he/him, son of Zarina and Captain Hook, Jay ship, Milo Manheim FC. A dust talent fairy who grew up in Pixie Hollow being taught the secrets of Pixie Dust Alchemy by his mom, never being told who his dad was and never really questioning it, given that not a lot of fairies who are born in the regular way rather than from a baby’s laugh have more than one parent sticking around anyway. Very loud and energetic and can be kind of annoying, so he’s not really part of the Pixie Squad but gets invited to attend Auradon Prep anyway. His mother finally tells him the truth, that Captain Hook is his father and he has half-siblings living on the Isle of the Lost, right before he departs for Auradon, and as such he decides to befriend the VKs when they arrive because he wants to try and get answers about his father and siblings, coming to fall in love with Jay and finally kissing him at Cotillon. Also eventually becomes a part of the Pixie Squad, as well as joining the tourney team and becoming unlikely friends with Chad. Incredibly talented in Pixie Dust Alchemy, and not-so-secretly loves showing his skills off.

Astrid Bjorgman, she/her, daughter of Anna and Kristoff, OC ship (Virgil’s girlfriend), Stefanie Scott FC. Crown princess of Arendelle, but secretly planning to abdicate and leave the throne to her cousin, Elsa’s son Edvin, because she’s Ben’s best friend from the time they were in diapers and would rather be the Head of Auradon’s Royal Council. Also inherited her aunt’s powers of ice and snow where her cousin didn’t, and spends a lot of time worrying about them and trying to make sure she can control them because she doesn’t want to cause a horrible storm the way her aunt accidentally did. Very quiet and serious and studious, insanely dedicated to her future job, but also has a lot of anxiety and can often push people away when she gets too in her head. Ben’s most steadfast friend, though, and and incredibly supportive of his proclamation and even ends up becoming good friends with Carlos and Evie, as well as the Pixie Squad when she winds up falling in love with Virgil.

Hope you all enjoy these new babies!! I plan to make proper intro posts for them soon enough, but until then, feel free to send in any asks you want about them!! <3

[mychoombatheroomba]

Pack Mentality

Between the Bones (Leon x GN! Reader) - Chapter 29

It may not be the fight you were all training for, but it's the one you find yourselves in. And for the first time in months, you remember how good it is to be part of a unit.

(Cross-posted from Ao3)

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter Index

CW: A fight. Like, just straight up, a group fistfight. Injuries all around (including to the Reader)

Twelve. 

Twelve opponents. 

The odds weren’t good, but when had they ever been? You’d gotten used to fighting multiple opponents. But that was the trouble - what you were used to. With Leon - hell even with the rest of your squad - it had been a game of knowns. You all knew each other’s moves. Your habits. Hell, there was even something of a uniform fighting style amongst you all. It was brutal, but it made sense. 

This, though, was just violence. Messy and savage. 

Those first few moments were chaos. Well, if you were being honest, the entire thing was. Fights with seventeen combatants were seldom orderly affairs. 

You’d felt fear, anger and then . . . then you’d been lost in the crush, in the adrenaline and familiar cold focus. In the need to get you and yours through this. 

Thin the herd. Protect my own. That was your mission. 

You would see it done. 

You came one step closer to achieving that goal when some idiot thought you weren’t paying attention. They were right to strike while you were otherwise occupied, fighting another of the Fort Benning recruits. He hadn’t counted on your awareness, honed by hours spent under Krauser’s watchful eye, you outnumbered just as you were now. The newcomer had swung a backfist at your face - one you ducked under. Your palm struck his throat first, then your elbow crunched into his nose while he’d sputtered. He went down, curling in on himself.

Eleven.

Williams and Valeria took down one of their opponents, Valeria kicking him hard into a world-shaking blow from the taller woman. 

Ten.

Your world became moves and counter moves. Evasions and maneuvering to keep yourself from being surrounded. Punches and kicks you delivered that made you feel less like a person, more a force of nature. You knocked legs out from under the men you fought. Delivered pain to their stomachs and faces and twisted their arms almost to the point of breaking. Knuckles bloodied and bruised, your body ached from the blows you hadn’t been fast enough to stop. Your opponents were no better, though. You’d given as good as you got so far, as did the rest of your squad. The trouble was the numbers. That these bastards had a pension for getting back up. Watching each other’s backs only went so far when you were surrounded and so thoroughly outnumbered. You were all better than your opponents, but they still had training. They knew how to fight. More than that, you had to account for human error. You made mistakes. 

Mistakes like Valeria leaving her flank open when she thought Williams had her covered, earning her a tackle to the ground. 

Mistakes like Alenko being just a second too late on a block.

Mistakes like you falling for a feint and feeling the now-too-familiar impact of a fist to the face. Your eye felt the compression of the blow, the pain. Your head spun, everything going unfocused for a moment. You’d be black and blue and swollen tomorrow, you knew. 

Had to get there first. 

You staggered away. Vision clearing. Guard up. A shape moved in front of you, fist raised. 

It never landed.

⧫⧫⧫

Leon pulled your would-be assailant back, arms wrapping under the man’s own from behind. Holding him in place. He looked at you from over the man’s shoulder, seeing the pain but also the determination in your eyes. Not about to waste the opportunity Leon gave you, you pushed that pain aside and gave the man your retribution. Your kick hit the man hard between the legs, but Leon imagined the haymaker that followed hurt just as bad. The man’s breath left him in a sad exhale as you drove a fist into his head, and Leon threw him to the ground. 

Nine.

Your eyes widened and Leon didn’t have time to react to the blow that came his way, the attacker rushing him seemingly out of nowhere. It caught him in the side painfully hard, and then it was your turn to be his shield. 

Rushing to Leon’s side just as he blocked another punch, you spun, kicking your leg straight to the side. Leon had come to expect power from you, but every time he saw it . . . it was almost enough to make him fall for you all over again, even in the middle of all this mess. Your kick connected with the man’s side, pushing him away. Leon took the opportunity. Two kicks, one to the side of the knee that made the man’s stance buckle, and the next a roundhouse to the head, delivered with more force than you would have expected. The soldier went down without much fanfare.

Eight.

And then, away from the rest of the fight for just a moment, Leon looked up, seeing you there. Just as bruised and bloodied as he was, and staggeringly beautiful.

But there would be time to admire you later. The moment passed quickly, and he saw his thoughts reflected in your eyes. 

Let’s get to work.

You both turned, taking in the state of affairs before you. Just in time to see Valeria take a blow to the face, blood and spit flying from her mouth. Williams answered in retaliation, but she looked bad, too. The pair were surrounded, five against two. Alenko had two of his own friends to deal with, one of whom drove him backwards until his back hit the wall of the building behind him. But as the two closed in, Alenko reached down, collecting the fine, dry dirt from the ground beneath him and throwing it up into his attackers eyes. 

The final assailant was already heading your way, pausing for a moment as he took in the sight of you and Leon, realizing that his own allies were otherwise occupied. Leon almost felt bad for the poor fucker. 

Almost. 

Then he rushed you, anyway, aiming a kick at your stomach. One he telegraphed plainly. Smaller movements, Leon thought to himself, as you easily stepped to the side. One of your arms hooked under the man’s extended leg, the other bracing at his shoulder. And with the momentum of your movement and the strength you’d earned over months and years of service, you lifted him clean off the ground . . . and then threw him down on his back. In the distance, Alenko did something similar, lunging for his temporarily blinded opponent and reaching his arms around the man’s waist. He hoisted him up, then, and slammed him down hard. Leon, though, was almost too busy watching your back to notice that. 

Seven. 

You continued on, trying to get to Valeria and Williams. The man you’d thrown tried to get up, but Leon ended that impulse with a hard kick of his own, sending the man down into the ground once more. He groaned but didn’t move to get up again. 

Six. 

Williams yelped as she was pulled off her feet, and Leon looked up just in time to see her thrown over someone’s shoulder by her arm. Even in the dim light of evening, he could still see the dust kicked up as she hit the ground. Her eyes widened, and the man who’d thrown her brought his fist hard down against her nose, breaking it. She cried out again, grasping at her face and curling in on herself. When the culprit turned, you were met with the fury-filled stare of Taylor. 

And if you were met with fury, then when he looked at you and Leon, he was met with hellfire. 

Valeria, though, pushed herself up from the ground first, charging Taylor sideways. His concentration broken, it gave you time to focus on the other four he’d been fighting alongside. Only one of which stayed to help Taylor with Valeria. The other three turned your way, advancing quickly towards you and Leon. 

And for a few moments, as the end of the fight began, Leon felt unstoppable with you at his side. You both matched your three opponents step for step, blocking and evading and punishing those moves. This may not have been the fight you two had been training for, exactly, but it was the one you found yourselves in. One that gave Leon - and no doubt you as well - deja vu. Three against the two of you. You’d fought those odds before, when you were both more unbalanced. When you didn’t know each other as thoroughly as you did now. Even without your knives, even against men who meant to do you real, true harm, you and Leon moved as one. Defending one another, creating an opening that the other could use. It was . . . well, were it not for the lingering pain in his head and knuckles, it might have almost felt good. 

Therein lay the problem, he supposed. He should have known better by now to feel such confidence in something. To let himself think he was unstoppable.  

Because as soon as the thought crossed his mind, Leon glimpsed Valeria. There was a man on top of her, pinning her down, laying blow after blow that she raised her arms desperately to block. And, seeming to think his friend had it sorted, Taylor then turned his attention away from her, stalking your way.

The brawny man was bruised, like you and Leon were, but he had the benefit of not fighting three other people. 

You were in the middle of an exchange when Leon saw him coming, and he tried to call out a warning to you. 

What he hadn’t seen was the fifth aggressor knocking Alenko down, too. Leon didn’t see him beelining towards the two of you. He only felt the devastating blow as it made contact with his face, blood splattering in the air and onto the dirt as it brought him down, his vision going hazy. 

⧫⧫⧫

“Leon!” you called, but he fell just as your opponent did. Seeing him go down coupled with the inertia of the throw you’d used to get the man you were fighting away from you provided an opportunity. 

The man you’d been fighting rolled away from you- 

Five-

-and then you felt another punch seed pain across your face. Your cheek this time, luckily, but it still made the throbbing ache already present in your skull all the worse. You raised your arms as you saw another strike incoming, surprised when you blocked it successfully . . . but a worse surprise came when you realized you were the only one left standing, with Valeria still grappling with her own adversary. 

Four of them and one of you. 

You knew how this would likely end.

But you’d be damned if you weren’t going down swinging.

So you picked the one that had attacked Leon. The one who had hurt the man you cared for. Shoved hard into the man attacking you and rushed forward. You leapt, your knee slamming hard into his chest. Trying to get them away from Leon. To give him time. To hopefully let him get up. To keep the heat off Valeria as she fought her own battle. 

You fought hard as you always did. Blocking strikes one after another, retaliating with blows of your own. It was a losing battle, but you did all you could. There was even a moment of hope as you brought a man’s face down on your knee. Hope that spurred you on . . .

Right up until pain cracked across your left side in an all too familiar spot. Your ribs twinged in agony as one of your attackers landed a punch there, and it was just enough when combined with the beating you’d already taken to stun you. 

You thought you heard someone calling your name as another blow landed across your face. You tried to stay up, you really did, catching yourself on your hands and knees. Just like you tried to move when you saw the kick coming your way. 

Instead, you screamed as it made contact with your side.

You screamed as you felt those bones that never quite healed right starting to give way as you were kicked again, forcing you onto your side at last. 

Forcing you into the dirt. 

You could only lie there, lost in the pain, so different and so familiar. The knife had hurt more - infinitely more - but this . . . 

Footsteps. Boots by your head. You looked up and saw the owner of those boots standing over you, chiseled jaw set tight as he looked down at you. Taylor looked entirely too pleased with himself, and you wondered briefly if he was going to knock out one of your teeth, too. If he would kick and beat you until your face swelled. You could only brace for that, trying to ignore the brokenness of the bones in your side enough to raise a defense.

Something shifted a ways away from you. Someone - scrambling against the dirt. 

Then Taylor was being thrown away from you, and there Leon was, facing down the impossible for you again. 

You couldn’t let him face it alone. 

It hurt. God, did it hurt to move. To push yourself up from the ground. Your ribs begged you to stay down . . . but you’d never been good at listening to your own sense of self-preservation. So, with as much of a steadying breath as you could take, you brought your arms underneath your body and slowly - agonizingly - you began to rise. 

⧫⧫⧫

He always managed to find himself in this position, didn’t he? Leon, outnumbered and alone, with only the promise of pain to look forward to. Still, he didn’t regret it. Even as his jaw ached, as blood from his nose and broken skin on his forehead spilled down his face, he fought. Because if it could spare you some pain, he would take all the blows in the world. 

So he moved the way Krauser had taught him. The way you had taught him; fast and efficient, blocking what strikes he could with his head spinning the way it was. Punches and kicks rattled his body as he defended himself, desperately looking for an opening. 

And he got one, when a small figure rushed in from the sidelines, leaping through the air with a leg extended. 

Valeria snarled as her kick landed, the unexpected force of it knocking one of Leon’s attackers aside and allowing Leon himself to finish the job with a roundhouse of his own. 

Four.

He looked to where Valeria had been struggling with her own opponent, seeing him now lying on the ground, writhing in pain and clutching at his shoulder. She’d won then, and come to help him. 

Three.

Three versus two . . . or so Leon thought it would be, because when those remaining three began closing in, there was a roar from behind him. 

And then, with a speed he’d not seen and a pain-fed rage in your eyes, you were rushing forward. The soldier you attacked didn’t have any time to react, so caught off guard by your charge, that when you grabbed the back of his knees and pulled them out from under him, he couldn’t do anything to stop it. 

Valeria huffed a little laugh, and Leon had to pull his attention away from you, in awe of the utter ferocity in your movements. They were matched when Valeria blocked a punch from one of the remaining soldiers, and the two of them began a fight of their own. 

And then it was Leon facing down Taylor once again, the fragile man who’d started all of this. 

Leon was tired. Exhausted and hurting. But he wasn’t going to back down. Not now. 

“Last chance to walk away from this,” he said, tasting his own blood as he spoke. It was more mercy than he should have given, after seeing Taylor kicking you while you were down. After he caused you so much pain. So, Leon was almost glad when the soldier shook his head.

“Like hell.” 

Leon nodded. Raised his arms. “You’re a slow learner, aren’t you?”

And finally, the end of this mess began. Taylor charged forward, and Leon met him halfway.  

⧫⧫⧫

You were in agony. Every move hurt more than the last, but you kept going - kept bringing your fists down against the man you had pinned beneath you. It was brutal, but you’d lost the part of you that cared. Buried beneath the pain of it all. 

Show no mercy.

So, once you saw the fight go out in the man you were on top of, breaking his nose beneath your fist, you clumsily got to your feet, your body protesting against it once more. 

Two.

Two left, and as you stood, you glimpsed Valeria kicking her leg up, cracking into her opponent’s jaw. Then she arced the kick back down, and her heel struck the back of the man’s head, sending him sprawling into the dust. 

One.

Taylor was the last. 

And he was facing down Leon, swinging fists with wild abandon. It hadn’t been enough in sparring, and it wasn’t enough now. 

Leon blocked a high attack, then wrapped his arm around Taylor’s. Striking his stomach once, twice, three times. Valeria rushed in then, delivering a backfist that should have made the man see stars. 

He wasn’t done, though. Idiots didn’t know when to quit. 

Leon was ready, though, when he tried to move for another attack, and so were you. Your boy, your Leon . . . were it not for the pain in your ribs, you would have smiled wide as you saw him turn over his shoulder, his leg extending out. The kick landed on Taylor’s shoulder, sending him spinning and stumbling away. Right towards you.

With a cry, you outstretched your arm and moved forward. The pain was worth it to see Taylor get clotheslined to the ground, his back and head cratering into the earth. 

There was a moment of stillness, then, as Taylor groaned, weakly turning over onto his side. You watched from above him as he lay there, pathetic and defeated. Him and all his eleven allies, the men who’d thought you would all be easy prey. 

Twelve.

You’d beaten twelve trained combatants. 

The thought made you huff a laugh - and then you instantly regretted it when your ribs shot pain through you as punishment. 

But you sure as shit weren’t going to let Taylor see that moment of weakness. So, as Leon and Valeria moved to your side, observing your shared work, you fought to keep a straight - if bruised - face. Especially as Taylor started to push himself up once more.

“Stay down,” Leon warned, his voice firm. Like steel. 

Taylor, though, didn’t listen. You and Leon were both happy to let Valeria do the honors, and with a final punch as he tried to rise, Taylor was knocked out cold. “Dulces sueños, cabrón.”

It was over. 

And fuck, you were hurting for it. 

You grimaced at last, taking a moment to breathe. As the adrenaline faded, you were left with the aches of the fight. The sharp, stabbing pain in your side. The throbbing as your eye swelled more and more. You must have looked a sight, but your squad mates were no different. 

Leon was no different. 

Seeing him like that, seeing him bruised and weary . . . it made a mix of emotions bubble in your gut. Emotions you weren’t ready for. 

Emotions you didn’t get to really feel, because of cosmically hilarious timing. “What the fuck is going on here?” Commander Cortez sounded more furious than you’d heard him yet. Then again, you were standing over a dozen of his men, all passed out or in various states of immobility. 

No time to celebrate your victory, then. But when had life ever thrown you a bone like that? 

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter Index

A/N: Anyway, Taylor is a bitch and got what he deserved. Also, idk if y'all have read Boot Camp by artificialsvicide over on Ao3 but like, this lil arc was very much inspired by the flashbacks in that series, and if y'all like sparring with tension, you should 10000% go read it! It's damn good!

Mood music for this fight is "Snakes" by PVRIS, "Archangel" by Samurai and "Friday Night Fire Fight" by Aligns. Because I'd fight misogynists to those songs.

[thesewordsareallihavetogive]

broke down: A Safe Place to Land one-shot - Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x nurse!reader

Summary: 2.5k words. One-shot in the A Safe Place to Land universe. y/n's car breaks down and Bradley is determined to make sure she's okay. (time line stuff: ch. 1 takes place in september 2019, ch. 5 is set in december of 2019, and this one-shot occurs in april of 2022.)

Warnings: car issues, bradley being a Stress Protective Fiancé, uH angst i guess? lots & lots of fluff. also sexism

a/n: hi y'all! it's been a moment lol. this story has been floating around in my noggin since november-ish & i'm so glad i finally wrote it out. enjoy! <3

series master list | master list

Shit. y/n muttered under her breath as she pulled her car off to the side of the road. Two warning lights lit up on the dashboard and a disconcerting noise started echoing from underneath the hood before she brought the vehicle to a stop. Based on the thin smoke rising from the crevice between the body of the car and its hood, y/n had a feeling she wasn’t going to make it the final stretch of her drive.

It had already been such a long day and y/n was really, really looking forward to seeing her fiancé and downing a cold beer or two. Or three. With a heavy sigh, she stepped out of her usually trustworthy car and popped the hot-to-the-touch hood. Smoke clouded her vision and she coughed–this was definitely an issue she couldn’t resolve by herself.

After dialing roadside assistance, y/n called Bradley. The phone hadn’t even rung twice before he picked up, his warm hello being slightly muffled by the lively crowd in The Hard Deck.

“Hey Roos,” y/n sighed. She tried to hide the exhaustion in her tone, but Rooster picked up on it immediately.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Dammit. This man could read her like a damn book. The aviator furrowed his brow and sat up straight in the chair he’d been occupying. The rest of the squad was bordering on boisterous after the several drinks they’d downed and were more focused on an intense game of nine-ball. y/n rubbed her temple and thought about how to best tell him and avoid him freaking out. She loved him to the ends of the earth, but he was a worrier.

“I’m fine! It’s nothing, really…” she trailed off. Her frustration and emotions got the best of her, so it all spilled out at once. “Actually, my car broke down so I called for a tow truck and I’m gonna be late meeting up with you guys at the Hard Deck so I’ll probably just head home after this because I’m so tired and-” Rooster’s eyes widened at the jumble of words y/n rushed out.

“Where are you?” Bradley cut her off before she could work herself up anymore. y/n could hear movement in the background and she instantly felt guilty. The last thing she wanted to do was interrupt him while he was having a well-deserved night out with his friends.

“It doesn’t matter. I just wanted to let you know that I probably won’t make it to the bar tonight. This might take a while,” y/n huffed. Her nerves were shot and above all, she just wanted to go home. Sure, a night out with her fiancé and their friends would be nice, but a warm bath and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s would be much nicer.

“y/n. Where. are. you?” Bradley asked slowly, punctuating each word. His voice was low and left no room for argument. y/n had only heard him speak that way a handful of times since she’d known him–all of which were times he thought she might be in trouble.

So she told him her location. She had pulled off on the edge of some backroad she was taking in hopes of it being a shortcut. Instead, she was now thanking her lucky stars that she had barely enough cell reception to call the tow service and Bradley.

Rooster cursed–y/n was alone in the middle of nowhere and it would be dark soon. A dozen scenarios went through his mind at once and none of them were good.

In a few long strides, the aviator crossed the room towards the bar without so much as a goodbye to his friends. He fished enough cash out of his wallet to cover his tab and then some as he flagged down Penny. The worried expression and his rushed movements, while his phone was pinched between his shoulder and ear, had Penny moving cautiously to tend to him, foregoing some of the other customers before him. She’d hardly accepted the cash from his hand before he offered her a tight smile and jogged out of the bar.

“I’m coming to pick you up,” he said with finality. y/n’s brow furrowed and she started pacing alongside her car.

“What? No, Bradley. Stay out with your friends. Have a good time, you deserve to let loose. I’ll see you at home, okay?” If he weren’t so focused on getting to y/n, he might’ve noticed the warmth that spread through his chest anytime his fiancée mentioned their shared home.

Rooster was typically far more gentle with the Bronco than he was right then, but that was hardly a thought in his mind when he pulled his keys out and shoved them into the door lock. y/n inwardly groaned as she heard the tell-tale sign of his old car’s door slamming and the engine turning over.

“Nope. No. I’m not going to be able to relax or think about anything else until I know you’re okay. I’ll be there in 15 minutes, tops.” He peeled out of the parking lot, pulling onto the main road before he’d even finished his sentence.

y/n blew out a heavy breath and dragged her palm down her face before stopping short. She pulled her phone away from her ear and checked the GPS route she recently had open.

Your location to The Hard Deck Bar – 24 minutes via State Road…

“I am okay. And it’s over a 20 minute drive to where you are,” y/n sighed. She had no doubt that Bradley would be able to beat the estimated time of 24 minutes, but shaving almost 10 minutes off seemed a little outlandish, even for the fighter pilot.

Rather than reminding his fiancée that he routinely flew planes at over 1,000 mph, he simply grunted out “I said what I said” and pressed his foot harder against the gas pedal.

Bradley stayed on the phone with y/n while he drove. Based on the unmistakable sound of the Bronco’s engine revving and cars honking because Rooster had cut them off, it was easy to assume he was breaking a handful of traffic laws.

Otherwise, the call was relatively quiet. Bradley broke the silence every few minutes to ask if y/n was okay–she hummed yes, Roos each time. He asked her if there was anyone lingering around or coming up to her–No, there’s literally no one out here. Her fiancé couldn’t decide if that was a good or bad thing.

y/n huffed in frustration when she tried to unsuccessfully start her car for the umpteenth time. Just as she rested her head on the steering wheel with crestfallen resignation, she caught a set of all too familiar headlights in her rearview mirror. The nurse felt a bittersweet smile creep onto her face. She was happy to see Bradley, she always was, but she couldn’t help the sinking guilty feeling that he cut his night out short because of her. y/n slowly climbed out of the car and really felt the exhaustion hit her this time around. Now that Bradley was here, she didn’t have to keep looking over her shoulder and was able to let her guard down a bit. 

By the time she closed the door behind her, he’d already crossed the distance from the Bronco to her car. Bradley wore a sympathetic smile when eyes met y/n’s. Something about the loving look in his eyes had y/n holding back tears. The aviator wordlessly pulled y/n into his chest and she gladly went along with it, wrapping her arms loosely around his waist.

“I’m sorry, Brad. I didn’t mean to ruin your night,” y/n’s words were muffled by the fabric of his t-shirt. Bradley tutted and brought a hand up to massage her shoulders where he knew she got tense often.

“You don’t need to be sorry, baby. I’m glad you called me,” he pressed a kiss against y/n’s hair before resting his chin atop her head. They stood wrapped in each other's arms for a moment, silently swaying side to side. y/n was still nuzzled against Bradley’s chest when he patted her back before pulling away and moved toward the hood of her car.

Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw knows his plane inside and out. This extended to cars as well. He’s been under the hood of his vintage Ford Bronco more times than he cares to count, so he’s familiar with working on cars, to say the least. Maybe if this whole flying thing didn’t work out, he could be a mechanic.

Rooster waved the remaining smoke away from his face when he popped the hood of the car. He’d hardly been glancing around the various parts before a particular problem caught his eye. He stood back and rested his hands on either hip. There wasn’t much that puzzled him, but it was certainly an interesting sight, he thought as he tilted his head to the side.

“This drive belt is damn near shredded. When was the last time you got your car serviced?” Rooster asked innocently. When y/n blushed and wouldn’t meet his eyes, his face dropped. The aviator rubbed his temple. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like her answer.

He produced a rag out of seemingly thin air and pulled the engine’s dipstick and wiped it off before checking the oil. He held the dipstick up to catch the remainder of the setting sun’s light and frowned–the oil was definitely below where it should be.

y/n was scratching the back of her neck now, looking increasingly sheepish.

“y/n?” Bradley asked expectantly. He wasn’t being condescending, but y/n felt like she was in trouble.

“Umm… I took her to get serviced not long after Lover came out. I sat in the waiting area and listened to the album like 3 times in a row.” Rooster did some math before his eyes practically bugged out of his head.

“When Lover came ou- baby, that was over two years ago?!” Bradley said incredulously, mouth agape. Before dating y/n, Rooster didn’t know much of anything about Taylor Swift. Eventually, his then-girlfriend started purchasing her own vinyl records and Taylor Swift’s music became regular in the rotation. Whether Bradley liked it or not, he learned some Swiftie lore. And, being the history nerd that he was, he remembered almost all of it. The album release dates had eventually wormed their way into his mind as well.

“I know! I know, but I literally only ever drive to work because we take the Bronco everywhere else so it didn’t matter that much…” y/n raised her hands defensively. Her voice trailed off towards the end; even she knew it was a bad excuse. Rooster slid a hand down his face in exasperation and smoothed out his mustache above his tight-lipped frown.

“Honey, what if you broke down or worse while I was deployed? I-” Rooster sighed. He stopped himself before he went on a tangent that might upset y/n. Nothing was worth arguing over right then so he let the topic rest. Bradley made a mental note to schedule a servicing for her car the following day.

The tow truck y/n called for pulled up just in time to avoid what was heading toward a tense conversation. When the driver approached the pair, he hardly spared Rooster a second glance initially; he was too focused on dragging his eyes across y/n’s body in a way that made her skin crawl. Bradley puffed out his chest and took a step forward, redirecting the man’s attention. The aviator’s movement allowed the remainder of the sun’s dwindling light to sparkle against y/n’s sizable engagement ring. She doubted that was Rooster’s intention, but she smirked nonetheless.

The tow truck driver posed his questions to Bradley. The much taller and tanned man was about to respond when y/n cleared her throat and stepped forward. It was her car, after all.

The driver was surprised. The hint of a grimy grin spread across his face.

“Alright, little lady,” he snickered. Strike one.

y/n took the man’s questions in stride. She knew the answers to most of them; she wasn’t dumb. Just because she procrastinated on her car’s maintenance didn’t mean she was clueless about her vehicle. Rooster was confident that she could handle herself in the conversation, so he hung back with his hand resting on her lower back protectively.

Some of the more unnecessarily specific questions were aimed to trip y/n up–Rooster knew it, and y/n pieced it together pretty quickly. Strike two. Good for y/n, and disappointingly for the sexist tow truck operator, y/n was very good at bullshitting her way to the right answer every time and had an unrivaled poker face.

Rooster smirked, impressed. His little spitfire was doing what she did best–putting men in their place.

The driver eventually huffed in annoyance. He clearly lost their verbal sparring match, so he set out to do his actual job and leave with his tail tucked between his legs. He tuned out the couple as he worked on hooking up the car and lifting it onto the truck bed.

y/n linked her arms behind her fiancé’s neck and grinned up at him. Rooster matched her smile. She was trouble, a force to be reckoned with–and he loved her for it.

“Thank you for saving me,” y/n murmured while her lips ghosted over Bradley’s. She pressed a sweet kiss to his lips, but before he could deepen it, she pulled away and examined him at arm’s length.

"My knight in shining… tacky tourist shirt,” y/n grinned deviously, amused by her own joke. Rooster rolled his eyes, pressing his tongue to his cheek before he retaliated by tickling her side–the exact same spot he’s been targeting since their very first beach date. y/n laughed before pulling him back toward her by his flowered collar for the deep kiss Bradley longed for.

At some point, the tow truck driver had finished up and y/n’s car was secured on the bed. He cleared his throat and shuffled uncomfortably as the couple shamelessly pulled away from their PDA stunt. y/n signed the necessary paperwork before thanking the man–she might be petty and a smart-ass, but she wasn’t an asshole.

Bradley and y/n walked hand-in-hand back towards the Bronco, where he opened the passenger door for her and offered his hand to support her as she stepped up into the lifted vehicle. Once Bradley was sitting in the driver’s seat, he wordlessly handed y/n his phone so she could play music. Somehow, the nurse had talked him into setting up bluetooth of all things in his vintage Bronco. He was well aware that she had him whipped, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

With one hand on the steering wheel and one hand resting on y/n’s thigh, Bradley pulled back onto the road and drove toward their shared house, the Hard Deck long forgotten. The windows were rolled down and soft tunes filled the night air.

“Hey Roos?” y/n spoke, intertwining her fingers with his.

“Yeah, baby?” Rooster hummed, briefly taking his eyes off the road to look at his fiancée.

“What’s a drive belt?”

a/n: fun fact: i learned how to check a car’s oil level when my friends and i were in bum fuck nowhere on a camping trip. pretty sure my dad was v stressed out when i called him and asked me to walk me through it but it definitely fed my ego.

[marshbevvie]

Ben Protecting His Squad

Georgie’s here too! It’s always fun to hang out with him.

[lilolilyr]

Fic rec time! Star Wars: Obi Wan x Jaster Mereel

'The Temporary Temple Guards': 60+k, by RoosjeM on Ao3, not rated, prequel trilogy

Summary: It was a widely known fact within the Temple, that the Temple Guards stationed at the Coruscant Temple were experiencing a ‘shortage’ at the moment. Seeing as Knights were sent out to complete missions and went on protective details, they were also the Corp that was responsible for the Temple Guards.

“I may have an issue.”

“What is it?”

“I have a youngling in front of me. There is no one else around and I am pretty sure he’s Mandalorian, and he's lost.”

Or: it’s Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi’s turn to be a Temporary Temple Guard and of course one of his past missions comes back to haunt him.

It's quite canon-divergent from even before the fic timeline starts, the author sums it up quite well in a note on chapter 2:

"Korda VI happened differently, Galidraan didn't happen but Mandalorians and Jedi have not been in contact so all they really know about each other is galaxy wide rumours and their troubled history [...].

I moved Obi-Wan's timeline up. [...] the Missions to Mandalore [was] his last missions as a Padawan in this fic (meaning he's early twenties when he is there). The Naboo mission is not a thing.

Jaster [...] writes the Supercommando Codex earlier. His Haat'ade were only starting to gain allies which eventually led to the Clan Wars.

Jango is younger as well because I think baby-Jango is top tier comedy."

This fic is so good, I'm trying to follow it along despite my usual modus operandi with wips being either a) ignore it till it's finished or abandoned or b) read what's written then forget about it forever, because i just don't have a good enough memory to know what fic it is whenever sth updates...

I just re-read the first ten chapters (because, again, no memory) and summarized them all so in the future once the fic updates, or if I don't read the next chapters in one go, I can just read my summary instead to remember where I'm at - when I wanted to continue my summary on my bookmark for c11-16, I ran out of character space! So I'm continuing it here on tumblr instead :)

Feel free to save this post if you are also following the fic along as it's written and have the same memory problems as I have :) if you aren't up to date with the latest chapters yet, beware the spoilers below the cut!

~~~ continue reading ~~~

C1

Obi & Quinlan are temporary assigned as guards bc of a staff shortage

A Mandalorian kid is lost, sees a man in armor & asks for help, not caring that it's a Jedi, not a Mandalorian! Obi brings him to little keldabe as taking him to the temple could cause an international incident, breaking pretty much all Guard rules apart from the vow of silence which he keeps the entire time.

In Little Keldabe he is threatened with weapons but not harmed because the kid is in the way. Once the kid's Buir shows up (Jaster, though he doesn't recognize him), Obi escapes through the sewers.

C2

Flashback: obi's mission on mandalore! Satine and the new mandalorians are a bother, Obi-Wan doesn't like their fake-pacifist weak ways, he wants to join with the Haat'ade for his and Satine's protection. They go by Ben and Tina for anonymity.

Present day: Jaster POV: on Coruscant for peace talks the Senate asked for, he hates the planet. When guards lose Jango he's even more pissed and ofc worried.

"You saved the squad that just so ended up being the current Mand’alor’s squad.” Quinlan remembers about Obi-Wan's time on Mandalore.

There's video footage of Obi bringing Jango to little Keldabe, so the mandos see (and Jaster thinks Obi seems familiar), and the Jedi find out- obe's not worried about the council because 'Yoda felt guilty for all the kark Obi-Wan had to go through under Qui-Gon Jinn’s care since he was the one that pushed them together.'

Turns out the council isn't too pissed anyway because his stunt improved the image of Temple Guards quite a lot. He's still asked not to repeat it.

C3

Jaster's mandos observe the temple looking for obi-wan. Jango also wants to find 'his Aran'.

Obi-stays temporary guard with Feemor, and they have lineage tea with Dooku, who's quite nice if you get to know him better.

The Temple Guards bring the lurking mandos datapads: subtly and threateningly telling them to piss off.

Flashback: obi on Mandalore with his late adopted dad Bardan Jusik of House Skirata (Kal's uncle btw), learning about armor.

C4

Overtired obi in Guard armor (& hidden Mando vambraces) after his shift stumbles across visiting Jaster, they fight and Jaster takes off his helmet to reveal - they knew each other, friends when Obi was on mandayaim

More flashbacks of the haat'ade, mentions that Qui-Gon left obi behind and did a shit job at mentoring in general, and more flashback to how Obi became Ben be aliit Jusik of House Skirata: Bardan offered to adopt him, asked him to consider becoming haat'ade. The Goran had figured out he was jettii and offered armor anyway. He also became close to alor Jaster, into the inner circle of the Haat'ade.

C7

Flashback: Jaster x Obi get together ♡

When death watch attacks, Obi-wan fought back with his lightsaber. Bardan's death by darksaber was blamed on him by the Skiratas and he named Dar'manda. Obi took Satine and left without telling Jaster goodbye. To

Present day: Jaster tells him he should have come to him to clear it all up, that he would have protected him, that he loves Obi-Wan/Ben and doesn't think their time was a lie, that he wants to get to know Obi-Wan properly now.

C8

Jaster tells Obi that his buir Barden lived! The Skiratas have been looking for him all this time.

The mandos are offered lodgings in the temple (bc Jaster and Obi are taking so long in Obi's rooms xD) they recognize Feemor as the threat/message bringer bc he 'moves the same'. Feemor is freaked out by this.

Barden POV: he is impatient, not having heard from the mandalorians on Coruscant since they went to the temple. He and Alor Skirata are also looking for Ben, going to MelidaDaan.

Jaster finds the dha'ka'dau in Obi's room, who didn't know what it was, just that the kyber wanted to rest.

Mandos incl Jaster&Obi are invited for breakfast, the mandos realize the Jedi are all just one big family.

Council meeting: it's revealed by Jaster that Obi is still considered adopted mandalorian, even if Barden had really died. It's decided he should go to Mandalore as a potential watchbeing and to give him the opportunity to meet with the Skiratas.

C9

The darksaber decides to come along to Mandalore, bullying Obi-Wan into it (sentient sword!!)

Obi-Wan won't hide his Jedi heritage this time. He's being a bit petty about it, refusing to wear any armor apart from the kom'rk(vambraces).

En route, Jaster and Obi meditate together. Jaster is just slightly force sensitive.

C10

Bardan learns about the former Young on Melidaan but doesn't figure out that 'Obi-Wan' is his kid. The Young regret that Obi-Wan left and they don't know what happened to him.

Arriving on Mandalore, Obi-Wan is greeted with weapons aimed at him when Jango asks to be picked up. Jaster reprimands the mandos and has Obi with Jango walk next to him despite him not having a rank

C11

Walon Vau, a friend of Bardon and so Obi's uncle, comes to collect him for first meal. He is asked to sit with him, Jaster and the other alore. Jaster says that despite first meal not being socially important for mandalorians, he wants to spend it with his cyare Obi-Wan because it is important for Jedi.

Obi-Wan goes to the Forge with the Goran, who asks why he isn't wearing his armor, and Obi-Wan finally admits he struggles with the dual identity of Jedi and Mandalorian. He meets Mand'alor Tarre Vizla in a vision who thanks him for taking care of the dha'kad and asks him to unite Mandalorians and Jedi. Obi-Wan's armor is to be reforged.

Bardan and Obi-Wan have a tearful reunion.

C12

Obi-Wan tells his buir everything and asks for advice about what to do after the three months posting in Mandalore is up.

Erri Skirata feels guilty for being the reason Ben/Obi-Wan ran away. Obi-Wan and Erri have an official clan dispute talk with the Goran and Jaster, and Obi-Wan forgives her for what happened, saying given the circumstances, he understands why she thought he killed Barden. He just wants to move past it.

Jaster with Kal's help starts an investigation in the Jedi's ties to the Senate and the Ruusan reformation.

C13

Obi heals a plant, thought on Mandalore to be the last of its kind, and recognizes it from a Jedi garden.

The Young are visiting and Obi-Wan has another tearful reunion! Nield apologizes for blaming Obi for Cerasi's death. Barden realizes Obi-Wan the General of the Young is Ben, his son, and breaks down crying.

Ao3: C1 | C13

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