#he's always got stragglers growing in below the rest of his brows and that's really refreshing to me

[detroitbydark]

Chp 13

Characters: Commander Fox x Mouse (reader), and more Jedi/clones/politicians than you can shake a stick at.

Summary: that one time Padme throws a big party, Bly cracks jokes, fox hates himself some more, mouse wears matching underwear, and Anakin has a heart to heart.

A/N: Snuggle up Fox Fanciers this boy is stupid long and full of yearning on a level I didn’t know I could yearn. You’ve been warned!

Special thanks as always to @skdubbs and @crimson-dxwn for being my sounding boards and supporters in all this. Love you ladies! 😘

————

“For the love of the Force…” Mouse curses quietly. Padmé was never going to let her live this one down. She turns, admiring herself in the floor length mirror. The kriffing dress was perfect. Like, absolutely perfect. Had she not lost a few kilos since Coruscant she may not have even fit it to begin with but she had and it did and it was all that mattered at the moment.

It was easier to admire the stunning red dress clinging to each curve, cutting off just below her knees than it was to think about him. Yeah, knowing Fox was going to be there and seeing him were two entirely different things. Seeing him had felt… complicated. 

There had been a split second when she’d first laid eyes on him in that door, bucket slung under his arm, that she would have done anything he asked just to be near him. The loss she’d felt the first few days on Naboo was nothing in comparison to what she felt when he’d entered the Senator’s office. It was a blessing to be holding Leia, to have Luke as an excuse to leave as soon as she could. 

She couldn’t think with him there. Her first instinct had always been to radiate to him, even before she’d really understood that was what she was doing. Fighting that instinct was hard and it hurt, but she didn’t think she had it in her to be that girl anymore. She didn’t know if she could give all of herself again and again to be pushed away when he got scared. 

Padmé had said all the activity would be just a few days and then they’d be back to normal. Mouse just had to survive. She’d gotten good at that.

On the way out the door she questions retrieving a shawl. She’d be eating with warriors, battle hardened soldiers. She doubts their delicate sensibilities would be thrown into a tizzy by the sight of her scars. Maybe the more delicate socialites and their wives, but she doesn’t much care for their opinions.

She reaches up to touch the skin of her shoulder as an afterthought. It wasn’t the appearance so much as the feel of it she didn’t like. She hated rubbing the lotion into it, the almost rubbery feeling of the proliferative tissue there, but the doctors had said it was important to keep it softened to prevent it from tightening and contracting over the joint. So, two to three times a day, Mouse let go of her own uneasiness and pressed the special lotion into the skin, rubbed and massaged until the skin was pink with irritation.

The walk to the grand dining room is short and Mouse's heels echo softly down the large hallway. She can hear the conversation before the doors are even opened for her, punctuated by deep, masculine laughter. She’s fashionably late and Padmé raises a brow from her spot across the room. Mouse offers an apologetic smile and the senator returns it. Anakin stands a foot behind his wife. His attention is split between watching her and conversing with his former master. 

It’s odd seeing the Jedi, both men, in formal wear. Tuxes just don’t look quite right on them. That’s not to say they don’t cut striking figures - General Kenobi would have his choice of Coruscanti society girls if he marched around the capitol like that. It's just a little wrong to see the Jedi not in their robes.

“Sweetling!” The deep rumble drags her attention from the senator who returns to speaking with the men in front of her, neither of whom Mouse recognizes.

“Marshall Commander,” she greets, turning and accepting a soft kiss on the cheek as Cody draws near.

“Mous’ika,” he chides, using the name he’d obviously heard somewhere.

“Yes, Cody?” she asks sweetly, managing to hold in her giggle until he laughs.

“That’s more like it! How have you been?” 

Mouse falls into conversation with the Commander of the 212th. They’d met a handful of times now since she’d arrived in Naboo. The Commander had accompanied his Jedi on more than a few visits and while General Kenobi was spending time with his former Padawan, Cody had taken to having tea with Mouse and Padmé. He was a steady man who loved to gossip over holodramas and sip herbal tea. In another life maybe, Mouse could picture him as a professor, or maybe the owner of a bookshop. Something quiet, studious.

A server makes the rounds as they chat and Cody plucks a flute from a tray and hands it to her. She takes it with thanks. The bubbles tickle her tongue as she takes a drink. Something prickles at the periphery of her senses and she glances around, trying to figure it out what it might be. She shakes off the feeling and gives her full attention to the Marshall Commander in front of her.

“This isn’t either of our particular scenes, I believe. We’ve got to blend in somehow.” He holds up his own tumbler in show, amber liquid and round cubes of ice rolling around in its confines.

“That’s very true. I was afraid I’d get here and be relegated to a wallflower.”

“As if Padme would allow that,” he scoffs.

Mouse laughs again. “Are you always right, Cody?”

“Ask General Kenobi.”

Music plays quietly, a string quartet from Coruscant flown in for just the night, as Mouse falls in at Cody’s side. A few troopers  in dress greys stop to chat for a moment here and there and Mouse dutifully smiles and offers polite conversation, laughs at the appropriate times. She recognizes some here and there, a scar or tattoo sticking out in her memory, all Commanders with the occasional Lieutenant thrown in for color. She feels the sensation again and can finally place it. It’s as if someone is watching her. Cody offers her a questioning look as she glances around again. She flashes a smile and shrugs. She was being silly. No one was watching her.

“Are you still sponsoring the little girl on Coruscant?” Cody asks, making polite conversation.

“Me’kar? Yes, I actually just received a comm from her guardian the other day. She’s doing well, picking up basic incredibly fast.” Mouse had started sponsoring the child shortly after her arrival, not able to get her bright smile and sweet eyes out of her mind. It wasn’t uncommon for the children’s home to accept sponsorships to supplement the small stipends they received from the Republic. It cost money to keep the children dressed and fed and extras could be more than the budget allotted for. Mouse was more than happy to do it and the updates and occasional holo from the little girl were bright notes in her week.

“Have you given more thought to adopting her?” Cody asks knowingly, as if it was a forgone conclusion.

“I’m still thinking.” Mouse shrugs. It wasn’t a decision to take lightly, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the little girl and what it would be like to come home to her everyday, to be a mother to a child that needed one. She’d once harbored a silly dream of a family with one clone commander and little Me’kar playing a starring role. Now she still thought of a family, but maybe just of two and not three. Cody glances over her shoulder, a smile splitting his features. Mouse turns and sees, arguably, the most beautiful Twi’lek woman in the galaxy wrapped in a body contouring dress that looks nearly painted on. 

“Have you met General Secura? Let me introduce you. She may be able to answer some of the questions you have.”

———

Aayla Secura was wonderful. Mouse found herself completely enthralled with the twi’lek woman as she spoke of Ryloth, customs, and traditions. The Jedi didn’t think her idea of adopting Me’kar to be improper and encouraged her. Family was important for her people and she didn’t believe any child should grow up without the opportunity to have one.

“I would encourage you to fill out whatever application needs to be started immediately. Bring the little one here or raise her on Coruscant, either way it sounds like you’ve been thinking a great deal on it. You’ve asked such important questions. The rest is all just figuring things out as you go.”

Mouse can’t help the bright smile she flashes. Aayla glances over her shoulder as Mouse takes a swallow of her second glass of bubbly. It’s sweet on her tongue and reminds her of Fall orchard fruits, crisp and delightful. She’s just a little bit more relaxed than she’d been an hour ago as the alcohol works to relax her nerves when she thinks she feels eyes again. She’s quick to laugh it off as nerves - she hadn’t been around so many people in ages.

“Have you met my Commander Bly yet?”

Mouse wonders on “my” for a moment, but as soon as the Commander is at the Jedi’s side she wonders no more. He stands close, closer than to be expected and his hand rests along the cutout in the Jedi’s dress for just a moment longer than is proper as he greets her. 

“I’m rounding up stragglers, sir,” he says with a half smile, turning and offering Mouse a nod. She holds out a hand and Aayla introduces her. Bly has a moment when his brows twitch up in unison before he takes her hand and shakes it gently. “If you ladies would care to, I believe we're supposed to take our seats for dinner.”

Bly offers his arm to his general and she slips hers through it, allowing him to guide her. Mouse follows a half a step behind as they move to the grand hall. Large round tables are set up under sparkling chandeliers. Mouse tries to break off to a smaller one, out of the way and to the side of the room, but it seems Cody has taken up the rear behind the trio. He takes her arm gently as she tries to veer off.

“I believe you were assigned a seat of importance, Sweetling.”

Mouse shakes her head. She really was only here because Padmé wouldn’t hear of her not being there. She tries to explain to Cody as Bly glances over his shoulder. A look passes between the two troopers.

“I’m sure there’s at least one seat left at the head table.” 

Mouse watches as Aayla gives her Commander a questioning look. She swears she sees him wink.

She’s not watching where he guides her, still gently trying to plead her case. She looks to her left and sees Padmé smiling brightly and knows she won’t back her up in her decision to hide in the shadows. Cody pulls the chair out for her as she offers him a grumpy look. He chuckles and captures her hand, bringing it to his lips for a soft kiss. Mouse feels her cheeks flame, too flustered to come up with anything in response. She doesn’t pay attention to the set of greys next to her as Cody nods and she slides into her seat. Not until he walks to his own seat beside General Kenobi does Mouse turn to introduce herself.

And comes face to face with the Commander of the Coruscant Guard.

Fox is leaned back in his seat, brow raised in her direction. He radiates slow simmering irritation.

“I- I’m sorry” she doesn’t know why she’s apologizing. She had nothing to do with this. Her eyes dart around frantically trying to find any other option, an escape, but all the other seats are full and the last of the guests are taking their places at the other tables. If she got up now she’d only draw more attention to herself.

Fox says nothing as he turns back to his drink and Bly on his other side. Mouse stares down at her plate, her stomach already twisting into knots. She throws back her drink, downing the rest in one swallow. A passing waiter offers her another and she readily accepts. Maybe if she’s just a little bit drunk this wouldn’t be so bad. 

Padmé clears her throat and all eyes fall to where she stands at the head of their table. She’s resplendent, of course, in a loose cream gown that drapes her in the most eye pleasing of ways. Even if she didn’t have an air about her that demanded attention, her wardrobe choice alone would have done the job.

“I’d like to begin by thanking everyone for their company on this lovely evening. As I’m sure you’ve heard,” she says as if she’s letting the room in on a grand secret, “we’ve recently welcomed our first children into the world.” The small gathered crowd laughs as if on cue. Mouse glances to the other tables. She didn’t know faces, but she’d dutifully typed all the names into the guest list Padmé had dictated. They were some of the most influential individuals in the outer rim. Padmé has thought to treat this evening as a soft unveiling of the plan she’d eventually propose to the senate. It was a test crowd of her peers. She’d use their reaction to modify and gauge where to go from here.

“Now,I find being a mother is much like being a senator. There is always something that needs doing and a mother’s work, much like a senators, is never done.” She offers a smile as she glances from one side of the room to the other. 

“The men and women I have invited here today,” she gestures to the clones and Jedi around her “are very familiar, also, with work that never seems to be done. These are the Marshall Commander and Commanders who keep the Grand Army of the Republic afloat. They and their men risk their lives for a Republic which has given them nothing in return, and for that,” Padmé gives a gentle smile around the table, “I want to be the first to openly admit that we have done them a grave disservice.” 

Mouse glances to see the wait staff lining up along the walls with the first course. She really does try to pay attention to what the senator has to say, but Fox is so close. She can imagine she wouldn’t have to move far to be back against his chest, feel his hot breath against her skin. Maybe he’d wrap his arm around her, hold her tight, whisper sweet things in her ear-

Maker, she was pathetic. Her stomach turns in agreement.

“Throughout this evening I hope each and every one of you enjoy yourselves, and I also hope that you take a moment to give these brave men some of the gratitude that we, as a Republic, have denied them for far too long. Something I hope we will begin to change in the not so distant future.”

Polite clapping erupts as staff circles the tables and places the first course in one impressively synchronized movement. As Padmé sits, her husband leans in and presses a kiss to her cheek. Mouse looks away.

The food looks good. Or at least it should. Mouse had helped pick out the menu herself. Crudité, a small salad of exotic fruit, a light dressing. It should be perfect. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying it if the sound of silver clinking against china meant anything. She takes a bite and chews carefully - it has all the depth and flavor of sawdust.

“I didn’t realize you had a type.” 

Mouse glances at Fox who is firmly staring at his own plate, chewing as if nothing is amiss. He’d always looked good in his greys but he looks utterly delicious now. His hair is longer and his face is shaved clean of its usual five-o’clock shadow. 

“Excuse me?” Her voice is quiet, barely above a whisper.

“I didn’t take you for a trooper chaser.”

The food very nearly gets stuck in her throat as she attempts to swallow. She takes a pull of wine from her glass, coughing lightly.

“Everything ok, Mous’ika?” Cody asks from across the table, concern evident.

Retrieving her napkin from her lap, Mouse covers her next cough. “I’m fine, Cody.” She tries to give him a reassuring look from behind the fabric. “Must have forgotten to chew,” she jokes awkwardly. At her side Fox makes a low sound. Cody glances between the pair of them for a moment before turning back to General Kenobi at his side.

“Cody,” Fox says, and Mouse catches the quick flash of brown eyes. “I seem to remember it took nearly a year for you to say my name. You’re moving faster.”

“Why are you saying this?” she questions. Why would he think such a thing? She hadn’t done anything that deserved such an accusation. He shrugs before turning to Bly and asking him a question about field munitions.

It leaves Mouse's head spinning. No one else seems to notice as they all speak quietly to one another.

“Commander Bly? General Secura?” Bail looks to the other side of the table and the pair. “What are your feelings on Senator Amidala’s personhood bill I sent you?”

 “Far be it from me to dislike a law that makes me human,” Bly cracks. A round of laughter rises among the other troopers present. Aayla rolls her eyes at her Commander in an unmistakably fond way.

“What I believe the Commander is trying to say Chancellor, is that it is a more than welcome change to the status quo.”

“I was trying to say that?”

“Yeah, the vocabulary seems a bit past him,” Fox cracks dryly. 

Aayla looks from one to the other. “Force I wish General Koon and Commander Wolffe could have been here. Maybe than you’d remember how to behave.”

“The ori’vod is the one who taught us,” Bly offers with faux indignation.

Obi-wan manages to smother a chuckle, though a smile still tugs at his lips. “Master Plo Koon sends his deepest apologies. The Wolffe pack is still firmly entrenched on their mission and he didn’t feel it appropriate to leave them.”

There’s a general consensus of agreement among the group. Mouse catches General Kenobi's occasional glances around the table, the majority of them falling between Commander Bly and his General.

“Senator Amidala,” he begins, his voice pensive, “How do you propose to introduce your personhood bill?”

Padmé gives a warm smile. She’d been waiting for this; Mouse can tell by the way her eyes sharpen and the slight quickening of her voice. “I think we need to show the public that it’s not only the GAR that stands behind the Clones, but also the Jedi Order as well.”

Mouse makes a small sound of dissent, feeling Fox adjust next to her.

“Mous’ika?” Cody questions, “Do you not agree with the senator?” Mouse looks embarrassed as she glances Padmé’s way, but the senator looks more curious than anything. Mouse gathers her thoughts while she finishes her glass of wine. A passing server goes to refill the glass but, at her side, Fox waves him off. She wants to glare at him, but all eyes are on her, waiting.

“I’m no politician, so I’m not sure my opinion should amount to anything,” she begins, “but general public opinion about the Jedi Order is not…” She looks apologetically at the few Jedi at the table “Well, it’s not good right now.”

There’s some concerned looks flying her way. Bless. It was easy to miss what was happening at home when one was in a war zone the majority of the time. 

She reaches for where her wine should be and grabs a glass of water that hadn't been there a moment ago. She takes a sip before speaking again.

“It would be a poor decision to align solely with the Order on this one, I feel. Just a look at the holonews and you’ll see articles and op-eds questioning the Jedi’s involvement in the war.”

Fox clears his throat.

“She’s right” How sweet it was to hear those words. “We’re dealing with domestic terrorism on an unprecedented level. Nothing that we can’t handle but it’s something to take into consideration. The public feels like the Order has overstepped its bounds. It lacks policing of its own.” Fox holds up his hand when Obi-wan goes to speak. “While that may not be the case, in the court of public opinion the Order is guilty more than it is not.”

Mouse can feel him looking at her, handing the reins back over. “The average Coruscanti already is apprehensive of such a large military force within their presence. It’s going to take some doing to convince them to see the troopers as anything but soldiers awaiting orders” she finishes diplomatically.

There are speculative looks and nods around the table. “Much to think about,” Bail agrees, taking a slow sip of wine. His eyes linger between her and Fox for far longer than she likes. “Thank you.”

Mouse nods, her cheeks glowing hot from the attention. Her hand brushes against Fox’s as she sets it back down on the table. Her fool’s heart skips a beat when he doesn’t pull away immediately. She fights the urge to lace her little finger with his. Luckily, the next course comes and they both have to adjust to the changing of plates.

Her stomach is still turning in loops and food is still not something that sounds appealing in the slightest as the main course comes out. She doesn’t even remember what it’s supposed to be. It looks like it was probably delicious, roasted meat and delicate fresh vegetables sautéed to perfection. She takes a few testing bites but her plate remains mostly untouched.

“Quit pushing your food around and eat”. Of course she hasn’t forgotten Fox is sitting next to her. It must have been too much to hope he had forgotten about her. 

Again, when she glances his direction he doesn’t seem to be paying attention to her. She doesn’t acknowledge he’s said anything and listens in quietly as the others at the table chat. 

She takes another bite and chews slowly before swallowing.

“Come on, another,” he says. This time something is softer about his voice. When Mouse looks she sees him glancing at her. 

Her chest tightens uncomfortably. Why did she give him the power to do this?

“Mouse.” 

She thinks for a moment that she just might be imagining things. Under the table Fox’s booted foot knocks softly against hers letting her know she wasn’t. This wasn’t fair. 

“Eat.” It’s a soft plea. He didn’t get to be soft with her anymore. He didn’t get to give orders. He’d lost those privileges.

“I’m not hungry.” 

Fox’s head turns slowly at her words. “You could have fooled me. You look like a strong wind could blow you away.”

“Let it go, Commander. You're being ridiculous,” she manages to whisper under her breath. She doesn’t realize the table has gone quiet, that half a dozen or more pairs of eyes are watching them. Fox hasn’t either.

“There are faster ways to kill yourself than starvation. I’m sure you remember at least one other way.” The sudden acid in his voice hides the sound of frustration and strikes a direct hit.

Mouse has never considered herself a dramatic person, far from it really. So the rapidly rising urge to turn and punch him in the eye comes as a surprise. The anger behind it is soon replaced by mortification when she realizes that everyone has gone quiet.

Cody’s jaw is set into a tight line, the antithesis of Bly’s slackened one. Both Aayla and Bail are staring down at their plates. Mouse doesn’t look at the others.

Fox is frozen at her side, unmoving and unspeaking. Horror is dawning in his eyes as she pulls the napkin off her lap and places it in her still full plate.

His hand fumbles reaching for hers under the table but she skitters out of his reach.

“If you’ll excuse me?” She addresses the gathered group, “I’ll be back shortly.” Hot angry tears are already starting to swell in her eyes as she pushes away from the table and makes her way from the great room. She manages to keep it together until she’s in the guest wing. She doesn’t slide to the floor in a heap til she’s in her room.

She doesn’t return to dinner.

————

 “You know I remember it all.”

The words catch Fox by surprise. He picks up the tumblr resting along the stone terrace wall and takes a drink as he looks at the Jedi - former Jedi- he didn’t even know what Anakin Skywalker was anymore.

“Congratulations?” Bitterness is already brewing in his gut. First Mouse and now this? Could it get any worse? Could a man not drink away his self-loathing in peace?

“The first time I met the Chancellor I was a child, but I remember it like it was just this morning. He smiled at me. It was like having someone see me for the first time. Like my Mother. Like Qui-Gon-“

Fox isn’t in the mood for this. 

“-as I got older his attention focused on me. He honed me. Groomed me for something-“

“That’s great, sir, really.” He’d failed to hold back his acidic comments when Mouse had been near. Now that it was Skywalker he doesn’t even care to try.

“Shift it Fox and listen to what the kriff I’ve got to say.”

Fox brings the glass to his lips and finishes it in one long, slow pull before taking it and throwing it out into the placid lake below. It would have felt better had it smashed. The urge to break something has been simmering on the back burner all night. Skywalker was bringing it to a rapid boil. 

“And what are you trying to say Jetii? Your life story means to me about as much as sith spit.”

Something dangerous flares in the other man’s eyes. “We’re the same, you and I.”

Fox barks a laugh, a bitter stagnant sound as he feigns turning away for just a moment only to spin right back. “You and I are nothing alike. Are you one of millions? Does your order see you as interchangeable battle fodder? Tell me your serial number, sir.”

“Your loyalty is unquestionable. You would do anything for the people you care about.” Anakin seems undeterred by Fox’s growing ire. “We both love women who are far stronger than we gave them credit for-“

“Shut up.” Fox’s voice is low, a warning growl from a wounded animal. He’d already hurt someone he’d claimed to love, said something ugly and cruel. It wouldn’t take much effort to get him to throw a swing against the man in front of him.

“-we think we know best. Sometimes we do. Then we let our own ego get in the way and we hurt the ones we love with our good intentions.”

“What about shut up don’t you understand?” Fox takes a step forward, chest out. He wants this to escalate. 

“What I don’t understand is how you can take a girl like her and purposefully hurt her. I watched her put a blaster to her-“

“ENOUGH!” Any cool Fox had left vanishes as he closes the space between them. His finger jabs into the other man’s chest, punctuating his point. “You don’t get to talk about her. You don’t get to talk about that night.” 

How dare he. In the end, who was he but Sidious’s favorite lap dog? Rage boils over as Anakin steps into the jabbing finger, making Fox take an unwanted step back.

“Yeah? You want to go there? Pretty sure I remember being there just as much as you were. I was also there when your blaster killed Fives.”

Fox can’t hide the way he flinches at the name. 

Anakin takes a slow even breath before he speaks again. “Fox, I’m not going to say I didn’t want to turn the damn thing on you and put two through your composite -Jedi way be damned- but I can look back and remember what your face looked like. When you stepped in the corner where you didn’t think anyone could see? You didn’t want to shoot Fives. You didn’t want to kill your brother.”

Fox closes his eyes, tipping his head up toward the night sky.

“She knew that too-“

“You think I don’t realize what she was doing? You think I don’t realize she was ready to sacrifice herself so I didn’t have to kill someone else I - “ He opens his eyes focusing back on the Jedi. 

“But you didn’t feel her in the Force like I did. I was as much of a mess as any of us but you know what I felt coming from her?”

Fox shakes his head. He doesn’t want to know.

“Resolve. Love and resolve. She would have done anything to keep you safe. She was the only steady one of us all.”

“Why are you doing this to me?” He’d seen it in Mouse’s eyes, that decision she’d made and would have followed through with. For him. The nightmares where she had to follow through still found him, the ones with her wide eyes staring up blank and glassy while smoke rose in tendrils from her head.

“Because we're the same. Our love was used as fuel for manipulation. It was a tool to gain our compliance. I saw a future where Padmé died. Over and over and Palp- Sidious made me think I could stop it. If I did what he said I could stop it all. Then he was dead and I still had the dream. But you know what? She would have died at my hands because of me, because of my blind, fumbling attempt to prevent it in the first place and my children -” Emotion swells in his voice.

“When I watched you tonight, when I heard what you said, I saw those very blind steps I had been taking all over again. Stop it, Fox. She doesn’t deserve it.” Anakin stops and takes a deep breath, 

“You don’t deserve it. Let the pain stop.”

Fox drags himself away from the Jedi, turning his back to stare out at the expanse of water below. “There’s no fixing what I’ve done”

“I think you’re wrong.”

“And I think you’re a fool.”

———-

Fox feels spent. Physically and emotionally exhausted, riding the fallout of an adrenaline surge down to rock bottom after his confrontation with Skywalker.

He’s ready for bed. He needs a solid six hours of sleep. Maybe a coma? 

He wasn’t pleased with the continued attempts by others to force something with Mouse that was obviously not meant to be. He wasn’t pleased with his own behavior in response to it. He wasn’t a Hutuun, but he had certainly acted like one. Honestly, he'd rather take the butt of a blaster to his head as opposed to thinking about it anymore. 

He tried to think of something else. Personhood. Not in a million lifetimes did Fox think someone as powerful as the Chancellor of the Republic or one of its most brilliant senators would take up the torch for him and his brothers. It was bound to be a controversial bill but after listening to Bail and Padmé speak, it didn’t seem so overwhelming. It was a real possibility that the end of the war wasn’t going to mean the proverbial scrap heap. The end of the war could mean citizenship, recognition, lives outside of battle and the GAR. 

The thought left him a little lightheaded - or maybe that was the Alderaanian wine that had been flowing. 

He tries to rein in his excitement at the thought. If Fox had learned one thing in his time in Coruscant and among politics it was that politicians were exceptionally good at dragging their shebs when it came to anything good. It would require finesse and more than a little debate for the good Senator to see her plans to fruition. If anyone could do it, it was Padmé. The time frame in which she could do it was up for debate. Fox raises a brow as he looks down the hall. If the sound coming from General Secura’s room meant anything, there was some very brisk debating going on between the General and her Commander. 

Fox tries not to look at Mouse’s door as he goes to his own. He tries not to think about what personhood would mean for his vode that had broken regs and found something to fight for outside of the GAR.

 Fox is  barely in his door, already bending to remove his boots when he hears it, a soft plaintive voice in the hall. It’s instantly familiar. He’s already cursing himself. He’d done enough to her tonight. Obviously, he’d proven that he couldn’t be in the same room without hurting her. He hears her voice again and he’s pulling the door open without a second thought. 

Mouse is leaning half in the hallway. “Hello?”

The disaster that had been dinner flashes in his mind's eye as do Skywalker’s words from a short time ago.

Let the pain stop.

Clearing his throat, he steps into the hall.

“Oh Maker...” it’s not the exact thing he was hoping to hear as she laid eyes on him, but he’s sure it’s no less than he deserves. “It had to be you, didn’t it?”

Fox gives her an appraising look. Her cheeks were hot and flushed even before she’d seen him and the gown she’d worn to dinner is still firmly in place. Her gentle eyes are rimmed in red. She looks just as stunning as she had a few hours ago. 

The foundation his resolve has been built upon continues to crumble.

He chides himself. That foundation had never been strong, not when he’d asked Bail to transfer her, not when he’d seen her in her hospital room, certainly not when she’d given him the cold shoulder earlier when they’d arrived. It seemed everything about Mouse worked to destroy the barrier he’s tried to erect between them.

“What’s wrong?” He asks gruffly. He’s tired from travel and of the mental gymnastics he’d been putting himself through. Mostly though he was tired of feeling like he was fighting with both her and himself.

Mouse's eyes dart each way down the hallway as if looking for someone else to save the day. She isn’t that lucky. A particularly loud moan coming from Secura’s room emphasizes that point.

“My dress-“ a new wave of red blooms in her cheeks, “the zipper is stuck. I’ve been trying for nearly an hour and…” She glances down at the floor and her bare feet. He hates that she won’t look at him but he’s done nothing to earn that honor now has he?

He huffs taking a breath and a leap. “If you don’t hate the idea of my help, I’m willing to offer it.”

Mouse's eyes slowly rise back to his. “I-“ she’s making a decision as well. He can see it written across her face. Maker, he thinks, please give me this one chance.

“Yes. Please.” She stutters out her answer, pulling away from the door frame and moving into the suite. She glances over her shoulder as she moves as if she’s afraid he wouldn’t actually follow.

Mouse stops near a small dressing table with brushes and makeup laid out on its top. A full size mirror is immediately to its side. She watches him in the reflection. It’s the first time since the hospital on Coruscant that Fox has been alone with her. That feels like so long ago, another life and time. They’re two different people now.

He steps carefully into her space as if one off movement would spook her and this would all end. This close he can smell the soft floral perfume she’s dabbed on. He can feel the heat radiating from her. Equal parts comfort and temptation rolled in one. 

“I’m sorry about earlier,” he says suddenly. Skywalker’s words haunt him. “I shouldn’t have said the things I did.” Mouse’s head cocks to the side as she watches him.

“Why did you then? I’m certainly not Cody’s type and-“

“And what?”

She steals herself. Fox can see the deep breath she takes before she speaks again, “even if I was, my interest will always lie elsewhere.”

The meaning of her words strike home. “Me? After everything?”

“It was always you.” She admits softly.

She still- she still cared for him? After everything?  After he’d nearly killed her. After he left her maimed. After he pushed her away over and over. 

More of the wall crumbles. All he’d have to do now is take one big step and he could be over it.

“So, this zipper you were talking about?” He deflects, needs another minute to think because there's too much to sort through and he can’t make more mistakes. Not with Mouse. Not with them.

She nods softly toward her left side, pulling her arm forward to show the jammed apparatus. Fox closes his eyes. Her scars stand proudly from under the thin straps of her dress. When he opens them he catches Mouse watching him in the reflection, her look is sad. 

“I can find someone else-“ 

His hand immediately drops to her hip as she tries to walk away, pulling her back and erasing the laughable space in between them. The shock shows on both of their faces.

“Easy,” he manages, and after a moment she settles against him. His thumb rubs small circles over her waist and he’s not sure if he’s trying to soothe her or himself. “I’m just coming up with a plan of action.” That draws a small smile from her but it’s all the encouragement he needs. “You need help taking your hair down?” He turns his head, the tip of his nose brushing against the soft strands still secured in their up-do.

 It’s an absolute sithshit question, she had two working arms she could remove all the pins and clips herself, they both know this. Fox just wants- he wants more time. He wants to be ready to look at the damage he’s done and not feel repulsed by it. To maybe, just maybe, not hate himself when he looks at it.

“I- yeah, that would be helpful.” She says quietly after a moment. She sits on the stool in front of the mirror, her eyes following his actions with apprehension and curiosity. Fox takes a steadying breath and begins. 

He’s never done this before, that is to say done anything more than held hairpins passed to him by senators like Padme and Chuchi on a transport after an event when they complained of the intricate styles giving them headaches or had simply needed to feel free of the bindings of senate formality. He’s seen enough though, and begins to work slowly from the base of her skull working up to the crown of her head. Mouse holds out her hand and he drops the thin pins in as he goes. As her hair begins to spill down, he watches her transform before his eyes back into the mouse he’d always known. Loose waves frame her face, still painted to perfection. Her red lips part and a soft breath escapes her as he massages his fingers along her scalp. Tension melts from her shoulders and she begins to lean back into him as his fingers rake through her hair, untangling strands until they slip smoothly through her fingers.

“You're going to make me fall asleep if you keep that up,” she says finally. The ghost of a smile crosses his face.

“Come on then. Stand up. Let’s get this thing undone before you have to sleep in it.” The stool is pushed to the side as she stands, and Fox moves a half a step back so he can see what he’s doing.

“The chain,” she says softly, catching his attention. “Unclasp it first, before the zipper. I can’t reach that at all.”

The thin gold chain hangs low on her bare back, spanning the distance between the straps of her dress. It glitters temptingly in the light, just like it had when he’d seen it earlier at dinner, when his mouth had gone dry at the mere sight of her.

Fox meets her eyes in the mirror as his hand moves softly from her right hip, up and over her back. His fingers drag feather-light over the bare skin they find. Mouse's eyes flutter shut and he can see her inhale deeply. Her skin was still as soft as he remembered. He gently scoops her hair to one side, over her right shoulder. Her eyes are still closed.

“Breathe, precious girl,” he orders softly, fighting a wince at the pet name that slips out. If Mouse cares, she doesn’t let on. She exhales slowly, opening her eyes at the end. Her pupils take a moment to adjust back to the light. “Am I ok?” he asks quietly.

“Are you?” There’s no heat or snark in her words. She’s staring at him, genuinely curious.

“I think so.” His fingers find the tiny gold catch holding the chain in place and it opens with ease.

“Can you- do you think you can do the zipper. If it’s too much to look at I-“

Fox stops her with a low sound. She hadn’t looked unsure or self conscious in the gown she wore all night. He wasn’t going to be the one to make her question it now. He’d already done enough. 

“I’m good.” 

He gently presses her left arm forward to gain access. He takes a steading breath as he looks down. The scarring spills across her shoulder, two shades lighter than her normal skin tone. He’s seen plenty of burns in his career and this wasn’t the worst but it feels like it is because he was the cause of it. A few centimeters more and he would have missed her entirely. A few centimeters the other way and-

His fingers move to the gown, easily plucking open the hook and loop closure at the top of the zipper. Mouse sucks in a sharp breath as the tips of his finger skim along the bare skin there.

“Is this ok?” he asks. She nods mutely. “I need words, Mouse,” he urges as gently as he can muster.

“It’s good.” Her voice wavers slightly as she speaks, “Go- go ahead.”

Fox can hear his heart beating in his skull. He can hear the rush of air through his lungs. Everything feels loud as his fingers slowly work at the jammed zipper. Mouse’s breathing is shallow as his fingers press into her, as they pull and twist until whatever has been keeping the closure jammed comes loose and it slides down. His fingers trail behind the zipper as it falls open.

He looks up to find her eyes on him again in the mirror's reflection. Her pupils are blown wide and her lips are parted. Fox feels the beginning wave of blood rush to his groin, the surge only becoming stronger as Mouse slowly - carefully - reaches up and slides the right strap of her gown down. She doesn’t look away from his reflection as her hand trails across her collarbone to the left strap. She pauses as if waiting for him to tell her to stop.

Fox puts the tips of his fingers over hers and together they lower the strap. He can see the rest of the scar now, can really get a feel for the size and the shape of it. It’s glossy compared to the surrounding area, as if her skin had been pulled too tight and frozen that way. She slides her fingers from the strap - laying flat against her lower arm - up, bringing his fingers along with it.

“Does it hurt?” The question slips out as her fingers glide over the surface.

“Not usually. It pulls sometimes,” she says softly, “They both do. I use lotion, try to get it massaged a couple times a day.” Fox’s eyes lock on hers. “The other option was worse.”

That’s right. She could be dead. He’s tried not to think of that the last few months, so trapped in his own guilt about hurting her that each time the psych droid brought it up he immediately countered with how she wasn’t and she had to live with what he’d done to her.

“Can I…?” He glances down and then back up. Mouse gives him a tense smile and a nod.

It feels different from how skin is supposed to feel. It feels thicker, less textured missing the fine hair that covered the rest of her arm. He traces the outline of it. It had only been glancing, the distal part of her shoulder taking the brunt of the burn from the bolt. His fingers map out the boundaries twice before he comes to a stand still.

He doesn’t want to stop touching her. 

“Where’s your lotion?”

She doesn’t question him. He can see it in her eyes, in the split second of hesitation. She doesn’t want this to stop either. 

One arm moves across her chest to hold her gown in place while the other reaches to the dressing table and wraps around a bottle. Fox takes it when offered and squeezes a small amount into his hand. 

He’s taking that step over his wall, he realizes.  It doesn’t feel like much of an obstacle anymore anyway as it lays in crumbles at his feet.

Her skin is warm under his touch, no real difference between the good tissue and the scarred as far as temperature is concerned. He works the lotion into her skin pressing his thumb in firm circles from the edges to the center. Mouse lets out a tiny sigh and it’s becoming more difficult to ignore the desire roiling in his belly. 

“Fox…”  he hums in response to the soft moan of his name, “it feels so good.”

“I missed you, Cyar’ika.” He offers tentatively as he presses in close, aligning her back against his chest. His free arm wraps around her waist holding her lightly against him. His hand falls away from her skin and his mouth descends to pepper soft kisses. She was warm. She was alive. she could be dead but she wasn’t and in the end it was because of his actions that he could still hold her, still hear the soft hitch in her breath as he sucks gently at the juncture where her shoulder and neck meet. 

Mouse’s head tips, offering him more room. Her arm falls away from her dress and reaches back behind her, cradling the back of Fox’s while he sucks a mark into her skin. A sea of red flutters to the floor as the dress falls. Fox growls as he looks up and sees the pair of them, him still in his greys and her naked except for a small lacy pair of red panties. His red. From there his eyes travel up, finding the other shot he fired. 

The scarring to her right flank is worse than the shoulder; he can see the puckered skin and the patterned appearance of healed grafting but he doesn’t feel the wave of guilt he’s felt earlier. She was alive and hot in his arms.

“Tell me to stop.” He demands quietly against her skin, “make me stop.”

Mouse’s hips press back against the hard line of his erection straining in his greys. Another low growl spills from his lips as he spins her around. Her lips are on his in an instant, messy and desperate as she presses up and into him. Her teeth pull at his lower lip. “Fox…”

His hands cradle her face as he slots his mouth over hers, breathing in the air she gives him like a gift from Fett himself. He can feel the press of her breasts against his chest, the way her hands wrapped around him and gripped at his back. 

It was a dream. It had got to be. If it was, it was  the first good one he’d had in months. Mouse whines quietly as his hands slide down and grips her hips as if they were the only thing tethering him to this reality. It’s too much and he should stop but he can’t because what he should do and what he wants to do are too wildly incompatible.  His fingers graze over the pebbled skin of her right flank. Mouse inhales sharply.

“Stop.” The word leaves her mouth with sudden desperation, like it had been pulled from her body unwillingly.  It’s like a bucket of cold water thrown over Fox as he jerks away.

Mouse turns from him, shaking her head as she snatched up a robe and quickly wraps it around herself. They’re both panting quietly.

He’d done something wrong, misread her signals. He was scum. He was an idiot. He should-

“I can’t do this again” She’s still breathless when she speaks, ruby lipstick smeared over swollen lips. “Fox look at me.” She demands quietly when he tries to turn away. “You can’t do this to me again.”

“Do what?” He can hear the desperation in his voice, he sounds pathetic.

She looks at him for a moment before she moves closer to him. He wants to turn away. He doesn’t want to hear how he’s ruined everything, how everything has become clear but it was now too late. 

Her hand comes up softly to his cheek as she looks at him through dark lashes. Her voice is barely above a whisper.

“You can’t make me want you again, not if you're going to push me away when things get hard.” She has her free arm crossed over her chest. Her tone isn’t as strong as her words. They waiver as they fall from her lips. 

He wants to make her every promise in the book before he even knows if he can keep them and it’s not about getting his dick wet.

He misses her. Has missed her every single day since the horrible event in the Chancellor’s office.

He misses her smile - the soft one she saved just for him. He misses the way she viewed the world  from a different but similar way he did. He misses planning for a future with her even if he hadn’t told her any of it. Most of all he misses the quiet moments, the times when they would just lay together and enjoy being near one another.

“It was all for you Cyar’ika.” He says with force, as if he said it sure enough he’d convince her that every action he’d ever made in regards to her was completely selfless.

“Kriff” she curses, shaking her head. Her hand falls away and he misses the warm feeling of her skin against his, “you of all people-“ she mutters under her breath before speaking clearly.

 “I get to make choices Fox. When it comes to my life, I get to weigh the risks and benefits and I get to make choices. You took that away from me. Have I loved being here?” she asks, gesturing around at the sumptuous suite, “I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t, but would I have rather been with you? Do you know that answer.”

Fox shakes his head.

“That’s right! Because you never asked. The truth is I would have rather been with you every minute of every day of the last three months. Doing paperwork, writing schedules, reviewing supply requisitions, it wouldn’t have mattered because I’d have been with you.”

“Cyar’ika, I didn’t-“

“No Fox, you didn’t think.” She sniffs lightly, her eyes bright with unshed tears, “I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything in my life and you pushed me away. You turned your back on me when I needed you and now? Now you’re here and we fall into our old patterns? Not again. Not unless you can promise me you are in this 100% because I can’t do it again. My heart just can’t.” 

Fox reaches out and swipes a trailing tear with his thumb “I-“ She leans into his touch, her cheek resting against his palm as her eyes drift shut. Just one second. she allows herself that. She straightens and steps away before his eyes can memorize the image of her.

“No, don’t say anything right now. Leave. Think. Decide what it is you really want. If it’s me you can find me and let me know.” There’s a finality to her words that has him biting back any response he may have made. She steps into him, rising up on her toes and gently bumping her forehead against his own.

“I do love you,” he says quietly.

 Mouse blows out a ragged breath. “I know. You just need to decide if that’s going to be enough.” She moves toward the door, opening it. “Goodnight Fox.”

[embeanwrites]

Finding Home Gavin Reed x Reader

Chapter 22

Masterlist

A/N: This chapter contains smut written by my lovely (horny) editor @kakyoweeniesdump there is plot near the end that will be important for the next chapter!

Gavin and I were among the stragglers at the reception, dancing and drinking late into the evening. Connor and Dad had left fairly early, after dinner but before cake. At one A.M. we decided to go, and settled on sharing a cab to Gavin’s, it was easier and we were both still tipsy from champagne and giddy from the romantic atmosphere. 

“My feet hurt so freaking much. Remind me never to wear heels again.” I groaned as I took off my shoes the second I slid into the back seat of the cab. “Thank god these are driverless, no more creepy men judging me for my inability to wear cute but uncomfortable shoes for an entire evening.” I laughed while resting my feet on the seat in front of me, pointing and flexing them to stretch out the dull ache. 

Gavin chuckled and unbuttoned a few more of his dress shirt buttons. He had refused to wear a tie, that had been expected but not unwelcome, as he had just left the top two buttons of his forest green button-up undone. At some point in the evening he had rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, and as I watched him mess with his shirt buttons I couldn’t help my gaze wandering to his biceps stretching the cotton fabric. In the months that we had been seeing each other, we still hadn’t progressed further than second base. We were both busy, one of us always had something going on early the next day or got urgent calls from Connor, Nines, or my Dad in the middle of a heavy makeout session, hell the cats had interrupted us at least four times now. 

I scooted closer to Gavin, pressing into his side, twisting so I could rest my chin on his shoulder and brought my hand to his still at his neck, playing with the collar of his shirt. He looked down at me with a quirked brow.

“What’s up?”

 I smiled mischievously up at him, dipping my hand into his collar and tugging him towards me. 

“I was just thinking how handsome you look tonight Gav.” I murmured, looking up at him through my lashes. “And how lucky it is that I have nowhere to be tomorrow, and what a shame it would be if I missed such a... lovely opportunity to be with you tonight.” 

His eyes darkened, and he chuckled before pushing me down on the bench seat, slotting himself in between my hips, one hand next to my head to support him while he hovered over me, grinning. 

“Is that a nice way of saying you want me to fuck you pipsqueak?” I smirked. “Great detective work Gav, the streets of Det-” He interrupted the stupid quip I was going to make with a searing kiss, and I laughed at his eagerness, which gave him plenty of room to propel his tongue into my mouth. 

I moaned into the kiss, loving the feeling of his tongue brushing the roof of my mouth and pushing against mine, and the warmth of his strong body over mine. I threw my arms around his shoulders, one hand stayed at his neck, pulling his head into mine, the other clawing at his deltoid. I went to throw my leg around his hip, but forgot about my floor-length dress and instead just kicked futilely at the air. Gavin broke the kiss turning his head to watch me struggle and laughed heartily.

“Stupid dress.” I huffed, moving a hand to hike the dress up to my thighs. 

“Better?” “Shut up and kiss me, asshole.” He wasted no time in doing just that, bringing one hand to hold the hip of my leg that was now wrapped around his hips. He moved to kiss the corner of my mouth, down my jawline, to the junction of my ear and my neck, biting there, then sucking away the hurt. I had already been so warm, drinking all evening and now trapped under Gavin I was feeling an entirely different kind of heat, the fuzzy intoxication of arousal. I let a moan slip as he left another hickey on the side of my neck, and I felt that stupid grin on my neck but couldn’t bother to do anything about it but squeeze my leg and further pull him close, my hands returned to their original positions, one raking through his hair the other fisting that ridiculously sexy shirt that he shouldn’t be wearing anymore. 

Gavin seemed to be thinking the same of my dress, he kept tugging at the neckline before finally grunting and sitting up, using the hand that was holding him up to pull me up to him, and started running his hands around the back looking for the zipper. 

“Gav!” I giggled, his hands tickling me in their search. “Gavin! We’re still in the car!” “What? You want to stop?” He asked, sounding slightly annoyed, his hands stilling on my back but not letting me go. 

“There might be cameras or something, I don’t want my titties on display for some creep to see!” I said, pulling his hands away. “That’s not even where the zipper is detective, formal gowns they’re always up the side.” I laughed and he huffed, dropping his head to my shoulder. 

“This cab ride better be over soon.” He grumbled, and went back to kissing up my neck, leaving little bites on my exposed shoulders, and slipped his hands out of my hold to run them over my thighs. 

I moaned, his hands trailing too high and feeling so warm, the light scratch of the tule on my skin. 

“You sure you wanna wait pipsqueak?” He asked, his breath tickling the exposed side of my neck. 

“Don’t be an asshole.” I tried to keep my tone even, but then he ghosted his hands higher, trailing the inside of my thighs and then up to grip my hips. I knew he was smirking, knew he was thinking I’d cave, that tease. Well, I could tease too. 

I pushed a few centimeters away from him, looking up at him through my lashes before leaning up to his neck, and placing an open-mouthed kiss to the spot just under his ear, as he had for me. I rested my hands on his pecs, pushing back into the seat. 

“I can wait, but if you’re too impatient…” I trailed off and looked down, a pointed gaze at his groin.

I heard his breath catch in his throat, and smirked, using my leverage on his chest to push off the seat, dragging my hands down his chest and hooking my fingers on his belt. I settled on my knees between his, pushing them further apart and resting my head on his thigh.

“(Y/n), fuck.” He cursed as I palmed the growing bulge in his pants. Now it was my turn to smirk, leaving one hand to massage him while I unbuckled his belt. I was pulling his zipper down when the cab stopped, the neutral voice of the AI alerting us we’d arrived at our destination. 

“Interrupted again.” I poured, but Gavin was quick to grab my hand and pull me up, and out of the taxi. 

“Not for long sweetheart, we’re only getting started.” He growled huskily, still tugging me towards the door. 

“Gavin my shoes! And your belt and your coat!” I laughed, trying to break free of his hold on my wrist. He grumbled something like “Be quick about it.” And I ran back to the taxi,  ducking in and grabbing our stuff, when I felt Gavin press up behind me, his bulge on my ass “C’mon (y/n).” 

I laughed, but it felt like I’d stuck my finger in an electric plug, the shockwave of giddiness that pulsed through my whole body. In retaliation, I ground my ass back into him as I got out of the car, loving it when his hands snaked in front of me and wrapped around my waist, holding me close to him. My breath caught in my throat when he nipped the spot just below my ear, and I melted into his chest behind me. 

“I get it, let’s go.” I said breathily. 

He didn’t let go the whole walk to his door, so we waddled more than anything, every brush of his groin against my butt made me more impatient, my mind addled with lust and the remainder of the alcohol I’d had at the wedding. He tried to unlock the door while still hugging me from behind and after the first fumble of the keys I huffed and snatched them, making quick work of the door. 

“Now who’s impatient?” He laughed, his breath tickling my neck. 

“Y’know I could easily get back in that cab and take care of myself at home.” I shot back, it was a lie of course, I had been waiting for what felt like forever to finally sleep with Gavin and I don’t think I could leave if I tried, my body too hot and hyperactive after not being touched by another person like this in so long. 

“Sure, sure.” He laughed, and I knew he was sure I wouldn’t be leaving. He pushed us forward, and as soon as we stepped through the door I dropped everything in my arms on the floor and spun around, meeting Gavin in a kiss so passionate it was almost violent. 

He kicked the door closed behind us, and kicked his shoes off as he kissed me, following me while I walked backward through his apartment, leading him back towards his bedroom, not really caring if I bumped into anything. I only hit my foot on an armchair and dinged my elbow into a wall, and he paused his assault on my tongue to ask if I was okay each time, and while it was endearing and I knew it would make my heart flutter later, in the moment I just nodded and pushed my tongue back down his throat. 

His bedroom door was open, so we walked until my knees hit the bed and I fell over backward, laughing and then emitting a small “Oof!” when he stumbled and then fell on top of me. He grumbled and pushed himself up off his bed, caging me underneath him and between his arms. “I remember being in a very... interesting position in the taxi before we got here, and I would love to explore that some more,” Gavin smirked, the dress shirt hanging on by like two buttons, giving me a wonderful view of his chiseled pectorals and abs. I loosed a breath, before grabbing the lapels of his shirt and pushing against his chest, knocking his balance off and flipping our positions. 

“I think I can make that happen.” I gave my best attempt at his signature wolfish grin, before leaving an openmouthed kiss on his neck, and sucking a mark there, right above where his collar would be. I trailed kisses down his chest and stomach from there, lavishing those glorious pecs with attention, to the point where he laughed and made some quip, that I ignored, totally encapsulated by his gorgeous body. 

I unbuttoned his shirt, finally, and left a few kisses on his abs, pulling at the shirt so he would sit up and pull it off, giving me full access to his torso. He even had that ‘v’ heading into his pants, Jesus. Thank god he never wears very tight clothes often, or I would be a drooling mess whenever he was around. 

I sunk to my knees between his legs finally, his pants still unbuttoned, though he was much more excited than he was in the taxi, his dick tenting the loose fabric. I grinned up at him, slowly unzipping his pants and laughing lowly when he stood and shucked his pants and boxers off in one go. 

I smirked, lust pooling in my stomach at the sight of his mostly hard cock, thick enough around for my fingers to just touch, with a nice curve that looked very promising. I sat up on my knees, wrapping a hand around the base before looking up at him through my lashes and chastely kissing the tip, well as chaste as a kiss to a penis can be. He shuddered at the contact, and I smiled, sticking my tongue out I licked up the underside of his cock, wrapping my lips around it when I got to the head and then sinking down slowly till my lips met my hand. It fit comfortably in my mouth with my hand, but I knew I’d gag if I tried to take it all, so I resigned myself to keep my hand there. “Fuck.” Gavin cursed, his voice rough and low from lust and from our long makeout session. 

I took that as an invitation to keep going, swirling the tip of my tongue on his tip before moving my head back up and sucking my cheeks in around his length. I set a steady rhythm and preened when he moved his hands from the edge of the bed to my head, petting for a moment before fisting one in my hair, guiding me off his dick. He cursed again, my lips were swollen from kissing and spit slick from sucking, and I figured he loved seeing me like that, especially when I felt his dick twitch in the hand still wrapped around him. 

“C’mere.” He said as he knelt down, grabbing the halter around my neck that had kept my dress in place. “I’ve been waiting to get you out of this dress all night doll.” He murmured in my ear, before pulling it over my head and letting the fabric pool around my legs, leaving me in the plain blush-colored strapless bra and thong I had worn to prevent underwear lines at the wedding. 

He didn’t say anything for a minute and I felt myself start to get self-conscious, because he was just looking at me, mostly naked for the first time. 

“You good?” I asked, coughing, and looking at the sidewall rather than his face. 

“Y’know I knew you were pretty, but you look so gorgeous right now I couldn’t think for a second.” 

It felt like my entire body had flushed bright red, my face at least was definitely cherry-esque. “I uh, I feel the same... y’know… you’re uh... god you’re ripped, you look like a fuckin bronze statue and I cannot get over it!” I spluttered, feeling like I’d flushed so bright I was now more reminiscent of a neon sign that reads ‘HELLO I’M VERY EMBARRASSED BUT ALSO SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW!’ and was so big you could read it from space. 

Gavin laughed and grabbed my hands pulling me up into his chest. “And you uh... you look like the old painting with the lady on the shell, with like eight feet of hair and the babies.” He tried, running his hands down my sides and smiling awkwardly. 

“The Birth of Venus? Careful Gav if you compare me to her you might invoke the anger of Aphrodite!” I laughed, smiling fondly at him. 

“Listen, I think I could take whatever she throws at me, besides I’m not saying she’s less pretty I’m saying you’re just as pretty.” He reasoned. 

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down for a chaste kiss, pulling apart after a moment and smiled. “Thanks, Gav.” His returning smile was bright, but his eyes hinted at mischief as he suddenly spun us around and tossed me on the bed. I screamed and laughed as I bounced, Gavin jumped on top of me and smirked, kissing me soundly. I relaxed into the mattress, and he relished that he finally had free reign over my neck and chest, sucking marks everywhere he could reach. When he finally got to the edge of my bra he looked up at me questioningly. 

“Please,” I asked, knowing Gavin found me as attractive as I found him had lit a new fire inside me, and I was feeling so desperate for his touch, I knew he’d be grinning in a moment when he got to my little thong and would find it almost soaked through. 

He unhooked that bra in a second, not even taking a second to look at my boobs, before he had his hands all over them, palming them, and lowering his head to suck a nipple into his mouth, I gasped, his tongue running around it stirring the fire inside me. He started pinching and rubbing the other, and I couldn’t help the little noises I let slip, which only egged him on. He switched, sucking my other nipple for a moment, before he moved lower, kissing down down down my belly, every kiss, making my muscles tense, my brain flood with lust. 

I was right, he did smirk at me when he saw my panties, but before I could say anything, he kissed my inner thigh, centimeters away from where I wanted his mouth. He kept teasing, switching from thigh to thigh, leaving my most important place untouched. 

“Gav, please!” I pouted, wriggling my hips near his face. 

“Since you used the magic word.” He smirked, before pushing aside the string of my thong and licking a stripe up my cunt. 

“Fuuuck!” I tried to keep my voice down, but I was so oversensitive from being so turned on for so long, for Gavin to finally touch me where I needed, it was like being drowned and then stranded in the desert, enough and not enough all at once. He kept going, circling my clit with his tongue before running it through my wet folds and pushing it inside my pussy, licking up my walls and making obscene slurping sounds. 

“Fuck baby,” He panted, finally lifting his head to take a breath. “You taste so good.” He dipped his head back down, another long broad lick, stopping at my clit. “Like champagne.” Gavin sucked my clit into his mouth and thrusted two fingers inside me simultaneously, and I screeched, squeezing my thighs around his head, crossing my ankles behind him and threading my fingers into his hair. 

“Oh my god, oh my god do not stop what you’re doing right now Gavin Reed I will-” I interrupted myself with a low moan, he stopped thrusting his fingers and curled them into my g-spot, rubbing circles into it and pulling on it all while tonguing my clit. 

My thighs squeezed tighter and my fingers pulled at his hair, like my body wanted him to be even closer to my soaked pussy. He added a third finger and I was done for, all three digits stretching out my cunt for his dick later, and all rubbing, pulling, and tapping on that spot. I came on his fingers, calling his name, my eyes screwed shut, muscles quivering in my legs and abdomen. 

I relaxed my legs, and let go of his hair, opening my eyes and blinking to try and see through the fog in my head, and expected Gavin to be smirking between my legs, but he wasn’t. He had moved to be sitting up on his knees, his dick in one hand, staring down at me with lust darkened eyes. 

“What are you waiting for, detective? I believe you promised to fuck me when we were in the cab?” I quipped, sitting up on my elbows. 

He gave me that wolfish grin that made my spine tingle, “I’m going to fuck you so hard you’ll be sore for your class on Tuesday pipsqueak.”

 He turned around and started rummaging through his bedside table drawer for a condom, and I chose the opportunity to wiggle out of my panties and throw them across the room. He turned back to me, opened the packet with his teeth and slid the condom down his cock, so hard it was curving up and hitting his abs. 

Gavin pushed me into the bed with one hand, with the other he lined his dick up, looking up at me for a final confirmation. My heart flooded with warmth, because right now when he could be completely dominating me, he still wanted to make sure I was okay. I smiled at him, curling up towards him slightly, and putting my hands on his shoulders. 

“Fuck me, Gav.” I whispered into his ears. 

He growled and pushed into me and I fell back on the bed, throwing my legs all the way out. He pushed in all the way, I could feel that toned ‘v’ of hardened muscle on my clit and I moaned, loving the feeling of being stuffed full. Gavin leaned down, and captured my lips in a searing kiss as he started to fuck me in slow shallow thrusts. I moaned into his mouth, his tongue not really fighting mine, now, just caressing it, as I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his hips, wanting him as close to me, as far inside of me as possible. I was seeing stars and we hadn’t even really started yet, it had really been to long since I’d had sex, good sex, and Gavin was prooving to be very, very skilled at this. 

I hummed into his mouth as he started to speed up his thrusting, still going deep inside me. He pushed off of me, holding me down with one hand to get better leverage, and I moaned, missing his mouth but loving the trade off. 

“Fuck baby, you feel so good.” He panted and I cooed, not even able to make words beyond “yes,” “fuck,” “Gav,” and “please!” It was everything I could do to fist my hands in the sheets and throw my legs wide again, my gaze flickering from his face to watching him fuck me. 

“Your pussy so tight and wet for me, feels so good, can’t believe we waited so long to do this, wanna make you feel good (Y/n).” 

“Fuck, fuck Gavin yesss, feels good, want you to feel good too!” I panted, grinding into his thrusts. 

We kept repeating the same phrases, his room filled with our moans and pants and the sound of skin hitting skin. Thank god we weren’t at my apartment, we’d have gotten a noise complaint for sure, or some angry banging on the floor from the apartment above me. 

Gavin was keeping true to his word, slamming his cock into me now, pushing me further down into the mattress, I could hardly breathe, so over stimulated, and then he brought his free hand to my clit and started rubbing hard fast circles while he thrusted and I couldn’t last a minute longer if I had tried, the first orgasm leaving me too vulnerable to another. I moaned his name as I came, feeling myself tense around him for the second time. 

“Fuuuck fuck fuck!” He groaned, dropping down on top of me, his head buried in my neck while he thrusted those last few long deep strokes as he came, filling the condom inside me. 

We laid there like that for a while panting and coming down from our highs, before he pulled out and rolled over, quickly removing and tying off the condom, getting up to throw it away. 

“Wanna shower pipsqueak?”

I sighed, knowing we probably should but now wanting to move. “Would it be too gross if I asked if we could shower in the morning?” He laughed from the corner of his room. “Did I go too hard babe?” He joked. 

I shot him a look, and he started laughing more. “I’ll take that as a yes.” “And I’ll take that as a I’ll beat your ass if you don’t come back here and cuddle me right now.” I shot, trying to sound angry but just coming off whiney. 

“Oh no! A beating from the pipsqueak professor? What will the guys at the station think?” He joked as he slid back into bed, tossing a t-shirt and pair of boxers at me.

“Well Hank, Connor, Tina, and Nines wouldn’t be too surprised. In fact I think they’d be proud that I finally roughed you up a little.” I laughed, slipping the soft oversized shirt on. 

“Wait a minute, I thought I just roughed you up? I think all those bruises are gonna paint a different picture.” He smirked at me, wrapping an arm around my stomach and pulling me into his side. 

“Hm, they’ll just think we had an epic battle, and you got a few lucky shots in.” I mumbled, cuddling into him and relishing the warmth of him around me. 

Gavin hummed, and pressed a kiss to my neck. 

“Go to sleep pipsqueak, I gotta be up early in the morning how about you?”

I flipped over as soon as the words left his mouth, cringing at the pain in my hips and back, that was gonna feel even worse in the morning. “You have to be up early? Gav! We could’ve waited and done this some other time I’m sorry!”

He shot that wolfish grin at me, and even though we had just finished I felt that little spark in my belly. I had to resist the urge to kick him in the shin to make him stop. “Baby we waited long enough, too long even. I don’t sleep well anyway, it's fine.”

I sighed, and ran a hand down his shoulder. “What time?” 

He smirked. “I’m meeting Nines at the precinct at eight.” 

I sighed again, pulling him closer to me and nuzzling my face into the junction of his neck and collarbones. “Gross.” I mumbled into his skin. 

“It’s fine, you can sleep here as long as you want, ok?” He assuaged, kissing the crown of my head. 

I mumbled something incoherent, too wrapped up in his warmth, his scent, and the feeling of his arms around me, and way too tired to make actual words come out of my mouth. 

“Night pipsqueak.” He murmured into my head

I hummed, nuzzling a little further into him. “G’night Gav.”

“Ughhh.” I wake up to hear Gavin groaning and moving slightly to grab his phone which is blaring. I shut my eyes again.

“What time is it?” I mumbled, Gavin didn’t respond. I slowly sat up and looked at him. He had his phone to his ear. I glanced at his alarm clock, it was 3 am. I started to lay back down, figuring it was work, but Gavin grabbed my arm as he hung up the phone. 

“Is your phone off?” He whispered. 

“Yeah, I always turn it off at night, it’s better for the battery.” Gavin looked at me, his phone was still lit and the only light between us. He looked guilty. 

“Connor just called me. He said he’s been trying to call you for the last hour.” I rubbed my eyes, trying to wake myself up a little more. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Your dad, he had a heart attack. He’s in the hospital.” He whispered.

[elisaphoenix13]

Blundering Fools

As Tony watched Scott snore quietly on the couch, he wondered why he hadn't bothered to revert the common room a few floors below into something else. The team never used it. They always hung out on the family floor, so the common room was just collecting dust at this point. Maybe he could make it into some extra living space? The tower was filling up, and Tony already had to stick Quill with Scott when the space pirate arrived just a few months ago. To his luck, the two got along fantastically and Quill probably wouldn't need his own floor. Scott had an extra room anyway.

The space pirate himself steps off the elevator when it arrives and he strides over to Scott and drops a bag of fast food onto the sleeping man's stomach. Scott jolts out of his nap at the sudden disturbance, and he rubs the sleep from his eyes as Quill moves his feet just enough to sit down. Tony watches in surprise when Scott puts his socked feet in Quill's lap and fishes his French fries out of the bag as the other man changes the channel on the tv. It was like they had skipped dating and went straight to being married, but they didn't even know they were in a relationship. Which they weren't, but they might as well be.

Stephen steps up next to Tony and watches the duo on the couch for a few moments before glancing over at his husband. "Are they dating?" He asks quietly so Quill and Scott don't hear him.

"Uh...no. I think they skipped straight to marriage." Tony half jokes.

The sorcerer chuckles. "If I didn't know any better, I might have believed you." He walks over to the stove to start heating up some water.

"I almost can't believe they're this oblivious. Even Cap noticed."

"Ignorance is bliss I suppose."

Stephen makes his tea and both he and Tony join the other two in the living room, Stephen with a crossword puzzle, and Tony with his tablet. His attention was split in between it and the tv though. Neither Scott nor Quill moved when the married couple joined them, but Scott did eventually sit up with only a couple inches separating him from Quill when he discovered eating a hamburger while laying down was a little hard. It was Quill's next move that almost had Tony and Stephen groaning in frustration though. He picked up one of the sodas and took a sip from the straw and immediately furrowed his brows before holding it over to the ex-criminal.

"Hey Scotty. I think I grabbed yours by mistake."

What Scott did next wasn't much better. He had taken the offered soda and also took a sip from the straw.

"Mmm...yeah. This is mine. Here." He grabs the other cup off the coffee table and hands it to Quill. It took a couple of seconds for him to notice that Tony and Stephen were staring at them in bewilderment. "What?"

Tony clears his throat. "Just surprised to see you drinking something other than juice." He lies easily.

Scott snorts. "I do like variety here and there."

"Could have fooled me."

All but Stephen return their attention to the show playing on the television, and the sorcerer takes a sip of his tea as he fills in an answer.

"I think he's gay." Quill says as he motions to the show.

"No. Not him. He's got a wife and kids." Scott replies.

"Really? Man. I'm usually pretty good at noticing things like that."

Stephen chokes on his tea and Tony bursts into laughter. These two had to be yanking their chain. Maybe they were secretly dating and were trying to see how long they could have fun with it, but when Stephen recovered and looked over at the pair, he was met with an incredulous look. So they were serious. Their entire relationship was painful to watch but at the same time, everyone found it hilarious. The rest of the team made bets on how long it would take them to figure it out, but it still looked like it would be a while yet. If ever.

"It uh...went down the wrong pipe." Stephen explains lamely and the other two shrug and go back to watching tv. Completely ignoring Tony who was only now calming down from his fit of giggles.

Like all moments of peace though, it had to end. Alarms blared through the tower, and all four men snap their heads up or to attention from their activities.

"Another alien attack Boss." FRIDAY tells him through the speakers.

Tony groans. "Seriously? Do they not know we killed Thanos? You would think that would scare everything away forever."

"Spiderman is already on the scene."

"What?!" Both Stephen and Tony shout. "He should be at school right now!" The sorcerer adds as he stands and Levi settles on his shoulders.

"Yell at him when we get there." Tony says as he stands and activates his suit. "Porcupine and Thumbelina, suit up. FRIDAY let the others know and have them meet us."

"Right away." She responds.

Tony and Stephen step through a portal that the doctor opens and it closes behind them just as Tony steps in front of Stephen. His suit forms a shield on his arm and blocks the laser pulse aiming for the sorcerer and he shoots the alien with his own repulsor beam before looking back at his lover.

"Honey, do me a favor and wear your suit."

"I always do." Stephen responds fondly as he taps his bracelet and his suit covers him.

A small group of aliens approach them, and just as the pair ready their attacks, a car comes flying out of the sky and it crushes the aliens beneath it. They look up to find the one responsible for throwing the vehicle and find Peter in his suit, crouching on top of a streetlamp. The teen perks up when Stephen sighs heavily over the comm, but then flinches at the sorcerer's next words.

"Peter Benjamin Stark-Strange!"

"What did I do?!"

"Why aren't you in class?"

"Oh! The school was evacuated so I'm not missing anything." He webs a few more approaching aliens against a nearby building. "I got separated from Harley though."

Tony flies off to help set up a perimeter and Stephen and Peter deal with the aliens as the rest of the team arrive to help. Quill was the first to arrive, and he had taken out one of the enemies trying to sneak up on Stephen, and to the doctor's very brief confusion, the space pirate seemingly flicked his own shoulder. Then he realized he was flicking Scott toward an enemy. The ex-con grew to normal size to punch an unsuspecting alien, and the battle continued with more of the Avengers joining them. All but Bruce that is. They tried to keep him ready for possible injured friends that Stephen would portal to him, and if they were too injured to move, the sorcerer would stabilize them first before sending them to Bruce.

But then a large flying creature, much like the ones from the Chitauri invasion and the battle with Thanos, showed up and Stephen could hear Tony's breath hitch over the comm. Nobody liked those things and this monster wasn't any better. There was only one person who could deal with that thing.

"Stuart Little. You seeing what I'm seeing?" The engineer asks as he has FRIDAY scan for possible weak points, but she gave him a negative.

Scott kicks away an alien and backs up until his back is flush with Quill's and looks up. "Man, can we have one battle where I don't have to personally hulk out?"

"Apparently not. You're up Thumbelina...and keep it in the Hudson!"

Quill looks over his shoulder after shooting a couple of aliens. "He wants you to deal with that thing? Am I missing something?"

"Make room Spaceman."

"Room for what?!"

Scott rolls his eyes and presses a button on his suit and Quill stumbles back when the ex-criminal grows to over sixty feet and punches the flying creature into the Hudson River before following it. The pirate recovers from his shock just in time to duck a blast to his head and he takes out the creatures swarming him as he keeps one eye on his floormate. Scott was wrestling with the large flying alien until it thrashed around and sent them both under the water with a large splash. Long seconds pass and when the water partially settles, Steve speaks over comm.

"He's not coming back up!"

"Growing like that puts stress on his body! That combined with the limited air supply his helmet has-" Stephen starts, but he stops when Quill flies out from the aliens surrounding him, barely glancing back to throw a grenade in the center of the circle.

It explodes and kills all of the aliens as he flies toward the river, and the outlaw doesn't hesitate to activate his helmet before diving into the water. Using his jet boots he swims down to the obvious giant figure of Scott and presses the button he knew would shrink the man back to normal size. Once Scott is at a movable size again, Quill grabs the unconscious man and swims back up to the surface, where he pulls Scott back onto land.

He kneels next to Scott and presses another button to remove his helmet and gently smacks his cheek. "Come on Scotty. It'll be really lame to be the only member of the Pining Club."

Antman coughs and turns on his side to spit out the water and then groans tiredly. "The Pining Club is lame no matter how many members are in it."

Quill grins. "Try not to remind me." The grin slowly falls away and his hands hover over Scott's body as he looks for injuries. "Are you hurt?"

"Don't think so." Scott mumbles tiredly. "Gonna rest my eyes for a couple of seconds."

Then he was asleep. Actually, it was more like he passed out, but now Quill had to protect him from some aliens that noticed the two stragglers. He didn't have much room to maneuver because he wouldn't step too far away from Scott's prone form, so instead he planted a foot on either side of his floormate and shot the aliens. At least in this position, they couldn't get to Scott as easily.

"Guys! Scotty is down and I've got a few of these assholes coming after us!" Quill informs the team.

An arrow pierces through the head of an alien behind the space outlaw. "I've got your six Quill."

Quill shoots a few more aliens and then grabs a loose piece of rebar nearby when an alien throws a grenade at him. He hits the grenade back toward the alien and blows it up as well as its allies and Clint laughs.

"Damn Quill! You gave a whole new meaning to a grand slam!"

"These chucklefucks have no idea who they're messing with." Starlord growls.

"An angry lover?" The archer says and Quill looks up in Clint's direction on a nearby building.

"What?"

"What?" Barton repeats innocently.

The battle ends after another half hour when Thor summons lightning to kill off the remaining aliens, and Quill bends down from his position over Scott to check the still unconscious man for wounds again. Stephen soon joins him and checks Scott's pulse before turning to open a portal to Scott's floor at the tower.

"He needs rest. Clint, come help-"

"It's okay." Quill interrupts. "I got him." He moves to one side of Scott and lifts the man into his arms before walking through the portal with Stephen.

The doctor moves ahead of him to open the door to Scott's room and when Quill steps in and manages to lay the ex-criminal on his bed, Stephen motions toward the sleeping man.

"Help me get his suit off."

Quill's eyes widen. "Wait, what?"

"He wears it over his clothes." Stephen assures as he starts to remove Scott's suit, and Quill helps him.

"Damn, he's dead to the world."

"That's what happens if he stays in his giant form too long."

"I didn't know he can do that."

Stephen raises an eyebrow when he looks up at him. "He did it in the battle against Thanos."

"Guess I missed it."

They pull back the covers, properly place them over Scott, and then leave the room to go up to the family floor after some reassurance from Stephen that his floormate will be okay by himself. Once they reach the penthouse, Stephen rushes forward when they find Harley sitting at the kitchen table and holding an ice pack to his temple. While the sorcerer fussed over the small cuts littered over the teen's body, Quill returned to his previously vacated spot on the couch and Tony and Peter were some of the first to get back.

"Harley! I'm so sorry! I couldn't find you-" Peter rambles and the older teen waves his hand at the younger.

"It's fine. Don't freak out."

Tony disengages his suit and joins Stephen. "What happened?"

"Just got hit with some shrapnel. It's not that big of a deal." Harley says with a heavy sigh. "Stephen already took care of it."

The doctor nods. "He's alright Tony. Just some scratches."

The engineer grumbles and rubs his eyes tiredly. "Getting real sick of alien invasions."

Quill laughs half-heartedly from the living room. "Sounds like a regular Wednesday afternoon."

It seemed to be true, too. Hardly anyone blinked at the mention of an alien invasion or Hydra crawling out of the cracks like roaches. They just dealt with it and came back home for a well deserved dinner, or even lunch if they took care of the crisis fast enough. Which was exactly what happened as soon as Bucky made it back. They all had an after battle routine. Check to make sure any injured were alright, then head up to the penthouse for food, rest, and sometimes even a movie to wind down and lick their wounds.

With Wanda's help, Bucky made dinner for everyone and they all ate throughout the floor, and even Scott had managed to join them. Of course, he was still exhausted and it took him a little effort to stay awake, but he got his food and subconsciously sat next to Quill and ate. There were a couple of times Scott almost passed out into his food, but both Quill and Natasha kept him awake long enough to finish his dinner. After that, the space pirate had to help the ex-criminal back down to their floor since he was stumbling, and when the elevator doors closed behind them, Clint groaned. Loudly.

"Can we intervene yet?"

Sam scowls. "No way. I've got money sitting on another month."

"You didn't see Quill standing possessively over Scott."

"Really?" Natasha asks with a bit of surprise. "Maybe he'll figure it out first."

"You know...even though he has a Master's degree in electrical engineering, Scott can be really dumb." Peter says and Cassie nods beside him.

"I kind of have to agree...and I live on the floor with them."

Harley takes the biscuit out of Peter's hand when the younger teen picks it up. "Brain smart and street smart are different things."

Sam snorts. "This is a whole different type of smart and Tic-tac is on the stupid end of the scale."

"They both are." Rhodey adds in agreement.

Tony laughs. "One more month. Then we can talk about a subtle intervention."

"Subtle will take forever, love." Stephen chuckles.

"Very true. We'll just throw them in a closet and be done with it."

"That just takes the fun out of it." Harley mutters.

The time was agreed on though. One more month of watching Quill and Scott unknowingly flirt with each other, and then they would talk about what to do next if the morons didn't connect the dots.

The Avengers were turning into matchmakers.

[wardensabrae]

Prompt(s): 'Under the Rain’. Pairing: Solavellan Rating: SFW (Mild suggestive dialogue.)

Rewrite of this old piece~ Also I’d definitely forgotten how much I loved writing this pairing, even though I actually posted so little of it.

-----

“Well, this is rather unfortunate,” Solas remarks, standing in the vast doorway of Skyhold’s Main Hall alongside Inquisitor Lavellan to watch the heavy rainfall that was currently coming down, and he looks away from the dark skies above and down into the courtyard below, where he can see a number of people still scrambling to get out of the sudden downpour.

Most of them are hurriedly making their way towards the Herald’s Rest, hastily packing up from their various activities as they go, and it’s clear that he wasn’t the only one surprised by how quickly this storm had just rolled in. “An unexpected turn of events for everyone, it would seem.”

“Why did it have to rain tonight?” Lavellan groans in frustration as she glares up at the rain clouds and Solas can’t help but smile a little at the way her nose scrunched up whenever she pouted like this. It was always a comical and rather adorable expression to see on someone with her distinct rank and power, though Solas always refrains himself from vocally saying so.

Especially now, as he can tell by her tone that she’s genuinely upset by the unexpected arrival of the thunderstorm, and he’ll admit that he’d really been looking forward to spending some alone time with her this evening outside of the castle walls.

“I wanted to show you the ‘Fen’Harel’s Tracks’ constellation from that book Loranil lent me,” Lavellan continues before letting out a discontent sigh. “It won’t be visible for another six months now!”

“It seems that we’ll just have to content ourselves with staying indoors this evening,” Solas replies gently, unwilling to tell her that he’d seen that specific constellations more times than he cared to remember, and he wasn’t very eager to see it again. He wouldn’t have minded in exchange for spending the night stargazing with his love but that didn’t matter now either, since the weather apparently had its own plans.

A deeper, darker part of him also holds back the fact that he himself had been the one to coin the name for those particular stars in his youth. So arrogant he’d been.. But he doesn’t want to dwell on those thoughts right now, and instead, Solas just slips his arm around Lavellan’s waist, smiling when she turns to lean her head against his chest with another soft huff. “Are you so disappointed, vhenan?”

“Yes,” Lavellan mumbles crossly, and Solas chuckles as he leans down to press a soft kiss to the top of her head, and the furrow in her brow lessens at the gentle brush of his lips against her hair. He lets the kiss linger for a moment, enjoying the warmth of her smaller body pressed so close to his, and he breathes in her familiar, comforting scent before finally drawing his head back.

The rain, despite having ruined their evening plans, is still a pleasant enough sound to listen to as it patters down against the castle grounds around them, and after a few long moments Lavellan has relaxed back against him completely. Solas smiles to himself once more; his heart was never one to hold onto her anger for too long, at least not over something so minor.

“You know, Solas,” Lavellan finally speaks up at length, and Solas raises a brow when she straightens up to grin up at him. Oh, he knew that look.. “Everyone’s cleared out of the yards now. We could always strip down and go dancing in the rain again.”

“Of all the potential ways for us to pass our free time together, vhenan, that is the one you suggest?” Solas asks her, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice, and Lavellan just shrugs her shoulders at him, still grinning that cheeky grin of hers.

“What? It’s not like we haven’t done it before,” she reminds him, and though Solas manages to keep his expression neutral he wonders if the soft blush darkening the tips of his ears is as obvious to her as it feels to him. But this game was best played by two, and Solas smirks as he tucks his index finger under Lavellan’s chin, gently tilting her head back a little as his gaze burns into her own.

“Yes, and as I recall the two of us were then caught in a rather compromising position, thanks to the poorly-timed arrival of our companions,” Solas says, feeling a small rush of satisfaction from the sight of her pretty face flushing from the more vivid reminder of the evening. “I had to endure the sight of Dorian leering down at me over the railings for a week afterwards.”

“True, but I was stuck out in the Hissing Wastes with Sera and the Iron Bull for that week! Believe me, after listening to all their running commentary I would’ve loved to get nothing but a few leers.” Lavellan replies before she reaches up to wrap her arms around his neck, and Solas leans forward obligingly to accommodate the difference in their heights. “Still, seeing the way you blushed and stammered when we got caught was definitely worth it..”

“I did no such thing,” Solas protests, though they probably both know that he’s lying about that, especially since he can feel that warmth in his ears starting to spread across his face and along the back of his neck, and it only gets hotter at the sound of Lavellan’s laughter.

He frowns down at her, pretending to be cross, and it has the desired effect when Lavellan immediately leans forward to press a soft kiss to his lips as if in apology. It’s clear that she doesn’t really fall for his ploy at all but he still leans into the kiss, and as he starts to lose himself in it he’s tempted to take it further. 

The youthful, vigorous side of him that she so effortlessly brings to the surface just wants to press her back against the closest wall he can find before fully claiming her and her mouth for his own, but he reigns himself in for the moment because this is a soft, playful moment and he wants to keep it as such despite the growing longing to do the exact opposite.

Still, she looks rather dazed when they finally break away from the kiss, and he can’t help but feel a little cocky then. Nice to know he still had it.

“Fine.. No naked dancing under the rain then,” Lavellan says with a nod as if they’d still been debating the option, and she draws back from his embrace to take both of his hands in hers. He smiles as she gently tugs him forward, no doubt to lead him through the Main Hall and towards the door that would take them up to her quarters. “But maybe a trip together into the Fade would be more to your liking anyway?”

“Perhaps it would,” Solas agrees as he follows after her, glad to see that the Main Hall was mostly empty, aside from a few dining stragglers and Varric, who actually looks up from his writing long enough to wink at them as they pass by, and Solas only humors the dwarf with a quiet huff before he returns his attention back to Lavellan. The eager, youthful shine in her eyes as she holds his gaze fills him with such warmth, and his hands are quick to find her hips as soon as the door to the Inquisitor’s wing shuts behind them. “But it may be a long night, and we could find other ways to pass the time in this world first, ma vhenan..”

-----

[samwinlover-blog]

Penny For a Cup- Part 8

Masterlist Here! Part One Here Part Two Here Part Three Here Part Four Here Part Five Here Part Six Here Part Seven Here

Pairing: Sam x Reader Characters: Sam, Reader, Alisha, mention of reader’s brother Noah Warnings: fluff, light swearing, businessman!Sam, barista!reader, coffee shop AU, a little angst Summary: The reader owns a little coffee shop in New York city called, The Manhattan Mocha, and Sam Winchester is a frequent costumer of hers. She’s always had a slight crush on the sharp business man who comes in for coffee everyday, and has even memorized his order: black coffee, double shot of expresso- intriguing and mysterious just as he is. A/N: Sorry this took so long! I’m writing a bunch so more parts of some of my other series will be up as well:) Thanks for sticking by me, guys<3  Tag List: @amanda-teaches @myplaceofthingsilove @evyiione@mogaruke@aliensdeservebetter @spnfanficpond @27bmm@craving-cas @spectaculicious @bambinovak@writingthingsisdifficult @padackles2010@mamaredd123@milkymilky-cocopuff @iwantthedean @zeppo-in-a-trenchcoat@spntrista @d-s-winchester @just-another-busy-fangirl@winchesterprincessbride @waywardjoy@supernaturalyobsessed@whywhydoyouwantmetosaymyname@sandlee44@fangirl1802@kittenofdoomage@evyiione@winchestersmut@purgatoan@mogaruke@therewillbeblood@megansescape@taste-of-dean@leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid @scarlet-soldier-in-an-impala@deathtonormalcy56@wildfirewinchester@notnaturalanahi@jensen-jarpad@impalaimagining@fangirlextraordinaire@itseverythingilike@jesspfly@lovekittykat21@mysteriouslyme81@mrswhozeewhatsis@aiaranradnay@supernatural-jackles@girl-next-door-writes@spnsasha@27bmm@spnfanficpond @amanda-teaches@myplaceofthingsilove@spectaculicious@bambinovak@writingthingsisdifficult@spn-imagines-to-feel@spn-ficfanatic@cleverdame@saxxxology@jensen-jarpad@keepcalmandcarryondean dancingpanda137

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The rest of your date with Sam was spent bouncing from ride to ride and in a constant state of laughter. The day wound to a close when the two of you rode the ferris wheel. Sitting crammed together in the tiny cart, you and him went around and around until you stopped at the very top, and the view was breathtaking. 

From where you were positioned, you could see the entire fair and a lot of the park beyond as well. Being as it was later in the day, there were fewer dots of people decorating the ground, but what really caught your eye was the skyline. Being as you’d grown up in a small, rural town, New York City’s skyline never ceased to amaze you, but something about that specific view was special.

The sun had started to set just as the two of you reached the top, and rays of purple, orange and pink painted the fair below and the buildings in the distance as well. A few seconds after you’d gotten to the highest point, he’d kissed you. It wasn’t unexpected, and it didn’t take you by surprise, but something was different about it. You couldn’t put your finger on what it was until the two of you pulled apart, and you realized it was like the first time all over again.

The next day at work Alisha had all but interrogated you for details of the date, being as you’d gotten home so late that you’d gone straight to sleep despite her pestering. She’d hit you on the shoulder and demanded specifics; so, just before the early morning rush, you’d told her everything. 

From the two of you arriving, to his irrational fear of clowns, you’d spilled your guts as Alisha sat there in awe- completely stunned at how well it went. When you were finished, she hopped off the counter with her brow raised, “Damn, (Y/N) that sounds incredible. I mean sure he’s super cute, but I didn’t know he was like, I don’t know, perfect.” 

“Hah, yeah ‘perfect’ sure,” You rolled your eyes and started cleaning the coffee pots. But even though you wouldn’t admit it aloud, for fear of Alisha tackling you to the ground in excitement, you did think Sam was pretty perfect. 

A few minutes later, the clock struck 7:30 and the morning rush began, which was somehow more hectic than usual. You thought people would have wanted to sleep in on a Saturday morning, as you definitely had, but apparently not. The regulars bustled in one after another to order their usual coffees and breakfast items to go, only a few of them staying to eat in the store. 

About a half hour later you were wiped, and so was Alisha. You had no idea what she had been doing all day yesterday to make her so tired, and possibly hungover, but she looked exhausted. Yet apparently exhaustion alone wasn’t enough to stop her from teasing you about Sam, “You excited to see lover boy in 10 minutes?!” 

“Ha. Ha,” You rolled your eyes and tried to think of something witty to say back. But just as you thought of something, a ding from your phone on the nearby countertop halted all conversation. You walked over and picked it up, expecting it to be a text from either Erin or Mia, but were surprised when you saw Sam’s name popup instead. 

Hey, so I’m running super late to work so I can’t make it to The Manhattan today, but I want to see you! So maybe we could hangout later today? I get off work around 3, so wanna get lunch? I can already tell today’s gonna be hectic, can’t wait to tell you all about it;)<3 

“Is that from Saaaaam?” Alisha startled you from behind, causing you to flinch so bad that the phone nearly dropped to the floor, “Jeez, Alish you scared me!” 

But she just laughed and continued peering over your shoulder, “So it definitely is from Sam. What’s he saying- anything dirty??”

“Alisha! It’s like 8 in the morning, oh my god.” You scolded, shaking your head at how crazy she was sometimes, “He just said that he can’t make it this morning, but he wants to get lunch around 3?” 

“That sounds fun, you should totally do it- we’re off by then anyways.” She shrugged and started cleaning the coffee makers, getting ready for the few stragglers that always showed up right after the early morning rush. 

The next few hours went just as any day at The Manhattan would, and pretty much flew by without any hitches. You and Alisha did well on your shift and you found yourself once again surprised at how popular your shop was growing. New customers seemed to become regulars everyday, and all those new faces sure did love spending their money on the coffee and breakfast items you made. 

Honestly, the shop was doing so well, you knew you’d made the right decision in dropping out of Cornell. You saw the way Erin and Mia nearly killed themselves to do well on their exams, and you knew that if you’d stayed in school that would have been you. Going on wild carnival dates and dancing with Alisha until 1am was much more colorful, and you were pretty sure Alisha thought the same way. 

But when you thought of your own life and the various twists it had taken, you couldn’t help but think of your brothers. What would Noah had done with his time on earth if he’d had more of it? Would he have become a doctor like your parents wanted? Or would he have made an insane, life altering decision such as you had and gone to art school instead? 

The anniversary of his death was coming up in a few days, and you knew it was going to be hell. Over time, most of your wounds had healed, but October 20th had a terrible habit of reopening almost every single one. 

Alisha, Mia and Erin knew all about it, in fact they always tried to distract you from what the day truly meant. But it never worked, and try as they might to cheer you up, on October 20th you were, without fail, completely distraught.  

Speaking of which, just as your last customers shuffled out and the shop quieted, Alisha walked over to your side of the counter and said,“Hey, so you know what Monday is?” 

“Yeah, how could I forget.” You gave her a quick smile before finishing assorting the breakfast muffins on display, “Happens every year, I don’t know why I can’t just get over it.” 

“Because you’re not supposed to just ‘get over it’, (Y/N). Noah’s a part of who you are, like it or not, and you know we’re all here, right?” She made her voice soft and read you like a book, walking over to grab your hand and squeeze once. 

You stopped what you were doing and turned to her, “Yeah, I know, I know. I seriously love you guys, by the way.”

“We love you too, but chin up- we have a whole day planned and it’s going to be amazin-” But before she could continue, she was interrupted by an almost obnoxiously loud ding from your phone. You looked from her to your phone on the marble countertop and gave her a look, to which she just nodded her head and said, “Yes, yes okay go check and see if Sam texted you.” 

But when you clicked your messages open to see what he had to say, it wasn’t the usual joke or complaint about work you were expecting: 

Hey, (Y/N), okay I’m so sorry I know this really sucks- but I don’t think I can make it to lunch today. We just got this new case in and it’s just impossible, all hands are on deck and I just really need to figure this one out. I was really looking forward to seeing you though:( Sorry, I know I’m a terrible boyfriend </3

Your face fell instantly when your read the text, “He cancelled on lunch.” 

“Why?” Alisha called from the back of the store, where she had gone to retrieve a few extra coffee filters. 

“He says work’s got him swamped,” You shrugged and shoved your phone into your back pocket, “I’m just gonna reschedule.”

“What does he do for work?” She called again, sounding farther away this time. 

You shrugged again and started walking to the back room to meet her, “Lawyer, I think.” 

“(Y/N)!" She came bounding out from behind a few shelves, looking like she’d just discovered the answer to all your problems, “You do realize you were the top of our class at Cornell Law, right??” 

“Well, yeah, but this isn’t just textbook stuff, Alish.” You let out a laugh and shook your head, there was no way you would be of any help, “He’s an actual lawyer, and I kind of dropped out of law school halfway through, remember?” 

But Alisha didn’t seem convinced, “Oh come on, we both know you were taking Junior classes as a freshman, and could easily pass the bar right now if you wanted,” 

You sighed, she actually might have been right, “I’m just going to tell him to bring the work here, Lish I haven’t even told him I went to law school.” 

“Well, that’s a start!” She chirped up and bounded back into the store, fresh filters in hand, “And don’t worry, if I figure out the case before you do, I’ll be sure to let you take all the credit!” 

“Hilarious.” You rolled your eyes and drafted your text back: Hey, that’s totally fine- we can do lunch another time! But I really want to see you too, ever consider taking some work to The Manhattan:) I promise free coffee and a table by the window! 

Within moments of sending, you got a response:  Yes definitely! But are you sure I won’t bore you? Criminal law isn’t exactly riveting ;) I can be there in an hour if that works! 

Another few seconds and you’d sent your reply, assuring him that you wouldn’t be bored and that you couldn’t wait to see him.