#hopefully things will calm down now and I'll have more time to rest and draw!

[spielzeugkaiser]

I did it!! I did it with quite the fever, shaking out of my skin because I had the fever shakies and half dead, but I got my degree! Wooo

[postmortemnivis]

no grave can hold my body down, i'll crawl home to her.

simon really meant it, every bit of it, he’d come back to you somehow. he would find his way back to you. wether it was walking through the front door quietly not to wake you up in the middle of the night or cold in a coffin. he’d rather have you hold his dead body than not to have you touch his skin ever again.

that’s what simon was thinking about as his ear ringed so loud he couldn’t focus on his surroundings. he looked up at the sky, so blue it almost didn’t feel right. why so blue when so much blood was being shed?

he occasionally would feel the ground he was laying on tremble, maybe a hand grenade, maybe a body falling next to his. the smell of gunpowder filled his covered nostrils and he could feel his lungs collapsing on themselves from the thickness of the air he was breathing. his eyes weren’t doing good either, filled with dust and sand from the dry earth.

it took him a few more seconds to focus his eyes on something, something that possibly wasn’t moving, his head spinning each time he tried to sit up. something was weighting on his legs, holding him down. he struggled to raise his torso and groaned at the sight of a large body blocking him. he let himself fall back down.

he was ready to go, a sharp pain to his side telling him he wouldn’t last long alone. he’d been through worse, way worse, the scar provided by the meat hook was proof of that, but something was telling him this was as bad. he was ready to go.

the only thing he could think about in his last moments was you. he thought he could see glimpses of you, maybe your hair in the corner of his eyes or he’d hear your laugh as another fire shooting started. his eyes searched for you frantically. he wanted to tell you to leave immediately, scream it at the top of his lungs, but his voice was caught in his throat and you weren’t really there. his mind just playing cruel tricks on him.

your name was repeated like a mantra in his head, repeating it so many times it almost lost a meaning. almost. a prayer, a chant. he sure needed to pray, for you.

he had been shelving the thought that tormented him for months. he wanted to go and confess his sins, he almost felt the need, his palms itching with haste anytime he thought about it. years had passed since the last time he had set foot in a church, so many that he had almost forgotten the reason for the visit. the ghosts of the past never abandon you, especially if they are people you love, especially if they are family, the innocent. its always the innocent who pay the highest price.

‘i wonder what she’s doing now, who’s gonna knock on her door and tell her im gone.’ he thought. ‘hopefully price. he’s the one with tact and the most considerate. he’ll help her when i’m gone, keep an eye on her.’

the sweet smell of your hair replaced for a moment the one of blood and gunpowder, your laughter still echoing in his ears. he pictured your sweet face and big innocent eyes looking up at him.

“promise me something?”

“mhm?” he hummed, surprised you were still up. his hand hadn’t stopped caressing your hair since you laid down on his chest, your hand resting on his collarbone as your ear listened to his calm heartbeat. “yeah, anything.”

“promise me you’ll always come back.” you whispered in the dark room. “promise me, simon.”

he nodded, taken aback by your request. you weren’t the fondest of his job, he knew it, he hated to concern you like he did.

“yes.”

“promise.” you urged. “please.”

he bent his head down and kissed the top of yours, his arm sliding down your back and drawing you closer by your waist. “i will, love. i’ll always come back to you.”

you sighed, the knot of thoughts in your worried head began to untie. “mh.”

“better now?” he softly asked. his voice was hoarse from his constant shouting orders at the obstreperous recruits. you gave a short nod. “i mean it.”

he groaned as he managed to get the body off of himself, struggling to get on his knees.

fucks sake, he couldn’t let you live with him gone like this. it was selfish of him to leave you in such an abrupt way, really. he tried to push away the image of you opening the door to find price with a carton box filled with simons stuff from the barracks with the balaclava and skull mask on top and your knees hitting the floor before he could even say anything.

his legs didn’t feel like they could hold his weight up, he immediately fell to his knees as he heard another rapid fire too near him for his liking. his gun was long gone, he had to manage to survive alone, again.

“crawlin’ it is.” he breathed as he started to drag his tired body with the strength of his arms alone. you had always praised his strength: he could lift you with one arm alone, you loved to be held and hold on to his arm anywhere and at anytime. that was the main reason he always pushed for more while training, and the motivation your sweet compliments always gave him now were gonna save his life. he made a mental note to kiss and hold you a little longer and tighter if he ever made it home alive.

he could see the building his team was supposed to meet up in case things got bad. it looked so far away that it was alarmingly close. maybe it was just his messed up vision, a mirage, but he could swear he saw you from a window looking at him, urgently motioning him to come.

he brought the thick balaclava above his nose so he could breathe better and as enemy gunfire continued to flow, he kept his head low as he moved dead bodies from his way.

he could hear your voice calling for him and he wanted to call you for you back, but the noises of the battlefield were hurrying him to get to the safe zone first.

he stumbled by the door as he brought himself up, one hand stabilizing him as he held on to the doorframe as the other went to press on his wound.

“lt!” johnnys voice called before he rushed to help him. “ye cheeky bastard, i told them not to leave yet, to wait for ye.”

“gaz saw you get shot.” price swung simon’s arm over his shoulder in order to help him to the nearest table, where he laid down.

“he saw that right.” simon bit the inside of his cheek as price inspected his wound, pressing on it. “is he a‘ight?”

“he’s fine, hit his head but had his helmet on, he’s getting checked out by the medics.” price informed him as simon winced at the sharp pain. “there’s at least two bullets in here, didn’t pass through, stuck.”

“just take ‘em the fuck out.” simon groaned. “how’s it lookin’?”

“you’ll live.” price patted his shoulder in comfort before he went to call a medic.

“we really thought we’d lost ye there, lt.” johnny’s face was glowing with sweat and blood, the black war paint smudged messily all around his face and his mohawk dusted.

“helicopter’s leaving in thirty, boys!” price’s baritone voice called from the other room.

simon scoffed, sighing and closing his eyes, finally letting himself relax as your figure started to fade from the corner of the room where it’d been standing, silently looking at him. “won’t lose me, can’t wait to go home, johnny.”

[deadtime-stories]

It has been a ridiculously long week. Can't take a break long enough to breathe without something else happening.

The main bank my new job uses was acquired by a different bank, and the merge happened over the weekend. Despite preparations, things have not gone...smoothly.

It's the month end close. At my last job, we were able to close in a single day because we weren't that big. This company is about three times the size, so the month close takes the first week of the next month. This month's close coincides with the bank merger.

Had a relative abruptly need to go to the hospital at 10pm last night, and drop their dog off here for dogsitting. Fortunately, the relative is okay and back home and resting.

The election. I don't think I need to elaborate.

Now for some less sucky occurrences:

I was out in Kentucky from October 19th through October 26th. My friend's small town has a new craft shop on Main Street, with many different walk-in craft stations. I painted a really nice mug! But their ceramics need to be fired and I had to leave before it was done, so she just put it in the mail to me.

I have realized that my biggest issue with drawing in the last year or two is that I just can't do it on an iPad. My initial drawing surge was done on a tablet, which I gave away to a friend who needed one after I got that iPad. Since things sucked lately, I ordered myself a new one (this is obviously not my art on it, it doesn't even arrive until Saturday):

Now that the close and merger are over and I can calm tf down, I'm about to get started on my nano. I have no illusions that I'll actually finish it in November, but I'm now a lot more settled into my new routine so hopefully I'll keep on working through December.

(An addendum: I did actually already start my Nano, but I'm finding I have a hard time writing it in 3rd person. But I WANT it written in 3rd person. So I may just write the first draft in 1st person, then switch the POV in the final draft. idk)

Is anyone else doing nano? If so, are you posting it anywhere? Link me, I want to read other people's stuff!!

[shytastemakerthing]

Hello! May I get a romantic matchup for twst?

Idk what to put exactly so I looked at some matchups you did and base it on that 😭

My name's Jay and I'm a Leo sun , pisces moon and Libra rising.

Looks wise I'm 5'3 , pale with shoulder length hair that I dye occasionally. (I went rainbow for freshman year of highschool , I got called the Skittles queen and a unicorn) I have brown eyes and a very strong rbf .

Personality wise , I'm going off of what I've been told by the few friends I have 🤧 straightforward , blunt , loyal , kind , funny , generous, protective, territorial, very asocial, bold , strong, ambitious but barely motivated, socially awkward, devil's temper (according to my mom , which is funny cuz it usually takes a lot to get me to that point except for a few exceptions which pull the pin) , i don't enjoy going out much ( a shut in ig) and I'm a bit of an outcast, specifically since I don't go out of my way to talk to people. I carry bandages and snacks in my bag most of the time 😭 I will not back down from a fight 😤 unless it's any sort of math or essay in which case.. I'm sprinting away.

Some dislikes would be bullies, stupid men , religious extremists , math , being bossed around , loud noises , annoying people, awkward small talk , creeps , beating around the bush , disloyalty, too much clinginess, children and gender roles

Some likes are drawing, reading, snacking, horse back riding , swimming, fantasy stuff , video games , anime , sleeping, I love my dogs more than life itself, the ocean and forests , my personal space and listening to music and ocean ambiance. I also love rainy / stormy weather.

I'm interested in boxing and other martial arts, hopefully I get to practice one day .

Idk what else to put so I'll leave it here 😅

Thank you for your time!

Remember to take breaks , eat yummy snacks and a tasty drink ! 💖

A/N: Hello and thank you so much for your request, and thank you for the patience as I work to get the rest of these out! I do hope that you like your match-up! Enjoy!

Tw: None

I match you with.........

Jade Leech

Now, the initial start of this relationship was rocky at best. Jade is someone who is quite used to putting up a front in front of other people, mostly to get them to trust him in some way (very bad idea), or other times, when he is as calm as he is, you know something is about to happen (again, something very bad). It took him some time to realize that he doesn't always have to have that persona up in front of you.

Your loyalty is something he finds admirable. Growing up in the Coral Sea, many only fended for themselves, loyalty wasn't a thing, not when everyday was a new fight for survival. Well, it was for mers who were like him. So, seeing your dedication and loyalty to those who were around you was something he found so endearing about you. And to be on the receiving end of that loyalty, oh, how it made his cold heart flutter.

I have a feeling that Jade will sometimes listen to ocean ambiance to help him sleep. Growing up in the ocean all of his life, coming onto land was a strange time for him. Everything was so unfamiliar to him, so the sounds of the ocean helped. Knowing that you enjoyed those sounds as well brings him great joy. Even more so if he gets to hold you as you both lay in bed. It brought a form of comfort to the eel.

As you love going out into the forest, would you like to join him for his next trip? Or even join his club? Having someone finally out there with him brings a real smile to his face, even more so when it's you. He especially loves it if you ask about any mushrooms that you may see while out in the wilderness. Though be prepared, any question you ask will be met with his extensive knowledge on that particular fungi, meaning he could be talking for hours.

Please go swimming with him. He will gladly switch back to his natural form and show you the world below the ocean if you would let him. He especially loves floating in the chilly waters with you lounging on top of him, simply enjoying the waves and the sun.

Overall, you both bring out the best in each other. He loves to be able to go hiking in the forests with you, hold you at night while listening to the sounds of the ocean, and just being by your side.

[caseythebunnyboy]

Howdy!

Thank you so much for the drawing! It's amazing. I love your art. I apologize for bringing down the mood I know it bothers you not but last thing I want to do is make you sad! From now on I will only grace you with pure nasty truly deplorable thoughts from a lonely cowboy and my day to day life (aka more deplorable thoughts)! I'll fill you in (full pun intended) as my work will keep me busy soon. I'll describe myself more so you can have a general picture of me :] I'm 6'2 I have no clue on my weight but I am a large man. My thighs and calves are like tree trunks. My hands are incredibly calloused from working for 6 years nonstop. I am very skilled with my hands and fingers tying knots all day and playing the banjo (you can take a man out the south but you can't take the south out of the man) and I have no better way to describe it other than my hands are huge. I have short-ish curly hair and I have a tan almost all of the time when it's not winter. If you want to know anything more about me I am more than happy to oblige your request.

I must admit that while it may sound a bit creepy. I lay awake at night I have thoughts of you. I make up scenarios in my head. I look at your kink list and see how similar we are and can't help but imagine using you in thousands of different ways. Tying you up. bending you over and pounding your little boycunt over and over again until your brain is mush and you're full of cum. Then I untie you and hold you in my arms. Singing to you softly as we drift off.

I'll leave the fantasy there but I hope to hear from you soon. 🤠

thank you so much! but wuh 🥹 please dont feel restricted to only being horny on here! im fine with people talking to me about other emotions, since i know people arent just horny 24/7. its fine!! i wont hate you forever if you show any other sign of feeling that isnt being sexual, i promise.

(rest of the response is under the cut because again, dont wanna clog peoples dashboards 😵‍💫)

i shall also paint you a picture of me in exchange!

im 5'4, last time i checked i was 81 (?) kg, i dont remember the specifics but i was around that weight. my thighs are also big but in more of a marshmallow pillow-ey way than a tree trunk way! my hands are very small, clumsy, soft and frail, with my entire hand from palm to my longest finger (the middle finger) being around 7 inches 😊 the only "toughening up" they got is when i would practice my countrys martial arts, i still practice every once in awhile but very occasionally so they never made my hands calloused 🥹 iam... not skilled at all with my hands. my arm starts shaking and hurting if i draw for too long with no breaks 😵‍💫 i have black fluffy-scruffy hair that can never calm down or stay in one place, and my skin is just naturally always tan since im a person of color 🐇

if youd like to know more about me, id also be happy to oblige! what i want to know about you, is if youve ever cum to the thought of me, hehe 💜 just curious! you dont need to answer if youre not comfy doing so 💜💜 and also! can you claim an emoji and put it at the end of your asks? so i know its you and so you can have a little hashtag, like how 🗝️ anon has one!

anyways! i hope to hear from you soon as well! youre so sweet, cowboy anon 🥹 id love to kiss you all over your face, but thatll just have to wait 🥲 see you soon! (hopefully 💜)

honestly, it doesnt sound creepy at all to me... would it be creepy for me to say im flattered and slightly aroused that you think about me so often? if so, then i guess we're both "creepy", hm? 💜 and jeez, id actually really like that. i love people who can be rough and fast during sex, but the moment its all over theyre back to being sweet and caring 😊 would love to doze off on top of your chest, humming along to your song after you finish breeding my boypussy over and over 💜💜

also side note, ever since i read your ask i cant stop thinking about how nice it would feel for your rougher hands to rub and touch my softer skin... the contrast between their textures would made my head so much dizzier whenever you grab my parts 😵‍💫😵‍💫 make of that what you will...

[goodman-telletubbie]

This piece has been a journey. The journey's not over, but from a long-term perspective, I may have gone further on this than I should have.

From my perspective, the mental hurdles of starting something / stopping for whatever reason and the physical limits of this frame my spirit inhabits is like a serial inductor-capacitor circuit.

For the inductor, it's my mentality. It takes a bit for me to spur up to operating levels, and it also takes a bit before everything calms down, much like inductor that resist changes in current.

The physical side, or Capacitance, prohibits indefinitely firing on all cylinders in a sense. The more effort I put into something, the more the capacitor charges up and therefore resists further charging. It's like how the first rep in an exercise is usually the easiest, while firing the associated muscles for the last rep is scrounging for whatever remains are left, almost more of a mental thing than a physical thing.

All that is to say that my mental inductance far out classes my physical capacitance. I think the biggest thing to fix this starts with proper physical rest. It's easy for me to overexert myself physically because I like to believe that mentally, I have no bounds. I therefore don't give proper physical rest since it feels like a waste of time when I feel ready to continue and then don't.

Fixing this has a few requirements - First, I'd like to increase my physical capacitance. I need to get better at sustained high-effort long-term, in all areas, not just drawing. Second, I'll need to get better at starting and stopping with stuff. Mental drive is important, so I can't decrease that, but getting up to working conditions and returning from those conditions better is a valid concern. Third, I'll need a balance such that my mental inductance and physical capacitance cancel each other out. The Fourth, but easily the most important, is learning how to rest.

This'll likely be the hardest since it also requires mentally being okay to rest. It's not that I feel every second I should be working, but it is hard to rest when I'm not happy with my surroundings, especially if I think I can do more to change things. I think the first step in learning how to properly rest is to feel safe resting. On that note, I will be taking a rest for a bit. In part was the stuff explained above, but also in part due to some brachial injuries, and also in part due to a schedule change as I hopefully secure some income.

Back to the piece itself, I'm happy with everything for the most part. I still need practice with hands and maybe a few tweaks to the software that breaks anatomy down, as it was difficult to tell where the hip bones were and how to articulate the ribcage, but I put a lot of effort into this, and I think it shows, so I think I did good for now. My hope now is that I rest long enough to be re-invigorated with this endeavor without quitting during everything like the July Kirby drawing endeavor I had.

[nikoruistyping]

I need romantic smut with Tony, please!

Tony x fem!Reader, he is ridiculously in love with the reader and he decides to ask her to marry him, he wants a big gesture but when he wakes up next to her someday and observe how perfect she is, he wakes her up and ask her to marry him, she agrees and then they make love 🥰🥰

Snooze Time || Tony Stark

Tony Stark x Girlfriend!Fem!reader

Summary: Tony has been thinking about proposing for a while now but has just never seemed to find the right timing until now. Waking up next to you in the bed you both shared was the perfect timing for him to pop the question and for you two to celebrate it as well...

TW: Fluff, Smut, Adult Language/Swearing, Dirty Talk, Kissing/Making Out, Fingering (Kinda), Vanilla Vaginal Sex, Praise Kink (Kinda?), Marriage Proposal, Nudity, Playful Banter/Jokes, Established Relationship, Aftercare/Cuddles

Word Count: 3,396

A/N: Thank you Anon for the request! I really enjoyed writing this and hopefully you like it! I kinda feel like I flopped the ending but I tried adding in some reference’s to the Avenger’s Movie and Ironman 3 to lighten up the mood XD

You could feel the Malibu sun warming up your half naked body, you were deeply buried in the sheets of the bed you shared with none other than your boyfriend, Tony Stark. Slowly but surely you rolled around some more, your arm flinging itself one way, Tony trying to quickly dodge it from hitting his head. Your legs seemed to have spread out far and wide to feel the softness of his 1800 thread count sheets. You nestled your head as deep as it could go into the pillow covering your face completely. You really didn't want to wake up after the night out you had with all your girlfriends. The hangover was slowly but surely setting in but thankfully it was bearable.

You felt fingers ghost down your bare back, sending chills down your spine, the good kind obviously and you knew it was Tony's way of getting you to wake up. Your response just being a muffled groan into your pillow.

"Come on sleepyhead, it's time to wake up. You can't stay in bed forever." His voice so calm and soothing as he practically whispered it to you while lying down right next to you.

You could imagine he was probably admiring you like he always did. This was clearly a "Tony Thing". He would always observe the beautiful disaster you were when you first woke up. He loved seeing how every day your bedhead seemed to be a different shape or form altogether and he found it extremely cute when you had even drooled on the pillow. It was something about you being so at peace yet so oblivious to what was happening that just intrigued him so much. You were a pretty heavy sleeper while in contrast to him he wasn't. A lot of the time he woke up early in the morning and he would stare at you for hours thinking about how much he loved you and how moments like these were probably the most intimate and precious of all.

You slowly started to flicker open your eyes, squinting at the sunlight as you peeked up from your pillow. Your vision blurry for just a quick second as Tony's face came into focus. He was lying on his side right next to you. He still had his boxer briefs and one of his AC/DC t-shirts on that you took the liberty of curling your fingers into the collar and drawing him closer to you.

"Mhmm...just five more minutes Tony..." Your voice mumbled, half of your lips exposed while the other half was face-first into the pillow.

"Fine, I'll be counting." His voice was still so low and whispered while his hand was rested on the small of your back.

His other hand had found its way to the crook of your neck rubbing soothing circles on the sensitive patch of skin that he had given numerous hickies and lovebites to in the past. Your hand had ended up resting upon his cheek, your fingers slowly clenched at his beard scuffing it up. Just as you were drifting back off to sleep you felt his lips place a kiss on your forehead and you couldn't help but crack a smile on your face. Your turned to face him as the hand on your neck brought you closer to him until your noses were touching, nuzzling against each other. He fluttered kisses slowly down your face, next to your cheek, your jawline, and making their way down your neck. Your attention was peeked and your fingers seemed to clutch his shirt a bit harder as your whole body shifted toward his direction, your legs meeting with his hairy ones and they seemed to entangle under the sheets.

He pulled his lips away from your neck for a brief moment, he paused to keep on admiring your beauty and grace while he thought about how lucky he really was to have you in his life. The thought of marriage had been bouncing around in his mind like a pinball. Idea after idea of how he thought he was going to propose to you would always fill his head. No, it had to be something big and extravagant, dinner at a five-star restaurant that he would book only for the two of you? No, no, maybe something more simple like taking you to Paris? No, that one was more extravagant than the last! No, no, no, it needed to be intimate, perfect and when he thought about it he just knew. Today was going to be the day he asked you, he just had a feeling about it in his heart and stomach that there was just no time to waste when it came to such important things.

While your eyes were still closed shut and still a bit dazed, he quickly rolled over to his nightstand and pulled out the small black box that had been sitting in there for what seemed like months now. He rolled back over with the box in hand and he took a deep breath trying to rehearse and re-rehearse exactly what he was going to say. He knew that this was probably the laziest and simplest way to ask you, the both of you were in bed half-naked but for him, the moment just felt right and felt special regardless of what was around the both of you.

"Snooze time is up, sweetheart." That was all he said while his finger had flicked the box open, he wanted the first thing you saw when fully awake was the ring that he so carefully had crafted himself just for you.

You knew that it definitely was time to get up or else Tony would probably drag you out of bed by your ankles. You knew that if you didn't get out he would end up taking care of breakfast and well last time that happened he almost set the whole kitchen on fire so there was no way that another repeat of that was happening again.

You lifted your head slowly up and your eyes finally fluttered wide open but they seemed to go even wider when you saw the beautiful ring he was holding in his hand. You were speechless, no words at all. You were definitely awake now and your hands had covered the loud gasp that escaped your lips. You scrambled to sit up and face him while he kept smiling at you.

"So that's what it took to get you to wake up so fast?" His eyebrow raised for a quick moment, a chuckle leaving his lips and you just kept holding in your excitement covering your mouth.

"Y/N, I've realized that time is important and what we have is very precious to me. I don't want to keep wasting more time nor do I want to be out of time. I've made some bad decisions in my past and wasted time on women I didn't really care about but with you things are different and I'm completely and utterly in love with you. You remind me every day that life is worth living as long as I'm by your side and I want that to be for the rest of our lives. Will you do me the honor of being Mrs. Stark?" He asked, his eyes meeting with yours and you could tell he was the slightest bit nervous, his hands shook, this was a side of Tony that nobody ever got to see, only you, and it was what you loved about him.

"Yes! Yes! A three thousand times yes!" You exclaimed immediately without hesitation as your hands went to cup his cheeks and you brought him in for a very passionate kiss, your lips crashing into his, you didn't even have to think twice about your decision. You barely even let him react or say anything back getting so caught up in the moment.

You didn't care if he was proposing in bed nor did you really care about anything else.  There was something so domestic and just intimate about the whole thing that everything else didn't really seem to matter, it just felt like you were the only two left in the world.

His hand laid on top of yours as he gently took your left hand in his. Your hand was caressed by his fingers while he slipped the ring onto it. It was a perfect fit and it was everything you could have imagined. Your eyes couldn't stop looking at how beautiful and unique it was, clearly, custom made and you already had an inkling that he was the one who had crafted it.

"I love you so much you have no idea." He whispered in the close space between you two after he had pulled away from the kiss.

"I love you so much too. I-I just can't believe it. We are gonna get married!" Your voice was so high-pitched and excited to know that you were all his and only his.

You were awake now and had launched yourself into his lap, straddling his waist with your thighs, your arms lazily resting upon his shoulders. Your hands found the nape of his neck and you dug your fingers into his messy dark brown bedhead locks. You could hear him hum happily the more your fingers had buried themselves in his hair, slowly massaging the spot right behind his head. You felt his hands find your waist in an instant steadying you on top of him.

"Mrs. Stark, has a nice ring to it doesn't it?" He questioned as both of you were trying to wrap your heads around the idea of marriage and that this was a new and exciting chapter in your lives.

"It really does...I can't wait to start planning, I can already imagine it now..." Your voice trailed off as you seemed to be unintentionally bouncing on his lap and not realizing you triggered something, you could feel his boner brushing against your inner thigh.

"Looks like someone is eager to try out the merchandise before he marries it." Your brow raised looking down into his eyes while you placed a small kiss on his cheek, he was clearly a bit embarrassed even but he tried hiding it behind a confident smirk.

"I wanna make sure everything is functioning well with my future wife, no crime in that." His smirk seemed to grow wider, you felt his hands make their way down to your ass and squeezing it, the force of his hand made your back arch in response, lunging you forward and closer to his chest.

"Are you insinuating I have performance issues, Mr. Stark?" You whispered in his ear as you couldn't help but giggle at the banter you both always would share even in moments like these.

"Well you know it's not very uncommon, every one out of five-" His words were cut off by you crashing your lips into his, your hips rolled and ground down against him, he tried to hold in a groan but failed to.

"Tony, just shut up already and fuck me." You said impatiently while you kept the rhythm of your hips rocking, you could feel his boner getting even harder under you, pressing against your heat now.

"Looks like my future wife forgot what the magic word is." He whispered right back to you, you could feel his hot breath against your ear making it go red. Your body now flushed up against his keeping you in a close embrace.

"Please...Tony, I need you..." Your voice now had become whiney the more and more impatient you got and also the wetter you got.

"Can't say no to that." He muttered under his breath while your hands traced their way down his chest and your fingers hooking onto the bottom of his t-shirt and helping him peel it off, throwing it quickly to the floor leaving him shirtless and my what a sight.

Your lips placed themselves on his neck, trailing downwards to his chest as you wanted to show all the love and appreciation you had, showing him how much you really loved every part of him, scars, bruises and all. Each kiss was tender and loving but before you could continue downwards he tilted your chin upward to meet his lips once again. He teased you brushing his lips across yours for a brief moment before going completely in and your tongue seemed to do a dance with his. Pushing and pulling back and forth as the both of you fought for dominance, moans escaped your lips in between breaths. His hands slid all the way from your ass around to your front, his fingers hooking into your panties and pulling them down just enough for his skilled fingers to go down to your clit. The second his fingers started rubbing the sensitive bud your started to moan louder in-between kisses, you got sloppier while you were struggling to breathe for air. He knew exactly what to do and when to do it, the way he would just make you melt right in his hands was only something Tony could do.

"You're already so wet for me, sweetheart..." His voice trailed off, his lips pulling away from your lips to pay more attention to your neck. His nose burying itself in the crook of your neck, littering the area with hot opened mouth kisses, knowing exactly what spot was the weakest when he felt your fingers dig into his shoulders, you were on the edge. You gripped his shoulders, biting your lip trying to hold in your moans while he worked your clit and the rhythm of your hips changed slightly to grind down on his fingers harder. Your heat was thirsty and craving more of his touch.

Your hands slid down his body making sure to touch every curve and deep valley of his abs while you were able to find the waistband of his boxer briefs and desperately you clawed at them until his cock had enough room to spring out of them. One of your hands palmed his length, stroking him a few times and you could feel his whole body stiffen at your touch, his breath hitching.

"I really need you, sweetheart." His breath heavy and panting into your neck.

"Then what are you waiting for Mr. Stark?" You questioned knowing that tempting him would certainly rile him up even more. Every time you called him 'Mr. Stark' it just drove him over the edge.

You guided his cock straight up into your pussy, your whole body sinking down on his length as a loud gasp escaped your lips having him fully inside you. Slowly your hips rolled syncing up with the motion of his slow thrusts upward into you. You gripped onto his body for what seemed like dear life trying to muffle your moans and the whispers of his name over and over into his shoulder. His lips kissing your shoulder, his arms seemed to be cradling you close to his body, his hands balancing you on the small of your back.

“You're so fucking beautiful,” He said to you, his voice raspy and deep. You couldn’t help but let out a gasped moan, your hands clutching his shoulder harder and you could feel the metal of your ring indenting itself into his sweaty skin.

One of his hands found your clit once again and he began to rub in fast circles while you started to bounce up and down on him trying so desperately to reach your high. The pace of his thrusts became slightly faster as he too was at his limit and he wanted you both to cum at the same time.

Without warning he gripped you tightly and flipped the both of you over on the bed, your body never leaving or disconnecting with his now that he was on top of you and your body was fully being pressed into the mattress. He now had a better angle to fuck you into oblivion, deeper and faster just like he knew you liked it. Your legs felt like jello but you found the strength to open them slightly wider so he could lower himself closer down to you, his lips finding yours once more giving you breathless kisses, tounges darting and dotting in all different directions as his cock pounded into you faster now.

"Tony...I-I'm gonna-" You couldn't even finish your sentence as the feeling was overwhelming your whole body and the more and more he rammed his cock against your g-shot the heat kept building and building until it seemed to boil over.

"Me...too...let's do it...together..." He was able to pant in between words, his hand reaching for yours while instinctively your fingers entangled with his, the both of you holding hands, the imprint leaving a mark in the mattress.

A loud moan falling from your lips and a loud raspy groan coming from him was a signal that the both of you had reached your highs, your hips started to slow their pace. His thrusts became lazier, his hand just squeezed yours in response, his eyes glazing down at your beautiful body that was under him. You looked into his eyes and cupped his face, breathing heavily, you pressed your lips against his, softer this time while the both of you embraced.

"Yeah...definitely confirmed that there’s no performance issues here." He was able to get out between breaths slowly pulling out of you, in return, he earned a playful slap on the arm from you at the joke he cracked.

You scrambled to collect yourself, pulling up your panties and adjusting your boobs that by some miracle hadn't fallen out of your bra with all the commotion. Tony had shifted upward on the bed just enough to snuggle into your side, his head resting upon your stomach, your hands instantly raking through his messy hair, your nails seeming therapeutic as you could feel the vibrations of how he hummed.

"I would hope not or else I would have given the ring back to you." You said with a chuckle, smiling at the thought as you held your left hand out and finally took a better and closer look at the beautiful ring he gave you.

"We definitely wouldn't want that to happen. Are you sure that this wasn't just too simple? Too mundane, normal-" He said with a concerned sigh, his hand just caressing your thigh, tracing random patterns on it as he clearly was getting into his head and overthinking.

"Tony I loved the way you proposed to me. If anything I was completely and utterly surprised. You're usually not very subtle but this was just perfect." You said reassuring him knowing that he was insecure and usually it all got into his head after a while.

"Really? So you didn't hate it?" He asked, his head lifted up off your stomach, looking into your eyes.

"I absolutely loved it, that big brain of yours thinks too much." You said, your fingers flicked his forehead playfully and you hopped out of the bed making your way towards the bathroom. Tony was stuck in thought laying down in the bed, watching your figure move so gracefully across the room.

"Ok well, snooze time is over. I'm gonna take a shower," Your eyes focused on him as he seemed to bury his head in the sheets.

"Ok..." He mumbled, his eyebrows furrowed at the thought of why you were going to take a shower without inviting him to come along?

"And you're going to join me." You finished off your sentence, giggling seeing his head immediately pop up from the bed in excitement.

"Better, much better." That was all he could say while following your lead into the bathroom.

You smiled as he caught up with you, holding your hand, the both of you disappearing into the bathroom together. Soon enough you would be busy planning a wedding and things around the house were, sure enough, going to get crazier than they were already were but you buckled in for the ride. You were finally ready to leap into this new chapter of life with Tony and you knew that no matter how planned or unprepared this wedding would be, as long as you married the man you loved that is what mattered most.

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THE BAD BATCH: THE RUNAWAY

Chapter 55 - A Distant Echo

Hunter was on his way back to the Marauder after the debriefing when he passed Skywalker and Rex, seeming to be in a heated discussion when the latter flagged the Sergeant down. His antisocialness kicked in and Hunter had half a mind to pretend he didn't see the reg, but that wasn't reasonable, so he sucked it up, forcing a tiny smile on his face as he joined the pair.

"I was going to ask that your squad stick around for the rescue mission." Rex said hopefully, having been impressed with Clone Force 99's work and now feeling they'd be imperative to the rescue of Echo, whom he wholeheartedly believed was alive.

"Word is the Council isn't completely behind this mission." Hunter commented and Rex huffed but remained hopeful.

"I admit the idea that Echo is still alive is a long shot." The captain admitted, doing his best to keep his eagerness under check over the fact that one of his most beloved brothers might actually be alive! "I'm sure the Council will approve the mission." Rex said with certainty shortly after, though Hunter could hear just the slightest doubt in his tone, and the Sergeant felt a little bad for the reg Captain.

"Just remember the primary goal is to learn how the Separatists are predicting our strategy, whether it's Echo behind it or not." Skywalker reminded Rex, and the reg pursed his lips but nodded in understanding.

"Well, if you want my opinion, it sounds like a trap," Hunter admitted before letting a tiny smirk grace his features as he added playfully,"- but me and the boys will tag along anyway, if only to say, "I told you so.""

"Just make sure you're ready if we get the go-ahead from General Kenobi." Anakin told the Sergeant, who nodded.

"If you're certain he'll approve the mission, why wait?" Rex asked, some of his impatience slipping through his calm facade, "Let's get going." Rex looked ready to burst, yet the General cleared his throat, making the captain look at him questionably.

"First, we have that thing to do." Skywalker said vaguely, and Rex now looked more confused, as did Hunter, who raised an eyebrow at the General.

"Uh, what "thing?"" The reg repeated, not following.

" You know..." Anakin's eyes flitted towards the barracks then back at Rex. Realization dawned on the reg's features, then he coughed awkwardly.

"We don't have time for-for that, sir." Rex tried saying, and Anakin turned to face him fully and stare him down with his arms crossed.

"Yes, we do." The General insisted stubbornly. Hunter could sense an argument was imminent and decided now was a good time to escape.

"Well, I'll just let you two sort this out." He stated, taking a step back while pointing his thumb behind him, "I'll be waiting on the ship with the rest of the team." Looks like Calli is gonna get what she wants.

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When Tech commed Calli and told her they'd be joining General Skywalker and Rex on the rescue mission, Calli had to suppress a shout of triumph, lest she draw attention to herself from the regs. She'd wandered around a bit after her and Hunter's disagreement, and found herself by the barracks, being partially hidden from passersby as she sat against some barrels adjacent to the reg's sleeping quarters.

Despite doing her best to occupy her mind on other things, Calli's mind kept going back to Hunter and their disagreement, then by default the cause of it: Jace. She kept telling herself that their relationship was strictly platonic, and they had absolutely no romantic feelings whatsoever. She'd nor Jace had ever brought up what happened on Naboo - er almost at least and Calli preferred it never be spoken of. She thought it was for the better and that it wouldn't cause any problems. But now that they were in each other's presence in person again, the event was at the forefront of her mind, especially after her and Hunter's argument.

I don't care what Hunter said, I don't like Jace like that!

Just before Calli could get into an argument with herself - no she didn't have multiple personalities regardless of what Crosshair said (he liked to joke that she did) - she heard the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi and it made her shift so she could peer over the barrels, finding him standing in front of Rex who was guarding the barracks it seemed. The captain looked extremely nervous for some reason.

"Rex, where's Anakin? I need to speak to him about this mission." To Calli, Rex looked like a mynock caught in headlights - and she didn't know why. You could definitely say her interest was piqued as she chose to eavesdrop on the conversation. Even though they were a distance away, Calli could hear them clear as a bell.

"Well, General, he's, um..." The words died on the captain's tongue, and Obi-Wan raised his eyebrow at him and gestured to the building behind Rex.

"Well, he's inside your barracks, isn't he?"

"Yes, sir." Rex confirmed, being very hesitant to reveal this but he couldn't bring himself to lie to his superior. Obi-Wan could feel the anxiety radiating off of Rex yet was more suspicious than worried.

"What's going on here?" Call it intuition by the force or because Obi-Wan knew his former padawan so well, but he knew Anakin was up to something and had dragged his poor Captain into the middle of it.

"Oh. Nothing, sir. I was just waiting for the General... uh, General." Rex tried saying, yet his reassurance didn't sound very... well... reassuring - if anything it just made Obi-Wan more suspicious, and Calli more curious.

"You'll have to do better than that, Captain." Calli watched with mirth as the pair went back and forth like this for the next couple minutes. Obi-Wan would press for information and Rex would stutter out a vague answer, doing his best to not betray his general by revealing what he was doing inside the barracks. Obi-Wan, beyond exasperated now, asked the question that Calli had also been thinking throughout this whole ordeal.

"Then what is Anakin doing in there?" Obi-Wan questioned, beyond exasperated at this point with the conversation that has been going in circles.

"Ah, he's spot-checking my gear, sir." Obi-Wan's arms crossed as he gave Rex a look of skepticism.

"Really? Without you?" Rex began massaging the back of his neck anxiously, visibly sweating at this point.

"W-Well..." Suddenly the door behind him swooshed open, revealing Anakin and Rex breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing his General who appeared at just the right time, saving him from further questioning.

"Here you go, Rex." Anakin said cheerfully, tossing the captain's helmet to him as he walked past the pair, pausing to briefly wave his pointer finger at Rex, "And try not to break it again." Calli had to admit she was disappointed that Skywalker showed up, enjoying watching the show. Fortunately, Kenobi didn't seem to be willing to let his padawan go so easily.

"Anakin. About this mission, the Council thinks..."

"That it's a good idea?" Anakin interrupted cheerfully before nodding, "I agree. Let's get moving, Rex." Obi-wan shook his head as they walked past him.

"No, wait. That's not...".

"No time." Anakin interrupted again with a shrug, and even Calli had to admit he was being a bit rude. It was obvious Obi-Wan was frustrated at Anakin's behavior and it prompted him to say what he did next.

"I hope you at least told Padmé I said hello." This made Anakin stop in his tracks and the look he gave Obi-wan was enough to send a chill down anyone's spine - and it did for Calli. Kenobi knew about Anakin and Padme? Calli was still having some trouble processing the fact that a respected Jedi General was married to a Senator and yet Kenobi seemed to be less shocked by it than she. In fact, he didn't seem surprised at all.

Before Calli could ponder this any further, her comm went off and she didn't even have to look at it to know it was one of her brothers and such began making her way back to the Havoc Marauder.

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Usually when the Bad Batch worked with other people, it tended to get awkward - if the recent mission with Cody, Rex, Jesse, and Kix was any indication. But now that they'd gotten to know Rex, it was easier for the usually closed off and tight knit group to relax and actually put an effort into getting along with him. Plus, they'd met Skywalker on Taris (that mission seemed like a lifetime ago), so again, it made things easier.

Everyone except Tech, who was piloting the ship, hung out in the main hold, taking advantage of the five hours they'd be in hyperspace to relax before they landed on Skako Minor. Wrecker took the time to work his arm muscles by using the single power droid owned by Clone Force 99 as a weight - affectionately called 'Gonky' by the siblings. Sometimes he'd even have Calli sit on top of Gonky to add more weight, and with his enhanced strength it still might as well have been a leaf. This time however Calli refused when he asked, choosing to instead occupy herself by watching holovids on her datapad, situating herself as far away from Hunter as possible, still very much upset with him and doing everything in her power to make sure he knew that, as the second they reached the mission site she'd have to pretend everything was ok. When he tried talking to her once, she simply hmphed and gave him the cold shoulder, thus making things even more tense.

You know the saying that parents say? 'If you're going to act like a child, then I'm going to treat you like a child? Well, Calli was doing a reversal of that. If he's gonna treat me like a child, then I'm going to simply act like one. Calli was too upset to even care about the fact that her behavior might make the Sergeant look bad and embarrass him. In fact, Calli took her pettiness one step further, and pulled some strings last minute to have Jace join them on the mission, knowing it would bug Hunter.

~Earlier~

After witnessing the little altercation with Skywalker, Rex, and Obi-Wan, Calli suddenly thought of a way to get under Hunter's skin and chased after the Jedi and clone, as they were a few yards ahead of her and both were heading to the same destination. With some clever manipulation on the girl's part, she convinced the General that it would be a good idea to bring Jace along.

"We need all the help we can get and Jace works well with our squad. With him and a great Jedi like yourself, plus our squad and the Captain, those Seppies won't stand a chance." She said, appealing to Skywalker's vanity and it surprisingly worked, the General telling her to go get Jace and hurry back so they could leave. Calli had noticed that Skywalker's heart rate sped up and he seemed nervous when she chased them down, and it made Calli want to assure him that she'd keep his secret which might not actually be that big of a secret if General Kenobi and Rex knew (who else for that matter knew then?) but she chickened out.

Imagine Jace's surprise when he answered the door and saw Calli standing there, thinking she had left already. Calli didn't give him a chance to voice his shock though and grinned widely up at him, immediately putting butterflies in his stomach.

"Pack your bags, we're going on a field trip!" Calli exclaimed with enthusiasm that he'd never seen before (he of course didn't know exactly why she was so cheerful).

"Wha-?" Calli didn't give him time to process her declaration and walked past him into the smallish quarters, doing a quick scan with her eyes. It was nothing special. Two beds on opposite sides of the room with little nightstands next to each and a small lamp on both. Jace's lightsabers were resting next to it and Calli promptly went over and plucked them from the nightstand, half turning to toss them at Jace before picking up the satchel sitting on his bed next to his pillow, figuring it would have important things in there for him to bring. Calli threw that at Jace as well, and he barely had time to catch it before his cloak that had been neatly folded at the foot of the bed was also hurled his way, unfolding in midair and landing on his head, temporarily engulfing him in darkness. Again, Calli doesn't wait for him to get a word in, wrapping her non-robotic hand around one of his wrists and tugging him along, though she was quick to switch to the other when her real hand felt like it had burst into flames where it had made contact with Jace's skin, even though she'd been wearing gloves.

Jace at first willingly let Calli lead him, until it finally registered what she had said and done. He was quick to dig his heels into the ground and force the pair to stop. Calli looked back at him with faux innocence, like she wasn't aware of what was wrong.

"Ok, I need an explanation please." He said and Calli sighed like the young Jedi had asked her to do something strenuous but complied.

"You're coming with us on the mission." She explained simply, yet that answer didn't satisfy Jace, who shook his head while still looking confused.

"Master Windu didn't inform me of this." Calli shifted her weight from one foot to the other, debating whether or not to take the easy way out and lie. Despite being told that Jedi can't read minds, Calli still found herself skeptical about the fact and that prompted her to spill her guts.

"Well... He technically doesn't know yet," She revealed with a sigh, "- but Skyguy said he'd let him know... once we're in hyperspace."

"What's with all the suddenness and rush?" Jace couldn't help but ask, and when Calli didn't offer an answer his eyes narrowed in suspicion, "What's going on, Cal?"

"Nothing's going on." Calli insisted to which Jace gave her a deadpanned look, "Ok, look, would you rather sit around here bored and waiting for some action or come with me and help us take down clankers and whatever else stands in our path? I mean, we make a pretty good team." Jace had hesitated still, but when she said that last sentence, he found himself unable to deny her request to join, despite the nagging feeling at the back of his mind that there was more to this than just going to extinguish boredom. He had been dealing with boredom since they'd arrived, his Master was busy half the time so they couldn't train - well he could by himself but again that tended to get boring -and the normal daily list of tasks he had to complete each day had become tedious rather quickly as well. Slicing droids with his lightsabers actually sounded FUN. Calli was really rubbing off on him and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Jace chose to believe that his boredom is the reason he agreed to come along, and not because of Calli's statement that they made a good team.

~Present~

A part of Jace wishes he had stayed behind when he witnessed the tension between Calli and Hunter and the former's harsh treatment of her brother. He tried asking Calli what the problem was, but she didn't give him any details other than they had a disagreement about something. It's not like Calli could tell him what they were arguing about after all, since it involved the young Jedi. Although Jace couldn't help but notice a certain Sergeant's dirty look when he boarded the ship.

It remained relatively silent for a majority of the trip, but eventually Rex broke it.

"So, how many missions has your team been on, Sergeant?" He asked in an attempt to find out more about how the squad operated. The recent mission with the ragtag group of clones and watching how they worked made Rex curious to learn more about the team. Anakin looked up from Crosshair's fire puncher which he had been admiring to hear the enhanced clone's answer. Hunter chuckled, turning away from the computer screen to look at the captain.

"Honestly, sir, I've lost count." He admitted, waving his hand lazily, "All the action sort of blurs together."

"97." Callista piped in without looking up from her data pad, making everyone look at her briefly but she didn't provide any further detail. Of course, this included the missions they'd done before Calli joined the team, and she knew how many from the wall in their barracks on Kamino where Wrecker made sure to add tallies every time they traveled back there. Plus, Calli kept count of the missions since she joined by putting tallies on her shoulder pads. She has completed 23 missions so far.

"I know you work with Cody sometimes, but who do you guys' report to?" Rex questioned soon after.

"Hmm good question. Can't say I've got an answer." Hunter said, and Rex made a hmph sound, not satisfied with these answers but he didn't press any further. He didn't have a chance to anyways. Everyone was almost knocked off their feet when the Havoc Marauder suddenly lurched to one side. Tech's voice came through the intercom.

"We've reached Skako Minor, but it looks like it'll be a rough landing! Scar I could use your assistance at the moment!" Calli didn't need to be told twice, shoving her data pad into the nearest person's hands (Jace) and running to the cockpit. She took the co-pilot's seat and the pair worked in perfect sync, bringing their ship into Skako Minor's stormy atmosphere (it reminded Calli of Kamino if she was being honest, save for there was no rain, just thick orange clouds that lit up with each crack of lightning followed by a deafening roar of thunder that made everyone's ears ring (more so with Calli and Hunter) and the ship shudder. Even then, Calli didn't let it stumble her ability to copilot the Marauder and in no time, they landed on the surface with zero trouble.

Everyone piled into the cockpit while Tech and Calli powered down the ship.

"Rex, what do we know about this place?" Anakin asked the Captain.

"On this part of Skako, there's a race of locals, the Poletecs." Rex answered promptly, then adding with a small frown, "All we know is they're very primitive."

""Primitive" is being kind. My intel says the Poletecs worship flying reptiles." Tech inputted, having done research on the five hour flight here, not surprising to his squad. Calli had joined him a while, wanting to be prepared, more so than usual and despite her telling herself it wasn't because of Jace- of course it was because of him! She didn't want to mess up, the last mission they went on together still fresh in her mind.

Suddenly the room is engulfed in darkness when something landed on the front of the ship, causing everyone to jolt in fright as it - it being an animal with large talons, gigantic wings and a very ugly face - let out a vehement roar at the group who could only look at the animal with equal parts shock and slight fear.. Its claws dug into the viewport, and when the talons scratched the glass it resulted in an ear splitting shriek that made Calli's already sensitive ears hurt even more, plus the noise caused a chill to crawl down her spine and set her teeth on edge.

Just as soon as the animal appeared, it flew off, and Calli could just barely make out another figure riding atop it.

"What the heck was that?!" Wrecker exclaimed, leaning over the control panel to try and see if he could spot the creature again. Tech and Calli of course were the only ones with the answer. They weren't sure of the exact name of the species, as their sources of information didn't provide one.

"It's one of those reptiles." Tech said simply just as more sounds of the reptile crawling atop the ship could be heard. Two seconds later it began jumping up and down and shaking the ship, no doubt attempting to open it somehow.

"I want that thing off my ship." Hunter declared and he didn't have to say anything else, his siblings all jumping up and running into the lounge area where the rest of their gear had been left. Instead of her backpack, Calli strapped on the jetpack, something telling her she might need it if they were dealing with flying reptiles.

The two Jedi and Rex had followed the Bad Batch through the ship and looked at all the clones like they were crazy - and they were.

"Hold on! Hold on! Don't just run out there!" Rex told the group, yet his objections fell on deaf ears as the boys and Calli headed for the off ramp, the latter being the only one to reply, stopping at the threshold of the door leading to the exit to give Rex her signature crazy smirk.

"Oh Rexy, haven't you learned already that we don't let danger come to us? We go to it." With that said, Calli slipped on her helmet and continued the journey outside. The captain - and his companions - could only look at her retreating form with bafflement.

"Hey! Get off of there!" Calli heard Wrecker shout at the creature and its rider as she exited the ship and joined her brothers with the two Jedi and Rex closely behind. While Skywalker and Jace ignited their lightsabers Calli took out one of her DC-17's, and fired a couple warning shots at the reptile, hoping it would spook and fly off, yet it didn't.

"Hey, calm down!" Skywalker ordered after Calli had shot at the reptile, yet none of the Bad Batchers lowered their weapons, "We need to talk to them." Now that they were face to face with the beast, they also got a better look at its rider. Calli didn't know what the thin, lanky humanoid with vermillion colored skin, two beady eyes and a long narrow face that rivaled Crosshair's.

"Why?" Hunter questioned, this being one of the few times he preferred to shoot first and ask questions later. After all, the Havoc Marauder was more than just a ship, it was their home - their sanctuary from judging eyes. He wasn't about to let some animal tear it apart, and his siblings shared that same sentiment.

"The General's right." Rex said, backing him up. Just before an argument could ensue, two more of those reptiles with riders emerged from the haze, heading directly towards the group, Rex being the nearest to them.

"Look out, Rex!" Skywalker shouted, though it seemed pointless since he ended up pushing the clone out of the way before he could be snatched up. The two creatures circled back around, creating a distraction so the group no longer paid attention to the one on the ship, which had consequences. Taking the opportunity, the leader had his reptile jump off the ship and they made a beeline for the group, specifically the two with lightsabers. It succeeded in getting a hold of Skywalker, but just before Jace was also captured, Calli shoved him out of the way and large talons wrapped around her small figure and she was plucked off the ground so fast that it made her stomach lurch and if she hadn't grabbed onto her helmet, it might have flown off.

"Calli!" Jace and Hunter shouted at the same time, then looking at each other, the latter glaring at Jace even though it couldn't be seen underneath the helmet, and then looking away with a childish 'hmph'.

Tech, not the least bit panicked, flipped down his visor and used the thermal scanner to pick up the heat signatures of his sister, Skywalker, and the reptiles.

"I have a thermal reading." He informed, turning to face his brothers and looking knowingly at Crosshair, "Point-two-five east, elevation 175." To anyone who wasn't part of the Bad Batch, (i.e., Rex and Jace) this would have been pointless information, after all they can't chase the flying reptiles on foot!

"What are we going to do?" Jace asks in a panic, and Crosshair nudges him aside while walking over to Tech's side.

"Relax. I'll handle this." He told the teen coolly as he takes the blaster barrel off his fire puncher and replaces it with the grappling hook attachment, proceeding to lay the gun on Tech's shoulder, using it to steady his weapon as he flipped down the rangefinder on his helmet to pick up the heat signatures. Soon a grappling hook is fired and flies through the air, and Crosshair smirks triumphantly when the device attaches itself to the reptile's leg connected to the foot currently carrying Calli in its grasp. Before the ascension cable runs out, Crosshair hands the other end containing a hook to Hunter, and the Sergeant hooks it to his belt.

"What are you doing?" Rex demanded, though he had a pretty good idea and all he could think was that Hunter was insane!

"Going for a ride." Hunter replied in a smooth voice, his hands leaving his belt and grasping the cable just in time as he's lifted from his spot on the ground, leaving behind a baffled Rex and Jace, who could only watch with jaws dropped as the Sergeant disappeared into the orange haze.

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Up with the reptile, Calli saw the hook embedded itself in the reptile's leg and she could care less if it hurt him. Before now Calli had never had a problem with motion sickness but as they climbed higher and higher and the claw holding her hostage jerked her body this way and that, Calli's last meal threatened to make a reappearance, which wouldn't be ideal with her helmet still being on.

She struggled against the claws restraining her, trying desperately to reach for her knife or second blaster (the first one had been dropped when she'd been grabbed). Calli only managed to wrench her right arm free, but her entire person was outfitted with weapons. She hit the vambrace against her helmet to press the button that activated the flame projector, aiming it so the flames licked the reptile's leg.

The attack had the desired effect and the reptile let out a roar of pain. Calli is suddenly in a free fall as the flying creature released her from its grasp, and she could hear both Anakin and Hunter call out to her as she rapidly descended for the ground.

As she fell Calli maneuvered herself, so her body was right side up and just before she slammed into the rocky floor, she activated the jet pack that dramatically slowed her descent. Her boots just barely touched the ground and then she pushed off at full speed, making a steady incline back towards the reptile and her squad mate who was still dangling on the grappling hook. The fire had made the creature fly more erratically, which wasn't good for Hunter as he began swinging uncontrollably, just barely avoiding the steep, jagged rock formations as he fired a few blasts at the reptile, which only succeeded in making it more agitated.

Calli flew as close to Hunter as possible while also dodging the large rocks, being ready to catch him when he fell, which the Sergeant eventually did, as the reptile's erratic flying made the grappling hook become loose then fall off all together. Before Hunter could even press his fingers to the side of his helmet to comm Calli, whom he'd seen catching up to them, Calli had already swooped in and grabbed him by his backpack before he fell to his death.

"Woah! Don't drop me!" Hunter shouted, being slightly fearful that Calli might do just that since she was mad at him. After smiling to herself because of this, Calli assured him she wouldn't, and they continued following their assailants that still had the General in its grasp.

Eventually they reached a small village, and instead of making themselves known Calli stopped just before they entered the settlement, instead going over to one of the rock formations that gave them a bird's eye view of the area and where they wouldn't be spotted.

Calli stopped roughly twenty feet over the rock and without warning let Hunter go and he hit the stone in an inglorious heap, not having the time to maneuver himself to where he could do a barrel roll and wound up on his feet with his dignity intact. So, he laid splayed out on his stomach while Calli elegantly landed on her own two feet next to the Sergeant who lifted the upper half of his body to glare daggers at his sister through his visor.

"I thought you said you wouldn't drop me!" He hissed and Calli hummed thoughtfully.

"Did I? I can't remember." She replied, and Hunter grumbled under his breath before comming the others, telling Tech to follow his comm signal. Not two minutes later the Havoc Marauder appeared and landed next to the rock formation Hunter and Calli were on, and the rest of the Bad Batch plus Rex and Jace climbed up, joining the pair as they looked down at the village.

Rex flipped his rangefinder down and found Anakin still wedged underneath the animal's claws. "That creature still has a hold of the General." He told everyone and Calli gave Rex a deadpanned look from beneath her visor.

"Way to point out the obvious." Calli thought, or at least she meant to only think this, but apparently, she said it out loud because she now had six pairs of eyes looking at her. Calli could only shrug in response. Thankfully Rex drew everyone's attention back to him when he spoke.

"We're going in - but remember what the General said. No casualties, disarm only."

"We're on it, Captain." Hunter assured before pointing to the two strongest members of the team then to the round boulder that was nearby, "Wrecker, Crosshair, rockslide!" He ordered and the pair nodded, heading over to the decent sized rock. Everyone else slid down the rock as the boulder was pushed by Wrecker from its spot and sent rolling into the village while Calli chose to jump off the edge and using her jetpack to fly around, making sure that no one was really hurt by the boulder, which included picking up a couple of the aliens out of its path before they became pancakes.

Apparently, her efforts weren't appreciated by one of the sentients she saved, because one of them punched her helmet with the arm Calli wasn't holding and she shouted in surprise while also accidentally releasing her hold on the pair of them - thankfully they weren't that high up in the air, so the drop wasn't fatal. Once Calli gained her bearings and steadied her flying, she glared down at the one who'd punched her while crossing her arms.

"Rude! I just saved your life and that's how you repay me?!" She yelled down at him, even though it was likely her protests wouldn't be understood by the alien species. Instead of getting an "I'm sorry" or "oops my bad", Calli had arrows shot at her. She avoided the first wave of arrows and while they reloaded, she pulled out a blaster and shot the crude wooden weapons from the aliens before they could attempt to fire another round of arrows. While they fled away in fear Calli also left and went to join the others who'd succeeded in freeing the General and were now being yelled at by what Calli assumed was the leader of the village. Calli landed beside Wrecker, who alongside everyone else had blasters aimed at the Chief who raised his hands in surrender before saying something in a language that none of them understood.

"Tech, translate what he said." Hunter ordered his brother, who stepped closer while tapping something on his wrist gauntlet before flipping down his visor. Words appeared in both red and blue, the former being the words spoken by the alien and its translation into basic.

"He says he does not want our war on his planet." Tech explained, the words disappearing so he could look at the General while finishing, "That is why he took our leader."

"We didn't bring the war here. It was Wat Tambor and the Separatists." Anakin said and Tech didn't need to be told to translate this to the Chief, and he did. The way Tech spoke the language sounded average at best, and besides the word, "Separatists", though it was spoken with a heavy accent, Calli didn't understand a thing. The Chief looked at the clone with his head tilted, most likely surprised that a human was speaking to him in their unique dialect. Once Tech finished, Rex stepped forward and gave Tech more sentences to translate, taking the opportunity that the villagers were calm and willing to listen to them.

"Tell him we apologize for what's happened. But tell him the enemy is holding one of our men prisoners in Purkoll. As soon as we rescue him, we'll leave his planet, for good." More blue words appeared on the left side of Tech's visor, and soon after a full translation was provided, and he spoke again to the Chief. He had a harder time talking this time around, tripping over a couple words and at one point he sounded like he was choking, yet he pulled through. The Chief was even more intrigued and took two large steps with his long, gangly legs, putting him right in front of Tech, who's voice drifted off as the Chief peered down at him, specifically the visor with wonderment, getting into the clone's personal space bubble. Tech remained stock still so as not to spook the sentient, allowing him to examine his helmet.

A few tense and uncomfortable seconds went by before the Chief stepped back, then turned to face the villagers that surrounded the clones and Jedi, and he said something to them. Calli stiffened when they all began talking and her hand itched for her blaster yet waited for Tech to translate.

"The Chief says he will provide us with scouts and lead us to Tambor's city. From there, we're on our own." He informed, and everyone turned to General Skywalker to see what he'd say to this offer.

"Any help is better than no help." He said with a shrug.

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Like the Chief promised, he sent a couple scouts with the group and they led them up to a cliff, and beyond that you could see the outline of multiple towers, which one of the scouts pointed to while saying something that again no one but Tech could understand. The General nodded to the scout anyways and they left.

"Took you guys long enough," Calli commented from her perch on the top of part of the rock that stuck out from the cliff and roughly fifty feet above the others. She'd flown up ahead on her jetpack as opposed to climbing up like the others and had been waiting for twenty minutes for the others.

Her brothers simply rolled their eyes while Skywalker ignored her and looked towards the city with determination.

"Hope nobody's scared of heights." He said and one by one Hunter, Crosshair, then Calli all turned their heads to Wrecker, knowing that the gentle giant had trouble with high altitudes yet keeping their mouths shut. Wrecker puffed his chest out haughtily.

"Well, I'm not scared of nothing." He claimed, though when he looked at the edge of the cliff, his confidence waned the slightest, "I jus' - When I'm up real high, I got a problem with gravity." His teammates, minus Tech who was tapping away on his datapad, held back snickers and Crosshair would have verbally teased him if their genius brother hadn't interjected with bad news.

"Speaking of problems, I am no longer picking up Echo's signal."

"I - I don't understand. You said it was coming from this city." Rex said, sounding extremely agitated and Calli felt bad for the Captain.

"I can only speculate, but it is possible there's a latency issue with the frequency caused by all these," Tech waved a hand towards the sky, "-atmospheric disturbances."

"Or maybe they sent the signal to lure us into a trap. And maybe your friend's actually dead." Everyone looked at Hunter, who crossed his arms, "Well, I can't be the only one thinking of that." He spoke. The other male members of the Bad Batch seemed to agree with the Sergeant, and Calli couldn't believe it.

"Look, every mission could be a trap." Rex retorted heatedly while jabbing a finger at Hunter, and Calli could hear his heart rate increase as he grew more and more upset at the doubt of his companions, "This one is no different. I'm telling you - that signal is being sent by Echo himself! He's alive!"

"I think you're letting your personal feelings get in the way because you left him for dead at the Citadel." Crosshair said in his usual cynical way and Calli said his name as a warning for him to shut up, as his words would only make things worse.

"I had no choice. You hear me?" Crosshair just shrugged, remaining calm while Rex was basically ready to explode.

"Oh, I don't blame you. I would've left him for dead too." Crosshair remarked casually, and he turned away from the captain, but not before throwing another cruel remark over his shoulder, "Besides, he's just another reg." This comment was what made Rex snap. He lunged forwards and when Crosshair turned back around, he was met with Rex's fist. The captain unleashed all his fury on the sniper into that punch, but it wasn't enough, and while Crosshair stumbled back Rex didn't give him a second to collect himself, landing another blow that made Crosshair fall backwards and hit the ground.

Even though Calli had been the closest to Crosshair, she made no move to defend him, because his words not only hurt Rex, but her as well as it brought up some memories

"Hey!" It was Wrecker who stepped in, picking up Rex by the scruff of his neck and yanking him away from his brother before he could land any more punches. "Why don't you pick on someone not your size?" the bug clone said tauntingly while dropping the captain on his feet not-so-nicely. But Rex was not intimidated by Wrecker's size, and stepped up to him, glowering at the enhanced clone underneath his visor.

"You'll be a whole lot smaller when I'm through with you." Rex threatened coolly, shifting his fury from Crosshair to the one who'd stopped his attack. The two Jedi could sense an array of intense emotions radiating off the captain, while Calli didn't need the force to be able to tell that Rex was in great distress over the possibility of his former comrade actually being dead. It made her feel even more sorrow for him, and angrier at her brothers for adding to his torment by expressing doubt.

"That's enough!" Anakin barked, thankfully putting an end to the fight before it got any uglier, though in all honesty Calli herself was considering giving Crosshair, Wrecker, and Hunter each a punch herself. "Sergeant, take your men and scout the area for a tower entrance. Jace, go with them. I want to talk to my Captain alone." Hunter nodded and motioned for his squad to follow him with Jace bringing up the rear.

As they slowly made their way down the rock, Crosshair took off his helmet and clicked his tongue in annoyance when he saw the scratches on the visor from Rex's punches, the armor plate protecting the top of his hand leaving marks on the transparisteel.

"Can you believe that reg? Getting so worked up over nothing." Calli, who'd been walking behind Hunter towards the front, stopped in her tracks and faced Crosshair, her hands balling into fists. She spoke in a low, clipped tone, just barely keeping her cool as she was still seething from his earlier comments and the urge to punch him was still there.

"You call being hopeful over someone he cares about being alive and getting upset when someone says cruel things about the friend nothing?" Without his helmet on, Calli could see Crosshair when his eyes rolled.

"Don't tell me you actually care about this whole rescue mission." By now everyone else had stopped, Wrecker, Tech and Jace being behind them and having to, so they didn't run into the pair, while it took Hunter a few seconds to realize his squad had stopped. He rejoined the group and asked what the problem was, but Calli and Crosshair tuned him out. Calli took off her own helmet so her scowl could be seen as she responded.

"And if I do, why is that a bad thing?" Crosshair scoffed, only further adding to Calli's frustration.

"Please, he's one of a million regs."

"And?"

"And he's nothing special and isn't worth all this fuss. The Republic couldn't care less about one lost reg so why should we?" Calli could only stare at Crosshair in disbelief. And then the others began sharing their opinions, Tech being the first, looking up from his datapad briefly.

"While I don't quite agree with Crosshair's rather harsh sentiments, I also feel the need to point out that it's likely this reg is dead and like Hunter said before, this could all be a trap." Calli shook her head, refusing to accept it, but Tech wasn't finished, "And if he is alive, who's to say we can trust him?"

"I agree with Tech. The reg could be working for the Seppies." Wrecker added, voicing the other obvious reason since no one else was going to. Calli could only chuckle wryly while shaking her head.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing. If you all feel this way, then why even bother coming on this mission?"

"Because we were ordered to, and we always complete our missions." Tech said matter-of-factly, like it should have been obvious.

"And you would have given us hell if we didn't." Hunter 'muttered' under his breath, though Calli heard him just fine.

"Well excuse me for caring more about people than just about missions. I can't believe how cold and unfeeling you're all being. I expect this from Crosshair," Crosshair looked downright offended by this statement, "- but the rest of you? I'm-I'm embarrassed to even be related to you right now!" Crosshair made a noise of exasperation.

"Why does this even matter so much to you?" He asked, not understanding why Calli cared so much about this reg they didn't even know.

"Because it's just hitting me, with the way you're acting about Echo, that you probably didn't want to come rescue me when I was captured by the Separatists. In fact, if the Senator hadn't been with me, you probably wouldn't have come at all!" Calli knew she was right when Crosshair looked away and there was a slightly guilty look in his eyes that she caught before he hid his face from her view. Tech and Hunter looked uncomfortable as well, while Wrecker spoke up.

"That's not true Scar," Wrecker exclaimed, trying to diffuse the argument and reassure her, "- the rest of us wanted to come rescue you! Crosshair got outvoted."

"Oh, how touching!" Calli retorted, and Wrecker deflated a little at this, not liking it when Calli was angry at him, but Calli was too fired up to feel bad. She turned back to Crosshair and jabbed a finger at him, "You wanna know why I'm so bent on saving Echo? Because when I was locked up in a cell, all alone and being tortured, I didn't think that anyone was going to come get me." Calli's expression softened a little as she said the next part, "But you guys did. I've never expressed how much that meant to me." It was weird to talk about it, Calli admitted to herself. Even more weird to think about how much time has passed and how much has changed. Several emotions welled up inside her at bringing that time up. She felt tears appear in her eyes and wasn't sure if they were tears of frustration or just from being emotional as she relived the experiences and what she felt when the boys came to her rescue. Calli shook her head and forced herself to calm down before saying one final thing. "And yeah, maybe this whole thing is a wild bantha chase, but if it'll help give Rex some closure then it's worth it and I don't care what you guys think or feel about it."

The boys just stood there in silence, unsure of what to say or do. Calli didn't want them to anyways, and Jace seemed to pick up on this and suggested they get moving. They all reluctantly agreed, but the awkwardness between the boys and Calli was undeniable.

○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○

Eventually the Bad Batch plus Jace followed Echo's signal which had started transmitting again and it led them to the bottom of what appeared to be a tower of sorts. It was hard to tell how big or how tall the building was with the sandstorm that never seemed to end.

Calli stood off to the side and contacted the General per Hunter's order to tell them their coordinates, then leaned against the metal wall, keeping an eye out for the pair. Just as Tech connected his data pad to the control panel and began having it to allow them entrance, Anakin and Rex rejoined the group.

"We're in business, General. Tech regained Echo's signal." Hunter informed the general and he pointed to the building, "It's coming from this tower." Skywalker nodded, turning to the goggled clone. "How's it going, Tech?" Tech didn't respond, being focused on his datapad. A few seconds went by, then the doors finally opened, and Tech stood up.

"Sorry it took so long." He apologized, and Anakin and Jace were surprised at this, as it only took Tech less than a minute to hack which is a shorter time than most can achieve. Hunter told Crosshair to go check out the interior. The sniper creeped in while holding his rifle up, ready to shoot if necessary. When he made it all the way in with no trouble, he lowered the rifle.

"Yeah, it's a lift." Calli couldn't hold back a scoff as she pushed herself off the wall and headed for the inside along with the others.

"Well, we already knew that." She said in a snippy tone, to which Crosshair glowered but remained silent as everyone piled into the lift. Except for Wrecker, who stopped at the threshold when it hit him what they were about to do.

"Wait, wait, wait. A lift?" He said before taking a step back and straining his neck as he looked up at the tall building, suddenly feeling queasy to his stomach, "How-How far up are we going?" Despite being angry at her brothers, Calli felt bad for Wrecker.

"Don't worry, Wrecker." Hunter simpered, "I'll hold your hand." Wrecker huffed and nudged his brother's arm playfully.

"Hey! Cut it out, Sarge. Just give me some droids to crush." Wrecker said as he stepped into the lift. Now it was already a tight fit with seven people inside, and four of them were in bulky armor which made it more uncomfortable. Still, they at least had some moving room. But once Wrecker was inside, everyone else was forced to squish together to make his bulky figure fit in the tiny space.

The doors closed and the lift began heading upwards. It was a quiet, awkward ride as everyone was uncomfortable with their close proximity to one another. Calli was smushed between Jace on her right, Tech on her left, and Crosshair was behind her, forced to be in a corner.

Crosshair didn't like having Calli's jetpack pushing against him and crowding him. He let out a frustrated growl when the lift jerked, and the force made Calli stumble backwards and further push him into the corner.

"Quit crowding me!" He hissed over Calli's shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sorry, why don't I move?" Calli offered with obvious sarcasm, not bothering to even look back at her squadmate.

"Ha ha." Crosshair retorted dryly, "The smallest of us should be in the corner!" He then declared. Calli's head turned sharply at him, her anger flaring.

"Make one more crack about my size and I swear I'll take out my knife and cut off your -"

"Knock it off, the both of you!" Hunter barked sternly, effectively shutting them up before either could say anything that would embarrass the rest of them. When those two were angry at each other, they could say things that would make even a sith lord blush.

Skywalker backed Hunter up by focusing the attention back on the present task. "Remember, this is a stealth mission. No blasting, no blowing things up. Nobody knows we're here."

"Yeah yeah, we get it, General Buzzkill." Calli remarked without thinking, and when Skywalker looked at her with an annoyed expression, she could feel Crosshair facepalm behind her, and then tried to back track, "Er, I-I mean sir, yes sir...uh...General?"

"Nice save." Crosshair remarked, thus furthering Calli's embarrassment. She was saved however when the lift doors opened, and they were met by multiple D-1 Series droids that turned to face them.

"Intruders!" One of the droids said in a monotone voice, and all the droids began aiming their built-in blasters at the group that had yet to react, "Attack!"

Wrecker didn't think twice to act, letting out a battle cry as he barreled out of the lift towards the droids as they began firing, grabbing one of the offenders and flinging it to the other end of the room where it took out two others in its crash landing behind some containers.

"So much for stealth." Calli said dryly as Wrecker grabbed another droid, swinging it around to hit multiple other droids, sending them flinging off the landing pad they'd stumbled upon, then proceeding to dump that droid and shoot multiple rounds into the head, when really only one shot was needed. Despite her comment, when the other Bad Batchers ran out to help their brother, Calli didn't hesitate to follow, save for stopping to turn to Jace and pointing to one of his lightsabers.

"Hey, are you going to be using that?" She asked, wanting to use it since she didn't have her electrostaff and Skywalker had said to be stealthy and in ways a lightsaber was quieter than a blaster. Calli's question though was more rhetorical, as she grabbed one of them anyways. She at least had enough manners to thank Jace before bolting out into the open, igniting the blade just in time to swipe it in front of her and cut off the heads of two droids that had attempted to attack her. Calli grinned as she watched the heads and bodies clatter onto the floor, sparks flying from them and the metal melting where the blade made contact.

Heh, I really like this thing.

While Calli wasn't whooping and hollering like Wrecker as he fought droids, she was definitely getting an adrenaline rush from using the lightsaber instead of a boring blaster to take down droids left and right. Jace could only watch alongside Anakin and Rex as Calli swung the lightsaber to take out three more unfortunate victims before barrel rolling to another to avoid being shot before striking right in the center of its chest plate.

"Uh... Is she allowed to do that, sir?" Rex asked the General, yet Anakin didn't really have an answer. He was mildly impressed by how Calli (or he only knew her as Scar) utilized the weapon, not showing any hesitation at all. Most people were weary around lightsabers, heck in the beginning he'd been nervous to use it, being raised to use a blaster. While Calli's form was bad - horrendous even - she still managed to effectively take down numerous droids without barely breaking a sweat.

Wrecker had just finished blasting holes in the final droid and let out an almost maniacal laugh while pumping his fists.

"YEAH! WHOO!!" Calli let the blade retreat back into the hilt and looked at Wrecker along with the others, though she could understand as she felt a similar high. Wrecker laughed again, quieter and more sheepish this time, massaging the back of his neck, "Uh sorry. I just got excited."

"I've still got a lock on Echo's signal." Tech announced to break the awkward silence that followed as Wrecker finally calmed down.

"All right, men. Let's hunt some droids." Hunter said and this got Wrecker all excited again.

"Now you're talking! Yeah!"

Everyone headed for the doors that would lead them further into the building. Jace fell into step next to Calli on her left and held his hand out expectantly. With a nervous chuckle she gave the lightsaber back.

"Heh, sorry. Guess I got a little carried away." She admitted while wringing her hands. Thankfully Jace wasn't annoyed.

"No harm done - except to the droids." Calli visibly relaxed, yet Jace couldn't help but make a comment about how Calli fought with the lightsaber, "Your form was terrible, though." Calli made a noise of surprise, then punched his shoulder playfully, temporarily forgetting about her enhanced strength and that Wrecker was the only one who could handle her punches, even the "playful" ones could cause serious damage. Jace let out a pained grunt as his shoulder exploded in pain and went to grip his shoulder while Calli's eyes bugged out when she realized what she'd done.

"Holy kriff, I'm- I'm so sorry!!" Calli whisper-shouted so the others wouldn't hear her as she freaked out over the possibility that Jace's shoulder might either be broken or at the very least dislocated. Is injuring your Commander who's also a Jedi illegal? Great, I'm going to jail!

"It's fine." Jace assured her through gritted teeth as the pain became more of a dull throb. He rotated his shoulder a few times to show that no permanent damage was done. Calli went from being mortified to embarrassed and chose to increase her speed to go join the adults just as Skywalker suggested they split up, as apparently Tech had lost Echo's signal and now, they had no way of knowing where he was.

"Okay, we're splitting up. Search every door. If someone finds Echo, contact the others. We go in together, just in case there's trouble." Everyone nodded before heading in different directions. Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, and Rex headed left while the rest went right.

They ran down the curved hallway that had multiple doors spaced out on the right side while the left had a half wall, the top being a window that looked out to the rest of the city. Skywalker took the first door they came across; Crosshair did the next while Calli and Jace continued jogging until they reached another door and Calli said she'd take this one. Jace nodded and told her to be careful before running off.

After punching the control panel that opened the door, Calli took out one of her blasters and held it with both hands in front of her as she began creeping into the section of the chamber this door opened up to. It appeared to be a room full of generators and machinery that powered the building, separated into sections that created a sort of maze. There was minimal lighting, and Calli quickly slipped off her helmet and clipped it to her belt, opting to rely on her enhanced senses to detect any droids that would try and sneak up on her in the darkness. At every junction she stopped and listened, and when nothing jumped out and fired, she would move forward.

Eventually her ears picked up the sound of creaking metal from above and two seconds later a droid dropped to the floor in front of the girl.

"Drop your weapon-" Calli shot the droid through the head before it could say anything else. Then a sound came from behind and Calli was quick to unsheath her vibro blade and without turning jabbed it into the droid that crept up behind her in an attempted sneak attack, twisting the blade to ensure it did maximum damage. Just then another dropped down near the first droid and this one began shooting without any hesitation. One of the blasts just barely grazed Calli's ear and she pulled the second droid that still had the vibroblade embedded in its chest in front before kicking it forward with her boot to slam into the shooting droid, and they collided and fell into a heap on the ground.

Calli quickly made her way over to the heap and wrenched the vibroblade from the second droid in order to stab the third one before it could regain its bearings, only she didn't stop after one. She repeated the action, unleashing all the pent-up anger this mission has brought upon her. Everything that she's kept bottled up just came crashing down on her and this time she couldn't just push it away. As the blade pierced the metal body of the droid over and over, flashes of everything that was wrong in her life right now came to mind.

STAB. Her frustration with how her team didn't care about a reg being potentially held captive and even worse saying cruel things about him.

STAB. She was angry at the fact she was angry over something that on a broader scale of things maybe wasn't something to be so worked up about. But this had been building up for a while, to where now Calli took offense to even the smallest offense.

STAB. One of the built-up frustrations was how Hunter kept making passive aggressive comments about her relationship with Jace, as did Crosshair.

Thinking about Jace brought on a whole new set of intense emotions and Calli's stabs became more aggressive and with less time in between each one. The fact that Hunter didn't trust her or believe her when she said there was nothing going on between them. That he kept giving her a hard time about it and just not letting it go just infuriated Calli. She was glad at least that Hunter didn't know about the kiss she and Jace almost shared back on Naboo. It was hard enough that Jace tried to bring it up the first few times they corresponded. Calli would immediately brush it off and promptly change the subject, wanting to simply forget about it and move on. Eventually Jace seemed to get the hint and stopped, Calli was relieved that they could continue being friends and not worry about ruining it with some itty-bitty romantic feelings that tried to get in the way.

Calli's temper flared again thinking about that last part. She tried to deny it, both to herself and everyone else; she didn't like Jace in that way. But, deep down, Calli knew the bitter truth and she hated it with a passion. Most people wouldn't be so bothered over the fact that they like someone, but Calli was. She didn't know how it happened, one moment they were barely acquaintances, then that vacation on Naboo happened and suddenly these weird fuzzy, bubbly feelings emerged and Calli wanted nothing more than to turn them off!

Calli wasn't sure how many times the blade pierced the upper metal body of the droid, all she knew was that by the time she finally stopped her breathing had become heavy, her jaw was clenched, teeth were gritted and all she wanted to do was scream at the top of her lungs. She didn't feel better in the slightest, and that added to her frustration.

Before Calli could wallow in her despair any further, she got a comm call from Jace, saying that Tech regained Echo's signal and gave her the location to meet them at. After quickly wiping her eyes that had become misty without her noticing, Calli went to free her vibroblade, only for the handle and blade to separate and the latter was left embedded in the droid. Her lips formed a pitiful little pout,

Aw man, this was my favorite knife. Can't one thing go right today?

Not able to part with her beloved weapon, Calli pulled the blade out before making her way to where the others were. Turns out she arrived just in time too, as a bunch of droids were closing in on them. Calli immediately sprang into action, throwing the blade in her right hand at a nearby droid, sparks flying as it went down. She then chucked the handle at another, and with her enhanced strength the force was enough to knock the head off the droid and render that one useless also.

Now Calli had the attention of a few other droids and those she swiftly took down with her DC-17's while the rest were taken out by the others. There was a brief period for everyone to catch their breath and Calli got a better look of where they were at. The door where Echo supposedly was beyond that was in an arched alcove like thing adjacent to the hall and at the back of it were large double doors. Calli became hopeful that they'd find Echo, after all these doors were locked while the others weren't and that's only necessary when you're guarding something, in this case a prisoner of war.

More blaster shots forced everyone to hide behind each end of the alcove where there was a small wall that would shield them.

"Tech, open that door for Rex!" Anakin shouted over the blaster fire.

"Yes, sir!" Tech responded before hurrying over to the circular control panel next to the doors and getting to work. Calli followed to provide cover while he worked, Rex joining her a second later. Calli had seen Hunter say something to him beforehand, and wished she'd been able to hear because her curiosity was burning. She did however get an order to go with the pair once the doors were opened and Calli didn't protest, wanting to see first-hand if this whole mission had been worth it or not.

The doors led them to a small room with another set of doors at the end of it, and past that was a large circular room. Rex and Calli walked ahead of Tech with their blasters raised, taking slow, careful steps down a ramp, the rest of the metal floor having wires and lights intertwined, and with the large gaps in the metal they would likely get stuck.

The ramp ended and they stood before a large chamber of sorts, and even with all her armor on Calli could feel the coldness radiating from it.

"I don't like the look of this." Rex stated unsurely, and Calli found herself nodding in agreement while Tech got to work on the circular console in front of the chamber to try and get it open. Calli holstered her weapons and a heavy weight settled on her chest as she gazed upon the machinery that began making hissing noises and emitting clouds of smoke as Tech began the unlocking sequence, and from the way he swiftly typed in commands and pushed a series of buttons and levers, you'd think he had dealt with this type of technology before.

"I'm definitely picking up a life-form in there." Tech informed while he worked and that spark of hope was back, "It seems to be a stasis chamber. I think I can get it open. Calli, pull those two levers down slowly when I tell you to." Calli went to where Tech pointed and grasped the two levers, looking at Tech expectantly while her heart pounded at what might lay beyond the frosted doors of the chamber.

After pressing a couple more buttons he gave her a nod and Calli had to take a deep breath before gently pulling the levers downwards and she heard more whirring of machinery and from her peripherals to the left she saw the doors to the chamber swing open and a wave of frigid air made a chill go down her spine, only for it to happen again when a body fell out of the chamber. Even though Calli had her suspicions about what was inside the machine, nothing could prepare her for seeing a sickly pale, lifeless form to fall out of there, only it only made it about a foot out as it was attached to several hoses that prevented it from fully dropping to the floor, and somehow the fact it hung out like that made it even more terrifying. Calli let out a yelp and jumped back in fright, accidently bumping into Tech though truth be told she was tempted to grab onto his arm like a small child for comfort after that heart-skipping scare that probably took a couple years off her life.

Rex's horrified expression was hidden beneath his helmet, which he was thankful for. "Echo." There was sorrow in Rex's tone as he took in his vod's state. His skin color was no longer a warm tan color like the rest of the clones', and his entire lower body was now made up of cybernetic components, along with the lower half of his right hand, which was now replaced with a scomp link like most droids possessed. Echo's eyes were open, yet unfocused, and moved as if he was reading something.

The sadness was temporarily pushed aside, and Rex jumped onto the console to grab his vod and free him from the chamber. "Tech. We gotta get him out of here. Figure out how to unplug him from this mess." Rex gently wrapped his arms around Echo's waist and took off one of the hoses but found that the others wouldn't budge, they did however have some length, so Rex was able to pull Echo the rest of the way out of the chamber and place Echo on the ground with his back against the console.

Once Echo was settled, Rex took off his helmet so he could look at Echo more closely, and the despair and shock was clear as day on his features.

"What have they done to you?" Calli, having recovered from her mini freak out, crouched down on the other side of Echo and began spouting off her observations, not realizing that Rex wasn't really looking for an answer at this time.

"It looks like his lower torso, legs, and right arm were replaced with cybernetic implants and these tubes and stuff were probably there to keep him alive while in the stasis chamber-" Calli finally glanced at Rex and saw the "what the heck" look Rex was giving her and pressed her lips together briefly in embarrassment, "Oh, that was a rhetorical question wasn't it?"

Their attention was brought back to Echo when he began stirring and some of the cloudiness left his eyes. He jumped, then began speaking, his voice hoarse from not being used for who knows how long.

"We-We have to get to the shuttle to escape the Citadel." He mumbled out, then his face became panicked, and he held his human hand up, "No! I'll go first." Calli deduced he must be reliving his final moments before being knocked out or whatever. Rex said his name in an attempt to get his attention, but Echo continued to talk as if the rest of them weren't there. "No! No. No."

"Echo, it's Rex." The captain said, a little louder this time, "I'm here." He assured. Echo said 'no' one more time before slumping back against the console. He remained silent for a moment, and Calli saw his eyes clear up entirely and he became aware of his surroundings, specifically the ARC Trooper kneeling in front of him.

"Rex?" He said weakly, "You, you came back for me?" It was as if Calli was looking into a mirror, flashes of her saying almost the exact same thing to the Bad Batch. She couldn't describe the feeling it gave her as she watched the two brothers interact.

Rex nodded sadly, with regret in his eyes. "Yes." He said in a soft voice, "Yes, I did." It took Echo a second to process this, still being very much out of it. Eventually more questions spilled from his mouth.

"What... What happened?" he asked, his eyes glancing around at the unfamiliar surroundings, "Where am I?" Rex reached out and gently grasped Echo's human hand in his own, ignoring that it felt like an ice cube.

"It's okay, Echo. You're safe now." Rex assured in a soothing tone, and he placed his free hand on Echo's shoulder. "Just sit tight, trooper. You're going home."

○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○

AHHHHHH, I'M SO HAPPY THAT ECHO'S FINALLY HERE!! I'M SO EXCITED TO WRITE THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN HIM AND CALLI!! THEY'RE GONNA BE CYBORG SIBLINGS!!!

I hope you liked this chapter!!

~B.C.

[witcher-and-his-bard-archive]

I'll Hold You Just The Same

also on ao3

written for the Monster March prompt list prompt: vampire

Everyone knows about Geralt's affliction and has for years - at least the people closest to him do - and it's not a problem anymore. During the warmer months, feeding isn't difficult; there's no shortage of bandits and criminals coming after him and if they happen to wind up with holes in their neck, well, Geralt knows well enough how to dispose of a body. It's become a necessity, one he hated at first but had grown to put up with in the past few years. The only time he has to worry is during the winter, but if things go south, his brothers are always more than willing to let him feed when he needs it. Geralt never takes more than he needs and the other Witchers never offer more than they're willing to give. They know each other well and it works. So taking Jaskier to Kaer Morhen with him hardly seems like it's going to be a problem.

Their first sign that something was bound to go wrong should have been obvious. Things happen in threes, or so they say, and the first of three happens as soon as they hit the last town heading north.

It's a little place, more of a trading post than a town, really, but they have a small bunkhouse for travellers and a shop for supplies. Geralt always stays on his way up the mountain - one last night of rest before trekking up the pass. This year, there are no free rooms.

A hunting expedition gone badly, the man serving as innkeeper says, two injured and one killed, everyone remaining is being sheltered until a sled can be brought up to take the injured into town. And that's... fine. They've slept in worse places and the innkeeper offers whatever he can for supper and comfort.

Geralt leaves Jaskier in town while he heads off to find them somewhere to sleep for the night. He's hoping for a cave or an overhang of rock, something to help keep the heat for Jaskier. He especially needs a good nights' sleep before they head out. But as he's searching, Geralt encounters the second sign.

There's been a light dusting of snow on the ground for days now. This far north, it isn't uncommon, especially so late in the year, but tonight it starts snowing heavily. Geralt finds what he's looking for, sort of. It's a small shelf of rock, enough to shelter them from the oncoming snow, but it won't do much in terms of holding heat. That, he can cope with, so long as they're out of the snow.

He goes back to collect Jaskier once he's lit a fire and cleared a space for them. They sleep under the shelf that night, and it's not as bad as some nights on the road, but Geralt still feels bad. It's the first time he's brought Jaskier home with him and he wasn't expecting to have problems immediately.

In the morning, he's feeling somewhat better. He's no less hesitant about the mountain pass than he has been since asking Jaskier to come, but they've made it through the worst of it and soon enough they'll be up in the keep with his brothers, with Vesemir.

They set out early, just after dawn, and the snow hasn't stopped yet but Geralt tries not to let that bother him. He's made worse treks, including the one year he had to leave Roach at the foot of the mountain and walk up alone. Since that year, he's been much more careful.

The snow doesn't stop, though and while Jaskier is steadfast and determined, Geralt starts to worry about him. It's not until they're halfway through the day, that Geralt realizes he hasn't fed in a couple of days. At the time, he thinks it's the third in a line of problems, and that things should be easier from then on, but he has no idea what's coming.

By early evening, the snow is falling in heavy flakes and the wind has picked up. They push through, but even Geralt is finding it hard to continue with the snow piling up toward their knees. When Jaskier stumbles, Geralt barely catches him in time to keep him out of the snow and he knows they have to stop early for the night.

"If we press on a little longer, there's a cave," Geralt says, "are you okay to keep going?"

Jaskier nods. He's gritting his teeth against the cold, Geralt knows and he hates it. Unclasping his cloak, he winds it around Jaskier's shoulders, tucking it under his chin.

"Not much longer," he promises.

And it's not. Barely ten minutes later, Jaskier is ducking into the mouth of the cave and Geralt is trying to encourage Roach in after them. The roof of the cave is tall enough, but she's hesitant nonetheless and it takes Jaskier bribing her with an apple to get her out of the snow. After that, she's quite calm and happy so lay near the fire once Geralt gets it lit.

But the morning only brings more snow, rising at least six inches up from the ground and Geralt's optimism is wearing thin. He's certain now, that this must be the third in their bad luck streak, that nothing could possibly be worse than this, but he holds out. Hopefully, the snow will stop, maybe some of it will melt and they'll be able to make it up on time.

He continues to keep up hope until the third day when he realizes how long it's been since he's fed, and then the hope he offers Jaskier is no more than platitudes. He sleeps too much and Jaskier notices, fretting over him more than usual. He's always got an eye on him, always checking in, and what can Geralt do but lie. There's nothing here for him and he knows it, his only option is to sit and wait and hope his brothers come looking for him. They know he's coming this year, they know he's bringing Jaskier.

When he falls asleep that night, it's with Jaskier pressed against his chest, facing out into the cave. He's soft and warm, but he smells fucking incredible and Geralt can't help but press his nose into the back of his neck. He wants to push further, to nip at his skin, to sink his teeth in. And fuck, Jaskier would taste so fucking good. Already his scent is practically unbearable when Geralt gets to this stage. But he can't. He won't. He'd never do anything to hurt Jaskier or to harm their friendship in any way. Jaskier has been so understanding since the beginning, Geralt can't do anything to betray his trust.

He wakes, shaking, in the middle of the night and when he opens his eyes, Jaskier is kneeling over him. Geralt thinks it's a dream at first, but Jaskier's palm cups his face and he's so warm. Geralt leans into it and Jaskier sighs.

"Geralt?" he asks, "when was the last time you fed?"

"Mmm," Geralt mumbles, "before we stopped."

"Geralt, that was a week ago. Maybe longer. You need to feed."

Geralt grits his teeth. He knows what he needs, but he also knows there's no way to do it. He won't hurt Jaskier so he has to wait. He says nothing. Jaskier, of course, has a different opinion.

"You know I'd be more than happy to offer."

"Absolutely not."

"Geralt-"

"Jaskier, no. I won't risk it."

Three days pass before Geralt gives in. Three days pass and Jaskier offers every day his pleas becoming more desperate as Geralt finds himself weaker and weaker. On the fourth day, they're sitting by the fire and Geralt sways. It takes too much effort to keep upright properly any longer and the only reason he tries is so Jaskier won't worry about him. But before he knows what's happening, Jaskier is on him, climbing into his lap with his hands on Geralt's face.

"Please," he says again and he's already tugging away to unbutton his shirt. Geralt watches, exhausted, as Jaskier pulls his shirt and doublet off, dropping them into the dirt behind him.

Geralt knows exactly what he's doing, knows he probably should let Jaskier give him this, but the thought of what he might do to him. The fear wars with a budding arousal, sparked by the way Jaskier shifts in his lap, shirtless and willing.

Jaskier leans in close enough that his thighs press in against Geralt's hips and he can practically taste the woodsmoke on Jaskier's skin. He braces his hands on Jaskier's waist and Jaskier leans in closer, tipping his head to bare his neck to Geralt. One soft hand slips up the back of his head, guiding him closer and Geralt groans softly. He wants this, he does, but this is Jaskier and he shouldn't.

"Go on, love," Jaskier whispers, "you need this. I want to give it to you."

Geralt's nose bumps under Jaskier's jaw and he's not sure which one of them is moving, but then his lips are on his skin. He presses a soft kiss to the skin, then another, and he can feel each shudder that runs through Jaskier's body. When he parts his lips, Jaskier shifts in his lap, turning slightly so the angle is better.

Geralt parts his lips, lets his teeth graze Jaskier's skin before pressing forward and biting down. As he breaks the skin, Jaskier lets out a soft sound, more needy than pained and Geralt lets the sound of it echo in his ears as he drinks from him.

He loses himself in the rush of it, only vaguely aware of Jaskier moving in his lap until Geralt draws away. There's a trickle of blood down his neck and Geralt leans in, licking it away without thinking.

His strength returned, to some extent, he turns Jaskier to face him. He didn't smell it before but the air is thick with it now, arousal and anticipation. Jaskier slips back and Geralt can feel the way his cock strains against the being of his trousers. Geralt can't exactly say he's unaffected, either.

For two days they don't talk about it.

Geralt is feeling back to normal again and Jaskier had rations for at least a couple more days, so neither of them needs to think about food. Time has become irrelevant, known only by the light coming on from the mouth of the cave. It's dark though when Jaskier approaches him again.

"I can't see you like that again," he pleads and Geralt is helpless to fight.

This time when Jaskier crawls into his lap, Geralt tugs him forward so they're pressed together, so this time, if Jaskier is aroused, he'll be able to feel it. He wants to, wants to know Jaskier is turned on by this, that's is mutually beneficial.

He presses his lips to Jaskier's neck, placing soft kisses over the mark from the previous bite, then slowly moving toward his collarbone. Jaskier is shirtless again to prevent the staining of his fine clothes and Geralt takes advantage of that, running his hands over all that bare skin.

When he pulls away, Jaskier lets out a little whine, but Geralt lifts his hand, nosing at the veins in Jaskier's wrist. He can hear his pulse, feel the beat of it under his fingers and he longs to feel that skin under his teeth. Less because he's hungry than for the way Jaskier will react to it.

Jaskier's breath catches as Geralt licks the skin before pressing down with his fangs. There's a groan of pleasure and it takes Geralt a moment to realize it's coming from him. Jaskier is stone-still, watching with wide eyes, pupils blown so only a sliver of blue is visible around them. Arousal wafts off of him and Geralt can practically feel how badly he wants this. Which is... something.

If Jaskier wants this, if he feels like this about it, who is Geralt to argue. He bites down, breaking the skin and Jaskier's arm jerks involuntarily, but as the shock passes, he relaxes, a soft moan slipping from his lips. Jaskier brings his free hand up, slipping his fingers through Geralt's hair and it feels good. Geralt presses into the touch with a hum just as Jaskier slips forward and there it is. Jaskier is hard, his cock pressed firmly between them and when Geralt draws back, Jaskier meets his eyes and rocks his hips forward.

When Geralt draws back, Jaskier surges forward and Geralt has to stop him. His lips are stained red, the tang of blood lingering, and he doubts Jaskier wants to taste it.

"But I want to kiss you," Jaskier whines and Geralt huffs a soft laugh as he lets the hand pressed to Jaskier's chest drift downward. When his fingers wrap around the jut of his cock, the kiss is forgotten.

Jaskier's hips jerk forward and Geralt fumbles between them, opening Jaskier's trousers and tugging his cock free. He strokes him slowly, paying special attention to the head, squeezing tight around it then brushing his fingertips along the underside.

Geralt spares only a moment to unbuttoning his own trousers and shifting so his cock fits against Jaskier's, sliding against him with the slightest movement. He gets one hand around them both, stroking slowly as they rock against each other, his hand source of friction more than anything else.

He wants to kiss him, wants to bite his lips and make him whine and if he didn't have Jaskier's blood in his mouth, he would. Instead, he buries his face in his neck, licks and sucks at the skin there as they grind against each other. It’s rough and dirty and uncoordinated and Jaskier would probably be horrified should anyone find out this is how he treats a lover, but Geralt couldn't ask for anything more.

Jaskier wants him at his worst - literally with a mouthful of blood - and Geralt loves him more for that than the rest of his lovers, past or present, combined. He holds Jaskier against him with his free arm, cinched around his waist and Jaskier's fingers dig into his scalp.

"Bite me," Jaskier says, breathless. It's not a question.

Geralt doesn't hesitate, sinking his teeth into the soft flesh of Jaskier's throat and the moan he gets in response is low and heady. Jaskier's hips jerk hard, nearly dislodging them both and then he's coming, spilling hot and wet between them and Geralt can't keep his eyes off him.

Jaskier's cock twitches with one final spurt and Geralt drops his own cock, wrapping around him to pull every last drop of pleasure from him. Jaskier's shaking before he's done, mumbling breathlessly into Geralt's skin and then he's pulling away, spreading out on his stomach between Geralt's legs.

He takes his cock without hesitation, wrapping his lips around him and swallowing him down as far as he can manage. The position is awkward, but Jaskier is talented and Geralt finds himself drawing close to the edge almost immediately. He rocks his hips lightly, thrusting shallowly between Jaskier's lips and he pushes a hand into his hair, guiding Jaskier's head as he takes control again.

When Geralt comes, he doubles over, nose nearly pressed into Jaskier's hair, and it feels so fucking good. He doesn't care that he's a mess, doesn't care that Jaskier is. That they're both covered in blood and come and whoever finds them will know exactly what happened. It doesn't matter because when Jaskier pulls off, letting Geralt's softening cock drop between his legs, he kisses him.

It's just a soft peck on the lips and Geralt couldn't fault him for it; he knows what he is and he knows how people usually react to blood. But it's a kiss, nonetheless. And he resolves to spend the entire winter at Kaer Morhen returning that kiss, again and again and again.

[savnofilter]

Another Year Together

Todoroki x 『GN』Reader

↬ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ(s): intoxication, mentions of partying too hard, injuries and cleaning said injuries, crack (?), fluff.

↬ᴡᴄ: 2.5k [10 mins].

↬ᴀ/ɴ: ahhhh i was bummed that i dont have any sfw shouto reqs *cough cough* send some- *cough cough* anyways so i made up a scenario of my own! i have more fluff ideas i'd love to put out but this may be the birthday fic or i'll post something else tonight if i can~ every time there needs to be a party, just know either mina or kaminari threw it. also its a little rushed because i wanted to get this out tonight and this is the longest sfw piece ive ever written. ;; pffft hopefully you all will love this as much as i loved writing it, happy birthday shouto!

"Stay still." Shouto muttered to you as you squirmed away from the harsh sting the disinfectant alcohol caused your bruised skin.

"Mmmnhmm... M' sorry." You utter haltingly, your leg jerking once more from the sudden sensation. You look up at him with puppy eyes, guilt-stricken as you have already broken your promise.

He stared at you for a few seconds before his gaze softened as you stuck out your bottom lip with a sorrowful look on your face. As he smooths the cloth over your exposed thighs, he softly sighs under his breath, expertly concealing the roll of his eyes. Todoroki was relieved that your reflexes were still in shape, the abuse of the liquor not interfering much with your cognition... at least not too much. 

You two shared the same birthday. He had no idea that celebrating your big day of turning 21 would've been so hectic. As many things between you and Todorooki, you guys took today as a competition. The day started with you both trying to one-up each other since Todoroki’s lucky day was yours as well. First, your day with a breakfast made by him -- with the assistance of Bakugo of course. You couldn’t help the warm swell in your heart at how much effort he had put into it but it wouldn’t top you! While you two interned at the same agency it was pretty easy to surprise him with a big B-Day lunch and an obnoxious bouquet.

“This is a little too much…” 

“There is no such thing as too much for you, Sho.”

Truthfully, he felt that way because he wanted to wow you as well. He was glad that today was a calm day concerning his patrol watch, giving him time to map up his day today and think about all the other miscellaneous thoughts that roamed his head. The painting he had saved for this momentous day sat in the back of his head as he patrolled the streets, the small accessory along with it sitting next to the rest of his pee-pee pouches making him grow nervous. I had kept the small item with him in fear of losing it, the last thing he needed was it to go missing under his watch.

You on the other handheld no qualms about goofing off for the day. Now, you weren’t entirely wasting away the day, you just simply knew how to let loose. With the great news you’d be staying in the office you had more than enough time to help plan and finalize Todoroki’s surprise birthday party. You bit your lip as you checked in with your longtime friend, Kaminari, to host the momentous occasion. Your mind was mostly occupied with the thought of the party and the small but significant present that you had in your desk draw. You and Todoroki had the same mind, the only thing setting you apart is you somehow being more… airhead than him. 

Impossible, right? Not at all. That’s how it explains why he was busy cleaning up your injuries.

After being sent home early you had taken him out to lunch for some soba and well, boba as a great lunch treat — simple enough. You both were full upon going back home, giving you two a few hours to snuggle up and nap to rejoice with the sleep you two had lost from over the time having part-time heroes. Holding back the excited news of the party was hard to do, the first thing you did when you woke up was jump up and usher him to get up as well.

“What -- why??” Shouto glared as he was forced to sit up, rubbing his eyes with the free hand that you didn’t use to pull him up.

“C’mooonn! I just have one more thing to show you for today!” You beam brightly. Your facial expression was as bright as ever like you hadn’t just slept for 4 hours before that. Everything in his body wanted to resist but he couldn’t as he wouldn’t bring himself to. It took but only an hour for the both of you to get ready, sending Kaminari a quick text to make sure that everything was set for sure. 

“Honey, I know this might sound a little odd but I need you to put this on.” You hand him the blindfold once you find him dressed and ready. You couldn’t help but grin at his confused face when he stares at the piece of fabric.

“I thought you said we were going out?” He asks mildly confused, taking it and putting it on anyway.

You paused and gave yourself a moment to think about his response, your cheeks feeling hot at the insinuation. Todoroki’s small giggle makes you feel better about your flustered words, rolling your eyes annoyed when he teased you like that. “Just hold onto my hand okay?” You instruct, hand coming up to hold him as an example. He nods his head as he follows your lead, more excited than what he led on.

The trip from your apartment down to your car didn’t take too long, the assistance of helping him not trip over his shoes harder than you thought. It was hard to keep back your laugh as he fumbled here and there, the most highlight of your experience was helping him in his care (like he usually did with you) and even buckling in his seat (not something he did for you). You were practically buzzing in your seat in excitement as you took off as soon as you were ready, the journey to his place not too far from your own. You bobbed your head to the music of the radio as you vibed along with the beats, fingers tapping the steering wheel as you mumbled the lyrics to whatever song played. Had it not been winter time in Japan you would’ve had the windows down, but you had to settle with the subtle and gentle breeze of the heaters on your skin instead.

“We’re here.” You announced your arrival. You used the keycard Kaminari had given you as the entrance to his apartment complex and zoomed-in irresponsibly. It was easy finding a parking space on the higher levels conveniently the same as his home. You hopped out and helped Todoroki out from his seat and helped him to the elevator. “Promise me to have fun, okay?” The question was simple enough, but your level of fun always exceeded his. 

The sentence made him turn in your direction with confusion heavy on the top of his head. You took out the key from your pocket and jiggled it into the lock. As soon as he was about to open his mouth you yoinked the blindfold off his eyes, the first thing his eyes seeing your cheerful grin and everyone popping up from their hiding places and throwing the decorations up that they held in their hands.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” 

Todoroki was taken back from the whole thing. How many people were there, the familiar faces, the decorations, and just overall effort that was put into this. He couldn’t help but look over at you with the same adoration he normally did when you looked the other way. He was greeted by so many of his friends and mutuals, the overwhelming amount of gifts that sat on the table, and the arrangement of food and drinks that sat up in the spacious room. In the back of his head, he knew he would have to keep an eye on you, and he was right.

The group had gathered to get some cake to get it out the way, the bonus of ice cream filling your tummy with happiness. As soon as you had finished your dessert plate, you declared everyone should loosen up; since no one objected, you went straight for shots. First, it was one, two, then it was two at once, then it was some straight from Mina’s belly button. You held no restraint at your alcohol intake, taking the immature opportunity to drink to your heart’s content. While you were liberal with your amount, Todoroki decided to take in practically none. The verses of your habits are almost amusing to watch like your two contrasting but similar personalities.

Later in the night when the mayhem had started. You and a few friends decided to dance on a few more dangerous surfaces, guaranteeing the sacrifice of one of them being Kaminari’s glass table. 

“Holy shit—” Mina quickly rushed to your side, the same drunken posture and smile on her face as she tried to help you up, careful not to get the same glass shards that scattered the floor. “Are you okay-?!”

“YO Y/N WILDING!” Denki tries helping you up too, the help of the duo helping you somewhat.

You stumbled to get up, the flashlight of other people’s phones making you weary. “I-I’m fine-” You managed to let out, standing as you tried to clear your head and drink the water handed towards you. Either the H2O in that cup gave you courage or you simply went crazy. “let’s go again!” 

Todoroki was left speechless upon watching you continue to party on, knowing damn well he'd have to stop you soon. He wasn’t one to attend parties, and most times when he did they always ended up like this. It seemed after your fall that the knock had given you a sign to calm down at least, deciding to drink more beverages that didn’t hold liquor in it. After some time he had managed to get you in his lap, holding you as he monitored your well-being. 

As much as your reckless behavior would have annoyed someone else, he found it almost endearing. Well… not really in the sense you were drinking yourself silly, but in the fact that you still had the spirit to keep up and party even after the effects of your last hour of madness. It wasn’t long till you had gotten comfortable in his arms you had successfully partied yourself to sleep. Todoroki was careful in lifting you, thanking everyone from attending before quietly slipping out from the apartment. 

He took a deep breath as he somehow managed to find your car, maneuvering to get you into the car and hopping in on his side to drive you home. Todoroki made sure to drive carefully in hopes that you wouldn’t barf all over his car that you had used to get there. The drive back was much quicker than when you two had headed up since it was practically dead at night and the streets empty. He liked drives like these. A part of him was sad that you weren’t awake for it.

Your boyfriend repeated the same process when he had pulled into your apartment complex, picking up your body and bringing you up to your shared home. He was dedicated to getting you situated, prepared to take care of you as much as he needed to. That’s how he found himself tending to your scrapes and bruises right now.

“You know I’m never going to let you drink again.” Shouto teases you, smirking lightly at your sad expression.

“You’d never!” You argued back with the same teasing tone, moving to cross your arms, stifling the pain as you did so.

Todoroki snorts at your dedication to hold up the act, nodding his head as he finished cleaning up your legs. “You’re right. But don’t expect me not to monitor you from now on.” 

A smile tugs at your lips at his words, uncrossing your arms. The lingering drunk feeling still played in how you thought and spoke but not managing to affect how effortless it was to talk to Shouto. You blushed when he picked up your hands, kissing the back of your hands as he spoke to you once again.

“I have a present for you.” He mutters against your skin, eyes trained on the fresh bandages before looking up at you. He wasn’t looking for an answer and he didn’t wait for one either. He hoped that you couldn’t tell that he was weary, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small velvet box. 

Your eyes widened at the realization of what he held in his hand, your heart beating faster as you sat up in your chair. “Sh-Sho?”

“It’s not what you think.” He responds almost defensively. Shouto bites his lip in anticipation, fiddling with the little box. “... it’s a promise ring,” Todoroki concludes. He felt like he had to explain himself for the slightly expensive jewelry. “If you don’t want it-”

You had engulfed him in a hug, pulling him tight against you as you had started to sob. You couldn’t think of words for how happy you were. The only thing that had taken over your body was actions. You nuzzled your face into his neck once his arms wrapped around your shaking your body. His hands soothingly rubbed your back, letting you get out what you wanted. He couldn’t help but laugh when you pull away with the most love-filled face he’d ever seen you make.

“You okay?”

“I’m perfect!” You hastily wiped your face with the help of Shouto, shakily laughing once he leaned into pepper your face with kisses. 

“I was afraid that I scared you,” Shouto admits. You shake your head as you grab his hands, placing his palms on your cheeks, appreciating his soft palms.

“No… your hands are really soft…” You mumble. Your mind went blank as you tried to remember the next line you were going to speak, pouting as you looked around for the answer. The shock of him handing you the ring has successfully shaken you into processing your brain a little better, the heavy impacts of your drinking still lingering on.

“Are you okay?” He asks, worried. You nod your head in affirmation. 

“A kiss could cheer me up.” You give him the same puppy eyes that you used before, weaponizing your cuteness to your advantage. He slightly cringed at the thought, hesitating before leaning in and placing a soft kiss against yours. He prepared himself to taste the alcohol against his lips. He pulled away once he deemed it ready, wiping his mouth and getting the ring he kept in his hand the whole day.

“I think you owe me by wearing the ring for making me kiss you.” He huffs, slipping the ring on your finger, his heart beating at the sound of your giggle.

“Nah you love me without the ring~”

“Yes, but I’d prefer you with it on.” He stands up and holds his hand out for you, taking you into his arms once again for the night and carrying you to your room. “For now get some rest, okay?” He sat you down on the bed and got you changed out of your clothes, sneaking in a few playful kisses here and there to make you laugh. Shouto’s main focus was just to get you situated to sleep peacefully for the night. 

“G’night, Sho…” You mutter to him as you got comfortable in the sheets. Although the returning soreness didn’t go away you had managed to close your eyes and get comfortable.

“Goodnight.” He watched you until you fell asleep before leaving the room to prepare for you the pain medication you’d need in the morning for your impending hangover. 

You never needed the promise ring to let you know he loved you; his actions always told you so.

[fabulouspotatosister]

please dial again later

summary: you call the doctor. the doctor gets your call a little too late.

word count: ill add this later 1,483

a/n: not a request fill, just a little idea i had that i needed to get down. school is coming up very very very very soon, and i'm a lil stressed out so i haven't really been writing, but hopefully i'll get those requests done soon! this fic is kinda dedicated to @bushlandwriting, whose tags on their reblogs have really been getting me through the back-to-school rush. thanks so much lovely!

(also i almost titled this "you used to call me on my cellphone", so enjoy)

gif credit: @minimoefoe

--

Ring, ring!

The gentle chimes of a phone ringing filled the interior of the TARDIS console room, the soft sound bouncing off the hexagonal walls. The Doctor looked up from her work - well, it wasn’t really important work, she was just tinkering, but if it kept her mind busy then it was work - and caught Yaz’s eye from across the room. She was staring at her phone, confusion written over her face, and the Doctor caught her question before she could even open her mouth.

“Wondering why you’re getting a call in the Time Vortex?” the Doctor asked, pulling her goggles off her face. 

“How’d you…” Yaz trailed off. Her bewildered expression morphed into an amused smile. “Nevermind.”

The Doctor bounded over to Yaz’s side and leaned over her shoulder to look at the phone’s screen. Unknown number, it read, the slide to accept button flashing slowly. Yaz eyed her phone apprehensively. “Should I accept it?” 

“Why not? No harm in trying,” the Doctor replied. “Well, there might be. But we’re in the Time Vortex. Should be fine.”

Yaz swiped the button. Glancing at the Doctor, she lifted the phone to her ear and spoke. “Hello?”

The Doctor watched Yaz’s eyebrows pinch in confusion, watched her mouth hanging open as the person on the other end spoke. Then, silently, she lowered the phone and held it towards the Doctor. 

“They’re asking for you,” Yaz said.

“What?” The Doctor took the phone from Yaz’s hand and looked at the screen. It still read unknown number, but now the chances of it being someone unknown where much slimmer. The Doctor didn’t know why that scared her so much. “Are you sure they called for me and not another Doctor?”

“There aren’t more of you,” Yaz said. “Are there?”

Loads, the Doctor wanted to say. “In a way,” she said instead. “This call might not even be for me.”

“No harm in trying,” Yaz echoed. A quiet voice crackled from the phone’s speaker, and the Doctor gulped. 

“Right,” she muttered. She turned around, slowly lifting the phone to her ear, and took a deep breath. “Hello? The Doctor speaking.”

“...hello?”

The Doctor froze.

To Yaz, she looked perfectly calm. Standing still with her feet planted to the floor. But to the Doctor, calm had an entirely different definition: calm meant that her racing mind had just stuttered to a stop and calm meant she didn’t know what to do next. 

It was you on the other end of the line.

You spoke again, soft and croaky. “I’m sorry, who is this? Have I got the wrong number? Uh, I’ll just hang up -”

The Doctor could practically feel you - hearing your voice is enough to make her imagine you by her side, just like you were so long ago. Your smile, your laugh, bright against anything the universe threw at you. 

She wanted to scream. She wanted to shout, cry, throw Yaz’s phone against the wall, curse the TARDIS for the call. 

She did none of those things. Deep breath, Doctor. “Wait,” she said, her voice strained. “It’s me, I’m the Doctor.”

You coughed. It sounded strange through the phone. She remembered this, the memory coming to the front of her brain clearly - one day, when she was a bowtie-wearing young man, she’d dropped you off at your home and you’d gotten sick. She remembered coming to your house and seeing you days later, miserable and wrapped up in blankets. She remembered you complaining that she hadn’t picked up your calls. She remembered tucking you into bed and waiting until you’d fallen asleep to climb into bed and lie next to you.

“No,” you chuckled. “No, you’re not the Doctor. He’s a guy.”

“I’ve had an upgrade,” the Doctor said. You laughed softly, your breaths puffing against the receiver. You were probably still lying in your bed, waiting. “Hello, sweetheart.”

“Oh.” You were silent for a moment. The Doctor heard the faint rustling of sheets as you shifted. “Well, hello there, future Doctor.”

The Doctor could feel a wave of emotion washing over her, and she closed her eyes. If Yaz looked hard enough, she would have seen the Doctor’s hands shaking ever so slightly. Regret washed over her first, so heavy she could have drowned in it. 

“Are you still there?”

“Always,” the Doctor whispered.

“Okay, good,” you said, then hummed. “Is this a spoiler? Everything River’s told me so far is telling me that this is a spoiler. But I think it’s a good spoiler.”

“Why?”

“You sound really cute,” you murmured, your voice heavy with sleep. “I really like your accent. Are you from the North now?”

“Suppose I am,” she replied. “You like it?”

You yawned, and the Doctor couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “Are you what I have to look forward to?”

You would never even get to see her twelfth face. “Yes,” the Doctor said, her throat closing up. “I think you should get really excited.”

“Hang on, super important question,” you said suddenly. The sheets rustled again, like you had sat up quickly. “Are you finally ginger?”

The Doctor smiled again, though her hearts were twisting in her chest. This was a taste of what it would have been like if you had survived, if she hadn’t failed to protect you, and she wanted it. “No. But I am blonde.”

You sighed dramatically and fell back against your bed with a thump. “You know what they say about blondes, they have more fun. Speaking of fun, am I having fun? With you?”

The Doctor opened her eyes and turned around, glancing at Yaz. Yaz startled - there were tears running down her face, stray strands of blonde hair plastered to her skin. You’d struck the Doctor, deep in her hearts. It hurt, and all the Doctor could think was “why?” Why this? Why you? Why now, when you weren’t by her side anymore? What was this if not torture for her aching hearts?

“Spoilers,” the Doctor croaked. 

You laughed. You laughed, and the Doctor nearly broke. The wounds of your departure weren’t fresh, but the sound of your laugh was enough to draw blood once again. She didn’t want to admit that she missed you, because it meant that you were truly gone.

But it was the truth. “I miss you.”

“Miss you too,” you sang. Your voice stuttered, words overlapping over one another - the call was breaking up - but she tried to hold on to the cheeriness in your voice. “Oh - someone’s at the door -”

“That’ll be me,” the Doctor said.  And if it was her last chance to say it - “Goodbye.”

“No, not goodbye,” you said, and the Doctor imagined you smiling so brightly at her, “see you soon.”

The TARDIS broke the connection.

“Yeah,” the Doctor whispered. “See you soon.”

--

The doorbell rang again. Still giddy, you threw your phone onto your bed and stumbled down the stairs, your blanket wrapped tight around your body. What a call! You’d have to make sure it wasn’t a strange fever dream later.

You opened the door and grinned at your visitor - the Doctor, your floppy-haired bowtie-wearing Doctor stood in your doorway, a bright smile on his face. His smile dropped a little when he saw you, and he leaned forward to look at your face. “Are you alright?”

You probably looked like a mess. You hadn’t combed your hair since you laboriously climbed out of the shower, your face was flushed with a fever, and you were like a burrito inside your thick blanket, trying to keep away the chill. The answer, of course, was no, but you had more pressing questions.

“You weren’t answering my calls,” you said, pouting, and the Doctor paled. “Someone else picked up.”

“Who?” the Doctor asked, wide-eyed. “The TARDIS must have rerouted the call, did you get Sandshoes? Please don’t tell me you got Sandshoes -”

You laughed, cutting him off. “No, I didn’t get Sandshoes. Or Technicolor Dream Coat. I got a girl.”

The Doctor’s eyebrows shot into his hairline. “I’m going to be a girl?”

“She’s blonde,” you said cheerily. The Doctor frowned, stepping inside and shutting the door carefully behind him.

“Blonde isn’t ginger,” the Doctor grumbled. A second later, his face broke into a big smile. “That’s brilliant, though. I’ve always wanted to be blonde! That was second to ginger.”

“She had a cute accent,” you continued. “I think you’re going to be really pretty.”

“Yeah?” The Doctor grinned. “I’m already pretty. Or so I’ve been told.”

“Quit fishing for compliments, pretty boy,” you chimed, sidling up to him and resting your head against his shoulder. The Doctor wrapped a careful arm around you, and you settled into his warm touch. “I’ve really missed you.”

(And hundreds of years away, the Doctor lived in the memory of you cradled in her arms, enjoying the time you still had together.)

[tuiccim]

Brassy (Part 2)

Pairing: Bucky X Reader

Words: 2038

Warnings: Language, PTSD, Memories of abuse, panic attack

Summary: You’re in a friends with benefits situation with Loki and some of the other Avengers aren’t happy with the arrangement.This part delves a little more into the readers backstory. 

Part 1

———————–

The following week everyone was at the tower. No missions were currently in priority and everyone was anticipating Tony's party on Friday night. Thursday morning you Wanda and Vision cooked a huge breakfast for everyone. Steve, Sam, Bucky, Wanda, Vision, Thor, Natasha, Clint, Tony, and you were gathered around the table. 

"Wanda, these biscuits are delicious." Bucky compliments her.

"Oh, that was all (Y/N). She's the one who makes the biscuits and gravy." Wanda says in her cute accent. 

"Oh, uh... they're good, (Y/N)." Bucky stammers at you.

"Thanks." You say not quite meeting his eye. You could feel across the table how uncomfortable he was giving you a compliment. 

"Where'd you grow up, (Y/N)?" Clint pipes in. You didn't know each other well since he was semi-retired. 

"Kinda all over." You say.

"Military brat?" He asks.

"Runaway." You quirk an eyebrow at him. 

"Really?" He leans forward.

"Long story. You really are as much of a gossip as Nat says, huh?" You decide sass would be the best way out of this conversation.

"Gossip?!?" He looks at Nat, sitting beside you, putting his hand on his chest as if wounded. "Simply because I care about people's history?"

Nat rolls her eyes and shoots you a look. Deciding to hit back Nat says to you, "You're bestie joining us tomorrow?"

You smile with aplomb, "I don't know. Say, Thor, will Loki be joining us for the party?"

"Yes!" Thor replies enthusiastically, "He said he was looking forward to it. He enjoyed the last one so much."

"Aww...I'm so glad. He's a good time." You smirk at Nat.

"Your friendship has done him good, (Y/N)." Thor spouts.

"Done me good, too." You say under your breath to Nat. 

"How did that happen?" Tony asks. 

You look at him innocently, "We met at your last party. And hit it off quite well." You glance at Steve who is giving you a look. 

"My last party, when the ice statue fell over and nearly killed a guest?" Tony narrows his eyes.

"Is that when that happened?" You ask with wide eyes.

Steve clears his throat and directs a look at you.

"What was that about, Cap?" Tony looks between you two.

"Nothing." Steve says but now that Tony has the bone he's not gonna let it go. 

"Do you know what happened there, Cap?" Tony pushes.

"Nope." Steve sits back crossing his arms, never taking his eyes off of you. You are, unfortunately, losing an internal battle to hold in your giggles. 

"(Y/N)." Tony draws out the name. "Did you try to kill one of my guests?"

"Of course not, Tony." You say but then a suspicious cough comes out of your mouth sounding far more like the laugh you were trying to cover.

"That was Pepper's cousin." Tony eyes you.

"I didn't try to kill him. Just maim him a little." You finally confess. "Hopefully he learned that you don't play grab ass without a lady's permission."

Bucky suddenly gets up from the table and leaves. "What's up his ass?" You ask.

"Language." Tony mocks. 

"Oh, fuck, sorry." You say. 

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose clearly frustrated with you. Clint looks at Natasha questioningly and receives a shrug. 

"Yeah. Paul's gotten a little handsy in the past. Probably was a good lesson for him." Tony winks at you dispelling the cloud that had momentarily settled. Breakfast calmed down after that and everyone enjoyed the remainder of the meal. Afterwards, you found Steve and pulled him off to the side. "What the fuck did I do wrong to Bucky?" You ask.

"(Y/N)." Steve says, again pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Sorry. What the hell did I do?" You ask again.

"I don't know." Steve says exasperated.

"Is it just me?" You keep going.

"I really don't know, (Y/N). He hasn't said anything to me." 

"I've wracked my brain trying to figure out what I did or said and I got nothing." 

"You'd have to ask him." Steve persists. 

"That would require him staying in the same room with me for more than 10 seconds. Nevermind." You say and head towards the elevator. Wanda is going that direction, too. "Hey Wanda. Do you think you could help me with my hair for tomorrow night?"

"Of course!" Wanda says and you two head off to her room to talk. 

Later that afternoon you had finished training and decided to head to the kitchen for a snack. You met up with Clint heading the same direction. You pulled out some fruit and cheese to slice and water from the fridge and were happily munching when Steve and Bucky came in looking for an afternoon snack as well. You and Clint were chattering and somehow you got on the stupid games you played as a kid. 

"Do you remember Around the World in 80 days? You know the song that you rubbed in someone's back to make them get a chill?" He asked.

"Never heard of it." You say.

"Really?" Clint says. He turns to the other guys. "Steve? Bucky?"

"Can't say that I have, Clint." Steve says and Bucky shrugs.

"Do it to me!" You say. "Give a girl the chills, Clint." 

You're laughing a little as Clint starts.

"Around the world in 80 days." He draws circles in your back. "X marks the spot. Comma, comma, comma, question mark." He continues drawing on your back. "Stab a lady in the back, watch the blood run down."

"Really?" You hear Steve say.

Clint continues, "Cool breeze." You feel Clint blow on the back of your neck and the world turned sideways on you. In the next moment, Clint says something murky and that's when you felt the hand squeezing the back of your neck. Your eyes dilate and breath leaves. Before anyone realizes what's happening you react, grabbing the knife you had used on the cheese, you have Clint in an arm lock and the knife is pressed to his throat. Somewhere beyond you there are voices but you can't make anything out. Breathing shakily you stare into Clint with body tensed. A droplet of blood is sliding down his throat where the point of the knife has nicked him. 

Carefully Clint says your name. He says it again and calmly asks you to let up. Out of the corner of your eye you make out Steve and things begin to come back into focus. Steve is looking at you with concern. His mouth is moving and he is holding his hands up in an attempt to appear non threatening. Clint says your name again and the world starts to come back into focus. When you realize what you've done you slowly take the knife away from Clint's neck and drop it on the counter. 

"I'm so sorry." You whisper.

"It's okay." Clint says. "I don't know what I did but I did something to trigger you." He puts a hand to his neck and Steve goes to him to check it.

You start shaking uncontrollably and begin to back away. "I'm so sorry." You whisper again. You continue to back up until you feel someone touch your arm. Looking over you see Bucky. 

"Lemme take you to your room, Doll. You need to rest." He says.

"I'm fine. I'll go." You say. 

"Let Bucky help you, (Y/N). Clint will be fine. Just needs a bandaid."

"No, I'm fine. I'm fine." But when you take a step your knees buckle. Bucky was right there to grab you. Holding you up he takes you to your room and sits you on your bed. Kneeling down in front of you he tries to get you to focus on him. "Hey Doll. Come back. You're okay." 

You're still having trouble focusing. Everything is in a jumble. "Doll, Doll, listen to me. Focus on me. What are five things you can see?"

"What? You say.

"Tell me five things you can see."

You're confused by the question but you start to answer, "You."

"Good. Four more things." Bucky says. 

"The door, my bookshelf."

"Good. Two more, Doll."

"The painting, the floor."

"Okay. What are four things you can touch?"

"The bedspread?" You ask, rubbing the comforter under you. Things were coming more into focus.

"What else?"

"My leggings. My shirt."

"Good. One more."

You reach your hands out to his face, "Your stubble." 

You feel a slight rumble from him as if he's chuckling. "Good, Doll. What are three things you can hear?"

"Your voice, my voice, Wanda's playing music in her room." 

"Two things you can smell."

You take in a deep breath. "My lotion. Your cologne."

"Last question, what's one thing you can taste?"

"Fear." You whisper.

"Yeah." Bucky looks in your eyes. "You back with me?"

"Yeah." You put your head in your hands. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Doll. We all got shit in our past that makes us a little crazy. Want to talk about what happened? Can you remember?"

"Clint and I were talking. He was doing that around the world thing on my back and...and...he grabbed the back of my neck, didn't he?"

"Yeah."

"Shit." You rub your face. "I'm so sorry." You say again. "I just...I didn't think...I didn't know...I, I…"

"Come back, Doll. Look at me."

You focused on Bucky's face. Looking into his blue eyes. You don't think you'd really noticed how blue they were before. "So, touching the back of your neck is a trigger for you?"

"Yeah."

"Care to tell me why?"

"My stepdad used to hold me down by the back of my neck when...when he…nevermind. I just don't like the back of my neck touched." 

Bucky's face took on such a sad look that you couldn't stand it. "Don't look at me like that." You said. "I'm fine. I'm fine." You repeated.

"What can I do for you, Doll? Do you need a drink?"

You just shake your head not looking at him.

"What can I do?" Bucky repeated. Finally, you looked up at him. The caring in his eyes broke down your restraint and you reached for him. Wrapping your arms around his neck. He seemed shocked for a moment but then his arms went around you. He sat back and crossed his legs, pulling you into his lap. You curled into him. He could feel you shaking still. He held you. Your face nestled in his neck, he stroked your hair and occasionally rocked you back and forth. You weren't sure how long you stayed like that. It was the first time in a very long time you felt safe. Sheltered. 

Finally, you lifted your head and suddenly felt embarrassed for the vulnerability you had shown. Extricating yourself from Bucky, you scrambled to your feet. "Sorry. I, I'm, I don't know why I did that. I'm sorry. I..I'm sorry." You stutter.

Bucky gets to his feet and chuckles. "It's okay, Doll. You feel okay? You need anything else?"

"No, I'm okay. I'm good. Uh, thanks. I'm gonna go."

"It's your room, Doll. I'll go."

"Right. Okay." You watch as he walks to the door. He pauses before leaving.

"We've all been there. It happens. Clint's a good guy. He won't hold it against you."

"Thanks, Bucky." You say as he heads out the door. 

You feel absolutely drained but feel the need to find Clint and apologize. "F.R.I.D.A.Y., Where's Clint?" 

"Agent Barton is in the common room."

You find Clint sitting in the room flipping through tv channels with Steve and Sam. He looks up at you and smiles. "You okay, (Y/N)?"

"Are you okay? I'm so sorry." You ask.

"Yeah! I actually got the remote away from Sam!" He chirps.

You laugh lightly.

"We've all been there. No harm, no foul." Clint says kindly.

You lick your lips and nod. "Thanks."

"Wanna watch something?" Clint offers.

"I'm good. Thanks. Think I'm gonna turn in early."

"Night, (Y/N)." Clint says.

"Night, guys." You say as Sam waves and Steve echoes your good night.

Sleep claimed you quickly that night. A blessed release from your normal torment. 

Part 3

[dabis-devil]

Nothing Breaks Like a Heart. დ

-; ♡.° [ A/N: ] ୭̥ Okay so this idea just popped into my head and I couldn't not write it. This is my first fic and I really hope it doesn't blow over, let's hope for the best, loves! If Dabi ain't Touya, I'm gonna be a real fool, huh?

-; ♡.° [ Warnings: ] ୭̥ Gn!reader, Swearing, Suggestive content, sO mUcH aNgsT

-; ♡.° [ Summary: ] ୭̥ Everybody knows the infamous villian Dabi, his name spreads fear across the streets of Japan. Many would hate to admit it, but he wasn't always cold and alienated. It all bubbles down to one girl, who left his heart in shambles.

-; ♡.° [ Tag list: ] ୭̥ birthday girl! @queensynderella (👾 here)

━━━━°⌜ 失恋 ⌟°━━━━

It was a brisk Friday night, cool air hitting Touya's pale skin. Bandages clothed his forearms, which seemed to be more burnt every time the redhead came to see y/n. These burns inflicted by his quirk hadn't yet damaged his skin to the point of no repair, but it most definitely wasn't perfect. His large hands fumbled with the clasp of the gate to his home, Touya found himself sneaking out to see y/n more often than not. Enji claimed he was hitting the rebellious stage of his adolescence, little did he know that this would become his son's day to day life.

Against his better judgement, Touya was nineteen and still living at home. He had no where else to go, and he had siblings to rescue from their nightmare of a father. He desperately wanted to take shouto from the unfair wrath of their old man, but he was unable to do so. Instead, he would sweep his brother up into a tight hug whenever he mustered the chance. That poor kid, getting tossed around and neglected. His heart went out to young Shouto.

Touya’s figure was clothed in a baggy black tank top with black jeans and a dark zip up hoodie paired with a pair of black boots (you can @ me on this, he was edgy before dabi became dabi). He had his signature nose studs and additional ear piercings at his time too. He was working on getting a job of his own, something to get him money and fast. After that he would move out, hopefully taking his siblings with him.

As of now, y/n is the only rabbit hole he has. The only escape from his everyday terrors. That's why he was walking alone on the streets around twelve a.m., counting down the very minutes until he could reach their address. The lit cigarette hanging from his lip left a trail of smoke in its midst, that could barely be seen even with the midnight glow. His steps were shallow and speedy, hellbent on getting over to y/n’s place. Seeing that beautiful face every night is what brought him joy, and made carrying on each morning that much easier.

━━━━°⌜ 失恋 ⌟°━━━━

Y/n was sprawled across their bed, carefree and unalert. Like most teens, they wouldn't go to sleep early. They had training tomorrow with the rest of class 4-A, but couldn't sleep. Not with the thoughts pooled in their head, that they sat to contemplate and overthink. Y/n grew distant to their dear boyfriend, Touya, and the guilt weighed a ton. Though the weight of what news you planned to share with him tonight is a million times heavier.

Y/n’s (e/c) eyes we're glued to their phone screen, set on a picture they had taken with Touya a few short weeks ago. A single tear rolled down their rosy cheeks. ' This is gonna break him. ' they thought. Y/n was pulled away from their thoughts when the glass window beside the desk gently rattled, a certain troubled redhead struggling to crawl through their window sill. Y/n frantically wiped their face before he got the opportunity to see a pinch of sadness in their expression- at least a pinch they didn't want him to notice. “ hey baby. . ” they smiled half heartedly, slipping from their cozy bedframe.

“ hey, princess, ” He smiled geekily. As Touya dusted off his jacket from the greenery and gunk that plagued the material, they pressed their plush lips to his. Truth be told they clung to him for a bit too long that night. In all fairness, this would be the last kiss they got from him.

As much as it pained y/n to do this, Touya Todoroki was bad for them.

━━━━°⌜ 失恋 ⌟°━━━━

A little while later, the night had taken y/n. Touya laid with his arms tightly wrapped around their frame, their head atop his clothed chest. He had been falling in and out of sleep as the television played a series- one of their favorites. Y/n on the other hand, couldn't get a wink of rest. Instead, their eyes burned with the sensation to hold back tears. Finally, one spilled over their eyelid. They scrambled to wipe the droplet of moisture away before it soaked through his shirt, not only failing but drawing extra attention to theirself. Touya’s turquoise eyes fluttered open, immediately drawn to y/n. He sat up, in turn pulling them up with him. The fingers of his right hand ended up under their chin, magnetizing his gaze to their own. “ doll, what's wrong? ” he cooed, eyebrows knitted at y/n’s profound sadness.

Y/n did everything in their power to keep their eyes peeled, the only working strategy was simply squeezing them shut. Y/n could no longer hold back the water works, the fluid boiled over and rolled down their pained face. Y/n didn't need eyes to see Touya’s small frown, they could feel it. “ T-Touya. . . ” their breath hitched in the back of their throat. “ we need to talk. ” Y/n’s voice was shakey, and this whole scene was quite frankly uncomfortable considering how out of touch Touya is with his emotions.

Y/n felt Touya stiffen underneath them, and opened their eyes to catch him staring. Turquoise eyes half lidded as usual. He is obviously concerned, one masculine hand rubbing circles into y/n’s back. He kept quiet, giving them the time they need to spit out their burden. “ I. . I can't do this anymore. I can't watch you kill yourself. ”

In more ways than one, Touya had proven destructive. Not only that, but he didn't care. The redheads loving embrace faded, instead it just seemed like a stranger was holding them close. Y/n didn't want to imagine how this made him feel, even worse about how he would pretend to feel. “ I- what? Whad’ya mean? ” Touya scrunched his nose in confusion. “ my quirk? ” the male asked. Sadly he missed the point, and this wouldn't be as simple as they hoped. Maybe he didn't want to accept the truth so soon.

Y/n’s shakey palm met the side of his face, sweeping along his sharp jaw. “ you get high all the time, you don't trust me, you've been so distant these last few weeks. . And when I try to check on you, I get shut down. ” a steady stream of tears now rolled down their cheek. “ I've been thinking about it for a while, Touya. . ” y/n’s choked up sobs filled the room, his silence wavering in their mind. Touya was trying to make sense of the situation, or come up with false feelings. It stung to know that he felt his emotions are invalid. “ I'm so sorry, I just. . I can't baby. ”

Touya was a sitting statue on your bed, his turquoise orbs glued to the sheets. The things you two have done. . The memories. . The plans for the future. . All swirling down the drain. “ I can stop. ” his voice distantly aching with sorrow. his head swiveled towards y/n, giving them all the attention he could. The poor boy was loosing it, just at the possibility of losing the one person that mattered most to him. His anchor

“ I've already tried to get you help. You wouldn't take it. ” y/n frowned softly. “ I can't believe that again. . ” though the last thing they wanted right now was to separate themselves from Touya in his time of need, it was far too much to bare. After all, you can't help someone that doesn't want to be helped.

Y/n slowly wiggled out of the redhead's embrace, instead sitting across from him and holding one bandaged hand within their own. Y/n was begging for him to say something, to say anything. Instead, they would gaze at a shell of what used to be Touya.

“ y/n, please- ” the scarred teen pleaded. His expression was something in a sea of despair, yet he couldn't quite express that. He couldn't cry. All he could do was sit across from y/n and hope they could forgive him, hope that he could fix his issues. His chest was heavy, each rise and fall more tense than the last. “ I'm sorry. . Let me fix this. Please. . ? ” frantic words jumbled, something that made y/n pull him into their arms, and rest his head in the crook of their neck. Droplets of clear water fell down their face, seeing him like this was unbearable. It had to be done.

Fingers combed through the boys spiky red hair, his rapid breathing slowed to a calm. Y/n pressed a soft kiss to his temple. “ I love you, but I can't do this anymore. ” their soft whispers were almost tranquil to Touya, despite the underlining meaning. This voice he cherished each night, he just had to hear it a bit more before he made his exit. “ don't forget that, okay? If you're better in the future, maybe we could try this again. ” they reassured, petting his silky locks.

Touya pulled away, head still hung. “ This is. . This is what you want? ” He looked upwards, turquoise orbs burning into y/n’s, hoping for the answer he expected to be wrong.

“ yeah, ” y/n answered under their breath, breaking the precious concentration on his beautiful eyes.

Touya rose from the bed, reaching for his leather jacket and pulling on his boots. Shortly after, heading for the window. The silence was more than just that, it was the lack of an idea on what to do here. Y/n decided to stand up as well, arms crossed over their chest. “ I- uh- ” he cleared his throat, tugging open the window. “ I'll see you around then. ” he managed to catch a last glimpse of the love of his life, before feeding his slim body out of the window. Tears fell from y/n’s face to the floor beneath them. As much as their fragile heart hurt right now, things would get better. It had to.

━━━━°⌜ 失恋 ⌟°━━━━

The second Touya’s boots hit the leaves beneath him, one foot sprung in front of the other. He found himself running away from y/n’s home, almost as if his life depended on it. He could barely walk, his head was spinning, chest was tight, and his dressed wounds began to ache. Yet his feet carried him away. He didn't want to go home, the thought of going back with no escape made his skin crawl. The moon above lit the teens path as he aimlessly ran.

The time escaped him, as he wound up on the bad side of town. Rumored to be crooks and thieves around every street corner, and worse beyond that. Fresh out of breath, Touya placed his hands on a wall to catch himself, knees buckling underneath the weight. He slid down the brick wall in the dimmed alleyway, scooping his knees up to his chest. He was alone, a bit scared, and heartbroken. His eyes fell shut, and his head rolled onto his knees. Before he knew it, Touya had passed out, with one thing on his mind: y/n.

[katsukikitten]

Irritated 6 (?)

A/N I know I never have to apologize but when I do series I feel like do the most and possibly extra BUT I also feel compelled to do these long series for more depth. Hopefully that translates well into my stories as I want them to be read similar to short stories instead of we went from 0 to 100 real fucking quick. So I'm sorry if this series is coming off as more filler than a build up of content. (This is why I'm struggling with my longer series like princess etc) ENJOY BBs

Finally your last task of the day and then you'll be free.

Free to go to that damned hotel room to pack your bags to board a plane. You swear to yourself that you will never come back.

The lights on the stage are again overly bright but this hostesses asks appropriate questions to the ten of you.

And even the fan's questions are dolce and decent.

"Ah Red Riot-sama. I'm sad yet happy that you're taken off of the market but will you televise your wedding?" A box dyed red head asks eagerly, clutching the microphone with slightly shaking hands.

You bite back a smile, nudging Bakugou. Scarlet eyes rove over your face and give you a smirk in return in agreement.

Cute but ridiculous request.

"Ahhh I'm not too sure about the details yet. I've only just asked her a few nights ago." Kirishima laughs, rubbing the back of his head suddenly bashful.

The crowd erupts in roars and majority of the Q&A is now focused on the Kirishima wedding.

A blessing for both yourself and Bakugou.

Although you two become bored quickly as a long line of box dyed red heads of men and women alike wait idly to ask whatever their heart desires.

So you begin to scribble on your pad, you draw the hostess in chibi form, you move down the line of the table mentally stopping on Bakugou. Soon your pen swirls on it's own. The hot head looks odd in your cute chibi.

That is not an adjective that you want to use for him.

He is not *cute* or kind or hot..

Just hot headed.

A snarl to yourself as you begin to engulf Bakugou's chibi in flame before adding yourself lifting a gas can to pour over him.

"That would only encourage me." He murmurs in your ear, a hint of a dark laugh. It is hard to keep the dusting of pink off of your cheeks.

"Fine." A whisper as the pen slicing a line through gas and puts water.

You look to him and he sneers your way, biting back a smirk.

"What's going on with Icy hot?" Scarlet rovers over scratch paper, a snort escapes him, "You did well with Deku he looks utterly useless."

You bite back your laugh, although it is hard, looking up at Bakugou who takes any chance to hate on Izuku.

The hostess walks down the table, stopping before the two of you.

"A fan has a question for you Tejina." She smiles brightly, although you can see some annoyance in her eyes. This must not have been the first time your name was called.

You look out to the mic stand, the lights blinding you for a moment before your eyes adjust, the lighten the illumination over the patient fan.

Your blood runs cold in your veins, smile fading ever quickly depsite you fighting to keep it in place.

Green eyes stare up at you with a mix of emotions. Anger, adoration, jealousy.

You bite the inside of your lip until you taste the tang of pennies as you watch him lick is lips.

"Tejina." His voice speaks your hero name as if it were a dusty sonnet, unused but never forgotten, "Did you enjoy what I picked out for you?"

Nails dig into the tender flesh of your palm as you hold back.

No, *fight* back the urge to shove that microphone so far down his throat you could hear the gurgling of his stomach digesting it. You'd give anything to watch him claw at his throat in uncertain panic, watching his naturally ruddy cheeks flash in hauntingly delightful hues of red, blue, purple and white.

Katsuki notices the shift in your demeanor, his eyes spy the soft glow of your hands before he looks at the fan.

He wears a face he has since committed to memory, an audibly growl is caught by the microphone.

"Oi." Katuski's voice brings you back from your desires plunging you into ice cold water as you register the emotion on his face.

You had never seen Bakugou so angry before. Sure you knew he has a short temper, was easy to pop off at the mouth and the hand.

But you had never seen such unwavering malice in his eyes, or the firm way in which his jaw set.

Grinding teeth with clenched fists, that sweet burnt caramel smell that tickled your nose in dreams wafted to you in heavy waves.

You knew what came next.

Next he would pop, jump into action pair is impulsive temper with the look in his eyes you wonder if that man will ever be able to walk again.

Hell breathe again.

But he would win, even beyond the grave.

You grab onto his powerful thigh as if to hold him in place. He cuts you a look from the side of his dazzling scarlet eye.

He reads you well as you do him.

*"Let me fucking kill him."*

*"No."*

A silent exchange through body language before Bakugou stands anyway.

A deadly snarl as his body heat increases rapidly before the room plunges into darkness.

Screams erupt as the pros automatically jump into action.

Todoroki illuminates the room with fire, Momo makes flash lights, while Denki pulls the hostess over the table protectively as Deku, Asui, and Jhiro move through the crowd to make them calm and to find a threat.

All the while you grab onto Bakugou pulling him back stage. He grabs onto you with rough, inspecting hands.

"We need to be out there. *He's* out there." Bakugou snarls, although his hands have not left your hips. His dancing explosions send flashes of burning Scarlet in your direction.

Rapidly the heat rises in the backroom as well as in your blood.

You grab onto his forearms talking through your teeth, trying to soothe his popping skin.

"It was me." You grit, one hand gesturing about as he looks down at you confused before realization washes over his handsome features.

Washing away some of his wrath with it.

Suddenly the world is flooded with light, Bakugou looks harsher than ever, letting go of your body as if you were hot coals.

He is reminded too quickly of powerful you really are. He gives his back to you, furious over a lot of things.

But more so over the fact that you willingly give power to such vile scum.

And for what? Lingering outside of your door?

"Tch." Is all he says as you watch his retreating back, "Let's get Deku so we can fucking leave this shit show."

To say you were relieved to be stand in front of your shitty hotel room would be an understatement.

Although a looming weight hangs over the door, as if you were to open the cheaply wood fiber door a giant black serpant with hungry greeneyes would meet you.

You swallow thickly as you wait patiently and yet impatiently for Bakugou to retrieve your hotel key from his wallet.

Instead your phone rings from his black pants to which you freely rummage through.

"OI! OI!" Hot explosions pop near your skin but you brush them off staring at who's calling.

Director Yumi, good. Hopefully he will have moved up the time the three of you were scheduled to leave.

"Hello?" Your answer with cheerful disposition.

Although you are unaware that this is the beginning of things going from bad to worse.

Much worse.

Your vision blurs as the director speaks and the two men beside you feel the air charge with an onset heaviness.

The kind that Bakugou knows comes from rage, he notices your clenched fists. The tension making your normally fluid body go rigid.

He wants to rest his palms on your shoulders, let them soothe over your smooth heated skin.

But he barely allows himself the thought.

"WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK?!" It echoes down the hall and Izuku jumps. Jade eyes widening while scarlet narrow.

"A fan party tonight?! Did the boys know about this?" You turn with eyes so angry they glow fiercely with your power.

Both raise their hands to show empty palms and shake their heads no.

"So what is the fucking dress code to this mandatory party hmm? Is it formal? If so I don't fucking have anything." The two men watch you with wary eyes as your voice and temper spike again.

"YOU CANT FUCKING TELL ME?! oh wow you know what a surprise. But what is more surprising is the fact that you're the director of an agency. I'm not sure what it is that you do aside from pissing away your daddy's hard earned money. I know you aren't here to make business deals, talk about hero loans or get your own exposure like the other directors of agencies or as your Father used to do. I know you do little to no research before making a decision nor do you consult your employees as your father did. I know that you have no fucking idea how to run this business, that you do not even posses a fourth of the abilities your father was capable of and I *know* all you're good for is bending Nezuko over your desk to fuck her stupid."

Both sets of eyes widen, your cellphone screen cracks from the pressure of your grip.

"You're right. We *do* need to have a conversation when I get back. Now if you'll excuse me I'll go ask another pro hero or another director who actually knows what the fuck is the dress code and itinerary for this surprise fan event." You say in even breaths and tones before you snap. Throwing your phone onto the floor with heaved breaths.

Gasping for air as you near black out rage, the doors rattle.

Both men stand, eyes wide and staring.

Sure you've been angry, they've now seen you distressed but they've never seen you like this.

Consumed by your wrath and fury.

Izuku looks to Katsuki depserstly, who is biting his lip.

Hating to see you so unraveled.

Did this really all have to do with the dress code to the last minute party or did it have something to do with that scum bag plus whatever the hell else you'd clearly been claming up.

"Oi if you need a dress we can find you one. You have a similar body type to Momo. She's always prepared and probably packed an extra." Katsuki wraps his arm around your shoulders turning you on your heel.

"Or she could make you one." Izuku pipes up, you shove away Katsuki's arm.

"What about you two?" You hiss, "Did you guys lie about knowing?

Bakugou laughs at Deku's blanched face.

"No he's a nerd and always prepared." He snorts, hand finding the small of your back guiding you towards the stairs once again.

"And you?!" A vicious snap that he ignores

"Kirishima is in the same hotel as Momo. He will have an extra for me."

"How can you be so sure?"

Katsuki gives you a sideways glance before pulling you across the street and down the block towards the other heroes' hotel.

"Ever since he dragged me to that nerd island event he's packed an extra." He crosses his arms as the three of you get into the elevator. You wonder what that's like, to have a friend who always has your back.

It has been so long ago since you had actually trusted someone and the only person you could...well she turned up missing shortly after you became a hero.

She was the one person you could never save.

You swallow your shame as you follow Bakugou and Izuku to the fourth floor.

"Take Y/N to the girl's room please Bakugou." Izuku beams as Bakugou snarls, opening his mouth to retort but you interrupt.

"I can go by myself, really. It's just three doors down." You smile, they both look at you with worried eyes that make your skin crawl, "I'm a big girl I can handle it!"

With that you turn, making long strides to the door lifting your hand to knock.

"My two number one heroes!" Kirishima exclaims pulling them into his room.

"Oi oi!" A snarl as their door slams shut.

Your fist seems suspended in air as you ponder.

Would it be rude to ask for a dress?

Would now be a bad time to slip away to just buy one and save yourself the debt?

Before you do a 180 a voice calls from the otherside of the door.

"I'm going to get my extra charger from Eiji" Mina talks loudly enough to be heard through the thick wood before swinging it open to reveal herself and the other female alumni of class 1A, all perched around the room primping.

"Oh Y/N-chan!" She sings wrapping toned pink arms tightly around your frame. You clear your throat, unable to hug her back. Lightly tapping your fingers against her arms.

"Hello..." You say a little awkwardly with a small wave, "I'm sorry to bother y'all but I need to borrow a dress for this party I....forgot to pack one."

"Come in come in!" Mina ushers you in forgetting that she flipped the latch on the door, it sits ajar and goes unnoticed.

She walks a full circle around you.

"Welp my glutes are not nearly as toned as yours...." She looks around the room before settling on Momo, "Mo! Love! Yall have similar measurements!"

"Hmm, yes we do. I believe her thighs to be more muscular than my own and my breasts to be a tad bit larger..." She ponders before an idea crosses her mind, "Ah I'll make one!"

She pulls a measuring tape from her forearm measuring your frame, all the while you protest.

"Oh that's too much trouble. I can go and buy one I dont ne.." But she gives you a look that oddly silences you.

"Its no trouble at all. Plus it will give me great practice! I usually use cloth to make blankets." She scrunches her nose at the thought.

"Oh did you pick your song yet?!" Uraraka asks with delight as she plops on the bed beside you.

Your eyes narrow in confusion as your brow furrows.

"What?" Your heart pounds into your ears as she continues to speak.

"You know for your little opening appearance before all the dancing and booze. Bakugou, Deku-kun and you are the stars for the "surprise" fan party. You get to walk out to your very own song!" U-san produces her phone her screen is lit with a promotional poster.

"TOP HERO SPECIAL APPEARANCE"

It reads across the top, your rage quickly turns into something else as you stare down at the phone.

Before you know it your eyes well over and fat droplets darken the material on your thighs. Your hands fly to cover your face as your rage comes out melted and raw.

"I..I'm sorry...." You sob, "I'm having the worst weekend of my life."

The six women exchange looks as they silently debate how best to approach their new friend.

"Is it Bakugou?" Jhiro's voice comes out harsh as Mina behind you chimes in.

"Yea do we need to kick his ass?" It comes out harshly. A laugh escapes your lips, it sounds foreign.

"Ah no, I can handle Bakugou." You wipe away your tears feeling stupid, "He, he's actually been...fun this weekend."

"Wait wait wait." Mina pauses, "Bakugou? Like Bakugou Katsuki? With red eyes and blonde hair?"

"Yes." You giggle some more, "Hard to believe I know but like I said he's been fun. Helpful even. Kind."

"Wooooooow" The women say in unison.

"So what's bothering your so badly?" Momo's soft voice takes on a tone of motherly concern. You sigh as you debate.

Do you tell them? And if you do how much do you actually reveal? How far back do you need to go?

"Just my male fans are too overbearing. How do you deal with it?" You settle on a partial truth, omitting majority of the details. Plus anyone following your Instagram could see.

"Your fans are too much." Mina agrees, "Momo you get a lot of comments because of your suit right?"

"Yes, some are very hard to ignore. Especially when the go into detail on what they would do to me regardless of my consent. It used to bother me. A lot actually to the point where I thought of changing my hero costume to attract less attention but Sensei Midnight stopped me. She said all I would be doing was putting myself in a more difficult situation with less skin for my quirk to benefit me. That it did not matter what I wore I would still get the comments." Momo pulls a little more of the black fabric from her exposed stomach, giving it a critical look, "That my obsessing over them is what gave them power."

The last sentence settles over you in an odd manner.

Had you given these trolls power over you?

Or has Yayorozu never been blackmailed before?

Still it was sound advice, you had given those comments power.

"Alright I believe its finished. Let's try this on shall we?" Momo says lifting the dress up to you.

"Get ready here with the rest of us. I'm dying to play with your hair!" Mina pleads before squealing when you nod your head yes.

"Bakugou, what are you doing in the hall?" Izuku asks before Katsuki raises his hand to silence him. He retreats from the slightly ajar room, not answering until the hot head is mostly to Kirishima's door.

"I was gonna tell Y/LN about the party but I think the girls just did. Let's grab my stupid suit and come back to pick her slow ass up later." Bakugou dismisses it with a wave of his hand.

And yet he cannot dismiss your words.

"Bakugou has been...fun."

"Please stay Katuski"

He squeezes his eyes shut trying to get your voice and your sad eyes out of his head.

Only to encourage them to haunt him further.

[exclipssesss]

You're perfect, no matter what he says about you. [x reader]

Headcanons of all my current fav characters from different fandoms. This was supposed to be something just to emotionally heal me. So this does kinda based off real life experience, except the part where the bois comfort me, man why can't i buy these guys in ebay as my legal husbands?

Characters involved: Alastor [Hazbin Hotel], Lafayette [Hamilton The Musical].

Would probabpy make part two with other characters uwu

Warnings: Cursing, Physical abuse, Parental abuse, The mention of Anxiety.

Summary: S/o never had a great relationship with their dad, and after another fight (which ended horribly wrong) someone decided to comfort them.

Alastor.

Hazbin Hotel.

You were in the Hotel, coolio. Basically you were chilling on the couch when suddenly you fell asleep, and after a few hours passed you woke up to find yourself in your room with blankets covering you, you were confused on how you get there.

You then get out of bed and noticed charlie calling you, probably a new demon that wanna check into the hotel.

You saw a demon that is kind of similar to you but wAy more big and looked kind of scary, he was holding a cigarette. At first you shrugged it off since having the same form of a demon can both mean you guys have made the same sin, or you are related.

You didn't really mind it at first until you asked him to sign in to the hotel, and he looked at you as if you're stupid. He laughed that everyone draws their attention to the both of you, you laughed with him to avoid being awkward.

"You do realize that i am nowhere wanting to go to this stupid ass hotel right? Pathetic, demons wanting to do some redemption just to go to heaven? They can't even take their own consequences of being a dick. Yeah no bitch, i ain't going to this hotel, especially if it filled with pussies"

You stumbled back, he was similar to you but is nothing like you. Yes you swore, a lot, but not this harsh. He basically scowls at you and you just gave him a light glare back. He didn't seem to notice it tho.

Then, it snapped inside your head. No wonder his voice was so familiar. You looked at him and took the chance to find out, if it is true, then you're probably double dead. But you convince yourself that even if he tries to hurt you, you were at the hotel, someone is bound to help you.

"Um, oh, i forgot to introduce myself.. I'm [Y/n] [L/n], nice to meet you.. Sir.."

And you were right. His eyes was wide for a second before it was replaced with disgust, he yanked your hand and you almost lost your balance.

"Of-fucking-course you are. Now wonder your voice reminds me of some bitch. No surprise seeing you here in hell tho, you were always nothing but a disappointment. Even god thinks so."

You basically trembled as eyes were sticking on both you and your "father". He then let's go of you harshly and you stumbled back before falling, demons around weren't helping either. Although some of them gave you pitiful looks, so you decided that maybe they just too scared to interfere. I mean, you would too.

"See? Pathetic. Even as a demon you're trash, and now you're trying to do this whole hotel thing? HahaA--"

Something pulled your dad back, and he was met by a pair of a sickeningly dark pair of eyes that you've known too well.

"Excuse me sir, but I'm pretty sure that that kind of behaviour is not allowed here."

Your "father" was surprised to see Hell's one of the most powerful demons defending you, he almost gives out a somewhat proud smirk, only for it to turn into a scoff. Thankfully, he was decent enough not to mess with Alastor, as he immediately got out the doors and hopefully not coming back.

"My dearest, are you alright?" oh and he comforts you throughout the day too, he almost swears to kill your dad (if that's even possible) but you immediately told him not to.

Either way, he is precious and would do anything for you. Would recommend getting yourself an Alastor, 10/10.

Marquis de Lafayette.

Hamilton: an American musical.

Hamiltime.

(I'm changing the writing style just becuz I'm in the mood)

You just got back from a long day hanging out with the Schuyler Sisters, and also the boys of course. Funnily enough, you and Peggy get along really well, and for the boys? Lafayette's definitely your favorite. Actually he's more than just your 'favorite', you're not even sure yourself, you just felt safe and nice inside when you're around him.

"Where do you think you're going?"

A familiar deep voice that you've been scared for so long spoke up, you stopped dead on your tracks, trying to look calm. You then turned around to be met with a pair of deadly sharp and dark eyes piercing through you, in which you quietly gulped in response.

"I'm sorry i came back late, dad. I was with the Schuyler Sisters and-"

"You really think I'll believe that lying mouth of yours?"

Those words caught you off guard since you are, for a fact, not lying. You really were with Angelica and the others, and so you gave him your 'what are you talking about?' face, and he did not like that. He approached you, and you slowly but surely walked backwards, in hopes of getting away from him. When he was only a few inches from you, he spoke up again.

"Don't you fucking lie to me, who was that man with you? Who the fuck was he?" His voice low with growl as he fixed his sight to yours. You took another gulp of your own spit as he was starting to push you into a corner.

"I wasn't lying! I really was with The Sisters, that boy is just one of ou-"

Slapped

You could feel the hot print on your left cheek as it was burning with pain from the sudden hit, you hold it with your arm. This time you had enough, it was enough living in a world where girls don't have any rights, and you were absolutely not gonna let this man use that against you. Even if he is your blood.

"I'll ask you again, and this time i want an answer, not a rambling about some nonsense you pulled out of your ass."

You looked at him dead in the eye before finally giving an answer.

"Marquis de Lafayette. There, you have it. May i go now?" You said with disgust and anger lacing in every word. This made your so called dad shut up, before forcefully yanked you away. You ran to your room and find yourself falling asleep while crying, at this point all you wanna do was die. With all the smell of cigarettes and alcohol, you basically almost puked, and you still can't believe your mom left you with him. When you woke up, you checked the time. 11:36. At this rate, you could barely sleep again, and you didn't want to be in a house with that jerk anyways, so a brilliant-yet-kinda-dumb idea came to mind. You got out of the house quietly, you didn't want to even try spending the night there anymore, and to be honest, you didn't know where to go.

You could visit the Schuyler Sisters, yes, but going to the Schuyler Mansion at this time of night? Maybe not. You couldn't go to one of the boys' house either, that's just weird. And you didn't want to look like slut. So your thoughts just came to that one place, the place you and the rest of the gang met. The place where you and Lafayette met. The bar. Plus it's open twenty/four hours so it's not like you'll be trespassing.

And so you did what you thought you did. You go there, at first you thought that you would probably be alone in the bar considering how late it is, and that's a good thing considering the red burning mark on your cheek haven't left yet. But nope. The bar was actually kinda noisy, you looked inside to see Alex and his friends there getting drunk, and so you tried to avoid eye contact and go back outside. Well that was your plan until a certain drunk frenchman called you out.

"Mon amie, (Y/n)! Why are you here at this time of night? A beautiful mademoiselle like you shouldn't do that~" Lafayette slurred almost every word as he is drunk. You stopped dead on your tracks and turned around to smile at them, using your hair to cover the bruises left on your cheek. As you looked closely, you could see that Alexander is probably the only sober one out of the group, and not actually drunk.

"Yeah (Y/n), why are you here? Oh, you can come join us if you want to." Alex, the only stable one at the moment continued.

"That's a great idea Al! Come, mon amie! I'll buy you a drink."

Lord tell me how to say no to this-- But seriously, you wanted to go so badly but you barely even could walk out the moment you saw that smile. And so you just had to walk back, which all the boys cheered on.

"What's wrong, (Y/n)? You're awfully quiet,"

"Yeah, most of the time you're basically the one who can't shut up."

"Yo, talk if you want a free booze."

And yet you kept silent, although a silent chuckle can be heard only by yourself did rang through your ears. The boys were starting to get worried, especially with your new hairdo that covered half of your face.

"Huh, someone's actually denying free booze, something is wrong" Hercules said as he rubbed his nonexistent beard, Laurens just tried to swipe your hair away but you quickly slapped his hands away as soon as it was near your face.

"Sheesh, no touching your new hair, i get it. No need to slap me for it." He said with almost looks like a pout, this time the frenchman was asking you questions, and you didn't want to answer. But in the same time, you don't have the heart to ignore him.

"(Y/n), please, tell me what's wrong.. Why are you covering your face?" and now, you also wanted to die. That face, that damned face, god why can't you just ignore it like anyone else's? You let out a sigh as you finally lets all those emotions loose. Tears were pouring down your face almost as fast as Hercules chugging down a beer, and you could barely took any control of them. You buried your face in Laff's shoulder, him petting your head as you realease all your burdens and tears at the same time. The others were stunned, but is confused on what to do, so they just wait for you to stop crying before saying anything that could make you more emotional, if that's even possible.

You wiped your tears, and when you go to wipe the remaining liquid on your left eyes, you unconsciously exposed the big red mark on your left cheek. Boy, little did you know that they'll immediately turn into interrogators in less than a minute.

"(Y/n). What is this?" Hercules' voice rang first with what seems like anger, second came Alex, with his voice that sounded way more than just 'worried'.

"Who the fuck did this?" He said as he tried to put your hair behind your ear, you avoided his touch and just sinks more into Lafayette's embrace, who's weirdly being quiet through this, although his gaze didn't seem to left you at all.

"(Y/n), Let us take a look. I can't believe someone actually did that to you." It's true, you never told anyone about your 'daddy issues', you didn't want to gain any pitty. Time went on and it's almost One AM now, Laff's gaze didn't seem to have left you, in fact, they were stern, it didn't helped the fact that he haven't said anything in the past hour.

You ended up getting cornered and so you told them, about everything that was happened last night. They. Were. Furious. It didn't surprise you though, if your friend were going through the same thing, you'd probably ready to murder someone too.

"(Y/n), does zis 'ave something to do with me?" You immediately flinched. The reason you were slapped was because you didn't want to tell your dad about Lafayette, and he basically could see it through you. He immediately cursed himself, blaming everything that he thought he did wrong. With a little explanation and help from Alex and the others, you got him to calm down and kissed him in his cheek. In which he responds with a blush acrossed his face.

In the end, Lafayette asked you to stay with him for a while and said it was "the least he could do." Basically you were treated like a princess, nothing major happened other than cuddles and venting, he would pat your head and hold you close when you started crying. Sometimes he would kiss your forehead and says sweet nothings to you. He insisted to sleep on the couch while you took the bed, and ever since, the guys would act like your brothers, especially Laurens and Mulligan, they would actually shower you with new dresses and act proud whenever you and Lafayette had "a step forward". (They became your personal wingmans too.)

Not long after, The schuylers took you in, or more like - dragged you in. Philip Schuyler had left the Mansion to his daughters, and so which give them the opportunity to make you their roommates. You four would just chill at night and trash talk your dad when wanted to. (courtesy of big sis Angie™).

Alex on the other hand, was determined to make your dad looked like a fool, even though you told him countless times that he didn't need to do that. He would write about your dad with headlines like "Man Treats Daughter Worse Than Slave" or something like that. In which you laughed about, somehow you still feel bad about the amount of hate your dad gives, but you also feel as if he deserves it for hitting you all those years.

The last but not least, Lafayette. The man asked you out after you moved with the Schuylers, he said he's lonely now that you're not with him and he missed you, he also said that was the time he realized he had feelings for you. You immediately said yes and have been courting with him ever since. Honestly he's just the embodiment of love and cuddles, and you love him for every support he gave you.

[babieyangyang10]

violent ends (chapter 12)

(chapter 12)

series masterlist

genre: hunger games!au

pairings: huang renjun x oc, na jaemin x oc

warnings: lots of kissing, mentions of killing, description of injuries

previous | next

Athena's POV

It took a while for Jisung's quiet sniffles to fade the night of Chenle's death. By the time Mark and I had made our way back, Jaemin and Jisung had found out the news after they saw his face among the dead in the sky. Honestly, it was almost easier for Jisung to find out that way. I know Mark was in too much pain to tell him. As for me, I don't know how I could bare to look him in those innocent eyes and tell him either. As expected, he took it pretty hard. I mean, he was his best friend. He literally cried so much, that he eventually became exhausted and fell asleep.

I took the first watch, since Mark looked like he needed rest as well. The only other person who was still up was Na Jaemin.

"What are you thinking about?" Just like when we were alone in the first days, his head was resting on my lap.

"Jeno, Renjun, and the District 5 girl are the only ones left other than us." I point out.

Focusing on the positives, he replies, "Okay, well I'm guessing they'll go after her for us, since she's alone. Hopefully, they'll kill each-other. If not, we'll do it."

My voice was in a small whisper, "And then?"

He's silent.

I know District 2 is watching me right now. The same district that attachment is only necessary when it pertains to something you need. Once you have gotten what you've needed, you have to detach yourself. Almost like how a leech sucks enough blood until their fulfilled, then falls off on their own free will.

These people have given me my fill. Mark and Jisung took Jaemin and I in, even after Jaemin was injured. However, now we are both healthy as can be. As they sleep in front of me, what is stopping us from running away or even just killing them? Friends. Something I never had before. I never understood it until now. How it means that even though I'm full, I feel obligated to them too. To give just as much as they gave me.

But they are right. This is what they warned us about. This obligation will keep me captive. Let's say that we do all make it to the end together. Even so, the games will continue until a single victor. It happens every time.

The longest was the 25th games, it lasted for a total of twenty-seven days. This year the Districts had chosen the children of their mayors. Because of growing up wealthy and sheltered, none of the kids knew anything about fighting.

So they didn't. Half of them were wiped out by vicious mutations on the third day, then eventually others by starvation. However, the Gamemakers had a twist this year. Instead of the parachutes sending things to help and aid you, they sent down things like tracker jackers and acidic rain. No longer did the tributes have to survive eachother, but instead the sponsors.

Three weeks later, only two managed to do this: a brother and sister from District 9. Hopeless and broken, they decided to draw straws to see who would survive and win. The brother ended up getting the short one and gave his sister a kiss on the cheek before she stabbed him to death.

This just proves no matter how much you care for the other survivors, the Capitol won't give up until you kill the other.

The long silence was interrupted, "You know you're my priority. Ever since the beginning, only you."

"You know what I'm saying, what I'll do if I need to." Jaemin whispers sincerely, "I know you wouldn't like it, but we promised it would be me and you in the end, right?"

I knew exactly what he was alluding to. It doesn't matter if it's Mark or Jisung, he would kill anyone so we'd survive.

"I know." I speak even through the lump in my throat. There's no point in pretending or acting like things could never possibly come to that. I mean, it's not like the games are a place where you make friends.

Jaemin is sensitive to my discomfort, "Hopefully, it won't come to that, okay?"

All I could do was respond with a nod. Let's hope it doesn't.

It's almost natural the way I once again played with his hair to calm down. I noticed that since we've been separated, time had caused his nearly-black roots to appear, fading nicely into the frosty blonde. His eyes were more sunken in and tired, but still held the same old light as he peered up at me with interest, "You really have no shame, Athena."

"What do you mean?" I tease, playing innocent like I wasn't obviously checking out the beautiful boy just seconds earlier.

Then, in a burst of affection, the boy literally almost tackles me. My elbows brace myself up on the ground, as he leans over me. Alarmed, I turn my head to see the boys fast asleep, a good distance away.

When I look back at Jaemin, I feel my head start to buzz. It's seems like so long since I've been this close to someone. A someone who is somewhere far away in this arena. Someone, who in was in this same position with the night before I came here. In a soft voice, Jaemin's voice brings me back to the present, to him.

"Please."

Not long after I nod, I feel his lips softly brush over mine. Almost as if he's testing the waters. The kiss that follows is soft and delicate, yet brief. It's like I'm a piece of glass, that he is trying his best not to break. When, he backs away to see my reaction, I nearly chase after his lips. He just laughs to himself at the display of eagerness. I move back, so I'm entirely laying on the grass.

I try to be patient, not wanting to overstep our boundaries. However, when he looks down at me with absolute adoration, I didn't stop myself from grabbing his shirt with both my hands. Once I pulled him down into an bruising kiss, I could hear him let out a content sigh.

I get lost and entirely forget where I am. Instead of in an arena, it just feels like we're two young teenagers making out under the stars. It feels normal and completely right. Out of breath, he is now laying on top of me. My mouth is open in awe, while I marvel at the feeling. Relaxing, I could feel Jaemin smiling into my neck. Even in the dark, I know the cameras can see me also smiling like a fool to the sky.

After that, Jaemin decided to take his watch and let me sleep. It was the first peaceful sleep I have had until forever. That was, of course, until a young boy named Park Jisung ruined it.

"We need water!" Beside me was a knocked out, Jaemin. He was leaning against a tree, while my head was leaning against his shoulder.

"Okay, fine. Just shush." I was trying to be wary of Jaemin, who stayed up for both of our watches.

Grabbing my stuff, I say a brief goodbye to Mark. Jisung happily follows me like a little puppy, probably glad to finally get out of the camp again.

The fresh sun illuminates the water of the lake. Birds are singing good morning to one another.  I hand my bag to Jisung, as I take out my bottle. The tiny fish quickly swim away as I fill Mark and I's bottles up with water.

I feel a tug on my leather jacket.

"Athena." Jisung was pale, looking behind me.

My head snapped around to automatically meet eyes with Lee Jeno. Across the lake, he had just arrived with Renjun.

I don't waste any time before grabbing Jisung and running into the woods behind me. However, we could only get a small distance before Jisung fell to the ground, clutching his bad leg, "I can't."

"You can. Come on." I tried to hold him up like I did during the forest fire. I could hear the two Careers just around the corner.

"I'll slow you down." Jisung begged, "You gotta go without me." 

Not even having it, I grabbed him and sat him down behind a nearby bush. Since the bush was fairly small, I had to go to the only other one across the clearing.

"Let's split up." I hear nearby.

Through a gap in the branches, I see Lee Jeno come around the corner. My heart pounds with each of his steps. Jeno gets closer and closer the bush Jisung is hiding behind. I violently curse in my head as I realized Jisung was carrying my backpack with all of my weapons in it.

I guess we're gonna have to do this a different way.

I dart out of my bush and begin running in the opposite direction of camp. That way, Jisung could hopefully make it back undetected to get help.

I don't look back at all. I just keep running until I get back to the lake. Before I can change direction, I feel someone jump on me.

Crashing down, the side of my head collides with a large boulder. At first, it's completely numb and I'm able to push the tall boy off of me.

However, once I push myself up, I start to see black and fall back to the ground.

"Hey, I got her!" Jeno yelled out to Renjun.

"We've been looking for you, pretty girl." His arms have mine completely pinned to the dirt. The more I struggle against him, the more the white dots fill up my vision.

Renjun's POV

When I run towards Jeno's voice, I eventually found the two of them.

Jeno was holding the small girl. Lee Athena's face was as white as a sheet. Blood was pouring out of her head, falling in thick drops down the side of her face. I couldn't even tell if she was even conscious at this point.

She was completely limp as the boy sat her up on her knees, "Why don't you finish her off?"

"Look who came to join us." He cooed, grabbing her hair to make her look up at me.

Her half-lidded eyes recognized me right away. Although, there wasn't any signs of fear or sadness for what she knew was about to happen to her. She almost looked like she was challenging me. You wouldn't.

Would I?

"Do it." Jeno urged me. Her chin was tilted back by his hold on her hair, neck entirely on display. My hand was tightly wrapped around the familiar blade in my hands.

I tried to quickly come up with an excuse for my next actions in my head. I mean it would have to happen eventually. At least, it would be somewhat quick.

Then, I did it.