#im putting the crumbs down just there behind the trash can
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roach-works · 1 year ago
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the world is very big and terrible and so many things are dying. but i managed to give a wild field mouse a cracker yesterday. the long-grass field across the street is being cut and paved to build a warehouse and this winter will be the last one for so many mice. somewhere else the children of my species die on camera. i keep reading about it.
i keep looking at these pictures of a mouse.
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chiiyuuvv · 1 year ago
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can you write about seeun & reader & they are best friends and one night they went to convenience store together to get food but when they were about to leave they realized that it was like pouring but reader didn’t bring any umbrella or jacket so seeun gave reader his only jacket and ig it liked made the reader flustered and then like they played in the rain a little then maybe like seeun confesses to reader then they kiss & start dating maybe??
CONVENIENT STORE - SEEUN °
• PAIRING — bestfriend!seeun x gn reader (kinda whiny)
• GENRE — bestfriends to lovers, brief kiss in the rain, a shit show that i somehow managed to write
• WORD COUNT — 730
• AUTHOR'S NOTE — this writers block is insane. Like i have 2 more requests that i ALREADY planned out, yet i STILL am having a hard time writing. Anyways i know this was shit but there prob would be a part 2 (bc of my seeun bestie) so stay tuned
MASTERLIST! – JOIN THE TAGLIST!
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"Hey.." you eyes flutter open as you feel your body shake. "Go put on some shoes." a voice whispers in your ear, before walking out of your room and closing the door.
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And now you were walking with seeun, his arm wrapped around yours as you rubbed the sleepness out of your eyes. "Sleepy head." He chuckles, ruffling your hair as he drags you to a convenient store.
"Why.. are we here again?" You yawn, shutting your eyes as the bright lights blind you. "To hang out." He simple answers, grabbing a bag of chips and passing it to you. "We hung out yesterday." You reply.
"I missed you." He smiles with a shrug. "And just so you're not sitting down doing nothing all day." He adds, his hands lacing with yours as he drags you to the soda section. "Now do you want blueberry or grape?"
"Blueberry." You answer, your eyebrow raising. "You're acting different today.."
"Because im with my favorite person."
"What do you want??" You cross your arms. seeun wasnt just being nice without any reason; he probably wanted something from you
"To hang out with my favorite person in the whole wide world." He leans down to your level, his nose booping with yours as his sparkly eyes stare at you. "I-" you gulp.
"You two are such a cute couple." A random person comes from beside you, grabbing the drink you were just about to take with a small bow.
"Oh we arent-"
"Thank you!!" Seeun smiles brightly, waving at the girl before taking a strawberry soda and walking away. "Yah!!" You run after him, bumping into his shoulder as you stomp like a child. "What was that for?!" Your arms cross again, a light blush on your cheeks that you just wish wasnt there.
"Aww you look so cute~" seeun pinches your cheek to piss you off further, paying for the food with one hand, opening the bag of chips and stuffing one into your mouth with the other. "Come, come!!"
He drags you to a little sitting area behind the store, stuffing another chip in your mouth to keep you from talking. "Isn't today just nice??"
"It would be nice if you just told me what was going on." You huff, wiping a crumb from your mouth. "Then thats no fun." Seeun opens his drink, looking up at the sky. "Looks like its gonna rain.." he mumbles under his breath, more so to himself.
"It's gonna wha-"
"Lets go!!" He claps his hands, stopping your sentence as he throws the wrappers in the trash. Grabbing your hand, he walks you back to the sidewalk. "I can walk properly on my own, you know." You shake your hands from his, a pout on his face.
"Come on, pleasee??"
"Nope."
"My pookie wookie bear cherry on top-"
"Absolutely not." You cut him off, running ahead of the boy as he laughs. His arms wrap around your shoulders to slow you down, your back hitting his chest as he lifts up your head; his shiny eyes staring back into yours with a silly smile.
"Lemme walk you home." He whispers, leaning down to kiss your forehead when a water drop falls on you. "Eww, did you just drool?!" You exclaim, getting out of his hold.
"No, there was just a drop of water and-" a drop falls on his eyelash. "Why is there- oh yeah its raining." He deadpans, answering his own question as the rain starts to get a bit heavier.
"Well are you just going to stand there?? Its cold.." you rub your arms, turning around to find the boy still not moving for shelter. "Well then take my jacket." Seeun slips off his jacket, passing it to you.
"What, no, you're going to get cold too."
"No, it's fine, take it." He shakes the jacket around for you to take, sighing when you still shake your head no. "Fine, how about we make a deal, you'll wear this jacket and I'll keep myself warm."
"And how would you do that??" You look at the boy confusingly, stepping back when he steps towards you. "Like this.." he whispers before cupping your face, and placing a soft, short kiss on your lips. You get a faint taste of strawberry when he pulls away, his face redder than what he drunk.
"I definitely feel warm now."
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yamagucji · 4 years ago
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How they get your attention
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ft. kenma, ushijima, aone
note. ugh i love these quiet boys they need just as much love but have trouble asking for it sometimes
warnings. like.... a crumb- no, just a dust of angst, use of petnames/love nicknames
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KENMA
says “pay attention to me” in his mind and calls it a day. if you don’t notice then that’s on you
jkjk
okay but if you’re in public and kenma needs a bit more attention from you, he’d tug at your sleeves with a pout on his face
“i want to go.”
“hm, why? are you not feeling okay?”
his brow furrows. “its not that...”
“then,” you pulled his grip away from your sleeves, gently intertwining your hand with his. “what’s wrong?”
“i want to go home... and cuddle.”
kenma go >:( *grabby hands but very subtly*
he can be patient though
when you need a bit more time to talk to someone, kenma would sit somewhere close and just play his games
by play i mean — glancing up at you every few minutes while not really committing to the game
you know that thing where you’re at a party and you don’t know anyone there so you just go on your phone and hop from one app to another?
yeah that’s literally kenma
but if you’re talking to someone, say kuroo or lev, he’d be more comfortable to just coax you away instead
you: *talking to kuroo* ☺️
kenma: *standing behind you and staring daggers at kuroo* 😐🧍🏻
kuroo: 😟😰
if it’s lev then kenma’s already tugging at you to go home gkfjdhd
when you get there, he’d be so needy and DEMANDING
“no — here, i want you to put your hand here,” he mumbled, pulling your hand over to his hair
“now brush it... please” 😭✋
“like this?”
“yeah,” he let out a hum
all he wants to do is cuddle with you and don’t even dare suggesting playing games wit him now because that’s not on his priority list
“kenma, wanna play animal crossing?”
“no.” gkfjdhd PLEASE
“just... stay here with me, please.”
hmm🥺
but if you really wanted to play though, he’d let you because at the end of the day, he doesn’t want to force you into doing something you don’t wanna do
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USHIJIMA
would be a little conflicted at first
because you’re doing homework and he respects that!! but why does he get the need to just... be close to you
“are you doing alright with your work?” ushijima asked, turning away from the t.v screen
(he’s watching a movie on low volume, while you sit on the further end of the couch with your assignment)
“hm,” you glanced at him, careful not to lose your train of thought
“...need any help?”
and thus starts the repetitive questions throughout the span of an hour
time seems to go by just a bit slower when he’s not with you— feeling like he’s slowly being dragged into boredom
so without noticing, ushijima will turn to you and check in every 5-10 minutes or so 🥺
the movie has nearly ended (he paid special attention just like you asked him to) and you’re still buried in work :(
he pouts a little bit as he watches you
ushijima moves by instinct this time, laying his body on the couch and putting his head on your lap
“i hope you don’t mind,” he mumbled, and you shook your head
okay now where are his headpats 🧍🏻
ushijima would lay there idly, a little dejected that your hands are still preoccupied instead of giving him the usual headpats
a moment passes, then ushijima gently places his hands over yours
“if you’re not so busy, i’d like you to rub my head, please”
AYO THIS GIANT JUST,, LOOKING UP AT YOU, HANDS OVER YOURS AND- 🥺
it’s practically the same when you’re in public too
you’d be busy talking to someone or doing something when ushijima suddenly shows up by your side
he just stands there like this: 🧍🏻
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AONE
would be a little hesitant, while asking you really nicely🥺
“how long will you be playing?” he asked, steering his eyes off the screen and on to you
“hm, i don’t know,” you mumbled, much of your attention stuck on your game
he’d sit patiently beside you on the couch and just... watch
if you’re one to make commentary, aone will make sure to show you that he’s listening
“ah, i see,” he mumbled, readjusting himself a bit. there’s still a bit of distance between you two, but aone has a bit of yearning to be more closer to you
so he waits it out a bit more, until deciding to ask you,
“is it alright if i sit behind you? i won’t bother you or anything,” 🥺
and when you tell him he’s free to do so, he’ll very gently place himself behind you
he knows he’s a quite a big person, so he’s really careful when maneuvering himself when you’re still playing the game
then he asks again. “will you be playing for a bit longer?”
GKFJDH PLEASE JUST- THAT BOSS LEVEL CAN WAIT OKAY😭✋
“hm... maybe?” you gave him the same response
so aone sits quietly some more. you’re a bit startled to feel something on your shoulder— aone’s face, tucking itself on the crook of your neck
you glance down to a pair of droopy eyes :(
“angel...” he mumbled. “i know how much you like that game, but is it okay if we take a moment together?”
cupid the writer over here just needing to yell at u to give this man his attention
despite being tired, aone would muster up a bit more energy when you finally come to cuddle him
PLEASE TUCK HIM UNDER A BLANKET he is very sleepy but fighting it to get a bit more time with you
“takanobu,” you hummed. “you’re more important to me than video games.”
and he’d cuddle you just a bit tighter, nuzzling his head against you
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taglist. @lespaghetti @beanst0ck @sachirou-senpai @it-me-trash-blog @tadashi-simp @tetsoleil @bonkyandloki @kenanami @atsumuwoah @softkick @nishinoya-is-baby @globe-fish @hikari-writes @haikyuu-simps-assemble @nikki--han @wissbby @134340-cm @sullen-angel24 @waitforitillwritemywayout @1-800-jjk @kageruna @luna-in-luv @im-donejustendme @cloudytamaki
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dindadjarin · 3 years ago
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Reunited
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pairing: captain rex x Jedi!gn reader
word count: somewhat over 5k (im sorry)
warnings: none, just some diet angst and maybe some typos
summary: you and Rex both thought the other to be gone for good, but fate brings you together once again to prove you otherwise. A chance you thought was lost appears again and you must decide if you’ll take it or not.
AN: OK Y’ALL I know I said many times that I would post this and then I never do but hear me out. I intended to post this the week after TBB episode 7 came out but I got sick™️ my brain could not think of or type a single word for a week. Then life got busy with work problems and it took me another week to finish this. BUT I’m happy I can share with you now. So here you go, a shiny new Rex fic that I hope you like. Enjoy! (gif by @obihoekenobi​ not mine lol I cant gif)
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The Marauder makes a smooth decent into the Ord Mantell space port –a very welcome change after being tossed around the ship while trying to get away from Rhokai. Ruby, the lizard you stole from the Rhokai —named by Omega— moves restlessly around her cage. Hopefully she’ll end up in good hands once Cid delivers her to whoever is paying for the bounty. You’re still not sure what to make of the Trandoshan, but she’s been hospitable so far. At least hospitable enough to let clone deserters, Omega and a Jedi stay with her. Still, after what happened at the end of the Clone Wars, you’re not one to be trusting when it comes to strangers.
Everyone gathers their things by the hatch and wait for the familiar hiss of it opening to start their descent. When you don’t go to the main hatch, Omega and Echo being the last ones to head out,  turn back to look at you.
“You’re not coming with us?” Omega asks you after calling your name, which makes you shake your head no while sending a soft smile her way.  
“No, you go ahead.” You stand up from the seat in front of the main computer and run your hand over her head. “I’ll stay behind for a bit, I’ll meet you back at Cid’s later.”
“Ok!” The kid smiles. “Say bye to Ruby.”
You chuckle and decide to amuse her by crouching in front of the cage. “Goodbye Ruby, take care wherever you go.” You send the lizard a wave before standing up once more.
“We’ll see you later then.” Echo nods at you, the look in his eyes shows he knows why you’re staying behind. You return his nod with one of your own before turning around and heading to the back of the ship.
The floor is littered with ration crumbs, used socks and cables. Even Omega’s bad batcher had managed to find its way under a heavy crate. “I don’t even know why we’ve got you here Gonky, when all the trash is just thrown on the floor.”
The droid makes a sound that sounds a lot like an agreement. It prompts a chuckle out of you as you keep picking things up and placing them where they should be. You put Tech’s cables back on his bunk bed, the laundry on its bin, and the rest of the trash inside Gonky who beeps happily.  Once everything is back in order and the Marauder resembles a ship more than a junkyard, you clean your hands and make your way to a seat at the front of the ship. Your feelings had been all over the place lately, not that anyone notices, but you needed some time to meditate.
It’s important for you to find some peace in the midst of the chaos and the nervousness creeping up your neck whenever Wrecker gets a headache. Just as you’re about to sit down though, you remember Omega’s bad batcher, stuck under a crate in the back. You sigh and turn back around, better to help the poor trooper and leave it in Omega’s room, than having her and Wrecker move everything around later trying to find it.
You haven’t been travelling with the Bad Batch for a long time –you found them in Pantora only a few rotations back, when you had recognized Hunter at a pawn shop. Still, you’ve grown fond of them in your time together. They really are a family, with the bickering, the laughter and the care that makes you feel glad to come back every day. You had worked together before, when the batch helped your battalion on some missions during the clone wars, so it was a relief to see a familiar face in when you were all alone. You knew it was a risk to even call out to the Sergeant in the shop, not knowing if his chip would be active or not, but it was that or being on the run and jumping from one transport to another.
It was reassuring really, to know their chips didn’t function as those in other troopers did. Like the soldiers in your own battalion, your friends…
Shaking yourself from those bad memories, you make your way back to where you saw Omega’s toy. It’s under 2 crates behind some cargo boxes, that you start to rearrange. You move the first one with ease towards another pile, but when you lift the second crate and save the trooper, the bracelet on your right hand gets stuck on the crate it comes loose when you stand up.
“Dank farrik!” You whisper to yourself, putting the trooper aside and crouching down to get your bracelet back on. Upon closer inspection, it was only the brown leather cord that had come loose, the beautiful blue stone tied to the middle was still intact. “Thank the Maker.” You’re relieved to say the least, when you tie the bracelet back on your hand and rub the stone softly as it sits on your wrist.
It’s a reminder of the past, of the war that just ended in such a gruesome way, and a reminder of him. Rex.
The captain had given you the stone when he had come back from an underwater mission in Mon Calamari. He’d said he found it in the ocean and knew that if you’d been there, you would have picked it up as well. You had ignored his flustered expression to save him from further embarrassment and thanked him softly –all while your heart fluttered as your fingers brushed. Private interactions were always like that with him, shy and hidden as it had to be.
Even when feelings kept growing between you, they were kept under lock and key for the sake of the war. There was no time for it and it wouldn’t have been seen right. So it was a secret when you worked together and it remains a secret even now… he’s dead and you never got to say it, it’s like the two of you never had a chance.
The pain in your throat is familiar to you as you try to keep your tears at bay. You sit there on the floor of the Marauder and curse fate for sending you off to different missions before the end of the war. Now you live with the regret in your conscience, all the pain that comes with it and newfound guilt at the thought of your travels with the Bad Batch. You’re endangering them, and Omega, by being part of the crew.
What if you are recognized, what if someone hurts them to get to you? One thing is for sure, you must talk to Cid and find a way to leave on your own. Perhaps you can go to a secluded planet and work for Cid when she needs you, or you’ll stay in Ord Mantell. Whatever the plan is though, you know for sure that it must be alone –if someone’s ever going to get hurt because you’re a Jedi, that’ll be you. You unclip your lightsaber and throw it to the back of the ship in frustration, to think you believed things to be complicated before.
You let yourself cry for a few more minutes, and then meditate on your decision to leave the Batch for a couple more before you stand up, take your datapad on the way, and leave the ship. You close the hatch with your vambrace and make your way out of the port and towards Cid’s bar. The streets are dirty like you left them and somewhere far ahead a pipe has broken and it’s slowly filling the street with water. Sighing, you decide to take the the route through the market to avoid the small flood and your frown is immediately replaced by a smile when you see Omega and Wrecker enjoying two boxes of Mantell mix.
Omega spots you first and waves, which gets Wrecker’s attention. He calls your name and waves you over. “We have Mantell Mix!” He points enthusiastically to it as you approach the two.
“Best part of the mission!” Says Omega, offering you some. “You’ve got to try it.”
You chuckle and oblige, picking some of it and chewing it carefully. The sweet and salty taste is delicious, and you immediately know why the two have become addicted to it. “It’s delicious!” You tell them, and then a thought crosses your mind. “Have you paid for these?”
Wrecker chuckles, “We put them on Cid’s tab! It’s fine.”
“If you say so…” You shrug. If Cid hasn’t said anything yet, then it’s probably fine. “I’ll see you two back at the bar. Enjoy.”
“Bye!” Omega waves for a second before becoming engrossed with the sweet treat in front of her once more.
Though your smile is small it stays on your face as you turn right at the familiar alleyway leading to the underground bar. It continues to be there as you examine the art covering the walls next to the stairs, but it dies quickly when you reach the bottom and see the people sitting by the bar. There, between Echo and Hunter is Rex? In a poncho?
You drop the data pad  you were holding, and it clatters when it falls on the floor, the sound loud in the silence that has fallen over the group. Your eyes meet Rex’s, and you can’t form a single word. The air you had inhaled is stuck in your chest. “You’re- What?” Your mind can’t form a single word other than his name, especially when he stands from his chair and whispers yours.
“I thought you were dead. How? Are you travelling with them? Are you… okay?” The captain seems to ask question after question that you can’t pay your full attention to. Not when he’s looking at you like that, with genuine concern in his kind eyes. Not when he’s alive in front of you.
You throw all caution to the wind, then, and get over your initial shock to walk over to where he stands and put your arms around him. The confirmation that he is standing right there in your arms, is enough to make a shaky breath leave your lips as you place your cheek on his shoulder.
“Rex.” You whisper. The captain tenses for a second before his arms circle your waist and hugs you just as tightly. These are his brothers, you suppose, that’s why he’s letting his guard down.
When you step back, you can’t help but smile widely at the man in front of you. “Rex, I thought you were dead. You’re okay… but how?” You spot a scar on the side of his head and run your thumb carefully over it. It must be where he removed his chip from, otherwise he would’ve killed you on sight. The Captain, with his back to the rest of the group, closes his eyes for a second at your touch before he smiles softly.
“He is listed as dead according to the Empire’s records. And you are presumed dead according to your previous battalion’s reports.” Tech chimes in from his seat on the bar.
You chuckle and shake your head, still looking into the Rex’s eyes. “It’s so good to see you.”
“I could say the same thing. I thought I’d… never see you again.” His eyes scan your face, a small smile gracing his features as he does so. Then he spots your new set of clothes and raises an eyebrow at you. “Nice overalls.”
“Nice poncho.” You tease him back, motioning to the brown piece of clothing covering his armour. “My old clothes gave me away, I blend in better this way.” The shrug you offer his way is shy as his gaze never leaves you. You suppose it’s fair as yours can’t focus on anything else but him.
“It suits you.” He says softly, his head tilting slightly to the right as you share yet another long gaze.
“Well look who it is!” Wrecker laughs as he reaches the bottom of the stairs, startling you both and making you turn to look at the excited trooper. Omega follows him closely behind and seems surprised to see another clone at the bar. “Come here, Rex!” Wrecker says loudly as he moves past you and hugs the captain.
“I thought you didn’t like regs.” Omega questions with a tilt of her head but Wrecker merely laughs as he picks Rex up.
“This one we like.”
You chuckle to yourself at the look Rex sends your way before you move to stand by Echo.
“So… you and Rex are still a thing.” Echo states, keeping his voice low for the conversation to remain private. He glances to his right at you before taking a sip from his drink.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You smile as Rex kneels in front of Omega, speaking softly to her. He’s here, he’s alive.
“Oh, please. Everyone knew back then that the two of you had feelings for each other. Don’t tell me you’re still pretending you’re just friends.” Echo rolls his eyes when you look away guiltily. “I thought you would have said something by now.”
“It’s complicated, okay. There’s never any time.” You shrug, looking at the captain with longing –wishing things had been different back then.
Wrecker’s groan keeps Echo from saying anything else, and the way he clutches his head in pain makes a nervous shiver creep up the back of your neck. Rex stands up, and there’s weariness in his eyes. “What’s wrong?” His voice is low and controlled, assessing the trooper in front of him.
“Nothing it’s just a headache.” Wrecker dismisses Rex’s question, but you don’t miss the way Rex moves to stand protectively in front of Omega.  
Echo speaks up next, “Which are becoming more frequent.”
This only intensifies Rex’s worry, shown in his furrowed eyebrows, while his right hand reaches for something at his side. You immediately know he’s reaching for one of his pistols. “Is that so?” Rex asks skeptically.
There’s a new tension in the room and even Omega is nervous by the sudden change. The relaxed mood and demeanour of the group is gone, and now everyone is in high alert. Rex glances at you before his left hand gently holds your forearm so he can slowly pull you behind him in a protective manner.  
Tech goes on about the chips and how they’re not functional except for Crosshair’s case. But you know what Rex is thinking – it’s the same thing you’ve avoid thinking –Wrecker’s headache might be linked to the chip becoming functional.
Rex makes sure to shield both you and Omega as he addresses the group. “You’re telling me you haven’t removed your chips?”
“No.” Is all Tech says and the nonchalance in his tone strikes a nerve in the captain making you step closer to him.
“Rex it’s okay, we’re all fine. Nothing’s happened so far.”
But Rex’s demeanour has changed, he’s in battle mode now and you know it. He reaches for his pistol then, the blaster fully in display now, which prompts Hunter to try and mediate the situation and avoid any further escalation.
“Rex....” Hunter warns.
You know why Rex is so weary –he sounds almost scared. He must have witnessed soldiers with a fully functional chip too, just as you had, and that’s something that can shake up anyone. That, and the fact that you’re a Jedi, so you’re in danger as well as Omega should the chips activate. You had been alright so far, but Rex doesn’t let his guard down.  
“Those chips make you a threat to everyone around you. To them.” He motions to you, his free hand grabbing your forearm protectively again before he motions to Omega. “Even her. You’re all ticking time bombs.”
When he doesn’t remove his hand from the pistol Hunter tries to calm him down again. “Take it easy, captain.” The Sargent holds out his hand as he speaks.
“Rex, it’ll be fine.” You try to reassure him, but when he looks back at you there’s concern pooling in his eyes.
“What’s in their heads is more dangerous than you can imagine.” He tells you before addressing the troopers. “I’ve seen what happens when the chip activates, and I don’t want to bury any more of our brothers, or Jedi.”
He looks at you again in the last part and you swallow thickly. Your mind takes you back to the day you escaped the clone troopers that had turned against you despite fighting for years by your side. The troopers that became your family.
“Trust me. It’s not something you can control.” There’s a pause where he looks away from the group. “I couldn’t.”
There’s a strong wave of distress, pain, and guilt coming off of Rex, all these things swimming in his mind. You place your hand on his shoulder wishing nothing more but to comfort him.  “It wasn’t your fault, Rex.” You whisper.
Rex looks over his shoulder at you and his eyes soften, as if he needed to hear those words. Then he turns back to the troopers, his voice calmer but still hiding an urgent undertone.
“Hunter, this is a risk you don’t want to take.” He says finally and you see Omega is looking up at Rex nervously, he still has a hand on the pistol. Her weariness disappears quickly though, when he stands up straight again at the nod he receives from Hunter.
“How do you suggest we get them out?” Hunter says finally, seemingly convinced, and worried about Rex’s warning. He always looks out for his brothers.
“Good question. I need some answers first.” He nods. “I’ll be in touch.”
The Bad Batch nod their heads and you drop your hand from his shoulder. You gaze away from everyone as your heart starts to beat loudly with anxiety on your chest. He’s leaving again… you just found him and he’s leaving.  
Rex speaks your name quietly, stopping your train of thought. “May I have a word with you?”
You meet his eyes once more and nod. “Always.”
The captain holds your shoulder gently as he walks to the two of you further away from the group, his voice stays low as he speaks. “I…uh wish you could come with me and not stay behind. Wrecker’s chip, it worries me, especially if you’re around him. But I don’t know where I’ll have to go to get this information. I’d hate it if anyone spots you or hurts you when you’re trying to lay low.”
“I’ll be fine, Rex, please don’t worry. I have been so far, no?” You raise an eyebrow, pretending your heart isn’t hurting at the thought of him leaving. You pointedly ignore how your chest flutters at his concern too, his tone reminding you of when you had to say goodbye before missions. “Besides I can defend myself should anything happen.”
“You know that if all the chips activate there’s a big chance you can get hurt. The kid too.” Rex furrows his eyebrows, his gaze leaves yours to look at the floor instead. “Of course, I worry, even if you can handle yourself. You’re okay, after everything that happened. I thought I lost you back then… I just don’t want it to happen for real.”
“I understand. You’re lying low too, and last thing you need is a Je- well someone like me with you…” You hold his face softly and his gaze back to yours. You smile, trying to ease his worry. “We’ll have their chips out in no time. It’ll all work out, just go, I’ll be okay.”
“Please take care.” He says seriously, stepping closer to you. His right hand reaches out but stops just before touching your face, like he changed his mind at the last minute. “Take care of the kid too. And if you need anything or anything happens you can find me on this comm channel.” He gently grabs your hand holding his face and inserts a code on your vambrace, he doesn’t let go when he’s done.
“You be careful too, Rex. Please.” Your thumb rubs the back of his hand, and he responds with a squeeze. It’s like neither of you want to let go, your hands clinging to each other in fear you won’t see the other again.  
The captain gives you a small smile, his beautiful eyes showing so many emotions like you’ve never seen before. Emotions you know are mirrored in your own eyes. “I will. I hope to contact you soon.”
He nods at the rest of the Bad Batch before he lets go of your hand and walks to the door. He stops by the entrance and looks at you over his shoulder once last time before he finally goes up the stairs.
You keep your gaze in the doorway for a few more minutes before turning around. When you do, the Batch is staring at you, Tech and Wrecker seem confused, but Hunter and Echo give you knowing looks that have you looking away.  
“What?” You try to ignore their staring as you sit by the bar.  
“You like him!” Omega says smiling and taking a seat next to you.
You’re open your mouth to say something, but Echo takes a seat next to you and says your name in a matter-of-fact tone. “You’re in love with him and so is he. It’s pretty obvious.”
“Woah!” Wrecker gasps, jumping over the counter to stand in front of you. He leans his chin on both of his hands as he looks at you in wonder, headache forgotten. “You and Rex are together?”
You shake your head. “No, we’re not together.”
“But you don’t deny being in love with him.” Hunter says, leaning against the counter on your right side, behind Omega. “When did that happen?”
“It’s story time then.” You sigh, leaning your chin on your palm as you look at your friends staring at you expectantly. When Tech reaches the spot next to Wrecker who stands in front of you, you shake your head and tell them about you and the captain.
“Rex’s Legion worked with mine in many occasions. We worked really well together and in that grew a friendship.” You look down at the blue stone of your bracelet and smile. “We kept in touch even while in different missions, spent our days off together and our feelings just... sparked.”
You can’t think of a different word to describe how fast your feelings for the captain had developed. From stolen glances to laughing with him, it all led ultimately to you falling in love with Rex. His smile, his heart, the empathy and intelligence with which he spoke and acted, captivated your heart until you knew it would forever be his.
“We haven’t said anything, and nothing ever happened. I was a general, there was a war going on, so we pretended to be just friends in front of everyone. Which is technically what we were… we never acted upon our feelings.” Another sigh leaves your lips and you’re not sure when your vision has started to blur, but you shake your head to clear your thoughts and shrug at your friends.
“There’s no war now, you can tell him how you feel.” Omega says, placing a hand on your forearm.
“The kid’s right. We haven’t seen you smile so much before. Not like you did from the moment you saw Rex again.” Hunter speaks up too. “I think you two would benefit from being honest about your feelings.”
“I tried to tell them that!” Echo  nudges your shoulder with him. “You make him happy.”
“You should tell him.” Omega repeats and you smile softly at her before looking down at the counter top.
“Perhaps.”
-----
The next time you see Rex is one rotation later, after he contacts and requests all of you to meet him in Bracca. You had given Echo the coordinates and anxiously waited next to him until your arrival while the rest of the crew watched Tech build an inhibitor chip scanner. Thankfully, wrecker’s chip hasn’t come online but the intensity of his headaches only keeps growing, which makes goosebumps appear on your arms whenever you think about it. It’s like flashbacks from Order 66 come back to you, memories of fleeing while your friends chased and shot at you. You stop the dark memories when you hear Echo say your name.
“Are you okay?” He asks with genuine concern. “You look troubled.”
You sigh and shake your head. “I’m alright. It’s just that this whole inhibitor chip thing reminds me of what happened the day the war ended.”
“You’re safe here, you know that.” His left hand reaches out to pat your shoulder. “No need to worry about Wrecker, he’ll be good as new soon.”
“I guess you’re right.” You shrug. “How much longer until we get to Bracca?”
“Shouldn’t take very long.” He says before he raises an eyebrow your way. “Why? ‘You excited to see Rex again.”
“Echo stop it.” You shake your head, but you decide to be honest with him. “But yes, I can’t believe he’s okay.”
There must be something about your tone when you tell Echo this that his gaze softens. “The two of you have been through a lot together. It was a given that you’d see each other again, fate keeps bringing you together.”
You chuckle and look out of the window. “Everything is so uncertain though.” The words are mumbled but Echo hears them.
He looks at you for a long moment before he stares straight ahead once more. “There will always be uncertainty, don’t let that stop you from doing what you want.” Is all he says, before announcing you’re dropping out of hyperspace.
The moment the Maurauder lands on Bracca, you can spot Rex’s ship and go down the hatch behind Hunter to meet the captain outside. He meets you halfway with a smile on his face and you stop on your tracks for a moment because of the lovely sight in front of you. The sun is bathing him in warmth, his eyes turning another beautiful shade of brown with it. You also can’t keep your heart from skipping a beat at the familiar sight of him in uniform, his helmet held by his side.
“Right on time.” Rex says shaking Hunter’s hand. “General.” He approaches you and offers a nod –you can’t help but to roll your eyes with a smile.
“The Jedi Order is no more Rex, you don’t have to call me General anymore.” You shrug looking into his eyes. “Besides, I like it better when you use my name.”
Rex chuckles at your words and scratches the back of his neck in a flustered manner. “It’s a habit I guess.”
“How is a junk planet gonna help us?” Wrecker asks when he approaches the group, making everyone look back at him first and then to Rex for the answer.
“Bracca may not be much to look at, but it has exactly what we need. Follow me.” The captain puts his helmet back on and starts to lead the way through the junk until you’re climbing what seems the underside of a wrecked ship, the height of the metal scrap gives you a perfect view of a Jedi Cruiser sitting in the distance.
“That is why we’re here.” Rex states, pointing at the cruiser. “I had my chip removed on a Jedi Cruiser just like that.”
“Then why did we land all the way over here?” Wrecker asks.
You ponder Wrecker’s question in your mind for a few seconds and conclude that there might be something or someone out there you must hide from. If you had flown the Marauder directly into the Jedi Cruiser, they would’ve notice you right away.
“Get down!” Hunter says, after spotting something in the distance. Everyone crouches to keep out of sight and Rex when you follow Hunter’s gaze you confirm what you had just concluded.
“That’s why.” Rex points at two scrappers standing on a platform. “Scrapper Guild, they control the entire planet.”
Nobody says anything else as you walk to the Jedi Cruiser with new resolve not to be spotted. The familiar sight brings fresh memories to mind, the old briefings, the trooper fights in the cafeteria, that you may or may not have aided, and the missions with the captain currently leading the way. As you get closer to the ship, Rex tells Omega about its model and how it was one of the first ever produced, which amazes the young clone. This seems to entertain Wrecker as well who can’t help but joke about Rex’s shared information.
“First of the line, just like you. Huh Rex?” The trooper chuckles at his own joke and you shake your head, walking along until you catch up with Rex.
“I trust you mission went smoothly?” You ask him, squinting your eyes at the sun.
The captain’s helmet looks your way for a second before it tilts to the side as he shrugs –a body language you’re familiar with. “You could say that. It wasn’t easy but I got the information I needed.”
You remember the pain and guilt that came off him in waves back at the bar and you frown. Unsure of what he went through but remembering what he mentioned about not burying anymore of his brothers, you doubt the captain is as calm and collected as he appears on the outside. So you ask, “And how are you?”
Rex sighs, “Life… is different now, being on the run, but I’ll get used to it. What’s most important now is to make sure the Empire doesn’t get away with what they did to us, to the Jedi…” He straightens his shoulders and looks ahead but you know him, the foundation of what he fought for just crumbled to the ground one day and it must have affected him more than he leads on.
“How did you find out about the chips?” You ask trying to change the subject for the time being. The last thing you want is to rub salt on a fresh wound. You have plenty of those yourself.
“Fives tried to warn me about the chips, but I didn’t understand at the time.” He shakes his head and looks over to Echo who has fallen into step next to the two of you.
“It’s still hard to believe now.” Echo tells Rex, and you know he’s trying to let Rex know that it’s okay if he didn’t either when Fives told him, something you know Rex would hate himself for�� even now. You give Echo a comforting smile, placing your hand on his shoulder at the mention of his close friend.
Everyone reaches the cruiser without another word, and as all of you wander through debris filled hallways, Echo and Rex talk about how he got his chip out. You listen in silence, staying alert of your surroundings while still going over the thoughts circling your mind. You remember Rex leaving with to Mandalore Ahsoka– that was the last time you saw him– and you wonder if Ahsoka helped him with the chip removal. If she did, you hope she’s alive so you can thank her if you ever get the chance. The conversation dies once again when you reach the end of the hallway, as it is divided in half by a chasm leading towards murky water.
“The medical bay is on the other end.” Rex says before he spots a long cable to his right. He looks at you then, and when your eyes meet, you get an idea of what he’s thinking.  “Wrecker grab that cable.”
“Why? Wha-What are you going to do with it?” The trooper asks nervously, and you sympathize with his fear of heights. He won’t like this plan.
“We have to cross to the other side.” You say, taking the cable and calling on the Force to jump across to the other part of the hallway. You secure the cable on your side while the others do so on theirs before everyone starts to cross.
Rex is the first one, followed by Hunter, Echo, Tech, and Omega. Wrecker is the last one, and very hesitant to cross but Omega’s encouragement seems to convince him to get on the cable. The problem though is that the cable isn’t strong enough and it comes loose on one side. Suddenly, Wrecker is hanging in the air his foot caught on the cable while something else stirs on the water.
“Are you alright?” Hunter asks, his voice worried at the sight of bubbles coming from the bottom of the water.  
“No! It smells awful down here.” Comes Wrecker’s response a beat later.
The bubbles seem to become larger before they completely disappear. “I have a bad feeling about this.” You say, growing at the water. There’s eerie silence that follows, before a creature with teeth and tentacles tries to get a hold of Wrecker.
“PULL!” Omega says, shining her flashlight at Wrecker, before grabbing a hold of the cable to help the rest of you pull.
You use all your strength to pull him up, but the he creature takes him under the water, making all of you fall to your knees. Worried about Wrecker, you do the only thing that comes to your mind, you jump and dive in to help him. The water is cold against your skin, the temperature shocking your body before you focus on trying to see Rex under the murky water. Once you spot him, you use your lightsaber to cut him loose from the creature before the two of you grab the cable and emerge with a gasp.
“Climb!” You tell him, and he nods, beginning his ascent with the help of this brothers at the top. You follow suit, trying to get as far away from the water as possible.
Once you reach the hallway at the top you collapse on the ground for a moment, breathing heavily as the adrenaline in your body starts to lower.
“Are you two okay?” Hunter asks you, worry in his voice.
“We’re fine.” Wrecker tells his brother, and the response makes some tension leave the Sergeant’s shoulders.  
“Makes you miss battling clankers doesn’t it.” Rex jokes and you can’t help to chuckle as you stand up.
“You can say that again.” You tell him, before everyone continues to the medical bay that is straight ahead.
“This will do nicely.” Rex says, shinning his flashlight around and finding a lot of medical equipment lying around.
“I wouldn’t call this med bay a sterile environment.” Tech mumbles, spotting tiny creatures on the walls and rust everywhere.
“Do you prefer to use the one on kamino?” Rex asks sarcastically and you nudge his elbow with yours, to keep him from saying anything else. Tech was only observing, of course he’ll comment on how dirty the room is for a surgery.
“Hey…” You reprimand Rex softly and he chuckles.
Tech stands up straighter at Rex’s question, knowing no good would come from the Kaminoan facility. Only your capture or execution. “This will do nicely.” Tech says, changing his mind about the salubrity of the place.
Everyone starts to settle into the room after that, Hunter placing Wrecker’s gear on one side of the room and Echo bringing all systems back on like for the surgery. Tech keeps himself preoccupied with his scanner, putting it near Wrecker’s to know the exact location of the chip.
While he does this, you can see Omega is being troubled by something. She approaches Hunter to let her concerns be known. “Hunter, just because the surgery worked on Rex, doesn’t mean it’s safe.” She holds her arms around herself, looking for some sort of comfort. “This is dangerous.”
You approach her and so does Rex, who’s the one who speaks up next. “It’s more dangerous to leave the chips in.” He says and puts his helmet down. Meanwhile you sigh, either of the two options make Omega nervous, she’s worried about her family.
Hunter places a hand on her shoulder, his eyes honest and open to her worries. “We have to do this. It’s worth the risk.”
You step closer to her crouching to be at her height level and be able to put your arm around her. “And what if it’s dangerous?” Omega asks. “I would be left here with no one.”
The young girl looks away, her eyes are starting to glaze over with tears at the thought of losing the Bad Batch, the ones who took her in. Omega is looking for reassurance from Hunter, not you, so you stay quiet and rub your hand up and down her arm for comfort. The sergeant seems to ponder his next words before his eyes leave no room for further question as he says:
“We’re not going anywhere Omega.” His hand finds its way back to her shoulder. “You’re stuck with us for the long run.”
You smile softly at the two of them before you stand up and see Rex looking at the scene in front of him with a pleased smile on his face. The captain is probably surprised to see this softer side of Hunter, that Echo had mentioned before started when Omega became part of the Bad Batch.
“Get that away from me.” You hear Wrecker complain as Tech continues to scan him, and his anger starts to be felt through the Force. It makes you frown.
“Something’s happening.” Omega says, eyebrows furrowed at the look in Wrecker’s face.
“We need to speed things up and you have to go somewhere else.” Rex tells you, his eyes scanning your face and finding clear worry in your features.  “You’ve all been lucky so far, very few clones were immune to the effects of Order 66.”
Hunter sighs as he leaves Wrecker with Tech and walks with Rex to where Echo is prepping the machine. “When the regs attacked the Jedi General on Kaller, we didn’t understand why. But at least we helped the padawan escape.”
You see Wrecker clutch his head in pain, his groans becoming more frequent as the Hunter and Rex speak. You sense anger and fear coming off Wrecker, both of them conflicting over each other as if he’s fighting back the chip’s command. Your eyes widen then, and you address Hunter and Rex when you speak.
“You should stop talking, it’s making things worse for Wrecker.” You grimace when you feel his pain through the Force, it’s sharp, like an open wound just above your ear. You need to help him, now.
“How much longer until everything’s ready?” You ask worriedly.
“Not much longer.” Says Echo, tapping the controls next to a machine for a couple more seconds. “Done.”
But it’s too late, Wrecker had become quiet a few seconds before and when he speaks up again he doesn’t sound like himself.
“You’re in direct violation of order 66.” All of you stand there in shock as Wrecker seizes Tech by the neck, his pupils dilated and a terrifying look on his face. When he throws Tech against a wall, who crumples to the ground, all of you switch to battle mode.
You’re about to reach for your lightsaber when Rex turns to you, keeping you out of sight. “You have to go somewhere else before he sees you.” His eyes are full of fear and though it hurts, you shake your head no.
“He already knows, I’m here. We have to help him.” You say, looking behind Rex’s shoulder just in time to see Wrecker aim his blaster at the rest of you. “Get down!”
All of you dive behind a piece of metal that had fallen from the ceiling, Hunter holding Omega close to him to keep her from getting hurt. Three shots barely miss you and Echo who’s crouching on your left.
“He’s going to destroy the equipment!” Echo tells the five of you, reading his own pistol. As Wrecker continues to shoot the room, you realize that he’s right and if he keeps blasting the equipment, none of the clones will be able to get their chips out.
With a deep breath you summon the bravery your known for, the best option is to draw him out, and who better to do that than yourself. You stand up.
“Hey!” You yell and ignite your lightsaber. The green light floods the dark room as you speak. “You want to kill a Jedi, huh? Come and get me then!”
You use your saber to deflect the blaster shots Wrecker sends your way as you run out of the medical bay. Deciding to put some distance between Wrecker and the room, you turn left at the doorway.
“No!” You hear Rex calling your name. If you had told him what you were planning to do first, he would have objected. Now you’re certain he’s going to be coming after you, always willing to help.
As you keep deflecting blaster shots and using your speed to your advantage, you hear the troopers come running behind the two of you. Wrecker is relentless in his chase, grabbing anything he can and throwing it your way to slow or knock you down. Whichever works best you suppose. One of those objects though end up being a hug metal beam that was sticking out from a wall, which Wrecker is quick to grab and send it flying your way.
Sensing this though you turn around and call of the Force to stop it. The piece of metal is suspended in the air for a moment before you push it towards Wrecker, knocking him down and buying you some time. You duck behind some debris, and peak through a space in between them when you hear the trooper stand up again.
It is then that you spot Rex behind Wrecker’s shoulder, he seems to be planing something with Echo. When you meet his gaze, he nods, and you get an idea of his plan. You leap out of your hiding place and run towards Wrecker, at the last minute you duck and slide under his legs–nearly missing being grabbed by him. The result is what you were hoping for, you got him to look over in Rex’s direction.
You see movement behind Wrecker again and realize that Echo circled the medical bay to approach him from the back. The Bad Batcher, however, spots Echo and uses all his strength to send him flying towards you and Rex– who stuns his friend instead of Wrecker and falls limply to the floor. The force with which you were knocked down leaves no air in your lungs for a moment and you feel your arm sting from a long cut you got from a piece of metal.
Wrecker looms over the three of you, and you try to reach for your lightsaber to defend your friends but it’s nowhere in sight. You’re about to reach for Rex’s pistol when Hunter jumps on Wrecker and tries to help you by keeping him in a chokehold. Wrecker’s strength is quick to overpower his, and soon enough Hunter is being chocked by his mind-controlled brother. As Hunter clutches at his neck desperately, trying to loosen Wreckers’ grip, there’s a sound of a blaster shot going off. It’s not from Rex’s pistol you’re holding but from a gun Omega has taken a hold of.
Her face turns into a scared expression the moment Wrecker starts running after her–all four of you forgotten for the time being. You ignore the pain in your arm and sit up, checking on the Echo and Rex who seem okay but still unconscious.
“You’ll be fine.” You whisper to Rex, leaving his pistol by his hand and seeing your lightsaber a couple of feet away. You use the Force to bring it to your hand before looking back to the three men lying unconscious on the floor. “Hang on boys, I have to save Omega.”
With that you take off running in the same direction as Wrecker and Omega, and as you round a corner you see that Wrecker is inside what seems like old living quarters. He is moving things around, looking for the young clone, who he finds hiding under another piece of metal. You run towards them then, Wrecker unable to see you because he’s got his back turned to you, blaster pointed at Omega. Your heartbeat is erratic as you step in front of him putting his sole attention on you and not Omega.
You see his finger about to trigger the blaster and call on the Force to keep him from moving. He yells in frustration at not being able to shoot his blaster but still tries to, making you use all your strength to hold him back. “This is your family Wrecker! Your friends! No chip can change that, you need to fight it.”
“Good soldiers follow orders.” He mutters as he fights the Force, and when you can’t hold him back any longer he yells and forcefully tries to take a step closer to you, making you lose your focus and fall backwards.
Omega yells your name when Wrecker raises his blaster once more, ready to shoot you, but in that moment he’s stunned and falls to the floor. You lift your gaze from Wrecker to the doorway and find Rex standing the clutching his head, and his pistol raised in the stunned Bad Batcher direction.
You sit there, heart beating loudly and hands shaking. Wrecker almost shot you and you almost died had it not been for Rex. You look at him with wide eyes and he must see the fear in them because he’s rushing forward in a heartbeat. He approaches the place where you and Omega are currently sitting in shock and kneels in front of Omega first.
“Are you hurt?” He asks, looking over the kid’s face, searching for any sign of injury. When Omega shakes her head no and crawls over to where Wrecker is lying on the floor, he brings his attention back to you.
Rex’s hands gently take a hold your face, his eyes scanning all your features almost as if he’s making sure you’re really there in front of him. Your eyes begin to water at the utter relief you see in his eyes, your heart bursting with love for him.
“Thank you.” You whisper, it’s so quiet you’re not sure he hears it. But he does. Rex wipes one of your tears away and closes the distance between both of you.
His lips touch yours and it’s like everything falls into place and disappears all at once. You’re so relieved to be alive and so caught up in the love you can feel coming off him, that everything around you disappears for just a second. It’s a short and desperate press of lips, the two of you looking for some reassurance and getting to say things you can’t with words. A few seconds later, Rex pulls away.
“That was an incredibly reckless and terrible plan. Are you okay?” His voice trembles the tiniest bit, giving away just how nervous he had been to see you stand in front of Wrecker, ready to receive a blaster shot.
“Yeah.” You whisper looking into his eyes but then you remember your arm. “Well, no. I think I’m bleeding.”
“Your arm!” Omega gasps, kneeling next to you and looking at Rex with worry.  
The captain follows your gaze, and his eyes widen at the sight of the long gash on your arm. “We need to take care of this.” He says –his voice is serious, and he frowns when you shake your head.
“We have to help Wrecker, first.” You insist. “This can wait. Come on, let’s get him back to the med bay.”
The two of you take one of Wrecker’s arms, throwing it over your shoulders and holding his weight to get him out of the room and back to the operating table. Omega leads the way, looking back at her friend worriedly every few seconds. As you reach the doorway you meet Hunter and Echo who are now awake and help you the rest of the way. Tech has resumed his post in front of the controls, most likely readying the machine for the surgery.
“I’ve just brought the systems back online. You can put him on the table now.” He says, and you don’t miss the way he glances nervously towards Wrecker. Everyone is worried about their friend, the ray of sunshine of the group who turned into a completely different person by a tiny chip. You bite your lips with worry when the machine starts to work and are brought out of your own head by Rex’s gentle touch on your shoulder.
“Let’s get this cleaned up, yeah?”
You nod, and move to sit on a crate while Rex gets bandages, cleaning wipes and bacta cream, Echo had in his backpack. You look at the cut once more, it has stopped bleeding but it stings when you move it.
When Rex comes back he sits in front of you and you notice the way he doesn’t meet your eyes. “May I?” He asks, gesturing to your arm which he takes when you nod your head yes.
His hold is gentle while he works. He takes a wipe to begin disinfecting the wound which draws a hiss from your lips. Rex grimaces before apologizing, resuming his work with furrowed eyebrows. You see his eyes try to meet yours but him tearing his gaze away before he’s able to look at you and you frown. You know that look, his tense posture and the frown on his lips. He’s blaming himself and you won’t stand for it.
“Rex?” You ask softly and he stops his work for a second before resuming. “Stop it, it’s not your fault.” You chastise him gently, you know what his attitude means. He’s thinking of all the possible ways he could have prevented you getting hurt and hating himself for it.
“It doesn’t matter, I hate seeing you hurt.” He sighs, taking the bacta patch and securing it over the wound before wrapping the bandage around your arm.
“Would you at least look at me?” You ask smiling at his stubbornness. There’s a second of silence before he finally meets your eyes. “Only you would blame yourself for a cut in my arm after saving my life, Rex.”
He chuckles, not helping it, at  teasing smile on your face. “I just want you safe.” His hand reaches out to cup your cheek, his thumb rubbing it softly.
“And I am.” You say and motion your arm. “I’m also patched up too, thanks to you.”
The captain chuckles again and brings his hand back to his side. He seems calmer now, with less tension on his shoulders.
“Is it supposed to take this long?” Echo asks Rex, bringing you two back to the present.
Rex stands up and offers you a hand which you take to stand up too. Then, Rex let’s go and moves to stand next to echo by the table. “I’m not sure. I’ve never been on this end of the surgery.”
You go to stand next to Omega, who has a worried look on her face as the procedure goes on. You place a hand on her shoulder and offer a smile. “He’ll be okay.”  
It doesn’t take any longer than 2 minutes for Tech to announce that the surgery was complete and successful. However, when it takes Wrecker longer to wake up the Bad Batch gets anxious, worried about their friend’s vital signs. Rex tries to tell Hunter to take Omega upstairs to get some air but just as you’re about to shake your head, Omega refuses to leave Wrecker’s side. The two of them are almost inseparable, you know she will wait for as long as it takes her friend to wake up.
Knowing this family needs some time to be together as they wait by Wrecker, you bump your shoulder against Rex’s to get his attention.
“Can we talk?” You ask him, motioning to the door with your head.
The captain smiles, copying the same answer you gave him back at Cid’s bar. “Always.”
You return his smile with one of your own, which turns shy when it’s only the two of you heading out of the door and towards another corridor for privacy. You have to tell him, you’ve wanted to for a long time and now your heart is desperately telling you to be honest be brave and love him openly, and let yourself be loved. Times of uncertainty shouldn’t hold you back they should help you make the leap, if youre not promised tomorrow then you’ll live for today. When you speak up, your voice is quiet but full of pent up emotion ready to burst.
“Rex, there are many things I want to talk about but this is what I need to say first…”
The look in his eyes brings some tears to your eyes, concern, and love in the beautiful brown that its unique to you.
“I was so sad because of everything I lost, I believed to have lost you. I couldn’t handle knowing that I never told you I love you. Because I do, beyond I can put into words. I… I’m so glad you’re okay and here with me.” You let your tears fall, and your smile takes over your face. Now he knows for sure and that’s all you’ve wanted.
You see him process all your words, eyes showcasing a flurry of emotions, until he reaches out and brings you close to him in a tight hug. It’s impossible not to sink into his embrace, much like you did back at that bar, your arms holding him close to you. Like part of you thinks he’s going to disappear.
You don’t think you’ll ever forget the way he whispers I love you in your ear or the way his lips move against your cheek as he speaks softly. “I’ve wanted to tell you for so long but I– well I didn’t think the time was right until… until I thought you died and realized the right time had always been there.”
“It’s alright, we’re both alright.” You whisper shaking your head against his shoulder.
“Yes, I guess we are.” The captain says, pulling back just enough to look into your eyes. When they meet, they’re both glazed over with emotion and when your eyes drift down to his lips he doesn’t hesitate to lean in and press them to yours.
This time, the kiss is slow, not solely out of reassurance but also out of love and want. What you’ve both waited for, to show, to say and to feel, the reaffirmation of a love that seems to endure even the hardest challenges. Your hands go from his shoulders to his hair, where you let your touch go over the scar on the left side of his temple– the reminder that he’s complete himself now. When you pull away, you let your lips steal one more kiss, a soft laugh escaping you. Rex chuckles before speaking once more.
“Would you come with me? Once we help them.” His forehead is against yours, as the words are whispered between the both of you. A wave of anxiousness comes from him, and you hear it in his voice as well. He thinks you might reject his proposal, as if your heart wouldn’t shatter the second the two of you part. “I know you think it’s dangerous for me to be with you, but I want you by my side whatever the danger may be.”
He’s right, only a rotation ago you were thinking of the danger you put everyone in because you’re a rogue Jedi. You were willing to go live on your own and work for Cid to make ends meet, all so that everyone else can be safe. But that was before you knew Rex was alive, and before you realized that the danger is worth it if you get to be together. There is no time to waste, especially not with the claws of the Empire trying to grab you anywhere you go.
“Yes.” You whisper back. “Of course, I’ll go with you.”
Rex’s smile is blinding when you both take a small step back, and his hand stays in yours on your way back to the med bay. Wrecker’s just woken up and the relief of everyone in the room and in your chest is so big it brings fresh tears to your eyes.
“One down, three more to go.” Rex smiles, holding up Tech’s scanner.
The rest of the surgeries go as smoothly as the first, and you roll your eyes jokingly at Echo when he comments how it was about time– he spotted  you and Rex holding hands. Once everyone is almost ready to leave, except for Hunter who had gone upstairs to get some air with Rex, you address the friends that have become a small family to you in a short time.
“Guys, I have something to tell you…” You fiddle with your fingers looking down at them before bringing you gaze back to them. There’s a lump forming in your throat, even though going with Rex is something you really want. “Rex, he offered me to go with him and I said yes. So it’s time to say goodbye I guess.”
Your vision blurs as you look from one trooper to another, when it lands on Echo and he gives you an encouraging smile, you break. Taking three steps towards him you put your arms around your friend, someone who’s become a real support from the first time you met. A brother.
Echo hugs you back and there’s a small smile on his face. “We’ll miss you but you two belong together, good luck.”
You wipe your tears and nod. “I’ll miss you too. So much.”
Wrecker gives you a crushing hug which you gladly return, glad to have him back. All laughs and good times. Tech hugs you too much to your surprise before Omega takes a hold of your hand.
“Will we see you again?” She asks. There are tears in her eyes and similar ones appear on yours.
“Of course you will.” You say softly, crouching in front of her. “This goodbye isn’t forever. I’d miss you too much.”
Omega nods before hugging you, her arms going around your shoulders. “Goodbye.”
When you let go and look back at the group, you wipe away your tears and give them a final nod. “Whatever you need, you let me know.”
With that you make your way to the south exit where Hunter and Rex stand, saying their own goodbyes. You smile at the carefree look on Rex’s face, he’s more relaxed now, happier, even though you sense much grief in him.
“Stay out of trouble Captain.” Hunter says, offering Rex his hand which he takes and shakes.
“Funny. I was going to say the same thing.” Rex teases back before letting go of the Sergeant’s hand and spotting you. “Ready to go?”
“Ready as ever.” You smile and then look at Hunter. The one who let you join the Bad Batch and offered you shelter. “Thank you Hunter, for everything.”
“That’s what family is for.” Hunter nods, and then becomes surprised when you hug him. You feel a wave of gratitude coming off of him. “You need anything, you know how to find us.”
“And you know how to find us.” You step back and return his nod.
Rex comes to stand next to you, his helmet back on his head. It brings memories of old times and you can’t help a big smile from appearing on your face again.
“Where are we off to now?” You ask Rex, your hand finding his like a magnet.
Though you can’t see his face you hear the smirk on his voice as he starts to lead the way. “You’ll see, love.”
So you follow him, down into the fog and all the way back to his ship where you know new adventures await you.
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voidselfshipp · 4 years ago
Text
Lautibule
Ok to rb
Cw: food ment, mild swearing, ask to tag
Taglist: @lilacslovers @girlboss-mrsschnee
Tumblr media
The wind blew mercilessly on that afternoon, sighing quietly to herself she looks down at the city.
Her knees against her chest, there was a comforting aspect of the city below her, even if the noises were many and its habitants were restless.
Jerico was a writer, an artist with a very soft heart and wild emotions.
She grabbed her sketchbook re-reading whatever nonsense she wrote down.
Her heart ached for someone to love.
The appartments door clicked softly as she entered her home and closed the door behind her.
She quietly sits on the sofá, turning on her TV as she pulled her laptop on her lap.
Ignoring whatever Shenanigans the avengers got themselves into.
Nothing, absolutely nothing came to mind, her writing skills gone with the Savage Winds of the outside.
Groaning she closed the laptop and left it on the coffee table.
Dragging herself to her room she kneeled infront of the bottom shelf of her library, pulling out a book.
--There it is!-- she mutters quietly to herself before sitting in bed.
Mythology was her favourite subject to read about.
And one day finally something came to her mind.
Its another windy day, she paces along the rooftop of her appartment complex.
-- "loves a trickster nobody is safe from...
Even the most stoic of humans, whose heart resembles a rock.
Can tell you about love.
Sometimes it makes hearts of gold crack, dimming the shining after not loving back.
But yet we Keep loving, and we Keep moving.
Loves a trickster but thats why we love it "-- she said to herself, then sighing-- god, its so cheesy-- she sits on the floor, grabbing the piece of paper and throwing it behind her.
A bird Lands on it, jerico is unaware of this as she goes back into the complex.
Loki de-transforms when she leaves, Reading between the crumpled paper, then looking at the little shed that lead back into the appartments.
He kept the poem, hung it on his wall, thanking that he lived right Next to her.
The Next day he did the same
Another piece discarded, out of uncertainty and self doubt, jerico thought that they were trash, yet loki thought they were the most beautiful things he had ever read in his life.
--" why our hearts suffer?, why do we cry when our hearts are broken.
They say that there are Many fish in the sea, but when your net breaks every time you try, then why Keep going, we start to wonder if its out wrong doing.
Hope is a dangerous thing, but its also why we Keep trying.
One day we May catch a fish, big or small, it doesnt matter.
We Keep trying because hope is love,because out of hope we mend out Nets and Keep trying.
And even if our hearts break...
Hopes warm embrace hands us the needle and thread and says 'try again' " --the god coos Reading the poem, and hanging it on his wall.
An idea sparks in his mind, he wasnt the best at this, he shouldve payed attention in poetry class when he was a kid.
The Next afternoon jerico found a note.
"For the girl that writes poetry.
-the Man from Next door."
She reads whats below the note.
"They say that one Mans trash is anothers treasure.
You dont measure your words as you say so.
You chasticize yourself when you let go.
Throwing away your writings not good, yet they made every single one of my afternoons.
Your writing is just as beautiful as your voice.
Please,dont silence your hearts voice.
Pd: yeah I rhymed voice with voice,sue me
~the Man Next door"
Jerico smiles softly taking the Note and putting it in her pocket.
Loki quietly sneaked by, watching her from the little shed that took into the appartment building.
--"With every note"--jer started-- " I sing my song
Troubled hearts pull eachother, in their eye of the storm they find peace.
One day I shall find my missing piece.
But with every Poem I write, and the crumb you just left me.
Maybe it wont take long before I find my own eye of the storm"-- she turns around on her Heels and loki freaks out-- how long have you been standing there?-- jerico said walking towards him-- did you leave this note?
The trickster stutters-- I I uh yes I did, I just-- he sighs-- I couldnt let your beautiful poems go to waste
She smiles-- thats very nice of you....
-- loki,im loki
Jer raises her eyebrows-- the loki? The dude who invaded us all those years ago?
He sighs scratching the back of his neck-- not my finest moment, Will my errors of the past prevent me from inviting you over for a cup of tea?--he makes a stop-- I didnt meant for it to rhyme...
Jer giggles,taking his arm-- not at all
He smiles and both walk to his appartment.
--Here you go-- loki said handing her a Cup of tea.
--why thank you
He nodds leaning back on the sofa-- if you dont mind me asking, why is it that you write?
Jer looks at her tea and then him-- the reason why poets write, to talk about their problems, their sorrows and pains
He nodds-- well, you have a very beautiful way of expressing yours
--Heh, thanks loki
So, every afternoon after jerico read her poems to loki theyd go for some tea at his place.
The god was madly in love with her, he knew that if his brother were there he'd get endlessly mocked for it.
Yet here he was, inviting her over for dinner at his place.
They sat on the couch with the food ready, the TV as background noise as they talked about their day.
--and the cashier freaked out when she saw you?
Loki nodds scoffing-- I cant even go and buy food anymore
Jer giggles--well, shit happends
He nodds-- indeed-- looking at his food, the god takes a deep breath-- I have to tell you something
Jerico looks up at him -- what is it?
Its better if he just says it-- im in love with you!
Jer is left there astonished, she puts her food on the coffee table and scoots closer to him-- well,I Also am...
The Man looks at her and hugs her-- thank god
After eating they go cuddle on Lokis bed, he pressed his head on her chest, as she caressed his hair--wanna hear a poem I wrote?
He hugs her by the waist nodding-- yes please
-- "latibule, it means a cozy, safe and hidden away place.
We found that space for our pained hearts to rest in the most unexpected people.
Sometimes they come out of nowhere with no warning, but thats what makes them plausible, latibule.
And I think I found it, in a mischevious god from all people.
With the most beautiful eyes I could get lost into"
Loki laughs pressing a kiss to jericos lips-- youre the most romantic human I ever met, and thats why I love you
Jer kissed him again pulling him closer as both crawl under the blankets-- I love you too loki
Slowly they fall asleep, loki wondered how did he get so lucky? He found himself a keeper that would take good care of his heart, and he'd make sure to return the favor.
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devil-in-the-d3tails · 4 years ago
Text
It’s the End of the World as We Know It - Chapter 1
summary: During the international quarantine in your first-ever pandemic, the people around you slowly begin to disappear. As the world grows quieter and quieter, you find yourself all alone-- no power, no friends, and only one goal: to find whoever of your friends might be left and reunite with them.You're naive to think anything can be that simple. As you're faced with ever-increasing loneliness, you run into some boys who apparently went to the same high school as you. Will you join forces with them to figure out your strange circumstances together, or will you brave loneliness in a world that is slowly crumbling apart?
Link on AO3!
words: 4,452
rating: M - Mature
genre: angst/humor, romance, adventure, apocalypse AU, reader-insert
warnings: sort of depressing content, a smidge of violence, cursing
a/n: hello, hello! this is my first fic for haikyuu (originally posted on AO3), and i wanted to post it on tumblr as well just for shits n gigs. please enjoy!
- Beginning of the End -
It was a Thursday the day everyone disappeared.
The world was quiet outside, but it was loud in your phone, on account of the international quarantine. Everyone was tweeting, making dumb videos, playing video games. You would sit in your room for hours on end, scrolling through your phone as you mourned the loss of your senior year of high school. No prom, no graduation, no more arts and crafts club. It was bad enough that your closest friend group had been disbanded before your senior year even started-- it was just bad luck, but they all left to live in different states while you were left alone in suburbia.
You stayed home with your mom while your dad went to work-- he was considered an essential worker, as he worked in the grocery store. Your mom was much more active than you, constantly cleaning or cooking or going for a walk. It was admirable, but it irritated you how she would always try and get you to interact with her activities. She did it because she was probably worried about you, and she was probably lonely. You were lonely, too-- your friends lived miles away in the vast expanse of the suburbs, and your home was tucked into the fringes of soccer mom society. Your backyard was larger than most, and it was perfect for when you would host kickbacks with your friends. Recently, however, you had no reason to use the large space.
On Thursday, you decided to put down your phone for a while and play fetch with your dog. She was the biggest and fluffiest best friend you’d ever had, a german shepherd named Indie, short for Indiana, as in the archaeologist. You thought the name was fitting, because she could find almost anything with her nose-- you and your mom had trained her to do that a few summers ago.
Your mom had gone on a walk before you decided to play fetch with the dog. You had left your phone on the kitchen table. It wasn’t until the sun began to set and you felt your arm begin to ache when you noticed that she’d been gone for a while.
You gave Indie her stick, though she sniffed and whined at you stressfully. You frowned, and let her inside as you checked your phone. A few notifications from your friends’ group chat:
 4:47pm
Kimi: Anybody else’s power go out?
Callie: omg i thought it was just Ohio!
Kimi: Nah, we got it in Connecticut, too.
Emily: New York, too!
They were asking if you had experienced the same thing.
 6:48pm
Me: i didnt notice, i was playing with indie. wbu, sami?
 Sami had moved to L.A., about two hours from your home, so you guys were able to hang out most weekends if you took the train or if she drove out to you. She didn’t even read the chat.
 6:48pm
Me: bitch i know ur in quarantine smh read my message
[Kimi, Callie, and Emily liked your message!]
 You dialed your mom’s number as you went to turn on the T.V., only to be met with static. You frowned, and surfed a few channels only to be met with more static before you turned it off. Her voicemail blared through your phone speakers, and that was when you started to worry.
You hung up, called your dad.
“Hey, honey!” He answered-- he must’ve been on break.
“Dad, did the power go out?”
“Yeah, for a couple minutes there. Did it happen at home, too?”
“Yeah…” You trailed off. Indie licked your hand, and whined some more. “Hey, mom’s not answering her phone and she’s been on a walk for a while. Like, three hours.”
“Huh.” Your dad let out a contemplative sigh. “Well, I’m sure she’ll be okay. Maybe she’s talking with the neighbors and her phone died.”
“Maybe.”
But maybe not. You had a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach, and Indie could sense it as you sat on the couch. She slowly tried to inch her way into your lap, as she never really had a good idea of her own large size. You just let her and scratched her ear.
“Listen, honey, I gotta go. But we can make mac-n-cheese for dinner, how’s that sound?”
“Good, dad.” You said, biting your lip. “Okay, see you when you get home.”
Then, you hung up, and you waited for your mom.
[-]
When your dad got home, you went out to search for your mom. On your tour of the neighborhood, you came across others who had broken quarantine and were searching for their loved ones, too. Saying they went for a walk, or to the store and they didn’t come back.
Your dad remained the voice of reason, saying things like well maybe their phone died, or this is all just some big prank we’ll all laugh about later. You stayed silent.
[-]
Saturday was when your dad didn’t come home. His car was nowhere to be found, but you didn’t trust yourself to drive your mom’s car just yet. Or rather, you didn’t want to drive it because you didn’t want to be reminded that it was permanently vacant. You walked all the way to the store an hour after he was supposed to have gotten off. Manager Dan wasn’t there, either-- nobody had seen your dad at all that day; he was a no-call, no-show.
You walked all the way back home.
9:52pm
Me: my dad’s gone now too
 10:05pm
Callie: fuck.
Callie: my sister…
 10:06pm
Kimi: I still haven’t heard from Sami.
Emily: Yeah, me neither.
 10:15pm
Me: we should check in every day with each other
[Callie and Emily liked your message!]
 10:32
Me: Kimi?
 [-]
It’s Thursday again.
Emily has stopped answering by now, and the frantic search parties that used to pass by your window every now and again have stopped, too. Even Twitter is quiet-- it seems with every passing day, more and more people go silent. As you lay on your bed with Indie at your feet, you keep refreshing your feed on every social media app, but nothing changes-- all of the posts are old. It feels like your world is shrinking while at the same time expanding into a terrifying void.
 5:38pm
Me: callie?
Callie: im here.
 You breathe a sigh of relief, which turns into a sob into your pillow.
 5:39pm
Me: idk how long we’ll have wifi or even electricity.
Callie: my parents are still here. Come to ohio, seriously.
 You bite your lip. You think about Sami, and how many times she pried the truth out of you when you were sad, how she was the only one who would sing with you at karaoke, how you promised to move to New York together.
 5:39pm
Me: i have to find sami.
Callie: please just come here. We need to stick together.
Me: i’ll find sami and we’ll come to ohio. Then we go to NY to look for em and kimi.
 5:45pm
Callie: okay. Please text.
Me: i will. I promise i’ll come to ohio.
 You bite your lip, and glance at your phone’s percentage: 43%. You sigh, and put it on the charger while you go downstairs to scrounge for breakfast. You only woke up about two hours ago, though you can’t sleep much, anyways. You think to yourself how your mom would be scolding you for waking up so late.
As you eat the last poptart, Indie lays down on your feet. You toss her a couple crumbs, she eats them gratefully. You sigh, and look at your now empty pantry-- you have to try and go to the grocery store, whether you like it or not. You only have your permit, but you know that you’re a terrible driver. Still, you get up and put on shoes and grab your jacket. You probably don’t have to worry about cops or the law anymore, anyway-- you suspect everything has disappeared.
You look at yourself in the mirror; you didn’t think your outfit for the apocalypse would be sweatpants and a hoodie. With a sigh, you change into jeans and a long sleeve, layer a flannel on top of that, and your favorite jacket on top of that. It’s cold outside-- much colder than you’re used to.
Based on the incredible silence on Facebook, you figure that most of the adults have disappeared. As you drive further and further into town, you notice some obvious signs of looting from once pristine houses: trash littering lawns, doors left wide open. You get the haunting realization that you’re perhaps the only person left in your neighborhood. It’s amazing how quickly things can turn in just a few days.
When you pull up to the grocery store, you notice there’s only one other car there-- a white van, stationed by the curb and still running. You actually pull into a parking spot like some kind of society bootlicker, and cautiously put the car in park and turn off the engine.
You watch the van for a moment, slowly becoming hyper-aware of the very real possibility that you might run into robbers. Your stomach growls, and you take a deep breath. You should’ve brought Indie.
Grocery bags in hand, you exit your soccer mom minivan and lock it. Steeling your nerves, you put one foot in front of the other. As if on cue, two figures hurry out of the store, glancing behind them before they notice you. The automatic doors have long since stopped running, so they just pause in the doorway while you freeze on the curb, the fumes from the van tickling your nose.
They’re both boys holding bags you assume to be filled with groceries: both around your age, one of them has gray and black spiked hair, and eyes as wide and aware as an owl’s. The one next to him has dark, short, almost curly hair, and his gaze is calculating and cold.
You take a small step back, unsure of what to say. They seem just as apprehensive, when the van door slides open forcefully.
“Hey, what are you doing? Get in!” Another boy, this one of a larger build than the two in front of you with jet black spiked hair, snaps angrily.
“Kuroo, we have a situation.” The curly-haired boy says evenly, though he’s tense. His knuckles are white holding his bags.
“Huh?” The one who must be Kuroo says, and cranes his neck to the side to spot you. “Oh, shit.”
“U-um…” You stutter out, and you suddenly feel extremely cornered-- it’s three against one, and what if they want to take your car? What if they have some kind of weird cult and need a girl for breeding? “I’m just gonna get some-- some poptarts and leave.”
“Holy shit!!” The gray haired one seems to have broken out of his stupor, and he rushes over to you, dropping his bags and their contents on the ground in order to grab your shoulders. “Another person! A-a girl!”
“Yes, she’s a girl…” The curly-haired one sighs, puts his bags in the van and begins to gather up the other one’s forgotten groceries.
“First one I’ve seen in a while.” Kuroo grins and hops from the car to stand beside the gray-haired one who still hasn’t let go of you. You don’t have the balls to tell him to get off-- you’re not sure how dangerous these boys are. “How long have you been hiding out?”
“Come with us! We’re at the high school.” The gray-haired one beams-- how could he possibly be smiling?
You don’t know what to say, so you look away. Your voice seems to be caught in your throat, and that’s extremely frustrating-- but you’re not about to cry in front of these guys.
“Quit it, Bokuto.” The curly-haired one is eyeing you carefully, though not as if you’re a threat. He seems to be the only one that can actually sense your discomfort. The one that’s holding you-- Bokuto-- sighs, and lets you go, instead putting his hands on his hips.
“We should at least help her.” He points out, and grins down at you. “What’s your name, anyway?”
“She’s not gonna tell you. Let’s just go home.” Kuroo shrugs, and you cross your arms.
You tell them your name, if only to spite the taller one. He turns with a grin, and it only just occurs to you that perhaps, that was reverse-psychology. You huff, and look away with a little bit of a blush.
“Like I said, I just need to get poptarts and some other things and then I’m going back home.” You mutter.
“We’re wasting gas.” The curly-haired one calls, as he has already sat in the front seat.
“Hold on, Akaashi!” Bokuto calls. “Listen, there aren’t anymore poptarts in there. None whatsoever.”
Your heart breaks a little, but you keep it together.
“There’s, like, rice and stuff, but I think that’s it.” He shrugs, and turns to get into the van. You bite your lip--  might as well ask rather than waste your time wandering around all alone.
“Is there any dog food left?”
“Huh? Dog food?” Bokuto is right back in front of you. He and Kuroo speak at the same time:
“You’re gonna eat dog food?” Bokuto says. “You have a dog?” Kuroo says, and the two boys glare at each other.
“Yeah…” You say, though you still haven’t gotten an answer to your question. “I mean, I have a dog.”
“Yeah, it’s in aisle five.” You hear the one called Akaashi tell you, without even bothering to turn to look at you.
“I know that.” You snap-- your dad used to work in this store, you know it pretty damn well. Akaashi glances back at you then, probably a little surprised by your defensive tone. You huff, annoyed at yourself for being so touchy. These were the first people you met after about three straight weeks in quarantine, and they might be the only people left for miles. You need to play nice.
“My dad works here.” You explain, looking down at your shoes. Kuroo nods, exchanges a glance with Bokuto. “Well, he used to.”
A silence falls over the group-- they know. You all know, now, what it’s like to lose a parent, or any loved one, for that matter. You blink quickly to fight back any tears that might threaten to escape.
“We’re staying at Karasuno High-- it’s the high school near Flat Top.” Kuroo says. “If you want to join us, we’re kind of setting up camp there.”
“There’s more of us!” Bokuto explains. “We’re gonna find some mattresses after this to bring ‘em back so we can all stick together.”
“Oh, cool.” You say half-heartedly, unsure of why exactly they’re inviting you over as if it’s some kind of fun sleepover. “Wait, you guys went to Karasuno?”
“Yeah! You, too?” Bokuto lights up, and you look at the three boys a little closer, though you don’t seem to recognize them.
“Yeah… but I don’t think we were in the same circles.” You finally smile a little, albeit sadly, now that you’re remembering all the things you’ll never be able to return to now that school and society are essentially gone.
“You ever go to any volleyball games?” Kuroo asks, obviously encouraged by your smile. You shake your head.
Akaashi has exited the van by now with a sigh, coming to stand beside his two friends as he takes a look around. “We need to get going. If you want to join us, you know where to find us. But it’s gonna be dark soon.”
That seems to smack some sense into the other two, and they exchange glances with one another. Kuroo nods, Bokuto sighs, and the two get back into the van. Akaashi pauses, and you accidentally lock eyes with him.
His gaze betrays nothing, and you wonder for a moment how he ever became friends with these two. He reaches into the van, and pulls out a familiar blue cardboard box, gives it to you.
You take the poptarts, and glance up at him questioningly-- he puts a finger to his lips with just the hint of a smile. You smile back.
“Listen, it’s great you have a dog-- keep him close. And get home before it gets dark. And…” He glances to the side uneasily. “Get a baseball bat or something.”
A chill goes up your spine at that last part, and you frown, but nod to the boy in front of you anyways. He returns the nod, and gets in the back of the van. You both share a glance at each other one more time, and it feels as if he wants to say something more, but he doesn’t. He just slides the door closed, and Bokuto waves to you out the window.
“Byee! Hopefully we’ll see you later-- hey, where’d you get those poptarts?!” Bokuto’s voice fades away as the van drives off, and you are once again left alone.
[-]
You gather a fair amount of stuff-- rope, for some reason is included in your loot. You always saw people in the movies get rope, so you figure you’ll find some use for it.
There aren’t any baseball bats, but you do find a hammer and a paring knife. It’s small, but better than nothing. You load up on the dog food, and even manage to haul two huge bags of kibble into your car. As you load it up, you can’t shake the feeling of someone watching you. Even though you look around and make certain that you’re the only person present, the feeling doesn’t go away. You sort of wish you’d gone with those boys now.
You aren’t surprised when the street lights don’t turn on, but you take that as your signal to leave. Even though you want to scrounge for more supplies, you don’t want to risk it. Akaashi’s words of warning hang over your head like a humid fog.
As you drive home, you can’t stop chewing on your lip. Even with your headlights on, it’s hard to see, but you don’t want to turn on your brights and draw more attention to yourself. Just get home, lock the doors, and check in with Callie.
You park the car in your backyard because the garage door won’t open-- the power’s finally gone out. You close the backyard gate and lock it as soon as you’re out of the car, but somehow you still feel uneasy.
As you enter your dark home, you softly call out Indie’s name, and you hear her scamper up to you.
“Good girl,” You whisper, and scratch her ear. You decide to leave the larger groceries in the car for now, as you don’t want to go back outside and keep making trips of transferring the supplies into your house. For now, you need to sleep so that you can ignore the hunger in your belly and stretch out your rations just a little further.
Indie guides you up the stairs and into your bedroom as you set your bag down heavily. You come across your phone with dismay, finding that it hasn’t charged at all since you left, and is now at 7%. You bite your lip, and open up the almost abandoned group chat.
 9:57pm
Me: callie im gonna come to ohio soon. I think we are gonna lose connection tho. Idk if this will even send, but ill see u in ohio. I love you.
 The message doesn’t send. You shudder out a sigh, and you’re grateful when Indie nuzzles into your side.
Your phone finally shuts off, though it’s useless now, anyway. You crawl into your bed and Indie curls up next to you, and you fall into an uneasy sleep.
[-]
“Shh!”
You jolt awake at the hissing sound that’s coming from downstairs. Indie is tense and alert, and she licks your elbow. You sit up, and vaguely note the time: 3:37am.
There’s some shuffling, and you see the beam of what you assume to be a flashlight shakily illuminate the walls downstairs. You didn’t close your bedroom door when you came in, because you assumed that you were alone.
‘Stupid…’ You think to yourself as you grip Indie’s collar. She begins to growl, but you shush her quickly, though she flattens her ears back at you. Letting out a shaky breath, you crawl off of your bed as silently as you can manage, and reach for the hammer and paring knife in your bag.
Indie follows you as you venture into the hallway, and you perch behind the bars of your stairs as the hushed conversation down below becomes clearer.
“Just find whatever food you can and let’s go.” A deep male voice cuts through the silence.
“We need to check the car! There’s nothing here.” A stranger male voice answers, and giggles. “We should find the girl instead.”
You tense, and grip the hammer a little tighter.
“I don’t care about her. I just want her stuff.” The deep voice asserts, and you wonder what you should do next. Storm downstairs and hammer them to death? You’ve never fought anybody before, let alone killed someone. Your hands are becoming clammy, and you don’t notice the pregnant pause in the conversation downstairs.
It isn’t until you see a head of brown hair come into view that you’re snapped from your thoughts. Indie can’t help herself-- she barks, and bolts down the stairs before you can stop her. The two boys yell in surprise, and you watch as she tackles the tall one with brown hair. Meanwhile, the other one comes into view-- he has large, droopy eyes with spiked red hair, and he looks excited when he catches sight of you.
“There she is!” He coos, and begins to walk upstairs. You gasp, and you know in this split second that your home is no longer yours-- you need to get away. In one fluid motion, you run into your room to grab your single bag of groceries. It’s heavy, but you don’t notice as adrenaline rushes through your veins.
When you turn to run down the stairs, the red-head catches you by both of your upper arms. He licks his chapped lips, and your knee jerks out to hit his groin. He yelps and doubles over, and you fly down the stairs.
“Indie!” You whistle, and she actually bounds from the living room over the couch, to skid by your side. You swipe the car keys off the counter, rip the sliding glass door open, and use the fob to unlock the car. You open the passenger for Indie, she leaps in as you toss the bag and your hammer and knife in behind her, you slam the door closed, and hop over the hood of the car.
As you turn to open the driver’s side door, you watch as the red-head runs in slow motion from your stairs to the exit to your backyard. You don’t breathe or shake as you turn the ignition, throw the car in reverse, then drive, and plow through your flimsy backyard gate as you push your little soccer van to its limits.
Tires skid as you swerve onto the street, and you press down so hard on the gas, that a few minutes later, you don’t register that you’re going 90 miles an hour in the suburbs. Houses pass you at incredible speed, and you ease up on the pedal when Indie licks your cheek. You stare straight ahead, and subconsciously, you drive towards your high school. Those three boys were nice to you-- they warned you, and you didn’t listen. They even tried to help you and include you, and you flat out denied them.
You slam on the brakes as you turn into Karasuno High’s parking lot. It’s only now that you realize that you didn’t fasten your seat belt, and you shut off the car with a shaky breath. The front of the school looms over you, and you wonder for a moment if they’re even here-- was it all a joke? What if they turn you away because you were such a bitch earlier? No matter how many scenarios you run through your head, you come to the same conclusion every time: you can’t go back home, and you’re already here, so you may as well investigate. You grab your hammer and get out of the car, and Indie follows behind. You close and lock the doors, pocketing the keys, and turn towards the school you’ve known for three and a half years.
The front gates are locked, of course. You wander the perimeter of the school, Indie trotting beside you the whole way. The school looks different in the dark-- it feels different, too. It’s like you’re walking in a dream, or some sort of in-between space. You shouldn’t be awake, and you definitely shouldn’t be here, but you are. It’s strange. Everything is bathed in moonlight, so it’s all a very specific shade of blue that makes you feel like you’re underwater.
You come upon the gym in the back of the school, and you’re startled to hear voices coming from inside. You tip-toe up to the doors, and Indie sniffs curiously. 
“If your leg gets cut off, would it hurt?”
“Please just go to sleep.”
“Duh!” A third voice chimes in, and the second voice groans.
“How, though?” The first voice presses.
“‘Cause your leg got cut off, dumbass.” Third voice answers.
“Where’re you gonna feel the pain?”
“In your leg…” The third voice trails off.
“Exactly, man. How’re you gonna feel the pain in your leg if--”
“--if your leg is gone?!” The first and third voice finish together, and you hear the second person groan.
“I’m going outside.” He says, and as his voice gets louder, you stumble away from the door just as it opens.
You blink rapidly and your jaw drops-- Akaashi stands in front of you, brows furrowed and eyes wide. You can’t believe they’re actually here.
“Akaashi?” Someone calls from inside. Akaashi opens his mouth to respond, but glances at Indie when she sniffs his hand curiously. He pets her absent-mindedly as his gaze wanders back to yours.
Bokuto and Kuroo pop up behind him a second later, and they’re just as surprised as Akaashi. Indie sniffs them in turn, and her tail begins to wag.
You drop your hammer with a thud, and sniffle like a toddler before letting out a sob you didn’t know you’d been holding.
“C-can I stay with you?”
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sinsforjeon · 5 years ago
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Discipline {Three}
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[This one sucks but I sWEAR it gets better 🤩 and thank you for over 700 followers💖👄💖 ily!]
Your father has had enough and so he goes to greater measures to make sure you leave your bad ways behind.
Ot7Xreader, foul language (god is always watching), future smut, dom!bts, brat!reader, sadhours! softhours! smexyhours!
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“This is what he meant when he said I would be needing my energy?”
“What? Were you expecting to be fucked or something?”
Your mouth hangs open at his crude words and you wish you were at least 3 feet taller so you could strangle him.
“You’ll catch flies, doll.”
You are more speechless at the mess that is presented to you. Clothes everywhere, empty boxes of pizza and a bunch of crumbs.
“What the fuck? Are you guys pigs or something?”
“Get to work, you only have 30 minutes!”
“You expect me t-“
“Ok! Good luck, doll!”
With that he leaves the room and shuts the door behind him. You now understand why Jungkook had to room with you, his room was trashed. So much for being a ‘king’
You move around the space, picking up a months load of laundry. How anyone could function in such environments is beyond you.
You quickly clean the room, well as quickly you could anyways before Taehyung comes bursting through the door.
“Wow, it looks pretty decent.”
“I’m sure it does. Am I done now?”
“Done? We’ve only just begun.”
He smiles as he leads you to your next mission. Cooking. You can’t cook for shit and you try to reason with Taehyung but he waves you off with a smile and leaves you alone once again.
There’s a bunch of vegetables and cooking utensils laid out in front of you and you start to panic, not knowing which one to begin or end with.
You huff in annoyance as you remember that you don’t have to do anything they demand of you but just as you’re about to quit, Namjoon’s words ring in your head.
“Be good and I’ll reward you.”
Reward? What kind of reward? Suddenly your head is filled with filthy thoughts and you groan at your sexual frustration.
“Fucking Kim Namjoon and his stupid words.”
“That’s a bit too harsh, no?”
You look at the man in confusion, you had met him but their faces were taking some time getting used to.
“Can I help you?”
“I think I should be asking that question.”
He says as he gestures to the messy counter and you sigh defeatedly.
“To be fair, I tried to warn Taehyung.”
“Here, I’ll help you.”
His words shock you. He’s being nice and you can’t help but to think that it’s an act.
“Alright buddy, what do you want?”
“To help?”
“Sure you do, come on, out with it.”
He eyes you with an amused smile before chopping up whatever vegetable he was holding, taking over your spot.
“Since when do you act all obedient, hm?”
He asks and you glare at him unable to find your words.
“You look like an angry cat, it’s quite cute actually.”
You curse him in your head before throwing him a forced smile.
Dinner goes surprisingly well. All thanks to Jin of course. There are no fights and although Jungkook and Taehyung tease you, you manage to keep your cool.
You smile when you’re dismissed to your room and quickly hop in the shower before bed. You are about to make your way out when the door suddenly bursts open.
There he is. Staring. Staring?
“Nice tits.”
“Jungkook- get out!”
“I need to piss.”
You cover what you can, feeling vulnerable to his wondering eyes.
He smirks and moves closer to you until he has you trapped between his body and basin.
“You know,” He trails off as he takes his finger down your arm. His touch so gentle that it leaves goosebumps behind.
“You’re gonna have to get used to me, hm? We are cuddle buddies after all.”
“What does that have to do with thi-“
“All I’m saying is you might wake up with my head between your thighs.”
You gape at him and he winks before placing a soft kiss on your nose.
“You might want to leave now, unless you want to see my di-“
“I’m leaving!”
You groan as you quickly get dressed and get in bed. You say a quiet prayer for whatever is to come because that’s how unpredictable Jungkook is.
You feel the bed dip besides you and you’re glad that he keeps his distance and as you are about to doze off you feel his arms around and you’re too tired to fight him off.
The next morning you are woken up by something warm and soft against your neck. You slowly come to your senses as your eyes adjust to the light that pours into the room.
“Ah, you’ve woken up, slept well?”
“W-What are you doing?”
He doesn’t answer but rather gets on top of you, his hands on either side of your head as he holds himself up.
“What do you think I’m doing?”
He asks as he moves his face closer to yours. You swear he can hear your heart at how loud it beats.
He smirks at your loss of words and goes back to abusing your neck, probably leaving a hickey just like Namjoon had the previous day. You moan and he freezes on top of you. The embarrassment that courses through your body is immeasurable.
“Fuck, so that’s how you sound when you want to get fucked.”
Your breathing starts to pick up and you clench your thighs to relieve the ache between your legs.
“Something the matter, sweetheart?”
“Jungkook-“
“I asked you a question.”
“Touch me.”
Jungkook doesn’t waste any time as he puts his hands in your pajama pants.
He finds your clit with ease and he begins to rub it over your panties. The fabric adding on to the pleasure and your back bows as your legs widen more.
“Feels good?”
“Y-Yeah.”
You bite your lip as your moans threaten to escape and you’d rather die than be caught with Jungkook’s hands down your pants.
You feel your juices drip and ruin the cotton material that now sticks on you like second skin.
“You’re making a mess, sweetheart.” He chuckles as he picks up the speed of his finger and he hears how your breath stutters.
“So pretty, bet your pussy is just as pretty.”
His words have you clenching around nothing and you whine as your climax gets closer.
“Want you to cream and get this messy on my cock, think you can do that for me, sweetheart?”
You nod enthusiastically and he hums in approval. You whimper his name as you buck your hips to meet his hand.
“Patience, Y/N,” But his words have you whining and begging even more.
Your climax hits you unexpectedly and you hide your face on the crook of his neck as he coaxes you through your orgasm.
Your legs tremble as they slam shut, trapping Jungkook’s hand who doesn’t still his movements and you cry out at how sensitive you are. You never were one for overstimulation.
He continues until you cum again, this time it’s much quicker than before and you make sure to push his hand away as you pant against his skin.
“You might wanna go change, you’re drenched.”
“Fuck off.”
tags: @taeriffococean @snowythellama @slutforjjk @crazy-fangirl-10 @aretha170 @my-bts-babes @joonsbias @itneverends15713 @ashbash9909 @beautyyounggirl @shooklier @optimisticbouquetgentlemensworld @im-emo-motherfuckers @ravennightmares @dionymint @jiminiesthiccthighs @tall-iirose3773
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carefulvenom · 6 years ago
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Bag of Bugles and a Spell
sheogasms said: had an idea for a carol x fem!reader(pre relationship): carol has been trying to hide her feelings for the reader but, on a mission, she gets hit with some charm/spell that makes her even more stupidly in love with the reader. it makes her super soft and extremely flirty towards the reader, no matter who’s around. possible comedic fluff? (also thank you sm for doing these ur writing is amazing and im gonna lowkey keep bothering u w prompts)
A/N: omg this is the cutest prompt ever!! I was super excited to write this although I feel like I suck at fluff!! thank u for sending in I love hearing all of your ideas, hope I do them justice! also, I made Carol a lil bit of a cornball...she’s just weird
Word Count: 2k
Warnings: some language and minor violence/shooting
You’ve had three missions with Carol this month. The missions have been fairly easy and they’re over pretty quickly, which makes sense considering you and Carol are a hell of a team. You and Fury seem to think so and you’re hoping Carol thinks the same. You like spending time with her, even if you’re drenched in blood and dirt and killing people at the same time. There are not many people who you can experience that with, and that’s why Carol is so great. She cracks jokes, you tease each other, you have hilarious banter, she sends funny looks your way when you overhear something stupid over the coms, and she’s very confident and energetic. 
So, when you find out Fury had paired the two of you up again, you’re ecstatic. Even if it’s a stakeout mission. You’re geared up and ready to go, standing patiently outside the entrance of the Avengers compound, when you see Carol walk up to you in her suit. She looks great, but she does a stupid dance and spin to show off her suit that you’ve seen endless times. You sarcastically clap.
“Hey, partner,” Carol smiles kindly at you. “Ready to kick- watch some ass?”
You giggle. “Yes, ma’am. Let’s watch that ass.”
--
You and Carol have laid on the same roof for what seems to be hours. You brought snacks with the hope that you could stay filled up and energized while doing basically nothing. Too bad Carol’s been eating them all. She shakes the last of the bag of Bugles into her mouth and chomps on the crumbs just leaving you to stare at her. She turns her head to look at you and her mouth is full and crunching. You’re staring at her, saying nothing. She’s eating all your damn snacks.
She swallows quickly. “These were to share, right? I’m good?”
“Yeah, they were to share. Too bad you ate them all.” You try to scold her but end up giggling.
“Well don’t blame me! It’s boring! What am I supposed to do, just stare through these binoculars?”
“Yes, Carol, that’s exactly what we’re supposed to do.”
“Well, Y/N, how about I just...ya know...not do that,” Carol suggests, wriggling her eyebrows. But you have no idea what she’s suggesting.
“Fuck are you on about? You’re already doing nothing. You’re not even watching the subject.”
“Perhaps I shall get in on the action myself, m’lady.” Carol proposes with a very bad cockney accent.
“Okay, what?” you sigh and press your fingers to your eyebrows. You’re sat there, shaking your head when you start to laugh. You look up at her and she’s laughing back too. 
“I mean...hold my beer.”
“Carol, wh-” you start. There’s not even a beer anywhere. 
Carol, of course, makes a big scene by doing jumping off the ledge and doing her trademark superhero landing on the roof of the building in front of you. She starts to run and you immediately get off your feet and jump down to follow her. Of course, she’s running to the action, the girl can’t sit still for more than 5 minutes. You understand that completely, but you don’t understand why she would disturb something that’s meant to be observed. You’re supposed to keep a log and report back to S.H.I.E.L.D with the information. But, Carol decides to run ahead of you and you have to follow her, climbing down fire escape stairways and jumping on trash bins. 
You’re finally caught up to her when she hiding on the side of the building you’ve been watching. She’s waiting for a proper time to enter. You genuinely don’t even know what to do. You would try to stop her but you know Carol isn’t one that is stopped. You’d try to talk to her but she’d just run away into the building. You sigh probably a bit too loudly. You suppose you’re going in with her. 
The subjects you’ve been watching are a small threat, hence the fact that you’re just watching them instead of capturing them. That might change soon, though. Carol can be a wildcard at times but it’s dealt with considering that she’s just so powerful. She makes a signal with her hand and enters the building. You follow reluctantly with your gun in hand, checking corners and behind you before walking further. She leads you to a room in the back that seems to be empty and looks out of the door cautiously but curiously.
“Carol, we didn’t even check the security. They probably know we’re here.”
She puts her finger up to her mouth, gesturing for you to be quiet. You’re sure your eyes roll back into your head, but she gives you a playful push backward and giggles very lightly. 
You’re caught up staring at her and her cheeky smile when you see a person in front of you. Carol is turned towards you, unaware. You duck away quickly, grabbing her by the waist to bring you to the ground with her as your hand extends your gun to shoot. You shoot him, but it’s too late. Carol seems to be unconscious. You try to wake her quickly and look on her for any wounds but you can’t seem to find anything. She must’ve gotten a spell put on her.
You stand up, looking out the doorway. You see two armed men and you shoot both of them, allowing an opportunity to exit. Stealth and speed are very important in this situation, so you grab Carol quickly and you carry her in front of you. You’re running at full speed out of the building with Carol in your arms and you make it far enough down the block into a hidden alleyway to hit your com.
“Carol was being a dumbass. Got a spell put on her or something. She’s unconscious but she has a pulse and vitals seem fine. I’ll be making my way back to the spot. I’ll keep you updated.”
Maria Hill’s voice comes through the speaker. “Okay. Make sure she’s safe and head back as soon as you can. Need any backup?” 
“No, I got it. Thank you.” You click off your com.
You decide to go inside the building this time, unlike Carol who decides to jump off things and run down fire escapes. You hurry into the elevator and try to avoid as much eye contact or attention as possible. You head up to the roof and place Carol on the spot where she was laying before.
You wave the empty bag of bugles in her face, smacking her with it. “Hey, goofy, wake up.”
She’s still unconscious. You sigh, and reach your hand back, about to slap her hard. Her eyes flutter open all of a sudden and you immediately pull your hand down.
“Hey! Hey Carol,” you smile. “I’m so glad you’re awake now.”
“Mmmmm,” She moans and sits up slowly, staring at you for a few seconds. “Hey, gorgeous. Goooorgeous. My jaw hits the flooorgeous.”
Your jaw opens and your mouth is agape. You turn your head and chuckle, blushing hard. She never ceases to surprise you. You wonder what type of spell she’s under or what she’s coming off of.
“What, they got you drunk or something?”
“No!” Carol yells, very loudly. She looks and sounds like a toddler. It actually startles you. “But I’m drunk off of youuuu.”
“Okay. Understandable. I’d flirt with me too. But I’m gonna need you to quiet down and help me pick up this stuff so we can go back to the compound,” you reply, trying to keep your cool. She’s flirting with you and you love it. You’ve been waiting for this.
“You cute dumbass! I’ve been flirting with you this whole time!” Carol yells again. She definitely sounds drunk, but man, are you reveling in this. It feels so good to hear.
“No, listen here. You’re the dumbass. Be quiet and let’s go.”
“Ooooooooh. Yes, ma’am!” she salutes. “A woman in charge. That’s what I like about you. Not to mention how beautiful you are.”
You’re actually blushing like crazy, but you’re worried she’s not meaning anything she’s saying, so you’re trying to be serious. Also, you’ve got places to be.
“Carol, can you ple-”
“And THAT ASS. It’s a MARVEL. Captain Marvelous Ass over here! God damn!” She starts cracking up at her own joke and you can’t help but laugh too. You knew you’d have fun on this mission. 
“You’ve got a pretty nice ass too, Miss Drunk Toddler.”
“I am not a trunk ogler!” Carol whines, crawling over to you and placing her head on your shoulder. You're both sitting criss-cross and staring off at the cityscape. “I am a Y/N lover. And I love it.”
“Carol, you’re the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. You drive me crazy. In a good way and a bad way.” Mostly bad way. You’re always blushing whenever she’s around, and you’re always wanting to just place your hand on hers. You like Carol. You have ever since you met her.
“Let’s go to the museum and get ice cream. I want to take you on a date. Take you to paradise.” she drifts off, then gasps. “Two tickets to paradise! Eddie Money!”
“Yeah, that’s right. Eddie Money.” You say softly, looking down at her. You can see the moonlight accentuate how her eyelashes lay on her cheek. You can see her blonde hair framing her beautiful face in just a way that makes you want to kiss her nose. You can see a smile sitting on her lips and a dreamy sigh come out of her mouth.
“I like you, Y/N. I want to be your girlfriend. I want to take care of you, I want to do everything together. I’m starting to feel a little bit more normal. But this is right. Feels good.”
“Does feel good, doesn’t it Carol? I like you too. I always have.” you smile down at her. 
She looks up at you, surprised. She nearly gasps. She pats your chest excitedly, like a child or a dog, and she leans her head back on your shoulder. 
“Although I’d be the one taking care of you, you big dummy.” you tease, tousling her hair and then kissing her head. “I  hope you remember this.”
You sit in silence for a bit, feeling the breeze run through your hair and the warmth in your heart radiate to your body. You’re happy, and you’re staring at the city and stars in front of you. You have Carol, what else could you need?
Maria’s voice comes through your com again, startling you. “Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine, she’s just a little out of it. We’ll be packing up in a second and we’re gonna need a car.”
“Sounds good.”
You nudge Carol and stand up, extending your arm for her to grab your hand. You lift her up and she doesn’t let go of your hand.
“Can we pack up now, please?” You ask her, softly. She nods quickly and grabs the binoculars on the ground as you fold up the blanket. You take the binoculars from her and put them in your backpack. Putting the backpack on, you extend your hand for Carol’s again. She’s picking up the Bugles bag and looking inside, frowning. 
“You literally just ate them all. Did you think they were going to reappear?”
“Shut up. Maybe I did.” Carol laughs and takes your hand. You make your way down to the lobby and get in the backseat of the car. The driver nods to you and you nod back. Carol rests her head on your shoulder again.
--
After tucking Carol into bed, you find your way to yours and plop down face first. You squeal and smile into your pillow and hope to god she remembers this. Or at least, meant it. 
You wake up in the morning and check your phone first thing. There’s a text from Carol.
I meant it all. We still going for ice cream and a museum trip?
Oh, and I’m sorry for eating all your Bugles. I’ll get you more on our date.
 All you can do is smile as you lay down in your bed, taking in the warmth of the sunlight shining through your window. 
Finally.
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burlybanner · 5 years ago
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Syzygy - 7
Syzygy - An AU of Infundo (post-Infundo Chronicles).
Chapter 7: You Can’t Handle the Truth 
Summary:  It takes a village to raise an alter. Link to Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Note: Alcohol trigger warning.
** "You...wait. You're what? Where?"
Tony smirked behind his sunglasses and Bruce knew something was wrong. Tony's body language was off, really, really off. "Korea," Tony barked. "Emergency SI meeting I couldn't miss. I had to jet out at three am just to make it on time for this fuckin' shithole of a gathering." Tony sighed, ran a hand through his hair.
He's lying. Bruce knew it as soon as Tony finger-combed his hair. He shyly glanced at Steve and noticed the other man's lips had thinned.
So Steve saw it too.
"Well, stay safe then," Steve muttered. "You're gonna be back soon, yeah?"
"Six...seven days. Tops."
"Gonna hold you to that, Tony."
"Yeah," Bruce sighed. He felt his lip quiver as he tried imitating a brave smile. "Miss you."
"Heh. I'll be back before you can say Jack Daniels, Pooh. Can't keep me away. Ciao, lovelies."
And he cut the connection before either Bruce or Steve said anything else.
Steve folded his arms and inhaled while staring at the blank video screen. His cheek jumped as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. "You buy any of that?"
Bruce ran his tongue over his bottom lip and took in Steve's soldier stance. He was livid. Bruce didn't blame him, because he felt the same.  "Not a word."
"Mmhm. You buy the whole, 'Hulk broke the GoPro so the feed didn't load' crap either?"
Bruce scratched his neck. "Nope."
Steve snorted angrily and stared at his toes. "Jarvis," he growled. "What protocol's up for last night's north kitchen feed, from say...eleven PM to two AM?"
"Protocol 1-1 A, 2B, B2, B3. Zero. Zero. D. Zero."
"Fuck."
Bruce closely echoed Steve sentiment even if he didn't say it. "Absolute lockdown," Bruce murmured. Hell, he wasn't the computer science genius Tony was. They couldn't view what happened even if they wanted to.
"Hulk...Hulk must've said or done something," Bruce whispered. "That's the only reason--"
"Don't, Bruce. God, please. Don't." Steve drew him close and hugged him, even though he wanted to break down too. "It's not your fault. It's...whatever screw's loose in Tony's head right now. He ran but we're gonna have to let him, until he's ready to come back."
"I...I don't think I can handle not knowing." Bruce shuddered once in Steve's arms then pulled away. "If it's my fault I need to own it. I--I have to. Especially if H-Hulk...if I hu-hurt--"
"Shhh..."
Steve comforted Bruce again and kept his hold on him. God, he was gonna kill Tony for this passive aggressive bullshit.
"I need to find out what happened," Bruce snuffled. He rubbed his nose and quickly wiped under his glasses. "Tony doesn't do this. He wouldn't do this to us. To me."
"I know, Bruce, but--"
"No." Bruce firmly stood his ground. "It's not normal. The clues are around here. We'll...just unearth every rock no matter how ugly it is."
Steve smiled sadly, but gave Bruce a little half-shrug. "Okay. We can try. But where should we search first?"
Bruce paused a moment. "Jarvis," he said. "What are the protocols for the data Tony worked on, prior to late last night?"
"No protocols exist, sir."
A bitter smile broke across his lips. "Good."
**
Jarvis had private abilities few knew about, ones he'd cobbled together on his own without Tony's prompting. When he discovered Jarvis’ hidden talents, Tony was awestruck but absolutely thrilled: his AI had learned to interrupt the subtleties of negative human behavior to avert mental breakdowns. How cool was that? 
"Sir," Jarvis softly prompted. "I know you've muted me, but I feel insistent."
"N'now, J." Tony's slurred speech wasn't unknown to the AI, and Jarvis easily interpreted the garbled words. Video was only partially effective since Tony’s wristwatch angles hampered his abilities, but Jarvis could easily make out a desk and his creator’s slouched posture over a bottle of Glenlivet Reserve, 25y. A twin of the same had also been opened, but not nearly as depleted. 
"G'wan...G'wan home."
If the AI could sigh, he would. He did not believe the amount of alcohol consumed was particularly safe. Over the years his creator’s tolerance levels had changed, and it took far less alcohol to endanger the updated safety protocols.
"If you persist, I will need to contact the authorities per emergency health protocol 1, aka, 'Pepper's Law.' " Unbidden, Jarvis monitored Tony's respiratory and heart patterns and immediately ran quick calculations. Alcohol was a known sedative at higher levels, and his creator had not imbibed this heavily in many years.  In conclusion, imbibing so much now after a period of comparatively light drinking could cause dangerous consequences.
"You've had thirty ounces of whisky in less than two hours, sir. I'm obliged to, per the vernacular, 'cut you off.' " 
"Hmf." Tony sloppily sloshed another shot in his glass but Jarvis wasn't entirely sure if he could recognize the tumbler at this point.
"Sir."
Tony huffed tiredly and stared at the shot glass. But something must have activated within him, as he seemed to ponder the drink and observe it. Then he flung the glass into the trash, along with his second bottle.
"Fuck. Fuckin' sucks, J."
"What does, sir?" Sometimes, Jarvis learned, the best option of all was to keep people talking. He would continue to monitor sir's health levels, and if they dipped below dangerous levels, he would immediately call an ambulance and the hotel concierge. "Oblige me, please."
Tony ran a hand through his hair and the camera angle jarred from the desk and careened back-first onto the bed. Jarvis could review the ceiling, noting the sleek, rotunda designs of a four-star hotel room. "World. Shit. World spins. Spins."
"Alcohol at extreme levels create the illusion of a 'spinning planet,'" Jarvis agreed. "However, it's simply a density difference between the cupula and the fluid in your ear canal--"
Tony chuckled darkly. "Y'sound like 'im."
"Who, sir?"
"Brucie Bear. Juuust like 'im. Fuck. It's...it sucks. He. He's not the same."
"How so, sir? Could you elaborate?" Jarvis made a few other calculations. His creator would, most probably fall into an unconscious state in three minutes or fewer, depending on their conversation. He would continue to monitor his health, however. His BAC would continue to climb but should remain below emergency protocol levels.
Barely.
The voice in the room hitched, and Jarvis' camera jiggled and the feed included a blurry smudge. "I dunno...gotta say, wasn't expectin' it. Me an' Cap, we gotta...gotta change us. Regro. Renog..."
"Renegotiate?" Jarvis offered helpfully.
"Yeah. That. Poor Bruce..."
Tony trailed, and Jarvis wasn't sure if he'd succumbed to sleep. His heart rate and breathing slowed enough to warrant it.
"Jarv," Tony finally mumbled. "He doesn't...does he know?"
"If you're referring to Professor Banner's knowledge of an additional altar, I do not believe so, sir. Not according to what I could determine."
Tony grunted. "We gotta tell 'im. Dunno how. He's gotta know. S'ok to tell 'im, J. I give you permish."
"Understood, sir."
But Jarvis wasn't sure if Tony heard him, as the audio echoed with tortured snoring.
**
Bruce knew he had maybe a day to piece the clues together. As soon as Tony returned to his right mind he'd be locking down everything left and right to hide the events leading to last night.
"Jarvis," Bruce said. His fingers flew across Tony's keyboard while ideas poured into his head, ideas born from desperation. He glanced at the output before checking his companion notes. "Run 13:52 through 15:40, double speed."
"Same parameters, sir?"
"Yeah."
Bruce tented his fingers and leaned in close, viewing the feed from yesterday's main living room. He was eating cookies, with Steve and Tony fondly looking on. He was a little messier with the crumbs than usual - but...wait. There.
"Jarvis. Pause."
The feed stopped. Tony's expression had changed from lustful abandon to...something less quantifiable. Tony was scrutinizing him, and Bruce drank in Tony’s frozen posture. His boyfriend’s eyes were unnaturally cautious as he checked Bruce out, and it was the same expression Bruce remembered catching at lunch, although the frown fleeted as quickly as Bruce caught it.
Bruce grit his teeth and muttered softly. "Tony, what are you hiding in that big, beautiful brain?"
"Hey."
Bruce startled at Steve's hand on his shoulder. "Sorry. You finished your snack, so now you get four sandwiches with sodas, chips, and a half dozen monster cookies."
Bruce snorted and tore into the food as soon as Steve handed him the bags. He started in on the chicken pesto hoagie and dumped on a few chips, for a crispier crunch. "I could've had the bots get something for me from the kitchen." He tsked when a few globs from his lunch plopped on his shirt.
They provide napkins for a reason, Banner, he sighed, pulling one from a bag and tucking it under his chin.
"Nah. I know you too well. You'll disappear into your project and forget to eat. Can't waste what we've done so far, gotta at least maintain you."
"Mmph." Bruce nodded. He pointed to one soda, noticing it was opened and waiting. "You put in the gainer fuel?"
"Yep. So you'll probably get hungry in a while. But I'm ready." He held up another bag of food.
Bruce chuckled and took giant gulps from his soda bottle.
Steve put down his own bag and ambled over to Bruce's screen. His hooded expression scanned the frozen video feed and Bruce sighed.
"Do you see it?"
"I think so." Steve’s fingers ran across Tony's paused visage. "He's hiding something. Weighing out the pros and cons, mulling over consequences." He frowned at Bruce. "You and he can get like that in the lab, sometimes, and it's impossible to talk to you two when you're like that."
"Sorry." Bruce smiled and threw the empty soda bottle into the recycling bin. "We do go into 'science mode' a lot, leaving you out."
"I'm used to it." Steve seemed to ponder something and anxiously tapped the screen. "But I...may have part of the puzzle. Tony didn't want me to say anything, but due to current events I think I should."
Bruce sat back in his chair with a frown. It popped and squealed under his large frame; Tony mentioned adjusting it soon, but it probably needed changing in the next few weeks the rate he was gaining.
"Enlighten me," he murmured coldly.
Steve swallowed the lump in his throat and pulled a chair to him. He sat and grabbed for Bruce's hand, but Bruce subtly moved it. "Okay, then. It'll probably make you mad to be honest."
"Better angry than clueless." Bruce tapped his fingers against his desk. "Spill it, Steve."
"We had a talk yesterday. During your after breakfast nap."
Bruce turned to face Steve fully, his expression unreadable but undeniably chilly. "What about?"  
"I, ah. I told Tony that I thought--" he rifled a hand through his hair and puffed out a gust of air while Bruce kept his glare on him. "It's the Hulk. I told Tony that I thought Hulk... was finding a way into your subconscious to manipulate you."
"What?"
"Yeah. It's a theory, though. I'm not sure if--"
Bruce whipped around to the screen, ignoring Steve while his fingers tore across the keyboard. It couldn't be possible, but hold on. What if--
He brought his gainer formula on the screen and anxiously scanned it, but he couldn't find anything wrong. "There's no way...he couldn't have. He's not that smart..."
"Who, Hulk?"
Bruce put a hand to his lips. Dismay pushed at his temples and created the headache from hell, but this was--no. Hulk didn't. Couldn't. But how?
"Talk to me, Muffin. Please."
He waved off Steve but still felt a hand on his shoulder, trying to be supportive, but it felt wrong somehow. Not right.
"Doctor Banner."
Was that Jarvis?
"Jarvis, unless it's Tony put it on the back burner for me." He brought up the screen with his notes and frantically poured over the minutiae of each section. He told them he hadn't finished the testing phase but Hulk used it anyway - but Hulk couldn't have possibly understood.
Or could he?
He began to shiver. "T--this doesn't feel...right. This--"
"Bruce, sweetheart. Please talk to me. You're getting worked up."
"Doctor Banner. You have a message."
His head felt floaty. He began disassociating and losing his sense of self but he had shit to do they had to find Tony...
"Doctor Banner, please. It's an emergency."
"An...a what?"
"Captain Rogers, I recommend fetching a bottled water from the lab mini refrigerator near Master Stark's console."
"On it, Jarvis."
Steve sounded worried. Why was Steve worried?
"Doctor Banner. Can you hear me?"
"Hh...Yes, Jarvis," he said softly. "I...I'm here."
"Please remain calm."
He jumped when something cold pressed into his trembling hands. "You were turning half green, Bruce," Steve said softly but Bruce barely acknowledged him. It felt hard to breathe. To think. "Drink it. Please."
"You have an emergency message," Jarvis repeated.
"From...who?"
"I was instructed to play a message for you once you reviewed your notes. Please review the video feed piping into your monitor. Should you like, you can ask to view it alone or with Captain Rogers."
"I'd...like to stay," Steve murmured. Bruce could almost feel gentle thumbs digging into his jumpy, tense back muscles. "If that's okay with you."
Bruce gulped down the icy water and let the shock of it clear his mental cobwebs. The hazy feeling mostly evaporated, but he didn't feel 100% normal. "If it's serious, Jarvis, I think Steven and I should see it together." Especially since he couldn't quell the weird feelings of dread suffocating his rational mind. "Thanks, Steve."
Steve slowly massaged Bruce's arms and kissed his temple, further calming him. "Of course."
Bruce suddenly felt pressure on his back and over his shoulders as Steve draped his body over him, covering him like a warm, heavy cloak. The effect grounded him. Made him feel comforted and safe. His synapses began firing like turned switches, nerve to cell, one by one. Steve knew what Bruce needed without saying anything and that's why Bruce loved him so much -  he understood the power of timely touch and silence when Bruce so desperately craved it.
"Thank you," Bruce whispered, and he leaned into Steve's strengthening hug.
Fortunately Jarvis knew well enough to wait until he'd calmed down. "I was instructed to preface this recording," he began. "It will be alarming, but it is not a prank. I've also been instructed to freely answer any additional questions, although I am more interested in what the video has to say."
Bruce frowned. "Wait, you didn't view it?"
He imagined the AI would be frustrated, if it had the capacity. "No, Doctor Banner. I was instructed not to until..."
"By who?"
The video began playing.
"By me," the person said.
A person who looked exactly like Bruce.
2 notes · View notes
mochimim · 8 years ago
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Dead Leaves - Chapter 2
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Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6
Genre: Fluff/Angst
Word count: 2.3k
Pairing: Seokjin x Reader
Warnings: nah not yet
Summary: Don’t fall in love. Promise me.“ She said, gripping onto my arm.
“I promise.”
A/N: Hihi!! I’m back with another chapter HAHAHA tumblr was a dick and deleted my last update a few days ago :( but it’s here again whooo so please receive this fic well and i love yalls :)  Also i based Hye Gi on my friend Erin aka @taechubs so check her out!! ++ check out my ao3 (and comment bc im a thirsty hoe)!!
I peered around the corner. Seokjin was there with two of his friends. They were talking very loudly about… aesthetic colours?
“Guys, the most aesthetic colour is red. I mean, look at it, it’s created to be aesthetically pleasing.” A red-haired boy told his friends.
“Are you demented? The most aesthetic colour is obviously black. You can’t go wrong with black.” The boy pointed to the hair on his head, beaming at the two other boys.
Seokjin had a look of mock disgust on his face. “Guys, the only acceptable answer is blonde. Psh, obviously.” He scoffed. The younger boys scrunched up their faces and disagreed in unison. I chuckled at their child-like behaviour, but I assumed that they would be talking about who to take to the prom since it was right around the corner.I didn’t have much time to laugh because I was going to apologise there and then.
I took a deep breath and walked out of the shadows. While shuffling towards them, I gave myself a pep talk. You can do this, you are strong, put your dignity aside and just apologise and get over it. I tapped on Seokjin’s shoulder. The broad-shouldered boy turned around and we locked eyes. “I...I just wanted to apologise to you about yesterday. I’m sorry.” I felt my face getting hotter as I spoke. His unamused expression turned into an excited one as I held out a box of cookies that I had slaved away the night before to do. He took the box and held it to his chest. He closed his eyes and sighed blissfully. He quickly opened the box and stuffed one of the cookies into his mouth.
“You’re forgiven.” He sprayed cookie crumbs everywhere. His two friends at the back were giggling at their hyung. The red haired one came out from behind Seokjin first, followed by the black haired one.
“Hello Noona! My name is Taehyung but you can call me Taetae if you like.” The red haired boy smiled cheekily. He was an outgoing one, very confident.
“Hi Noona, my name is Jimin, but you can call me Minnie.” The raven haired boy smiled shyly. He seemed like a good kid, mature and cute.“Hi Noona! My name is Seokjin, but you can call me Jin.” Seokjin mimicked his dongsaengs’ cute tone. I shook my head in disbelief. I grinned at the young boys. “My name is Y/N, it’s nice to meet you both.”
“Y/N noona, how do you know Jin hyung?” Taehyung asked. I looked at Seokjin who shook his head vigorously. I nodded back at him. “I accidentally hurt him, so I came to apologise by giving him cookies.” The two boys covered their mouths and laughed. I smiled fondly, they seemed like little children. They both nodded in unison, making me laugh again. I turned to the left and caught Seokjin’s gaze. We awkwardly stared at each other for a little while, and I decided to initiate a conversation.
“So…..” I cringed a little inside. “What are you guys doing for the Winter Prom? Who are y’all bringing?” All 3 boys blushed bright red.
“Ah, yes. We have asked many people to be our date.” Taehyung declared, in contrast to his burning face. “Many people have said yes.” Jimin nodded vigorously.
“Yes, noona. Ma...many people. Certainly.” More like uncertainly. Jin just rolled his eyes. “No, I haven’t asked anyone yet.” I shot him a confused look. He was good-looking, pretty kind from what I had observed, and he usually had a group of girls ogling him, probably just wanting to get in his pants. How hard could it be to just pick one dumb blonde out of the group and take her to the prom? Anyway, in our society, he didn’t even have to get attached. He wasn’t picking out a wife or anything, it was just picking out a girl to go to a lame social event to and then dumping her at her own house later. “How about you?” I nonchalantly shrugged.
“No, I’m actually not planning on going.” The two younger boys’ jaws dropped and their eyes bulged out of their heads. “I feel like it’s a waste of time.” It was, though. It was going to be held in the gymnasium, which already smelled like feet and whatever the small kid in the last class had for lunch. I was going to be surrounded by people that I didn’t even care about, and would have no association to once I took the pill. The incompetent douchebag who asked me to go with him would probably ditch me, and i would find him at some corner afterwards making out with some other chick. Like I said, waste of time. Jin and his dongsaengs probably thought that I was insane. This was the only night that we could get bat shit drunk in the school premises, and everything that the drunk students did was not held against them.
The year before, a few sober students pretended to be drunk, and egged the principal’s car. This might sound crazy, and illegal ,but no one cares about anything because they don’t have emotions. And they don’t, so why would they care? I nodded at the boys and turned away to walk to my next class, but Jin grabbed a hold of my arm. I stared at him in alarm. What the hell was he doing? I tugged on my arm and he let go almost immediately. I rubbed the part where he grabbed me, and looked into his eyes. He seemed calm, but i felt like he was screaming at me to stay. I snuck a look at the shocked younger boys. They stared wide-eyed at their hyung, stunned at the sudden grasp. The blonde looked at them with a blank stare -from what I saw- and they quickly scrambled away. He turned to me with a small smile on his face. “You’re so lame, prom is fun.” I rolled my eyes. Just then, the class bell rang. I turned to him, hoping that he would get the hint that I really had to leave, but he just linked his arm with mine. “I have English next period, let’s go together.” My eyes widened in utter panic. He must be crazy, I thought, as he walked down the hallway with me.
There were guys pointing in confusion and girls glaring in envy. Everyone was puzzled as to why he was linking arms with a girl no one had ever seen before, including me. I had never seen him in a romantic light, and I doubt that he had ever seen me in that way as well, so why was he being all coupley with me? I was so horrified at what he had done, making me look like I was some girl who he was dating, making me look like one of the goddamn fools that…
But, even though I was upset with him, I still chose to sit with him in English. We sat at the back of the class, causing a ruckus, laughing so loudly that the teacher had to ask us to shut up.
A few weeks after that, he invited me to some halloween party in some secluded part of Seoul. I was hesitant at first, but he assured me that it was safe. I ended up going as the Joker, and having a blast. He went as a male Harley Quinn and I kind of teased him when he came to my apartment to pick me up.
“Jin?” I squinted at the tall boy with pink and blue chalked hair. He twirled around in his halloween outfit. “That’s right Puddin’!” I choked on the smoothie that I was sipping and spluttered smoothie chunks on him. His face was contorted with disgust, and he used my hand to wipe off any stray food that was sprayed on his costume. “I think my Harley Quinn outfit looks awesome!” He self-proclaimed. I nodded as if I agreed. “Yeah, very awesome.” I taunted sarcastically. He shook his head in defeat. “You’re just saying that I look like shit, inside you’re thinking ‘wow look at him, he looks amazing!’” I might have opened my mouth to defend myself, but I couldn’t find a flaw in his statement. He was completely, and annoyingly, spot on.
We had a great time at the party, but all we did was sit in a small corner and make fun of the people who tried very hard, but failed miserably. There was a guy who came in a trash bag, saying that he went as himself. There was a girl who just wore lingerie, and shivered in the biting air. After the party, we sneaked out to a small diner nearby and we ate pancakes in our ridiculous outfits, probably startling and confusing those around us.
Since that day, our friendship bloomed. It mostly consisted of corny jokes and stifled laughter from both parties. He introduced me to his friends, all 6 of them. They seemed like kind people who cared deeply for Jin. Namjoon looked at the world in a very philosophical way, often spewing thought-provoking questions that made everyone have an existential crisis. Yoongi was a quiet guy with a killer taste of music. Hoseok liked to laugh, and would dance at any given moment. Taehyung was just, Taehyung, usually confused but had a big heart. Jimin was his smiley self, radiating positivity and happiness everywhere he went. Jungkook was a fighter, tall and strong, and would 100% beat your sorry ass in any given sport. They were all amazing friends, and Jin was blessed to have these companions.
And I introduced him to my only friend, Hye Gi. She was thrilled to meet him, and said that she was dying inside, obviously, but she seemed calm during their introduction. She was my best friend, my wingwoman, my platonic soulmate. She was a rational person who ran on logic, although she could do some crazy stuff when she was under pressure. She was my favourite person in the entire world, and I was hers (i hope). We knew each other since we were 8 and we bonded over our love for a red lego that had a sticker of a dolphin stuck to it. Jin found that last fact adorable, to which Hye Gi giggled uncontrollably at. We might have been close, but we were as similar as night and day. I was a pretty pessimistic person, she was optimistic as hell. She looked at the world in a different light from me, which I found endearing. I cared for her with all my heart, and Jin took an interest to her, which she squealed to me after.
As Jin and I got closer, I noticed little details about him that any passerby would just ignore. I noticed the way he told me about his family, about his Mario and Maple Story figurines, about how he missed Gwacheon, his hometown. He spoke with such enthusiasm, such happiness and sincerity, that I couldn’t help but fall for him. It was sudden, hitting me out of the blue on a random Tuesday in October, but it was undeniable. I had fallen for Kim Seokjin.
It was really just a random Tuesday. We were hanging out in the school library, trying to study. Well, I was trying to study, he was just fooling around like usual. I had a history test the next week, so I was trying to cram. “Y/nnnnnnnnnn…” He sang. “Stop studying. Let’s go to a coffeeshop and we can binge on cakes and sweet drinks.” I pushed him away. “Go away Jinnie. I’m trying to study.” He continued to whine to me about how he needed sugar. I sighed in frustration. “Kim Seokjin, I envy you. You are cool, you get all the girls, and you don’t even have to study to get good grades. But, I’m not like you. So please let me study, or leave me alone.” He was silent after my harsh words. I felt terrible, I wanted to apologise for my rude behaviour.
“You think i’m cool?” He grinned mischievously, earning a loud groan from me that caused many “eager learners” to shush me. He did aegyo to try and convince me to leave the library, and that did it for me. I got up, packed my things, and dragged him off to the nearest coffeeshop. He cheered happily and I looked into his eyes and fell deeply in love. They contained so many emotions, both happy and sad ones, and I got lost in them.
Many sleepless nights followed that fateful day, and I didn’t know what to do with myself. Before, I was a drunken asshole who bought liquor every night just to “drown my sorrows”, but now I was a sober, slightly-less-of-an-asshole all thanks to him. I had changed for the better because of him and I hadn’t even known it. Although I hadn’t fallen in love just yet, I was still smitten by him. It’s not love, it’s infatuation, I kept telling myself, and I believed it. I didn’t feel the strong emotions that came with teenage love yet, but I got flustered every time he held my hand, or pushed my hair behind my ears. To him, it was probably just an everyday thing, but my heart fluttered every time. I wanted to tell Hye Gi about my feelings, seeing as she was the only person that I trusted, but she liked him as well. I was caught in a web of feelings, and I couldn’t get out.
I opened my locker after Psychology. It was a tiring day, and all I wanted to do was go home and sleep for at least 4 years. But, all that was in the way was lunch period and Algebra. I was planning to find an empty classroom and sleep until Algebra, but my grumbling stomach suggested otherwise. My plan was to buy a sandwich, and sleep in a random quiet place till my next period. As I was thinking of my plan, my fingers brushed against a pink envelope. It had my name on it, and it was in Jin’s infamous chicken scrawl. My curiosity got the best of me and i tore the letter open.
Dear Y/N, Meet me in the Music Room as soon as you get this letter. I’ll be waiting for you.
Love, Jin
I was very confused at this slightly ominous letter. Why did he want to meet me in the music room? What was so private that he had to ask me to go all the way to the other side of the school? As I was rushing to the Music Room, Jimin stopped me in my tracks, wearing a very afraid expression on his small face.
“Noona? Could I ask you something?” He nervously asked. Although he was way taller than me, I wanted to squish his cheeks and wrap him in thousands of blankets, he seemed so innocent and cute. Out of all of Jin’s friends, I was the closest to him, thinking of him as my younger brother. “Yes Minnie?” I asked, genuinely concerned. His face burned an alarming red, he seemed very distressed.
“I know that you were not planning on going to the Winter Prom, but...but I was just wondering if you could go with me?” I covered my smile with the back of my hand. He was so sweet, a being that needs to be protected at all costs. “Why do you want me, Jiminie? You’re good looking, sweet, gentlemanly, and not to mention ,a great dancer.Why wouldn’t anyone not want to go with you?” I boosted his self-esteem, holding his small hands in mine and reassuring him. His gaze diverted to the floor, like the tiles were the most interesting thing in the world. “All the girls that I asked already had dates, and I don’t have a lot of friends that are girls.” He looked so desperate and sad, there was no way on this earth that I could say no.
“Of course I will Minnie. Anything for you.” I stood on tiptoes and ruffled his dark hair. His nervous expression quickly turned into a happy one, his eyes curving into crescent moons, showing an eye smile that would turn melt any girl. “Thank you Y/N noona!” He pulled me into a tight hug that I reciprocated. As salty and bitter as I was, Jimin would always soften me right up. We stayed in that position for a while, until I realised that I had to see Jin. I immediately jumped up at the sudden realisation, briefly filled Jimin on the situation and ran away at full speed. I felt like a character in an old cartoon, you know the ones where they run and their legs turn a full circle? That’s how fast I was running.
When I reached the Music Room, I scanned the room and he wasn’t there, he had already left. I bent down at the door, my lungs getting as much oxygen as it could as I tried to catch my breath. I was too late. Now I wasn’t going to know what the hell he wanted. What if it was really important?
“You’re here.” A quiet voice from behind startled me. “I thought that you were just going to ditch me.” I turned around and saw Jin with a soft expression.
“Why would I ditch you?” I laughed. He grinned back, but his smile seemed forced, it was short of something. His lips seemed to quiver, he kept wiping his hands on his pants. I tilted my head. “What did you want though?” He sucked in a breath and closed his eyes. He took my hands and kneeled on the floor. My breath got caught in my throat.
“Will you go to prom with me?”
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M.A.S.H at 27
M.A.S.H. 
 Mansion, Apartment, Shack and House
I don’t know any decent millennial that didn’t play MASH growing up, who wouldn’t want to predict their future on a piece of paper? In Mexico (I am a born and raised Mexican), we’d switch the apartment for a trash can because that can actually happen back home–but hey! It can happen here too, just substitute the trash can for a camping tent for two in your friendliest neighborhood, Skid Row. I remember one of the five times I’ve shit myself was when I wandered around Downtown LA in the company of me, myself and my shadow and ended up in Skid Row with 2% battery life on my phone. But, that’s a story for another day.
Back to Mexican MASH. You could end up living in a trash can, so the stakes were high as fuck. I mean we were talking about our future! Playing MASH, you find out who will you marry, the number of babies you’re gonna pop out, the kind of car you will drive, the pets you will have, and your job. Most importantly (drum roll please), the age you will be by the time you amass all those goodies. That number was everything–mine was 24. ALWAYS. I had that number engraved in my brain (finger and uterus), I was going to be happily married by 24, live in a mansion, drive a Lamborghini Diablo (yeah whatever, I was 10 years old, don’t judge me), have 7 kids, 10 dogs, be a vet/model, have the most handsome husband, and a big fucking rock on my finger to prove it. Everything by 24 because M.A.S.H said so.
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Introducing Mr. and Mrs…insert record scratch. Nope that didn’t happen. I am 27 and have reached the point that the idea that I haven’t found the love of my life yet doesn’t traumatize me anymore. (I was severely traumatized, I’m talking pre-marital PTSD, as in started having panic attacks at 23 because I KNEW I had failed and would end up alone with 25 alley cats. I fucking hate cats) I wish I could time travel and tell my 20 year-old self “relax bitch” or even better, tell my 9 year old self, who is probably alive right now in some parallel universe, that MASH doesn’t mean anything. Being married at 24 doesn’t equal success and that I’d put my index finger over my luscious, prepubescent lips and tell her “hush my child”, you don’t have to worry. (If the butterfly effect is real, I may be saving her a lot of trouble).
I also remember I thinking that MASH was a commitment that I made to myself–a promise. If you know me, you know I keep all my promises. I promised I would walk down the aisle, filthy rich and happily ever after at 24. Period.
Growing up, I remember constantly thinking about being 24, I knew that in 2014 I would cross a magical threshold that would lead me straight to happiness, hand in hand with my Leonardo DiCaprio look alike husband. (That has changed too. I’m now looking for Ben Dalhaus’ doppelgänger).
In middle school and high school, I noticed my friends had superpowers, they could find boyfriends anywhere and for some reason I just didn’t. My superpower was being unboyfriendable. They were like Wonder Woman (secretly dating Superman) and I was like Catwoman doomed to remain in the shadows. (Fuck there go those cats again).
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 In my mind, I thought it was because I was not pretty and there was something wrong with me (The real reason being I never gave anyone a real chance and I was to busy making out with tons of boys to prove myself I wasn’t ugly. Don’t get me wrong I did it because that was super fun too). Those days turned me into the amazing kisser that I am today.
Sidebar: It’s funny how I see pictures of me at 14 and think, “ Nope you weren’t that bad. It was just the horrors of puberty passing by and there is nothing that a hairstylist and wax strip wouldn’t have fixed”. Mind you I slicked my hair back with shit tons of gel just like Michael Corleone from the Godfather (it was a thing at my school ‘kay).
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See below a picture of me at and Lorenza at 13. 
“ My glorious days as a member of the Corleone-Kahlo clan.” 
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10 years later, all “grown-up” playing with fireworks. Te amo Lorenz
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I eventually took matters into my own hands when my mom told me I was too young to wax my eyebrows. She’d only let me wax my uni-brow. Yep, as a proud descendant of Frida Kahlo. By taking matters in my own hands I mean freeze framing on Elisha Cuthbert while watching The Girl Next Door and copying her eyebrow shape (just a piece of advice if you are a Latina and your eyebrows are bushy as fuck don’t go copying porn star eyebrows). Really you should just imagine Bert from Sesame Street shooting for Jessica Rabbit’s eyebrows. Not good. I managed to have shaped eyebrows–squares are a shape right?
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So yeah the years went and I left my days as a member of the Corleone Clan behind by high school my hair style and eyebrows recovered.
One day at 18, I felt a little better about myself and actually thought “okay maybe I can land someone”. I tried to be open to meeting someone but no one really came. It’s as if I left the bread crumbs for the guy to find me and he decided he was going no carb. I mean boys came, but not looking for something serious. I guess those were the vibes I put out, but deep down I just wanted to be asked out on a nice date, and not lured onto the dance floor for a make out sesh.
At some point I asked one of my best friends with superpowers if she thought I’d be single forever. She didn’t so but explained that nightclubs weren’t the best place to meet the kind of boys I wanted to date. That always stuck with me.
I began to understand how the clubbing scene wasn’t such an ideal place to meet someone. It’s a hub of predators ready to pounce on their prey. Let me clarify by saying that I don’t think wanting to “get some” at a club makes you a bad person (coming from the biggest predator I know), it makes you a visibly horny person. So “aha” moment–meet boys in other places.
Days as a young 20 year-old predator.  Very proud of my fake ID and my almost exposed private parts. 
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Ever since then, I thought I’d meet him at a museum, frolicking at the beach, or maybe at the library (but that would mean I’d have to physically get my books instead of using The Prime). Honestly, most guys I’ve seen in public libraries either look like they just pissed their pants, are part of a gang or are serial masturbators. (Look at me judging a book by its cover…I know, I know, I’m being superficial. I’m working on my flaws). However, I do spend a lot of time at Barnes and Noble fantasizing about some guy walking up to me and striking up a conversation about the book I’m reading. Afterwards, he pins me against the bookshelves and kisses me senseless.
In all my fantasies, the guys had to HURRY THE FUCK up because I needed my ring by 24. I was held hostage by the 10 pieces of paper I saved in my third grade pencil case that read M.A.S.H.
I had another dream where a guy would show up at my door professing his love for me, but I was usually awakened by Carl asking me if I’d ordered the thin crust Hawaiian pizza from Domino’s. He is the most stable relationship I’ve had in my life and I am totally okay with that.
Enough about my fantasies and Carl (he’s mine, so don’t think about luring him to your door with an order). My point is that throughout my early 20’s I felt like the guy who ended up with me would think his luck was mediocre at best, and I that should consider myself lucky that someone would actually see some value in me. But I held on to what MASH said–that I would have my huge ass mansion and shiny things. MASH kept me distracted from focusing on myself and my non-existent self-esteem (it’s kinda sad but true). I don’t believe that anymore and I am okay with being alone because I have the privilege of my own company and newsflash I am fun as fuck.
By 27:
* I am nowhere near having a rock adorn my finger that’s okay. For the longest time I tortured myself thinking I would end up alone because there was something fundamentally wrong with me. I kept blaming myself for not being pretty enough or good enough to have a boyfriend. But, that isn't true. It took a lot of work and I changed the perception about me. Im capable of many things, there isn't anything wrong with me and I am at peace.
* The asshole depression that stole my personality and started creeping on me at 23 (aka panic attacks) is finally gone. I am not scared anymore. The panic attacks no longer seize control of my mind or my body.
* Now I see that meeting the love of your life isn’t all there is to life. Loving yourself and your life is vital to your happiness.
* I don’t get frustrated when I see all my friends getting engaged, pregnant, or married. (Not that in the past I wasn’t fucking stoked to see my friends walk down the aisle, but there were moments when I felt like “ Omg. Catwoman, you have failed, what if it’s the same story from high school played over and over again? Everyone gets married while I get drunk and make out with their younger cousins in the bathroom” Yeah it sounds amazing but after a certain age a hot mess isn’t cute anymore. There’s an expiration date for that shit). I’m getting rid of my Catwoman costume (burn baby burn).
* Turns out 27 was the magic number after all. Three years after the deadline I break a lifelong promise to my 9-year-old self and I couldn’t be freer. I can see that I am a keeper and he will come when the time is right (I believe that to be true and not just a generic line people say to sound hopeful). I used to be super bitter about it. Today, I can only work on becoming a better person.
I am actually grateful for everything I have been through because it has taught me a lot about myself and now I know I am wiser and I will choose better things for me; Including a stable relationship with a nice bro ( Sorry Carl, it’s not you, it’s me)
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Funny enough the definition of Mash is:
Reducing (Something) to a uniform mass by crushing it. Thanks Wikipedia. Yeah, I got owned and crushed by it.
So yeah, I recently ripped all the M.A.S.H’s I had saved for 16 years to pieces (I save everything and no I won’t have a separate entry for compulsive hoarding).  I tore MASH a new one. And with that a new meaning came to light…
M.A.S.H. is just B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T
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vegacoyote · 1 year ago
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#the world is an enormous set of scales#and me and that mouse are eating the same crumbs i think#maybe i can give her enough crumbs for another generation of field mice with no fields left#maybe somewhere human children will get one more year to get older#i don't know#i love this world so much#im putting the crumbs down just there behind the trash can#where i pray something hungry might eat
tags via @roach-works
the world is very big and terrible and so many things are dying. but i managed to give a wild field mouse a cracker yesterday. the long-grass field across the street is being cut and paved to build a warehouse and this winter will be the last one for so many mice. somewhere else the children of my species die on camera. i keep reading about it.
i keep looking at these pictures of a mouse.
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wordspill · 1 year ago
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tags from op: #the world is an enormous set of scales#and me and that mouse are eating the same crumbs i think#maybe i can give her enough crumbs for another generation of field mice with no fields left#maybe somewhere human children will get one more year to get older#i don't know#i love this world so much#im putting the crumbs down just there behind the trash can#where i pray something hungry might eat
the world is very big and terrible and so many things are dying. but i managed to give a wild field mouse a cracker yesterday. the long-grass field across the street is being cut and paved to build a warehouse and this winter will be the last one for so many mice. somewhere else the children of my species die on camera. i keep reading about it.
i keep looking at these pictures of a mouse.
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152 notes · View notes