#i miss doing tech so much it makes my heart ache

[sharkieboi]

having an existential crisis watching the crew BTS for D20 Fantasy High Junior Year cause apparently what I want to do is get paid a reasonable wage to be a techie

[crosshairlovebot]

falling for mr. batchbury (part two) / hunter x f!reader

pairing: hunter x f!reader

description: your long-awaited reunion with mr. batchbury has finally come, and so do you.

REGENCY AU

word count: 8,107

warnings: NSFW 18+ explicit sexual content. loss of vriginity (f). p in v s*x. oral s*x (f receiving). lots of kissing. handj*bs. biting. unprotected s*x. cr*ampie. outdoor s*x. partly clothed s*x. religious comparions.

thank you so much for your support on part one.!! the regency hunter/bad batch art that has come from this has been amazing to see i love it so much!! i got v carried away but i enjoyed writing this sm, so i hope you enjoy reading it <3

also posted on ao3. feedback is welcomed, reblogs are appreciated. MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

PART TWO

According to his letters, Mr. Hugo Batchbury earned the nickname “Hunter” due to his uncanny ability to seek out enemy ships and find hidden encampments during the war. You had always known his senses to be more attuned than a normal person, so it seemed fitting for him. And it was why you ventured into your estate’s gardens, knowing he’d be able to find you with ease.

You hurried down the stone steps, lifting the skirt of your gown so you wouldn’t trip as you left the din of the ball behind you. 

The ball had been to celebrate your father’s return from war. Of course, that meant the Batchbury Brothers had also returned, each with a nickname of their own. William had come to be known as ‘Wrecker’ due to his enthusiasm with the ship's cannons. Thomas became ‘Tech’ as his knowledge of engineering and other contraptions was second to none. Carlisle’s superior aim with a pistol had bestowed him with the name ‘Crosshair’. You had read it all in Mr. Batchbury’s letters, which were frequent enough that missing him was only agonising, not excruciating. 

In the years that passed while they were at sea, writing was the only comfort you had – and knowing they served under your father who was a master at his profession. Your heart raced when the footman brought in the post and there was a letter from Mr. Batchbury. Usually, he would write two – one for you and one for Meg. 

His letters to you varied, sometimes they told you of what he’d been doing, sometimes they held a tale from the decks of the ship, some mischief played as they rode the waves. But each contained his voice through written script, the words of the sentences so familiar you could hear them in his voice as you read. 

You fell more in love with him through his letters, and he with you. Each one he sent would always detail his love for you, his eagerness to come home and love you at a nearer distance, his wish to marry you when he returned. It all sent thrills and pangs through you.

My thoughts of you only seem to increase the longer we are apart, he’d once written. My sketchbook has run out of pages, and until I can find a new one to fill, I draw your face in my dreams.

Your entire being longed to be with him.

You would write to him too, but the time between letters being sent and arriving for both of you seemed to grow more extensive as the months and years went on. 

What was it they said, absence makes the heart grow fonder? Well, your heart's fondness for Mr. Batchbury was so strong it ached. You even requested he send you a self-portrait, just so you could see him face. He’d given it in his next letter – his face so beautifully etched in charcoal, his brow strong over intense black circles of eyes, the curve of his jaw shaded with his birthmark. You had to be careful you didn’t drop tears on it when you gazed upon it.

Meg missed him too – she missed all her brothers dearly, and she followed the papers diligently for news, thrumming with excitement when she received a letter from any of them. She had grown so much in the years that had past. Now eighteen, she had matured into a young lady; she was kind, compassionate and amiable. She was as tall as her brothers and seemed to have absorbed all their best traits too, even if they were far away. 

You had been with her as she watched from the window, waiting for their carriage to arrive the afternoon just gone. She bounced on her toes in excitement while you sat on the lounge nearby, just as excited but simultaneously so anxious to see Mr. Batchbury you felt like you might be ill.

What if he saw you and you were not as he remembered? Or what if he saw you and his feelings for you were merely spurred by distance, and now were non-existent? You knew his heart to be mountainous, but mountains did fall victim to erosion when weathered by strong winds.

When you heard Meg squeal, you had jumped from your thoughts. “They’re here! They’re back! They’re here!”

She raced from the room, and you gaped for a moment before following her, your footsteps just as quick. Despite your anxieties, you were still desperate to see him.

And you father, too. You couldn’t forget about him.

You followed her outside and watched as Meg skidded to a stop as the carriage slowed and the horses stilled. The carriage door was thrown open as William– Wrecker emerged. You knew it was him from his build. He guffawed as he wrapped his arms around Meg, lifting her up and spinning her. You heard Meg laugh as you approached. 

You realised Wrecker now sported an impressive scar from his ear and across one side of his face, an eye patch covering one eye, his head completely shaved. The other brothers filed out of the carriage, Thomas– Tech had a limp and now held a cane on his left side, Carlisle– Crosshair had a burn scar on one side of his head, the same side as the smattering of port wine that splashed over his right eye. He also had a wooden attachment on one hand to replace one he had evidently lost. 

They each had been changed by their time at war, but they still gathered Meg into their arms, their love for their sister eternal.

Your breath hitched when you saw Mr. Batchbury– Hunter move down the carriage steps, his boots crunching on the gravel. 

His hair was longer, and the bandana had changed from bright red to a rich colour that matched his port wine birthmark, but apart from that it was as if no time had passed. How was it possible he looked exactly the same? In fact, he looked even more handsome, as if the time spent in the sea air had not weathered him, but ripened his beauty.

You watched as he held his arms out for Meg, who jumped into them. He smiled into her neck, arms wrapping around her tightly, squeezing. You heard Meg begin to cry into her older brother’s shoulders, her own shaking. Your heart squeezed for her. 

Though her brothers were everything to her, there was something different about her bond with Hunter. He was more than her brother, he was her guardian too, the one she always turned to, the one who had taken her in and cared for her no questions asked. Hunter was Meg’s mountain, and being without him had been harder on her than she liked to admit. Hunter soothed her with gentle shushes, one of his hands running up and down her back. 

“It’s alright, Meg. I’m here now,” you heard him console her gently. “I’m not going anywhere ever again.” 

You felt your eyes sting with tears at the heartfelt reunion. They pulled away, and you watched Hunter wipe away his sister’s tears with the pad of his thumb, a smile matching his misty eyes. You watched his hands grab hers as he took a step back, seeing her stand at his height.

“You’re so big now,” his voice cracked.

Meg laughed lightly, wiping her eyes. “You missed a lot.”

“Too much.” Hunter shook his head. “Never again.”

“Never,” Meg agreed.

“Hey!” Wrecker’s loud voice boomed when he spotted you. “Look who it is!”

You held your breath as Hunter’s eyes landed on yours. You watched the way his eyes and shoulders softened, his mouth parted. You watched his mouth turn up at the side, and the stain on his cheek darken at the sight of you. It appeared his penchant to flush at the sight of you had not changed either.

You flushed. Why had you even been worried again?

You cleared you throat and took a step forward. “The Batchbury Brothers have returned.”

“You bet!” Wrecker cheered. “And in one piece!”

“Speak for yourself,” Crosshair sneered, his remaining hand gripping the wrist of his prosthetic.

“We are, mostly, unharmed,” Tech adjusted his glasses with his free hand. “Hunter is the only one of us to remain unscathed.”

Hunter sighed and shook his head. “We all survived. That’s what matters.”

“And we’re rich!” Wrecker laughed proudly.

“I heard about your acquisition of prizemoney,” you said. “Congratulations. It is a great accomplishment for you all.”

“It gives us many opportunities now,” Hunter said carefully, meeting your eyes knowingly. You felt your heartbeat pick up.

Did he…mean…?

You felt your expression lift as you gazed at him hopefully, and you watched his birthmark darken again as he smiled softly at you. The smile conveyed all the love he held for you, steadfast and immovable even after five years, even through a war. Your heart squeezed and you felt as though you might faint.

He did mean that.

“Is my father on his way?” you inquired, slightly breathless as his words danced around your head, the realisation so fanciful it hardly seemed real.

Hunter nodded. “He said he had some paperwork to drop off in London, but he should arrive by this evening.”

“Wonderful,” you breathed, smiling at him with what you hoped conveyed the same amount of love, if not more. 

Now, under the cover of the moon and the ball long behind you, you raced through the maze to the centre of it; the very maze where your love for each other had blossomed. You were breathless, and you could feel the bones of your tight corset cutting into your ribs, but you didn’t care. 

He would be here soon.

“Hey,” you heard his smoky tenor from behind you. You whirled around to see him standing there, holding a lantern he had taken from the courtyard adjacent to the ballroom. Along with a grey waistcoat, he wore his newly tailored dresscoat, black with some red embroidery stitched into the cuffs and collar. His black boots glistened in the light of the moon, and in lieu of his bandana, he wore a red cravat instead.

He looked dashing.

“Mr. Batchbury,” you breathed as you took in the sight fo him.

How was it fair that he looked beautiful in all lights?

He chuckled. “Are we still using such formalities?”

You were unable to hide your smile. “What shall I call you then? ‘Hunter’?” you teased lightly.

You watched as he inhaled sharply, hands that were once relaxed now clenched. “Yes,” he rasped, his eyes never strayed from you. “Hunter is perfect.”

“Very well…Hunter,” you smiled. You liked the way it sounded on your tongue, and Hunter seemed to as well, returning a closed-mouth smile at you as he continued to gaze longingly at you. Your face felt hot as you fiddled with your fingers awkwardly. The moment of silence passed through you both. You looked at him before tittering nervously. Hunter cocked his head. 

“What is it?”

“All these years, I thought I would be gushing with things to say, but words have seemed to escape me,” you joked.

Hunter chuckled, a hearty sound, and walked towards you slowly with the lantern before setting it down on the stone bench beside you both. Now, in the dim orange glow, you were close enough to see those familiar brown-grey eyes, unchanged despite the time that passed. 

“It’s been a long time. Far too long,” he murmured, eyes travelling across your face like a caress. You swallowed, flustered by his attentions. 

You wished you were more articulate, but you had missed him so much, it was taking everything in you not to just kiss him, to instead prelude such a thing with pleasantries so it would not be so forward. It had been a long time, and you had only a few hours together where you knew of each others feelings before he left. This whole thing was unfamiliar territory for you. You knew how to be in love with him from afar, from across an ocean, but had no idea how to do it in such close proximity.

“You look well,” you said. It was a severe understatement.

“You look beautiful,” Hunter told you earnestly, his fingertips gently nudged your hands and you let them latch around yours. Your breath hitched as you felt his warm touch against your hands as he held them assuredly, his thumb drawing circles over the back of your hand. “My sketches and my memory did not do you justice.”

You felt butterflies take flight inside you. “I was worried about this part,” you breathed, too overwhelmed to think about the words that now seemed to fly out of you with no hesitation.

Hunter looked genuinely confused. “Why?”

You swallowed again and averted your eyes, focusing on the concrete next to you. “Because I hoped I would still be what you desired, after half a decade.”

Hunter tilted his head as he moved into your eyeline, forcing you to meet his eye as you both lifted your heads again. His brow was furrowed as he tried to understand. “How could you think I would no longer desire you? Did you not read my letters?”

“I did but…things can change,” you told him quietly.

Hunter’s frown deepened and he searched your face before he shook his head. He let go of one of your hands so he could cup the hinge of your jaw, the pad of his thumb gently caressing your cheekbone, his words quiet but sure. 

“Not this,” he told you. “Never this.”

Your heart squeezed. He was not real. He could not be. You loved him so much you thought you might collapse, knees buckling because of how much it consumed you. You leaned into his hand and closed your eyes, breathing in deeply at how nice it was to hear such a thing. To know his heart remained as mountainous as it was when he left. When you opened your eyes again, you saw his brow was drawn together, his lips pressed together. You needed them on yours desperately.

“No,” you agreed, breathless.

You tilted your chin up a little, gaze falling to his lips, a silent begging for him to kiss you. You watched his eyes move to your lips and his words came out as he stared at them.

“I have something…I need to ask you,” he said slowly, like he was nervous, like he was reciting words he had practised. You felt your whole body ignite. He met your eyes once again. “I suspect you know what it is?”

“Yes,” you nodded, your voice barely above a whisper in disbelief. You knew what he was going to ask, and yet you felt yourself thrum with anticipation for hearing the words out loud. “I waited,” you told him.

Hunter nodded, a mirthful smile on his face, like he could hardly believe it either. “You waited.”

You smiled and you both gazed at each other. The warm glow of the lamp lit the side of his face untouched by his birthmark, and the ballroom felt like it was on a different planet, it was so far away. Only the stars were your witnesses above you, glowing dots painting the sky. His hands were warm on you, tethering you to him. It was just the two of you, in the maze – where you both began, and evidently, would be where you continued to be together.

“Marry me.” His husky voice spoke in the space between you, and those two little words made your heartbeat race and your stomach flip over. “Please. I…adore you. It would be my greatest honour to be wed to you.”

Tears of joy stung your eyes, and you unleashed an unbridled smile that you did not dare hold back. You nodded your head quickly, eager to tell him your answer, which you need not take time to consider, you’d had five years after all.

“Yes,” you laughed. “Yes, I will marry you.”

You watched Hunter’s face light up, joy stretching his mouth wide and squishing part of his port wine stain into a triangle on his cheek. He laughed happily as he brought his other hand to your face and pulled you in for your first kiss in five years.

Your hands moved to clutch his lapels as you kissed him back. You had dreamed of kissing him again, and it felt surreal to finally be doing it. His mouth was still as hot, gentle and coaxing as you remember, and you felt yourself pressing into him as he slanted his mouth over yours. You couldn’t stop smiling though, your mouth tipping up involuntarily with your immeasurable happiness as you kissed him. In response, Hunter’s mouth did the same, chuckling before he pulled back. He shook his head and kissed you chastely before he spoke again.

“In the morning, we’ll find the vicar. I don’t want to wait,” he said, his voice hoarse but full of conviction. 

“Neither do I,” you agreed, watching the way the moon illuminated his curls.

“It’s been long enough. To be apart from you for any longer,” he pressed his forehead into yours. “It would be agony.”

“I cannot be without you another moment,” you told him before bringing his lips down to yours again. Hunter groaned as he kissed you, his hands travelling down towards your waist as he pulled you flush against him. You moved your hands to the nape of his neck, fisting the hair there. Hunter groaned again before he wrenched himself back, breathless. Apparently, he still had things to say. Could they not wait? You had struggled with words before, why did he want to say them now when there was kissing to do?

“Your father cannot disapprove of me.” he rushed out, like he was telling himself, reassuring himself. “I am no longer poor. He will let us marry.”

You smiled softly at him. All this doubt he had held, all these thoughts and apprehensions that had held him back before, they no longer existed. There was no war to fight, he was no longer destitute, Meg was well and he’d already set up a trust for her. His brothers were safe. And so was he. Everything had been taken care of. Hunter could finally allow himself to have something that he wanted. Something completely his own that did not require anyone’s opinion or approval. He had been a mountain for everyone, and now the storm had passed, the sun shone on his heart and there was no need to be worried about his family.

Though none of it had been a burden to him, Hunter could finally breathe, and he wanted to fill his lungs with you.

You brushed some hair off his forehead. “Even if he did disapprove, I would marry you anyway. I am yours, in whatever circumstance. I always have been.”

Hunter smiled, his expression soft and full of adoration. “I love you.”

“I love you,” you told him moments before Hunter brought his lips back to yours. 

Hunter wrapped his arms around you and made a soft sound as you pressed into him. You felt his mouth guide yours open, and you let him, trusting him implicitly as he gently moved his tongue against yours. 

You hadn’t kissed him like this before, but the hot wet of his mouth was obscenely wonderful and you were quickly obsessed with how it felt. You tried to stroke your tongue against his in the same motions and felt him moan into your mouth.

“Heavens above,” you felt him mumble as he dragged his mouth away from yours, moving it down your neck as he left open-mouthed kisses across your skin. You tilted your head back, mouth open as you caught your breath, overcome with the feel of his mouth on places you had only read about. You felt between your legs begin to get hot as you cradled his head to your neck, and when you felt him nip at your collarbone, you to let out a high-pitched cry. You were sure you were going to collapse any second. 

“Hunter…” you panted. 

Hunter moved across your collarbone, kissing the swallow of your neck as he did. His hands moved from your waist to hold your ass, his palms squeezing there. Your chest rose and fell rapidly as you watched him move down towards the swell of your breast which spilled up the neckline of your gown, pressed by your corset. 

He kissed the crease between them. “My love, if you will permit me.”

“Do whatever you wish with me,” you hastened to say, desperate for him not to stop.

Hunter did not need to be told twice before he kissed along the neckline, the soft flesh of your breasts meeting his lips. You mewled as his tongue lulled out and licked, before his teeth sunk into them.

“Hunter!” you moaned, head falling back.

You felt his hot breath on your now wet skin. He pulled away with a groan. 

“My love, can I…can I please?” Hunter looked at you.

You blinked, trying to remember how to speak. “Can you what?”

“Can I feel you there? I fear I will perish if I do not,” he begged, eyes pleading like if you refused him, he might actually fall apart.

“I told you, do whatever you wish with me.”

A low sound came from the back of Hunter’s throat as he lowered to his knees in front of you. “Sit down on the bench.”

You followed his instruction and then he bunched up your gown before placing a hand between your legs. When you felt his fingers brush against your extremely wet folds, you whimpered and he groaned, a guttural sound that travelled right to your centre.

“Oh, Christ, you’re fucking drenched,” he rasped, moving his fingers against your seam. You panted, clutching his shoulder as pleasure travelled like lightning through your entire body. “And this is all for me.”

“All yours,” you whispered.

Hunter groaned again and pulled his fingers away. You whined at the loss of touch and then watched as he placed his fingers, wet with your slick, into his mouth. You whimpered as he moaned, his eyes closing as he tasted you.

“God, you’re heavenly.”

“Hunter,” you said breathlessly.

He wet his lips. “Can I taste more?”

“Stop asking and just do it,” you said quickly.

Hunter moved under your gown and you slid towards the edge of the bench a little more, hands gripping the stone as you felt his breath on your pussy. You cried out loudly when the flat of his tongue licked up your folds. The sensation was obscene and you felt like you were ascending when you felt his mouth move on you. You shuddered, indecent sounds coming from you as he licked and sucked, tongue moving across your most intimate part. You said his name like a chant as he moved his mouth and tongue expertly, his arms encircled your thighs, forefingers toying with the edge of your stocking, and you felt his moan vibrate against you. 

“Hunter,” you strangled out, the sensations moving through you taking away your ability to utter anything but his name.

He placed your knees over his shoulders and continued to move his mouth on you. Your grip on the stone bench tightened as you leaned back at a new angle, your nails digging into the grains of the rock as you panted, the pleasure blooming inside you so heavenly you could barely put words to it. 

Hunter’s tongue moved through your folds before he sucked on the small nub there. You jerked, yelping as he run his tongue over it, gently sucking as he continued to pull pleasure from you. You whined as he artfully moved his mouth over you. How was he so good at this? 

You had only read about such things in novels, the descriptions making you blush and tingle all at once as you imagined what it would be like to experience it. You had experimented on your own, of course, too curious to wait until Hunter had returned home to feel the pleasure the heroines felt in your novels. But nothing you did to yourself felt as good as this. 

You clenched your knees around his head and felt your body begin to shudder as the familiar coils of heat began to build in your stomach, but this time more intense than what you’d felt on your own. 

“Hunter,” you told him breathlessly, intending to say more but the words felt like they were floating in a mist above you, and every time you tried to grasp them, they alluded you. “I’m–”

You heard him groan under your skirts, voice muffled between your thighs and under the silks. “Let go.”

You felt his tongue flick that nub, his hands on your thighs tightening as he performed one last ministration that caused that pleasure to erupt from you. You cried out, hands clutching the bench so hard you thought there might be indents in the stone as you came apart on his tongue. Your legs shook and your chest heaved as you moaned and whined, head thrown back as Hunter’s tongue lapped at you. You weren’t sure if the stars above you were real, or ones he had made you see. 

As the pleasure waned and your body’s aftershocks slowed, you felt Hunter remove your legs from his shoulders and he fumbled with your skirts as he re-emerged. His curls were a mess, and the port wine stain on his cheek was flushed a deep purple from the heat of being under your skirts. He panted, his mouth glistening with your slick, but his eyes were bright, invigorated, like performing cunnilingus on you had energised him. He licked his lips and smiled lovingly at you.

“Amazing,” he told you, his tone awed. “Is that the first time you’ve come?”

You felt heat rise up your neck. “No.”

Hunter’s eyes widened in surprise. “No?”

“Well, I got very tired of waiting for you.” You shrugged innocently despite your face flaming. “I had to take matters into my own hands.”

“Christ,” he said, the words scratching out of his throat roughly. “Are you serious?”

You met his pleading eyes. “Yes.”

Hunter buried his head in your lap and groaned. “I can’t believe I had to stay away so long.”

“Never again.”

“Never again.” He leaned up and kissed you languidly, and you could taste yourself on his lips. 

He stayed kneeling on one knee between your legs, your skirts bunched up to your hips as he kissed you, his hands moving up your body back to your breasts. You gasped when his fingers curled around the neckline of your bodice, fingertips brushing the swell of your breast, skin burning. 

“Can I take this off?” He tugged on the edge of the neckline. “Please.”

“Yes. Yes, please,” you practically begged him. 

You felt his hands go to the ties at the back of your dress, and he deftly tugged them loose as he brought his mouth to yours again. You felt the fabric of your dress loosen before he retreated to pull the dress off from the front, moving it down your arms. You watched as Hunter rumpled the fabric and threw it to the side so it was out of the way. 

You were glad the night was warm, now that you were only in your corset over your chemise and stockings. You watched the garment fall to the ground as Hunter let out a growl of frustration.

“Why are there so many layers? I need more of your skin on my mouth,” he grumbled. You giggled as he started to unlace your corset.

“What is it they say? Patience is a virtue?”

“I’ve never been virtuous and I’m not about to start now,” Hunter rasped as he opened your corset, your breasts falling to their natural position under your chemise as they were no longer held up by your stays. You let out a breath of comfort. 

Hunter smiled ruefully. “Better? How tight did your maid tie you up?”

“Tighter than usual. I had someone to impress.”

Hunter grinned and kissed your breasts through the thin cotton, your nipples tightening and pointing through the fabric. “I’m always impressed by you.”

You smiled and kissed him once more before pulling away. “It hardly seems fair that I’m almost indecent while you’re basically fully dressed.

Hunter laughed heartily, a sound that made your chest squeeze. He kept smiling at you, still on one knee between your legs as he pulled off his coat, bunching it up and throwing it into a pile with your dress. He pulled off his cravat roughly and started to unbutton his waistcoat when your hands reached out to stop him.

“Let me,” you told him quietly and your fingers brushed his. You started undoing the buttons of his waistcoat, quiet between you. You felt his eyes on you as you unbuttoned and when you looked up to slide the garment off his shoulders, he was gazing at you with this look you couldn’t decipher. Perhaps it was adoration. 

You threw the waistcoat on the pile and Hunter was only left in his shirt, breeches and his boots. You smiled as you ran a hand slowly down the neckline of his shirt, your fingers touching his sternum and the nest of dark curly hair there. You remember watching him train in this years ago, and now here you were.

You met his eyes and watched his eyes smile at you, softening at the sides as he started to untuck his shirt and unbutton it, his eyes never leaving your face. 

You watched, mesmerised as Hunter shrugged the shirt off and revealed his bare chest. You took in a breath as you realised how muscular and broad he was. The tendons of his shoulders and collarbones were taut and strong, and his stomach flat except for the raised muscles in a six formation. His hair extended across the expanse of his chest and down into his breeches, but what surprised you the most was the port wine stain that appeared on his face also travelled down his torso, painting one side of his chest a beautiful burgundy across his brown skin. You traced your fingers across the outline and watched the way he shivered under your touch, goosebumps erupting across his skin. He was sculpted by the Gods; Michaelangelo had surely modelled the statue of David from him. 

“You’re beautiful,” you breathed, fingers trailing down his chest before you met his eyes, a small smile tugging the corners of your lips.

Hunter’s eyes widened for a moment at your declaration before his lips twitched, like they itched to smile. He placed his hands on the sides of your thighs, the thin cotton a poor barrier for the heat of his hands as he rubbed circles into your skin. 

“You think so?” he replied quietly, like he didn’t quite believe you.

“Yes,” you told him, your smile turning big. “Heavenly. That’s what you are.”

Hunter studied for face, his expression pensive before he spoke.

“I’ve heard people say this–” his fingers skimmed his face and down his chest, knocking yours, “–is the mark of the devil.”

You frowned. “Who said that?”

“People. When we were children. I…faced ridicule. And in turn, it marked my brothers. It got worse when Crosshair was born, and the stain across his eye became known. We were outcasts already, but this made it worse.”

Your heart broke thinking of Hunter as a child, facing ridicule for something he could not control, for something that made him unique. If he was protective over his family now, you could only imagine back then. What a silly superstition. How could anyone look at Hunter, see how he was with his family and with others, and think he was anything but an angel? No mark upon his face should dictate who he was. 

You shook your head and pressed your hand against the centre of his chest, right above his heart. You felt it beat steadily under your palm, the rhythm matching yours. You met his eyes.

“They could not be more wrong,” you told him softly in earnest.

You felt his heartbeat speed up underneath your palm, making you smile. You watched an expression pass through his face. Was it relief? You felt his hands on your thighs squeeze before he captured the hand that lay on his chest between both of his and kissed your palm softly.

“That’s…very nice to hear.” You heard his voice break a little as he spoke, his mouth pulling into a sincere smile that conveyed so much love, you felt you might burst with it.

Hunter leaned in and captured your lips in his once more, this kiss slow and passionate as it told you without words the depth of his feelings for you. You pulled him closer as you deepened the kiss. You let him drape your arms around his neck, and he shifted so his hands grabbed your hips. He pulled away only for a moment, his lips murmuring into yours.

“‘M gonna switch us,” he mumbled. You only nodded, and a laugh rippled from you as Hunter hoisted your body against his. You instinctively wrapped your legs around his waist as he swiftly switched your places, so he sat on the bench and you straddled his lap. Hunter pulled you in so your centre was pressed against the ties of his breeches. It was a scandalous feeling that flowed through you as felt Hunter’s bulge against you. You gasped as he let out a strangled sound. You pulled back to look at him, a mix of an amused and tortured smile on his face as he looked up at you.

“Oh, I like this position,” you told him.

“Yeah? Me too,” he said and buried his head in your neck, kissing there as he pulled your body against his again, rocking you into the hardness of him through the cotton of your chemise. You moaned, feeling your folds slick again, despite only coming a mere five minutes ago.

“Hunter, I need you,” you told him. 

Hunter groaned into your collarbone. “I need you too. I’m out of patience.”

You felt him shift his hold on you, so one hand held you at the small of your back and kept you from sliding off him, and the other quickly untied the fastenings of his breeches and shifted them down slightly. You slid a hand down between you, fingers knocking against his as you felt his cock spring up against his stomach. You gasped when your fingertips brushed his length, the skin hot and hard. He groaned and wrapped his hand around your wrist.

“Please.” His voice practically trembled. 

You looked at him and watched the way his eyebrows had slanted down at the ends, his mouth parted. You slowly grazed your fingernails against his length and he jerked underneath you.

“Christ,” he panted.

You wrapped your hand around his length, the way you’d read about, and you heard him groan. Both his hands went to your back, clutching the gaping fabric of your chemise. The way he was reacting only made your stomach tighten and your folds flood with wetness. And you’d barely touched him. 

You looked down between you and saw the head of his cock had pooled with precum already. You circled your thumb over the small slit there, coating it and Hunter hissed, head burying in your neck and teeth biting the meat of your shoulder. You moaned, heat running through you. The hilt of his cock was nestled with dark curls and you shifted your hand down and up. Hunter cried out, head falling back as he looked at you, eyes bleary.

“My love, I’m so worked up right now, I will not last if you keep doing that.”

“What?” You feigned innocence. “This?”

You moved your hand again the same way, squeezing a little this time, and Hunter’s eyes screwed shut as he yelped again, shifting your body closer to his. Your centre chaffed against your chemise which rubbed against his cock.

“Christ.” His neck strained before he reached up and smoothed a hand over your hair. “I need to be inside you.”

Nerves and excitement fluttered through you at his words. You had read about such things, of course, and had wanted so badly to experience sex with Hunter, but now being presented with the very situation you had dreamed of happening with Hunter filled you with uncertainty. You wanted this to go right, for him to enjoy himself with you.

“I need that too,” you told him.

“It…It might hurt a little at first,” he said, hand smoothing your hair again. “We’ll go slow. And you tell me to stop and I will.”

You smiled at his concern, his care. “I trust you.”

Hunter smiled at you and pulled you in for a lingering kiss before he pulled away. “Lift up for me, sweet girl.”

You placed your hands on his shoulders and raised yourself on your knees, the stone bench beneath them digging in a little as butterflies swooped in your stomach. Hunter lifted you against him, hands under your thighs as he moved you both to the ground.

“Next time we do this, it will be in a bed,” he told you, his voice light with mild annoyance. You laughed as he lay you back against the pile of clothes you had created, a makeshift mattress out under the stars.

You looked at him as he leaned over you, body in between your legs, dark curls falling over his shoulders and hanging down. The lantern by the bench provided a warm orange glow, but the moon did most of the work, lighting up his hooked nose and gorgeous face. With the stars behind him, you placed his hair behind his ear with a smile, in awe of him.

“What is it?” he asked, mouth lifting into a smile. You felt the lines of his smile stretch under your hand on his cheek.

“I love you,” you told him simply because it explained everything.

He smiled, and you felt his skin heat before he bent to kiss you once more. He kissed you deeply, tongue sliding against yours before he pulled back. His eyes stayed on you, a soft reassuring expression as he bunched your chemise around your hips, spread your legs so you were completely open to him and positioned himself. Your heartbeat quickened as you felt him at your entrance.

“Are you ready, my love?” he asked, his voice as soft as his eyes.

You let out a shaky breath before nodding and biting your lip.

Hunter nodded and in a hushed voice, told you to try and relax as he slowly pushed in. He moaned, face screwed as he sunk himself inside you, hands tightening on your hips. Despite your slickness, the stretch caused some pain to bolt through you and you hissed, your hands curling around his forearms.

Hunter immediately stopped, eyes flying open as he looked down at you with concern. “Are you okay?”

You nodded and took a breath. “Keep going.”

Hunter watched your expression as he slowly moved further in until he was fully seated inside you. You screwed your eyes shut, fingernails digging into his arms, and you felt one of his hands rub up and down your thighs as you adjusted to the feel of him inside you. It was full feeling, but not overly uncomfortable. The books you’d read glossed over this part. 

You felt embarrassed, waiting a moment for your body to be okay to keep going and opened your eyes as you rushed to say, “I’m sorry, I’m just–”

“Hush,” Hunter told you, silencing you gently, his expression soft. “We have all the time in the world.”

You let out a breath before he continued, mouth tipping up at the side. “Though the way you’re squeezing me…”

You grinned, a laugh bubbling out of you. “Good?”

“Incredible,” Hunter sighed.

You both laughed together like it was the most natural thing in the world. Hunter brushed some strands of hair back as he looked down at you and you felt yourself and your anxieties ease. He was so incredibly special.

You shifted underneath him as your body had grown used to him. “I think you can move now.”

“Nice and slow,” he confirmed with you.

Both you and Hunter made sounds of pleasure as he started to rock into you, pulling out a little before moving back in, the movement becoming more fluid and easy as he kept going. Hunter’s grip on your hips guided the movements, and you moaned as the nub of your folds bumped against him.

“Christ, you’re so pretty like this,” he told you as you moved your hips against him to match his thrusts. “Can’t believe you’re mine.”

He bent to kiss you once more as he slid inside you again. His hips rolled into yours in easy languid motions, his cock moving in and out of you. You moaned, fingers clawing his back as he began to quicken his movements, thrusts now steady and hard as the pleasure built inside you. You stockinged legs coming up and sliding around his waist, one ankle pushing in at the small of his back to pull him in deeper. 

Sex with Hunter was much better than anything you had ever read, better than your own fingers. His thrusts confident yet never painful, his hands firm but never hurting. The sensation of his cock sliding in and out of you was unbelievable, and you were so glad you were able to experience such a thing with him. That he survived the war, and your love for each other had endured. And now, under the stars, he took you in a way that showed all his love for you. 

You’d both been patient for this, and he may have said he had never been virtuous, but the way he was making you feel right now felt religious; the feverent way he held you and loved you was almost sacramental, the angel he was. 

Hunter’s grip on your hips tightened and you watched the way his need for you eclipsed his features. It was an expression you liked and wanted to see more of. His pupils blown, mouth parted, hair messy. It pleased you to know that you made him like that.

The only sounds that filled the night were both of your moans and groans and the slap of Hunter’s hips against the backs of your thighs. Hunter’s movements increased, as did the husky sound that came from the back of his throat with each one. Hunter’s grip moved to take your hands from his shoulders, pressing them next to your head as he laced your fingers together. Each thrust buried him inside you, the hilt of his cock brushing your nub enough that you felt the heat in you rising, coiling in your stomach. It was intoxicating, and you never wanted him to stop.

“I’m…I’m so close, my love,” Hunter panted, a sheen of sweat glistening on his brow in the moonlight.

“As am I,” you told him breathlessly, hands squeezing his.

“Where?” he asked, and you felt him twitch inside you, on the cusp of it.

You were familiar with the question; your novels prepared you for this part. “Inside,” you told him without an ounce of hesitation.

Hunter groaned, his pacing stuttering. “Are you certain? It could–”

“Yes,” you cut him off. “Please. I know the risk and I am unbothered by it.”

Hunter’s face fell into your neck, groan vibrating against your skin, teeth nipping there gently. “Christ,” you heard him mumble. “You’ve ruined me.”

After several deep thrusts that you felt hit the furthest part of your core, he faltered and you heard him cry out as he stilled, and you felt him spill inside you. His hands tightened on yours, palms pressing together they may as well be fused. 

You gasped, moaning as he shuddered above you, no longer able to hold his weight fully, he let himself drape his body on top of yours. Warmth pooled between your legs, and you rolled your hips against the hilt of his cock. Hunter hissed at the moment as he caught his breath, lifting his head to look at you with hooded eyes. Hunter stayed seated inside you as he slowly unlaced his hands from yours so he could shift off you slightly and lift himself up enough to slide a hand between your bodies. 

“Your turn,” he told you before he slanted an open mouth kiss over your lips as his fingers brushed your nub, making you jerk and gasp into his mouth. 

His fingers circled there slowly at first before they increased, rubbing with his fore and middle fingers which were coated in your slick. You felt the pleasure rising rapidly and you barely had time to say anything before you fell over the edge, that pleasure erupting from you as you cried out, mouth open under his and eyes shut. You shuddered and writhed underneath his body as he drew out your orgasm, legs trembling as you squeezed his length still inside you, making him moan into your mouth. The feeling was indescribable, more intense than your previous orgasm had been, and you clutched at his forearm and shoulder, wishing this feeling never came to an end.

You were completely his, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Then his fingers slowed, and your body came down from its peak, limbs feeling like jelly. You opened your eyes to see his brown ones staring back at you, noses knocking as you both smiled, feeling each other lips stretch with your own.

Hunter placed one last kiss on your lips before he pulled back. You laughed lightly, too happy to fully conceal it. You pushed his hair back and bit your lip. Hunter smiled down at you, birthmark flushed, then bent to kiss your cheek. 

“So beautiful,” he whispered.

Your face heated as he slowly slid out of you, the loss of him a dull ache as your body readjusted to the empty feeling. Hunter rose to his knees and tucked himself back into his breeches before reaching out to adjust your chemise, hands running down your stockings once he had. He smiled and shook his head at you.

“You should see how you look right now,” he said, a rueful expression painting his face.

Your hands flew to your cheeks, pressing your fingers against the hot skin. “Why?”

“You’re an angel,” he said, fumbling for his cravat to wipe you and his fingers with.

“No, you are,” you told him as the silk fabric slid across your folds.

Hunter laughed and pressed a kiss to your forehead. “Did I go too hard?”

“You were perfect,” you assured him, the soreness between your thighs a common symptom post-coitus, according to your books. 

Hunter lay next to you and propped up on his elbow and you turned a little to face him, smile unable to leave your face. He smiled lovingly at you, and you at him. He opened his mouth when a deep baritone bellowed from somewhere outside the maze.

“Hunter! You better get back here! The Commodore’s looking for his daughter!” Wrecker’s voice carried over the hedges.

You covered your mouth to stifle a laugh. Hunter smiled and shook his head.

“We better go,” he said, sitting up then standing and holding a hand out to you.

“How long have we been gone?” You asked, taking his hand. Hunter pulled you up with such strength you fell forward into his arms, pressed against his chest. He caught you easily.

“Long enough,” he said. “Can’t keep him waiting.”

You looked up at him reassuringly when you saw his expression turn thoughtful, hands on his upper ams and circling the skin there with your thumbs. “He will be pleased.”

Hunter smiled at your words and you returned it before pressing a kiss to his jaw. “I’ll need your help to lace me up.”

Hunter’s smile turned into a grin, his teeth white in the moonlight. “I’ll be gentle.”

“You always are,” you told him placing your lips to his one last time before the secret of the two of you would be revealed, and your always with Hunter began.

this is the last part of falling for mr. batchbury, but please let me know if you would like to see more of the batchbury brothers...because these are a delight to write! otherwise, i have more fics coming so stay tuned! thank you for reading and supporting me!

🏷️ @starrylothcat @sinfulsalutations @moodymisty @nahoney22 @freesia-writes @nobody-expects-the-inquisitorius @bobaprint @crosshairsnose @jesseeka @thegalaxys-edge @chopper-base @shredderwest @leavingkamino @r2d2staser @beckbucket @pb-jellybeans @mylifeisactuallyamess @padawancat97 @littlecrowtime @jedipoodoo @ezras-left-thumb @lovelycurls @fruitsaladtree @literallydontlook @burningfieldof-clover @queencousland101 @clonethirstingisreal @skellymom @hopelessromantic727 @rebel-ezra @lulalovez

TAGLIST FORM

[froggibus]

some NSFW baptiste for the soul? where he's going nice and gentle and breeding reader? and can it end with some nice cuddling? baptiste is my wife and girlfriend i fear,,,

Too Sweet - Baptiste

Pairing: Baptiste x fem! fiancee! reader (reader uses fem pronouns + has a pussy)

Genre: smut/NSFW, fluff at the end

Word Count: 2.7k (not proofread)

Summary: after being gone the whole summer, your fiance finally returns ready to settle down--and start a family

CW: established relationship (engagement), some nods towards the lore/Cassidy: New Blood, porn w plot, reader was on birth control, breeding, trying for a baby, talks of pregnancy, fingering, lots of cum, missionary, mating press, pet names (babe/baby), lots of praise, bap wants to name your future kid after Rihanna

of course! baptiste is also my wife so why not make him our husband here ^~^ i meant to post this on the weekend but life got in the way, sorry it's so delayed! it rained for like a week straight when i was writing this so i was very much feeling some autumn vibes. hope you enjoy!

Baptiste’s best kept secret wasn’t his wide array of Talon knowledge, or the top secret nanobiotic tech he learned from Doctor Ziegler. It wasn’t even his personal network of safehouses, burner phones and resources. No, Baptiste’s best kept secret was currently leaned over his marble countertop, sipping a pumpkin spice latte while one of his old, worn shirts rode up over plush thighs.

No one in the whole world—not Talon, or his newly formed Overwatch colleagues—knew about his fiancee, or the modest sized house they share out on the coast. And that’s the way he wanted it. Covert, safe. Away from prying eyes.

Baptiste’s own eyes ached from exhaustion, the sleep he’d missed out on this past week was finally beginning to catch up. He’d sleep later, though. After being gone the entire summer, all he wanted was the comfort of his home and the warmth of your body.

Strong arms wrap around your waist. “Enjoying your sugar?”

The smile that breaks out over your face is almost painfully wide. You relax into his chest, letting the familiar smell of his cologne wash over like the rain outside washes over the quivering maple tree. 

“My coffee,” you correct, “is fantastic.” 

Baptiste only chuckles in response, the vapid beat of his heart copying the rhythm onto your back. He plants a kiss to the side of your neck and you squirm from the scruff of his facial hair against the sensitive skin.

“How was the journey back?” You ask softly.

You know better than anyone the lengths your fiance has to go to just to shake Talon off of his trail. It was necessary this time, though. He didn’t give much of an explanation before he left, just that an old friend needed his help and a promise to be back as soon as possible. 

He tenses for only a moment before letting his shoulders drop. His fingers move to trace the line of skin where the hem of his t-shirt meets your thighs. “I don’t want to talk about that.”

“So what do you want to talk about?”

He trails his hand slightly lower, calloused pads of his fingers grazing dangerously low. “You got my letter, right?”

You suck in a breath. Yes, you had gotten his most recent letter, and the very detailed instructions he’d left within.

“Yes,” you say, “I did.”

“And you stopped taking it?” 

Just before his fingers can get lower, can finally reach the spot that’s ached for him for months, he’s dragging them back up to your hips. You sigh in protest, but the medic holds firm.

“As soon as you told me to.” Your eyes dart to the medicine drawer next to the sink, where your most recent pack of birth control lays untouched. “Are you sure that this is a good idea?”

He drops his hands from your sides, prompting you to turn around. He’s just as handsome as when he left, though you can see the exhaustion in his eyes. “We don’t have to right now if you’re having doubts,” he promises.

“It’s just—” You drop your gaze to the ground, fiddling with the shiny engagement ring on your hand. ��You’re gone so often, the world is a mess. Do we really want to bring a child into this mess?”

Baptiste grabs your hands, holding them tightly in his. “What if I wasn’t gone so often?”

Your head snaps up at his words. “What do you mean?”

“It’s a long story, why don’t we sit?”

Ten minutes later, you’re left sitting on the couch in utter shock. You knew about your fiance’s past, and his connection to Angela Ziegler—but you had no idea that’s who he was going to find. The most shocking news of all, though, was the part he played in helping unite a newer, freer Overwatch.

“So you really met Cole Cassidy?” You’re not sure why those are the first words out of your mouth.

He nods eagerly, finally letting himself smile. He’d been stressed the past few weeks, unsure of how you’d react to the news of what he’d been up to this summer, or what it would mean for your relationship.

“These people are strong allies, love.” He grabs your hands in his once more. “Stronger than Talon. And they’re everywhere.”

And suddenly the reality of the situation dawns on you. With good people to stand up to Talon, with good people watching your backs, there’d be no more running and hiding. 

“That’s why you want to start a family now.” Your voice is barely a hopeful whisper. “Because it’s finally safe.”

Baptiste cups your face gently, leaning in to press his lips against yours. It’s a soft kiss at first, gentle and inoffensive. You bask in the familiar taste of him, the way his skin feels under your palms when you wrap your arms around your shoulders.

Then it’s needy. Desperate. Longing. He pushes harder against you, and you push back, giving him everything you have, everything you are. You tighten your grip and lean into him, letting him hold you, letting him have you.

He’s breathless when he pulls away and cups your cheeks with both hands. He opens his mouth as if to speak, but no words come out. He presses a chaste kiss to your lips before letting his hands drop to the tops of your thighs.

“Nice t-shirt.” He teases.

“Likewise.”

He’s on his knees before you can react, a hand on either thigh holding them apart. The second he sees your damp panties peeking out from under his shirt, he knows he’s so gone. He’s dreamt about you, dreamt about this, for months—but nothing could ever compare to finally seeing it in person again.

He drags his finger up your slit, collecting up the slick that’s gathered on the cotton fabric. His dark eyes lock on yours as he lifts that same finger to his mouth and licks it and moans.

You’re enamored by his gaze and desperate for his touch while you watch him clean your juices off his fingers. The gesture only makes you throb with need, your poor neglected pussy set on fire from just one touch.

“Bap,” you rasp.

“Just as sweet as I remember.” He dips his fingers back between your legs, drawing figure eights across your panties. “So wet already.”

Your thighs clench involuntarily when he pinches your clit through your panties, but Baptiste holds them open with the bulk of his shoulders. You look down at him pleadingly, but he doesn’t slow the assault on your dripping cunt.

“Just��just take them off already,” you plead.

Baptiste takes pity on you and hooks his fingers into the waistband of your panties, yanking them down past your knees. The cold air hits your pussy and eases the fire that threatened to consume you only a moment ago. Only a second later is it rekindled when he sucks on his index finger before slowly pushing it inside of you.

It’s only been a few minutes, but you’re impossibly wet and his finger just slides right in. You open up around him, your pussy glad to take something bigger after months of just your hand. He pumps his finger in and out slowly, savouring the way you clench around him and gush over his knuckles.

He slips in another finger, eyes flicking up to watch you through his lashes. Your teeth dig into your bottom lip as your pussy stretches around the second finger, and suddenly you realize it's been so long—too long—since you’ve had him.

Baptiste’s eyes don’t leave yours as he pumps his fingers in and out of you. He can’t help but admire the way you arch your back into his palm, the soft moans that leave your mouth. He’s missed this, he’s missed you. 

His cock aches at the sight of your glistening pussy, straining against his pants like a plea for relief. He hasn’t been able to relieve himself—really relieve himself—since the start of the summer. It was only made worse by knowing he’d be coming home to you soon, off the pill and ready for him to fill you up as he pleases.

You blink back a few tears, the knot in your stomach getting painfully tight. “Babe, I’m—”

He cuts you off with a soft kiss to your clit, wrapping his lips around the sensitive skin and sucking. His fingers curl inside of you and suddenly you’re bursting at the seams and coming undone, pure lava rushing through your veins and making your head spin.

Baptiste keeps his fingers inside while you cum, your pussy clenching them almost painfully tight. He doesn’t care about the loss of circulation from his fingers, though. All he cares about is how pretty you look cumming for him, and how much prettier you’ll be when he’s stuffing you with his cock.

He’s shameless about sucking your juices off of his fingers when he pulls them out, and even less shameful about pressing his lips to yours so you can taste how sweet you are.

He’s panting when he pulls away, his hands desperately fiddling with his belt. “You really want to do this? Start a family?”

You nod, your heart swelling at the twinkle in his eye. Your pussy throbs in anticipation while you watch him scramble to strip himself out of his jeans. His cock is already rock hard, precum staining the dark fabric of his boxers. You reach out for him, desperately tracing the outline of his length.

He gasps and grabs your fingers. “Let me take care of you,” he says.

You lean back on the couch, keeping your legs spread for him. It’s a challenge in itself to keep from leaning forward and taking his cock in your mouth. It only gets harder as he strips out of his boxers and lets it spring free, revealing the beads of precum and the swollen tip.

He rubs his hand through your folds, collecting your slick and using it to lube up his length. He’s nearly trembling from the anticipation of it all, a small moan slipping out as he rubs your juices into his throbbing cock.

Then he’s laying between your legs, his arms flexing with the strength it takes to prop himself up above you. You reach down and help guide his cock to your entrance, your head going fuzzy as soon as his tip pops inside of you.

You squeeze your eyes shut and focus on the stretch as his cock slowly slides further inside of you. Electricity sparks your skin wherever his body touches yours, travelling up your spine and vibrating around your skull. He kisses your jaw gently, prompting you to open your eyes.

Just as his cock bottoms out, he leans in to kiss you. It’s a softer kiss now, but still laced with his earlier desperation. He slowly pulls out of you before pushing back in, keeping his movements steady as you adjust to him again.

His thrusts start to grow deeper, more intense. He sits upright, keeping his cock inside of you, just to get a better angle to watch you. You just look so cute when he fucks you, he can’t believe how lucky he is to be marrying you.

He reaches between your legs to roll your clit between his fingers, keeping his eyes glued to your face. “Mm, does that feel good?”

“So good,” you mumble out.

Suddenly he’s wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you up to his chest, his cock sinking so deep that it brushes your cervix. You cry out from the sudden, sharp pressure and wrap your arms around his neck to ground yourself.

“I know, I know,” he coos, bucking his hips up into yours. He’s holding you with one arm, the other one laying a throw pillow flat on the couch. 

He lays you down again, the small of your back resting against the pillow and giving him the perfect angle to keep fucking you at. His thrusts are deeper now, filling you up in that perfect way each time.

He leans forward to kiss you again, gently pressing down on your stomach as he does. He gasps, “you feel so good, baby.”

The sudden pressure on your lower tummy only makes his cock feel so much bigger, your cunt feel so much fuller. The pleasure of it all is enough to send you over the edge, the heat finally flooding over you.

Baptiste plants soft kisses all over your face as you cum, still driving his cock inside of you. “That’s it,” he murmurs, “cum for me, let it all out.”

You’re clenching down on him so hard, and whining so cutely, and suddenly he’s following you over the edge. His cock twitches, and suddenly wave after wave of hot cum is flooding your walls. He hasn’t came in weeks—it was too important that he saved it all for you.

He plants a wet kiss on your lips. “One more, okay?”

You’re hot, and tired, but the way his cock still throbs with need inside of you fuels you forward. You weakly nod at him, digging your nails into the tight muscles of his shoulders.

He leans forward, folding your knees up to your chest, getting his cock deeper than it was before. He’s sensitive already, he knows he won’t last very long, but his balls feel impossibly heavy, aching to fill you up more.

He grabs your hands in his, lacing his fingers with yours and pinning them above your head. “So pretty for me,” he mumbles. “So pretty and so fuckable.”

His thrusts are all slow and sloppy, but his cock is still as deep as before. His cum inside of you sloshes around with every thrust, pushing it further into your cunt. It’s hot and it’s sweaty and tears prick your eyes but he’s so deep and it feels so good.

“Almost there baby. Doing so good f’me.”

You let your eyes fall shut at a particularly deep thrust, focusing only on the way his tip feels when it’s pushing up against your insides. His hands tighten around yours and you know it won’t be long until he’s coming undone once more.

He peppers your face with light kisses, whispering praises into your ear. Your pussy aches with the twitch of his cock, the promise that he’s about to cum. And then he’s flooding your walls with cum once more. Wave after wave of it fills you, stuffs you to the brim, before leaking out of the cracks between his cock and your pussy. It pools on your thighs, creating a sticky mess.

Baptiste lets himself collapse on top of you, his forehead glistening with sweat. His body shakes with every breath, but you can feel him smiling against your neck. He lets himself lay there for a few minutes, partly because he’s tired, partly because he wants to keep his cum inside of you as long as possible.

When he finally pulls out, a big gush of it runs down your thighs and onto the couch. He frowns, he’ll have to fix that later.

He reaches for your hand. “Let’s go get you cleaned up, hm?”

—

Ten minutes later and you’re clean in bed, wearing another one of your fiance’s old t-shirts. He’s laying behind you, his body pressed completely against yours. He traces slow circles around your tummy to the tune of the rain hitting the window outside.

“We should name her something cool,” he says suddenly. “Like Rihanna.”

“She’s not anything yet.” You tease, “I thought you were supposed to know that, since you’re a doctor and all.”

You can’t see him, but you can feel him roll his eyes behind you. He tugs you in closer, his arms tight on your waist. “I have a good feeling about this.”

You sigh contentedly, letting yourself relax into him. Baptiste keeps tracing circles around your stomach even long after you fall asleep. Under any other conditions, he might’ve been scared to leave his old life behind. But with you by his side, he jumped without another thought, and he never looked back.

overwatch masterlist | masterlist

(if you enjoy content like this, interactions go a long way! comments, likes & rbs are always greatly appreciated ^-^ !!)

[iwanty0uu]

a/n: y/n is black, whatever body type you prefer, and is about 20, she’s also in college and is a nurse in training so you know she gets money, and on top of that she’s a nail tech so she’s usually super busy. ~ keep that in mind !

Onyankopon was extremely toxic, no matter how many times he loved bombed you after arguments that he knew he had the wrong in, or fucked you until you forgave him, it was undeniable that he was toxic. It all started after a long day of work, the hospital bustling since it was the night before Halloween. People did stupid things all the time but man the shit you saw that night was just absurd, on top of that you had a nail appointment as soon as your shift ended, so there shouldn’t have been a surprise when you stumbled into your apartment complex forty five minutes past eleven with a pounding headache, and a desire for comfort from your boyfriend after the traumatic night you had.

press me

The soft sound of your light switch filled the empty apartment, a linen colored light illuminated the kitchen and living room, the purple crocs you kicked off flipped them selves over at the door. Throwing the keys on the counter and washing your hands, you couldn’t help but rest your head in them. You love your job, but its so tiring.. every day it feels like the world is moving at one hundred miles per hour and you cant catch up. Tears no longer threatened to spill, they were overflowing. You sobbed, headache worsening, heart aching from the stress and the pain, however your sobs drowned out the vibration from your phone which was forgotten after you took your shirt off, and threw it on your living room floor. A trail of scrubs were left behind leading to the bathroom, as you turned the shower on, not even waiting for the water to heat up and hopped in. Practically washing yourself in your tears, you placed your head on the wet wall next to you, going light headed from the steam, you felt drained.. so empty, and you needed a hug, so that’s what you decided to get. The water was stopped and the floor dampened after coming in contact with your wet feet, the robe you put on felt warm, it’s the closest thing to human touch that you’ve felt in a while, and the shower really did help you feel better. After a good cry, you decided to postmates some food and call your best friend Jayleen to see if she wanted to come over and watch some shows and eat and cry with you, but you were met with 28 missed calls from your boyfriend, and over 50 text messages. Great. You didn’t call him after work to tell him you got home late, and considering that he loved to make shit what it wasn’t, you know that he would have your ass in the morning, and honestly it was too much. He isn’t your father and he clocks your every move.

A sigh escaped your lips as you grabbed a cold bottle of water and let that problem wait for tomorrow and it’s own set of troubles. That was until three sudden thumps hit your door, making you jump, water bottle falling out of your hands. “The fuck banging on my shit so late” you complained cleaning up the mess as your headache settled back in. Clothes still on the floor, you opened the door to face with your “man”. The darkskin in an all black nike tech suit, and yeezy slides had his arms folded over his chest, hoodie up and durag on, only showing a portion of his head, but his dark and angry eyes met yours. You felt tears sting your eyes again, knowing that he was here to argue. “So you not finna let-“ you cut him off “Please don’t start Onyankopon. I’m so exhausted and I’ve had a terrible day at work. I understand I didn’t call you when I got home and that I missed your 28 calls but I was in the shower. Do you feel better about yourself now? I dont give two flying fucks if you’re here to accuse me of cheating again and I’m not boutta force you to believe me when you’re delusional lame ass love making shit up in your head. So stop wasting my fuckin time and leave me the fuck alone.You’re not here when you need to be so you can keep suckin your other hoes off. I could care less,nigga you’re bitch made.”

Your words strong, and it felt like a strong blow to Ony. Tears were running down your face as you practically begged him to stay out of your life, but he still pushed his way through your human barricade, and scanned your apartment. “The fuck your clothes on the floor for, you got other niggas in here?” he asked taking his hood off. You stood there looking at him, words couldn’t describe how much of an idiot this little boy really was. “Did this fucker not hear a word that I just said?” you asked yourself. Your head was hurting and stress was already taking a hold of you, since he didn’t understand english, you had to show him how serious you were about this. If he thought your words hurt, then he underestimated how strong your actual hands were. You landed a slap to his face which sent his airpod flying. It took everything in you not to Madea his ass with a pan of grits but seeing his reaction to your anger was price-less. “GET THE FUCK OUT.” You didnt have to yell for your voice to resemble your mother’s. Stern, sharp, and filled with anger. “You want me to fuck other niggas so I will. Get. The. Fuck. Out.” You said as he stood there, brows furrowed. He watched you grab the top part of your robe, holding them together for comfort as you pointed to the open door. Bonnet revealing the small knot that ties your silk head wrap together. You pushed your glasses up, narrowing your eyes at the bitch in front of you. Everyone in the complex probably heard the argument. No, most definitely heard the argument, your neighbor came out with a broom and was “sweeping the carpet” at one in the morning. Nosy ass.

Onyankopon’s POV:

It took everything in me to keep my laugh in at the sight of the girl. She looked like my mom while scolding me, but she love me too much to let me go for real. “Baby I’m sorry” I said trying to touch her, “Alright I’m done now” i said laughing but she backed away like she was afraid of me. She’s not deadass the fuck she won’t let me touch her for? Nah bro she really got me fucked up this time. “Stop acting like you not finna fuck and forgive me after.” I said sitting on a stool, leaning back on her island. Yea I have my days but she know how i am.. right? “Bitch don’t ‘baby’ me” she said staring me down, eyes still teary, but so soft. I know she still love me.. I mean this wasn’t even our worst argument so i don’t understand the problem. “Alright now you hit me and you got your point across, so let’s jus finish this like usual alright baby.” Putting my hands out for her to come to me, she stared and laughed. Laughed like i was wearing no clothes in the middle of the street. “Yo this wasn’t even a big deal for real so what’s your problem now ma?” I know how to get under her skin, even if she was for real, she would still be thinking about me and how much I get on her nerves. Shit, better than nothin.

“This dumb ass bitch bruh no Onyankopon. I want you out of my apartment, and out of my life” I felt her tug on my sweater and push me out of the front door. She cant be for real right?….

But it didnt strike him that you were for real this time until three days later. HE seen you posted up with his home boy Eren on instagram who always got on him for not treating you well enough. He always told Eren to stay out of his business, which he claimed to be you, but for the next couple weeks Eren would be everywhere but out of your apartment. He was so good at communicating and never forced his way into your life, you two were just friends, and you loved having someone to talk to about your past. However, it was too late for Ony, when he was fuckin his hoes, he never thought, when he was giving head, he didn’t think about how you would feel, but now that he was a free agent, all of it including loneliness would bite him in the ass. He refused to admit it, but you were the best he ever had, and he felt nothing but anger knowing that he would never be able to be in your life again.

THIS WAS TEWWWWW FUN TO WRITE I HOPE MY BOOKIES LOVE IT TOODLES! ~𝑙𝑒𝑙𝑒！

[kaminocasey]

Wherever You End Up

WC: 1.4K

WARNINGS: MINORS DNI; ANGST

Pairing: Echo x GN!Reader

A/N: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN EPISODE 8, PLEASE!!!

Summary: It's not a goodbye. It's a see you later.

“Palpatine was one step ahead of us during the war, and he’s still several steps ahead of us.” Rex looks between you, the Batch, and Senator Chuchi. “We played right into his hands.”

It’s been a long couple of days. Between trying to help Rex and get the proof of Rampart’s involvement in the downfall of Kamino, you’re running on a lack of sleep. You keep looking at your partner, Echo but he won’t meet your eyes. He’s been quiet since you got back to the Martez’s garage. 

“I don’t understand.” Omega speaks up. “We did the right thing. We told the truth.”

Hunter looks down at her. “And he twisted it to his advantage.”

“The Emperor wanted us to implicate Rampart to get what he was after all along.” Rex fumes. “Senate approval for his stormtrooper program.” “The fate of all clones is now sealed… because of us.” Echo looks at Rex and you can practically feel the regret radiating off of his body. “What’s gonna happen to them?”

Echo’s been done for a while now. You know there’s more that he wants to do. You keep thinking that one day you’re gonna wake up and he’s going to be gone so that he can join this new “rebellion” with Rex. You’re completely torn because… you want him to be happy. But now, you think that maybe he’ll only be happy if he’s out there, still fighting. Or at least helping people. When you helped Gungi, the Jedi Wookiee child, you saw a spark in Echo’s eyes that had been missing for a while. A spark that wasn’t even there when the two of you lay in bed together at night. 

It hurts, but you get it.

“I don’t know.” Senator Chuchi sighs. “But I will keep fighting for the clones. You all deserve the same rights as every citizen.”

She leans down toward Omega, with promise in her eyes. “I won’t give up.”

Omega nods and the senator stands back up, looking at all of you. You admired her. She was standing up for what’s right and not backing down out of fear like the Emperor wants and expects out of this new “Empire”. 

“If you need anything Rex, just say the word.” Hunter looks at the captain and then nods at Senator Chuchi. “Senator.”

Echo steps forward, looking between you and Hunter. You get a weird feeling in your stomach and you furrow your brows in confusion as you look at Echo. What’s going on?

“Wherever you end up, remember what I said.” Hunter pats Echo on the shoulder and starts to head back to the Marauder. 

“Don’t get in trouble without us.” Wrecker

“Without us?” Omega asks, looking up at Echo, confused.

Oh… You understand now. And your heart still breaks into a million pieces. 

“Best of luck, Echo.” Tech nods with a smile and then heads back to the Marauder with Hunter and Echo. 

“Luck with what?” Omega asks.

You don’t know what to say. The lump in your throat is making it difficult to speak anyway. But Echo finally looks at you, into your eyes once before looking down at Omega.

“I’m going with Rex.” Echo tells her. 

You can tell he’s firm in this decision. This decision he’s made without you… 

Omega looks up at Rex and he nods slightly, his eyes full of respect for the young girl. 

“The clones will need our help now more than ever.” Echo tells her. “I can’t turn my back on them.”

Even though he’s kind of turning his back on you… sort of. You know it’s more complicated than that. But still, the ache starting to form in your chest is about to become unavoidable. 

“You… You can’t leave.” Omega starts to look to you for help, but you’re still not able to form words. “We’re- We’re a squad.” 

“Omega… this is something I have to do.” Echo sighs. “I’m going where I’m needed.” “But… we need you, too.” Omega’s eyes start to tear up and your heart shatters even more as you place a hand on her shoulder.

She’s been through so much. And the fact that Echo is blindsiding her with this really upsets you. Hunter apparently knew. Wrecker and Tech seemed to be fine with it. Did they really not think to let Omega know so she’d be better prepared? 

Echo kneels down on the ground, sitting his helmet down and putting a hand on her other shoulder and she closes her eyes for a moment. 

“It’s not forever.” Echo promises her. “I’ll be back.”

“Will you?” You finally speak up. 

“Of course I will.” Echo looks up at you and finally, the tears slip past your lids and down your cheeks. He looks back at Omega. “Keep up with your training while I’m gone, huh? Understood?”

Omega slightly nods, launching herself into his arms, wrapping her own around his neck. He looks up at you with surprise at such an action. Like, maybe he wasn’t expecting her to be so attached to him. Even after all this time. He wraps his arms around her one last time and you look over at Rex and the senator, who now have decided is the time to step away for a moment. 

“Yes, sir.” Omega wipes her tears as she pulls away. 

“Keep an eye on them.” Echo nods in the direction of the Batch and she nods. 

He stands up with his helmet and tosses it to Rex before Rex walks away. Omega runs back to the Marauder but stops one last time to glance at Echo again before climbing aboard where Hunter pats her on the shoulder. You look up at Hunter and he nods to you that they’ll wait. 

When you turn back around, you find Echo staring at you, cautiously.

“A heads up would have been nice…” You murmur. 

“I thought maybe you’d try to talk me out of it.” He looks down. 

You run your hands down your face, exhaustion starting to settle in your bones. 

“We’re partners… we’re supposed to make decisions together… Right?” You clench your fists at your sides, not sure what to do with them. “I’d never try to talk you out of doing the right thing. But I’m glad to know the thought never occurred to you to ask me to come with you.”

You’re so angry at him. You understand. But Maker, you’re so angry… and heartbroken. 

“Of course the thought occurred to me.” He looks back at you. “I just know that your answer would’ve been no.” 

Would it have been? Would you really have told him no? Would you have been able to leave this little family you’ve found? You suppose you may never know now. 

“I know you. You need them as much as they need you.” Echo takes your hand.

The urge to bitterly pull it away is strong but you don’t. How many more times in this lifetime will you get to hold his hand? He said he’ll be back one day… but the future is always uncertain.

“I love you.” He tells you, pulling you into his arms and kissing you on the head.

“I know.” You whisper, tears still falling. “I love you, too.”

“I know.” He rests his forehead against yours one last time. “We can still comm each other whenever, you know.” 

The thought honestly hadn’t occurred to you. You supposed that’s true. 

“Long distance never works out and you know it.” You laugh, softly, wiping your tears.

“We can make it work.” He nods, cupping your face, pulling your eyes in level with his so he can look into your eyes one last time.

You crush your lips to his, pulling yourself against him desperately, as a goodbye and he squeezes you to himself, as if he’s trying to make sure his body remembers yours against his. You know that yours will. 

“I swear to the Maker, Echo… if you get yourself hurt or worse… I won’t forgive you.” You try to make a serious face.

“I fell in the water one time and now I’m never gonna live that down, am I?” He rolls his eyes, amused.

You shake your head. “Never. Fives would be so proud of me.” 

He laughs, nodding his head in agreement.

“Fives would be proud of you.” You sigh, coming to terms with this decision of his.

He needs to do this. For all of his fallen brothers. For the Domino Squad. For the 501st. For Fives. He needs to do this. And you’ll support him, no matter how hard it hurts, no matter where he ends up.

TAGS: @twistedstitcher27 @rebel-finn @grievouus @madameminor @dumfanting @rain-on-kamino @corona-one @tecker @ladykatakuri @brynhildrmimi @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond @zoeykallus @maulslittlemeowmeow @littlemousedroid @arctrooper69 @rexxdjarin @agenteliix @padawancat97 @hated-by-me @sleepingsun501 @quigonswife8 @idlenesses @redheadgirl @dnxgma @themcuwriter @ashotofspotchka @sunshinesdaydream @crosshairsimp73 @ariadnes-red-thread @rosmariner @heyitsaloy @starstofillmydream @high-ct5555 @echos-girlfriend @sleepywych @nekotaetae @justanothersadperson93 @brownstalebread @aconstructofamind @book-of-baba-fett @chopper-base @palliateclaws @501st-rexster @dead-poolz @nahoney22 @where-is-my-mind-tho @jediknightjana @erishimoon @witching3

[lightwise]

TBB S3E8 - Reactions

- Poor Echo—he really is not getting any screen time is he

- Crosshair’s look of concern when he tells Omega she should be staying away from Rex and Echo 😭

- Okay Omega’s guilt is so clouding her judgement at this point. Poor kid really thinks it’s her fault that all those clones died—no baby girl, the shadow assassin would have gone there anyway whether you were there or not. My heart aches for her

- Hunter 🤝 Crosshair: keep Omega safe at all costs.

- Hunter’s lil “come on” head tilt 🤩

- PHEE!!!! I have been waiting for you!!!

- Crosshair: Who!?! 😶 PRICELESS. EXACTLY WHAT I EXPECTED FROM HIM MEETING HER 🤣🤣🤣

- Not Omega serving as the narrative admitting that Phee is, in fact, much to our dismay, a pirate 🏴‍☠️

- I’M GETTING BOTH MY GIRLS BACK IN ONE EPISODE

- Just slipping a Tech mention in there, why don’t you stop ripping my heart out

- Fennec!!!

- And Cross has the same reaction to Fennec 😆 —he’s finally starting to learn about the life that his family has lived during their time apart

- Hunter being in full dad mode and also being very perceptive about Crosshair hiding his hand issues. He may not always be able to say this about himself, but Hunter admitting that ignoring something won’t make the problem go away is huge growth from him.

- Thank goodness Hunter can pilot. This would be a very short season otherwise

- Cool space station

- I love when Star Wars is grimy city underbellies and neon lights 🤩

- The guys look SO GOOD in purple. Jus sayin

- As does Fennec (Queen that she is)

- I’d let those boys hem me in a booth anytime

- Ming-Na Wen is really pulling out all the stops for Fennec’s voice

- Hunter in neon bar lighting is something so personal to me

- “Ruined one of my scores” lol Fennec is salty tonight

- “More than you’ve got” she doesn’t even know how much they have on them but she knows it’s not enough 🤣 but also where is that 30k credits that Omega won?? They could have used that?

- “We made a deal. I’m going to keep it as long as you hold up your end”

- “Ten? For THAT? That’s what I thought”

- Gosh that water looks nasty

- Wet helmet Hunter instead of WET HAIR HUNTER??? Fffffffsssss Jennifer *clicks tongue in disappointment*

- That is so many mines

- “Close doesn’t count” 🥺

- It’s really interesting to me that this show has been focused solely on the Batch as a family this season. We’ve been on Pabu multiple times and have seen hardly any other residents, no one trying to be neighborly or prying (even though we know Shep has tried to make sure Crosshair is comfortable). The focus is on the Batch themselves this time, not their dynamic with the outside world.

- “You don’t like anything” “true” at least he’s self aware by now lol

- Batcher’s like “you like meeee!”

- Hunter’s senses are back baybee

- Never knew I needed to see Wrecker yeeting space alligators until today. Glorious. Straight up punching them in the face 🤣🤣🤣

- Ohhhh Wrecker giving back her sass blow for blow!

- “So what happened with the kid?”

- I will die on the hill that Fennec cares about Omega deep down

- “Just…seems odd. Considering our past”

- Love that the atmosphere on this planet is orange and it’s Fennec’s episode

- “They thought Omega would be safer with you guys. Guess they were wrong about that” she is not pulling any punches

- “Money’s not everything” you right boy

- “That’s because you don’t have any” phewww 🤣🤣🤣

- Pulling the blaster across the throat in a kill motion?? Hunter what are you doing to me right now 🥵

- “Pretty much” lolol

- This dude is so creepy looking. Giant bug eyes were not what I was expecting

- “You heard me!!” Oh Wrecker is done, done

- Man this guy does not go down easy.

- Bug spit. Nuff said

- “I doubt that” oh Cross, honey, I know, I get it

- THEY HELD HANDS

- I REPEAT SHE HELD HIS HAND

- Sorry I’m having Kenobi show Obi-Wan and Leia handhold flashbacks 😭😭😭😭

- Okay okay I’m back. I think.

- “You’ve missed a lot” “I know”

- Okay just rip my heart out why don’t you

- That is one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen

- Pointy finger scrunched brow Hunter is the best Hunter

- “You can either fight me or trust me. Good choice” 😮‍💨

- Hunter getting tipped off that ramp is uh…is ummm…doing something to me. What, I’m not sure 👀🫠

- I also find it really interesting that they’ve barely had us on the Marauder at all this season. Foreshadowing?

- Both Fennec and Phee make the same two fingered salute to the boys after talking to them. Cute.

- Ohhhhh is she…is she selling them out?? Who is she talking to? Cad?

- Wait no she wouldn’t pass them over to someone else if any money could be gained on her side. I bet she’s talking to Ventress. I really wanna know how those two know each other 👀

- Wow. Things are really going to get interesting from here. Can’t wait.

[queen-scribbles]

Fine Print

Immediately post-Ruhnuk Kina/Rass ficlet bc I got a plot gizka. :D ---

The adrenaline didn't start to fade until their shuttle was lifting off from Ruhnuk in a flurry of dust plumes and downdrafts.

And even then her heart didn't slow much. This had been a close one no matter how much Kina thrived on adrenaline--and despite the fact they'd come out on top.

Kina set the autopilot to rendezvous with Shae's flagship and let out a deep breath as she sat back, glancing over at the copilot's chair. Jekiah and Akaavi were helping Shae in the back and she knew joining them would create a 'too many cooks in the cantina' situation. But Rass was sitting with one arm still curled protectively across his chest, over the burn marring his armor, jaw tight. That was something she could help.

"Hey," she began, bumping her knee against his to get his attention, "you alright? Anything broken?"

"Broken, don't think so." Rass shifted in his seat, jaw unclenching a little. He let go the shielding grip and ran his hand through his hair. "And I know what broken ribs feel like; that is distinctly absent. Aches like hell, but that's probably just bruises."

"Really?" Kina shot a skeptical look at the damage to his armor. "B'cause from where I was standin' it looked like Ri'kan had a hell of a backhand."

"Oh, he does," Rass said glibly. The half-smile he sent her looked forced around the edges. "Beskar's good stuff, Spike."

"Uh-huh." She gave him a flat look for the nickname. "Well, Tough Guy, maybe I should check anyway. Just to make sure you're not bleeding internally and gonna die a tragically young death soon as we land on the Spirit."

He laughed at that, though it was stilted and ended with a grimace. "That would be a shame."

"And since the med-techs are gonna bee busy with Shae" --and maybe Akaavi, she added to herself, remembering what he'd said about the relay station ambush-- "d'you really want them worryin' about you, too?"

Rass cocked his head, smirking faintly. "Better for you to worry about me?"

"I'm gonna do it anyway," Kina shrugged, "might as well benefit from it." Half-jokingly, she reached toward one of his armor clasps.

Something flickered in his eyes at her more-honest-than-intended comment, before amusement came back and he playfully batted her hand away. "Appreciated, but if you wanna get me out of my armor, you're gonna have to buy me dinner first."

"Not even if I say pretty please?" she teased with an exaggerated bat of her eyes. "Or remind you I did say I'd watch your back, and this counts. Y'know, in the fine print."

"Good to know, and more than a little tempting." Rass leaned his head back against the seat and watched the rapidly approaching flagship. "But I think I gotta stick to my guns on this one. Dinner. Or at least a drink."

"That's an awful fast compromise, Tough Guy," Kina grinned, still fiddling with the kolto injector she'd pulled out.

"Chalk it up to your persuasion skills." He glanced over, and there must've been something in her face that made him straighten. "Really, Kina, I'll be fine. Much like beskar, I'm sturdier than I look. And I'm pretty sure just bruises made it through."

"You'll hafta let me know if there're any pretty patterns to it," she joked. Something in her did an odd little flutter at him using her name, but she shook it off and waggled the kolto. "'Least want somethin' to help with the achiness?"

The good humor in his eyes faded to something serious. "Probably should. There's... a lot to talk to Jek about, once Mandalore's taken care of. Better to not be distracted by bruised ribs."

She almost protested, insisted on professional grounds rather than personal interest in 'getting him out of his armor', but just bit her tongue and handed over the kolto injector. "You know if you need anything you can hit me up." She smirked. "I am very good at acquiring things."

"This more of the fine print for havin' my back?" Rass teased. She didn't miss the wash of relief across his face when the kolto kicked in.

"Nah, I just like you," she grinned.

A flicker of a smile broke through the other emotions clearly taking over his thoughts. "Lucky me, then."

Kina winked at him, then turned her attention to the controls, witching back to manual for the final approach to the Spirit of Vengeance II. Her heart rate was climbing again, despite her attempts to settle it.

Just for a completely different reason now.

[catalogue-of-lux-feli]

You come to nestled in the branches of a birch tree.

You're there for a long time.

The image of the broken world plays in your mind, the sand leaving gaping, dark holes in the world, as if it had all just… disappeared. Completely without warning. Completely without fanfare. Your oasis warped beyond recognition, your home's walls gone as if you had never built them. It makes your hands shake, your body curl up amongst the leaves.

The little farm in the river you left behind, the house you were going to build, the perfect little island it would've been on. All of it is just… just gone! Your home and your world and your life, lost.

They promised you wouldn't…

They promised…

Someone promised…

The thought slips through the cracks of your mind like water in your hands, until the anger leaves you, and bitter, aching tears are left in their wake.

Is it always going to be like this? Going about your business until something comes along, some instability or shift, and you lose everything once again? How long until the next time this happens?

You look up to the sky, as if waiting for an answer to pass by in the clouds. You don't even know why you're getting this worked up about this. But one thing is clear - there's really no point in settling anywhere, if you're just going to be whisked away the moment you get your bearings. You might as well just wander around until you have to leave again. Pick up food as you go, and just avoid setting down roots.

You pry the tree you arrived in into pieces, tuck them away for you to use as needed, and leave.

As you're wandering through this new world, it occurs to you to check your messages. You dimly remember that someone was trying to talk to you while the world was falling apart.

AVTechDept: Son of a [---] AVTechDept: We need to pull you out again AVTechDept: Something in your world's gone rogue

You frown, and settle on the river bank to reply.

LuxF: why is this happening? AVTechDept: Because this tech hasn't been tested enough AVTechDept: If it were up to my team we'd have been in testing for another year at least AVTechDept: But AVTechDept: Actually I probably shouldn't openly insult corporate on a company account AVTechDept: Again AVTechDept: Point is, as soon as we got everything reverse engineered and set up, AV's bigshots wanted it out in the field AVTechDept: we're still working out the bugs LuxF: and I'm the guinea pig? AVTechDept: Yeah basically LuxF: so this is going to happen again then? AVTechDept: Hard to say AVTechDept: We worked out what happened to your first world and it shouldn't happen again AVTechDept: We're working on what just happened AVTechDept: If you're lucky, you won't run across any more instabilities AVTechDept: Can't say anything for sure though LuxF: okay LuxF: thanks I guess AVTechDept: Sorry I can't do much more AVTechDept: Here's hoping, kid

You don't come away from the conversation feeling too much better, or any more inclined to find a place to settle, but, at least, you get the distinct impression that someone inside… whyever you're here is on your side. That, at least, is some comfort.

It doesn't take long for your reluctance to change, though.

You're walking for maybe another two days before you find yourself in another dense forest of bamboo. As you feel the first raindrop land on your face, you're struck with a distinct sense of deja vu.

That… feeling washes over you again, the same as you had in the first world, that peace that aches to your core. In the rain, your hurt from the loss of your last world seems to wash away.

You want to stay here.

You need to stay here.

You don't care if your heart can't take it, or whatever you said last time. You don't care if this world gets pulled out from under your feet. You miss this. You miss… something. You need something.

You need to get it back.

You know you can't get it back, but you're going to get it back. You'll settle here, and you'll get it back.

This won't get it back.

Your face is too wet with rain to tell if you've been crying, but from the ache behind your eyes, you think you were.

[giantroboticplatypusbutt218]

Oversight

This is Part 3 of the Magnetic Attraction series. 

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Content Warnings: Fantastic Racism, Internalized Homophobia, Suggestive Content, Mild Language, Canon-Typical Violence.

Summary: Rev receives some friendly advice from Tech after a mistake of his is brought to attention. Desperate to prove that he took Tech’s words to heart, he seeks the aid of his other friends to improve himself before the evening is over.

Unfortunately, he missed the most crucial piece of advice that Tech tried to convey.

Word Count: 27,277

Chapters: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (Link to Chapter on Ao3)

~

Chapter 2

Word Count: 5651

Notes: Here's a reminder that the suggestive stuff is here if you care about that. It mostly regards the lyrics to a fake song that I didn't write actual lyrics for. Still, the content of the song is implied to be pretty spicy, even if it's sweet on the surface. (I'm just making puns, don't mind me.)

Anyway, I hope you have as much fun reading this chapter as I had writing it.

~

As it turned out, Lexi was in the opposite direction of where Rev took off, as she and Slam were at the eastern supply closet a bit down the hall from the lab. If he had noticed all the noise they were making it might have saved him a few seconds of looking, but he didn’t have time to worry about that right now. As Rev came to a stop behind them, he saw Lexi standing on Slam’s shoulders, her upper half obscured by the wall above the door frame.

“Okay Slam, just a little higher and I think I’ll be able to reach the top.”

With an affirmative grunt, Slam stretched a little further.

“Awesome! Now we just- WOAH!” 

Slam teetered and fell back. In his scramble for purchase, he grabbed Lexi’s ankles and pulled her down with him. 

“WAAH!” 

“OUCH!” 

They landed in a pile, disoriented and aching. 

Upon getting their bearings, they looked up and noticed that the precariously stacked gymnastic supplies had started to tilt. Thinking quick, Lexi jumped up and slammed the door shut, hearing a thump against it just a second later. 

“Phew!” Wiping her forehead, she brought her attention down to Slam and smirked. “I know you used to be a wrestler, but you didn’t need to yank me down into a finishing move.” 

Slam scratched his neck, chuckling sheepishly before pushing himself to his feet. 

Rev finally spoke up. “Um… hi?”

Lexi and Slam brought their attention to him. 

“Oh! Hey Rev! Slam and I were just putting some stuff away. Do you need something?” 

“Actually, yeah. I wanted to talk to you.” 

“About what? You’re not still sore about when I knocked you out of first while we were playing Cosmic Karts 14, right?” 

“I couldn’t dodge your attack because some dust got in my eye, okay? -Wait, no. That’s not what I wanted to talk about. It’s uh…” Rev shrunk a little. “It’s… kinda personal, actually.” 

Slam took that as his cue to leave, sharing a quick glance and wave with Lexi before heading to the lounge. 

“So… what’s wrong?” 

“Well…” Rev rubbed his arm. “I kinda wondered if you could… help give me some ideas on how to boost my confidence.” 

Lexi tilted her head, giving him a funny look. “Confidence? I’ve never taken you as someone particularly lacking in confidence. What kind of confidence were you thinking?” 

Rev hummed in thought. “I think… maybe I need to be more confident about… myself?” 

Lexi crossed her arms. “That’s still pretty vague, and also sounds like you made that up because you’re not even sure what you’re looking for.” 

With a loud sigh, Rev hung his head back, then rolled his head back down and let out a frustrated groan. “Okay so I maybe don’t exactly know what kind of confidence I need but I know I need it and I know you’d have a good chance at being able to help me.” 

“Why do you think you need confidence in the first place? If you’re more specific, I’d probably be able to help you out better.” 

“Uh…” Rev donned a fake smile. “It’s just a feeling I have. No particular reason.” 

“Yeah… I’m not buying that.” 

In a flash Rev dropped to his knees and clasped his hands, staring up at Lexi with pleading eyes. “PLEASE! I know I’m not being particularly specific but this is the most important thing to me right now and you’re the person I trust most to help me with this!”

“What about Tech?” 

“UHM-!” Rev looked away and coughed. “He’s… too busy. Taking a shower. Doing work. Relaxing. Other stuff. You know.” 

Lexi raised a brow. “Uh huh,” she hummed with not a hint of belief in her tone. 

“Come on! I’m sure you can think of something that might have a chance of helping me out at least a little! Please? Please? PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! PL-!”

“Alright! Just-! Ugh. Follow me. I think I have at least one idea.” 

Rev got up and started following her. “Thank you so much! I owe you one! You’re awesome! This will help a lot I’m sure!” 

“Don’t get your hopes up,” she said, taking him across HQ. 

~

“Uhhhh… I don’t know about this…” 

Lexi huffed in annoyance and set down her phone, which she presumably hooked up to the speaker system. When she turned around, she wore an unimpressed glare. 

“Hey, you get what you pay for. Or, more literally, you get advice based off of the vague request you gave me.” 

Rev cleared his throat awkwardly. “I guess you have a point…” His eyes were everywhere but on her, scanning across the sparring hall as if he hadn’t been there a million times by now. “Any reason we have to do this here and not somewhere else? Somewhere more private where nobody could potentially walk in and see me?” 

“The only other areas with enough space are the lounge, which Ace and Slam are currently relaxing in, and the 2B storage room, which neither of us can get into by ourselves.” She leaned to the side and smirked. “That is unless you’d like to try this outside, where it’s eighty degrees and any random citizen could snap a pic without you knowing.” 

“I’ll… pass.” 

Chuckling, Lexi turned back around and picked up her phone. 

“So, how much do you know about interpretive dance?” 

“Well I know it’s a style of dance attributed to Isadora Duncan circa 1900 CE characterized by its aim to express various emotions and circumstances through dramatic expression and natural movement as opposed to the rigid structure of traditional concert dance popular around that time.”

“I mean how much do you know about how to actually do it?” 

“Oh. Basically nothing.” 

“I figured, but that’s okay. Great, actually.” Lexi tapped her phone and music started playing throughout the sparring hall. An orchestral mix of powerful percussion and triumphant trumpets set a bold tone filled with pride. After giving the music choice a nod, Lexi set down her phone and stepped into the center of the room. 

“Alright, I’ll give you a demonstration, and then you’ll give it your shot.” 

“Do you really think a single lesson is going to give me all the skills I need to master a completely unfamiliar style of dance?”

“Of course not! But don’t worry about that. Now, pay attention.” 

He nodded, keeping his feet planted and eyes on her. 

To start, Lexi sat on the ground with her knees slightly bent upward in front of her. She held her arms out straight ahead, hands clasped into inward-facing fists. When a strong clash of cymbals played over the speakers, she rolled forward and sprang up in a graceful leap. 

From there, the foundation of her routine involved running across the sparring hall, leaning into wide turns and dashing at the straightaways. It was only after a minute of this that Rev noticed her path took her in a figure eight, punctuated by her ducking and leaping at the imaginary cross section. 

Then, suddenly, she began to move faster. An urgency to her expression, and a severe look of determination. Tighter turns and faster dashes. The center of the room approached quickly. She leaped into the air, but this time, spun into a flying kick. She landed smoothly and continued on. 

Not long after, she leaped again, this time spreading her arms out and hanging her head back toward the ceiling. After landing, she went through one more circuit, skipping playfully and blowing kisses at the walls. 

When she returned to the center of the room, she struck a prideful pose and bowed. Rev took that as his cue to clap, though it was somewhat awkward with him being the only one there. His hands slowed to a stop as Lexi made her way over. 

“Alright! So, what’d you think, Rev?” 

“Well… that certainly seemed to follow the typical conventions of interpretive dance. And since interpretive dance generally tries to express some sort of idea, I have to ask what you were trying to convey. All I can really guess is that it was something happy.” 

Lexi smirked. “It represents when I beat you at Cosmic Karts last week!” 

Rev groaned, crossing his arms. “It was dust in my eye,” he muttered.

“Sure it was, Rev.” 

“Ugh.” He wiped his face, then let out a breath. “Did you only do this to gloat?” 

“As a matter of fact, no, actually.” Lexi walked past him to her phone, stopping the triumphant music. “I really did want to give you a general idea of how this works, and I did! So now, it’s your turn.” 

“My turn?” 

“Yep! So, what kind of music do you like?” 

“Oh that’s difficult to narrow down as there are plenty of wonderful genres out there like jazz, rock, disco, classical, metal, ska, and obviously a ton of others, though I’d be here all day if I got to listing them all which I could but won't. I guess if I had to pick a favorite I’d go with electronic and in particular techno which is great to have in the background while I’m working. But I also have a certain soft spot for the music of my youth- and aw now I’m getting happy memories just thinking about it! In particular there was this one song I used to sing while running around my house driving my parents mad that went something like across the interstellar void are a billion asteroids in-”

“Let’s go with indie pop.” 

“Um.” Rev stopped his rant, smiling sheepishly. “I don’t usually listen to pop.” 

“I figured, and that’s why I’m choosing it. If you want confidence, you have to do things outside your comfort zone.” 

“I… guess that makes sense…” 

She scrolled a bit more before stopping with a snicker. With a couple of taps, music once again began playing through the sparring hall. A base thumped in the background for a few seconds before being followed by a simple drum pattern. As a vocalist joined in, Rev thought his voice sounded familiar, but he wasn’t sure if this artist just happened to sound similar to other male pop singers, or if he’d heard his songs while out in public. Though, as the singer moaned out a lyric about the delicious shape of someone’s curves, Rev wondered if this song was even appropriate enough to have been played in public. Though to be fair, he knew a lot of pop music made money specifically off of that kind of appeal, and that most people didn’t bat an eye at more suggestive lyrics. 

“You ready Rev?” 

“Uh…” 

“Good answer!” 

Lexi gave him a light shove toward the center of the sparring hall, with Rev stumbling the last few steps. 

“Okay! Now, take all those unconfident feelings you have, and express them through movement!” 

“What movement? I don’t have any training, I’ve only got a surface-level understanding of the art form, your demonstration practically embodied the opposite of what you’re asking of me, and there’s no way I can do anything without screwing it up!” 

“You just need to move in a way that feels natural! The only way you can screw up is by not trying! …And by accidentally hurting yourself. So try not to do that.” 

Rev let out a whine. 

“It’s fine, Rev! Whatever movements come to mind when you think about lacking confidence, just do those!” 

“I… Okay…” 

Rev took in a deep breath, then let it out sharply. Off to the side, Lexi simply motioned him to start as he stood there helplessly. With a weak smile, he looked to his feet, thinking of what to do. 

Well, he could jump. So, he jumped. Straight up. One singular jump. Up and down. 

A bit of anxiety crawled up his spine as he realized that his jump didn’t really symbolize much. He was already screwing up. Even the thought of looking at Lexi was starting to make him nervous because he might look and she might be disappointed. 

No. She said he could only screw up by not trying. If he tries, he won’t screw up. 

Rev took another deep breath, then a step forward. That didn’t really symbolize anything either. Okay, maybe a spin- but that also wouldn’t mean anything. Rev whined under his breath as the speakers blasted a lyric about the singer desiring his boyfriend’s savory eclair. Okay he wanted to cover his eyes now, so he did. And he hunched down. And he got on his knees. And he curled up. And he covered his head. And he stayed there thinking about how all of this would have been better if he had a few days to do some research on the general practices and intricacies of interpretive dance before he was thrust onto a figurative dance floor and forced to improvise and screw up horrendously in front of his friend who was an expert in the area. 

He barely heard footsteps coming toward him as the chorus rang out about the sweet taste of frosting.

“Uhhh… Rev…?” 

Letting out a pathetic whimper, he refused to look up at her. 

“I’m… guessing this isn’t a part of the act… despite definitely being a representation of what lacking confidence does to you.” 

“At least I didn’t screw that up…” Rev mumbled. 

“Okay… How about we try something slightly different.” 

Finally, he looked up. “Different?” 

“Yeah. Clearly this isn’t working out.” 

Sighing sadly, Rev stood up and brushed himself off. “What’d you have in mind?” 

For a moment Lexi hummed in thought. Then, she grinned. “How about, instead of trying to act out what lacking confidence makes you feel, instead pretend like you’re in a battle with your shyness or unassertiveness or whatever thing you think you need confidence for.” Shifting her weight, Lexi looked around. “We are in a sparring hall. It’s the perfect place to act out a battle taking place inside your mind.” She smirked. “If it helps, maybe you could imagine fighting the music that you won’t stop blushing at.” 

“I’m blushing?!”

Just then the male singer breathed out a lyric about stuffing his face with cake. Rev was one hundred percent sure it was meant to be taken as a metaphor.

Yep. He could definitely feel his face heating up at that. 

Lexi chuckled, patting him on the shoulder before heading back to the spot she had been watching him from. “Just take those feelings, and kick their butt! Symbolically. Through interpretive dance.” 

“Okay…” Rev replied uncertainly. 

At the very least, he did have quite a bit of experience in kicking butt. Putting combat moves into his dance should work out, especially since Lexi illustrated that it was possible earlier. 

One last deep breath. He could do this. 

He sprung into action as the second verse hit, leaping forward in a long stride that masked how much he dreaded the upcoming onslaught of dessert-based euphemisms. Technically, the phrase ‘fake it ‘till you make it’ could apply, and Rev was hoping that this was how he was going to succeed. 

Upon landing, he turned and performed another leap, this one a spinning kick similar to the one Lexi performed earlier. Kicking was good. Rev loved kicking. He was very good at it. 

Next, he performed a few low sweeps. There was nobody to knock onto the ground, so it probably looked like a very boring break dance performance. Still, cool looking or not, Rev was doing something. And if he was doing something, by Lexi’s rules, he wasn’t failing. 

Since he was already low to the ground, Rev performed a forward roll into a few dramatic punches. By now, the exercise was actually making him feel pretty good; So good he could almost ignore the embarrassing music. Almost. 

Another forward roll and he was back onto his feet. He ran a few steps and leaped again, punching toward the sky, possibly mimicking his desire to destroy this music that was making him think too much. 

The middle of the verse was punctuated by another long donut analogy and a fake slurping sound, which was enough to throw Rev off his rhythm for a moment. He landed his next jump less gracefully but at least didn’t hurt himself. That was the only other way he could fail according to Lexi. 

Speaking of Lexi, when he glanced in her direction, she seemed pretty happy about his performance so far. She gave a cheery thumbs-up, and Rev felt invigorated enough to jump right back into motion. 

He performed a spinning leap, which wasn’t really a tactical move, but Rev was feeling it regardless. Right after he did another forward roll, but instead of punching he dove forward and performed a few more rolls in quick succession. When he sprung out, Rev performed a forward flip followed by a backflip, then a backward roll. Then he got up and spun on one foot. 

The chorus kicked in, and even though more cake talk was inevitable, Rev didn’t care. Why should he? The singer loved his boyfriend’s metaphorical cake and Rev felt that he shouldn’t judge. Good for him! He thought it was wonderful that the singer loved his boyfriend so much he wrote a song about it!

Unshackled from the embarrassment the music brought him, Rev let his limbs spread out as he performed more leaps and spins. Each leap went further, making each spin last longer. A smile had crept onto his face and the fact it didn’t bother him only made him smile brighter. 

He leaped into the air but didn’t come back down. Instead, Rev let his arms spread out and he twirled above the ground. Excitement filled his chest, so he flew around performing various spins, rolls, and flips expressing it. 

Was this the confidence Tech was talking about? It had to be because he felt amazing! And by all of Lexi’s definitions, he was performing this interpretive dance flawlessly! Heck, he was even starting to think the music sounded pretty good! Both Lexi and Tech were going to be proud of him! Everything was perfect and nothing could go wrong! 

“ACK!” 

His heel smacked the ceiling during a poorly executed flip, briefly leaving him flailing in the air. Quickly he evened out and began hovering in place.

Oh no. Everything was actually bad and he was powerless to stop it! The music was terrible and shouldn’t be played in public! Lexi had only given him two rules and he broke one of them! His dance was a failure and was probably never good in the first place! Why would it have been?! He needed to do at least a few days of research before even attempting it! Lexi was going to be disappointed and Tech was going to be disappointed and even giving it his best wasn’t good enough and HE WAS BREAKING THE ONLY OTHER RULE BY JUST HOVERING THERE!!!

“Uh, Rev?” 

“It’s fine! Just all part of the act!” 

Desperately he tried to course correct. He did a forward roll- Wait did that symbolize something? A swoop- That didn’t mean anything either. Maybe a twirl? What was he even doing?! 

Focus! He had to focus. Metaphorical cake began blasting out of the speakers again and it was awful. No! Focus! He had to stop screwing up. He had to start doing moves that symbolized how he felt. 

And he felt like escaping. 

But he couldn’t escape because then that wouldn’t be trying.

At breakneck speed he flew in circles around the sparring hall, often twisting and turning to avoid running into pillars and walls. 

This counted as a dance, right? He wasn’t doing as many moves as Lexi was when she was running across the sparring hall. How about a few twists and rolls? Rev certainly felt like curling up but was not landing to see how disappointed Lexi was any time soon. But he was going pretty fast. Maybe he should use his positioning sense to avoid things. 

He moved down to swoop through the air just as his eyes lit up- Wait maybe he’s going too fast- Wait was that- Wait why was- Wait was he- Too fast! TOO FAST-!

“AHHK!”

“OOMF!” 

THUMP!!!

Yeah… that hurt. Rev groaned as he lifted his head, pushing his torso off of the flo-

Was the floor softer than usual? 

Oh no. 

Rev opened his eyes to see Tech wincing below him, rubbing the back of his head with one hand and keeping the miraculously intact light bulb elevated with his other. Tech opened his own eyes, and Rev froze completely. 

He wasn’t in uniform. Rev supposed it was getting late so it’d make sense he’d just change into something more comfortable after his shower and an orange tank top would be more comfortable. And woah his fur was so smooth and soft looking and his golden eyes really shined beautifully in the light. Actually Rev had been meaning to ask why Tech chose for his cowl to hide his natural sclera and if that made it any harder to see while-

“Uh… Tech to Rev… Are you there? Hello?” 

As Tech smiled nervously Rev realized that HE WAS LITERALLY RIGHT ON TOP OF HIM!

“UH-!” Rev threw himself backward, landing upright and sitting on his knees. “Uh, sorry! I didn’t mean to fly into you! Obviously. And sorry if I weirded you out! I know I was just kinda lying there staring at you and that is pretty weird but it wasn’t for a weird reason! It’s just that I noticed that you’re wearing something more casual which is kinda rare since we’re all usually in uniform- I’m not saying it’s bad you’re not in uniform- Actually your fur is looking pretty nice after your shower-! Wait, that’s kinda weird to say-!” 

Tech smiled bashfully with a soft chuckle. As Rev continued to talk, he propped his head up with his free hand and rested the bulb-holding hand on the floor behind him. 

“-What I meant by calling your fur ‘nice’ is that it looked healthy. I was just a little taken off guard by your clothes and your fur and your eyes- Not that your eyes have anything to do with your shower like with your clothes and fur- Though technically I’m only really seeing them because of the change of clothes- Anyway I’m just not used to seeing your eyes like this-! I also don’t mean that in a weird way! It’s just that your eyes are pretty beautiful and I always wondered why you-! Did I just say-! Oh my god.”

A light blush dusted Tech’s cheeks, his now much more bashful gaze drifting away. Rev also felt himself undoubtedly blushing, though more intensely, especially seeing Tech’s expression and relaxed pose sprawled underneath- OKAY! Rev wasn’t ready to think those thoughts any time soon! He needed a distraction! Right now!

“Haha! Anyway! When… exactly did you get here?” 

“Uh, around the middle of the second verse.” 

They both looked up as a long howl blew through the speakers, drawing attention to a repeat of the chorus in a different key, typical of many final sections of pop songs. And with that howl, Rev finally recognized the singer; A wolf named Randal… or… something similar. 

Wait… Tech had been watching him for that long?! 

Letting out another nervous laugh, Rev scratched his neck and brought his focus back down to Tech. “I don’t suppose you’d like to see any of those amazing moves during your hypothetical congrats party.” 

The area behind Tech’s head lit up, a warm silhouette of light glowing off of his soft fur. 

Rev was once again rendered speechless, besides a soft gasp at the stunning sight. 

Tech’s smile momentarily grew, before his face fell into a shy expression. “Ah… that… was sarcasm. You were joking. Funny. Heh heh…” 

The light behind Tech dimmed, knocking Rev out of his trance. 

“Uhh… yeah. Yeah.” 

“I wouldn’t be able to dance with you in the air anyway,” Tech uttered softly.

“Wait… What?”

Another voice spoke up above them. “Uhhh… guys?” 

“WAH!” 

Rev flailed backward once again, this time shooting up to his feet. Tech too scrambled upward and quickly composed himself. 

“Lexi! Hi!” Rev said with a sharp wave. 

She smirked. “Am I interrupting something?” 

“No! Nope! I just kinda sorta ran into Tech by accident. I was flying around and Tech was suddenly in my path and I was going too fast to stop it and that’s what happened! I ran into him. And running into him just made me a little- quite a bit disoriented and it just took a while to be reoriented and-”

Tech’s hand twitched as he side-eyed him. “Rev.” 

“-Uh! Uh, you get it.” 

Lexi chuckled before her eyes drifted down to the object in Tech’s hand. 

“What’s with the bulb?” 

“I’ve been attempting to use my powers in a new way.” 

Rev blinked. “Wait,” he said, looking at Tech, “I thought you wanted it to be a surprise?” 

“Oh, I…” He cleared his throat, his face heating up as he looked away. “I… really only cared about surprising you,” he answered quietly.

“Ah…” Rev cleared his throat too, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry. I… didn’t realize.” 

The sound of Lexi giggling drew their attention.

“What?!” Rev exclaimed defensively. 

“Nothing,” Lexi said with an innocent shrug. “Well, at least now I know you weren’t lying earlier about why you couldn’t talk to Tech.” 

Tilting his head, Tech looked at Rev. “Talk to me about what?” 

“Nothing!” Rev yelped. 

Lexi narrowed her eyes at him, receiving a pleading gaze. Sighing, she brought her focus to Tech instead, who seemed to have shared her suspicion.

“So Tech,” she said, drawing his attention, “I assume the new way you’re trying to use your powers is by making electricity or something? Hence the lightbulb?” 

“That’s correct,” he replied somewhat proudly. “It’s been a couple of years, so I think it’s about time I really dig into what my powers can do.” 

“Ugh,” the three of them heard near the entrance. They watched as Ace stepped closer with crossed arms. “Don’t you have enough powers already?” 

Tech smirked. “Why? Are you jealous?” 

“Jealous?!” Ace laughed forcefully. “Are you kidding?! I’m the leader of the entire team! My powers are plenty good enough! Well… my one power- But I have an awesome sword given to me by a respected member of a highly advanced alien race! Do you have a cool sword?! No, you don’t! I also-” 

As Ace continued ranting, Rev leaned over to Tech and spoke under his breath. “I think Ace is doing that thing I have a problem with where I rant for so long that I make the opposite point of what I was trying to say.” 

Tech snickered. “Alright. Alright,” he said patronizingly, gesturing at Ace to calm down. “I understand. You’re the amazing leader who holds this entire team together and I’m just the lowly peon that only takes orders. You have convinced me.” 

Ace growled under his breath, staring daggers at Tech rather than doing what he’d like and using his one power to stare something else at him. 

Rev and Lexi both forced back a chuckle, not wanting to push Ace any further than Tech already was. 

“Anyway,” Tech continued, “I’ll be around; Just in case you need the guy who single-handedly builds everything the team needs to save the day.” 

To add insult to injury, Tech gave a satisfied wave on the final lyric of the song just as he departed. 

Rev continued to watch as he walked away, noticing his tail swishing along to the final beats of the music. Wait, looking at his tail was weird, so he stopped. Hopefully nobody thought he was looking at something else. Specifically, something that was repeatedly sung about metaphorically in the pop song. 

Bringing his attention to Ace, Rev was relieved to see that he was too focused on glaring Tech out the door to care about where his eyes may have been. Then he looked at Lexi and… Uh oh… 

She was smirking at him. 

“I uh…” 

Lexi gestured a zip of her lip, giving Rev both a bit of relief and a flood of embarrassment. 

“So, Rev,” Ace said, seemingly cooled down, “what was with the little get-together under the blast of the latest pop sensation? Lexi’s into weird experimental stuff, and I swore at one point I heard you say you’re more into classical and electronic.” 

“Oh, well, Lexi was teaching me interpretive dance and decided to play this music seemingly because she knew I wasn’t particularly fond of the genre. Tech kinda just wandered in later.” 

“Wait.” Ace swung his head to Lexi, face scrunched in amusement. “Didn’t you say he thought Tech wanted to-”

“Shhhh,” Lexi hushed while trying to cover a smirk on her face.

“And you choose to play Tasty by Randal Wolf?”

“Sh-sh-shut u-up!” she said, hunched over and snickering wildly.

Ace let a few laughs slip past. “Subtle, Lex. Absolutely incredible.” 

Rev looked between them, tilting his head. “Uh… what are you guys talking about?”

“Nothing pal,” Ace said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Lexi and I are just having a little fun.”

“Speaking of fun,” Lexi said, “it seems like you had fun dancing for a bit, Rev. Do you think it helped at all?” 

“I… don’t know… I kinda… screwed up pretty badly at the end there… Maybe it helped a little but… I don’t feel all that different honestly…” 

Ace hummed inquisitively. “What were you trying to get help with?” 

Lexi and Rev answered on top of each other. 

“Nothing to worry about.” 

“Just trying to boost my confidence.” 

“Ah!” Ace exclaimed excitedly, “I betcha I could help you with that!”

Lexi’s jaw dropped. “Hey wait a second!” she scolded, pulling Rev aside. 

“What?” 

“You won’t ask Tech, your best friend, for advice, but you’ll accept help from Ace?”

“I’m right here,” Ace stated flatly. 

Rev cowered slightly under her gaze. “Well, I mean, he’s busy so-” 

“No he isn’t.” 

“Are you saying Ace wouldn’t have any good advice?” 

Ace crossed his arms. “Yeah, Lex! You saying I wouldn’t have good advice?” 

“Ugh. That’s not the point!” Sighing, she wiped a hand down her face. 

“Look, it’s all just very suspicious,” she explained. “Out of the blue you become desperate for more confidence, something that you’ve never worried about before now, and for some reason, you’ve decided to skip getting advice from the person who knows you best. To top it off, you won’t explain where you got the idea to work on your confidence and don’t even seem to know what kind of confidence you’re lacking or why you even need help at all.” Her expression grew softer. “I promise, if you just tell me why you’re so worried all of the sudden, I can probably help you out a lot more.” 

Rev averted his eyes, rubbing his arm. “I… think I should give Ace a chance to help me out.” 

“Good choice!” Ace said, already slinging an arm around Rev’s shoulders and pulling him away. “I’m gonna get you all the confidence you’ll ever need! And I think I know just the thing that’ll help put a bit of boldness in your life!” 

Rev smiled nervously. “And that is…?” 

“A makeover!” 

“Hahaha… What?” 

Lexi ran ahead, blocking the door. “Ace, as your BFF and Rev’s good friend, I can firmly say that this is not a great idea.” 

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Ace asked. “I mean, you’re the one who decided to make Rev dance around to Tasty.”

“Yeah but it’s not like he even realized why I chose that song anyway.” 

“Wait,” Rev said, “I thought you chose it because I don’t like pop music.” 

“It’s nothing to worry about, sweety.” 

“Don’t patronize me, please.” 

Ace ruffled his crest. “You’ll get it when you’re older,” he teased.

“You’re both two years younger than me!” 

Chuckling, Ace turned his attention back to Lexi. “Look, he’s in good hands! Whatever it is Rev’s needing confidence for, this’ll be sure to put some confidence in him.” 

Lexi groaned. “Rev, please consider if this is really the best solution.”

Rev looked at Ace, who seemed to be very sure of whatever plan he had in store. He then thought about Tech, who would be disappointed if nothing changed after he promised to take his advice to heart.

“I… still think I should give Ace a chance.” 

“Awesome! It’s makeover time!” 

“Ugh…” Lexi gagged. “I can’t watch this trainwreck.” 

“T-Trainwreck?” 

“I’m going to hang out with Slam,” she said, already turning to grab her things. “Good luck. You’ll need it.” And with that, she walked away. 

“Uhhhhhhhhh…”

“Don’t worry about her,” Ace said, practically pulling him into the hallway. “Lexi’s just being a drama queen.”

“If you say so…”

They started down the hall.

“I do. Trust me, you’re gonna be looking and feeling great once I’m done with you.”

“Okay.”

Ahead of them, they saw Duck, who took the same corner they did. 

“Hey Duck,” the both of them greeted casually. 

“Don’t distract me,” he shot back, continuing to walk as Ace stopped Rev at their destination. 

“Er… o-kay?” Ace said, giving him a funny look before turning his attention back to Rev.

“Anyway here we are!” he said, opening the door. 

Rev looked down the hall at where Duck had decided to stop. He gasped, but Ace pulled him inside the room before Rev could get out a warning. 

Staring at the door in front of him, Duck gave a determined hum. 

“There’s bound to be some batteries in here, right? I mean, it’s a supply closet.”

He opened the door-

“ACK!” 

-and a mountain of gymnastic equipment piled on top of him. 

~

Link to Oversight Chapter 3 ->

[fahrni]

Saturday Morning Coffee

Wow! Kolby let me sleep in this morning, 9AM! Late start to the day for me. Felt great. I decided I’d get all fancy this morning so I’m having a mocha. ☕️

Enjoy the linkage.

IGN

Lance Reddick, the actor known for roles in The Wire, John Wick, and Horizon Zero Dawn, has died at age 60.

Folks may know him best from John Wick but he was amazing in Fringe and The Wire. He played the hard nosed boss man in both of those series and he was good at it. RIP. 😔

WordPress

We’re excited to announce that Automattic, the parent company of WordPress.com, has acquired the popular WordPress plugin ActivityPub.

I love this and I hope more companies and individuals with publishing platforms follow suit.

If you’re interested Micro.blog already supports ActivityPub and is an excellent choice for your publishing platform. It’s well managed so you get a great community all for $5US per month. Yes, I use it to publish this blog.

The Sun Gazette

THREE RIVERS – It has been nearly a week since the latest storms flooded and eroded three large sections back on South Fork Road in Three Rivers leaving my family and approximately 160 other people stranded.

This is from my hometown paper in Exeter, California. The poor valley has seen its share of devastation over the last month and to hear of these poor folks stranded in Three Rivers makes my heart ache for them. Luckily they’re very resourceful and are making due. Hang in there y’all, this too will pass. ❤️

Platfomer

After months of silence, and a multi-billion-dollar effort from ByteDance to avoid this scenario, the Biden administration is picking up where its predecessor left off: attempting to force the company to divest itself of TikTok in the name of national security.

I don’t know how to feel about this. Sure, we shouldn’t allow China to use a platform as a propaganda mechanism for national security reasons but couldn’t there be a different arrangement around monitoring and servers living in the US without a connection to China?

I’m obviously naïve to the details and over simplifying it.

Please drop me a note via email — rob.fahrni@gmail.com — or Mastodon and explain what I’m missing. Thanks! 👍🏼

Slate

As the startups that make up Silicon Valley Bank’s customer base scrambled to figure out whether they would be able to make payroll, a group of extremely online venture capitalists spent four days emoting on Twitter, ginning up confusion and hysteria about the threat of a systemic risk if depositors didn’t get all their money back, pronto.

Gotta love those libertarian frat bros with who want government out of everything but are first in line with their grubby little hands wide open clamoring for rescue when they’re scared they’ll lose everything.

Do us all a favor, crawl into your apocalypse bunkers and stay there. Oh, and take Musk and TFG with you. 😇

Kottke

I’ve been writing kottke.org for 25 years. A little context for just how long that is: kottke.org is older than Google.

Congratulations Jason! Here’s to many more fruitful years! 🥳

Rolling Stone

Members of the South Carolina State House are considering a bill that would make a woman who has an abortion in the state eligible for the death penalty.

That’s the GOP for you. The pro life party ready to kill if you don’t carry a baby to term. Jerks, hypocrites, ass holes, dicks… I could name call all day. Our country is losing ground and sliding into authoritarianism and the MAGA party is leading the charge. So much for small government and fiscal responsibility. They’re the party of cruelty and white supremacy.

Reuters

March 14 (Reuters) - Facebook-parent Meta Platforms (META.O) said on Tuesday it would cut 10,000 jobs this year, making it the first Big Tech company to announce a second round of mass layoffs as the industry braces for a deep economic downturn.

Layoffs, layoffs, and more layoffs. As a middle aged middle manager this scares the crap out of me. Poop rolls down hills. Who’s next?

Oh, and what’s all this talk about a financial downturn? Is that just news to me? 😳

The Verge

T-Mobile is buying Mint Mobile, the budget-friendly mobile carrier that’s partially owned by Ryan Reynolds. In a post published on Wednesday, T-Mobile announced that the deal’s valued at up to $1.35 billion and comes as T-Mobile looks to build out its prepaid phone offering.

I just finished my free trial and we’re trying to decide if we’d like to go with Mint, then this happens which leaves me scratching my head. Do we do it or not?

The Verge

Here’s the best printer in 2023: the Brother laser printer that everyone has. Stop thinking about it and just buy one. It will be fine!

After having a little chuckle over the headline I looked over my shoulder and noticed it’s the printer we have. 😂

[pretty-toru]

˗ˏˋ𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧´ˎ˗

When Suguru returns to Tokyo Tech as the ashen night and heavenward of stars shine down upon him, he hadn't expect to be greeted by a certain sleeping angel occupying his bed. The exhaustion and feeling of gravity weighing him down and making his bones ache suddenly dissipates as he draws near you, careful in his steps and the surrounding darkness to keep himself from bumping into things and causing a loud noise to occur.

With the moonlight being his only source of light, seeing you laying there softly breathing when you could've been anywhere else in the world but you're now here with him makes his heart swell tremendously. It's moments like these where it takes his breath away sometimes how much he loves you, especially if he's had quite a grueling night investigating and exorcising curses that he feels blessed to be able to have and to hold you as the perfect way to end his long night.

And so when he changes from his uniform into more comfortable sleepwear, he slides underneath the covers and gently tugs your body toward him with flitting kisses on your shoulder and jawline to hopefully distract the movements from waking you. Though, much of his efforts became futile as the light sleeper that you are coming out of your stupor.

"Mm, Suguru?" He feels the weight of your body shift around to meet his fond gaze made visible by the opalescent moonbeams, your brows slightly creased and blinking at him in your delirious state as your consciousness is drifting between reality and dreams. Yet a content sigh escapes you when you catch the familiar scent of sandalwood and remember how comforting and warm he feels.

"Sorry sweetheart, did I wake you?" The sound of his voice is barely above a whisper but it was enough confirmation despite your eyes failing to stay open. And with the way your muscles relax and snuggle deeper into his embrace tells him there's nothing to apologize for to begin with so he pulls back the covers over you.

"When did you get back?" You began, and even though you're only capable of turning your thoughts into soft and sleepy mumbles he was able to discern it with much ease. "I tried my best staying up for you... but I guess I must’ve fallen asleep."

"We ran into a bit of a problem and finished much later than we thought. Sorry, I should've texted you sooner. But you know, you don't have to wait up for me, right? I appreciate the thought." Suguru smiles at you tenderly, brushing the tendrils away from your forehead to place a sweet kiss there. "Really, I do."

"Of course, I know that. But I wanted to, just missed you all day."

"I missed you too, princess. Get some sleep now, yeah? I know how tired you must be. Sweet dreams.. and I love you." He closes the gap between you two once again for a goodnight kiss on your lips, and before fully parting you pull him into another one for good measure, which in turn elicits a soft chuckle from him and you simply welcome his touch as he cradles your cheek with the stroke of his thumb.

"Love you too, sweet dreams." Hushed and earnest in your murmurs, Suguru feels his affections for you deepen because you made his life much more sweet and rich in the time you've been together. And he intends to protect and keep you safe just as you are now.

[bellsarefun]

Alive [Bad Batch: Crosshair x Injured! Reader]

【ｓｅｒｉｅｓ：Part 3 of the Injured Bad Batch Series】

【ｐａｉｒｉｎｇ：Crosshair x Female! Bounty Hunter! Reader】

【ｒａｔｉｎｇ：PG-13 and sfw! The reader uses she/her pronouns! There are mentions of injury and blood!】

【ａ／ｎ：This was originally requested by Anonymous to have just an Echo headcanon, but I wanted to do one of these for all the boys so this is part 3 of 5!】

I could feel the wind whipping past my body. The feeling of my stomach flipping over and over filled me with fear. I was falling. I was falling with nothing to save myself with.

I would hit the ground soon.

The world spun by so fast around me, I closed my eyes.

I waited for the impact that would be the end of (Y/N) the bounty hunter.

Would it hurt? Would I hit the ground and be struck with pain? Or would I simply blip into darkness? One simple misstep, a slip of my foot caused me to tumble off the side. How stupid of me.

The sharp reeling sound forced my eyes open, a chord from above—so fast I almost missed it—latched onto my harness. The metal claws digging into the leather around my chest in an attempt to save me.

'The whiplash.' The only thought I could think of before blacked out, hearing the chord pull taught. I didn't feel any pain.

Crosshair paused for a moment, contemplation rippling across his face. His eyes turned down toward his lap and he leaned back in his chair. But, then there was pain. It was all over my body, aching and throbbing with every thump of my heart. My mind spun and writhed in agony, the back of my head felt like a hammer was pounding into my skull. I was alive.

The darkness hadn't lifted, but I could feel warmth. I could feel my mind swirling, trying to make sense of my surroundings but it simply slipped back into inky blankness—I wonder when next I woke, would I be alive still?

"How is she, Tech?" That was Hunter's voice. I know it anywhere. I was still alive or at least I hoped I was. How much time had passed? How long had it been? Through the pounding of my head I heard the faint clicking of a holopad.

I blinked my eyes rapidly, the light assaulting my eyes and causing the world to spin around me. Only the blurriest of shapes danced across my vision.

"She's stable, but her head injury is severe." That was Tech's voice. he continued speaking but my hearing grew fuzzy and unable to discern any more of his words. I sunk back into the comfort of the dark and felt my eyelids drop, but this time my mind struggled to stay awake.

Was Crosshair safe? He almost was hit by those rocks. Was he okay? Was everyone okay? For kriff's sake, stay awake! I have to stay awake. But, I couldn't seem too.

"You idiot. You're a complete utter idiot." Crosshair. He was okay. I could feel the weight of my eyelids, I tried to open them again. "What did I tell you, dikut?"

Mando'a. The word for idiot. His favourite nickname for me.

I could feel my hand. He squeezed it three times. It was our code for 'I love you.' He never was good with words. Always opted for backhanded comments or the occasional bickering instead.

I tried to move any one of my limbs, but I simply couldn't. It was like every ounce of strength I could muster was quickly zapped away by the throbbing in my head. But, I couldn't leave Crosshair without trying.

I used what strength I had left, my mind was slipping away again, and curled my fingers around his. I couldn't see him, but I pictured his face clearly. Intense brown eyes. The tattoo around his right eye. His soft grey hair. A toothpick sitting between his lips. I would wake up soon, I simply had too.

The feeling of a blanket draped over my body greeted me when I woke once again. It was warm and safe, bringing a new found strength back into me. The pain in my head was dull but the pressure was still there, the tips of my fingers tingling slightly.

I blinked my eyes open, the lights above me blinding me for a moment. I tried looking around, but could only make out shapes of white. The smell of cleaner and bleach filled my nose.

How long was I out for? How long had it been? What happened?

"(Y/N), wake up. Just wake up." Came a small whisper from the side of me. "They said you'd be fine, so just wake up already." My eyes flickered toward the left side of my bed. Crosshair was sitting with his eyes turned down toward the edges of my blanket.

There was an edge to his voice that was so small that anyone could miss it. My lips curled up into the smallest of smiles, my mouth opened to speak.

"Hey, Cross." My voice was hoarse and rough. suffice to say it didn't sound pleasant.

Crosshair's head shot up within less that a second, amber eyes staring into my own. I tried moving, but the woozy feeling in my head caused me to wince and stop my attempt all together.

"Easy, the medics have you pumped full of medicine." Crosshair commented, his eyebrows knitting together on his face in one of his classic looks. "You're an idiot, do you know that?" I simply hummed in agreement and blinked my eyes a few more times to get a better sense of the room.

The medbay on Kamino, I'm surprised they even let me in.

"Yes, yes, Cross, I know. I should've gotten you and me safely out of the way of those rocks. But, being a said idiot, my foot slipped."

"At least you remember what happened. I was sure that knock would get rid of anymore of your common sense." Crosshair said with a scoff, leaning back in his chair to get a full look at me.

I hummed, forcing down the urge to retort.

"How long was I out for? I remember falling, a chord catching me, then nothing after that."

"I shot the chord after you fell, it caught your harness, but it wasn't enough to stop the whiplash from hitting your head against a nearby rock." I rubbed the back of my head to feel bandages keeping the sizable bump safely wrapped.

"Certainly feels like that. Where are the others? Are they okay?"

"You should be more worried about yourself, the others are fine. They aren't completely incompetent." My hand fell to rest on my lap, my eyes glaring toward him.

"What's with you all of a sudden? Don't blame this on me, Cross. It was an accident."

"Accidents like that could've gotten you killed, (Y/N). I can take care of myself without you mothering me every second. You're lucky I caught you this time."

"Mothering you?" I echoed incredulously, there was a hot flash of anger beginning to pool in the pit of my stomach. "Mothering you? You're an impossible man, Cross. One minute it's I'm not enough another it's too much. What do you want from me?"

"I want you to know I can take care of myself, (Y/N). I'm not some lost nat-born child."

"I know you can, I'm not saying you can't."

"Then why do you throw yourself into these situations?"

"I don't try too, you know that."

"You look for trouble, it follows you everywhere."

"We're at war, you're a sniperm I'm a bounty hunter for kriff's sake nothing isn't going to be dangerous!"

"I will not be the reason you die. I can't. I will not let that happen."

I opened my mouth until one of the medical droids reached the side of my bed within seconds.

"Miss, please lay back down, you're going to pull out your IV." The robotic voice broke through my thoughts and I looked down at my wrist.

I paused for a moment, my anger dissipating as fast as the words on my tongue. I hadn't noticed I was going to pull my IV from my hand.

Crosshair paused for a moment, contemplation rippling across his face. His eyes turned down toward his lap and he leaned back in his chair.

I nodded to the droid quietly and leaned back onto the bed, the IV line growing slack once again. The droid adjusted the tube before returning elsewhere in the med bay.

We sat in silence for what felt like a minute before I spoke.

"I'm sorry, Cross. I didn't know you felt that way about it- I-" My mind struggled to find the right words.

"I'm sorry too." His voice was so quiet.

"I don't want to see you hurt because of me." Crosshair said under his breath, in almost a whisper. "Kriff's sake, (Y/N), I love you. But, you always place my wellbeing in front of your own. What happens to me if you die? What'll that mean for me?"

I looked down at my hands, I could feel the blood running through the wound in the back of my head.

"I don't know, Cross."

I was a bounty hunter, I lived a dangerous life. It was all I knew. Crosshair lived a dangerous life, he was fighting in an impossible war. It was all he knew. But, now we had something together that forced us to see reason to live. That was terrifying.

"I didn't know this is how you felt, I just wanted to keep you safe like you do for me. You're always watching out for me through that scope of yours. I wanted to do the same."

"Our line of work is never going to be safe, but for kriff's sake, don't go throwing yourself into every reckless option. Save that for that meathead, Wrecker."

I couldn't help but giggle softly, even though it caused my head pain.

"I'll leave that to him from now on, I can't let you sprout more grey hairs." I said with a small laugh and Crosshair rolled his eyes at the comment. He stood from his seat.

"My hair is naturally grey, dikut." He said sharply, placing a soft kiss onto my lips which I smiled into happily. Crosshair's kisses were always sharp and precise with drive behind every single one.

When he pulled away I was left almost breathless.

I carefully held out a hand, Crosshair took it as he sat back in his seat, and I squeezed three times. He responded with his signature three squeezes back.

No sooner than he did, four familiar faces entered the med bay and greeted us with cheerful, relieved smiles.

[margindoodles2407]

First of all, I would like to know who gave Crosshair permission to be my favorite character. Because it certainly wasn't me.

everything was FINE AND DANDY when hunter was my favorite, why couldn't hunter have stayed my favorite? why must i suffer in this way

Anyway so my thoughts were so. All over the place. That I had to write a thing to organize them. Because the thoughts just. They are. I have them. Take it

Do you think that, prior to Season Three, Crosshair resents Omega?

Do you think that on Kaller and on Kamino, he uses his aggression and his snappish remarks to mask his confusion? Do you think he worries for his brothers, the brothers he loves so much, wondering why they can't just follow orders? Don't they know it's for their own good, for the galaxy's good? Doesn't Hunter know he's just making things harder for himself and Wrecker and Echo and Tech by stubbornly refusing to do what they're told? Maybe he's not fit to lead, if he's so selfish he'd defy direct orders and drag his brothers down with him. And why don't Wrecker and Echo and Tech understand they don't have to go along with it? Why is he, Crosshair, the only one with any sense at all?

And do you think that when this little girl comes along and starts following his squad around like a lost Tooka-kit, and for some reason they're all smitten with her, he starts to get jealous? Do you think that, after his procedure, he confronts his brothers at the landing platform and he can't understand why they'd choose some girl they barely know over their own batchmate? Do you think he looks at Omega and sees a kid who's everything he isn't- a girl who's young and cheerful and optimistic and kind- and realizes that his own brothers are replacing him? They must be. They didn't follow orders, what ever made him think they'd honor their code of loyalty? They left their own behind. And for what? Some kid?

And do you think when he tracks them to Bracca and his head is burned so badly that his chip has to be removed, he realizes that his vision wasn't as clear as he'd thought, but he's already done so much, he's already too far gone, and anyway, they'd never take him back? They've replaced him. They don't need him. And do you think when Kamino's sinking, and he's proven wrong again- they do want him, they do miss him- he keeps sticking his neck out for Omega, not because he cares about HER, but because she means something to them? Hunter asks him to come back. And do you think he wants to go? Do you think he wants to go so badly, so much it hurts? But then he sees her- his replacement, he tells himself- and he's been wrong about so many things, and it's sick and twisted, but he wants to be right, he needs to be right about something, anything, so he latches on to that. He needs them to hate him, he needs them to replace him so that for once he can be right. So he stays, and they leave, and that's the last time he'll see them for a while.

And do you think everything he does until Mount Tantiss is a bitter reminder of what he threw away because he needed his brothers to abandon him? Do you think Cody's disappearance is just as much a shot to the heart as losing his batch? Do you think he drags Mayday, dying, through the snow, and when he holes the two of them up under a snow drift because he cannot physically take another step he aches from the strain but also because this is the closest he's been to another human being since the war? And do you think he stumbles back to the Imperial base, and Mayday dies because the Empire doesn't care, and finally, finally, Crosshair can see clearly, so he shoots a lieutenant square in the chest and lets himself be dragged away because he is just too tired? Too broken? And do you think he lays on Hemlock's medical tables drowning in his own regret? And do you think the whole time from Kamino to now he's quietly resented Omega, because if she weren't there he wouldn't have had to justify his sick sick mind, and do you think he's much more loudly resented himself because he knows that's not fair? Because he knows it's not her fault, and she didn't ask for any of this? And do you think he misses his brothers? He misses his brothers. He wants to help his brothers. He can't escape, he'll never see them again, but he can give them warning. He can try to do one small thing to make it up for all the things he did to drive them apart forever.

(And do you think that he knows? Do you think, Force-less as he is, that part of him feels it as Tech falls from the rail car? Or do you think he's too numb, too blind and deaf already with his grief and the terrible pain?)

But what do you think he thinks when Omega comes to Tantiss? When she seeks him out, when she makes a point to see him every day? When she talks of escape? Why would she care? Why should she care? He certainly doesn't care about her, he never has. Until very recently he hated her.

So why is she so determined not to hate him?

Do you think that, prior to Season Three, Crosshair resents Omega?

Do you think that, during Season Three, he can't bring himself to anymore?

Ough my friend I am dropping by to take you up on your offer to rant about The Bad Batch because I have SO. MANY. THOUGHTS.

OOOHHHH INDEED????

[turtle-steverogers]

i was thinking but do you know the unsent project? it is this website where you can write a message to your first love that you never sent to them. now imagine steve writing one (or multiple) to bucky after he came out of the ice after nat told him about it... yeah

hello hi anon this broke me and it was too perfect not to turn into a ficlet klafjldskjfalskf thank you

-

Unsent Letters

To:

Steve’s fingers freeze over the keyboard, the cursor blinking at him. It feels like it’s taunting him-- teasing him with the burden of choking out a name. What should he even say? The sender is anonymous, but how many people are named Bucky out there? Would anyone even care?

To: Bu

Steve huffs and backspaces, his hands trembling as he curls them into fists. He isn’t sure what provoked Natasha to tell him about this website. It’s a cruel tease to everything he wishes he could say-- wished he could say before Bucky slipped through his fingers. And now his only option is yelling into an abyss. The text box is black and daunting. He turns it yellow. No, too happy. Green. Yes, that’s fine. Bucky’s favorite color was always green.

His gaze wanders away from the screen of his hefty Dell laptop and out the window of his apartment. DC’s low rising buildings span out in front of him. His gut aches; he misses New York already. But he knows being there would only mangle his soul further, seeing his already alien home torn to shreds by literal space whales. He huffs, thinking of Bucky’s comics. His stories came to life after all. Bucky would have probably vibrated out of his skin if he knew there was other life out there.

To: My astronaut

How’s space treating you? It’s treating me pretty badly, if I’m being honest. If only you could see what it’s done to Brooklyn. I think you’d be pretty mad at it if you knew…

Steve hesitates, reading back over what he’s typed. It’s stupid as hell, and he cringes, but he doesn’t backspace. His fingers find the keys again.

I miss you something awful. I don’t think that even encompasses how much I’m hurting without you. I feel so lost right now-- space is much bigger and scarier than you’d think. I know you’d love it. I wish you could see bits of it, but god, I just want to go home. I want you to come home.

Steve freezes again and finds the screen blurry where tears have welled in his eyes. His jaw clenches as he pictures the way Bucky would laugh at him-- teasing him for his dramatics and ruffling his hair. He wishes he could be there now, rolling his eyes and nudging Steve’s shoulder.

“What’re you upsetting yourself for?” He’d say, gently closing the laptop and coaxing Steve into his arms. “I’m right here, pal.”

And if Steve closes his eyes, he can almost feel Bucky’s warmth enveloping him. But he’s not there. He’s dead, and Steve’s a goddamn ghost, drifting through a future that doesn’t know him.

He opens his eyes and stares at the text box, then clicks submit.

The screen loads, and his message is gone, his pain forever documented in the abyss.

-

For someone who fought aliens two weeks after waking up from his impromptu seventy year sleep, Steve’s life is pretty monotonous. He contemplates this unfortunate fact as he stands in front of his toaster, hair sticking up on the back of his head as he nurses a mug of coffee and waits for his toast to pop.

It’s 5:45 in the morning and he tries to remember a time when he didn’t rise this early. Before the war, perhaps. Though, he’s always been a bit of an early bird. His home life was sporadic to put it lightly and he’d learned from an early age that the sooner he was awake, the better it was for everyone. Vigilance is not a new concept for Steve.

He hasn’t always stayed up late, though. That’s certainly new, and he feels this fact viscerally as he catches sight of his reflection in the microwave. There are bags under his eyes that will be gone by mid-morning thanks to the serum. Dermatologists hate him, Natasha says. Steve thinks he’s pretty lucky that the serum more or less equipped him with a built-in anti-aging agent. His father had started balding by thirty.

His toast pops and he starts a little, blinking blearily at the slightly burnt bread as he pulls it out of the toaster with his thumb and forefinger. He spreads on the same raspberry jam and butter that he uses every morning and tries not to think of how bland it tastes in his mouth as he eats it standing at the counter. Another routine.

He tries not to look at last night’s dishes in the sink as he stacks his plate and silverware on top and doesn’t bother sorting out his hair before pulling on his sneakers and slipping out of his apartment. The sun hasn’t quite risen yet, only the beginning tendrils of light sneaking over the low tops of the DC buildings, and Steve vaguely regrets not grabbing a sweatshirt before he left. It’s not quite Summer yet and the mornings could still get pretty cool.

He’s about to take off down the street when he freezes. Natasha is sitting on the steps of his complex, wearing a pair of pink tinted sunglasses and tossing up and down the keys to her car. Steve blinks, rubs his eyes, then blinks again. Nope. She’s still there.

“Nat?”

Natasha looks up at him and smiles. “Hello.”

Steve shifts, uncomfortable. “Hi. You need something? Is there a mission?”

“No,” Natasha says lightly, standing. “You’re not running this morning, though. Come on, I’m taking you to Starbucks.”

“What?”

“Starbucks. You’re going to try it.”

“I don’t want--”

“Steve, you do the same thing every day. Step out of your comfort zone a little.”

Steve frowns, but Natasha’s right-- he really doesn’t ever stray from his routine.

“Fine,” he says, and twenty minutes later, they’re strolling into the nearest Starbucks.

He’s only been in one before, and that was to use the restroom while on a run. He’d bought a water bottle in an attempt to not be rude and use their facilities without giving them any business, but he hadn’t even considered the expansive menu. All the fancy names were too daunting.

They’re just as daunting now as he stares up at the board, heart hammering out of his chest as he’s faced with indecision. Natasha takes one look at his face, and reaches out to squeeze his arm.

“I’ll order something for you,” she says. “What kind of coffee do you like?”

Steve gives her a pained look. “Um… just coffee?”

Natasha quirks a smile and orders him something called a caramel macchiato. He’ll take it, he guesses.

The drink is too damn sweet and sugary and he almost gags. Still, he was always told to finish what he was given, so he drinks the whole thing.

-

To: Mr. Sweet Tooth

You’d fucking love it here. Everything is packed with sugar and sweetness-- enough to make even my teeth rot. I had something called a caramel macchiato today and it tasted like someone took your ma’s caramels and condensed them into a cup. I couldn’t stand it, but I know if you were here, you’d want at least twelve. I hope you’re enjoying all the sweets you can up in space.

Love, Mr. Boring

-

Steve’s fingers are stiff and frozen as he works at the straps of his stealth suit. The tangy taste of saltwater still sits heavy on his tongue, and he clenches his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering too harshly as he finally peels off his suit. It’s not much better, being naked, but at least the wet fabric isn’t clinging to him anymore.

The mission had been pretty straightforward until some alien tech managed to blast the quinjet to kingdom come, and they all free-fell straight into the freezing Atlantic.

Steve had managed to keep it together as they took down the goddamn mad scientist that fucked them over, but now that he’s home and alone, he can feel the adrenaline crashing.

He’s shaking from more than just the cold as he draws himself a warm bath, and he pulls his knees up to his chest, trying to breathe through the panic that wants to engulf his entire being.

He loses time for a bit, and comes back to himself lying in his bed, burrowed under several thick layers. He feels so cold, down to his very soul-- a chill that he can never seem to truly shake, even when he’s warm.

Not for the first time, he wishes Bucky were there to hold him. He slips off to sleep thinking old, comforting thoughts of Bucky rubbing his hands between his own, coaxing his head under his chin to engulf him in that natural warmth of his. He always was a fucking furnace.

But when Steve wakes an hour later, shaking hard enough to move the bed with the force of the nightmare he’d dropped into, Bucky is not there to soothe away the ice.

-

To: JB

im so cold and i cant breathe ever and nothing feels right. I dont know what to do, u were always the problem solver between us and i cant think straight right now and i just want you here please. I cant do this anymore, im so tired please come back. I need you please

-

The Winter Soldier file sits in front of Steve-- a horrifying nightmare wrapped up in a neat brown folder. Residual nausea swirls around in his gut as he comes down from the horrible high of reading through the contents. His hands shake where they grasp the thick paper. His heart clenches hard in his chest.

Bucky is alive. Bucky is alive, and he’s been unmade.

Steve doesn’t know where he is-- if he’s escaped, or if Hydra found him again. It’s been three weeks now since the helicarriers, and he’s only just gotten the courage to sit down and wade through the shit that is Bucky’s reality.

He just hopes he’s safe. God, he hopes.

Sam says he’ll help him look, and Steve needs to know he’s at least out of danger, but he barely knows where to start.

And he’s sorry. He’s so fucking sorry.

Blinking out of his reverie, Steve looks at his laptop. He feels strange and detached as he reaches for it and logs in.

To: Bucky

And yes, that feels right. He should use his name, since he suspects no one has for a long, long time.

I’m so sorry for what happened to you. I’m sorry that you’ve been hurting so quietly for so long. I understand if you’re not ready to come home-- I understand if you never are. I just hope that you know that there will always be a place with me that is safe. I love you so much and I’m here, forever and always.

Love, Steve.

He’s not naive. He knows it would be dangerous to submit that particular message, so he doesn’t. But that’s okay. That one’s just for him-- for them.

-

“Steve? What is the… Unsent Project?”

Steve frowns and pokes his head out of the kitchen. Bucky is sitting on the couch in the living room, using his laptop, because his own is having storage issues.

Bucky looks at him. “It’s one of your saved tabs. What is it?”

And oh, fuck. Steve had forgotten to remove that from his homepage-- it really wasn’t needed anymore. He blushes all the way to his ears.

“Oh, it’s-- nothing. Not anything important--”

But Bucky has already clicked on the tab.

“The Unsent Project,” he reads aloud. “A collection of unsent text messages to… first… loves…”

He trails off as he processes what he’s looking at, and Steve can’t quite read his expression when he looks at him again. His eyebrows are furrowed, and he’s looking at Steve like he’s some sort of kicked puppy. Steve shifts, uncomfortable.

“Were you sending me… messages? While I was dead?”

Steve swallows. “Um…” and now that Bucky says it out loud, it really does sound quite sad. He shrugs. “It’s Natasha’s fault?”

Bucky shakes his head, clicking on the search bar. He starts to type his name, but Steve shakes his head.

“I didn’t use your name.”

“Oh,” Bucky says, then frowns at him again. “What did you use?”

Steve blushes harder, sitting next to Bucky and taking the laptop from him.

“Um…” he hesitates, then types what he was sure he used as his first alias.

My astronaut

The screen buffers and loads, then fifty or so messages pop up. Steve scrolls down-- it doesn’t take long to find his.

They’re both quiet as they read, and Steve cringes. Jeez, he really had been pretty dramatic. Next to him, Bucky makes a hurt noise.

“Oh, honey,” he murmurs, taking the laptop back from Steve. He reads the message again, then once more, and reaches out for Steve. “Aw, I’m here now.”

Steve huffs, embarrassed. “I know,” he says. “That was way back, like, three weeks after I woke up.”

Bucky stills. “You fought aliens three weeks after you woke up?”

“... More like two.”

Bucky hums. “Are there others?”

“Yeah,” Steve says, reaching out to type on Bucky’s lap, because Bucky is holding him now and he’s quite reluctant to move. He thinks for a moment, then types in the next one he remembers.

Mr. Sweet Tooth

Bucky laughs, and Steve finds himself smiling.

“I find this funny,” Bucky says. “Because caramel macchiatos are definitely one of my favorites now.”

Steve laughs, too, and butts his head against Bucky’s shoulder.

“If only I could tell that to myself back then-- he’d be thrilled.”

“I’m sure,” Bucky says. “Any more?”

Steve hesitates, thinking of the one he’d sent after that nightmare-- when he was low and hurting. Incoherent. He isn’t sure he wants Bucky to see that particular side of his soul, but Bucky has been more than generous in letting him in on his pains nowaday, and it’s not like Bucky hasn’t witnessed Steve’s own current nightmares.

He bites his lip and types in JB. That seems to yield a lot more results, and it takes a while for Steve to find the message.

He hides his face in Bucky’s neck as he reads. Bucky’s arms gradually tighten around him, and a moment later, he feels him kiss the top of his head.

“Honey, I hate that you were hurting so bad,” Bucky mutters against his hair.

Steve shrugs. “We both were,” he says, and it’s true. There’s something to be said about the guilt they both feel for not being able to save the other person at their lowest, but life hasn’t been kind to them. The vitriol, Steve thinks, should be directed at the goddamn universe for keeping them apart, not themselves for fucking dying. They’re working on it.

Bucky’s quiet for a long time. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he says. “Is that it?”

Steve shakes his head. “But I never sent the last one.”

“Why not?”

“I wrote it after DC.”

He feels Bucky squeeze him again, and he squeezes back.

“Oh.”

“I just-- I wanted you to know that you didn’t have to come home. That I just wanted you to be safe; needed to know you were safe, but it was up to you. I just needed you to know I was here, if you needed me.”

Bucky pulls back then and cups his face, kissing him soundly. Steve’s surprised for only a moment before he’s kissing back.

“I did know that,” Bucky says against his lips. “I needed time-- I was lost-- but the first thing I knew when I remembered who you were was that you were a safe person, because you’d never force me anywhere.”

Steve kisses him again, then pulls him into a hug. “I’m glad you knew that.” It’s warm, where their chests meet, and Bucky is solid beneath him. Real. He isn’t speaking into an abyss anymore.

-

There’s a sticky note on Bucky’s pillow next to his head when he wakes up the next morning. Steve’s side of the bed is already vacant, and he can’t hear him downstairs. He must have already left for a run.

Propping himself on an elbow, Bucky plucks up the sticky note.

To: My Bucky

Thank you for choosing me to be your home, and thank you forever, for being mine.

I love you with everything I have.

Love, your Steve

Bucky smiles, heart light as he folds the notes. He’ll keep that one with him, he thinks. A little bit of home to bring wherever he goes.

-

anyway yeah fslkjflaskjfls i-- ouch. anything to do with letters w these two hurts me immensely

[lulu-tutu]

Hi hi! Can request a c!techno x reader (she/they) fanfic where the reader is on their period and is feeling really crappy about themselves because they feel rlly bloated and don’t like the way they look? Justsome fluffy stuff of techno cuddling the reader and scooping them up into his arms to make them feel better🥺anywho love your work and I hope you’re doing okay:)

Thank you so much for requesting, I’m doing really well and I really hope I can do some justice for this amazing idea 🥺And if any of you ever feel this way, please understand that you’re absolutely amazing in every way and you deserve happiness. I will adopt everyone of you and shower you with love <3

Pairing: Technoblade x Fem!Reader.

Warning(s): Obvious mentions of a period cycle, slight self loathing, didn’t proof read so have fun with that, also first time writing for Techno, let me know what you think!

Sweet Words

______________

You absolutely hated feeling this way, and you loathed the fact that your body had to suffer and undergo through the same pain every single month. Shuddering through another wave of nausea that passed through you, you shifted against the bed sheets that seemed to cling to your skin like paste with a tired groan, eyes clenched shut with nothing but the urge to sleep through your period behind them.

Digging your fingers into the mattress, you released a soft breath. While Technoblade wasn’t there to comfort you at that moment, promising before he left that morning to the nearest village that he would be as quick as he possibly could, there was still the lingering scent of him on his side of the bed. You suppose that would have to do while he was busy, it was better than nothing and somehow soothed your pain in the slightest of ways.

With the comforting smell of Techno surrounding you, the weight of exhaustion creeped up and tugged at your eyelids until they slipped shut and before you knew it, you were drifting off to the land of dreams, a place where your cramps were forgotten. You weren’t aware with how long you were asleep for, but it didn’t feel like it was long enough. The only reason you weren’t going to break down about it was the fact that you could feel the warmth of a familiar arm gently curl around your waist, ever so slowly pulling you back until you were pressed up against an even warmer chest.

“Sorry,” You peel your eyes open with a small content sigh and tilt your head just far enough back to see the apologetic wince of Techno, pink wisps of his fringe falling over his eyelashes, “Did I wake you?”

“Mm, no, don’t worry about it.” If he hadn’t have woke you up, you knew the cramps would have. You much preferred the idea of being woken up by his warmth and caring hands rather than the stabbing pains that made you want to tear out your own uterus. It was an easy choice, honestly.

Groaning as you shifted to roll onto your back for a more comfortable position, you side eyed Techno with a pursed smile while trying to wiggle up to rest against the headboard, “How’d the trip go? You weren’t out for that long, I thought you would have been at least a few more hours.”

“I promised you I would be back as fast as I could.” He watches your movements for a few seconds, eyeing the way you wince subtly before one of his hands travelled from your waist to your lower stomach, making sure not to put too much pressure on the tender spot. The sudden feeling of heat seeping into your skin was almost enough to have you melt into a puddle of mush. “That, and I only went out to get you something.”

You almost missed his words, lost in the heat that rolled from his gentle touch, fingertips rubbing soothing circles over your skin in a way that had your head spinning. He was your own personal heat pad, a beacon of light that swept away the waves of pain that came trembling through your aching body. Opening your eyes that you didn’t even register had closed, you gave a gentle hum, “You didn’t have to, you know. I’ve got everything I could ever need right here.” Your own hand was quick to envelope the one on your stomach, fingers weaving together.

With a light snort, Techno gave your hand a soft squeeze, “You don’t even know what I got you yet.” Keeping his hand in its place underneath your own, he twists his body around and reaches behind him, rummaging through something he had hidden on his side of the bed. He turns back to face you after a quick search and holds out his hand, “Here, I thought this would soothe some of your pain.”

“You got me chocolate?” The words you spoke came out as a quiet whisper, lips twitching up into a grin after the sudden shock had passed. “Techno…” Of course he wouldn’t tell you about this before he left. Anything to keep his stoic and pride in tact it seemed.

But as you stared down at the chocolate in his hand, you suddenly didn’t feel like it would help you. If anything, it would only bloat your already aching stomach. One bite of it and it would head straight to your hips, as if you needed to gain anymore weight as it was. Taking your bottom lip in between your teeth, you reach over and close Techno’s hand over the chocolate, your stomach already pinching painfully at your rejection of his gift.

“That’s really, really sweet, Tech… But, you can have it.” You watch as his eyebrows furrow in confusion, his eyes shifting from the chocolate that was still in his grip to your small apologetic smile. “I’m not really in the mood for something sweet.” Your uterus disagreed, making you flinch in surprise with a short hiss, both hands flying to your lower abdomen.

“(Y/n), it’ll help with the cramps. Phil told me-“

“Well Phil isn’t a woman, now is he?” You snap, head snapping back to his direction. You instantly regretted your tone, seeing Techno pull back in surprise. “Sorry, I’m sorry.” Sighing, you pull the covers up to your chest, snuggling back into them and turning onto your side, back facing your boyfriend. “I didn’t mean to say it like that, it’s just…”

“I know.” While you weren’t facing him, you could feel the gentle stare of Techno on the back of your head. He shuffles around behind you for a short minute before the warmth of his arms slide back around you, his chin settling nicely between your shoulder and neck. “Phil told me that your emotions would be all over the place too…”

You both sit there in silence, his breathing being the only thing you could really focus on. You hated this, you hated the fact that your own body would betray your actions, your choices and your own words. Its like you had no control, which you suppose was true in some ways.

“You’re beautiful, you know. Even when you’re mad at me.” His words vibrate through his chest and into your back, lips barely touching the shell of your ear as he continues speaking, “I have an idea on why you don’t want the chocolate, but I really think you should eat it. It’ll help your pain.” He places a tender peck to your neck, his fringe brushing past your cheek and tickling your nose.

“I did want it, I did.” You begin softly, hands running up and down one of his arms that hang from over your waist, “I just don’t think my body needs to feel any more sickly. I haven’t eaten all that much today but I feel bloated, I feel sick and I feel like I don’t deserve something that’ll take away the pain. I mean, it only last for a week, maybe a few days at least.”

“You deserve the world.” Your heart hammers painfully in your chest at his sincere spoken words, eyes fluttering closed as his hand moves away from your touch to reach over and gently cup your chin between his fingers, “You might only go through this pain for a few days, but its monthly. If there’s any way I could at least ease some of it, you know for sure I’m going to find a way. And what you said, about feeling bloated and not deserving of something that’ll take some of the pain away. I highly disagree.”

Pushing yourself to turn around and face him, you could barely stop the stinging sensation of tears building up behind your eyes at the tender words he spoke so delicately. It was something different coming from him, something other than the deep rooted and gruff voice of his. With your chin still being held between his fingers, he raised his other hand and caressed your cheek, thumb rubbing soothing circles over the apple of your cheek.

“I wish you could see the you that I see everyday. The woman that I get to wake up and fall asleep beside, she’s a warrior, she’s dependable, patient, deserving, she’s everything I need in my life and I need to keep that smile on her face for as long as I live.” His lip twitches upwards at your own watery grin, a choked laugh escaping you as you shake your head, “It’s true. All of it. You’re perfect, perfect to me.”

“Okay, okay!” You couldn’t hold back the waterworks anymore, the dam having already broken behind your eyes. Sniffling with a chuckle, you leaned happily into Techno’s touch, watching him behind glassy eyes as he wiped at the tears with his thumb, his smile widening at your laughter. “Gosh, you’re so cheesy. I love it.”

“Alright, don’t get ahead of yourself, nerd.” He briefly chuckles, leaning his head down to connect your foreheads together. “I’m only cheesy for you.” He leaves a chaste kiss to your wet lips, your eyes crinkling at the edges as you grin into it.

“Hey, you wanna share the chocolate with me?”

“For you, of course.”

https://ko-fi.com/lulututu

[lonely-lost-soul]

Where Loyalties Lie

(Technoblade X reader) 

Request 3: Can we get a little angsty fic or headcanon of Techno trying to get the reader to leave L’manberg?

Requested By: Anonymous

~~~

     “Tubbo please take a deep breath,” You followed him around the rubble as he paced restlessly. 

     “I’m president of a crater (Y/n)!” The boy pulled on his ears with a loud whine, “What am I gonna do. I can’t believe Wilbur blew it up-” He felt your hands touch his own and gently pull them away from his oversensitive goat ears. “What am I gonna do? I-I’m a kid…” You frowned, moving to cup his cheek with your hand. He nuzzled into it desperately, welcoming the comforting touch of someone who he considered family. 

     “You’re going to get through it because you’re strong.” You told him, “and so brave little ram.” He flushed pink letting out a whine of protest especially because he was still surrounded by most of his friends. 

You watch as Quackity walked over to the both of you and placed his hand on Tubbo’s shoulder squeezing it, “We’ll rebuild. We’ll be right behind you Tubbo.” He smiled at the kid and you couldn’t help but smile over at him. 

     “Thank you both. Truly.” 

There was one thing that had you were worried you may come to regret, and that was not taking Technoblade’s hand as he fled from the country. You were close almost touching it, he looked like he wanted to beg for you too but one desperate cry from Tubbo had you pulling away. He looked heartbroken but at the same time, you saw understanding in his deep red eyes. 

Family came first. 

That day he pulled you close pressing a soft kiss on your forehead, “I’ll be back for you.” 

You murmured a soft I’m sorry, turning to find Tubbo to make sure he wasn’t injured or dying. The thoughts of the festival replaying in your head, you couldn’t go through that...not again especially because now Tubbo was officially on his last life. Tommy couldn’t fathom how you didn’t blame Technoblade for what happened that day, but to you, two things were clear: one was that Tubbo didn’t blame him which made it easier on your end to forgive him; two Schlatt was manipulative and overwhelming as fuck you can’t blame someone for something they were peer pressured into doing. Speaking of Tommy you ended up finding Tubbo and him in the rubble that day, the taller male was pressing cloth to Tubbo’s bleeding arm desperately, when you took over and Tommy seemed grateful. 

However, you had to push your possible regrets aside and focus on the new nation you’d help build, and build it you did. You worked endlessly for months on end creating a lovely new nation for people to live in, Tubbo had dubbed it New L’manburg. You felt his pride and happiness, he just loved seeing everyone together again and happy once again. Finally, the server felt somewhat normal after all that destruction, even if there was a Techno-shaped hole in your heart. Things changed rather quickly when Tubbo was, in your eyes, manipulated to exile Tommy by Dream. You had tried to argue for the boy saying that not only was he Tubbo’s friend but just a kid. You were shut down harshly by not only Dream but Tubbo as well, the look in his eyes was filled with so much loathing and frustration. It’s the first time he ever snapped and was harsh to you, you felt your own frustration bubble up in your chest. You turned on your heel and marched back up into your house, you were not going to put up with this behavior. When you slammed the door shut, and turned around to find Technoblade standing in your living room,  with your cat purring fondly on his shoulders; you almost screamed.

     “Heh- why are you scared it’s just me?” The hybrid complained his nose scrunching up, “Don’t be cringe- oof-” Techno grunted as you threw your arms around his waist, the man flushed to the tips of his ears and looked away from you, Taffy hopped off his shoulders disgruntledly, “Yeah, yeah, I missed you too.” He pet the top of your head tenderly and you looked up at him with a smile. 

     “What’re you doing here Tech? If Tubbo finds out he’ll have your head.” 

     “Then I guess we’ll just have to make sure he doesn’t find me then huh?” He mused lips, quirking into a smile, and you nodded in agreement. “Other than that just running some errands. I’m in retirement now you know. I have to say that ‘New L’Manburg’ is certainly a name.” He did air quotes around the name and you nudged him, 

     “Be nice.”

     “Boo Cringe. I’m a Blood God starlight. I don’t do nice.” 

     “Bullshit,” You punched him in the arm, “Tea?” 

     “Please.” He cracked a smile as you walked over to your tea kettle heating the water and grabbing some tea bags. 

     “So, you came here to run some errands huh? I almost thought you missed me?” Technoblade shuffled a little behind you, how could you read him so perfectly? It was complete and utter bullshit. You heard him click his tongue distastefully behind you and you couldn’t help but smirk cheekily,

     “Get off my back woman.” He stated gruffly as you laughed, “but I guess I do miss you a little bit.” You smiled fondly and softly cooed at him and he let out another scoff, 

     “A little bit?”

     “What is this interrogation? You a cop now?” You placed his tea in front of him and he took a sip,

     “Yeah, we’re gonna need to do a strip search. Drop your pants.” Technoblade choked on his drink, face turning the darkest shade of red you’ve ever seen from him. You howled with laughter sliding down in your seat beside the man. 

     “I changed my mind. I didn’t miss you at all, you’re a terror.”

     “You love me, admit it.”

     “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He murmured looking at you with a sudden softness that was out of character for him. You didn’t notice the change but it was there, oh if only you knew how much of what you said was true. He did love you. He ran his tongue across his teeth and reached out to interlock your hands within his own. 

     “Come live with me.” 

     “Tech…”

     “I’m in retirement now. I’m going to get some turtles hopefully, maybe some other pets while I’m at it. There’s a lot of room...It gets lonely all alone you know. It’d be nice to have you there with me.” He watched hesitance flicker across your face again just like the day Wilbur blew up L’Manburg. Your thoughts went to Tubbo and how much he needed you, especially now that Tommy was exiled. However, you were also brought back to a few moments ago where Tubbo snapped at you for trying to help. You took a ragged breath and pushed his hand away, he frowned sadly bringing his hand back down to his lap. 

     “I need to be here for Tubbo. He’s a kid Tech...way over his head. Dreams sniffing around him like a dog looking for his next victim to manipulate. I can’t let that happen, not to him. I know he’s President of this nation and you hate him for that, but he’s my brother and I love him. He’s a tough kid with a lot of fire, but I can’t just leave him in the dust. I love you,” You reached up and cupped his cheek and Technoblade felt his cheeks burn at the implication, “but I can’t leave until Tubbo is safe.” 

     “I’ll convince you one day.” Technoblade shot back even though his heart ached, that you wouldn’t be coming home with him. But Technoblade wasn’t known for giving up. He was stubborn as hell, he’d win you over yet. You’d come home with him, he’d confess to you and he’d make you the happiest person in the world. You just...didn’t know it yet. 

     “I’m excited for the day you do Tech.” You snickered softly, you both were startled by harsh knocking on the door.

     “That’s my cue. See you soon Starlight,” Technoblade hummed slipping right out the window, you watched him go longingly. You shuffled towards the door and opened it slowly, on the front steps stood Tubbo who was rocking nervously on his feet. 

     “Hi…” 

     “Hey LR...you okay?” Tilting your head to the side,

     “Is LR supposed to stand for little ram?”

     “Problem?”

     “No…I suppose not.” He murmured before clearing his throat and straightening his back, “I wanted to talk with you.” 

     “Oh?” You raised an eyebrow watching him nod his head sternly, you walked outside and closed the door behind you so you could lean on it. “Shoot,”

You watched as Tubbo swallowed thickly, “First off I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier. It wasn’t fair of me to snap.” He watched you nod a little urging him to continue, “however, I am the President now and you have to respect my authority.” Eyebrows furrowing together in frustration you opened your mouth to counter him but he held up his hand, “Dream has an idea of how to rule. He can steer me in a better direction-”

     “Pardon me?” You let out a disbelieving laugh, “A better direction? Tubbo, are you forgetting everything we all fought for, we fought him for independence. He killed us!” 

     “He might’ve changed!”

     “He exiled Tommy!” 

     “He deserved it!” Tubbo shouted back as your nose scrunched up, “He’ll steer me in a direction that you never could!” He snapped before realizing what he said, he slapped his hands over his mouth eyes widening to the size of saucers. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that-” 

     “Go home Tubbo.” 

     “(Y/n) please,” He reached out towards you and you held up your hand, 

     “Go reset the day. You need rest,” You frowned, turning back into the house “see you tomorrow.” Inside the house you shut the door on him and slid down onto the floor, you brought your hands to your mouth and swallowed thickly. A part of you wished Technoblade was still here just so he could tell you to get over yourself, he wasn’t skilled in the art of comforting others, but he could make you laugh. To keep yourself sane you reminded yourself that Tubbo was a child and needed you now more than ever, especially if he thought Dream was dishing out good advice. But you were hurt and a selfish part of you wished you could just go live in retirement with Technoblade and not worry about the new country forming, but you couldn’t ditch Tubbo. 

Running a hand through your hair you sighed loudly, one might wonder what exactly could Tubbo do to make you listen to Technoblade’s offer. Honestly, you had no idea if anything would make you do that unless of course they just started executing people or something ridiculous like that. 

Restless was how you’d describe the rest of your night, you tried to sleep but after a few hours of tossing and turning you gave up. You decided to make yourself a ‘healthy’ midnight snack, a small bowl of mac & cheese, you didn’t care, you were sad. You sighed softly scratching behind your cat’s ears, “It’s just you and me against the world Taffy isn’t it?” Her purrs rang in the air as she snuggled against your hand, distracting you just enough to swipe a noddle from your bowl. “You fat bitch!” You hissed as she ran off back up the stairs, you leaned back in your chair and sighed, literally nothing was going your way today. Just as you finished up your snack you heard a soft ping upon your window, turning to the sound you noticed your neighbor Phil awake in his house. He held up a hand and waved at you through it, and with a small smile, you waved back. He shuffled back into his home, I guess you both were insomniacs together, Techno knew how to pick a certain type of friend it seemed. 

You walked back up to your bedroom and slid under the covers once more, maybe you were wrong and things were going to get better. 

Months went by and nothing seemed to change much to your disappointment. Tubbo and you were still a little rocky, you had forgiven him for his harsh words but he always put Dream’s and even Quackity’s opinion before your own. When you came back from visiting Niki one day and saw wanted posters of Technoblade all around the country you almost had a stroke. You confronted Tubbo about it and only half answered you before running off when Quackity called him. That worried you, he normally didn’t like lying, especially not to you. 

The same day you were walking into the market to get some fresh fruit when a hand shot out from the wanted poster and pulled you behind it. You were held flush against someone’s chest who chuckled gruffly, you recognized that chuckle anywhere. “Techno! What’re you doing here?” You asked looking up at him with eyes filled with concern, “don’t you know you’re a wanted man?”

     “I think that just makes this all the more exciting.” Techno mused running his fingers through your hair, “Plus it’s not like anyone here can catch me.” 

     “Wrong I could catch you.” He dared to laugh in your face, 

     “Sure you could, and I’m half sheep.” Technoblade mused and he watched you huff cutely, “Don’t get all huffy at me you know I’m right.” You only waved him off, “seriously though I’m here to do some trading with Phil.”

     “Oh…” You gave a nod, “Will I see you more frequently then?”

     “You could see me all the time if you moved in with me.” Techno joked again and was surprised to see your face fall a little. Are you serious? Was he getting you to crack? “Starlight?” 

     “Ask me again in a few months and I might say yes,” You teased brushing the question off swiftly, Technoblade didn’t pry but he could tell you were almost convinced. Just what was going on in this country to make you want to leave your little brother? “Now shoo, go see Phil before he gives up on you.” You gave him a little shove and he stumbled off with a huff sticking his tongue out at you in the process. 

After that encounter, you didn’t run into Technoblade for another very long stretch of time. About a month or so after that encounter, Tubbo had shown up at your doorstep a complete nervous wreck. He begged you to help him, claiming he needed diamonds for an upcoming project and wanted you to acquire them for him. “Tubbo I don’t understand why I need to go on this trip? I have diamonds I can just give you. You know I don’t care.” 

     “But I feel bad about it,” Tubbo argued with you “please just do this for me.”

     “You know I’ll do anything for you. If you want me to get them this way I’ll do it. I should be back tonight is that okay? Do you need them sooner?” Tubbo looked relieved as he took your hands in his own, 

     “No tonight is perfect!” The boy chirped sounding more like himself than he has in months, you couldn’t help but smile. You ruffled his hair a little before kissing his forehead, 

     “Then tonight you shall have them, Little Ram.” 

Tubbo helped you gather the materials you needed for a trip down into the mines, Tubbo even gave you some fire resistance potions. You thanked him for the potions before putting on your armor and heading down into the tunnels. As you were down in the mine the concept of time was always an illusion, so when you finally found diamonds for Tubbo and you left the cave you were surprised to see the sun was just setting. You hummed softly to yourself walking back into New L’manburg excited to show off to Tubbo you couldn’t help but wonder what he needed them for in the first place. However, when you entered town you were greeted by a gathering going on at the center. Everyone seemed to be there clad in what looked to be butcher’s outfits, your vibe was immediately thrown off eyebrows furrowing in concern. Quackity was giving some sort of speech and that finally drew your eyes towards the podium, locked inside a cage was a fuming Technoblade. You rushed towards the group, pushing past Ghostbur and a blue sheep, and grabbed tightly onto Tubbo’s arm. 

     “Tubbo what the fuck is happening?” He tensed turning towards your face. It was no secret that you and Techno were friends, this wasn’t good at all.

     “(Y/n)! You’re back early!” He spoke nervously rubbing his hands together as Quackity turned towards you, 

     “Welcome back!” Quackity hopped off the podium with a smirk, “Fundy grab them.” 

     “Quackity hey wait a minute-” Tubbo started as Fundy roughly grabbed onto your arms pinning you in place, 

     “Ow hey! Watch it! Let go of me!”

     “Get your hands off them!” Technoblade snarled nostrils flaring grabbing the bars of the cage tightly. 

     “Quackity you said we’d leave them out of this!” Tubbo argued and your jaw dropped staring at Tubbo, “You promised!” 

He waved Tubbo off with a scoff, “they’re just as bad as Phil, Tubbo. She needs to be punished. We can't play favorites when trying to run a country. We’ll execute Techno then deal with the other traitors.”

     “Execute?” You choked, “you can’t be serious! Tubbo you cannot be serious, since when are you okay with public executions?” He refused to look at you, his hair covering his eyes, he only nodded his head in Quackity’s direction. 

     “Do it.” 

     “Tubbo!” You shrieked watching Quackity grin maliciously, moving over to pull the lever that would allow the anvil to fall and crush the man below it. 

What happened next was a cluster fuck, someone began trying to set off TNT, and Quackity pulled the lever. It fell rapidly towards Techno and he pulled something out of his pocket, in a flash of bright colors and bursts of light Technoblade was ripped apart and pulled back together again. He was alive, Technoblade really doesn’t ever die. He hopped on top of the anvil and jumped the bars of the cage, Fundy had long since lost his grip on you, he noticed Dream ushering him inside a cavern and he paused a moment. The hybrid turned towards you holding out his hand one final time, the world seemed to stop a moment and it was just you and him. His face held a desperate look in it, almost pleading you to take his hand within your own. You flashed back to the day Wilbur blew the country up, Tubbo called your name you glanced over your shoulder once towards Little Ram. You reached into your bag and dropped the diamonds you found for him on the ground, you grabbed Technoblade’s hand and squeezed it tightly. Technoblade smiled and yanked you forward, leaving a heartbroken Tubbo in your wake.