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stardusthuntress · 2 years ago

Text

What Does Beauty Look Like?

Sergeant Hunter x female!reader (if you want a gender neutral version, just say something and I’ll make a second version of this or any of my pieces!)

Word Count: ~3.5K

TW: jealousy, body dysmorphia (reader’s feelings), so kinda angsty; no use of y/n; maybe a touch of exhibitionism, if ya squint; sorta getting smutty again, so 18+ only! I think that's it, but lemme know if I missed anything (not beta'd)!

Summary: Hunter’s love is struggling to feel pretty, so he takes it upon himself to make sure she knows how attractive she is to him. His brothers make a point to do the same (Hunter and reader are clearly a thing, but if you wanna read this as though it's poly you can do that too, I tried to leave it a little open-ended so that that would be up to you as the reader! If you have a problem with that then, move along, move along)

EDIT: I FORGOT TO INCLUDE THE DRIODS GUYS!!! They're a part of this family too! I fixed it! AZI and Gonky are now in the story! And I had forgotten to translate all the Mando'a terms, sorry! dictionary is at the top, but below the cut now! And fixed a few typos I spotted along the way too.

A/N: You guys! I just cranked out another fic! Idk why I can only really do them in one sitting lately, but hey, it's not a bad rhythm! And I tend to write the stuff I need to read, so I hope this resonates with others out there too! And I NEEDED to get started on Hunter-focused fics, so here's my first one for you guys!

Fun fact: the dumb question Tech gets asked is a legitimate question I was asked by an adult while in college. You know what they say, never piss off a writer or they will immortalize your idiocy for all eternity 🤪 everyone has bad moments and I still hope that question was just someone forgetting to think it through before opening their mouth, but every now and again it still haunts me that it was not a child that asked me that question. So now it can haunt you too! Hehe!

Mando'a: Ad'ika = little one (a name for one's children; literally ad = "son/daughter" mando'a is gender neutral, and "ika" = little) Mesh'la = Beautiful Sarad = flower

Hunter-specific dividers by @djarrex

For several months now, the Bad Batch has been more than a band of nearly-identical brothers and their little sister. Ever since the day Hunter fell in love and found the courage to ask the woman he fell for if she would join them on their adventures, with his family’s blessing of course, it went from 6 to 7.

One night, they find themselves eating dinner in a tavern while several very attractive people make every effort to catch the eyes of the men.

Hunter has no interest in the new people, even though they are clearly interested in him. He only has eyes for one woman, his lover. He and Omega head back to the ship, having barely even met the new strangers the rest of his men are so interested in before noticing Omega was getting tired. He brought her back to the ship, alone, and now tracks their comms from the ship to make sure the others are all safe. As he watches, one of the dots on his screen departs the group and heads for a lake not far away. It’s hers, his lover��s.

He checks on Omega one last time, nodding to AZI, before heading out and closing up the ship behind him. Tech will be along soon to keep an eye on her. Not that Tech isn’t interested in a partner, but Hunter knows Tech isn’t usually the type for one night stands. Which is rather handy for Hunter in situations like this, when he needs one more adult to keep an eye on the kid (AZI was helpful, but not trained for defense if need be) when he wants to spend a little alone time with his partner.

He catches up with her and can tell by her body language that she needs him. She’s sitting on a rock, hugging her knees, chin tucked on top, eyes closed. As he watches, she shifts, sighing, clearly trying to hold it in, looking up at the sky above her. Pain sits in her eyes, but he knows this is not physical pain, but internal pain.

He sits down behind her, one knee on either side of her, and wraps his body around her, pulling her into his chest. But where she would normally smile and lean back into him, she barely reacts at all.

“My strong, brilliant, gorgeous woman” he whispers in her ear. She turns her head a fraction, acknowledging his presence and words. He knows how to get her attention when she’s down. He also knows of her body dysmorphia. The whole team does. She only told Hunter, but Crosshair and Echo figured it out pretty quick, confirmed the symptoms and her body language with Tech, and asked Hunter about it. She doesn’t know they know about it though. He made them promise never to say anything about it, he knows she didn’t even want him to figure it out, but he wasn’t about the let the woman he loves suffer through it alone.

“Talk to me, Love,” he whispers in her ear “what’s up?”

She sighs. She couldn’t hide anything from Hunter even if she tried. “They say it’s not about whether or not a woman is pretty. But as soon as someone who IS pretty shows up, it’s like they forget I even exist, and all the things they said to me about it just evaporate into thin air.”

“I think they just want what we have,” Hunter counters.

“Still doesn't change the fact that I’m NOT one of the lucky ones who gets to be pretty. You deserve someone who at least matches you, Hunter. Couldn’t you feel the glances at us, the way those women clearly could tell you deserve more than what I can give you?”

“They are shallow and just looking for a quick lay, you know I’m not that kind of guy.”

“Pretty sure any of them would have agreed to date you without hesitation, Hunter”

“Doesn’t mean they have what I need in a partner” he nuzzles into her shoulder “You know what I like. I like a woman who’s good with kids, who can hold her own both in combat and in conversation with my brothers - I know my family is a lot. I like a woman who is independent and self sufficient even before she joins my squad. I like a woman with a brilliant mind who uses it to protect others. None of them had that.”

“Must have been at least one with a mind in there to entertain Tech.”

“Na, he usually just rambles to see if one of them will listen. But it’s not like any of them can keep up with him anyways, and he knows that. He’s not really interested in them, just is bored and has someone new to listen to him. Wouldn’t be surprised if he comes looking for us soon enough.”

“What about the others?” She’s not convinced.

“Well, Crosshair and Wrecker just like the attention and don’t mind a quick lay. Echo needs a quick lay to prove to him he’s still got it. The guys are only interested in them because they are just temporary. If they really wanted a woman to stick around they wouldn’t go for one that made you feel uncomfortable, they each know the pain of that feeling themselves and they adore you and would hate knowing their actions made you feel that way.”

“I’m still not attractive, Hunter.”

Hunter looks at her, astonished that she’s still not aware of the effect she has on him “I suppose, you think that because you can’t see the way your eyes sparkle when you’ve found a new challenge you want to take on. You can’t see the way your laughter lights up your whole body. You can’t see how beautiful you look when you’re concentrating on something, like when you’re reading a book and your mind is in a different universe. You can’t see how you glow when you get a chance to be a mother to Omega, especially when she falls asleep curled into you. You can’t see how beautiful it is when you’re so focused on doing something right that you bite those luscious lips of yours. Nor how good your ass looks when you bend over while working on the ship with us. And you have no idea what all of that does to me. I guess I usually steal glances at you when you’re doing little things. And I don’t know why I try to sneak glances when you aren’t looking. Maybe next time I should let my gaze wander long enough that you know when I’m checking you out.”

He plants a long kiss on her ear, and his hands begin to wander. Rubbing every inch of her within his reach. Her chest, her arms, her legs, her shoulders. Anything that holds her close to him. His mouth begins to wander too. It moves from her ear, where it’s been during their conversation, to trail kisses down her neck, which become open-mouthed as they reach her shoulders, sucking passionately.

She opens to him. Head falling back onto his shoulder, breathing heavy, whispering his name to the heavens like a prayer. Feeling his member harden behind her at the use of his name.

“I know what you need, Love.” He whispers back. “Let me take care of you tonight. Let me lay all my love on you, be it sexual or not. Let me love you like no man ever has. I know it will take time for this to heal, and that I cannot fix it for you, but let my love help you see that you are attractive, not just in mind and soul, but also in body. Let me show you how gorgeous you are to me, every inch of you. And I swear I will never hide another glance at your body from you. I love all of you, and I need you to feel that.”

“Oh, Hunter!” She mueled as he continued caressing her body.

He could hear the tears in her eyes with every noise she made as she gave in to his touch.

“I’m here, Gorgeous” his gravelly voice sending shivers down her spine, knowing that it was her he was describing that way, and that he genuinely meant it.

Without letting go, he maneuvers around her and scoops her up, bridal style.

“Let’s find a spot that’s softer to lay you out on, my Love.”

He carries her to a bed of moss and lays her down gently. Then with a smirk, he dives in for a passionate kiss, covering her body with his own, and letting his body weight act like her personal weighted blanket.

When her hands begin to try to reciprocate and make him feel good too, he takes her hands in his - not her wrists, he wants this to be gentle and sensual, not dominating - and holds them above her head.

“Not tonight, my Love. Tonight I need to make you feel good. Just let me hear you, you know what your voice does to me.”

Tech has detached himself from the group and is looking for his Seargent and favorite conversationalist. Tracking Hunter’s comm signal, he follows it to a quiet spot by a lake, hidden by trees and covered in soft mosses. At first he finds it odd that they are so far from the ship when Omega is still on the ship, until a noise makes its way to him as he approaches. A noise like a whimper puts him on high alert, and he ducks out of view behind a tree, listening closely. But the second sound that reaches him puts him at ease. It’s her voice, moaning Hunter’s name. Still hidden behind the tree, he relaxes, and smiles to himself.

“Good” he whispers, mostly to himself, “bed her well Brother. Give her a night she won’t soon forget, as rare a gem as she. She needs to know how much she means to us. Make sure she feels it, Brother.”

He quietly departs, not wanting his presence to ruin the moment for them.

Hunter, still covering the woman he loves in kisses, surfaces for a moment, and glances through the trees. He looks back down at the woman beneath him and finds her eyes, enjoying getting lost in them for a moment. She’s getting her glow back, but Hunter is far from done. And now he doesn’t have to worry about how long they have been out here, now that someone is back at the ship with Omega.

The next morning, camped in the sunlight on a new planet, the team begins to wake up. Most still groggy, they reaching for extra caf. Hunter, still spooning his love, wakes to the sight of the love of his life curled around little Omega, both still sleeping soundly. But Tech took watch all night that night, as he usually prefers to do on nights like this (something about no one else being sober nor focused enough after a night of ‘wild abandon’ as he called it, to actually keep watch), and someone needs to relieve him. So he plants a long kiss on her temple, enjoying how she stirs a little beneath him, but doesn’t wake up.

“Sleep, Mesh’la, I need to give Tech a break.”

He tucks his girls in and heads to the cockpit.

Tech looks up when he enters, and gives him a knowing smirk.

“I think she’s starting to feel it” Hunter’s voice is a little extra gravelly with sleep.

Tech’s eyebrows raise in question.

Hunter smirks in return. “How rare a gem she is, and how much she means to us,” quoting Tech from the night before.

“Ah, so you were aware of my presence. It was not my goal to disturb you.”

Hunter lets a laugh surface for a moment “I kinda hoped you would hear it when you came looking for us. I knew you would look for us. She needs the encouragement of knowing when you lot seek her company.” He glances back over his shoulder to where she and Omega continued to sleep peacefully, “When she wakes up, don’t hide your appreciation for her, make sure she knows how much she means to all of us. Yeah?”

Tech smiles, and nods.

“But as far as she’s concerned, you didn’t hear it from me. But that doesn’t mean you didn’t hear us last night” he winks at his brother.

Tech’s smile widens, and he nods.

When she does wake, she finds the men and Omega enjoying the fresh air and sights of the beautiful new planet Tech brought them to during the night.

Hunter’s legs are stretched out along the side of the entire ramp as he leans back against the door frame, eyes closed. Tech sits on the other side of the ramp and a bit farther down, a project in hand, spilling onto Gonky, who sat at Tech's side next to the ramp.

She snuggles up to Hunter, sitting between him and Tech. Hunter wraps an arm around her in return, checking her eyes to make sure her glow is returning, and smiling brightly back at her when he finds it.

“Good morning, Love” he kisses her hair, and she leans into him with a relaxing sigh.

Tech exchanges another knowing glance with him.

“How was your night, Tech?” She asks, still holding on tightly to Hunter. He can tell she’s trying not to brace for a story about another woman, and an endless description of how pretty she was.

“Fine,” Tech responds, matter-of-factly, “finally got a chance to finish a few projects I’ve been working on for far too long.”

Something about the way he doesn’t even mention the women that were chatting them up the night before, almost as if he’s forgotten them already (he has), makes her feel a little better.

Hunter can feel her relaxing against him. He smiles.

“And you? It sounded like you two had a good night last night.” Tech’s attention is still on his project, and he acts as though he did not just say he caught them making love the night before.

“Uh,” she glances at Hunter, and finds a mischievous look awaiting her there. So he had known Tech overheard. She blushed. “Yeah.” Her eyes trailed to the ground, she didn’t mind that he had heard, but she wasn’t exactly expecting him to bring it up so nonchalantly either. “And you?” She tossed the question back at him, not exactly sure what else to do.

“They, were not my type,” he answered, simply. “One of them asked how water gets back up to the top of a river, because they thought they were essentially circular by nature. I left shortly thereafter. However, you should ask the other three that question, as each of them attempted to sneak into the ship very early this morning. None of them successfully snuck into the ship, but since they did not wake you, Hunter, nor Omega, I suppose they did not entirely fail, either. But I thought you would all appreciate waking up in a place like this instead of stuck amidst the stink of that city.”

She and Hunter laughed at his story.

“Much appreciated, it is beautiful here. All in all, not a bad night though, despite the shallowness of the company?” Hunter asked.

“Affirmative. It was nice to finally finish up a few projects. Speaking of, I believe that completes one more.” Tech seems to be done fiddling with the project in his lap and holds it out to her, “the reading light you wanted.”

She looks at it, surprise etched onto her face, and then her eyes move to Tech as though she’s missing something.

“Crosshair saw you eyeing one at that book stall a few planets ago,” Tech explains.

She looked over to where Crosshair sat, alone, but not far away, and caught him watching her out of the corner of his eye. He nodded at her, confirming Tech’s story.

“It took me a while longer than I liked to acquire all the parts and complete it for you. Echo helped discreetly acquire the pieces and keep my designs for it out of sight so that it would be a surprise for you. I know you’ve probably already finished the books you bought that day, but for the next time we find you some new books.”

She takes it and turns it on, examining it, a smile on her face.

“I made sure to make it not too bright so it won’t wake Hunter if you want to read at night, but not dim enough to strain your eyes,” he supplies, always ready with more info.

“Thank you, Tech. I didn’t realize anyone had noticed that, let alone cared enough to make one for me. You have so many projects you’re working on already, you didn’t have to do this for me.”

“I wanted to do this for you. You mean a great deal to all of us, not just because Hunter loves you. As you know, we do not let just anyone stay with us. This is my way of saying thank you for all the little things you do for us. Do not think we do not notice them.”

Her eyes are glossy as she leans over to hug him “thank you, Tech. You’ve no idea how much this means to me.” Tech reciprocates the hug, and Hunter smiles at him from behind her, nodding at his brother.

She leans back into Hunter, resting her head on his shoulder, clutching her new reading light to her chest.

Hunter pulls her close, and whispers in her ear “See? You mean the galaxy to all of us.”

“How do I know you didn’t set that up just to make me feel better?” She giggles, but her voice is quiet, not wanting the others to hear.

“Then trust me that he did not ‘set it up’, I have been working on it since we visited that bookshop and left early last night to finish it and a few other projects when I found myself quite bored,” Tech piped up.

“Sorry, Tech. I didn’t mean—”

“You have nothing to apologize for. It meant a lot to me to have someone with us who also appreciates books and knowledge as much as I do. Making something as simple and small as a reading light is the least I could do in return.”

She reaches out and takes Tech’s hand, squeezing it for a moment as a way to say thank you. Tech squeezes back for a moment, then picks up the next project that had been sitting atop Gonky.

Hunter is beaming with pride for his little family.

Omega bounces up to them, her cheeks pink from frolicking in the great outdoors since she woke up.

“Good morning!” She smiles brightly up at Hunter and his partner, throwing herself into their arms.

“Good morning, Ad’ika [little one],” Hunter laughs, hugging both his girls tightly, and making them laugh too.

“Tech! Look what I found! What kind of flowers are they?” Omega holds out a bouquet of a wide variety of flowers, and Tech begins to tell her all about the different species and why they are different colors and shapes.

Wrecker approaches, brushing off the grass acquired from following his little sister through the meadow and helping her pick one of every type of flower they could find. He pauses, picking two more flowers on his way over.

“Mornin’!” He practically shouts as he arrives at the ramp to the ship. And then he leans forward and sticks one flower he just picked behind the ear of the girl, and one behind the ear of the woman at Hunter’s side. Beaming at the young girl and the woman, he wordlessly plops himself down in the grass at the foot of the ramp to listen to Tech rambling about the flowers in Omega’s hands.

“A flower as beautiful as you, Sarad [flower]” Echo approaches from behind, holding a steaming mug of caf, and looking at the woman in Hunter’s arms. She smiles as Echo leans against the doorway behind Tech.

“Aww, thanks, Echo.”

He winks at her, and nods at Hunter.

She cuddles her way into Hunter, who’s hand now rubs her back. He’s still smiling broadly, eyes full of love as he watches her.

Crosshair nods his approval from his spot nearby, giving her one of his rare smiles, as he plucks a toothpick from one of the pockets on his belt.

Maybe Hunter had been right. Not that she didn’t trust him, she just had trouble believing it when someone told her she was pretty. After a lifetime of what seemed like evidence to the contrary, it was nice to start a little collection of evidence beginning to prove that that notion may have been jaded by her own self-doubt.

Please don't steal my work though! I pour my heart into these so if you like it please reblog to share instead of reposting it!

#here be another comfort fic #idk why this is all I can write lately #angsty but fun to write I guess #sergeant hunter x reader #sergeant hunter #tbb hunter x reader #tbb hunter/reader #hunter tbb x reader #tbb sergeant hunter #tbb sergeant hunter comfort fic #zenith writes

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medicbrainrot · 1 year ago

Text

i don’t wanna be here when you lose control

An awkward silence had taken over the room Task Force 141 was occupying when Ghost and Jaguar (Simon and Artemis) had gotten into a heated argument during a briefing meeting for an upcoming mission.

Ghost gritted his teeth. “Why do you always go on these off-topic tangents?! This is important!” His icy cold stare went right through Jaguar, putting a bit of a chill in the air.

“I’m sorry, but sometimes I get off track!” She says defensively.

“That is not good enough! This is important!!” He stalks closer to her, still gritting his teeth. His eyes look as angry as ever through the mask.

“We are not continuing until you realize that what you are doing is disruptive and wasting time!” His tone is cold, and his stare is even colder.

As his anger builds, his tone becomes even more harsh, to the point where he is almost yelling at Jaguar.

“Sit. Still! This is important! Now, can we please keep focus here!?” He grits out loudly.

“I CAN’T HELP IT! I HAVE ADHD!” Jaguar shouts.

Ghost growls and steps closer, putting his face right in front of hers.

“I said SIT STILL. This is IMPORTANT.” He said furiously.

His words shut her up immediately, and Jaguar didn’t move a muscle or say a single word throughout the rest of the meeting.

When the meeting was over, Ghost turned to Jaguar one more time.

“I trust you understand the gravity of this now.” He said coldly, before walking away without another word. He’s absolutely livid, but he needs to calm down.

The next few days, the base feels awfully quiet as the team prepares for the mission.

Ghost himself is as silent as ever, hardly speaking to anyone, and keeping mostly to himself. It seems like he’s mostly gotten over the argument with Artemis, but he’s still a little pissed off about it.

No one really knows what’s going through his mind, but they’re all keeping an eye on him in case he snaps.

Artemis, in a similar vein, has been more withdrawn than usual, and barely gives more than one or two word responses when spoken to.

Simon picked up on Artemis’ behavior, and realized that perhaps she’s feeling the same way he is: guilty.

He knows he shouldn’t have snapped at her the way he did, but he couldn’t help it.

After a brief moment of pondering, he decides to go find her and try to make it up to her. He gathers a few of her favorite snacks into a little bag, and heads to her room, hesitating before knocking on the door. “Artemis?”

After a few more knocks, Soap pokes his head out from his own room next door. “Jaguar’s not here, LT.” He says.

Ghost sighs internally. “Where is she?” He asks gruffly, even though internally he’s feeling guilty. His body language still reads frustration, but he manages to calm himself down so he doesn’t snap at Soap.

“Last I heard, she was headed to the firing range.” He supplies helpfully.

“The firing range?” Ghost asks.

Soap nods in response.

“Okay.” Ghost nods, hanging the little bag of snacks on Jaguar’s door handle before turning to leave for the range.

As he approaches the firing range, he can hear shot after shot being fired, in an even, precise rhythm. He slips on a pair of hearing protection headphones, and enters the range to find Artemis there, firing at target after target in pure anger and frustration.

She’s got her own hearing protection on, and it seems like she’s settled into a rhythm of firing round after round into the targets, quickly changing the mag, then continuing to fire.

Ghost approaches Jaguar carefully, getting closer with each step. He finally speaks when he's close enough she’ll be able to hear him over her protective equipment.

“Artemis?” He says, trying to keep a sense of calm in his voice, despite what happened the other day. “I came to apologize.”

“It’s alright Lieutenant.” She says stiffly, without turning around.

His tones soften a bit, not having expected forgiveness so easily. “Are you sure?” He pauses and lowers his voice a bit. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that…We disagree sometimes, but you didn’t deserve that.”

“It’s fine.” she says, equally as stiff as the first response.

Ghost stands in silence for a moment, before taking a deep breath. He’s not sure what else he could say to make things right between them, but he knows he has to do something.

“Are you absolutely sure it’s alright?”

She fires the rifle again. “It’s fine.” She says again. She has yet to turn around, and her voice remains awfully stiff.

Simon begins to worry that it’s not all fine. “I don’t like you sounding so stiff.” He says, notes of concern filling his voice.

He takes a step closer to her, his tone trying to remain soft and gentle. “Artemis…”

This time, she sets the rifle down and finally turns to look at him, slipping off her hearing protection. Her eyes are red and puffy, and now that she’s not holding the rifle, he can see that her hands are shaking. “I said it’s fine Lieutenant.”

An awful sinking feeling settled in Simon’s stomach, almost like he was sick. He knew immediately that he had to do something in order to fix this. All he wants is to comfort her, but he has to know where to start. He slipped off his hearing protection before speaking.

“No, it’s not. What’s wrong Artemis?”

“If you’ve come to yell at me to sit still again, don’t worry. I’ve been working on it the past few days.” She says, gesturing to the destroyed targets downrange.

Simon looks at the targets, concerned by the mess, horrified by the realization that he was the cause. He takes a deep breath before speaking. “Artemis, I haven’t come to yell. I’m so, so sorry for snapping at you the other day.”

He pauses for a moment, trying to put himself in her shows. “Do you…want to talk about it?”

“I don’t know…I might go on another tangent…” She says flatly.

His tone softens some more, he can tell that she’s very bitter. “Artemis, you can tell me anything you want. What’s on your mind?” He asks, trying to show that he is being genuine, and won’t criticize her for going on another ‘tangent’.

“What’s on my mind? What’s on my mind!?” She exclaims, as she presses her hands tightly into her eyes. “What’s on my mind is I’ve been trying to figure out for weeks how to tell my boyfriend I have ADHD, only for it to slip out in an argument and then have him use it against me. That’s what’s on my mind, Simon.”

‘Oh god.’ Simon thinks to himself. ‘That’s what’s been keeping her up at night?’ Simon hasn’t felt this awful in a long, long time. He’s horrified that he’s done this to her. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine.” She mumbles, her hands still pressed tightly into her eyes.

“Artemis…” He takes a few tentative steps closer, putting a hand on her shoulder and turning her to face him more.

“I didn’t mean to attack you like I did. I was wrong to do so, and I was wrong to not consider the consequences. I’m so, so sorry for my actions.”

“You’re not the first one.” She mumbles, lowering her hands from her eyes. “I’m surprised you haven’t broken up with me yet.”

“What do you mean?” He asks, his eyebrows raising under his mask. “Did I make you feel like breaking up is the only option?” He’s shocked at the possibility, a look of worry on his face. “Artemis, breaking up with you never even crossed my mind. Are you serious?”

“My last boyfriend broke up with me a few days after I told him, said I was too much to handle.” She says, a few tears escaping her eyes.

Artemis’ words cause Simon to feel another wave of guilt wash over him. He had no idea this wasn’t the first time she was treated this way, and it made him feel so much worse, knowing that he was one of the people who caused her pain. “He was wrong…” Simon starts gently. “He was wrong. You’re not ‘too much to handle’, Artemis.” He pauses. “You’re perfect just the way you are, I promise.”

“That’s not what you said when you yelled at me…” She says with a flat affect.

A look of guilt passes through Simon’s eyes, and he drops his head as he tries to come up with a response. “You’re right. I didn’t say that. I essentially said the opposite, something cruel, that I shouldn’t have said. But, Artemis…” He pauses, his tone getting soft again. “What I said was wrong. You deserve to be treated better than that… I’m sorry.”

Artemis shrugs. “It’s my fault for fidgeting during a meeting.”

“No Artemis, it isn’t.” Simon sighs and rubs the back of his neck. “You have ADHD. It’s something you can’t control. You deserve to be treated with love and respect, and you shouldn’t have to be shamed simply because you don’t act how others might want you to.”

“I wish that conversation had gone differently.” She sniffles, as a fresh wave of tears fills her eyes.

“I do too, Artemis.” Simon steps forward and hugs her tightly, trying to comfort her. “Is there any way I can make it up to you?” He asks gently.

“I don’t know. My brain is so fucking scrambled.” She sniffles.

“Scrambled?” He asks gently. “Why? Do you feel anxious? Do you feel overwhelmed?”

“I don’t know what I feel right now. There’s too much going on in my brain.” Artemis says.

“It’s okay, It’s okay to not know, love.” Simon says softly.

“It’s not okay! I keep fucking up because I can’t get my fucking brain under control!” She yells, exasperated.

Simon flinches slightly when she yells. “What do you mean by that…?” He asks cautiously. “How have you been messing up?”

“I talk too much, I fidget too much, I annoy everyone around me because I’m too much. I have seventeen trains of thought going in my head at all times and I don’t know where any of them are fucking going!” She shouts.

It takes effort from Simon not to jump when she shouts again. He takes a deep breath before speaking, trying to calm his nerves, so that he doesn’t say something that might hurt Artemis further. “Artemis…If I might speak bluntly. It doesn’t sound like you’re the problem here. It sounds to me that your previous exes were too harsh to you…” He says gently.

“It’s not just my exes. My friends, my teachers, my parents. I feel like I’m gonna go crazy if I have to be still and quiet but there’s nothing I can fucking do about it!!” She tries to take a breath. “It’s always, sit still, stop talking, stop fidgeting, stop bouncing, stop shouting, you’re being too loud, you’re being disruptive. Everything about my existence is annoying and yet I can’t seem to SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!”

Simon’s eyes go wide at the outburst, but he manages to keep calm and keep holding Artemis tightly. “Artemis…” His tone remains gentle, and he realizes what he needs to say. His own trauma is screaming at him to not go near this, but he knows that right now that’s not the answer. He takes a deep breath and starts softly. “I think I understand what happens when you get overwhelmed.”

“What.” She says in a small voice.

He can hear the pain in her voice and it makes him feel even more horrible for speaking so harshly to her. He rubs her shoulder gently, trying to comfort her. “Your mind feels like it’s being attacked by constant thoughts, and you feel like you might explode if you don’t do something…And you feel like talking and moving helps you, even if just for a little bit.”

“Pretty much. I didn’t get diagnosed until I was 22, but it made so much sense.” She says quietly.

“Artemis, I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through this like that. Nobody should have to feel like they’re not allowed to speak or move. You have every right to speak and move around all you want. If anyone else tells you otherwise, they’re wrong.” His voice grows even softer. “You are not too much.”

“Even when it’s you telling me to be quiet and sit still?” She asks.

“That’s on me. That’s me being inconsiderate, and it’s me being wrong. I can’t apologize enough for that. I’m sorry Artemis, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He says softly, hoping she understands.

“It’s okay.” She says sadly. “You didn’t know…”

“Artemis, I still shouldn’t have treated you like that, regardless. I’m just…I’m sorry I didn’t realize something sooner.” He says gently. “If I could go back and undo what I said, I swear I would. But I can’t. All I can do is apologize and make sure I don’t do something like that again.”

“I wanted to tell you sooner… I just….didn’t know how…I felt like there was never a right time…” She says as a tear slides down her cheek.

“It’s alright.” Simon says softly, swiping away the tear with his thumb. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. I’m the one who reacted poorly. It’s on me to learn, not on you to do something you aren’t comfortable with.” He holds her tighter, trying to express his love with the hug.

Artemis leans into the hug, burying herself into his chest. “I’m sorry for avoiding you.” She mumbles.

“It’s alright to ask for space after an argument. It just means you want time to cool down.” He says reassuringly. “If you need more time to process, I’m alright giving you whatever you need.”

“I don’t want more time to process. I haven’t slept in two days. I just want to go to bed.” Artemis says, trying not to cry.

Simon nods, pulling slightly back from the hug. He looks down at Artemis, still feeling guilty about how he hurt her. He can now tell how tired she is, and how desperately she needs sleep.

“Okay, I can help with that. Do you need anything before you go rest? Water, a snack, anything?”

“A snack would probably be good. I’ve been here at the range since early this morning.” She yawns. “Maybe…maybe, after I’ve slept, we can talk some more about this?”

Simon gives Artemis a warm smile. “Of course, take all the time you need, love.”

He releases her from the embrace and turns to go get her a snack while she cleans up her stuff at the range.

“Simon, wait.” She calls out.

Simon stops in his tracks, turning around to face Artemis again. “What is it, Artemis? Was there something else?” He asks softly.

She steps forward and lifts his mask to press a gentle kiss to his lips. “I love you.” She says softly.

Simon is caught a little off guard by the kiss, but he quickly recovers. He leans into the kiss, and pulls away after a few seconds, smiling warmly at her. “I love you too, Artemis.” He pulls her into another gentle kiss, holding her close. “I love you… more than you could ever know. Never forget that.”

A/N: Thanks for reading! Likes, reblogs, and feedback are appreciated!

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