#but rex is so tired he doesn't mind

[tlmtwelve]

Prompt: Buried Alive

Rex was annoyed at being buried in the sand until he realized he could take a nice nap...

I was originally going to go darker for this prompt from @weekly-star-wars-prompts, but this scene is more pleasant :)

[secretsofafangirll]

you're still my favorite girl

pairing: chris sturniolo x fem!oc

summary: in which chris and isabelle are childhood best friends, who have always had underlying romantic feelings for one another. when chris starts hanging around other girls, isabelle can't help but question their relationship.

tw: talk of insecurity, kind of soft!dom chris, sexual situations but no real smut. mention of fem!oc being "tiny". use of "ma'".

"Come on, Belle," Chris shoots his hand out for her wrist and pulls himself from the couch as she walks away, "You'll have fun, I promise. Madi's gonna be there, Matt and Nick are going. If you're not gonna go for yourself, at least go for them." He pleads staring down at her, fiddling with her fingers.

"No, Chris. I'm sorry, but I'm not going. The last time I went to a party, someone threw up on me and one of Madi's old friends called me ugly, so," She raises her brows at the boy, "I will be staying in the comfort of my bed for the night with Sam and Colby on my screen."

She starts to walk away but Chris reaches out for her again, this time wrapping an arm around her waist hand colliding with her stomach and pulling her back, "Chris!" She giggles as she stumbles, her back coming in contact with his chest.

"Just stay here, B. I'll want to be with you when I get home. Just curl up in my bed and steal my clothes like you always do, hm?" He tickles her ribs and flexes his bicep around her frame.

"Fine," She huffs, throwing her head back against his chest, "but I'm wearing that unicorn, rainbow bullshit hoodie." Putting a finger in the air, she pulls away from his body, and heads for his bedroom.

"Okay, then I'm gonna head over. Be safe. I'll lock the door behind me and don't answer unless it's me, Nick or Matt. Behave." He points and narrows his eyes at me.

"Yes, sir." She jokes, putting her hands behind her back and bowing at the man. His eyes glaze over momentarily and his cool guy act falters for a moment.

"Love you, Belle."

"I love you, Chris." She calls and makes way to his bedroom.

༺♰༻

It's been three and a half hours since Chris left and Isabelle has heard nothing but silence. Not one text or call. She called and texted him several times to ask when he's planning on getting home, as she's getting tired, but he hasn't responded to a single one.

She worries that something bad has happened to him but she knows that Nick and Matt would've called if anything went wrong. While Sam and Colby play quietly in the background of her thoughts, she chomps on her acrylic nails and stares off into space.

Anxious thoughts fill her mind and tiredness threatens to take over. What if he's hurt? What if something happened to Nick and Matt and Chris doesn't have time to tell me? What if Nick and Matt have no idea something is wrong with Chris and he's just suffering all alone with no one aware?

She knows this is the worst thing for her to be doing right now, so to distract herself, she hops out of his bed and saunters into the kitchen to get a glass of water. As she softly pads toward his bedroom door, she hears her phone vibrate against his nightstand. Immediately relief floods her chest and she turns on her heels to run back. She lunges for her phone and is only met with disappointment when she sees that it was just a stupid Instagram notification. But her heart drops when she sees it was Chris who caused the notification in the first place. So he has time to post on Instagram, but not to text his best friend back? Makes total sense!

She reluctantly clicks on the notification to open a story he posted. It's him with one of his other good friends in the influencer space, Paige. He has an arm draped over her shoulders while she curls into his side and blows a fake kiss at his smirking, smug face. The text on the photo reading, My day 1 #1 @paige.

An unfamiliar feeling washes over her. His day one number one? She thinks. What about me? I've known you since kindergarten.

She doesn't know how to describe this feeling. It was like her favorite toy being pried from her hands as a child. Or the spot on the best team in the world being given to someone else. Being given to someone better. Was it jealousy?

No way. She thinks. He's my best friend, I'm not jealous of someone who he's possibly romantically interested in. But when she taps on her profile and sees she also posted a story, she knows exactly what to expect. And boy is she jealous when she sees it.

Paige's post is a different picture. It's a picture of them, back to back. both with sunglasses pointing finger guns at the camera. Nothing's funny about the picture, but Isabelle can't help but laugh. Not at the way they look or the stupid sunglasses, but because Isabelle posted that exact picture of her and Chris not that long ago. She taps through a highlight dedicated to her best friends and two months ago, that exact pose pops up.

Rage courses through her veins. Jealousy and rage flow all throughout her body. You wanna steal my man and my posts? She thinks. And Chris wants to blatantly ignore my attempts to contact him but then be active on social media anyway? Go right ahead.

At this point, she doesn't want to call him or text him. She doesn't even really want to see him at all. Hell, she has half the mind to drive back to her own house and let him find his house empty. But she knows that isn't the right thing to do. So she stays put and tries her best to fall asleep in her best friend's bed.

༺♰༻

Isabella had fallen asleep. Comfortable and warm in Chris hoodie and in his bed. He slowly crept in the front door with Matt and Nick two hours later, careful not to wake the sleeping girl. He signaled with his hand for the two to keep it down as he walked in. Though suddenly, Nick dropped his phone and the smack echoed through the entire house.

Chris' head whips around to Nick with wide eyes "Dude," he whisper shouts, "Shut the fuck up."

Matt and Nick make it to their respective bedroom quickly and quietly, eager to go to sleep after such a long night. Chris, on the other hand, is eager to see his sweet best friend. He ever so carefully pushes down the door handle and cracks the door to see Isabelle sleeping so peacefully on his bed, drowning in his large hoodie she swore she would wear. Her soft breaths making her hair move with every exhale, her small hand resting on the pillow beside her head. He takes a moment to take in her beauty. He can't help it. Chris has always thought she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. With her long dark hair and piercing green eyes, he could never deny beauty like that, even if she's his best friend.

He tips toes to his closet and closes the door behind him to change. He peels off his shoes pants and shirts, stripping to his boxers. He doesn't have it in him to shower tonight. After forcing himself to socialize with people he didn't even really like that much, all he wants to do is cuddle with the one person he can never get tired of being around. He quietly exits his closet, grateful that his girl is still asleep. He creeps over to his side of the bed and slides in carefully next to her.

He scoots in closer to her and wraps an arm around her waist pulling her closer to him. He peels the hood from her head and places a loving kiss on the top of it. However, he feels her shift beside him and she pulls her body away from his altogether, leaving no part of her touching him at all, save for his hand which is still tacked on to her waist. When he doesn't take the hint, she reaches behind herself, grabs his hands, and roughly tosses it off of her body.

Chris' brows raise in shock at her rejection and when he reaches out for her again, she scoots even further away, almost falling off the bed.

"Belle," He whispers. No answer. "Belly," He tries again a little louder. Still nothing. "Isabelle," He speaks in a normal speaking voice and places a hand on her hip but she only shrugs him off again and doesn't answer. He props himself up on his elbow stretches his body over hers and turns on the light, "Isabelle Bianca Lavigne, if you don't tell me why you won't let me touch you right now, I swear to god B," He trails off, his voice stern and assertive.

Isabelle finally answers at this, her face bare of any makeup, only covered in sadness and mild insecurity and she turns to face him. His eyes soften slightly at her expression but he maintains composure and control of the situation. He's always had that power over her. And in a strange way, both of them like it more than they should.

"There's nothing to say, I'm just hot." She lies through her teeth, and turns back over.

"Bullshit," He scoffs, "You're in a thick ass sweatshirt, under my heavy ass comforter and turned my fan off. Plus, you're always freezing cold. So try again, Isabelle, and this time, don't lie to me."

"Okay, Chris, if you don't want me to lie," She spits and turns to face him, "I text you five times and I call you six. I leave four voicemails and I even call Matt and yet, I get nothing but radio fucking silence from everyone. Then, my phone buzzes and when I think it's my best friend finally texting me back, I see he's posting on Instagram instead. And not only that," She continues, looking around the room as if there are imaginary cameras around, "He's posting other girls, calling them his number ones, as if his, correct me if I'm wrong, best friend isn't worried sick in his bed, because he won't text her back. So, sue me, if I don't want you to touch me right now, as I'm not feeling very loved." She huffs, rolls back over and turns the light back off.

Chris sits, his mouth agape in silence. She can shut him up real damn fast, it seems. She's never said anything like that to him. He's around other girls all the time and she's never reacted like that before. He blows out a long breath before reaching for her body again. He drapes an arm over her waist and starts to pull her against him again.

She struggles against his strength again but he whispers her name over and over in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. She gives in and relaxes in his grip, "There we go. Relax and let me talk to you, okay? And let me see that face, hm?" He pulls the hood from her head and turns the lamp on once again. There she is. He whispers to himself.

"Is this about Paige?" He questions, turning her onto her back and pulling her impossibly closer to his chest. He brushes her hair out of her face and behind her ear, his hand slipping under the hoodie and onto her bare stomach, his pinky slipping under the waistband of her panties; a habit he had made when she got comfortable enough to sleep without any pants on.

"Christopher," She groans slapping her hands over her face, "It's embarrassing."

"No," He grabs her wrists and pulls her hands from he face, "it's not. She's just a friend, I promise. She wanted to post those for some P.R. bullshit. I barely know her." He swears, looking into her innocent green eyes. His left hand plays with the hair on her forehead and his right hands still lies on her stomach and halfway in her underwear.

"You don't understand, Chris. I already have a hard time being your friend because of your fans. Sometimes I question if any of this is even worth it and then when I see shit like this, other women who just think you're young and sexy, claiming you and shit, it just makes me wonder if I'm really your best friend or if you just keep me around because you feel like you have to. There are so many women who could have, who should have you, but I feel like I'm just keeping you from being happy. Fuck, I mean, I react like this when someone just posts some bullshit about you. It's actually pathetic Chris. And not to mention, Paige is gorgeous. Like, the kind of beautiful you think is made up. Shes blonde and skinny and kind and social and successful, and everything I'm not. Just seeing you with her, looking so happy and so friendly and close. It made me want to tear my skin off, Chris. I've never felt like that before, and it's really scaring me."

Chris looks stunned next to her, his hand frozen on her head and on her waist. He closes his eyes and shakes is head, "Wait back up. One, fuck my fans and what they have to say about you. I love you more than I love any single one of them. Two, you are my best friends. Always have been. No other woman is ever gonna come between that. Third, sure Paige is pretty, but you. Oh, Belle, I call you princess for a reason. You are the most beautiful woman I have seen and I never want to hear you say you aren't, what was it, skinny, kind, social and successful ever again, do you understand?" He grabs her jaw and forces her face on his. She just stares into his eyes and nods like she's under a spell. "You are a goddess to me, Isabelle. If I have to get your name tattooed on my forehead and that promise burned into my skin for you to believe me, I will." He looks down into her eyes once more, his grip still strong on her chiseled jaw.

She leans into his warm body, his bare chest on display for her to touch. She flattens her hand against his left peck and stares into his blue eyes. His right hand moves to the small of her back, his pinky still in her panties. He presses her body into his, pushing her stomach into his groin. The two of them suddenly become very aware of two things: (1) The meaning of the conversation they just had. (2) The lack of clothing both of them have on. Chris clad only in his boxers and her in his sweatshirt with no shirt or bra and a pair of tiny lace panties.

"I don't just love you, Isabelle," He whispers, "I'm in love with you. You're my best girl, always have been. I can meet a thousand girls like Paige and you'll always be my favorite girl."

"You have no idea how long I've waited for you to say that," She sighs, before stretching her neck to meet his, her nose brushing against his.

"God, Isabelle, you're gonna be the death of me", Chris breathes, before roughly pressing his lips against hers. He rolls himself onto his back, with his back pressed against the headboard. He grabs her hips and hoists her over his lap, allowing her to straddle his thighs. She places her hands on his shoulders as his hands roam her tiny body. The kiss is wild and wet as their tongues exchange saliva between them. Isabella involuntarily grinds her hips down into his, but Chris is too caught up in the kiss to notice.

"Tell me, ma', " He breaks the kiss and catches his breath, "Say it. Tell me you love me. I can't keep kissing you if I don't hear you say it."

She leans into his ear and blows a soft breath, causing his body to shudder, "I'm in love with you, Chris. I always have been."

With that, his hands squeeze her waist and his lips are back on hers. The kiss is rough and passionate and insanely sloppy. This time, when Isabelle swivels her hips on his, his breathe hitches and his hands shoot out to stop her, "Baby, baby." He pulls away form the kiss and the loss of suction sounds around the room, "You have no idea how bad I want to fuck you right now, but I'm too tired to fuck you how you deserve. I need you to answer me honestly Princess, will you be able to control yourself if I don't stop now?" He tilts his head. She bites her bottom lip and gives him guilty fuck me eyes, shaking her head. "So do I have to stop?" He questions one more time to be sure.

"I think so," She drops her hands from his shoulders and places them on his thighs behind her, her hips still moving slightly against his grip.

"That's okay. We can go to bed, I can hold you as much as I want. and in the morning, we can figure all of this out and if you're good, I'll fuck as hard and as good as my best girl deserves, how's that sound? Hm?" He questions, running his hands up her waist, teasingly tugging on her panties and letting them snap back every here and there.

"Fine, I guess." She gives in and flops over to her side, off of his lap, turning away from him.

"Ma' ," He chuckles softly, "I'm doing this for you, ya' know kid? I could fuck you right now, but it wouldn't be that good and you know that." He pulls her back over to face him and hikes her thigh over his lap and stomach as he lays down beside her, he head resting on his chest.

"Mhmmm" She hums annoyed and tired, lazily bucking her hips against his literal hip bone and groin.

"Settle, ma', " He whispers gripping her hip tightly and turning off the lamp. The two fall asleep, her hands curled up under her jaw and his hands roaming every inch of the body that will soon belong to him.

///

a/n: alright! how do we feel? i definitely got a little carried away and i'm not sure how i feel. let me know please! also, let me know if ya'll want a part 2.

like and reblog pls!!! i need my blog to grow....

all the love, she ☆

part 2 here!!!

[queenie-official]

Part Three Of Summer Love: ‘Blurred Lines’

series masterlist celebration event camp logo

pairing: Modern!Anakin Skywalker x fem!reader

word count: 18k 😀

a/n: it’s 5:00 in the morning 💀 i’m so tired (proofread but i’m also so tired i probably missed a bunch)

“y/n?" Anakin's voice calls from beside you, his hand still outstretched in front of you as you stare down at it. he gives it a small shake waiting for you to take it.

you'd both just made it to the lodge hall, everyone else had already made it inside whilst you two had the discussion.

reality finally catching up with you as to just what this was going to entail. "you want me to hold your hand?" you ask in disbelief.

"i mean you don't have to, i just figured if we're gonna do the whole fake dating thing we might as well make it convincing." he says with a shrug, hand still waiting for you to take hold. you hadn't expected him to be so… eager?

his willingness for what's essentially going to be a public announcement to the entire camp was confusing. you'd still barely even discussed the details. how far was this to go? just hand-holding? who were you telling the lie to and who was allowed to know the truth?

your thoughts are cut off when you see his hand start to lower, you're quick to place your hand on top of his palm then. the questions pushed to the back of your mind as you’re unable to resist the chance to hold his hand.

did you come off too desperate? you started to question yourself, but the feeling of Anakin's calloused hands intertwining with yours was enough to silence any self-deprecating thoughts.

his hands were warm, and you found yourself staring at them. enjoying the way your hand looked in his. it was enough to distract you as he opened the doors tugging you gently along behind him.

slowly but surely more and more eyes were on you both as you walked to the food line. it came in waves, the whispers and points of fingers. you'd even heard a few 'i told you so's' not just from the campers but from some of your fellow counselors. which made you wonder just how far the rumor of you two dating had spread in less than a day. not that it mattered now.

Anankin's hand finally slipped from yours when he grabbed his tray, handing you one and pulling you back down from the cloud you'd felt like you were floating on. you mumbled a thanks before loading up your tray.

finally looking up and around the hall. you made direct eye contact with Padme who looked about ready to run over and tackle you to the ground in her excitement with questions. thankfully for your sake she didn't, letting you off the hook for now as you headed to your usual lunch table where a slack-jawed Kenobi and bewildered Rex sat.

as soon as you sat down you were both flooded with questions. both men's voices overlapping the other making it impossible to understand what they were saying. it's only when they both settle on the same question that you're left sitting in silence as they wait for your answer. "When did this happen!?" they'd asked, clearly already coming to the conclusion you two were now a thing.

you went to open your mouth and clear the air, with every intention of telling them the truth only to have the words die on your tongue as Anakin says "just now, on the way here" with a shrug of his shoulders.

you blink taken aback. he seemed to be doing that a lot to you within the last ten minutes since it started. it felt like a fever dream. "holy shit" Rex said in shock at Anakin's answer.

"i knew you liked her dude" he continues and you feel your head starting to spin, especially when Anakin doesn't deny it. this was way too much to process at once, but it's not like Anakin could deny it right? he'd agreed you two were a thing without a second thought.

you think back to the way he'd easily lied to Padme that first night when she'd asked what you'd been whispering about. maybe he was just a really good liar? maybe he'd explain to them the situation privately but didn't want to go into details in case he was overheard and then the ruse would be up just as quickly as it’d started. that seemed like the more logical explanation.

in that case you'd do the same, as soon as you and Padme were back at the cabin for the day you'd explain the situation to her but for now as far as anyone knew you and Anakin were officially a couple. what a day this was chalking up to be.

"i leave you two alone for five minutes and i miss everything!" Rex complains before going on a tangent about how from now on he was not being left alone with all the campers so he didn't miss anything else as important as that.

Ben remained silent, clearly taken aback and he looked unsure. like he knew something was up, Anakin was definitely going to be grilled later just as much as you probably were by Padme.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

the day blurred by fast, it hadn't even felt like you were present. truly an out-of-body experience. campers constantly coming up to you throughout different periods for confirmation on the status of your relationship- who knew kids were so interested in this stuff?

the camper most intrigued was Ahsoka, though she didn't show it at first. not asking a single question during her period with you guys in the crafts center like the other kids did, not even confronting Anakin to your knowledge.

nor did she confront you when you sat at the table together at dinner. even after Padme swarmed you with her own questions that you brushed off telling her you'd explain later.

no Ahsoka was too smart for that, she knew she wouldn't get any real information out of you that way, so she played the waiting game. looking for just the right moment to pounce, and sure enough when all the kids were either showering or brushing their teeth leaving you alone in the staff cabin room contemplating your life as Padme supervised the kids. Jasmine nowhere to be found after she'd dropped her kids off at the cabin. she made her move.

"is it true? you and Anakin are dating" the question pulled you from the hurricane that was your mind, turning towards the door where Ahsoka was walking in from.

you bit your lip unsure whether or not she should know the truth, she sat beside you on the bed narrowing her eyes; daring you to try and lie. no one ever talks about this but there is nothing more frightening than the judgment of a twelve-year-old girl. judgment that makes you cave instantly.

"no, we're just pretending." the truth comes out and you feel lighter, the room feeling just a smidge easier to breathe in. you look at Ahsoka gauging her reaction, she seemed disappointed. "we thought it'd be easier to just pretend we were rather than having to deny it constantly to everyone"

her nose wrinkles at the explanation like she'd just heard the most stupid thing ever. if she does think that she doesn't say it, just sighs instead before speaking up. "i figured, it seemed too good to be true. especially since i was the one who started the rumor" your mind went completely blank at the revelation, blinking rapidly.

she looks guilty, a small nervous smile on her face. "i know you guys said you weren't, but you just seemed so cute together! and Anakin seems to really like you- i just figured that if enough people were saying you were together you'd both realize your feelings and confess" oh this sweet mischievous child.

"i mean i've had him as my counselor two summers in a row now and i'm telling you i've never seen him act the same way he does with you with Padme. he says he likes her but i don't think he really does. i think he just found her beautiful and was infatuated with her" she continued to ramble, defending her actions and you had to give her some credit she was extremely emotionally intelligent. but way off.

sure he was a little touchy with you lately, prior to the hand-holding at lunch today. and yeah he joked around a lot but you worked at the same activity center. you were bound to be close- and as for the physical affection he just seemed like a touchy guy. he hugged and roughhoused around with Ben and Rex all the time.

he was just too nervous to do all of that with Padme is all and you don't blame him, you'd be nervous too if you were pinning after her. Padme was a gorgeous person inside and out. she was smart and independent, honestly if Anakin hadn't somehow managed to wedge his way into your mind so quickly, you probably would have had a crush on her too.

Ahsoka could see it on your face, the disbelief in her assessment. "if you and Anakin are just pretending why bother actually acting like a proper couple then?"

"hand holding hardly counts as acting like a proper couple Ahsoka" you laugh and she huffs in annoyance.

"stage one, denial" she says with a shake of her head. gods if this was how Ahsoka was acting you could already guess how Padme was going to be.

"shouldn't you be getting ready for bed?" you change the subject and Ahsoka relents, mumbling a 'we'll see who's right' under breath as she leaves.

you weren't in denial, what'd she know she was twelve for gods sake. you fall backwards on the bed with a groan. once more Padme took care of the kids getting them all to settle down for the day and giving them the usual 'you have an hour before bed' spiel.

as soon as she was done she came into the room. you could have sworn all you did was blink and she was hovering above you. "spill everything" she says excitedly and for a split second you consider keeping up the lie knowing the truth was only going to disappoint her as much as it did you.

but you couldn't willingly lie to Padme especially when you'd confessed to a literal kid not even a few minutes prior, so instead you suck up what remains of your dignity and go over everything that happened leading up to lunch.

she has her brows raised, a similar face to Ahsoka's earlier. "wow you two are doing everything except admitting you like each other aren't you" you roll your eyes, knowing this was coming.

"ive admitted it to you" she purses her lips and gives you a deadpanned look.

"yea to me not to Anakin" you groan rubbing your face with your hands in frustration.

"he doesn't like me he likes-" she cuts you off, with an exasperated sigh.

"-me i know, i know, so you've said a thousand times but what on earth has happened lately that says in any way he likes me like that anymore?" her question irks you, not because it was necessarily annoying but because it was unfortunately a valid point.

"i don't know Padme i don't pretend to understand the male mind" she shrugs with a soft fair enough and falls back beside you.

"maybe you're right, maybe he doesn't like you." she starts and you feel yourself grimace realizing just how much it was going to hurt when you called off the fake dating thing at the end of the summer. "but there's also a chance that i'm correct so stop ruling it out and acting like it's a definitive fact."

but it was, how much clearer could it be when he said so himself? you tune her out at this point tired from the day's events and even more so from the constant back and forth. you felt a sense of relief knowing you wouldn't have to fight back to anyone else about how you two weren't dating, making you realize just why Anakin had suggested it in the first place.

it was so much easier to pretend than to constantly have to deny something you two weren't. or so you had convinced yourself.

eventually, Padme let you be; heading to the top bunk to chill until lights out. you sigh truly a jumbled mess as you move to lay on your stomach, opening your phone to text Honey. whoever said in the eye of a hurricane there is quiet for just a moment was a liar- or you'd yet to reach that brief moment of respite.

'Honeeeyyyy' you send just to get your best friends attention, it was time to let every thought out of your mind and Honey was the one person you knew would listen to every single one. yes she would tell you how it is if she felt the need to but she'd always let you speak your truth first.

unfortunately for you, there was no answer not even five minutes later as you swiped back and forth from her message chat and your home screen. which could only mean two things, her phone was dead or she was busy with her family and didn't wanna come off rude by taking out her phone and messaging you. just your luck.

you sigh before typing a message anyway, deciding to just get everything off your chest now and then she can answer back later when she was free. it's not until you send '(so sorry to be putting this on you out of no where) - me and Anakin are fake dating 😀 we talked about how the campers wouldn't stop bothering us so he suggested we do it to get them to stop and i agreed 😭' that the chat was instantly opened.

a text bubble immediately appearing and sent within the blink of an eye. 'WHAAATTT!?' you couldn't help but laugh, you suppose if she'd been the one to send something like that you'd have reacted the same way.

you continued to explain the situation giving her all the details leading up to where you were now before she responds again. 'not you living out a romance trope'

'it seemed like a good idea when i agreed 😭' you type back, not that you were currently having doubts. 'it's purely platonic'

'my ass, in what world are we living in where this is going to go the strictly platonic route 🤨' fair honestly, you couldn't even entirely believe this was the reality you were living in. 'we're both aware this means he 100% likes you back right? i mean who fake dates someone when they have feelings for someone else.'

of course she said that, that is now three different people who've all separately told you this. 'maybe he's trying to make Padme jealous?' it was a sad attempt at an excuse and you both knew it. Anakin and you strictly did this to get the campers off your backs, there were no alterior motives involved.

if there were you never would of agreed to it, and even if you had it would not have the effect on Padme he'd think it would if that were the case. she harbored no feelings for him that much was clear. 'y/n, my love. i need you to be so fr with me rn girl 🙏😐'

okay maybe Ahsoka was right about you being in denial. but denial was good, denial was safe. it meant if everyone else was wrong and he didn't like you you'd have no reason to be upset when you already knew the truth. 'look i'm sure this whole thing will blow over once the gossip dials down between the campers and Anakin will call it off'

'whatever helps you sleep at night' was the last message you read from her before shutting off your phone. smooshing your face into the pillow wanting nothing more than to scream.

you look back up when you hear your phone ping a few minutes later, your heart flutters in your chest when you see it's a text from Anakin.

you decided you’re too emotionally drained to give him much attention so rather than opening your phone to respond you just unlock it and read the notification box 'Ben and Rex know the truth' you let out a sigh of relief- or maybe disappointment.

it was just like you thought earlier he just didn't want to give it away to the campers that you both were faking it. you turn your phone back off again, mind empty unsure how to feel. there's the quiet. the eye of the storm you finally made it.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

you woke up the next day without having realized you'd even fallen asleep to begin with. a small voice calling your name from beside you. when you finally open your eyes, the sunlight blinding you as it poured through the window successfully disorienting you further as you tried to recognize who was speaking to you at that moment.

"y/n" the small voice called again, this time you sat up before you opened your eyes. avoiding the bright rays of the sun as you adjusted to the room around you. once you could see properly you turn to your side seeing Mia standing at the side of the bed waiting for you to answer.

you blink a few times confused, looking up to the bunk bed across from you only to find it completely empty. your eyes fall back down to Mia. "is everything okay?" the young girl shakes her head.

"i don't know where Jasmine is" she says sounding worried. had Jasmine even come back to the cabin last night? you kept that question to yourself as you stared at the camper from Jasmine's group.

"that's okay, i'm sure she'll show up. is there something you need from her that i could help you with?" you offer trying your best to reassure her.

"she usually braids my hair for the day, Quinn said she could do it but she only knows how to do the one with three strands" you nod pulling yourself off the bed and stretching.

"i can help you, bring me your brush and hair elastic" the little girl smiles happily, skipping out of the room to go find just that. you look up to the bed above yours. Padme wasn't in bed either, not entirely strange since she always woke up before you but something felt off.

you aren't able to dwell on it as Mia comes back in the room with everything you need to do her hair. you brush her hair before doing your best to evenly part it down the middle with your fingers. working on one side and doing a fishtail braid before moving to the other. tying off the ends with the green elastics she's brought you.

Mia gives you an excited thank you before skipping off to join the rest of the kids in the other room just as Padme enters, closing the door behind her. "we have a situation" she whispers so none of the kids would overhear.

your brows crease together in concern. "what's wrong?" Padme looks over to Jasmine's bed and you feel your stomach start to swirl.

"she never came back to the cabin last night after curfew. no one's seen her this morning either. i already messaged around the camp, i even tried messaging her myself but she hasn't answered." so much for emergencies not being a common occurrence here.

"has anyone reported her missing to the directors yet?" you ask, walking over to the bed to grab your phone. when you checked the time you noticed it was almost time to head over to the lodge hall for breakfast. you press your lips together into a thin line before turning back to Padme.

"i told Ben and he messaged them. they sent a text to all the counselors to continue the day like normal for now and they'd have an announcement on what was going to happen before breakfast was over" you sigh rubbing the back of your neck with your hand.

"alright, i'm going to get dressed then and we can head out" Padme nods and leaves the room taking responsibility to talk to the kids.

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As you all walk to the lodge hall in one big group you hear the kids whispering amongst themselves about Jasmine. Padme hadn't told them the entire truth, simply saying that Jasmine wasn't with us right now and until she was back her group of kids were to come to us for help if they needed it.

it was clear they didn't believe her though and you were pretty confident that you just overheard one of the younger campers, Jason whisper to one of the older campers, Lily that he'd overheard Padme outside earlier on the phone saying to someone that Jasmine was missing.

"y/n?" you turn to the familiar voice meeting the eyes of Colton who stares up at you worriedly.

"you alright buddy?" you ask him and he shakes his head no. he mumbles a response but it was hard to hear him over the other kids. when he realizes you weren't able to make out what he said he raises his voice just a smidge more and this time you could hear him say 'i'm scared'. he seemed unsure of his words.

you give him a sympathetic smile sticking out your hand for him to take, he doesn't hesitate for once. taking it and simultaneously gluing himself to your side as you walk. poor kid was definitely worked up about this situation.

you let him stay with you even as you walk through the food line once you all get to the hall. you're internally debating whether to sit with him or have him sit with you as you stare at the table where the boys are at. thankfully he makes the decision for you. "can i sit with you guys today?" he asks shyly.

you give him a reassuring smile and nod as you both walk over to what has become your designated table. "and who's this?" Rex asks as soon as Colton sits beside you.

Anakin, who for once looked wide awake, turned to see who Rex was referring to. "hey Colton" he holds his hand out to the boy for a first bump. Colton shies away from all the attention but still shakily bumps Anakin's fist with his own.

"he wanted to sit with us today" you smile giving the little boy a gentle pat on the shoulder for encouragement as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. he still doesn't say anything but gives a small nod of agreement before focusing on his food to eat after moving his noise-canceling headphones from his neck to over his ears as the noise from the cafeteria becomes overwhelming.

you turn towards your friends as Colton stays in his own little bubble, content to just sit beside you all. "you seem wide awake for once" you tease Anakin who rolls his eyes in faux annoyance.

"how much can he hear with those on" Rex asks through a mouthful of eggs. you scrunch up your nose in disgust fighting back the urge to gag.

"gross Rex didn't your mom teach you not to talk with your mouth full" he just shrugs unbothered before shoving a piece of bacon in his mouth as well.

"you have the manners of a billy goat you know that?" Ben quips from beside him, shaking his head like a disappointed father. to which Rex almost flips him off but catches himself when he remembers there’s a camper present.

you laugh completely caught off guard by how specific the insult was. before finally answering Rex's initial question "he can hear us just fine if that's what you're wondering"

taking a bite of your food as he nodded not saying anything else, he must have wanted to talk about the Jasmine situation just not in front of Colton. you were internally grateful for him choosing to drop it, not wanting to freak Colton out anymore than he already was.

you let your mind wander as Rex talks to you all about something funny one of his campers did the other night. it's not that you didn't want to listen to Rex just that it was much harder to focus when you had the burning curiosity about where your cabinmate had disappeared too and an unsure feeling in your stomach.

as much as Jasmine was irrefutably a bitch, she was still a living being and you hoped she was okay. the worry must have shown on your face because you suddenly felt Anakin's hand on your leg, it's a miracle you don't jump at the sudden touch. his hand rubbing soothing circles on your knee, the action hidden completely by the table.

you feel your cheeks start to burn as goosebumps spread all over your body, such a simple thing and yet you feel like you're back in high school again. it was a welcome distraction, and shockingly effective as you felt the tension in your shoulders melt away. worries fading into something else. something warm and fuzzy.

it was scary in a way, just how fast you were falling with each small action of his. god you dreaded when this would be over, can your heart even take it?

there's a call from the front of the hall. Windu, Bail, and Qui-Gon all stood in a line waiting for everyone's attention. when it's finally quiet enough for them to talk Windu steps forward.

the tall brooding man looking more stern than usual as he began to speak. "Alright everyone we have a few updates for you all, for starters i'm sure a lot of you have heard that one of the Counselors has gone missing." he walks slowly back and forth as he talks, making sure to look across everyone.

"well the good news is we've made contact with her and she is safe." there are a few relieved sighs heard around the room but for the most part everyone just remains silent or gives a shrug of their shoulders. "however we would like to take this as a reminder that you are not allowed off of campgrounds without permission especially if you are on duty. you have a responsibility to your fellow staff members and the Campers you're looking after."

he comes to a stop in the middle of the room, leaving a small pause in his speech to let his words sit in. "now i won't go into any more details but for the remainder of the day we'll be having one of the swing counselors take over for the missing counselor's kids. so please continue business as usual."

with the lecture out of the way, Qui-Gon steps up and gives a much more encouraging message, mostly just to lift up the spirits. Bail chipping in every once in a while with a joke before the three of them made the synchronized closing statement to 'have a good day'.

it all seemed to help Colton calm down at least though the question still remained of where the hell Jasmine was. "do you think you could get the details Windu was so forthcoming about?" Anakin asked somewhat sarcastically to Ben who simply shrugged.

"probably not from Windu but i'll check in with Jinn before i head to my activity center" Ben says before tossing a piece of kiwi in his mouth from the small assortment of mixed fruit on his tray, to which Anakin responds by stealing one of the cherries to eat for himself.

"i thought you don't like eating this early?" you question him with a raised brow. Anakin shrugs, biting the cherry off the stem and eating it before putting the stem in his mouth.

your brows crease together in utter confusion before he pulls the stem out of his mouth, a knot now directly in the middle of it that you can't seem to look away from as he speaks. "today’s different, i've been up way earlier than usual." you just give him a small hum turning away from him and looking down at your plate.

feeling much too hot, between his hand that still remained on your knee and how casually he knotted that cherry stem you felt dizzy. you spare a glance at Ben and Rex to see if they saw how suddenly flustered you seemed. thankfully both men were too busy conversing with each other to notice.

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it's not until lunch that you guys get an answer for what happened to Jasmine, the woman in question still not back on campgrounds. "i was going to just send a text when i found out but figured it’d be easier if i just waited till now" Ben said as everyone walked in line together. trays in hand, as you all slowly loaded up your trays with your personal food preferences.

somehow Padme and Ben got to the lodge hall at the same time you, Rex, and Anakin did, usually one of you always managed to beat the other group. the campers almost never allowing you to leave at the same time. "so what'd you find out?" you ask while grabbing one of the pre-wrapped sandwiches.

"it's…i'll tell you all when we sit down" fair the other counselors were in line with you guys and this information wasn't supposed to even be known outside of the camp directors.

"did you already tell Padme?" you ask while, nudging your head in her direction. she somehow managed to get ahead of you all by three people.

"yea, i told her before the campers even got to the zipline first period" you nodded wondering silently if that's why her mood seemed sour. she was upset earlier but it was more worry and annoyance, now she just seemed straight-up angry. Veiled very thinly by her usual calm aura.

you stick your hand into the next bin without really looking only to come out empty-handed. a frown now gracing your features as you realize they had run out of pudding cups.

you give a disappointed sigh and grab one of the jello cups in the bin next to it, you had nothing against jello other than the texture so it's not like this was a big deal you'd just gotten used to a routine and unfortunately set yourself up for disappointment when doing so. wouldn't be the first time you did that and certainly won't be the last.

you make your way out of the line to your usual table alongside the boys. and when you finally sit down you don't get much time to mope before Anakin takes the jello cup off of your tray and exchanges it with the last pudding cup his pudding cup.

"you don't want it?" you tilt your head at him and he gives a nonchalant shrug.

"i like these better anyway" bullshit, you'd never seen him grab the jello cups and you could read it on Ben's face that he didn't believe a word Anakin was saying either.

"it's fine i don't want it" you insist and he scrunches his nose up as you try to put it back on his tray, swatting your hand away before you succeed.

"what'd you find out Kenobi?" Anakin asks changing the subject before you can protest again.

"other than you being an absolute sap when you're actually into a girl you mean?" Ben teases and you want to remind him once again that you're fake dating, as if he doesn't know- but the blush on Anakin's cheeks stops you.

it's gone before you can even process whether you were imagining it or not as Anakin rolls his eyes. "Jasmine, what'd you find out about her Ben" he says before taking an annoyed bite of his sandwich.

"right, so Jinn didn't tell me the exact timeline of events but what i've got is that she snuck off sometime last night and left camp to go hang out with some friends" you chime in quickly when you remember her not being in the room the night before.

"she walked the kids to the cabin after dinner and then left me and Padme alone with them. that must have been when" Ben nods seemingly remembering that Padme had said something similar to him when he told her.

"right well turns out her and the group she was with got caught drinking and driving, half of them are underage too. they were all detained and a few of them are being faced with charges" alright well that's certainly not what you were expecting, not that you were entirely sure what to expect.

"no way! is she one of the ones facing charges?" Rex asks in just as much shock and confusion as you, Ben shakes his head no.

"but she's definitely facing repercussions here. they want to fire her" it made sense after all if parents found out they'd throw a fit, rightfully so. you'd be upset too if you found out someone who's responsible for your kid was caught drinking instead of looking after them.

"what's stopping them?" you ask and this time Ben shrugs completely unsure. it's not like the camp was understaffed in any way, there was no real reason you could think of for why they'd keep her on.

"they're probably still discussing everything with the higher-ups" Ben concludes, finally digging into his food as he lets the information sit in.

"she'll probably be fired by the end of the day, i can't see this being swept under the rug the same way last year's incident was. sure no one spoke up then but really there's no way they didn't catch wind of the situation." Rex says in between sips of water.

"well she certainly found one of the quickest routes to get out of being a camp counselor" Anakin says, still unable to handle serious moments without making jokes.

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sure enough that night after dinner you and Padme had come back to Jasmine's side of the room completely cleared out. Opal the swing counselor who took over for her all day was there instead, unpacking a bag clearly being promoted to a full-time counselor.

the first thing you'd noticed about Opal was her height. you could tell she was tall earlier from afar but seeing up close was a little jarring. she practically towered over both you and Padme, the legs of a model Padme had said and you couldn't agree more. She was stunning honestly, with curly copper red hair like fire that framed her face, and pale freckled skin.

she turned to you both with a smile on her face as she introduced herself. "hey i'm Opal" it was more so directed towards you than Padme. a small reminder that you were the only new staff member, although they didn't know each other personally they knew of each other.

"y/n" you greet, mirroring the smile on her face and extending your hand which she promptly shakes. there's a small awkward silence that follows over you three, the sound of all the kids in the room besides yours providing a comforting ambience.

"is it too much to bring up the obvious elephant in the room…. or rather the lack of" Opal says while scratching the back of her neck and you can't help but snort, which leads to Padme giggling and sure enough all three of you are laughing together.

her comment broke the ice for sure, the three of you sitting on the lower bunks now just chatting- mostly shit-talking Jasmine but that helped lead to more basic getting-to-know-you questions. you're not sure when or how the topic eventually got to Anakin but you were suddenly wishing to be anywhere but in that room.

"so seriously how'd you get together? you two are seriously the cutest couple ever!" Opal's excitement for you was infectious and god did it make you feel guilty. Padme gave you a quick look, one that only the two of you would understand. the question of if you'd be telling Opal the truth or not hidden behind her amused smile.

"oh you know… it wasn't all that special- we just realized we both liked each other and" you make a clicking sound whilst intertwining your hands and Opal nods seeming to understand what you were trying to say.

"that makes sense, you know pretty much everyone was waiting for it to happen. i think some of the other counselors even had bets going" you couldn't hide the shock on your face and the way your brows shot up. sure the speculation made sense to some degree after the rumor Ahsoka started but she said it like they'd all been thinking it long before that rumor started.

"what made you guys think we were into each other? i mean besides the fact that we obviously were- since we're dating and all…" you give a strained smile feeling very much like an idiot for asking that. not to mention how terrible of a save that was, you could only hope she didn't see through that shitty recovery.

"i think how quickly you guys got close is what started it. then of course when he started showing up to breakfast for you that pretty much had everyone locked in on the fact he was into you. and we all saw how you look at him so it was no secret the feelings were mutual" oh you were going to throw up- they all saw the way you looked at him!?

here you were thinking you'd been discreet when clearly the only person who didn't notice was the very man you'd been ogling. you bite back the urge to freak out and put a smile back on your face. "oh right" you give a forced laugh, picking at the lint on your blanket.

did people really think he started going to breakfast for you? that wasn't the case at all, although now that you thought about it you never did truly question it- why had he started going to breakfast? surely it was something Padme related… but he always sits with you so maybe..

"Theo just threw up!" Quinn said slightly out of breath as she ran into the room, completely interrupting your thoughts. the three of you are all on your feet instantly, rushing into the connected room confused about how you would have missed hearing that.

Theo was stood in front of a pile of vomit shaking, his body probably still calming down from the adrenaline spike. he looked mortified the poor kid, you push past your weak stomach and go to stand next to him rubbing his back gently. "hey buddy let's go get you cleaned up okay? and then i'll walk you to the camp infirmary" Theo nods as tears begin to well in his eyes while you guide him out of the room.

you hear Padme telling all the other kids to go back to what they were doing while her and Opal clean up just as you're leaving the room and walking to the bathrooms. you help clean off his face and then his shirt which thankfully didn't get much vomit on it compared to the floor.

Theo is looking off to the side as you continue to wipe the shirt as best you can, avoiding eye contact from embarrassment. you can't help but sympathize with him, honestly throwing up in front of everyone was one of your biggest fears when you were in school. "you alright bud?" he gives a small nod.

"you don't have to be embarrassed it happens to the best of us you know" he doesn't say anything so you just give him a sympathetic smile before deciding to share an embarrassing story of your own.

"you know, one time when i was your age i really had to use the bathroom. but i hated using public restrooms." you begin, standing up and tossing the paper towel in the trash on the way out of the bathroom.

"so i held it as long as i could which apparently wasn't that long at all because i ended up peeing myself about an hour later." Theo's eyes widened, his head whipping towards yours in surprise.

"no way! at school!?" you can only nod the embarrassment still there even after all these years.

"oh yeah, worst day of my life. i thought id be made fun of for the rest of eternity after that. thankfully everyone moved on- i mean i did get teased a little but not nearly as much as id thought i would" maybe you should of left that part out, that would not ease your worries if you were him.

he doesn't seem to care though, just happy to have a less embarrassing story to compare his to. he still looks pale, his hand resting on his stomach which is still bothering him but at least he's in higher spirits.

you're about halfway to the infirmary when you hear someone call your name from behind you. when you look back you see Anakin jogging towards you, a concerned look on his face. "hey what're you doing out here this late?" your question makes his lips twitch up into a smile.

"i could ask you the same thing" he throws back and looks down to the camper beside you, when he sees how pale the kid is he gestures to continue walking. "i usually go for a walk around campgrounds before heading in for the night. Ben and Jacob can handle the kids without me" he says with a shrug as he answers your question.

"it's nice, usually quiet since pretty much everyone else is inside" he looks down to Theo again putting on a sympathetic look. "everything alright with you kid?" Theo shakes his head, giving a defeated sigh as he slumped forward.

"no i threw up in front of everyone" Anakin's brows crease in concern but he also takes one step back. you have to physically bite your tongue not to laugh.

"aw man i'm sorry that must of sucked" Theo nods and places both his hands over his stomach and mumbles 'i think i might again' and this time you take a step back as well. being vomited on by a kid is not a story you want to go home and tell Honey about.

"alright try and hold it in until we get inside the infirmary; but if you can't, run to the grass" the shaky thumbs up he gives you wasn't exactly reassuring and not even a few seconds later he's running off the trail to the grass and spilling his guts.

you turn away completely unable to handle the view without feeling queasy yourself. you can see Anakin grimace as he watches the two of you. he walks over to the kid for you clearly having a much stronger stomach as he rubs his back. "there ya go just get it all out" you hear him say from behind you followed by a mumbled "dude..what did you eat".

you turn back to them once he stops, eyes locked on Theo. he's once again shaking pretty bad from the adrenaline, you wish you had been more help right then.

"do you want me to walk him the rest of the way?" your eyes flicker up to Anakin's upon hearing his question. "i don't mind, plus it looks like he might need to throw up again" you couldn't ask that of him, this was one of your campers- well Opal's now but you'd been the one to say you'd bring him so you needed to be the one to do it.

"go back to your cabin y/n, i've got it" it wasn't a question this time, authoritative honestly. "if they send him back i'll walk him over to you guys, but i doubt it with the state he's in. they'll probably have him there for the night to watch over him."

you're about to protest and verbalize your thoughts when he speaks again, already starting to walk away with Theo in tow. "it's fine y/n relax, go before i call Padme and force her to come grab you" you huff crossing your arms and he just smiles, walking backwards now so he can look at you better.

"you're gonna fall if you keep walking like that Skywalker" you tease, somewhat hoping he does trip just to say 'i told you so' but he doesn't. just shrugs before sending you a wink and turning back around.

you feel your cheeks burn as they walk away, did that wink actually mean something or was it just friendly? there was no one else around for it to have to mean more- no one to pretend around besides Theo. that little boy was much more preoccupied with his nausea to care though.

you shake the thoughts from your head, spinning on your heel and heading back to the Naboo cabin.

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the next day proceeded relatively normal, Theo did end up having to stay in the infirmary overnight and the nurse said they were going to keep him there for the day to make sure he was truly okay before sending him back.

the only real difference was now learning to navigate your usual morning routine with a third party. don't get it twisted Opal was easy to get along with, you just weren't used to having such an active counselor working alongside you two.

it was refreshing and unusual in a good way. it made getting ready and having the kids ready at the same time a lot easier. sure Jasmine wasn't the worst at helping with the kids but honestly she did the bare minimum so to have someone going out of their way to help was definitely a welcome change.

"hey y/n?" you turn towards Opal as you all walk towards the lodge hall for breakfast. she's tying her hair back with a silk scrunchy as she speaks. "umm you're friends with Rex right?" there's a small blush growing on her pale cheeks and you can't help the smile growing on yours.

"yeah we're pretty close why?" she lets her hands fall to her side, patting the sides of her thighs as she thinks about how she wants to word her next sentence. you're instantly drawn in, standing side by side with her now.

"is he you know… seeing anyone?" she seems unsure with her question, like that wasn't the right one she wanted to ask. you smile, shaking your head no.

"you should sit at my table today, where do you usually sit?" Opal's face turns red enough to rival the color of her hair.

"oh no i can't i-" she clears her throat, wiping what you could only assume were now sweaty palms onto the jean shorts she had on. "i usually sit with my friends or well acquaintances i guess? we're close but like we never talk outside of camp."

you give a teasing smile as you enter the lodge hall, and she folds in on herself. which looked seriously awkward for a girl as tall as herself, but it was cute. "oh come on it'll be fun, you can sit next to me if it's sitting next to Rex you're worried about"

if you could take a picture of the look on her face rn you would print it out and frame it. "thanks for the offer i'm good" it was almost robotic and mixed with stutters as she spoke. you gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder, which was a bit of a feat with how tall she was but you got it in the end.

"alright but the offer will stay open" she gives you a soft 'thanks' before walking off to her friends table completely skipping the breakfast line. you were a little concerned until you saw one of the girls at her table hand her their chocolate muffin.

as soon as your tray is full you head towards your table, taking the rightful seat beside Anakin- who seems to be back to his usual display of exhaustion. "that didn't last long did it" you snort, nudging the boy with your elbow. he simply grumbles, words so slurred together you can't make out what he is attempting to say at all.

"he'll be alright" Rex said with a shrug once again talking with his mouth full, yeah you definitely couldn't see the appeal here but good for Opal.

"so Anakin says you got a sick camper?" Ben asks curious for more details, you could only guess Anakin had mentioned the situation in passing before he crashed for the night or perhaps on the way to breakfast in his hazy state.

"yea one of Jas- Opal's campers, poor kid was vomiting repeatedly. they're keeping him there till they're sure he's okay." Ben cringes suddenly wishing he hadn't asked as he looked down at his food. the oatmeal he'd chosen not feeling like the best choice he could have gone with.

"sorry…" he simply waves you off before shoving the bowl of oatmeal to the side and sticking with the bowl of mixed fruits. your eyes locked onto one of the cherries in the bowl, thinking back to what Anakin had done yesterday morning. you kinda wished he was more awake just so you could see him do it again.

you shake the thought from your head not before sparing a small glance at Anakin, he was as usual half asleep. his eyes closed as he leaned on his palm the only indication that he was awake was the lack of snores. he looked so pretty, and peaceful.

there's a small kick from under the table that pulls you back to reality, a knowing smile on Rex and Ben's face… maybe that small glance was a lot longer than you'd thought.

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"this is a terrible idea" Rex grumbles while fumbling with the threads of his friendship bracelet- or well what is supposed to be one. he still hasn't gotten the hang of it, and in his defense, you'd all decided against having the campers do it since he and Anakin couldn't figure it out during staff week.

however, Ahsoka had offhandedly mentioned wanting to make some for the friends she made at camp and you figured that since you knew how to make it everything would work out. so here you were right before all the campers arrived for the first period trying to teach both of them how to make the more simple design so that if they were asked for help they could give it.

"come on Rex it's not that hard" you continue to weave the strings in the right pattern as he watches trying desperately to figure out how you were doing it. "even Anakin's figured it out now"

this time Rex scoffs "that's because he doesn't have sausage fingers like i do" he wasn't wrong, Anakin and Rex's hands were equally as big but Rex's fingers were thick. almost to the point they looked swollen which was definitely not helping him keep hold of the strings.

"well two out of three of us can do it, that should be enough" Anakin said while tying off his bracelet the way you'd shown him. it was light blue and gold, and surprisingly as good as yours.

Rex sighs throwing his pile of knotted strings to the side. "i'm over it, you two can take care of everything today i'll just make sure all the materials are out and not being misused" he stands up heading to sit on a stool in the middle of the room before the kids arrived.

"here" you turn to Anakin who has his bracelet extended towards you.

"you're giving it to me?" he chuckles, gently grabbing your arm and pulling it towards him so he can slide the bracelet over your hand and tighten it to your wrist.

"Yeah why not, they're friendship bracelets right? it'd be weird to make them for ourselves" you look down at it on your wrist, unable to stop the smile before looking down at your own.

"mines pink and gold… i can make a different one-" he cuts you off by sticking his hand out to you.

"no i like that one go ahead" you stare at him for a moment, slightly dumbfounded as you distinctly remember him saying he hated the color pink when you'd mentioned it was one of your favorite colors.

nevertheless you oblige, sliding it over his large hand and tightening it on his wrist just like he'd down for you. you stick the hand with his bracelet out next to the one with yours and smile. "look we made them match on accident"

"alright lovebirds let's go the kids are coming in" Rex interrupts the moment between you too as groups of kids start filing in. you flush and walk over to the front of the room ready to begin the day.

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Ahsoka clocked the matching bracelets on you and Anakin's wrists immediately. she even chose to sit directly next to you at your table for once instead of Anakin's just to quiz you.

or maybe torment you was the better word "oh come on how can you still deny he likes you y/n, he made you a matching bracelet!" she whisper shouts at you and you're forever grateful that Anakin is busy helping a girl from his cabin, Chloe, who's sat on the opposite side of the room.

"they're friendship bracelets Ahsoka- Friendship is in the name. you gave me one for goodness sake" the young girl groans frustratedly at you, running her hands through her black hair. you pointedly shake your wrist in front of her, the bracelet she'd given you on display with a few from the other campers that had been given to you throughout the day.

"that's different" this time you groan frustratedly, running a hand tiredly over your face. "look i didn't just give you one, i gave Colton one, i gave Mia one, i gave Rex one and Anakin one- i even made one to give to Ben and Padme!" you stare at her with a raised brow letting out a soft 'okaaaay'.

"Anakin only made you one, he hasn't made Ben or Rex- or padme one" she put some emphasis on Padme's name that had you rolling your eyes.

"we're adults we don't make friendship bracelets for all our friends" she deadpans before looking straight at the pile of friendship bracelets at your side that you did in fact make for all of your friends. "i'm an outlier!" you defend yourself and she huffs deferred but not defeated.

"alright guys we should probably start cleaning up if we want to make it to the lodge hall for dinner first" Rex calls from where he's sat. he'd been stationed on the stool all day with self-imposed string-cutting duty. a few kids had asked him for help throughout each period only to quickly realize why he wasn't teaching them shortly after.

there was a bunch of disappointed voices as they all started complaining, which was how it'd gone all day with each period. none of the kids wanting to stop or just whining if they hadn't finished the bracelet they were working on. "yea, yea we know but if you really want we can just do this again the day after tomorrow." this only elicited more complaints, some of the kids confused on why they couldn't do it tomorrow.

"you complain now but you'll have fun tomorrow it's Canoe day" tomorrow all activities centers would be shut down for the day, and everyone in the camp would be out on the lake in groups of 2-4. it was supposed to be a fun little water day activity for everyone since you didn't have to stick with your specific periods.

the lake was closed off at a certain point with rope floaters so that no one went past it. this way the kids could go on their own canoe without staff members if they wanted. there was even a cookout and bonfire later in the evening where everyone could roast smores.

it was a camp tradition and you were excited to participate in it. "alright you guys heard Rex come on let's clean up" they don't protest as much when you're the one saying it which makes you smile and Rex complained about how 'unfair it is' and that 'they favorite you'.

you play with the bracelets in your hand while looking down at the one on your right wrist. the one Anakin gave you. would he think it was odd you put all the other bracelets the campers gave you on the opposite wrist? you'd seen him get a few bracelets from the kids as well but he hadn't put them on. which honestly was more odd than what you were doing.

"hey i've got a question for you" Anakin pulls your attention, placing his arm over your shoulder as he walks with you and everyone else to the lodge hall. he pulls you close to him, creating a small private bubble for just the two of you as he speaks. it's overwhelming in a way, his cologne wafting into your nostrils from how close you were.

"the floor is yours" you say and had he not been holding onto you, you'd have done a dramatic bow.

"you remember how i said i liked to go for walks after dinner?" you nod and he continues "well i was wondering if you wanted to join me, it could be fun" you raise a brow at him confused and unsure as to why he'd want that.

"it will really sell it for the rest of the camp that we're dating" he adds when you don't answer back immediately. right that made sense plus well you guys were proper friends now, it made sense for you both to hang out one-on-one.

"yea sure that sounds fun" he gives you a bright cheesy grin before letting his arm slip off your shoulder. his touch leaving you only briefly before he's placing his hand on the small of your back instead.

it makes your cheeks burn, you have to fight every cell in your body to not shy away. Anakin doesn't seem to notice or at the very least care, you shouldn't be surprised by that anymore though.

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you spent the entirety of dinner thinking about Anakin's hand on your back instead of paying attention to the conversation Padme and Opal were having beside you, as well as ignoring the way Ahsoka lifted Colton's headphones to whisper to him, probably about you and Anakin judging by the way she kept glancing at you throughout the conversation from directly across you.

Padme finally asks you what's going on after you've all walked back to Naboo cabin for the day. the kids all settling in and giving a warm welcome back to Theo who was no longer a sickly pale color.

"you've been out of it since you sat down with us at dinner, is everything alright?" she pulled you aside from everyone, including Opal in hopes she could get some actual answers.

"yeah i'm fine just sorta been lost in thought" daydreaming more like- she gives you a look and you just smile nervously, cheeks burning in embarrassment as she sees right through you.

she looks ready to push further but gets interrupted when your phone buzzes in your pocket. it's Anakin letting you know he was outside the cabin waiting for you. you look up meeting Padme's face, she's got a smug smile having seen the message that he sent.

"it's not what you think" you begin to defend and she just looks even more smug somehow. "no seriously Padme this is purely a platonic hang out" she throws her hands up while taking a few steps back.

"i didn't say anything" she laughs and you glare at her. there was no real malice behind it of course, you both knew that… but if looks could kill. 'your face says it all' you mumble and she sticks her tongue out at you. "go hang out with your boyfriend y/n, he's waiting" she practically sings it and you wish the floor would open up and swallow you whole.

"fake boyfriend!" you whisper shout the correction but she's already left you alone in the hallway. you let out an annoyed sigh before exiting the cabin.

Anakin's sitting on the cabin's porch fence, scrolling on his phone as he waits for you. the second he hears the door open and locks eyes with you there's an infectious smile on his face. one that has you beaming just as brightly.

"ready?" he asks, standing up and already starting to walk off. you follow along, picking up the pace so you're side by side. he leads you away from the cabins and towards one of the forest walking paths.

"i thought we weren't supposed to walk these paths at night?" your question doesn't deter him as he continues to walk, the crunch of twigs beneath your feet filling the small void of silence along with the crickets chirping.

"we aren't supposed to in the dark, but as far as i can see it's still light out" he says and points up to the sky, the sun has almost fully set. the sky a deep cool blue that's just barely bright enough with all the stars to see where you're going.

"rule breaker" you snort, and he shrugs looking up to the sky as he walks. his feet avoiding certain tree roots with practiced ease. showing just how often he'd walked the path.

"i prefer rule bender" he says while looking down towards you. "it's fine we'll walk this way for a few minutes and then we'll end up in front of the lake" he points off the pathway making you raise a brow. "trust me, i've done this a thousand times"

"what made you start doing this anyway?" you ask curiously, following closely beside him as he leads the way.

"Ben has worked here longer than me. when i started he took me out for a walk my first night for some fresh air since i was nervous" he jumps onto a boulder in front of you, pulling himself up before sticking his hand out to help you up as he speaks. "it sorta became a tradition for us each night that year, didn't last though clearly for him anyway."

once you're up on the boulder beside him he jumps down. "how come he never joins you now?" you ask from above him, he holds his hands out so he can catch you when you jump.

"we hadn't been placed in the same cabin my first year, it's much easier for one counselor to slip away instead of two of the three." you jump and he catches you with ease, gently setting you down on the ground. his arms linger for a few seconds around your waist before he lets go, making you shiver. "this way"

"do you have any traditions like that with Honey back home?" this time he asks the question, and you ponder for a moment as you both approach a clearing leading to the lake.

"nothing that involves walking at night, kind of a dangerous game to play as two women who definitely do not exercise the way we should" he laughs and you simply admire the way his eyes crinkle at the edges when he does.

"we do have movie nights every friday, we consistently have a growing list of movies we want to watch together so we pick a random one depending on our mood for the day and then make some popcorn and snuggle up on the couch." Anakin nods, kicking some small rocks into the shallow part of the lake as he listens to you.

"how do you manage every friday night?" he asks, coming to a full stop when he realizes you're not next to him anymore.

"we live together" you answer simply, while untying your shoes. he looks pretty confused before it clicks what you're doing.

"must be nice, me and Ben have thought about moving in together but we also think one of us would kill the other- i think the only thing keeping me safe now are the kids" you try to hold back a laugh but fail, Anakin just rolls his eyes continuing on back towards the campgrounds.

"it's definitely a little bit of a challenge at first, but once you figure out what works it's great." a comfortable silence falls over you two.

you keep your eyes out towards the lake, enjoying the way the stars reflect off the cold water. it's not till you turn back to Anakin that you see he's already staring at you. a soft look on his face that you can't quite read.

"we should probably head back to our cabins" he says softly, not wanting to break the silence. "busy day tomorrow" he adds voice barely above a whisper. it's strange the pull you feel towards him in this moment. it's always there but this felt different. like there was a shift in the air.

he holds his hand out and you feel your heart hammer in your chest as you take it without hesitation. and when he intertwines his fingers with yours you think you may just faint. this was different, not a sole around to see you two and yet here you both were.

"this is an interesting little relationship you and i have" he jokes and you can't help but giggle. he swings your hands beside you both as you guys walk. bright smiles that could outshine the sun on your faces. an interesting little relationship indeed.

you had to tiptoe back into the staff bedroom, everyone already asleep as you'd accidentally been out a lot longer than you'd intended. flopping onto your bed with a mix of excitement and exhaustion as you do your best to contain your giggles.

you stare up at the bottom of the top bunk, finally allowing it all to sit in. every little thing you'd done together, each thing he'd done swirling around in your head. oh you were so about to get the biggest 'i told you so's' in the morning, and you know what? you weren't even mad about it.

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"oh my gosh.. oh my gosh!? OH MY GOSH!" Padme's voice rang in your ears as she jumped up and down excitedly at the news, you decided to tell her the second she got back in the room from a shower before Opal did. you'd only just woken up, hadn't even gotten the chance to message Honey about it.

if you hadn't covered your ears you were pretty sure you might have gone deaf. "i knew it! i so knew it- i told you so didn't i" she's shaking you now, your head wobbling back and forth with each jostle.

"Padme… i love you but i think i'm going to pass out if you keep whipping me around like this" she releases your shoulders only to wrap her arms around you and deathly bear hug.

"i'm sorry i can't help it, i just knew he liked you. you two make the cutest couple!" woah, you pull back at that- couple? i mean it's not like you'd both confessed. well maybe indirectly but you definitely were not dating yet. not for real anyway… right?

"uhh Padme we're still just fake dating" she deadpans at you and the fire behind her eyes makes you think she just may start jostling you around again.

"nope i refuse to accept that as a reality." you give her a look, ready to tell her that's not how that works but she puts a finger over your mouth keeping you quiet. "i need you to think about what you just said and then think about last night again and try to tell me that you're not actually dating."

she moves her finger from your mouth and you give it a few seconds to test if she's serious. when you realize she is in fact you open your mouth once again to deny it but are promptly shut down but her finger on your mouth again a soft 'shhhhh' coming from hers.

you sigh, pulling back from her. "alright i'm not going to say it but just know i'm thinking it" she rolls her eyes completely over this game of back and forth.

"and just know i rebuke it" you stick your tongues out at each other before smiling and laughing. she leaves you alone in the room as you get changed and ready for the day. you leave yourself with just enough time to message Honey about everything that's happened.

'OMG SO YOU TWO ARE FINALLY TOGETHER FR EEEEEK!!' her message brings a smile to your face that probably mirrored hers. oh how you hate how you're gonna have to shut it down.

'not exactly… we're still just fake dating yk…' theres a long pause on Honeys end before the speech bubble appears.

'girl don't play with me rn 😐' honestly why'd you even bother, nothing you say ends up being taken seriously by anyone.

'i'm serious Honey' you're pretty sure she's fighting you in her mind rn with how quick her responses are.

'y/n i need you to tell me one time you've guessed correctly about your situation with Anakin so far and then i'll believe you' you're stuck staring at your screen in silence. racking your brain for an answer, evidently you take too long as honey follows up with 'yea, that's what i thought'

brutal honesty, not something she uses on you often but clearly she decided this was a special case. 'okay well this was nice but i have to go to breakfast now😁' You try to switch topics and end the conversation there but she brings it right back.

'subject changes don't work on me babes💋💋" alright and that's enough from Honey you snort a laugh before turning off your phone. that girl knew you too well for your own good.

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it's safe to say breakfast went differently today, not just because it was Canoe day which meant it was a more 'extravagant' breakfast- pancakes instead of eggs and French toast instead of breakfast sandwiches- but because now you and Anakin had a slightly unspoken thing going on.

one that you mutually had acknowledged last night without actually discussing it. "mooorning" Ben greets you with a mischievous glint in his eyes as you sit beside Anakin. taking a long dramatic sip of his water before sending you both a wink. Anakin wasn't paying much attention as usual.

he did however shockingly have a plate of food in front of him, and a not-so-sleepy expression on his face. you choose to ignore Ben's teasing and focus on Anakin instead with a raised brow. "like i said busy day today" he says before taking a bite of french toast.

"yea he's been up for the last two hours shockingly, just so he'd be awake enough to want to eat" Ben says annoyed, clearly he'd been the one to have to wake him up.

"how is today's schedule going to go?" you ask not having been given the full breakdown, just the rough summary.

"well after we finish breakfast here, there's going to be free time while a few of the selected staff members help set up all the canoes and rope off the section of the lake we'll be rowing in. once they're done we're free to do whatever we want really, go in the canoes or stay on the lakefront and just chill. until the cookout in the evening followed by the bonfire and s'mores before we all have to turn in for the night- they even extend curfew for this" Rex grows restless at Ben's side the more he explains, like a child ready to be released in a candy store.

you watch him amusedly, and when Ben finally finishes Rex is quick to chirp in- "and this is my year to shine as i've been one of the selected staff members to help set up" he says proudly, puffing out his chest like a mating bird that has you snorting laughing at him.

"yea they selected him this year" you could tell there was a hidden 'and not me' behind Ben's words, but didn't push as he didn't seem too upset by it. just mildly annoyed.

"i think it's great you got selected Rex, it's the perfect chance for you to prove to them exactly why they didn't choose you any of the years prior" Anakin teases and Rex deadpans before sending him a swift kick from under the table.

you and Ben both roll your eyes at their antics. "you two are ridiculous you know" Ben chimes in and Anakin deflects with a 'what it's true'.

"well, i'm just happy because me and y/n are going to be canoeing together" Anakin says while wrapping an arm around your waist. if you had food in your mouth you probably would have choked.

you fight the urge to verbalize a 'we are?' as you take a sip from your water bottle to distract yourself from how much you enjoyed his touch.

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Anakin, Ben, Padme, and you all spent free time together. just chatting on one of the benches outside of the lodge hall, all of the kids from each cabin were playing tag in front of you all in the open grass area as the selected staff members finished setting up for the day.

it was crazy how casually Anakin had slipped into his role as your fake boyfriend but what was even crazier was just how much more he was acting like he was your actual boyfriend since last night. yeah, Honey and Padme may have had a point.

the four of you were all sitting on the bench side by side, packed together like sardines. Anakin had made it a smidge easier for all of you by having you rest one of your legs over his to make more room. his thigh's warmth against the back of yours was easy to get used to.

the big calloused hand of his that rested on top of your thigh however was a little bit harder to brush past. especially with how much you were all joking around, laughter bubbling out of your chests and each time without fail if the joke made him laugh hard enough he'd give your thigh a squeeze.

you were a flustered mess and it was so pathetically obvious, even as you tried to pretend this was all normal. laughing when the group laughed occasionally tossing in your own joke when you'd actually paid attention enough to know what was going on.

despite all of that; when the announcement was made for everyone to come down to the lakefront because they'd finished setting up, you and Anakin were the last to leave the bench. watching as all the kids ran down excited to get in the lake on the canoes the rest of the staff not far behind.

He gives your thigh a pat to get your attention, and you don't waste a second to give it to him. "ready?" it all felt to good to be true honestly but you nod nonetheless, pulling your leg off of his and standing up.

he takes your hand in his this time without asking, tugging you along behind him as you clumsily follow. he's the one to push the canoe out, the one who helps you tighten your life vest before helping you step inside and then climbing in himself. rowing you both out to the outer edge of the lake away from where everyone else was.

Anakin seemed to always be the one to take initiative, to test how far you'd let him go, and each time no matter how small of a push. you felt the pull towards him grow stronger. it was almost ridiculous, but you didn't dare try and fight it. not anymore.

"we should go out further" you blink a few times trying to figure out if he'd been talking this whole time and you'd somehow missed an entire conversation with him. he looks over to you awaiting your answer, when he sees your confusion he juts his chin towards the rope sectioning everyone off to this side of the lake.

"we can't go past the rope Ani, it's against the rules" Anakin freezes completely at your sentence and your brows crease together in concern. did he really wanna go out past the rope that bad?

"i.." he begins but trails off once more a blush growing on his cheeks as he clears his throat trying to push it down. but the way his ears shine a bright red are a dead give away and now you're trying to remember what you said that could have gotten such a reaction out of him. "right, yeah but it's only against the rules if we get caught" he finally recovers.

"i think i'd be kind of hard to miss a single canoe floating past the rope" you cross your arms and he smiles, ever the rule 'bender'.

"they're all to busy enjoying their own time to care, come on it'll be fun" he's already rowing you both to the rope before you even get to answer.

"famous last words" you grumble and he snorts, giving a quick glance behind you to check if anyone’s looking before he lifts the rope up and rows you both past it.

"yet you're doing nothing to try and stop me" he says while continuing to row you both out, slowly getting farther and farther away from everyone. he doesn't stop until you guys are slightly behind the small island that’s in the center. "see perfect"

he moves the paddles into the canoe, laying on his back so that he's looking right up at the sky. "do you do this every year too?" you ask, leaning into your palm as you watch him.

"nah but i've always wanted to" he looks over to you briefly while putting his hands behind his head for a little added cushion. your eyes briefly glancing down as his shirt rides up exposing a little bit of his midriff. "now i have a partner in crime" he jokes and you roll your eyes.

"more like someone to bring down with you" you force yourself to look up at the sky, leaning back on your hands and using the sides of the canoe as support.

"goes hand in hand really" you hum at his response, allowing a peaceful silence to wash over you both. the sound of laughter from everyone in the distance and the warm rays of the sun washing over you two made the moment feel like something out of a movie or maybe it was just the heat making you hazy.

you both sit like that for a while, basking in the sunlight before Anakin's phone vibrates in his pocket. you turn to look at him shocked he risked bringing it out onto the lake, the odds of you two falling out were low but you'd never chance it. "it's Ben, he said they're all looking for us"

"all as in everyone or all as in just our friends?" you ask suddenly panicked as he sits up, tucking his phone back in his pocket before nudging his foot against yours.

"just our friends, relax. we've been out here for thirty minutes it's no wonder they're looking for us" thirty minutes!? maybe the heat really was getting to you because it had not felt like thirty minutes.

good news you and Anakin successfully make it back on the sectioned-off side of the lake without being caught by the camp directors. bad news buckets of surprise water balloons had been brought out.

the kids were going crazy with them, completely targeting the very outnumbered staff. which you'd only realized after you'd stepped off the boat. being met with the feeling of ice-cold water splashing against your head, broken pieces of hot pink rubber falling to the ground.

the culprit, Zion, standing red-handed in front of you with another balloon rearing to go. the second it leaves his hand you run, causing Anakin to be the one hit instead. square in the middle of his back since he was busy putting up the canoe with the others.

the second the canoe is secure he's running after Zion, grabbing a water balloon from the bucket along the way. you load up with a few of your own ready to chase after him as well only to get hit by Ahsoka from your right. you switch targets instantly both of you tossing all the balloons in your hands at each other as you chase after her.

that's how the next few hours are spent until the very last water balloon is used and the sun is halfway down the horizon. the selected staff members already getting the bonfire going before everyone headed over.

the cold water that soaked your clothes mixing with the cool night breeze was lethal as your teeth chatter together. Padme and Ben had run back to the cabins to grab blankets and towels for your friend group, a few other counselors doing the same as well as some of the campers.

Rex, Anakin, Opal, and you found a spot close to the fire as you waited for their return. you did your best to hide your smile as you watched Opal finally talk to Rex for the first time, a blush on both their cheeks as they spoke.

it was adorable, but you had to stop Anakin from teasing them. it didn't take much really just a gentle smack to his arm telling him to stop and that Opal was too sweet to be teased like that.

"for the happy couple" Ben teased, chucking a soft blanket at Anakin before plopping down with Padme and handing Rex a towel. both he and Padme had changed their clothes before returning. the smart idea honestly as the fire was doing nothing with how wet your clothes were.

Anakin wraps what was definitely his blanket judging by the smell of his cologne on it, around you both after gently pulling you into his chest. arms resting around your waist as you practically sat in his lap. if you weren't bordering hypothermia you'd probably be freaking out more, currently however you were just happy to enjoy the warmth of his body.

how he was so warm when he was just as soaked as you, you had no idea. that boy was just a human furnace. "do you wanna go change?" Anakin whispers into your ear, creating a little bubble with just you two in it despite having your friends all around you.

did you want to go change? yes definitely- did you want to have to get up and move in order to do so? no, no you did not. "i'm good" he chuckles, your teeth still chattering as you speak.

"you're freezing" he argues and you simply shrug. he rolls his eyes before fully pulling you into his lap now, wrapping his arms over yours completely cocooning you. you let out a soft satisfied sigh that has him smiling against the back of your neck.

maybe you were hallucinating but you swear you felt his lips press a small kiss before he rested his chin on top of your head. "are you two gonna roast marshmallows?" Padme asks pulling your attention away from the fire. she has a smile on her face you've come to know all to well, as she waits for your answer. holding out the packet of roasting sticks for you to grab and pass to the people next to you.

"yeah thanks" Anakin says reaching out and breaking the shell of warmth as the blanket parts. as he pulls out two sticks before handing the packet to the next person it hits you; just exactly what you were doing and who you were doing it with. the irony of Padme being the one observing you two and you the one currently sitting in his lap.

you're absolutely dumbfounded, the feeling of Anakin's calm breathing against your back only makes it all the more surreal. over a hundred kids and staff gathered around a giant bonfire not even batting an eye at you two. to most of them you were actually dating so it made sense, and honestly you weren't sure how to feel about that.

this was more than just fake dating, that much was obvious even to you now. but if you weren't fake dating and you weren't actually dating, what on earth do you call whatever it is you two are doing right now? you felt your stomach twist in uncertainty the more you thought about it.

"here" Anakin holds out the stick to you, two marshmallows already on one end waiting for you to roast them. you blink a few times before taking it sticking your hand out from the blanket and holding the stick over the fire.

Anakin doesn't acknowledge your silence, probably thinking you were just enjoying the quiet. boy would he be wrong, there was no quiet to enjoy with how loud every thought in your mind screamed. curiosity clawing at you, needing to know just what to label you both as.

"you know when i was younger, my mom would take me and my stepbrother camping with Ben's family all the time." he shifted you in his hold as he extended his own roasting stick over the fire, carefully twisting it as he roasted his marshmallows. "and i still remember the first time i was finally allowed to roast my own marshmallows. i burnt them to a crisp"

"how'd you manage to do that?" you laugh and he smiles against the back of your head, continuing to twist the stick in his hand. you follow his lead twisting your own as he spoke again.

"well for starters i was like 9 and ornery." his voice was low, it rumbled in chest and against your back. "and i was so focused on trying to mess with Ben that i forgot i was even holding a marshmallow over the fire to begin with. the worse part was they all saw the marshmallow on fire and didn't say anything! not even my own mother" you bite back a laugh, poorly as he can very much tell you’re laughing at him.

"my first betrayal- she'd said it was the natural consequence for messing with Ben. she was right of course but i still got upset and threw a fit" you mumble a quiet 'bratty' under your breath and he gently pinches your side making you giggle.

quiet. all the thoughts in your head were gone as you listened to him speak, finishing roasting your marshmallows and then placing them onto the prepped graham crackers with chocolate that rested on top of your knee. the blanket half fallen off his shoulder from all the movement.

you didn't ask when he prepped the graham crackers, it wasn't important. not when you were sat in the lap of someone you'd grown so fond of, biting into s'mores simultaneously and relishing the sweet treat with a childlike fondness.

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the walk back to the cabins was a long one for everybody, you and Anakin lingering behind tiredly hand in hand not quite ready to let go of each other. it's not until you have to part ways to go to your separate cabins that you both acknowledge the fact you have to let go.

everyone else is inside getting ready for bed as you both stand face to face, working up the courage to say goodnight. "you have Marshmallow on your face" you reach up cradling his head with your hand as you wipe off the goo from his cheek with your thumb.

when you try to pull away his hand grabs hold of your wrist, forcing you to continue cradling his head- not that you were against it. the dark of the night was a dangerous thing you found, as it provided you with a cover the morning light didn't. a certain boldness that the sleep-ridden parts of your brain aided in. one that had him leaning down and you pushing up on your tiptoes to meet him halfway.

soft lips pressing against each other, the sugary taste of s'mores on each other's mouths making you crave more. just as you feel his tongue lick at your bottom lip you both hear the sounds of footsteps coming from behind you. pulling away quickly, flustered, very much wide awake and aware now.

Anakin clears his throat after Jacob walks past, not even paying attention as he scrolls on his phone. "i'll see you tomorrow y/n" you can't even meet his eyes, giving him a small nod ready to run back to your cabin as quick as possible.

"goodnight Ani" you say before doing just that.

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you crashed so quickly last night that you'd almost thought it was all just a dream when you woke up. the taste of roasted marshmallow still in the back of your throat the only thing reminding you that it was in fact reality. Holy shit. you kissed Anakin. Anakin kissed you. you both-

"are you okay? you look like you're having an existential crisis over there" you turn to Opal who's sat directly across from you, her phone forgotten in her hand probably from the moment you flung up in bed.

"uhhh- me yea i'm fine.. fine, great actually" your voice raises in pitch with each affirmation and she looks like she believes you less and less each time.

"you look a little pale y/n" you force a smile and give a nervous laugh. pulling yourself up and out of bed so quickly you stumble over your own feet almost crashing into the dresser.

"yep i'm totally cool" you repeat cool a few more times while grabbing your stuff for the day and stumbling out of the room down the hall and into the bathrooms.

as soon as you're inside one of the stalls you pull out your phone plopping onto the toilet lid. 'Honey i'm freaking tf out'

'what happened?' you bite your lip as you type out a very rush 'me and anakin kissed' but reading it back when you hit send it says 'mme ahnd anaki nkissed' thankfully it was legible enough as Honey was quick to send back a response.

'OMG!? 👀👀' you spend the next few minutes frantically typing out barely legible messages explaining what happened in between changing into your clothes for the day.

'this is the greatest day of my life and it's not even me who got kissed' not the time Honey you huff to yourself staying firmly locked in the bathroom stall away from all of your campers and probably Padme with a shit ton of questions if Opal mentioned the state you woke up in.

'what are you so freaked out about? is this not good news?' of course it was but had he even actually meant to kiss you or was it just the heat of the moment? and not to mention now you'd have to face each other and pretend like nothing was different until you got the chance to talk to each other semi-alone on the way to the activity center.

'it's just such inconvenient timing 😭😭' that was the best way you could think to put it.

'inconvenient timing? i'm sorry did you have a plan for a more convenient time in your oh so busy schedule??' you deadpan, at least her attitude was enough to calm you down.

'we beefin rn?🤨🤨' Honey liked the message and you find yourself smiling.

'yea we are let's go 💥👊💥👊' you laugh a little too loud at that, liking the message right before the door to the bathroom opens.

"y/n are you in here?" Mia's voice rang out. you turn your phone off tucking it in your back pocket, ignoring the next few buzzes as you grab your dirty clothes.

"yea i'm right here Mia, everything okay?" you ask while exiting the stall the young girl held out her hair brush and a handful of elastics.

"can you do my hair again? i wanna do bubble braids" you smile softly at her before directing her out of the bathroom with your hand on her shoulder.

"yea come on i'll do it in the other room i just need to put my stuff into my room.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

your able to successfully dodge most of Padme's questions on the way to breakfast. using Opal as a scapegoat by bringing up the fact she'd been chatting with Rex all night. a necessary sacrifice to keep her off your back, you'd find a way to apologize later.

right now your only focus was walking into the lodge hall and- he wasn't there. for fucks sake he wasn't there. your eyes dart over the entirety of the building in an instant. not in the breakfast line, not coming out of the bathrooms, not at the normal table, and certainly not at some other table. shit.

you skip the breakfast line entirely heading straight to where Ben and Rex are sat. "where's Anakin?" the question startles them as they both swivel in their seat turning to where you stood behind them.

"good morning y/n, how lovely it is for us your other clearly less important friends to see you on this fine day" Rex's sarcasm isn't lost on you but you brush it off giving him an 'i'm serious look'

"he didn't wanna get out of bed, it's not shocking with how early he was up yesterday and how late he stayed up but honestly you'd think after the fourth time i pulled his blankets off he'd have given in" Ben answers you relieving you of the fear he might have purposely skipped breakfast to avoid you.

you relax instantly letting out a soft 'thank the gods' before exhaustedly plopping onto the spot next to Ben. practically melting into the table, he gives you an awkward pat on the back for encouragement. "should we be concerned?" you shake your head no at his question, your forehead rubbing against the table with a weird squeak to it as you do.

"great because as much as i'd love a reason to beat up Anakin it's way to early for me to put in that amount of energy" you turn to look at Ben as he speaks, Rex agreeing with him through a mouth full of food. at least this time he keeps his mouth shut as he does it.

was this really a good outcome though? this meant realistically you wouldn't be able to discuss with Anakin until after the first period ended and that's if Rex even left you two alone.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

which he didn't as it turns out, because as usual, the universe loves to torment you. he'd managed to single-handedly keep you two from having even a second of alone time together. since when did Rex talk this much honestly?

not to mention the kids all had to come to you and Anakin since Rex was no help, you really regretted agreeing for the kids to get another day of working on friendship bracelets. the collections of bracelets you received growing larger, to the point you felt guilty not being able to wear them all and just took them off only keeping the one Anakin had made you on.

you could tell a few of the kids were disappointed because of this but you explained to them you'd cherish each one and just didn't want to ruin them which seemed to make them feel a little better even for the ones who didn't truly believe you.

all day it’d been like that, talking to Rex, explaining to the kids something you'd thought they'd already figured out the day prior to canoe day, reassuring them you did like the bracelet they made you even though you didn't have it on. an endless cycle making it hard to breathe when all you wanted to do was take two minutes to yourself in order to pull Anakin aside and ask what that damn kiss meant to him. what it made you.

even on the way to dinner it was never-ending chatter from the kids and Rex, and gods it was just too much. you were overstimulated, about ready to explode at the next person who came up and talked to you. forget talking to Anakin you just needed everything to stop.

"y/n" Anakin's hand on your arm pulls you to a stop, all the kids continue on pass you both along with Rex who takes lead after Anakin sends him a look. "breathe" he slides his hand down your arm and into your palm giving it a gentle squeeze.

you hadn’t realized just how much the world around you was spinning, breathing in much too fast for any oxygen to actually enter your lungs. when he notices you still unable to catch your breath he gently pulls you to his chest, giving you a hug just tight enough for the pressure to help relieve you.

he takes long exaggerated breaths in an attempt to trick your brain into copying him. it works, slowly at first, but eventually you're calm. relaxing into his hold and listening to the sound of his beating heart. it's embarrassing how fast you spiraled without realizing it, but Anakin doesn't say anything.

for once he didn't try to joke his way out of a serious moment, letting you take all the time you needed to recover. when you do finally pull away he doesn't try and ask what was wrong, he lets you find the words you want to say.

"thank you..." you start, looking up into his eyes. he doesn't look scared or concerned not at first glance. not until you really look into his eyes do you see the worry hidden behind his calm expression. putting on a brave face to keep you calm and comfortable. "i'm okay now, promise."

"what happened there?" he finally asks, your hand still in his. his thumb rubbing soothing circles over the cold skin.

"i don't know…today was just a lot" he leads you both to the nearest grass patch to sit down in. you let out a loud sigh opting to lie down instead.

Anakin lays down beside you keeping his eyes up at the stars above you. "Yeah for me too" you look over to him checking to see if he was just saying that to make you feel better. there's a genuine look of exhaustion on his face that shows he isn't.

you both fall into a somber silence and for the first time, you take initiative. your fingers tapping against his making him turn his attention down to your hand. you keep your eyes on the stars but you can see him smile faintly through your peripherals.

he turns his hand up letting you slide yours into his, the mood already feeling much lighter. "you always manage to quiet my mind" you confess, turning your head to his. your noses are so close they're almost touching. its a different kind of overwhelming, the kind with that underlying pull towards one another. the same pull you felt last night when you kissed.

"funny because you always manage to make mine louder" you snort and he laughs "what i'm serious, i've never met someone who takes up as much of my mind as you" the sincerity in his voice is what makes your breath hitch, giving him the courage to continue.

"even now i can't get my mind to stop running with thoughts and questions about you. it's kind of annoying" oh you were in love with him. would you be saying that out loud anytime soon absolutely not. way to soon, but there was no denying it in your heart. the way it swelled from his words before kicking into overdrive.

there's a long pause as you just stare into each other's eyes before you break the silence. "Ani….can you kiss me again?" he takes so long to respond you're almost sure you only asked in your head.

"i like when you call me that" he mumbled, so quietly and quickly you're barely able to catch it before his lips are on yours.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

Oh what a joy it was to tell Honey, Padme and Ahsoka all of this the next day. truly you were ecstatic you'd talked for the rest of dinner together, about anything and everything. eventually landing on the big 'what are we' question. to no one's surprise but your own denial's, he'd asked you out.

now having been dating for the last two weeks of camp. the dreaded day of goodbyes had finally come.

all the campers had left a few days prior leaving just the staff to help clean up and put everything away for the summer. you'd all finished the first day giving you guys the last two days to just chill and hang out together one last time.

you honestly felt like crying as Padme hugged you, neither one of you wanting to let go of the other. "i don't know how i'm going to survive this world without you" she sniffles and you can't help but laugh.

"i think i've rubbed off on you too much, you're starting to sound like me and Honey" you sniffle as well and both pull away laughing at just how emotional you were.

"save some tears for the rest of us" Rex calls from over Padme's shoulders. you flip him off and he does it right back to you before walking over and giving you a proper hug goodbye.

"i hope everything works out between you and Opal" he smiles down at you while pulling away, patting your head like some child. you have half a mind to swat him away but ultimately decide to let it slide just this once.

"alright me next" Opal says engulfing you in a bone-crushing hug "i loved hanging out with you even though it was for a short amount of time, i hope we get to hang out again soon or next summer!" you smile patting her back to let you go so you can breath enough to talk.

laughter bubbles out of you both after the wheeze that leaves your mouth. "we'll see each other again it's a promise" you finally speak. Ben walks up to you now pulling you into a hug as well.

"i am just so grateful that Anakin finally has someone else to bother all the time" he jokes and you hear Anakin gasp dramatically behind him making you snort.

"you're not off the hook Kenobi, you've just gained another person for him to help bother you." he lets out a sigh crossing his arms as he steps away from you.

"i was afraid you'd say that, i suppose i'll just have to learn to live with it." he strokes his beard pretending to truly ponder this over, and you roll your eyes before turning to Anakin.

he was looking at you like a sad puppy and you felt so incredibly guilty as if you'd be leaving him forever. which wasn't the case at all in fact you'd planned a date for saturday night. still he pulled you into a hug holding on like he was going to lose you. it was going to be weird going from seeing him every day to just a few days of the week.

it would be okay though, he would make sure of it.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

Bonus scene (as well as another wee times skip):

"omg i can't believe this is it!!" Honey jumped up and down beside you as you walked towards the restaurant. "i'm finally meeting her this is a dream come true"

"you know i honestly figured you'd be more excited to meet Ben" she just let out another squeal unable to verbally answer. she was excited to meet everyone for different reasons, Padme just happened to be the only person she really cared about. the bestie who helped her bestie as she put it.

the look in Honey's eyes when she laid eyes on her was definitely an i'm either going to faint or scream look. judging by the way she completely froze you guessed fainting was the higher possibility, slowly you pushed her towards the group, already sat amongst a conjoined table outside.

"y/n!" Padme cheered upon seeing you followed by an excited squeal when she saw Honey. "omg! it's good to finally see you in person!" she was out of her seat in an instant, giving you a long hug before her and Honey clung onto each other like long-lost siblings.

"you'd think she was the one introducing me" you joke before turning to the rest of the table and greeting everyone else, giving them all quick hugs before you sat down next to Anakin.

he gives you a kiss on the lips in greeting instead of a hug, putting his arm around your shoulder as you wait for the two girls still hugging to release each other and join you all.

"omg it's so weird seeing you all, i can't believe you're real" Honey snorts, plopping down on the empty seat next to Padme.

"so Opal, Rex, and Ben" she says listing off the last three members and pointing at them for confirmation- not that she needed it.

"it's an honor to meet you" Ben said sticking his hand out to which she happily, albeit shyly, shook.

"what is she famous? who greets someone like that" Anakin jokes and Ben just rolls his eyes, you smack his arm chastising him like a disobedient child to which he gives a dramatic 'ow' while rubbing his arm.

"hate to say it but i'm with Anakin that was oddly formal even for you Kenobi" Rex teases as well and Opal shrinks beside him feeling sympathy for Ben but much to shy to say anything to Rex.

"it was a normal greeting" Ben argues, feeling himself fluster under the spotlight of his friends. now that was rare, and an interesting sight to see.

"alright let's order food i’m starving" Padme pivots the conversation away from Ben's odd behavior.

the group of you all relearning how to navigate with each other along with Honey. it was easy though, everyone clicking into place like pieces of a puzzle. jokes and stories flowing from your mouths without a single awkward pause.

the warm breeze of summer blowing away with the new cool wind of fall with each passing second and shared laugh.

a/n: she’s here 😭 she’s finally here

i shall have my wattpad and ao3 up to date tmr whenever i wake up ✨

i’m going to be completely honest with you guys and say after the 2 am mark i forgot pretty much everything i previously wrote 💀 been writing purely off intuition 😀

anywhooo hope you guys enjoy fr 🫶🏼🫶🏼 you’ve been so supportive and i appreciate ever second of it!

a special thank you to @munsondjarin who is the whole reason this fic was even conjured up and @everydaydreamer who encouraged me to write it as well as let me bounce ideas off of her anytime i needed 💋💋 love you both sm

i’m not sure when the bonus smut chapter will be written or out but i shall keep you all posted and in the mean time i am finally going to write some fall fluff oneshots 🥳🥳 and also im going to be doing the rest of my august schedule

so please send in any questions you have for me surrounding the series, whether it be character info or inspiration or how i can up with certain names and so on✨

i’ll also be posting all of the cut dialogue and possible ways scenes were originally supposed to go (i took ss throughout the process before i deleted anything🙂‍↕️)

now if you excuse me i am going to pass out🥰 have a wonderful days huns Xx <3

tag list: @anakinskwkler @anakinstwinklebunny @divineani @huayan @poppysrin @bxbyysstuff @dollhobigem @skywalkercinema @corio-letit-snow @avatarobsessedgirly @kelsxxyawn @7xss @throughparisallthroughrome @humongouscatfest @rhiannonhippiegirl @akixxrafiiy @ter-luer @w0rsh1psells @bulllsseye @anitaxl @everydaydreamer

[the-dragon-hearted]

It would be really funny if everyone in Liyue knew their god wasn't dead, but they literally could not prove it.

Listen, there's at least one alchemist who spent weeks fuming, because it makes no sense for mora to keep its divine transmutation powers if the divinity powering it is dead - unless of course mora is some sort of independent divine extension which would mean their god was capable of creating an independent medium free of ties to divinity - (that guy spends three weeks holed up in his house trying to rewrite transmutation logic from the ground up before giving up because his theorems aren't working).

So the alchemists assume Rex Lapis isn't dead, because mora still works. They have to. Nothing else makes sense. That logic works pretty well with businessmen too.

The historians are losing their goddamn minds because every mythos and legend is in here claiming that Rex Lapis was the undefeated do-not-fuck-with-under-any-circumstances archon so for him to just fall out of the fucking sky cannot be possible unless they have HUGE problems.

50% lean towards a possible upcoming rapture (Because ain't no way the water dragon demon guy and his scorned wife were the killers of Rex Lapis. Nah it had to be something way worse) The other 50% just shrug and say it's impossible for their god to have been killed and Liyue to still be standing. And don't try to tell them he wasn't murdered because if he DID die, then he was 100%, absolutely, totally, without question murdered. He fell out of the sky like a dramatic bastard and everyone saw, that ain't how gods die peacefully, no matter WHAT those folks in the Jade Chamber say.

The conspiracy theorists go craaazy later in the evening when there's too much wine and someone brings it up. It can be impressive how deep their conspiracies though. Qiqi has repeated the strangest of them to Baizhu who's quite sick and tired of this thank you very much -

But you see, the local business owners, a few weeks into their mourning, started to notice something... odd.

It was a new regular. Nice guy. Pretty pleasant, and could be prone to rambling. He's ridiculously knowledgeable on... everything, especially relating to Liyue, and against all better judgment, plenty of business owners have asked him for advice.

There are the legends, of course. Morax would play the part of a passing merchant and peer into the common folk's lives, often visiting smaller businesses and gracing them with his patronage.

It's a crazy thought, and anyone who has it doesn't voice it, but... listen... at some point some things just make sense. And if they take down their memorials to their fallen god - if they snuff out the candles of mourning on their mantel - who could say?

They just smile and keep the best of their merchandise set aside, offering what they can in the quietest way possible.

It's the worst/best-kept secret because no one can outwardly say it. Lady Ningguang avoids it in conversation with a curt cough, the Traveler can be a bad liar (well, Paimon can be a bad liar), and the man himself is so obvious that the only reason he hasn't been outed is because his boss is too busy trying to sell people premium coffins.

I mean little Susy saw him standing on a ROOF with the last of the Yaksha's last Lantern Rite! No, she's not lying -

It's a gut feeling (It's denial, the merchants from Inazuma say). There's proof (there's not, the scholars from Sumeru sigh). He's literally right there! (That 'he' in question is currently short on mora - some god of commerce, c'mon give me a break!).

Liyue Harbor's secret is that their god isn't dead. But they can't prove it. Yes, he fell out of the sky and yes it was this whole thing and yes he's been MIA for a while now and yes the adepti all say he's dead -

BUT LISTEN, TRUST ME, HE'S NOT -

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.

DC

midnight sun by merils

Who would win: four men with guns who just happened to get Red Robin to walk into a trap, or one royally-pissed Kryptonian juggernaut?

Yeah, it's not even a contest.

reasons are better than rules by destiny919

"No one will actually explain Father's rules to me," Damian blurts out. "They tell me we don't kill, and killing is wrong, and Father would never do it, but no one ever actually says why! As if repeating the rule is the same as explaining it! As if I am supposed to just know, when I do not!"

Drake is quiet, eyes on something in the distance that Damian cannot see. "Damian, may I tell you a secret?"

Marvel

Thirty Hours by polaroid15

The sun sets. Peter breaks three toes and hits his head hard against concrete. There’s a steadily bleeding wound in his side that he’s staunched with his webbing and tries not to acknowledge it when it burns. He can still walk in a straight line, which is good. He’s starving and tired and cold. It’s been fifteen hours.

Or, Peter doesn't take any breaks during a lengthy fight with the Avengers. The mind-melting fever that follows really should have been expected.

Clone Wars

An Hourglass In Hand by ecarian

“I thought daemons didn’t eat,” Rex noted once, during a celebration feast, as he and Cody watched Boga devour her meal with some fascination. Varactyl she may be, but she was a tiny one. There wasn't much interior space for the truly momentous amount of meat she was ripping into.

Boga daintily rubbed her beak against a folded serviette that looked kind of like a bird, and said, prim, “I can do anything a human can do.”

“Oh?” Obi-Wan said mildly, from where he’d been tapping at a datapad. “Shall I save you a portion of these reports then?”

Set My Mind at Ease by Eightbitpale

Marshal Commander Cody - clone commanding officer of the 7th Sky Corps, second in command of the 212th attack battalion and, currently, the proud caretaker of one still-warm lightsaber - was having a very long day.

Actually, fuck that. It had been more than a long day. Long days were Cody’s bread and butter, practically his comfort zone. Marshall Commander Cody ate stim shots for breakfast and every shiny this side of Coruscant knew it. Long days were his bitch.

No, this had been more than a long day. Today had been a bad day.

———

The one where Cody and his general try their best to tell each other that they care. At least they’re trying.

Your Smile In Stone by ecarian

Wooley: can we arrest people for yelling this early?

There were two figures standing at the foot of General Kenobi's statue with their backs to Wooley, an adult with a hood, and a child with light hair. The child was pointing at a puddle of Temple tookas who were curled up in General Kenobi’s lap, lounging in the stone folds of his robes, the bend of his knee.

Wooley: belay that. Child nuisance.

The Goblin Emperor

Sweet Hope by baladric

Maia Drazhar arranges a festival, meets his gay aunt, falls in love with his secretary, and misses his mom through it all.

"In the way of true stories, there was no discernible beginning. Perhaps it had begun that first day, in the shabby receiving room at Edonomee; in the cockpit of the Radiance of Cairado; at the mooring mast of the Untheileneise Court, with that first smile.

The pith of the matter was that Maia Drazhar was wildly, tremulously in love, and love had made fools of much wiser men than he."

In All Its Forms by Anonymous

Before his father ruined everything, Nurevis Chavar only thought to introduce the new emperor to all the most beautiful things life could offer.

When he found himself free from relegation again after his father's death, would the emperor whose friendship he had sought so long ago wish his presence at court? And, if he could return to court, would his emperor wish his friendship again?

[galactic-rhea]

The thing with Anakin TCW is that I try to reconcille both "versions" of Anakin, but because I keep in mind that at the end of the day, TCW is a serialized kids show, and he's also a general and in charge of a padawan so he must be really charismatic for that to work (long rambling ahead)

This show came in an era where shows ran long, with very random plots per episode and just very few that advanced "a plot", so characters that are new for the show get more development (since they were at zero), and Anakin with already three movies (technically 6 if we count the original trilogy), a mini series, and a bunch of books and comics, feels more flat for the very short narrative purposes.

The way i see it, TCW can be like seeing Anakin from someone's else eyes, like that's probably how Obi-Wan and Ahsoka and Rex saw him, cocky and sassy and fearless and daring and untouchable and cool and sometimes with anger coming from apparently nowhere, and the movies are the actual "omnipresent" look, we see how actually deeply fucked up and scared Anakin is!

TCW gives like a very pink tinted glasses view of him, a very standarized version of him, since the "otherness" that he has in the prequels was really hated (and with otherness i mean that he acts alienated and tormented, is because of the trauma, but also because he can be so easily read as neurodivergent and/or queer; movie Anakin looks like he might as well be a giant walking target for bullying, so to speak), so TCW Anakin looks like he totally would have never ever been bullied, he's the cool kid.

If I don't constantly keep on mind this is probably Ahsoka's POV, it can be a bit hard to connect, like the last episodes in TCW, when he sees Ahsoka, he's like 2 days before ROTS, and he looks so cheerful and normal and sassy, but then if you look at ROTS, he looks so tired and beaten up and just depressed after that battle. But Anakin, in AOTC and ROTS, in general, is a person that looks like doesn't even want to be there at all, he looks like he would rather turn invisible.

I don't have that many problems with Anakin in TCW except for certain arcs (looking at you clovis), because many things in the show do add to Anakin's narrative and character (or more like, pilling up even more trauma onto him for the big moment), but it's not a complete look because by the point we should see how he's dealing or coping with something the episode ends and the next episode is about something different. TCW is plot focused and there are very little "breathing" moments before the action, and is not very character focused. Which leaves the audience with the task of remembering that whatever happened in the show is another piece of the puzzle that may or may not fit perfectly with the character that was presented on the prequels.

"This episode very painfully reminds you that he was a slave, and he's angry about it, very angry...for one bit of the episode, let's go back to the fun action." It touches it, but it doesn't explore it, if you get what I mean? Like, we can only imagine if he had difficult weeks after that or how even was the conversation after all that whole mess, just as an example.

I agree that Anakin in TCW is a incomplete version of his character, because TCW focuses a lot on the Clones and Ahsoka and other little stories, however I also think it does add lots of stuff to explore, even if the show didn't explore it deeply, but touched on it.

And I understand too why it causes such a division, and why some may prefer the TCW version more, and why some may prefer only the movies version.

I mainly use the movies, and then take from TCW what I feel like it fits/makes sense for him, and shake TCW a little bit if i need to, although i still really love it : D

[zoeykallus]

The Bad Batch/ Mayday/Rex x Reader Prompts – Confessions

Part 5/7 - Wrecker

Warnings: Hurt/Angst/Comfort/Fluff/Love Confessions

Masterlist

Ko-Fi (If you feel like giving me some coffee)

This is a continuation of this request :

The Bad Batch/ Mayday/Rex x Reader Prompts – Confessions

Wrecker

Wrecker is actually very open and easy to talk to. He is neither particularly reserved nor aloof. Nevertheless, you haven't yet dared to tell him openly how much you like him. You feel that he might like you as much as you like him, but you're not sure. The thought that you could open up to him and be wrong keeps you from confessing your deep affection for him. You are startled out of your thoughts when you hear a familiar, beloved sound; Wrecker's rumbling laughter. Apparently he's been playing a trick on Crosshair again, because the Sniper runs past you, jaws grinding, curses coming from between clenched teeth. Wrecker appears on the ramp, laughing and calling after his brother, “Come on, it was just a harmless joke” Crosshair keeps walking and growls, “Go to hell” You giggle and ask, “Oh Wrecker, what have you done again?” Your heart skips a beat as his attention turns to you, and you see his mischievous smile. “Can't you smell that?”

You blink in confusion and draw your brows together critically, but then you smell it, a very intense floral scent suddenly seems to be in the air, a scent that Crosshair seems to be dragging behind him. You laugh softly, “You've replaced his aftershave with what seems to me to be a very intense, rather feminine scent” Wrecker grins from ear to ear. You sigh softly and say gently reprovingly, “Wrecker, Cross has a date today, as far as I know he really likes the person he's going out with and if he doesn't want to be late, he won't have time to get rid of the wrong scent” “Oh,” says Wrecker a little sheepishly, “that's why he's so angry” You think this could be a brilliant segue, and with your heart suddenly racing, you ask, “Speaking of dates, how about the two of us?” The moment you say the words, you want to sink into the ground. That was far too blunt, too direct, and you actually wanted to say something completely different. But it just slipped out of you. Wrecker's reaction doesn't really help. At first, he just stares at you, perplexed; it's a long, uncomfortably silent moment, and you feel like you're frozen in motion, unable to even change your expression, which is terrible, because you feel like there's a stupid, nervous grin on your lips.

Suddenly, Wrecker bursts out laughing, pats you on the back and continues on his way. “That was a good one!” he says with a rumbling laugh. A humorless little laugh escapes your lips: “Hahaha, yeah, hilarious” You watch Wrecker disappear around the corner. You let your shoulders slump with a sigh. This is not at all what you had in mind. Discouraged, you hang your head. It's not a nice feeling that's spreading through your chest right now. Tech's voice suddenly snaps you out of your gloomy thoughts. “Judging by your body language, you're either very tired or very unhappy” You turn to him, startled, and pull your shoulders back up. With raised eyebrows, Tech comments, “Now you're trying to pretend. You were probably about to tell me you were just a bit tired. Am I right?” Tech had started to learn more about posture some time ago, to read between the lines. However, he still did this in his very direct way every time. When you don't answer him, he asks, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

You shrug your shoulders. You would actually like to talk to someone about it, but you're not sure if Tech is the right person to talk to. Nevertheless, you put him in the picture, explaining that Wrecker has either misunderstood you or is not interested in you or a date with you. “It's easy to find out,” says Tech almost cheerfully with a small, satisfied smile, because he's sure he has the solution to your problem. “Oh yeah?” you ask cautiously. The next moment your heart almost stops, because Wrecker is back outside on the landing platform and Tech calls him over to you, “Wrecker, why don't you come and join us for a moment?” You don't have time to object or to make a hasty escape without making a fuss, so you stand rooted to the spot. “What's up?” Wrecker asks happily, glancing from one to the other. Tech says before you can think of anything appropriate to say, “There's been a misunderstanding between you two that needs to be resolved” Wrecker looks at you, puzzled. “Oh yeah?”

You clear your throat and want to say something, but Tech beats you to it again. “When you were asked for a date earlier, it was a serious question” You feel like your heart is going to stop at any moment. Wrecker looks so surprised and confused that you can't even guess where this is going. “Really?” he asks, looking at you. You're so nervous that you don't trust your own voice and just nod. Tech, pleased with himself, pushes his goggles up the bridge of his nose with his index finger and says, “I think my work here is done. You're welcome.” Wrecker and you watch Tech for a moment as he goes his way. It takes you a while to look nervously at each other. He grins cautiously at you, scratches the back of his head nervously and stammers, “The night's supposed to be starry tonight, we could have a picnic on the mountain, look at the stars.” “Is that an invitation to a date?” you ask with a slowly widening smile. Wrecker shrugs his shoulders a little helplessly, “Yeah, sure. Do you like that sort of thing?”

“I like everything I can do with you,” you say, beaming. Wrecker beams back and says enthusiastically, “Then we'll do the picnic tonight, take candles and stuff. And on the weekend we could go to the fair!”

@rintheemolion

@andyoufollowyourheart @clone-whore-99

@brynhildrmimi @kaliel2310

@misogirl828 @tech-deck

@meshla-madalene

@chxpsi

@thebahdbitch

@nahoney22 @ladykatakuri

@darkangel4121

@ttzamara

@arctrooper69

@padawancat97

@agenteliix

@allsystemsblue

@palliateclaw

@either-madness-or-brilliance

@ortizshinkaroff

@andy-solo1

@hunterssecretrecipe

@heyitsaloy

@greaser-wolf

@extrahotpixels

@hated-by-me

@hunterxcrosshair

@malicemercy

@bebopsworld

@echos-girlfriend

@cpnt616

@dangraccoon

@jediknightjana

@pb-jellybeans

@antishadow2021

@sleepycreativewriter

@projectdreamwalker

@1vlouds

@clonelovr

@ivyyyyy

[clownery-and-fuckery]

It's pride month so.... have my gay Bad Batch thoughts I suppose (based on vibes and vibes alone.)

Hunter:

Popular opinion that I agree with? Dude is FTM trans, and has the worst time with it bcus all his T-Shots were externally bought so the Empire cut his ass OFF. also. hes a little gay. A mini bisexual, if you would. prefers women by a long shot. (He/him all the way- he wont correct, but Wrecker will.)

Crosshair:

gay. gay. dude is a MAN kisser. hes scared of women. never seen a boob in his life and he intends to stay that way. he's The Homo of the group. yes, they do make fun of him for being a boy kisser. yes, they also make fun of him for pulling NO BITCHES EVER. (He/him too and he CARES. he will correct you meanly.)

Wrecker:

pansexual icon who will love anyone. He's also pulled more than Hunter, so, take THAT. He's a hopeless romantic who falls in love with at least ONE natborn per mission. He confesses this each and every time and has maybe kissed two people. He's always encouraged. (He/him mostly but he won't mind he/they, he'll just gently correct sometimes)

Tech:

oh. He's a true bisexual. A real man and woman kisser. Perchance at once if he's drunk enough. Phee and him look at hot people and go "Oh, wow, woa". He's the bi-wife. However, his acknowledgement of attraction only works for him. He'll acknowledge you're attractive, but good look with convincing him YOU find him attractive. As far as he knows, no one looks twice at him. (Also, his gender isn't real. Sometimes he's a man, sometimes she's a woman. Sometimes they're neither. It's easier to just say that Tech is Tech. Because how come Tech gets boobs AND a dick? Unfair. They/he/her)

Echo:

originally it was assumed that he was the token straight. Until they discovered actually there's no romantic attraction there at all so, Echo's our resident aro. He's dabbled in 18+ acts of course, but the attraction never went beyond that, so he vibes. He's down for platonic and brotherly affections, but don't you dare make a romantic gesture, gross. (He/him but... he did enjoy when people thought he a she when he was undercover once, so she?)

Bonus!!!!

Rex:

We found our token straight, lads. He's never seen a boob either, though. He'll get there, eventually. Very dense, very silly. He's too tired and busy for such things. (He/him only because he doesn't know of any other option)

Cody:

Now. I know what you're gonna think. Gay. But might I throw out a suggestion? Dude is just a mean bisexual. Heavy preference for men, but he CAN pick up a woman or two. (He/him, regs are borning/j)

Wolffe:

This guy. This guy gets uncomfortable when anyone who isn't his brothers holds his hand. THIS MAN is the true aroace of the GAR. he watches his brothers and he shudders. (though he Wonders. sometimes) he'll huff and puff his way through a romcom for the Wolfpack on movie night, I guess. (He/they only because he likes being an extension of the Wolfpack)

Gregor:

Pan-romantic asexual. Dude is down to date anyone, but the armour Stays On. He finds himself much more fulfilled with simple park dates and cooking at 2am, you know?? (ALSO they/he as per his identity crisis. He's a CLONE??? HUH???? wild)

Bly:

Another "token straight" but he'll never escape the bisexual allegations 😔 (because its true and him and his wife have so had a third party member before) but he's also rather curious. So. Bi-curious. (He/him)

Fox:

Oh lord. This man. Gay. He's gay but no one knows because he passes well. Also, ace. He's done his fair share of people, he doesn't understand the appeal. Down to make out messy in a closet though, he understands THAT. but nothing more. (He/him called "it" by the Senate and he doesn't care. But his brothers do.)

That's all you get. Happy gay month. If I missed someone you can ask and I'll give you their Vibes. ✨️

[suzukiblu]

Day two NaNoWriMo; obligatory sugar daddy Tim/sugar baby Kon AU.

"Well, you are the plan guy," Kon says, grinning again and pushing his sunglasses up into his hair. "Supreme?" 

"Works for me," Tim says. It's meat and dairy and bread and vegetables and Kon is probably invulnerable to heart disease, so he figures that's basically health food to him, right? Especially if he needs more calories than the average guy. 

Pizza's sure as shit gonna be more satisfying than a protein bar, if nothing else. 

Tim's definitely ordering like, breadsticks or wings or something too. And maybe a two-liter or two. Cinnamon bread. Something. Hell, he'll buy all that and then some if he has to. He's got the money. 

Who the hell decided it was okay to let this happen? Really. Is there literally no responsible adult in Kon's life to intervene in this situation? Dubbilex was made by Cadmus too and has his own issues with managing to have an out-of-lab life, Rex Leech is apparently out of the picture, which might be a blessing anyway, Tana Moon is equally MIA, and Superman has apparently lost his entire damn mind, so . . .

There's literally no responsible adult in Kon's life to intervene in this situation, is there. There's no irresponsible adult in Kon's life to intervene in this situation. As far as Tim knows, every single other one Kon knows is either Cadmus-employed or a supervillain or just completely uninvested in his existence. 

Maybe Tim should be talking to Red Tornado about this. Is this something he should be talking to Red Tornado about?

. . . sure, that'd help. Red Tornado is about five minutes back into being a person and has Traya and Kathy and the whole team to worry about, and absolutely could handle something like this while also trying to figure out his own shit and keep an eye on all the rest of them too. Sure. That'd work. 

This is a problem, Tim thinks. 

This is a definite problem, in fact. 

He has no idea what to do about this problem, though, so he just orders a truly inadvisable amount of pizza and wings and double-iced cinnamon bread for pickup. They've done weirder than get takeout in the Super-Cycle and they'll do weirder again. Besides, it could use the . . . exercise, or whatever that counts as. Not like the Super-Cycle has muscles, but it does get tired sometimes and seem to appreciate getting out and–well, whatever. That's just something to figure out later, probably. 

Tim really should figure that out, though. And also if the Super-Cycle is gonna be down for going supervillain, because yeah, that's obviously a thing to keep in mind. 

He flies it to the pizza joint, and spends the flight casually grilling Kon about his coworkers and employee benefits and the Cadmus security systems. The answers are: a lot of lab-born clones and too many grown-ass adults who have no excuse not to know better, work-related health care and nothing else, and Kon and Guardian, mostly. And also some random weird death traps and a couple of cameras here and there, apparently, but it all sounds incredibly dated to Tim's ears and it really seems like Kon and Guardian are taking on the lion's share of everything more complicated than watching a feed or flipping on an alarm system. Like, it really does. 

So that's not great. 

"Jesus, man, how much did you order?" Kon snorts with a laugh while Tim's paying the girl at the drive-up window in cash. He doesn't really want to explain this particular expense on the Bat credit card. Generally he doesn't want to explain takeout and junk food on there at all, in fact, though obviously he makes a point of going to Batburger with Steph once a month, just to hear Bruce sigh about it later. Appropriate teenage nonsense and all. He gets the kids' meal and the terrifyingly purple Spoiler shake every time. It tastes like acidic cotton candy. Yes, literally. "Like just the whole menu or what?" 

"Of course I did. I've got a Kryptonian to carry it all for me, don't I?" Tim replies with a smirk he doesn't really feel after everything he's learned today. Everything Kon just told him, because he doesn't see what's wrong with any of it. 

It reminds him of the abused kids he meets on the job who insist they're fine, and they don't need Batman and Robin to save them. 

He wonders if Jason was like that, when Bruce first met him. 

He also wonders if he maybe did over-order a little on the pizza, but worst case scenario the leftovers should fit in the fridge. 

. . . maybe, anyway. Probably. 

Mostly? 

Kon immediately cracks into the cinnamon bread on the flight back because he has absolutely no manners whatsoever, and Tim rolls his eyes at him and tries not to visibly brood over the five-alarm fire burning down his brain right now. 

He just . . . doesn't understand how Superman is apparently just fine with this situation. He doesn't even understand how Kon is fine with this situation, but is increasingly certain that the answer to that might just be that Kon doesn't think he has another option. 

He doesn't have another option, as far as Tim can tell. What would he do, crash at the base and just mooch off everyone else for food and gear and whatever else he needs day-to-day? 

Yeah, not exactly a sustainable lifestyle, that. 

Not even a little bit of one. 

Technically, Tim could just pay for whatever Kon needed, between his allowance and his trust fund and without even taking his Bat-stipend into account, but there is no possible way Kon would ever actually go for that. He's way too proud, and even someone with no pride at all would probably find "please let me pay you to quit your horrible job" a hard pill to swallow from a teammate, much less the leader they only barely recognize the authority of.

[ladylucksrogue]

Masterlist

Hey, I figured it was about time I sat down and put one of these together, as I have a lot of fics and it can be rather confusing, even for me.

I’ve split them into categories, gen, ship fics and series. I have also linked a few of my cosplay posts.

I am very much ship and let ship.  I realize that not everyone out there ships the same people.  I am too old and too tired to get into shipping wars and discourse.  I have literally about a thousand other things I would rather do than judge someone based on their shipping preferences.  I don’t block or blacklist or go through people’s profiles to see what they ship.  There is no DNI if you ship xyz or if I find out you ship xyz you will be blocked.  I don’t have time for that.  If I don’t like something I see on someone’s feed, I move on with my life.  That said, I’ll give almost anything a read.  I realize that is not everyone’s cup of tea and I respect that. 

I would sincerely appreciate the same courtesy.  If you see something I have written here and it is not your jam, absolutely fine, no hard feelings.  Please don’t be like, oh, I’d love to read this but it has xyz ship in it, eww.  We’re all adults here.  Fandom is supposed to be fun, let’s keep it that way, shall we?

GEN:

Fox:

A Rock and a Hard Place - Fox is just so done

Everything is Fine - written for Corrie Guard Week, prompt Eldritch

Sacrifice - The aftermath of Scipio

Bly:

Frozen - Bly deals with the consequences of his General getting injured at the beginning of the war

Chills - Bly ignores an injury on a mission

Rex:

Rise from the Ashes - Rex coping with loss during the war

Trust Issues- The aftermath of Umbara

Faking a Smile - Post Kadavo

Not Strong Enough - post order 66 - Rex buries his brothers

Black Eye - Rex deals with the realities of war

Cody:

Surrender- Cody is captured by the Seppies

Trembling - How Cody got his scar

Grieving - the fallout of Umbarra

Wolffe:

This Isn’t Going to Work - Post TBB season 3 - Wolffe’s fall from grace in the Empire

Phantom Pain - A recon mission gone wrong

Last Chance - aftermath of Wolffe losing his eye in the Battle of Khorm

Swept Away - an adventure fic after a mission gone wrong

Betrayal - Order 66

The Future is Blurry, The Past is a Trap - Wolffe has left the Empire. He doesn't have a plan. He knows Rex and more of his brothers are out there, but he doesn't have an idea of where to find them or where to start looking.  Will be continued at some point, I do have the whole story mapped out, I just need to write it. This one is super near to my heart.

Other:

Grief - featuring Fives and Rex

Miscommunication - a command batch cadet fic

No Way Out - Dogma’s fate after Umbara

Confrontation - Rex and Wolffe have a candid convo about Wolffe hiding those messages in Rebels

Broken- in the aftermath of Fives’ death, Rex confronts Fox

Cold Shoulder - the fallout from Broken

Balance - a command batch cadet fic - Alpha-17 meets the command batch

Dilemmas - Cody and Fox centric - both as cadets on Kamino and during the war

Fight or Flight - Set just prior to the Battle of Geonosis - featuring Fox and Wolffe and my explanation as to why Wolffe was stationed on Kamino at the beginning of the war

A Long Night - command Batch as cadets and Alpha-17

Ship:

Obitine (Obi-Wan x Satine)

Per Ardua Ad Astra - year on the run - unfinished - on hiatus indefinately.

Solstice - a fun Holiday themed one shot

Blyla (Bly x Aayla)

Lost Battle - set during the war

Left Behind - post order 66 - Aayla survives

The Ghost of You - post order 66, Bly’s chip wears off (PLEASE mind the tags here, this one is very dark)

Where The Lines Blur - A oneshot set during the war

On the Run - post order 66

Foxiyo (Fox x Riyo)

All is Fair - a slightly cracky oneshot featuring nerf guns (rated: E)

Bad Dreams- Fox has a nightmare, Riyo is there to comfort him (Rated: E)

Learning the Truth - Fox survives Vader post order 66

Never See You Again - the continuation and reunion after Learning the Truth (rated E)

Emotion -  A drabble that takes place after Never See You Again - Riyo is expecting

A Cry for Help- Fox deals with a fire in the lower levels

Sleepy Kisses - a drabble

Kiss to the back of the hand - a drabble

Tentative kiss - a drabble

The Stars We Can’t See - a Riyo and Fox get together story, multi chapter, incomplete but will be continued shortly

Trust Me - Riyo finds the idea of binders intriguing - (Rated E)

Date Night - set in the Unexpected fix it universe - Fox and Riyo as parents

The Best Defense - Foxiyo Week 2024, Prompt Self Defense, also the prompt sensory deprivation for Clone Kinktober (Rated E)

The Moon Festival - Prompt Cultural Traditions

Making History - Prompt Elections

Falling for You - Prompt Pick-up lines

Barely Holding on - Prompt support

Hunger - Prompt undercover.  Modern AU Alternate Universe - a vampire fic

Kiss to a scar- a drabble

Bittersweet - post order 66 (Rated: E)

Bells - a fun holiday drabble

Rexsoka (Rex x Ahsoka):

(Please note:  Everything I write of them happens either post Season 7 or Ahsoka is aged up.  In none of my stories is she underage)

Home Sweet Home- a cracky post war, happy AU oneshot (Rated: M)

The Reason - set Post order 66 - in the aftermath (Rated: M)

The Truth Will Set You Free - Pre-relationship (Rated: T)

Drained- set during TBB season 3  (Rated: E)

To Light The Path Forward - set during the Rebellion and features their daughter

Kiss out of Spite - A drabble

Kiss while someone watches - a drabble

Kiss while crying - a drabble

Stolen Moments - a oneshot set sometime after TBB season 3

Rough kisses - a drabble

Codywan (Cody x Obi-Wan)

Lights - modern AU one-shot

Longing - pre relationship, Cody-centric, lots of pining

A Little Too Late - this one isn’t really so much shippy but I’ll put it here - it deals with the aftermath of Obi-Wan’s fake death and Cody sorting his feelings, unrequited love

The Last Time - post order 66, reunion on Tatooine

Accidental Kiss - a drabble

Kiss to a scar pt. 2 - a drabble

Kiss while being carried - a drabble

Wolffe/OC:

Rendezvous - a smutty oneshot at 79s (Rated E)

Kiss to the palm of the hand (Wolffe x Liri) - a drabble

Under the Moon (Wolffe x Liri) weird sithy magic, a werewolf themed fic for Halloween

Wolffe/Ventress:

Dance in the Darkness - a smutty oneshot.  Hate sex.  There’s really not much other than that.  I wrote this because no one else had.

Tech/Phee:

Baking Cookies - a fun holiday fix-it on Pabu

SERIES:

Holiday Drabbles - Many of these are set in my fix-it universe, or Unexpected-verse and feature family oriented feels, how the characters families grow.

Unexpected-verse: 

This series centers on Wolffe and my OC Liri  There are other couples that make appearances as well as it is at times very ensemble.  This is very much a canon divergent fix-it series.

Info about Liri

SFW Alphabet

NSFW Alphabet

Unexpected:

Fanart and character design of Liri can be found here and is done by the fabulous @anstarwar

Wolffe never expected to fall for anyone. It just wasn't something he'd do. Until it happened.

How does he deal with it? Not well. Meanwhile, everyone around him is trying to figure out what exactly is going on with him.  First of the series and introduces my OC Liri Arkay.

Next in the series, in order:

Spontaneous (Rex/Ahsoka, Foxiyo) Includes fabulous fanart by @nottonyharrison

Stunning

Revelation

Out of the Blue (Wolffe/Liri, Rex/Ahsoka)

Shockwaves

Stroke of Midnight (A Wolffe/Liri New Years oneshot)

Changes

A kiss while on or both parties is crying - Introduces Mira, Wolffe and Liri’s daughter and includes beautiful fanart by @sleepingsun501 of Wolffe meeting his newborn daughter for the very first time.

Cosplay

https://www.tumblr.com/ladylucksrogue/766899504463085568?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/ladylucksrogue/766899532991807488?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/ladylucksrogue/767116637980770304/why-is-it-that-the-first-thing-i-thought-when-i?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/ladylucksrogue/764700151164059648/and-the-first-fitting-still-some-minor-details?source=share

Dividers courtesy of @moosgraphics @freesia-writes @panda-writing and @saradika-graphics

[paracosm-draw]

Promptober Day 22 - Age gap ☄️

Tags : Obi-Wan is self-conscious and needs a hug, Anakin is a good boyfriend (for once), fluff, tooth-rotting fluff, so much fluff they make me want to throw up

It starts with nothing. A light joke from Rex in the midst of a mission, a comment with no ulterior motive other than to make Obi-Wan laugh and it did, make him laugh at the moment. 

But now it’s stuck in his mind, playing on repeat as he looks at himself in the mirror.

No wonder you’re growing grey hair with the kind of stunts Skywalker pulled earlier. 

He hasn't noticed before but now that he stares closer he can see them ; two thin silver threads contrasting with the copper nuances of his hair, just above his left ear. 

Lifting his hand to the side of his face, he picks the offending intruders between his fingers, glaring at them. But as he’s about to rip them off he suddenly remembers about an even scarier idea. Isn’t it said that plucking one grey hair grows five more ? Or something like that. It might be superstition but he doesn't want to take the risk. 

Sighing, he lets his hand fall back to grip the edge of the sink, leaning forward to give himself a critical look in the mirror. 

He looks old. Not only because of the grey hair but also because of the lines starting to mark his face, from the little groove in between his eyebrows to the creases on the corner of his eyes. 

His body is not as fit and toned as before, a thin layer of fat starting to form over the muscles of his stomach and thighs. His joints are aching after a long day of running around, he’s tiring more easily. He’s not as flexible, not as resilient, reaching his limits faster… 

He’s not young anymore. Not like Anakin. 

Anakin and his 26 years old young and perfectly capable body. 

He knows he shouldn’t compare himself to him but he can’t help it. It’s hard not to see the differences between them. 

Anakin is in the prime of his life, moving effortlessly, compelling his body to do everything he desires where Obi-Wan needs to be more careful. He doesn’t need more than a few days to recover from most injuries, he can allow himself little to no rest for longer periods of time, he can eat two times what he needs and burn all of it later. 

Sometimes Obi-Wan wonders what Anakin sees in him. Sometimes he gets scared that the boy will get bored of him at some point, when he will be old enough to be a burden rather than a partner. In those moments where fears replace rationality he’s terrified that Anakin realizes that there are other people out there, younger and prettier and more likely to grow old with him. The idea makes his guts twist unpleasantly. 

That’s how Anakin finds him, staring at himself in the mirror, lost in morose thoughts. 

“Admiring yourself ?” The boy grins, poking his head through the doorframe. "Can't blame you."

“Not really.” Obi-Wan sighs. 

Anakin squints at him for a second and enters the bathroom. 

“What’s wrong ? You look like you’ve been brooding all day.”

“I’m old.” Obi-Wan states with a resigned face. 

“You're not old, Obi-Wan.” Anakin rolls his eyes behind him. “You’re 42.” 

“It’s still old.” Obi-Wan mumbles, glaring at his own reflection. 

Anakin shakes his head with an exasperated smile. He presses closer, wrapping his arms around Obi-Wan’s waist to hug him from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder. He looks at him in the mirror. 

“You’re not old. Old is like… I don’t know, 70 or something.” 

“I’m older than you.” Obi-Wan says and Anakin wishes he could take a picture for all the times Obi-Wan assures him he doesn’t pout. 

“Well, that's a fact.” He smiles, spreading his fingers on Obi-Wan’s stomach to feel his warmth through his sleeping shirt. 

Obi-Wan sighs again and starts pulling away but Anakin hugs him tighter, keeping him in place. 

“Is that what’s bothering you ? What happened ?” 

“Nothing.” Obi-Wan grumbles, refusing to cross Anakin’s gaze in the mirror. 

“Nothing ?” Anakin raises an eyebrow. “Doesn’t seem like it. Are you having a midlife crisis ?” 

Obi-Wan rolls his eyes and tries to remove Anakin’s arms from around his waist but the boy resists with a small laugh and brushes his nose against his neck, placing a little kiss behind his ear. 

“I'm not having a midlife crisis.” Obi-Wan huffs. 

“I’m the self-conscious one, usually.” Anakin retorts. “You’re the one with enough self-confidence for both of us, so what happened ?” 

Obi-Wan sighs and glances at Anakin in the mirror. 

“Rex said I have grey hair.” He finally admits. 

“And ?” 

“And ? And it’s true !” Obi-Wan groans. 

Anakin frowns and stares at his reflection. 

“You never noticed ?” He asks hesitantly. 

“You did ?” Obi-Wan gasps, offended. “Why didn’t you tell me ?” 

“Uh… I didn’t think it was relevant.” Anakin replies. 

“You didn’t think-” Obi-Wan grunts and shakes his head. “Since when ?” 

Anakin shrugs. 

“I don’t know, a couple of weeks ?” 

“Oh Force.” Obi-Wan breathes out, pinching the bridge of his nose in disbelief. 

“Why is it so important ?” Anakin asks. “It happens to everyone at some point.” 

“You should have told me.” Obi-Wan repeats stubbornly. 

“Well I would have if I’d known it would upset you so much.” 

Anakin pulls slightly away from him, only to shift their positions and slide between the sink and Obi-Wan’s body, facing him. He slips his fingers in his hair, pushing them away from his face. 

“Why are you so upset about this ?” 

“Because…” Obi-Wan swallows, fidgeting with the hem of Anakin’s tunic. “Because it reminds me that I’m way older than you.” 

“So what ?” Anakin asks, gently pushing a rebellious strand of hair behind his ear. “We knew that from the start, it’s never been a problem before.” 

“I know. It’s just-” Obi-Wan stops a second to take a breath, frustrated by his own insecurities. “I can’t stop thinking about the future, when I will start declining and being a weight for you.”

“What ?” Anakin gives him an incredulous look. “Obi-Wan, you’re very far from declining, what are you talking about ?”

“But it will happen at some point, and maybe you’ll want to find someone younger. I can’t even blame you, I-” 

“Hey, hey stop.” Anakin cups his face, forcing him to look at his eyes. “It’s not like you to start spiraling like that. What’s wrong, baby ?”

Obi-Wan closes his eyes for a second at the endearment, pressing his cheek against the warm metal of Anakin’s hand. He knows his thoughts are getting out of control but he can’t seem to find a way to quiet them. 

“Sorry.” He whispers. “I guess sometimes it just hits me how huge the gap is between us.” 

“It’s not that huge.” Anakin tempers. “By the way, it never occurred to you that I don’t care ? Do you think I would’ve waited all those years if I wanted to be with someone younger than you ?” 

Obi-Wan’s chest squeezes painfully at the idea. 

“But now it’s different.” He murmurs. “My body is not the same, you can’t pretend you didn’t notice. It’s harder to keep in shape, I have wrinkles and I even gained weight and-”

“Wait. Wait wait wait.” Anakin interrupts him, eyes widening in realization. “Is that why you stopped going to bed naked ? Is that why you turn the lights off every time we fuck ? I thought it was some kind of weird new kink.” 

Obi-Wan groans and looks away, cheeks burning in embarrassment. 

“Oh, baby…” Anakin sighs and leans forward to press a kiss on his forehead. “You don’t have to hide away from me, I thought you knew that.” 

“I don’t like seing myself growing old.” Obi-Wan mumbles. 

He always thought he was the kind to age gracefully, accepting the passage of time with wisdom and philosophy like the Jedi way taught him but the books forgot to mention the fact that growing old alongside a man who would always be younger than him was another kind of challenge. It feels good to say it out loud, though. 

Anakin observes him for a while, almost making him squirm under the intensity of his gaze. 

“Mm, okay, let me spell it out for you.” He finally says, fingers brushing against his jaw. “You’re absolutely perfect, Obi-Wan Kenobi. I’d never think about wanting someone else because from the day I first laid my eyes on you I knew you were the one for me.”

Obi-Wan blushes at his words and tries to look down but Anakin captures his attention by caressing his cheeks. 

“I wish you could see yourself like I see you.” He says softly. “I wish you could see how beautiful you are in my eyes, from the very start until right now.” 

Obi-Wan clears his throat and tries to pull away once again but Anakin gently grabs his chin. 

“Don’t hide away from me.” He pleads. “I never want to stop looking at you.” 

“Anakin…” Obi-Wan can feel the heat of his cheeks spreading to his entire face. “You’re ridiculous.” 

“Maybe.” Anakin shrugs. “I can’t help it. I guess that’s the kind of effect you have on me. You ruined me for everyone else.” 

“Don’t say that !” Obi-Wan gasps and swats his chest, but the words sink deep into his belly, warming up his guts pleasantly. 

“It’s true.” Anakin retorts with a light laugh. “I’m completely, desperately in love with you. You’re stuck with me.” 

“For how long ?” Obi-Wan asks. It’s childish but there’s a part of him craving a reassurance only Anakin can provide. 

“Until the end of times and even after that.” Anakin hums. “You’ll never know peace, even when you’re going to be a wrinkled force ghost. I’ll be there, haunting you.”

Obi-Wan rolls his eyes and raises an eyebrow. 

“You’re silly.” 

“I’m in love.” Anakin grins. 

“Same thing.” Obi-Wan huffs, pulling away just enough to cross his arms on his chest. 

“Now you’re the one being silly.” Anakin laughs. 

“There’s no way you’ll still love me when I’ll be as wrinkled as an old bag.” Obi-Wan still insists. 

“Is that a challenge ?” Anakin smirks. “Because you know I love a good challenge. I also happen to love your wrinkles.”

“Stop saying wrinkles.” Obi-Wan mumbles. 

“Alright.” Anakin leans forward to place a soft kiss on the corner of Obi-Wan’s eye, drawing a little gasp from him. 

“What are you doing ?” 

“Kissing the part of you I’m not allowed to pronounce the name.” Anakin replies seriously. 

“You’re an idiot.” Obi-Wan pouts. 

“Yes, but I’m your idiot.” Anakin purrs, kissing his face again, and again, and again until Obi-Wan pushes his face away with a noise that suspiciously looks like a suppressed laugh. 

“Stop it.” He complains but Anakin can feel him relax progressively in his arms. 

“I’m not done.” He declares. 

Lowering his hands from Obi-Wan’s face to the back of his thighs, he gathers his strength and picks him up, holding him tight against him when he yelps and struggles in his arms. 

“Anakin ! Put me down !” 

“No way.” Anakin shakes his head, carrying him to the bed where he lets him fall carefully. 

Obi-Wan ends up on the mattress with a little huff, and he barely has time to open his mouth when Anakin pulls his shirt up and presses his lips against his stomach, making him choke on his words. 

“Ah- Anakin !” He tries to push his face away but the boy doesn’t seem like he wants to cooperate. 

He kisses his way up to his chest, pushing his shirt higher and higher until it reaches his chin. By the time he arrives at the hollow of his throat, Obi-Wan is out of breath, cheeks pink and eyes unfocused but he still tries to glare at him. 

“What do you think you’re doing ?”

Anakin sits back on his heels between his legs, a proud smirk dancing on his lips. 

“Showing my silly boyfriend that every part of him is loved equally by me.” 

Obi-Wan’s heart flutters at the word boyfriend. It’s stupid because they've been together for at least seven years now, but he doesn’t get to hear it often as they have to keep their relationship a secret. 

“Even my grey hair ?” He asks, trying to catch his breath. 

“Especially your grey hair.” Anakin nods seriously. “I can’t wait for your beard to get some too, it will be very sexy.” 

“Don’t manifest it !” Obi-Wan groans, but he can’t help the blush to deepen on his cheeks. 

Anakin giggles and leans forward to kiss the tip of his nose. 

“I also love the little, you know… w.r.i.n.k.l.e.s on the corner of your eyes because they show how much you’ve laughed in your life and I love the idea of you being happy.” 

Obi-Wan doesn’t think he can take anymore of this. Anakin never does things halfway and so he will probably keep showering him with compliments until Obi-Wan dies of embarrassment. 

“You’re so corny.” He says, trying to look unaffected but painfully aware of his failure when he sees the shit-eating grin on Anakin’s face. 

“I can do this all day.” He affirms, and Obi-Wan believes him. 

“I think I get it.” He finally gives up. 

“You’re sure ?” Anakin asks. “Because I can recite poetry about your very perfect, very hot body until the sun goes down.”

“Please don’t.” Obi-Wan cringes, half-amused, half-scared by the idea. He knows Anakin is capable of it. 

Anakin laughs and moves from between his legs to lie on the mattress by his side, pulling him into his arms. Obi-Wan lets out a satisfied sigh and snuggles closer against his chest, tucking his head under his chin and letting Anakin hold him, surrounding him with his familiar warmth and scent. 

“I love you.” Anakin murmurs against his hair, drawing idle patterns on his back. “All of you, all the versions of you, always and forever. Never forget that.” 

“Thank you.” Obi-Wan breathes out against his chest. 

Anakin’s love is like a steady light in the darkest shadows of his mind so he holds on to it, trusting him to guide him through the maze of his insecurities. Most of the time it’s the other way around but for once, Obi-Wan lets himself be taken care of. 

[acroagoraphobe]

How would the fallout new vegas people react to being booped do you think?

Like you boop them like you would a kitty

Boone: Shock and would freeze up for a second like a shark , then would likely say "Don't touch me."

Rex: Happy bark, would lick you.

Ed-e: Beep?

Cass: She would hit you with a whisky bottle.

Lily: Doesn't mind, would be like "Oh thats sweet <3"

Veronica: Hope she doesn't accidentally boop you back with the power fist accidentally. Because she *will* boop you back.

Raul: "I'm too tired for this shit." He doesn't have like a nose to boop so good luck trying to boop him I guess.

Arcade: "I suggest you don't touch me, the gay might be contagious." (And if you are gay he'd say "Too late I guess You'll have to be quarantined.")

Benny: "I ain't no pussycat, ya dig?" (And then he swats your hand away like a cat.)

Joshua: "Do not touch me." (And you would get a glare from him. that's about it.)

Yes man: "What did you do that for? Im sure you had a great reason, you always do!"

(Im gonna include OWB characters now soemtimes because I like them)

Dala: Would go crazy because she just had her screen touched by H U M A N F I N G E R S. Heavy breathing, if she could foam at the mouth she would.

Borous: "How dare you touch me with those greasy COMMIE FINGERS." and then would go off about how people used to poke him in highschool or something.

Klein: "WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS 'BOOP', ARE YOU TRYING TO PROBE ME? YOU WILL NOT SUCCEED IN THAT TASK, LOBOTOMITE."

Dr. Zero: "Why did you touch me?! Get your nasty.. unclean fingers off of my screen."

Dr. 8: @_[%##@]?! (You have no idea what he said but he didn't like it.)

[gabessquishytum]

I will never get tired of aspec Dream and I will make it everyone's problem.

Dream who has a complicated relationship with sex. He's not rex repulsed. He is fine with the idea of it but sometimes the idea of any sexual touches happening between him and Hob makes him want to crawl out of his skin.

Dream who is, most of the time, fine with using his hands or toys to get Hob off. So long as Hob doesn't touch him in any way that is remotely sexual.

Dream who will occasionally use his hands or a toy to get himself off while Hob cuddles him or kisses him.

Dream who feels guilty for telling Hob he'd rather be out of the room while Hob mastrubates, or who quietly asks Hob of he'd mind giving Dream some alone time. Hob, who kisses Dream before leaving with no questions asked.

I have a lot of feelings about the varieties of the ace experience okay.

- 🍃

All of these are SUCH good headcanons for aspec Dream!!! Especially with Hob being so supportive.

Sometimes, Dream feels like taking spicy pictures to send to Hob. Hob always appreciates them so much and gives the best compliments. But he also never asks Dream to send pics, and never minds if Dream goes through long periods of not wanting to be perceived in a sexual way. All he asks is that Dream tells him how he's feeling, so he doesn't accidentally make his beloved uncomfortable.

Sometimes Dream likes to talk to Hob, but doesn't want to touch him sexually. So he'll sit next to the bed while Hob lies back and gets off with his own hand, plus the smooth sound of Dream’s voice.

Sometimes Dream wants to be naked all the time, but in a non sexual way. Sometimes he wants to be absolutely fully clothed from head to toe, and he wants to have an orgasm while fully dressed. Hob loves both and is forever sacrificing his hoodies for Dream to wear.

In conclusion: they are in love. Unconditionally.

[lou-struck]

Halloween Declassified

Kotaro Bokuto  x reader

Flufftober Day 11: Declassified

W.C. 2.5k

-After much prying you finally find out what happened to Bokuto at his Halloween practice two years ago.

Warnings: Mention of bare body parts, traumatizing young children for comedy, slightly suggestive behavior, use of the word sexy when describing halloween costumes. Almost nude bodies, elder abuse if you squint, scarring unnamed elementary schoolers for the polt.

"What do you think of this one?" Your boyfriend Kotaro Bokuto asks, rolling over in bed to flash his bright phone screen in your face. The two of you have been scrolling in the comfort of your bed, searching for a costume he could wear to this year's Halloween practice. "I think we have a winner."

"Let's see," you squint to readjust to his way brighter screen to see what kind of flashy, hopeful, functional costume has caught the wing spikers' attention. "Kou, are you sure you want to go with an inflatable T-Rex costume? I don't think you'll be able to move very well in that. And those suits can't get really warm, especially if you're in a gym."

" Ahhhh darn you, you beautiful voice of reason." he cries dramatically. Although he is upset that this costume is a no-go, he is growing increasingly thankful that you were there to help him plan this year. 

After two years of terrible costume malfunctions, his team manager told him that if he doesn't come to practice wearing an appropriate costume with a 0% chance of ripping or worse, he wouldn't be allowed to participate.

Your limbs are tangled together under the cool sheets as the large man decides that the costumes you are looking at on your phone are much more interesting. "Whatcha lookin' at?" he asks, blinking his owlish eyes up at you innocently. 

"The Costume shop's website to see if they have anything that looks cool." you hum, showing him the men's costume section. 

"Oh, what about that sexy ghostface costume?" he says, pointing to the Tumblr-coded, masked killer costume, complete with a model whose glistening abs peak through the stylish slits in the black robe. "After practice, maybe we could use that for laterrrr?" he wiggles his eyes at you seductively, but you just slide to the next costume.

"As cool as that looks, you won't be able to see in that mask," you say, much to your mutual disappointment. "Not to mention you're gonna trip all over that robe. Let's try something else a little more functional."

"Fine," he huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why do you have to be so smart and helpful all the time?"

"I love you too," you giggle, pressing a soft kiss to his jaw, effectively pulling him out of his little mood so you can get this costume ordered before next Halloween. But as you return to scrolling, there is something lingering in the back of your mind as you scan costume after costume. 

What was he wearing two years ago when the unspeakable incident occurred?

The question has teased and tormented you for almost two years now. Bokuto has been silent on it, and out of respect for him, his teammates have been sworn to secrecy. 

You have thought long and hard about what has happened and have determined that it is more than just a simple wardrobe malfunction. Kotaro has had several over the years and usually laughs them off like when he split the skeleton-printed leggings, he wore last year in two. 

Not knowing is killing you, but you love your boyfriend, and you want him to open up about it on his own time without your interference. To distract yourself, you return to scrolling with one hand and play with his hair with the other. 

"Hey, Baby?" he asks suddenly, picking up on your quietness. "What are you thinking about?"

"It's nothing," you lie, "just tired today, I guess."

"Awe, come on, I know you way better than that." he says, nudging you with his elbow," talk to meeeee."

Fueled by his whining, you take a breath. "What happened to you at that Halloween practice two years ago?" His face immediately turns bright red, and his gaze flickers to the floor. You expect him to change the subject like he's done in the past, but his answer surprises you. 

"Do you really want to know?"

"I do," you say, and he slowly gets to his feet. And walks out of the room and into your bedroom closet, of all places. You watch as he gets to his knees and slides a black cardboard box out from behind his dress shirts. Flipping over the lid, he removes what looks to be a single DVD. He holds it carefully, as if it is about to explode, and looks at you with eyes full of worry.

"If I show you this, you have to promise me something," he says hesitantly. 

The distress written on his usually cheery features makes you pause, "what is it?"

"Promise me you won't break up with me."

"I'm not going anywhere," you say, and he nods, gently taking the disc out of its case and sliding it into the DVD player. The screen comes to life as you sit down on the couch.  

The orange head of Shoyo Hinata springs onto the screen, and you realize that this is one of the old vlogs the Jackals used to make for their social media page. 

Clearly, he wasn't put in charge of the camera very often for a reason, he is far too energetic, and the camera shakes so much that you can't even see his costume clearly until he sets the camera down on to the practice bench and shows off his werewolf costume, The ripped, cutoff jeans we were wearing makes you cringe a bit, practicing in those cannot be comfortable. 

As more players arrive to the gym, Shoyo leads the viewers through their introductions and has each one show their costumes to the screen, but it is hard to pay attention, not when Kotaro sits stiffly next to you, waiting for the inevitable. 

Soon, he appears on the screen, wearing a skintight leather catsuit you know he doesn't own anymore. "Awe, Kou, you were dressed as a kitten?" You ask, turning to him curiously.

"I was a cat burglar," he admits sheepishly. But you really don't know why he is so embarrassed. This is far more covered up than some of his other costumes. If anything, he looks pretty damn good in the suit.

You tell him such, but he just shakes his head, "Keep watching."

And you do, suddenly Shoyo grabs the camera from the bench and goes to introduce some very special guests at the court. A class of elementary schoolers was led through a tour of the stadium with their chaperone, Sister Maria, a sweet-faced elderly nun.

Oh great… Children and an actual Nun, what could possibly go wrong?' you think to yourself. 

The vlog continues, and your boyfriend fast-forwards through it, not wanting to suffer any longer than necessary. Watching a dozen players warm up and do run drills until they finally start to play a scrimmage at 6x speed is unbelievably funny. 

At a water break, the playback speed slows to normal, and you see him reappear on the screen. In the catsuit, he is sweating buckets, but he looks happy. "Someone pass me the water," he gasps as a training assistant presses one in his sweaty hand. "Man, it's hot in here."

"Bokuto, you are sweating like a pig," Sakusa says, wrinkling his nose in disgust. You notice that he is the only one in the gym not wearing a costume. 

"No, I'm just glistening," he jokes, earning a laugh from the kids watching the practice. "What do you think y/n will say when they see my super cool costume???"

"You are so cool, Bokuto," Hinata gushes. "I'm sure they will love it."

"Thank man," he grins, patting his friend on the back. When he sets his now empty water bottle down onto the bench. He looks into the camera and winks. "Hey hey hey, guess who's gotta pee?" He walks back toward the bathroom, and the vlog resumes the water break segment. 

Glancing at your boyfriend, his nervous expression tells you that the incident will be occurring soon. Back on the screen, you notice that he has not returned from the bathroom yet. After a few minutes, Meian grows concerned and turns to Atsumu in his superhero costume. "Can you go check on Bokuto? We need to get back to the match."

"Sure thing," the setter says, jogging away. 

In real time, Bokuto starts to fast forward again and you notice that he has still not come back from the bathroom yet. You watch at triple speed as Meian sends Kiyoomi and then Hinata to check on him. The latter of which decides to take the camera with him…

The speed returns to normal, and now that the camera is no longer inside the echoing gym, you can clearly hear the sound of yelling through the empty halls.

Even though Shoyo's hand is covering the speaker you know that scream belongs to your boyfriend. The camera wobbles as the shorter man begins to run. Meanwhile, Kotato's hands dig nervously into the couch cushions. 

Two sets of eyes are fixed on the screen as the screaming gets louder and louder the closer the camera gets to the locker room. Shoyo reaches out to open the door when suddenly it flies open to reveal both Atsumu and Kiyoomi trying desperately to help a wiggling Cat Burgular Bokuto out of his costume. 

His face is twisted in pain as the Ginger asks the question on the forefront of your mind "What the heck is going on right now?

"Zipper's stuck," he cries. "And I really have to pee. I feel like I'm gonna die here.

"That's what ya get for chugging all that water," Atsumu says with a snort.

"This is disgusting; why are you so slimy?" The black-haired man gags, holding the suit like it is a soiled rag.

Bokuto's face turns white as a sheet. And he says to his friends… "Guys, I don't think I just have to pee anymore."

"You mean like a number two?" Hinata says, still holding the camera for some reason.

"Hey, why is he still recording this?" you ask your boyfriend, "I feel like that is breaking a few privacy rules shooting in the locker room."

"There's a reason why we don't make vlogs anymore," he mutters. And you watch back to the screen. 

"Stop pulling it, Miya," Sakura scolds frantically. "It's gonna rip."

"M' tryin', but the damn zipper won't budge, and if this thing blows, I don't wanna be a part of this mess."

"Guys just rip it off. I don't care anymore," he yells, looking more distressed than you have ever seen him look. Clearly, this is concerning his teammates, too, and both men start to tug furiously at the elastic costume. It stretches in some places and pulls in the others like some kind of cursed straight jacket.

"God, it's stuck to him like glue," Hinata says, still recording for the plot.

"It's sweat," Sakusa says, wrinkling his nose in disgust, and you have to give him credit; although he looks like he is about to barf, the clean freak athlete is still trying to help his friend. 

They continue to struggle and tug at the costume until Asumu manages to free Bokuto's arms from the dark confines. "It's rippin'," the faux blonde man sighs in relief, and they tug at the outfit with newfound strength. 

Suddenly, the costume rips in two, and Kotatro stumbles forward, the momentum sending him past Hinata and pushing through the locker room door, crashing into a concerned-looking sister, Maria, who just happened to be wandering by.

When the nearly naked man lands on top of the nun, she lets out a terrified scream.

And that's not even the worst part. The second your boyfriend hits the ground, his body involuntarily lets out the longest fart you have ever heard. And his features twist from discomfort to relief.  "Oh, thank god, it was just gas." he sighs, but the second he realizes the predicament he is in, his face falls, and he gets off the nun as quickly as he can. 

"Sister Maria!" a child screams in horror, watching the athletes try to help the elderly woman up while also trying to hang on to his shredded clothing.

"What have you done to our teacher?" another cries as Meian bursts into the hallway. Looking around at the odd scene in front of him.  He immediately springs forward and helps the fallen woman, who is now blushing furiously. 

The Captain's eyes snap to Hinata. "What are you doing over there? Turn that camera off and help." The screen goes dark, and you stare at your boyfriend's reflection in the darkened TV screen in stunned silence. 

"So…What do you think?" he asks nervously.

"Was. was the nun okay?" you mumble out as your brain tries to comprehend what exactly you just watched. 

"She was a bit shaken up about the whole thing, but the kids were the ones freaking out," he says, fiddling with his fingers. "I keep waiting for the day they bill me for their therapy appointments."

You nod, but I doubt it will ever get that far. The situation may have been embarrassing for him, but the story overall was wildly entertaining. 

Out of every way this could've gone, tackling a nun and letting one rip was nowhere closer to where this story was heading. 

"So…Do you hate me now?" he asks, and he has this sort of raw seriousness on his face that makes your heartache. 

"Of course not," you laugh quickly, placing your hand over his own. "I'd never hate you. But I don't really understand why you didn't think you could talk to me about this."

He takes a deep breath and meets your gaze, "I was worried that you would just see me as the loud guy who just messes things up. You deserve to be with the guy who's got it all going on, not the guy who traumatizes children."

You pause for a moment and regard his words carefully. Kotaro Bokuto is many things; he's kind, funny, and extremely loyal. He is driven and knows exactly what he wants to do in his life. He is anything but a screw-up, especially to you. 

True, he will never win a round of jeopardy, and sometimes, he leaves the toilet seat up in the middle of the night, but he is a light in your life that you never want to live without. 

"I love you." you say at last, pressing a soft kiss to his fidgeting hands, "And there is nothing that you could do that would make me stop. Even if you manage to horrify a whole generation of children with your malfunctions."

The change in his demeanor is instant and he perks up like a golden retriever getting offered a treat. He places his hand on his heart and exhales boisterously. "Man, it feels good to get that off my chest. Thanks for that babe." 

"Anytime," you chuckle as he peppers your face with eager, thankful kisses.

Tagging: @pixelcafe-network @ambiguouslady42

[oceansssblue]

I love Mermay! May I request a mer!reader x Sailor/Pirate!Fives? The reader is a siren and is technically supposed to be luring Fives and his friends to their deaths, but ends up not doing so after getting into a convo with him. When someone (Palpatine, Fox, random guy, whoever you want) does try to kill Fives, the reader is able to save him. Happy ending please!

Hi there! Yay! As I have said before, I will be writing all my requests, but MERMAY! requests have priority over others even though they have been requested on a later note!

Dear anon, ty for the request! We're def going for a "cruel" badass siren that will be to her surprise captivated with our charming pirate Fives. Palpatine is obviously the bad guy.

I don't know much about sailing and i'm trying to do a past era alternative universe thing, so ignore any incongruences and that.

I hope you like it!

Xx,

Sky.

"A CHANGE OF CURRENT"

FIVES/MER!FREADER 📩💔💖

WARNINGS: MENTIONS OF DEATH, BLOOD, WOUNDS, CRUELTY, SIRENS KILLING/EATING HUMANS, BITES, SCARS. REFERENCES TO ECHO'S TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE. DON'T GET SCARED. THIS IS MOSTLY FANTASY&MISTERY&FLUFF.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Being friends with the Captain doesn't allow you to lounge around, Fives" a voice almost identical to his teases him at his back.

The man in question turns around and grins. Echo has a half-fond, half-exasperated tiny little smile on his face. He's dressed in a similar way to him; thin linnen shirt with a deep opened v-neck and rolled up-pants, just in different tones of blue.

"Actually, it allows me to do exactly that" Fives retorts cheekily. Before Echo has a chance to put him into place, always the responsible of the two twins, he adds. "And I'll let you know lounging is a very important task on the "79's".

Echo arches an eyebrow. He crosses his arms in front of his chest; his hook just grazing the still pale skin of his left peck. Too much time spent trapped away from the sun.

"Is that so?" His brother humours him. The sun is hovering right upon them, bringing darker shades on Echo's already angular face. He's slowly filling out a bit, though, and for that Fives is glad. "How does that work, exactly?"

Fives tilts his head to the side. Echo always thought one of his twin's radiant smiles could iluminate any ship at the darkest of nights. That's the way he could eventually find the way back home, back to the 79's; Fives.

"Keeping a good mood is crutial to a ship's crew" his twin continues, going on one of his tangents. "It makes everyone work better, faster. Reduces fatigue and dangerous thoughts like plotting a mutiny".

Sometimes Echo wonders if Fives has all of this little stupid dialogues planned in his head just because, waiting for their chance to come up. The silliness of his twin's mind never ceases to surprise him; even after so many years of living together travelling through the seven seas.

"Like any of us would ever plot something of the sorts against Rex" Echo rolls his eyes, amused.

Fives shrugs, big smile still in his tanned face. They used to look so similar, Fives and him, before the accident. Now there are just... resemblances. Similarities. Probably the thing he hates the most about what happened –besides loosing his limbs–; how they had visually differentiated him so much of his twin, of his other half. For all Fives could be tiring and obnoxious, Echo knows he couldn't live without him. Even though getting used to his new body has been incredibly hard, he's glad for this second chance with him.

"I dunno' " Fives voice quickly brings him back to present time. He mimicks something dropping onto his head with his hands. "I think I'd look great with Captain Rex's hat".

Fives imitates the Captain's fierce expression and seriousness, still holding onto his imaginary pirate hat; and Echo can't keep the chuckles inside.

"You're a jokester, Fives".

His twin grins again.

"Don't make me repeat why that's important, now".

Echo smiles. Softly, this time.

Around them, at this time of the early afternoon, right after lunch, the crew of the 79' is surprisingly quiet and calm. The sea is peaceful today as well; nothing like the day before or the previous night. They're delving into dangerous waters, now. Places that don't quite appear on the map.

"What were you doing here anyways, all alone?" Echo asks.

Fives hums distractedly and glances in front of him again, at the sea; one leg staying inside the ship and the other dangling over board. The two of them have always been a little reckless like that; specially Fives.

"Thought I heard something" he whispers, then turns back to his twin again. His eyes suddenly look innocently young again, and his twin is suddenly reminded of past memories, of the two of them enlisting in the 79' when they were barely kids. "Do you think sirens really exist, brother?"

Echo sighs. They have all heard stories; but no one on board has ever personally seen one. He doesn't really know what to believe; could they be truly real, or are they just stories invented by lonely men that live by the sea?

"I don't know, Fives" he answers, going for honesty.

Fives hums, scanning the waters again; looking for something it's not quite there.

"If they do, do you think they're truly evil, like the stories tell?"

Echo stays quiet for some minutes. Then, he glances down at his hook; at the wood that replaces his legs. The skin that stays in contact with them feels sore and pained; he really should get some rest. He sighs, tired.

"I don't think so. If they do exist, and they do have something against us, I guess they'd just want to kill us directly, eliminate what they consider a danger and threat for their waters" he pauses and breathes in deeply. "I don't think they'd slowly torture us like humans do. We're the cruelest beings on land or not".

Fives golden eyes silently travel back to Echo's. He reads between the lines. He understands his point.

"You're probably right" he quietly answers, the moment unexpectedly delicate now. He shakes his head and smiles. Softer, gentle, now. "Come on. Let's go shut some eye".

Fives stands up with renewed energy, abandoning heavy feelings behind; and pats Echo's back affectionately. His twin nods knowingly, and follows him through the ship. Even though it doesn't mean he doesn't feel just as deeply –Maker knows he does–, Fives has never been one to hold up emotional conversations for too much time. They weigh heavy in his heart.

Echo takes his space on the thin cot –if you could call a bunch of old shredded clothes and blankets pushed together that– beside him and closes his eyes. Both of them, that night, dream of sirens and mermaids and all those stories the sailors spread around. They aren't aware how close they are to see some of those stories become alive.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You've been following them for two days now. Your job is to patrol the very limits of your world with the human's sea; and you were instantly alerted of their presence when they arrived, that enourmous ship of them difficult to miss.

It's not the biggest one you've seen. You had a fight with another one once, years ago; it's wood almost a dark black and it's sails a vibrant red. You still remember its name; Death Star. An aproppiate name for such an evil captain, such an evil ship. That fight was the main reason you had been assigned to keep all humans out of this waters; they just take and take, leaving nothing but destruction behind. You're not about to lose anyone else; not to the unforgiving, beautiful, yet terrifying sea, and definitively not to one of them.

This humans don't really seem to be looking for anything in particular. You had waited patiently, trying to find out their needs and wants; but reached no logical conclusion. They just seem to be... Wandering. Exploring. Ah, perhaps they're the curious ones. Many humans seem to be, just in the way young sirens are in their first years; wanting to swim through every single corner of the sea. See the world with their own eyes, and not through what elders tell them. You had been like that as well, in the past.

Mm. No matter. You're not putting the lifes of your people at risk just because these ones are looking fairly innocent. You know how quickly the tide can change directions, how surprising and dangerous the currents can be; and you're not going to let yourself be dragged by it. You'll do what you have to do; observe, wait patiently, and at night, lure them in. Your tongue wraps delicately around your sharp canines, excitement running through your veins.

You swim deeper into the sea below the ship. You almost feel impatient to play with them.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You curse under your breath, quickly hiding underwater when he almost catches sight of you while scanning the sea. You've seen this particular human before; often staring at the water or the horizon, a contemplative look on his face. He's a dreamer, this one; sometimes looking younger than you suppose he really is, others quickly snapping back to reality and jumping to his work with surprising skill. He's handsome as humans go; bronze skin looking smooth under the unforgiving sun and trained muscles peaking under his semi-transparent shirt. He has a strong jaw and nose, expressive eyebrows and golden eyes; a trait that somehow seems common with his fellow soldiers, maybe sharing the same origin, perhaps even some of them being family.

Watching him carefully under the distortion of the dark blue water, you're developed hearing catch a second voice entering the scene; and the human turns around in his precarious position on the border of the ship. This one is named "79's". It must be a reference to something you can't quite place; or perhaps a year of relevance to them.

Human tongue is quite easy to learn, contrary to your native Mando'a; so you have no trouble following the conversation even underwater. Both men hold affection clear in their voice; indicating a closer kind of relationship than two normal sailors on the same ship would have. The second voice sounds more mature to you; perhaps simply because this first human –Fives, you learn, what a curious name for a person– doesn't seem to take life very seriously. But then his voice drops, quietly asking something that makes your heart beat faster inside your chest; if your people are real.

It's a common thing to ponder between sailors. Humans like the tingling excitement of being a bit afraid; of imagining situations that may never end up happening in their heads. But no, this one doesn't sound at all afraid; just curious, cautious. When he asks his brother –you confirm– if he thinks stories about sirens are real, of what they do to humans, anger spreads like a fire inside of you. Oh, yes, because they don't do anything of the sorts to other creatures on this earth. The second voice –Echo's– answers in a quiet, delicate way; and you have to swim closer to surface just to take a look at him. You suddenly put things together; something horribly traumatic must have happened to his human, for him to look like that. You can't imagine living without your tail. It saddens you, inevitably; he's still handsome even like this, he would have been even prettier without his injuries. He would look like... Fives.

You blink, a bit confused at the direction of your own thoughts. Fives own voice tinges with understanding and fondness. He pats his brother affectionately, and then forgets about the sea; both of them quietly retiring for now, their steps echoing against the wood as they wook away.

You're left with a weird feeling inside of you. This two seemed... Kind. It isn't a word you usually associate with humans; but here you are.

You shake your head, mumbling to yourself. You won't let them fool you. Humans still carry all that darkness inside of them; that evil. You want none of that in your home, your sea.

Tomorrow, you say to yourself.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Fives smiles fondly at the sight of little 'Soka staring at the full moon in front of them. It's as big as they've ever seen it; very close to the sea, iluminating a silvery path towards the 79's in the otherwise dark night.

Ashoka is pure energy. The girl is hiperactive even at hours like this, were most of the crew has already gone to sleep; too excited to lay still in bed in the cabin she shares with Rex. The Captain of the 79's had adopted her many years ago, accepted her in his ship with a blink of an eye after finding out Ashoka had been abandoned in land by Captain Windu no less –an ex-friend and current enemy of Rex–; the small girl quickly falling under his wing like his own daughter. Fives can't understand how anyone could leave behind a kid like that; Ashoka is the only girl aboard, but she is like their own personal ray of sunlight. Hope. She's a special kid; has a perfect eye on when to pursue their enemies and when to abandon or change routes, an innate pirate even as young as she is. Fives can only try to imagine what things she would be able to do with more age and experience.

For now, though, 'Soka's just a kid. And kids do silly things; like playfully sticking out her tongue and precariously balancing her steps in the baupress of the 79's. Fives rolles his eyes good-naturatedly. He isn't too hard on the kid; he had been fearless and oblivious to danger once too. Hell, he still is, sometimes. It's just his way of being; free. He doesn't want to die by Rex hands if something happened to her, though, so he motions down with a flick of his hand.

"Get your feet down here, m' lady" he jokes, then extends his hand to hers in a courteous offer.

'Soka laughs, a sound that echoes softly in the silence of the night.

"Mm. I don't know if I shall accept such proposition, good sir" she answers, standing up in the thin baupress as if it is nothing.

Her dark black hair, looking almost blue, flies freely with the wind even with her white bandana wrapped around it. Her skin is as tanned as his, freckles tracing the outlines of the white scars that mark her otherwise perfect face. Like Fives and Echo, she has basically grown up on a moving ship.

"I'd like to keep my head, my lady, if you'd be so kind to help me" Fives insists, eyes turning to a gentle warning.

Ashoka rolls her big blue eyes.

"Okay..." she grumbles, then, abandoning the theatricality.

She turns her direction with flowless agility and starts her careful way back to him.

The ship rocks dangerously in the water –the sea not completely peaceful today–, and Ashoka stops in surprise and fear, holding her balance as best as she can. Fives also holds his breath. The 79's stops moving and they both sigh in relief, staring at each other well aware of the risks.

The girl chuckles nervously.

"Welp, that was a close one." She guiltily admits, restarting her way towards him. "I keep forgetting this waters are dangerous and not exactly what we're used to, huh?"

Fives doesn't tear his eyes from her.

"Yeah" he agrees. "Maybe you should leave your acrobatics for when we're back on the GAR sea..."

Big, angry waves splashes against the botton of the ship again; a sudden move that disestabilises Ashoka for a second time. It all happens too fast; the girl's right feet steps just on the edge of the baupress, losing balance, and her weight leans too much over one side with a terrified gasp. By the time Fives has rushed forward in a desperate attempt to catch her hand, Ashoka has already been devoured by the dark see with a dooming splash.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You smirk darkly when the sound of a body hitting the surface of the water is transmitted under the waves. You almost want to laugh at the way the small human desperately moves his legs to try to stay afloat; the sea isn't looking good for creatures without fins tonight, and it is obvious that this female doesn't even know how to properly swim even in calm circumstances. Maybe it's just because she's small, you're not sure.

You strike at her –harshly tugging her leg down and sinking her under the surface– right when another body drops into the sea. You snarl, irritated by the interuption, and turn around, scanning the water around you. Just five or six meters away, there he is; the human named Fives, the dreamer, the one who almost discovered you ahead of time.

This one does now how to swim. Even though his eyes are clearly pannicked, searching for her fellow human companion among the darkness of the black waves, his legs calmly move just enough to keep him afloat; conserving very much needed energy. His clothes are stuck to his body; both humans look so utterly small in the openness of the water...

The small female human screams, terrified, still not grasping her new reality; and the man shouts her name in a hoarse voice, squinting and desperately trying to find her. The girl goes to shout again; and your clawed hand quickly reaches up to close around her throat –not to really cut her breathing of, but as a warning–. You're not known for your patience, and you really can't stand creatures screeching.

Fives golden eyes, still having a shine to them with the moonlight, finally turns to your direction; and his whole face morphs into wonder, fear and shock, quickly taking in your claws and sharp teeth, the gills on the side of your neck and the dangerous swoosh of the powerful tail behind you. The small girl trembles in your strong arms; you glance down at her, bored but curious at the same time. She really is the smallest human you have crossed pass with. Are those marks that shine white on her face scars?

"Please" Fives voice barely picks up with the sounds of the waves and the wind. "You don't want to hurt her".

His words and his firm stare stuns you for a second. Then, you laugh out loud, the sound being carried away by the howling wind.

You haven't used the human tongue for so long... Since that fight. You'd be kind to humour this human for now. Perhaps getting to know them for a bit before eliminating them would help you understand them better and kill them easier in the future. For as small as humans are, they do make interesting big weapons.

"Don't I?" You smirk, tongue wrapping teasingly around your rigth canine. You caress the girl's hair with the hand that is not carefully holding her against her throat. You push your nose up to her neck and smell; then tilt your face back to the male. "Mm. Perhaps not hurt her. Just quickly kill her, no pain".

Fives trembles in the cold of the sea. The girl too. You grin.

"Why?" Is his pained answer. He's trying to remain calm, you can see that, even if his insides live in complete turmoil. "To eat her?"

You make a face.

"No. Human is not my favorite kind of dish" you inmediately answer, then shrug desinterested. "You kill us, I kill you first. It's the sea's law, sailor".

Fives frowns.

"We kill you? I didn't even know you truly existed until now" he points out.

Ah, humans are such natural spokesperson. Always finding an argument no matter their cause.

"You're people" you correct, drawing a claw down the girls face, not enough to draw blood from it, just a distracted caress.

Fives face... Pouts.

"That's pretty unfair, if I may say so. You can't blame a whole species in the name of a few".

You let your gaze find his eyes again. He's so determined it's entertaining to watch.

"You claim you're different?" You ask, observing him.

He nods.

You can see the fatigue starting to creep onto him. You're holding the freezing girl with your own strength, but he's on his own. You wonder how much longer would he be able to stay afloat. Maybe you should just wait and watch him sink.

"See those scars on Ashoka's face?" His words pull your attention back at her white marks. She tries to stay still while you study her. "They were made by bad people. Cruel humans. My brother Echo suffered by others as well. And yet here we are. I love Ashoka as if she were my own sister. I love my twin. I'd do everything to protect them. I don't want to cause pain to them".

You huf.

"That's easy. No one wants to hurt people that are dear to them. What about other's that aren't? Would you care?"

Fives is stubborn. You'll give him that.

"I wouldn't purposedly hurt others for the sake of doing so. Or if there's any other way. Look, there... Must be some bad sirens too. People who just enjoy killing and hunting indefense creatures just because they feel joy watching them suffer; not a matter of protecting their home or territory. And there must be good ones" he breathes raggedly. "It's the same with humans. There is evil and kindness in every living being. If you'd only gave us a chance, you'd be able to see it".

You hum. He makes a point. The excitement melts down. Your curiosity doesn't. Are all humans this interesting?

"What is your Captain looking for in this waters, Fives?"

His mouth opens in surprise.

"You..."

"Know you?" You chuckle, moving your tail slowly. "Mm. I've been studying you for days, I know some things. The answer, sailor?"

Fives forces himself to push through his shock and confussion to answer you.

"We've been paid handsomely to explore this part of the Unkown Seas. We have a cartographer aboard, he's been working nonstop since we crossed the GAR frontier."

You hum, recalling those maps the humans use to sail the seas without getting too lost of their way.

"So there's nothing you want from us?" You insist.

To your shock, Fives smiles; a small, almost cheeky tug of lips.

"Well, I do have a lot of questions about sirens now that I've seen you, but no, not really. Like I said, we didn't even know you truly existed. We just want to make our trip and return to land safely".

You observe him in silence. You feel the girls energy draining too; blinking heavily.

"Mm" you hum, pushing her against his arms in a second. Fives stares at you, wide eyed, not expecting you to move that fast. "You can call for your human friends to help, sailor. I've decided I will just keep an eye on your ship for now".

Then, before Fives has the chance to answer, you tear your hands away from the girl and dissapear under the sea.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Fives receives the reprimand of his life at Rex's personal delivery. He's task with leaving the ship shiny up and down; Ashoka also punished along him. If there's something the Captain of the 79's doesn't show, it's mercy. Oh, he's polite and gentle enough, if the situation calls for it; but he doesn't let things slip by. He's always aware, always scanning his crew with his amber eyes; and even though both 'Soka and Fives had tried to make the incident sound less of a danger, just an unimportant accident, there's really no way going around the fact that they had had a very close, dangerous encounter with a Siren.

Rex doesn't believe them at first. But then he sees the light marks on Ashoka's neck; there's nothing deep or worrying, but they're definitely shaped like some kind of claws, and he know's his fair number of fish and sharks to know they can't have done anything of the sort. Fives is guilty, yes, but he seems honest when he retells the experience. Ashoka too, a pleading look of forgiveness in her big blue eyes. Rex has no other option than to accept the story as truth.

Everyone on board of the 79's has the chance to see said siren with their own eyes a pair of days later. It's at night, so no one really sees her for quite some time; til Ashoka suddenly gasps and points out towards the see with wonder –and a sliver of fear– in her eyes. Rex quickly squints and stares in surprise. Well, that's a siren all right. The Captain and his men only have time to observe her for a minute before she smirks and plunges down into the water, her tail a silent goodbye.

Fives grins and elbows Echo.

"See? What a stalker. I think she likes me" he jokes, and Echo rolls his eyes pushing him with an exasperated smile.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Morning, dear siren" Fives greets you, carefully using the ropes to lower himself with his feet against the outside of the ship's structure, still on his shining the 79's duty. "How has sleep being under there?"

You splash him with your tail in irritation. There's no peace with the sailor around; and he has developed the annoying habit of periodically coming to talk to you.

Fives gasps with the cold water drenching his clothes; but his face quickly morphs from surprise to cheerful amusement.

"Why, thank you. I did notice I had started to smell too" he then smirks and studies your body up and down in a way that makes you as mad as nervous. "Darling, if you just wanted to see me wet, though... There's better ways we can enjoy together."

Even though there's a blush fighting it's way through your face, you keep your expresion neutral and narrow your eyes at him.

"You're the most annoying human I've ever met".

Five grins; as if your words were a personal compliment for him.

"You're magnificent company as well, dear siren" he retorts, unbothered.

You tilt your head, glancing up at him. It's both funny and irritating the way this human talks to you. He should fear you; you could jump up right now and kill him in a blink, and yet he's always like this around you. Curious, awed, and cautious while being impossibly and purposedly irritating as well. You wonder if it's his weird human way of making friends.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Fives reintroduces a wary Ashoka to you. It's only sensitive for her to be cautious; after all, you did have your claws around her neck not so long ago. After Fives' reassurance and a few patient words on your part, though, she quickly leaves the past behind; and watches Fives' careless and friendly interaction with you with bright eyes.

You grow fond of her as the days pass. It surprises you the way the girl seems atuned to other creatures of the sea; smaller ones like rain-fishes and seahorses always curiously coming up to meet her. You've heard of people like her before; humans with a special conection to the sea, with an instinctual understanding of it. Your people believe humans too came from the sea; and some just happen to conserve traits of their real origins more than others. If so, Ashoka is definitively one of them; and perhaps any of these sailors that seem for some reason persistent on spending more time at sea than in true land.

One late afternoon you ask Fives of this; of his will of travelling through the seas. You ask him wether he misses land, other human civilizations and things; but Fives shruggs with a smile. He tells you he likes it here, aboard on the 79's with his brothers, his family; and opens up about his own past as well. You listen to him mesmerised; feeling again like a kid whose being told interesting stories of lands far away.

After Fives finishes his and Echo's story –their misfortune making a strong feeling of protectiveness soar inside of you–, he glances at you with a tilt of his head, suddenly quiet and pensive.

"Plus" he continues, voice barely a whisper. "There's a certain peace you can't find anywhere else but the sea".

Even though his words are carefully soft and his demeanour almost shy –very uncharasteristal of him–, his bright eyes are full of heavy emotions; almost wanting to tell you a story different than what his words tell you. Almost whispering to you there's something more to his words than what they say.

You sink under the surface of the sea so only your eyes are peaking above the waves; needing the comfort of the water to hold his stare, this sudden shift on the atmosphere.

Fives hums, and you take a last look at him before dissapearing under the sea, running away from the human who's starting to make you feel things you haven't –and shouldn't– felt before.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Rutine makes you complacent. You get so relaxed at the knowledge that the 79's is no risk to you or your species you forget to stay vigilant; forget that they're not the only possible danger at the sea.

It happens at night; when your senses are dulled by sleep, your body curled in a tight space between the rocks at the bottom of the sea. Your return to consciousnes is a slow and lazy process. You open your mouth wide before momentarily clenching your teeth; the rest of your body muscles tensing and relaxing as well with your tiny stretch. Your eyes open and you focus on your surroundings; it doesn't feel like you've slept more than a pair of hours, and you usually don't have a problem to shut the eye throughout the whole night. Something must have awaken you subsconciously. You've long learned to trust your instintcs, so you decide to explore the sea around your little safe spot for the night before trying to get some more sleep. Maybe there's a predator around here.

It's when you swim away from the rocks you've hid in when you inmediately notice what's wrong; your too far away from the surface for the water to feel agitated here, but when you glance up, you see the usually dark ocean lit up in orange and red. The inmediate thought of the humans –of Ashoka and Fives– being in danger crosses your mind; and you're swimming up, up, up, before you're able to realise it yourself.

Your head peaks through the surface of the water and you can't help but gasp, eyes widenned in fear. The 79's wrecked. Besides it... So is the Death Star. Both ships have been fighting for who knows how long and you were peacefully asleep. It fills you with a dangerous wave of guilt; and unstopable anger. This is the ship that cost you the live of some of your best friends. This is the reason your people is no longer friendly towards humans; the pain of the past reflected on scars and lost ones. Some part of you is afraid –terrified– of facing said captain and crew again; the other part of you feels ravenous. This is your chance of revenge.

You sink under the water and sing. It's a song every siren child is taught by their elders; a call for help no one ever ignores. Sirens will stop at nothing for their people, their pods. Your voice carries easily through the water; and you hear a distant echo answering you. You know it's only a matter of time your people arrive. You'll help however you can in the mean time.

Your trained eyes and senses zoom in the fight aboard of the 79's. The men of the Death Star are dressed in black, like a bad omen; the colourful splashes belonging to Captain Rex' men. Both ships aren't the only battlefield; some are even fighting in the water, perhaps after pushing each other over board, some swinging their blades on top of smaller life-boats and lost planks of woods. The repair for what's left of both ships would be slow and costly.

You sink under the waves and move fast; jumping and dragging the 79's enemies with you underwater, drowning them or sinking your claws in their vulnerable throats, their screams futile under the water.

You can't see Fives or Ashoka yet; but just as the first of your fellow sirens arrive, you see Palpatine and Rex. They're fighting on the Death Star; blades swinging at each other while they expertly balance on the edge of the ship. You stop right below them and stare intently upwards; trying to catch the Captain's attention.

You do. Rex' eyes flicker downwards; making contact with yours. He quickly goes back to fighting against Captain Palpatine –how such an old man can move that fast you'll never know– and you wait patiently, licking your lips. You know Rex has catched on your idea and you only need to give him some time to bring him to you.

It's not a difficult move. With the knowledge that you'll be there to push him again back to safety and simultaneously kill his enemy, Rex throws his own body weight against Palpatine with all his strength and they both fall into the sea.

You almost see it happening in slow motion, such is your desire to claw your way through him. You're closing your hand around his throat in a blink, as soon as his body crashes against the waves; eyes shining and jaw opening to show your teeth while you push your face close to his. You want him to have a good look at you before you kill him.

"This is for Qui, Plo and Aayla" you tell him, eyes burning in hatred and vengance, his pathetic tugs at your hands only fueling your resolve. "And for those you'll never be able to hurt again".

You don't let him speak his last words. He doesn't deserve it; and he's not going to rat his way out of this. You snarl and sink your sharp teeth in his neck, closing your jaw before vicously pulling back and tearing his throat open mercilessly.

The carcass of his body floats away in the sea.

You turn to Captain Rex, scarlet blood dripping down your chin. He's not scared; but almost proud and relieved as he nods at you. You nod back and quickly help him get to the 79's again, reuniting with your people and organizising the counter-attack.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Once Palpatine is out of the way, the rest of his forces crumbles easily. In a matter of an hour, the few survivors of the Death Star scramble away in the remaning of their ship. You chuckle darkly. You know it's all for the enjoyment of your people; they'll do a slow hunt over the next couple of days, kill them one by one. Take their own personal revenge.

There's a conmotion up on the 79's. Rex is there, and so is Echo and Ashoka, the last two leaning down on the floor next to... Fives.

"What's wrong?" You quickly voice up from your place on the sea. "Is he okay?"

Captain Rex glances down at you worriedly.

"Blade sunk into his liver. He's loosing a lot of blood very quickly" he turns to look back to Echo and Ashoka. His expression saddens. "I... Don't think he has much time left".

Your heart starts beating out of your chest.

Fives, even gravely injured, lets out a wet laugh and jokes about it.

"I always thought you were a tad dramatic, sir".

Echo snaps at him, still squeezing his hand. You understand the sentiment. Now is not the time.

"Shut the fuck up, Fives".

You know he's scared. Everyone is scared. Echo, Ashoka, Fives, Rex... Even yourself. You've never felt this scared.

"B-bring him down" you whisper, then clear your voice and repeat yourself. "Maybe I can do something to help him".

"What can you do to help him?" Echo laughs, the kind of maniac sounding laugh that comes from a place of pure panic and terror from losing a loved one. "You're what, going to sing a song and magically cure him?"

It would be surprising to know that yes, that's...

"Something like that, yeah" you whisper, lost in your own feelings and thoughts.

You feel some of the other sirens splashing and moving their tails underwater hesitantly, wary. Nervously.

"Sister..." the voice of your friend Kid calls you from somewhere at your back.

You glance back at him. You know what he's going to tell you. You take a deep breath.

"I want to do it" you answer him, and everyone else.

They stay in silence, acepting your decission. It's a sacred thing for your species; for all sirens. The air feels heavy with understanding and expectations.

"Bring him down" you ask again, in the quietness of the night, and Rex gently squeezes Echo's shoulder before putting his faith on you and carefully laying Fives down in the last life-boat.

His brothers slowly lower it down til it softly contacts with the surface of the water and the small boat floats peacefully with the small waves. Two sirens quickly move to take a carefull hold of it so it doesn't drift away.

Fives turns his head to the side to look at you; hovering besides the boat with your claws lightly grassping the wood at the sides of it, head peaking over the water just enough to be able to look at him.

"Hey there, gorgeous" he smiles, and such brightness sends another painful dart to your heart. "Here to give me a goodbye kiss?"

Your own smile is wet with tears. It makes you let out a wet chuckle too. You haven't cried in... So many years.

"You should have thought of this strategy before" you decide to indulge him in his joke.

You know he's scared even if he doesn't want it to show. It males your decision easier; to know he's such a good person he doesn't want to make this more difficult for the people that woud be forced to watch him go.

Even though you feel almost eager for it, the need crawling up your throat, you're still afraid yourself. You've only got one chance for this. What if... It doesn't work?

You feel Kid's hand gently dropping on your shoulder, giving you the strength you need for this. You nod to yourself. The rest of the sirens form a circle around you; as tradition tells. They'll make sure nothing interrupts this sacred moment between you and Fives. Your hands tremble as you carefully place them on top of Fives' stomach wound. He makes a whimpered sound of pain and trembles, scared confused eyes quickly searching yours.

You look at him, soft.

"Trust me" you whisper. "And don't stop looking at me".

Fives doesn't understand what's happening, what's going to happen, but relaxes and nods. He can feel the exhaustion creeping in on him, the tempting feeling to close his eyes and surrender to the darkness. He focuses on you with the last of his strength.

You stop holding yourself back and let your voice sing your Song. You have never practiced it before; it's something that simply can't be, as it's not written before the moment arrives without announcement. It's instinctual, as simple and easy as breathing, and yet sounds so magical to all of those who hear it.

The first notes echoes in the silence of the night. It starts very quiet, almost a hum between your pressed lips, that slowly and unhurriesly turns into a whisper full of longing and melancholy. Fives is a human and you're a siren. It's not going to be easy. You have a feeling he won't care.

The Song fills with some softer, happier notes; lively and changing, more rythmical than the soft melody from before. A tiny smile makes it over to your face.

Fives is still looking at you. He wouldn't have been able to tear his eyes from you even if he tried. You're raw magic; raw beauty. And the sounds leaving your lips... He had never listened to anything so breathtaking in his life. He's hooked up in you.

Your gaze turns soft. You see his wound closing and healing by its self with just the corner of your eyes; and a warming relief spreads through your body, along with something sweet and gentle, painfully raw, longing and understanding. It's love.

The Song reflects those feelings; growing quieter as you keep staring into Fives' soul. You feel the notes slowing, your mind and heart finally wrapping around your feelings, accepting them, making them part of your own; and a last hum leaves your lips before the night is silent again, only interrupted by Fives' heavy breathing. Even if the Song is finished, he keeps looking at you like there's nothing else.

"That was beautiful" he whispers, dizziness still numbing his body and mind even if he's completely healed, now. He'll take some time to adjust. "Thank you".

You smile softly.

This is not your ending, Fives. But you need to...

The sailor squeezes his eyes shut. A painful headache stars at the side of his temple. He can barely concentrate in his surroundings now.

"Rest, Fives" you tell him, and he finally falls into unconsciousness almost instantly.

You glance up, noticing the wowed stares of the crew of the 79'.

"What was that?" Ashoka whispers in wonder.

You make Captain Rex a sign to let him now they can pull the small boat back up. You smile at the girl.

"My Song" you answer, misteriously. You glance at Echo, anxiously curved forward as if in a try to reach Fives quicker. You try to soothe his worries before dipping under the waves. "He'll be okay, just needs some hours of rest. I'll come back tomorrow".

With that, you nod to your pod and you slowly swim away. Your soul tries to tug you back towards him, but you comfort yourself thinking you'll be back to talk with him after some very much needed rest.

Patience.

You feel like a baby Siren again.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Care to explain to me what kind of voodo magic you did to me to turn me from a corpse to my handsome self again?" is what Fives first chirps at you upon seing you arrive the next morning, him waiting patiently for you in the small boat again, this time a bit further away from the 79's.

You smirk and place your folded arms over the border of the boat, resting your right cheek on top of them.

"I already told Ashoka" you answer playfully. "It's my Song".

Fives snorts and carefully pushes himself closer to you. You track the movement, distracted.

"Yeah, your song" he repeats, squinting and tilting his head in questioning. "Echo told me the other Sirens acted as if we were getting married or something".

You laugh freely, Fives smiling unconsciously.

"Well, singing your song to another holds pretty much the same meaning for my people. Your circumstances pushed me to do it way earlier than I would have prefered but... It's okay. You're okay".

Fives eyes turn soft.

"I know you love being all sexy and misterious. But tell me what has really happened, please?" His voice is also gentle and full of warmth.

He should know.

"All Sirens have a special personal Song. It's something instinctual that can't be repeated or prepared; born of raw feelings, desires and needs. It's different to other songs we sing. We don't use our normal vocal cords for this; it comes from somewhere within, deep in your soul. Sirens believe our kind are made of magic and music combined into one, and protected by a physical body shape; that of a predator so it can defend the pureness it holds. This Song... Can only be sung once, to just one other being, and it will create a special bond no-one but the two of them would be able to break. From that day on, this two beings will always be linked to each other, perhaps even able to feel or hear the other; and the Siren won't be able to sing in this kind of way to anyone else, ever again".

You grow quiet; waiting, patient. Expectant. Fives barely blinks.

You're not afraid to him not corresponding your feelings now. If it were that way, your Song wouldn't have worked the night before. A Song can't be an impossed thing; it must be accepted by the other's soul. Fives has subsconciously done that already; if his present mind needs more time to process it, nevertheless, you're willing to give him that.

Fives finally takes a deep breath in, noding in quiet understanding, before showing you his own signature smirk and closing the distances between your faces so that your nose is barely grazing his.

"Well. I think I'm definitively finally winning a kiss" he tempts you, eyes shining with mirth.

Your small laugh is pure unadulterated happiness. With your soul almost vibrating inside your chest, you cup his strong jaw and close the insignificant distance between you.

You kiss him –passionately, then gently– and Fives smiles against your lips.

THE END.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I'm sorry this took me ages to write! I got a bit blocked on how I was going to put Fives in danger and I also started with my finals.

I'm aware there are some errors in this but I prioriticed publishing it as soon as possible over having a second read to correct them. Sorry!

I hope you've liked it, dear. Second Mermay fic done, go check Tech's first one on my profile! (It's on: sw masterlist> 2 part of requests > Blue dreams).

Got requests closed cause finals and already a few of them in the line. I'll prob reopen in a month. If you want to you can still send them, just notice I'm not gonna be able to write it anytime soon.

Lots of things to come, stay tunned!

Xx,

Sky.

Back to masterlist here:

[thejediandthemandalorian]

So I have this mildly amusing concept in my head that follows my Codywan at a bar concept (that I don't think I've shared.) It would be really amusing if a bunch of horrible stuff happened and then the 212th and 501st all head back to coruscant together and Cody is all mopey and upset and distancing himself from obi wan for whatever reason and Rex is like 'dont worry we're gonna go to a bar tonight and make this better' and Cody is like fuck no, because Cody. And then Rex tells Fox and Fox, Mr by the book, is like oh yeah sure let's go and he's the one who picks Cody up and is like you're going. And when they get to the bar Rex is already there but he's got Anakin and obi wan with him and Cody is like...pissed at Rex and Fix because this was a set up. And all the sudden Quinlan appears out of nowhere, turns out fox didn't choose to come Quinlan said 'youre going, we're getting obi wan and Cody together, and we'll have a date night' and fox had like begrudgingly agreed for that reason. Cut to Rex is sitting awkwardly at a table with Cody And Obi wan, making sure they drink, and is also drinking himself and eventually Rex gets tired of them and goes and starts dancing with Anakin who hit the dance floor as soon as they got there. Cut to a little later, Cody is DRUNK. And obi wan is really drunk too, but he had gone off to the bathroom so Cody is still awkwardly sitting at the table people watching. Quinlan and Fox have long since disappeared. Anakin and Rex are like dancing so close they might as well be one person. And Cody's by himself. A club dancer comes up and Cody is drunk enough she convinces him to dance with her. Cody is in a State™️ and this girl just taught him how to dance. He's like out of it, that's how drunk he is, and obi wan comes back, also like super super drunk, downs another drink, and sees this club dancer hanging all over Cody and putting her hands all over him and having Cody do the same to her. So Obi Wan walks up to Cody is like 'mind if I cut in' and this club dancer is just like oh another hot man yeah sure and obi wan cuts in, but he doesn't dance with her, he starts dancing with Cody. Cut to Cody's memory pretty much blacking out and waking up the next morning in Obi Wan's bed at the Jedi Temple. He's confused at first because he's been in this room before but can't place it and then he realizes where he is. Obi Wan is awake and tells him good morning, both have horrid hangovers but the minute Cody hears Obi Wans voice he practically falls out of the bed and hits the floor, scrambling to put his clothes back on because he's just in a t shirt and briefs and he's freaking the fuck out cause he just woke up in the same bed as obi wan. Which it's not the first time he's fallen asleep near Obi Wan, but he also can't remember much of anything. So Cody rushes out the door, Obi-Wan calling after him (spoiler alert they didn't do anything they both just went back to Obi-Wan's place and crashed because they're old and boring even when drunk off their asses, but also they're in the middle of a war so they have every right to be exhausted.) And Cody goes rushing back to the barracks and practically pounds on Rex's door until he opens up. And when he does Cody starts talking real fast and Rex is like half sitting up watching him, not really as hung over cause he didn't drink that much, and has a higher tolerance than Cody cause let's get real he drinks way more often. And Cody is rambling and Rex is just like 'cody calm down it's okay, have a seat.' and Cody sits and puts his pounding head in his hands and is like 'I slept with Obi Wan.' but he doesn't know if they banged or not (they didn't.) And suddenly another person sits up in Rex's bed and suddenly Anakin is there and he's like 'what?! You slept with Obi Wan?!? Obi Wan slept with someone?!' and then chaos, hilarity, and angst ensues.

Like believe me, there's so much more to this idea but this much has me giggling.