#but hey a floating void is Fine i'm sure

[lapismaid]

gonna sit on it for tonight since there's still a little more to be done here but. uh.

uh. how is this turning out actually decent. like. what the fuck.

[rekino2114]

Fem. Gojo showing you her domain

You were lying on your bed mindlessly watching videos until you heard a tap on your window. You went in front of it, readying your cursed technique in case it was an enemy. After what happened with toji you were not going to take any more chances. You were very relieved to see it was just your girlfriend. You opened the window and let her come in

"Oh, satori, what are you doing here?"

"What? Can't a girl visit her boyfriend once in a while?"

"I meant why were you outside my window?"

"Your dorm is on the second floor, and I just got back from a training session. No way I'm gonna do all those stairs"

"It's like two flights, and you thought floating was easier?"

"Hey I got my technique I'm gonna use it"

"Whatever, anyway so why did you wanna visit?"

"Oh yeah, I got something super cool to show you"

She smiled brightly and pointed at herself in a dramatic manner

"Guess who just perfected her domain expansion?"

"....For real?"

"For real real, it took training and a lot of mochis to power up but I finally did it"

"That's so cool, tori. domain expansions are the peak of jujutsu, I'm so proud of you"

"Well, of course I'd be able to do it sooner or later, I am the strongest after all but thanks for the praise"

"Don't mention it"

"Soooo are you ready to see it or what?"

"Won't it hurt me?"

"Nah, it's a non lethal domain.......kinda"

"....that's not really reassuring"

"Come on, don't you trust me? It's beautiful to look at, it's gonna be a nice date place"

"*sighs* fine but if I die my ghost will haunt you forever"

"Don't worry, I'll never let anything happen to you"

You were slightly taken aback by her serious tone, but she quickly went back to her silly self as she smiled again, put her hands together, and disappeared, you sighed and waited for a few seconds before she reappeared with an embarrassed expression on her face

"S-sorry, I forgot you can't-"

"It's fine let's just go"

You went outside (using the door this time), and in the courtyard, gojo stood near you and held your hand

"You gotta keep holding my hand. If you don't, then you might be in a coma for a couple of months k?"

".....what?"

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. You can hug me if you're really worried, I certainly wouldn't complain~"

"*sighs* just get on with it"

She smiled again and took off her shades, revealing the blue eyes you loved to stare at, put them in her pockets, and did her domain hand sign with her free hand.

"Domain expansion: infinite void"

Suddenly, black filled your vision as you got transported into her domain, an endless plane of black with white spots, satori's grip on you tightened as she looked back at you

"Soooo what do you think? Pretty nice to look at isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's beautiful, but I guess it was guaranteed that a beautiful girl like you would have a beautiful domain"

"Eh, such a charmer. You're gonna make me blush if you continue"

You sat down, and she did the same. Her hand made its way up your body until it reached your shoulder. She pulled you into a side hug and layed her head on your shoulder

"You know I love you right?"

"Yeah you tell me that every day"

"No, I mean like love, love you. You're the best thing that ever happened to me"

"*giggle* really? The great satori gojo loves me this much? I'm honored"

"You should be, but seriously, after geto left, you're the only person I have left. Sure, I have shoko, but to be honest, I don't think she cares that much about me. Even if she did, she can't really understand me.....sometimes I feel so...lonely"

You silently side hugged her back as you saw her blue eyes become slightly lucid while looking around

"I guess it's fitting that my domain is a big empty void cause that's where I feel like I'm in sometimes........"

"Except when I'm with you of course"

You turned to see her smiling brightly and staring at you lovingly

"You're what keeps me going. You're someone that i know will never leave me. i love you so much"

"I love you too"

You two kissed passionately and looked at each other with pure love

"Alright, I think that was enough. If I keep my domain going for longer, I might get tired, I'll undo it now"

She did as she said and put her shades back on

"How about we go out to eat? It's almost dinnertime and there's a really good spot around here"

"Sure if we bring megumi and tsumiki too"

"Uh?..........dammit I forgot about them....do you think they'll be mad at me?"

"*sighs* you're such a mess of a mom, we can buy them some toys on the way home, maybe they'll forgive you then"

"Great idea, you're a life saver babe"

"It's nothing. Let's just go"

She dragged around as you brought the toys and food for your adopted children.

No matter what happened, you would stick by gojo's side, and she would, of course, do the same

[loupy-mongoose]

Once more, Lavender woke into the white void that had become a familiar comfort to her.

She looked around, soon spotting him. She smiled and called out.

Nico!

The tall Mewtwo met her eyes and smiled back to her. Hey, Lav!

She floated over to close the gap, her mind swirling with how she wanted to go about her desired conversation.

Nico had a gleam in his eyes. I was thinking, if you want, I can teach you how to make visions too! I'm sure it's possible. This is a shared mindscape, after all.

Lav smiled at him, but her expression must have signaled him to stop, as he looked at her expectantly. So she spoke up.

Actually, Nico... I... wanted to ask you something...s, maybe... Uh...

His ears perked up, ready to hear but not pushing her.

Um.... M-my dad, uh... He--

She was cut off by a sudden alertness from her companion, and he butt in. What? Did he do something? Are you alright??

Lav reeled at his outburst. Wh--No no, nothing! I'm fine! She felt a pang. No, he didn't... She recomposed her thoughts. He's... He's afraid of you... I thought by now he would be used to it, but when I bring you up, he... gets really anxious. He tries to hide it, but... I can feel it on him.

A spark of concern hit her. Nico feels the same about him...

Nico shrugged a little. Well, you have to consider that you're meeting with an adult stranger where he can't keep an eye on you. His eyes glanced sideways in discomfort. And a powerful one, at that...

Lav crossed her arms, mulling it over. Sure... but I asked him if I could, and he said okay... But honestly, I can understand...

He and I... don't really know much about you.

Nico's ear flicked thoughtfully. He seemed to shrink a little bit.

I...

Here I go....

I wanted to ask... Can you tell me about your past?

A concerned light entered his eyes. My past?

Lav took a quiet breath. It was clear he didn't want to talk about it. But... she needed reassurance that he wasn't what her dad thought he was.

And she needed to enlighten the other way around, too.

When we first connected, you, uh... said something to me about not being a weapon... Was that...

~~~~~~

PREVIOUS NEXT

ARC START | CHRONO

Giovanni fans, don't get excited. He's not going to be a lasting part of this story. X3

[ideas-left-unwritten]

So here's a hybrid au I had in mind! For sbi, of course, though a bit of Quackity&Techno friendship because idk but I think it's neat

Philza is an ender dragon hybrid. They're not supposed to exist. Anyway, he lives in the end and does cool shit, and eventually the goddess of the end (who is literally the end dimension itself) falls in love with him. Which is nice, Kristin loves her dragon husband.

One day, they decide they want to have kids, so Kristin's like 'sure, you know what, I'll just rip a piece of void out and roughly make it kid-shaped, that'll be fine' but Phil's like 'hey how the hell did we get two kids instead of one and also one of them is literally floating'.

They're twins! Techno is a warden hybrid and Wilbur is a wither hybrid. Phil loves Kristin but she absolutely does not get the fact that this is not what normal children do. They also make another child a few years later, who turns out to be an elder guardian hybrid.

So Wilbur: can wither things with his touch, float and make explosions with his mind. He also has three eyes (like the wither has 3 heads) but he keeps the third closed most of the time. He can see through invisibility potions, and is immune to lava.

Techno: is blind, but senses vibrations in the ground around him and hears really well and can sense things through literally every sculk vines in the world all at once. He can also teleport through them and scream loud enough to physically hurt people. Yes, he was a fun baby to deal with.

Tommy: can control water and basically has x-ray vision. He can also slow down time for individual people (the fatigue effect) and of course can breathe underwater and swim really fast.

Random things about their house. Most of the floor is covered in sculk so Techno can sense people and move through it easily. Wilbur absolutely abusing the fact that he can be quiet and hover so he doesn't touch the vines so Techno can't sense him. Tommy making parenting a fucking nightmare when he slows down everyone around him and just screams. Techno retreating to a little cave he's got carved out in an island for some piece and quiet. Mumza being the void so she's basically immune to everything and can go anywhere in the end, so she is fine while Phil suffers.

Anyway, once they're at an age where they can hide their hybrid nature, Phil takes them out into the world. Techno makes a name for himself as a gladiator, and really, they all just cause chaos. Techno befriends this homeless duck hybrid who full on admits to wanting to start a mafia when he grows older and Techno goes 'sounds cool, I'm yoinking you now' and takes him home.

Phil sees Quackity and goes 'hatchling??? hatchling who cannot fly???' and immediately is on board with adoption. He teaches Quackity how to fly.

Wilbur and Tommy, who didn't realise you could just kidnap orphans off the street and take them home begin their own collection, taking home Niki and Fundy, and Tubbo respectively. Phil adopts all of them. They all eventually know about the sbi's weird hybrid status and are cool with it.

Then along comes Dream.

The early days of the DSMP play out as normal, Tommy joins and causes some chaos, and pisses Dream off. But then, they realise 'hey this Dream guy's kind of a bitch' as time goes on, and slowly a plan begins to form. Basically, everyone else is in on the storyline and just acting along. There are no traitors, and the main guys that Phil adopted are all still great friends and love each other, and the other that join outside that group are in on it too. But Dream doesn't know any of this. He thinks it's real. And as time goes on, and his actions get worse and worse, everyone kind of dislikes him, even though they know he's not actually doinf any harm.

Oh, and the sbi are all immortal. Philza will respawn in the end and can regenerate with crystals. Wilbur's body can be killed, but then he just walks around as a bunch of souls until he can get to some soulsand and reform his body. If Tommy gets killed, he just regenerates at the nearest monument because he's a sea guardian you can't just kill the guardian of the sea. Techno also can't really be killed because he's all the sculk at once, so you kill him at one place and he just pops up in another like a hydra. Kristin, who is all of the End at once, is the only one who really gets him in that regard. Also, because she's a goddess, basically Mumza says none of the dsmp deaths count so there's no way any of them are dying on that server.

So, the canon events happen. L'Manberg falls and Wilbur 'dies'. Tommy gets exiled. Exile is absolutely a breeze for him. Techno and Wilbur visit him all the time and he's right next to the ocean which is great. Tubbo also visits him too.

Random idea that Ranboo finds out Techno's hybrid status when they're fleeing from some pillagers in a mansion and Techno pulls them through the sculk too (it's not a pleasant experience for anyone other than Techno. The only one outside of the main sbi who is used to it is Quackity because they do it so often) and they wind up in a cave. Techno asks if he can 'see' Ranboo's face, which Ranboo is opposed to until they realise 'oh that blindfold isn't just for show this guy is blind' because most people forget that Techno is, in fact, completely blind. They allow him to 'see' their face, and in return, Techno takes off his blindfold to show that he has no eyes whatsover so he can't even look Ranboo in the eyes and make the enderman hybrid uncomfortable. Ranboo immediately like Techno more for this because people really consider eye contact important. They bond, Techno decides not to drag them through the sculk again and they walk back to the surface.

The rest of canon goes along up until Dream's imprisonment. They imprison him, and then they basically forget about him. Because that's all dsmp was to them, a prank on an asshole, but now that's over they can return to their normal lives. Quackity starts Las Nevadas as the base of operations for his burgeoning mafia empire, with Techno at his side. Wilbur is Not jealous and doesn't make his own little attenpt at a mafia in retaliation (it doesn't work). Bench trio do things togeth, Ranboo and Tubbo get Michael, they're all living their best lives.

And then Dream breaks out of prison, because Sam has left it basically unattended for months now. And Dream wants answers, so he goes to Las Nevadas to find Quackity (who he thinks will be easy to manipulate) and get some help. Of course, Quackity is now the head of a mafia empire with most of the dsmp members working as partners alongside him, or at least as business partners with their own ventures. And Quackity also makes sure all the flooring in Las Nevadas is carpeted in sculk. Quackity tells Dream to get out of his casino, and Techno shows up basically to help threaten him (Quackity is good in a fight, okay, but not Dream good)

Dream thinks it's Techno running the empire and tries to tell Quackity he's being manipulated, but these guys aren't having any of it. They've literally been best friends to the point of nearly being siblings for years, they know what's up. In a last ditch attempt to get someone on his side, Dream asks Techno where Tommy is, information which Techno gives willingly.

Dream goes to the island where Tommy is and tries every trick in the book to make him come to his side, banking on the belief the conditioning in exile worked. It didn't, of course, and Tommy winds up fighting him instead. Dream wins, though, killing Tommy and is like 'well, hey, at least I managed to get rid of that fucking menace' except NOPE! Tommy's back because you're on an island surrounded by sea, near his monument. And Tommy finally reveals to Dream his hybrid status and kicks his ass.

And everyone lives happily ever after :)

[thatonetwig]

"Ugh...where the hell am I?", Void said as he stood up.

As he dusted himself off, he looked around and saw nothing but darkness as far as he could see. He tried walking straight but was met with the same result. He tried walking in all other possible directions, but still, nothing.

"Hey! Is anyone here?", he shouted into the darkness.

He got no response.

"Hey! Can anyone-"

"Yeah, I hear you, bud. Don't gotta say it twice."

Startled, Void jumped slightly as he turned around and saw A.C. floating before him. Annoyed, Void stared down his counterpart with a piercing glare.

"You again? What do you want?", Void asked.

"Guess.", A.C. replied.

"Cut the bullcrap and just tell me what you want.", Void said, almost growling.

"Aww...you're no fun. But if that's what you want, sure."

"I just wanted to talk to you about that happy-go-lucky guy you've got for a boyfriend. Hood, right?"

Void began to feel his annoyance shift into anger upon hearing this.

"What about him? First, I gotta deal with your ass at least once a week, and now I gotta hear your inputs on him?!", Void shouted at him.

"Aye, chill. This ain't even about him. It's about you.", A.C. said.

"What do you mean?", Void asked.

A.C. chuckled before he harshly grabbed Void by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up.

"Don't you understand? Your time with him is numbered."

Void stopped struggling against A.C.'s grasp to stare up at him.

"What?"

"It's only a matter of time until he finds out what you've been keeping from him. How do you think he'll feel when he finds out his beloved boyfriend has been lying to him all this time?"

The implications of his words hit Void like a meteorite as he struggled to reply back to this.

"I-I..."

"I wonder if he'll leave you when he realizes what an awful partner you are. Hmm...I look forward to finding out. Hehe...", A.C. chuckled before letting go of Void and letting him drop to the ground.

"Oh well, it's not like you care about him all that much anyway, right?"

"I-...shut up...", Void muttered.

"Welp, that's all I wanted to say. See ya around.", A.C. said before teleporting away.

Void sat on his knees on the cold, hard ground with his eyes closed; he was left alone with his thoughts and at a loss of what else to do.

"Void? Void!"

He heard a voice call his name out repeatedly as it got louder and louder before he opened his eyes and saw Hood in front of him.

"Void! There you are! Sorry if I woke you up, but it looked like you were having a nightmare!", Hood said, oblivious to what just transpired.

Void stared at him for a second before smiling.

"I'm fine...Hoodie.", Void said while taking Hood's hand.

"Say...", he began while pulling Hood into a hug.

"...we...trust each other, right?", he asked.

"Of course! We tell each other everything, remember? We don't keep secrets!", Hood said while hugging Void back.

Void felt butterflies in his stomach after hearing that.

"Why? Is there something wrong? Or something you wanna tell me?", Hood asked while looking down at him.

Void stared into Hood's large, white eyes.

"No...just makin' sure.", he replied.

"Oh, okay then!", Hood said while hugging Void tighter.

"Well, just wanted to make sure you're okay. Goodnight, Void. Love ya.", Hood said while kissing Void on the forehead and burying his face into his hair.

Void crawled up and kissed Hood on his cheek before crawling back down and nuzzling his head into Hood's face.

"Mmm..."

"I love you too, Hood...so much..."

[creatorbiaze]

Short story mini-series: Keiluvi

decided to post the mini-series lol

1 2 3 4

Videns sighs, walking to the table in the lab and setting her coffee cup down. She waves her hand while sitting down at the table, resting her face on her other hand, expression bored for once. A few papers she's been recently working on fly over, neatly stacking into a small pile as she summons a pencil. 

Before she does anything else, she checks the Celestial Pantheons' Group Chat, though she knew nothing new would be there because of the time. She leaves her phone on and face-up so she can watch the chat.

During a few minutes of silence, Videns reviews her notes about Abyssmal Draconics' natural venom, before a slight movement catches her eye, and she glances at the phone.

Keiluvi

 Hey, Videns, I see you online 👁️👁️

Videns chuckles. Keiluvi was a strange, anonymous being who'd just kinda... joined the chat one day. She's not sure how, she's not sure why, but... they did.

Keiluvi

 Don't remain silent, I know you're there you chaos spirit >:(

Isn't it late (well, technically early considering Salha) for you?? 🤨

Videns

Alright you caught me 😔

I can't sleep 😔😔☕

Keiluvi ​​​​​​

"I can't sleep" proceeds to drink coffee to stay awake 🔪

whoops *😐

Videns

no don't stab meeeeee

Keiluvi ​​​​​​

don't make me >:( 

Videns

I'm sciencing now, don't stab me 😰😰

Keiluvi

"officer, look, you just don't understand! The knife slipped from my hand, and they were refusing to sleep!!" -me explaining why I killed you bc you won't sleep

Videns

pfffft

fine I'll sleep 😔

Keiluvi ​​​​​​

yay, I can stay out of jail for one more day 😌

Videns chuckles at her anonymous friend, turning off her phone and continues to review and edit her notes. Keiluvi won't know she didn't sleep.

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

Mutari sighs, reviewing information from within their computer. The Technology Spirit has the ability to travel between technology and the physical world, with programs being essentially different worlds for Mutari. The words and notes float around them, and out of pure curiosity and boredom they jump to the Council group chat.

The sudden change from surrounded by words to being in a blank void definitely jolted Mutari, and it wasn't often the chat was empty, though they could see older messages floating higher up. The messages were odd, best described as being like in-game dialogue, with the message in the bubble and the name of whoever said it in a smaller bubble above.

There was another entity in the chat-realm; a distorted and glitching silhouette of a being, sitting and drinking coffee. Beings having a physical representation in the chat-realm was quite... odd... but Mutari had grown used to Keiluvi at this point. They never harmed anything.

Mutari

Hello, Keiluvi. I see you're online too?

Mutari 'spoke', the words forming the same chat bubble that every other message does. there's no sound in the chat realm, other than the sending of messages.

The entity 'looked up', head tilted, as their own message-bubble formed above their head.

Keiluvi

yyuup

when am I ever not online tho?

Mutari ​​​​​​

good point.

Murari nods, though he knows Keiluvi won't be able to see any body language.

Keiluvi ​​​​​​

yeah

anyway whatchu up to?

Mutari ​​​​​​

not much, just reviewing some information.

Keiluvi ​​​​​​

abt?

Mutari

things 

and stuff

Keiluvi ​​​​​​

oooooo interesting

Mutari ​​​​​​

very.

Keiluvi ​​​​​​

anything more specific?

Mutari

I might share specific details if you tell me at least one thing about yourself.

Keiluvi 

I wasn't THAT curious anyway, continue on as you were

Mutari sighs, rolling her eye at Keiluvi's secrecy.

Mutari ​​​​​​

I will 

I'll be going offline again to get back to it.

Keiluvi 

have fun!

The distorted being waves goodbye as Mutari leaves the chat-realm. Keiluvi really was a mystery...

How did they even have a form in the chat realm? Only Mutari is supposed to...

Mutari sighs as they go back to their previous work.

[lilylovesundertale]

Finale part 1

Ellie: are you sure lily was going to be okay

Nora: I'm pretty sure she's fine-

Too hat medic: so it turns out you two are having triplets

Nora:

Top hat medic: she's still in the med Bay-

Nora use teleport*

Meanwhile*

Drago: *looking at black Crystal* what the hell...

Sunny: and I said- * look up* ... That doesn't look good

Crystal: what are you looking- oh it looks beautiful-

All of a sudden the crystal shattered and everything went pitch Black all the sudden the sun is gone and a crystal began glowing*

???: Finally I was so tired of being a crystal

Crystal took a step back out of shock*

Void: Galaxa are you there it's me your best friend

A bright light appeared*

Lazia nighlaza

It's The end*

Meanwhile*

Echo: it's just me or everything just went dark

Reginald: you're right what on Earth happened

Meanwhile again*

Drago: FOR GOD'S SAKE STOP DOING THIS

aquo: WELL IT'S NOT MY FAULT

Frost: *staring at the battle between Lazia and Crystal* guys

Drako: IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOU'RE THE ONLY HUMAN

Aquo: THAT'S NOT TRUE I'LL GET MY FROM SOMEDAY

Frost: guys

Darko: YOU'RE A HUMAN YOU'RE WEAK

aquo: YOU WERE A GOD AND YET YOU WERE DEFEATED BY A DEMON

frost: GUYS

Aquo and Darko: WHAT

frost: LOOK*point at the battle*

Drako: what in the

Zap: WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN!?

aquo: when did you get here

Zap: I heard you two arguing so I went outside to stop it but now crystal is battling a God

Stitches and Darko:

Zap: right sorry

Drako: I could never stay mad at my future king...❤️

Stitches: this is cute and all BUT WE ARE DEALING WITH THE END OF THE EARTH RIGHT NOW

aquo and zap at the same time: it's not the first time this happened jinx

Frost: I wonder how lily is doing right now

Meanwhile with echo*

Echo: what are we supposed to do

Reginald: I'll tell Henry and RHM you tell Nora about it she's outside the med Bay because she's not allowed in hurry

Echo nodded and began runting towards the med Bay*

Echo: NORA

nora: echo what the heck is happening everything went dark all of a sudden

Echo: I don't know reginald told me to get everyone I hope the others are okay

Nora: she actually finished it turns out the baby's really wanted out I'm still not allowed in however

Echo: well now what I doubt you're going to leave

Nora: be careful echo something's wrong here

Echo went to tell Reginald*

Echo: boss Nora is still waiting outside

Reginald: well now I just need to figure out what what went wrong but I have a feeling I need to Cheer someone on I feel like I can't do much here

Echo: I have a feeling crystal is in danger I have a feeling she's having her final fight the bearing of the Universe is in her hands if this is the case don't worry Crystal I believe in you

Meanwhile with Crystal*

Crystal:*moving out of the way of the attacks* what on Earth do you mean best friend!?

Lazia: Galaxa are you saying you do not remember our friendship I understand but still I'm afraid I cannot allow this I'm going to reset the entire universe

Crystal: ARE YOU CRAZY!?

Lazia: I'm crazy for you're friendship I want to Make You Love Me again please Galaxa

Crystal: I'm not Galaxa my name is Crystal you have to understand that

Lazia: nonsense*begins throwing fireballs at her*

Crystal: AAA*all of a sudden gets protected by something* what

Frost:*struggling to stay conscious because she got hit with some attacks* Crystal you help me in so many things you helped me realize that I can give friendship another chance I can live again and for that you have my gift

+1 HP 10/15 hp

Delto: *smiles* hey sis you're wonderful no matter what I know you can win this battle I believe in you

+1 HP

11/15 HP

Sunny: you have been the best person I ever met without you I would have been not able to feel anymore the pain I went through suddenly became muffled when I met you

+1 HP

13/15 HP

Aquo: if you give up... I will cry you're my best friend don't you dare give up

Drago: listen to my future husband you got this

+2 HP

15/15 HP

Crystal: everyone-* Lazia/void began floating*

Lazia: OH HOW CUTE YOU CAN HAVE FRIENDS BUT NOT ME HOW ABOUT I JUST TEAR YOU TO BLOODY BITS IN FRONT OF THEM HOW ABOUT I RIP OUT YOUR LIMPS IN FRONT OF THEM*pulls out chainsaw* LET'S START WITH YOUR HEART SHALL WE!?

Crystal: this is turning super creepy really fast

To be continued:

[theminecraftbee]

You dont have to do this, but you have teased a game of truth and dare for a while and i would really like to read it. You can make a lot of things very funny and a bit of laughs would be great before the next mental breakdown! Not that i mind the breakdown and the creeping sense of dread that has been slowly taking over boatem

"Alright," Grian says. "If we're doing this - and unfortunately I think we've finally reached the point we're doing this - we need to set rules. We may be playing Truth or Dare like schoolchildren, but we aren't animals."

There's a long, very loud pause as everyone takes that in.

"Technically," Pearl starts.

"We aren't animals," Grian says very definitively.

"I mean, he is right," Mumbo says. "If we're being technical, I'm pretty sure that whatever we are probably isn't an animal, in the strictest sense of that word. So he is right. Probably."

The five members of Boatem float through the void, or are one with the void. Eh, details. There's Truth or Dare to be played! Scar watches them argue, fascinated. He looks over at Grian and then looks back to Mumbo and Pearl. "You know, I'm beginning to get the sense I know why we have never managed to get to the part where we actually play yet," he says. "And like, guys, it's definitely been weeks, at least. Or months."

"Possibly years," Grian says.

"If it's been more than a year, I think I'm legally allowed to kill all of you the moment that won't make me start crying," Mumbo says.

"Oh god, we're doomed. Killing things makes him laugh, not cry," Pearl says.

"RULES," Grian says, somehow managing to emphasize the word as though it has three syllables instead of one. "How is it that I keep on being the voice of reason? The only reason I was agreeing to play this is because I want to make Scar do something really stupid!"

"Hey!"

"Would you pick truth?"

"No, that's the coward option, but -"

"My point stands."

Scar huffs, but doesn't argue.

"Alright then! Rules!" repeats Grian. "They're simple! If you can't do a dare, you can take the truth, or vis versa, but then you have to do whatever you're given. After your turn, you give whoever you want the next truth and/or dare, but you can't just retaliate against whoever made you do something, that's boring. If you lie, Mumbo gets to kill you, and if you chicken out, Mumbo also gets to kill you. Any questions?"

"Yeah. How do we lose?" Impulse asks.

"That's the neat part: the game never ends," Grian says.

"Oh, fun," Impulse says.

"I like this idea," Mumbo says darkly.

"Er, not that I don't want to play infinite truth or dare, that does sound delightful," Pearl says, "but what if, uh, after you've done at least three rounds yourself, you can choose to end the game instead of asking another question?"

Scar feels such relief as he shakily nods. Yes. Good rule. Pearl is his new favorite. Pearl is definitely his new favorite.

"Fine," Grian says, pouting. "But that means we can't target someone! They'll just end the game!"

"It's a good rule we're keeping it alright how do we decide who goes first?" Scar says, very quickly, determined to prevent Grian from talking anyone out of changing that rule before he could presumably make Scar's life hell. Why him, huh? Mumbo's right there! Mumbo's even got a funnier name, and reacts all silly to pranks! He's like, just as fun to mess with as Scar is!

Honestly, Grian, bullying behavior.

"I'll go first!" Impulse says cheerfully.

"Why do you get to go first?" Mumbo asks suspiciously.

"I mean, were you going to dare me?"

"...no."

"Was anyone else?"

"You honestly just feel like a bad first -"

"There we go!" Impulse says, smiling. "Any objections?"

It seems, for a moment, that Grian may try to object. However, it seems that even Grian finally wants to actually play. Technically, this isn't the first time they've had this rules conversation. It isn't even the second. Heck, it isn't even the third. It's, uh, more like the fifth? The first time they'd tried to play truth or dare was way back before they even realized anything was more wrong than the apocalypse, in fact! Man. Those had been wild times. They'd just normally descended into in-fighting before this point, or descended into pointless arguments about what a "valid dare" would be, given that none of them could easily do anything back then. But now all of them can move! So...

"Alright then. Scar. Truth or dare?"

"Oh come on!" Scar says loudly.

"Well?" Impulse says. "This is one more round Grian can't get you, you know."

"Fine. Dare."

"Lick Grian," Impulse says promptly.

Everyone stares for a moment. Pearl is the first one to speak. "Is that... the best you can...?"

"I mean, yeah," Impulse says. "What did you think I was going to say? We're in the void, I can't do half of my fun ideas! Unless you want me to dare him to lick Pancake instead?"

"That's worse, that's worse, just come lick me," Grian says.

Scar stares at Grian, shrugs, approaches him, and licks his face in a long stripe. It tastes like face. Actually, like weird face. Like the platonic ideal of a face, more than a real face. Not that Scar's licked that many faces, that's not a thing he goes around doing, he licks diamonds! Not faces! Those are different, and man, is he glad he's not talking out loud right now.

Grian rubs furiously at where Scar licked him. "You know, technically you didn't lick me."

"I know! So you don't have to worry about it," Scar says, as Grian continues to furiously wipe his face.

"Ugh," Grian says.

"Anyway! Truth or dare, Grian!"

"Oh, come on, now I can't go for you!"

"It's your rules."

"Truth."

Scar blinks several times. He looks at Grian sideways. "Who are you and what have you done with Grian?"

"You're going to dare me something really stupid so I'm choosing truth to head it off at the pass," Grian explains.

"Still. Anyway. Uhhhh. What kind of bird are you?"

"Don't know. Scar, I've told you I don't know. Also, wait, if we were being technical earlier, am I even a bird anymore?" Grian clearly stops to think about it. His wings flutter uselessly behind him, as though some subconscious thought in Grian requires he move them whenever he's thinking about them. This, of course, had been Scar's real goal. Grian literally always does that when talking about his wings. Scar's just got to get him talking a little more.... "I mean, I still think of myself as a bird. Or, a bird-person, at least."

"A birson," Scar says. 'Yes, we're aware."

"I... a... yeah, okay, sure. But, like, we've established our current general non-person-ness." Grian flutters his wings a little more. Mumbo hasn't noticed yet. Just a little more. "So, you know, my wings here, they're probably just -"

He stretches his wings. They smack Mumbo in the face.

"GRIAN!" Mumbo says.

"...SCAR," Grian says in turn.

"I didn't do anything," Scar says, lying entirely, as Grian, now flustered, tries to get his wings back in control. It really is fascinating, Scar thinks - technically, he knows, if they all squint, Grian doesn't have wings! Or, he has wings? Or, uh, he has the void-y perception of wings? The point is that, technically, Grian isn't Grian-shaped anymore. And yet, even his most annoying instincts are still all right there, ripe for Scar to use against him! It's hilarious!

Grian, meanwhile, is clearly fed up. "Fine then. Mumbo. Truth or Dare, if you're so annoyed!"

"Why, I think I'll take dare!"

"I dare you to shut up about my wings!"

"That's stupid. Why are we only coming up with stupid dares?"

"Well? Are you gonna?"

"I'd rather lick them."

"No one else is licking me!"

The two of them begin to argue about the dare. Scar turns to Impulse. "Hey, Impulse, do you think that counts as Mumbo refusing the dare? You know, if Mumbo cheats, does that mean Mumbo has to kill Mumbo? Since Grian said Mumbo's doing the killing in our rules."

"I really don't know," Impulse says, as Grian very purposefully smacks Mumbo with another wing as Mumbo lunges at him. "I think Mumbo's doing his best to kill Grian, though."

"Maybe we should stop him," says Pearl, sounding entirely disinterested.

"Nah, they'll get over it," Impulse advises. "They haven't actually killed each other yet."

"No, I mean, so we can keep playing. I don't care if Mumbo manages to succeed in, uh. Pulling enough feathers to never complain again? It was unclear. But I want to keep playing, I haven't had a turn yet! We'd barely gotten going!"

"Ohhh. Yeah, you have a point," Scar says. "Empty threats, or even completely full threats, are totally fine. So are fights. But we've barely gotten anywhere in this game yet, have we?"

Grian is now saying something incomprehensible about Mumbo and legs. Scar has no idea what they're talking about, but Mumbo seems deathly offended. Scar is briefly touched by the age of Mumbo and Grian's friendship. They clearly don't only have inside jokes by now, but inside insults. Only the absolute closest of friends can collect things like that.

"It really was a lame dare to end on," Scar says. "And a super lame dare to be fighting about. Those two are horribly irresponsible, really. Uh. Who's going to break them up?"

"Not it," Impulse and Pearl say simultaneously.

"Dangit! I should have said not it," Scar says. He turns to Grian and Mumbo, who have taken advantage of their full range of movement to -

- to -

Scar. Scar isn't sure what they're doing. This isn't just because Grian and Mumbo fights are incomprehensible. It's because they're - so, okay. Scar knows where they are. Scar knows, in general, the outline of their shapes, the way the vague impression of great, terrible, black wings must be Grian, and the way the thing seemingly coiled out of vines, or perhaps wires, must be Mumbo, except they also aren't there? It's like with them arguing like this, whatever perception filter they had on simply had decided to stop working, and had left them...

Well.

Scar thinks the horrors from beyond must get in a lot of fights, is all he's saying.

It's not that he doesn't know, intellectually, that they're all like that. It's more that this is the first time in a while that, instead of joking about it, or accidentally looking at it for themselves, Grian and Mumbo seem to have just. Well. Scar presumes they don't know, that they've given up pretending mortality. It's the sort of thing that both of them had been panicking about earlier. And Scar presumes they don't know, because it's terrifying, skirting on that edge where he has to actually think about the fact that they're all -

- that -

- what do you call an absence of space -

- the void had always felt like a thing that dissolved -

- focus. He shudders. Okay. Have Pearl and Impulse noticed? Probably? Impulse was... and Pearl had been the first to mostly... okay. Okay! He can do this. He just -

- he's -

- he's not a thing that's alive. Okay. Cool. Or, is it that the void is a thing that's alive, but he's only a piece of it? Or. No. Doesn't matter. How is he going to break them up? How? Grian and Mumbo, when they play-fight like this (and it is, for all of its current viciousness, still play-fighting), are the worst to try to get between, because neither of them have moderation. Scar knows! He got his beautiful custom tree blown up for his troubles, because Grian and Mumbo don't know moderation! And that had been silly early-game things, back when the season was bright and normal and they weren't all, you know, well.

"Scar," Impulse says, behind the distant roaring in Scar's ears. "Scar, are you - oh. Oh."

Luckily, Scar doesn't know moderation either.

BOYS, BOYS, YOU'RE BOTH BEAUTIFUL HORRIFIC ABOMINATIONS FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL! THERE'S NO NEED TO FIGHT ABOUT IT, he says, and for the first time it registers that he does not hear his voice but he hears his voice but his voice is simply present. He supposes it makes sense. There is no air for their voices to travel in. But now, now it is obvious, because Scar does not move his lips, and does not shout, and yet his voice sticks to the forefront of the world, heard in perfect clarity, not heard, no clarity, just known.

Huh.

They turn not turn they are looking at him, Scar knows suddenly, and he would feel hunted, but suddenly he knows he is nothing-void-predator as well, and isn't that... interesting. For a moment - just one - Scar stops bothering with pretense and lets himself feel that, and...

He knows the others are afraid, perhaps. In that moment, Scar decides he is not. He is still afraid of many things. Of never going home. Of finding no one there. Of the fact this is all his fault. But of this? This is... something else.

He is being looked at. He is being perceived by emptiness. But Scar's used to being the center of attention, so he simply perceives them right back. He can feel the moment Grian realizes what's happening, and he can feel the dread in Mumbo, and, hm. That's not quite what he was going for. But it did break them up, and that was the goal.

WE'RE SO CLOSE TO ACTUALLY FINISHING A GAME OF TRUTH OR DARE. OR, WELL, NOT PARTICULARLY CLOSE, I GUESS, BUT WE'VE STARTED FOR ONCE! THIS IS A SILLY REASON TO GIVE UP ON IT.

"Scar," says Grian, and, huh. Okay, Scar's the only one who has the voice thing down. Well, now he just feels rude. "Scar, given - is now the time to be worried about -"

ABSOLUTELY, Scar says.

Mumbo laughs, a little high and hysterical, and its halfway to being the thing Scar has done with his voice. Scar shakes it off.

"Besides," Scar says, "I think you're scaring yourselves? And that wasn't even the dare! I mean, this isn't talking about Grian's wings, I guess, but -"

"Okay," says Grian, and he's managed to go back to pretending to be Grian again, or thinking of himself as Grian, or however that works. "Cool. That was weird. I hate that. It's your turn, Mumbo."

"Right," says Mumbo, who has gone back to being Mumbo shaped. Scar sits back, pleased with himself. "In that case. Scar."

"What!" Scar says. "After that!"

"Come on," Pearl says, "Impulse and I haven't gone yet!"

"Told you that I could go first," Impulse says cheerfully. "I give it even odds the game ends before I get to go, because everyone here knows I have no shame."

"I won't allow that," Pearl says.

"...was that a threat?" Impulse asks.

"Absolutely," Pearl says.

"...huh," Impulse says. "Neat."

"I'm still going for Scar," Mumbo says. "Truth or dare."

"I regret being the reason this game continued," Scar complains. "You all are playing to gang up on me!"

"Yeah. Gang up on me instead," Pearl says.

"I wonder about everyone's priorities," Grian says, and Scar agrees, even though he gets the sense they are talking about two very different kinds of priorities.

The game continues.

[spaced0lphin]

Wish I May, Wish I Might

A Shoker Thing (Obviously It Is, This is Me We’re Talking About}

Time is a weird thing. Tied to the senses, in a way. Removed or dulled enough, and pretty soon a person thinks it's been an hour inside five minutes.

Stars. Blackness. Stars. Blackness. The difference between closing and opening his eyes was an ocean of sparkling dots. The floor below him - or beside, direction didn't really matter, here - was so far, and the dome before him so huge, that he seemed to hang suspended in space.

Doctor Chakwas’ sharp words still hung around the back of his mind. If he had his way, he'd never have come off the ship. But, stretching properly for the first time in way too long, a tingling flood of feel-good chemicals radiated up from his legs, and he had to admit she was right. Racking up some time in zero-gee was doing wonders.

Joker swallowed, the gross wet sound of it filling his ears with way more detail than he ever wanted. That was the worst; being forced to hear his own body's squishy noises.  

Ignoring the thudding of his heart in his ears, he drew lines in the air with his finger, connecting together familiar shapes in the stars. Asteroid stations in the middle of nowhere like this one were kind of appealing, when he thought about it. They weren't often this quiet, but they were often low or no grav. The less he weighed, the less the ache always living in his loose joints had anything to say. But, spend too much time in low grav, and bones lose density. For crumbly garbage ones like his, that was a death sentence. Gravity. What a bunch of bullshit.

The distinct hiss of an airlock sent a breeze blowing across his back. He frowned at the glimmering sea before him. Of course, having it all to himself was too good to be true.

"Was just leaving," he grumbled, fishing for his air jet. Magboots clicked softly on the grating; he must've floated up a long way.

"Relax, it's only me," a familiar voice called out to him. A warm fluttery feeling spread out in his belly.

"Shepard...? Hey, patients only," he said. Twisting around in zero-gee wasn't the problem, it was the whole stopping thing that always proved tricky. Where was that damn thing?

Standing with her feet clamped to the floor, she folded her arms and looked straight up at him. "I'm a Spectre, I can go wherever I want."

"Uh-huh," he said. A bit of starlight reflected off a cylindrical object, caught in a lazy spin at the far end of the room - his trigger. His face sank into his palm.

"Ah... is that yours?" She asked. The smile coming through in her voice was so clear he had to steal a glance. To him, that understated little smirk of hers shone brighter than any sun.

"Yep." Joker clicked his tongue. "Real rookie mistake." 

"You forgot to clip it?"

"Look, it's... been a while. A little help here? Or am I gonna have to start blowing?" He laughed. No answer. If he didn't know better, he'd say she looked a little transfixed or something. It seemed almost like she was staring past him - through him, maybe. Her eyes were locked on something out there. Alarmed, Joker craned his neck. Nothing, except the stars. Still and exactly the same as as they ever were. "Hey, what gives? C'mon, the water's fine," he said, waggling his arms, stuck in a slow barrel-roll.

"Yes. Yes, yes. I'm coming." That was hesitation in her words, he was sure of it.

"Uh, Shepard?" he asked with a bemused little chuckle. "There's nothing out there." 

"... I know." 

The buzz and clunk of her magboots' release busted the silence as she began floating up. Stars, Shepard. Stars, Shepard. Stars... Only a couple metres or so away now, and her eyes were squeezed shut. She looked like a terrified cadet out on her first EVA practise. Joker opened his mouth to deliver some crack asking her when the last time she'd been outside even was, when the millions and millions of lights in the void slid into his vision once more. He knew the answer to that question. He closed his mouth, heat prickling at the back of his neck. 'There's nothing out there.' Who’d know better than the woman who died choking on hard vacuum? What a jackass. Her long, shaky breaths filled the few feet of air between them.

"Hey, open your eyes," he said softly, knowing that even a whisper was enough. "You're gonna bump into me."

Without a word, her legs lifted and folded with the precision of a dancer, the spat-spat-spat of air bursting from little jets on her catsuit slowing her down. Every move was sleek and perfect, all the more so by how effortless she made it look. The result, he knew, of hours and hours of drills and practise. At last, the cosmos stopped their slow spinning around with the touch of her hand to his shoulder.

"Thanks," he said, offering a smile he hoped looked contrite. "Was starting to think I'd throw up."

"No you weren't," she replied, the tiniest little grin forcing its way out across her lips. "You grew up in space."

God, her eyes really were something else. What he wouldn't give to just reach up and stroke her cheek, to tell her it was okay. Tell her she had it under control, that she didn't have to be scared. The starlight illuminating her face made his breath catch. Joker swallowed heavily. This time, there was no gross wet sound, his throat dry as a bone.

Politeness demanded he look away, but he couldn't tear himself free. In those eyes was a depth stretching farther than even the most distant star could hope to reach.

"Eh, yeah... I just wanted you to feel like you'd saved me from something," he said. "Not that you haven't already. But, y'know. Heroic moment."

"What if I hadn't showed up?" She asked. "You'd have been stuck here for hours."

"Hours?"

"I booked it for a few. I wanted..." Shepard trailed off, searching for her words. "I wanted to take my time."

Somehow, his hands found their way to her shoulders. "Aw, you're just a bit rusty,” he said with a dismissive shrug. “It's been a while for the both of us. I forgot my clip, and you... Uh, well. Your breathing's slowed down now, that’s good," he pointed out. It was only when he gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze that he realised she was gripping both his own, hard. "... All you need's a little practise. Hey, my trigger's over there," he said, gesturing. Shepard followed his hand at first, but soon her gaze travelled up, and up, as if called by something. Her fingers clamped down like a vice. 

"Watch it, hey, watch it!" he hissed.

She released. "Did I hurt you?"

"I'll live," he muttered. "Listen, you don't have to let go of me if you don't wanna, just... Don't snap me like a toothpick, okay?"

"Right. I'm sorry."

Shepard's hands fluttered down, settling on his waist instead. She'd chosen to hold him closer, rather than tighter. Joker cleared his throat, grateful for the dim silver light of the stars, surely disguising the heat spreading across his cheeks.

She was so damn brave. As he pulled himself free of her grasp and floated clear of her to give her air jets room, Joker imagined the kind of guts it must take to face a fear like this. Alone, too - she came here alone, planning to panic in silence, for hours.

"Yeah… Look, I got an idea," he said, placing his hand back on her shoulder. "Let’s go get it together."

Shepard placed her hand atop his, anchoring him as she lined up. With a sharp little burst, they were on their way.

“They teach you all kinds of stuff to be an N7, huh?” He asked, moving himself to block her gaze if she looked up. “You do the whole flippin’ around thing pretty good.”

“They do,” she said. “I used to enjoy it, once upon a time.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” he replied. “I’m surprised you haven’t been headhunted by the asari Stardancers.”

“You’re a fan of stellar ballet?”

“I’m a fan of the outfits,” he snickered. She snickered, too, and Joker allowed himself to float in just a little closer.

Shepard stretched out. With a deft flick of her arm, she flipped about to face him, eye to eye. The little device slid up between them, filling his vision, and she laughed, tapping him on the nose with it.

“Here you go, troublemaker.”

He closed his hand around it. “Thanks.”

Maybe he was just nuts, but, she seemed to be lingering, her eyes flicking from point to point. Perhaps she was just trying not to look at the expanse behind him.

“Whoops,” he said, nudging the trigger out, end over end, into the colossal empty room. “Dropped it.”

“Joker, I put my ship in your hands, and you have butterfingers?”

“Look at it this way, it’s more practise, right? Let’s go get it.”

She took his arm and looped it around her neck, setting out in a smooth arc. He smiled to himself, watching her glance this way and that. The fire inside Shepard was familiar. Watching it in action had this way of spreading, setting him alight, too. Maybe one day he could see her fly amid the stars without being chased by old ghosts. A sharp pang shot through his chest - those old ghosts only haunted because of him. Ghosts describing the way her body spun, shrank, and was swallowed by the looming blueness of Alchera. That was why she was here after all, and why she didn’t love the stars anymore. That little line of pain snaking through his heart blossomed into an open wound. He shouldn’t, really, he knew, but steadying himself as she flew gave him an excuse. He let his free arm drift in and cross her body, though he barely let it touch. Such a weird way to score an embrace, but, he couldn’t be there for her back then. At least he could be here for her, now.

“Joker?”

“What?” They’d stopped at some point, he realised. Dead centre of the dome, by the looks of it.

Shepard unfolded, filling all the space between his arms without a word. She was so warm. His chin came down to rest on her shoulder, his arms pulling her back against his chest. Her heartbeat raced against his forearm, even through her catsuit. He didn’t dare speak. Or move. Or even breathe, not even when it burned in his lungs. God, he wanted whatever this was to last, but he wasn’t an idiot - for whatever reasons of her own, she’d let him overstep a little, that’s all. Time to get a grip.

“It’s there,” he whispered, pointing at it. “See it? You don’t need me, you go the rest of the way.”

Her fingers closed around his forearm.

“Go on. Go fetch,” he insisted, offering a grin. “Not often I get to give you an order, huh?”

“… No, you’re wrong,” she said.

“Well, that’d be a first.”

“I do need you,” she said.

He felt his smile waver. “Um, okay, well, let’s take it at your pace, then. I’ve got until they finish installing that ablative plating stuff. Man, that’s gonna be sweet,” he said, giving in to the urge to hold her just that little bit tighter.

“I’m fine right here, for the moment, if you are.”

“Like I said, I’ve got like three days of doing nothing ahead of me, so… We’re on your schedule. When you’re ready, alright?”

She fit against him as though she was made for the job. Joker closed his eyes, writing every detail to memory.

“It’s quiet up here,” she said, just above a whisper.

“Yep. Can’t even hear the air recyclers.”

Her head slowly turned as she scanned around, exposing the length of her neck. Nothing ever looked quite so soft. Joker forced his eyes shut to keep from thinking about it.

“I’ve had nightmares about it for so long now, I forget how beautiful it really is,” she said.

“Mm-hmm. Yeah, it makes my list. A few things are a bit higher, but, not many.”

“Higher than this?” She breathed.

“Mmm, I dunno, those Stardancer outfits are pret-ty nice,” he said with a dry chuckle. She tutted, nudging him in the stomach with her elbow, and they both laughed. Shepard settled back against him like it was the most natural thing in the world. The fluttery feeling deep in his belly refused to budge. “You get bad dreams a lot, huh?”

“If I do this enough, they’ll stop. They have to,” she said, a certain hard edge creeping into her voice.

“They will, they will,” he said, nodding. “Don’t worry.” The fabric covering her shoulder was so smooth. So smooth. What was it made of? He’d been rubbing little circles in it with his thumb. “Ah, heh,” he murmured, clearing his throat again. “So. You still good?”

“Are you?” She asked.

“I only came up here to get some weight off my joints,” he said. “I’m still doing that.”

“It’s good to see you off the ship, you know.”

“Yeah, well. Chakwas told me if I didn’t go, she’d use the time I had sitting around to do extra tests. So, I bounced.”

Shepard chuckled. “That sounds about right. She told me something similar.”

“Yeah she sure has her own brand of looking out for people, I guess,” he said. A wave of tingly niceness made all his hairs stand on end as Shepard mirrored him, drawing wavy patterns on his forearm with the very tips of her nails. He sank into the delicious feeling. This was fine. Maybe not the most strictly professional thing, but, they were friends, too. This was totally fine. Joker rested his chin on her shoulder again. “Speaking of that kinda thing, I guess… Lookin’ out for people, and all that… You know you don’t have to do this all on your own, right?”

“What do you mean?” She asked, turning her head to the side and looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

“Well… You don’t have to face it all by yourself. You got me, if you want?” His heart leapt to his throat. “I’ll help, I mean. With stuff like this? All you gotta do is ask.”

“I know you’d help… and you have,” she said, tilting her head against his. “Thank you.” The wavy patterns stopped dead, and Shepard disentangled herself, gentle as could be. It was as if gravity had been switched on, but only for his insides. The spell was broken. He’d messed it up, somehow. Or, watching her float away, maybe he’d set it right? She had so much to think about and do, the last thing she needed was her horned-up helmsman putting the moves on her during a moment of weakness, which - Oh, no. Something slimy and cold started slithering around in his gut. That’s exactly what happened. A wobbling blob of moisture floated up off his nose. Jeez, it was hot in here.

“L-Listen, Shepard, I’m pretty sure I cro-“

“What?” She asked, slowly spiralling back toward him, wiggling his trigger in her hand. She ducked down, fastening it to his belt with a loud snap.

“-ssed a… line hey, nice going!”

She collided with him. Laughed. Shot away. He fumbled with the jet at first, righting himself just in time to see the most powerful woman in the galaxy blow a big fat raspberry at him.

“You- wha- how is this fair? I’ve only got one jet and you’ve got, what, like fifty?”

“Come on, are you the best pilot in the Alliance fleet, or what?”

“Oh, now you’re gonna get it.”

“I should requisition you one of these,” she said, sailing around him. “Maybe I will, if you catch me.”

“Pfft, promises, promises. I’mma hold you to that, and I don’t care if they cost half a planet’s worth of platinum. Your word is your bond,” he teased, doing some quick math. Was it cheating to use the wall? He didn’t care.

“Big words, ballcap boy,” she taunted. She could bust out such an annoying sing-song jeer when she wanted to. Joker launched himself off the wall at a speed Shepard clearly didn’t expect. She darted in the precise way he figured she would, sent himself tumbling through her first-year evasive manoeuvres, and straight into her.

“Yeah, yeah, you think you’re real clever with that suit, don’t you?” He intercepted her, using his own momentum to swing her, laughing, into his grasp. “That was easy. I’m kind of embarrassed for you, Shepard. All that training and all that tech and I beat you with one jet and an attitude.”

“Oh, I let you,” she replied, cracking up. On his life, she was… giggling.

“You didn’t.”

“I did, I did, I absolutely did,” she could barely speak, she was having such a damn episode.

“Now, you look me in the eye,” he said, pulling his eyelid down in an exaggerated stare.

“I can’t see,” she replied, wiping at shimmering silver blobs - tears - that, without gravity, refused to leave her eyes.

“Well, that’s what you get for getting the giggles in zero-gee,” he said, shaking his head. “Does Anderson know you’re like this?”

“He put it in my letter of recommendation,” she answered, shaking her head as she blinked the last one free. A trail of a dozen little spheres jiggled madly on the long way up towards the roof of the dome. He smiled up at them as, one by one, he lost sight of each, blending in with the lights all around. From shaking with fear to shaking with laughter. That counted as some kind of victory, he was sure of it. Something brushed against his cheek. Shepard’s fingertips directed his face back toward her. Painted in silver and framed by stars, she really was the most beautiful thing he ever saw.

“Hey.” It was all he could think to say.

“Hey,” she replied, her voice soft and low and breathy in a way that sent a tingle up his spine. She drew in, and he did too. He didn’t know who did it, but, her lips. They were hot, and her breath even hotter, and all of a sudden he never had to wonder again what it might be like to kiss her because now - now he knew, and he never, ever wanted to stop. Her fingers at the back of his head, running through his hair and cupping his face was all at once way too much and not nearly, nearly enough. She was lithe and firm and everything he ever hoped to feel, and in the rush of it he couldn’t tell if that little, desperate sound was hers or his own. It didn’t matter, because yes. If she wanted it, oh, he would give it to her. He would give her anything. Everything.

Breaking that kiss for air was maybe the hardest thing he’d ever done. Breath ragged and body trembling with adrenaline, Joker held her to him like she was tethering him to life. Shepard, for all her strength and fury, was nothing but tender with every kiss she placed and every touch to every part of him she felt - and, already, there were very few parts of him she hadn’t yet.

Her suit’s zipper peeled open and her skin was silky under his hands, dewy under his lips, and God, he could not stop shaking.

Soothing like water, she wrapped herself around him, cushioning his shuddering and her lips at his ear.

“Yes?” She whispered. It was a question. Calm and sweet and so utterly divorced from the maelstrom he was caught up in.

“Buh?”

She kissed his neck, maybe giving him time to think, before repeating, “yes?”

Oh, this woman. This wonderful, beautiful woman. “God, Fff-Yes,” he gasped. The word alone wasn’t strong enough and Joker grabbed her hips, grinding himself right up against her to let her feel how much ‘yes.’

His fly popped open and he lost any ability to think. There was only one thing to do, and it was very simple. Her breath was hot across him, and all of a sudden, full of sound. The most achingly beautiful whimper. He dragged his teeth up the soft skin of her neck that just a few moments before he’d tried so hard not to think about, and pushed.

Sweet fire. He lacked the words but maybe those would do. Sinking into her set every nerve alight with sweet, sweet fire. Her ankles crossed behind his back, almost spurring him on. Yes, yes, he had to be careful, but here, spinning with the stars, he didn’t have to be quite that careful. Whatever she was doing, it was working - with every stroke she tilted her hips a certain way and soon her eyes were fluttering closed, her lips parted, and her body squeezing in tighter. He still couldn’t stop shaking, but this time, the cause was obvious. Shepard’s mouth found his own and then there just wasn’t any holding back anymore. Her whole body locked up tight, her cry muffled by their kiss. He squirmed, straining to get even deeper inside somehow and rode it out with her, giving her his everything.

Breathless. Completely breathless. Curved around her body, he panted, his head resting between her breasts. God, he hoped it meant as much for her. If all the tingling as she laid kisses atop his head and fiddled with his ear was anything to go by, he figured it probably did.

“I hope they have a good filtration system,” she mumbled.

“I hope they don’t have any cameras,” he replied.

An orange glow hit the backs of his eyelids. “Well,” she sighed. “They don’t now.”

They snickered.

[o-wyrmlight]

So devsis aren't really clear with his backstory right?

From what I can see, it says that he is from a poor upbringing and didn't have a place to belong, which, sad, but like devsis how old is he

So rmb when carrow came out and you could see affogato in the bg? I think?

But then I saw some pics of affogato being short and fully embraced the hc

And then I was like: Ok how old is he

For all we know he could be 40, but there's probably something floating around in canon i haven't found yet

So I though: hey what if he's younger than carrow

So his timeline is now : starts wandering at about 8, and gets into the black citadel at 14

When canon events hit, we have a shortass 17 year old affogato, except no one knows cause no one can reliably dig out his non existent info, including affogato himself

He knows his birthday, but not which year he was born, so he assumes he's 7 when he's 3

No one assumes he's underage cause have you seen this man? He walks and talks like a 30 year old man pretending to be 20.

I'm not sure whether he genuinely doesn't know about what happens outside the walls, but it is mentioned that he wandered a lot, so I'm saying in this he knows, but he's just a petty unhelpful brat

Then I have this obsession with tk cookie, cause pretty, and she just sorta interferes with cannon and throws the ginger squad except chili on one side and says kids not allowed, which, fine

But then she throws affogato cookie to the side

Affo: BUT IM NOT A KID

TK: Ur literally 17

Affo: wait hol up Im 17??

And then just the chaos occurring after,because gingy having loose lips is canon

Sorry if this really doesn't it what you were expecting, feel free to delete. Just needed to scream into the void.

This is a pretty funny (albeit sort of sad) headcanon ngl. And you're fully entitled to your own headcanon, of course. But it's not really something I myself can get behind, considering I can appreciate the concept of shipping Affocao, and Affogato being like... 17 is a small 'yikes' moment for me. But that's a personal thing, lol.

[ashes-in-a-jar]

The Princess Hold: a Jon, Martin and Also Martin Tale

@dathen​ asked and I'm attempting to deliver XD

Really wanted to do this anyway as a sort of writing exercise. I hope y'all like it!

.

.

The Wind whipped around him angrily as though the air was cross at being forced to move around. The hallways, doors, shifting carpets, tacky plants and all that was that maze of a hotel were folding into themselves, creating a void for the air to rush in. Jon barely managed to find his bearings eventually completely losing his footing as the floor beneath him gave way into nothing. Vaguely he thought he was lucky he was on the bottom floor and immediately realized it didn't matter because now he was midair and falling fast.

He hardly had time to think beyond the bitter notion that while time and space didn't function, gravity seemed to work just fine when impact occurred.

Only it was not what he was expecting.

That is, it wasn't jarring or painful as it should have been. It was soft and gentle and made a muffled 'oomph' noise.

Jon tried to catch his breath as he looked up. His mind immediately calmed at the sight. Martin. His lovely Martin, slightly rattled was looking down at him as his arms were somehow wrapped around him in an almost princess hold.

But not quite.

Because the way he landed, there was no way a mere princess hold could catch him so securely and steadily. And that's when Jon looked up to his other side.

There was Martin. Again. As disheveled and surprised as the first.

"Christ, Jon??"

Jon whipped his head around to the first Martin. Then back to the other one. Then back again.

"Um..."

His mind took a moment to finally let the information seep in as he Knew what he was seeing. Oh. Interesting. It did not make it any less bizarre for him though. While fully comprehending what was going on he suddenly realized his current situation and his face began heating up.

"O-oh Martin. G-good. Um, it’s good to see you... both." He really didn't know which way to look and being held the way he was was not helping.

Martin (and... Also Martin?) must have read the daze and astonishment on his face because despite their evident bewilderment they both chuckled and gently set him down between them in perfect synchronization. They did not step back.

"W-what happened? We just got here, there was a hotel and suddenly..." Martin said, still confused.

"Jon what did you do this time?" The other Martin chided fondly.

"I, um, I killed Helen." They were not backing away and it was very distracting.

"Oh." Said one.

"Why?" Said the other.

Jon couldn't keep up. He just had a whole building implode like a black hole around him and he was still trying to adjust to the sudden change from being immersed in distorted, dizzying patterns to being back in the gray, eye-full, monotone landscape that now surrounded him and his beloved(s). He could hear the rain not too far away.

It was disorientating how nice and warm he suddenly felt. From both his sides. Both Martins had put their arms around his waist and back to steady him and kept their hands there. Two arms more than Jon was used to. It was strange. It was nice. It was... What were they talking about?

"Uhh.. I-It's a long story. Ish. I-I'll explain later." There is no way he could concentrate enough to explain all of the convoluted manipulation games he and Helen played. Not now when there are two very distracting persons standing so near him.

One Martin sighed "And of course you couldn't wait until you were safe outside to make her disappear."

"No. I'm sorry."

"It's okay Jon, we're just glad you're okay." The second Martin was stroking his back in reassuring circular motions.

"Uhh... H-how was your domain?" This is getting ridiculous. He needed a way to differentiate between the two Martin's in his mind otherwise he will just become more confused. He settled on a simple Right-Martin and Left-Martin where they were positioned around him accordingly.

"Uh, as you can probably tell, it was a... An enlightening journey of self discovery." Right-Martin said, eyeing Left-Martin reflectively. "I... didn't realize I’m quite so… argumentative."

Despite himself Jon snorted while Left-Martin rolled his eyes "Well..."

Right-Martin tightened his grip on Jon's back "Oh, be quiet you."

"I was going to say it goes both ways." Left-Martin smirked. "We had some important things to discuss so the split just... happened. Sort of underwhelming compared to what we're assuming you just went through, to be honest."

"Yeah." Right-Martin agreed.

"Hmm" Jon hummed, letting himself lean into Right-Martin's arms. He was quite groggy and being surrounded like this did not help him regain his attentiveness. Left-Martin stepped forward to sandwich Jon even further and buried his face in Jon's tousled hair. Right-Martin sighed and brought his arms down to tighten around Jon's lower back. Jon's breath stuttered slightly.

"So... Helen's gone then." Right-Martin said quietly.

"Yes." Jon breathed.

"Time to mourn?" Left-Martin asked. He lowered one hand to catch Jon's. It was a bit awkward in this position but his hand felt warm and secure so Jon wasn't complaining.

"You can if you want..." He looked up from Right-Martin's chest to his face. "Do you? want to mourn?"

"A bit? I mean, she was our friend, sort of."

"No she wasn't and you know it" Left-Martin quipped, squeezing Jon's hand. "She was just pretending to be our friend. Probably thought she had something to gain from it. You know how the Distortion is."

"Yeah, I guess. But she was one of the only other people we met on our journey that we could actually talk to. That must count for something, hm?"

"Maybe. But Jon killed her and probably had a good reason to, no?"

"Yeah, you're probably right, as usual." Right-Martin conceded begrudgingly.

"Well, when I'm right you're right. I'm you." Left-Martin stated and then unprompted leaned forward and planted a kiss on the Archivist’s left cheek.

Jon, who was half listening to the back and forth banter while blissfully basking in all that was his wonderful boyfriend Martin, started. "Wha-"

"Hey!" Right-Martin exclaimed.

Left-Martin rolled his eyes again. "Come on, you know you want to. Look how lovely and adorable he is." He pecked Jon's cheek again. Jon’s face was at this point so warm he felt like a Desolation domain in the making.

"Fine, yeah I do." Right-Martin tentatively looked at Jon who stared back wide eyed and gently leaned to plant an identical kiss on his right cheek.

Jon was almost gone at this point. This was more overwhelming than the confusion the Distortion tried to enforce on him. He hugged Right-Martin back with one arm and squeezed Left-Martin hand where it held his. They stayed that way for another moment before Jon gently extracted himself from between them, attempting to regain some semblance of control. He coughed and moved to straighten his hopelessly disheveled clothes and hair.

He could feel Martin slowly returning to himself, the effect of his domain wearing off as Left-Martin began fading while drifting closer to Right-Martin with a wispy, floating quality about him.

Jon was a bit disappointed at that. But maybe it was for the best. He's not sure he'd be able to handle having two of his boyfriend, even in the long run. Especially in the long run.

"M-Martin. Um... That was... Interesting. Th-thank you for the kisses."

Left-Martin let out one final snort before he faded into Right-Martin and became just. Martin.

They looked at each other a moment longer, drinking in one another's sight with endless affection. Jon broke the silence.

"If you need a moment to adjust, to... to mourn, take your time. But not too long."

Martin sighed in mixed relief and melancholy as he felt the effects of the merge. He smiled at Jon gently and asked "Why the sudden rush?"

"See that over there?" Jon pointed to the grey horizon, dark shapes sticking out like strange twisted fingers. "That's London"

"Oh." Martin said in a hushed tone. He laced his fingers with Jon's as they stood there, taking in the view.

"This is it then. The final leg of the journey."

"Yes." Jon said. "Let's find out if my efforts to clear our path were actually worthwhile."

"Hmm?" Martin hummed, confused.

"I'll explain on the way. Come on let's go."

He smiled fondly, oh so fondly at Martin, squeezing his hand.

Martin smiled back, lifted the hand to kiss it and stepped forward.

Jon followed suit and hand in hand they walked away from their meeting point, towards the unknown fate ahead.

[horatiocomehome]

In Memoriam

There was a child with a gun, and he was a general, and he sat next to a fire with his army camped around him. Across from him sat another boy, just as young — his bodyguard. Just two boys, barely teenagers, and a fire.

"What if I die?" the general whispered into the flames. "What if you die, or another one of my friends, or—" his voice cracked. "People have died! Because of things I've done! And it'll happen again, I know it will! And this upcoming battle… I'm scared. What if it's us?" Between the two of them, the fire crackled. "What if it's us?"

"Oh, please." Across the fire, his bodyguard stood up. "There's no way we're going to die. The others, maybe, but us? I mean," —he flexed his muscles, impressive only among other teenagers his age— "Just look at me! No one's going to get through to you. And you're the best tactician I've ever met, not to mention an amazing shot."

"Yeah…." the general agreed, hand falling automatically to the gun at his side. "No one's escaping this thing."

"Exactly! Besides, we made a deal. I keep you safe, you win us the war." He picked up his warhammer and, with a flourish, pointed it at the general. "Would you really break that promise?"

The general laughed. It was genuine, though his position lent it a bitter edge. "Nope. You'd better bet this thing is going all the way. Anything to beat the emperor, am I right?"

~~~

Ten years and a few days later and far from the camps of war in more than just distance, two ghosts sat on top of a school building and watched the empty road. It was early morning, but no one had arrived yet.

"Man, what's keeping them all?" The ghost named Art asked. "Did we miss a late start announcement or something?"

The other ghost, named Octavius, though he usually went by Tav, shook his head. "Don't you remember what day it is?"

"Oh." Art's gaze grew distant. "Ten years, huh?"

Tav elbowed him with a mischievous grin. "Ten years since you fucked up your job, am I right?"

Art shoved him back. "Hey, we won the war, didn't we? That promise was null and void!"

"Oh, yeah, sure, technicalities."

The two laughed off the old exchange. Though they brought it up regularly when they felt like bickering, neither much liked talking about the times leading up to their deaths. They were past that now, and it wasn't like they could change anything anyways. Better to just hang around the school and make light of the afterlife. Or at least, that was how it usually went. Art, for whatever reason, was feeling restless.

"Hey… do you want to go out exploring? See what the kids are up to nowadays?"

Tav thought about that a moment. "You know what, why not?" He stretched, floating up from his perch. "It's been a while since we've left the school, after all."

~~~

The last time they'd left the school had been a happier time, though the two hadn't yet met each other. It had been a warm fall day, the emperor's tightening reign a distant worry.

"Hey Tav!" His friend Luc called out. "There you are!"

He waved back and ran to catch up. "Hey! You ready for this break?"

"You bet I am! This week won't know what hit it! Speaking of which, I've got something to show you." Tav arched an eyebrow. "Oh really? Is it just another drawing of your girlfriend?"

Luc sputtered. "What? No! This is something you'll actually like! It's an artefact."

"Oooh, I do like me a good artefact," Tav said. "Do you know what it is?"

"I'm not sure actually! I think it might be some kind of weapon?"

"Well, I guess we'll find out!"

And so they left the school, on the way to the weapon Tav would wield in the coming days. They didn't look back then. Later though, somehow elected most fit to lead their ragtag group of rebels, Tav would long for those days before the school was closed. For those days when all he had to care about was playing with his friends.

~~~

Now, as a ghost, Tav hadn't seen his friends in years, just Art. That was fine with him though. Better to have fun than be reminded of what he was missing, right?

Speaking of fun, he and Art were currently having the time of their lives thwarting the efforts of some jerk from the school and his father as they tried putting away groceries. He giggled as Art set out a bottle of milk in the exact spot it had just been put away from, then when the kid turned around and let out a cry of surprise, Tav scooped flour out of a jar and back into the bag the father had just poured it out of.

Finally, the father set down the groceries he was holding and went over to a stairway leading to the upper floor. "Honey, can you come down and help? These groceries are giving us more trouble than we thought."

A muffled voice replied, then a few seconds later a woman — presumably the mother — walked down the stairs. And Tav froze.

"Hang on a minute," Art said, "is that the figurehead of the rebellion, slayer of the emperor—"

"My best friend," Tav choked out. "Luc."

Art said something else, but Tav didn't hear. Luc had changed so much since he'd last seen her. She looked so old — easily late in her twenties now. It showed in her face, but mostly in the way she held herself. It was like there was some weight on her shoulders pushing her down. It wasn't right. They'd won, hadn't they? So why didn't his friend look happy?

Before he could think more on that, another thought pushed it out of his head. If that man was the kid's father, and he'd called Luc 'Honey' — she had a family? She'd grown up, gotten married — though not to her old girlfriend, apparently — and had a kid.

And he'd just been at the school the whole time. Completely unaware as time kept passing by.

"Tav. Tav!" Art poked him hard on the cheek. "I'm going to go on to the next house. I get it if you need a minute, but don't stay too long, okay?"

Tav nodded. As his friend flew off, he floated down a side hallway himself. It felt too strange seeing Luc older to stay in the room with her. The rest of the house, though, was that same off-putting mix of old and new. Luc's old sword, hung between pictures of a wedding and posing with an adoption certificate. An old stone tablet he and Luc had dug up together, displayed next to a plastic trophy.

And then, in the corner of a library-looking room, a table. On it was a picture of Tav and a picture of Art. The two almost looked like they could be the age of Luc's kid. Between them, two identical medals. A memorial.

~~~

A general and his bodyguard lay, hand in bloody hand, sunk down in the mud of the battlefield. The bodyguard pinned to the ground by a spear through his gut, and the general with no energy to go for help.

"Do you think I'll become a ghost? When I die?" The bodyguard rasped.

The general's chest tightened with the certainty of the words. When. Not if. "What do you mean?"

The bodyguard broke into a coughing fit, more blood wrenching itself free of his body. "I just… thought it might be nice. Maybe I could— I could hang out with you some more."

"Yeah. That would be nice." A tear rolled down the general's cheek. His breaths were slower now, as was the beating of his heart. "Maybe I can be a ghost too. And we can leave all of this behind."

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

White Lies (Pt. 07 of 21)

Pairing: Keanu Reeves X Reader

Word count: 2.4 K

Summary: Keanu found the girl almost dead, in the wrecks of what was once her car. While she was in surgery, stuck in a coma, he gathered the best doctors of New York to attend to her. They told him she is likely to have some kind of brain damage, what may lead to memory loss. And this possibility added up wit the fact that she's pregnant, made the council come up with an odd idea. They asked Keanu to pretend to be her husband, since the stress of finding out everything that happened could put the baby in danger. He reluctantly agreed, but only if she does has some kind of memory loss. He still goes she'll wake up soon, with her memories intact.

But when you finally wake up, there's nothing inside. You're quick to find your head is empty, void, like a blank canvas. The only thing that brings you some relief, that makes you feel less lonely is the mention of a husband. And you can't wait to meet him, because you know you can't deal with this by yourself.

<- Previous part (06)

Next part (08) ->

{Keanu Reeves Masterlist}

{John Wick Masterlist}

×

Attraction

“It's so tiny.” You say, looking at the ultrasound picture you just got from your baby. It's week twelve, and the first trimester is almost over. You'll feel less uncomfortable, or so say the doctors, but a lot of different things are going to happen. You're excited about that. “And beautiful.” Walking fast, you let Keanu guide you through the hospital since you're a bit late to meet with Dr. Harris.

“Do you want a boy or a girl?” He asks, looking down at you.

“Boy.” You're quick to answer, smiling at him. “And I know you want a girl.”

“You know me so well.” He mutters when you reach Dr. Harris's office. “I'll leave you to it and go talk with Dr. Wright.”

“Alright.” Tiptoeing, you place a quick kiss on his cheek before heading inside, fast enough so he won't get a look at your blushing cheeks.

Dr. Harris stands up when she sees you, a smile on her lips. “Mrs. Reeves, good morning.” She says, gesturing for you to seat on the divan next to her. “How are you feeling today?”

Dr. Harris is great, but everything she asks is part of the appointment. You don't mind though, she helps a lot to put your thoughts in place. “I'm great. The first trimester is almost over and... Everything is great. Keanu and I are getting along very well.” You decide to bring your husband into the conversation because she'll ask about him anyway.

“That's very good to hear.” You settle down on the divan, pulling your legs up as she takes her place on the armchair. “Have you and Mr. Reeves spoken about the future of your marriage?”

“We'll try.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Elaborate, (Y/N). Dr. Harris never takes the short answer. “We'll try to make it work. I don't want the accident to break apart a good marriage so...” Running a hand through your hair, you sigh. “We had this settled a while ago, and it's been working well so far.”

“Have you and Mr. Reeves ever gotten... Intimate?”

The question makes you move in your seat, sitting up straight. “We hug a lot... And kisses on cheeks are frequent.” You two are growing closer, and you're happy to feel that he's not pushing himself away to make you comfortable. Keanu is letting you set the pace, and it's up to you to chose what step to take next.

“That was not what I meant.” She adds. “I asked if you and your husband have been... Romantically intimate.”

“Oh...” Clearing your throat, you bite your lip. You weren't expecting that, and you don't need this... Image in your head. Not when you've been thinking about kissing him ever since Lucia visited. “No, no. There's the baby so...”

“First of all, this is a common myth about pregnancy.” Resting her notebook on her lap, Dr. Harris looks at you. She's reading you, you know it. “It wouldn't hurt the baby in any way. But this isn't the point. I just need to know if Mr. Reeves tried to approach you that way, and if he did, how you felt about it.”

You're as red as a tomato now, you're sure of it. “Keanu is... Respectful. He doesn't push me into anything. We're... I'm still sleeping in the guest room and he's completely fine with it.” Why does everyone is so worried about Keanu trying to get intimate? He's your husband, it's only natural.

“And won't you sleep on the same bed with your husband?”

“I don't know.” She asks too many questions, and you don't usually have much time from one topic to the other. It makes your head hurt a little, having to deal with so many feelings and situations. “Maybe I should because... Because I really like being around him. I'm just waiting until I'm ready, I think.”

“And when do you think that will be?”

Sighing, you don't know what to answer. And you don't want to. Maybe Dr. Harris doesn't have to know everything. Some things are better if kept in between you and Keanu.

Dr. Wright's words are in the background as his mind floats away. (Y/N) is everything he can think about. Time and time again he's caught in the lie he built, wanting, wishing it was real. He knows he shouldn't let this happen. He knows he shouldn't let himself have feelings for her, but how could he not?

(Y/N) isn't just beautiful. She's kind, honest, caring. He never thought he would feel this way towards a woman. And it sometimes makes him angry that this didn't happen differently. That he didn't meet her, before she was married of course, maybe in the same way he told her about their fake first meeting. In an airport, where he'd approach her, talk to her, and if he was lucky, get her number. So things would be right.

“Mr. Reeves?”

“Yes.” He clears his throat, moving on his seat. “The headaches are still constant. Almost every day she complains about it, but they're less intense.” He's impressed that he was able to answer the doctor correctly. “But other than that, she's doing well.”

“That's good.” And he goes on again, basically repeating himself, saying things Keanu already knows by heart.

He knows what to do. He knows he has to call emergency if (Y/N) faints. Or if she feels too sleepy. He knows all the little things he has to pay attention to. As if he didn't have his eyes on her all the damn time.

Keanu loves watching her. When she's lying down watching TV, both her legs over his, a hand on her belly. When she cooks, not allowing him to help sometimes, as she moves around the kitchen. And God, her laughter. It lights up his whole world. Keanu thinks he could literally die if he goes too long without a flash of her smile.

“That will be all, I guess.” Dr. Wright says, taking one last look at his papers. “If you need anything, you can always call me.”

“Thank you, Dr. Wright.” He says, standing up to his feet and shaking the man's hand.

Keanu makes his way through the halls, to Dr. Harris' office. Once he's there, he peeks through the rectangular window on the door. She's seated on the divan, facing the doctor, legs crossed, and hands on her lap. He can hear their voices, low, but clear enough since the hall is empty and silent.

He doesn't want to listen. This is between her and her psychologist, and if there's anything she wants him to know, she'll tell him about it. But when he hears his name... His unconsciously listening, it doesn't matter how hard he tries to focus on his phone.

“How would you describe your feelings for Mr. Reeves?” The question has him full alert, holding his breath.

“Well... They're... Growing.” She answers, clearly a little confused. “I know that's not what you're expecting me to say but...”

“It's alright if you don't want to talk about it.”

“It's not that I don't want to talk about it, I just...” Her voice fades, and Keanu rests his back against the wall, trying to listen better. “I want things to fall in place before talking to you. I know I'm supposed to tell you everything and you do help me, but... I don't know. There are a lot of things I just don't know yet.”

“That's completely fine.” The doctor says, and a pause follows. “And what do you think Mr. Reeves feels for you?”

Keanu freezes, holding his breath once again. What will she answer? He feels guilty for listening, but this is something he needs to know. Closing his eyes shut, he tries to hear her voice above the pounding noise of his heart.

“He says he loves me.”

“And do you believe it?”

Silence again. For long seconds, almost a lifetime. “I do, I just... I was hoping he'd be more... Touchy, I think?” She giggles, nervously. “But he already told me that he'll let me set the pace in things, so...”

“Mr. Reeves is quite a gentleman.” Dr. Harris' says, and Keanu chuckles. “He won't push you, and that's good. Not many men would be so patient.”

“I know... Keanu is... Absolutely amazing.” (Y/N) mutters, and Keanu releases his breath, his lungs burning to the sensation.

“Well, this will be it for today.” Dr. Harris says, and he sets in motion, getting up to his feet. Running a hand through his hair, he stares at the door, waiting for her to show up. And when she does, he gets the same feeling he always has when he sees her. Like his world stops, like his heart will jump off his chest. It doesn't matter how much time he spends around her, this sensation never goes away. She's a sight for sore eyes, unbelievably beautiful.

The drive home is peaceful, and Keanu stops to get you ice cream. Back home, you both make lunch and eat together in the kitchen. Then you go take a nap, only to wake up when the sun is setting.

Making your way through the house, looking for Keanu, you start thinking he's out when you hear something coming from the garage. Bracing yourself from the cold, you go there, smiling to see Keanu in the back. You know he loves motorcycles, and he has three. Well, he has three now, since the new one just got here a week ago. Silently, you walk past the two cars, watching as he rubs a piece of fabric on the bike's seat.

“Hey.” You announce yourself, leaning against the hood of the nearest car.

“Hi, beautiful.” Keanu's eyes lay on you, as he moves to stand up straight.

“When will you take me on a ride?” The idea just came to your head, and you can't help but imagine what it would feel like. Speeding through the streets with the wind on your hair, holding on to Keanu...

“We can go around the neighborhood. But I don't think it's a good idea to good further yet. You're still recovering and there's the baby.” As he speaks, you walk over him, giving the new bike a look. The machine is huge, probably very heavy, and it suits him very well.

“Alright.” You agree, gesturing at the bike. “Can I... Can I ask something?”

“Sure.” Throwing the rag he was using on the wooden table in the corner, he lightly touches your thigh. “What is it?”

Blushing, you look down, touching the leather seat of the bike. “Do you find me attractive?” The words come out so low you wonder if he actually heard you.

“Why are you asking me that?”

“I asked first.” You burst out, putting a strand of hair behind your ear, glancing at him before turning your eyes at the bike.

“Yes.” He simply says in a soft voice. “You're a beautiful woman.” With his index finger under your chin, he makes you look at him again. “Why did you ask me that?”

“I... I really wanted to know.” Almost involuntary, you give a tiny step forward, standing on your toes just a little bit.

“Does it goes both ways?”

His question makes you giggle. “You're really asking if I find you attractive?”

“I really want to know,” Keanu whispers, his hands sliding to caress your cheek.

“Of course I do.” You whisper too, your hands coming to lay on his sides, holding on to his shirt. “Ke... Can I ask for something?”

“Anything, beautiful.” He assures you, and your eyes are locked on his lips. You need to feel them. You can't wait anymore, you're ready for this, right now.

“Kiss me.” You plead, tiptoeing, both hands grabbing a fist full of the fabric of his shirt.

“Are you sure?”

“I am.” You expect him to hesitate, as he usually does, but it's different now.

Keanu bends down, and you close your eyes to feel his lips brushing on yours. It's like sweet torture, the anticipation. At first, he only pecks your lips, quick and soft, but he doesn't pull away after. You're holding your breath, a little numb from the proximity, hands moving from his sides to grab the collar of his shirt, fearful he'll step away. He doesn't. Instead, you feel his lips on yours again, slowly at first, as your mind goes blank for a moment. Everything else fades away, and nothing else matters. His hands come to your waist, holding, grounding you. You're moving closer, wanting to climb on him. You're not thinking straight, but it doesn't matter. Pulling away just to catch your breath, you quickly kiss him again, parting your lips to let him in, deepening the kiss.

There's a burning sensation spreading through your body, but you don't fight it. You let it sink in, take over. But you need to breathe, your lungs screaming for a break, so you pull apart, still holding him close.

“Was this ok?” Keanu asks, his hands moving away from your body.

“Absolutely.” You assure him, nodding, still not ready to let go of him. “It was good... Right?”

“It was amazing.” With a hand on your cheek, Keanu smiles before capturing your lips on another kiss.

×

@multific @inumorph @aestheticallywinchester @bvbwestfall @liviiii98 @allie1804-fan @gian-giannina @playboygeniusphilanthropist @partypoison00 @mariafetamina @fortheloveoffanfic @trin303

[writteninkat]

vii - stargazing idiots

word count - 2,854

warnings - reader goes through what is caused by past trauma, mentions of death, mentions of murder

"Angels like you can't fly down hell with me. I'm everything they said I would be."

index

Right after All Might showed up, your body gave up on you and Tsuyu and Izuku had to help keep you up. Your eyelids felt heavier than ever and your head felt like it was going to burst. Your breathing is ragged and the last thing you see is Aizawa's bloodied body before darkness swallows you hole.

It's cold. So very cold.

You open your eyes only to be greeted by a never ending darkness. You feel like you're floating in water.

"Y/n." You hear his all too familiar voice. It's deep, if you could feel it it would feel like rubbing against sandpaper, it's also very cold and a sound that's void of any emotion.

"You did this to me." All of a sudden, Aizawa is standing in front of you, face bloodied and brusied, arms broken and turned to numerous directions. "Why are you so weak?!" He yells as tears begin streaming down your face.

You curl your body, placing your hand on your ears to try and block out your teacher's voice, but it's as if they're everywhere. They're around and inside you.

"I died because of you!" Aizawa yells, gis voice echoing inside your head. "The nomu didn't kill me, you did! You are a murderer! It's because you're so weak that I died!"

You scream, your body feeling immense pressure as hot tears stream down your face. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" You yell.

"You killed me. You can never be a hero. You are a murderer, you hear me! I murderer!" You open your eyes, your body shaking as you watch his hand about to grab you.

"I'm not a murderer!" You yell, your eyes opening to the sight of a white ceiling. "Y/n! Calm down! It's just a nightmare!" You hear his gruff voice beside you, it always managed to calm you down. As you turn your head to face him, Katsuki can't help but feel his heart break at the sight of your cheeks wet with tears and eyes red and puffy.

"Suki..." You sob, your body immediately being pulled into a warm hug as Katsuki whispers shushes into your ear. His hand strokes your hair as his arms tigten around you. "It's okay, just let it all out. Cry to me. I'm right here."

Your loud sobs and yelling fill the rooms, even alerting some of the nurses but Katsuki motions for them to leave you two alone.

Your heart feels like it's being crushed and it feel difficult to breathe. Despite this, you don't want Katsuki to let you go. You don't want his familiar warmth to leave your side, not now when you're feeling especially vulnerable.

When your sobs quiet down, Katsuki slowly pulls away, looking into your eyes. "Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm here." He shushes, wiping away your tears as his eyes analyze yours.

"You're okay. What made you cry out like that?" He asks, thumb caressing your cheek softly. You place a hand on his wrist, melting into his touch as you closed your eyes, letting your tears fall.

"Aizawa sensei... He... I killed-"

"We heard Y/n was yelling. What's wrong?!" Midnight barges in, making you immediately turn to her. Behind her she has Present Mic and someone else who's wrapped up in bandages.

Your eyes widen, "Aizawa... sensei..." You mutter, the bandaged-up person tilting his head to the side. "Yes? Are you okay, Y/n?"

Tears fill your eyes again, but this time, there's no longer weight on your shoulders or heart and it feels much easier to breathe. You start sobbing once again, Katsuki looking lost and confused as to what he's supposed to do.

"You're not dead!" You sob, "I thought I killed you- hic- because I was too weak!" You cry out, using your knuckles to wipe away your tears only for them to be replaced by new ones.

"I thought I became a murderer-hic-because I was too weak to protect you, and you died because of me!" You don't even notice Aizawa walking up to you. Despite his bandaged state and the casts he has on both arms, he pulls you into a slightly awkward hug. You wrap your arms around his torso, careful not to hurt him with it.

"Why are you carrying such a burden? Why do you have such thoughts, little girl?" Aizawa asks, his tone hurt. "I have these injuries because I chose to protect you, my students. If I ever get hurt, never, and I mean never blame yourself for it."

You bury your face onto his chest, tears rolling at his words. "Heroes go through stuff like these every time. We sacrifice ourselves to protect the weak and also to keep the peace. In your journey to becoming a hero, you will encounter many situations like these, some are even more worse. But just remember my words-" he pushes you softly, looking down at your swollen eyes. "-have courage, have faith on yourself and the people around you. Trust in them to prevail through just like how you will. Remember that we are all strong because we are heroes but that doesn't mean we have to carry all the burden by ourselves. Be good to yourself and let go if you need to. You're only sixteen, it's okay to act like a child sometimes."

You never thought you'd hear those words from your homeroom teacher who always seemed so indifferent, but at the end of the day, he truly does care about his students from the bottom of his heart.

"Good evening, visiting hours ended five minutes ago. Only miss L/n's guardian if allowed to stay with her." A nurse knocks on your open door, catching everyone's attention.

"I'll be her guardian-" Katsuki cuts off Midnight's words, "Not so fast. I'm her guardian."

"None of you are my guardians." You sigh, "It's been a tiring day and I just want you all to rest. Especially you guys, Aizawa sensei and Katsuki." You move to lay on your bed, but Katsuki raises you a questioning brow.

"What do you mean long day? You've been out for two days." Your eyes widen at his words. You turn to look at the teachers and they all giving knowing nods. "Wait- so does that mean-" You point at Katsuki who rolls his eyes, "Yes, dumbass. I've been watching over you this whole time." At the realization of his words, Katsuki turns away to hide his blush and yet again, fails to notice the red tips of his ears.

"Anyway, the doctors say that you'll be discharged tomorrow morning so you can-" You cut of Aizawa, "Finally go back to school!" You sigh, stretching your arms out and then letting out a sigh.

"I was going to say stay home and rest but if that's what you want then I won't stop you. Bakugou." Katsuki turns around, his face and ears no longer flushed and is back to it's natural scowling state. "I'm not sure how or why your parents allowed you to stay here at the hospital but I'm glad at least someone is taking care of her. There are many qualified pros scouting this area especially at night so you two can rest easy."

With one last nod, the teachers all walk away, bidding the two of you good night. The door closes and you reach over to take your phone from the bedside table, unlocking it. Your eyes widen at the sight of forty-seven missed calls from your mom and just as many number of unread text messages.

"Your mom was called by the school about your situation and assured her that you were alright, but I guess that didn't stop her from blowing up your phone." Katsuki says, eyes on the apple he's peeling.

"Sorry about that, I bet you didn't get enough sleep with all the calling." Your eyebrows knit together in cringe as you force out a smile to which Katsuki shakes his head at. "Your mom is probably the one who didn't get any sleep at all. You should call her and ensure to her that you're alright." He points the knife at your phone before returning back to peeling the apple.

You call your mother in facetime and it rings twice before she answers. "Y/n oh my god! Are you alright, baby?! No, don't answer that. I'm on my way there right now-"

"Mom, what do you mean on your way- here in Japan?" Your eyes scan her background, heart falling to your stkmach as you recognize the airport.

"Hold on! Stop, stop! Mom! You have work back there in the states, you can't come to Japan."

"But you're hurt-"

"Mom," You sigh, "Look, I'm sorry for worrying you. But I swear, I'm fine. Just a few bruises and scrapes but what's a hero without scars, am I right?"

Your mom looks like she stopped walking as she sends you a wordied expression to which you smile reassuringly at her. "I'm fine, mom. Don't worry about me. I'll be able to take care of myself."

"But who's taking care of you in the hospital? I'm going there right now and-"

"Mom, even if you did come here now, I'll be discharged by the time you get here. Plus-" you look at Katsuki who's busy slicing the apples into little slices, designing them to look like bunnies. "-Someone's already taking care of me here. I'll be fine."

Your mother sighs, defeated as you watch her turn around. "Just- stay safe okay? I don't have anyone else."

"I know, mom. I love you so much."

"I love you more, my baby girl."

The two of you pucker your lips for a kiss before ending the call. You lean your back onto your now inclined bed, looking down at the bunny slice Katsuki is offering you. He still has that glare in his eyes, but if you look into them even more, they're much more softer. You take the slice from his fingers, letting out a soft thank you before taking a bite.

"When you blamed yourself a while ago." He starts, making you flinch at the topic. "Don't do that again."

"Suki-"

He slams the knife onto the table, "Please. It's not your fault. Even the strongest people have weaknesses. Don't put all the weight on yourself, please."

Your eyes widen at how vulnerable his voice sounds right now. You reach over, placing a hand on his soft hair. You smile softly, "Alright. I'm sorry I did that. I promise to rely on you more."

Katsuki looks up at you, eyes glassy and face flushing. "I never said you needed to rely on m-"

"I wanna look at the stars." You cut him off quickly, hopping off your bed to saunter towards the window. You push the glass window open, leaning in and taking a deep breath of the cold night air, smiling. You look up at the stars, wishing you had access to the rooftop since the view would be better up there.

"You know, we are at the twenty fifth floor of the hospital." Katsuki says, folding the fluffy blanket that you didn't even realize you were using. You don't think it's yours given that you've never seen it before. Was it Katsuki's?

"What are you saying?" You ask, letting him put on a sweater on you. Again, this piece of warm clothing wasn't yours as well. But by the sweet caramel scent it gave off, you come to a conclusion that this belonged to the angry blond gremlin who is currently standing on the window why the hell is he standing on the window?!

"Bakugou! Are you crazy?! Get off the window now!" You yell, pulling at his pants. "Oh stop being a square." He pushes the warm blanket on you, pulling you with him off the window and out of the hospital room. Before you let out a scream, he uses his quirk to push you two upwards, his hand gripping your sides tightly as your feet land on the cemented rooftop of the hospital.

At the notice of you no longer in the doorstep of death, you resort to hitting Katsuki's arm, letting your mouth run as you lecture him about how dangerous that act was. He responds to your reprimanding with a loud, milky, genuine laugh. Your hand comes to a hault as well as your mouth and you just stand there, awestruck at how handsome Katsuki actually looks when he's smiling.

You place a closed hand on your chest, feeling as your heart thumps against it vigorously. Ah, there it was again. The butterflies in your stomach that made your body feel lighter than it usually felt and your drying throat as well as your sweating palms.

"Come on, I find stargazing relaxing." He says, the usual angry tone of his voice gone, catching you off guard. He wraps his hand around your wrist softly, pulling you towards the center of the rooftop. He places the soft blanket on the ground, folding it once so it isn't too thin before laying down, patting the empty space for you. You mirror his actions, laying down beside him as you gazed up at the stars.

"You ever wonder what the alternative universe us are like?" You ask, eyes staring up at the twinkling stars as Katsuki raises a brow, turning his head towards you. "You believe in that bullshit?" He chuckles, making you gasp. "Don't call it bullshit! What else are the stars for??"

Katsuki presses his lips together to stop his laughter, "I don't know~ What are they for?" He asks you, tone sarcastic and pushing you off the edge. "To tell us about the future, and to show us how many other worlds are there other than ours!"

Katsuki can no longer hold in his laughter, clutching his stomach as he laughs his heart out. You narrow your eyes at him, pouting and crossing your arms against your chest. "Let me guess, let me guess." Katsuki wipes a tear away, "You also believe in the red string of fate?"

"How could you not believe it when-" You stop yourself from continuing your words. How could you not believe it when it caused the two of us to meet?

"When what? Come on, tell me! I promise not to laugh." You turn away, sitting up. Katsuki is still laughing as he follows you, taking your hand in his. "What else do I not know about you?" He asks, curling his four fingers with yours as he stands his thumb up, preparing for a thumb wrestle. You follow his actions and the two of you start the game. "I can't swim." You start.

"I had a pet goldfish but it died after a week." Katsuki chuckles.

"I only ever had two friends growing up- they were my mother's bodyguards. Eliot and Andrew."

"I like to cook."

"I still have my stuffed toys from when I was young."

"I tried to learn how to drive but after almost running over a cat, I swore never to drive again."

"I was pretty popular in middle school."

You chuckle, "I was bullied in middle school."

Katsuki stops moving his thumb, allowing you to pin his down. Your face brightens up as you smile, "I win!" You look up at him, smile almost immediately falling at the sight of his grin expression.

His head drops, covering up his eyes. "Hey, what happened? Did I say something wrong? Come on Suki, talk to me."

"I'm- Do you hate bullies?" He asks, his head still hanging.

"Well, hate is a strong word..." You look up at the stars, as if they were going to give you the right word you were looking for. "But I dislike them. What's the point of putting down someone especially when they've done nothing wrong to you? I don't use the word hate because I don't want to use it incorrectly, but to me bullies are sometimes just misunderstood or something. They have that superiority complex and I like to think that they have it because of their past that we don't know about or the thoughts they have in their heads."

You feel him padding his thumb over your hand. "Hey, you okay?" You ask, cupping his jaw to make him look uo at you. The look in his eyes, takes you aback- he looks so sad and regretful which only stirrs up more questions in your head.

"You're so good. You're such a good person, Y/n." His words cause you to furrow your brows in confusion. What was going on inside his head?

He drops his head to your shoulder, "You're an angel, Y/n. People are so lucky to have you in their lives."

You don't even think twice before the words leave uour mouth. "Even you?"

It takes him a few moments to respond and you begin to think that you made a mistake asking him that, but you feel him nod on your shoulder. "Especially me."

[thatonetwig]

Some Abstract Stars and Cloudberry (Zeta x Omicron x Sigma) writing snippets and headcanons

• Since Zeta is a mob boss, he was a bit skeptical of Hood's relationship with Void when he heard he was dating an extremely popular cosmic pop star.

○ "Aye, you know I got money for ya if you need it, son. All you have to do is ask."

"I'm telling you it's not about money, Zeta! We really do love each other!"

"Uh-huh, I'm sure about you, but I dunno 'bout him."

• Zeta and Void have a bit of a rivalry with each other. They...really didn't like each other the first time they met.

○ "So yer' the overrated pop star my boy is seein'? He could do better. Especially with someone...taller. You look like an ant from up 'ere.", Zeta scoffed, taking a puff of his cigar.

"What about you? Doesn't it get annoying hitting your head in the doorframe every time you try to walk through one? Also, what's that on your tie?", Void said, trying to hide his anger.

"Eh?", Zeta said, looking down at it.

Void then floated up and smacked Zeta's cigar out of one of his many hands and into his face.

"At least I can hit my head when I want to. Hehe.", Void said, chuckling in satisfaction as he placed his feet back on the ground.

"Why you little-"

"Hey guys! Are y'all okay in here?", Hood said, poking his head in the room.

The two immediately stopped butting heads and turned to face him with smiles.

"Yep...just...fine!", Void said with much effort.

"How...nice yer' partner is, son!", Zeta said as his hands balled up into fists, and a popping vein appeared on his head.

"Glad to see you two are getting along! 'Kay, let's go out for some food! I'll be waiting for you guys outside!"

The two nodded their heads as Hood left and a door was heard opening and closing.

Zeta and Void exchanged glances fueled by resentment for each other before walking to catch up with Hood.

• On the topic of Zeta, he's protective of his partners but doesn't want to express it too much to them.

○ "We're going out.", Sigma said, grabbing his bag and picking up Omicron.

"Aye, don't forget your things.", Zeta said.

Sigma gave him an annoyed sigh and turned to face him.

"Zeta, we are fucking grown men. We don't need your damn protection. We can take care of our own asses."

"You better watch your tone with me. Take them, or I'm coming with y'all.", Zeta said, firmly stating his choice.

"UNHAND ME MY SECONDARY HENCHMAN! LEST YOU FACE THE PUNISHMENT OF NO CUDDLES!", Omicron exclaimed as he struggled in Sigma's grasp.

"Yeah, whatever he said.", Zeta added.

Sigma inhaled deeply while slapping his free hand over his face and exhaled as he let it drop back to his side.

"Fine...", Sigma said, putting Omicron down before attaching a gun holster to his belt and putting a tracker in his bag.

"There. Happy?"

"Ah, ah! You're forgetting one more thing!", Zeta said as he crossed his arms.

Sigma sighed again before he walked over to Zeta and quickly kissed him on the cheek.

"Hey! Um...some assistance here!", Omicron said as he waved his arms in the air.

Sigma picked the small wizard up and held him up to Zeta, to which they kissed each other. Sigma then turned Omicron around and kissed him, too.

"'Kay', you two stay safe now...love you two.", Zeta added.

"We love you too...", Sigma said, lowering his head in embarrassment.

"I share the same affection you have, henchman! I can assure you that this journey will not be long!", Omicron exclaimed.

A faint blush appeared on Sigma's face.

("Fucking Christ, this little guy is so cute..."), Sigma muttered as he facepalmed and turned around to leave.

I love these ships so much-

[cluelessgurl]

Hey guys, this is like my first fic ever so I hope you like it. I’d love any feedback as it always helps. Enjoy :)

This was requested by the lovely @jedicatt

You and Him

Pairing- Anakin Skywalker X Female Reader

Summary- You are the outspoken representative of Alderaan and the sister of Bail Organa. When you are under threat, you are put under Jedi protection by no other than Anakin.

Warnings- None :)

Words- 2.7K

The luscious green, peaceful world of Alderaan had been your home since birth. Growing up under the success of your brother Bail meant you always wanted to follow his footsteps, and as you grew older your passion for politics was apparent. You were well-spoken but people would always describe you as fiery, you knew you had to stand up for what you believed in and sometimes that got you in trouble. Like the time, when you as a representative of Alderaan beside your brother Bail spoke out against malicious ways of the Trade federation quite blatantly, so much so, your brother swore he heard hundreds of gasps echoing through the senate. This was definitely one of the times you caused yourself trouble, but this time you swore you'd never take it back because this time, you met him.

‘I don't understand why there's any need for this!’ you gasped out you as scurried to catch up to Bail who was currently huffing down the corridors of the senate, ‘Of course you don't, you never understand when I tell you anything, like when I told you to not associate politics and your rather explicit personal view of the Trade federation together yet here we are’ he exclaimed. Smiling up at him ‘Uh yes, however, they deserved everything I suggested about them and you know it Bail and so do hundreds of other delegates. But Jedi protection? That's highly unnecessary and hyperbolic’, he looked down at you sternly but you could see the amusement in his eyes ‘ Well your suggestions have now got us on the tracks of bounty hunters and assassins,we are in danger, and by ‘we’ I mean you specifically. So I suggest this be the time you do listen’ you sighed in defeat, your brother had always been protective of you, he claimed it was due to your ‘outlandish’ ways but you knew it was because he cared for you. As you made it to the docking bay stepping into your yellow speeder, Bail spoke out ‘We’re heading back to the quarters and there we’ll meet our Jedi representative, please try and be polite or say nothing at all, both are fine’ he chucked, you looked up at him with an unamused expression as he turned the speeder around mid-air , why must he always treat you as if you were a child you thought frustratedly,but then proceeded to smirk the way you always did ‘Of course brother, when have I ever disappointed you’ he managed to give you smile before you sped off.

This is my mission, why must Obi-Wan escort me there as if I am a mere youngling, my master is a wise man, but his misunderstandings about my abilities are frustrating to say the least, Anakin’s mind rushed with thoughts as the elevator bolted up towards the quarters when his thread was broken by Obi- Wan ‘You seem a little on edge, nervous for your first mission?’ Anakin turned swifty ‘Not at all’ he replied a little unconvincingly ‘Are you sure? I haven’t felt you this tense since we fell into that nest of Gundarks’ Obi -Wan chipped amused, “Of course” thought Anakin, rolling his eyes, ‘You fell into that nightmare Master, and I rescued you remember?’ Obi-Wan pondered ‘Oh, yes’ followed by a hearty chuckle, this made Anakin smile. He did appreciate all that he and his master had been through, and after all he did care for him, as this thought passed the padawan’s mind,the elevator came to a halt, and the doors opened. Obi-Wan strode into the quarters, Anakin at his heel, if he was being completely honest, this was not the most thrilling first assignment , Aayla told him that she went ventured into the the notorious streets of Corellia as her first mission without Master Tholme, that all changed though, it all changed when he set his eyes on you. You stood there tall, confident with the most mesmerising smile he had ever seen on any species, it made his heart soar even though he’d never met you, though your eyes said different, they shone bright like the suns on Tatooine, like they’d known him for a thousand cycles with a sense of mischief clear, your hair framed your face perfectly like everything about you, perfect that’s what you were to him, perfect. Anakin was lost in you, so much so that he didn’t hear any of the conversation that was taking place, he only came to his senses when Obi-Wan gave him a rather harsh nudge ‘Anakin!’ he muttered. You chuckled softly looking up Bail.Anakin blinked ‘My apologise Senator Organa, and -uh..’ ‘Y/N, Y/N Organa representative of Alderaan’ you replied gleefully ‘Pleasure to meet you Master Kenobi and Anakin’, you must admit to yourself, when you thought you were going to be under Jedi protection, your imagination took you to the likes of Master Yoda,you did not expect men like Obi-Wan and Anakin who were quite frankly, far too dashing. Maybe this would be fun after all.

After brief discussion, it was decided that you were to be escorted back to Alderaan to the family country house under Anakin’ protection. Following a small , private bicker with Bail about sending you away from the Senate, you gave in and said your goodbyes to him and Master Kenobi and waited for Anakin to do the same. ‘I have faith in you Anakin, keep Y/N safe and don’t do anything without discussing with me or the council first’ Obi-Wan spoke somewhat tense himself ‘I assure you, I will master’ Anakin replied with a strange determination in his eyes, ‘Well then,you best hurry’.

As you two settled down in the surroundings of your passenger starship, covered by unknown faces, Anakin took it upon himself to get to know you. ‘So, what is a lady like you doing as a representative in the senate?’ he quipped, the smile you gave him yet again brought warmth to his heart, ‘Well, I have a tendency to speak my mind, so I thought why not put it to good use?’ you noticed how Anakin’s face sweetly scrunched up as he let out a most sincere chuckle ‘How about you? What is a flyboy like you doing at the Jedi temple’ you asked out of genuine curiosity ‘I was found in Tatooine at a very young age, the temple is all I’ve known since then.’he replied plainly ‘Must be difficult, having sworn your life to the Jedi, not being able to visit the places you like or do things you like’ ‘Or be with the people that I like’ he interrupted with a expression you couldn’t quite decipher, he was proving to be more and more alluring, you decided to let it pass. Changing the topic, you spoke mischievously ‘What do you like to do , apart from being the mighty defenders of the Republic?’ Anakin grinned he found you rather humorous, it lifted his spirits ‘We don’t have much time for hobbies but I'm good at fixing things I always have been , I used to pod race back in Tatooine’ he observed that you seemed to perk up that ‘What?’ Anakin inquired smiling with curiosity, you replied with a proud smirk ‘I pod race too actually, I have since I was little’ Anakin was pleasantly surprised, his earlier interpretation of you being perfect was only proving itself to be true ‘Really? I’m impressed, your talents only add to your ravishing beauty’ Anakin replied with the same mischievous grin that adorned your face earlier. You replied with a quaint smile, trying to disregard the heat rushing to your cheeks, nobody had ever spoken to like that, not in the way he spoke to you.

As the starship was just about to land, you stared out of the window you couldn't lie, you did miss home. Anakin stared at you whilst you peered out the window with a smile reaching high up to your cheeks. He must admit, Alderaan was an exquisite planet but to him, nothing compared to your bewitching beauty. Anakin knew he shouldn’t let his mind wander to thoughts such as these, he was a Jedi, he was supposed to be void of attachments. Y/N turned around, her hair gliding across her back ‘Come Anakin, I’ve got lots to show you’ stripping Anakin of his thoughts ‘ Of course Milady’ he smirked through his reply.

Y/N and Anakin spent most of the morning discussing, and jesting around about their strict lives back in Coruscant. Y/N showed Anakin her pod racer that she had previously built, Anakin seemed more and more invested in her life, slowing getting lost in the way she talked, smooth and resilient, like she believed in everything she said, even if she did say some questionable things which only made him laugh like he hadn’t in years. Currently, they were sat down at the table, feasting on some Starblossom fruit, an Alderaan speciality. Just as Anakin made the fruit float your mind also floated to a thought ‘Are you allowed to love?’ I sputtered out, Blast! What was that Y/N?, this was the first time you regretted being so vocal, this was sure to make things awkward ‘I mean, isn’t it forbidden for a jedi?’. You were surprised when he simply just smiled at you, his eyes looking straight into your own, they were blue and deep like the oceans of Mon Calamari, completely mesmerised ,you sighed softly, ‘Attachment is forbidden. Possession is forbidden. Compassion, which I would define as unconditional love, is central to a Jedi’s life’ he smirked ‘So you might say that we are encouraged to love’ if you weren’t already completely lost in him, you were now, nobody had ever left you speechless like he had now, silent at his fingertips. Just by using a number of words, there was something so special about him.

The next morning Anakin was woken with the bright sun rays shining upon his eyes and by the roar of your pod racer, pod racer? Anakin quickly changed and jogged out towards the sound, it seemed to be taking him in the direction of the Alderaanian flame-rose fields you had shown him yesterday. There he saw you, standing under the warm sun, you looked ethereal. Your skin glowing, your lips appeared so soft, so comforting, he swore he had never seen anything more beautiful. He noticed it wasn’t just one pod racer that was stagnant by your side, but a second one, now he matched the smirk jeweled on your face. ‘You said you used to pod race so I thought, why not test your skills?’ he smiled so fully, his face felt tight as a tied rope ‘Oh really? I wouldn’t want to undermine your abilities, Milady' ‘Don’t you worry about that Anakin, you don’t want to underestimate me’ ‘Of course, I wouldn’t dare’ he laughed content. Ah that laugh, it made your heart want to jump out and fly away, it made your day already. You both buckled up into your pods, making sure all the dials are at the correct calibration, gave each other one last glance and a signature smirk and sped off, you both doing unnatural speeds to the passing eye, dipping under trees and spinning to reach higher altitudes. Anakin was staying right beside you, almost harmlessly mocking you, you recalibrated the ignition switch and sped off, Anakin raised his eyebrows in surprise, he was genuinely impressed but his competitive side got the best of him, soon he met your speed. The finishing line by the trees was dangerously close you both looked at each other, eyes locked with determination and lips spilling with playful laughter, however, as you and Anakin were lost in each other,you failed to notice the flock of Nerfs herding around grass, you spotted them at the last second and tilted your racer up towards the sky. The finishing line was right ahead, Anakin was mere inches away and you were adamant on winning so, you jumped out of your pod. You steered towards the line and crossed it seconds before Anakin, landing on a patch of flame roses. Anakin’s eyes widened, he abandoned the pod and dashed towards you figure, laying face front ‘Y/N!, Y/N’ he rolled you over, only to hear you burst out laughing, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in ‘You should have seen your face! Your soul left your body, I swear’ you let out holding your stomach ‘Of course I was! Obi-Wan would have killed me if I let anything happen to you’ Anakin spoke out between chuckles, trying to hide his anxiety ‘Hmm I think not,I think you're terrified at the thought of anything happening to me’ you smirked. Anakin started into your eyes, shook his head and said nothing, but he started tickling your sides which only made you giggle further, you both rolled down the field, roaring with laughter. Anakin had never felt this happy and untroubled before in his life, as you both laid on the grass, the scent of roses brimming in the air, basking under the sun, you and him both letting out sighs of contentment, hands intertwined.

It was late at night, you were restlessly tossing and turning in your bed, your mind was whirling with thoughts of him, his smile, the way he spoke to you and only you, his golden hair glowing in the heat of the sun, his Padawan braid that you’d twirl between your fingers, you giggled yourself; you never had feelings like these sitting in the center of your heart, but it didn’t feel wrong. Your heart took you to the place it always took you when your mind was wandering like this.

Anakin felt your restlessness, his concern grew and grew until he had to come find you, you were right, he was terrified at the thought of anything happening to you. He gave in and, walked timidly towards your room, when you didn't answer to his knock, his anxiety took control. He composed himself and searched his feelings like his master had taught him, he let the force be his guide in search for your signature he’d progressed to love. Anakin's legs finally led him to the roof, where he saw you lying there on the ground under the lights of the stars ‘Y/N, are you okay? I couldn’t find you’, you replied with a simple ‘Join me’, Anakin didn’t hesitate and laid down beside you, he looked up at the glittering stars scattered in the sky of Alderaan, there was a gentle breeze, the scent of roses still following the both of you, then he turned to face you, he watched your chest rise and fall, his anxiety disappearing slowly just at the sight of you, you radiated beauty, charm and confidence, everything he had grown to love about you ‘I come here when my mind runs wild with thoughts’ you spoke out gently, you turned to look at him only to find him already looking at you. ‘What are you thinking about?’ Anakin inquired softly, you stared into his eyes, still bright and blue even in the shadow of dusk, you uttered timidly ‘You' he gave you a wide smile, ‘You’re all I think about Y/N, I love you’ he spoke barely above a whisper, so much so, that you wouldn’t have heard him if your faces weren’t so close and they only got closer when you replied with ‘I love you, with all of my heart’, the small gap between you and him started to close ever so slowly, shaky breaths falling from the both of your lips until they met with a chaste kiss.

You’d never regret the trouble you’d caused yourself that day at the senate, because you‘d always remember his deep eyes staring back at your own all those times, you’d never regret it because you met him. Anakin knew he’d never let you go, his other half he’d met on his first assignment, he’d never forget your face illuminated by the stars, the pure beauty of your face and mind. And for you both, it’d always be you and him.